Veil of Desire - Jasper Hale

2.6

Meanwhile, with the Cullen Family

The Cullen family was tense, each member weighed down by the unspoken sadness lingering in the air. They hadn't wanted to leave—none of them had. Forks had become a place filled with bittersweet memories, friendships, and a fragile sense of belonging. But they all knew it was for the best. After the incident at Bella's birthday, the slightest slip-up could mean the difference between safety and disaster for the girls. For Jasper, especially, it was a hard pill to swallow. No matter how deeply he cared for Catalina, no matter how much he wanted to stay by her side, he couldn't risk endangering her life again.

Edward had retreated from the family, needing space to deal with his own guilt, leaving without a word about where he was going or when he would be back. Jasper stayed close to Alice, hoping she would have a vision of Catalina, something to offer him reassurance or hope. But Alice's mind remained silent, her visions murky and evasive whenever she tried to focus on Catalina. Jasper found himself filled with a gnawing unease.

Bella had been relentless, trying to reach out to the Cullens every day, leaving voicemails, pleading with them to return, to explain. Yet Catalina... Catalina hadn't called. Not once. Jasper's worry only grew, a constant thrum of anxiety beneath his calm exterior, though it was becoming harder and harder to keep his composure.

"Jasper, you need to calm down. Please," Alice murmured softly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder as he paced the room yet again. "You're rubbing off on all of us."

Jasper clenched his jaw, trying to breathe through the gnawing pit in his stomach. "She's alone, Alice. She... she must be terrified. What if she thinks I abandoned her?" The words came out in a choked whisper, his face clouded with pain. Every time he thought about Catalina, a fresh wave of guilt washed over him.

"Jasper," Alice said, her tone gentle but firm, "she's fine. If something were truly wrong, I would see it. She would want you to be okay."

But there was a part of him that couldn't shake the worry. He'd held Catalina's hand, kissed her, whispered promises he now feared he might never keep. He knew her so well, every nuance of her expressions, the way her eyes lit up when she laughed or how she'd shyly look away when he held her gaze a little too long. And now, each of those memories haunted him. Had she felt his absence yet? Would she resent him for leaving?

The truth was that Catalina had indeed anticipated Alice's visions. Jasper had shared every detail with her, explaining Alice's powers, how they worked, and the ways they could sometimes be influenced. Catalina, ever the curious soul, had asked question after question, diving into the intricacies of Alice's abilities. They'd spent entire afternoons testing how Alice's visions functioned, seeing if there were any variables that could alter what Alice saw—or didn't see.

When the Cullens left, Catalina drew on that knowledge, knowing exactly how to ensure Alice would never know what she was doing. She was playing with Alice's visions, staying under the radar, keeping her actions vague and unpredictable enough to dodge any clear glimpse from Alice's perspective. It was her small act of defiance, a way to shield her feelings from being uncovered by those who had chosen to walk away without saying goodbye.

Days turned into weeks, and Jasper's state only worsened. Carlisle could see the strain, worry darkening his gaze each time he looked at his son. Jasper's refusal to feed, his perpetual pacing and withdrawal from the rest of the family, it was as if he were unspooling, bit by bit.

"Jasper." Carlisle approached him one evening, his voice soft but resolute. "You need to go hunt. Starving yourself won't help anyone, least of all Catalina. If she knew how you were doing..."

But Carlisle didn't finish the thought. He knew it wasn't a matter of logic; it was guilt and heartbreak keeping Jasper from finding peace. "Jasper, son," he added, "we're all worried about you."

Jasper shook his head, his eyes filled with an ache that no words could soothe. "It doesn't matter," he murmured, voice barely above a whisper. "I should have said goodbye. She didn't deserve that." His voice broke slightly, and he turned away, feeling the weight of his mistakes crushing him. In truth, he had left without saying goodbye because he knew that if he saw her face, he would never have found the strength to leave.

Emmett had tried to break Jasper's spiraling thoughts, encouraging him to go out, to hunt, to do anything to distract himself. But nothing seemed to help. Jasper could feel everything too deeply, the emotions of his family mixing with his own unbearable pain. He felt lost, adrift without the girl who had become his anchor. In Catalina's presence, he had felt a quiet peace he hadn't known in decades. She made him feel understood, grounded, even amidst the chaos of his own nature.

Alice, too, felt helpless, watching her brother slip further into despair. She tried, over and over, to focus her visions on Catalina, desperate for even the slightest reassurance, a flash of her face, anything. But every time, she was met with a frustrating blankness. It was as though Catalina had become a shadow, deliberately eluding Alice's sight. And though Alice was reluctant to admit it, she was beginning to wonder if Catalina was doing it on purpose to avoid being seen. It was just the sort of cleverness and resilience Alice would have expected from her.

As the family watched Jasper continue to withdraw, their own sadness mirrored his, each of them struggling to come to terms with what they'd left behind in Forks. None of them had truly wanted to go, and the separation was more painful than they'd anticipated. They hadn't just left behind friends; they'd left behind connections, bonds they had grown to cherish in a world where they often felt like outsiders. They left behind family.

Still, they kept silent, each of them nursing their private regrets.

————
short 'n not so sweet Cullen chapter for ya <3