✓ | 𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀, j. hale [2]

XIII. Old Wounds

The sound of birdsong and the pleasant warmth of the sun caressing her skin made Evelyn open her eyes. She was standing in the middle of her meadow, the stream bubbling cheerfully nearby. A golden haze filled the clearing, the serenity of her surroundings falling over her like a blanket.

A small smile crept its way onto her lips as she looked down at her bare feet. Her pale toes contrasted sharply with the emerald grass beneath her skin. Wildflowers sprung up through the grass and dirt sporadically around her. She was comfortable... serene. She let out a breathy sigh; if this was what heaven felt like, she never wanted to leave.

There was no sound of breath or shuffling of feet, no shifting body weight or cleared throat, but somehow, Evelyn knew she was no longer alone. She turned, and the smile that brightened her eyes was dazzling.

Jasper stood across from her in the clearing, golden hair shining and skin sparkling like diamonds in the sunlight. Oh, how she had forgotten the savage beauty of his face. For a moment she cursed herself for her human inability to remember. How could she have let herself forget the way his hair curled at the nape of his neck? The dimple that showed when he smiled that crooked smile that she missed so much? The love in his eyes whenever he looked at her?

Their gazes met, and the moment that he smiled at her, she was running. Within seconds, she had launched herself into his arms, throwing her own around his neck as he held her against his his chest.

"Jasper," she breathed, his name rolling off her tongue just as perfectly as it always had before. She closed her eyes and inhaled the smell of the forest that always seemed to linger on him.

He squeezed her tighter. "My love," he murmured in her ear. "My Evelyn. I've missed you so much."

A shiver crept down her spine at his words, at his cool breath in her ear. She had imagined this moment for months, and to hear him say the words that she had desperately wanted to hear for so long made the weight of all they had been through fall like feathers from her shoulders.

"I've missed you, too," she told him, leaning back to caress his cheek with her shaking hand. "Ever since the moment you left." Her eyes drank in every inch of his face as if he was going to disappear any second.

"Have you?" He asked, and the tone of his voice made Evelyn's eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Have you really missed me?"

"What do you mean? Of course I have! I love you. I've only ever loved you, even after you left."

His eyes were pained as he nodded towards something behind her across the clearing. Frowning, she allowed him to turn her around and followed his gaze towards the sound of voices that she now heard coming from the middle of the golden meadow. Cautiously, she let him guide her towards the two figures lying on the grass before them. When she realized who it was, she came to an abrupt stop, her breath catching in her throat.

She immediately recognized herself and Will laying together on the grass. Evelyn saw herself smiling at something Will was saying, and her heart thumped loudly in her ears because she knew Jasper could hear the words, too. After a few seconds of watching the pair on the ground, she realized that she was wearing the same outfit as the day Will found her in the meadow all those weeks ago. She was looking at a memory.

There was nothing romantic in between her and Will. Absolutely nothing. But as she watched herself and Will laugh together on the grass, she couldn't fight the odd feeling of guilt simmering in her stomach.

"You've forgotten me," Jasper said, the soft lilt of his voice somber as he spoke in her ear. "You say you love me, and yet..."

Evelyn shook her head furiously, spinning around and taking a step away from Jasper to properly face him. "No -- no, you're wrong, Jasper! I love you! This," she said, gesturing behind her, "this is nothing. He's my friend... he's been there for me since you left. That's it, that's all it is." She willed Jasper to understand her, willed herself to understand what she was feeling.