Sanctuary

6. Letters

Lena spent a long, boring week in the hospital. Carlisle made everyone return to school so no one raised too many questions like Lena preferred. She didn't want everyone at school knowing all about what her father had done. Not yet anyway. Charlie had come through for her and had Warren transferred back to her home state. He was being charged with not only for what he had done to his daughter but also murder. Her mom was getting the justice she deserved.
Lena sighed as she looked up at the hospital ceiling, counting the tiles for what had to have been the billionth time. "I'm going to lose all of my marbles." She muttered to what she thought was herself. "Is that so?" Carlisle asked as he came into her room to check on her. He did that a lot to make sure she wasn't so lonely while his kids were in school. "Yes. Please let me go home. I can heal there, can't I?" She asked as she pushed herself into a sitting position. Her ribs hurt more than anything but day by day that sting was getting a tiny bit duller. "Actually I was coming in to tell you you can go home. I understand you are going to be staying with Bella and Charlie?" He asked and Lena nodded. Charlie had offered his home to her as Lena didn't want to go to California with her grandmother. He had thought of her as a daughter for a long time now and was happy to do it. "You know Esme and I would be happy to have you as well." Carlisle told her. It would complicate things but he was almost sure they would be sharing their secret with her at some point considering Jasper was smitten with the young lady. "I appreciate that and I would love that but Charlie's always been like my real dad. I spent my summers in his house with my mom. It feels more like home there than it ever did at the new house." Lena said as Carlisle began to help her out of bed. "Heard we were allowed to spring you." Emmett said as he came into the room being followed by Bella, Edward, Jasper, Alice, and Caroline. "You told them before you told me?" Lena asked, shooting Carlisle a look. "He just told me. I told the rest of them." Alice grinned as she flitted over next to the girl and slipped under her arm. It looked like she was really struggling to walk. "I'm okay Alice. I can walk." Lena told her. She wasn't used to having so many people caring for her. "I know you can. I'm just giving you a little help." Alice reassured her. "But I thought since you're free we could get your stuff together to go to Charlie's. Bella cleared out the spare bedroom for you." Alice lead the fragile girl over to the wheelchair. "Suppose that does need done." Lena sighed. She wasn't exactly ready to back at that house. "I'll take her from here." Jasper took over pushing Lena's wheelchair.
Lena stood outside the house that had police tape over the door. She took a deep breath and opened the door. Inside the kitchen there was still a noticeable blood stain on the floor. Her blood. She took a deep breath and leaned over the sink, feeling sick. "June bug?" Bella touched her friends shoulder. "It's over. He can't hurt you anymore." Lena looked at her and nodded. "I know. I just need a minute." Bella nodded and went to help everyone else gather Lena's belongings. Jasper leaned back against the counter watching Lena. He didn't say anything, just stood with her so she knew she wasn't alone. "I'm okay Jasper. Really." Lena looked up at his eyes. Butterscotch today. It lightened his features and made her heart skip beats. "Let's go get Fin out of here, yeah?"
Lena went up into the attic with Jasper following behind her. She was looking for something of her mother's that she knew her father had hidden away from her. It was a charm bracelet she wore every day. "It has to still be here. He threatened so many times to throw it out because he knew it meant so much to me." Lena said while she poked around. Jasper made a noise Lena could only assume was disgust. "Sorry." She muttered. "It's not you that should be sorry it's him. I can't believe someone could do that to someone like you." He shook his head as he tried to control his anger. The more he learned the more he wanted Warren Thorsten to disappear for eternity. People like that didn't deserve to breathe. "Is this it?" He asked Lena as he held out a box containing a charm bracelet and a few other things. "Yes! Oh thank god." Lena took the box with a huge smile. The bracelet was there along with a few of her mothers other things. She looked through the box and found a stack of letters all addressed to her from her mother that she had never seen before. "What is it?" Jasper asked moving closer. "Letters from my mom." She said, opening the top one Lena read through it once and then again. She couldn't believe it. "It says she was sick. Terminal cancer. I never knew." She read through the letter again. "I thought she died from the fire?" Jasper took the letter from her once she had read it a third time. "She did. She must've been sick before that. She never told me." Lena sat back on her hands and tried to collect her thoughts. She wondered what was in the rest of the letters but that would have to wait until later.  "We should go see what everyone else is into. Hopefully Alice didn't throw out all of my clothes." Lena was about to get herself up but Jasper was at her side to help her. He practically lifted her to her feet with no effort. He looked down in her eyes. Big beautiful pools of blue that had dark circles under them. He loved this girl but thought it selfish of him to even think about telling her that he had those feelings. She just went through something truly traumatic. "What? Do I have something on my face?" Lena wiped at her cheek which made Jasper chuckle. "No not at all. Just lost in thought. Let's get you downstairs."
Lena settled into her new bedroom which Alice and Esme had done up in lavender for her. She sat down on the bed with her moms stack of letters. Taking a deep breath she read through all of them.
According to her moms letter June and Warren weren't even her biological parents. They had adopted her. Something else she never knew. In the past Lena had wondered why she didn't really look like either of her parents but she never questioned it. It didn't change how she felt about her mom. June would always be her mom no matter what. Lena only wished her she would've left her biological parents names so she could find out more. She would just have to find out herself.