Chapter 15
"What happened in the house Jasper?
"Nothing" I replied.
"Something obviously happened or you wouldn't have got as worked up as you did" I flinched as Bella rubbed the antiseptic over my bloodied knuckles.
I kept quiet as she continued to tend to my wounds. I couldn't stop thinking about the kiss.
"You should talk to her you know" I turned to face Bella but she wasn't looking at me.
"Talk to who?" I asked though the answer was clear.
"Rosalie"
"No I shouldn't"
"Yes you should. She's your family Jasper and she obviously wants to reconnect with you"
"At the moment, I don't feel like I want anything to do with her"
"But why?" Bella's face shot up suddenly and a look of horror entered her eyes. "Is it because of me? Because of everything that happened?"
I wanted to deny it but I couldn't help but admit that it was partially true.
"Jasper, no. I didn't want that" she leaned back having finished bandaging my hand. "I am so sorry, I should have kept my mouth shut and not said anything at all. That would have been better than it causing a rift between the two of you"
"Bella, it's not just that. There's other stuff too" she looked at me as though trying to determine whether I was lying for her benefit. Satisfied with her answer, she finished packing up the first aid kit.
"I'm still sorry for whatever part I played. You need to make it better. She's reached out to you. You said it yourself, you've always wanted a sister" I turned away from her again. "Don't lose the only one you'll ever have"
That was a low blow. But still, she was right. Lil was the only biological sibling I was ever going to have and I should make amends with her. Some of the things I was angry about were irrational, I figured that it was just old resentment I'd been harbouring and she was the perfect person for me to take it out on. I'll admit, in that moment I wanted to hurt Lil. I wanted to say the words out loud and destroy her. But I couldn't do that, not to her or to Carmen. They were as much victims in this whole thing as I was and as my mum had been. Carmen has done so much for me, she opened up her home and her family to me and I was disgusted that I could even begin to hurt them at all. I was a terrible person.
I flinched as a hand touched my face.
"Hey, no bad thoughts" Bella smiled sweetly at me. "You were angry, it happens. You're human Jasper and you will feel human emotions. Sometimes you'll get angry and sometimes you'll get sad. Don't hold it all in. I'm here for you just like you're here for me" she picked up my bandaged hands and kissed each one gently, I could barely feel it but my heart beat quickly increased. "Plus I don't think your poor hands could handle another assault like this" she joked.
I smiled and she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.
"Let's go make amends"
I placed my hand on the wheel of the car and breathed in deeply. Then I began making the journey home, I wasn't entirely sure where I was but as Forks is pretty small, I quickly figured out where I was and was able to make my way home.
When we arrived, the extra cars in the driveway were gone leaving just Lil's and so I figured Carmen was still out.
As we approached the door, my palms began to sweat and my heart rate accelerated. I could feel the nervousness setting in. My hand stilled on the door and I contemplated running away, just for a few more hours. I couldn't face Lil. I was horrible to her. Sure she'd done things that didn't sit too well with me but she didn't do anything to me. She was my sister and she loved me and I knew she was trying to made amends. It was wrong of me to judge her for her past. I should be trying to help her instead I'm penalising her for it. It was also wrong of me to blame her for things that weren't her fault. Our dad is an asshole but that's not her fault.
"Hey" I felt Bella's hand on my arm and she shot me a reassuring smile. "It'll be okay". She then opened the door and I stepped in.
"Jasper!" Lil screamed. Then I felt her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist. On instinct I supported her and walked her back to the living room where Emmett sat.
"Are you okay?" she asked touching my cheeks.
"Yeah I'm fine"
"I was so scared that something happened to you. You didn't answer your phone"
"I'm fine"
"Really?" I lowered her to the ground and placed my hands on her shoulders.
Her eyes widened.
"What happened to your hands?"
"Nothing, it's stupid"
"No, tell me. Please."
"I was angry and I was irrational and I lost it"
"I'm sorry-" she began.
"No, no. It's not your fault. It was mine. I'm fine though"
"Really? Are you sure?"
"Yeah, plus I had Bella to take care of me"
At that Lil noticed Bella standing in the background watching the scene unfold with concerned eyes. Lil stepped away from me and glanced back at Emmett. She then rushed towards Bella and pulled her into a hug.
She then began to cry.
"Thank you, thank you so much Bella for taking care of my brother. I will never, even begin to repay you for this. Thank you, thank you, thank you"
"It's okay. He's always taking care of me, it's about time I returned the favour" Bella replied jokingly.
"No. No. It's not just 'okay'. You didn't have to but you did. You were always selfless. Always." Lil's arms appeared to tighten around Bella prompting Bella to wrap her arms around Lil.
Bella started cry too.
"I'm sorry Bella, I'm so sorry" Lil choked out. "I don't even know where to begin"
"It's okay. It's fine" Bella whispered.
"No, no it's not okay Bella. It's not fine. You're my sister, I should've been there. I should've protected you from everyone. I should've spoken to you; I should have listened to you. I was hurting but you were hurting more. I'm so sorry Bella"
"That was the past" Bella hesitated "I don't care what happened, as long as I get you back"
"Forgive me" Lil begged.
"There's nothing to forgive"
Lil released Bella and grabbed her hands, holding them to her heart.
"I love you, I love you so much" Lil cried.
"I love you too, always"
I could hear movement from behind me and then I saw Emmett wrapping the girls in a hug.
"I've missed you so much Bells" he whispered. He kissed her forehead. "I can't even begin to say how happy I am"
"I've missed you too Em"
He picked her up and swung her around. Bella's laughter filled the room and I couldn't help the smile that engulfed my face. When Emmett put Bella down, Lil hugged her again.
I could hear a key in the door turning and Carmen came into sight. The bags in her hands dropped to the ground as her hands shot to face at the scene before her. Tears began to trail down her cheeks as she rushed to Lil and Bella before she, like Emmett, engulfed them in a hug.
I could hear her whisper "Thank God" before they had a little moment. I turned my eyes from them feeling as though I were invading something private.
"You have to stay for dinner" I hear Carmen saying to Bella.
"No, I can't"
"But why?"
"I couldn't intrude"
"Nonsense" Carmen said "You're family"
"I have to make Charlie dinner"
"You must stay for dinner, Charlie should come to" Carmen insists.
"Carmen-"
"Please" Carmen cut her off.
"Fine" Bella finally agreed.
"Great. I'll give Charlie a call now" and with that Carmen was off to the kitchen, her phone in hand.
"Let's go upstairs Bella. We've got catching up to do" Lil grabbed Bella's hand and led her upstairs.
"Hey man" Emmett said as I turned to face him "Thanks for this"
"For what?" I asked confused.
"For, you know, fixing things. Rose has been….different since everything happened. She's been down, like a light went out. She hated the way she handled things with Bella, she missed her so much but she felt stuck. When Alice would go off at Bella, Rose would always tell Alice that it was unnecessary but Alice, I love her and all, but she can be malicious and spiteful and downright nasty. She's also really persistent. So Rose would kind of go along with everything but her heart wasn't in it. I think the only reason why she didn't try harder with Bella is because she felt that bridge was burned. She'd tried to fix things before, but she always chickened out at the end" he choked up a bit. "I have missed having Bella in my life so much. Don't tell anyone but she's more of a sister to me than Alice. She gets me. It's sucked not being a part of her life. I've tried to kind of move on and help her when I can but it's always been secretive. Like her truck, it breaks down a lot, so I'd pick her up if I could and if people were being mean to her, I'd talk to them so they'd leave her but there was only so much I could do." he sighed "So much unnecessary shit happened. Things should not have gone down like that"
He stood up from his seat and patted me on the back. I was still taken aback from this sudden heart to heart.
"You are a God send Jasper. Let's go help Carmen with dinner"
So we went to the kitchen and did just that.
Dinner was nice, we had chicken breast stuffed with cheese and mushroom and wrapped with bacon. We had garlic prawns for our starter and brownies and ice cream for dessert. Carmen is an amazing cook, so Emmett and I didn't really have to do much except prepare the salad. As we brought out the food, Bella was laying the table and she whispered to me that Carmen taught her nearly everything she knew. When Charlie arrived a sense of completeness filled the room. The atmosphere was comfortable and not awkward like I had feared it'd be. It was great. I finally felt that I was part of the family.
I caught Lil's eye from across the table and smiled. She beamed back and went back to talking with Bella.
I loved my sister and I was falling ridiculously hard for her friend.
So that ending was a bit meh….but I hope you enjoyed the rest of the chapter
