Hopeless Devotion ~ A Jasper Hale Story

Chapter Eighteen ~ The Mother I needed

******************************Trigger Warning Implied SA*******************************

There are no explicit scenes; however, descriptions of emotions surrounding OC's past experiences. So if you are triggered by such things, skip this and the next chapter, nothing will be necessary to the future story, just character building in relationships with Rose and Jasper.

By the time I hit the porch steps of our house, I was all stomps and fury, shaking so hard I almost dropped my keys. The door banged open hard enough to rattle the frames, and Dad, halfway through a cup of coffee in the living room, startled like I'd fired a damn gun.

"Tiff?" Charlie stood up slowly, eyes scanning me like he wasn't sure if I was injured or about to commit a felony. "I'm sorry."

My jaw locked. I still have no ability to talk normally.

Instead—

silence.

Charlie blinked.

My whole body was buzzing with this high-voltage rage, hands trembling, chest heaving.

"I'll rip his flea-bitten tail off, shove it down his throat, and frame it like a trophy."

Charlie stared at me like he didn't recognize his own daughter. Honestly? I barely recognized myself. I was seeing red, shaking too hard to breathe right.

"Tiff," Jasper's voice came low from behind me — the only thing soft enough to cut through the fire.

I turned around fast. He was already there — I didn't even register when he came in — his eyes on me, wide and full of that quiet panic he never showed anyone but me. His hand hovered just short of my shoulder, like he wasn't sure if touching me would calm me down or break me further.

"Tiff, sugar, you gotta breathe. You're—" He cut himself off. His jaw clenched like he couldn't say the word overheating without making it worse.

He looked... terrified.

Jasper Hale, literal war-born vampire, had seen the worst humanity had to offer — and yet right now, looking at me, he was scared I was going to shatter into pieces.

Charlie didn't miss that either. His frown deepened. "Tiffany..."

My whole body pulsed with adrenaline, but the pressure had nowhere to go. It was drowning me now, curling hot behind my eyes.

"I can't," I rasped. "I can't stay here right now, Dad. I'll do something stupid if I do."

Jasper moved then, gentle and precise, like he was trying not to startle a wounded animal. He touched my wrist and pressed his cool fingers to my pulse point.

"Rose," I said suddenly, still shaking. "I need to stay with Rosalie. For the weekend. I need to... get out. Cool down before I blow something up or put Jacob in the damn hospital."

That last word came out more like a sob than a threat. My knees felt weird. Unreliable.

Jasper was already wrapping an arm around me, keeping me upright. Comfort mode activated. He didn't say anything — didn't need to. His calm was pushing into my storm like a blanket over fire, but it wasn't smothering me. Just... steadying.