𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍 ; volturi kings

CHAPTER XII

CHAPTER XII

Jasmine cautiously entered her father's house, her newly-enhanced sight observing the abundance of dust bunnies and grime.

She had been kinda-dead for exactly 7 hours.

"Are you okay?" Emmet asked, his thick eyebrows pulled together in worry.

"I'm fine."

Jas found it hard to recognise her own voice- it was so strong, unwavering- everything that she wasn't right now.

"Look if you need a mi-"

"I'm fine." She repeated, brashly turning around with an unconvincing smile.

As a light breeze flew through the living-room curtains, Jas' nose was hit with the thick aroma of cleaner.

Her lace-up heel boots mutely hit the carpet as she walked through the place where she grew up.

Her home.

An irregular patch perched on the beige carpet, invisible to the human eye. The fraction darker stain mocked her, simply a guise for the puddle of blood that had been there just a few hours ago.

So, this was what was to become of her life- cleaned over, swept under the rug, put out of sight.

"You know, I didn't learn anything in philosophy," Jas joked, "but there is one thing I remember..."

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

Emmet's intrigue quickly turned to confusion.

As he struggled to understand, Jasmine continued up the stairs.

Her room hadn't been touched at all, obviously. But the sight still shocked her.

Something, deep inside her soul, needed it to be different. Something had to be different.

It just made no sense- her whole world had fallen apart, but here her bedroom stood, just as pretty and perfect as a few days ago.

Everything looked normal, but in reality, nothing was.

A burning anguish ran through her as she kicked over her vanity; her newborn strength sent the desk and chair flying across the room, shattering with a loud crash as they hit the mirror opposite.

"Jas!"

Two large arms were brought around her as she dry sobbed into her hands.

She couldn't remember collapsing onto the floor, but there she was, crouching amongst the chaos.

Jasmine and Emmet stayed like that for an immeasurable amount of time.

A shrill tone broke through the moment, much like the twilight sky breaking out into night.

Indistinct voices surrounded her, and then she felt herself being pulled out of the house.

"Wait-" she shoved Emmet away, a gross miscalculation of her strength.

"I- sorry- where are we going?"

"Back home, Esme said that Alice needs to talk to you."

Home?

The tacky, glass prison was anything but her home.

She couldn't stay there.

Not with Bella- so human and full of blood and life.

Not with Edward- the boy who broke her heart.

Seeing the apprehension displayed on Jas' face, Emmet thought for a moment.

"Look, from what Esme said, I think Alice might've seen something important." He finally spoke, "I know you wanna be anywhere but there right now, so I'll come back as quickly as possible- we can go out hunting later."

Slaughtering wildlife, fantastic.

She gave him a small smile.

"You have to stay here though, promise me."

"I promise." She replied, leaning in to hug him.

━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━

Jasmine sat slouched, thoughtlessly flicking through the television.

The painfully bright cartoons stung her crimson eyes, and she brought a perfectly manicured hand up to rub them as she grumbled.

She had agreed to stay inside.

But she was so bored.

All of a sudden, as if some great god above had heard her complaint, Jas' enhanced hearing picked up on large rubber wheels grounding along cracked pavement.

And then a rapid rapping at the door.

"It's open, Emmet." She yelled towards the hallway.

"Emmet?" A surprised voice squealed as the door clicked open, "you're with the other Cullen brother now?"

"Jess?" She stood up from the sofa, far too quickly.

"Don't sound too disappointed." Her friend mocked.

As Jessica Stanley entered the living room, last year's Prada bag in tow, Jas moved away, as slowly and human-like as possible.

"What's up with you?" Jess asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm just-" she fake coughed, "really sick. I don't want you to catch it as well..."

Her friend smiled at her, fake sympathy lacing her voice, "cause of prom? Aw, you're so considerate..."

"Yeah, yeah-" Jasmine rushedly agreed, but then raised an eyebrow, "wait, prom?"

"Um, yeah... it's literally tomorrow, dumbass," the other girl chortled.

Jasmine had almost forgotten.

Of course, in the light of getting kidnapped, the red plastic-wrapped dress hanging in her wardrobe hadn't been her priority.

She frowned as realisation flowed through her.

"I don't think I'm gonna be able to go," she quietly spoke.

"Are you crazy?"

"I- well... I'm still ill." Jess raised an unbelieving eyebrow at her, "plus... my dress ripped!"

Good save, she thought to herself.

Before she had even finished speaking the words, her friend was halfway up the stairs, "come on!" Her unbothered voice spoke, "there is no way Jasmine Swan is gonna miss prom because of a-"

"The fuck happened in here?"

Shit. The desk.

"Um..." Jas walked into her room, her mind racing at a million miles a minute, "raccoon."

"At this time of year? Weird." Jess mumbled, but decidedly ignored Jasmine's strange behaviour, practically ripping open the wardrobe door.

Jasmine couldn't remember much of what happened after Jessica grabbed the bag- the memory was a montage of manic moments.

A sweet, metallic smell invaded her nostrils slowly, stroking at the dark creature that lurked within her.

"Fuck," Jess sighed, "I cut my hand on the zip."