Seth stared at me in shock. His eyes were wide and his mouth was shaped into a perfect O.
"What are you talking about?" he asked me.
"I saw it, Seth! In my dream! I saw it!"
"Please," he said, "tell me. I want to know exactly what you saw."
I told him every single detail of the excruciating nightmare. How I ran into a large, stone room and the first person I saw was Bella.
"Bella!" I screamed and ran toward her. Her eyes were closed and she was quivering uncontrollably. I didn't know why she wasn't moving, wasn't running for her life.
That was when I dropped to thefloor in agony. I didn't know why, but I did. I saw a short figure in a long, black cloak concentrating on me. She smiled evilly and I cringed away from her. That was when I knew she was the one causing me pain.
"Bella!" I screamed again through my pain. "Bella! You can run! She can't hurt you!" I couldn't form words anymore. The pain was too terrible.
The short one laughed. "Oh, she can move of course. The girl simply doesn't want to." She made her way over to Bella and patted her arm. "Isn't that right, Bella?"
"Stop hurting her, Jane," Bella had whispered. The pain that was inflicted on me next had been too real to be a dream. At this point in my recap of the nightmare, I was bawling my eyes out. Seth listened with his arms around me as he cradled me against his chest.
"Fine," the one called Jane had said. "You leave me one option."
"No!" Bella screamed but it was too late. I heard two screams of agony in the darkness. They were much too familiar. So that's why Bella hadn't wanted to move. If she did, this Jane person would hurt Edward and Renesmee. The name of this woman made bile rise in my throat.
"Silence!" Jane had yelled toward Edward and Nessie but they couldn't help themselves. Their screams of agony became worse and worse, forcing Bella to fall to her knees and sob, tearless.
"Stop crying you foolish girl," a different, deeper voice said. "Your time is up, anyway. Come along."
He said the words so casually but I could feel the venom behind them. The Jane girl grabbed Bella by the wrists and pulled her into the darkness. The farther Jane went the more screams I heard. It was too late not to recognize the faces and voices that went with the cries.
I heard Seth's shocked intake of breath as I told him that those screams belonged to each of the Cullens. I tried not to linger on the last detail much because it was the most painful. I hated the image of the purple smoke rising when members of the Volturi touched fire to my family's skin. The most painful thing I felt, yes, more painful than Jane's power on me, was felt when I stared at the faces of Alice and Jasper. Their mouths screaming my name in agony, attempting to tell me how much they loved me. Eventually, they were consumed by the flames and I'd woken up. By the end of my story, my entire body was quivering violently and my face was stained with tears. I wasn't breathing properly; my breaths were more like hyperventilation. Seth held my head close to him as he tried to comfort me. After a while, I simply had to tell him.
"Seth," I started. "I'm going to Volterra."
"All right," he said. "I'm going with you."
Oh how I knew he was going to be difficult about this. "No, you're not."
"Of course I am," he said. "You think I'm going to let my reason for being out of my sight and into that of the Volturi? Really, Jasmine, you should know me better."
My lip stuck out in a slight pout, the way it always did when I argued. "I'm not going to risk both of our lives."
"If you go alone, you are risking both our lives. Jasmine, if that evil Demitri or Caius get their hands on you, it'll surely be your end. Jasmine, you are my life. If you die, you'll take away my entire reason of being. Your death very easily means mine."
He smiled at me but his eyes were serious. I knew he meant it. If I went, I risked not only my life, but the life of the person I loved more than anyone else in the world. If I stayed, I could be safe, but the Cullens—my family—would perish and that was just terrible. They couldn't die for me and I couldn't cause Seth's death. He was still looking at me, his eyes intent. I knew how much he loved me and how serious he was about both our lives being at stake, whether he went with me or not. He leaned down and kissed me and, in that second, I might've lost the entire argument. If I hadn't pulled away the instant I did, I would've let Seth come with me when I clearly needed to do this alone. I stared him straight in the eyes and gave him a definite answer.
"No," I said firmly, my hand still in his hair. He sighed.
"I hope you realize how much it hurts denying you what you want? Not only does it hurt by my own standards, but the imprinting makes it so much worse. The imprinter gives the object of his imprinting whatever she wants," he quoted. I laughed and sighed.
"Give up, then," I suggested.
"Never," he said firmly. "You go, I go."
"Ugh!" I screamed. "Why must you be so difficult?"
He smiled a breathtaking smile. "It's my job," he answered simply.
"Why don't we both just think about it?" I suggested, desperate to complete the plan that was formulating in my head.
Seth smiled. "Sure," he agreed.
I yawned, surprised that I was still tired. He laughed.
"Still tired, huh?" Seth asked me.
"Yeah, nightmares wear me out," I admitted.
"You should sleep," he said.
I shook my head. "The nightmares," I whispered. "I don't want to have any more." I looked down at my hands and fumbled.
"I'd imagine you wouldn't," Seth said. He took my hand and lifted me off the bed. "I guess you have a right to be tired," he said as we walked down the hallway. "It's five in the morning."
"Oh no," I murmured. "I didn't wake Leah or Sue, did I?"
"Nah," he assured me, ruffling my hair. "Those two sleep deeper than your average bear during hibernation." He chuckled. We were in the living room and I could see the darkness still pouring in from the outside.
"Couch not too hard for you?" he asked. I shook my head no and he motioned for me to sit next to him. I walked over and sat down.
"You're not tired?" I asked.
"No, actually. I guess your dream just gave me a lot to think about."
"I'm sure it did that to both of us." I grimaced and he smiled. I laid my head down on his lap and he bent forward to peck my forehead.
"Sleep, my angel," he whispered. I smiled as my eyes started to close. His hand gently stroked through my hair and caressed my cheek occasionally. I slept soundly with no fuss over dreams for hours and, when I woke, Seth's hand was resting on my shoulder and his eyes were closed. A barely visible smile was still placed on his face. I stood up, careful not to jostle him, and went to get a change of clothes. It was only then that I noticed Leah and Sue still hadn't awoken. It was a Saturday and ten in the morning, a perfect moment to enjoy sleep.
I dug in my bag in search for a pair of jeans and a shirt to wear when I felt my phone vibrating. A text message from Alice. I flipped open the phone and read it.
Good morning, Jazzy. I see you just woke up. I don't want to frighten you, sweetie, but I had a vision. The Volturi will find out tonight and I want you to know how sorry I am that I didn't keep my promise. No, they will not accompany us back to Forks. You will be safe there, trust in that. And, Jasmine I'm so sorry, but none of us are coming back. I left money in your drawer back at the house were you ever to need it. There's also some in your bag, in case you haven't noticed. I hope you have a good life, Jasmine. Seth will take care of you, I don't need a vision to tell me that. Jasper and I love you dearly. Don't ever forget us.
I shut the phone. Tears were spilling over. My nightmare was becoming a reality. Without thinking, I changed into a sweatshirt and jeans, slung my bag over my shoulder, and dialed information on my cell phone.
"Hello?" a female voice asked.
"Hello, I need a taxi," I said firmly but quietly. She asked questions and I gave her answers. Half an hour later, a yellow cab was parked outside the house. I took money Alice had given me out of my bag and reached for the doorknob. Before I turned it, there was something I'd forgotten to do. Quickly, I penned a note to Seth explaining everything and begging him not to follow me. I folded it and left it next to him. I kissed him a quick goodbye and stepped out into the pouring rain, then into the cab. I told the driver where I was headed and paid him in advance. I fought back tears as I made my great escape.
Author's Note: Just for kicks, I've decided to ask you all how old you think I am. I'm really just curious. I've had tons of people guess and I want to know what you guys, my readers, think. If you know, please don't ruin it for others! And I'm a morbidly curious person. shrugs Thanks for reading! You're all made of awesome!