When Worlds Collide

On my next day off I decided I would take another stab at taking a hike through the woods that were surrounding me on all sides. I didn’t bother to tell Edward because he would have insisted on coming and all I wanted was some alone time to adjust and just think.

The green canopy dripped down on me even though it hadn’t snowed in days. The longer I walked through the mud, the shorter my breaths came out. I really wasn’t in as good of shape as I thought I was. I thought as I swiped a drop of sweat from my brow. My muscles burned as I continued on, but I found it soothing. It meant I was doing something productive, which was something I felt lacked when I was with the Cullen’s. They wanted to do everything for me, which at times I didn’t mind, but I was raised to do my own work and be good at it. I wasn’t used to this pampered princess lifestyle. I began to think of a nice way to break it to Edward without hurting his poor male ego.

I stopped walking for a moment and took a long drag off my water bottle. That was when I heard the noise coming from a set of trees to my right.

“Oh please don’t be something that wants to eat me.” I whispered, becoming as still as possible.
Moments passed and nothing emerged, I shrugged it off as a rabbit or bird.

I continued on my path remembering to take note of landmarks as I passed so I wouldn’t become hopelessly lost and need my boyfriend to rescue me again. I looked to the ground as a branch snagged my pants, a metallic sheen in the muddy underbrush caught my attention. I swiped away the debris and found a tarnished charm bracelet.

“I wonder how long you’ve been out here?” I asked holding up the dainty thing to the green hued light, a faint tinkle sounding through the air. I took a moment to sit on a fallen log and study the bracelet. It had been silver at one time, with numerous charms in the shape of a ballet slipper, music note, cross, monkey, and tea cup. There were rungs where it appeared other charms had once been held in place. It looked to have once belonged to a teenager by the size of it. I slipped it in my pocket and stood back up again ready to begin hiking back home for lunch.

Just as I sequestered myself into the dry warmth of my car my phone began to ring from the glove compartment. I reached over, turned the latch and reached for my phone.

“Hello?” I asked fishing the muddy bracelet out of my pocket, fingering the dirty charms and staring at it once again. Something about it gave me a lonely feeling.

“Hey cousin! Long time no hear from!” Jessie called through the line.

I began to wonder what happened to the owner? Had she lost it on a family trip into the woods? How much time had she spent searching for her lost bracelet? Did she search at all? What if she had gotten lost in the woods and never made her way out? What if something had gotten to her before she could?

“Hello? Jasmine are you there? Earth to Jasmine!”

“Huh? What happened?” I asked confused, connecting to the sound of my cousin’s voice to bring me back to reality.

“I should be asking you the same thing? What is up with you?”

“Oh nothing. I was just thinking about a bracelet I found in the woods right now. I think I can clean it up make it look like new again.” I said slipping it back into my pocket. I shouldered my phone and put the keys in the ignition as snow began to filter down from the sky. I looked up through my windshield.

“Well that was good timing.” I said cranking the heater on.

“What’s that?”

“It just started snowing. Hopefully this time it will be enough for me to get my first white Christmas. So far the rain has been making it a slushy mess. I want my damn Hallmark Christmas!” I exclaimed putting the Impala in drive and making a quick u-turn on the empty street and driving back to my apartment.

“Yes I know. That’s all you’ve ever wanted since you were a little girl and you know what?” She said sarcastically.

“What?” I said trying to balance the phone and look both ways at the intersection.

“It’s going to be as sucky as people who have lived in the snow have told you and you’re going to get your little kiddy dreams crushed.” She said exacerbated.

“You are such a bitch!” I laughed doing a California stop as I began to make my way closer to the main town and but I wasn’t quick enough.

“Shit! A cop I gotta go!” I said throwing my phone to the floor of my car, but it was too late. He turned his lights on and began to follow me down the road.

“Ugh I was so close! Damn you Jessie distracting me I would have heard him if you didn’t talk so much shit!” I grumbled pulling to the side of the road and waited for the cop to approach my window. When he finally came into view he was every small town cop stereotype rolled into one. I let out one good snort before rolling down my window.

“Do you know why I stopped you today miss?” His mustache moved with every word he spoke. It took every bit of self-restraint to not laugh.

“No officer?”

He leaned down on the glass of my window. I internally cringed and it came out before I could stop it.

“Officer would you mind not leaning on the window? It could damage the window and fall out of alignment and that is beyond a pain to fix.”

He raised an eyebrow at this behind his aviator sunglasses. “You’re the new girl in town aren’t you? Jasmine…Something.”

“Yeah, I’m uh Jasmine Notte.” I said thoroughly freaked out that a cop knew my name.

“Look Miss. Notte I’m Chief Swan. I hear you’re doing good work at the hospital with the doctors so I’m going to let you off with a warning. We don’t like trouble makers around here. Got it?”

“Yes sir.” Trouble makers? What was I 16? He rapped his knuckles on the door of my car and began to walk away. I breathed a sigh of relief. I got away with it!

“Oh Jasmine?”

“Yes sir?” I asked sticking my head out the window.

“Put the phone away while driving.” He said as he got back into his squad car.

“Damn it!” I laughed putting the car back into drive and for the first time since I was 16 followed every single rule laid out in the driver’s Ed guide as Chief Swan followed me until I made the turn into my complex parking lot.

Edward was waiting for me in a guest parking spot as I pulled into my designated slot.

“Hey where have you been?” He asked meeting me at the stairs up to my door.

“I went on a hike, then ran into Johnny Law.” I grimaced

“What?” He laughed.

“Good ol’ Chief Swan made himself known that he don’t like no trouble makers.” I said unlocking my door.

“So you met the Chief?” Edward said closing the door behind him as I threw my muddy clothes by the front door. Edward averted his gaze as I danced my way out of my wet, muddy jeans.

“Oh yeah. Still not sure if he stopped me for talking on my phone while driving or my California stop.” I grunted as I fell to the ground giving my soaked jeans one last tug before they released their death grip on my ankle.

“You shouldn’t talk on the phone while driving. It’s dangerous.” Edward said looking anywhere, but at me.

“I should match my underwear and bra too, but that doesn’t mean I do it.” I replied sitting cross legged on my living room floor. Edward looked incredibly uncomfortable.

I groaned. “I swear you are worse than a Catholic nun on Sunday.” I said walking to my room to grab pants and a clean shirt. “Honestly! You’re how old and you refuse to even look at a partially nude woman. How can you do it?” I said shaking my head walking back into the living room to find him standing in the same position.

“It’s not that I have never seen a nude woman before..” He said anxiously.

“What? You mean you’ve watched porn?” I smiled, if he could blush, Edward would have been the shade of a cherry red convertible. “Oh come on Edward! Everyone has watched porn at least once in their lives. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Sex is only natural.” I said putting my hands on his shoulders to physically turn him to face me.

“Can we please change the topic?” He pleaded with me.

“No I like this one.” I said guiding him to the couch. “Now as a student of psychology it is my own personal mission, and for personal needs yet undisclosed, we are going to get to the bottom of this issue.” I said sitting him down on the couch next to me.

“You have got to be kidding me?” He said incredulously. “I don’t have a problem with sex. It’s just against my moral code to behave in an untoward way before marriage.”

“Oh darling I love you, but come on! It’s 2012, not 1917 anymore. People don’t fly that way much anymore.”

“So I’m the one in the wrong?” He said irritably.

“I didn’t say that. I just think if we are going to be in a relationship we should be able to talk about these things without you sweating like a sinner in church.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going for a hike?”

This change in topic threw me for a second, “Why do you think I need to tell you everywhere I’m going to be at every moment of the day?” I asked crossly.

“What if you had been hurt?”

“And what if I stub my toe on the way to the kitchen? Do you need to know about that as well?” I asked irritably. I did not like this demanding tone Edward’s voice had taken.

“I’m a big girl Edward I don’t need you to hold my hand every second of my life. I do like my own private time and you should respect that. Why the hell would you want to be with me every second of the day? You know those things we talked about that you do that people go to jail for? This is another one of those things!”

“I just think I have a right to know where you are! What if you got hurt out there and no one knew where you were?” He asked angrily.

“But I didn’t and you don’t have the right to know where I always am! But I do have the right to tell you to get out of my house.” I said standing up and opening the front door. “So leave.” I said crossly.
Edward didn’t say another word as he crossed the living room and walked down the steps. I slammed the door behind him to emphasize me point.

Who the hell did he think he was?