Circling Stars

🌟Chapter 9🌟

By December fifteenth a healthy blanket of snow covered the town; it was both picturesque and blinding. This was my favorite time of year, the lights, the snow, giving gifts, drinking peppermint caramel hot chocolate, and being with friends. My parents would be back next week and I was excited to see them again.

Jasper and I spent more and more time together, it was fun and nothing scary or weird had happened since the window break. He'd gently gone into detail about the first hundred years he was a vampire. That time in his life was pretty gruesome and horrifying. Feeling the emotions of his victims and having been so grossly deceived into believing the sick and twisted relationship he had with that bitch, Maria, was love. The shame was written onto his face and burned in his eyes. I held him and assured him this did nothing to change my feelings for him and he wasn't that person anymore. Jasper didn't say anything and I kept my arms around him for a long time.  

The rest of Jasper's family would be coming back for Christmas in a few days. I was excited and a little nervous to meet them. Alice sounded alright, and from what she'd written about Sven he seemed fun, he was also human like me. For the last few days Alice and I had been exchanging emails. Jasper told me it would be better for me to get to know her before she showed up. Emmett sounded a lot like Brandon so I wasn't worried there. Rosalie was more of a wildcard. While Emmett was pretty easy going and likable Rosalie could be, Jasper used the word difficult. I translated that as mean occasionally and bitchy.

There were plenty of reasons to be joyful but a small thundercloud also hung in my sky. Riley. He wasn't showing up at school often and when he did, well, it wasn't good. He looked pale and thinner. Like he was sick or grossly neglecting himself. Brandon claimed that he was rarely ever home but stayed in touch with him. While I was glad to hear that he hadn't cut everyone out of his life, I was still really concerned. Something was going on with him and it had to be a lot bigger than whatever was between the two of us. I just didn't know what or how to figure out what I could do to help him. 

While I was still angry I didn't want him to walk down a path that he couldn't or worse, didn't want to reverse. Had their parents been alive and the brothers not legally declared able to be on their own, I imagine that the school would have gotten involved by now. Shirl didn't know anything more than I did and it frustrated both of us. That was why we were both looking forward to our double date; we needed a break.

🌟 

Jasper was driving my truck, having claimed superior reflexes, as it was better for winter. Shirl and Brandon were waiting for us at the main gate. I gave her a hug and the boys shook hands.

"What should we do first?" Shirl was eye-balling the card reading stand.

"Let's go get our fortunes told." I rolled my eyes. She practically jogged over there.

"Why is there even card reading here." I mumbled. "That's a Halloween thing."

"Why not?" Brandon shrugged. "People spend money on it." An assistant welcomed us and opened the cloth doorway so we could step in.

The woman inside the booth was about thirty five, she had a lightly lined face, and very dark, very long curly hair. But her most striking feature were her two bright gold eyes. Eyes that matched Japer's and those of his family when they were well fed. Jasper wrapping a protective arm around my waist as we sat confirmed my suspicions. Her booth was fairly ordinary, it was covered in heavy dark material that actually kept most of the cold out, a little space heater at the woman's feet also helped. She wore a long silver necklace, thin rings on each finger, and a robe that wouldn't look out of place on the set of a medieval t.v. show. Her booth was just big enough for the five of us to sit comfortably.