Bella's Little Sister

Chapter 39

I could tell Rosalie was shocked by my statement. A few minutes of long silence had swiftly enveloped us, and she hadn't said anything; she had instead watched me for a minute or two before going inside, quietly shutting the door behind her. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts, I didn't hear the footsteps behind me.

"Is that how you really feel?"

His voice startled me, but I didn't turn around to face him, choosing instead to keep my gaze locked on the shadows of the night. "I think you would already know the answer to that," I responded. "You are the empath."

Jasper was slow in his movements to stand next to me, waiting until he was at my side to speak again. "Edward's worried," he told me. Though I didn't look at him, I knew he was carefully searching my expression and my feelings. "We all are."

I lowered my gaze to my hands, beginning to trace the wooden grain of the railing along the balcony. "I don't know what you want me to say to that."

For a while, Jasper didn't talk and neither did I. Finally, he leaned forward on the railing, gazing out into the night. "Have you spoken to anyone about this? A therapist? Your parents? Bella?"

"No," I scoffed at his words, resisting the urge to roll my eyes at his questions. My eyes flickered to his face as I allowed the slightest hint of annoyance to show through the mask I wore. "Do you really think my parents are the ones to talk to about this?" I released a breath, slowly returning my gaze to the treeline. "Dad's already worried enough about me as it is, my mother would insist on my moving down to Jacksonville, and Bella would be devastated to hear about it."

Silence. Then, "Do you think it would be easier for everyone if you were gone?" Jasper's voice was calm, despite the raging storm of emotions I knew he could feel radiating through me.

"Maybe," I answered his question after yet another moment of silence. "It seems like a lot of problems would be solved." Jasper waited, knowing there was more I wanted to say. Sighing, I dropped my eyes to my hands. "I don't know. I think I'm mostly just worried about saying or doing the wrong thing. And I know that lately I haven't usually been one to care about what people think, but..."

The gentle nudge of peace I felt was subtle, but it was enough to relax my tense muscles. "You're not the only one who worries about that, Jess." Jasper's tone was reassuring, and it made me feel just the slightest bit better. "Lots of people do, but from what I can tell... you're the only one who keeps your feelings locked up." Jasper waited patiently for me to meet his gaze. "We all care about you." His lips pulled up into a faint smirk. "Rosalie won't admit it, but I know she does, too. Just don't tell her I said that."

His attempt at a joke made me smile slightly as I took another breath. "Where's Edward?"

Jasper never responded to that. Edward's arms wrapped securely around my waist, his fingers interlocking with mine as we stood in silence for a while. Just his presence alone helped to calm the anxiety I felt, and I leaned back into his touch.

"Are you alright, love?"

I turned in his embrace to look up at him, smiling faintly at the concern resting in his gaze. "I will be."

"When we were five, they asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up." As Jessica stood behind the podium on center stage of the auditorium in Forks High School giving her valedictorian speech, she glanced out at everyone in the audience. "Our answers were things like astronaut, president, or in my case, a princess."

There were a few laughs at her comment, making her smile.

"When we were ten, they asked again. We answered rock star, cowboy, or in my case, a gold medalist." Jessica exuded confidence, her smile wide as she went on to say that we didn't need to decide anything right away; we were still young. She said that when the time came for us to make a decision on what we wanted to be, we wouldn't have to guess. We'd know.

After more speeches were given and all the diplomas were handed out, it was finally over. Dad and Bella made their way over to me, both of them grinning widely. It wasn't much longer until I reluctantly found myself at Alice's graduation party.

Nearly every room in the Cullen house was decorated with multiple strings of fairy lights and pink decor. A large table was set up on the first floor of the house, covered by a pink tablecloth and various options of refreshments. Upbeat music filled the entirety of the house, and many partygoers were dancing excitedly in a room that had been cleared out for the night.

Bella was off talking to some friends, and Edward was by my side. I had made him promise not to leave me alone, considering I didn't want to be there in the first place, and I had no idea what part of the house Bella had gone to.

Edward leaned down so I could hear him over the loud music. "I'll be back." He was gone before I could protest.

As I stood there amidst the graduating class, feeling claustrophobic and anxious, Jessica and Angela quickly joined me. Jessica questioned what I thought of her speech. "Too easy-breezy? Too self-helpful? You hated it?"

I smiled reassuringly. "No, you did great. You pretty much nailed it."

Jessica grinned in response to my words. "It's like I was born to lead, right?"

Angela suddenly pulled Jessica off to the dance floor as a new song filled the room, leaving me alone once again. The sight of Jacob, Embry and Quil coming up the stairs made me annoyed, but I stayed where I was. They moved through the crowd, Jacob sporting a wide grin as he got closer.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"You invited me, remember?" Quil and Embry stood just behind him, looking mildly uncomfortable with their surroundings.

"Was my right hook too subtle for you? That was me uninviting you." I gazed up at him, my eyes narrowed as I waited for him to respond.

"Look," Jacob sighed, glancing around for a minute before returning his gaze to my face. "I'm sorry about that, honestly. I'd blame it on the whole inner animal thing, but it was really just me being stupid. I'm really sorry. I had no right to cross that line."

I crossed my arms, the blank expression settling into place as I watched him. "No, you didn't."

Jacob apologized again before reaching into his pocket. "I brought you something." In his hand was a wolf charm, dangling from a silver chain. "Graduation present. I made it myself."

Taking a step closer, I admired the intricate detail he had put into it. The wood was smooth beneath my fingers as I took it from him, flickering my eyes to his face. With a sigh, I stepped back again. "Thank you."

Just over his shoulder, I caught sight of Alice standing on the stairs, her face worried as her eyes glazed over. Her eyes met mine from across the room, her expression almost unreadable to me. Suddenly concerned, I hurried past Jacob to meet her. She watched me closely as I silently asked what she had seen.

"The decision's been made." Alice's eyes were locked with mine, her hand tightly gripping the railing as she stood there.

Jacob moved up behind me, and I suddenly felt nauseous as I realized what she was saying. "You're not going to Seattle."

Alice shook her head, placing her hand on my shoulder as I wavered a bit. "No. They're coming here."