Chapter 43: New Friends
The days that followed Louisa's trip at La Push were uncomfortable, and not just because of the hot pink plaster cast Carlisle had slapped on her arm. Despite her reassurances that it wasn't necessary, Jasper dogged her steps everywhere she went. She was lucky if she managed to step a few feet away from her boyfriend, let alone manage to sneak out of his line of vision. It made having to use the toilet a rather awkward affair, to say the least.
Six months ago, Louisa would have found his clingy behaviour irritating, if not a bit insulting. After all, she was a woman of the twenty-first century, and she hardly needed her boyfriend to protect her from paper cuts in her own home. The rational part of her mind recognised that Jasper wasn't doing this because he didn't trust her to take care of herself. Rather, it was an effort to alleviate his anxiety, which hung around him like a palpable cloud wherever he went.
He never discussed what worried him so much that he had resorted to stalking her. In fact, he rarely said anything at all. Jasper was taciturn in the best of times, but as the days stretched on, Louisa grew concerned for his mental health. So rather than fight his newfound attachment issues, Louisa did everything in her power to relieve some of his discomfort. That meant being patient when he dogged her steps and gently reminding him that she would be okay in the toilet alone.
Jasper rarely left her side, which only grew more worrisome after the Cullens and Denalis left for their holiday. She had barely managed to convince Jasper to hunt the night before, promising that she would be waiting for him in his bedroom when he returned. This arrangement took quite a lot of planning because her father was under the impression that Jasper had joined his family on holiday. Fortunately, Leah came to her rescue and promised to tell Mr Collins that she was spending the night at her place. Her friend even kept the winking and suggestive jokes to a minimum, although Louisa did find a box of condoms tucked in her overnight.
That was how Louisa found herself on Jasper's bed, watching the ceiling fan spin around in circles in the early hours of the morning. It was an oppressively hot summer night, and Louisa had the pleasure of learning that the Cullens didn't have air conditioning—apparently, vampires didn't get hot, being dead and all. As a result, all she could do was pretend that the ceiling fan could generate cool air rather than push around the stuffy, humid air in the room.
The bathroom door flew open, and she slowly turned her head towards the commotion, finding Jasper was standing in the doorway. He was naked as the day he was born, the bathroom light creating a hazy glow around him as it filtered through the steam from his shower. He towelled off his dripping hair as he wandered further into the room, crossing it and sitting down next to her so that he could press a kiss to her lips.
"What's wrong?" he asked after she belatedly remembered to kiss him back.
Louisa furrowed her brow in confusion, wondering if he had somehow missed his current state of undress. She was about to mention it to him, but the words died in her throat as she took in his confused expression. It hadn't occurred to him that nudity might be a source of discomfort for her. It hardly mattered to him if he was clothed or not. Nakedness wasn't something he considered inherently sexual— it was simply his body, and he didn't particularly care if his mate saw all of it.
"Nothing," she said finally, shaking her head before pulling him down for another kiss, this one longer and reciprocated by both parties. "You're just getting me wet," she said, pulling back finally to catch her breath. Almost immediately, she realised what she had just said, and she tried to backtrack, stumbling hastily over her words, her face flushing scarlet.
Jasper chuckled and leaned down to silence her with another kiss. His lips began to travel down her neck, his cool tongue tasting the delicate skin there, his hands digging into the patch of skin on her hips where her shirt had ridden up. Louisa let out a gasp when he lightly nipped her clavicle, and she wrapped her arms around him, trying to pull him closer. "That's a relief," he whispered into the base of her throat, his voice husky. "Here I thought that you only liked me for my keen wit and charming personality."
"Nope, I'm here for your body."
Jasper chuckled, and his lips returned to hers. "I knew it," Jasper said between kisses. He pulled away suddenly, and in the blink of an eye, he had donned a pair of grey sweatpants.
"How was your hunt?" she asked, sitting up and watching him as he puttered around the room.
Jasper shrugged before disappearing into the bathroom to hang up his towel. "I didn't go very far," he explained. He reappeared a moment later, crossing the room at a human's pace, and crawled into bed. "I caught a deer."
Louisa snuggled against her boyfriend, sighing with relief as she pressed her overheated skin to his cool body. "Poor Bambi."
"Who is that?"
Louisa smiled. Despite her best efforts to drag Jasper into the correct millennium, there were still massive holes in his pop culture knowledge she needed to fill. "It's a Disney character," she explained. "We can watch it tomorrow if you'd like."
Jasper pursed his lips. "Will it be sad like Toy Story 3? I don't think I can handle something like that again."
"You didn't even cry," she said, deflecting the question.
"No, but you, Esme, and Edward did. And I had to feel it. Carlisle is considering banning all Disney movies in the future because of it."
Louisa tilted her head so she could kiss Jasper's jaw. "Poor baby," she cooed. "You put up with so much."
Jasper grunted. "Shouldn't you be sleeping right now?" he asked. Despite his gruff tone, he raised a gentle hand and stroked her hair.
"Probably," she admitted, weaving her limbs through his and pulling him closer. "I'm supposed to take Kelly to the park tomorrow. Well, today, technically."
Beneath her, Jasper stiffened. "It's supposed to be sunny."
"It will only be for a few hours," she explained, running a hand along his chest. This action generally made her boyfriend soften into a pile of content mush, but the ridges of his abdomen remained hard beneath her fingertips. "After that, I'm all yours."
Panic that was not her own buzzed through her veins. Concerned, she sat up to get a proper look at her boyfriend. His face was set into a scowl, jaw muscles quivering as he ground his teeth. Louisa swung a leg over his body and shifted to straddle his hip.
"Talk to me, babe," she said, stroking his cheek. This paranoid behaviour had gone on long enough, she decided. She'd get to the bottom of it, even if it took all night, though Jasper didn't seem like he was keen to keep her waiting.
Sitting up, Jasper grabbed hold of her hips, his thumb stroking the patch of skin between her shorts and shirt. "I'm trying so damn hard, Louisa," he said, his voice shaking with the effort to keep himself calm. Still, she could feel the tremors that wracked his body as he pulled her to his chest. "All I want is to—"
He fell silent for so long that Louisa wondered if he would continue his thought. But he needed to, she knew. Despite his penchant for sensing moods and understanding the need to discuss one's feelings, Jasper was a master at bottling up his emotions.
She wound her arms around his neck. "You want to what?"
As if a dam had burst, words began to spill out of Jasper's mouth so quickly and nonsensically that it was difficult to keep up. "You're so small and fragile, all it would take for something bad to happen—like the other day, you could have broken your fucking neck, and what if I couldn't get there in time to save you and you keep going where I can't follow and what if you need me and I'm not there, and you die, and I need you, Louisa, you're my life and—"
Alarmed, Louisa pulled Jasper's head to her chest, cradling it as tightly as she could. She desperately wanted to soothe his fears, but a part of her recognised that this was what Jasper needed. After being silent for so long, he deserved the luxury of unburdening his mind, even if what he said upset her. And so, she pressed a kiss to his still wet curls and waited it out.
"You can't even protect yourself. Not even against other humans, and what if they hurt you? And all I can think is that if I had just changed you last September, none of this would have happened, and you'd be safe and able to protect yourself, but I know you aren't ready to be a vampire yet, and the last thing I want to do is change you too early because what if you hate me for it?"
That was a thought she needed to stop in its tracks. She pulled away and gripped Jasper's face, forcing him to look at her. "Don't you ever say that again," she snarled. "Don't you dare insult me like that. You know me better than to think I could ever hate you."
She leaned forward and kissed him, an angry, burning kiss that made her heart pound so hard that her chest hurt. Jasper reciprocated after a moment, his fingers digging into her skin. Louisa knew there'd be bruises in the morning, but she didn't care. She pushed him down into the bed, breaking the kiss.
"I know you're scared, Jasper," she said, her voice husky as she struggled to catch her breath. "But you're catastrophising. This isn't healthy."
Jasper's face was still set into a scowl, but he nodded. He reached up and pulled her to his chest before rolling them over so that Louisa was on her back. He buried his face in her neck and pressed a kiss to her pulse point. "I'm sorry."
Louisa carded her fingers through his hair, sighing when she felt his contrition worm its way through her chest. She twisted her neck to kiss his temple. "It's okay," she soothed. "We're going to fix this."
Jasper nodded and pulled back. His hands slid under her shirt and began to massage her sides, paying extra attention to the spots where his fingers had pressed too hard earlier. "We need a plan," he said after a moment of silence. "Some sort of timeline."
She knew that this day was coming, and she'd be lying if she said that she hadn't been dreading it. According to Rosalie, Jasper was uncommonly accommodating regarding her humanity. The average vampire (that was, the kind that ate humans instead of animals) would change their mate the moment they found them to avoid this exact problem that Louisa and Jasper were facing. Their situation was different, though. Most vampires didn't maintain a permanent residence like the Cullens did, making it impossible to snatch your mate and disappear from town. People would notice their disappearances and bring unwanted scrutiny to the Cullens if Jasper had abducted her the day they met.
But unlike the Cullens, Jasper was more like these other vampires. Hell, until recently (and in vampire years, 1950 was recent), Jasper was one of those other vampires. And in many ways, he still was one of them. It was clear to everyone that Jasper was humouring them (mainly Alice) by playing human. He went to school, fidgeted and blinked when others were looking, but Louisa could tell he didn't quite understand the point other than to blend in. Whilst the Cullens desperately clutched at the remaining fragments of their humanity, Jasper had fully embraced his vampiric nature.
At times like these, Louisa had to remind herself that she was dealing with a different species of being. As a human, what was important to her wouldn't necessarily make sense to Jasper. Her problems certainly wouldn't be as obvious to him as they would have been to Rose or even Carlisle.
"What do you have in mind?" she asked lightly.
"Changing you after graduation is the obvious answer," Jasper said. He drummed his fingers along her ribs as he thought. "Everyone goes off to college and starts new chapters of their lives."
"But I won't," she guessed.
Jasper gave her a considering look. "The first year is the hardest. Your senses will be heightened, your brain overstimulated, and your emotions will be stronger. Humans won't be safe around you for the first three months, and even then, your bloodlust will be difficult to manage. I'll keep you somewhere secluded where we can hunt often."
Louisa let out a shaky sigh. The picture he painted was bleak, but there was no point complaining about it. This was the reality she was facing, and the sooner she got used to the idea, the better. "What will I tell everyone?"
Jasper's fingers continued their steady drumming. "That we're taking a gap year?" he suggested after a moment of silence. "You could say that you'll be backpacking across Europe. That sounds like something you'd do."
Louisa let out a laugh. He did have a point. "And would you be coming with me?"
"Naturally."
"I'm not saying no," she said slowly, stroking his hair. "But there's one glaring issue I see with your plan."
His head tilted, a frow wrinkling his face as he considered her words. "How so?"
"My father?" she reminded him. "He likes you, but he's not going to be pleased if, at eighteen, I go on a merry little jaunt through Europe with my high school sweetheart. And don't even get me started on having to explain to him that I'm waiting a year for college."
Louisa could practically see Jasper's brain working as he tried to figure out how those thoughts related. "You believe he won't let us go without a chaperone?"
She rolled her eyes. Vampires.
"I don't want to estrange my father," she explained. "After things calm down, I want to still have a relationship with my family—temporary as it will be." Melancholy tinged her words the longer she spoke. She generally tried to avoid the thoughts centred around her family's eventual demise while she remained young for eternity.
Jasper placed a soft kiss on her lips before rising off the bed. She watched as he paced the room, deep in thought, until he stopped in front of the window. Moonlight filtered through the window, giving Jasper's skin an angelic pearly glow. Louisa leaned back, content to watch her mate.
He turned his head to look at her, a wrinkle between his eyebrows, before returning his attention back to the window. He repeated this action several more times as he collected his thoughts. Finally, he nodded and returned to bed, crawling over her and pressing a heavy kiss to her lips.
Louisa responded eagerly, wrapping her legs around his hips and pulling him closer. "Have you come up with a solution, Major Whitlock?" she asked while guiding his head towards her throat.
He hummed against her skin, the vibrations causing gooseflesh to shiver across her body. "Yes, ma'am," he murmured. "I sure have."
When he didn't elaborate further, Louisa had to make the difficult decision between wanting answers and never wanting him to stop kissing her neck. Somewhat predictably, her curiosity won out. She was the nosiest teen in the Pacific Northwest, after all. "Care to share with the class?"
Jasper glanced up, his lips still against her throat. Very deliberately, he sucked on the sensitive skin.
A moan of pleasure escaped her lips and her eyelids fluttered shut. She couldn't bring herself to tell him off for giving her yet another love bite. She didn't even care that he was very obviously trying to distract her, though she still managed to grouse, "You're not playing fair."
"No, I'm not," he agreed, sounding far too pleased with himself.
With an impatient growl, Louisa pushed Jasper off her and sat up. Before he could protest the change in positions, she had straddled his hips. She leaned down and began to press hot, open-mouthed kisses to the skin around his mouth, taking care to avoid his lips—something she knew he hated. Sure enough, his impatience and frustration flooded her senses, and it took all of her wits to avoid his hungry lips.
"Don't tease me," he commanded. He reached up and cradled the back of her skull with one hand, forcing her to still.
"Tell me," she said, quite pleased that her words sounded commanding rather than whiney.
A devilish smirk played across his lips, and fire danced playfully in his dark eyes. He leaned towards her until his lips were a hair's breadth from hers. When he spoke, she could feel the silken skin brush against her lips. "No."
Louisa tilted her head a fraction of an inch closer, her heart thudding in her chest. "Yes," she whispered.
She watched as Jasper's eyes turned black as pitch, and the next second, she was flat on her back. Jasper hovered over her, supporting enough of his weight so he didn't squish her but letting her feel every plane and ridge of his firm, glorious body. "No."
"You'll know I'll get it out of you," she said, raising her arms and wrapping them around his neck. She played with the soft curls at the nape of his neck, her body tingling with pleasure when Jasper let out a soft, animalistic sound somewhere between a purr and a growl. "I'm very persistent. Just save us both the time and—"
She didn't get to finish her words because Jasper's lips crashed into hers. There was a fleeting second where she was annoyed by this obvious distraction, but it was quickly wiped away with every other coherent thought. All she could focus on was the feel of his lips on hers; how his body weight pressed the air out of her lungs in confusing and exciting ways; how his fingers slipped under her shirt and ignited sparks of pleasure as they danced along her skin. A high-pitched moan tore from her throat as he ripped his mouth away from hers. His lips began to explore her body, but she didn't want his lips anywhere but on hers, even if she did need to breathe. His hands massaged her ribcage, and as divine as it felt, that wasn't what she wanted either. Jasper didn't seem to know what she wanted, though, so she took matters into her own hands.
Reaching down, she pulled Jasper's wandering hands out of her shirt. When he stiffened and began to pull away, panic visible in his eyes at the thought of overstepping, she shifted and guided him to wrap his arms around her.
"I'll crush you," he whispered, doubt flickering across his face. "Vampires are denser than humans. I'm a lot heavier than you think."
"Kiss me," she commanded, locking her arms around his neck and pulling him back down. He allowed the movement, if a touch reluctantly, and cradled her as she wanted—but to do so meant he had to drop his full weight on her. He wasn't kidding when he said that vampires were heavy. But rather than crushing, the solid weight of his body above her and his strong arms around her felt safe. It felt like nothing in the world could touch her or hurt her, and for a moment, her heart felt so complete she thought she might explode. "Don't make me beg."
Jasper watched her through heavily lidded eyes. He must have found what he was searching for because he nodded. "My silly little mate," he murmured. His lips curled into the boyish toothy grin he only gave her.
Something warm fluttered in her chest at these words, though she wasn't entirely sure why. Maybe it was because, at five foot eleven, Louisa couldn't remember the last time anyone had described her as little. Or maybe it was the look of pure adoration he gave her as he said it. She traced her fingers along his forehead, down the bridge of his nose, across his pillow-soft lips, and circled his smooth cheek, relishing how his purr of pleasure vibrated through her belly. Jasper's joy hit her like a freight train, blinding her and stealing her breath. When she regained her senses, she could feel tears leaking from her eyes.
Jasper dipped his head, bestowing a slow, sweet kiss upon her. It wasn't frenzied like before, which was a bit of a relief. She didn't feel nearly as out of control of herself. She savoured the softness of his lips and relaxed in his arms.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" he asked between kisses.
Louisa ran her hands over his broad shoulders and pulled him closer. "I can't. You're more exciting."
Jasper chuckled and pulled away, drawing a noise of displeasure from her throat. "Sleep," he instructed.
"Make me."
He raised an eyebrow, and a wave of drowsiness overtook her.
"Oh," she muttered, her words slurred. Jasper's face blurred, and when she tried to blink the fogginess away, she found it difficult to reopen her eyes. "You're, like, actually making me."
Jasper chuckled again. "Sleep, my love."
The last thing she remembered was the weight of Jasper burying his face in her chest and the realisation that she still didn't know what he was hiding from her.
No Stone Left Unturned
Despite Jasper's protests, Louisa brought Kelly to the playground at Tillicum Park later that afternoon. Kelly, full of excitement after her month at summer camp, chattered away as Louisa pushed her on the swings. When that grew boring, they moved to the playground equipment, which was dry for once after several days of no rain. There, Louisa played a sea monster, a centaur, and a Sith Lord in Kelly's game of make-believe until the pain in her broken arm became too noticeable. Kelly was naturally disappointed but graciously allowed Louisa to rest under a nearby tree nonetheless. Fortunately, other kids at the park soon occupied Kelly's attention, and before too long, she was zooming around with a pack of children.
Louisa took a moment to text Rosalie, who had taken to sending her gorgeous pictures of Isle Esme and captioning them with snarky comments; respond to Leah's questions about her night and reassuring her that she was not pregnant; and check up on Jasper, who had decided to hunt a little more. This final text was particularly welcome news, and she put her phone away with a smile on her face. She looked up just in time to see Kelly barrelling towards her, wood chips stuck to her knees and a smudge of dirt on her cheek.
A little girl who could have been anywhere between seven and twelve was trotting behind Kelly with a look of wonderment in her wide brown eyes. She was pale (as Forks natives tended to be), with long blonde waves the colour of cornsilk and delicate birdlike bones that looked like they might break with a strong wind gust. She was wearing a pair of shorts and a Harry Potter t-shirt, her knee-high socks were mismatched, and she carried a whiteboard that had a dry erase marker dangling from a ribbon. She looked familiar despite Louisa never having met the girl before, and she assumed it was because she knew one of the girl's family members.
"This is Kit," Kelly explained, plopping down beside Louisa.
Louisa gave Kit a warm smile and waved for her to join them on the picnic blanket she had spread out. "I'm Louisa."
Kit perched hesitantly on the edge of the blanket as if she were afraid she would be shooed away. She didn't say anything in response, but she hugged the whiteboard to her chest like a shield.
"She's deaf," Kelly explained further.
Louisa waved at the girl and raised her hands. She pointed to herself, then signed: name L-O-U-I-S-A. Other than counting to ten and the alphabet, this was the extent of her ASL knowledge, but she figured she might as well introduce herself in a language Kit could understand. But, judging by the blank stare she received, Kit didn't seem to know ASL and exclusively used her board for communication. Louisa motioned for the whiteboard and wrote out her introduction. She next pointed to each word as she signed the corresponding sign.
A spark of interest appeared in Kit's dark eyes, and she nodded slowly before copying Louisa's gestures. She paused when she reached her own name, and Louisa walked her through how to fingerspell K-I-T.
Louisa grinned, which Kit hesitantly reciprocated before pointing at Kelly. Louisa spent the next few minutes teaching the girls how to sign their names and the alphabet, making Kelly giggle with delight. Kit, meanwhile, watched Louisa with an intense, hungry expression and soaked up the basic sign language, seeming disappointed when she realised that Louisa had run out of things to teach her.
Louisa hummed in thought, considering what to do next. She had brought a book to read to Kelly when she had tired from playing (which happened far too quickly nowadays, in Louisa's opinion), but Louisa wasn't sure how to include Kelly's new friend in the activity. Clearly, Kit could read enough to communicate with her whiteboard, but Louisa didn't know how far those capabilities stretched. She watched Kit, whose small body was wound tight with anxiety.
She's lonely, was Louisa's first deduction about Kit. However, even more concerning was that there didn't seem to be an adult watching Kit. Sure, this was Forks, a small town where very few things seemed to happen (homicidal former chemistry teachers aside); but surely it wasn't safe to let a little deaf girl wander around the town? Perhaps she had slipped out of the house, tempted by the blue sky and dry playground equipment?
In that case, it would be best to keep an eye on Kit until someone found her, Louisa decided. And deaf or not, what kid didn't like being read to? She pulled a battered copy of the Nancy Drew mystery, The Hidden Staircase, out of her bag and patted the ground beside her. Without further prompting, Kelly snuggled into Louisa's side and waved for Kit to join them. Only after Louisa lifted her free arm did Kit crawl towards her, her body rigid as if she were afraid that she would be pushed away.
Tightening her arm around both girls' shoulders, Louisa flipped open the book and began to read, dragging her index finger beneath each word. She wasn't sure how helpful it was for Kit, but the girl seemed to be enjoying herself nonetheless, relaxing the longer Louisa read. Kelly, on the other hand, loved the book, going as far as to declare it better than Sherlock Holmes.
"I don't know," Louisa drawled, trying to keep her face straight. "I think Holmes might be smarter."
"That doesn't make him better," Kelly pointed out, chin jutted out with defiance. "Besides, Holmes is a boy." She spat this word out like it was made of poison, clearly unimpressed with the male gender in the way only a ten-year-old could be.
"Katherine!" A woman shouted before Louisa had the chance to respond.
Kelly and Louisa jumped and swivelled towards the voice, finding an irate Lauren Mallory stomping towards them. Kit, noticing their actions, copied them, her expression drooping. She didn't fight Lauren when she yanked her to her feet, although she didn't seem to pay much attention as Lauren continued to berate her.
"I'm so sorry, Louisa," she said when she realised Kit's attention was elsewhere. "She must have sneaked out of the house earlier."
Louisa waved off the apologies, her lips pursed with concern. "Is this your sister?"
Lauren nodded, looking none too pleased with the fact. "I'm sorry if she bothered you."
"She wasn't a bother," Louisa replied slowly, watching Kit with concern. "I understand that she's deaf?"
Lauren scowled, though Louisa couldn't imagine why. "Katherine contracted meningitis a few years ago," she explained, fingers still tightly wrapped around Kit's upper arm. "She's been deaf ever since."
That explained why Kit could read and write so well, she supposed.
"Then why are you shouting at her?" Louisa asked, trying to keep her question from sounding too judgemental.
Lauren froze as if the question had never occurred to her. "Well, she can read lips," she said. "When she feels like it. She's stubborn and pretends she doesn't know what you're saying. Especially when it benefits her."
Or, Louisa thought, her chest constricting with pity. She didn't know what people were saying. She could only imagine how isolating that was, especially after losing the ability to hear in such a traumatic way.
"I noticed she doesn't know American Sign Language?" Louisa asked.
Lauren shrugged. "Mum and Dad didn't see the point of having her learn it. It's not like we know it."
Louisa had never had a problem with Lauren Mallory before, but at that moment, she wanted nothing more than to slap the girl across the face. "You could learn it with her," Louisa said slowly.
Lauren shrugged again, her face twisting with doubt. "Seems kind of pointless, doesn't it? How many deaf people would we run into, anyway?"
Your fucking sister, for one, Louisa wanted to shout. She took a deep breath, her mind racing. Even if Lauren wasn't one of Dottie's friends, the last thing she wanted to do was piss her off. "You know," she began, packing away her belongings and helping Kelly to her feet. "I think Peninsula College has ASL courses. The two of you might enjoy it."
Doubt twisted Lauren's features. "I don't know," she began, glancing down at Kit, who was staring off in the distance, clearly bored. "I doubt she'd be able to learn it. After she lost her hearing, Mum pulled her out of school—she said there wasn't a point in teaching her anything if she couldn't hear."
Translation, Lauren couldn't be bothered to help her sister. The realisation made Louisa's blood boil. She couldn't imagine not doing the bare minimum of learning how to communicate with her siblings. Lauren was lucky that her sister had even survived meningitis. Louisa would have given anything to have her little brother back, and here Lauren was, writing Kit off as stupid, just because her ears didn't work anymore.
She doesn't deserve a sibling. It was something Louisa would never admit out loud. She felt ashamed for even thinking it.
"Helen Keller learned how to read and write!" Kelly said, buzzing with excitement. "And she was deaf and blind ."
"You know, I know a little ASL," Louisa said, keeping her voice casual. "I could teach her." This was barely the truth; she had already taught Kit everything she knew. But Louisa had learned Russian and Spanish, so how hard would a new language be?
Lauren pursed her lips as if she were considering the offer. "I don't know."
"It wouldn't be a bother," Louisa added when she saw Lauren's resolve waver. "If anything, it would get her out of the house for a while."
This seemed to be the right thing to say. Immediately, Lauren's expression softened, and she glanced down at Kit. "Do you want to learn ASL with Louisa?" she asked her sister.
Kit, who was still staring off into the distance, didn't respond.
Lauren rolled her eyes and returned her attention to Louisa. "I'll bring it up with my parents tonight," she said. "We'll pay you, of course."
"Oh, there's no need," Louisa replied at once. "It's not like I'm babysitting her."
"It's close enough," Lauren said. "Trust me. You'll want it after having to deal with her."
Lauren and Kit didn't stick around long after that. Lauren tugged at her sister's hand and dragged her off the playground. Kit looked back at them for a moment, her expression so sad that it took every bit of self-control for Louisa not to dash across the park and wrap the little girl up in a hug. She settled for a forlorn wave and a sad smile.
Their pleasant afternoon dampened, Louisa and Kelly gathered their belongings and folded up the blanket, which Louisa tucked under her arm. They walked hand in hand out of the park in silence and began to wander down the sleepy streets of Forks.
"Louisa," Kelly said as the Becketts' little house appeared at the end of the street. She tugged on her hand, looking up at her with a determined set of her lips. "When I die, you need to look out for Kit."
Louisa felt her blood run cold at these words. She pulled Kelly to a stop and crouched down in front of her. "You're not going to die," she said emphatically, gripping her shoulders.
Kelly gave Louisa a smile that was a little sad and a little bit pitying. "She's going to be alone," she continued as if Louisa hadn't said anything. "And you'll need her."
"She's not going to be alone because you'll be with her," Louisa reminded her. Even as she said these words, her stomach twisted in knots. It was no secret that Kelly's kidneys had failed months ago and that she needed dialysis several times a week. But end-stage renal disease was hardly a death sentence—not for someone so young. Whilst it was true that the average life expectancy for end-stage renal disease could be shortened, Kelly was on the donation list to receive a new kidney. It might take a few more years, but she'd certainly get it. There was certainly no reason for this gloomy, foreboding talk. "You're going to be fine, sweetheart."
Kelly merely smiled. "For now," she agreed in a way that felt like she was humouring her. "Mum will be back soon. Let's go home." She reached for Louisa's hand and tugged, and together they walked back home, the sunny summer day feeling just a touch colder.
No Stone Left Unturned
The rain returned the next day, trapping her inside the Cullens' house with Jasper. Not that she minded, particularly. They spent most of the day watching movies (Bambi included) and talking to the Cullens when they called to check in on Jasper. Alice, in particular, was excited to talk to them, although Edward kept interrupting her before she was able to say anything meaningful, shooting her exasperated looks every time she opened her mouth.
"Would you be willing to meet some of my friends?" Jasper asked after her lunch, his cold fingers tracing circles into her shoulder.
"Peter and Charlotte?" Louisa asked as she grabbed his hand and threaded her fingers through his. At his surprised expression, Louisa chuckled. "You don't have many friends, Babe," she reminded him, kissing the back of his hand.
Jasper rolled his eyes but nodded. "They—"
"Drink humans?" Louisa finished. When Jasper gave their joined hands a suspicious look, Louisa grinned. "No magic. Just a good, old-fashioned deduction."
Jasper didn't look entirely convinced, which was probably fair, considering Louisa wasn't sure if she had used her power or not either. "They'll be here next in a few days, and they are excited to meet you. But if you don't feel comfortable, we'd understand."
"I hang out with vampires every day," Louisa reminded him with a confused smile. "Why would I not feel comfortable?"
Jasper seemed to be considering his words carefully. "I don't know if you noticed, but vampires give off a pheromone that makes prey nervous. It is why animals don't come close to our house."
"And why your family makes my sister nervous?" Louisa guessed. Truth be told, she had noticed something off-putting about most of the Cullens when she had first met them. She figured that she had grown acclimated to the effect in the intervening months, especially now that Jasper shared a bed with her.
Jasper nodded. "The effect is heightened with vampires that drink human blood," he explained. "Although, part of it might be the eyes."
"Red, right?" Louisa said. When Jasper reared back in surprise, she grinned. "That one was magic," she continued, waving her fingers in his face and laughing when he playfully snapped at them. "I've seen you hunting before."
He gave her a sad smile before dragging her into his lap. "I'm sorry you had to see that."
"It was scary at the time," she admitted. "And I much prefer your current eyes than the red ones. But it doesn't bother me."
"That I used to eat humans?"
Louisa shrugged. "You're a vampire, Jazz. That's what y'all do."
Jasper surveyed her through narrow eyes. "I can't tell if you're being facetious or are too blasé about this."
Louisa shifted to her knees so that she straddled Jasper's lap, taking his face in her hands and forcing him to look up at her. "Good," she said, grinning as she kissed him.
Jasper snaked his arms around her and pulled her down to his chest. He buried his face in her hair and sighed. "Sometimes you're more trouble than your worth," he teased.
"Speak for yourself, Mr I'm-keeping-secrets-from-my-amazing-girlfriend."
He grinned lazily and twirled a lock of her hair around his finger. "It's not a secret."
"Then tell me."
"No."
Louisa threw back her head and groaned. "That's the definition of a secret, Babe."
He chuckled and pressed a swift kiss to her cheek. "There is something I want to share with you."
"Does it have to do with last night?"
"Indirectly," he admitted. He waited for her to sit up and face him before continuing. "I want to teach you how to fight."
Louisa felt her brow wrinkle. "Fight what? Vampires?"
The thought seemed to horrify Jasper. "Of course not! That's too dangerous." He took a calming breath, which for some reason included running his nose along her jugular. "You're very vulnerable," he explained slowly, carefully choosing his words. "You have the advantage of height on your side, but you're—"
"Scrawny?" Louisa volunteered. She wasn't offended by the description as she once might've been. She had yet to fill out after her last growth spurt left her limbs long and gangly, but with her recurring headaches and accompanying nausea, she was losing the hope that she would ever gain weight.
"A woman," he corrected gently. He raised his hand when she tried to protest and continued. "Even if you were in peak physical condition, which you have pointed out yourself, a man will almost always be stronger than you. That is not an insult; it is merely a fact. Think about the other day at La Push. You are several years Paul's senior, and you were taller than him. That didn't stop him from being able to throw you over his shoulder."
Louisa sank back, her arms wrapping around her body. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew that Jasper had a valid point. She remembered how effortlessly Paul had been able to pick her up, and no matter how much she had struggled, she hadn't been able to free herself. In fact, the only reason he put her down was because he wanted to.
Jasper sighed and took her face in his hands. "I do not say this to upset or frighten you, my love," he explained, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Only to open your eyes to the reality of being a woman. I fear that you have a skewed notion of what you are physically capable of."
"I'm not some weak, worthless little damsel that needs to be saved," she snapped.
"I agree," he said softly. "But you have a terrifying proclivity of finding yourself in dangerous situations where you are at a physical disadvantage. Every altercation with the Garner brothers? Paul? Jason Lambe? Mr Hewitt? They are all stronger than you, simply because they were born a man."
Louisa bit back an angry retort because she knew, deep down, that he had a point. "Those weren't my fault," she reminded him. Although, she had gone looking for Mr Hewitt. And Spencer. And she did pick fights with Tommy sometimes too… "At least not all of them."
"I'm not trying to blame you for anything or admonish you," Jasper said. "I want to help you."
It took a moment for Louisa to recall the point of the conversation. "By teaching me how to fight?"
"Self-defence, mainly," he explained. "I don't want you to fight people. I want you to come back to me alive."
It was hard to argue with his words, especially coupled with the earnest look in his eyes. That was how Louisa found herself taking self-defence lessons with her former Confederate soldier boyfriend in her spare time. Sure, they still did other things too, but constantly getting knocked to the floor was certainly a memorable part of her summer.
She didn't even hate the lessons like she thought she would. It was fun having Jasper's undivided attention, and she loved how he grinned with pride when she did something right. She could feel herself getting stronger as the weeks progressed, and at one point, she even managed to flip Jasper over her shoulder (although she strongly suspected that he had allowed it to happen). And if their lessons turned into something a little more carnal than what Jasper had originally planned… Well, that was pretty great too.
"I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light." ― Helen Keller
A/N: Felt chaotic. Here's a new chapter. Hope you like it!