Made of Glass Chapter 13

A Chapter by Charlie

Dolly's first run in with Jasper.

When I got back to the bar I headed straight up to my room ignoring the friendly greetings from my coworkers. I locked the door behind me and sunk down onto my bed putting my head into my hands.

A freakin vampire? Suddenly I was in a world of monsters and fairy tales. These things didn’t exist. This wasn’t real. Once I was away from Eddie, the idea seemed very silly to me. The pieces certainly fit, but it was too impossible. Things like this just didn’t happen. But they were happening. I saw them with my own eyes. No normal human would have been able to save me from that river. He freaked out when I was bleeding; he only came around the bar at night or on rainy days. He was clearly too gorgeous to be human. Eddie was never normal. Not from the first day I met him. I knew that he wasn’t human. So why was I so afraid to put this label on him?

Because vampires were the bad guys. I had read Dracula too. He wasn’t a nice fellow. He killed people. He didn’t pull them out of rivers before they drowned and he didn’t get angry at college girls for ruining book endings for them or put up with being called Buttercup. Eddie wasn’t Dracula.

Dracula was fiction. Eddie was real. He was right in front of me.

Wait. What if he wasn’t real? What if I was just crazy and imagined the whole thing? Possible.

Unlikely. Besides if I were crazy I would prefer to be crazy. I’d rather live a lie if it meant I got to be with Eddie.

Alright so that was it. I wasn’t going to care. I wasn’t going to care that he was a vampire just like I wasn’t going to care that he wasn’t coming into the bar. None of it matter because he was done with me. I would have to pull myself up and forget about my ex best vampire friend. I could probably do that . . .

The next day I had my eyes trained out the front of the bar all day. I kept telling myself that I didn’t care if he came in or not, but I knew I was lying to myself. I had been arguing with myself all day trying to convince myself that there was no way he was going to show up so that when I saw his shiny silver Volvo pull into the parking lot I stared in disbelief. No way he was actually here.

I watched him park his car still trying to puzzle the mystery out. I watched him with my nose pressed against the glass of the front window as he stepped out. I let out a disappointed sigh when I realized it wasn’t in fact Eddie. It wasn’t actually his car just the same type. This was getting ridiculous! Getting all excited about this guy I didn’t even care about anymore.

I watched the man that was not Eddie run through the rain that was pouring from the sky toward the bar before shoving away from the window. I scolded myself for being so wrapped up in him.

When the man that was not Eddie stepped through the front door my breath caught. This man was almost as gorgeous as Eddie was. His hair was so blond that if it was on anyone else I would have believed it to be dyed but for some reason everything about this guy seemed authentic so I dismissed that idea. He was about the same size as Eddie with that perfectly clear pale skin he had and his eyes were the same. They were the bright golden color Eddie had when he was in his best moods.

There was no doubt in my mind that this was another Cullen. Every last freaking one of those guys was unfairly attractive. I had never heard super good looks listed as one of the vampire super powers but I was new to this whole thing.

I’m afraid I was staring at him for quite some time trying to solve the mystery before me. Why would he come here? Had Eddie convinced him of the charms of the Blue Flame? Unlikely there were no charms to be had here. I never understood why Eddie came here in the first place. Also, wouldn’t the rift between Eddie and me have stopped anyone from that side of the camp crossing over here.

The stranger walked up to Monica and flashed her a brilliant smile. He said a couple of words to her and she turned to look at me pointing. The stranger met eyes with me and nodded once before turning back to Monica.

Or he had come to see me. It was reasonable to think that Eddie had talked to the rest of his family about me and now his brother wanted to know what was causing all the commotion. Maybe the snuff was finally coming.

I could hear Monica’s flirtatious giggle from across the bar. This guy was laying it on pretty thick for her. She led him over to the booth Eddie usually sat at and with an over the top departing smile Monica twirled away toward me.

She was not in her bogusly good mood when she addressed me. “This is so unfair, Doll. You get all of the hotties. That guy specifically asked for you. You don’t even play and you have Eddie. Share the wealth girlfriend. So who is he?”

I didn’t really feel like explaining myself to Monica after her unforgiving rant, but her thoughts mirrored my own.

“I have no idea. I’ve never seen him before,”

"Well he asked for you by name. Maybe you have a secret admirer!” she winked at me before pushing me over in his direction.

I greeted him cheerfully like any other customers “Can I start you off with something to drink?”

“Yes, I’ll have a beer please. Whatever’s on tap.” His voice was rich and full and beautiful. I could see it was going to be just as hard to concentrate around him as it was around Eddie.

“Are you going to drink it?” I asked suspiciously.

“Pardon me?” he talked like he was from a different century just like Eddie did.

“Eddie never drank his,” I said looking him straight in the eye. Vampire or no, I would show no fear.

“Eddie?” He said the word slowly chewing it over and then smirked. “ Eddie doesn’t, does he?”

“Nope I usually have to throw it out so if you’re the same as him you don’t have to drink anything.”

He leaned back to get a full view of me. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He was sizing me up and he found me amusing. I could sense he was in good spirits despite his suspicions about me.

Why would he be suspicious?

“I’ll have the beer,” he said finally.

“Alright,” I said slightly frustrated. “I’m Dolly by the way.”

“Jasper,” he held out his hand to me.

I gripped it and gave it a firm shake.

“Pleasure,” I said only mostly sarcastically.

“The pleasure is all mine, ma’am,” he said sounding so much like Eddie I had to smile in response despite the fact that he called me ma’am. I really hated that. I was only 19. Surly I didn’t look like a ma’am yet. Maybe a miss!

I turned away from him and retrieved his beer and brought it straight back to him.

I set it down in front of him with a “Here ya go,” and a smile and turned to leave again but he stopped me.

“So Edward spends a lot of time here. I can only imagine it is because of you,” He turned a critical eye about the decrepit building.

I shrugged. “He was here long before I was.”

Jasper leveled an intense eye at me. “I think he comes for you,” he said with some deep emotion in the words.

“He’s not around so much anymore,” I said responding to his unpleasant tone with a similar one in my words.

“Do you know a lot about the family?” he asked guarded.

I read between the line. He was asking me if I knew he was a vampire. I felt like if I answered yes to that one, it would be detrimental to my health.

“He doesn’t talk about you much,” I hedged trying and failing to keep the unreasonable anger from my voice.

He grunted, “From the way he describes it you’d probably think we’re all knaves and scoundrels,” the way he stared at me as he said the last words made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

“He never gave me that impression,” I answered honestly.

He grunted again.

“Yet you understand we don’t want him hanging out with you. I don’t like him hanging out here,” he cut straight to the point his emotions shifting from playful to more hostile and . . . protective at the same time.

“I did get that impression,” I said stonily. Was it too much to hope that the only reason he didn’t come anymore was because of his family and not because of me?

“And yet he still comes,” he said slightly frustrated.

“Not so much anymore,” I corrected him.

“He’ll be back. He’s having trouble staying away,” he hitched his voice even lower while looking me straight in the eye with a look of concentration on his face. Despite his menacing tone his words sent thrills through me body. I hoped to God he was telling the truth.

“Maybe it’s the beer,” I tried to continue to be smooth and unaffected despite the surge of emotions I was going through.

“You said he doesn’t drink it.”

Well enough of these games. I leaned down toward him

“Maybe he comes here because he has a good time. Maybe I make him happy which is something your family has failed to do,” that’s what I hoped for anyway. “We’re closing early today for the game. You had better finish your beer and go,” I pushed off from the table and walked away from him.

I decided I didn’t like Eddie’s family. Not one bit.

Jasper didn’t hurry through his beer. He sat and sipped it slowly while watching me through hooded eyes. The stares didn’t seem hostile mostly just curious and confused.

He stayed until Monica announced that we were closing. He drew his wallet out of his pocket and placed a bill on the table before sliding out of the booth. He gave one last glance at me which I met hostilely and then headed to the door.

He stopped in his tracks staring bewildering out the window as the sun split through the clouds of the storm and spilled onto the parking lot. He stared at the sunlight like it was an impassable wall. Fear gripped him.

“Is something wrong?” Monica asked in a friendly tone.

He turned to look at her. His mouth working as he tried to come up with an excuse.

“Jasper,” I called to him taking a few steps toward the two of them not really sure what I was going to say. “I have a . . . uh book for Eddie up in my room. If you could bring it to him?”

He looked shocked at the offer but nodded in agreement and left Monica’s side to join me.

Inviting a hostile vampire up to your room. Very smart, Dolly.

I led him awkwardly up the stairs to my apartment. I opened the door and motioned for him to enter. He took a few steps in and I held my breath waiting for him to turn and sink his teeth into my neck.

“Where’s all your furniture?” he asked.

I raised an eyebrow at him. Really? That’s what he has to say.

I ignored the question “There’s a back way that leads out to the parking lot if you follow the hallway straight back. I have an umbrella somewhere if that would help or you could stay up here till it gets dark, I guess,” I suggested not sure about the rules of vampires and sunlight. Since they could come out when it was cloudy I imagined they just needed to be protected from direct sunlight.

“Is there anyone who could see me out back?” Jasper asked.

“Probably not. Unless some poor bum had wandered back there,” I retrieved the umbrella and held it up to him.

“That won't be necessary,” He turned back toward the door. “I thought you said you didn’t know anything about the family,”

“I don’t. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said stubbornly.

He gave me a small smile before heading back down the stairs and down the hallway.

“You’re welcome,” I said to the empty room before I ran to my window to watch his progress across the parking lot hoping that he wouldn’t burst into flames but he was already in his car and driving away by the time I made it there.

“Weird.” I summed up the whole experience.

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