Control ▸ Jasper Hale [3]

II

TWO; IGNITING FLAMES

"Come on, Cass." Renee waved her daughter over to the lawn chair on the other side of her. "And take off that sweatshirt, you must be boiling under that!"

"I'm fine over here." Cassadee waved her mother off as she paced along the shaded patio.

"It's not going to kill you to get some sun." Renee pointed out.

"Yes, it will." Cassadee stated simply. "I'm a vampire, the sun will burn me alive." The brunette mock hissed at the sun.

Renee laughed, "It's nice to know you haven't lost your sense of humor in that dreary place."

Bella's eyes almost bulged out of her head as she got out of her seat and walked over to her twin. "You can't just go telling people that!" She whispered to her sister.

"Oh, relax." Cassadee rolled her eyes at Bella. "The most unrealistic thing here is that you thought she would believe me."

"Aren't you gonna miss this?" Renee asked Bella as the teenager took her previous seat on the lawn chair. "Can't you just feel the vitamin D soaking up in your pores?"

"Yeah. I am gonna miss this." Bella agreed with her mother.

"You know, colleges in Florida are a lot sunnier." Renee pointed out and looked between her children. "I'm just saying, if you go to the University of Alaska, I'm never gonna see you."

"The only reason I'm here is because you are, Mom." Cassadee pointed out as she stuck her hand out in the sun, jerking it back when her skin began shimmering, not nearly as much as vampires do, but still enough for a human to notice. "Florida is not the state for me."

"University of Alaska has a really great science program." Bella told her mother after putting her sunglasses on, making it easier to lie.

"You mean Edward program?" Renee gave Bella a look. "When Cassie was in the hospital last year he was looking at you like he's willing to take a bullet for you or something."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"It's an intense thing." Renee turned to Cassadee. "And don't think I didn't see how Jasper was around you."

Cassadee furrowed her brows in confusion. "How was he around me?"

"I could've swore he thought you were the most precious thing he's ever seen."

"Well, things change." Cassadee said with a shrug, as much as she hated to admit it, her words hurt herself. "I doubt he still looks at me like that."

"Oh, he does." Bella jumped in with a nod. "It's actually quite sickening."

Cassadee scoffed, "Says the girl that's basically attached to Edward's hip."

"I just want to make sure you're making the right choices for you." Renee told her daughters. "You know, cause you're the one that's gonna have to live with them."

"You don't have to worry about me, Mom." Cassadee assured with a smile. "The day I decide to go to a college for a guy is the day hell freezes over."

"That might be a bit extreme, Cass."

"No, it's not." Cassadee shook her head. "I'm making my own life decisions. If I have to go to a different country for the best program, I will. I'll be damned if I settle just for a guy."

"I'm not going for Edward. I'm going for me." Bella said, and whether or not it was completely true, Cassadee didn't know. She assumed it wasn't completely true seeing as Bella didn't sound convincing in the slightest.