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THREE; REACHING OUT

"JASMINE JONES."

Jasmine paused, halting her movements. She turned around to see Chief Swan, eyes stern as they stared back at her. Her head immediately swiveled around to see if anyone was near — anyone who would tell Madeline that they saw her daughter speaking to the police.

"Yes, Chief? Is there a reason we must speak like this?"

Charlie observed their surroundings, understanding what Jasmine meant. She clearly didn't want her mother to hear about what she was going to reveal to the chief of police.

A stranger walked by, eyeing the two weirdly. Charlie immediately sputtered the first excuse that came into his mind. "I wanted to know if you were willing to see Bella this weekend."

She raised an eyebrow. She didn't know much about Bella Swan — only the fact that she had caused quite the havoc in Forks.

"Yeah, I think I can make that arrangement. I'll drop by your house at around noon?" She inquired, clutching her school books close to her chest.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Seth waving his arms around frantically, smiling widely when he caught sight of her. Jasmine began to fight the blush that was threatening to warm her cheeks.

"Sounds good. Bella will be pleased."

She felt a hand grip her arm. "There you are. I had to listen to Sharon actually communicate with me for five minutes. Don't leave me alone with her again," Leah hissed. The girl took in the sight of Charlie, and gave him a brief nod. "Hi, Chief. Any reason you're visiting today?"

"Just checking up on you kids," he smiled tightly. Something caught Charlie's eye and Jasmine spun around to see who he was looking at. Amelie was staring back at them, hand in hand with Eli. The younger Jones girl was tugged back by her boyfriend, who glared at Charlie with hatred and frustration.

"I'm sure everything will be alright soon, Chief Swan," Leah commented. "Jasmine will make sure of it."

"I'm positive she will," Charlie agreed. "Alright, well, I have to head back to Forks. It was good to see you girls."

"You as well, Charlie," Jasmine spoke. They both shared a nod of agreement before the man left.

The first bell rung throughout the school, and Jasmine released a sigh of relief she didn't know she was holding in. Leah threw an arm around her and rubbed her shoulders gently. "It's fine, Jas. Everything will return to normal soon. I can feel it." Leah felt Jasmine's body rumble with laughter after her confident statement.

"When has anything in my life ever been normal, Leah?"

Seth suddenly popped into view, bright grin still plastered on his face. "Hi, Jasmine! Can I walk you to your classes today?"

Leah rolled her eyes, annoyed by her little brother. "Seth, bug off."

"Why? Mom said I'm at school to shadow you today. There's no harm in walking Jasmine to class."

"It's fine, Leah," Jasmine assured. "You can walk me to class, Seth."

The boy was practically bouncing on his heels, happily gathering Jasmine's books in his hands so that some of the heavy weight on her chest was lifted. Leah rolled her eyes again at Seth's vivid excitement. "Alright, but as soon as you're done walking to Jasmine to class, come find my first period. You're supposed to be shadowing me, not her, remember?" Seth just brushed her comment away, eyes boring into Jasmine's with pure elation. Leah chuckled dryly and looked at Jasmine. "At least you know one thing in your life wouldn't change — this idiot's undying love for you."

"Leah!" Seth barked, cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

Jasmine simply laughed. "Let's go, Seth, or else I'll be late."

The excited boy followed the older girl as she headed for the building. Everyone Jasmine passed by greeted her with a smile, whether it be real or fake. It reminded Seth just how much La Push loved Jasmine — they cherished the happiness she tried to spread, even though it was masking what was truly going on in her life.

Jasmine's class was at the end of the hallway, and Seth gladly bounded in after her, setting her books down in her designated seat. "Here you go," he spoke, smile still etched on his face.

She returned the gesture. "Thank you, Seth. You should get going now. There won't be any seats left in Leah's class if you don't hurry."

The boy saluted her and he heard some of her classmates giggle around them.

"Will do, Jasmine. I'll see you later?"

She laughed at his persistence. "Sure, Seth. I'll see you later."

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Jasmine stared up at the small house, nerves running through her veins. She heard the door creak open and her head darted towards the entrance of the house. Bella stood underneath the doorway, peering at Jasmine curiously.

"Jasmine? You're here to see my dad, right?"

Bella looked completely powerless. There were clear bags underneath her eyes and her cheeks were stained with dry tears. Jasmine had never seen the girl so upset before, but she guessed that it was due to the absence of her boyfriend, Edward Cullen.

"Yes, I am. I'm sorry. It's nice to see you, Bella."

Bella offered a faulty smile. "It's nice to see you too, Jasmine."

Jasmine made her way into the house, taking in the quiet home. Charlie stood up from his spot on the couch, hearing Jasmine's small footsteps. "Hi, Jasmine. I'm glad you could make it today to speak to me."

"I'm doing this at my own expense, Charlie. If my mother figures out exactly what I've been scheming behind her back, I can't even imagine her wrath," Jasmine shuddered, picturing her mother's frame towering over her, fury across her expression. "But this isn't about me. Amelie needs help, and she's been needing it for a long time now."

Charlie nodded in agreement, motioning for Jasmine to take a seat on the couch. Bella briefly mentioned that she was heading upstairs and Jasmine watched as Charlie's face turned sour at the sight of his upset daughter leaving. Jasmine chose not to pry into Bella's situation, but she could practically guess why Bella was so sullen.

Charlie turned his attention back to the oldest Jones daughter. "So, start from the beginning. When did the abuse start?"

Jasmine fidgeted in her seat. She was always uncomfortable when she spoke about her father. His passing was still a sore spot in her heart. "When my father passed away. Amelie was in an extremely vulnerable state, and I guess Eli took advantage of that. I didn't see her bruises until the night before my father's funeral. This led to an all night screaming match between us, and I was almost about to call you when my mother came home. In my mother's head, the abuse Amelie is receiving is a sign of love. She really believes that Eli loves Amelie, and I have to place that blame with my father's death. My mother hasn't been the same since we got the call of his death, but it's no excuse for letting one of her two daughters be severely beaten almost every week. I need you to help Amelie, Charlie. You're the last one I can ask and I know this will be extremely difficult because of the lack of cooperation from my mother and Amelie, but I need you to do your best. I can't leave La Push without knowing that Amelie is truly safe."

Charlie exhaled, attempting to absorb all the new information. "I'll try my best, Jasmine. Your confession helps me a lot, but like you said, it won't be easy. We're going to need Amelie's side of the story but I don't think she'll betray Eli so easily."

"She won't." Jasmine stood up, pacing around the living room. She could feel anger building up inside of her but she tried to push it down. "I don't know what kind of hold that man has on her but it's strong."

"Well, we'll have to work together to crack her down then. Could you do that for me?"

"Yes," she agreed. "I could. I need this, Charlie. The police never caught my father's murderer and it haunts me to this day. I need this justice to restore my sanity and for the sake of my sister. I need to have my family repaired."

"Jasmine," Charlie's tone suddenly grew soft. "I just want to let you know that if we do get Amelie's side of the story against Eli, she will probably be taken away from your mother and placed under a legal guardian. It's likely that your mother will not get to see much of you again since she knew about this situation and did not do a single thing about it."

"Good. I want her to feel the regret on her shoulders. I live without my father everyday, and I still know right from wrong. Her mind is completely deluded at this point, and I don't want Amelie anywhere near her."

He nodded, standing up and shaking her hand. "I assure you that you and your sister will receive happiness soon, Jasmine. I won't stop until you're both taken care of."

Jasmine felt tears well in her eyes. "Thank you, Charlie. I will forever be grateful for this."

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"I'm glad you finally talked to him. Charlie will know what to do — he was born to save people like Amelie," Leah reassures Jasmine the day after her confrontation with Charlie.

"But what if he doesn't, Leah? What if it's already too late and I'm far away from here? Who will watch out for Amelie then?" Jasmine retorted, lips pursed. Leah could see how much her best friend was shaken by the simple thought of Amelie being left to her own.

"I'll be here. You know I will stay and protect her. After you're in that car and driving away from this hell, I'll beat the crap out of Eli and knock some sense into Amelie."

Jasmine released a sigh. "I know you will, Leah."

There's a knock on Leah's bedroom door and Sue peeked her head in. "Hey, you two. Dinner's almost ready."

Jasmine smiled. "We'll be right there, Sue."

"I've made your favorite again, Jas, per Seth's request."

Leah rolled her eyes. "Mom, tell that little creep that he needs to stop bugging Jasmine. She might not be weirded out, but I definitely am."

Sue grew stern. "Leah, don't be so harsh. I think it's cute that Seth wants to impress Jasmine. And Jasmine surely doesn't mind, do you, Jas?"

The girl shook her head. "No, it's quite fine. Seth's actually nice company."

Leah gagged before exiting the room. Jasmine giggled and followed after her, her dire home situation forgotten for a moment. She enjoyed these small moments where the Clearwater family would make her bubble up with so much happiness that she wouldn't remember all of the bad things in her life.

Before they were sat at the dinner table, Leah and Seth had begun to fight over who got to sit next to Jasmine. Leah didn't particularly care, but she refused to give her brother the upper hand. Jasmine chuckled at their immaturity as she watched them push each other for the seat. Sue eventually scolded them and Seth gladly took the seat next to Jasmine, offering her a small smile.

"Asshole," Leah mumbled under her breath, plopping down into the empty seat.

Harry released a quiet laugh. "So, Jasmine, how has your studies been going? Aren't you so excited for college?"

Seth's heart squeezed at the mention of college. He despised that Jasmine was a senior now because in almost every conversation, someone had to ask her about college and what she was ready for.

"I'm so happy to go to college. It makes me feel that all my hard work has finally paid off, and all of it was a contributing factor to my future," Jasmine responded. Seth can see the glimmer in her eyes when she speaks about leaving La Push.

"Well, you deserve it, Jas. I don't know many people who fight and work as hard as you do," Harry complimented.

"You're right, dad. Jasmine deserves this victory of graduating high school over anyone. Shall we raise our glasses for her?" Leah suggested.

Sue hummed in agreement as everyone raised their mugs. Seth was slightly appalled by his parents' betrayal towards the idea of Jasmine's leave. Seth knew Jasmine needed this more than anything, but just the thought of her not being around anymore was starting to become more and more realistic for him. He didn't want to let her go — he couldn't just let the girl of his dreams slip away.

The whole family clinked their mugs together with the exception of Seth, who stared at Jasmine in a brief sadness. He had to keep repeating that this was her path just to keep him sane for the rest of dinner.

Towards the end of the meal, the home phone rang throughout the home, echoing loudly. Sue raised from her seat to answer it, eyes slightly bulging from the information being passed to her on the other line.

"Jasmine," Sue said with a shakiness in her voice. "It's Charlie Swan. He wants you down at the station as soon as possible — Amelie's come in to confess."

seth is the cutest puppy when he's with jasmine i love him