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𝐈𝐕𝐘'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍,
had softened into a mist by late afternoon, the trees slick with droplets that glittered like hanging stars. I stood just past the treeline, watching steam rise off the rocks from a brief flash of sun. It was oddly beautiful, quiet, clean, like the world had just exhaled.

"I figured you'd be out here," Jasper said from behind me.

I turned, startled but not alarmed. He moved like the storm, silent, with weight under his stillness.

" Wild guess. You watching me again?" I teased gently.

Jasper didn't smile, but something in his expression eased. "You've got a tendency to disappear when your thoughts are heavy."

I shrugged, looking back at the trees. "It's not heavy. Just... humming. Like there's something inside me I don't have the words for it yet."

He nodded once. "That's how it starts."

We walked in silence through the damp underbrush. I didn't know if this was a conversation or just... presence. With Jasper, words felt optional. He didn't pressure me. Maybe because he knew the burden of invisible weight too well.

"You know, when I first turned," I said, breaking the hush, "I thought I'd be nothing but what I came from. Rage. Pain. All sharp edges. But the Cullens-You, Carlisle, the otherd- You all didn't look at me like I was a monster."

Jasper glanced at me, gold eyes unreadable. "That's the hardest thing to believe, sometimes. That... someone can look at you and see more than what you've become."

I hesitated. "Do you?"

He didn't answer at first. "You're quiet, but you're not withdrawn. You listen, because you want to understand. That's not nothing, Ivy. That's a choice."

We stopped near a sun-dappled clearing. I leaned against a tree, watching small birds scatter overhead.

"I've felt your ability," Jasper added, gently. "Or rather, I haven't. You're... blank. Like a void."

I met his gaze. "Does that scare you?"

"No," he said honestly. "It's... peaceful. You're the only one I've ever been around who doesn't flood me with noise. That stillness, there's comfort in it."

I didn't expect the heat behind my eyes. For someone whose body was stone, that ache of emotion still came damn uninvited.

"Thank you." I whispered.

He gave a short nod. "Come on. Esme's got something planned."

..........

Back at the house, the air buzzed with something like celebration. Esme had cleared out the west room, the one Rosalie helped restore, and laid out their old photo albums, journals, and things she had preserved over the decades.

"I thought Ivy might like to see where we came from," Esme said warmly, handing me a small bound book with a faded ivory cover. "We all started somewhere strange."

Rosalie sat near the grand window, polishing a brass lamp. Emmett was teasing Bella about her terrible human photos. I disagree mentally, cause she actually looked cute and beautiful in some of them.

Edward hovered near the piano, pretending not to smirk with Emmett teasing his wife.

"Is that you?" I asked Alice, pointing at a black-and-white photo of a young girl maybe around in a 1920s dress, eyes wide with mischief.

"Guilty," she grinned. "I don't remember the moment, but I like to imagine I was giving the photographer a run for his money."

Everyone laughed. I laughed too, unguarded.

It was surreal. Just weeks ago, I was alone. Now, I was sitting on a rug beside a vampire who could read minds, another who could crush cars, and a woman who once died in a hospital bed.

Carlisle placed a soft hand on my shoulder as he passed.

"You belong here, Ivy. No lies." he said quietly.

..........

Later, when the others drifted off to their rooms or nighttime routine, I stayed back. The house was quieter than usual. Even the forest outside seemed to hush for a moment.

Maybe it was because, for the first time, I wasn't running from who I had become anymore.

And maybe, maybe I was beginning to run towardsn something instead. Well, I just hope I don't trip.