"Go hunting now and stay out of hearing range of the house. I have to talk to your sister about this whole mess ..."
Walking from the kitchen, I inhaled deeply at the sense of familiarity my family brought. Nothing had changed since I had last left them, except for my parents' wrath, which I have to admit shamefully, was rightfully deserved.
'Edward, stop daydreaming and hurry up', Carlisle's baritone voice broke through my thoughts. Realising my dad was truly not in the right frame of mind to irritate him any further, I stepped towards the shoe cupboard and quickly pulled on my hunting trainers.
Not 120 seconds later, I stepped cautiously onto the landing in my clean clothes and scruffy sneakers, inhaling deeply; I was met by the sweet smell of lavender from the air freshener. Skipping lithely down the stairs I greeted my empathic brother as pulled on the unnecessary coats for there was a chill in the air as the evening was progressing. Shivering outwardly, I realised that in 2 hours - and not a second longer as my ever loving father quoted – the temperature on certain parts of my anatomy wouldn't be quite so chilled.
"Ready boys?" Carlisle's voice brought me out of my inner musings, snapping out attention to him, we both nodded. My father might seem calm now, but I for one wasn't daring enough to even breathe out of turn let alone speak up in protest. Despite my recent behaviour, I was a fast learner.
"Now Jasper, I have my cell on me, so should there be any problems," Carlisle paused to shoot me a look in warning; I felt the still air become lodged in my trachea as we made eye contact. "Don't hesitate to call me; I am not leaving the property anyway so use the house number as well. Ok?"
I let my gaze drop down to the floor, where my scuffed old trainers stood out against my mother's pristine carpet. I felt rather than saw the finger Carlisle used to pick up my chin so I would meet his gaze evenly.
"And you young man, are to behave yourself, or what you are due to receive tonight will feel like a picnic by the time I am finished with you, do you understand?"
Nodding mutely, I quickly cleared my throat before giving a verbal response at Carlisle's raised eyebrow.
"Very well then, I will see you in 2 hours" Carlisle clapped Jasper's shoulder and tapped my cheek in warning before ruffling my hair, causing me to groan and dive out of the way whilst pushing my chuckling brother out the door. Just before I exited my hearing range, I smirked to myself as I heard 'I love you son' from Carlisle before entering my sisters bedroom. I might manage to push every button my father had, but to give the man his credit, he never gave up on us and never stopped loving us.
Matching my brother pace for pace through the winding trees, I felt the sense of freedom and exhilaration I had been dreaming off since leaving Volterra. With the wind whipping at my face, as we searched for our first prey, I was able to forget what was happening at home.
After taking two deer each, Jasper and I stopped for a quick breather and to check the time. Sitting back in the dirt leaning against some trees, the stillness of the forest allowed me to bask in the sense of security my brother brought.
'We missed you, you know', Jasper thought quietly to me. Shooting him a sideways glance, I rested my hand upon his shoulder and gave a brief nod. I'd missed them too.
"Don't do it again please Edward or it won't be only dad that gets onto your ass, understood?" Jasper levelled his gaze with me and his mind spoke of his determination. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Jasper had seen so much in his lifetime, almost as much as Carlisle's, what he lacked in comparison of age against Carlisle, he sure made up for in wisdom. Jasper could easily lead his own coven, should he ever want too.
Glancing curiously at the waves of sudden admiration and proud that streamed off of me, Jasper opened his mouth to comment once more.
"Look, I'm sorry for what happened…"
"It wasn't your fault, it was an accident, I overreacted" I interjected Jasper's heartfelt but unnecessary apology.
"Trust me, I am not going to do something so reckless again, I can't live without her, Bella is my life now, and part of the family. That won't change."
Climbing to my feet, I gave a hand to help my brother up. A playful grin on his face, made him look younger.
"So you admit you were reckless then?" Jasper smirked, proud I had reached the realisation.
"Reckless, stupid, foolish and selfish might begin to cover it" I nodded in acquiesce.
Shrugging Jasper turned for home and broke off in a rapid pace. Taking me by surprise it took me a few seconds to catch up with him, but as I drew level, Jasper's smirk once again caught my attention.
'Admit it, you love her more than life itself'.
I couldn't help but agree, nodding a small smile came across my face, as my brother and I headed off into the night air, read for my punishment from my father. But at the end of the day, I knew I was lucky to have such a strong family bond.
AN: I am so so so sorry this has taken so long to post. I've come back into Uni and in 4 days I have handed in an essay, given a presentation, found a house for next year and rode 2 horses. Hence FF has taken a bit of a backburner.
A massive thank you for your patience, I hope you enjoyed the outtake and if you havent already go and checkout the original story by Coven Leader Carlisle Cullen.
Vanessa-thank you for allowing me to delve into your story, and this is dedicated to you, for every chapter of your stories have made me smile =)
Robyn
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