Hey all. Here's another Esme and Carlisle story. It's AU, so I hope you enjoy!
. . .
". . . news of the rebellion in New York has traveled across the world, and more and more humans are beginning to go against the vampires. To prevent these, we have a few suggestions here from Dr. Jason Lewis, who is famous for his experimental research on humans and vampires alike, as well as . . . ."
I turned off the television set, silently continuing to chop the vegetables before throwing them into the pot on the stove. It was ridiculous, the news reports that were on now days. I wished they had different news to report than on humans, vampires, and the problems we faced. We were aware of our problems, but the news seemed to think we needed to hear about them everyday, throwing it back in our faces. Not to mention they seemed to have an expert on everything, who thought they had the solution to the problem.
Yeah, right.
Shaking my head, I rinsed off the cutting board before grabbing several carrots, beginning to chop them as well.
Birds chirped just outside the window - the first robins of spring. It was finally a warm day and I had thrown most of the windows open on the ground floor of the rather spacious house, as well as the windows in my bedroom to air the place out. It had finally began to warm up, winter finally over. It had been a long winter, but not as harsh as some of the ones I'd been through before. I'd been through ones that had left us with snow so deep we - well, I - couldn't get out of the house for days.
Finishing with the vegetables, I turned the soup down to simmer, replacing the lid on it. The sound of a car coming up the drive sounded - glancing at the clock, I knew it would be my husband returning from his work. He'd get home about this time, eat, disappear into his study for several more hours, and then come to bed. He was always gone when I woke up in the mornings, mostly because he didn't sleep. I did.
I crossed through the formal dining room and into the parlor, finally emerging into the entry hall. Our house was rather large, a two story manor perched on a hill not far outside of Columbus, Ohio, where my husband worked. We'd lived in the house since we'd gotten married a few years ago, and I had dreams to fill it with children. He didn't share my dreams, but he pretended to care. I was seven months pregnant at that time, anyway, so at least he had the decency to pretend to care. It was more than he usually did.
He stepped in the front door, still dressed in his suit from work. I took his jacket as he shed it and hung it up on the coat hanger for him, like I always did. He turned and pulled me into his arms, kissing me like he did every day when he got home from work. Only, I didn't feel the spark that had been there once before. It had faded a few weeks after our wedding.
"Have a good day at work?" I asked, hoping to pull him into some sort of conversation before he disappeared into his study while dinner cooked. He surprised me by heading for the parlor, sitting down in the overstuffed armchair that had belonged to some older relative of his. I frowned. Something was wrong.
"What happened?"
"Everything." He muttered and reached for the decanter of alcohol he kept on the small table, grabbing the small crystal glass beside it. He poured it full to the brim, downing it in one gulp. He hardly ever drank it - it was mostly for appearances. The only times he drank it was when he was extremely angry or upset.
And even then it was rare - it was usually me he took his anger or frustrations out on. I had the bruises along my arms, legs, torso, and neck to prove that, if I removed the make-up I had used to oh-so-very carefully cover them up. I had gotten good at the technique it took now, to make it look like just a shadow from the light instead of a deep purple bruise caused by a fist, or a set of fingers gripping too tight.
"That rebellion in New York has the entire government in a mess. We're still trying to come up with some sort of solution, but every time we get close it slips away. Since those God awful humans," He said the word like it was some sort of disease. "Decided to rebel, they destroyed three of our blood banks. We're already low, and they're making it worse." He poured himself another glass and downed it.
"I'm sure things will work out." I offered, my hands clenching and unclenching behind my back. It was going to be a long night - I knew what to expect tonight. More bruises to cover up before I went to work tomorrow.
"They won't if those damned idiots don't get it together and stop those humans!" He nearly screamed, suddenly right in front of me. I flinched, having forgotten how quickly he could move when he wanted to. "I am in a position of power and I won't have that lost just because some of your kind decides they don't want to be our personal dinners anymore!"
His burgundy eyes were blazing now as he stepped closer toward me.
"I -." I began, but his hand came across my face, slapping me. I shut my eyes, not moving as my cheek burned with pain, as if he had just lit my cheek on fire.
"I'm not hungry." He suddenly rumbled. "I'll be upstairs." He grabbed the decanter and his glass before disappearing from the room in a pale blur. I sighed, allowing my shoulders to slump.
I retreated back to the kitchen, blindly reaching into one of the lower drawers and pulling out a spare make-up kit. I dug in the tiny bag and grabbed the powdered foundation - the make-up I had the most of. Pulling open the pantry door, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My cheek was already red, with purple beginning to form in the shape of a handprint along my face. I sighed and began to smear my make-up across it, easily covering it up and blending it in with the rest of my skin.
It was my parents that kept me tied to Charles in marriage, and the child who was currently kicking so hard that he was probably going to kick his way through my skin. I actually feared for my child - I didn't want him brought into an abusive marriage. I knew that Charles's anger could be turned to my son, and I didn't want that to happen. My son would be half vampire, part of the hybrid race that had became a new thing a few years ago once humans and vampires had started breeding.
The hybrids were the ones that were neutral in the almost war between humans and vampires, since the hybrids could survive off blood or human food. It didn't matter to them which race lived or died.
Resting a hand on my stomach, I made sure my newest bruise was safely covered up before putting away my make-up and stirring the soup. I would be eating alone tonight - again. Which I preferred on most nights, because I couldn't stand the smell of Charles's dinner. We had an entire refrigerator reserved for the blood that Charles ate, but that supply was slowly starting to diminish. Soon, he would be out of luck with the rest of the vampires. I just hoped he didn't turn to me for his next meal, or his son.
As I ate at the island in the middle of the kitchen, I turned back on the small television set. They were broadcasting photos of what the destroyed blood banks in New York looked like now, merely piles of rubble from the bombs the humans had set off. Most of the humans had been captured, but a few had returned to their hidden bases.
Humans, like animals, were being farmed for blood. Some who had higher parents, or who had connections - like myself - ended up in marriages to vampires, almost like trophy wives they could show off and have arguments about whose human was prettier.
But the blood banks were where vampires got their food - and money - and why Charles was so upset. Charles was in charge of an entire line of them. Ironically enough, the two that had been destroyed had been two in his line of banks.
The humans that did manage not to be captured and sent to be farmed had formed up rebellions across the world against the vampires. There weren't a lot, at least, not that we knew of, but they knew how to strike so it hurt. Right in the heart, so to speak. But vampires couldn't kill the humans - they needed the blood. They were running out, and soon, they'd be turning to their lovely trophy wives. Maybe even the hybrids that existed. But eventually, they'd be out of option and probably resort to killing each other, until there wasn't a soul left on Earth. It was a scary thought, to know what I had to look forward to, but I was determined to make the best of whatever days I had left on the Earth.
I looked down at my bowl of soup - I'd barely eaten half of it. I just wasn't hungry, but I forced it down, only for the baby, who had finally stopped moving around for the time being. Slightly disgusted, I stuck the pot of soup in the refrigerator with the human food before quietly doing the dishes.
I silently headed upstairs to bed.
When I awoke the next morning, I found a note on Charles's side of the bed. Sleepily I unfolded it, taking the pale red rose he had left with it and smelling it while I read the note.
Esme,
The gala is tonight, so I took the liberty of buying your dress last night. I'll be home by the time you get back from work. Have a good day.
Charles
I looked up across the room - a dress bag hung on the back of the closet door. Getting up, I crossed to it and pulled the bag away, revealing the long black formal dress. For some reason, Charles liked me in black. I preferred blue or green or some other bright color, but he liked black. So I wore it, just to please him. It seemed anything I did was to please him anymore.
Putting the bag back over it, I disappeared into the bathroom to grab a quick shower and changed into a white skirt and lavender blouse, clipping my hair back with a silver butterfly clip. It wouldn't take me long to get to work. My work was the one haven I could go to without having to worry about Charles or anyone else.
Grabbing my purse, I slid my feet into a pair of black flats, leaving the house. I pulled my keys from my purse and pressed the button that unlocked the door to the small blue Honda I drove. It was pretty much nothing compared to the Corvette Charles drove, but my car was safer. At least, I drove it safer than my husband drove his car. A car wreck may not be able to kill him, but I couldn't stand how he drove so recklessly. It's why I refused to ride with him half the time.
I loved my job. I taught a kindergarten class in an elementary school in the suburbs of Columbus, full of vampire, hybrid, and human children. They were adorable, and completely oblivious to the problems their parents were facing. They didn't share the same wars as their parents. Being with them was like a little retreat for both me and the students. Some parents protested with the students being mingled, but there weren't enough teachers, and most parents didn't have the money to send their kids to private schools.
I arrived at the school an hour before it was set to begin like normal, clocked in at the office, before heading down the hall to my classroom. The chalkboard had been erased of the previous day's activities, leaving it blank for today. Hand drawn pictures that my students had done hung in various places around the room. Toys were stuffed in any available spot, and tables were circled in the corner. It wasn't a large classroom, but it was perfect for my tastes.
Students began to file into the classroom, sitting down on the rug and beginning to converse with others. The human kids looked more tired than the others, rubbing their eyes and probably wanting nothing more than to go back to bed. Doing a quick headcount, I noticed most of my class had arrived and moved to shut the door.
"Good morning students!"
"Good morning Miss. Esme!"
On normal days, we usually went through writing and reading, before they were allowed recess, and then naptime. When they woke up, they could go color, play with toys, or something else to that nature before we'd sit down and read a story. Nothing hard or complicated.
However, this wasn't a normal day.
Everything was okay, up until recess. Our class was the only class out, so I was standing in the cool breeze, watching them play games of tag or swing or slide, whatever they pleased. It just made me happy they were having fun, getting their exercise. I loved kids, each as if they were my own. And soon I would have my own. But until then, I had my students, who loved me in return.
I tensed when I heard a loud scream and then sobbing. My head turned - Felicity was sitting in front of the swings, crying, clutching her leg. Instinctively I rushed toward her, as fast as my pregnant body would allow.
"What happened?" I asked, having slight difficulties kneeling down to her. Her face was tear streaked as she clutched her leg.
"Bobby dared me to jump off the swings and I did and I fell and my leg hurts!" She wailed. She was one of human children I had grown fond of, and it hurt me to see her in pain. I was afraid to touch her leg in case it was broken, so I carefully lifted her fragile body into my arms - being careful of her leg - and began heading back toward the school, shepherding the other students in front of me.
"Kevin, go and tell Mrs. Fisher in the office to call the hospital and have them send over a doctor, and call Felicity's parents. Can you do that for me?" I asked the blonde haired vampire child in front of me. He nodded and ran off in a blur toward the office as I returned my students to the classroom. They began to get out their pillows, spreading out across the floor for naptime as I cradled Felicity's sobbing form to my chest, trying to sooth her in any way I could as I sat down in my desk chair.
Kevin returned, reporting that they were sending over one of the doctors, and that Felicity's parents would be there shortly. I nodded and allowed him to go and color quietly with the vampire children while the humans and hybrids slept. Felicity had finally stopped crying and was clutching at my shirt. I had tugged her pant-leg up to reveal the swollen leg. It was obviously broken.
"Mrs. Evenson?"
I looked up, my breath hitching in my throat. In the doorway stood a man, with pale blonde hair and strikingly odd topaz colored eyes, wearing a lab-coat and carrying a bag of some sorts. By his flawless movements and pale skin as he moved toward me, I assumed he was a vampire.
"She jumped off the swings." I said quietly as he helped me set Felicity on the floor, his hands gentle as they stretched her leg out, unbending it at the knee. I watched carefully, holding the girl's free hand for comfort as he pulled out bandaging, beginning to wrap it around her leg.
"It's broken. Bandaging it is the best I can do until her parents can get her to the hospital. The nurses will put a cast on it there." He murmured, looking up at me from his position on the floor. I nodded.
"Glad you could come. I know you were probably busy."
"The hospitals are quite quiet anymore." He replied. We spoke in low tones, not wanting to wake the sleeping children in the middle of the room.
"Oh."
He finished wrapping up her leg, removing a lollipop from his bag and handing it to her with a grin. Her eyes lit up - her pain briefly forgotten, she reached over to hug him.
"Thank you!" She whispered. I moved to pick her up, to move her with the other children so she could try to sleep, but the doctor beat me to it.
"Just tell me where you want me to put her. You shouldn't be lifting things in your stage of pregnancy." He replied softly and I merely nodded, crossing the room to grab a pillow. I placed it next to a group of her friends, nodding for the doctor to put her there.
"Thanks." I said softly, walking with him toward the door. He flashed a brilliant smile at me.
"Not a problem. Let me know if you ever need anything else." He said, and then he was gone, disappearing down the hall.
Felicity's parents arrive soon and checked her out, taking her to the hospital. The rest of the day went without incident, allowing me to return home. Charles was there as he had promised in his note - in the shower by the time I arrived upstairs.
I usually liked dressing up, and tonight was no different. Charles and his friends within the cooperation of blood banks always threw dinner parties or galas or some other party to celebrate something, and as Mrs. Evenson, I was invited to each one of them with my husband.
I changed into the black formal Charles had picked it - it trailed along the floor behind me slightly, and had no straps, hugging my frame until my waist where it flared out. It was pretty, but I still didn't like it black. It would have looked nice in a whitish color better. But I didn't complain, silently going through my jewelry box in an attempt to find a different pair of earrings.
"You look lovely, as always." Charles murmured when he emerged from the bathroom, changed into his tux for the night. I gave a smile in return.
"You don't clean up so bad yourself." I murmured and he pressed a kiss to my cheek, allowing me to reach up and fix his tie for him. When he wasn't drunk, or beating me, he was quite the charmer. Part of the reason I thought I had fallen in love with him. Truth was, I wasn't in love with him at all. It was merely another charade in our marriage that was fabricated with lies and dishonestly toward one another. It wasn't even a real marriage anymore.
We took the Corvette to the party - I clutched the arm of my seat the entire time we drove 90 mph down the highway. The gala was being held in the ballroom of one of the finer high class hotels in the downtown area of Columbus. I was used to all the glitz and glamour of the places these parties were held at. The newest wives of some of the other officials gaped in awe at the large vastness of the hotel and its beautiful design.
I knew I was pretty. Maybe not as beautiful as the tall, thin blonde that was practically made of legs that was walking ahead of us, hooked on the arm of her much older vampire husband, but I was pretty. I had been the envy of Charles's colleagues before, and still was, even at seven months pregnant. Some actually thought I had been a vampire before I'd become pregnant, mostly because I held the elegance and grace that they did, and not have the clumsiness and just downright odd behavior that most humans did.
While Charles went off to speak with some old friends of his, I sat down in the corner with a bunch of their wives. I had been told by the doctor not to be on my feet as much this late in my pregnancy, so sitting down was the easiest to escape the rather annoying friends of Charles. But if the men were annoying, their wives were so much worse, gossiping and chatting like a group of old widowed women. I'd never gotten along well with them, but I always put on a smile and talked anyway, just to fit in and please my husband. Tonight I just didn't have the energy, so I merely sat there, clutching a flute of champagne that I knew I would never drink.
"Good evening, Mrs. Evenson."
I looked up, quite surprised to find the handsome blonde doctor that had come to my classroom earlier that day. He flashed a smile.
"Good evening, doctor."
"It's Cullen. Carlisle Cullen." He introduced and extended a hand. I grasped it, surprised to find how icy it was. Instead of shaking it like I expected, he pressed a kiss to my knuckles before letting it drop.
"The pleasure to meet you, Dr. Cullen, but I insist you call me Esme." I replied politely. He gave a little nod.
"Mind if I sit with you?"
"Pull up a chair." I smiled, shifting slightly to where I was more comfortable in the chair. It was hard to get comfortable these days with a kid moving around inside of you constantly.
"I'm afraid that today I did not realize you were the lovely wife of Charles Evenson." He commented. "I would have introduced myself earlier."
"It's fine." I waved a dismissive hand. People were always recognizing me as the wife of Charles Evenson, never just Esme. I hated it. This Carlisle Cullen talked odd, too, as if he were from a different century. Then I had to remind myself that he was a vampire, and really was most likely from another century.
"Are you enjoying yourself?"
I looked over at him with a pointed look.
"Being seven months pregnant and at a gala for something I'm not even aware of is just the most amazing highlight of my year."
He laughed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, linking his fingers as he watched me with an amused expression. He was even handsomer when he was in a suit, and not wearing scrubs.
"I take that as a no."
I merely nodded, my gaze sweeping the room - I spotted Charles in the corner, conversing with another group of friends. He spent more time with them than he did with me. But he never liked me in his business because I was human, and wouldn't understand the finer points of blood banking. I was smarter than he gave me credit for, but I did admit I did not care for the finer points of blood banking - I wasn't a vampire.
"How is it you know my husband?" I inquired after a moment.
"His blood banks used to donate generously to the hospital before the shortage." Carlisle replied. Right. I'd forgotten about his donations. Another act, just to make himself look better.
"Oh."
"You have any names for your baby picked out?"
I was surprised by the question, but nodded again, a small smile coming to my lips for the first time that night.
"Thomas. Thomas Charles Evenson." I murmured. The baby gave a sharp kick then, making me wince. Carlisle chuckled.
"He apparently likes his name already."
"Well, good evening Dr. Cullen."
We both looked up to see Charles, grinning fabulously as he straightened his suit, clutching a flute of blood. It looked like wine, but I knew better.
"Good evening, Charles." Carlisle nodded respectfully. "I was just speaking with your lovely wife. She was telling me about your future son."
"Ah, yes. Esme does love to speak of children, whether they be her own or her students." Charles mused. "But unfortunately, we must take our leave. It was a pleasure seeing you Dr. Cullen."
"Same here."
Carlisle stood as Charles offered his arm to me.
"Goodbye, Dr. Cullen. Hopefully you won't need to return to the school anytime soon." I smiled. He returned the smile.
"Take care, Esme."
Then he was gone, disappearing into the crowd as I took Charles's arm and we headed out to our car.
I sort of hoped that Carlisle would need a reason to return to the school, just so I could speak with him again. I shouldn't have been thinking the thoughts I was, considering I was married, but Carlisle was handsome. Then again, most vampire men were, but there was something about Carlisle that intrigued me. His eyes, for one. They were not the burgundy of everyone around him, but a strange and odd amber color, like melted gold.
I would have to keep my eye on this Carlisle Cullen.