I'd like to thank everyone for all of your reviews, alerts, faves, and your messages. You have no idea how encouraging they all are. Victoria will make an enemy of your choice her pet. She's really good at that, you know.
So, most of you enjoyed Sushmita's readings of Bella and Rose's soul, but are terrified of the two hurdles that she said Jasper would have to face. This chapter and the one following are the two most important ones in this story. There will be events happening in the two chapters that will ultimately make or break Jasper and Bella as individuals and as a couple. Without further due, I present to you the first demon.
This story is AU/OOC and over the top. If stories that are over the top aren't your piece of cake, I will not be offended if you choose not to read it.
All characters are the property of Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.
Mature readers 18+ only please.
Bella's POV
It's been two weeks since our return from Asia and we were finally in Williamsburg, Virginia with Garrett, Kate, Tanya, and Rex. We had Alice look into the weather and Wednesday is going to be the only sunny day. The rest of the days are going to be overcast so we would be able to venture out during the days too.
Learning to trust Alice again has been one of the most difficult things that I'd ever done. Her betrayal of me, Jasper, and Edward had run so deep. I'm still having a lot of trouble trusting her. She cornered me at the Amherst home one day and she apologized profusely. Riley and Jasper both said that they sensed nothing, but honesty coming from her. She had, once again, been fired from her latest job and was now working at Walmart stocking shelves for $8.50 an hour which, ironically, paid more than her last job at Dairy Queen.
Peter and I had resumed our weekly buddy night. So far, we had hustled about four thousand dollars of the thirty thousand he lost. I was getting better with the two-step too. Peter was really light on his feet and a great dancer. Char was initially jealous of the fact that we were going out once a week, but after Jasper calmed her down, she has become somewhat okay with it. The fact was that Pete and I needed the one night together to unwind and talk about our lives. We always came back refreshed and we had a hell of a lot of fun just hanging out.
I kept recalling Sushmita's soul reading. She said that I had to allow my family to love me in order to achieve true happiness. I've been trying my best to do that. Esme has been a lot less overbearing since she started counseling with Riley. She and I went to catch a chick flick together the other night. Afterwards, we went walking in Boston and we stumbled upon the alley where I was changed. We both cringed, ran back to my house, and cried.
She opened up to me and told me about the night she lost her baby boy. The loss was insurmountable and coupled with the abuse she suffered from her husband, she felt that she no longer had anything to live for. When I was attacked, she was overcome by similar feelings of loss. To her, I was her flesh and blood, more so than the others. She told me how absolutely terrified she was that I had died that night. She was prepared to build a pyre and walk into it had I succumbed to the gunshot wound. When Carlisle declared that I could still be changed if enough venom was pumped into me, Esme jumped in to do it. If I couldn't have her blood running through her veins, then I would have her venom. She wanted to secure that bond between mother and child.
I was stunned by her admission. Esme truly believed she was my mother, just like Sushmita had said. She also said that Irina and Vicky felt like they were my mother. Oddly, I felt like all three of them put together made one perfect mother.
I was roused out of my thoughts by my mate. "Babe, where are my swim trunks?"
"I put them in the top drawer with your underwear, Jasper." I informed him.
"Why would you put them with my underwear? Shouldn't swim trunks be in the same drawer as my shorts?" He asked.
"Honestly, Jasper, does it really matter? If you're going to bitch, do it yourself."
"I guess not. So, what's this Water Country place like?"
It's a water park, they have these huge, twisty slides and whatnot that you splash down into a pool of water from." I explained.
"Okay, and we're going there, why?"
"We're going because it's part of the Williamsburg Bounce ticket that we bought. We have unlimited admission to Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, and Water Country plus Rex and I think it would be good for you old fogies to experience a water park."
Thirty minutes later, we were at Water Country. Rex, Garrett, and Jasper had roaming eyes, scanning all of the tanned bikini clad girls. Tanya and Katie were getting pissed off. I didn't give a shit. I actually thought it was healthy to look. It's not as if they were going to act on their urges.
"Why don't we start with that giant raft ride? We can all go down together." Rex suggested.
As we approached the front of the line, Kate started freaking out. It was totally unlike her. "Katie, what's wrong?" Garrett asked.
"I can't swim. What if I drown?" She was literally shaking.
"You aren't going to drown. You can't. You're a vampire. Second, the water is really shallow at the end so you can just walk out of there." Rex assured.
"Okay, but don't let go of me." She told Garrett. As the ride went down she screamed at the top of her lungs throughout the decent. It was kind of weird seeing tough Katie, who could shock the shit out of you with one touch, so unraveled. At the end of the ride, she was hyperventilating. Garrett had to pick her up and carry her out. Katie didn't go on any more water rides after that. She opted to sit out most of the rides. After awhile, I got sick of the rides so I waited with her. I suggested we go to the lazy river and just float down it. Of course, I got there and discovered that as vampires, we just sink to the bottom of the lazy river. Oops. That was embarrassing. After that, Katie and I went to the kiddie pool and waded in there instead.
"So, how come you don't know how to swim?" I asked. "You've lived for over a thousand years."
"Bella, what do you know about the treatment of women in the time I grew up in?" Katie questioned.
"Let me think. Well, you were born in the middle of the medieval era or what is commonly called the dark ages. Poverty ran rampant in Europe. Women were considered chattel rather than human beings. Most girls were married off as soon as their menses started at thirteen or fourteen. Women had to keep their hair covered as a sign of submission to men and in many parts of Europe, wives could be sold just like a sow."
"You're very intelligent, Bella. I like that about you. Now, when you look at me, Irina, and Tanya. What do you notice about the three of us?"
"Your beauty and..." I had to think hard on this question. "...your age. You three would have been considered spinsters. Well, not so much Tanya because she's still in her teens, but at twenty-three and twenty-one, you and Irina would have been considered spinsters."
"Do you think I was a spinster, Bella?"
"Well, I know that Irina was unmarried until she met Laurent, but I never really delved into that part of your history." I replied. "With your beauty, I would assume that you weren't a spinster."
Kate explained her history to me. "You guessed correctly. My husband was a baron so I was comfortable, unlike Irina who had to work as a laundress. My husband, though kind, was very protective of me. A bit like how Jasper is with you. I was never allowed to venture out of the house and my hair was always covered—not as a show of submission, but because he didn't want other men to catch sight of me. He treated me like a porcelain doll and kept me on a pedestal—I wasn't even allowed to answer the door. With a life like that, do you think that I would have had the opportunity to learn how to swim?"
"No, I suppose you wouldn't. In fact, I believe most men from the middle ages didn't know how to swim. Why didn't you learn afterwards? You've had a thousand years."
"I never really had the opportunity. I've always lived in areas with colder climates. Eastern Europe and Alaska aren't really conducive to nautical pursuits."
"I suppose not." I said. "I swam from the time I was three years old—mainly because my mother loved the water so much. I can teach you." I offered.
"Thank you, I'd like that very much." Kate said. "Let's go find everyone else and head back to the hotel."
A few hours later, everyone had gathered in Jasper and my hotel suite.
"It says here that we have to order our costumes at the Visitor Center by 5pm in order for them to be ready in the morning." Garrett was reading from the brochure.
"We aren't really walking around in that colonial garb, are we?" Tanya asked. "Once was enough—Katie and I lived through it."
"Aw...come on, Tanya, role playing can be fun." Rex said.
"We can dress as farmer's wives or the merchant class, their outfits are more comfortable." Kate suggested.
"I am not dressing as a farmer's wife!" Tanya humphed.
"Alright, let's just get down there and order our costumes. We need to drive into the city after to a spray tanning salon." Rex said. "I felt so pasty at Water Country."
"Rex, you are pasty. You're a fucking vampire!" Jasper exclaimed.
"Yeah, well, I don't have to look like I've been dunked in a vat of flour. I want to see if the spray tanning works. I made appointments for all of us. We stuck out like sore thumbs today."
We were all going to protest, but an exasperated Tanya, rolled her eyes and said, "Just do it—you know how image conscious Rex is."
Four hours later, our costumes were ordered and we all had sprayed on tans. "I kind of like it." Tanya said. "I feel more human."
"They actually don't look bad." Jasper commented.
Everyone seemed to like their new tans, I was the only one that felt weird. I was actually darker now than when I was human. I was so pale when I was human that after my transformation, you couldn't even detect a difference in my skin tone. Rex, who had been meticulous about keeping his body tanned as a human, was visibly different after his change. Jasper said that he was tan as a human from working in the Texas sun. I licked my lips visualizing that.
The next morning...
We were at the Visitor's Center picking up our costume rentals. "Excuse me, ma'am. I need a Continental Army uniform with white facing. This uniform has red facing. I'm not from Virginia, I served in a regiment from Massachusetts Bay Colony." Garrett argued.
The people running the costume rental area stared aghast at Garrett. "I'm sorry sir, they only come with red facing. I didn't know that uniforms came with white facing." One brave employee said.
Garrett stared at her like she was insane. He was about to say something, but Rex and Jasper grabbed him and the uniform and shoved him into a changing room. With our vampire hearing, we could hear them telling him that he was about to blow our cover and actually sounded delusional considering it's the 21st century rather than the 18th century. "We have states now, Garrett, we're no longer the Massachusetts Bay Colony." Jasper said. "Just play the role of a soldier from Virginia and deal with it."
The woman handed the rest of us our costumes. Kate was going to dress like a middling woman. Tanya and I were going to dress as gentry women. I always wanted to try on one of those fancy costumes so I was totally excited. Kate and Tanya were able to throw their costumes on right away. I found myself staring at all the pieces wondering what goes on first.
"Um, excuse me." I called out from the dressing area. "I have no idea what goes on first."
One of the female employees approached me. "I'm actually surprised that no one else asked for help. Everyone needs help with their costumes. Put your stockings on first." She instructed. Kate and Tanya appeared and said that they would take over helping me dress.
"Take your bra off Bella." Kate instructed. "They didn't have those back then and it'll be super uncomfortable once you put your stays on. Throw your shift on first."
"Wait a minute, how many motherfucking layers are there. I feel like the Pillsbury Dough Boy. You can probably roll me out of here after this." I complained.
I heard Jasper and Garrett chuckling from their dressing room. They were helping Rex with his outfit. He was actually dressing up as landed gentry.
After Tanya and Katie had me laced up like a Christmas roast, we finally left the costume shop. We had yet to wait on Jasper. He finally came out dressed like a British soldier, Garrett immediately saw red. Jasper had his camera ready and snapped a shot of Garrett's face which looked like the Tasmanian Devil on steroids. He smirked at Garrett and as soon as we left the Visitor's Center and got to a secluded area of Colonial Williamsburg, the two started arguing.
"You fucking traitor! How dare you dress like the enemy in front of me!" Garrett seethed.
"Hey, I can dress however the fuck I want. This is a living history museum not a reenactment. Besides, the red coat looks better than your blue one." Jasper smirked.
"It figures you're dressed as a fucking Red Coat. You always fight for the losing side, don't you. Remember that the Confederates lost to our Union in the Civil War." Garrett snapped.
Oh fuck. Not good. Not good at all. That was a low blow.
"You motherfucker!" Slam! Jasper's fist landed on Garrett's jaw. Garrett, not missing a beat, punched Jasper square on the nose. The two were brawling behind some sort of historical house. Soon a crowd gathered and we noticed tourists snapping photos. Rex, Tanya, Kate, and I stepped in to break up the fight.
"Husband!" I yelled to Jasper, trying to role play. "You must not fight in public. The consequences of provoking a soldier of the Continental Army could be quite severe."
Jasper noticed a camera flash and stopped. "Sorry, darlin'" He said. "I kinda lost my mind there."
"Hey that British soldier has a southern drawl." An observant kid pointed out.
"The man is a Loyalist—he supports the King." Garrett announced.
I yanked Jasper's arm and got us the fuck out of there. The others were right behind us. "Those people thought we were actors in the living history museum." I said. "You two have to get a grip. We are in the 21st century, all you're doing is walking around in costume. No one gives a fuck what side you were on during either the Revolutionary or Civil Wars. Got it?" I yelled with my hands on my hips. "Well? Answer me!"
"Got it." The two old war horses mumbled.
We walked around the historical village and Garrett explained what everything was. He was a wealth of information and I felt honored to have someone who actually lived through the time explain things to me. We received hands on information from him for everything from the milliners to the blacksmith and public armory. Jasper, Garrett, and Rex all went nuts there. Kate and Tanya were bored stiff for the most part, but I couldn't get enough of this stuff.
They had several actors doing reenactments throughout the day. Garrett was hilarious when he saw the actor playing George Washington. He actually started conversing with him as if he were the real guy. "General Washington, sir. Might I take this opportunity to tell you what an honor it was to serve under your esteemed command."
"Hey, uh, were we supposed to learn new lines?" The guy asked him. Jasper and Rex had to drag Garrett away.
Later in the day, we ran into a scene where an actor portraying Benedict Arnold was giving a speech.
"Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!" Garrett yelled. The entire audience joined in and started pointing and screaming "traitor" to the poor actor was completely bamboozled and left to regroup immediately. Again, Jasper and Rex dragged Garrett away.
Garrett ended up being escorted out of the historical area for disturbing a reenactment where actors were discussing reasons for and against going to war against the British inside the Raleigh Tavern. He actually interrupted and went on a twenty minute long tirade against the British. The actors were so confused after his rant that they couldn't finish off their scene. Security was called in and Garrett was actually asked to leave the premises. Naturally, we followed him back to the hotel—all of us laughing at how seriously Garrett was taking this.
It was still midday so Jasper and I decided to get into our shorts and do a little sightseeing by ourselves.
"Jasper, I'm really falling in love with this area. Virginia's a little too sunny for vampires, though, isn't it? I asked.
"I think it might be. I like this place too. Lots of nice trees and the houses in the historic district are beautiful. Hey, I was thinking, how about we go dancing tonight?" He suggested. "You always two-step with Pete, but never with me. If I didn't know better, I'd have thought you liked him better than me."
I gave Jasper a deep kiss. "Now, you know that's not true. Hey, do you want to go to the College of William and Mary Bookstore? I heard they have one of those best selections of books on the Civil War—specializing in the Confederacy. You know Richmond was the capital of the Confederate States of America, don't you?"
"Of course I know that Bella." Jasper scoffed.
"Yeah, well did you know that it's less than an hour's drive at human speed from here?" I smirked.
"That I didn't know. We're definitely going there tomorrow."
"Tomorrow is Wednesday. It's sunny all day. I'm sorry, but you have to spend the entire day making love to me in our hotel room." I winked.
"Oh, baby, I plan on claiming you over and over again tomorrow. You looked so sexy in that Colonial outfit." He drawled. I became aroused instantly. "Not in public, baby, you remember what happened on the plane ride home from Japan."
Oh, hell no, we weren't gonna have a repeat of that. We caused an orgy on an entire jumbo jet flying into New York. I guarantee that there are going to be dozens of unexplained and unplanned pregnancies because of Jasper's projection.
A few hours later, the six of us were at a bar in Williamsburg listening to a country band. Scratch that, Katie, Tanya, and I were enjoying the band, Garrett, Rex, and Jasper were in a backroom playing Texas Hold 'Em with some locals.
"Tell me the reason why Jasper wanted to come here again?" Tanya asked.
"Apparently, he wanted me to two-step with him because I go with Pete once a week and he thought he deserved some attention." I said, sarcastically.
"Those fuckers have been in there for four hours. Do you realize that it's one am already?" Katie pointed out.
"You fucking cheated man!" Garrett yelled. "I saw you switching a card! Have you no honor?"
"I don't cheat, ever! Hey, Roger, have you ever seen me switching a card?"
"You were fucking bottom dealing asshole." Rex accused Roger.
"Who the fuck are you accusing of bottom dealing? You northerners come into town and always think you know everything." Roger ranted. "Fucking Yankees!"
Did that asshole just call Jasper a Yankee? Oh my fuck. My husband's gonna go on a rampage. Holy hell.
"Ten bucks that Jasper's gonna lose his shit and throw the first punch!" Katie wagered.
"You're on! I think he can control himself." Tanya challenged.
Personally, my money was on Katie.
"Who the fuck are you calling a damn Yankee, boy?" Jasper growled in a southern drawl and he sounded scary as fuck and damn it—I was aroused by it. I'm so fucked in the head.
In an instant, we heard the sound of bottles breaking from the room they were playing poker in. "OH FUCK!" The three of us gasped. We heard furniture breaking and the sound of fist hitting marble.
Less than five minutes later, the police were on scene. Three men and three vampires were being led out in handcuffs. "Come and bail us out. I should have enough cash in the hotel safe. The passcode is your human birthday." Jasper instructed in a whisper.
"Aaaagggghhhh! I think my hand is broken!" One of those guys screamed.
"My foot feels like it's shattered!" Another guy said as he toppled over. He must have kicked one of the guys and toppled over.
"Alright, we need to take these wusses to the hospital and book them there." One of the cops said.
Tanya, Katie, and I hightailed it back to the hotel. "Motherfucker! I can't believe this shit happened. We have to bail them out before daylight—tomorrow's gonna be completely sunny." I stated.
I grabbed the cash out of the safe. Tanya and Katie grabbed their own cash too.
Katie went into the police station and bailed the men out while I sat and called Emmett from
the car. I asked him to wipe Jasper, Garrett, and Rex's records clean. Geez! At this point, out of the six of us, Katie was the only one that hadn't gone to jail in the past year. I'm leading the pack with two arrests.
We got back to the hotel room and Jasper started apologizing to me.
"Why?" I asked. "I'm not even close to mad. Those fuckers seemed like sneaky shits to me anyway and calling you a Yankee was a low blow. Anyone can tell by your accent that you're from down south. So, um, who threw the first punch?" I asked.
"I did." Jasper said sheepishly.
"Hah! You owe me ten bucks Tanya!" We heard Katie yell from her hotel room.
"They had a little wager going after he called you a Yankee." I said.
It was already 5:30 am and the sun was blaring through the windows. I rushed to shut the curtains, lest any humans caught sight of our sparkly asses.
"I believe you said that I needed to make love to you all day today, darlin'." My mate drawled. Oh heaven and hell, that accent gets me each and every time.
"You said something about claiming me over and over again, Major?" I said, trying to appear nonchalant. My arousal was at an all time high. I wanted to jump him.
"Strip, Bella." My mate ordered.
Oh, hell, yeah. I think I'll just have to submit to my Major today.
One week later...
Peter's POV
"Wait a minute, so you're saying that some bozo actually had the nerve to call our Major a Yankee to his face?" I asked my best friend.
"Yep, he called him a northerner and a Yankee to his face and Jasper completely lost it. The thing is, with Jasper's accent, how could anyone possibly think of him as anything, but a southerner? His accent was thicker than the dipshits that were taunting him. Oh, and the fuckers were trying to cheat our guys at Texas Hold 'Em too." Bella was updating me with news from their trip to Williamsburg.
I chuckled hearing that. You can insult a Texan, you can insult his truck, hell, you can even insult his woman to an extent, but don't ever call him a Yankee. Doubly so for Jasper because he served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.
"Hey, baby girl, do you think we can figure out a way to get to Texas together? I want to do a little more research into my history. I can't do it without you—I ain't good at that historical research stuff. That's probably why I majored in mechanical engineering."
"About that, Pete. I found out an interesting tidbit. It seems as though the Department of Engineering required that every student donate a copy of their thesis to the engineering library at the university. I bet we can find it if we can get there."
"I've got to get there. That's the only way we can find out my human last name. We have to check the archives in person—it seems as though every other guy was named Peter in my time. No matter what it is—I plan on remaining a Whitlock though. I can't imagine any other last name that would suit me." I said.
"We're gonna have to scour through the university archives, the files of all the fraternities on campus at that time, plus military records. We also have to go to Port Author." Bella contemplated. "The thing is, I don't know how Char and Jasper would feel about us taking a trip together. Maybe we should bring them along."
I sighed. "I don't want to bring them along. I just think that we can get a lot more done without them. Char's been getting jealous about us hanging out and Jasper says he isn't, but I know he is. He just has a tighter hold on his shit cause he's afraid that you might run again."
"Yeah, I know. Before I left tonight, Char showed up at our place and suggested to Jasper that they go out since you and I were bent on ignoring them. I just told them to have fun and I left. I trust them both." She said.
I held my hand out and pulled Bella up to dance. Dancing always helped me forget my troubles. Char had moved in with me into my apartment. She and I had turned a new leaf. It took many sessions of us just talking and we reached an understanding. Now that we weren't sleeping with other couples, her jealous side was coming out. She couldn't understand why I needed to hang out with Bella alone. I tried explaining to her that having friends outside of our marriage was important. Char tried to tell me that I already had Jasper. Well, fuck, I can't two-step with Jasper, that would be a little gay. I think she was a little jealous that Bella and I had forged the friendship that Char had initially wanted with her.
I was twirling Bella around on the dance floor and we were trying to come up with a way to get to Texas when she was suddenly pulled from my arms. At the same time, I found Char in mine with Rose and Emmett dancing alongside us. Damn it! They found us. Why couldn't those fuckers understand that this was Bella and my downtime. I looked over at my best friend and she looked just as irritated as I felt.
"So, why the fuck would you two be planning a trip to Texas without us?" Char asked. You could tell she was more than just annoyed.
"Did you guys follow us?" Bella asked with her hands crossing her chest. She had stopped dancing and was walking back to our table. I did the same. Rose and Emmett remained on the dance floor.
"No, the four of us heard that this place was pretty good so we just thought we'd check it out. That still doesn't explain why you and my husband were talking about running off to Texas together. Are you two fucking?" Char turned to Bella with her hands on her hips looking like a pissed off barracuda.
"No, Char, we aren't. Why the fuck would I need to sleep with Peter? I know who I am and I know who my mate is and I'm happy with him. I don't need another man in my bed." Bella snapped back. That was a low blow meant to hurt Char, but at this juncture, she deserved it. I wasn't entirely sure that Char didn't follow us. Like I said, she's been insanely jealous of our friendship.
"I'm sorry, I need to interject here." Jasper said. "We really were just checking this place out. We had no idea that you two were here. Just put yourselves in our shoes. How would you feel if you walked in and unintentionally overheard your mates talking about taking a secret trip to Texas?"
He was right. I had to tell them. "Bella and I want to go to Texas to research my history. I recalled a few tidbits that could help me unveil my past. For example, I'm from Port Arthur and I majored in mechanical engineering at the University of Texas. If we could go there, we can get into the archives and figure it all out. You know how good Bella is at research."
"That's great, Pete, but I just can't understand why you two need to go alone." Jasper said.
"We don't need to go alone. Bella even suggested that we bring you two along. It's just that we'd get a lot more done without the two of you with us."
"How about if we compromise. I need to check on my properties in Houston and Dallas. Char mentioned wanting to make sure that your house in Houston was still intact. Why don't we go do that while you and Bella go to Austin and Port Arthur to do your research? I'd feel better knowing we were in the same state." Jasper suggested.
It sounded reasonable to me. Bella blinked her eyes at me indicating that she agreed. "Sounds great. Let's go dance." I said and pulled Char onto the dance floor. I noticed that Bella and Jasper remained seated. They were having a discussion about him following her. Like me, she didn't trust that Char and Jasper were just coincidentally here. Unlike me, though, Bella was having it out with Jasper.
"Peter and I go out once a week and you had the fucking nerve to intrude. You just couldn't let us have our time together, could you?" She said.
"I fucking told you that it's just coincidence that we're here. Char told me about this place after she came over and it sounded like a cool spot. Rose and Em stopped by so the four of us decided to check it out." Jasper defended.
So it was Char. I fucking knew it.
"Well, I'm going home." Bella stated "I'll see you guys later. With that, Bella left leaving a sulking Jasper behind.
Later at home, I talked to my mate. "Char, you tell me the truth now. Did you know that Bella and I were going to be here? If you did, you need to own up to Bella. You're causing them to fight unnecessarily."
"Yes." She admitted. "I just can't understand why we can't go out as a foursome."
"We can, but Bella and I need time to talk. We unwind together. We're like each other's therapists. She doesn't get upset when you and Jasper hang out. Neither do I. Why the double standard?" I asked.
"I'm jealous, I guess. You used to want to sleep with her so badly. You talk to her about things that you can't talk to me about and I just can't understand why!" Char sobbed.
"If you feel so strongly about me hanging out with Bella, then I won't." I said. I didn't know what I was going to do without my best friend, but if it was going to cause this much turmoil in my marriage then I wouldn't hang out with Bella anymore.
About a half an hour later, Jasper showed up at our apartment. "Hey, bro. What's up?" I asked.
"She left again. I got home and she was gone. She turned her cell phone off and left a note telling me not to follow the pull or try to scent her out. She said she'd be back by Sunday. Why the fuck won't she believe me? I really had no idea that you two would be there. My chest hurts." Jasper looked completely forlorn.
I glared at Char. Her actions caused a setback in Jasper and Bella's relationship. "Tell him, Charlotte!" I ordered.
Charlotte owned up to the truth. She told Jasper everything. He was too upset to be pissed off at her and like Bella said, he had a tendency to put the blame on his shoulders when it came to Charlotte. My mate was upset too. Clearly, this was a consequence that she didn't foresee. Charlotte may be jealous of Bella, but she loved her at the same time. She didn't want to see Bella or Jasper hurt.
"Shouldn't we go look for her?" Char asked.
"Oh sure, that'll help." I said, sarcastically. "She's already pissed that you two followed us. If we go looking for her now, it'll breech her trust even more."
I threw a bottle of Patron to Jasper. He drained it. "We're gonna have to wait until Sunday. It's only four days away."
Saturday night...
Char and I were hibernating in our apartment when there was a knock on the door. We both detected the scent right away and bolted up to open the door. It was Bella.
"I just got back. I wanted to drop this off to you." She didn't set foot in our apartment. She just handed me two manila envelopes that were stuffed to the hilt. "I have to go."
Bella turned and walked away from our door. "Bella!" Char bolted out in her bare feet to catch her. "I just wanted to apologize. It was my fault that we showed up at the bar that night. I overheard you and Pete talking on the phone and I became jealous. Jasper had no idea. You can go out with Peter whenever you want—you really can. I won't interfere with your friendship."
Bella nodded her head in acknowledgment and left without saying a word.
I opened up one envelope and it contained my thesis. I set it aside, fully intending to take a look at it later. The second envelope was more involved. It contained everything from my birth certificate to death certificate, college transcripts, fraternity membership certificate, military records, information about my human family—my last name was Piper? Who the fuck names their kid Peter when their last name is Piper? I must have been the laughing stock of the school. It appeared I was the youngest of three boys—my eldest brother was named Lord and the second eldest was Pied. There was a little post it attached from Bella that read, "I think we know that your sense of humor came from your parents."
No shit! Lord, Pied, and Peter Piper? What the hell kind of parents did I have?
I delved further into the envelope and pulled out a photograph of a beautiful brunette woman with long wavy hair named Betty Sue. There was a marriage certificate attached to it. It was mine. She was my wife from when I was human. I tried to reach back into my memory, but I couldn't remember her at all. I was devastated. I pulled out another photo—several in fact. It was of me holding a little baby girl with the most precious brown doe eyes that I'd ever seen. There was a birth certificate attached to it. She was born in 1936 and her name was Helen. There were pictures of me playing with her until she was about four years old. After my death, Betty Sue never remarried. There was a photo of a large, oversized marble tombstone. Ironically, the engraving on the tombstone read, "Peter and Betty Sue Piper: Our hearts are entwined for eternity."
Char had venom tears in her eyes. "They were beautiful Peter—your wife and your baby girl."
Bella had even researched Helen's history. Helen was intelligent. She had graduated at the top of her class at the University of Texas with a degree in elementary education in 1958. From then, she met and married a Geoffrey Swan from Forks, Washington. Swan? Forks? What the fuck?
Helen and Geoffrey Swan gave birth to one son, Charles in 1963. Charles in turn had two children by two different women. One Riley Peter Swan in 1982 and an Isabella Marie Swan in 1987. Motherfucker! Riley and Bella were my great-grandbabies!
Char gasped. So did I. We both stared at each other for the longest time. "Thank fuck! You never slept with Bella, Pete. That would be, um, gross."
No kidding. Now that I knew that Riley and Bella were my direct descendants, I ain't ever letting either of them go. I also knew where both of them got their stunning, good looks from. Yep, that was all from me, baby! I gathered up all of the paperwork and threw them back into the manila envelope. I grabbed Char's hand and we ran to Jasper and Bella's. We knocked, but there was no answer. The door was unlocked so we walked inside.
"Pete, maybe now isn't a good time. I think they're making up." Char said. Sure enough, I could hear the two of them going at it like rabbits.
My cock was suddenly rock hard, the fucking empath was projecting. I ripped Char's clothes off, then mine, and took her on the coffee table in the living room. She was screaming my name in ecstasy a few minutes later. Jasper and Bella came running down the stairs.
"Ew!" Bella uttered, when she saw our naked forms. She ran upstairs and grabbed some clothes for the two of us.
"What the fuck are you two doing here?" Jasper asked. He was clearly perturbed by our abrupt visit.
I plastered a smile on my face and handed Jasper the envelope. You, my dear Major, are my great-grandson-in-law and your wife is my great-grandbaby.
"Huh?" Jasper asked, completely confused.
"I haven't told him yet. Actually, he doesn't even know where I've been." Bella admitted. "Maybe we can sit down on the sof...what happened to the sofa and the coffee table?"
Char cleared her throat. "They didn't withstand the durability test."
"Okay, so we'll sit at the dining table." Bella said. She then started explaining what she was up to the last few days. "I flew to Texas. I have no idea why, but I needed a destination and the first flight out of Logan Airport was to Austin, Texas. I had to keep my mind off of things so I decided to delve into Peter's past. What I found completely blew my mind. Peter is actually my Grandma Helen's daddy." She said.
"Let me get this straight, your Grandma Helen was your daddy's mama, right?" Jasper asked. "She was Pete's biological daughter, which means your daddy was Pete's grandson."
"Yep, daddy was Pete's only grandson. I wish they could have met. You would have liked him, Pete, he had a wry sense of humor—not over the top like Grandma Helen. Anyway, that means that Peter is Riley and my great-grandfather." Bella said.
"Holy hell!" Jasper gasped. "We have to go tell Riley."
"Yeah, we probably should." I said. "Let's go now."
We hopped into Bella's truck and drove north to New Hampshire. Everyone was sitting around watching TV. We turned the TV off and called a family meeting. The shock on Riley's face was palpable. He ran up to me and gave me a great big hug. I took a good look at him and noticed a lot of similar features between me and him—the blond hair, the shit-eating grin, everything.
I looked at Riley, then at Bella. We were a real family. They were of my bloodline. Not only that, but Bella had my venom running through her veins. I felt complete for the first time since I became a vampire. I felt whole.
Jasper's POV
Peter is Bella's great-granddaddy. Gadzooks. Now, I'm really related to the fucker by marriage. This certainly solved the issue of Char being jealous of them going out. She couldn't object to their relationship now. Neither could I for that matter.
I still hadn't addressed the issue of Bella not trusting me, though. She flat out didn't believe me when I told her that it was purely coincidental that we ran into them at the bar. I couldn't blame her though—it really looked suspicious and after Char admitted that she did follow them, it's no wonder that she didn't trust me. Reality was that Bella and I still had some lingering issues to work on.
I looked around the house and everyone was settling back into their routines. I noticed that Bella wasn't downstairs so I went in search of her. She was in Rose's room sobbing. I could hear Rose trying to comfort her.
"I'm having so much trouble trusting him not to follow me, Rose. This time, he didn't, though. Char told me that it was all her idea because she was jealous of me and Peter hanging out. The question is, do I believe her." Bella cried.
"I think you need to give Jasper the benefit of the doubt. He's really been trying, Bella." Rose advised. "Char has so many issues, it's just like her to pull something like this and fuck up something that was going well and you're right, Jasper always forgives Char for her transgressions. It's a motherfucking double standard."
"I hate this so much. This whole marriage and mating thing is so much work. Sometimes, I feel like giving it all up and living as a recluse for the rest of my life." Bella sobbed. "I wasn't ready to get married, Rose. He took that choice away from me. The whole mating thing—that's fucked up, too. We can't choose when we meet our mates. I wanted a few more years!"
"Shh...Bella. Shh...shh...shh...it's going to all work out. You love Jasper with all your heart." Rose comforted. "I know that you weren't ready to be mated or married, but those are the cards you were dealt and you just have to play along. Remember what Sushmita told you? You need to accept Jasper fully and you need the balance that he provides for you. Without him, a part of you just dies."
Bella started bawling uncontrollably. I wanted to run in and comfort her, but then they would know that I was eavesdropping.
I walked to our room and shut the door. I sat on our bed and contemplated what I had just heard. She wanted a few more years to live life. She feels stifled by being mated and married. I take the entire blame for the marriage part, I forced her into it when she wasn't ready. I truly believe that after we finish off our master's degrees next year, Bella just needs to take a break to live life. She's worked way too hard her entire life. How else could she turn up all that information for Peter in a matter of two days?
Bella came into the room a few minutes later looking like she had been run through the spin cycle of the washing machine. "I'm gonna go relax in the tub, Jasper." She grabbed a book and shut the bathroom door behind her. I could hear her sobbing alone as she bathed. I couldn't take it anymore. I could feel all of her angst and it was physically painful for me to feel it.
"Jasper!" Bella cried out. "I need you."
"I'm coming, baby." I called and walked into the bathroom. I grabbed a towel and dried her off. Then, I picked her up, sat back down on the bed, and cradled her. I shoved all the love I felt for her at her.
"Jasper, I'm sorry for running." She said. "I fucked up. I should have trusted you when you said that you didn't know we were at the bar. I thought you were being possessive and following me again."
"I'm sorry, too, babe. I'm sorry you feel so stifled. I'm sorry that I forced you to marry me without your consent. Mating and marriage is new to me, too. It's difficult at best. All I can tell you is that we'll take it day by day."
"I'm sorry I've been so pissy lately, Jasper. I still have a lot of issues to work out. It's been a stressful year."
"Bella, you've had more crap thrown onto your shoulders in one year than most people get in a lifetime. In a year when you should have been taken care of because you were a newborn, you spent the year dealing with other people's bullshit. They should have had a little more empathy. I should have taken the fact that you were still a newborn no matter how controlled you were into account too. You just need to take it easy. I want you, no I'm ordering you to take at least a year off next year off after we get our master's degrees. You've been on Earth for less than a quarter of a century, you're still a baby by my standards and you need to just take a little time and be selfish instead of trying to tackle everyone else's problems."
"You could say the same about yourself, Jasper. You need to stop shouldering the blame for other people's actions."
"You're probably right." I kissed my beautiful wife on the lips.
"Go ahead, Jasper."
"Go ahead with what?" I asked.
"I know you want to scent me."
I did. She had washed my scent off in the tub and she was perfectly naked. I decided to take advantage of the fact that she gave me permission to scent her and started. Bella threw her iPod on. I couldn't help, but laugh. She was listening to Brad Paisley's 'Ticks'.
An hour later, we joined the others in the living room. Pete and Emmett were teaching everyone how to two-step. The furniture was cleared out of the way and there was country music blaring as everyone attempted to learn how to dance southern style.
Vicky came to grab me and had me dance with her. She was a pro. "How do you know how to two-step, V?" I asked.
"Seriously, Jasper? How long did I live in Texas? Even in Maria's army, we let loose and danced every now and then."
"Good point." I said.
Bella was being twirled around by Edward who picked up the moves immediately. He always had good rhythm and was light on his feet. It dawned on me that I still had never two-stepped with Bella. I'll have to dance with her next. I'm just happy that she was more relaxed now. We were all having a merry ol' time when the doorbell rang.
Who the heck would be ringing our doorbell at 10pm on a Saturday night? Carlisle went to answer the door with Em, Riley, and I flanking him. He opened the door and a familiar, blonde vampire stood behind it.
"Jasper, I've been looking all over for you." She said in her sultry voice and ran up to give me a deep kiss on my lips. "Where've you been, lover? It's been over a year."
Fuck! This is all I need now. My mate was already on edge. I didn't need any of my former flames showing up.
I looked over to my wife whose jaw had dropped to the ground. Edward had a comforting arm around her shoulder. Rose was glaring at me with her hands on her hips. Mike and Amanda both looked ready to kill.
"Holy shit, the ultimate whore lives." Char muttered. Char's had a few dealings with Amber in the past. Char may have been loose, but she did it with her mate's permission. Amber was just a whore through and through.
"Ahem." Carlisle cleared his throat. "Aren't you going to introduce your friend to us, Jasper?"
"Um, this is Amber. Amber this is my family." I said quickly, not wanting to delve into specifics.
My former lover had her arms wrapped around my neck and I heard her whisper. "Lover, do you have a room we can go to? I want to make love to you all night long."
Alice confronted her with her hands across her chest. "Yes, Jasper has a room. It's upstairs and he shares it with his wife—who, I can't believe I'm saying this, but who has way better taste in clothes than you! At least she doesn't wear rayon!"
Amber chuckled. "Oh, you've got to be Alice. I thought you divorced her six years ago so we could finally be together, lover?"
"Jasper? Were you cheating on me while we were married?" Alice was resonating nothing, but hurt.
I couldn't utter a word. Nothing. I just hung my head in shame with Amber still hanging on me.
Bella grabbed Alice and pulled her into a comforting hug. "You didn't deserve to get cheated on Alice." She cooed. "No one does. It's obvious the bitch is a skank."
Alice sobbed into Bella's arms. That was a sight I thought I'd never see, but they were a united front in this. United against me.
"Excuse me? Who the hell do you think you are calling me a bitch and a skank?" Amber seethed. "I don't even know who the fuck you are?"
"I apologize. I failed to introduce myself. My name is Mrs. Jasper Whitlock—you must be Amber Bitch Skank." Bella snapped. "Now, kindly remove your person from my husband before I remove you from him one limb at a time!"
"Oh, Jasper, you got married again? Tut, tut, tut. When are you going to stop getting duped? No matter, I'm still here for you, lover." Amber ran her finger from my lips down to my waistband.
Alice was now crying in Mike's arms. He was glaring at me. Correction, everyone was glaring at me with a look of disgust. Bella looked like she was ready to start ripping Amber apart.
I moved Amber behind me in a protective measure. The hurt look in Bella's eyes when I did that was palpable. Venom tears pooled in Bella's eyes as she backed away from me. Amber moved back to face me, then Bella, with a smug expression on her face. I looked back at Bella and the angry look she had on her face had turned to one of defeat. I think I just fucked up to epic proportions.
Irina and Carlisle pulled Bella into their arms. They fixed me with murderous expressions. Laurent, Riley, and Peter instantly moved in front of them—blocking my access to the woman that I had just betrayed.
Vicky who had been hiding in the corner, suddenly made an appearance. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Amber Putain. I thought I told you never to show your face in front of me again. Did you forget the last lesson I taught you, pet?"
Amber clutched her neck and yelped at the sight of Victoria. She buried her face in my chest looking for comfort. I let my arms dangle to my sides. "Take your hands off of Jasper and answer me, pet. Did you forget the last lesson I taught you?"
"No, no. I swear. I haven't been near James in eight years." Amber said.
Victoria narrowed her eyes at her. "If I can recall, I taught you that lesson about twelve years ago, but you said that you haven't seen James in eight years. Clearly, the lesson didn't sink in. Would you repeat the words that I said were to be your mantra?"
Amber started shaking. Vicky took her fingers and sunk them into a prominent bite mark near Amber's collarbone. Amber started screaming and was on her knees in an instant. "Now, pet, say your mantra out loud!" Jesus Christ! How many fucking pets does Vicky have? I'm actually pretty terrified of her, right now.
"I...I...w...will...n...not...c...c...covet...a...another...w...woman's...m...m...man." She managed to get out.
Vicky had Amber in a choke hold and she was whispering into her ear from behind her. "I didn't get that, pet, you weren't clear enough. I told you the last time that you were always to speak clearly to me."
"I will not covet another woman's man." Amber spoke clearly this time.
Victoria's lethal eyes pierced Amber's terrified ones. "Now, pet, let's go outside and complete your lesson. Hurting me is one thing, but hurting my kid is a completely different matter! I'm gonna fuck your shit up. Captain?"
"Yes, Lieutenant?" Peter played his role well and saluted Victoria as he approached. Of course, a captain's ranked higher than a lieutenant so why the fuck he was saluting her, I had no idea.
"Would you be so kind as to accompany me to the woods. My pet here needs to be reminded of some lessons I taught her. It appears the Major's balls have recessed back into his pelvis—he might even grow a pussy soon." Victoria smirked.
Peter chuckled at my expense.
Char suddenly interrupted. "No, Peter, you stay here. I have a few words to say to this demon. I clearly recall having told her to stay away from you and Jasper." The two most lethal women in the house dragged Amber out into the woods. I could hear her shrieking, begging me for help.
I looked around the room and everyone was giving me the evil eye. Bella was clearly hurt, so was Alice. Mike picked Alice up and carried her to her room to comfort her.
I tried to approach Bella, but Edward cut me off. "Go near her and you die, motherfucker! Why the hell couldn't you just tell that whore straightaway that Bella was your mate and wife? How the hell could you let her kiss you and hang all over you in front of your wife, in front of your family? Why the hell did you move to protect Amber from Bella?"
I had no answer for him. All I could tell him was, "I was in shock. I never expected to see her again."
Rosalie approached me and slapped me across the face. "You know, she trusted you with her heart, but you didn't deserve it." Emmett put his arm around her and took her to their room, but not before shaking his head at me with a look of disappointment on his face.
"Jasper, we need to hunt—now!" Bella ordered.
I followed my mate outside. "I'm sorry, Bella." I apologized. "Truly, I didn't know that she'd come looking for me."
"That's hardly the point, I think." Bella said. "When we ran into Tommy, I introduced you as my husband right away. I'm just wondering why you couldn't do the same thing?"
"I don't know why, Bella. Trust me when I say that Amber means nothing to me. She never meant a thing to me." I cried.
"Still, you told her that you divorced Alice so you could finally be with her." She stated,flatly. "I feel bad for Alice and Amber in this case. Clearly, you've lied to more women than not. I'm sorry Jasper, but I can't trust you anymore." Bella stated. "You need to tie up all of your loose ends. I don't know how many more women you've left hanging out there and you also need to apologize to Alice. No matter how cruel and manipulative Alice was to you, she didn't deserve to get cheated on like that."
"Bella. You have to understand that I love you and only you."
"Yet, you protected Amber from me." She said. She was right, that's exactly what I did. I looked at her resigned face—there was no fight left in her eyes.
I tried to pull Bella into a hug, but she backed away and whispered, "Please, don't touch me Jasper. I'm going back to think. At least have the respect to let me do that on my own."
I decided to go for a hunt, then make my way back. Hopefully, Bella will have calmed her nerves enough to speak to me by then. I got to the house about four hours later. I couldn't smell my wife in the house. "Where's Bella?" I asked.
"Isn't she with you?" Esme asked, concerned.
"She said she was coming back here to think. She never came back?" I questioned.
"No." Everyone said. The worry was apparent in everyone's eyes.
I called my wife's cell. I heard it ringing outside. I went to check where the ringing was coming from. It was coming from the bushes outside of the house where she had tossed the phone. I picked it up and ran all the way back to Cambridge. I ran inside of our house and I got a sick feeling to my gut and felt an incredible pull tugging at my chest. Bella was gone.
Obviously, Bella was quick to stake her claim and come to Jasper's aid when Amber was hanging all over him. What did you think of Jasper's reaction though? How did you feel about the lame excuses he gave to both Bella and Edward regarding his reaction to Amber? Lastly, what did you think of Peter being Bella and Riley's great-grandfather? I'd love to hear your opinions regarding all the craziness that occurred in this chapter. I love corresponding with all of you and I promise to respond.