Chapter One:
The wind blew softly as the cloud bank hid the sun from the small town of Forks, Washington. The sound of leaves and branches breaking under sneakers and a single heartbeat was the only sound outside of the usual woodland cacophony surrounding the Cullen residence. Five heads from within the house turned towards the front door as a knock sounded. Emmett was at the door first pulling it open and smiling at the visitor on the other side.
"Bella!" Emmett smiled, pulling the human girl into the house and closed the door behind her.
"Hey Emmett. I was trying to get a hold of Edward and couldn't get through and nothing is getting through to Alice either. Do you know where they are?" Bella asked as Rosalie, Esme, Carlisle, and Jasper entered from various other rooms in the large house.
"Yeah, I think Alice said something about them having to run to Port Angeles for something." Jasper answered, sitting down on the arm of the couch. "They shouldn't be too long."
"Please, Bella, wait here for them." Esme said, smiling and stepping closer to her and taking her hand. "We were about to go outside and play some baseball since there is a storm rolling in." Esme smiled warmly at her. Bella smiled and nodded to her, causing the rest of the family to cheer. Rosalie came up to Bella's other side and wrapped an arm around her and smiled.
"I'll let you borrow a jacket because this won't do and Edward will kill us if you get sick." Rosalie said, taking her hand and dragged her up the stairs. The family watched as Rosalie started accepting Bella into the family.
"Thank you Rosalie. You don't have to." Bella muttered as she stood inside the doorway of Rosalie's bedroom.
"Don't mention it. You're family. Alice saw it so there is no point in arguing or causing any tension. Plus we have eternity ahead of us, no need to have any problems." Rosalie smiled over to her and handed her a black puffer jacket. "And call me Rose, everyone else does." She added and the two girls walked down the stairs to where the family was waiting.
"Alright! Let's go play some ball." Emmett cheered, bringing smiles and excitement to the family.
Thunder boomed in the clearing causing the six people in the field to smile. "It's game time." Jasper called and the family gathered around home plate. "So since there are only the five of us we can just play a two versus two game I can volunteer as the pitcher. Sounds good?" Jasper asked and the family nodded. He turned to Bella and watched as she started fidgeting behind his 'family'. "Bella, would you like to be the umpire or just watch?" He asked and she looked up shocked to be given a choice.
"Um, I can be the umpire." Bella answered quietly with a soft smile. Carlisle clapped causing the group to turn towards him.
"Okay I will be the catcher. Emmett, will you be on my team?" Esme asked and the burly man nodded.
"Rose you bat first, then Carlisle. Then we can switch Emmett with Rose and Esme with Carlisle for the first inning? Sounds good? You have to try to get both players home with only two batters." Jasper explained to everyone in the group. The group nodded and quickly took their places.
Bella stood behind Esme and Rosalie as Jasper wound up the pitch and the ball came soaring through the air so fast the human eye could barely keep up; not a second later a bang echoed through the clearing as Rosalie hit the ball and started running the bases. Emmett took off into the forest behind him chasing the ball and quickly caught it as Rosalie slid into second base and smirked at her mate. Emmett laughed and threw the ball back to Jasper as Carlisle came up to home plate. Jasper threw the ball and the loud bang echoed again through the clearing going further than the last time. Rosalie rounded third base and home as Carlisle was coming up quickly behind her. Emmett caught the ball and threw it with all his strength to Esme as Carlisle was closing in on home plate. Carlisle slid into home as Esme caught the ball and landed the glove on his leg. Everyone looked up at Bella for the verdict causing her to blush under the attention.
"Sorry, out." Bella called out, mimicking the motions she saw the umpires on tv do. Carlisle got up with the unneeded help from his mate.
"Alright, switch sides!" Jasper's deep voice commanded with an underlying sense of authority that Bella hasn't heard before. The rest of the group switched like Jasper called out. The first up to bat was Esme, Rosalie in the outfield, and Carlisle acting as the catcher. Jasper smirked and wound up the pitch and rocketed the ball towards Esme. She hit the ball slightly left but quickly took off after the ball passed the treeline. Rosalie quickly chased after the ball and caught it in mid air. Esme smiled at her family as the ball came flying back to Jasper as she walked off first place after Bella called her out. Emmett grabbed the bat and gave a few test swings causing a gush of wind that blew Bella's hair around her face. She sent a playful glare towards Emmett causing him to laugh and rub the top of her hair like you would a child. Jasper repeated the previous throw with a little more force than the last time just for Emmett. Emmett swung and hit the ball the furthest into the tree as Rosalie took off before the ball even made it pass Jasper. Emmett took off rounding the bases and sliding into home plate and making it safe before Rosalie could throw it back.
The rotation continued for a couple of hours until it started to get too dark for Bella to be able to make any calls and her stomach reminding her of her human limits and need for something nutritious to eat. The family came together putting Bella in the middle out of habit and Rosalie to wrap her arm through Bella's giving her a soft smile.
"I'm sure that Edward is back at the house now." Esme smiled as they got closer to the dark house. The vampires all stopped and looked at each other with confused looks crossing all of their faces.
"What is it?" Bella asked, pulling at Rosalie's arm to get her attention as the family seemed to have a silent conversation with each other.
"Nothing Bella. We just can't hear anything from the house. I would be sure that once he or Alice heard your heart or smelled you they would have met us or at least made some notion they knew we were home." Rosalie said with a worried expression she tried to hide. Emmett ran to the house ahead of the family to check it out to make sure that it was safe and there were no unwelcome visitors. Once the family was in the house and in the living room Emmett came down the stairs hold two sealed letters.
"The house is empty. Alice and Edward's rooms are basically bare. The only thing I found were these letters addressed to Bella and us." Emmett informed them as he handed Bella the letter addressed to her and Carlisle the letter addressed to the family. Bella felt like a clump of lead sank to the bottom of her stomach and her heart felt like it was about to stop. She carefully opened the letter with shaking hands and let the envelope fall to the floor.
"Bella,
I should not have let things get this far. It was never supposed to get this far. I do not love you. I love Alice and she is my mate. I can no longer stand watching her play house with someone who is not me. Someone who is obviously not good enough for her. I do not want you in my world anymore. You were a mere distraction for me. Something to pass my time and get Alice to finally realize what I was going through all these years. The draw I have to you is your blood and being away from you will make things all the better. I never loved you, I loved the appeal of your blood that sang to me.
My family will be having to leave Forks soon anyways, so Alice and I just took a head start. Do not try to contact myself, Alice, or my family after they leave. I promise you that after tonight it will be like my family and I never existed in your life. Do not do anything reckless for Charlie's sake. He wouldn't survive if he were to lose you.
I'm sorry again that I dragged this out and let things get this far and merely played you.
-Edward"
Bella felt the air leave her body as the letter slipped out of her fingers and floated down to the floor meeting the envelope that it was in. She knew that Rosalie was calling her name but her voice sounded so far away, like she was underwater and everything was muffled and incoherent. She felt cold hands gently cup her face as golden eyes came into view. Her breathing started to pick up as she struggled against the person trying to get her to focus. She wanted to get out. She needed to leave before she let the damn break and the tears that were stinging her eyes escaped.
"Bella! Look at me! Focus!" Esme called as she moved her hands from the girl's face to her shoulders as she struggled against her. Esme watched in horror as the girl in front of her started panicking and fighting with wild unfocused eyes. She looked over to Jasper, was standing stock still with the look of betrayal showing on his face. She knew that Jasper would have been the best person to help but the heartbreak Bella was experiencing he was too. "Jasper, help, please son!" Esme called.
Jasper's almost black eyes snapped up to Esme and quickly over to Bella who was still struggling against her grip. He pushed his aching aside and was in front of Bella in a second, replacing Esme. The family watched with cautious eyes as Jasper took Bella's face into his hands and pumped calming emotions towards her. Bella slowly started to calm down as silent tears started running down her cheeks. She looked up and focused on the blond curls and golden eyes in front of her. She reached up and wrapped her hands shakily around his wrists as she stared into his eyes. She pulled the emotions out of him as venom started pooling in his eyes reflecting hers. He searched her eyes trying to pull her emotions forward to take them from her and help but she would not let up. He felt the devastating ache in her chest that almost brought him to his knees.
"Isabella. Are ya focused?" Jasper asked in a soothing and southern drawl. Bella nodded, not trusting her voice in the moment to not break and completely cause her to shatter in front of everyone. "Okay good. I need ya to breathe real slow for me, you're having a panic attack and ya got everyone real worried right now." He said as she started to try to look around at everyone else in the room and her breathing only picked up and her grip tightened on his wrists.
"Everyone leave. I got her. Too many people are making this worse." Jasper commanded and felt the others leave upstairs as waves of anxiety and hesitation radiated off them. Jasper wasn't sure if it was due to leaving Bella in the state she was in or leaving her alone with him, but at this moment he could care less if his family still didn't trust him after all these decades together, all he cared about was getting Bella to calm down and make sure she was okay. "Alright, Isabella it's just us again. Focus on my voice alright. Can you hear me?" Jasper asked and she nodded against his hands and stared into his golden irises. "Good now," He started as he slowly moved one hand off her cheek and grabbed one wrist and rested it against his chest. "I need ya to copy me 'kay? In and out slowly. Like this." He took a deep breath in through his nose, filling his dead lungs, and slowly let it out his mouth. "Can you do that?" He asked softly and she nodded again. He took another deep breath, watching as she copied him and slowly let it out the same time he did. He had her copy him for a few minutes until he heard her heart rate slow down and become normal again. She continued to start into his eyes as if looking for any answers that he could possibly have.
"Jasper… He…" Bella started as her voice cracked and another wave of heartache and betrayal crashed into him like a tsunami. He clenched his jaw as he felt his own emotions mirror what she felt.
"I know. I know." He whispered softly to her. She took a step back and he let his hands fall from her face. He searched her for emotions that were just there a second again but could no longer feel them. All he felt was emptiness and just a void where heartbreak just was. He looked into her eyes and saw them dark and dull, like she was shutting herself down.
"I… I gotta go." Bella said as she quickly grabbed her keys off the coffee table, stepping on the letter in the process, and booking it out of the Cullen residence. He watched her shakily leave the house and hurry into her beat up red pickup that roared to life. The rest of the family came down and watched as she pulled out of the driveway faster than she ever had before. Jasper bent down to pick up the letter and quickly skimmed through what Edward had written to her to have her reacting like that. He felt his anger skyrocket when he got to the part of Alice and being a distraction for him. The letter basically contained the same thing that Alice had written the family in her letter, defending themselves basically. He crumpled the paper and tossed it on the coffee table when his phone rang, breaking the silence that had fallen the household.
"What." Jasper barked into the receiver, not bothering to check the caller ID.
"Well hello to you too, Major." A male voice smirked on the other end of the phone.
"I'm really not in the mood for this right now Peter." Jasper growled as he walked out the front door, watching as his family read over Bella's letter.
"I know. I got a feeling. You need to check on her, now." Peter said, his voice losing the playful tone and turned serious. "The human girl. Go to her now."
"What?" Jasper asked, knowing that Peter's 'feelings' are usually something serious and not to be ignored. He looked up and made eye contact with the remainder of his family who all could hear what Peter had just said.
"You heard me, Major, go to her right now." Peter's voice got harder and then the line went dead. The family nodded and he took off towards the interstate and started following her scent.
Jasper was already worried about her to begin with when he saw the look in her eyes and could feel the void that was in her but the call from Peter solidified that he needed to follow her now rather than later. He finally catches up to the pickup and notices that it is slightly swerving and picking up more speed that it can handle. It is still pretty far in the distance when he sees a doe running out from the forest and right into the path of the pickup. The doe stops in front of the pickup and freezes as he hears Bella scream and quickly jerk the wheel in order to avoid the animal. He picks up speed in time to see the truck run head first off the road and into the woods, crashing into a large tree stopping the vehicle on a dime. He pushes himself even faster and rips off the door of the pick up to see Bella slumped forward over the steering wheel not moving. The scent of blood invades his senses and he quickly stops breathing out of habit. He gently pushes Bella back to see the blood coming somewhere from her head that is covered by her hair. He pulls off the baseball jersey he had yet to change out of and presses it gently to her head. He unbuckles and removes her from the truck and gently lays her down on the ground, supporting her head with his lap.
He pulls out his phone and calls Carlisle instantly.
"Jasper, is she okay?" Carlisle's worried voice echoes in the quiet forest.
"To a degree. She's still breathing. She wrecked because a deer jumped out in front of her. Can you get over here, she's unconscious and her head is bleeding. I don't want to move her too much." Jasper said, relaying all the information to his pseudo father.
"Of course, I'll be right there with my bag." Carlisle said and the phone went dead. He waited less than five minutes and Carlisle and Emmett both arrived at the scene in Emmett's Jeep. Carlisle knelt down to examine Bella's injury as Emmett pulled the truck back from the tree and fixed the front of it so there was no longer a dent. Jasper was vaguely aware of Emmett hooking up the truck to his Jeep; he was too focused on watching what Carlisle was doing to help Bella. He watched quietly as Carlisle cleaned and bandaged the wound as the girl continued to lay in his lap and not move.
"Is she going to be okay?" Jasper asked, looking from Carlisle to Bella and back. Emmett hopped back into his Jeep and towed the truck out of the woods and back onto the main road and then took off.
"Yes, the cut wasn't too big or deep to require stitches. This should do. She will need to be taken home and put to bed and will have a killer headache tomorrow morning when she wakes up." Carlisle said as he continued to finish bandaging the wound and pulled out a bottle of over the counter painkillers and handed them to Jasper who slipped them into his pocket.
"Okay, I'm going to take her home." Jasper said as he stood up slowly with Bella in his arms, curled towards him.
"Okay good. Emmett is taking her truck home and is going to fix any damage done to it before Charlie gets home. We have been trying to get in contact with…them… but no such luck so Rose and Esme are calling around to the others to see if they have heard or seen them." Carlisle said with a sad voice and sympathetic emotions radiating off him. Jasper gave a curt nod as he took off in the direction of her house.
Once he arrived at the Swan house Bella started moving in his arms. He stopped outside the back door and looked down at her in time to see her eyes flutter open and a pained groan escape her lips. Jasper gave a soft smile while releasing calming emotions around the two of them.
"Jasper? What happened?" Bella's voice cracked.
"You were in an accident. You swerved to miss a deer that jumped in front of the truck. Emmett has already brought your truck back and is fixing anything that may have been damaged by the tree you hit." Jasper answered as Bella started into his eyes. Emmett came around the house at the sounds of their voices and quickly unlocked the back door for Jasper.
"The truck barely took any damage surprisingly. I fixed the dent and made sure the engine was fine. I'm going to head back now. Get her to rest." Emmett said, handing the keys over to Jasper who gave him a nod. Bella watched with sad eyes as Emmett took off around the house and disappeared.
Jasper walked into the house and headed for the stairs following his nose to the room that was the most concentrated of Bella's scent. Jasper continued to softly surround Bella with his calming emotions to try and spare her from the heartbreak.
"Jasper…" Bella whispered as he sat her on her bed.
"Yes, Isabella?" Jasper asked, watching her carefully.
"Will you please stay til I fall asleep…" She asked, barely above a whisper. No matter how much he surrounded her with the calm emotion her eyes still brimmed with unshed tears. "I just don't want to be alone right now. You don't have to keep using your gift. I need to feel this pain." She said as the tears finally fell as he pulled his gift back.
"Okay. Get ready for bed. I'll stay here." Jasper softly said as he tried holding back his own feelings til later. He walked over and settled into her computer chair, resting his elbow on the arm rest and rested his chin on his fist. Bella slowly got up from the bed, grabbed a pair of shorts and a tattered t-shirt, and went to the bathroom and closed the door. Jasper heard the soft cries she tried muffling as she turned on the faucet. Jasper felt her trying to hold in her emotions and not project them onto him and he truly appreciated it since he was feeling the same thing that she was. He was furious on how Edward decided to handle everything and the fact that they hid all this from them for so long. He knew that Alice and his relationship was heading on a downward spiral the last few decades and it only accelerated since Bella came into the picture; he just assumed it was because Alice and the rest of the family didn't trust him around Bella since she was human. The fact that it was because she was jealous of Bella and Edward made it worse. She pretended to love him for decades, she pretended to be Bella's best friend for a couple years, Edward pretended to be his brother for crying out loud. He always knew there was some tension between Edward and him that he thought was due to Edward thinking he was better than him due to their original upbringings, well until now.
"Jasper? Jasper?" Bella's soft voice called to him. He blinked as he came out of his thoughts and saw worried, glassy chocolate eyes staring at him and a warm hand cupping his free cheek. Jasper nodded against her hand causing her to drop her hand.
"Yeah, sorry I got lost in thought there for a second." Jasper cleared his throat and sat up straighter in the chair, watching as Bella climbed into her bed under the cover and turned to face him. She gave him a soft smile and nodded understandingly at him. "Get some sleep Isabella."
"Okay. Good night Jasper… I'm sorry." Bella sighed softly as she curled in on herself watching him.
"Nothing is your fault. I promise." Jasper said softly. Bella nodded as she closed her eyes. Jasper sent out soothing, sleepy vibes towards her and listened as her breathing evened out. Jasper let out another sigh as he leaned back in the chair and stared up at the ceiling as his mind raced where to go from there.
Jasper's phone started to vibrate in his pocket and he pulled it out seeing Peter's name flash across the screen. He glanced back at Bella and could tell she's still sound asleep and quickly answered the phone.
"One second." He answered as he quietly got out of the chair and exited Bella's room. "What's up Peter?" Jasper asked as he sat down on the top step, feeling exhaustion settle into his bones.
"How is the human girl? Was my feeling right?" Peter asked as wind could be heard in the background.
"Her name is Isabella. She's okay for the most part." Jasper sighed.
"What's going on?"
"Edward and Alice are mates and ran off together today… Left fuckin' letters to defend themselves. Edward told her that she was nothin' but a distraction and all he loved about her was her fuckin' blood." Jasper growled out.
"Damn, I knew I didn't like that prick for a reason." Peter sighed and he heard his mate, Charlotte, agree in the background as more wind started getting louder. "How are you? I know you and Alice were rocky for a while but shit."
"Honestly, it sucks. I spent so long with her. I am glad I never actually married her. But I'm not as torn up as I thought I would be. I'm more worried 'bout Isabella." Jasper whispered as he heard shuffling from Bella's room. He listened closely as her breathing was still even and the shuffling stopped as she settled back into bed. "What are ya'll doin'? All I can hear in the background is the wind." Jasper asked as he looked down at his tennis shoes.
"We are heading for you. I had a feeling you may want some different company right now." Peter said honestly. Jasper let a small smile grace his lips briefly.
"Thanks Peter and Char. I appreciate it. You're probably right. I don't know where I stand with the rest of them right now." He said honestly.
"Alright we will see you probably around noon tomorrow, Major. We are takin' a detour to Seattle for a bite before we get there. Don't wanna upset their treaty with the puppies." Peter joked at the end causing Charlotte and Jasper to both laugh as well.
"Alright. I'll see ya then, Captain." Jasper smiled and ended the call. He got up and went back into Bella's room and settled back into the chair and went back to staring at the ceiling and listening to Bella's even breathing.
"No… Edward…" Bella muttered and started breathing erratically. Jasper quietly scooted the chair closer to the bed and sent out calming emotions to her. He gently reached out and rested his hand on her cheek and stroked her cheek as her heartbeat and breathing evened out. He ran his hand through her hair as she settled back into the bed.
"It'll be okay Isabella. We will figure this out." Jasper whispered to her sleeping form. He wasn't about to hurt her like they have and he promised himself and her that. "In the morning we will figure this out." He said softly and continued to run his fingers through her hair for the remainder of the night to keep the nightmares away.
