Chapter 4:

She groaned and leaned back against the pillows on the bed, pulling her chemistry book over her head. He grabbed it lightly, and layed beside her. "I just don't get it."

"What's not to get?"

"How can you recrystallize phthalic acid, without the necessary neurons? It doesn't add up."

"You are overthinking it. Why don't we take a break? We've been at this for three hours." Jasper smiled as he pulled her up and they sat cross-legged in front of each other on the bed. He tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, and she could feel her heart rate increase.

For some reason, his touch sent shivers down her body. The time registered in her mind before she got a frantic look on her face and rushed over to her bag to grab her phone. Seven missed calls from Jesse.

"Crap. I didn't think we were studying that long. Jesse is probably freaking out." She worried, quickly answering the additional twelve texts he's sent her.

"Can we try something?" He whispered as he walked over to her, and plucked the phone from her grasp. She could couldn't the pout that landed on her lips.

"Try what?" She tried to grab the phone back but he placed it on the top shelf of his bookcase and smiled when she failed to be tall enough to reach.

"Right now, he thinks you are with Bella. Let's keep it that way. We only get a short while together, and I am sure my sisters will drag you away at some point. So just give me your undivided attention, for how about one hour?" His eyes seemed to beg her silently. He leaned in close to her, and for the second time that day, she felt dazzled. She could feel her breath hitch in her throat and she nodded.

"Yeah, okay. Well, what do you want to do?" She asked hesitantly. She knew she was making a big mistake. She was alone in her room with a boy who wasn't her boyfriend, who, holding no regret, she was starting to develop something more than a friendship for.

She would never leave Jesse or cheat on him, that she knew of. She snapped herself out of her mental debate. He motioned her back to the bed, where they lay side by side. Again he pushed one piece of hair behind her ear.

"Let's just…talk. Like actually talk. I want to get to know you."

"That may be dangerous." She whispered. His eyes enlarged in fear. Dangerous? Was she catching on to what he was? He had began to worry a few days prior that he may actually have to come clean soon. But she made no indication that she knew anything about his secret.

"Dangerous? How so?"

"You may not want to get to know me. I have a lot of secrets." She whispered again, turning her head from his view. He lightly touched her chin and pulled her face to look at him. Her heart was going crazy. It was odd to her that he was the only person whose touch did not bother her.

"Try me."

"What do you want to know?" He thought for a second, tapping his chin with a smile. She shook her head, waiting patiently.

"Why did your parents separate?" He asked softly, sitting up to lean against the headboard, and she leaned up and faced him, sitting closer than she expected when he scooted closer. "Be honest."

"Honesty. That's the hard part I guess." She sighed, closing her eyes for only a moment. "To be honest, I never really found out. I know my mom wasn't happy. And I know she cheated on him once or twice. But they were always happy, loving. Until one day, everything just fell apart."

"What do you mean fell apart?"

"Well, my brother's and I were watching a football game. It was the summer, and it was the pre-season. My dad stormed in, holding a bunch of papers. My mom was behind him. He said he was done. He wanted out. She tried to fight him, so he…"

She stopped, not being able to find her voice. Jasper softened his voice. "He what?"

"He hit her. Pretty bad too. I mean he always roughed her up a bit. More than a man should, but she always took it. She said it's a woman's job to keep her man happy. If she can't, she deserves it. And she couldn't keep him happy I guess. I mean they always threatened to leave each other, and leave us. But for him to do it. It hurt. I don't seem him anymore. He took my brothers and left town. He contacted me when I was thirteen. One letter."

"What did it say?"

"I never opened it." He made no move. He didn't even allow himself to breath. He processed the short tale she was telling him, and all he wanted was to hold her, to comfort her, and make her feel loved. What he didn't understand, why would she make herself suffer the same fate and ill treatment as her mother?

"You watched your mother get beaten. Why would you allow yourself to get the same treatment?" Jasper asked with such softness it hurt. She got up with a speed he didn't think she was capable of. She crossed her arms over her chest and walked a few steps, taking a few breaths. Should she deny the obvious, or accept it and explain?

She didn't know why he was so insistent on finding out her reasoning, or why she cared so much. That was what she wanted to know. She whirled around and faced him, tears threatening to break.

"Because I can't keep him happy. So I deserve it. My mom taught me it was normal to be hurt. I have to follow her example. It's not a big deal. Why do you even care, Jasper, you don't even know me."

He leaned forward, grabbing her arms softly and taking her hands in his. She tried to pull away but he begged her with his eyes, so instead she stayed perfectly still.

"It is a big deal. He hurts you. He has put marks of pain and anger on your body, things you never deserve. If he is not happy with such a beautiful and amazing woman like yourself then you deserve better. And there's time to find better. Sometimes it could be right in front of you and you don't even realize. You have to fight and protect yourself."

She pulled from his grasp but he continued. "Let me protect you."

"Protect me? You don't even know me!" She insisted and shifted away from him. He followed her again. "Why do you even care?"

"I care because I care about you. And no one deserves to be treated like that. Not a single person. Especially not you, Allison. God, please just listen to me, if not about anything else than this than so be it. Do not let him hurt you anymore."

She was stunned. She sat there, watching him breath deeply and get more worked up about her life. She could feel herself detach from the obvious emotional scene that was going on. She couldn't think about another boy. She only wanted Jesse. That's all she wanted. That's all she should want right? "I can't do this."

"Do what?"

"This, Whatever this is. I have a boyfriend, whether you agree or not I love my boyfriend."

"How can you love a man like that?"

"Because he wasn't always like that!" Jasper scoffed. "He wasn't! When we first started to date he was my dream boy. He asked my stepfather before taking me out on an official date. He bugged my friends until they told him my favorite flower, my favorite food, my favorite movie, ECT: He went through so much trouble for me. He was like that for so long. He took me on proper dates and only kissed me on the cheek until I was ready. He never pressured me, or hurt me, he was the best boyfriend. He could have had any girl he wanted, but he chose me. How could I not consider myself lucky and love a man like that?"

"Because he is not a man like that anymore. He wasn't a good man to begin with. He shouldn't have to demand information from your friends he should know his girlfriend. And he shouldn't be hurting you!"

"Name one boy who could recite his girlfriend's favorite things."

"Your favorite flower is a lily. You love pizza but you would never eat it because you worry you'll lose your figure. You love poetry, but not sappy unknown love poems, the hard stuff. You reread Shakespeare's famous sonnets because you sometimes wish you were from that era. Your dream date is a picnic in a grassy field while you watch the stars in the sky.

You hate what the rain does to your hair, but you love the serenity it gives, and you even run and dance in the rain because you feel it touches your soul. You always run your fingers through your hair when you're nervous. Your favorite color is gray and you love the beach, but you love the snow even more.

You hate ketchup and you miss your family terribly but you would never admit it. Your favorite movie is the old rare silent films that are only showed on special occasions. But you have a soft spot for kid's movies. You want to be doctor, because you want to find a way to cure cancer. But you worry you won't get into medical school even though it is four years away."

She was stunned, in six days he knew everything about her, even things she had only hinted at. He had been listening and remembered every conversation. He cared. The rush of emotion she just couldn't hide away overwhelmed her. She grabbed his honey suckle hair and pulled his face to hers. His lips were reacting immediately, and they worked in perfect sync with hers.

She could feel the desperation kick in, and she felt the bed behind her knees, in which he layed her down and was right back onto her lips. She couldn't help but notice that her human flesh was molding to his, his chilled body felt like solid rock. Another thing she had to bookmark in her mind to think about later.

His touch, although heated with passion and desperation, was light as a feather to only gently stroked her skin. For once, she encouraged the contact. She could not think of a single time with Jesse were she welcomed the inevitable events. She was getting lost in the feeling of his lips moving with hers, his touch showing more love and affection than she had ever felt, and pretty soon she had to come up for air.

It felt like she couldn't stop. When he removed his hands from her skin, she would move them back. She was desperate for his closeness. But the moment only lasted so long before the reality slapped her in the face. She had cheated on Jesse. And while the regret did not register, the shame did. "Jazz, stop."

"Why?" He growled, gripping her even tighter, but yet his touch felt as light as a feather. He could sense her mood change by how still her body went, so he pulled back and saw the blank look on her face. He sat up, pulling her with him, and touched her cheek gently.

She leaned into his face, closing her eyes in bliss. She didn't feel guilty. But she would have if something else had happened. She sighed heavily, and let him pull her back into his arms, her back to his chest as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"We can't do that. I have Jesse. Whether the relationship isn't ideal or not, it's no excuse. I don't cheat, I will not be my mother." She thought Jasper would jump away since she stated that would not be happening again. But he made no move. He just kept running a comforting hand through her hand.

She searched through herself for something that she could ignite to get her sanity back, anything. She has a boyfriend of two years, but yet she had never felt more peaceful in anyone but this mans arms. Jasper Hale had sparked something in her, a need.

She replayed their conversation from earlier. He was right, she should not settle if she were to be unhappy. She couldn't live her life that way, not anymore. But she still was not completely positive Jesse didn't make her happy.

"I understand. But I need you to understand that I will be here, I will wait and I will show you that I am better for you than he is. And if he hurts you, I cannot promise I will not defend your honor." His words were menacing, and his grip got only slightly tighter on her skin, but she felt no pain and he had no intention of causing any.

"Can I tell you a secret?" He was taken back by her response, but he could not turn down finding out more from the inner workings of the this marvelous creature. He nodded, stroking her cheek gently.

"You can tell me anything." She hoped he was true to that word, because he wouldn't like the next statement.

"Jesse….I've stuck up before. When he hurt me the first time, I was so outraged that he had put his hands on me, I tried to fight back. I tried so hard, Jazz. But he was stronger. He had control over me, and he still does. It was that day I let him."

"What happened that day?"

"He…beat me, I was in the hospital for a few days. He told the doctors had I been jumped, and I called him for help." She sighed and she shifted a little, taking him out of his own headspace. She turned to face him, letting on index finger trace the features in his face. His eyes closed, he loved the warmth of her body. He could now see the allure a human mate had. But he only stayed peaceful for a moment.

"Why would you allow a creature like that to live?" He demanded, taking her hands in his. She sighed heavily, turning her back to him and leaning back on his chest.

"I guess I was afraid what everyone would say. They would see me as the helpless girl who let's her boyfriend hurt her. I don't tell anyone, then no one knows. How did you even know?" She asked with heavy accusation in her voice. He cleared his throat with discomfort.

"The first day, before I was leaving class, I saw the two of you arguing. I didn't want to interrupt so I stayed back in class. I saw him…I saw him slap you. And you didn't even defend yourself." He spoke the last words through clenched teeth. She shook the embarrassment of knowing Jasper had witnessed the pitiful scene.

"I guess I'm like a trained puppy." She laughed, but he found no humor in her attempted joke. He turned her to face him. "Can we stop talking about this? It's getting late I should probably go soon, anyways."

She stood on the bed and reached for her phone, sighing as she saw the twelve more missed calls. That's when the girls walked in, all with evil smirks on their face. Bella ran over, throwing the girl over her shoulder. "Oh no you don't. It's our turn, we get girl's night tonight."

With that, they took Jasper's human away.