battle scars // jasper hale fanfiction

chapter five

Since the Cullen's house was hard to find, Bella offered to drive me. I dropped my minivan off at home, and we were off.

I was looking forward to having some help with homework. I felt lost with all the homework and not knowing what was happening in class. I also heard that the Cullens were pretty smart, so they'd be good to have around when studying.

As Bella pulled up, I saw their beautiful house. It was pretty big, but it was a pretty big family.

"Wow," I whispered to myself.

"I know," Bella replied.

We walked up and were greeted by all the Cullens. They all were standing like they were posing for a picture. I was nervous to meet them. They all looked so . . . perfect. They seemed put-together, and then there was me. My heart started to thump harder.

When I was close enough, a woman who must be their mom–well, foster mom–came running up to give me a hug. I was a little stunned that I couldn't react. I didn't really like it when people I don't know hugged me, but this didn't feel awful.

"You must be Violet," she said pulling away. "I'm Esme. Carlisle is still at work, but he should be getting off in a little bit. This is Rosalie and Emmett."

I smiled and nodded at them and Emmett smiled back, while Rosalie stood looking disappointed or upset at something. I wasn't really sure what.

"Well, let's not stand out in the cold all day," Esme teased with a smile.

We headed inside and went straight to the big dining room table to start homework. I pulled out all the stuff I had to do. We got straight to work as I was hoping we would. Everyone took turns helping me with my homework. Eventually, Bella and Edward snuck off when I was talking with Jasper.

After a while, the door opened to a man wearing dress clothes. This must be Carlisle. I knew he was a doctor, but he seemed so young.

"Well, I see you finally made another friend," he teased Jasper. "Now, you can give Bella and your siblings a break sometimes."

He walked over to me and reached out his hand. "I'm Carlisle. You must be Violet. I've heard so much about you."

I was taken aback. Heard so much about me? I've only known the Cullens for a couple of days.

I reached my hand out and shook his extended hand quickly. When I pulled my hand back, I started rubbing my hands together in my lap. Meeting more people wasn't what I thought I'd be doing this morning. I wanted to make a good impression. I felt my heart increase.

In . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4

Out . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4

Jasper placed on top of mine. Since he was sitting next to me, our hands were hidden under the table. His thumb slowly rubbed back and forth on my shaky hands.

In . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4

Out . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4

I immediately felt better. I looked at Jasper, who was already looking at me.

"Thank you," I mouthed to him.

"Any time," Jasper mouthed back.

I started looking at my homework again. Jasper kept his hand on mine. I didn't mind; it helped keep me calm.

I felt my nose tingle. I pulled one hand away and rubbed my nose. My nose felt runny. When I pulled my hand away, I saw a dark red streak on my hand.

I felt Jasper stiffen beside me. His eyes turned dark. He looked at my hand and then looked away.

"I'm sorry I have to go," he said quickly. It sounded like he was holding his breath. He pulled his hand off of mine. I looked down at my hand, and when I looked up, he was gone.