A/N Thanks for all those who read and reviewed the last chapter(s). I am so glad you like it. And a special thank you to all the new readers who put my story on alert … *smiles* … the more the merrier.

This chapter is a split POV again between my two favorite characters - Peter and Jasper.

I am truly disappointed to say that I don't own any of the characters *sniff* but I most certainly like to play with them and thus shaping them like I see them *grin*.

Enough babble … on with the show.

Enjoy!!!

Previously …

After a last short glance at me and Bella, Jasper whirled around and left the house through the backdoor.

I turned around, and pulled Bella in my arms, holding her in a tight embrace. She sobbed loudly into my chest, allowing me to comfort her. "Shhh, Bella. Everything will be okay. I'll promise. He will be back."

Chapter 6 The truth, nothing but the truth

Peter POV

I didn't know how long we stood there … holding each other tightly, calming and comforting each other … without words but only with just this simple touch. It wasn't unfamiliar to me … this human way to show affection and give comfort to another person … I'd held my lovely mate Charlotte like this a thousand times … but still … this was somehow different because it was the first time since I'd become a vampire all those decades ago that I held a human woman in my arms who wasn't supposed to be my next meal.

Strange as it was, it felt right … and so good. But eventually the warmth of Bella's body was starting to affect me … and not in a good way. I carefully entangled myself from her, and guided her back to the couch. She obediently sat down, still sobbing and sniffing silently, but she still didn't say a word. I went back to the end of the room, where Jasper had thrown me into to the wall, to pick up the water bottle where it'd slipped out of my hand and fallen down. Then I returned to Bella's side.

"Here," I said, offering her the bottle. She looked at me, with her eyes red and puffy from all the crying, but she still looked like an angel. So innocent … so trusting … so beautiful …

"Thank you." Bella mumbled awkwardly, but accepting the bottle nevertheless. She laid it into her lap, to have her hands free while she was searching in her jeans pockets. Finally she pulled out some tissue and blew her nose. She wiped the remaining tears off with the back of her hand.

"No problem, sugar." I replied, waving my hand dismissively. "There is even some human food … some crackers of sorts … in case you're hungry." I'd hoped a joke would cheer her up a bit, and I was glad to see that I'd apparently succeeded with my silly attempt. A tiny, but sweet smile appeared on her face.

"No, thank you. I am not hungry at the moment." She declined my offer very politely. I didn't believe her because I could hear her stomach growling ever so slightly, but I chose to humor her … for the moment. Apparently her hunger wasn't great enough, or maybe she simply wasn't in the mood to eat, which I could totally understand after what she'd just been through.

Bella opened the bottle, taking a quick swig of water and then she placed the bottle on the table. I took a seat on the chair again, keeping a safe distance between her and me. Of course I wasn't tempted by the scent of her blood, but I wanted her to feel as comfortable as possible … under the circumstances. And I wanted to give her room to fully calm down from her previous emotional high … and I needed my own space for doing the same anyway. Vampires with high running emotions weren't always good company for a human (to be honest they never were), and I was determined to keep Bella safe … and alive.

I was still pissed as hell at Jasper for reacting this recklessly, attacking me in the very presence of Bella, and thus putting her in immediate danger. At that precise moment I'd known it wasn't in anyone's best interest to retaliate. After all, it hadn't been Bella's fault that Jasper had lost control. I'd knowingly pushed him over the edge with my forward behavior towards Bella. But then again he knew me best … knew that I wouldn't hurt her … he should have felt it … but somehow he hadn't.

What a mess! I need to fix it. Just keep your emotions in check for now, I told myself sternly. There will be time later for kicking Jasper's ass … and thoroughly. He fucking deserved it! Stupid motherfucker! What has he been thinking?

Maybe Bella would do some ass kicking herself … the way she had put herself between us before. It was a stupid move to say the least … but hell, that girl had courage, and I liked it. Not afraid to stand up and speak up her mind … even to a crazed vampire.

Stupid … but brave …

The more I thought about it the more I realized that I felt actually a little anxious myself in this girl's presence. That was saying much … me – a vampire – being troubled … troubled by a mere human. And Bella was indeed human, that much was obvious. I could hear her steady heartbeat, her even breathing, her blood running through her veins … but somehow I got the impression that she was something more. She was special … that much I could already tell even though we've just met. She was brave, trusting, selfless, kind and curious … maybe too curious for her own good. But the way she had me already enthralled … it was weird, very weird.

But right now was not the time for pondering over this … because I finally realized that Bella was watching me with open interest, and from her demeanor I could tell she was a little nervous, too.

"Shall I take you home?" I offered, politely.

"Why?" Bella asked, sounding upset. She was probably thinking I wanted to get rid of her, which wasn't the case of course. I just wanted to give her a choice, not presuming anything.

"I'm just asking … in case you don't feel comfortable being alone here with me … I mean Jasper had been right. You don't know me. And I'm pretty sure you'd already figured out that I don't abstain from my natural food source like him." I stated the obvious, carefully monitoring Bella's reaction to my crass estimation of the situation. I detected a small shiver (of fear?) running through her body, but she didn't show any sign of distress on her face.

For a moment there it seemed that she was actually considering my offer to take her home, but then she shook her head. "No … I think I should stay here. I have to talk to Jasper." She stated, vehemently, almost stubbornly.

"As you wish, little lady." I replied, casually, but in truth I was very happy about her decision to stay. Not only because I knew those two had indeed a lot to talk about … but maybe even more so because it would give me the opportunity to learn more about this human girl as well. Bella was a mystery begging to be solved. "And I promise I won't bite." I added with a wink, which caused her to giggle again.

Laugh in the face of death … I thought dryly. No sense of self-perseveration whatsoever …

We sat in silence for a few minutes, both unsure what to say or do next. I actually welcomed the quiet and peace … it was Bella who broke the silence first.

"Peter?" She called my attention, tentatively.

"Yes, Bella." I answered softly.

"He will be back, though?" Bella looked straight at me, her eyes were pleading. I didn't need to be an empath to sense her despair and doubt. Her emotions were plain in her voice, and on her face. Right this moment she looked so vulnerable, so hurt, that it seemed like she would start crying again. I couldn't have that …

"Yes, he will." I reassured her quickly, and honestly. "Jasper just needs some time and space to calm down … that's all."

"Okay." She sighed in relief. But I could still see that she – just like Jasper – was dealing with abandonment issues. Hers weren't new though, and although she was trying very hard to repress them, she wasn't able to hide them completely. Not from someone as perceptive as me …

What had this so called family done … done to both of them? First inviting both of them with open arms … pretending to offer them hope, love and a possible future among them … and then when things had tended to go rough, dropping them like … like worthless garbage. Of course, I loathed them for doing that to Jasper. He was my brother and my friend, and I felt very protective of him. But discovering that they'd had the audacity to do the same to this lovely, innocent girl sitting right in front of me that very moment … it just made me want to tear each and every one of them into tiny little pieces and burn them. Of course I didn't know for sure what had made them leave Bella behind when they'd left … but I had a pretty good guess. They'd probably thought of her as a liability … just like Jasper.

They both are anything but a liability, I huffed internally. I took in an unnecessary breath, to keep my emotions under control …

Meanwhile …elsewhere …

Jasper POV

"Go, Jasper. Go hunt. You need to calm down." Peter had barked at me. I'd stared at him in sheer astonishment, finally realizing what I'd just done. He had been calm, very calm, thus allowing me to feed of his feelings. But it hadn't been enough though … Bella's emotions still had been out of control. They hadn't made sense … neither had her reactions …

"Go now. She'll be fine." Peter had promised, emphasizing his request for my immediate departure more softly, yet firmly. Of course, I'd wanted to apologize to Bella right away, but I'd realized at once that he wouldn't let me near her … not until I'd calmed down … not until he was convinced that I wouldn't be a potential threat to Bella.

I'd spared both of them one last sorrowful glance, before turning my back on them and taking flight through the backdoor. On my way out I could hear that Bella had started to cry …

Fuck, fuck, fuck … I messed up … big time … Great, you stupid motherfucker. You did it again … first making her mad and then scared of you … Great, just great … I had rebuked myself.

So, I ran. I just ran … putting as much distance between me and them. My whole body was still quivering from waves of hatred and self-loathing, when I finally stopped. I had run for so long that I had already passed the Canadian border. Even though I wasn't really in need of any nutrition I decided to hunt anyway. I quickly took down two large deer and a mountain lion, draining them completely, not leaving even one drop of blood. Afterwards I buried their carcasses and cleaned myself in a nearby stream.

Although my thirst was sated, my emotions were still reeling. I was pissed at myself … at Peter … and at Bella. I sat down on a tree trump and put my head in my hands. I knew … before even considering my return … back to the house, back to Forks, I had to come to terms with what had just occurred. I let the events play back in my mind …

I'd thought I had myself under control, prepared for whatever might happen as soon Bella would wake up. Oh boy, had I been wrong. I'd totally underestimated Bella's emotional state and her reactions … or I had just overestimated myself … whatever.

At first, her feelings had made sort of sense to me … when she'd taken in the almost empty living room. She was sad, very sad. The worst part wasn't the frown on her face … no … it was the deep sadness in her eyes, like someone had switched of the light. Her big brown eyes had always been on fire whenever she'd come to the house to visit the family. Even from the distance I'd always kept I'd been able to notice that. Now it had seemed that there hadn't been even a spark of life left in them. Oddly, seeing that I'd felt the strange urge to take her into my arms and offer her some comfort. But before I had been able to do or to say anything, Bella's emotions had gone haywire. If I hadn't been sitting at the time, her emotions sure had me knocked down on my ass. Without a second thought I'd sent her every ounce of calm I'd had to offer … thus keeping her … and myself … from losing it. That grateful smile she'd rewarded me with had warmed my cold and dead heart. I'd never felt that kind of gratitude in my whole existence …

But unfortunately, everything had gone downwards from there. First of all, Peter had pushed his luck by advancing on Bella in a way that had been both wrong and inappropriate (at least in my opinion) … and he'd known this, and had done it anyway. Bastard. He'd known pretty damn well that my self-control was pretty much nonexistent ever since I'd discovered that the family had left without so much as a goodbye … and that an action like that would most likely push me over the edge. What had he be thinking? Didn't he know?

And what the hell had Bella been thinking … allowing a strange, red-eyed vampire coming that close to her? Sure, now that I could think about with a clear head, I hadn't felt even a flicker of fear emanating from her … no there had been nothing but a healthy dose of nervousness and curiosity … but still. Hadn't she learned her lesson after what had happened with James and with me? She should be more vigilant … or she would end up dead … drained by one of our kind before she could even notice it happening. She could hardly know that Peter wasn't like James … in the department that he didn't hunt humans for fun … but he still fed of them. She must have acknowledged that fact … but clearly decided to ignore it. Totally unacceptable behavior in my opinion …

So, I'd snapped … throwing Peter across the room full force, strongly believing that Bella had been in danger. I had been so wrapped up in my own overpowering emotions, and hadn't been able to make the least bit sense out of Bella's … that I hadn't been able to form even one coherent thought. I had just acted on instinct …

That is weird … my instinct was telling me to protect Bella … Why? How? I wonder what that is about … whatever …

And then I remembered Bella's uncalled-for reaction to my maybe overprotective but well-meant action of putting myself between her and Peter. Not in my wildest dreams … if I would be able to dream at all … would I've imagined her to behave the way she had. At first Bella had been shocked of course … a natural reaction for a human witnessing two vampires moving both too abruptly and too fast … but her surprise had quickly been overshadowed by feelings of another kind. Feelings I hadn't expected under the circumstances … because I had truly believed that she would be at least a tiny bit grateful.

But whatever … even though I hadn't been ready for those exact kind of feelings coming from her I surely hadn't been prepared to discover that they had been in fact directed at me. Even from my crouched posture, with my eyes fixed on my current target – with other words my brother Peter – I had been able to see and sense that Bella had been so angry, almost inhumanly outraged with me, that her whole body had shaken under the force of her emotions. To say I was impressed was an understatement … but now I was wondering how her facile, little body was even capable to endure that kind of intensity at all.

It had been just like earlier … her emotions had been so overwhelming, almost numbing that I had been unable to think clearly and react with prudence. So when she'd yelled at me, I had let my own emotions take over my rational mind. I had snapped back at her, and in my crazed haze I'd had a really hard time to contain myself … refraining myself from becoming physical with her. And one thing was for sure, if I'd acted on those urges, I would have hurt Bella in the process. Fortunately … for both of our sakes … Peter had decided to step in to prevent a disaster from happening … again.

I shook my head in disgust, sighing heavily. I was so mad at myself, disappointed that I'd probably blown my one and only chance to make it up to Bella. I had been seeking her forgiveness for my past indiscretion, my slip-up last September … but at this point I wouldn't be surprised if Bella would never speak to me again. There was no excuse for my depraved behavior … and I deserved her hatred now more than ever.

Right now I hated my so-called gift. Lately it had been nothing but a curse … I had problems to distinguish between my own emotions and the emotions of others … deciphering them correctly seemed to be just as difficult … control was a foreign word for me. I felt like I was trapped in my own personal purgatory … for everything I had done to Bella. Simply put, I was a savage … a liability … a threat … and I should not be allowed anywhere near her ever again.

But even though I didn't really feel up to it yet, I knew I couldn't or better shouldn't put it off any longer, I needed to go back, and face my punishment … whatever it might be.

Time to face the music … Maybe she'll surprise me … hardly … you don't deserve her forgiveness … But hope dies last, right? I told myself, desperately in need of some pep-talk. I pushed myself up, and took off in the right direction leading to destination. Back to my former home … back to Peter … back to Bella … back to Forks.

_________________

Back at the former Cullen mansion …

Peter POV

Because I knew Jasper would be back pretty soon, not wanting me to be alone with Bella any longer than necessary, I decided it was time to get some things cleared up before his return. First of all, I needed her to understand that this whole thing wasn't her fault … as it wasn't Jasper's either, despite of what he might be thinking.

"Bella, I need to ask a favor of you." I began, in a quiet but firm voice. "When Jasper does come back … please, go easy on him, will you? I know his erratic behavior must have upset you … but I know he didn't mean to hurt you in any way … or me for that matter. In fact, if anything … he was only trying protect you …" I hold up a hand, stopping her before she could interrupt, "Please, Bella, let me finish. Truth be told, I am the only one here who needs to apologize.

"First of all, you need to know I've pressed him into coming here in the first place, knowing quite well that it wouldn't be easy for him to return to this place. Well … and then … when I greeted you in that very intimate and probably inappropriate way, I'd inevitably pushed him over the edge. You do know that he is an empath, and all those emotions he had been confronted with … his, mine and yours … they finally got the better of him." Bella nodded, sympathetically. But I didn't want my explanation to sound like an easy excuse for both our behavior, so I continued.

"Jasper has been through a lot today … and it really shouldn't have surprised me that he'd snapped in the end. I only wish it wouldn't have been in front of you. I am very sorry for that, Bella. Please believe me, neither one of us wanted to put you in that kind of danger. But just so you know the reason for his sudden outburst was only due to the fact that … right before your unexpected arrival here … he'd just discovered that the Cullens had left without telling him …"

"I don't understand," Bella finally succeeded to interrupt me. She was utterly confused by the news I'd provided. "What are you trying to tell me? He didn't leave with the rest of them?"

"No, Bella, he didn't. Jasper has been spending the last five month with me and my mate Charlotte down in Arizona. Actually, he'd left Forks right after … well, I think you know." I explained, cautiously. She shuddered ever so slightly, feeling obviously uncomfortable, being reminded of the event that had started this whole mess, but remained composed nevertheless … at least on the outside.

"I still don't understand." Bella stated, barely keeping it together. "HE told me … Ed.. Edward told me that Alice had left with Jasper … that they had gone to Denali."

Of course, I acknowledged the fact, that she just like Jasper had problems saying certain names of the family out load, but for now I decided to ignore it. One step at the time …

"Well, I hate to break it to you, honey," I said, forcing myself to stay calm which was very difficult at the moment, and trying not to sound too overly sarcastic. "But he'd lied to you."

I wonder what else he's been lying about … to her … or the others … fucking mind-reader … if I ever see him again I'll kick him where the sun doesn't shine … Breaking the heart of this lovely girl … How did he dare? Cool down, Peter. Think of Bella.

She ignored my implication, shaking her head sadly. She was confused and deeply hurt. I assumed … maybe a little self righteously though … that her feelings had nothing to do with my bluntness but more with her sudden discovery that her former boyfriend had dared to lie to her … among other things he'd done.

"But I told him and Alice … I told them that I didn't blame Jasper … I forgave him right after it happened." She stammered … her body and voice trembling with strong emotions … emotions I wasn't able to identify completely. And then, I suddenly became aware that Jasper was back, even if I couldn't see him yet.

Good timing, dude… I thought, cheerfully.

I didn't know why I'd expected him to waltz straight into the room but Jasper just stayed outside. Maybe he was just as stunned as I was about Bella's last statement. I'd told him the same thing over and over again … that it hadn't been his fault … actually that it hadn't been nobody's fault, but he'd never believed me. I could only hope that hearing the same words coming out of Bella's mouth would finally make him see the truth.

"So I take it then, that you really hadn't meant it, when you told him before … outside the house, that you hated him?" I pressed, knowing that Jasper would be able to hear her answer too. I felt a little bad to betray her by not telling her that Jasper was back … but I knew this little deceive of mine would work into my favor.

Bella smiled weakly, her embarrassment was palpable. A tiny blush crept upon her cheeks. "Yes … and no." She answered, truthfully, but continuing at once. "I guess, I was just overwhelmed … seeing him here again … after all this time. I'd just lost it. I don't even know why I'd come here today … When they'd left … I was broken, lost …"

Right this moment Jasper stepped out of the shadows. "I am so sorry, Bella." He whispered, pain and despair laying his voice. I could have sworn there would be tears in his eyes … if he were able to produce them. He was visibly shaken by Bella's revelation. Oddly, Bella wasn't really surprised by his sudden reappearance. In fact she seemed relieved and happy. "It was all my fault."

"No." Bella and I exclaimed at the same time, thus forcing us to laugh out load. But Bella sobered at once, getting up and slowly moving towards Jasper.

"No," she emphasized once more, with total conviction, leaving no trace of doubt left. "It was not your fault. It was an accident … a stupid accident."

"So … you forgive me?" Jasper asked, still unsure but at the same time desperately seeking her absolution … more than anything else … at least for the moment.

"Of course, Jasper." She said, taking a step towards him, cautiously reaching out to take his hands in hers. His relief was palpable, and a small smile graced his face.

"So that's settled then. Group hug?" I asked, smirking mischievously at both of them.

________________

A/N Who doesn't want a hug from Peter or Jasper or preferably both at the same time? Well … it seems like the first obstacle is out of the way. What will happen now? Will Peter and Jasper leave right away? I'm still open to suggestions … so you know what to do.

And before I forget it, I wish everybody a HAPPY NEW YEAR. May all your dreams come true …