Mondays were the worst. You've just got over the exhaustion of the week before and then you're thrown right back into it all.
I sighed, heaving myself out of bed. After a quick shower I headed back to my room. Jasper was out hunting and he couldn't go back to school as he didn't have a parental guardian to sign him up. We had already decided on a cover story for his return; he and Alice had split up and it was a bit too tense at the house. They still had the Forks house so Jasper had decided to move back here. We figured this should be good enough for Jessica's gossip and she should have a field day spreading rumours. If I spent more time denying the rumours then I wouldn't have to go too far into the details of why Jasper was really here. The boys had had a great training session yesterday apparently. Me and Emily had just left them too it.
I dressed quickly in my pink skinnys, an old band tee-shirt and my black chucks. Noticing that there was enough sun to need them, I grabbed my Ray Bans and bag before heading down stairs to grab a pop tart for my breakfast. As I opened the door to leave, Jasper appeared right in front of me.
"Hey Bells! You didn't think you could get away without me do you?"
"Hey Jas! I wasn't planning to. I just didn't know you would be back so soon."
Jasper smiled widely at me before looking sheepishly into my eyes. "Do you mind if I drive you to school today Bella?"
Just the way he looked at me with those big, round, golden, eyes made me cave.
"Fine! But we're taking your truck AND you have to have dinner with me and Charlie tonight. Human food. No cheating."
"That's fine by me sugar! I don't mind human food that much to be honest. Did you never notice that I was the only one eating on the Cullens table?"
When I thought about it Jasper always had less to throw away than the others "I guess not…anything you prefer?"
"I'll have anything you like! Don't change your plans for me sweetheart."
"Hmmm…lasagne then. Right lets go!"
We climbed into the truck and cranked up the music as Jasper pulled out of the drive. The ride you school was quiet but not uncomfortable; I had always been at ease with Jasper.
When we pulled into the lot I briefly kissed his cheek then jumped out shouting, "see you tonight Jas!"
As I looked around there were people staring at both of us and a crowd of the usual gossipers were waiting to bombard me with questions as Jasper pulled away.
I rolled my eyes at their pathetic neediness and walked over to Angela and Ben.
"Hey Ange, Ben." I greeted giving them both a hug.
Angela instantly began her questioning. "So you and another Cullen Bella? What's he doing here? When did he get back? What about the Pixie?"
"Well firstly he's a Whitlock, that's his real last name, secondly he got back Friday night because he needed some time away from the family and they still have the house here, and finally him and Alice split up before he left."
"It's a scandal!" I heard from behind me. I turned to see Jessica furiously typing away on her phone. "Hey guys, I've gotta run! I've got a lot of work to do today!"
Jessica ran off still typing away as she went. I turned back around to Angela.
"I take it she was stood behind me the whole time and by work she means rumours to spread."
"We know her too well." Angie laughed. "Well come on guys we've got lessons to attend you know!"
Throughout the day I was bombarded by questions about the Cullen family and my involvement with them. By the end of the day there were quite a few new rumours going around. My personal favourite was that Jasper had killed the entire family and was now hiding away at the chief of police's house to avoid suspicion.
10 minutes before the end of school I received a text:
I'll be waiting outside for you doll x
I smiled to myself before counting down the minutes till the end of gym. Gym wasn't the bane of my existence any more. I'd had a lot more time on my hands so had been working out more with the boys from La Push. I was much more co-ordinated than before.
When the end of school finally came I walked outside with Angela as calmly as I could manage but, as soon as I saw the red truck, I bolted for it, pulling the door open and jumping inside as quickly as I could manage.
"Miss me Bella?" Jasper chuckled.
I paused, slightly embarrassed at how obvious it was. "Not at all. What gave you that impression?"
I looked across at Jasper and instantly felt guilty for my last words. He looked so crestfallen and shocked.
"Hey Jasper," receiving no response, I took his hand in my own, "I was only joking you know. I nearly knocked over about 10 people just to see you about 5 seconds earlier."
When I looked back at his face I saw the mischievous smirk.
"You really are gullible aren't you Bella?" he laughed.
I ripped my hand away from his and moved to the other side of the truck. Crossing my arms I glared out of the windshield attempting to keep my emotions in check.
"Bella? Honey I'm sorry if I upset you." I felt his gaze on the side of my face. Surely Jasper would know I was only teasing him from my emotions?
JPov
"You really are gullible aren't you Bella?" I teased her. Bella did exactly as I predicted and moved to the other side of the cab. As she huffed angrily and crossed her arms I tried to get a read on her emotions, just to make sure I hadn't really upset her. The problem was I couldn't feel her; it was like she wasn't even sat there. Making sure my gift was still working I tuned into the nearest set of emotions. Those were the ones of a stressed, angry Mr Banner who was rushing out to his car. We were the last ones left in the parking lot as all the other students had sped off home as soon as they got out of the doors.
Knowing my gift worked I instantly panicked. What if Bella was really mad at me? The longer I left it without apologising the madder she could be.
"Bella? Honey I'm sorry if I upset you. I don't think my gift is working on you Bella. I can feel other people but just not you. Please forgive me! I didn't mean to upset you Bella. I'll go if you want." I was becoming increasingly more worried the longer I babbled on. What if Bella never wanted to talk to me again? As my brain thought of every possible scenario I felt a warm hand press against my mouth.
"Jasper stop. You're babbling."
"Sorry." I mumbled, her hand still pressed against my lips.
"Stop apologising. I'm not mad at you really Jas. I was just teasing you but I didn't think it would work because you would feel my emotions."
"I meant what I said Bella. I genuinely couldn't feel what you were feeling. I think Carlisle may have been right before, I think you might be a shield."
Bella sighed heavily, moving her hand away from my mouth. "Please Jasper," she whispered, "don't ring him and tell him or anything. I don't want to be prodded and poked like I'm in a zoo."
"Hey," I drawled, "I'm not gonna tell him Bells. That would mean a possible run-in with the exes and we don't want that now do we?"
She giggled softly. "I guess not. C'mon, we should get back now if I'm cooking for you and Charlie."
I pulled out of the parking lot and headed back to Bella's. As soon as we got there Bella was in the kitchen working away. I could really tell she loved her cooking as she worked quickly through the task at hand. As she cheered up I began to feel her emotions again. She was definitely happier than before. I helped where I could, setting the table and pouring drinks. As I heard Charlie driving down the street I warned Bella who just smiled at me happily and carried on with her cooking.
Charlie paused before leaving the cruiser, obviously noticing my truck parked at the bottom of the drive. As he walked through the door he was sending off waves of apprehension, curiosity and annoyance. He rounded the corner, gun belt still placed firmly around his waist.
"Dad, this is Jasper, Edward's foster brother."
I stepped forwards, holding my hand out. "Jasper Whitlock sir, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. Bella's told me a lot about you."
He took my hand in a firm handshake, obviously trying to intimidate me.
"I thought you were a Hale, that blond girl's brother?"
"No sir, that's just what people thought so we let them believe that. Whitlock is actually my real name; I just used Hale when the Cullens adopted me."
"So, Jasper," he sat down, motioning to the chair opposite him that I quickly took. "What brings you back to Forks?"
As I felt Bella's panic peak I decided to go with an explanation closer to the truth. "Well sir, before the family left Forks it came to light that Alice and Edward had been cheating on me and Bella for quite some time. Before we left I made Edward promise me that he would tell Bella what had been happening. He was the only person who said goodbye to Bella and was the only one to see her after her party. When we moved to New York things were extremely strained between the family. Carlisle and Esme didn't think Edward and Alice had done anything wrong but I was livid with them both Edward in particular. Not only for taking Alice away from me but for hurting Bella aswell. Because I wasn't particularly talking to anyone, Carlisle and Esme basically kicked me out. This was the first place I thought of coming to. I wanted to see how Bella was doing."
Charlie was sat with his fists tightly curled around the edge of the table. "So you're telling me that that BOY was cheating on my daughter all that time?"
I nodded slowly. "Don't worry though sir. Carlisle had to do quite a bit of work on his nose once I was finished with him." I smiled.
Charlie slowly removed his fingers and said gravely, "I hope you got a few punches in for me there son. Oh, and enough with this 'sir' stuff, call me Charlie." He smiled.
"Well boys enough of that! Lets eat!" Bella interrupted, placing the food on the table.
"A Cullen is eating with us! Edward never did that!" Charlie said, shocked.
I laughed, "Well Charlie, I'm not at all like Edward."
We all tucked in to our meal, and let me say, Bella was an excellent cook. After shooing us away and refusing help to clean up me and Charlie retreated to the living room (ironic I know!) to talk all about sport. It turns out we both liked the same teams and Charlie even asked me if I wanted to go fishing with him some time.
It wasn't long before Bella joined us again.
"So Jasper, where are you staying?" Charlie asked.
"Nowhere at the moment. I'll probably just find a motel and stay there. I don't have a key to the house."
"Stay here son! You're more than welcome! We can set a camp bed up in Bella's room!"
The only thing I felt from Bella was pure shock.
"Are you sure Charlie? I wouldn't want to impose on you."
"Its not a problem at all son!"
Just at that moment the doorbell rang. Bella jumped up to get it; I was too immersed in conversation with Charlie to recognise the scent.
That was when I heard Bella whisper "Edward, Alice."
AN
Disclaimer: I wish I owned it, but I don't
I'm not going to make up an excuse for not updating; I haven't really had much inspiration recently.
A shout out to LeeLee Lollipop! Without her this wouldn't have been updated today!
Review lovelies and I promise I wont take this long again!