Disclaimer: The Twilight Series was created by the extremely talented Stephenie Meyer. I am but a lowly author dabbling in her realm.
Special Thanks to my breathtakingly amazing Betas Cocoa and SillyBella. Without you Virtues would have remained a hope and a prayer. I love ya girlies!!
Hope is such a precious thing; something you need to survive in this life. It can be so strong and yet so fragile at the same time. The slightest thing can kill it, but in the same respect, it can flourish in the darkest of times. It was hope that I was hanging onto with all of my might. It was hope that I was counting on to get me through this.
Hopelessness settled upon our home and it became worse and worse as each excruciating hour dragged on. The last time we heard anything was when Alice called from the plane to Italy. It seemed like an eternity ago, but in earnest, it was only 36 hours.
Jasper receded into a dark, hollow shell after he hung up with Alice. He knew she lied to him about getting out of Volterra. He was dying slowly as his thoughts and worries ripped away at him. My heart ached when I looked into my son's pained eyes. I wanted more than anything to make him whole once again.
Emmett paced outside, going mad with his own thoughts of what he should do right now. My loving son was the warrior in our family. He needed to fight something, to do something. The waiting ate away at him, killing him. It was not in his nature to just sit and wait.
Rosalie had my most pity. She continued to destroy herself with guilt. She loved her brother, and she had never in her wildest dreams thought that her actions would lead to this. She stayed in her room, locked away from the rest of us, hating herself. I had tried a couple of times to relieve her guilt, but there was no getting through to her.
Carlisle worried me the most, though. He kept a part of himself hidden away. A part he never showed anyone else, not even Edward. It was the part that masked his weaknesses, his doubt and indecision. He always wanted to be strong for his family, for me, but no one can be strong all of the time. Everyone needs time to break apart and heal themselves. He never would.
I stood in the hall outside our bedroom, silent. I did not want him to know I was there. Through the cracked doorway, I saw Carlisle standing, staring out of the window, but I knew him well enough to know that he was not actually looking at anything. He was wrapped up in his own thoughts.
My soul-mate stood there with the most heartbreaking expression of pain etched into his face. I died standing there watching. His beautiful form collapsed in a single, breathless moment. He put one gentle hand onto the window and lifted his topaz eyes towards the sky. The words that floated on his velvet voice broke me in two…
