Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, any of the characters in Twilight, or anything related to the books and/or movies. If I did, I would be way too busy- doing dirty things with the Cullen boys- to sit down at my laptop and write this story. The scenes that I did borrow from Stephenie Meyer have been revamped to fit my story.

Learning to Live Again

Chapter Seven: Breaking Down

Charlie had examined the kitchen table for all of five minutes before deciding that it would be best to order pizza for dinner. He had called in the order while I said good-bye to Jasper on the porch, knowing that he would be returning in the evening after a quick hunt in the forest.

I had excused myself after dinner in order to call Angela to get the homework that I had missed during my absence from school. Thankfully, it was all lessons that I had done while in Phoenix. Unfortunately this meant that I would have all evening to contemplate how much I missed my now-ex-boyfriend and how in the world I was going to survive the rest of my life without him.

People always say that it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. I understood the general concept; however, I was going to need some more convincing to actually believe that load of crap. I would never regret our year together, but I couldn't see past the pain that I was in right now with losing my other half. Wanting to wallow in my misery, I walked over to my CD player and pressed the play button.

Nothing happened. I checked to make sure that the player was plugged in. The plug and outlet seemed fine, so I opened the lid to see if my CD had slid off the track. I took an offensive step back when I found that the CD was missing from its permanent home. I reflexively opened my desk drawer and yanked out the scrapbook that my mother had given me for my birthday.

Before opening the book- scared of what I would find- I walked backward and sat on my bed. I knew what I would find and that I should brace myself physically and emotionally. Taking a deep breath, I opened the cover and allowed another tear to fall from my eyes.

He had taken my lullaby and the pictures that I had of him. He really had taken everything that I was. Everything that we were. I screamed loudly, reveling in the echo that I could hear down the street. Unable to control my anger again, I threw the scrapbook toward my bedroom window, hoping that it would break the glass so that I could soon follow it to the ground below.

"Ow! Jeez, Bella, you throw harder than I suspected," Jasper said as he entered in through my window. My scrapbook had rebounded off his chest and fallen back onto the floor of my room. He finished climbing in and was in front of me before I could blink and adjust my eyes to the dim light coming in from outside.

I felt Jasper's now familiar arms wrap around my waist as he pulled me against him. I rested my face in shoulder, sniffling softly to stop myself from crying again. I was tired of wasting my tears on something that could no longer be repaired. The more I cried for him, the more evident it became that there was no turning back from his decision.

I pulled back slightly from Jasper, leaving our arms around each other's waists. Looking up at him, I finally said what we had both been waiting for me to realize. "It's over."

Once the words were spoken, the floodgates to my emotions would not close. My knees went out and I would've hit the floor had he not been supporting my weight. I was no longer numb; therefore, when I started crying I could feel every tear as they escaped my eyes. The pain was so unbearable that I felt as if I was floating and watching the scene before me unfold.

I could see my body slump in Jasper's arms as I started shaking with sobs and gasping for air. The sobbing and gasping soon turned into screams of agitation and moans of hurt. I cried out his name, able to finally say what I had been fearful of for the past few days.

Jasper lifted me into his arms and carried me over to my bed. He tried to lay me onto the soft mattress, but I wouldn't let him go. I clang to his shoulders, pulling him down onto the piece of furniture with me. I curled my body into his, silently begging for his strength through this inevitable event.

We both knew this would be a long night ahead of us and I was grateful that he had gone hunting before coming back to my house. There was no way I could've survived without his closeness. I clutched onto Jasper all through the night, my body never stopping the sobbing and shaking for almost seven hours. Charlie never checked on me before leaving for work. I was once again thankful that my father was as uncomfortable with confrontation and emotions as I was.

When I started hearing more activity outside my still open window, I noticed that the sun was beginning to shine into my room. I looked at Jasper's face in the sunlight and gasped. I had seen Edward in the sunlight before, but it didn't compare. The older brother had striking facial features that were only highlighted by the sparkling effect that the sun had on them. Normally I would've blushed, but I knew that Jasper was sending me as much relaxation as he could muster.

I finally took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. My sobbing had quieted. I was done crying for Edward Cullen. I leaned toward Jasper Hale's face and placed a soft kiss on his lips, thanking him for all he had done for me. When I pulled back, I was rewarded with Jasper's signature raised eyebrow, asking me to explain my actions.

"You'll never know how much you've helped me, even if you are an empath. And you'll never know how much you mean to me and how much I rely on you, Jasper. Thank you," I said, pulling myself back into his chest to hug him.

I smiled as I felt him squeeze me tighter to him and place a chaste kiss on the top of my head.