empathy

FORTY-FOUR

Time is relative. It's a concept Anastasia could never quite grasp up until this moment. 

His grip on her waist seems to be the source of the goosebumps covering her body. Or maybe it's the feeling of his lips against her collar bone slowly trailing back up to her lips. Her hands are pushed between them, her fingers barely touching the skin exposed by his unbuttoned shirt as she lets them ascend to his stomach. 

When his lips meet hers once more, time seems to slow down. It's like the massive amount of raw emotions forces their bodies to both shut down and tense up. It's weird, really.

They want to let themselves sink into each other's embrace but at the same time, they want to do anything but that. They want to get even closer because skin on skin doesn't seem to be working anymore. It's not nearly enough. 

Her mouth opens in a gasp when he sneaks his hands beneath her shirt, pushing up her sides until they're hovering above her bra. His tongue brushes against hers and Anastasia buckles her hips closer to his as heat courses through her body. 

A cold hand on her cheek blurs the image and Anastasia pulls back in confusion. Definitely no hand. Japer slips away from in front of her and she shoots up in her bed, looking around with a pant.

"Nice dream?" Jasper smirks from beside her.

Staring at him for a moment, Anastasia eventually lets herself fall back into her mattress.

"What do you want?" "Your emotions gut rather strong, I got curious," his smirk never leaves his face. "So, what did I do?" "Who said you were in it?" Anastasia raises a brow at him. 

His eyes narrow but that stupid grin doesn't waver. "So, who was it?"

"Alice. Or maybe it was Aurelia, I'm sure they have some tricks up their sleeves. Hm, do you think they would let me join in?" her own lips curl into an innocent smile. "Probably. if you'd ask nicely," he shrugs. 

"Wait, really?" she sits back up and crosses her legs beneath her. "Probably," he nods. "You seem awfully calm about this," Anastasia points out. "I trust you not to ask. Or well, no. I trust you to ask but to say no when they agree."

"Hm," she hums and tilts her head. "We still need to talk about this," she adds, successfully changing the subject. "You want to talk about it now? At four in the morning?"

"Well, we'll have to do it sometime." "You want me to get you something beforehand. A glass of water, a snack, fresh underwear?" he is not quite ready yet to lose the easiness. 

Grabbing the pillow from behind her, she flings it at him. "A glass of water would be nice, though."

Looking at him in appreciation when he speeds off to get one, she takes it and takes a sip. 

"You should've told me," she points out straight away. "You didn't have the right to keep this from me. And there is no doubt in my mind you thought you were doing the right thing, that you were helping me somehow but it wasn't your call to make. You can't just keep this from me and wait for things to go south. Because that would mean I'd have to make a choice without getting the chance to think it over. Which, to be fair, wouldn't have been a problem just what, a moment ago? But then you shouldn't have made me care. You can't make me care about something and let it get ripped from my hands," Anastasia tells him, her voice rising just a tiny bit. 

"And it's not like it's an easy decision. I mean, personal preference aside, my choice will affect Antonina. If I chose to go with what I want, I'd leave her alone. She wouldn't have anyone anymore. And it would influence you, too, wouldn't it?" she just keeps on rambling, forgetting the point she was trying to make. 

"My point is, you can't keep something like this to yourself when it concerns me. Not when it's a secret like that."

"Is there anything else you want to get off your chest?" he asks her, his voice oddly understanding.  "No, I don't think so," she shakes her head.

"Alright. Everything you just said is true. I shouldn't have kept it to myself. And I did think I was doing the right thing. Although, I'm not sure whether it was the right thing for you or me," Jasper tells her. He really does get where she's coming from. 

"You don't want to be a vampire," he adds after a moment of silence. "I'm sorry," she replies simply. "Don't be. I wouldn't want to become one either. Other than Emmett and maybe Aurelia, I don't think any of us would," he means. 

"And Antonina wouldn't be alone. She'd have us. She'd have them, especially Rose and Emmett. She'd be in good hands." "Sounds like you're talking me into dying," Anastasia points out. 

"Never. I'm just trying to help you."

Leaning over to him, she takes his face in her hands and presses a gentle kiss on his lips. "Thank you." "Anything for you, darling."

Jasper starts to smile when he can feel her own smile against his lips and pulls her into another kiss. 

"I think I might have fallen in love with you," Anastasia mumbles so quietly she almost didn't catch it herself. 

"I think I might have fallen for you, too, darling."

--- -- -

They said it... well, kind of

Also, I just realised I missed chapter seven; oopsies