|- 247 -|

"Good to have you back, Edward," Jasper says. "It's not the same without you."

I drop into the leather chair. "Yeah, I know. I'm just a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day."

Jas half-smiles and regards me warily.

"How is she, Jasper?"

He blows out a heavy breath. "Are you sure you wanna hear?"

"I don't think I can sink much lower. Just give me the truth. She's dating someone else already, isn't she?"

He reels back as if slapped in the face. "Is that what you think is going on here?"

"How the hell should I know, Jas?"

-o-

"How the hell should—?" he repeats dumbly, before collapsing back into his chair. "You don't have the first clue, do you?"

I'm out of my chair like a shot. "Jasper, spit it out already before I jump across your desk and—"

"She's devastated. Crushed. Distraught. Depressed. Agonizingly, inconsolably, utterly lost."

His revelation eviscerates me. I never considered that there would be something worse than Bella moving on without me, but this is far, far worse. And it's entirely my fault.

Numbly, I turn and walk through his door and wander upstairs to a quiet corner.

"Nate, it's Edward."

A/N: *Cues music* To hear the soundtrack, get yourself over to youTube, then add this after com: /watch?v=Bztxd7BJSco (delete spaces). Yes, convoluted but FF did not appreciate my link.

A word about timing- it's been ten days since the Grind episode (a few days in the hospital, a couple days home before Emmett's visit, a couple days after). Now it's Monday, exactly ONE WEEK until his next appointment. Dun, dun, DUNNNNN!

On another note (arr-arrhh) I wrote a slash one-shot for a UST contest. (You can check out the other entrants-i.e. WINNERS-at the author name Driven to Desire Challenge) My story, The Pleasure of the President, is now posted to my own author account as well. Here's a summary:

Presidentward may have a thing for his hunky Secret Service bodyguard Emmett McCarty who may (read, definitely does) have a thing right back. Political intrigue and high drama against a backdrop of romance and longing, the White House was never this lustful. Oh wait, yes it totally was.

XXX ~BOH