WHEN IT RAINS ━━ jasper hale

viii. on my lips

CHAPTER EIGHT:
ON MY LIPS

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TWENTY-FOUR HOURS. ONE more day until the Volturi would arrive in Forks' and Ofelia and the witnesses would put their lives on the line for the Cullens, for little Renesmee, who now looked about eight-years-old but still clung to her mother's hip like a toddler. The tension in the air was more prevalent than ever. Everyone was either training, hunting, or spending borrowed time with their loved ones. They would've killed to have had Alice's gift in that moment, to know what the outcome of tomorrow would be. No one wanted to die with things left unsaid, Ofelia included. There was a lot she carried with her, but twenty-four hours was nowhere enough time to let it out into the world, to put it to rest in a shallow grave. So she kept it to herself, simply watching as covens held each other just that bit tighter, no one wanting to stray too far.

Apart from Jasper, Peter and Charlotte were the only ones who Ofelia would truly feel the loss of. Well, if she didn't die first, that is. She wanted them to know how much she cared, even loved the three of them, but the words just wouldn't come. They knew, though, or at least she hoped they did.

Before they knew it, dawn had faded into dusk, and there was nothing left to delay the inevitable. Under the soft haze of a pale pink and yellow sky, the group of witnesses set off into the forest, moving like silent, obedient soldiers through the trees, one after the other, a line of walking corpses. The Cullens had deemed it safer to set up camp and wait on the outskirts of the clearing than it was to stay at the house and potentially be the victims of a sudden surprise attack. Ofelia definitely wasn't looking forward to a long night camping, none of the witnesses were, but she didn't complain as she followed after Peter and Charlotte, silently helping the couple put up a tent once they arrived. Sure, they couldn't sleep, but it would be nice if they wanted a second of privacy. And after hearing Renesmee kicking and screaming in her mother's arms about how she 'didn't want to be the only one left inside' Ofelia had taken it upon herself to help the girl out, insisting that Renesmee built her little tent beside her own. After that, she had done so happily, tugging Bella and Edward along with an eagerness that only a child could possess.

And with that, it was night time. Nothing but a mere eight hours remained until everything would change forever. The air was cold and icy against their skin, but Jacob and Benjamin had set up a fire in the centre of the ring of tents. The humans and a few of the vampires who didn't mind the close proximity to fire huddled around it with Renesmee at their feet, her tiny hands tucked into a pair of woolly mittens, until it was time for her to sleep and Bella had to forcefully carry her back to her tent. Without her constant chatter filling the air, it was now dead silent, the wary vampires standing around motionless in the shadows. Peter and Charlotte were among the group, but Ofelia had separated from them when she spotted Jasper taking a seat opposite Jacob Black. She tucked herself into Jasper's side, stubbornly ignoring his smile as her eyes met Jacob's through the flames.