
There were many parts of this chapter that I could have chosen. However, Jasper asking an unconscious Bella for forgiveness. Has a strong pull to it.
Chapter 4: Penance
I, Jasper Cullen, on the other hand blamed no one but myself.
I was aware of the risk of Bella being a part of our lives. Just like so many of my family, I was willing to look the other way when I saw the spark of life that Bella ignited deep within my brother. Once Edward had decided to turn from the path of ending her life, I began to feel emotion roll from him that I never had before. The simple feeling of his happiness made me joyful.
But now Edward's joy lay battered and broken before me. Bella's body portrayed Edward's emotions perfectly. Even though leaving Bella had been his choice, leaving her had broken him and had thrown him into a darkness I had never experienced before. Edward's very being seemed to have withered and died; much like the prairie grass in the hot Texas sun.
Turning my thoughts back toward my task, I took in a deep breath.
"I'd like to ask you to forgive me for what I did that night. Not just for my actions, but for the consequences of those actions. I tore away your reason to live. I didn't see it before, but I do now. You complete him, Bella. I see now that it was you who pulled him from the darkness."
I couldn't seem to pull my eyes away from her ashen-colored face. Carlisle had sewn the gash on her forehead closed while butterfly band aids pulled closed some of the lesser cuts on her face. A large purple and black bruise lay cross her right cheek; it seemed to blend with the dark circles under her eyes.
An IV line twined out from the bend in her right elbow. Staring at the IV line was how I noticed the long thin scar that ran from her wrist to her elbow. There was one more scar on her that I had yet to look at. It was the crescent shaped one on her hand. James had branded her that day, stealing something precious from my brother.