Chapter 2: Promise
When Jasper went to drop Bella off at the police station, Charlie held out a hand to stop them from coming closer while he talked with a middle aged couple. The woman was wringing her hands and the man had his arms crossed firmly over his chest while he slightly shifted from one foot to another. Bella frowned and looked to Jasper. "What's going on?"
Jasper's brow furrowed as he zeroed in on the strong emotions coming from the couple, though they tried mask them as best they could. "They're grieving," he said, softly so only Bella could hear. "Worried. Anxious. But there's the smallest bit… hope." She waited while he listened to the last of their conversation. He sighed, the couple's grief now heavy on his shoulders. "Their son is missing."
"Shit," Bella whispered, and though she couldn't feel exactly what they were feeling like Jasper could, she ached for them. "Is it… do you think it's, y'know, normal human stuff or something… more?"
A tight muscle in Jasper's jaw twitched. "We've been trackin' a situation in Seattle for a while. Near on ever since we got back from Houston. Unexplained disappearances, killings… Vampires usually find victims who won't be missed, or else they'll move on quick. Whoever's doin' this ain't playin' by the rules."
An unwanted thought began to take root in the back of her mind, inching its way to the front where she couldn't ignore it even if she wanted to. "The Volturi. You guys said they step in whenever someone doesn't follow their rules. If they come to check on Seattle, they could easily come here and find out I'm still human."
He brought their entwined fingers to his lips. "Ain't gonna happen. I promise. I'll always protect you."
"Ready, Bells?" Charlie said, approaching the pair and looking between them. He gave Bella a look, "It is just the two of us for dinner, isn't it?"
"Yes, Dad," she sighed, trying very hard not to roll her eyes.
"Just dropping her off, sir," Jasper nodded, bringing Bella's hand to his lips again briefly before turning to go. "Oh! Bella," he called, turning on his heel again. Bella turned back, slightly confused. Charlie grunted. "My parents wanted me to remind you not to forget 'bout your birthday present. They expire soon."
"Expire?" Charlie frowned. "They got you a birthday present that expires?"
"They're airline tickets. Round trip to see Mom in Florida," Bella explained, trying, and failing, to read Jasper's mind. Where was he going with this?
"Wow. That was generous."
"They said you might wanna use it this weekend."
"This weekend?" she nearly choked. "I can't just drop everything and go!"
"I don't know, Bells," Charlie said, looking between her and Jasper. "It might not be a bad idea. Get out of town for a few days. Get some distance."
"Um, I mean, I guess. It'd be nice to see Mom," she said, her gaze shifting from her father to her boyfriend. "As long as you use the companion ticket."
"Of course there's two tickets," Charlie huffed a sigh. "That makes me really happy."
"Ok, spill," Bella said as they waited for their bags at the airport in Florida. "Why'd we really come? Why did it have to be right now?"
Jasper leaned against the window and folded his arms over his chest. The windows were heavily tinted, so there was very minimal sparkle risk. They'd also separated themselves pretty well from the rest of the people in baggage claim, for even as much progress as he'd made being around humans, he had no interest in standing shoulder to shoulder with them in a crowd. Thankfully, this also gave them some semblance of privacy. "The situation in Seattle," he said, his voice low so only Bella could hear, "it reminds me too much of the Southern Wars. Someone's buildin' an army. I don't know who or why, but that don't matter as much as makin' sure you don't get caught in the crossfire. The Volturi didn't take too kindly to Maria an' the others gaining so much power and territory. That's how I knew Caius. Not sure what bet he lost, but he was the one to come clean up when the armies grew too big. Too conspicuous. I don't know what's goin' on, darlin', but I want you as far from it as possible. Leastwise 'til we get some more facts straightened out."
Bella nodded slowly, chewing on her twizzler as her mind spun with the new information. Jasper smirked and grabbed the other end of the candy to turn her face toward him. "I meant what I said, I won't let nothin' happen to you. So let's just enjoy this time with your mom, okay? We can figure out all that shit when we get back, deal?"
She smiled, though Jasper could tell her thoughts were still a thousand miles away. "Deal."
They grabbed their bags and headed outside to wait for Reneé, who was predictably late. Soon, they were at Reneé and Phil's new house near the beach, and Bella was happily soaking up every drop of sun she possibly could while Jasper sat inside watching sports with Phil.
"Aren't you going to miss this?" her mom said, both women laying side by side on their deck chairs with a table between them holding their iced teas. "The warmth on your skin? The vitamin D soaking into your pores?"
"More than I realized."
"Colleges in Florida are a lot sunnier," Reneé said in an almost lyrical way. Bella gave her a look from behind her sunglasses. "What? It's worth a shot. I'll never see you if you go all the way to the University of Alaska."
Bella laid her head on her mother's shoulder. "They have a good science program," she said, though the words stuck in her throat. Her mom was right. Florida was sunnier. But more sun meant no Jasper, and she couldn't accept that.
"If by science program you mean Jasper program," her mom teased.
Bella blushed and grinned, looking back over her shoulder into the house. Jasper and Phil were cheering at something on the TV, but, almost like he could feel her eyes on him, Jasper turned and winked at her with a smile before turning back to the game and clapping Phil on the shoulder.
"The way he looks at you sometimes, it's like… I don't know, like he'd take a bullet for you or something."
"And that's a… bad thing?"
"No. No, but it's an intense thing. And you, you're different with him. If he moves, you move. You're like magnets."
"We're just… I mean, y'know…"
Reneé squeezed her hand. "In love. I get it. I've done it twice, after all. I just want to make sure you're making the right choices for you. 'Cause you're the one who has to live with them."
Bella nodded, turning to look out over the water.
Reneé waved her hands. "Okay, okay. Enough with the heavy." She pulled a large box out from under her chair. "Happy graduation!"
Bella opened the box and unfolded a large quilt. "Are these…"
"Our trip t-shirts!" Reneé giggled and clapped her hands as Bella lovingly traced her hand over each, memories flooding her mind and blinking back tears. "I didn't want you going to Alaska without me- or some part of me."
Bella flung her arms around her mom and hugged her tight. "I'm going to miss you, Mom. So much."
"I'll miss you, too, baby. But I promise, I'll come visit. And you're welcome down here anytime, okay?"
Bella nodded and buried her face in her mom's shoulder. She wished it could be that simple. But, if the plan she'd been forming in her head for the last few months came about, this would probably be the last time she saw her. She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind and tried to commit every detail about the moment to her memory. One she could look back on and cherish for a long time.
As it turned out, it was even easier for Jasper to sneak into her room at Reneé and Phil's than it was at Charlie's. Though she shouldn't have been surprised. Honestly, Jasper could've passed Reneé in the hall on his way to Bella's room, and Reneé probably would've simply hugged him goodnight.
They lay side by side in her double bed, Bella under the light comforter and Jasper propped up on his elbow beside her. He reached out to smooth the frown away from her brow. "What's goin' on in that pretty little head, darlin'?"
She grabbed his hand away and asked, "What do you think about marriage?"
Jasper blinked. "Um, I think… I think it can be good. I think it's supposed to be good, if you're with the right person at the right time in your life."
Bella found herself unable to look at him when she asked, "Were you… have you ever been married?"
He chuckled. "How long you been sittin' on that one?"
"I just started thinking about my mom and dad," she shrugged, playing with his cold fingers, "and then I started thinking about what you told me about your mom and dad. And I mean, you look good for your age, but you've been around a long time…"
"Alright, alright," he laughed. "No, I've never been married. Alice was as close as I ever got. We talked about it a few times but never got around to it."
"Would you ever want to?" she asked softly.
Jasper smirked. "Depends on who's askin'."
"What if I asked?"
"Who says you get to ask?" he said, fighting to hide his amusement at the blush beginning to creep along her cheeks.
He felt a rush of indignation when she finally met his gaze. "Maybe I'll beat you to it. I don't know if you've noticed, but a lot has changed since the days of hoop-skirts and log cabins…"
Jasper leaned down and kissed her soundly, like a firework that faded into embers and warmed her from the inside out. "Isabella Swan, if I'm ever so lucky as to have you propose to me, how could I say anything but yes?"
Now she could feel herself blushing and buried her face in his shirt to hide her grin. His laugh rumbled deep in his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. "Log cabins, huh? Have you pictured me in a coonskin cap too?"
"Shut up."
"Just know I won't accept anything less than a 1920's princess cut diamond."
She laughed and looked back up at him. "You're so weird."
"I know what I'm worth," he said and tossed his hair.
Her laugh faded to a gentle smile. "Much more than that," she said softly, and he wondered if he truly knew how much she meant it.
He smirked and kissed her head. "Thank you."
Bella had been asleep about an hour when his phone began to buzz. He gently extracted himself from her arms and went outside. No one would be able to hear him anyway, but he chalked it up to a human habit he'd picked up from Bella. Besides, common curtesy never went out of style.
"Alice?" he answered, pressing the phone to his ear and deliberately facing away from the beach. "What's goin' on?"
"She's back, Jazz."
He tensed. "What?"
"Victoria's back. I've been having visions ever since you left. I didn't want to say anything in case I was wrong, but we found her in the forest today. And she definitely knows about the wolves now if she didn't before."
If his heart was beating, it'd be racing. "Details, Ali. Give me details."
"She stayed right on the treaty line. One minute she'd be on our side, then right when we'd get close, she'd jump to the other side and the wolves would try to catch her. Emmett almost had her, but then…"
"Then…?"
"She threw him into a tree, and he… he jumped across the line to go after her."
"Fuck!" he growled. "Dammit, Emmett!"
Alice's voice was quieter when she continued. "He got in a fight with Paul. Carlisle's been trying to smooth things over with Sam."
"I leave for one fucking weekend," he mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Let me talk to Edward."
He heard the phone get passed to his brother. "Jasper."
"Be honest. What am I bringing Bella back to?"
He sighed. "There's been no further repercussions with the wolves. Carlisle's managed to keep them subdued. We're going to have to be more careful though. And Victoria's disappeared again, but I think it's safe to say she has not gone far. How long can you stay in Florida?"
"We fly home tomorrow afternoon. I can't keep her here longer without making Charlie and Reneé suspicious."
"We've been scouting the area, but we haven't found anything. I'll let Carlisle know one of us needs to be stationed by the Swan house every night once she gets back."
"I'd appreciate that. She'll be safe at school with so many of us there, at the very least. Thanks for keeping me updated. We'll see you tomorrow."
"Of course."
The line went dead and Jasper shoved his phone back in his pocket before looking back up at Bella's window. "I'll get you through this, darlin'. Promise."
A/N: Just a quick note to say thanks for reading and a HUGE thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! Hello to new readers and welcome back to familiar faces. I can't believe y'all are still here after such a long time between this and Wayward Son, but I'm so grateful you stuck around! Cheers to you and see you in a week for the next chapter!