22 | HONEY MOON |

Thump

Thump

Thump

The even, deep pounding of his heart met her ear, which was pressed against his chest, where she had spent the night as usual. It was a beautiful sound she associated with the feelings of safety and love for years now.

This was her paradise.

His hand, tanned and warm and calloused, trailed down her back.

"Good mornin', sweetheart."

She lifted herself up on her elbows to face him with a slow smile spreading on her full lips. "Good morning, Jasper."

Their eyes met.

Amongst the silky dark green sheets that matched her husband's eyes, the couple laid in bed that Sunday morning. The sun streamed through the open balcony window, casting their skin aglow, their skin tanned and freckled from the summer heat.

"Happy birthday," Jasper wrapped his arm around her, his hand moving down to rub her protruding tummy. They shared a sweet kiss.

The young couple—no older than thirty, but definitely old enough for their careers to have prospered enough to yield in a beautiful two story house by the beach—both broke from staring into each other eyes when the sound of stomping and ruckus was heard coming down the hallway.

"Here comes the monsters," Rory smiled just as the door burst open. They didn't bother to sit up, allowing for the disruption to clamber up the king size bed.

A young boy with curly golden hair like his father wrestled onto the bed first, diving between his parents. "Mommy! Daddy!"

Jasper sat up when the whines of their other daughter reached his ears, her frustrated attempts to climb up the too high bed were appeased when he leaned over to scoop the two year old up easily. He set the girl between him and Rory, just next to their son. "Mama! Dada!" The toddler babbled happily.

"Jackson, next time help Luna up," Rory lightly scolded her five year old.

"Sorry, mommy," The little boy pouted, his green eyes rounding apologetically. He was a perfect clone of Jasper, while Luna, with dirty blonde hair, had her mother's features. "Happy birthday, mommy," Jackson grinned, leaning into her side.

"Yah! 'appy birfday, mama," Luna giggled with a big smile, showcasing the deep dimples she inherited from her father.

"Thank you, babies," Rory kissed both of the children's brow and snuggling with them. "You're the greatest gift a girl can ask for."

"No longer a girl, I think," Jasper grinned playfully. "You haven't been a girl for a long time, sweetheart."

"You're right, what sane girl would ever pop out three kids before thirty?" Rory said teasingly rubbing her baby bump lovingly.

The bright light of the morning suddenly dimmed to gray darkness.

"It won't be you," Jasper's voice turned deep and raspy and dark.

The children snuggling in Rory's lap disappeared and her stomach became as flat as a board. Where were her babies? Tears streamed down her face as she couldn't comprehend what was happening before her eyes.

The man who once cuddled with her and their two children disappeared from her side and appeared in the shadows of their bedroom, far from the sunlight.

"Jasper?"

He turned, his skin white as death and his eyes as crimson as a blooming rose. A malicious smile twisted his features. This wasn't her Jasper. He snarled, his sharp fangs popping out as he neared her, about to pounce and feast on—

"—Sweetheart, wake up," the voice of an angel flooded her consciousness.

Rory felt her whole body jerk as she awoke from her daydream turned horror-scape. She blinked rapidly as she became fully awake and aware of her surroundings—low indie music played while her hand was intertwined with Jasper's free one between the console.

"You alright?" Jasper frowned, glimpsing at the expression she had on her face, full of confusion and horror.

Rory nodded, brushing away her fear induced shivers. "I'm good. Just a...crazy dream."

She took a glance out the window to see the familiar forests that surrounded Forks, except instead of shades of green, the trees were a myriad of orange and reds and browns; autumn was approaching and her summer with Jasper was at an end.

She sat up in her seat fully from her slightly uncomfortable position curled into the leather seats of the navy blue Jaguar. "Can't believe I'd ever say that I missed this place, but I did."

"Stella called—she's waiting for you at home," Jasper mentioned as they turned into the streets of the town.

"Waiting to ambush me, more like," Rory snorted while Jasper patted her thigh understandingly.

Ever since she graduated three months prior, Rory's mother and her were in the midst of an unsaid battle about the progression of Rory's imminent future, or lack thereof. Graduating high school early wasn't part of either woman's plan for Rory's future, but only one of them saw it as a way for Rory to get ahead in life and not a way for Rory to relax. Their home had become a passive aggressive battlefield; college acceptance letters and scholarships and other academic pamphlets were found on almost every surface which Rory pointedly ignored, spending her days with her boyfriend, her friends, or trips out of town—like the one her and Jasper were currently returning from.

His darkening eyes set on her apologetically. "I need to hunt before checking in on my family so it's not really smart for me to greet your mother."

Rory raised her hand to cup his jaw. "Hey, it's all good. Take care of yourself first, Jazz."

"Rose and Emmett should be home as well—their flight from Africa arrived this morning—it'll be a real reunion tomorrow night," Jasper grinned. They had spent the last month on a road trip traveling up and down the west coast as Rory's graduation present.

"Bella hates surprises, I can't wait to see her face!" Rory snickered. "My birthday better be extraordinary." She looked over to her boyfriend with a large grin.

"Of course it will be," Jasper rubbed her hand. "I have three months to plan the greatest 18th birthday party for my girl." He leaned over to kiss her temple which she grinned at.

"Like Alice is gonna let you get away with being in charge," Rory snorted, thinking of the hyperactive, meddling pixie she called a friend.

"You aren't wrong," Jasper admitted with a sheepish smile.

Rory sighed as they stepped onto her front porch, her bags and suitcase already set beside the welcome mat the second Jasper exited the car. She turned to him with a small frown. "This will be the first night in four weeks that we'll be apart."

Jasper nodded in agreement. "I'm having a hard time letting you go."

"Then don't." Rory stared at him in all his perfection. Sometimes it was hard to believe he was real, that someone as perfect as Jasper could ever love someone as damaged as her. She thought of her dream/nightmare, where in another universe they were normal people who lived normal lives. It was hard to let go. Even for the night.

"I'll be back tomorrow afternoon to bring you to my place for the surprise," Jasper said, caressing her soft cheek, but pulling back as the dull pain of his throat burned hotter with his thirst, "after I feed of course."

"Don't need you chomping up the birthday girl," Rory laughed carelessly while Jasper rolled his blackening eyes. "Have fun eating Bambi's mom."

He chuckled and bent over to lay a quick kiss on the top of Rory's head. "I love you so much, sweetheart."

"Love you," Rory whispered with a smile as he disappeared into the forests in a blur of blond and black clothing. She sighed and finally unlocked the front door, completely prepared for an onslaught of college memorabilia and pamphlets decorating every available surface.

"Rory!" Stella shouted gleefully from the kitchen as the dark haired teenager walked into the house with suitcases and bags in tow.

"Hi, mama," Rory closed the door, pushed her things towards the staircase, and greeted her mother with a hug.

Stella smiled as they stepped back from each other. "Where's that boyfriend of yours?" Her brown eyes darted to the window where she could clearly see the blue car that supposedly belonged to Jasper, with Rory using it on occasion.

"His family needed him home to prep for Bella's party tomorrow," Rory explained with a easy lie, "I dropped him home and then drove here in the Jag."

Stella shrugged. "Oh, okay."

"How are you? Did I miss anything?"

Stella thought for a second. "No, but your tia Giselle y tio Dante sent you their graduation present. It's in your room. They're also requesting for us to visit soon."

"I've got a lot of free time," Rory shrugged, brushing the forthcoming trip away. She was slightly surprised Stella hadn't been waiting by the door for her to arrive or something, but then a familiar man wearing a black cowboy hat rolled into the hallway.

"Hey there Rory," Billy Black nodded at the teenager with a charming smile.

"Hi Billy," Rory bent over to hug him. When she wasn't out of town or with her friends, she spent her spare time in La Push. Over the past few months, Rory had grown close to the Blacks. She fully approved of her mother and Billy together, even if Billy didn't exactly approve of her boyfriend and his family.

"Have a good trip?"

Rory crossed her arms, feeling the tone of the conversation shift. "Yes, we went down the entire Pacific coast—we even went to Disney."

"So you liked traveling, huh?" Stella smiled conspiratorially.

"It was so fun, we'll probably go someplace else soon," Rory said lightly, her eyes narrowing slightly at her mother as Stella and Billy exchanged a meaningful look.

He nodded at Rory, before going back to the living room, turning the volume up high on a game of baseball to provide a semblance of privacy.

Oh no.

Rory placed her hands on her hips. "Alright, what's going on?"

"Well, I was thinking, since you like traveling, maybe Florence will be your next great adventure." Stella's eyes were bright as she whipped out a ivory letter from her back pocket and handed it to Rory.

Damn it. How did I miss that? Rory thought with a grimace. "Where'd you find this?" she asked sharply, gripping the paper in her hand tightly.

"I was looking for my creme blouse in your closet," Stella explained fastidiously. She crossed her arms and stared at her daughter accusatorially. "Why didn't you tell me you got accepted into that fancy Italian internship?"

"Because I knew it'd be too expensive and too far," Rory rebutted.

Stella shook her head with a disappointed tsk. "You should've told me Rory, this is an opportunity of a lifetime—you still have a chance to respond, the program begins in October!"

"Mama, even if I wanted to go, I can't," Rory said calmly. "My whole life is here in Forks."

"And we'll be here when you get back. Your whole life doesn't have to be limited to this small town, you should see the world and fulfill your dreams before it's too late," Her mother appealed in an advisory tone.

"Mama, just because I'm not taking this internship doesn't mean I'm not going to fulfill my dreams," Rory groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.

The forty year old doctor frowned. "Are you sure you aren't just taking this opportunity because of Jasper? I'm sure he'll understand."

"It's not about Jasper," Rory insisted with a scoff.

But it was about Jasper. She was secretly terrified of them separating for any reason. Forks was their safe haven, where they could walk around in the day carefree with the cloudy sky above and nearby animals to quench Jasper's thirst. She already knew Jasper didn't like Italy for some reason, but it wasn't hard to imagine why as it was the opposite of Forks. In her irrational mind, Italy meant the unending sun and her ending relationship.

Rory crossed her arms stubbornly. "It's just so expensive and I don't even speak Italian and I'm still 17..." The reasons she could think of to say no were endless.

"I think you should go take it, don't worry about the cost or anything else, this is an opportunity of a lifetime," Her mother pleaded.

Rory frowned and glanced at the ivory paper in her hands doubtingly. "Did you look at the expenses?"

"Yes and I've put some money aside as well as Billy kindly donated some funds—it will be enough to cover it," Stella said with barely hidden excitement for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her daughter.

Of course Billy Black would support this endeavor; he clearly knew what Jasper and the Cullens were. Rory and him never quite clicked entirely on that aspect, she took Billy's constant warnings and glares directed at her boyfriend with a grain of salt.

"Why are you so determined for me to leave? I would've thought you of all people would want me to stay home as long as possible, after everything we've been through," Rory questioned with a rush of emotion.

Stella pursed her lips. "I don't want you to hold yourself back. Not for me or anyone else."

"And me not going to Italy will hold myself back?"

"Of course not, but you shouldn't turn down opportunities to experience life like that," Stella's mouth curved downwards in disapproval. "You only have one life, one future, and I don't want you to waste it."

Rory exhaled harshly. "And if I want to spend my life here? With Jasper? How am I wasting my life if I chose to do this?"

There was a short pause before Stella responded. She met Rory's gaze head on. "Then you're making a mistake."

The teenager blinked at her mother's firm tone. Her brows furrowed together in disbelief. "What do you mean by that?"

Stella sighed deeply, stepping closer to Rory with a placating hand placed on the younger girl's shoulder. "Mija...you know I love Jasper and you together, I do, but you're both so young. There's more to life than a significant other, and he may not even be the one—"

Rory shook her head immediately, her eyes blazing with fury. "Jasper is the only person in this whole goddamn world that makes me feel like everything will be okay. There's no one else."

"You may feel that now, but in twenty, thirty years, you'll regret missing these opportunities to start a family so young when you had all the time in the worl—"

As Stella spoke, the bad feeling in Rory's gut worsened. The distant dream turned nightmare emerged once more. She couldn't listen to her mother's completely logical argument anymore. Not when the reality of her and Jasper's future was beginning to truly hit her, of lack thereof.

For what sort of future could she have with an immortal teenager; Rory would age while Jasper remained forever young, Rory would have no choice but to never settle down in a place for people would realize Jasper wasn't aging, they would never have little curly haired, brown-eyed children. Most people's futures were limitless, but Rory's wasn't.

Stella abruptly stopped in the middle of her sentence as Rory walked away from her and headed up the staircase with her things in tow. She followed after Rory, pausing at the foot of the wooden steps. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly. She hadn't meant to upset Rory, but she knew Rory needed a reality check.

"I need—" Rory sighed with a shake of her head, "You're right. About my future at least. I—I have to unpack. And think."

As Rory entered her darkened room, she didn't bother turning on the lights. She laid in her bed, fully clothed, with her mind racing and heart beating steady.

She loved Jasper irrevocably, but would he truly love her even when she wasn't young and beautiful? Would he love her forever? She knew loving Jasper was worth it, but when all was done and said, would she ever regret it?

In her heart she knew the answer.

Yet her brain was beginning to believe the opposite.