The Rise of Lydia Rowe ↠ Jasper Hale (ON HOLD)

[1.10] monster

THE CULLENS RETURNED to school the next day. As Lydia picked at her meager salad, she could feel eyes on her from the direction of the Cullens' table. She felt uneasy, knowing—possibly knowing—what she knew. If she was right about what they were, she wondered if they were aware that she knew.

And what they would do when they did know.

The bronze-haired one—Edward—was staring at her, at least when he wasn't sneaking glances at Bella Swan. She could feel his eyes on her back, studying her. It unnerved her. She tried to distract herself by listening to the conversation going on at the table, but her thoughts kept returning to the Cullens.

When the bell for AP French rang, Lydia took her time walking to the classroom, going so far as to pause at her locker to stall for time. She wanted to get to AP French as soon as the bell rang to begin class, which would limit the amount of time Jasper or Rosalie would have to talk to her.

It was almost funny—days after the Cullens stopped ignoring her, she started avoiding them.

She sat down in her desk seconds before the bell rang, giving her a sense of relief. The teacher began class immediately, thankfully taking up the entire time explaining concepts from the chapter. Lydia tried to focus on what the teacher was saying, willing herself not to keep thinking about what the Cullens might or might not be.

As soon as the bell rang, Lydia was out of her seat, rushing out of the door as quickly as she could without looking too suspicious. She made a beeline for the gym, thanking the universe when she made it there without any contact with a Cullen.

Lydia was, for once, dreading her last class of the day. The teacher rarely taught the whole time, which gave the students a chance to socialize before the final bell. With Jasper Hale right behind her, Lydia didn't know how she could keep avoiding her problems.

Just as she'd feared, her honors physics teacher gave them the last five or so minutes to chat amongst themselves. As soon as the classroom filled with light chatter, there was a gentle tap on Lydia's shoulder.

She hesitated before turning around. The look on Jasper's face said it all—they knew that she knew, or at least, that she suspected.

"I think we need to talk," Jasper said softly, his voice the opposite of a threat. Still, Lydia tried not to fall into a false sense of security.

"Yeah," Lydia murmured, not meeting his gaze. "I think we do."

When school ended, Lydia sent Gwen a quick text, telling her that she was going to get a ride home with Jasper and not to worry about her. Gwen's reply was far too enthusiastic to warrant the situation, but Lydia couldn't blame her. Her best friend had no idea that Lydia was about to have a one-on-one conversation with someone who could potentially be a vampire.

God, are psychotic delusions apart of PTSD?

She knew the answer to that, but it did little to comfort her.

Jasper led her to the silver Volvo that Lydia usually saw Edward driving. With Edward nowhere in sight and the keys in Jasper's hand, Lydia assumed he was getting a ride with one of their other siblings.

The car was silent as Jasper maneuvered out of the parking lot. They were driving down a calm street with trees on either side when Jasper finally spoke. "You know."

Lydia hesitated, staring ahead at the stretch of road in front of them. "Maybe," she finally replied.

She saw Jasper glance at her from her peripheral vision, before asking, "Are you afraid of me?"