"You have grown flowers in parts of me that I thought were already dead. Do you have any idea the emptiness you have killed just by existing?"
Or, alternatively, in which Jasper Hale falls in love with the very fragile, very human Analise Rivers.
[...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
When Ana was finally home, away from all of the vampires she had encountered today, she was surprised to find her mother laying on the couch instead of in her own bed. "Mom?"
Ana peered around the sofa, only to see the usually very secure Katie Rivers bundled up with tears falling down her face. "Lissy," Katie breathed.
"Mom? Momma, what's wrong?" Ana rushed over to Katie as fast as her legs would carry her. She sat on her knees and began rubbing her mother's back soothingly. When Katie didn't respond, Ana realized that it was the same problem it always was; Evan Rivers.
When Ana had gotten sick, her parents had promised her that they would get through brain cancer as a family. It wasn't technically a lie, but the minute that Ana had gone into remission, Evan Rivers went to their home, packed up his belongings, and left without any notice. The only evidence the two of them had to prove Evan had ever existed in their lives was a note that had his messy handwriting on it, stating, "I'm sorry. I love you both. Be good, Banana." What a great way to celebrate remission, right?
It had been almost 6 months since the occurrence. Ana and Katie had learned how to make it through their day to day since, but every couple of weeks Ana would find her mother like this; bundled under 3 blankets, nothing on tv, no sound in the room other than her quiet sobs. Every time, without fail, it broke Ana's heart.
"Hold on." Ana left her mother's side to go to the kitchen. She grabbed two spoons and the strawberry ice cream from the freezer. Katie hadn't moved when Ana returned to the couch. Ana handed her mother the tools for any type of sadness and put in the one movie that she knew was Katie's favorite; Pulp Fiction.
Katie sat herself up against the arm of the sofa and wiped her tears away as Ana nestled herself under the blankets. "Thank you," she whispered.
Ana nodded and took the ice cream from Katie. "I might fall asleep," she said, digging her spoon into the already melting strawberry goodness.
"That's okay, baby, thank you for sitting with me." Katie caressed Ana's cheek. As she stared at her, Katie realized that her tiny, magical daughter had grown up in the midst of all the chaos surrounding them. Ana was the one thing that Katie was proud of. She wanted to hug her daughter, to pull her in close enough that she could shield her away from the pain and sorrow and filth of the world outside their home. She wanted to tell Ana she was proud of her, not only for her ability to maintain a job and her good grades but also because Ana was generous and kind and innocent, despite everything she had been through.
Katie looked over at the small girl halfway through the movie to say 'I love you,' but Ana had already fallen asleep.
--
"So, I know all about vampires now. Or, I think so anyway, but what about you? You haven't told me anything really personal," Ana said. She was sitting in the middle of her bed, legs crossed. Jasper was sitting at her desk.
