AN: Hey, guys I wanted to thank you for all the reviews, you're awesome.

Hope you enjoy this chapter. Also, incase you end up wondering, in this story Jasper and Bella have a conjoined bathroom.

Disclaimer: Twilight isn't ours.

As we pulled into the driveway I noticed that Renée's car was missing. I breathed a sigh of relief because I wouldn't have to explain what happened to me. Jasper slowly parked the car, being careful of the way he shifted gears. I leaned down to gather the things that had fallen out of my bag when we hit a bump going at Jasper's maniac speeds, well as maniac as one can get driving the forty year old beast that was my truck.

As I reached for the door handle it swung open revealing a very stoic looking Jasper. While trying to get out of the truck I managed to pull on my wounds, sending a searing shock of pain through my body. My knees buckled and I winced, causing Jasper to look down at me and furrow his brow.

"It's nothing," I said, before turning away, trying to escape his critical eye.

He wasn't having it, so he gently took my forearm, leading me towards the front door. He pulled out the key that Renée gave him and stepped inside, pulling me behind him. Once inside he didn't let go of my arm. In fact, he kept pulling me until we got upstairs and stood in front of my bedroom door. He stepped inside, pulling me to the bed where he pushed on my shoulder, indicating that I sit down.

I looked at him with angry eyes and opened my mouth to say something about his behavior, but he put a slim finger on my lips, stopping all words and proper brain function. When I looked up he was walking through my bathroom door to his room. I watched curious and nervous about what was coming next.

Tossing his jacket on his bed, he returned to the bathroom. I saw him take a hand towel from the rack and then wet it under the faucet. He went to the medicine cabinet, grabbed the first aid kit, a bottle of peroxide, and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. After making his way back to my room and placing the supplies on the bed, he kneeled before me. Jasper slowly pushed my jacket off my shoulders, being gentle and precise with his touch, then I hesitantly tossed it towards my computer desk.

He pushed his sleeves up above his forearm just before doing the same with my shirt, revealing my cuts. As Jasper carefully wiped the dried blood from my wrist with the wet towel, I decided to take the time to really look at him. His smoldering eyes seemed even more blue today as they zeroed in on my cuts, and his hair was an adorable mess with some strands hanging lazily in his eyes. My eyes wandered further down to his chest, which was rising and falling with his even breathing. But I tried not to spend too much time on that, so I forced myself to focus on what he was doing. That's when I noticed something…wrong. There was a faint mark on his arm; hardly noticeable, but there all the same. I tried to see what it was, but as I leaned to take a closer look, he applied some alcohol to the dry part of the towel and repeated the process of cleaning my cuts. When he did this there was an excruciating sting that took my mind off of everything else. He looked up at my pained face that was now close to tears and then blew on my wrist to relieve some of the burn, as expected his cold breath felt amazing against the burn. After putting the peroxide on, he added Neosporin and then wrapped both my wrists in gauze.

Jasper then stood and sat next to me on the bed. He tilted my head a little to the right and moved my hair out of the way to see the cuts on my neck. I wanted to tell him it was okay; that he didn't have to take care of me, but as I once again felt the sting of alcohol, the pain wiped everything out of my mind. Like he had before, he blew lightly on the cuts to relieve the sting, but this time he got a little closer. Some unexpected and uncontrollable feeling took over right then and all I could think about was how close those lips were to my neck. How he was close enough that I could tell how unbelievably good he smelt. I absentmindedly bit my lip and let a whimper escape. It's not like he could hear it anyway.

Too soon he moved away and gently put a bandage in place.

Taking my wrists in his hands, he looked down at me and ran his thumbs over the fresh gauze. I smiled at the relief I saw in his eyes.

"Thank you," I said.

He nodded.

"I mean for everything. If you hadn't been there I would have come away with far worse damage. That guy, Mike…he likes to do things like that to me, but generally he poses no threat because there are people around. The guy's a nuisance but I can handle him," I finished lamely.

I knew very well that I couldn't handle Mike. I had the marks to show for it, but I didn't need anyone fighting for me. I'm definitely not worth the trouble.

He quirked an eyebrow and gave me an unbelieving look. For a moment we just sat there, my hands still in his, and all I could do was look back into those unfathomable eyes, wondering what he could be thinking. That is, until I remembered my question from earlier on.

"Jasper, in the book store….how did you find me?"

He studied my face for a second and then shook his head. As he stood up and walked towards the door I called his name.

"Jasper!"

Again, I don't know what I expected, but he just walked back through the bathroom door; leaving me in a hurry. As the door slammed I winced and fell back on my bed.

"Damn it…"

Later on when I noticed my mom had yet to come home, I found my –barely used—cell phone in my bag and dialed Renée's number. It rang four times…

Hello,

You have reached Renée Dawyer, I am currently unavailable

But there's still hope! Just leave you're name and number and I promise

To get back to you ASAP! Bye!

I rolled my eyes as I shut my phone. I laid back on the bed and tried to figure something out. I was emotionally spent, physically tired and down right hungry…I guess I can feed myself…I stumbled around my bedroom trying to find some clothes to change into; eventually settling on a pair of soffies and a black TWLOHA t-shirt that my mom accidently bleached.

I walked downstairs trying to being extra careful at the last step, because if I fell I knew Jasper wouldn't be there to save me…not three times in one day… I thought anyway.

When I reached the kitchen I found a note on the counter.

Dear Bella and Jasper,

I will be out for a little while longer than I thought.

I ran in to Charlotte and we decided that today was perfect for a

Girl's day out! Dinner is in the oven. Turn it on high for about thirty minutes.

There are also cookies in there so be sure to take them out before you heat the food.

Alright, don't wait up for me, bye.

Love mom

I looked over to the clock in the living room…six thirty. As I walked over to the oven to take out the cookies and turn on the food, I realized that I would have to have dinner alone with Jasper. Of all the things that could happen right now this was probably the worst. I mean a thirty minute car ride with him was awkward but what about a full meal, how the hell would that work out?

Maybe I could just fix dinner and then eat later…nah…I'm way too hungry.

As I sat the cookies on the table and closed the oven I decided that I would just face it like a man, a squeamish, fearful, girly man but a man none the less.

When I walked back upstairs I saw that Jasper's door was slightly ajar. I let my curiosity get the best of me and walked over to the door. What I saw I wasn't ready for, I expected a shirtless Jasper at most, but no…not this. Jasper was there, but he was sleeping. His face the picture of innocence; I couldn't help but walk towards him. After standing there in awe for a while, I finally kneeled at his side and lightly traced the scars that were on his arms. They looked like deep scratches that had healed over and you could only see them in bright light.

"I don't know why you are so hard to figure out, and I don't know why that bothers me. Maybe one day we might be great friends, but right now you make me feel …I don't even know…there aren't words to describe it…wow talk about Alexithymia… I don't know why you blatantly dismiss me. I mean really there are already enough people who don't like me and think I'm a freak, even my own step father…" I whispered the last part.

I was in tears by now and they were starting to fall on Jasper's hand. "I have never felt so alone or used…, that damn Mike and his vile life. Jasper why do people only want to hurt me? Am I not good enough to be loved? Please tell me, so then maybe I can fix it and have the will to live instead of just surviving for Renée…so then maybe I can stop hoping that I will have a serious accident and die," I sobbed.

All of a sudden I heard him whimper and his body shifted slightly, turning him more towards me. I looked at him and saw that a single tear was rolling down his pained face. Instinctively, I lifted my hand to his face and gently wiped the tear away. He was probably having a bad dream….

"No Jasper, don't cry for me," I said quietly, pretending that someone really did care about me. "…it's been this way for so long, generally I can deal better than this, because I'm numb…but you…you make me feel and I'm scared shitless about what that means." I laughed at the last part.

"I think it's best I leave now before you wake up, so goodbye then…brother…" I leaned down and kissed the place where the tear had fallen. "Sweet dreams."

With that I left his room and shut the door gently behind me…

I stood in front of the mirror and wiped away my tears. Surprisingly, I felt better that I told someone my secrets and my deepest feelings. I knew he didn't hear and wouldn't say anything about it…The ultimate secret keeper…

I looked at the clock and saw that it was now seven thirty… shit!

I rushed down the stairs and into the now smoke filled kitchen, grabbing the oven mitts as I passed the island. I opened the oven and peered through the thick cloud of smoke trying to find the casserole. When I located it, I grabbed it and threw it in the sink. I then turned off the oven and turned the faucet on to put out the smoldering dish. When I had finally put out the flaming casserole I heard the smoke detector go off. I immediately detested the high pitched beeping so I went to open the back door to allow some air circulation, stood up on a stool and fanned the fog away from the annoying device.

I sank down to the floor putting my face in my oven mitt covered hands. Just then Jasper came down the steps in all his bare foot, low hanging jeans, and t-shirt glory. His face was confused as he walked in to the kitchen. Jasper looked down at me and then looked around the kitchen for –what I'm guessing—the source of the rancid smell.

When he reached the sink he raised an eyebrow and looked from the burnt crisp that was supposed to be dinner and then back at me with the same expression.

"Yes, I did it!" I yelled when he looked at me again.

As I snatched off the oven mitts and ran my hands through my hair Jasper extended his hand to me. I eyed his hand cautiously as I took it. He lead me over to the kitchen table and sat me down. When he walked towards the refrigerator I took this time to notice how he walked. It was a graceful, sexy and confidant stride that held a lot of composure to it. It was absolutely lovely…. I watched as he pulled out various ingredients and sat them on the counter.

After the hamburger, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes were out, he walked over to the sink, took out the casserole, and broken dish putting it in the trash can under the sink. He proceeded by taking a frying pan down from the hanger above the island and putting it on the burner. Once he had the meat frying, he pulled out the cutting bored and knife. He cut the vegetables with procession that only a chef could obtain from years of experience. With every slice his forearms would flex, showing off his perfectly sculpted arms. Every now and then he would glance up at me with careful eyes, and in reaction I would blush a faint crimson.

When the meat was done he pulled out taco shells from the cupboard and put everything together on a plate and sat it in front of me. I looked up at him, my eyes full of wonder as I smiled, mouthed a 'thank you' and started eating. He sat across from me as he ate and glanced at me to see my reaction to the food. It was more than likely that it was the best meal I had ever had. The silence between us was not totally awkward, but not really that comfortable either. As I got up I took our plates and did the dishes. I said another 'thank you' as I left the kitchen to head back to my room.

I went through my shower and back to my room. I was really tired so I skipped the writing that night and went straight into a deep peaceful sleep, something I hadn't had in such a long time I barely recognized it.

When I heard Renee's voice calling me I sprung from my dark blue ecstasy into immediate alertness and when I sat up I saw my mom sitting at my side with a loving smile on her face

"Hello, beautiful Isabella," she sang.

"Good morning mom."

"It's time…"

I groaned. "Okay, I'll be up in a sec."

"Bella, I'm going to work now. Go wake Jasper and you guys need to make it to school on time, it's his first day and I want it to be a good one…"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Bella I'm serious, I requested that you guys have all the same classes so you can help him if he doesn't understand something, and to translate for him if need be."

"Mom he's deaf not stupid!...but okay I'll help him."

"That's the spirit! I'm leaving bye, love you."

"Bye mom, love you too!" I yelled after her.

I walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror, my hair wasn't a total rats' nest but it definitely wasn't as well behaved as yesterday. I brushed my teeth and washed my face and then opened the other bathroom door that lead to Jasper's room. As I walked in I saw that he was asleep on his side facing away from me. I walked over to the bed and gently stroked his scars, only this time his hand grabbed my wrist, not hard enough to hurt, but just enough to shock me. He rolled on his back and looked at me with questioning eyes and a small hint of a smile playing on his lips.

"Good morning, we have to be at school in fort five minutes, so now would be a good time to get up, get dressed, and grab some breakfast." I said, my eyes wandering to his neck.

He gave a short nod and I walked back through the bathroom to get dressed. I threw on my favorite black skinny jeans, a black long sleeved shirt and a grey vest. I went to the mirror and added my dark eye shadow and black eye liner, grabbed my book bag and was out the door.

Dressing took a bit longer than planned—I don't know why but today I suddenly cared what I looked like—so when I got downstairs I had to settle for a bowl of cereal… oh joy.

I was standing at the door, with my keys in hand while waiting for Jasper. I was just about to go look for him but he came down stairs, clad in grey skinny jeans, a white long sleeve shirt and a black band hoodie. He looked almost amazing as he smelled…almost …

We sat in the car in another half awkward silence until we got to school…that's when he laughed.

AN: Reviews make us write faster :)

This chapters title is : Something To Believe In -By Aqualung

Turn out the light
And what are you left with?
Open up my hands
And find out they're empty.
Press my face to the ground
I've gotta find a reason.
Just scratching around
For something to believe in:
Something to believe in.

-TheSantiSuicide