A/N: Thanks for the reads/reviews! Glad that you're enjoying so far! :)
~.~
The adventure began before Hensley thought it would.
A piece of folded paper on the windshield of her car. Ten digits written inside.
Hensley's first thought was Jasper, and she couldn't type the damn number fast enough. Ignoring Davey's warnings about how 'suspicious' it was, she threw the phone up to her ear and paced around the vehicle.
She recognized the voice, but it wasn't who she initially thought.
"Ten Fifteen. Ten PM. 5 clicks west. Papa Alpha."
She didn't get to say anything. She didn't have to say anything.
Hensley knew exactly what he meant.
It didn't mean she wasn't surprised. Papa Alpha didn't quite make sense, but she had learned long ago to not question anything he told her.
"The hell was that?" Davey muttered, watching Hensley look around at the buildings surrounding them.
When she didn't find what she was looking for, she turned back to the vehicle and opened the driver's side door. "A friend."
~.~
On the ride home, Hensley explained her relationship with Jasper. Davey and Amanda hadn't heard of Gemellas either and naturally had a lot of questions for her. Telling them made things easier overall, especially when the pain flared up and she couldn't physically hide it.
They were also incredibly curious on the half-vampire piece.
"Can't believe he fucked a human." Amanda muttered, raising her eyebrows at Carlisle's 'actions.'
Hensley was quick to set the record straight, explaining that she was made in a lab and implanted rather than her parents actually having to 'do' anything. Amanda seemed no less weirded out by that fact.
"So, you're indestructible like a vampire, but eat food and sleep like a human." Davey summarized. "Sounds incredibly convenient. You age?"
"Well, I'm not indestructible, but it does take a lot to break my skin. And so far, I've stopped aging, but we don't know if that will last. It's possible I start aging again and die." Hensley tried not to think about the prospect of her dying before she got to see Jasper again. She was mildly failing.
"How long have you been…whatever the hell you are now."
"Ten years, almost eleven." She replied easily, rubbing her stupid chest.
Amanda eyed her actions, glancing between Hensley and Davey, "And you've had this thing with Major for how long?" Even though Amanda had not lived through the newborn vampire wars, she also called Jasper 'Major,' but only because of Davey.
"Almost a year."
"Interesting." Amanda sounded more skeptical than interested, but Hensley didn't mind. It was a lot to process, even for vampires. She was gathering that no one had heard of a half vampire before…or her and Jasper's weird mating relationship. Combining the two was like a recipe for confusion and weariness.
"And no venom. You don't have it and you can't have it in ya." Davey clarified, digging around in Hensley's glove box. He didn't seem to be searching for anything in particular, just flipping through the things inside. Amanda leaned forward to see what he was doing.
"No venom." Hensley confirmed.
He nodded, leaning back in the seat as he flipped through the owner's manual for her Jeep. "So, how's Major gunna bite ya to make that shit better?"
"He's not."
"Huh. So, he's stuck like that forever?"
Hensley smiled at Davey's concerns, remembering Cooper's shared sentiment. "Cooper is bummed too."
"I bet." Davey exclaimed, "I thought Major couldn't get any rougher than he was down south. Cooper's probably countin' his lucky stars he ain't been killed yet."
"He's come close to it more than once." She thought back to the different times she'd witnessed it…and the times that she'd heard about it. Poor Cooper. Hopefully he had learned enough not to set Jasper off while Hensley had been away.
"That's the least surprisin' thing you've told us yet." Davey grew bored of the manual and tossed it back in the glove box. "How far to Spoons?"
"Forks." Hensley corrected questioningly. She rose a brow at him figuring he had to have been trying to be funny.
Davey nodded, acting as though he hadn't said anything weird. "Exactly. How much farther?"
"Uh, I dunno, another three hours. Maybe three and a half because I'll have to stop for gas again." Glancing down at the fuel gauge, she mentally corrected herself. She'd definitely have to stop one more time.
"Make it four. We'll need to hunt before we get there, if you insist on your little friend not being a late dinner." Davey winked to let her know he was joking, though Hensley really didn't know how she felt about joking around with Bella's life. Bella was already a walking danger magnet. She really didn't need any help from hungry vampires.
Therefore, Hensley agreed. "We'll make it four."
By the time the four hours passed, and they arrived back at the Cullen's, Hensley wanted nothing more than to collapse on Jasper's bed and sleep. Her eyes were burning, a heaviness set deep in the backs of them. Apparently, she couldn't train herself to not need sleep.
Bella was at the house waiting for her, not that Hensley was surprised. She figured her orders of 'stay with Jake' would be short lived.
Bella jumped up off the couch and fell into Hensley's arms, literally, before Hensley could really say anything. "You're back! That wasn't even a week!" The girl needlessly exclaimed, holding Hensley like a lifeline.
Hensley could tell the exact moment that Bella opened her eyes, because she could hear the other girl's sharp intake of breath. Her heartrate picked up considerably and Davey chuckled behind them at the sound. Bella slowly dropped her arms, not taking her eyes off of the two new vampires. "Who are they?"
Taking a step back so each party could see better, Hensley gestured to the two vampires. "I didn't find Jasper, obviously. But I did find a couple of his friends. Bella, this is Davey and Amanda. Guys, this is Bella."
Davey stuck up a hand, raising his brows at the same time in greeting.
"You're helping us find Jasper?" Bella guessed.
"Maybe." Davey shrugged, looking more at Hensley while he talked, "Though, honestly, if anyone has a chance at knowing where Major is, it's Peter."
Bella turned to Hensley too, asking, "Major?"
It was then that Hensley realized Bella probably hadn't heard much about Jasper's human life, or his time as a newborn. "Yeah, Jasper was a major in the Army before he was changed, so now they call him 'Major.'"
"So…how is it legal for her to know about us?" Amanda grew more rigid at Davey's side. Except from saying that Bella was a human that lived with her, Hensley really hadn't told them much about the human girl. She supposed that was the first time they pieced together that Bella knew about vampires.
She clarified things before Amanda could get too far ahead of herself. "You know Edward, right?" Both vampires nodded. "This is his mate. She'll be turned one day, so it's cool."
"This family gets more fucked up each time I visit." Davey shook his head.
Hensley sighed, running her hand through her hair. "Thanks, Davey. Anyway, if Peter might know where Jasper is, how do we find Peter?"
"Who's Peter?" Bella asked.
"Peter. Like, Peter and Charlotte. Jasper's other friends?" When Bella looked no more in the know Hensley kept giving more detail. "They came to visit while you and Edward where in Arizona this last summer…stayed for a week…didn't Edward tell you?"
Bella just shrugged, rolling her eyes at herself or Edward or both. "I had no idea. I…I thought we were just going to see my mom. I didn't know Jasper was having people over. Though, I guess that explains why Edward was so insistent…."
Hensley couldn't help but feel bad for Bella. She knew that Edward had his reasons for keeping his mate in the dark. At the same time, Hensley would've been super hurt had Jasper done the same thing. Heck, Hensley had been hurt when her and Jasper had the misunderstanding about Peter and Charlotte coming over the first time.
"Anyway," Bella shook her head, shoving her hands into her back pockets, "Peter, he knows where Jasper is? If we find Peter, we can find Jasper?"
"Probably. Peter's a needy bitch." Davey repeated his earlier words with a grin. Amanda nudged her mate and shot him a disapproving glare. Hensley wasn't sure why, she thought it was funny.
"I think Jasper and Peter usually talk on the phone. Do you have one? Or do you know Peter's number? We could call him too." Hensley suggested, hoping that tracking the other vampire down would be easier than it had been to track her mate.
Unfortunately, it was not. "Nope. Never used one of those things before in my life." Davey shook his head. "But I know a couple places that Peter and Charlotte hang around often. Could give them a try?"
Hensley wasn't sure how she felt about traveling so soon. She hadn't even begun to recover from the trip she had literally just finished. Sitting in vehicles chasing ghosts was getting old. Bella, on the other hand, was all for it. "What do I tell Charlie?"
"Nothing." Hensley sighed while shooting her friend some side-eye. "I think we need to give it a day or so. I literally just drove down to Georgia, spent one night there, and drove back. I'm tried and my mind is mush."
Bella deflated slightly. Still, after giving it a moment's thought, she nodded in reluctant agreement. "Yeah, I guess."
She guessed? Hensley rolled her eyes, mentally thanking her friend for the consideration. "You know, coming up empty handed all the time, really sucks. A break would be nice every now and then." Hensley snapped at Bella, strolling quickly past the girl and up to Jasper's room.
She shut the door with far more force than necessary and sunk against the foot of the bed. Her stupid eyes burned, but nothing came out. Rarely did anything ever come out.
No matter how much she wanted them to, the emotions just sat stuck in her chest. They weighed her down, heavy on her shoulders, with no way to just shrug it off or put them down. The boulder on her chest was immoveable. Each day her lungs caved in just a little more, the shallowness of her breathing leaving her unsatisfied; a hunger clawing constantly behind the center of her chest.
Jasper's scent, carried weakly on the bedsheets helped. What once brought her great comfort was slowly becoming what drove her mad. Every night spent in the confines of the weak aroma was just another reminder that he wasn't actually there with her. Though she feared for the day that it went away completely, she longed for the one where it enveloped her and punctured every pore.
When the smell was enough to clear the emotion from Hensley's mind, she could hear the other three downstairs talking, debating on what to do next. Hensley hugged the soft fabric of Jasper's shirt closer before throwing it on the bed. She quickly changed into something more comfortable and joined it, deciding that she'd let the other three handle the decisions for the night. Clearly, she had been in no state to do so herself.
When she woke up the next morning, it was to the sound of Bella's voice. "She doesn't like it when you go in Jasper's room. It ruins his scent."
"Ain't gunna mess it up." Davey told the girl. In the next second, there was a knock at Jasper's door.
"I'll be down in a second, Davey." Hensley told him. She took a deep breath, throwing one of Jasper's flannels over her shirt and shorts. It was clearly big on her, but she didn't mind. The better to wrap herself up in.
Davey hadn't budged when she opened the door and one brow rose to question his actions.
"Against my better judgement, Manda and I are gunna try an' track down Peter. He usually hangs out 'round Nebraska so we're going to take a trip out there. Hopin' to find 'im quick and get back here." He took in Hensley's state, eyes scanning her body before flickering back to Jasper's room. "Your friend you talked about in Georgia, the one that left the note. What was that 'bout?"
"He just wants to meet up in a couple days. No biggie. Don't worry about us." Hensley shook him off quickly before he could change his mind. She knew she didn't need protection. Davey staying with them was just a waste.
Still, Davey wasn't convinced, "He like us?"
"No, human." Hensley only partially lied. Good thing Davey had no way to tell.
He stared her down for a few more seconds, crossing his arms while thought. Hensley tried to appear casual, dropping her shoulders and her hip to give a more relaxed vibe. She didn't want him to think she was afraid or worried about him leaving and was afraid her rigid military posture would do so. Still, slouching felt weird.
"She'll be fine, Davey. Major clearly wasn't worried about her if he left her alone."
Or he didn't care about her.
Davey dropped to the ground just as quickly as Hensley did, his hands on her shoulders. He pushed her up to a sitting position, eyes examining every each of her he could see. His lips were moving, speaking to her or Amanda, or maybe even Bella, but she couldn't hear him. All of senses were overtaken by the pain she felt.
Amanda entered Hensley's peripheral, followed some time – a few seconds or a few minutes – by Bella. Bella was talking too, saying something to Davey by the way she looked at him. Of the three, Bella was the least concerned, having seen this from Hensley multiple times.
Davey stood, taking a few steps back into the hallway to say something harshly. At least his face was harsh, sharp eyes staring at Amanda. Hensley closed hers then. She couldn't be any use if she was paralyzed on the hallway floor. She had to focus and pull herself out of it.
Warm hands pushed her shoulder, pushed her into the doorframe. Fabric fresh with Jasper's smell was placed carefully into her hands, Bella's own helping to push the shirt up so Hensley could properly catch Jasper's smell. She inhaled deeply, feeling the softness against her forehead as she buried her face in it. Slowly she began to come to, Amanda and Davey's voices drifting back into her brain.
"We can't. We aren't. We'll find another way." Davey was telling his mate.
"This obviously happens all the time." Amanda retorted, "Bella knew exactly what to do. Bella will be able to take care of her."
"You're going to let a human try to handle her? That's smart. No offense." Davey added the last sentence as an afterthought. Hensley wasn't sure why. They were talking too fast for Bella to hear.
Amanda huffed and Hensley swore she could just hear the vampire rolling her eyes, "The best way for you and me to help her is to find Major. So, we either need to find him or find someone, like Peter, who can."
"And if somethin' happens to her while we're gone, then what? Major is going to rip our asses apart, burn the pieces, an' dance on our ashes."
"What would happen to her, Josh? What the hell is she going to run into that's so dangerous she can't handle it?" Amanda had a valid point there.
Aside from her own emotions, what exactly could be so bad that Hensley couldn't take care of?