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

[1.17] falling fast

A FEW DAYS LATER, Lydia and Jasper were in her room doing homework. She had a pre-cal test the next day, and since Jasper had been going to high school for about fifty years, he'd offered to help her study.

She probably should have warned him how much she hated math.

Lydia groaned dramatically, her head dropping onto her open textbook. "This is pointless. I'm not going to need math after high school—it's not like I want to be a rocket scientist or something."

Jasper chuckled at her agony. "That may be true, but you need to study so that you can pass the class. I assume the last thing you want to do is repeat the course next year?"

Lydia looked up, glaring playfully at him. "Fine, I guess you're right—but don't get all smug on me. It's not a good look on you."

Then again, was anything not a good look on him?

He smiled at her, no sign of smugness in his expression. "Finish that problem and I'll look it over for you," he suggested, returning his attention to his novel—because even though he had a test the next day in chemistry, he didn't need to study. Perks of being over a hundred years old and having multiple high school diplomas and college degrees, Lydia supposed.

Letting out a sigh, Lydia picked her pencil back up and continued the problem she'd been working on. When she was done, she handed the paper to Jasper before grabbing her phone and responding to a text from Gwen.

"Perfect," Jasper told her after glancing over the problem.

"Oh, thank God," Lydia moaned, shutting her textbook and shoving it away from her. "That's it, I'm done. I'll just wing it tomorrow."

"You'll do fine," Jasper told her, closing his novel and setting it on Lydia's nightstand.

Lydia smiled at him. "I appreciate the confidence, misplaced as it is."

"It isn't misplaced at all," Jasper told her. "You're a smart girl, Lydia."

Lydia's smile grew, her cheeks warming up slightly as she looked away. Her gaze caught on Jasper's wrist, exposed by his short sleeve t-shirt. She frowned, noticing areas of pale, raised skin in circular shapes. "What happened to your wrist?" Lydia asked softly, hoping she wasn't overstepping.

Jasper followed her gaze to his wrist. He cleared his throat, but when Lydia opened her mouth to take her question back and apologize, he said, "They're from my first several decades as a vampire."

Jasper hadn't told her much about his beginnings as a vampire, though she understood that it was likely a sensitive topic for him. All she knew was that he'd been changed while he was in the army at the age of nineteen, and he hadn't joined the Cullens' coven until the 1950s with Alice. 

Lydia sat up, unconsciously reaching a hand toward the scars. She froze, drawing her hand back before Jasper took it, stopping her. "It's alright," he said softly.

Lydia lightly traced the circular scars, feeling the indents with her fingertips. "Are these from other vampires?"

Jasper nodded. "The venom causes the bites to scar, even on vampires," he explained to her. "But they're pretty faint. Most humans don't notice them, but they're obvious to other vampires."

"Did they hurt?" Lydia asked softly, silently counting the marks. There were so many, and that was just on his wrists. Now that she'd noticed the marks on his wrists, though, she spotted a few on his neck and jaw. How had Jasper been in after he was turned?

"In the moment," Jasper told her.

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I can't even imagine..."

"It was worth it," Jasper said quietly. Lydia looked up, a questioning look on her face. "Everything in my past led me here. The way I see it, if I hadn't gone through all of that, I may never have met you."