Life ✶ Jasper Hale

✶Thirteen: The Truth Comes Out

✦Jasper✦

Lana and I follow the hostess to a small table in one of the corners in the back, away from the dinner crowd. Bella and Edward are seated at a table not far from us—at Lana's request. She said the only way we could separate them is if she could see Bella.

Looking at the purple-eyed girl now, I can't help but to recall the dread Edward and I felt when they separated from their friends.

|Flashback|

We waited until we knew they had made it to the dress store, that way we wouldn't have to drive at an agonizing speed behind them. Once we arrived in Port Angeles, Edward parked in the shade to avoid the sunlight until night arrived.

After awhile, Edward realized that our girls separated from the others. I began to feel overwhelmingly anxious as he drove through the sparse traffic into the center of the town. This wasn't something I had considered—Lana and Bella taking off on their own and having no idea how to find her. I should have considered it.

Why did she have to wonder off?

We knew Port Angeles well; Edward drove straight to the bookstore in Jessica's head, hoping our search would be short, but doubting it would be so easy. Sure enough, the little shop was empty except for the anachronistically dressed woman behind the counter. I wondered if they even bothered to go in?

There was a patch of shade we could park in. It also made a dark pathway right up to the overhang of the shop. We really shouldn't leave the confines of the car. Wandering around in the sunlight hours was not safe. What if a passing car threw the sun's reflection into the shade at just the wrong moment? But I didn't know how else to look for Lana.

My brother parked and we got out, keeping to the deepest side of the shadow. Edward strode quickly into the store as Lana's scent filled my nose. I followed her scent as far as the shade would allow, stopping when I got to the edge of the sunlight.

How powerless it made me feel—fenced in by the line between dark and light that stretched across the sidewalk before me. So limited. I could only guess that she'd continued across the street, heading south. There wasn't really much in that direction. Edward appeared beside me, dread pouring from him as he stared at the light.

The both of us got back in the car and drove slowly through the streets, looking for them. We stepped out into a few other patches of shadow, but I only caught her scent once more, and the direction of it confused me.

We drove back and forth between the bookstore and the restaurant a few times, hoping to see them on their way. Jessica and Angela were already there, trying to decide whether to order, or to wait for Bella and Lana.

I got more and more anxious the longer she remained missing. I hadn't considered before how difficult she might prove to find once, like now, she was out of my sight and off her normal paths. I didn't like it.

The clouds were massing on the horizon, and, in a few more minutes, I would be free to track her on foot. It wouldn't take me long then. It was only the sun that made me so helpless now. Just few more minutes, and then the advantage would be mine again and it would be the human world that was powerless.

Unexpectedly, rage and hatred flowed off of Edward. "NO!" He roared, and a volley of snarls erupted from my throat. There could only be one reason for his reaction—they were in danger.