Endless Secrets

Alice gazed at Jasper, smiling lightly. Her eyes were filled with love as he remembered everything she’d grown to love about him; his wavy golden hair that matched his golden eyes, his smooth jawline, the shape of his nose, the way he sometimes slipped back into a Texan accent, his past with the confederate army and with Maria…

She loved everything about him. But she couldn’t stand seeing him look so lost. Alice knew that her family thought it was normal, his expression. They thought he was still struggling with his thirst for human blood – which was true – but that wasn’t it. Something was wrong, but she couldn’t find the problem. Jasper used to tell her everything; he used to tell her what he thought on a daily basis, bits of his past, what he wanted before he’d become a vampire.

Alice sighed unhappily. She only wanted to help her love, but she couldn’t if he wouldn’t talk to her. What had happened in the past year? He’d only grown so distant after what had happened with the Volturi. Or perhaps it all started when they left to find the hybrid. Alice knew Jasper still felt out of place in their family – did he want to leave? She would do it, for him. Nothing was holding her back – she loved her family, but she loved Jasper more.

Jasper looked up and frowned at Alice, sensing her distress. Though he gave her a reassuring smile as their eyes locked, she could see the sadness in his eyes. Alice looked away and tried to concentrate on his future; she wanted to see what decisions she would made. She knew it was rude to look into someone’s future without asking, but she couldn’t help it – she had to know.

“Who are you?” Jasper asked a woman standing before him. Her image was blurry; Alice couldn’t see who it was. She was sure neither she nor Jasper had seen her before – at least not in their time together.

“Silvia. And you’re Jasper Whitlock.” The woman replied, her voice light and musical.

“I haven’t been Whitlock for a long time, ma’am.” He replied, his southern accent just barely finding its way through the words.

“You’ll always be Jasper Whitlock. That’s what I like about you.” The woman murmured, starting to back away.

Jasper jumped towards her, grabbing her arm. Her skin was warm, like a human’s. To say he was confused would be an understatement. “Wait!” He hissed, pulling Silvia back towards him. She pulled her arm out of his grasp. “What—what are you?” Jasper asked her, his confusion evident.

Red eyes flashed through the blurred face. “Your guess is as good as mine.” She sent Jasper a wolfish grin and ran off before he had the chance to say anything else. He jumped up to follow her, but she was already gone.

Alice blinked. Who—who was that? Silvia? She was no good, Alice was sure of that.

Jasper looked up at her with narrowed eyes, about to ask about what she’d just seen. “Just checking on the Volturi.” Alice murmured quickly, looking away from him. She didn’t want him to know she was digging through his future.

Jasper was in the forest again. He’d gotten angry at Edward, who’d been digging through his thoughts again, and had run off. He wasn’t sure where he was – Montana, maybe. He was nowhere close to his family, of that he was sure. That would be why he was so surprised when he heard his name being called in the familiar, musical voice.

“Jasper, darling, what are you doing so far away from home?”

He turned, looking desperately for who’d spoken. Jasper couldn’t see her, nor could he smell her. He couldn’t sense anything – almost as if she’d never been here, as if the voice was in his head.

“Jasper, you’re not looking hard enough.”

There she was again. But where? Jasper grabbed his hair and pulled at it painfully, desperately looking for the woman.

“You’re not strong enough, Jasper.”

Strong? He thought he was strong. He’d been second-in-command for a newborn army; he had the skills and scars to prove it.

“I know what you’ve done. It’s your lifestyle, darling.”

What was wrong with the way he lived? Jasper was living a good life, he thought. He drank from animals rather than humans – it was the right thing to do. He tried being as human as possible.

“You’re not human. You’re a vampire, Jasper. Vampires were made to drink human blood.”

The thought of drinking from humans again made him sick. He felt like a monster when he did it. Jasper could feel their fear, their pain. He knew he longed for the taste of it again, but he wouldn’t do it. He wouldn’t betray his family, not Alice.

“It’s always about Alice. Never me – what about me, Jasper? Am I a monster?”

Jasper wanted to say no, but he couldn’t speak. He dropped to the ground and curled into a ball, nails digging into his skin. Go away, he thought, just leave me alone!

“I said, am I a monster?”

She didn’t shout at him. She never did. But he could feel the venom in her voice; he could feel how disappointed she was. It was her sadness that got to him. He let out a choked sob and started to shake, unable to cry properly.

He felt her soft lips on his ear; her delicate hand petting his hair, the other rubbing his shoulder.

“It’s okay, Jasper. I know I am. I’m a monster. A terrible monster.”

He felt her lips brush his cheek, then she was gone. As sadistic as it seemed, he wanted her back. He needed her desperately.



“Come on, Jasper. You can do it.” The woman whispered into his ear, her hand holding his.

Jasper shook his head. “No—I don’t want to ruin it, Silver.”

“You’re not ruining anything. You’re making yourself better.” She assured him, giving him a light push towards the alley that a young woman had just gone down.

“Silver, I don’t—“

“Hush. It’s okay. No one is going to hate you.” Knowing he wouldn’t do it on his own, she pulled him down the alley until the woman was right in front of them. “She’s a criminal, Jasper. You saw her do it. You’re only doing what’s right.”

Jasper shook his head. He couldn’t do it. Silver let out a sigh, then grabbed the woman and pulled her towards them. The woman started to scream, but Silver smacked her. Blood fell from her lips. She raked her nails down the trembling woman’s arm, causing blood to gush out from it.

“Jasper, we don’t have all night.” Silver told him, smiling. She pushed the sobbing girl into his arms.

Jasper’s eyes turned black and widened as he stared down at the girl. His eyes made their way to the pale neck, where he could see veins. He licked his lips – then bit down.

He didn’t stop.

Alice pulled herself out with a gasp and jumped from her seat, trembling. This woman – Silvia – would ruin him. She would ruin everything she and Jasper had worked for. She was going to push Jasper too far. But, most importantly, she was going to take Jasper away from her. Alice didn’t know if she could change that.

“What happened?” Jasper asked her, eyes full of concern. “Did they change their minds? Are they coming back?”

Alice gave him a weak smile and shook her head. “No…just something troubling is going to happen – nothing to do with us. I didn’t mean to worry you.” She walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders smiling up at him gently. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down, pushing their foreheads together. Alice stood on her toes to push herself up the last inch or so, connecting their lips. They were like clockwork, working perfectly in motion – he and Alice belonged together.

Though Alice wanted Jasper to be happy, and would almost happily step back if he found someone new, she knew this Silvia was not making him happy. Silvia was going to ruin everything if Alice allowed her to touch Jasper. Alice was not going to let that happen. She wouldn’t let Silvia ruin Jasper.