Love Your Enemy

Jasper walked by my side, in our usual pace, outside the house. The garden was lined with thick forest, but the woods were something I’d never feared. I wore a heavy jacket, even though June was nearing its end.

Jasper, he helped me. The last week had been strange, but he was telling me about vampirism, and to tell the truth, it doesn’t seem as terrifying coming from one of them, and not the old legends about the cold ones.

But I still looked at it as plan B. I was more motivated for plan A - a new round of chemo.

“What’s on your mind?” He asked me softly and stopped.
I turned and stared up at the face I had grown so used to. His beauty was impossible to deny.
“The future.”
“Let’s worry about that some other day, Liv,” Jasper smiled at me and stroked his fingers over my cheek.
I blushed.

He did that often, small touches, our skin meeting. He’d explained to me how he had to fight against his instincts to be this close to me, and how he had to practice before it would feel natural.

“Jasper,” I whispered and stared at the ground. “What are we doing? What are we?”
He lifted my face with one delicate finger under my chin. “We are whatever we are, Olive, we are whatever you want us to be.”
I blinked and took a step away from him, but took his hand in mine. “I want space,” I said truthfully.

Jasper stared into my eyes and smiled. I smiled back before I noticed he wasn’t paying attention to me anymore, he was searching with his eyes through the woods.

I yelped as he roughly pushed me behind himself and crouched down in a tense stance.
“Jasper, what is going on?” I asked in a hushed voice.
“Someone is out there…” He trailed off.
“You are scaring me!” I raised my voice slightly.

“Shh,” he whispered under his breath and I heard the rustling sound of leaves being brushed and sticks snapping.
But the sound wasn’t unusual to me; it was so familiar my heart thudded with delight.

A growl rumbled through Jasper chest as the white pawed, gigantic gray wolf stepped out from the dark forest. The smile grew on my face and I put my hand on Jasper's shoulder.
“It’s okay,” I said and stepped around him.

I threw myself against the wolf’s enormous fur coated shoulder and buried my face behind his ear. A sound familiar to a laugh escaped the wolf’s muzzle. He nudged me before he walked backwards into the woods again.

“Who was he?” Jasper asked me, looking closed off, but standing straight again.
I grinned. “It was Robbie!”
“I should leave,” Jasper said and disappeared into the woods, in the other direction from where the wolf had gone.

And there he was, my uncle, the marine, in all his tall glory. He strode over to me and lifted me off the ground and spun me around.
“Look at you, so beautiful! How long has it been, shortie?”
I giggled. “A year and a half.”
“Well, it’s been too long, anyway, Livvy. How are you doing?”
I looked away. “You know.”
He patted my head. “I know.”

“Why haven’t anybody told me you were coming?” I asked him accusingly and changed the subject.
“Because I told your father and Oliver not to tell anyone,” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and we headed for the house.
“Not fair,” I mumbled.
“I did it because – drum roll, please – you’ll get to see your mother’s reaction when she sees me,” he winked at me.