Parallax

Chapter 3

"I need some time alone" Bella finally spoke and Alice nodded in understanding.

"I'll be here when you need me." Alice started to stand but Bella held her hand.

"Wait... just... give me a few hours by myself. I need time to sort out my brain right now. A lot of things had happened today..." she looked at the pixie and her eyes where black with thirst. Alice probably didn't even bother hunting with the thought that there was no Bella that would trigger the thirst.

"Why don't you go hunt and come back after... "Bella suggested. "Will you stay for tonight please? I really could use a sister right now" she told Alice sincerely and she was rewarded with Alice's beautiful smile.

"All right. I'll be back. Stay out of trouble for me" Alice joked and Bella snorted. "I'll try"

Bella was finally left alone inside her house.

The first thing that she decided was to take a shower. She needed it anyway.

Bella dragged herself towards the familiar stairs leading to her room. It was a sight that she thought she would never ever see again. There was the familiar stack of her books and CDs, her out of date computer, her bed that looked like no one bothered to tidy up. The only thing she found different was that there were no pictures. None on the walls and none on her desk. She took her toiletries and her eyes lingered towards the cabinet and she remembered the loose floorboard. When she discovered that, she kept some of her valuable things that she couldn't bring with her when she left with the Cullens. Later, when she was done, she was going to check if this Bella had anything hidden there.

She went inside the bathroom and when she stripped her clothes off, she was finally able to take a good look at herself in the full-length mirror.

Bella may not have her vampire keen eyes anymore but she can clearly see the difference. Her eyes were sunken as if she never had a good night's sleep in ages, her body was thinner and not in a good way and she was paler than usual.

She looked exhausted and she felt it too. Her near drowning earlier definitely helped with her appearance.

Had she ever been this skinny No, she kept a few pictures of her when she was human and she never looked this sickly. She looked like a vampire, and not the beautiful kind.

She outstretched her arms, touching her reflection in the mirror and sighed.

"Oh, Bella... what happened to you? "She asked herself.

She turned on the shower and as soon as the water hit her skin, she closed her eyes at the refreshing feeling and finally allowed her mind to wander about what Alice had revealed.

There were three things that Bella was absolutely sure.

One, she travelled back in time. How it came about was something she was still trying to figure out. Bella understands though that Caleb had something to do with it, what with his glowing violet eyes before he turned into ashes.

Two, she may have travelled in the past, but this was not her past. Somehow, this was a different Bella Swan, a different reality that had a different story and a different timeline. She didn't know how this story would unfold so she didn't know what's supposed to happen to not change the future of this Bella Swan or if her just being her had already drastically change this timeline.

Lastly, somehow in this timeline, she was mated to the wrong Cullen.

What kind of sick joke was the Universe trying to play? She initially believed that if she was to be reincarnated or if she was to live multiple lifetimes, that it would always be Jasper and Bella but this was not the case.

She could not imagine herself being with Edward. No, that was not possible. Edward was happily mated to Alice and they were perfect for each other. From the moment that Bella joined the family, she'd seen how Edward only has eyes for Alice, those eyes that looked at her sister with love and devotion, she could not imagine those eyes looking at her that way. It just felt so wrong!

While Emmett was the big, goofy, protective brother, Edward was the annoying little brother that she never had, despite him being the oldest that was turned by Carlisle. It had contributed to him being turned at seventeen making him the youngest, by human age in the family. He liked to make friendly banters with her just because he couldn't read her mind but Edward always favors her than Rosalie and they'd always jokingly made it known to him that he only does that because Bella was the one person that can give him temporarily relief when reading people's mind if Bella extends her shield to the rest of the family.

Edward was Bella's brother in the vampire world and in the eyes of the human world as well. When Jasper and Bella were not away on missions and stayed with the family, it was always the Hale twins, Rosalie and Jasper, Emmett and Alice Cullen and Edward and Isabella Mason. That was how it has always been.

For Bella, she was always meant for Jasper. Just the thought of him feels her body with a calmness that only he could provide. She didn't even need his empath gift for that. He had always kept her grounded and also the other way around. He was his yin to her yang.

Jasper had a very dark and bloody past, one that he constantly was trying to fight to move forward from. The ghost of his past still lingered in his eyes and sometimes, he had allowed himself to be tortured by what he has done during the Southern Wars but the moment he had set eyes on Bella, he saw salvation. He saw pureness and light shining from her that kept him from breaking into pieces and it gave him that strength to accept whatever he's done in his past because that was what Bella gave him as soon as she found out about his family, as soon as she found out everything about his past...acceptance.

She was the first person who did not cringe or shy away upon seeing his scars and no, she did not pity him as well. Bella showed understanding that what he did in the past was necessary for his survival and pride, that he was able to find the strength to leave that past behind and find a new future with the Cullens.

She was what he needed. When Bella first laid her eyes on Jasper, she instantly felt drawn to him and not just because of his good looks. The more they got to know each other, the more she saw Jaspers true self. Behind his stoic features and his pained expression, there was a man who just wanted to be happy and the moment that he had shown him his happiness when he was with her, she wanted to see it more and more and she vowed that he will always have that happiness because that was what he deserved.

Bella and Jaspers relationship was not some kind of whirlwind romance. It was steady, calm and strong and it grew stronger as their bond grew. There was no climactic event that punctuated their love story, no story worthy of a best-selling novel. Well, maybe except for the fact that he was a vampire and she was a human but there was no traumatizing event that led them to realize their true love. No running from sadistic vampire and no leaving to try to protect her from his nature.

It was just a man who struggled with his dark past and a woman who accepted him wholeheartedly, inner demons included.

Bella wondered about her Jasper. Before she blacked out, she felt him there. She knew it was him who caught her before she collapsed. He was probably out of his wits trying to find a way to wake her up. It must be scary for him to see her body unmoving, no indication of she was still alive because she had no heartbeat, no pulse to make sure that she was not dead.

She really needed to find a way to get back to her future but she was going to need all the help she could get. If she was a vampire, she could just easily leave as she pleases, go wherever she needs to go, to search for answers. She might even ask the Volturi for help. For sure they would know a thing or two about time travel or maybe a way of helping her. But this was not the case. She didn't have enough resources and as a human, she was too vulnerable to set out on her own because she knew the answer was going to be in the vampire world.

She needed Alice and the rest of the Cullens.