She broke down the other day, yeah you know
Some things in life may change
But some things they stay the same

Like time, there's always time
On my mind
So pass me by, I'll be fine
Just give me time
Time, there's always time
On my mind
Pass me by, I'll be fine
Just give me time

Damien Rice – Older Chests

Bella

Months have passed since the day Jasper left me on my wedding day. I realize now that I was being absolutely selfish and stringing two people along the way I did was the worst possible way to live my life. I was just as guilty as Edward in everything. I am close to forgiving him however in order for me to that, I need to forgive myself first and that isn't coming as easy as one would think.

Edward calls me each day. Sometimes I answer, sometimes I don't. It all depends on how I feel that day. He doesn't bring up Jasper or us, it's a very basic, how are you doing, do you need anything conversation and I'm thankful for that. As much as I want to kick and scream and tell him to go away, it feels great to know that someone worries about me. However, I've made it quite clear that we're not getting back together.

Alice and Aro have been great. I spent another week in Vancouver with Alice and she helped me get through everything. As far as Jasper is concerned, I'm meeting him in a few moments for the first time since that day and I'm absolutely terrified to see him.

Alice filled him in on the conversation that I had with Edward and she said he had no reaction. I'm wondering if it's because he's now feeling indifferent to me or if it's because he's not dealing with it.

So as I sit in the small diner down from work, I watch as Jasper walks towards my table and I catch my breath. He's just as handsome as I remembered him and as he smiled at me, my heart drops to my stomach.

"You look great," he says as I stand to give him a quick hug. We both sit and as the waitress takes our drink orders, the awkward silence fills our ears and finally he speaks up.

"How are you?" he asks.

I smile and say, "Much better, thank you."

"I'm glad to hear that, Bella."

In that one moment I knew that his decision was the best one that could have happened for us. He took control of the situation when I couldn't make the right choices and as much as it hurt me to see him go, I knew he did it for us.

"How are you?" I ask.

He smiles again and says, "Much better, now too."

I laughed and as we talked about the past couple of months, we began to build a bridge back between us. He asked about Edward and I explained how he has pretty much given up on us as a couple and that he's just seeking forgiveness.

Jasper then looked at me and said, "What will it take for you to forgive me?"

I reached for my glass of water, took a small sip and said, "You were forgiven a long time ago, Jasper."

He laughed. "How do I get off so easy and you're making him suffer?"

"Jasper, there wasn't anything to forgive you for. I was the one who created all this and I'm so sorry."

"Bella, you've been through so much. I finally realized myself that you needed space to get you in order. I was so bent on wanting you in my life that I didn't think about what you needed. I'm sorry for that."

"Well, I do appreciate you letting me off so easy. I just can't seem to forgive myself as easy." I picked at the napkin on the table and let out a sigh.

"You should forgive yourself. How else can we work things out?"

I looked up at Jasper and said, "I'm sorry, what?"

"Bella, these past couple of months have been a learning experience for myself. We moved so fast after your divorce and we should have gone slower. I just hope it isn't too late and you'd like to try again. This time, slower, taking time to really get to know one another."

I smiled, my heart full of joy. "I'd like that very much."

"Good, as for now, we're friends. We'll see what happens from there?"

I nodded and said, "Friends sounds good."

So I sat in a diner with my new friend, someone that I appreciated much more than I'd ever before. Glad that at least in some way, he was still in my life.

I couldn't have asked for more.

~ The End ~

A/N: I know that it probably didn't end exactly how everyone wanted it to end but we can't always have a complete HEA. I'm going to let you, as my readers decide if I do an epilogue... and what the epi should be. Until then, I'm happy with Bella and Jasper building back their life together. I started out Indention of the Heart as my own way to deal with my own divorce but now I realize that sometimes we have to work on ourselves before we can make someone else happy. That's what Broken Open was about. I appreciate all the reviews and as always, thank you for reading.