storm ◇ jasper hale ◇

chapter forty-one: adjusting

"Are you sure you want to go?" Mandy asked, looking up at her youngest son. There was subtle upset lining her face, and Madej knew she didn't want him to go. He didn't want to, not really. But he had to; it was the obvious choice, and it was safer for everyone.

Madej put on a brave face for his mother. "Mom, you're having a funeral for me. I don't want to, like, crash my own funeral, as fun as that sounds."

'Putting the fun in funeral,' Emmett signed from his spot nearby, in Madej's line of sight. Madej grinned at him. As tempting as it was to crash his own funeral, Madej thought it was better to get the hell out of Forks. It would only be a matter of time before someone spotted him; it was best to get away from the place he had grown to love. He couldn't let his friends know he was still alive, as much as that hurt him. They had to mourn him and move on; it was the hand they'd been given.

Besides, it was becoming rather macabre in Forks, and Madej was tired of that stuff for now. He needed time to recover, get used to his life now.

Jasper was going to take Madej and Bree to live with Peter and Charlotte, indefinitely. The plan was to drop him and Bree off, then come back in time for the fake funeral; Madej and the others figured it'd be weird if Jasper wasn't there at Madej's funeral. No-one outside of the witches and the vampires knew of Bree, so she could stay with Madej at Peter and Charlotte's place. It would be easier, a smaller group to live with rather than the large coven that was the Cullens.

"It's just for a few years, and you know where I'll be," Madej told his mom. She knew she would be able to visit whenever she could. It wasn't like he could go anywhere just yet.

It felt daunting knowing that they wouldn't be in Forks for the next hundred years or so. It felt even more daunting to know he'd still be alive in a hundred years time.

Madej hadn't even been able to say goodbye to his friends. Angela and Bella had to keep him a secret from the others, to make sure they didn't know he was a vampire now. They had never known he was a witch, but this time it was different. He didn't look like he was dying anymore. He looked like he used to before the cancer ruined him. It was weird. Vampire venom had a weird way of working.

Madej hadn't looked in the mirror yet. He didn't want to see blood-red eyes in Zeke's face. It would hurt too much.

'I'll visit all the time, so will Benedict and Angela.' Mandy promised her son.

'I know. You'll basically move out there,' Madej signed, offering a smile. 'I'll FaceTime you or something since I can't answer phone calls now. Bree can learn some sign that way.'

Mandy smiled at her son, though there was a sadness in her eyes that they both knew wouldn't ever go away.

"Off you go, or you'll be late," she said, patting at his face. She turned to look at Jasper. "Take care of him, and make sure he doesn't get into any fights."

Jasper looked amused. "Yes, ma'am," he said, then looked at Madej. 'Let's go.'

They said their goodbyes, Angela and Paul getting their final hugs in, and Madej politely ignored the tears in Paul's eyes before he, Jasper and Bree set off running to Peter and Charlotte's home.

Jasper led the way as they ran, and Madej wanted to run faster, to move quicker than Jasper and Bree. He knew he could do it, and wanted to. He had to restrain himself. It was just nice to move, to run without becoming exhausted. Madej wished he could do it forever. He knew he could if he put the effort in.

The sun started to set, and the three slowly came to a stop as they entered Texas. Madej was apprehensive of Texas, of being so far south in America. He wasn't exactly white and knew that the white people in the south may be less than nice to him being around them. Whatever. He could kill them.