Her New Moon

6

"Jasper," She harshly whispered, running to him.

Jasper carefully hugged her. "I'm sorry."

Driana pulled away yet kept her arms around his waist. "You shouldn't be sorry for what happened at Bella's birthday. You aren't weak. You're forgetting that you're still adjusting to a new lifestyle compared to the years of a way you've previously known. It's not easy, and it does take hard work. No matter what you say, I'm proud you push yourself. Don't let yourself be known as someone who struggles, but rather someone who tries."

"Driana-"

"But, you should be sorry for making me so damn worried! I thought you ran off. Rosalie-"

"Rosalie?" Jasper questioned, his tone slightly rough. "You've been talking to her?"

"She's been checking up on me. But every time I mention you, she changes the subject."

"Oh," Jasper's voice relaxed.

"This brings me to my next question. You wouldn't have come here for no reason. And you're aware I haven't told my mom about you, which is unlikely of you to present yourself. What's going on?"

"I was hoping Rosalie, since she's straightforward, could have said it," Jasper sighed. "My family is moving out of Forks."

Driana abruptly sat on the chair in disbelief. "You're going?"

"We're heading to the east," He confirmed.

"You don't plan on staying?" Driana quietly asked.

Jasper closed his eyes. "No."

"Why?"

"Let me ask you this. What do I eat?"

"Blood," Driana frowned.

"What am I?" Jasper stared intensely.

She shook her head, knowing what he meant. "You're Jasper."

He scoffed. "I'm a vampire, remember? A creature that's damned to feed the blood of its victims. A predator with no remorse in killing its prey."

"You're no longer human, but you still have a heart," Driana countered.

"Yet it couldn't control its thirst." Jasper ran a hand through his hair, frustrated.

"You managed to calm down, didn't you?"

"It took a while."

"There! It shows you're able to contain yourself."

"It doesn't change the fact I was about to harm my siblings to attack Bella. Don't you see? I'm dangerous! I almost flung you backward. Imagine you hadn't caught balance. You would've been in trouble with her."

"Jasper, please. I want you to stay."

"I can't," He said quietly.

"Be forward with me, Jasper. Why else are you leaving?"

"Because we can't be together anymore."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a wave of emotions crashed through him. Driana's tears piled in her eyes before falling down her cheeks. As her feelings swirled at the thought of Jasper's absence, he felt guiltier.

"Are we really allowing the event that had nothing to do with us to jeopardize what we have?"

"Please," Jasper begged, "it's for your own good."

Driana wiped her tears harshly. "You're the one leaving, knowing you did nothing to me, and that's supposed to be good for me?"

"Which is why I'm leaving before I do something. What would happen should you get into an accident where you bleed? Say I couldn't restrain myself and harmed you. Do you think I should forgive myself? Would you forgive me?"

Driana furrowed her brows. "Why would you even think that way?"

"'Accidents happen,'" Jasper quoted. "That's what you told Edward, right?"

Driana didn't respond.

"Driana," Jasper continued. "I can't bear the thought of living without you."

"Says the one leaving," Driana muttered.

"Think of it as me giving you a chance to have a safe life. If I, a blood-sucking leech, did something to you, your time will be short."

"We can coexist."

Jasper shook his head. "Whether we stay together or not, me being immortal while you're mortal, we'll live without the other."

Driana sniffled. "I don't want you to go."

"I have to," Jasper forced out. "We won't see each other for a long while." He laughed bitterly. "By the time we're back in Forks, you'd probably be seventy or eighty. In your eyes, you may see yourself as wrinkly and gray-haired. Either way, you'd still be beautiful to me."

"Stop it!" Driana furiously shook her head. "You're toying with my emotions. You can't just say you're disappearing while it's still evident you don't want to be without me."

"Driana-"

"Since you are going, you can't be sweet to me. So, don't!" Driana spat.

Jasper looked taken aback. He pressed a quick kiss to her temple. "Then, I'm letting you go," He whispered.

In the blink of an eye, he disappeared. Driana started to panic, regretting her words. She rushed out the door, hoping he'd still be outside. All that greeted her was the empty street. The only sound was her sobbing. The ache in her heart grew heavier, weighed down by chains. The world crumbled beneath her, and she fell to the ground. Punching her chest didn't make the searing emotions fade. Her mind didn't think straight. Shakily, she pulled out her phone, calling for comfort. A while later, a truck parked in front of her house.

"Dri?"

Driana got up, crashing into their arms. She wailed, her cries muffled into their body. Soothing Driana by stroking her hair, they rocked back and forth. Allowing the poor girl to calm down, they spoke softly.

"What's got you so upset?"

"It hurts."

"What does?"

"Everything, Paul."