Chapter 2

"Don't call me that! If I hadn't had Jasper by my side all these years, I would've gone insane from having to face you every day. Bella already told me everything. That fire was not a threat to her at all. You brought this on yourself!"

Bella frowned. "Hannah, stop. Jason, calm down. We'll wait for you outside."

I walked into the bathroom. A pale man with swollen cheeks and traces of blood at the corner of his mouth stared back at me in the mirror.

I took out my phone and checked the email I'd received from Hermon Trauma Research Center three days ago.

"Mr. Frost, welcome to the New Life Program. Your flight ticket will be ready in three days."

I reached the car to find Jasper talking, Bella gazing at him tenderly, and Mom laughing heartily. Her laughter stopped when she saw me. She pulled open the backseat door and got into the car.

Bella opened the front passenger door. I instinctively walked over, but she stopped me. "Jason, Jasper gets carsick easily. You sit in the back."

Jasper got in, and Bella fastened his seat belt for him.

I said nothing and was just about to get in when Mom stopped me again. She laid down a disposable incontinence pad.

"Jasper said you've gotten so used to faking your illness that pretending to be incontinent comes easy to you."

I smiled bitterly and got in.

The car was silent, except for Jasper's quiet conversation with Bella about the preparations for the forum.

When the car stopped outside the restaurant, the private room was already packed with their friends and classmates. They all turned to look at me with curious, slightly mocking expressions.

I stood at the doorway, watching Jasper get ushered into the seat of honor before it finally dawned on me.

This was a celebration banquet prepared just for him. Not a single seat was left for me.

"Pour him a drink and thank him for helping you." Mom handed over a glass.

Bella took it and held it to my lips.

"I'm allergic to alcohol…"

"This isn't alcohol." Then she whispered in my ear and gently pinched my cheek. "Trust me, Jason."

That little gesture had been just between us for ten years.

Jasper walked over, his face flushed. He raised his glass and lightly clinked it against mine. "I'll drink mine first."

Everyone started exchanging knowing looks. Some even began teasing us.

"That's pretty rude. Bella, get your man under control."

"Come on, don't ruin the mood!"

Bella pressed the glass to my lips, digging it into the wound in my palm. I flinched in pain, and the drink went straight down my throat.

I choked and coughed uncontrollably as large red rashes began spreading across my neck.

Jasper gasped softly beside Bella. "Sorry, I think I mixed up our glasses."

Flustered, Bella was just about to help me up when Jasper clutched his forehead. "Bella, I feel so dizzy."

Her outstretched hand immediately changed direction as she wrapped her arms tightly around Jasper and asked if he was okay.

Jasper leaned against her, peeking at me with a smile.

Mom also shoved me aside, ignoring the rashes on my face.

Unwilling to endure the humiliation any longer, I swallowed the blood rising in my throat, endured the tingling sensation on my skin, and walked out.

A message from Bella popped up on my phone. "Take a cab home. I'll get you some medicine."

I didn't reply.

I took a cab and went to the emergency department. By the time my IV was finished, it was midnight.

When I got home and opened the door, the living room was brightly lit. Jasper sat on the couch wearing my new pajamas, while Bella crouched in front of him, massaging his ankle.

"I wanted to support you, but you just had to walk on your own. See? Now you twisted your ankle." Bella's voice was scolding, but there was concern beneath it.

When she saw me, her hand paused for a moment before she slipped Jasper's foot back into his slipper.

"You're back. I bought you soup and medicine. Eat first, then take two pills."

I didn't respond, my eyes fixed on the pendant around Jasper's neck. "Who says you can wear it? Take it off!"