Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"MAMA, BELLA AND I will be fine," Rory insisted in rapid Spanish for the umpteenth time as she leaned against the shiny side of the car.
By the next morning they were somewhere between Oregon and Nevada at an ancient gas station off the highway they were taking south to Arizona, the decided destination in the south. Rory had been to Phoenix a few times before growing up and was familiar with the hot desert city, but she definitely wasn't going back for vacation.
Jasper had been driving nearly three times the legal limit in his haste to get them far away from Forks. She demanded it was time for her to switch out with Jasper as he filled up the tank, fearing any unwanted attention if he continued the drive. The window tint was dark, but with the blazing southern sun, it would only do so much.
Jasper slid his arm around her waist as he waited for her to finish the phone call.
"Aurora, I will get on the next plane to Arizona—I don't care if you and Bella are almost adults, you cannot be completely unsupervised in one of the murder capitals in America!"
"Didn't you trust me in Forks by myself?"
"Yes, because Forks has barely 3000 citizens and hardly any trouble—you're a magnet for danger and in a city with millions—nothing good is bound to happen, Rory! This was so irresponsible!"
"Mama, I need you to trust me that everything will be okay. I thought you would understand why I couldn't let Bella go by herself, driving thousands of miles alone..." It hurt Rory to lie to her mother so blatantly, to intentionally pull on her mother's moral compass...It was for the better. It was safer this way.
"Mija, I get it. I do. Just...come back safe, okay? I can't lose you, we've already lost so much," Stella sniffed over the phone. Rory could hear the distinct shuffling of the tell-tale movement of her mother running an exhausted and worried hand over her face.
"I know, mama. I have to go."
"Alright. I'll see you later, mi vida. Be safe. I love you," Stella said, sounding like it was getting difficult for her to hold back tears.
"Love you. Goodbye, mama."
Rory couldn't promise that she would see her mother any time soon. There was no telling if they would have to go on the run or if Rory would even escape unscathed in the small possibility that James and Victoria got to her and Bella. For there was no way in hell that Rory would allow Bella to be alone if the time came.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Jasper murmured, pulling her into a tight, well-needed embrace. She tucked herself into his chest perfectly, his awkward bent over position due to his extreme height only made the hug ever so sweet. All her worries and problems seemed to fade in importance as they wrapped into each other.
She had him and that was all she needed to push through.
The lucky thing about driving south was the lack of traffic. Hardly anyone was on the long, endless road besides truckers and large cars that passed by.
