Calamity || Jasper Hale [2]

chapter thirteen

after trauma
word count: 1,136

"let's make gods out of these hollow corpses, i'm tired of the weight of mortality, i want to tear it from my veins till i bleed silver and gold, till i can feel something again, let's carve our names in a heart on the ivory pillars of history. maybe one day they'll chant our names. maybe one day they'll paint us into the constellations and name galaxies after us, and we too shall be eternal."

She was screaming. Terror seized her body and crippled her in her upright position. Edward was to her side first, already having seen her nightmare before she even woke up. Bella followed closely.

The young vampire easily subdued her cousin, holding her tightly to her chest much like she held her daughter. Her screams turned to broken sobs as Allie clutched Bella for dear life.

"Where?" Allie choked out as Bella whispered soft reassurances.

"He's hunting. He'll be home soon." Bella reassured before she began to comb her fingers through Allie's hair gently. "It's okay, Al. You're okay."

Jasper appeared through the window, scooping up his mate. She clung to him willingly, her hands clenching in his shirt.

Bella glanced at her husband and the two left, shutting the door quietly behind them to give the two some time.

Allie clung to him, her entire body trembling as he sat down on the bed. He waited for her to calm down, taking around an hour much to his worry. Allie slipped from his grip, stumbling blindly into the bathroom and shoving the light on.

Jasper heard the shower turn on and halfway through he heard a crash. He was in the bathroom in a second. Allie had undressed halfway but the mirror was shattered and her hand was dripping blood.

She didn't even spare him a second glance, staring at her hand for a moment before she stuck her fingers in the deep gashes, yanking out the shards of glass and let them clatter into the sink that had become full of glass and blood. Jasper disappeared and reappeared with a roll of gauze and tape but when he stepped forward she stepped back.

"I don't want it." Allie snapped angrily and Jasper's brows furrowed in concern. The gashes were deep enough they'd inevitably scar and they would most likely take a few hours to heal.

"Darlin please," Jasper begged and Allie let out a shuddering breath before extending her hand. He wrapped it gently with gauze, pressing a kiss to her hand before cleaning up the mess of glass and blood while she got into the shower.

She was sitting on the floor of the shower, letting the water soak her hair. Jasper climbed in behind her and grabbed a washcloth, squeezing her favorite coconut body wash into it. Alice insisted coconut was a summertime scent but regardless, bought bulk.

He gently ran the washcloth over her skin, scrubbing away the built-up dirt and grime. She knew what it meant when his hands went still and he stiffened.

"Al," he muttered, lightly running his fingers over the bite mark. He was angry but held it back for her. It was a new mark, he knew that much. "Oh Al."

It was one of two times a vampire stuck its fangs in her there. She was already weak and her leg hadn't quite healed and the leach got leverage on her and stuck its fangs in her neck.

The second was on her hip under similar circumstances, now accompanying the older scars.  There were more scars from her time at the Volturi but the ones that had become the worst were the mental ones.  Memories of Jane's torture, fighting to survive, the death of her friends, the crippling loneliness, and the psychological abuse would never go away.

He rinsed the soap from her tender skin and started to lather her short hair with shampoo then conditioner until she was clean.

Allie felt like a child but she didn't care. She let Jasper help dress her in a pair of patterned green shorts and a white t-shirt and then carry her back into bed.

She didn't want to sleep but her entire body was heavy and she felt exhausted so Allie curled up against him, resting more on his chest than the bed.

His blonde hair brushed her cheek as his arms wrapped around her waist and he held her tightly.

Allie's nightmare this time was quieter. She woke with a small gasp before noticing it was already morning. She sighed, running a hand through her short hair.

"You need to hunt," Allie commented as she shimmied into the flower print leggings courtesy of Bella and Ness and slipped on the soft silk-like t-shirt.

"I can wait. I'd rather stay with you." Jasper murmured as he came up behind her, arms snaking around her waist. She stiffened, not because of him but because she could no longer stand people coming up behind her.

He nuzzled into her neck, hearing a soft sigh of content leave her lips before she pushed him lightly away. "Go on, babe. I'm just going to hang out with Ness. Maybe I'll take her out for breakfast."

"I love you, darlin." Jasper reminded her, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"I love you too," Allie muttered, their breaths mingling before he pulled away and slipped out the window. A heaving sigh left her lips as the smile fell from her face and she shuffled out of bed and across the hallway.  She'd tell Jasper she spent some time with Alice and he might not believe her but he wouldn't say a word.  He attempted to warn her to stay away from Rosalie because the vampire refused to feed and Allie got angry and after a small argument it wasn't brought up again.

Allie knocked lightly on the door and entered regardless, knowing Rosalie would ignore her, and slipped through the door.  The room was completely destroyed, shards of mirror, splinters of wood, and shreds of fabric scattered all around.  A heavy comforter was tacked to the window so no light could get in.

"Need some company?"  Allie asked and Rosalie didn't say a word, merely glancing at the girl as she crawled into the mountain of blankets beside the vampire.  Losing Emmett had obviously taken a toll on her.  Her normally silky blonde hair had been tied up in a bun and hadn't been brushed in a while and her clothes were crumpled and dirty from not being changed.  Her coal black eyes were empty and sad, holding no traces of the hunger that should have made her ravenous in search of her next meal.

Rosalie sniffled, rolling over and curling into Allie's side.  The vampire broke into sobs, her slim hands tangling in the fabric of Allie's shirt.

"I miss him so much."  Rosalie whimpered.

"I know, Rose,"  Allie reassured quietly.

"I need him so much.  I don't know how to live without him."  Rose choked out.

"If Sierra wouldn't have been so weak none of this would have ever happened."  Allie spat viciously, her fists clenching in rage.  "I'm sorry, Rose.  You don't need to hear about that."

"No, tell me more."  Rosalie insisted, and she did.