Hurricane ► Jasper Hale [1]

[12]

THERE WAS A very bright light enveloping the room, Allison noticed as she blinked several times. She moved her hand to shield herself from the light, but found that she couldn't move her arm very far because of the IV inserted in her skin.

Allison groaned quietly; she hated needles. The brunette turned her head slightly, a sharp pain shooting up her skull as she did so. "Try not to move to much," A voice penetrated the silence. A cold hand gently grabbing her own followed the voice that Allison now recognized as Jasper's. "You had a concussion, so..."

Jasper walked into her line of sight, sitting beside her hospital bed in a recliner. He smiled at her slowly, causing one to fill up her own face. "How do you feel?"

"Disoriented," The brunette answered groggily, her voice rough.

Jasper laughed quietly, but it didn't sound right. "That's to be expected." He watched her for a moment, lifting his hand to her hair, gently combing it with his fingers. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Allison smiled slightly, her eyes darting quickly to her left hand. She sighed when she saw the silver band adorning her ring finger. Jasper followed her eyes and smiled. "I kept the ring."

"You did," Jasper nodded, smiling still, "Thank you." His voice was sincere. He lifted his hand to grab her own, fiddling with the ring as he did so. "Told you I'd come back."

Allison furrowed her eyebrows at him, memory of what took place flashing through her mind. "Is Bella okay? Is James— What happened to him?"

"She'll be fine," The vampire answered her. "Your mom is here. So is your father." He continued gently, aware if her aversion of talking about the man. She noticed that he avoided her last question.

The heart monitor beside Allison began beeping rapidly, mimicking her heart. The brunette felt her hands shake slightly as she was faced with the opportunity to see her father again.

"Jasper," Her voice cracked, the dryness of her throat bothering her. "What happened to James?" She repeated with finality.

Jasper sighed, closing his eyes and lifting a hand to massage his temples, as if he had a headache. "He's dead," He paused, glancing between each of her eyes now, "You killed him."

Allison stared blankly at him. "I killed him." It wasn't a question, but her voice held disbelief. "I, um, I killed him."

"Speaking of your parents," Jasper hummed lowly, kissing her head quickly before flashing over to the couch on the other side of the room, pretending to be asleep as the door opened.

"We weren't, actually."

Melissa Christopher popped her head in the doorway, soon followed by the rest of her body as she saw that Allison was awake. "Hi, mom," The curly haired girl smiled, reaching her free arm up to gently hug the woman. Allison was adamant on ignoring the presence of the man standing in the doorway.

"Oh, honey," The older woman whispered as she held her daughter's hands. "I hope you know that your injury in no way lessens your grounding."

Allison broke into laughter, smiling at her mom. "Yeah, I figured." The girl continued laughing with her mother, momentarily oblivious to the man in the doorway moving closer to her hospital bed.

Her ignorance was ended when her father cleared his throat. Allison turned her head to face him, all traces of humor vanished from her face. "I'll be back," Melissa spoke, earning a withering look from her daughter as she exited the room.