Jared Whitlock; Daughter of Jasper Hale

Chapter 61: Inexperienced Tour Guide

"Ok, fried chicken, great, uh, thanks." I mumble. "So can we be twins?" He jokes. I look up at him. I laugh. "No." I smirk. He pouts like a child. "I'll give you more chicken." He suggests in a sing song voice. Man, this guy can tease. What a bribe. Hard to resist. "No, no more chicken. I barely eat. Anyway, I came here to accept your offer from last week."

I stand up, all professional and business-like. He smiles, amused. "What offer?" He takes the plate into the kitchen. I follow him in. Ramona, who's been hiding at the kitchen table, runs out. Francesco tuts at her.

"Don't mind her, she'll get better with this, uh, situation." He apologises, firmly. "Don't worry, I've had a lot of cold shoulder in my past." I assure, with a smile. "Sorry, uh, what were you saying?" He tries again, he puts away the plate. "You mentioned giving me a tour of the city." I remind. "Oh, yes, of course!" His mood changes, he lights up from within. "Yes, why not?" He grabs his car keys. "What, now?" I ask, I'm surprised. "Yes, anything for you."
"Right now? Have you got the time?" I ask, he nods. He says goodbye to Selene and Nico. Ramona is no where to be seen.

"I'll see you later, sweetheart." He calls up the stairs to her. No answer. "Ok then, if you don't want to talk." He says, with a question in his voice. Still no reply. He sighs.
"Come on senora," We leave.

Half an hour later, I'm sitting beside Francesco in his car, in the middle of a huge traffic jam, just outside of the city. Yeah, great tour.
"Uh," Francesco starts. "If you could take a look to your left, you will see the magnificent Colosseum, where fantastic plays are held each year, it is one of Italy's famous tourist attractions." He says proudly, trying to the make up for his lack of knowledge.

"It's amazing," I smile, which relieves him. "When was it built?" I ask. He looks off guard. "Uh, probably um, tenth, eleventh century." He bluffs, uncertainly. The traffic moves for a second and we gladly drive a few feet before stopping again. "Oh, and look at this amazing Church here. What a magnificent building!" He says with enthusiasm. "There are uh, very nice carvings on the walls." He trails off. "Um, yeah, typical Italian carvings, very uh, Italian."

"Francesco, be honest. Have you ever done a tour before?" I ask. He smiles sheepishly. "Did you know, on the London Eye, there are 32 pods but due to superstitious reasons, there is no number thirteen. Instead it jumps from twelve to fourteen." He distracts me quickly.

I roll my eyes playfully. "Yes, well as interesting as that sounds, tell me the truth." I demand, smirking. He looks at me. "Well, I've done a tour a few times with tourists." He defends, quietly. "What kind of tour?" I sit up interested. He looks sheepish and embarassed. "I help Heidi bring humans into the throne room. So the masters can feed." He mumbles, looking down at the floor. I felt sick.

"What? Why would you do that? You're a human! Why would you want to work for them in the first place?" I'm exasperated. "It's a job, senora. A way of life." He sighs. "Is that what your father would have wanted?" I ask. He shakes his head. "My father was a psychiatrist and if I told him I worked for vampires, I'd end up in his strait jacket." He defends. Ok, he has a point. "Either way, my family are happy. Ramona is a promising artist and Nicolette loves sports. I have an attractive wife and a homey house. I think that's quite an achievement." He says.

"I am very happy for my sixty two years." He continues. "What about you Senora? If you weren't a vampire, would you have had children?" He asks, the traffic jam eventually moves. "Uh, yeah, I guess. Due to my um, grandfather being an inspiration, I would have liked to adopt." I say. He looks surprised. "You have a grandfather? He adopted children?" He asks, eyes wide.

I chuckle slightly. "It's a bit confusing. See, my 'grandparents' are only in their late twenties, early thirties, so when they became vampires, they couldn't concieve naturally." I break off to see if he gets the idea. He's nodding as he drives. "So," I continue. "They adopted children, well teenagers, they found in their paths. Take Edward for example, Carlisle turned him when he was one of his paitents." I explain carefully. "I see," He nods.

"So, are there many of you at home?" He asks. "Well, the Cullen clan has seven and a half members, I guess." I trail off. "Who's the half?" He smirks. We pull up on his driveway. "Bella, Edward's girlfriend. Still human." I grit my teeth. I worry for Bella's safety.

"But then there's also Uncle Peter and Aunt Charlotte, who Jasper met before he joined the Cullens. I lived with them before spending more time with Jasper." I finish.
We jump out of the car. "I know it's difficult." I assure. "I have trouble with it from time to time." He smiles at me with my comment. "So, you've never met your father's true parents?" He asks me, while we step into the house.

"No, Jasper's never told me about his childhood. As far as I'm concerned, Carlisle and Esme are my true grandparents. Sometimes the bond means more than the blood." I confirm. He nods. "I completely agree." He smiles. "Do you have any adopted family?" I ask him. He shakes his head. "A friend of mine used to foster children. It didn't work out well." He sighs.

My phone starts ringing. I look around for it, Francesco helps. "I left it here, where is it?" I cry out. Near the couch, the noise increases. It's wedged between two sofa cushions. I pick it up quickly. I press the answer button. "Hello?"

"Jared? Honey is that you?!" I jump up quickly and rush into the kitchen for privacy. "Alice? What's up?" I haven't heard from her in a week or so. "You have to come home! Permanently! You can't stay with the Volturi!" She's sounds desperate. "Why? What's happened? Is it Reeve?" I ask.
"Damn Reeve! Forget about her! She's lied to you again!" She shrieks.

"What are you talking about?" I cry. "Where are you? I'm coming to take you home!" She yells. "You're at that servant's house, right? I'm coming to get you, I'm around the corner!" She's gasping. "Wait! You're in Italy?" This is news to me.
"Yes, almost there!" She yells over. "Alice please will you tell me what's going on!"

She hangs up. Damn it. "Jared!" Francesco calls. "What?" I rush out of the kitchen. "There's someone outside!" He is standing, peering through his window. Alice has parked outside, she's clambering out of the car. "That's her, give me a minute." I pull open the front door and run to her. "Get in the car! We've no time to lose!" She screeches at me. I pull out of her grasp. "Alice, please!" I yell.

She sighs, looks around nervously. "I did some research, into Reeve's family." She peers around again. "And?" I question. "Viktor's a stepfather." She says. "Ok, so what's the problem?" I ask, exasperated. "Aro and Nevina aren't siblings. Reeve isn't his niece." She cuts off. She takes a deep breath.

"She's his daughter."