Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns everything Twilight and all its characters.

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I left Phoenix so my mother can be happy and now here I am in Phoenix hiding from a thirsty vampire who's tracking me. How did I get into this? How did a plain, average, dime-a-dozen, girl like me come to be protected from one vampire by a family of seven vampires? The Cullen's have all become family to me. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to them. Why hasn't Edward called? He should have called by now. What could that mean? Where'd Alice go? Why is it taking so long? What if their hurt? I can't deal with the thought of it. I should just let James get me. I'm not worth them risking their lives. They all have much more to lose than me. Why are they even bothering trying to protect m….

Just then a voice interrupts my mental rant.

"You're wrong. You are worth it" Jasper says quietly.

I look over at him lounging in the hotel room chair in front of the tv. Jasper and I have never really been close. Well, really we've never even talked besides a passing hello, and never have we been in the same room together alone. Edward told me that Jasper was the newest to their diet and had poor control of his bloodlust. I wonder now if that's true. He looked completely at ease. I've never seen him looking uncomfortable around other humans. Hmm. Edward wouldn't lie to me though, so Jasper must just be really good at hiding his thirst and lack of control.

"Huh? Worth what?"

"You were feeling worthless. I just wanted you to know that you are worth it." He says quietly again. As he stops speaking he looks at me with such emotion in his eyes that I am left breathless. Then it's gone and I'm left wondering if I even saw it.

"No Jasper you're wrong. I'm not worth your family risking their immortal lives to save my expiring mortal life. Your family has forever to look forward to and I have an expiration date of at most 90 years. With my luck it'll be considerably less than that. You all have been here for decades to centuries before me and will be around for centuries to come after my life is over. So tell me why should you all risk that to save my life now when my life could just wind up ending tomorrow when I don't chew my food right and choke on a piece of steak?" I was starting to sound hysterical. My voice was rising more and more so that I was almost screaming at him.

That's when Jasper surprised me. One second he was leaning forward in the chair with his elbows on his knees. The next he was in front of me with his hands on my shoulders. I felt an overwhelming amount of calm wash over me.

"Because Bella, if we let you die today than we wouldn't be able to live our forever in peace. Whether you know it or not the moment you walked into our lives we were irrevocably changed. We never knew that something was missing in our lives but from the minute we met you we knew that you had been missing. It's like being blind your entire life without knowing it then all of a sudden you can see. You are the missing puzzle piece and I have no intention of letting you go." As he says this he brushes the hair from my face. His cold fingers drop to my jaw and trace it to my chin to tilt my face up so I am looking him straight in the eyes. The gold in his eyes are swimming with such emotion, strength, determination, passion, and love. No I have to have misread that. Wait he just said, 'I have no intention of letting you go'. Not we but I.

"You just said 'I have no intention of letting you go' you mean 'we have no intention of letting you go'." I tell him.

Again his every emotion shows in his eyes. Only this time love and passion are all that's there. I never noticed his eyes are so different from Edwards. Edward's topaz seems so feeble while looking into Jaspers honeyed eyes. It's like someone drizzled honey on the setting sun then put it into Jaspers eyes. They seemed to give off their own light and radiate an intense heat.

"No Isabella. I said exactly what I meant to say." His eyes were now smoldering and I was powerless to look away. He cupped my cheek and began to lean in. Just as his lips were about to meet mine the door knob started to turn.