Shut Up and Kiss Me

Chapter 9: It was only a Dream

  By the time we got back home, I'd managed to convince myself that I'd imagined the whole altercation with my...well, you know. I still desperately needed to see Jasper, but he wasn't back yet and according to Reggie, he wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning at the earliest. That was a major bummer. It meant I wouldn't get any sleep tonight.

  Every few minutes I would find myself reminding myself that the likelihood of us seeing each other again was zero to none. That only made the worry in the pit of my stomach gnaw even deeper. I got Ben to agree to watching The Lord of the Rings Trilogy with me, but he fell asleep halfway through the second one and I was left alone to my thoughts, trying to focus on the movie and not this afternoon. It was four in the morning when the last movie ended.

  I stared at the door, waiting. The seconds ticked by. I reached 1,167 before I realized I was counting them. Finally, I moved Ben to his bed and did everything I could to prolong the tucking in process. Then I ended up in the kitchen. I thought about bothering Luis, but that just seemed cruel. Plus he'd probably attack me. He wasn't a morning person.

  It was seven twenty-three AM when Jasper finally entered the house. All I wanted to do was spring into his arms, until I saw his face. Jasper was visibly upset. Briah, Jodi, and Reggie followed him into the house, only a few steps behind. None of them had noticed me standing in the darkened kitchen. I didn't bother revealing myself. I knew the protocol for eavesdropping.

  "I want a meeting with Wesley." Jasper said.

  "For what?" Reggie asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

  "For negotiation of terms."

  I gripped the edge of the counter tightly. Negotiation of terms meant he wanted to make a peace agreement. It also meant he would be speaking with the enemy, the ones who want us dead. 

  "It's not a good idea." Briah argued.

  I agreed with her in my head. She's the only one who speaks for me when I'm not around. I don't know how she does it. I think she cares about him as much as I do. Briah does look after him constantly.

  "I want to get ahead of this. We need to know where this is going." Jasper replied.

  "I think it's pretty clear where this is heading." Reggie pointed out.

  "He's my uncle. I have to try to convince him to stop all this before he starts a war."

  "I'm pretty sure that's exactly what he wants, Jasper." Reggie stated. "He hasn't made any move to negotiate with us."

  "He obviously wants something otherwise we'd already be at war." Jasper insisted. "I need to talk to him and find out what that is. The first priority is to protect the pack and that means preventing any more incidents."

  The word stung. The incidents he was referring to were clearly the ones involving Ben and I. The way he said it made it sound like we were to blame. It wasn't my fault the hunters and Jasper's uncle were here. It wasn't even my fault they attacked Ben and I... okay, maybe it was partially my fault; but now that they know I'm dating Jasper, any danger I'm in is because of whatever Wesley has against him. If anyone should be upset about this, it's me. I'm the one getting physically hurt.

   Jasper may have almost lost me, but I almost died. He could find someone else if I died. I'd just be dead. And Ben... oh, Ben. I didn't want to follow this train of thought.

  Reggie sighed heavily. "Alright. When do you want to have this meeting?"

  "As soon as possible. I'm sick of waiting for what will or won't come next."