what a woman! i.

cinquante trois

April 3rd

A baseball game. Out of everything they did as vampires, Tatum did not expect them to play baseball. But, here she was, standing next to Esme in one of Jasper's few sweatshirts. She had a beanie on her head and fleece leggings to keep her legs warm. She watched as Edward ran after a ball, she knew that he would probably get it. Soon enough, it was Jasper's turn.

He flipped the bat in his hand and looked back towards Tatum, throwing her a small smile before focusing on Alice. She watched as Jasper swung and made it to second base. Her attention switches to her hands when her shoulder starts to ache more and more. She had kept the pain a secret. Her parents didn't even know about the incident. She was still trying to find a good lie to tell them. 

Her attention was caught when she heard Alice shout something. Jasper was quick to get right next to her. He placed his arm around her shoulders and kept a stiff posture. She puts her hand on his back and he snaps his gaze to her. Jasper busies himself with fixing her hair so it covered her skin. 

"Jasper, relax. You look on edge," Alice says, standing right next to Tatum as they watch the forest clearing. They were waiting for something or someone. "Plus, it's Bella who should be worried. Her scent's stronger. Tatum's incredibly smart by wearing your clothes, too."

Everyone goes quiet as three figures enter the clearing. A blonde male with his hair in a pony, a red-haired female with wildly curly hair, and a dark male with dreadlocks. She could smell the blood off of these vampires from the distance they were at. She kept rubbing Jasper's knuckles and looked down at them, trying to keep her softly blushed cheeks hidden.

"You brought a snack," the blonde male says, staring at Bella. Everyone went into an attack stance, except Tatum, she was pulled behind Alice protectively. "Oh, that one has a little flush to her face, doesn't she?"

Jasper was about to snap, Carlisle didn't have to be an empath to know that. Jasper's love had been threatened and targeted. It would be a full-blown fight if he didn't do anything. Edward looked towards Carlisle, nodding with him in agreement. They needed to get Jasper and the two humans out of there.

"They are with us," Alice states bravely. No one expected it to be her, but it was. "You will not touch them. I think it's best you leave."

The three nomadic vampires leave and chaos is set free. Tatum actually blacked out. Well, not blackout blackout, but she didn't remember anything until she was inside the Cullen's home. She was so confused when she heard Carlisle talking about Laurent helping them. 

"Tatum and Bella are going with Jasper and Alice to Arizona, they won't suspect Jasper to be her mate so he should be alright to go," Carlisle says, packing a bag of things. "Edward, don't give me that look, you know it would be obvious."

"What the hell?" Bella whispers in total confusion. Edward leans over to her and whispers in her ear.

"I've been saying that ever since Tatum got here."

●○●

April 4th

After much bribing and Jasper's persuasive charm, Tatum's parents were accepting the fact that they were 'on a trip'. The two had told her parents a lie. Jasper had told them that his family had an extra ticket to Phoenix because of an incident with booking, so they gave it to Tatum and now they were on their way to Phoenix. Even Carlisle had covered for them.

They were currently sitting in Alice's car, stopped for gas. Tatum had the job of filling up gas while Bella grabbed snacks and drinks for the two of them. After paying for gas, the two humans hop into the car and they're back on the road. 

●○●

After driving for a couple of hours, they finally arrived in a hotel right out of Phoenix. She had fallen asleep because of mental exhaustion. Of course, Jasper took it to himself to carry her into the room and set her on the bed. He would have kissed her forehead, like usual, but he was too thirsty to do that. 

Soon enough, he himself was getting exhausted. He knew he should've eaten on the way down, but he prolonged it for her. So, he decided to hunt and let Alice take care of them because she had eaten halfway to Phoenix. He trusted her to keep them safe, and she did.

He came back to the room and saw Bella and Tatum sleeping on the beds. He almost forgot what sleepiness felt like. He walked over to Tatum's bed and sat down next to her, he gently brushed her hair away from her face and grabbed a book Alice had brought for him. He felt the human next to him shift and saw he sleepily sit up.

"What time is it?"

"Time for you to build up energy," Jasper says, softly pulling her to cuddle his legs. He sat up in the bed and she laid her head back on his thigh. "You need some sleep. It's been an exhausting day."

"We're lucky that school backed up our spring break."

"I'm lucky to have you," Jasper says, combing his hand through her hair. He looked down at her when she groaned softly and dug her face into his thigh. She didn't notice who close she was to a certain place and his back stiffened. She didn't notice that Alice was listening from the couch. "What is it?"

"That was really cheesy."

●○●