Alone Together (Jasper Hale)

21: Solace.

Anger bubbled up inside me that replaced the somber attitude I held prior. The newfound information of an old friend's departure was kept from me; for obvious reasons. But that wasn't what I was angered about. It all trailed back to one person, one conniving, evil little wench that was the root of all my problems...

Alice.

Out of everyone in the entire family, she looked the least bit upset about the departure of her mate. Apparently in the midst of protecting Bella, Alex had gotten sandwiched between two other vampires that were with James. Laurent and Victoria. They apparently taunted him before his death. The only way of us knowing had been the limbs they left scattered at a field while his ashes were already blown away from the wind. Alice was indifferent towards this and barely gave the feeling of sadness compared to everyone else. There was a sense of relief and content that lingered inside her. As if Alex was nothing to him.

I huffed in my seat as Emmett had his hands placed firmly on my shoulders; should I attack. The moment I sensed her apathy, I lunged angrily at her. Alex was our friend! He was her mate and she cared less about it! It took everyone to pry us away from each other. I had about enough of her attitude. She had been forcibly taken away from the room by Esme, Carlisle, Edward, and Rosalie while I was kept company by Jasper and Emmett. If anyone else needed to be in this room, it was them.

"Stop that." I sneered at my own mate as I glared daggers into his golden orbs. A calming sensation slowly crept up on me and I knew where the source was coming form. Although, my anger was too evident to even wash away. "I hate her." A hurt look crossed Jasper's face at this comment. I couldn't read into it, but surely it held deeper meaning.

"Not everyone's happy about her reaction either Sage." Emmett sighed above me. I leaned my head back to stare up into his chin before his eyes met with mine. A small smile crept on my face when I suddenly remembered all the childhood memories we shared. The memories leaked from my head like a steady flowing river. Things I thought I forgot came back to me. I remembered how loving Emmett had been and how pure our relationship was from childhood. We were close and to think I had ever forsaken him at some point was wild. He gave me a quizzical look before I explained my regained memories. He couldn't help but share a chuckle with me. "Yeah, and you still haven't changed much from those days."

Emmett gestured to my crossed arms over my chest. I bit my lip to hide the pout that was probably on my face. I shook the haunting words from my head. "Still super bratty when you extremely dislike someone. And even that was rare." He backed off once he realized I was calm enough not to go after Alice.

"Why isn't she distraught? Isn't that her mate? I would be..." My eyes momentarily met with Jasper's longing ones. "...devastated if that happened." I turned my attention back to my oldest friend. There was a grimace on Emmett's face as he mood changed into an uncomfortable one. He parted his lips as if to speak.

"Alex wasn't her mate." The words came from Jasper's mouth. I turned to him wide eyed at the realization. Surely it wasn't new for me to find out vampires so casually dated. Casual being decades spent together. To think that they shared the years that they did happily; to not even really be mates was beyond me. Jasper and Alice obviously lasted decades before I came into the picture... So what was the difference. "Which is why she's not as attached as she should be." He murmured the last part but my ears picked up the words. Emmett seemed to tense at this comment and I had too.

"You'd know all about that." I muttered letting my pettiness seethe through my teeth. Emmett excused himself seeing as how we needed to talk.  I felt the earnest radiate off Jasper. I dare not look in his eyes knowing damn well my emotions would betray me right away. I missed him, this much was still true. But I still needed answers. I wasn't ready to completely share everything I discovered with Carlisle until I heard my mate's side of things.