Daybreak|| Jasper Hale {1}

Chapter 16

November 2014

 Instead of succumbing to the black haze of unconsciousness Emeline was met with images dancing before her eyes at the speed of light.

 Rosalie braiding a dark girl's hair in an unfamiliar apartment, the two laughing as Emmett watched with a fond smile.

 A kind looking woman painting as Alice snuck up behind her with a hug from behind, wrapping her arms around the girl as she turned around with a grin on her face.

 The girls were Emeline. They didn't look like Emeline and they weren't called Emeline, but they were. She knew it, but she didn't know how.

 It was like her soul was speaking directly to her with the knowledge. Knowledge it had been dying to share.

 Another image overtook her vision, and Emeline could feel what the girl felt this time.

 The same kind woman sat with Alice in a diner, a skirt swishing around her ankles as she looked around anxiously, looking for someone who was yet to be there.

Only minutes later, sitting across from a much different looking Jasper, his red eyes looking into hers as he grabbed her small hand from across the table.

Pulling Jasper into a kiss as a waitress dropped a cup, slicing her finger.

The image changed.

Her own taunting voice, though it didn't sound like her voice, was calling out for Teddy, and Edward Cullen shook his head with an annoyed look.

Her dream of storming out of the apartment passed by again, and Emeline realized that the girl looked the same as the one who had been in the apartment with Rosalie.

A blond man shaking his head at her with a laugh on his lips as he chided her for her clumsiness.

A dark haired woman hugging Emeline to her chest as if she were her own daughter.

So much Jasper.

It seemed every two seconds something that had to do with Jasper overtook her.

Kissing him, clinging to his back as he ran at a dizzying speed, his teasing smile, Jasper in a military looking uniform, Jasper down on one knee before her.

Another image flooded into Emeline's eyesight and she felt herself shiver.

A hundred red eyes watching her as she stood in the center of a room, looking exactly how she looked right now.

A man with papery skin and hair black as an oil slick grabbing her hand and smiling, calling her his favourite pet.

A long sweeping dress flaring out behind her as she sat in a courtyard, the kind blond man sitting beside her looking deep in conversation.

Emeline groaned as a cold hand pressed itself to her forehead, and her eyes flickered open to see Edward Cullen standing over her with his eyes furrowed.

Emeline attempted to sit up, but she was pushed back down.

"What happened?" Alice's smooth soprano asked, and Emeline merely blinked away the blurriness in her eyes as she sat up. The Cullens were surrounding her, the dark haired woman that Emeline recognized from the principal's office standing at a distance, as if she had just entered the room.

"I uh-" Emeline croaked, unsure how to start this out, and Jasper handed her his water. "This happens a lot. I've got a feinting issue." The brunette explained, and even Rosalie was looking at her with concern.

"You were out for a really long time for a feinting spell." The blonde said, and Emeline felt naked again under her gaze.

"You totally freaked us out. Rose and Jasper were going at it and then suddenly your eyes were rolling into the back of your head like it was the fucking exorcist. I though you were gonna start levitating." Emmett joked, and Emeline found herself chuckling at his description, her head finally clearing.

"Emmett!" The dark haired woman chided, before looking at Emeline with a motherly look. "Sorry dear, I just realized I haven't introduced myself. I'm their mother."

"Esme?" Emeline asked, much to the surprise of nearly everyone in the room, though Edward seemed like he'd known she was going to say that, though his dark red eyebrows were still furrowed. "Jasper told me." Emeline said, trying to ease the tension in the room, though both her and Jasper knew she was lying.

Jasper had never talked about either of his parents, except for the first time they'd met.

"Yes." Esme said, the same motherly look on her face, and Emeline smiled back her, feeling immediately comforted. "Are you sure you're okay dear?" Esme asked in a concerned voice, and the teenagers in the room seemed to mirror her concern, apart from Edward, who looked like he was trying to pick apart a puzzle. It was disconcerning to say the least.

"Yeah." Emeline said, taking a sip of the water Jasper had handed her, and noticing that it was still ice cold despite the fact that Jasper had been holding it for the better part of an hour. "How long was I out?"

"Like two minutes, it was freaky. You're eyelids were going like insane. It was almost as weird as when Alice starts spacing off." Emmett said again, and the small girl stuck her tongue out at him.

"I'm not freaky." Alice said defensively, and Emeline stood up from her spot on the couch.

"I hope this doesn't seem rude, but do you mind if I call my mom to see if she can pick me up, I feel all lightheaded still." Her head actually felt fine now, but things were a little too weird for her to resume studying like nothing had happened.

Feinting wasn't supposed to last that long, and it happening twice in the past few weeks made Emeline feel uncomfortable. She hadn't even registered how long she must've been out to get all the way to the nurse's office when Jasper had carried her. Unless you had super speed it would take at least two minutes, probably more.

And that wasn't taking into consideration the fact that she saw things while she was out this time.

"Of course dear, it isn't rude at all." Esme said in a kind voice, crossing the space in between them to place her cool hand on Emeline's forehead as if she was searching for a temperature, though the brunette was sure that her normal skin would feel fevered to the woman no matter what. Her hand was ice cold, much like her adopted children. "You get some rest, okay? I'm sure Jasper wouldn't mind taking you home." She suggested, and Jasper agreed.

"If you just let me get the keys I can take you right now." He suggested, ceasing the whispering he'd been doing in the corner with Edward and looking at Emeline with a strange look, concern mixed with something else, before disappearing to the kitchen and reappearing with a set of car keys.