Telling Charlie about Bella's fateful day only made everything ten times worse. The man was still pacing the living room, ranting about the inconsiderate way the school went about their no-bullying tolerance—utter bullshit. Not to mention the way Lauren Mallory targeted Bella, specifically the entire class period—according to Jasper. Traitor.
"You bet your ass I'll be having a word with her parents!" Charlie huffed, cheeks ten shades of red and a whole lot of angry.
Bella couldn't bring herself to care, not when she sat on the couch with a patient Jasper sitting next to her. He had an oddly amused look on his face. His lips were slightly quirked up but didn't quite make a smile as Charlie was anything but thrilled at the moment.
God, my head hurts. She sighed as Charlie continued muttering words that only seemed to fuel Jasper's amusement. She sunk further into the couch and rested the back of her head against the cushion, staring up at the ceiling blankly. It didn't go unnoticed by Jasper, and soon a wave of comfort spread across her chest, warming her heart. Pulling her out of the thoughts she was bound to have—about him.
"Tomorrow, we're going straight to the principals' office and demanding that girl gets suspended!"
Bella pinched the bridge of her nose, "Dad, I really don't think there's a point to it. Can we just forget this happened? Please?" As much as she wanted to see Lauren crash and burn due to her own malice, she also couldn't see a reason to fight any of this at all. There's no point in fighting. She was tired of fighting.
Look where it's gotten you. His voice seemed to say, snide remarks filling her mind.
All she wanted to do was go to her room, curl up under the blankets until she could no longer hear his voice in her thoughts.
Feeling her apprehension, Jasper placed his hand on her shoulder in silent comfort as he said to Charlie, "I believe Coach Clapp reported the incident today as soon as class was over. My sister overheard the conversation while she was waiting for her next class to start," Charlie's tense shoulders seemed to relax despite the permanent frown on his face. Jasper smiled, "It might be possible Mallory won't be in class tomorrow."
Which means one of the Cullens made sure of it.
Bella wondered if Rosalie had something to do with that after talking with Mallory. A conversation Bella was getting more curious about by the minute.
"Well, that's good," Charlie huffed, taking a seat on the recliner. His brown eyes glanced between Jasper and Bella, "So uh, you two are friends now? Can't say I remember your name very well, son. Sorry."
Jasper shook his apology away with a smile, "There are a lot of us in our family, sir. It can be hard for people to keep up. Sometimes, I even have a hard time." He chuckled and for a moment, Bella realized she liked hearing the sound of his rare laugh. It was smooth and warm like honey. Okay, you're being a creep, Swan. Jasper glanced down for a second, sensing the tinge of embarrassment she was emitting before looking back to Charlie, not wanting to make her feel more embarrassed than she was. "My name is Jasper."
Charlie nodded, clearly not having any idea who the Cullen was up until now. Jasper was kind enough to play along. Bella sighed, "Jasper gave me a lift. I don't think either of us wanted to see how me trying to drive with a broken nose would turn out. Knowing me, I'd probably bleed out before getting home." Her dry humor wasn't appreciated by either of the men as they grimaced at the image of Bella crashing on the side of the road somewhere, bleeding out. She tapped her fingers against her knee impatiently as she glanced at Jasper, "Would you like to stay for dinner? As a thank you for driving me home?"
"Thanks, Bella. But I should head home soon. My brother's coming to pick me up any minute now so we can go have dinner with our parents." Jasper smiled again. The warmth in his eyes told her he was clearly amused at her attempt to make him seem more human in front of Charlie. As he stood up, Jasper quickly shook Charlie's hand and released it before he could notice how cold his skin was, "It was nice meeting you, sir."
"Likewise, Jasper. Thanks for watching over my Bells."
"Anytime." Jasper glanced at Bella when he said that word. The unspoken meaning behind it reached her, and there was no mistaking why he was saying it. Anytime you need me. I'm here.
"I'll walk you out." Bella's face felt hot as she stood up and led him down the hall to the front door. She didn't know why she responded the way that she did when it gradually became harder and harder to ignore the way her heart stuttered around in her chest. She'd always been a shy person, easily flustered by unwanted attention. But this reaction towards Jasper was unexpected. While she was always wary around him, feeling he never wanted to be near her in the first place, Bella was never flustered whenever Jasper did pay any attention to her in the past.
I'm just reading too much into it.
"Thanks for helping me back there. I owe you one...more than one I think." She murmured as they wandered out onto the front porch. There was a light drizzle of rain outside, the green of the forest around them seemed brighter than before as the drops landed on the lawn and leaves on the branches of the trees rustled with the light breeze.
"Not a problem, darlin'. It's what I'm here for," Jasper pulled the hood of his jacket over his head before stepping off the porch. When he turned he had a breathtaking smile, "You can use me anytime."
Bella shook her head, biting her lip nervously, "You're more than that, Jasper."
Jasper's eyes widened slightly, clearly hearing her words at the same time she registered what she'd just said.
"I-I mean, you're my friend and great c-company so..." Ugh, why are you so awkward?! Get a grip, Bella! In an attempt to rectify this mess of a conversation she said, "I like being with you, Jasper."
If Jasper was at all flustered by her words the same way Bella was, he didn't show it at all as his stance relaxed slightly and he cocked his head to the side quizzically. The smile he gave her would have had any of the girls at school melting. But not Bella. Not when he was Ed-his brother and Alice's boyfriend. Alice...oh god. How could she be so stupid?
"Alice is probably wondering where you are," she blurted out, hugging her sides as an entirely new thought crossed her mind, "tell her sorry for keeping you from her all day..."
A crease formed between Jasper's brows as he assessed her warring emotions. Embarrassment and shame being the strongest of them all. And then Jasper's lips parted slightly as it dawned on him. "Ah. I see." He breathed out, slowly walking up the steps and stopping just a few below so Bella could look him straight in the eyes. When he spoke, his voice was gentle and sincere, "Bella you don't know, do you?"
She stiffened as he slowly lifted his hand up to brush back one of the strands of hair that fell out of her ponytail tucking it behind her ear. When his cold fingers grazed the curve of her ear, she shuddered. Maybe it was because of the rain...or the fact that she felt an unmistakable current shoot through her the moment their skin came into contact. Definitely the rain...
"Know what?" She asked, averting her gaze as she felt her face warm again.
"He never told you. Of course, he didn't..." Jasper muttered under his breath with the shake of his head, more to himself than to her.
"Told me what? Jasper, what didn't Ed–" Bella winced, stopping herself before his name could slip out of her mouth. "What did he not tell me?"
Jasper shook his head as if at war with his own thoughts before finally speaking, "Alice and I were never together. Not for a very long time anyway and even then it wasn't anything more than a partnership, two souls trying to keep each other company in this long life of ours. And we were definitely never married."
What? That's...
"He said you two were mates–"
"I'm sure it was convenient for him to say that, but no we aren't mates I can assure you." Jasper snapped, running a hand over his face out of sheer frustration.
Bella couldn't understand why he felt that way. However, if Edward had been lying to Bella about how he felt about her all this time, then it shouldn't be much of a surprise that he was lying about anyone else amongst his family. Even so, there was a blooming feeling in her chest she couldn't quite pinpoint taking shape the moment Jasper told her the truth. The fact that he and Alice weren't together. They weren't married. They aren't mates. And she could see the bitterness laced in his amber eyes caused by Edward's lie of omission.
"I'm sorry, Jasper." She whispered.
"Why on earth would you feel the need to apologize?" Jasper questioned. This time he walked up the steps until his tall frame towered over her, his entire presence intoxicating as it was comforting in a way that only Jasper seemed to make her feel. His hand took hers and squeezed it gently, "You did nothing wrong, Bella. None of this has ever been your fault despite what you may think."
"I don't know why I felt the need to apologize," She let out a breathless chuckle. She really didn't, it just came naturally to her all the time. To apologize for being stupid, for being inferior, for getting hurt. She bit her lip again, feeling the pressure building in her eyes as tears once again began to blur her vision, "The more I find out about him, the more it seems like all he's done lately is lie. I was so stupid, so lost in him that I didn't see it. How could I not see it? And he hurt all of you, in some way too, right?"
Jasper's gaze softened, "No, you're not stupid, darlin'. None of us saw it, Bella. Not even Carlisle who cared for Edward more than anything in the world and knew him the best. Of course it hurts, he's my brother but," he stepped onto the porch and cupped her face as he stared into her eyes, "it'll get better over time. And we're together now, so we'll help each other out. Hm?"
She nodded but couldn't hide the tear that slipped down her cheek, landing on his thumb before Jasper wiped it away. Gently protecting her with the warmth of his gift as the ache in her chest lessened slightly. Bella's heart tumbled in her chest. Relief showed in her face as the rain continued to pour outside. Neither of them moved. They didn't care about the thunder rumbling in the sky or the stream of rain falling over the roof's edge. Jasper asked softly, close enough now that she could feel the cold radiating off his chest. "What are you thinking about, Bella?"
Leaning into his touch, Bella averted her gaze before feeling the tendrils of encouragement spur her on. "I'm thinking about how...I probably look like a bruised tomato now."
Jasper's chuckle warmed her heart, and she found herself smiling despite her chagrin.
"You look perfect."
"Don't make fun of me." Bella's voice broke up with a sigh, giving him a playful shove that only made him grin. Being with Jasper now, joking around like this, it felt like something in her heart was mending, just a bit.
"I could never," he joked back, earning himself another slap across his chest, "Easy now. I don't want to have to take you back to Carlisle again." Bella didn't miss when he gently patted her hand, making sure she hadn't hurt herself for hitting him, and it made tingles shoot up her arm, tickling her nerves and making her feel jittery—the way coffee does typically but ten times better than that.
That was the only way she could describe how Jasper made her feel right now.
By the time Emmett finally pulled up to the house, honking impatiently if only to aggravate the two of them, Bella and Jasper had finally stepped away from each other and took to sitting on the steps. Jasper sighed when Emmett honked again. "I'll come by to pick you up tomorrow so that Carlisle can check on you again. If that's okay with you." He said, ignoring another honk and flicking Emmett off over his shoulder without taking his eyes off Bella.
She smiled, "Yeah, I'd like that. Thanks, Jazz. For everything."
He chuckled, keeping his hands tucked in the pockets of his jacket as he turned on his heel, "Get some rest, darlin'."
Bella waved Emmett away when he honked again. The Cullen chuckled loudly when Jasper shot him a crude word while he climbed into the Jeep with an annoyed scowl. She stood on the front porch for a moment, watching the car disappear down the road at a ridiculously high speed. Then, shaking her head, she turned and walked back into the house, waiting for the feeling of emptiness to come back and haunt her.
It never did. She felt lighter with thoughts of Jasper, Alice, Emmett, and Rosalie being there for her today. It made her heart ache in a good way. Carlisle's love for her, welcoming her to his family despite it all, made Bella feel less lonely. Less like an outsider.
She went to bed with thoughts of them, hoping that tomorrow she'd feel the same way.
But then the nightmares came to remind her why feeling lonely was exactly what she deserved. The nightmares of Edward and James reminded her of all the things she could never have, and never will. She didn't escape their cruel words and rough hands until Charlie burst into the room, woken up by her screams, and he stayed there, sitting on the edge of the bed, holding her hand until she fell asleep again.
Thanks for reading x
What did you guys think about Jasper and Charlie meeting? And that Bella knows Jazz and Alice are not together?
You guys were surprisingly curious to know what Rosalie did to Mallory (I love it) I will share that conversation in the upcoming chapters, so don't worry lol
