Creation & Destruction [3] | Jasper Hale

-18-

 "Sorry, Ethan, but Emmett is not allowed to do that," Jasper sighs into a phone, but his grin shows that he is amused by his son. After he and Joanna had left the building and headed off into a hotel that wasn't needed at all, Alice was calling him. Her visions caught the Volturi uncovering the secret and because she saw this, she waited till later to call them. 

  The blonde leaned against the curtained window, fiddling with his jean's pockets. "If Emmett makes you watch wrestling, you tell him no. Violence isn't bad, sugar."

  On their bed, flipping through the channels on the television, Joanna snorts both at the problem her son was complaining about and Jasper's nickname. After a few seconds of flipping through channels full of a language that was foreign to her, she crawls off the comfy sheets and stands behind Jasper. Her frail arms secure around his waist and she rises slightly to rest her head on his shoulder. His hand falls to her own and she smiles faintly at him.

  "Don't you want to play a game with Uncle Eddy?"

  "Piano..?" Ethan is heard on the line, his high-pitched voice making their hearts clench.

 Jasper squeezes Joanna's hand as he feels her despair and worries mix with his own. "Of course," his voice cracks, "Go on and ask him later, sugar." A pause falls between the parents and their child before Jasper adds, "We love you so much."

  "Love you too."

  Handing the phone to his beloved, she lets out a shaky breath before she whispers on the line. "Is this my handsome boy?"

  In her head, she knows Ethan's already born smile was growing upwards. "Mommy!"

  "It's me, darling," she mumbles, taking a seat back on the bed. "How are you doing back down with Grandpa and Grandma?" Ethan cheers in response to their names. "It's that fun, huh? Don't worry, we'll add to the fun when-" Jasper holds her close as he listens to her struggle to speak, "-we return. We miss you so much, baby." 

  Already, she knew her and Jasper would be safe as they continue their time down in Italy, but the question still kept the couple's head down. Would they survive? From what Jasper has explained, the Volturi could kill someone in an instant. That brought on a new wave of anxiety on her. What if they were playing an act? Playing with Jasper's emotions to make it seem that they were fascinated with them but were in fact planning to twist their heads clear off. 

  Nightmares were born in her mind as she thought of her own son and beloved being killed in front of her. How she would hear their screams as they burned into her skin, killing her more than her own transition into this life. 

  Paranoid, she asks Ethan to give the phone back to Alice, which he does quickly.

  "Jo," Alice sighs, "Everything will be alright. I've seen it."

  Her heart cannot fully believe her as much as Joanna wants to. "You said- you said it can change, Alice!" She didn't mean to fight back, but her emotions were taking over her actions. "Don't tell me everything will be alright. We don't know that fully!"

  "Jo-"

  Ripping the phone from her ear, she places it in Jasper's hold. Outside, the moon was visible and shining a soft glow on her when she rips the curtains open. Joanna pulls off her cardigan and steps outside in a black tank top and a jean skirt that hugs her thighs. The wind pinches her skin in a way that pulls her away from reality, from her problems, from her emotions that are being more of a problem that Alice Cullen.

  She couldn't stand to be in that room currently. Outside, she was alone and being alone was what she wanted now.

  After minutes of being to herself, Jasper opens the door and steps out. Not moving, she listens as he leans against the banister like her, staring out into the silent city. No words are said and he doesn't say anything as she mutters,