Chapter three: Battle scars

Charlie and I spent the following evening out at the local diner and shared our thoughts. After conversing about the weather, we spent the next few minutes in silence, until Charlie decided to break the ice.

"So, how was school? Did you enjoy Forks high? Did ya meet anyone? I'm sure everybody was talking about you. That was the case at work. Old Dan wouldn't shut up about you. Remember him?" Charlie smiled.

"Yeah, he always made me laugh. I'm sure he was thoroughly re-telling my childhood embarrassments. And to answer your question, no. I didn't meet any guys, dad. At least not any that would want to have anything to do with me," I responded. Charlie chuckled at my acknowledgement of Old Dan, a childhood friend of ours, ever since I could remember.

"Just thought I'd ask," he said with a sigh.

"If you must know," I announced, "a few guys introduced themselves and I noticed one that happened to be a little attractive, okay?"

"That's all I needed to know," he teased.

I never told him who I saw in class. I figured it wouldn't matter whether he knew or not. It was quite unusual for him to pry like that, but I guess discussing that specific topic, was just part of being a dad.

I felt relieved when I stopped dreaming about mom, but then a wave of angst came over me as the god-like Jasper came into focus. His intricate scars were just as prominent as I remembered and perfectly exposed. He was sitting on a well-groomed stallion and, like a gentleman; gave a slight tip of his hat to me.

His facial expression suddenly morphed into a look of utter despair, as if he had just lost someone dear to him. More and more men on large horses started to seep into view from the surrounding foliage, each one looking more soldier-like than the last. One was wearing a blood splattered Police officer's uniform. As the figure came into focus, I recognized the face as someone I knew very well, my dad.

Tears were streaming down his cheeks, and each man was equipped with a cluster of battle scars, similar to Jasper's. Who could they be mourning over? Why was Charlie's uniform covered in blood? I watched all of them fix their eyes on me as my view of them suddenly became slanted, and a pool of blood blossomed around my torso and the grassy earth I laid upon.

For the remainder of my morning, the visions of my dream lingered in my head, as I prepared for my next day as a student at Forks high school.