Taking The Front Exit [Alice]

[Alice Cullen]

Following the hallway out of the compound, Alice remained silent and let her mind wander. She thought of what would happen once they stepped outside of the doors of the medical compound that had been Jasper's prison for the last six months. They would obviously return to Forks, but what would happen after that was a complete mystery to Alice, even with the added help of her visions. However, neither she nor Jasper were deciding on anything at the moment, so no visions were currently coming into view. She thought of her possible options, but none were ones she wanted to consider, even if she would eventually have to choose one. How she could make her heart do that, she wasn't sure. But, one thing was painfully obvious that she could not ignore no matter how hard she tried. From the moment she decided to come to Florida, her life was now turned upside-down once again. Her heart was not entirely sure of what would come of her choice, but she had made it and she would have to live with the consequences, whatever those might be.

As they neared the doors, Alice felt a sudden hand on her elbow that pulled her back. Even through the fabric of her long-sleeved shirt, she could feel that it was Jasper's hand. When she stopped and looked at Jasper, he dropped his hand back to his side. A wave of confusion flooded Alice's mind as she wondered what he was doing. She had not expected him to touch her at all, let alone pull her back entirely without warning. Staring into his eyes for a solid five seconds, she searched for her answer but could not find anything at all. There was so much turmoil in his eyes, along with the pain and suffering that she could not decipher much of anything else. The blank stare she saw in his eyes was also filled with something else that Alice did not understand; did not understand until his arm was wrapped around her waist and her back was pressed against the opposite wall. Without a word, his lips were on hers.

Everything inside of her was telling Alice that this should not be happening at that moment. She was engaged, he had cheated on her and fathered two children from that relationship, he had abandoned her and their entire family when they needed him to stay, and most of all...he had broken every promise he had ever made to her that he would never hurt her. But, somehow she just couldn't push him away. Her hands found their way up to his face as he kissed her and she placed one on each cheek tenderly. All of her emotions were coming out in a single kiss as they remained there against the wall of his prison. As much guilt as she felt for kissing her ex-husband, she also felt that this was somehow right. The way her body fit against his and how her lips moved with his own; all of it was right and perfect.

In a span of a few minutes, she began to realize what she had just done. Everything about that kiss was betraying Evan, her fiance and the man who was faithful to her. Realizing this, she broke their kiss and looked away. Her emotions were even more confused than before and she knew that they had to leave before she did something else she would regret later. "I think it's best that we leave," she whispered and slid away from his grasp, biting her lip and looking at him with the most pitiful expression.

[Jasper Hale]

Jasper was coming closer to salvation the longer that he and Alice were kissing. One of the beautiful things about being a vampire, air was no longer something they had to have. Alice’s hands found their way to his face and in that moment Jasper felt something inside of Alice beside her pain and confusion. Jasper held onto it like he was a man on a raft in the middle of a hurricane and their kiss intensified. His world came crashing down around him as he felt guilt began to edge into Alice’s feelings. Alice broke of their magical kiss and looked away from him, and it shattered him to think that Alice regretted kissing him. Jasper stepped a back slightly so that he would no longer invade her space as she seemed to feel. Jasper closed his eyes against the pain as he heard Alice say, "I think it's best that we leave."

Jasper could feel the swirl of emotions tearing at Alice as it created a whirlwind inside of him. Jasper leaned his head against the wall before he turned his back to the wall and slid to the ground. Jasper held his head in his hands and sat on the floor without moving as he muttered, “I don’t know how I can do it Alice.” He sat in silence for a few moments but he then realized that he did not want to explain that statement to Alice and he finally got to his feet. With a direct and purposeful gaze Jasper looked past Alice to the door and walked towards him knowing that things would never be the same for him again.

[Alice Cullen]

More than anything, Alice wanted to be back in Jasper's arms and feel the same as she had just moments before. Their kiss had taken Alice back to a time whenever things were simple, when it had only been herself and Jasper. Nothing made sense outside of that world to Alice anymore. The only thing she knew was that now her heart was breaking all over again. Watching as Jasper slid to the floor, not able to say anything to him. She simply stood there and tried to think of anything that would make this situation less painful for herself and for Jasper. However, nothing was coming to her mind that would not make things worse. For the first time, she was happy that Jasper could not read her thoughts, for they would only add to the heartbreak of their sad situation. Instead, Alice just let her train of thoughts take her wherever they were going to take her. Mostly, she thought of how much she wanted to make the last six months disappear; to pretend that none of it had ever happened and go back to the way things were with Jasper. She really wished that it hadn't happened all together.

As she patiently waited for Jasper to regain his composure, she thought of what to do once they reached Forks again. Would she break things off with Evan? How could she even begin to tell Bella what had happened here in Florida? And what would happen with her and Jasper once they were not alone anymore? All of these questions, and more buzzed through her head until she watched as Jasper got up from his sitting position and began walking toward the door. He went past her, but she followed until she was even with him again. "You can do this Jasper," she whispered. "I have faith in you." That was all she could muster herself to say at the present, considering the head-dizzying kiss that had just occured between the two of them that was still having an effect on Alice. As they walked out the door, she walked over to the car where her driver was still waiting to take them back to the airport. Opening the door, she slid inside and waited for Jasper to join her.

[Jasper Hale]

Jasper and Alice had just reached the door and he noticed that there was still light out. His long sleeve shirt and his pants would protect him by he would need a hat or a head wrap of some sort if he would be going anywhere near people. Something else that came with that thought was how long ago it had been since his last meal. If he had been human his stomach would have growled and he became agitated with his thought train turning back to the life that he had just been saved from. Jasper was realizing that he was going to have to go back and get something to cover his head so that he would not reveal himself or Alice who was perfectly protected by her outfit. Jasper was becoming over burden by the situation and just as he was about to turn around to find something to cover his head with Jasper heard Alice respond to his comment. "You can do this Jasper," Alice whispered. "I have faith in you." Frustration waved through Jasper then and without bothering to stop it a snort escaped.

Jasper looked over at Alice and Jasper could taste the bitterness in his voice as he spoke, “Look where that faith got you. I’ll be right back.” Jasper went back down the hallway and to his former room and looked around for something to wrap around his head in. He finally settled ripping apart his old blanket and wrapped the piece of cloth around his head and pulled the ends out so that his face was hid by the edges. Jasper went back the way he had come and joined Alice in the car. He settled back into his seat giving no parting glance to his old prison and he did his best to ignore everything that was going on emotional inside of himself and the beautiful woman next to him.

[Alice Cullen]

Hearing the ice in Jasper's tone as he sniped at her reply "Look where that faith got you," Alice almost could feel the tears forming in her eyes that would never come. Sitting in the car as she waited for Jasper to come back, she fought back the urge to go in after him and kiss him again to make what he just said not true. But, as much as she wanted to make that statement go away, it was still there in the back of her mind replaying over and over again. As she sat in the car, she sighed pitifully and glanced out of the window. For the first time in a century, Alice wished to high heaven that she could cry. Because crying would be easier than not at the moment.

When Jasper did return and get into the car, she simply could not look in his direction knowing what he had just said to her. Looking ahead, she gave the driver directions to the airport and remained silent for the duration of their trip there, not knowing what to even begin to say to him about what he had said to her. Instead, she let her emotions do the talking for her knowing he would be atuned to exactly what she was feeling in that moment. A lot of hurt was coming from her heart in that moment as she continued to stare out the window. She wondered how she would even be able to stand having him around in Forks again, but she knew that the family wanted him to come home. And home was where he needed to be.

The driver took them to the airport and dropped them off. She thanked him politely and paid him the second half of the money she owed him before getting out. Walking into the airport with Jasper behind her, she went up to the counter and paid for a second ticket to Seattle. Their plane was boarding in ten minutes, so they made it and got on just in time. Once they were in their seats, Alice continued to look out the window. Looking back at her husband with the most pained expression she tried to hide, she whispered, "I am sorry...for everything."

[Jasper Hale]

Jasper was trying to be as patient and calm as he could while he also tried to unfocussed on what he had said to Alice back at the prison. He had snapped at her when all Alice had been trying to do was help and it bothered him that it was so easy for him to hurt her. Jasper was hesitant to see the rest of his family at the risk of what he may accidentally say to them. He was also trying to build a wall around himself to fight against the pain rolling off of Alice. Jasper really was getting sick and tired of causing pain and hurt to a woman that had meant so much to him over the last century. What was killing Jasper the most was for him to turn to Alice and pin her to the seat of the car and relive that moment back in his prison. They finally reached the airport and as it turned out the pair only had a few minutes to spare. Alice and Jasper had settled into their seats and he could sense that Alice was trying to avoid looking at him as much as he was with her. He felt her looking toward him but Jasper continued to look forward and a few seconds later he heard Alice whisper that she was sorry.

Jasper finally broke his end of the silence and turned back to Alice. “You don’t get it do you Alice?” Jasper felt genuinely confused and he shook his head at Alice, “You have nothing to be sorry about. You never did anything wrong.”

[Alice Cullen]

Alice continued to look at Jasper, focusing on the side of his face and the perfection that lie there. A desire to reach out and caress the side of his face formed in the back of Alice's mind, but she pushed it away mutely. He does not want me to touch him, she reminded herself silently. She then tried to harness some of her pain so that he would not feel as much, but there was just too much there for her to do it without the help of Jasper's power, which she knew he was not using so he could still feel her pain for punishment. Part of her wanted to slap him and tell him that she still loved him, so he should stop feeling like he was now. But another very powerful part of her psyche was stuck on the fact that he had cheated on her and broken their marriage vows. That, coupled with their passionate kiss from not even an hour before, was running through Alice.

She was taken somewhat off-guard when he turned to her and spoke again, trying to make her see that she was not to blame for anything. However, she shook her tiny head. "I am partially to blame," she defended softly. "Had I not left for England over our arguement, you would have never..." She bit her lip and didn't know how to phrase the next part, but decided to skip that altogether. "And this entire situation could have been avoided. If anyone should share part of the blame, it is me." Alice shook her head and pressed one hand to her temple. She knew her part in the whole thing, even if she was innocent of never breaking her vows to Jasper. While she had been away, she had seen in her visions how her decision to leave had affected her family's futures, but she had never seen Jasper cheating on her. That was something unexpected and out of the blue. And now, they were paying the consequences for that many times over. Looking away from Jasper, she stared out of the window and thought of when she had flown to Italy with Bella to save Edward. Jasper had been so concerned then for her safety, but when they had been reunited everything was just fine. Alice wished she could go back to that day or any day before Crystal came alone to tell herself not to be stupid and leave for England.

[Jasper Hale]

Jasper was trying to settle himself with controlling his own emotions to calm himself down but what Alice left him with was far worse. He was hardly looking forward to the ride all the way back to Forks. He was trying to settle into his seat as best that he could when Alice responded to his statement that she had nothing to take blame for. Alice said that she was in part to blame and Jasper continued to shake his head as Alice spoke. Jasper finally spoke once Alice had finished and he was stating it as a fact rather then self-pity, “I was the weak link Alice; just like I always have been and probably always will be. Alice we fought because I did not believe in you. For the first time in our entire relationship I trusted someone over you. That was my fault, and mine alone. You would not have left if it wasn’t for me. You get no share in the blame.”

Jasper watched as Alice stared out of the window and seemed to be lost in a memory. Jasper sighed to himself and turned over in his seat now that the plane had taken off. He closed his eyes knowing that he would never sleep and it was pointless to pretend because Alice would know the truth. The way that he had it figured it would be easier for the both of them if they tried to ignore each other until the plane landed. Jasper settled himself down for the plane ride knowing it would be filled with good and bad memories along with feelings that would continue to pound away at him.

[Alice Cullen]

For the remainder of the plane ride home, Alice remained silent and unsure of what to say. Jasper was not going to let her blame herself for what had happened, so there was obviously no point in arguing with him. Instead, she focused out the window of their plane and tried to keep her emotions in check. For a while, she pointedly thought of other things to take her mind of her present situation. She thought of Renesmee at home and her goddaughter Alicia, the precious little baby that had everyone captivated. A little smile errupted when she thought of how cute Alicia would be growing up. They would go on shopping trips to Seattle and other places throughout Washington, even making several trips outside of Washington to the east coast for special clothes.

Keeping her mind on other members of her family, Alice felt her mood soften to a more even tone. One that Jasper would be able to stand. The flight lasted just over four hours, though with the time change it seemed like no time had passed at all. When they landed in Seattle, it was almost the exact time it was when they had left Florida. Stepping off the plane, Alice knew that they would not need to go to luggage claim, so she turned and looked at Jasper. "Would you like some time to yourself?" she asked in a gentle tone of voice. "If not, I can take you back to the mansion. All you need to do is let me know what you want to do." Putting the decision in his hands was what Alice felt needed to happen. After all, Jasper had been the one who was gone for six months, so he needed to choose what he wanted to do with his freedom.

[Jasper Hale]

Jasper was able to settle more comfortably as the plane ride continued because Alice seemed to have settled on thoughts that were actually happy. The old Jasper once feeling that would gently tease Alice about her thoughts and joke that she must have been thinking of him to be in such a happy mood. The Jasper that he was now refused to turn over and look at Alice much less try to tease her and go back to the way things had been before. Jasper was getting agitated with himself as he focused on the calm and joy blanketing Alice’s hurt. After a few hours of focusing on Alice’s sense of peace the plane finally landed. Jasper realized that he could now take off the old bed sheet piece he had wrapped around his head to hide his face.

Jasper held the ball of fabric in a clenched fist as Alice asked him what he wanted to do. She offered to take him back to the mansion if he did not want to take the time alone. “I’m going to take time to myself then I am going back to the mansion.” Jasper replied. He looked around and noticed a trash can by the door, Jasper turned back to Alice, “Thank you for coming.” Jasper walked away from Alice at that point and when he reached the trash can he threw away the last piece of his prison away before walking out the doors into the free air.

[Alice Cullen]

Alice only nodded in reply to Jasper as he turned and walked away from her, stopping to throw away the bedsheet he had wrapped his head with. She knew that he would need time alone to absorb everything that had just happened in a span of a few hours, but at the same time she was worried about leaving him alone. After being held hostage for six months, Alice knew that Jasper was probably somewhat unstable. But, she also knew that she needed to respect his wishes to be alone for a while to process his own thoughts and feelings rather than being around everyone else who had feelings of their own.

Keeping her blanketed happiness as she walked away from him in the opposite direction, she thought of what she had just done. Flying all the way across the country and back in one day to save her ex-husband was not something a normal person would do. Since when have I ever been normal? she asked herself wordlessly. Shaking her head, she set off toward no place in particular. "I need to get away," she said aloud to no one. When she arrived at the mansion, she went to the garage and got into her Porsche before backing out and taking off to Seattle. If there was one thing that would lighten her mood, it was shopping.