Freedom & Restriction [2] | Jasper Hale

-07-

She screamed into her pillow while Jasper rubbed her back in comfort.

This couldn't be real, the fact that an army of vampires was going after her seemed surreal. One moment she was just a young woman, walking into her work at the nail salon with her best friend right behind her. Her life was perfect, though on the inside her heart was being beaten with a hammer. That was due to her father passing away. However, her friends and family made her laugh and smile. They made her cheeks hurt from doing such things.

Now, she was screaming into her pillow as she stray tears escaped from the corners of her eyes. A depressive state was crashing over her like a tidal wave. Her heart was now dead, being to brutally broken to ever be fixed - even with Jasper's help. As much as she enjoyed his presence and how they playfully bickered and teased each other, he couldn't fix her entirely. She wasn't even sure if he could fix her; she was too broken and nothing could form her into her old self once again.

Maybe that's why she was scared of death so much. Death to her was terrifying, even when she was younger and desired for her pain to end by not seeing the light of day. But now, being murdered by vampires made her shiver and scream for mercy.

"I'll protect you," Jasper promised, his voice cracking with emotion. "I'll do anything to make sure you'll still be here with me. No one will lay a hand on you, Joanna, I'm serious about that."

Her response was a loud sniffle, because her screams stopped from her throat hurting. Sluggishly, she pulled her head away from her pillow and tossed it to her floor. The idea of looking at him in the eyes wasn't on her mind.

Joanna believed that she didn't have the courage to do it.

Instead, she stared ahead, her eyes focusing on her piggy bank. The very one her father gave her years ago.

"My daddy gave this to me," she whispered, standing on her feet to walk over and grab her piggy bank. Jasper watched quietly as she returned, holding the item as if it was her child. "I love him so much and I look at this everything day and beg for him to be here. Gosh, he was such a great man, Jasper. I-I-If he was still alive, he would've loved you and maybe, just maybe, he would allow a boy to see his daughter." A sad laugh fell from her lips as she sat back down.

"I bet he was your hero." She nodded softly at his words. "Was he the type of guy that would've interrogated me before seeing you? He has to check out his daughter's friends before allowing them to hang out."

She smiled faintly before her smile drifted down to a frown. "My dad was just like that. You know... Kinsely blames herself for it all when it was never her fault. Life just does things that sucks balls. It's happened to me and it's happening now," she explained, furrowing her brows as she inspected her bank. "I know my mom; I know she's still struggling with his death. I am still and now, I just feel so... down. I feel weak."

For a moment, she remained silent, ev even when Jasper pulled her into his lap, placing her head under his chin. When he said, "I know the feeling and it does... suck balls," she remained silent. No laughs. No smiles. There was nothing besides a moment of tranquility and understanding.

"What will we do?" Joanna whispered, voice shaking as she asked him. "Do we... do we fight? Do we hide? Mom, Kins, all of them. What will they do?" Cluthing onto him, she felt another wave of emotions slam onto her.

"We'll protect them, even if it involves a fight," Jasper answered, holding her close as she began to sob once more.

But she didn't cry for long, for she couldn't do it anymore. It just stopped - the crying - and the she felt that she couldn't do it anymore. Her tears halted and so did her wheezing.