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SKIN & BONES
ii. THE WIND'S WHISPERS
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WITH THE WIND'S WHISPERS, Jasper Hale had vanished.
The three days following Bella's birthday bash were a blur. All Lorelai could properly and clearly remember was her hand breaking by the bloodthirsty vampire she called her best friend. Jasper had created a clean break in her hand's bones and didn't kill anyone that night, but Lorelai was still worried about him.
As aforementioned, it had been three days since Bella's 18th birthday party, which meant that it had also been three days since the Swan sisters had seen the Cullens. Jasper, Edward, Carlisle, and just about all of the Cullens hadn't contacted the sisters. Lorelai had half the mind to drive herself to the hospital just to see if Carlisle was at work, but she chose against it. Nonetheless, it was like they disappeared out of thin air.
Lorelai sat in the living room of her home, her eyes glued to the brochures colleges had been sending her sister. The TV remote rested in her lap, as well as her broken hand. There was a white cast secured around it, small signatures from Bella and Charlie on it, which was Lorelai's idea.
"Oh, honey," mumbled Lorelai to herself, an old episode of America's Next Top Model playing on the screen. "Tyra wouldn't approve of those faces. Seriously, it looks like something crawled up your ass and died... twice."
"A little harsh, aren't you?"
Gasping in surprise, Lorelai nearly fell off of the couch at the voice. Her father was at work and Bella was at school, so naturally, Lorelai was frightened out of her mind when she heard an unexpected voice. Her head snapped to the left, where she was greeted by Jasper Hale.
"What the fuck, Jazz!?" shouted Lorelai. She placed a hand over her heart as it raced. As she did so, she noticed Jasper tense considerably. "Where the hell have you been?"
"I need to talk to you, Lorelai."
Lorelai paused, her eyebrows knitting together slightly. She didn't bother to address how he had called her by her full name rather than 'Rory' to know that something was wrong. Well, that and also the fact that he had completely ghosted her for three days.
"Unless you answer my question, I'm gonna need you to row, row, row your boat gently the fuck away from me," she snapped, shaking her head. "Seriously, Jasper. You can't just go break your best friend's hand, then go MIA, and then break into said best friend's house! It's quite rude, if you asked me."
"I need to talk to you," he repeated, this time attempting to send waves of tranquillity in Lorelai's direction. She shook her head, feeling her irritation emerge seconds later.
"Stop trying to change my emotions," Lorelai demanded. "Okay, talk to me." She noticed how Jasper continued to stare at the girl's cast. "Hello? My eyes are up here."
"I'm sorry," Jasper apologized. "I want to talk somewhere private."
Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "We're the only ones home."
"Please?" he requested, unable to look the girl in the eye. "Walk with me?"
Lorelai faltered, staring at the boy as concern fell over her pallid features. She didn't really have any other option. If she wanted answers, she'd have to comply. Rising to her feet was enough for Jasper to understand. He sped up the rickety stairs to fetch Lorelai her favorite hoodie and house keys. With that, they exited the house.
"Something tells me this isn't gonna be good," mumbled Lorelai, mostly to herself, as she followed Jasper deeper and deeper into the forest. She had been speaking to herself out of pure worry, as well as the fact that Jasper had been refusing to utter a single word to her. "We're in the forest, so clearly he wants me to be calm... I mean, I don't think he'll murder me, but still..." She sighed, playing with the sleeves of her hoodie. "On the bright side, at least I'm not addicted to cocaine."
Lorelai glanced at the ends of her cast that poked out from her sleeves. She couldn't help but think about what happened the last time she was with Jasper. He wouldn't purposefully hurt her, would he?
She kept her gaze straight ahead while Jasper led her down a faded dirt path. It was a familiar path. Come to think of it, all of her surroundings were utterly recognizable except for what was directly before her: Jasper. His shoulders were tense, his hands balled into tight fists. There was something on his mind, and it wasn't good.
Lorelai kicked the small rocks in front of her, chewing on the insides of her cheek. Her shoes were caked with new patches of dirt. A circle of trees enclosed the vampire and the human. There was nothing to distract them but each other, yet neither one spoke.
She inhaled sharply, deciding to rip the bandaid off herself. "So, are you gonna say it, or—?"
"My family and I are leaving Forks."
Another great sea of silence soaked the two. Lorelai stared at Jasper's back, for it seemed that he couldn't quite properly look at her. "Well, fuck me gently with a chainsaw," she muttered before raising her voice to a normal speaking level. "Why? When? Is this because of what happened that night?"
Jasper turned around, his gaze on anything but her eyes. "Carlisle is supposed to be ten years older than he looks," he stated. "People are starting to notice."
"Just blame it on dodgy plastic surgery!" exclaimed Lorelai, tears rapidly collecting in her large, brown eyes. "Are... Are you sure that's the real reason?"
Jasper fell quiet. He racked his brain for a good answer. "I don't want to hurt you," he added. It was then when Lorelai realized he had been staring at her cast.
"This?" She held up her broken hand. "I'm fine, Jasper. It's temporary. I'll heal. I forgave you. This," she waved her broken hand, "was an accident. Accidents happen. We're only human—"
"I'm not human, Lorelai," sharply cut Jasper. "I'm dangerous. I'm a danger to you. What makes you think I won't hurt you again? Or worse?"
"If I knew I wouldn't break my other hand doing it, I'd punch you so hard," mumbled Lorelai, shaking her head. She could feel her hands begin to shake vigorously. "You can't just... leave, Jasper. You're my best friend. You're my support system, and I'm yours. I... I don't know if I can do this... recover without you."
Jasper's golden eyes met her tear-filled ones. 'Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry,' she continued to tell herself. 'You're not a pussy. You're strong. You can cry later.'
"Yes, you can," he insisted. "You don't need me. You need to move on. You need to forget about me and my family."
Lorelai continued to shake her head. "I can't do that, Jasper. I can't stop thinking about you as it is!" exclaimed Lorelai, entirely vulnerable at this point. "I don't know why you... think this is the best way to go about it, but... I think I know what you're doing. You're trying to make me hate you, aren't you?" She sighed. "Jasper, I'm not my sister. I can see past what's in front of me. Don't think for a second that I don't believe you care about me." She pressed her lips into a line. "Just know... when you come crawling back—because I know you will at some point—just know that I'm going to beat your ass. Okay?"
Jasper's lips were pulled into a frown. "I don't deserve you," he mumbled, knowing she was right. "I'm sorry, Lorelai. I have to do this. I have to go my own way and so do you... without me."
Regardless of what she had just said, Lorelai was now crying. Warm tears slid down her colorless cheeks. "Don't you dare pull a High School Musical 2 on me, you asshole," she snapped, attempting to make light of the situation.
"I'm sorry, Lorelai," he said once again. "As far as I'm concerned, you'll be happier this way."
"I'm happier when I'm with you," she mumbled, her voice cracking ever-so slightly.
"Goodbye, Rory."
One moment, Jasper Hale had been standing directly before her. The next, he had vanished. The second he was gone, it seemed to have hit Lorelai immediately. She was frozen, unable to process what had just happened.
Jasper was gone, and so was Alice, and Rosalie, and Emmett, and Carlisle, and Esme, and Edward. Just like that... they were all gone, like they never existed.
Everyone was gone.
Rory was alone.
Again.
Revised: January 6th, 2020