Waiting for the Sun - 8 - Lover, Find Your Cover
[MASTER POST]
In keeping in standing order with all his documentation - from his numerous college degrees, to his birth certificate, to his “legal” surname of Hale - Jasper had to cross reference over twelve ledgers on a regular basis. That evening he worked through the numbers once more and his pen rest on a square on the calendar he had carefully marked many decades before. A half-conscious, dull gnawing anticipation ran through his gut as he stared at the upcoming date of expiration. Then, guilt set in.
After sitting as a statue for an hour of cross-fire in his mind, he finally picked up his phone.
“… Hi, Jazz.” a high, melodic voice, far too calmly, answered at the last ring. “It’s time, isn’t it?”
Preparations were set for the next day.
However, Jasper had also made a promise that he would fix Aurelia’s canoe before the week was over, so after working overnight he quietly delivered it across the water. As he set it back in its original spot on the shore, he heard a soft rustling in the trees and out dashed Aurelia with an eager smile. Little did he know that the girl had been glancing out her window all afternoon just waiting to catch him.
“You finished it so quickly, thank you!” She ran a hand over the lustrous waxed wood that he had polished until it looked brand new.
For all that weighed on his mind with what lay ahead of him that evening, Jasper could hardly manage to verbally respond. His melancholic, distracted eyes flit here and there. Not to mention that he had been putting off feeding, and his throat burned with thirst as she drew nearer.
“I was more than happy to.” he murmured politely.
Unsure why he was acting strange, Aurelia timidly clasped her hands behind her back and quipped, “Would you like to test it out with me?”
He hated to be so terse, but he couldn’t be around her while wanting to be around her without diving into utter confusion at that moment. “I’m sorry, I - I have some business to attend to and need to leave very soon. Please enjoy it. Excuse me.”
------------
An uncomfortable twinge pulled at my chest as I watched Jasper speed away in his boat without even a wave goodbye. Why had his ochre eyes seemed so in pain? I wished he would share with me all that weighed him down, and I wished that it was my place to make them right again. What exactly was he to me, or I to him for that matter?
I violently shook my head. No, no, absolutely not. I told myself that I could not let these feelings get to my brain, or my heart, as if it hadn’t already started. Rubbing my arms for warmth, I hurried back inside. I had my own business to attend to anyway; it was Halloween.
Indulgent day trips were apparently normal for the privileged kids of Port Dixon. A small group of six of us crossed the Peninsula and headed for Seattle. Everyone had some sort of connection - Jay Seymour’s uncle lent us the Range Rover to take around the city; Claudie’s father was friends with the head chef of the posh restaurant where we ate dinner. Nothing was off-limits. Then, there was Rob’s off-colored contribution.
We were back on the road, now changed into our ridiculous costumes. Dressed as MC Hammer, Rob leaned across the car seats and handed everyone little plastic cards as his Halloween ‘treats.’ “Here’s one for Hannah, and this one’s yours… Sorry Claudie, your picture isn’t that attractive. Give this one to Rhea please…”
Rob passed me a fake ID of some twenty-one year old named Tracey from Oregon - the only ways she resembled me was being blonde and on the taller side.
“How did you get these…?” I gawked. No one else seemed surprised.
“It’s pretty easy - if you know the right people.”
“What are they for?”
“Aston Manor.” Everyone grinned at my clueless expression. “You’ll see.”
“By the way, what are you supposed to be exactly?” Stephan inquired, eyeing my ambiguous all-black-leather outfit - my sister’s leather jacket, tight pants, intimidating belt and combat boots, and black gloves.
I donned a scarlet bobbed wig. “I’m Black Widow!”
While we all poked fun at Rob’s mustard balloon pants, I glanced out the window and did a double take - Jasper’s mercury-shaded custom Audi was parked next to a tiny yellow Porsche in the glass-walled garage of a looming skyscraper. What was Jasper’s ‘business’ that he had alluded to, and how did we happen to travel to the same city on the same day? Our vehicle turned the corner and the building disappeared out of site…
-------------
“Is this your final decision, Ms. Cullen?” the lawyer inquired somberly.
“I’m very sure, Mr. Jenks.” the almost unreal, pixie-like woman with a crop of short dark hair nodded.
With squared shoulders and an impossibly still expression, only the icy man seated next to her was able to perceive just what she was feeling. Unlike manipulating her thoughts to hide from Edward, she could not control her emotions; because of that singular, honest insight, Jasper knew that Alice was ready to move forward on her own, although he didn’t know why. For the past year of being apart he had searched deep down into himself, and despite the sting, strangely felt a release. Still it was peculiar, for in the spectrum of their immortal lives there was no such thing as a true goodbye.
“And yours, Mr. Hale?”
“… Yes.”
The suited man, who had worked with them for many years, sighed. “Alright then, with permission from you both, I will proceed.” He pushed back in his chair, leaned over the crackling fireplace, and dropped the yellowing document into the flames. The cursive words on the paper - Mary Alice… & Jasper Wh… 1950 - slowly smoldered and turned to ash. Jasper saw Alice’s golden eyes suddenly go blank for a moment, and perceived a jolting alarm that made him worry.
“I pronounce the marriage license between Mary Alice Brandon and Jasper Whitlock to be expired. And as of now, null and void.”
Unbelievably amicably, in such a way that suggested perhaps she had known for quite some time that this moment would come, Alice accompanied Jasper out of the office. Their footsteps echoed in the dark, empty marble foyer.
Alice turned to wistfully gaze up at him. “So…” she breathed hoarsely. “This is it, huh.”
“Where do we even go from here?” Jasper murmured dimly, at a loss for the right words for such an inexplicable ending. If it had to be done, then Jasper had finally accepted it and given her desired freedom. He gazed down at her with a soft, pensive pause, without any more strings left to cut, as if they were simply stepping off at a train station after a long journey, and that now he was where he had needed to be all along. Although initially he wanted to somehow apologize, the feelings that he perceived seemed more so like she was giving him a gift. He didn’t understand.
“Oh, fate is funny, Jazz. There’s lots in store, you’ll see.” She rocked forward and back on her tiny heels.
“… You had a vision just now, didn’t you?”
Alice fought with her conscience until she decisively pulled out a piece of paper and scrawled a short line. “You’d better hurry over to this address.”
“What do you mean, what is this place? Alice?”
The little vampire finally broke into a painfully forced smile. “Someone over there is going to need you.”
--------
As if expecting us, the bouncer didn’t even check our fake IDs and promptly removed the velvet cord of the entrance to the upscale nightclub tucked away in the city. The music boomed and shook the glittering crystals of the neon-lit chandeliers above. Up above the dynamic dance floor was a second story viewing deck where we were led to VIP seating. As a costume had been a requirement for entry for each partygoer, the atmosphere was even more strange and surreal. With the masks and the flashing lights I could hardly make out anyone’s distorted face for more than a couple seconds at a time.
Silver platters of colorful cocktails were served to our table and just as readily consumed, no questions asked. By the time I’d built up the courage to take a few sips of the liquor that burned and lingered through my core, the others had already slipped a notch or two; they seemed so ready to cast off the veneer of perfection that their parents and school daily required of them. Jay, Rob, and Stephan left together to scope out for hot girls, much to Claudie’s chagrin. Bubbly from the alcohol, Hannah slackly rose and pulled Claudie and I to join her. She wanted to dance.
The floor was packed with bodies and the synthetic beat pounded in my ears. In this anonymous crowd Claudie and Hannah went wild and in a matter of moments we somehow got separated. I dodged away from the men who tried to come up behind me, and looked left and right in search of my friends. The neon strobe lights made my head hurt and suddenly I caught the gaze of a pair of frightening, ghostly, hungry eyes locked on me.
This man was not in costume. Impossibly pale, with inky hair slicked back in a low knot, the man was an eerie statue amongst the writhing dancers and each time I blinked, he somehow appeared a few feet in a different place like a phantom. An irrational fear instinctively overcame me. My hands went clammy and my mind went numb; in a cold panic I realized he was coming closer and I knew I could not get away.
Then out of nowhere, a dark pair of broad shoulders slid in and cut off the disturbing man from my site. Strong arms pulled me closer; that familiar cool scent wrapped around me and suddenly I felt safe…
-- Like lightning, Jasper raced into the throng and caught the girl in the red wig before it was too late. By instinct he desperately shielded her with his own body - he swore no harm would come to her. His pathokinesis was more honed for others of his kind, and he closed his eyes to focus and single out the seething confusion of the other immortal amongst them. It seemed like the vampire was debating whether or not to challenge him for prey.
Jasper leaned down to urgently speak into the girl’s ear over the booming noise. Her hair rustled his nose and it was painful.
“I’m very sorry I have to get so close, Aurelia, it seems like you’ve caught the attention of someone dangerous. Hopefully this discourages him. Can - can you trust me?”
After a tense minute of silence he felt Aurelia nod against his chest, and to his amazement, he felt her carefully grip onto the sides of his coat just like when he had protected her all those years ago. The clockwork in Jasper’s mind slowly began to piece together the puzzle. To his relief, the lurking murderous presence over their shoulder relented and faded into the darkness.
Had this been what Alice had foreseen? If so, why would Alice be keeping her sights on a human girl she had never met? After all that had passed and all that Jasper had set free that day his heart was still in a tumult, and yet he found himself indubitably surrendering to this girl, this tiny center of quiet and calm. Then and there Jasper didn’t want to let go. He was never going to have this chance again, but it was taking a toll - Aurelia’s intoxicating scent, and the heavy lust and emptiness oozing from the people around them - and his spirit was overwhelmed. He had never endured such a sickening haze as this. His back slumped… --
… I felt Jasper weaken and I pulled back in concern - he looked alarmingly nauseous. Quickly, I took his arm and pulled him out from the swarm. Flashes of light guided us in the darkness and I found a dim, empty hallway where Jasper leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor, holding his throbbing head.
I timidly knelt down in front of Jasper and put my palm to his furrowed forehead; the gesture came unbelievably naturally to me. His skin was as cold as marble.
“Are you okay?” I murmured soothingly.
Eyes still closed, Jasper reached out and held my wrist. My stomach did a leap at his touch.
“Your hands are really warm. It feels nice.” he breathed. “Can we stay still like this? Just for a minute, please.”
Ever so gently I shifted closer until our feet touched. A deep balminess filled my chest as I patiently watched the lines in his face smooth and relax. None of this made any sense, but I knew something was very, very different about him, something I wasn’t sure I had the right to discover. All the signs up until now had to have an explanation… although I couldn’t even begin to make a guess.
When Jasper was ready, he released me. “Thank you. I’m better now.”
We were mere inches apart; it was hard to remember to breathe. His glimmering amber eyes trailed over every detail of my face, lingering, as if he was dying to speak and begging for the right opportunity. For once he was not running away.
“Jasper…” I gulped, knowing that he could hear even my smallest whisper. “What’s going on?”
“Hmm?”
“What - what are you doing here?”
“I was just at the right place at the right time.” he replied vaguely.
“But you just found me in the midst of two hundred people.”
He looked away uncomfortably, pained, and avoided the question. “I’ll take that as your thanks?”
“No, of course I’m very grateful. I - I’m just confused - what was he going to do? Why would that man have singled me out, out of everyone here?”
“Don’t put any more thought into this--”
“-And you knew that he was targeting me, as if…”
“As if what?” His lips pursed and he appeared almost frightened for me to push any further. “Aurelia, please just forget about this. You don’t want to know. It’s for your own good.”
Even against his icy obstinacy, I dared to ask what I hardly dared to learn. “You and that man… You two are similar, aren’t you?”
In an instant Jasper’s eyes flashed with a sharp, resentful glare and he sat up strictly. “I am NOT like him.”
His anger startled me. “I didn’t mean like--”
“If I were like him, I would have looked on without any concern whatsoever. I would not be bothered with this at all; you would just be another person to me and I could just continue on in peace. Do you know how infuriating it is that it had to be you of all people?”
The last sentence was like a slap to the face. I sat there for a minute in the muffled shadows, stunned and speechless and trying to wrap my head around just exactly what Jasper meant. I was something particular to him - perhaps not in a pleasant way, but yet I was singular in his perspective. He felt a duty towards me, but it was a burden. I was a burden, and he didn’t trust me. Compared to the delicate, breathless way he’d touched me only a moment before, it didn’t make any sense.
If Jasper had been able to perceive or alter Aurelia’s feelings, he would have been able to prevent the flush of shame that flooded through her. He stirred uncertainly as she abruptly stood up to leave.
“Th-thank you for your help tonight.” she stammered, failing to hold together her facilities. “I’m s-sorry for the trouble.”
Jasper’s expression faltered at the tremulous crack in her voice. He immediately softened apologetically, but the damage had already been done. “Aurelia--” he leaned forward.
She shrank away. “-- I’d better go find the others now.”
Before she turned and scampered down the dark hallway, Jasper noted with alarm a glossiness in her eyes. He kept twenty steps behind her as he followed her upstairs to where her inebriated friends were gathered. The girl immediately reached for her best friend who rubbed her back in worry. What’s wrong? he saw Claudie mouth. Jasper watched Aurelia’s shoulders shake - she was crying. A dreadful pang of guilt hit Jasper in the stomach, and he disappeared as easily as he’d came. He wasn't right for her.
