Chapter 2!
Title: 'Worries'
Disclaimer: I own nothing!!
Note: Just in case you're wondering about the sudden shift in POV, I'm using 1st Person for Bella and 3rd Person Limited for Carlisle…
Anywho... hope you enjoy!
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The wind whistled softly as a few amber leaves managed to break free from their dried branch and fall to the ground with noiseless grace.
He turned another page, the thin paper making a similar sound to the leaves of the tree brushing together.
…
A single leaf fell onto his book, he brushed it aside gently, admiring the single moment of spontaneity as he did.
A voice inaudible to humans, but louder than the wind to his own ears, whispered a single word tiredly…
"Edward…."
He looked up to the window, which was only a few feet above the branch he was seated on.
Another nightmare….
The blonde vampire thought to himself, looking back at the text of his borrowed book without actually reading it.
He couldn't help but feel useless…
She was having nightmares every night, waking up three or four times because of them… always saying that name.
And he couldn't do anything but sit here and let her suffer in the darkness…
…
After the events over the past few years he had learned just how close this young woman and Edward had become…
He understood her pain…
… but now that he could hear her silent sobs as if she was sitting next to him, and has heard them over the span of these past few months… perhaps it was his overly compassionate nature getting the best of him, but he couldn't help a twinge of guilt - or sadness - every time he heard her call for Edward…. He couldn't figure out why, though.
…
A low rumbling sound, something guttural and primal, made itself heard from within the forest across the road from the Swan residence. Heavy thuds of paws falling to the ground completed the all-too-familiar chorus performed every night at around this hour.
And so my relief appears…
He announced to himself, mentally.
…
He wasn't needed here anymore.
…
It technically wasn't the shape-shifter's turn till dawn, but Carlisle, knowing the boy's attachment to their mutual target of surveillance, knew better than to get in the way.
This was the way it had been working for the past few months… ever since Edward left.
Although it definitely wasn't Edward's plan to assign Jacob Black the day shift, it was Edward's direct orders that someone trustworthy would watch over Bella while he was gone 'at all times'. He apparently learned something from his previous mistake…
But the boy still hadn't learned another lesson that Carlisle knew would be harshly taught after all of this:… he shouldn't keep things from her.
Bella knew nothing about this 'surveillance' situation. She was left in the dark because it was also a part of his 'orders' that Bella couldn't know she was being supervised…
… Carlisle knew that this plan was more than a little immature… but, for whatever reason, Edward believed this was the best course of action… and it wasn't Carlisle's place to run Edward's relationship with Bella for him, so he agreed to it.
…
In the end, he wasn't quite sure why he felt so compelled to take the night shift of this arrangement… but he knew it probably had something to do with the certain amount of responsibility he felt for all of this.
He was the leader of this family, this family which Bella was now a definite part of -despite Edward's absence- and yet, he couldn't stop what had happened to his new family member after Edward left her the first time.
…
He definitely didn't anything to go wrong the second time around…
…
Another low growl rumbled from the trees, interrupting Carlisle's thoughts.
The vampire closed the book in his hand with a graceful flick before he landed on the ground, making no more sound than the leaves which had fallen there earlier.
And with a single, polite wave of acknowledgement towards the protective werewolf eyeing him warily from the forest, Carlisle left behind the quiet Swan residence… but only after he gave a second glance to the window, checking if the sobs had stopped.
…
He felt a little at ease when all he could hear were her slow, even breaths.
I was falling.
I panicked, preparing myself for a sudden impact, only to feel nothing.
I opened my eyes… I was just lying on my bed, my face buried in my pillow… I wasn't falling off that cliff… I had only fallen out of my dream…
After a moment of adjusting to the gravity of the real world again, I leaned over to the edge of my bed to get a good look at the alarm clock.
The blurry numbers sharpened after a few seconds.
'7:34am'
I let out a huff of frustration as I immediately tossed to covers aside, glad to be free.
I stumbled a little as I made my way over to the bathroom, suffering from the jetlag between the past of my nightmares and the somewhat nightmare-ish reality I was living through now.
The only thing that made any of this better was the fact that the Cullen family was only a drive away, unlike last time…
I splashed water on my face just as soon as I felt my mind wander down that all-too-well-travelled memory lane.
I couldn't think about any of that, not when I was about to go visit my second family.
……....…
"Another day at the Cullen's?" Charlie asked over his paper as I walked into the kitchen, fully dressed and ready to leave, he was eating his traditional soggy cereal.
I hadn't been cooking for a while now. I felt a little guilty about that, but he seemed happy to just relieve any sort of stress from my life….
... Even though he wasn't the type of parent that would bother too much over personal things… he still cared.
"Uh…. Yeah." I confirmed weakly, heading over to the sink, grabbing a glass from the cupboard.
"You going over this early?" Charlie noted the car keys in my hand as they jingled against the side of the cupboard door.
"Yeah, Alice has the whole day planned out." I answered, wearing a small smile purposefully even though I was somewhat oblivious to what exactly she was planning.
He nodded silently, turning back to his paper a little less awkwardly.
A couple of seconds of silence passed as the sink roared.
"You gonna eat something before you go?" Charlie tried to act fatherly, asking the question as a second thought.
"Um, they should have something over there." I offered an excuse that technically wasn't a lie. They actually did have a rather large stock of food already prepared, to keep up appearances... but I never asked for any of it.
There was something sort of strange, even to me, about being the only human and eating in front of a household of vampires. Besides, I still hadn't gotten back my appetite. Eating had turned into something of a chore a long time ago.
I took a sip of the tap-water in my glass before setting it down in the sink.
"Alright, Bells." Charlie spoke up again, using my outdated nickname, just like always. "Have fun." He said lastly as I made my way to the front door, his tone didn't sound too hopeful.
"Bye, Charlie. I'll be back by five." I called back to him as I closed the door behind me, telling him the hour that Alice promised she'd have me back by.
I thought that by now, after all this time, and after I had finally started to scrape together the remnants of my life back, he wouldn't have to worry about me so much.
I guess he could tell I wasn't as better as I tried to act.
…
I shoved my hands in my pockets as I jogged carefully to my truck… Falls in Forks were always really chilly.
I looked up to the sky… it was probably going to rain.
Walking into his study feeling as tired as a vampire could, having already greeted his adopted 'children' and shared a few words with his wife, he made his way over to the large, mahogany desk and to the stacks of paperwork piled on it.
He had the whole day to work on them… but when you don't sleep, and when your, also naturally-insomniacs of family members were all on tense grounds with each other… sometimes paperwork could be, albeit tedious, a little peaceful…
The tension in the household wasn't new…
Ever since Edward's untimely departure, everyone's mixed feelings about his decision had developed into some sort of tetra-sided war.
Emmett and Rosalie were together in their aggressive opinions of the matter.
Jasper supported Alice's desire to go to the Volturi in Edward's stead.
Esme grieved for Edward's absence, but was more or less resigned to the Volturi's decision.
And Carlisle was trying to keep his family from drifting too far apart, while researching for any loophole that would allow Edward's early return home.
…
Both battlefronts weren't progressing very well.
…
Many of his family members were notorious for their stubborn opinions, and there were simply no legal ways that would free Edward without somehow putting either himself or Bella into further danger.
He sat down in his chair for a moment of silence, placing the book, which he had been carrying since he left Bella's window-side, onto the padded desktop.
He realized, a little too late, his mistake.
I ended up taking it with me…
He smiled wryly at his absent-mindedness.
I guess I can always return it tonight… doing so right now would only cause trouble for a certain overprotective werewolf, and I really can't hand it back to her in person…
He reasoned to himself, lightly.
He had taken the slightly disheveled book from Bella's bookcase after his daily check up on her, having forgotten his usual medical journal, with the intentions of returning it to its rightful place before leaving.
When he first saw it sitting on her bookshelf, he had been a little shocked to find it in the personal library of an eighteen-year-old girl.
… but this was Bella, after all…
She really isn't much like other eighteen-year old humans.
He eyed the book again, unable to shift his attention from it to his awaiting paperwork…
He had read it only a few times over the past century… but the story was hard to forget.
… Such a sad tale of obsessive love and self-destruction….
His faint smile fell as the irony hit him.
He shook his head to himself as he pushed aside the worn copy of Wuthering Heights and proceeded to file through the stacks of medical charts…
"Bella!" Alice called my name excitedly as she opened the door just moments before I planned to knock on it, this wasn't the first time she'd done that.
"Hey, Alice." I returned her greeting, smiling genuinely for the first time in a while.
I walked into the doorway, immediately hit by the pleasant and familiar smell of the Cullen household.
I tried to focus on the comforting memories of this scent, and not the memories of a certain bronze-haired vampire who shared it.
"I'll put your stuff upstairs, you won't need it."Alice took my bag, interrupting my thoughts before they could go any deeper, and practically danced through the living room towards the staircase with it.
It wasn't hard to spot Rosalie and Emmett lounging on the couch, her legs resting over his, both of them watching a reality show that neither of them showed much of an interest in.
"Hey, Bella." Emmett waved shortly from his seat, lacking his usual rambunctious charm.
Rosalie barely glanced at me.
I was just thankful that it wasn't a full glare this time.
.. But something seemed off about them… again.
They seemed… distant… not full of as much life as before.
I didn't know why, but every time I visited the Cullens I got the impression that… that they weren't as close as before, that whatever bonds they shared with each other were wearing thin…
I hoped I was wrong.
"You ready to go shopping?" Alice asked straight away as she walked back up to me, her own purse in hand. I suddenly understood why she decided to take my things and put them upstairs. Every time we shopped I always wanted to pay for my own stuff… she never let me.
I guess this was her way of skipping the issue altogether.
Her bubbly attitude went untarnished by the sudden faltering of my short-lived smile.
"Don't make that face. You're going to have a great time." She promised me with a perky tone.
Apparently she knew I had already decided to go.
I definitely wasn't going to turn down the opportunity of a carefree day with my best friend… even if it meant I had to undergo the hours of dress-modeling like I had done before. But before I had the chance to voice my predicted answer out loud, I was interrupted by another, smoother voice.
"Already stealing Bella away, Alice?" I immediately looked up to the staircase, where I heard the inhumanely soft voice say my name.
"I'm only borrowing her, Carlisle." Alice beamed up at the blonde vampire as he walked down the stairs, holding onto the banister, wearing dark slacks and a dress shirt.
"So what are you planning on shopping for this time?" He asked casually as he walked into the living room towards Alice and I.
I couldn't believe that he hadn't already guessed….
"Nothing that any of you need to be concerned about… yet." Alice winked cheekily.
Carlisle only laughed gently as Alice walked away and towards the front door. I followed after her.
"Bella…" I turned back to him immediately. "Don't let her get ahead of herself." He joked, smiling the same smile I remembered the nurses at the hospital practically swooning over.
"I don't think that's possible." I joked back.
"Her getting ahead of herself?" He asked as I heard the front door open behind me, Alice no doubt growing impatient.
"No, me being able to stop her."
As I finished those words I suddenly felt a small, cold hand close around my wrist and start pulling me towards the door.
"Come on, we don't have time to waste." She ordered me with faux-seriousness.
She effectively proved my joke right with that.
I heard Carlisle's warm chuckle before the front door closed behind us.
…
My worries for the Cullen family faded suddenly…
…
I had almost forgotten… Carlisle…
The vampire… the man who created this clan, this family.
He would never let this family break apart.
…
He would never leave them.
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More coming up, soon! :D