I leaned my head against the car window and let my eyes closed as the vibrations rattled through my skull, jostling me into a stupor. The road was wet and shiny, and the trees were visibly drooping under the weight of the rain, but the car was warm and the engine purred.
"What are you thinking about?"
I sighed. "Food."
"Oh, yeah," Jasper chuckled. "Sometimes I forget that you, like, need that."
I snorted. "Yeah, it's an essential, unfortunately."
"Did we get everything on the list?"
"Diapers, body wash, cooking oil, onions, tampons, mustard and bananas..." I muttered to myself, checking off the list laying in my lap. "Yeah, think so."
He scrunched up his nose. "Onions and tampons in direct succession makes me uncomfortable."
I looked at him in amused questioning. "Why is that?"
He squirmed slightly in his seat. "I don't know."
The Jaguar glided down the freeway, easily overtaking other cars. I'd never been inside such an expensive car before, but that was all the Cullens had: Jaguars, Ferraris, Jeeps and...Volvos, for some reason. Jasper drove so skilfully that it was hard to believe that the car was even moving, and I had to stop myself from ogling at him in the reclined position, one hand on the wheel and the other resting on my thigh.
Our plan to avoid any further embarrassment was to excuse ourselves for a grocery run, since I needed to stock up Meg's fridge so that I wouldn't starve when she went to Idaho. Her boss had agreed to her taking some time off work and she and Elliot were leaving the next morning.
"Do you think they'll have forgotten about it by the time we get back?" I asked.
He chuckled. "No."
I groaned. "Next time, you come to my house. No Emmett there."
"I can't."
I glanced sideways at him.
"It would break the treaty," he said. "You live on their land."
"Oh," I said. "But you came to Emily's when I had Ethan."
He shot me a side smile. "Those were exceptional circumstances."
"You're right, I guess," I mumbled. "I've just never lived alone before. I know Meg's only gone a couple of days, but it'll be weird." I paused. "What if I get robbed?"
He let out a sigh.
"No, seriously..." I sat up straighter. "If the house gets broken into, I'm screwed. I don't know how to fight anybody, and if I just start pointedly screaming at a burglar, they'll just, like, stab me or something."
"You're not going to get robbed, Im."
"You don't know that!"
"Alice does," he countered.
I opened my mouth to argue, but then realised he was right, and frowned. "Oh."
He squeezed my thigh in comfort.
"Are you sure you can't just, like, sneak in?"
"You're not going to get robbed!"
"That's not the only reason I want you around, believe it or not."
He looked at me and smirked. "As tempting as that is, I really can't."
I rolled my eyes. "Nerd."
He gently slapped my leg.
We drove silently for a few minutes, listening to a blues song on the radio. The connection was crystal clear in comparison to the one in my truck, and the heated seat made me sleepy.
"Have you heard from Bella recently?"
I frowned. "No. Why?"
"Alice is having some trouble getting a clear picture of her," he said. "She's gone a bit fuzzy. It's really starting to annoy her."
"I told her not to call me until she's on her way back," I said. "I could try reaching her, though-
"No, don't worry," he said. "I'm sure it's fine. Don't want to disturb their honeymoon."
I nodded. "Where did he take her?"
"Isle Esme."
"Huh?"
"It's an island off the coast of Brazil," Jasper said, amused. "Carlisle bought it for Esme as a wedding gift."
"Fuck off," I gasped.
He laughed. "He gets carried away."
"Oh, dude, he set the bar high for you."
"You only asked me to be your girlfriend today, Imogen. Don't get ahead of yourself."
"Are you saying you wouldn't buy me an island?"
"No."
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but this isn't working-
"Shut up," he laughed.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. The number calling me was unknown.
"Hello?"
"Immy, hey. It's Elliot."
I blinked. "Oh. Hi."
There was a pause.
"I'm, uh, calling to apologise."
I almost choked. "Uh..."
"The way I acted the other night was childish and unnecessary." He sniffed. "I'm sorry."
"Whoever's holding the gun to your head must be-
"I'm being serious."
I took a breath. "What brought this on?"
"I found the newspaper."
My mouth went dry.
"I was getting some extra blankets from the closet in your room, and it fell out."
"Oh."
"What I said was out of line," he went on. "It was none of my business who the father was, anyway."
"No, uh..." My face scrunched up. "It's okay."
"It's not. I acted like a dick and I'm sorry."
I paused. "Thank you."
"And..." He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry that happened to you. And that I wasn't there."
My throat tightened. "I appreciate that."
There was a stretch of silence.
"Meg wants to know what time you'll be home tonight," he said.
"Before dinner," I answered. "I've got groceries."
"Okay. Well, see you then."
"Yeah. Bye."
"Bye."
I dropped my hands to my lap after hanging up the phone, swallowing the lump rising in my throat. Jasper patted my leg but didn't say anything, having inevitably heard the entire conversation, and I looked out the window.
There was a sense of resolution. Like, now that he knew, there was relief. The idea of him having found the newspaper and read the article turned my stomach, simply because of the gruesome detail, but it was easier than telling him myself. And it had proved to be an effective method of telling everyone else.
"Did he really just leave?" Jasper asked, voice quiet.
I nodded. "I got home from school one day and he was gone."
"Do you know why?"
I shrugged. "Sick of our mum, maybe? Scared of a dead-end future?"
"Have you asked him about it?"
"No."
"Do you intend to?"
"I don't know," I sighed. "I know he went to live with his dad, which is fine, I guess. I would of if I'd been given the option."
"Would you have left without saying anything, though?"
"No," I said.
"It's okay to be angry at him."
"Oh, I know," I said, half a smile tilting my mouth. "I just haven't decided how angry I am."
There was a pause.
"I think you have."
He was right.
"Whose idea was it to start dating an empath?" I murmured under my breath.
He smirked.