ℝ𝕖𝕕 ℝ𝕠𝕤𝕖𝕤

"𝟐 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭"

(3rd person POV)

Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, and Emmett were anxious in the waiting room, their minds weighed deep with worry. On the other side, Bella and Charlie Swan themselves were taut, awaiting any word of what was going on with Luella. Previously, Luella had collapsed in the greenhouse, struggling to breathe, and coughing up blood.

Inside, Jasper was in a turmoil; his unbeating heart raced with his thoughts of his mate, whom he had just barely started pursuing, maybe meeting her death. Beside him, Alice felt a wave of guilt; she had foreseen it but told nobody. Rosalie was furious; frustrated that this human she had grown to care about lay in a hospital, suffering from some sort of ailment unknown to her. But Emmett remained dumbfounded. He enjoyed Luella's company well enough, though he was appalled by this depth of despair his siblings were allowing themselves to feel about a human being. He could only guess that Alice had foreseen something with that vision of hers the night before.

"Fine, no. We are not going to brood," Rosalie said, breaking the spell of uncomfortable silence. Jasper and Alice looked up, shocked, along with Emmett.

"What?" he asked, his head cocked to one side.

"What I mean is we aren't going to mope around for a guy we only met a week ago. Instead, we are going to talk about something else," Rosalie clarified though she was a mess.

"What's in discussion?" Jasper questioned, heavy with skepticism, while making the inquiry.

"Oooh, let's discuss my future mate!" Alice enthused, bubbles of excitement spilling over.

"Haven't you told us all about it, like, a million times already?" Emmett groaned.

"No, I have not-for your information," Alice returned, her arms folding defensively across her chest.

"Okay, but you've already said his name, how he looks-," Jasper began, to be promptly overridden.

"Luella Swan?" Dr. Cullen's voice cut through the air, and everyone rose at the mention of her name.

Bella and Charlie exchanged confused looks with the Cullens over why they all rose as one.

"S-sorry, Chief Swan. We're really worried about Luella," Alice said in a rush. "My family and I brought her here when she started coughing. We're all friends."

"Oh, no, no problem. I know you're trying to be concerned. You guys can stay if you'd like," Charlie said; his voice showed a circle of understanding. He faced Dr. Cullen again, mumbling, "Sorry about that."

"It is no problem, really," Dr. Cullen said calmly. "But we really do need to speak to one another." He nodded to Charlie, who continued:.

"So, Luella is now stable," Dr. Cullen said, and a wave of relief swept across the group. Then came the sucker punch: "Unfortunately, Luella has been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. It is a form of cancer of the lungs."

Charlie and Bella's gasps meant a lot. The Cullens reacted differently: Alice flinched-she knew this was coming, but it wasn't any easier-and Rosalie's anger melted into sorrow, her stomach filling with dread. Emmett was just sad; what else was there to say? In one instant, Jasper felt his heart shatter. It felt as though time had stopped as he took in the cruel reality-why must Luella have cancer?

"She would probably like to see you two now, if you'd like to follow me," Carlisle said to the Swan family, putting emphasis on "two" to make sure his children didn't tag along. Jasper slumped back in his chair, a ghost in the room.

"What are you doing?" Rosalie demanded, her forehead creased with worry.

"I'm waiting," Jasper answered shortly, his eyes fixed on the floor.

"For what?" Emmett urged, bewildered.

"For Luella," he said shortly.

"We don't have time for this! Can't you come back lat—" Rosalie started to say, but was interrupted by Alice.

"Let him wait. It'll be better this way. We should get home now," Alice said in defense of Jasper.

With that, the rest of the Cullen siblings were off, save for Edward, who had never been there to begin with. Jasper was left to his wait, his heart heavy, for Luella. Time crawled by as he thought of her big brown eyes and then onto a darker thought: what if he had only a year with his soulmate? He never felt worthy of her, and it was as if the cruel hand of fate had made his love suffer from such a merciless disease. He had also pondered whether Luella would want to become a vampire and if/when he could tell her the truth about himself.

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard Luella's small, trembling voice call out, "Jazz?" He looked up to see her eyes lock onto his. "I have cancer." Though he knew this, the matter-of-factness with which she stated it made him feel like this was some coping mechanism-some way to confront her fears head-on.

Jasper nodded, too weak even to say anything.

"I'm scared. I'm so fucking scared. I'm only 17—I've barely lived, and now I only have two years at most." She hit him with her words, and he felt like he couldn't breathe. The realization that she had very little time hit him, and Jasper's heart bled at the thought of losing her in such a short period of time.

He could feel her fear emanating from her, mingling with his-anger, sadness, and disbelief washed over them both. After a few seconds of sharing a heavy silence, Jasper pulled her into a tight embrace. Luella broke down, sobbing against his chest. He held her close, running his fingers through her soft brown hair, whispering comforting words to keep her grounded amidst the storm of emotions.

He looked down at her and felt a sadness he never thought possible. "It's okay, Luella. It's okay. Let it all out," he whispered softly.

All that rang in Jasper's mind was the heartbreaking reality:

Luella Rosemary Swan only has two years at most.