Chapter 9: Better than Red vs. Blue
Jasper's POV:
The bottle was finished. Lazily, I threw it across the room, and it hit the bottom of the garbage can with a shatter. I started making my way towards the stairs, when my gaze landed on the passed out girl on the floor. As I stared at her innocent face, she suddenly looked eight years younger. She looked like the little girl that would play on the side of the bank, tossing stones across the top of the river. She looked like the little girl that would go to the playground with me in the middle of a rainstorm and would be laughing the next day when we ended up with a cold. She looked like the young, innocent little girl who had never done anything wrong to the world, the little girl who didn't deserve the way people treated her. She looked like the innocent little girl who was my best friend. The one I had abandoned. But more than any of that, what she looked like sent stabs of pain through me.
She looked like Annabelle.
Before I knew what I was doing, I had Bella in my arms, and was carrying her up the stairs towards her room.
Her contagious laughter filled the car as I drove down the dark streets at one in the morning, us singing along to the stereo as it blasted through the car.
"That concert was awesome!" she screamed over the loud music. Annabelle was 2 years younger than me. She was my sister, my support, the one person in this world I care about the most.
"I know!" I called back. I drove steadily down the chilly street, and I was crossing the intersection, when the bright lights blared from her side of the car. My head snapped over to look at her, just as I saw the other car headed straight for us, until it made contact, shattering our car.
"ANNABELLE!" I screamed.
-Next day-
I stared off into space as the doctor shined the bright light in my eyes. I flinched away. The bright light...Annabelle.
I jumped up from the hospital bed and scrambled towards the door, until I was stopped by my parents. "Where are you going?" my father asked in a strong, yet dead voice.
"I'm going to see Annabelle." I stated, attempting to push past them. They exchanged a burdened look, before my mother broke down into hysterical sobs. My father placed his hand on my shoulder, stopping me. I stared up into his tortured face, wondering why he was stopping me.
"Son, we need to talk." His voice was low and gruff from stress.
"We can talk later. I want to see Annabelle." I stated, trying to push past him again. He held his position. I stared into his bloodshot eyes, searching for any sign of an explanation. Why wouldn't he let me by?
"I want to see my sister!" I yelled, fighting to get past him. "Why won't you let me see Annabelle?"
"Son..." he started, sadly. He looked terrible. It was almost as if...
"I WANT TO SEE MY SISTER!" I screamed, my anger breaking loose. "LET ME SEE ANNABELLE! LET ME SEE HER!" I thrashed against his grip.
"Jasper, she's gone. Annabelle's...dead."
I leaned against the wall of the hallway for support, and stumbled to the ground, with Bella in my arms. I sobbed silently as I stared at her innocent face. I knew why it was better if Bella and I weren't friends. I was a mess. I was broken and couldn't be fixed.
And being around Bella reminded me of the pain of my loss.
I stood back up and placed Bella in her bed, before I walked out into the hallway and collapsed against the wall again and cried. The news of Annabelle's death hit me like a train, again and again.
Annabelle...she's dead.
Bella's POV:
The morning birds chirped freely, announcing the morning and beginning of a new a day. The dim light shone through the room as the sun fought its way to break free of the clouds. I reluctantly opened my eyes, taking in my surroundings. I was in my bed in the room I was staying in, fully dressed in yesterday's clothes. I hadn't remembered walking to my room. The last thing I remembered was falling into a hazy sleep on the living room floor.
Every bone in my body ached. I could barely move. My ribs were worse than they were yesterday, and I'm sure that the black eye had developed by now. I sat still in the bed, listening to the birds sing...
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIING
Until the fire alarm went off.
As quickly as I could, I jumped up from the bed and ran to my door, swinging it open and running out into the hallway at the same time as everyone else. Rosalie ran out of her room, screaming at the top of her lungs, soaking wet. I looked down the hall at the fire alarm, to see Jasper standing under it, smoking a cigarette.
We all glared at him.
He looked at us in confusion, before looking at the fire alarm, and back to his cigarette.
"Oops," he smirked, putting it out.
"I'll show you oops you fucking lifeless—" Hale screamed, storming over to him. I ran to stand beside Jasper, and glared at her. She stopped dead in her tracks and narrowed her eyes at me.
"Shut your fucking shallow face, Hale." I snapped. That was when Cullen stepped forward, standing next to Hale.
"Don't talk to her like that!" he stuck up for her. I wasn't surprised. "Go fucking die."
"Woa, woa, woa." McCarty but-in, standing next to me and Jasper. "That's messed up."
"You're the one messed up, McCarty." Alice interjected, standing beside Cullen and Hale. "You crush everything you touch."
We all glared at each other for a long moment.
"So, this is how the sides are going to be divided." I said finally. It was me, Emmett, and jasper, versus Edward, Alice, and Rosalie. We were all going to kill each other.
"Yup." Rosalie said, glaring at me.
"Well, I'll see you in hell." I said, before turning on my heel and going to get ready for school.