"He said he loved me! He-He told me that he would never leave me!" she wailed. "I never want to see that stupid vampire again!"

To my surprise, I pulled her into my chest. I'd never gotten this close to a human that I wasn't going to enjoy for dinner. She buried her face into my shoulder and let loose a torrent of tears. Each exhale was adding extra fragrance to the already saturated air. I struggled to keep my composure.

"Shhh," I crooned. "It's okay."

"You can eat me if you want," she cried. "I don't want to be alive anymore."

"Don't ever say that," I scolded her. She shouldn't have even thought of telling me that. Not only was it a very intense course of action, but I needed no more temptation to devour her whole at that point. Her scent was so delicious.

I had to keep telling myself that I would stay calm, that no harm would come to her.

She said nothing after that. Her breathing and the occasional sob were the only noises. It gave me a chance to think of why Alice would do this to me. She's the one who said that I had kept her waiting when we met that fateful day, that we belonged together. It blew my mind that the thought of being with Edward would have passed through her mind. She was the one who wanted me when we first met.

I wondered how long it had been going on. She had been acting strange lately. I did see the occasional sidelong glance between her and Edward. I just thought that she was talking to him. Apparently it had been a thought of a different caliber than we all we used to. Sure, we knew they had a little system down. She would ask a question in her mind that was directed to Edward, he would answer with a slight nod or shake of the head. We let them think that they were being terribly sneaky.

Perhaps we should have mentioned that I knew what they were doing with their thoughts. Maybe it would have stopped the progression of the relationship. Then again, maybe it wouldn't. Maybe it would have only postponed the inevitable.

At least Bella and I would have had a few more moments of happiness.

After an immeasurable amount of time had passed, she fell asleep in my arms. I shifted her to the passenger seat and her head lolled onto my shoulder. I started the truck and drove her home.

"Bella," I whispered into her ear when we had pulled up to her house.

"Yes?" she groaned.

"We're at your house. It's time for you to go inside."

She frowned, just remembering why her eyes were hurting her, I assumed. She looked up at me, eyes wide. "Why?" she whimpered. I knew she was talking about Edward.

"Who knows," I answered, looking ahead. "Perhaps he did not think of the consequences, losing a lovely girl. You deserve better than him anyway, Bella. Try to get some sleep. It'll be good for you."

She nodded. "Good night, Jasper," she whispered before exiting the car. I watched her walk to the door, look back to the car, then go inside.