Author's Note: Greetings fellow fanfictioners *erm I think thats a word, if not I just made it one* Hope all is well with everyone. I still dont own twilight or the characters, though in my head Jasper does belong to me, haha. Amyways, here is the long awaited JADE POV! I hope you all enjoy it. So as a side note, I have made a video to go along with this story, though, I have been having some trouble getting it posted, so just keep an eye out for updates on it! Onward we march to Chapter 34 of ICFY. Read/Enjoy/Review!!!
Chapter 34: Suddenly Everything Has Changed
"If you have love in your life it can make up for a great many things you lack. If you don't have it, no matter what else there is, it's not enough."-Amy Landers
Jade's POV
To say that the last few days have been pure insanity is nothing short of an understatement. Even now as I lay in the warmth of Edward's arms my mind wont be quiet. I feel bad for Alice, and even worse for Ana. Funny how that should work. Alice loses her boyfriend in a horrific manner and yet I feel worse for my best friend. I roll over with a groan and see Edward sleeping, finally. Dark shadows under his eyes, the only evidence of the stress that has been put upon all of us over the last few days. I slide out of bed hoping that my movements don't wake him, and I thank whatever lucky stars that I have left that he stays sleeping, undisturbed by my stealth like exit from the bed. I walk into the bathroom closing the door silently behind me, and pull out my phone. I know I shouldn't be calling Ana this early. She hasn't been sleeping, and what little sleep she has been getting has been riddled with nightmares from the accident. I dial her number and listen as her phone rings and smile slightly to myself when her sleep filled voice answers after the third ring.
" Hey, sorry to be calling you so early. Its just the only chance that I would have to call, full schedule today. Anyways, how's the trip going?" I ask, sliding onto the bathroom counter.
" It hit a few snags, but its going okay," Ana answers, her voice immediately awake. Another thing I have envied about my best friend is she can go from zero to sixty in no time flat, unlike me. It takes me at least half of the day to feel like I am somewhat functional.
" What kind of snags?" I ask feeling somewhat worried.
" Hold on, I don't want to wake Jasper," she says and I can hear a slight rustling around before a short stream of curses flow from her mouth. " Sorry I dropped the phone. Anyways, snags. Well lets see, a six hour road trip turned into a twelve hour one, because both Jasper and Brody were to stubborn to stop and ask for directions. We found one good band though, which is pretty awesome. Though Brody would say otherwise, he went crazy Jade you wouldn't believe it. He's using again, and he and Jasper got into a huge fight in the middle of the parking lot of the club last night."
" Wait Jasper and Brody got into a fight again? Is Jasper okay?" I ask, swinging my legs back and forth.
" Yeah he's fine, I'm the one with the shiner, oh shit," she says, and I can feel the anger bubbling inside of me.
" What do you mean you're the one with the shiner?" I ask, my voice raising with every word that I say.
" Well see, uh, I was trying to break up the fight. Brody swung at Jasper, missed by a country mile, and bam, black eye for Ana," she says, and I can tell that she is trying to make light of the situation for my sake.
" Are you all right?" I ask, trying my hardest to stay calm.
" Yes, I'm fine. Anyways, Brody got arrested, so I don't know what is going to happen to him, and given the circumstances, Jasper talked to his mom when we got back, and we are cutting the trip short, so as soon as he wakes up and we check out of here, we will be on our way back," she says, and I smile at the thought of having my best friend back sooner than expected.
" Well, that's good at least. So besides Brody being psychotic, anything else interesting happen?" I ask genuinely curious. There is a long pause from the other side of the line, so long in fact that I look at my phone to see if maybe the call was dropped. " Hello Ana?"
" Oh interesting, uhm, no nothing interesting," she says in a rushed tone and I know immediately that she is lying.
" Nice try, spill it," I say, and I hear her take a deep breath.
" Okay, so you know a lot has happened. And lets face it, as much as I try and say that I am over Jasper we both know that I'm not," she starts saying and already I know what happened. They slept together. That bastard. I know that I shouldn't think so poorly of Jasper, especially since my best friend is in love with him, but he should know better. He knows what Ana feels, so he should stay as far away as possible and yet he doesn't. reason argues that they are consenting adults, but reason be damned that's my best friend and I wont stand by and see her hurt again.
" Damn it Ana, you guys slept together didn't you?" I ask my voice more accusatory than intended.
" Yes," she says breathlessly, " I don't regret it though. I know I'm being dumb, I know what Jasper said, I know that Jasper chose to walk away. What harm can it do to be with him that way, I will take that over nothing at all." I roll my eyes and glare at the wall.
" Your being so stupid about this Annalisa," I say anger boiling inside of me.
" I didn't ask for your opinion Jade. I don't expect you to understand, you have all that you want, so I don't expect you to be able to grasp the gravity of the decison I am making for myself. I love him, and if sleeping with him and having just those few moments with him is all that I can have, then I am going to take it," she says back her voice hot with anger.
" Fine, you don't want my opinion then don't come crying to me the next time he hurts you," I say hotly hanging up the phone. I regret it immediately. Honestly I don't know what came over me. She was right, I knew that. She was allowed to make her own decisions even if I think that they are the wrong ones. Oh how I wish Jasper was here right now, one so that I could shake him and make him realize that one he is being stupid for denying not only Ana, but himself of a wonderful relationship, and two, so that I could punch him in the face for using Ana as some sort of second rate friend with benefits. I groan closing my eyes, today was going to be a bad day.
Bad day didn't begin to describe the hellish day I was subjected too. First it was raining, second it was freezing cold outside, and thirdly the car decided to not want to start on my home from work. That's why I am here, standing outside of the lab, shivering and wet, waiting for Edward to pick me up. I look at my phone for the millionth time wishing that I would see some sort of message from Ana. Of course there wasn't anything, and there wouldn't be, because we are both too stubborn. I feel a small ray of relief when I see Edward approaching in Emmett's jeep, and I cant help but to laugh at him. He looks ridiculous behind the wheel. It is definitely only a car that Emmett looks right driving. I hop into the jeep thankful for the shelter from the rain.
" What took you so long?" I ask, shaking the water from my hair.
" Massive accident, oh and Ana's home," he says nonchalantly as he pulls out. Great, so now I have to face the hell storm that's coming my way after having such a crappy day. Wonderful. It just keeps getting better and better.
" Hey, you okay?" Edward asks, reaching over to hold my hand. In that instant for at least this moment it is all okay. It still astonishes me that he can make things better for me so easily.
" Yeah I'm fine. Just me and Ana had a stupid fight earlier when I called her," I say, laying back against the seat.
" I see, and what was it about?" he asks, sliding his thumb against my hand.
" What do you think? Her and Jasper slept together last night, and she thinks its okay. I mean I know that she loves him, and I know that he loves her, but I don't think that she realizes that it isn't just sex, at least not for her," I say, looking out of the window watching the rain fall.
" You think its just sex for Jasper?" he asks, his tone almost offended.
" Yes, I do. I don't think that Jasper is ready to fully admit that he wants to be with Ana, and I think that he is using sex to fill in whatever void it is that he has," I say sitting up in my seat to look at him.
" I know that Jasper hasn't exactly been perfect with Ana, but you think too little of him," Edward says, and I look at him astonished.
" Back up a second. Jasper has done nothing but play emotional tug of war with Ana for the last few months and you expect me to have him on some sort of, pedestal of morality? Especially since I know that he is sleeping with her, but wont commit to her?" I ask enraged by what Edward was saying.
" Not at all, I just wish that you weren't so one sided in this whole thing. Don't you think that Ana is old enough to make her own decisions? Including who she chooses to sleep with? I also know that Ana knows that she is playing a dangerous game with her heart, she also knows its her choice to make no one else's," he says calmly. I sit stumped, he always manages to turn things around. Anything that I find to be a huge problem, he makes minute.
" Ugh, your right, as always. Damn it," I say, as we pull into the drive way of the house. He just laughs as we dash from the car into the shelter of the house.
I open the door and find everyone sitting around the living room as if they were waiting for us. Including a red eyed and exhausted Alice.
" Hello," I say, and Ana eyes me cautiously.
" Hey, there you guys are. Family meeting," Rosalie says, and I sit down next to Ana.
" Okay," I say and I wait for someone to talk.
" You guys know that the last few days have been hard," Alice says choking up slightly and Ana immediately gets up and wraps her arm around her. Its when Alice lifts her hand to hold Ana's that I see their connection. What they went through together has changed their tentative friendship to a bond that no one here will ever be able to fully understand. " I have spent the last two nights in the apartment and realized that I cant stay there. I want to come stay here."
" Okay, when do you want to move in, tonight?" I ask, its only a given that Alice should come back here. She needs the people that care about her the most to help her through this.
" I don't know, I cant wrap my head around it. There is just so much, funeral arrangements and classes and," Alice says her voice breaking until she is sobbing as she clings to Ana. It breaks my heart to see the once bouncy and energetic Alice so down, so dead inside. I feel tears well inside of me, and look around as silence falls upon us all. No one speaks, and I doubt anyone of us are breathing.
" Look, Alice, why don't you stay here, and some of us will get to your apartment, and start packing for you. You don't have to worry about any of it, we'll take care of it," I say, and I get to my feet.
" Yeah, we'll take care of all of it sis," Emmett says, resting a hand on both Alice and Ana.
An hour later I find myself sitting on the floor of Alice's apartment sorting through things. We decided that it would work best if Rosalie and Jasper stayed with Alice at the house, and Edward, Emmett, Ana, and myself would pack up the apartment.
" You know, I don't know how we are going to get through all of this in one night," Emmett says from the doorway. I look up at him and smile softly.
" With a lot of coffee, and because we know that the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can have Alice at home where she belongs," Edward says, carrying a box from the room.
" Speaking of coffee, I'm going to make a run to the store, anyone need anything?" Ana asks, standing up shaking out her legs. Emmett writes down a list and Ana groans.
" I'll go with you," I say, and she just nods at me. I follow her out of the apartment and we get half way to Jasper's car, which he easily gave to Ana to borrow while ours is out of commission, before I stop and hug Ana.
" I'm sorry, I should have never," I start saying and Ana cries as she hugs me back.
" Shut up. You don't have to apologize, it isn't the first fight we have been in, and I doubt it will be the last. It wasn't until I saw Alice again that I remembered how pointless fighting is, especially when its with someone you care about. You never know when they are going to be gone," she says, wiping her sleeve under her eyes.
" I know," I say, walking arm and arm with her to the car. " Do you need me to drive?"
" No, its okay. I was so pissed this morning after our fight that I all but dragged Jasper out of bed, and refused to let him drive," Ana says smiling faintly as she starts the car. " Well that's something at least," I murmur. She was right. What she said about fighting with the people that you care about. It all seems pointless when they can be gone in the blink of an eye.