I have waited a thousand years for you.

Enjoying it while it lasts

They stayed that way for some time. Jasper counted each shaky breath that left Margaret's trembling lips. He felt each heartbeat, thudding from the inside as if were trying to get out.

"I'm sorry- I..." Margaret's words were quieted and muffled by Jasper's chest. Her hands holding fistfuls of his shirt as if he were about to disappear. "I didn't expect it to be like this. I didn't-" Tears escaped from her eyes as she regathered her words and settled her breathing. "I just, thought she would've changed a little." Jasper hadn't moved an inch, his arms still holding her protectively.

"You don't have to apologize for anything," His voice came out hoarse and thick, as if he had been screaming. "It's not your fault." A cold, thin finger traced her jawline and directed her eyes towards his. "Maybe she just needs some time to settle in." He offered, even if in the inside he feared it may not be that. Deep inside he worried that Alice's vision wouldn't change, not if they didn't do anything to stop it from happening. Somehow, Edward had to leave, go far away from Bella so that there would be no room for catastrophe, but he couldn't ask that of him, not without giving explanations. Even if he could, he would never be able to leave without Maggie, and he couldn't ask her to leave her father behind. He wouldn't do that. He couldn't.

"I know." She agreed, her forehead still resting on his chest, and her fists relaxing and letting go from his shirt, leaving it wrinkly were she had held it tight. Those thin arms snaked their way around him to hug him back. "It's going to be hard, not drawing attention to us."

"Mmm," he hummed against her hair, laying a kiss there. "You have no idea."

***

Margaret had thought of waking up to her alarm, feeling the bed empty by Jasper's absence and find a cute little note or text to bring her spirits up before going to his place. Just like usual. The thing is, with Bella around, nothing is like usual. So when her screaming woke Margaret up, Jasper was still next to her. It was a glass-shattering screech that must've woken up the hole neighborhood. Jasper looked even paler than usual, as if he had just faced a ghost. Margaret, despite the terrifying experience, took her time to admire his messy hair and clothes, wrinkled and perfect. He hadn't been sleeping, that she knew, but knowing him, she guessed he had been next to her, his eyes closed, imagining that he was.

Heavy stomping raised Maggie's attention again. Bella was coming, and for some reason she was mad. Looking at the bedside clock, Bella had to be mad about something at six in the morning on the last day of summer break. Great.

"You should go." She told Jasper, who still stood puzzled and distressed. "I bet it's going to be a rough morning."

"Rougher than Emmett on an empty stomach?" Jasper joked, remembering they still had to go hunting before the game that night.

"Have you met my sister? It's definitely worse, and way dangerous." Her laughter gave him the energy he needed, and her smile made everything simply brighter.

"I'll drop by after breakfast, darlin'." He kissed her goodbye and disappeared through the still dark windows. Margaret dropped exhausted on her bed again, only for Bella to barge in.

"Do you often talk to yourself? It's very annoying."  Her hair was pin straight and sticking to her face. As Maggie focused her eyes, she realized she was drenched, dripping water all over her floors.

"Do you often eavesdrop? And barge into peoples room, without knocking, in the middle of the morning and French their floor?" She listed, her sarcasm evident. "What do you need at fricking six am." She asked, tired and dreaming of going back to bed for an hour or so.