Chapter 24 – Found
Charlie listened as his daughter sounded like she was close to hysterics. He couldn't believe that she was yelling into the phone like she was. She was acting like there was a serial killer loose in town, "Calm down Bella. You mom is with me."
"With you? Where are you?" Bella asked. What were her parents doing that her mother was not in her hotel room and still with her father? They knew that she was supposed to be dropped off an hour after they left her at Jasper's house. This didn't make sense to her.
"Now calm down. We are at the hospital emergency room. We decided to have a drink to toast your accomplishment of graduating high school before we went back to the house for her car and she tripped and fell in the parking lot. It looked bad enough that I brought her to the ER," Charlie explained to her.
Bella moved outdoors so that they didn't have an audience knowing Jasper would follow. "So you are telling me that you two went out for a night cap and then she fell and you took her to the emergency room, but nobody called me?" Bella seethed. If she had pulled something like that, she would have been in trouble. Hell she was in trouble when she left for Italy and she had left Charlie a note.
"I know and I'm sorry. Your mom's phone is dead because it fell in puddle and got water logged, and it just slipped my mind to call you until I saw it was you calling my phone," he tried to keep a soothing voice, but it was hard. He knew his daughter was upset and she had every right to be. She would have been in trouble for pulling a disappearing act again.
"We are on our way!" Bella growled into the phone and hung up. She turned to Jasper and knew he had heard the whole conversation, "Do you believe that shit?"
Jasper knew that she was mad and upset. It had more to do with the after affects and relief she was feeling knowing that her mother was safe and not in the clutches of crazy murderous vampires. He looked at her and offered her a small smile pulling her into his arms, "Look at it this way. She is safe and not with someone she shouldn't be with." He kissed her temple.
"Don't try to take their side. Do they realize how worried I was? I thought that maybe one of those things had gotten her," Bella said as she started to cry and buried her head in Jasper's chest.
Jasper continued to hold her, "I know sweetheart, but at least she is ok and you can go see her right now. I am sure they know how stupid their actions were tonight. Everyone makes mistakes. I know for a fact you did something similar when you went after Edward in Italy." He knew that was a mistake as soon as he said it when he felt her stiffen.
Bella's head popped up from its place in the middle of her boyfriend's chest. She narrowed her eyes at him and said through clenched teeth, "At least I left a note for him. I didn't get as much as a text or voice mail about my injured mother."
He could not win the argument and he gave up trying. Jasper sighed and pulled her back into his arms, "Your right. He should have called or sent a text message, but he didn't so we need to move forward. Let's go to the hospital and check on your mother. I am sure that will make you feel more at ease right now. I know you were freaked out when she wasn't here and now that we know where she is, we can go to her. Okay?"
"Okay," Bella replied. Her anger was waning and now that she knew what was going on, worry was leaving also. What did she feel was a relief so great, it was making her shake and cry her eyes out.
Jasper just held her and let her feel her own emotions. He knew that he didn't have to help her control them right now. She would be alright. When it seemed that Bella was done crying, Jasper pulled back and lifted her face to look at him. He leaned down and gave her a brief kiss on her lips. When he stopped the kiss, he smiled at her, "Are you ready to go see your mom?"
Bella nodded not trusting her voice. She felt Jasper grab her hand and pull her towards his truck. He was right, her mother was safe and not with one of the twisted vamps that were out to get her. Everything was going to be alright and she would go to the hospital and hug her mother because Renee was alive and Bella could. Dealing with everything else was going to be easier because her parents were safe. She got into the truck and scooted closer to Jasper as they drove to the hospital to check on her wayward parents.
Unbeknownst to the couple, they had an audience to the phone call and their little talk afterward. This was too easy. He could easily take both the human and the vampire with her at the hospital, and he would. He would make the mistress proud because that is what she expected of him. When his partner realized that there were werewolves in the region, she had immediately left the vicinity. She didn't believe the girl was worth it and used the argument that their mistress was probably dead because they hadn't heard from her in months. She may have left, but he would get his prey. He raced to the hospital to beat the couple and get what he wanted.
Jasper and Bella pulled up to the hospital and parked. He turned off the engine and turned to the girl sitting next to him, "Are you ok?"
Bella was looking down at her lap, "Yah, I am. Tonight just freaked me out and realized that because of me, my parents could be in very real danger. In fact, anyone associated with me could be in danger. It is just a large pill to swallow."
"Bella, look at me. Everyone is fine right now. They are after you and you alone. We will protect you though and after we leave, Charlie will still be protected. Nothing will get to him or anyone else you love. It is not your fault this has happened. All of the blame rests on the shoulders of that bitch, Victoria. I am glad I killed her. Once you are changed, you will not have to worry about those other vampires any longer. Until then, and let's face it Darlin' afterwards also, I will be by your side and I will be there for you. Alright?" Jasper said trying to make her feel better. He did not want her to blame herself for any of this. It was not her fault.
Bella gave him a halfhearted smile, "I know you are right. I just worry about them."
"I know you do. You have a kind heart and you care about your family. That is one of the things I love about you, but you cannot take responsibility for any of this. James chased you and when we rescued you, it was either him or you. We chose you," he smirked. When he saw her smile widen just the slightest bit, he continued, "Then Victoria decided not to take responsibility for her own actions or that of her mate and it was her choice to go after you. Again that was not your fault. If anything, it is more our fault for pulling you into this world of ours."
"I don't blame you or Edward. I want to be here," Bella said as she leaned in and was about to kiss his lips when she saw something over his shoulder, "Jasper!"
Before Jasper could react, his window was smashed and there was a pair of arms around his neck. He didn't think he just reacted using his instincts. Jasper propelled himself out of the window causing his assailant to become off balance. It was enough to loosen the hold on his neck and to prevent the separation. There may have been a little crack, but it had a long way to go before his head was detached from his body. He heard Bella crying his name. He had to keep this lunatic away from her.
Jasper was able to grab one of the arms that were holding him. He twisted it hard and pulled it forward. The arm came off with a loud snap. Jasper was able to get it way from his neck and then slip from the other hand's grasp. He turned around and looked at the vampire that had dared attack him and put his lover in danger. He growled and was immediately in a fighting stance, "You will die tonight. You should know that Victoria is dead and you are wasting your time."
"You lie! She cannot die!" the stranger yelled.
Jasper never broke his eye contact and did not let his focus waiver. If he did, both he and Bella could lose the fight. "I don't lie. I killed her myself and you're delusional if you think she cannot die. I tore her apart piece by piece, much like I have started to do to you." It was the reaction he was waiting for, the other vampire lunged for him and Jasper was able to grab his other arm and pull it off. "I guess you want to die like she did."
The vampire knew that he was not going to win this battle, but he still had a chance to enact revenge for his mistress. He ran for the truck and tried to jump through the window. He was opening and closing his mouth, chomping at the human in the cab. She looked afraid and smelled so good. He just wanted a taste and almost had a bite a couple of times before the one named Jasper pulled him away from her.
Jasper saw him run to the truck and jump. He pulled the lunatic out of the window and away from Bella. She was screaming now. He didn't blame her, but much more of that and too much attention would be called over to them. He quickly took care of the other vampire and sent calming waves towards her. She stopped screaming immediately. He knew he couldn't start a fire in the open at the hospital; he would have to run the vampire to another location to finish it off. He was at war with himself because he didn't want to leave her like this. "Bella, go inside to your parents. I will be right there. I have to take care of this." He could tell that she was still shaken, but he couldn't leave the body in the parking lot and unless it was torched, it could come back. He had a couple of minutes though. He ran to the other side of the truck and opened the door. He helped her out and gave her a hug sending her more calming vibes. "I promise I will be there in a couple of minutes. I have to take care of this body. Okay?"
Bella knew he was right, but she didn't want him to leave her. She nodded and ran into the emergency room entrance letting him do what he needed to do.
Jasper let out a breath when he saw her finally head towards the hospital. He gathered all of the body parts and ran to an abandoned building not too far away that would allow him to burn the body and since it was a stand-alone, he knew the fire would not spread. He set fire to the body and when he was sure that there was no coming back from it, he ran as fast as he could back to the hospital. He was gone only about five minutes.
As soon as Bella saw Jasper walk into the ER entrance, she ran into his arms. She was shaking, but knew she would be better now that he was back. She had tried to not scream when the fight was going on, but when that maniac lunged for her, she couldn't stop herself. She surrendered to Jasper's embrace and let him calm her down some more using his gift.
Jasper held her as tight as he could without hurting her. He knew that leaving her was not the best option, but it was the only one they had at the time. He needed to call Carlisle and tell him what happened so that he could pass it on to the others. He pulled Bella outside with him for a minute while he made the phone call. When he was done, he looked down at the woman in his arms, "He didn't hurt you, did he?"
"No, he just scared me," Bella said not releasing her hold.
"Good. Do you think you are ok enough to go see your parents?" He knew that she was still shaken up, but if they waited too much longer, Charlie would come looking for them. The ER staff already knew that Bella was there. Thankfully after the previous phone call to her father, her parents would probably assume that she was shaken up over not finding her mother at the hotel.
Bella nodded and pulled away from him a little bit, "Let's go." She removed her arms from around his waist and grabbed is hand holding it tightly. Tonight was a close call, but everyone was safe and her mother was found. She really hoped that this was the end of the near death experiences. She was ready to move on with Jasper.
Together they walked into the ER and were shown to the room in the back that her parents occupied. They both looked up when Jasper and Bella entered and started in with another round of apologies. Bella sighed loud and long, "Look its fine. What's done is done. What is important is we found you and knew where you were." With that said Bella moved towards the bed and gave her mother a hug. She was safe, her father was safe, and she was alive to live another day with Jasper.
A/N: Well as you can see Renee was with Charlie, but it was harmless. LOL. One of the minions has decided that Bella isn't worth the fight and another one bites the dust (pun intended. LOL). If you get a chance, please review. Good or bad, I like to know what my readers think of my stories. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Also if you have not checked it out, I have another Twilight story up called Wedding Day Jitters. Currently it is a Bella/Edward pairing, but that is subject to change. Thanks again everyone for all of your support for this story!