Her Knight In Shiny Armor

C13

" Here we are, Lene," Jasper said as they pulled up at the Swan residence.

Charlene stared at the house , wondering if Bella is even home. The thought that her sister might be home made her feel reluctant to leave the safety of Jasper's car. Yet she knew that she couldn't stay there forever.

"Um ....thank you , Jasper," she said, reaching down to unclip the seat belt, but finding that it was already unclipped. Jasper must've unclipped it when she'd been looking at the house, she deduced.

" You're welcome, Lene." He placed a hand on hers for a moment, the coldness of it making her hand feel like she'd just placed it in a freezer.

He must've felt her discomfort because he removed his hand a moment later, giving her an apologetic smile. Then he spoke in that voice of his that reminded her of a soldier's for some reason. " Listen,Lene, I'll pick you up again in the morning , okay?" He looked deeply into her eyes, seemingly searching for something.

She looked down at her hands, feeling her cheeks and ears grow warm. She really wasn't used to boys looking into her eyes like that.

She stiffened and held her breath when he suddenly leaned past her to open the door for her, invading her personal space for a few seconds.

His divine scent wafted up into her nose and did some things to her senses that made her feel like she were high in the clouds.
She bit back a protests when he straightened away from her.

She felt quite ashamed at that and tried to play it cool as she spoke." Okay, bye, Jasper, See you in the morning. Bye Alice, bye Loyd."

" Bye, Charlene," Alice said, a mile wide smile on her lips. She returned the smile shyly.

"Bye," Loyd echoed, still... stoic.
She didn't mind that at all.

Jasper gave her a gentle smile.
" Bye, Lene. Don't forget ,okay?"

She nodded. " I won't."

She stepped out into the cold late afternoon air, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.
She didn't wait to watch him drive away, making her way to the front door, unlocking it with a key Charlie had given her.

The house was quiet as she stepped over the threshold. It wasn't a surprise to her. Her Dad's cruiser hadn't been in the driveway, which meant that he is still at work. But that didn't mean__

" Charlene, is that you?"

Charlene tensed as she heard her sister's voice coming from the kitchen. Of course. Bella wasn't the type to listen to loud music or anything. She could be quiet as a mouse and you wouldn't even know that she is there until she spoke.

She walked slowly to the kitchen, wishing that she could just go and hide away in her room and not look at Bella. The hurt was still fresh inside of her. How could Bella be so...so....She sighed and shook her head. It was no use thinking of how her sister just left her at school with no ride.

Bella was busy wiping down the kitchen counters, her hair up in a messy bun with wispy strands framing her face.

" Hey," she greeted Charlene amiably.

Charlene only stared at her in complete silence. That caused Bella happy mood to fall.

" Char...What's the matter? Did something happen?"

Charlene snorted unladylike. "Unbelievable, " she muttered," You act as if you don't know. " She turned on her heels and stomped her way to the stairs.

" Charlene! Hey!," Bella called after her , but she ignored it, her feet carrying her up the stairs.

When she reached her room, she threw her backpack on the floor aggressively and moved over to her bed to lay face down on it.