Saturday came much more quickly than Evelyn would have liked. All she had been able to think about was Victoria and how worried she was about the whole Cullen family, even though logically she knew they were more than her match. When it came to Victoria, it was near impossible for her to not jump to the worst possible conclusions. She quietly hoped the Cullens would be able to put an end to the whole thing tonight so they could finally move on.

She said goodbye to Edward and Bella the day before, slightly irritated with Edward after Bella had mentioned his antics with her truck and preventing her from going to see Jacob. She didn't understand the aversion that Jasper and Edward had against their werewolf friends. Surely, it couldn't just be the mythical vampires vs. werewolves nonsense that movies and books tended to include in their stories. At least to her, the wolves didn't seem so dangerous unless you were actively trying to provoke them.

Evelyn hadn't been in the mood to fight with Jasper again (or have her car battery ripped out of her Jeep) so she had begrudgingly agreed to let him hang around her house while the rest of the Cullens waited for their chance to attack Victoria. She couldn't help feeling guilty and like she was taking him away from the fight, but Carlisle had assured her that they were more than prepared for Victoria and everything that she may try thanks to Alice and her visions.

Despite the reassurance of Carlisle, Evelyn still felt anxious all day, unable to sit still or focus. She had cleaned her bedroom four times already and was doing every load of laundry in the house that she could find in an attempt to keep her mind off the upcoming confrontation. Marie was going to be at work all day, and so she was alone with her thoughts and an entire day to find ways to keep herself distracted until nightfall.

She wondered where Victoria had been all this time as she worked around her home. Her mind had been so preoccupied with the Volturi and her strange vision that the red-haired vampire had managed to fall to the wayside in her day to day life. Had she been close? Had she been watching her every move, or managed to figure out how to work around Alice's visions?

When she felt the panic and fear rising in her chest and it slowly became harder to breathe and think straight, she made herself vacuum and mop the floors of her entire house to drown out her anxieties about the night ahead.

Marie came home exhausted that night. Evelyn had cooked one of her aunt's favorite meals for dinner because she knew it would also help her fall and stay asleep for the night. If she was going to be up all night from her anxious ruminations, she figured that she should at least make sure her aunt could sleep in unassuming bliss.

Her aunt sat at the table, eyeing the food and the spotless kitchen suspiciously. "This is what you did with your Saturday?" Marie asked, her tired eyes gleaming as she gave her niece a crooked grin. "Are you trying to butter me up for something?"

Evelyn chuckled nervously. "No, just anxious thinking about finals, I guess. I needed a break from studying today."

Marie nodded, but she didn't look convinced. Evelyn knew that her aunt was probably thinking that she was trying to find a way to bring up Jasper, so she started talking mindlessly about school and graduation and who had applied to which schools to take her mind off of the vampire she knew would be outside of their home through the night.

Her aunt nodded along, but it was clear that she was not fully listening to her as her eyes glazed over with exhaustion once she finished her meal. Evelyn was quick to remove the dirty dishes from the table and usher her aunt into the living room where she knew it wouldn't take long for Marie to grow too tired to stay awake.

And her prediction was right. After only thirty minutes of watching the evening news and humming along to Evelyn's stories of school and her friends, she announced that she was going to bed. With a quick kiss to her forehead and a reminder to stay out of trouble (Evelyn grinned at that, knowing exactly what kind of trouble Marie was referring to), she padded to her bedroom and closed the door with a soft click.

After about twenty more minutes, when she was sure Marie was asleep in her room, Evelyn shut off the tv as quickly and quietly as she could. She crept across the living room and made sure that her front door was locked despite logically knowing that it wasn't much of  a barrier to an inhumanly strong vampire. She tiptoed to the stairs, careful to avoid the squeaky floorboards that she knew were scattered across the room. Her steps could barely be heard as she bounded up the stairs and into her room.

Her heart was racing as she sat on her bed, trying desperately not to think about where Victoria was at right now. She thought of the Cullens waiting for her in the woods, picturing Victoria getting her hands on one of them...

A sudden buzz from her cell phone made her jump, pulling her from her macabre ruminations. She shook her head and let out a long breath before picking it up from the comforter to read the new text message on the screen.

You okay? I can hear your heart pounding from out here.

Evelyn let out a shaky laugh as she wiped the hair from her face. She took some deep breaths to try and calm herself down as she typed out a response to Jasper.

Just nervous. I'm worried about the others.

She only had to wait a few seconds for his quick response.

They'll be fine. I promise.

She looked out the window then, towards the trees where she knew Jasper was dutifully keeping watch over her home. It was raining, the steady drops making a soft plink sound as they hit the glass of her window. She felt bad for him standing out there by himself. She chewed her lip, tapping her thumb anxiously on her phone before finally deciding to text him.

Are you okay? I feel bad that you're out there alone in the rain.

Again, it was only a few seconds before he responded.

A little rain doesn't bother me. Don't feel bad. I would sit outside in the rain for you any day if it meant you felt safe.

She covered her mouth with her hand, unable to stop the small smile playing on her lips. Evelyn knew he was trying to ease her fears, and she couldn't help but appreciate his attempt to make her feel better.

Another text message. Are you smiling?

She rolled her eyes. Definitely not.

You've never been a very good liar.

Evelyn chewed her lip, looking between her phone and the forest outside her bedroom window. On one hand, this idea could be incredibly stupid. Hadn't she wanted time and space away from him? Didn't she still feel the pain of his absence whenever she looked at him? But she also knew that she missed him, and she really did feel bad that he was standing alone in the rain because she was scared to be home by herself.

Slightly unsure, she got up and walked over to her window where the rain had let up slightly. It was fully dark outside now, and the moon shone brightly on the wet pavement and the grass outside of her house. Her fingers danced across the window sill, settling on the latch that she had locked and relocked several times earlier in the day in her paranoia about Victoria. With a sigh, she slid it into its unlocked position and pushed it upwards until it was about halfway open. The comforting smell of rain flooded her room, momentarily easing her anxiety as she took slow, deep breaths in to calm herself.

She looked back at her phone in her hand, Jasper's contact still open on the screen. She closed her eyes, counted to three, and then let out the breath she was holding as she typed her next message.

If you get tired of the cold and the rain, you're welcome to come in.

Evelyn tossed her phone onto her bed without waiting to see if he would respond. Instead, she grabbed her sweatshirt and sweatpants that were hanging on the back of her desk chair and walked out of the room to her bathroom to get ready for bed.

At first, she was simply going to brush her teeth and change, but at the last minute she decided to shower, too. She was prolonging the time, trying to think of the right words and then wondering if inviting him in had even been a good idea at all. She just didn't know what to say to him, and she hoped the shower may help her think of the right things.

She took her time letting the hot water wash over her, rinsing her worries down the drain. She dressed carefully afterwards, brushing her teeth and washing her face. She stared at herself in the mirror when she was finished, suddenly nervous to face him in the room where they had spent so much time together last year. Before she left the bathroom her eyes fell on her deodorant and perfume on the counter. She hesitated in the doorway for a moment, but with an eyeroll at herself she quickly used both and hurried out to return to her room.

She found Jasper standing by her desk, examining the notebooks and textbooks that were scattered across its surface. Glistening rain drops clung to the strands of his golden hair like diamonds in the lamp light. He was dressed casually in a black longsleeve and deep blue jeans that fit him perfectly. He looked over at her as she entered, smiling as he watched her shut the door carefully behind her.

"You'll get water all over my books, you know," she said lightly, trying to ignore the blood rushing in her ears as she walked over to sit on her bed. "I still need them for my finals."

Jasper chuckled, running both hands through his hair a couple of times to get rid of the water from his hair and stepping back from her desk. "My deepest apologies. I've heard you've been studying with Alice at school. How's that been going?"

"Not great," Evelyn sighed. "If only I had the photographic memory that you all have, then maybe I could hope to pass my English final."

He shrugged, pulling her desk chair out and sitting on it so he could face her. "I could help you if you want," he offered. "Maybe take your mind off of things?"

She stared at him for a brief moment, their eyes locking, and she felt her breath catch in her throat. She hated that even just looking at him did this to her, and tried to forget the fact that he probably could feel the whirlwind of emotions within her right at this moment.

Evelyn finally broke their gaze, shaking her head slightly and clearing her throat. "That's okay, I don't really think I could focus that well on studying tonight, anyway."

Jasper studied her face for a moment, his eyes tracing the frown lines on her forehead with concern. "You're still worried, aren't you?"

"It's really hard not to be when you know who's out there." She looked out the window again for a moment before meeting his eyes again. "Thank you for staying with me. I'm sure you'd rather be out there with your family but I'm glad that you're here for me and Marie."

Jasper leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he watched her. "Of course. You know I'd do anything for you, Evelyn."

She smiled softly at him, looking away towards the window when his gaze became too much. "How much longer until she's here?"

Jasper sighed, feeling the anxiety rolling off of her in waves. Her usual comforting emotional aura felt like a rubber band being pulled tight, nearly to the point of snapping. It made him anxious just being around her and feeling how wound up she was. He wished he could say something to make her feel better. "Alice said about an hour after midnight. We have a little while."

"Okay," she said, relaxing just a little bit. She looked back at him again, deciding to change the subject. "So since you don't have to suffer through senior year festivities like I do, what have you been doing recently?"

He pursed his lips, debating on whether or not he should tell her what he'd been monitoring over the past couple of weeks. But he was determined to earn her trust again, and that meant not keeping anymore secrets from her (despite what Edward thought).

Jasper pulled a news paper from the waistband of his jeans. He stood and walked over to sit next to her on the bed, unfolding the paper across both of their laps so they could each see its contents. He pointed to a small section on the bottom right corner of one of the pages, to where a picture of a vaguely familiar boy was printed under the headline MISSING PERSONS.

"This is from Seattle," Jasper said. "We've been monitoring a... situation there in the city for a couple weeks now. There's been an increase in disappearances and violent crime. Human media is blaming it on a new serial killer, but..."

"You think it might have something to do with vampires," Evelyn finished, studying his face. "I thought vampires were supposed to keep the secret? Be more inconspicuous."

Jasper let out a humorless laugh. "That's what we're supposed to do, yes. But whoever this person is, is severely inexperienced. Their creator likely didn't tell them the rules. If it continues like this much longer, the Volturi may have to get involved."

Evelyn did not miss the way his face darkened when he mentioned the Italian vampires. She couldn't help the small flutter of fear in her stomach, either. "And that means they would come here?"

He nodded, reading her unspoken question in her eyes. "Carlisle and I have discussed going to put an end to it ourselves. He thinks if we educate this new vampire, then perhaps we can prevent things from escalating. The last thing I want is for them to come anywhere near you."

Evelyn said nothing, turning her attention back to the paper in her lap. She traced the face of the boy again, her finger moving over the planes of his face and down to where it said his name: Riley Biers.

Her breath caught in her throat. "I know him," she said, her voice soft. She remembered his soft brown eyes and his beautiful smile that day in her aunt's restaurant. He had been kind, and so full of life. She remembered contemplating for the first time what her future had in store for her after meeting him. She remembered his messy scrawl on the napkin he had left for her. But if he was missing...

"He's probably dead, isn't he?" she breathed.

Jasper's lack of response told her all she needed to know. She sighed, her heart breaking for the human boy and his family that was somewhere hoping against hope that their son would return to them. Evelyn closed the paper and gave it back to Jasper. She suddenly felt very tired, her brain exhausted from carrying so much stress and worrying about everything that was happening around her.

"I shouldn't have told you this, I'm sorry," Jasper apologized, searching the blank expression on her face. "I didn't mean to stress you out more, I just thought you would want to know what's happening."

Evelyn nodded, offering him a small smile. "No, it's okay, I'm glad you told me. I just feel bad for Riley's family. They'll never know what really happened to him." And maybe it was better that way. But the thought still made her sad.

Jasper carefully rolled the paper back up and put it back into the pocket of his jeans. "I know it's hard, but try to put this out of your mind for tonight. I know you're really worried about everyone out there with Victoria, but they are more than capable of defending themselves."

"I know, I know. I just don't want anyone to get hurt because of her trying to find me." She stood up from the bed, running her hands through her hair in frustration as she paced towards the window, stopping to gaze out at the rain and trees beyond.

"I would just really love to not worry about my life being in danger for a little while." She laughed mirthlessly, turning to face him. "I'm sure you probable feel the same."

Jasper grinned, his dimples making him look slightly younger even though she knew that he was frozen in time for all eternity. "You have no idea."

They shared a gentle laugh, falling into comfortable silence. The raindrops falling on her window were the only sounds that filled the room.

After a moment, Jasper rose from the bed to stand next to her at the window, his gold eyes holding her green ones in a way that made her unable to look away.

"I missed this," he said at last, his tender, soft smile giving her butterflies even after all this time. "I missed you, and us just talking like this. It's nice."

Evelyn bit her lip, nodding in agreement, but tearing her gaze from his to stare out the window. She was all too aware of how close they were. All she had to do was shift just slightly to be able to touch him, and the thought made her stomach twist and her heart begin to speed up again.

"I did too," she admitted. "But you know it's not that easy." Her voice was barely above a whisper, almost inaudible, but she knew that he could hear her.

He nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets and leaning on the windowsill. "I know." The two were quiet for a ong time, listening to the gentle rain falling outside and the sound of their breathing as they stood together. Finally, Jasper glanced at her again, his heart aching on the inside for things to be back the way they were before he had ruined everything.

"If you want to go to sleep, you can," he murmured, gently nudging her arm with his. "Ill sit over here and keep watch."

She raised a curious eyebrow. "You'll wake me if you hear something from the others?"

"Ev, really, you can sleep -"

"I want to know what's happening," she said firmly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Promise me you'll wake me up if something happens."

He sighed, knowing better than to argue with her when she was determined like this. "Fine, I promise. But you need to promise me that you'll actually try and get some sleep."

As her eyebrows raised incredulously, he gave her a knowing look. "It's only fair and you know it."

She frowned, her eyes narrowed slightly as she studied his face for any sign of him relenting. When she saw none, she sighed, nodding in resigned agreement. But as she glanced outside again, she could feel the worry trying to claw its way back up from deep within her, a vampire with crimson eyes and flaming hair snarling at her from the back of her mind.

Jasper could feel the shift in her mood immediately, and slowly, cautiously, reached out to brush a few loose strands of her bronzy hair behind her ear. "You can sleep," Jasper murmured, trailing his fingers across her cheek before they came to rest under her chin. "I won't let anything happen to you."

She shivered at the touch of his cool hand on her skin. Involuntarily her hand flew up, and she wrapped her hand around his wrist. Gently, she removed his fingers from her cheek and instead held his hand in hers.

"You'll stay?" She whispered, searching his eyes as she stared up at him with wide, pleading eyes. Jasper felt his heart clench at the way she was looking at him, so vulnerable and wanting so badly to be able to trust him again.

"As long as you want me to be here," he assured. "Rest, Evelyn. I'll be here when you wake up."

As they stood there together, it was almost as if they could pretend like the last six months hadn't happened and they were just Jasper and Evelyn. He had the overwhelming urge to lean in and kiss her, and by the surge of emotion he was feeling from her and the way she was subconsiously leaning in closer he could tell she was thinking the same thing. It would be too easy, just like breathing to have her in his arms again.

But he knew that it wasn't right, not right now, at least. He smiled, pulling his hand from the warmth of hers and reluctantly taking a large step back from her. He could sense her slight disappointment when he left, but he knew that he couldn't take advantage of her conflicted emotional state... especially when he knew she was still afraid of Victoria and the outcome of tonight's hunt.

Evelyn watched him settle into her desk chair in the far corner of the room, her cheeks flushing red after she finally realized how close they were. Stupid, Evelyn, what were you thinking?

She was cursing herself as she frantically turned around to hide her crimson face. She quickly made her way over to her bed and slid underneath the sheet and comforter before meeting his eyes again. "You'll wake me up if anything happens?" she asked, knowing that he had already promised that he would but still needing to hear him say it one more time before she tried to get herself to sleep.

"Promise," he said, holding up his pinkie towards her with a grin. She rolled her eyes, but nevertheless she settled in to her comforter as Jasper turned off the lamp on her desk.

"Goodnight," she hummed, closing her eyes as she attempted to finally relax and let sleep find her for the night.

***

Evelyn bolted upright in bed only a few hours later, heart racing and sweat sticking on her face and back. Within an instant Jasper was kneeling on the floor next to her bed, wiping the sweaty strands of hair from her face and holding one of her trembling hands in his other.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Evelyn, you're okay," he soothed, stroking her hair as he tried to calm her down. He uselessly tried to use his ability on her even though he knew it wouldn't work. He hated how that fact always made him feel so useless to help her, especially during times like this.

Evelyn groaned in embarrassment, wiping more of her hair from her face with her free hand. "I'm sorry, it was just a bad dream."

It wasn't just a bad dream; it had been the same dream haunting her for weeks. She found herself back in Aro's vision every night, watching Aro and Caius kill Didyme over and over again. No matter how many times she relived the vision, it never got any easier watching the two Volturi murder the poor woman.

Jasper could sense her conflict and fear, and carefully, he moved so he was sitting on the bed facing her. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked quietly, still holding her hand.

She shook her head, a thousand apologies in her eyes as she squeezed his hand. "I want to but I can't, Jasper. I can't put you in danger, too."

His eyes dawned with understanding. "It's about what you saw in Italy, isn't it?"

Evelyn nodded, wishing she could share what she knew but refusing to endanger him, too. Only Edward and Carlisle knew the specifics of her vision about Aro, and both had told her not to share the details of it with anyone else. The more people that knew, the more people that would have to die if Aro decided he had to eliminate them to protect his secret. She didn't want anyone to get hurt because of what she had seen, so she had been forced to keep the secret for over a month now. Unfortunately, it was not as easy as she thought it would be, and she worried that if she had to keep it for much longer it would begin eating her up inside until there was nothing left.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by Jasper's phone ringing in his pocket. He kept her hand in his as he answered his phone with the other.

"Carlisle, what's happened?" He asked, and Evelyn watched his face with baited breath.

She watched Jasper's jaw clench as he listened to what his adoptive father was saying on the other end. By the concern in his eyes and the way he squeezed her hand as he listened, she could tell that Carlisle didn't have good news for them.

"What happened?" she asked after he had hung up the phone.

His face was nearly unreadable as he met her concerned eyes. "We didn't get her. There was a... complication with the wolves."

"Complication? What do you mean? Did someone get hurt?"

He shook his head. "No, Emmett and Paul had a brief confrontation about the treaty line during the chase. Emmett crossed the line to try and grab Victoria, Paul was there to make sure he didn't. Everyone got distracted and then she was able to get away."

Evelyn frowned. "I didn't know they were going to be hunting her too."

"Neither did we," Jasper grumbled, clearly irritated. "And now she's gone and we have no idea when she'll try again."

"So she's out there right now," Evelyn said, mostly to herself as she tried to process that she still had to worry about the bloodthirsty vampire hunting her down. Would this ever end?

Jasper noticed the downturn in her mood immediately. "Hey, it's okay. She was running north, towards Canada and away from Forks. The wolves and Emmett and Carlisle are patrolling the forests around Forks too, just in case. You're still safe."

"For how long? Jasper, I don't want to wait around my whole life for her to keep trying to kill me." In her head, she almost wished Victoria would just come and get it over with. Maybe then all of this trouble would stop once she got what she wanted.

He squeezed her hand reassuringly, holding her gaze with his. "We will get her, Evelyn. I'll do everything in my power to make sure that you're safe. We all will."

She nodded, but despite how much she wanted to believe his words were true, she couldn't ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach that somehow, someone would end up hurt by the time everything was said and done.

**********

sooooooo hi lol

i never thought i would be one of those authors who up and abandons their story but that is in fact what i did and i am so unbelievably sorry you do not even know.

honestly so much happened in my life, nursing school was literally torture this past year but your girl finally graduated and passed the NCLEX... which means I am officially a registered nurse!! yay!!

i have had so many chapters for this story in my drafts the past year literally half written but i was never able to find the time to finish them all. honestly it was a combination of not having time, being at work and school, and prioritizing the people i love in real life during my last year of college that made me abandon this for a while. i also really struggled with losing interest, but i also have some other story ideas for other fandoms i wanna write so i'm hoping i can flip back and forth between this and any new stuff to keep ideas and interest fresh. i'm gonna do my best to try and finish the chapters i have mostly written over this summer and get them to you all. i just started my first nursing job and i only work 3-4 days a week (which is SO nice y'all have no idea) so i def have time to write on my off days!

your comments, messages (before wattpad took them away lol) and feedback are still so kind, even after a year has come and gone. again i am so unbelievably sorry for leaving this for so long, it genuinely breaks my heart and there really isn't any excuse but if you want to keep reading the story i will be updating it as i can.

much love for you all <333

kris