Snow On The Beach - Jasper Hale

Chapter Thirteen

Roslyn's apartment was a disaster when Jasper broke in. 

She had nearly finished the school year simply going through the motions, not doing more than necessary. Raya refused to even look at Roslyn, let alone hear her out, and she'd gone so far as to ban the vampire from Koda's funeral. 

There was only one week left in Roslyn's junior year when she'd locked everyone out completely. She'd missed school and work and Jasper's assumption that she'd broken her phone was confirmed when he saw the shattered pieces on the counter. He ran his fingers gently along the holes Roslyn had made in her walls, stepping carefully around the mess of photos and cassettes scattered on the floor.

He recognized a few, knew they were some of her favorites, and he picked up a few of the pictures carefully, piecing them back together where Roslyn had torn them in half. Some were stained with tears and Jasper felt his heart crack at the thought of her pain. He sent a storm of supportive hope pulsing through the entire apartment.

Roslyn's snarl barely me this ears from where she'd locked herself in her bedroom. The reaction lacked all of her usual animosity and power. 

The door was locked, though that didn't surprise Jasper at all, and he knocked lightly.

"Rebel, come on."

She only opened the door enough for Jasper to see one violet eye. The color was dull and faded. "Get the hell out of my apartment."

Jasper sighed and rested his forehead against the wood of the closed door. "Roslyn. You haven't fed in over a week." She didn't answer, but Jasper could hear her shuddering breath and the rustle of her blankets as she got back into bed. "You're going to hate yourself if someone gets hurt because you won't take care of yourself."

Roslyn sighed and the door opened again. There wasn't a single emotion in her face and she was actively fighting against Jasper's manipulation. But Roslyn didn't have enough power to compel him to leave her alone. She settled for being a bitch.

"Fuck off."

Jasper caught the door when she tried to slam it in his face. He arched an eyebrow at her and she just rolled her eyes, turning to re-enter her room. Jasper was a step behind and he perched awkwardly on the edge of her bed as she bundled herself back under her blankets. Only those soulless eyes were visible and they were glaring at Jasper. 

"I brought a present," he drawled, opening the bag he'd brought with him and pulling out a packet of blood. "I know you can't subsist on animal blood like the rest of us can, so Emmett and I raided a blood bank."

Roslyn tensed beneath her pile of blankets, but her hand surfaced, palm up. Jasper placed one of the bags in her hand and held his breath as the smell of human blood filled the room. It wasn't as tempting as fresh blood, but anything from a human was a fight for him to be around. Roslyn knew this and her gaze never left his golden eyes. She finished the first blood bag and was reaching for the second when Jasper finally broke the silence.

"It wasn't your fault."

"Get out."

The two stared at each other, neither willing to lose the battle. Roslyn had some fight and light back in her eyes, but she was still no match for Jasper's manipulation. 

"Ros."

"Leave, Jasper." Roslyn's voice was biting as her look darkened threateningly. "Of your own free will, please, but I will use this blood to force you out."

Jasper didn't say anything else, he just disappeared, leaving another few bags of blood on her nightstand along with the shredded remains of her photographs. Roslyn breathed deeply, downing another blood bag and falling back into her despair full force with Jasper's absence. 

Roslyn's breath was ragged as it ripped uselessly in and out of her lungs. She could have stopped, but why should she when it was the only thing keeping her human. Koda Townes had stopped breathing. She owed it to him, at least, to at least keep pretending to live.

She had spent so long simply surviving: feeding only when she knew she was about to die, refusing to forge relationships, going through the motions of hunting and nothing more. When she had nearly died in Alabama after having hellhounds set on her, Roslyn nearly let herself die. But she'd found Forks. And Koda. And she'd found something worth thriving for. 

Roslyn didn't know what to do. 

The landline she never used rang from the kitchen, and Roslyn let it ring through, assuming it was just Alice or Emmett checking in on her. Until it rang again. And again. Finally, she'd had enough.

"What?" She growled into the phone, her voice low and threatening.

"Sammy's missing," Dean's voice was shockingly calm for his words, but Roslyn could pick up on the terror underlying there. "Hibbing, Minnesota. Be here as soon as you can."

"And why would I help you?"

It was her immediate response, but Roslyn breathed deeply as she ignored Dean's ranting on the other end of the line. She felt something coming to life in her chest. Not her heart, obviously, but something. A purpose. She may not have known John's boys well and clearly John was still missing if Dean was calling her, but he trusted her with Sam. Either that or he didn't know who else to call. Either way, it was something.

She cut him off. "I'll be there by dusk."

Roslyn didn't wait for a reply, hanging up on Dean and slamming the phone onto the wall hard enough that a crack surfaced on the wall.. She just set her jaw, downed her final blood bag, and got to work packing her things for a hunt. Her duffel was still where she'd dropped it by the front door, her supplies lacking, but all in order. She threw together an overnight bag with enough clothes to get her through a week or two. 

She had the mustang packed and on the road, blaring the Scorpions loud enough to drown out her thoughts. She was nearly out of town when the roar of a Jeep's engine cut through the music. Roslyn's mind stuttered, glancing in her rearview mirror and expecting a beat up black car. Instead, she saw the shining, white Jeep of Emmett Cullen.

He sped around her, slamming on his brakes once she was behind him. Roslyn stopped with barely enough time to save her front bumper. Her door was left open as she met Emmett on the side of the highway in the pouring rain.

"What the fuck, Emmett?" She screamed, her voice carrying over the loud music from both cars. 

"Alice saw you leaving, but she didn't get much more than that." Emmet explained, his voice calmer than she'd been expecting. It wasn't like the vampire, his normal joking nature buried beneath concern. "You can't run away from your problems, Ros."

"I'm not running from anything." Roslyn argued, baring her teeth at him and letting her second set of fangs slide into place. "Dean needs help and I'm apparently the only other hunter he knows."

Emmett took a step back, shaking his head as he processed her words. "You... what?"

"Sam is missing and I'm going to Minnesota to get him back."

"Jasper said you could barely fight off his empathy, let alone do any actual hunting." Emmett's voice was even quieter than it had been before. There was genuine worry in his amber eyes and his hands came to rest on Roslyn's shoulders. "How are you going to hunt if you can't even keep one of us away?"

"I'll find a demon on the way." Roslyn pulled herself out of his grip and headed back to her mustang. "Now move, Emmett."

He didn't. He just stood there in between their cars, staring at her as she slammed the door. She flipped him off as she sped around him, tires squealing with her acceleration on the wet road. 

She heard Emmett kick his tire, a bellowing roar following soon after.