Synopsis
After a forced marriage filled with violence, Bella escapes from Edward with their unborn child. Almost four years later, Edward has found her and their daughter and he refuses to let them go.
This is an alternative POV for Chapter 29 - Changing Tide. It's been quite sometime since I wrote or read Twilight fanfiction so I'm not sure if any of my old betas, or websites who oversaw betas, still exist. I've had this chapter sitting on my harddrive for a while so I decided to just post it. I'm just warning anyone who doesn't like to read FF that has not been looked over by a beta that this chapter wasn't. I looked it over several times but I may have missed a few things, for that I apologize.
My child
Such trouble I have
And you sleep, your heart is placid;
you dream in the joyless wood;
in the night nailed in bronze,
in the blue dark you lie still and shine.
Simonides (c. 556-468 BCE),
"Danaë" (tr. Richmond Lattimore)
Chapter 29 – Changing Tide
Alternative POV
Alexis couldn't stop looking at the clock high up on the wall. Even though she couldn't tell time as yet, she knew when it signaled the end of school. Her teacher had taught them that when the long hand was on the twelve, and the little hand was on two, it was time to go home. Both hands weren't there as yet, but they were close.
She was just starting to pack away her toys when the first set of parents arrived. Without having to look at the clock, she knew it was time to go home. Her eyes darted to the door every time it opened to see if her mother, father or grandmother had arrived to pick her up. A small part of Alexis hoped it was her grandmother who picked her up. Grandma Renee often took her out for treats after school.
She didn't see the man at first when he came into her classroom. Alexis was too busy stopping another child from knocking down the blocks she'd neatly stacked.
"Alexis, your dad is here," Ms. Clark said.
Alexis turned towards the door, forgetting what she was doing. Excitement flooded her at first, but that only lasted a moment before she realised that the man standing by Ms. Clark was not her father.
"Alexis, let's go. We can stop off for some ice-cream before we go home," the man said.
Ms. Clark took in the scene before her for only a few seconds, before the sound of crashing on the other side of the room averted her attention.
"Nathan, get that out of your mouth. It was on the floor," she said, before leaving Alexis alone with the man.
Before Alexis could call her back, the man was standing infront of her with her school bag and lunch kit in hand.
"You're not my dad," Alexis said, as the man began tugging her, by her hand, towards the door.
"No, I'm your dad's brother. He sent me to pick you up because he's at work." He tried again to pull Alexis towards the door, but she resisted.
"Don't you remember me?" he asked. Alexis knew he was becoming angry. "I spoke to your mom outside of your house. My name is Jacob."
It took Alexis a few seconds, before she remembered him. Jacob used her recognition of him to pull her towards the door and out into the parking lot.
"I'm just going to drop you off for your parents," he said, as he placed her in the backseat of his car.
"Where?" Alexis asked, as he got into the front seat and started the car.
"By your grandmother."
That made Alexis feel a little better. Something about Jacob made her feel not right. She would rather be with Grandma Renee if her parents were busy.
"I bet your dad never mentioned me, huh?" Jacob said suddenly.
Alexis shook her head, but she doubted Jacob could see it as his eyes were focused on the road.
"I'm your dad's brother. Which means I'm your uncle. We're family." His eyes went to the rear-view mirror, but Alexis was too short for him to see her.
"He doesn't talk about me a lot, because he and I don't really see eye to eye," Jacob said. "Also he's the promised child, while I'm the black sheep," he added in a mutter.
Alexis did not understand one word of what Jacob was saying, but she thought it better to remain silent than to tell him that.
Jacob did not speak for the rest of the drive, choosing instead to hum a tune as they made their way through Forks.
When he eventually stopped his car, Alexis raised herself up on her arms to peak through the passenger side window, in the hopes that it was her house, but she'd known long before she looked that it wasn't. The trees infront of the car were wrong. The house they stopped at was unfamiliar, but Jacob seemed to know it as he got out of the car and opened the passenger door for her.
"Here we are," he said. Reaching in, he grabbed her backpack and lunch kit, then he held out a hand to help her out of the car. Alexis just stared at his hand.
"Okay, you don't want my help," he said, pulling his hand back and stepping to the side. "Even your mother wasn't this tense the first time we met."
Alexis slowly got out of the car. Once she was out, Jacob shut the door behind her and motioned for her to follow him to the house.
When they reached just before the front step, Jacob turned on her suddenly. Alexis, who was a few steps behind him, yelped in surprise at the sudden movement.
"It's okay," he said. "I'm going to leave you now, but someone is going to come get you. All I need you to do, is sit here on this step until they come."
Without asking for permission, he picked Alexis up and placed her on the top step. He then placed her bags beside her.
"By myself?" Alexis asked in a small voice.
"Yes. You won't be alone for long, don't worry. You're not a chicken are you?"
Alexis bit her lip as she shook her head. The truth was she was very afraid, but she didn't know if being with Jacob was any better.
"Good. You stay here until someone comes and gets you. Okay?"
She nodded.
Jacob patted her head a few times before turning away and heading to his car. He gave her one brief wave as he drove off, which Alexis did not return.
Alexis watched silently as Jacob's car turned the bend and disappeared. The road was silent as she sat on the step, gripping her bag in her arms.
Everytime a car passed infront of the house, Alexis would look up expectantly, but they all continued on their way, the drivers not even noticing the child sitting still, waiting for one of her parents to arrive and calm her fears.
At the sound of a car stopping infront of the house, Alexis looked up. She thought perhaps it was her mommy or daddy, but it was neither one of them. The car was unfamiliar to her, but Alexis recognized the woman who stepped out of it. She didn't notice Alexis right away. She was too busy digging in her bag. It wasn't until the woman looked up that she noticed the child sitting on her front step.
"Alexis," she said in surprise.
Alexis wasn't sure how the woman knew her name. She didn't know hers at all. Her mommy didn't mention it when they'd met at the grocery.
"What are you doing here?" the woman asked. She then looked around like she expected to see someone else with her.
"The man dropped me here," Alexis said softly. It was scary for her talking to this woman she didn't know. Her eyes kept drifting up and down the road hoping to see her mother or father's car.
The woman seemed to sense her unease, because she gave her a comforting smile. "You're not in any trouble, I'm just surprised to see you here. May I sit?" she asked, indicating to the spot beside Alexis.
Alexis nodded slightly but moved until she was as far from the woman as the step allowed. If the woman noticed, she didn't say.
"Do you know who I am?" she asked.
Alexis shook her head.
"My name is Esme. I'm your father's mother. I'm your grandmother."
Alexis's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"I'm really glad to finally meet you. I'm just confused as to how you ended up here. It doesn't seem that your mom or dad is nearby. You said a man dropped you. Do you know the man's name?"
Alexis was silent for a moment before she replied. "Jacob."
Esme seemed to recognise the name right away as she let out a hard breath.
"Are you okay? Did Jacob hurt you?"
"No. He just picked me up from school and brought me here. He said mommy and daddy told him to pick me up, and I was to wait for you."
Esme nodded in understanding.
"Well, why don't we go inside and call your mom and dad to see what's going on?" Esme suggested. She stood up, expecting Alexis to follow her, but Alexis didn't move.
At such a young age, Alexis knew something was wrong, and at that moment, she didn't want to go into the house. She'd gone with Jacob, and he'd left her alone. She wanted her mommy or daddy. She even wanted her Grandma Renee. Esme said she was also her grandma, but Alexis didn't trust her as yet.
Esme saw the fear on her face. "It's okay if you want to wait out here. You don't have to come in."
Alexis didn't respond. She just held her school bag even tighter.
"Would you like a snack?" Esme offered. Digging in her bag, Esme pulled out a box of cookies. It wasn't the ones her mom bought. They looked good, but Alexis still shook her head.
A sad smile crossed Esme's face as she nodded before putting the box back into her bag. "Okay, I'll be right back." Esme continued past her and into the house. Even though Esme had left the front door wide open when she entered the house, Alexis began to feel anxious at being left alone. Something bad had happened, and she didn't want to be alone. Picking up her schoolbag and lunch kit, Alexis walked slowly to the front door. Standing just before the threshold, she peeked into the house. She could hear Esme moving about somewhere inside.
The house was larger inside than her house with her mommy or her daddy's house. From where she stood, she could see the livingroom, a small part of the kitchen and stairs leading up. Alexis took another cautious step in. Her body was tense as if the slightest sound would send her bolting out the door. Beside the stairs was a table, and on the table she could see several frames. Curious to see who the pictures were of, she took a few more steps in until she was standing before the table. She looked back towards the door a few times to make sure it was still open.
At first glance, the only person she recognized in one of the photos was Esme. She was about to turn back to stand by the door when she saw a photo, near the edge, of two people she did recognise. Unsure as to whether or not she could touch it, Alexis kept her hands folded infront of her to control the urge to reach out and grab it. It was a picture of her mother and father. They looked different in the picture, and Alexis found it odd that they were smiling and hugging each other. They never hugged like that in real life. There were two pictures beside that of three boys sitting side by side. On the other side, there was one of Esme and one of the boys. The boy looked slightly familiar to Alexis, but she couldn't place his face.
"That's your dad," a voice said from behind her. Esme stood a few steps behind her. Alexis looked back at the picture, confused.
"He's too little to be my daddy," she said.
Esme chuckled. "That's him when he was a little older than you are. When he was a child."
She took a few steps closer to Alexis and stooped until she was at her level. Alexis moved away ever so slightly.
"You look a lot like him," Esme said softly. Alexis could see tears forming in Esme's eyes, and it scared her. She began to back away from Esme.
"I'm sorry," Esme said hastily as she blinked away the tears. "I didn't mean to scare you. I called your daddy's cell phone, but he didn't answer. I'll try his home phone in a moment. Would you like to come sit down in the meantime?" Esme asked.
Keeping her head bowed, Alexis walked to the couch and sat down. Esme disappeared into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with a plate of cookies and sweets. She smiled kindly at Alexis for a moment before she returned to the kitchen. Alexis hadn't eaten since lunch so she couldn't stop herself from picking up one of the cookies despite turning them down a few minutes before.
While she was gone, Alexis looked around the room. Being in a new place without the comfort of her parents or any type of familiarity made her tense. She could hear Esme talking on the phone quietly. A few minutes later, Esme walked into the room, a small smile on her face.
"I spoke to your mom. She'll be here soon to pick you up," Esme said.
Alexis let out a relieved sigh, but then her body tensed again when Esme sat beside her on the couch. She gave Esme an unsure look before she scooted further away on the couch.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Esme said. "I promise. This is just the first time I'm really getting to meet you and talk to you. I know once your mom arrives, it may be a while before I see you again."
"Why?" Alexis asked.
"Why what?" Esme asked kindly, seemingly relieved at having some sort of response from Alexis.
"Why won't you see me again?"
Esme was quiet for a moment before she answered. "Well, your mom, dad and I don't really see eye to eye."
"Oh. Jacob said the same thing."
Esme nodded. "We're a bit of a dysfunctional family. I understand why your mom wanted to shield you from that."
Just like before with Jacob, Alexis did not understand one word of what she said.
From inside, Alexis heard the sound of a vehicle stopping infront of the house. Alexis would recognize the sound of that vehicle anywhere.
She ran to the window and pulled the curtain back so she could see outside.
"Mommy!" she yelled the moment she saw Bella's truck. Without another word to Esme, Alexis dashed outside.
The sight of a familiar face after unfamiliar ones made her run faster into Bella's arms. As soon as she was within reach, Bella picked her up into a hug.
"Are you okay?" Bella asked her, as she looked at her face and hands.
"I'm okay," Alexis said. She was just glad to be back with her mom.
"Alexis, how did you get here?" Bella asked.
"The man dropped me."
"What man?"
"The man who was outside our house. The one you talked to." During the time of her brief exchange with Esme, Alexis had forgotten the man's name.
Bella was silent for a few seconds, and Alexis saw the moment Bella realised who she was referring to.
"What did he do?" Bella asked.
"He picked me up from school. He said that you and Daddy told him to pick me up. He brought me here and told me to sit on the steps until Esme shows up, and she did. I remember her from the grocery."
Alexis turned to look at Esme's house and was surprised to see Esme standing right behind them. Alexis wanted to tell her mother about the picture of her and her father that she'd seen in Esme's house, but Bella had spoken again before Alexis could tell her.
"Did you know that she would be here?" Bella asked.
"I was out for the afternoon. It wasn't until I came home that I saw her here," Esme explained.
"Have you gotten through to Edward yet?" Bella asked.
Esme shook her head.
Bella sighed briefly, before she picked Alexis up and carried her to the truck.
"Bye, Esme," Alexis called. Esme gave her a small wave.
Being in her carseat again, caused Alexis to relax further. The familiarity brought ease.
Her mother and Esme did not say another word to each other as Bella got into her truck and started it. Alexis looked at Esme and saw that she was staring at her. In the brief seconds before Bella drove off, Alexis decided that she'd liked Esme. Not more than Grandma Renee but enough.
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