Chapter 2
Forgiveness
Edythe was hiding in the shadows just on the edge of Charlie's property. I couldn't even guess how she had found me but after about a sixteenth of a second I remembered the night in Port Angeles. It was very cloudy, as most of my human memories were, but I remembered enough. That night she had tracked me by both my scent and by looking through the thoughts of others to see if they had seen me. I hadn't interacted with anyone tonight, so she couldn't have used that. But during our hunts together, I remembered another thing she could do; Edythe could read the thoughts of the animals. Surely she had listened to the animals around here; they would have given me away even faster than any human could.
When I saw her, I smiled. I couldn't help myself. Her eyes golden after being fully fed just had this spark, this glow to them that looked even more beautiful than I could describe. Then her scowl began a show of teeth and a subtle growl. "What are you doing here?!" She snapped at me. I really couldn't blame her for it. "I thought I was very specific that you couldn't see your father again."
"I had to," I answered which didn't seem to do anything to pull her to my side. "Bonnie said that he was losing it."
"Losing it?" She looked into the house and must have picked up the dreams that Charlie was having because all of a sudden, she looked really upset. I could hear Charlie still crying my name in his sleep, saying that he missed me and loved me. "Oh Beau, I'm so sorry," she sobbed.
"You didn't do anything wrong," I tried to console her, but she shook my hand off. It just seemed so weird that she was apologizing since it was normally me who apologized for no good reason.
"I should have stayed away from you."
I shook my head. Was she forgetting the talk we had after I woke up form the conversion? "I'm really glad you didn't." She started to run away but I cut her off before she was able to get too far.
"Beau, I don't love you," she said sobbing despite the fact that no tears would come from her eyes. "If I did I would have stayed away from you."
I shook my head again as my arms automatically wrapped themselves around her waist so she couldn't leave now. I could never thank Archie enough for giving me a heads up that this was coming. Could she really have not known the only thing that I really, truly wanted? There was only one thing. "Edythe, did you really forget about what we talked about the day after… well the day I woke up to my new, incredible life?"
She looked surprised and I didn't know why. She didn't forget; a vampire never forgot anything, unless of course they wanted to. "I never thought you meant it," she answered, spitting the words out so fast that no human would have been able to understand, even if one was in earshot. "I thought that eventually you'd get," she shook her head like that wasn't what she wanted to say. "No I thought that eventually you'd resent how much I stole from you."
I laughed.
"Why are you laughing?" Edythe asked with a frown.
"Edythe," I said as I pulled her closer to me, "I only ever wanted one thing and I didn't really know how to ask you." She started to wiggle out of my grasp and started to open her mouth to argue, but I placed my left index finger to her lips, stopping her protest.
"Ask me?" She mumbled through my finger which prevented her lips from moving. She was still completely shocked and I wasn't sure if it was because she still couldn't read my mind or what."
"Edythe, since the moment I met you, the only thing I ever wanted was you. That sounds kind of," how did I describe this? "disturbing," that worked, "I know, but it's true."
This time she slid her finger to my mouth. "Stop, Beau. Stop." It felt so amazing having her finger on my lips that I couldn't stop myself; I gently kissed it. A pleasured moan came from Edythe and she slipped her finger away. But then she snapped back, "I've cursed you to this existence. None of us wanted this. None of us!"
"Hah," I chuckled. I was being totally honest with her and I still didn't really understand why she still felt bad about the way things worked out.
"Beau you have to see this is completely my fault." She looked angry; so angry that it just made her even more beautiful to me. "I've taken away everything you should have wanted from you."
I shook my head. "I don't blame you and the only thing I wanted was you."
"What?" All her walls had been demolished again and she was completely exposed, almost vulnerable.
"Edythe, you didn't want me to be a vampire. I think I can understand why even though I think it was kinda silly."
"Silly?" Edythe snapped, the recoil almost stinging me, with a slight extra hiss in the s. "You think I wanted to take away your soul and damn you to this life?"
"Edythe, all I ever wanted was you and I no matter what happened to me, I would have accepted it," I said being completely candid. "I would have paid whatever the price gladly to get to be with you forever, even if before that didn't quite have the same meaning to it as it does now. Yeah, it hurts not to be able to talk to my dad. It hurts even more because Charlie is taking it so hard but had I survived human without you; if had you left me, I don't know what I would have done? I don't know what I would have become."
"You what?" She gasped, shock showing all over her absolutely perfect face.
"Edythe after you left the first time, after the first time I saw you that seemed so… confusing," that worked, "then when you looked at me like," I didn't really know how to describe it.
She interrupted me, "like you were a piece of meat?" A small frown first on her face, but then a little giggle.
I used the international symbol for 'kinda yeah'. I laughed it off, but she looked upset I assumed because of how close she had come to killing me. "After that day, when I knew that you had left I found myself just looking for you. I almost even tried to talk to Archie."
"You did?" Edythe looked stunned like it was something that Archie had never seen as the remotest possibility.
"I don't know why, but I kinda had a similar feeling about the two of us as he did, I guess. Like we could be really good friends, once you know." Archie had explained that his vision of our friendship hadn't cemented itself in his head until after his family had resolved not to kill me, but I still didn't really blame any of them for that. For someone on the outside to know about their kind, well I guess our kind now would be really dangerous for everyone in on it. Sulpicia was extremely jealous about keeping the secret and with the gift she stole from her former husband, she would know everything that one had ever done or thought. "Edythe I love you. I'll always love you. This, even thought it hurts," I said pointing at Charlie's house, "there'll be a way to help Charlie. I have to believe that. Things just have this funny way of working themselves out."
Edythe frowned dropping her head slightly. Then she shook her head. "This wasn't the way things were supposed to work out."
I shrugged. "I'm with you Edythe. I'll be with you forever and I'll always want you. I'll never grow away from you; never outgrow you. You're the life I've chose, and the only one that I would have chosen, even if given the choice. If someway we could have done things a little differently where Charlie and Renee could have possibly had a goodbye, that would have been nice, yeah, but it only would have delayed things. I did mean it. I'll only need you for the next hundred years; the next thousand years."
She smiled, hugging me and letting her brilliant dimples still hypnotize me. "I love you," she whispered as she forced her lips to mine, neither of ours willing to yield dominance of the kiss. This was so different from either our first kisses, both the first and the first with both of us equals. But it still was amazing.
"I never told you why you couldn't see Charlie," Edythe said after she pulled our lips apart despite the fact that I still held her chest to my stomach not willing to let her go.
"That's okay," I said burying my nose into her hair and letting the scent completely engulf all of my senses. "I never told you why I know Carine is right either."
"Carine is right about what?" She wiggled out of my hold but I wouldn't completely let go of her.
"We're not damned. At least not definitively so."
"Yes we are," she objected vehemently. Carine had filled me in about the knockdown, drag out arguments they had over the subject.
I shook my head. "Edythe, why do you think I'm still me; why Carine was still herself?"
She had no answer for that, I could see that. "But why are newborns so uncontrollable?"
"I don't really know, but after talking to Archie about Jessamine's creator I have a guess."
We had all heard the story, but I was sure that Edythe knew more of the gory details than anyone else of us. Even after eight hours each way with Archie to Alberta, I still only thought he barely scratched the surface about Jess. There were three of them together that night that they found Jessamine not far out of Galveston after she was trying to help evacuate children and other weaker ladies from the city. The Union battleships were expected to reach the port the next morning, so many Confederate units were assigned to help evacuate the city. During her human life, Jess was one of the most skilled ladies in Texas in equestrian competition, such as steeplechase, which at the time was about the only thing that it was thought proper for a lady to compete in. She was on her way back from Houston to gather another group when she saw three men standing in a small stream. They looked so delicate, so fragile but the way they spoke with soft tenors they seemed more like young men who should have been donning the gray uniform than whatever they certainly were doing. They were all extremely gorgeous and had it been possible at the time, she would have loved to court the oldest who looked to be barely seventeen. Just after that, the oldest, Mario, bit her initiating Jessamine's transformation and after she awoke, Jessamine was stolen by the three of them.
All of them, Mario, Neville, and Lucas were incredibly vengeful and vicious, the younger two recently losing their mates. Mario even used Jessamine's gift against the other two, but when Jess finally grew sick of the conquest, she left her lover at the time and sought out a new way, finding Archie a few years after that.
"The pure cannot be changed, at least permanently so, while the weak can be easily corrupted," I said confident in Carine's logic. "Think about it. Yes, even the most pure can find moments of weakness like Earnest did." Earnest was the second best example I could use, only because I didn't want to use her as the first; she beat herself up about those two years too much anyway. Earnest had taken the lives of many humans, but what always seemed to make his temptation worse was when he saw people abusing their children. It made sense that someone who watched their love take the life of their own child would feel a sense of compulsion to protect children. "I have too many friends around here, so I have to be good."
"Be good?"
"I couldn't hurt Allen or any of the gang," I laughed. In reality this had been my most important reason not to hurt anyone here.
"Beau, you are amazing. Even more-so than I ever thought a newborn could be."
"So then what's the problem?" I asked even though I didn't have a clue of the answer.
"Really,"she started and I was even more worried. Could it be that she didn't really love me like Archie had said? I scoffed at the thought; I knew better than to bet against Archie. "Really, I'm mad at myself for all the human things I stole from you."
I laughed. "That was it? Really Edythe?" I didn't feel like I'd lost anything.
She nodded, "I know it may seem kind of silly, but I didn't want you to miss anything human; prom or anything like that."
"Argh, prom," I groaned. I still wondered what I would have done if Edythe had asked me to the spring dance, not to mention prom. I didn't think that I would have been able to turn her down.
"What's wrong with you taking me to the prom?" Her look was more like a scowl now as she almost snarled the words out.
Oh boy; major overreaction. "Nothing, other than me being a giant klutz when I was human. I probably would have broken my other leg, even if you had managed to get all the venom out," I laughed trying to ease the tension. It must have worked.
And then the strangest reaction from Edythe; she laughed her ringing bell like laugh. "Oh Beau, I wouldn't have let anything happen to you," she said laughing still as she hugged me.
"Anyway, there was only one real human experience that I'm a little disappointed I'm gonna miss."
Edythe looked at my guiltily. "What's that?"
I knew why she looked upset; she never wanted me to give up anything to be with her, even if we were destined to end up like this one day. But what I really wanted was a touchy subject for her. I shook my head.
"Come on Beau, you can tell me," she said gently as her right arm wrapped around my shoulders. "If you don't, I'm going to assume it's much worse than it probably is."
"Okay, but please don't be mad," I said feeling really nervous. If my heart still beat, it would have been pounding through my chest.
"I promise," she cooed as she reoriented herself after climbing a tree and spinning herself so that our faces were next to each other, even if hers was upside down… at least I think she was the one upside down, since I was engulfed by her beautiful hair.
I looked up at the one thing I wanted while I was human; Edythe. Her perfect body, beautiful and strong. "You," I said softly as I grabbed her and placed her back on the ground with her hips trapped in the unbreakable iron fetters that were my hands now.
"I'm already yours," she said kissing me softly, at least softly for a vampire as neither of our lips would yield the way my old soft human lips would have.
"That's not what I meant. I wanted… ah forget it," I stuttered after our lips separated, just too embarrassed to go on.
"Are you talking about sex again Beau?" She laughed.
I smiled, kind of a nervous smile but a smile nonetheless. "I thought you couldn't read my mind, "I joked back.
"You're as mute as ever, but I too would have liked to have known what it was like to be with you when you were human," she said the longing not hiding in her voice. "I even asked Jess about it."
"Not Eleanor?" I wondered why she wouldn't had asked Carine or even Earnest either but I knew the answer to that. There's just some things that you just don't ask your parents.
Edythe laughed. "No I don't need to ask El about her sex life. She can't stop thinking about it for a week after they do it."
I smiled as well, mostly out of curiosity, "So what did Jess say about it?"
Edythe smiled again. "It is the most perfect pleasure there is; almost as appealing as drinking human blood."
My thirst flared up at the mer mention of drinking real human blood and I felt venom begin to pool in my mouth, but with some effort I was able to ignore the thirst.
"Sorry," Edythe apologized, "bad example."
"It's okay. I just wonder what it would have felt like compared to how it would now."
Edythe looked at me even more impressed. "How are you doing this? You're still a newborn and here you are in a human neighborhood and you're so easily able to resist feeding, talking about making love to me rationally."
I shrugged because I really didn't know either. "I don't know about being rational about the second part," I joked and she smiled as well. "If you want the whole truth, there's only a couple a regrets I have about how everything went down."
"Like?" Edythe asked, her look part guilty and part curiosity.
"I would of like to it to have been you decision to change me."
She frowned. "Beau, I never wanted this for you."
I laughed again. "I know, but I still would have liked you to make the choice to ask me about it if you didn't just do it."
"You wouldn't have been mad at me for just acting?"
I thought for a moment. "Not really," I answered and it was a hundred percent truth, "as long as you were going to keep me forever."
Her grin was electric as always, "Of course you silly newborn." And her lips were on mine again.
And then the leaves started to rustle. "Crap!" She protested.
"What is it?" I asked and then the scent hit me too.
"We're not alone," Edythe said as she ran deep into the forest, but I couldn't move.
Entering into the forest just outside of the yard was someone I knew all too well, looking like she missed me more than anything I could have even imagined. Her reddish brown skin, black hair cropped short to her head and the look on her face that said that she couldn't believe all that she thought was legends were all true. There was Julie Black, dressed in a simple pair of black cut off sweats and what I could only describe as a sports bra. She looked, well amazing; like Bonnie's description of her filling out didn't even begin to do justice to the way she looked now. She was my friend, and she was back in my life… I hoped. But then she started shaking again and Edythe ran away and I didn't know what I should do. Should I stay and try to sort everything out with Jules or do I run after Edythe?
It took a minute, but I decided to stay. Julie looked at me like I was still dead; that a part of me had died which I guess was true in one way but I still felt like me in a lot of ways. "Beau?" She asked sounding skeptical. I think I could understand why. "Is that really you?"
"It's me Jules," I answered with a huge grin on my face.
Tears began streaming from her eyes as she raced into my arms but shivered when she felt my cold touch. Her skin felt blazing against mine and for once I understood why Edythe really loved it when I touched her; the warmth was incredibly pleasant. "Oh Beau, I thought you were dead!" She cried as her arms gently rubbed my back.
Her scent was unpleasant, but this was my best friend. I needed to overlook the smell. "Sorry Jules, but the Cullens didn't know what to tell everyone. They said there wasn't really any other option."
She wrinkled her nose as she held onto me. I didn't want to let her go either.
"Eww," she groaned, "Beau, what is that ungodly sweet smell."
I let go of her and slipped out of her arms and sniffed. The only thing I could smell was something akin to a wet dog. "I don't know; I can't smell anything other than you and I'm sorry to say but you smell like a wet dog," I laughed trying to break the tension. "But you're still my best friend Jules."
"You're mine too Beau."
"But don't you hate me like Sam and the rest of them?"
She shook her head. I was amazed at her. I thought for sure her attitude would be no different than the rest of them had been. "I get to see you again. So I think I can do with your stink if you can deal with mine," she said with a sly chuckle.
"Why?"
She shrugged. "Mom told me everything, but she asked that I keep an eye on Charlie. Everything from the fact that everything I thought to be just old stupid stories were real, and I have to admit some of it is kinda cool, to what happened to you."
I smiled. Leave it to Julie to find the good parts about anything. Was she ever the eternal optimist? "So are you really okay with everything?"
"I would have liked you not to stink," she laughed which made me smile, "but I think I can deal with the new version alright. Would it be okay if I tried something?"
Edythe burst through the edge of the woods snarling. "Absolutely not!" She almost shouted. "He's mine!"
Edythe looked angry, angry and so beautiful. I could only wonder what Jules had thought of that has set Edythe off like that. "She wasn't gonna hurt me," I said calmly putting my right arm around her neck gently.
"That wasn't what I was afraid of," Edythe said coldly.
I wondered what it was if not for that but decided that it didn't matter. Whatever it was pissed Edythe off and made her jealous, so I wouldn't worry about it.
"Sorry," Jules said softly, "I guess it's true about what they said about you. That you could read minds."
"I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't ever again strain my self control like that," Edythe answered coldly.
"I promise," Julie said. Was it really going to be that easy to have some of my friends from my old life in my new one too? "I told myself that I wasn't going to be bound by any of the stupid prejudices and I mean it." A scandalous grin came over Jules's face, "even if you are a bunch of bloodsucking parasites."
Edythe grinned, so apparently Jules was joking about whatever she meant by that. "I don't want to lose my best friend. And I won't let my mom lose hers either."
"What?" I asked sounding surprised.
"You didn't tell him?" Julie asked Edythe.
Edythe's answering scowl was terrifying. It said 'drop it' even though Edythe didn't say a word.
"It's his father; he has a right to know," Jules answered looking upset.
"Leave now," Edythe said completely cold and sterile, with no inflection in her voice which made it sound even more threatening.
"Know what?" I asked sounding terrified. "What's going on with Charlie?"
"Thanks a lot, dog!"
"Edythe be nice," I said softly poking her nose. "What's going on with Charlie?"
"There's been a bloodsucker here the last few nights and none of us really know why. He's even been in the house when Charlie hasn't been home."
"Charlie!" I screamed in terror. He was in so much more danger than I could even begin to think about. Was it one of the Volturi, or Victor or Lauren? Either way I had to find a way to protect my father.
"Don't worry Beau," Jules said with her arm back around me. "We're watching him round the clock. Nothing'll happen to him."
"Who's we?" I asked sounding concerned.
"Well, right now it's just me and Em, but Quinn will join us as soon as she learns to control herself."
"Wait," I shouted, "Quinn too? Just how many of you guys are wolves anyway."
Jules tried to say something but she looked like she started to stumble over the words, just mumbling something than even my sensitive vampire ears could hear.
"She can't tell you," Edythe said picking the thought out of Julie's mind and she looked grateful for the fact Edythe could read minds for the first time. "Sam's forbidden her from telling you anything other than the fact that she is a wolf. She's already let more slip than Sam wanted her to by admitting that Emma and Quinn have also changed."
"Thanks… Edythe is it?" Julie answered nervous but grateful.
"At first it was just the olive skinned, black haired female, but she was easy enough to take care of."
After about half a second I knew who they were talking about. "Wait, you guys took care of Lauren?" I asked absolutely stunned.
"Yeah, that was fun. First time that any of us got to actually go after one of them. She had set up on the side of the highway just outside of town posing as a 'damsel in distress' with a flat tire, waiting for someone to help her. We didn't know if she was looking for someone in particular or not. But the five of us got her."
"Impressive," Edythe said sounding genuinely impressed.
"Thanks," Jules answered with a smile on her face. "But now it's that stupid red headed male who keeps bobbing and weaving. He's the one who's been by here so much; maybe every week. We've been including the town with our patrols. Mom didn't think that you'd mind us watching out for Charlie."
"No, that's fine," Edythe said sounding like it wasn't fine at all. "Just make sure that Charlie stays safely in the dark about all of the supernatural stuff or you might condemn him."
"To what?" Julie scoffed not believing how difficult it would be to walk the thin line we were on with Charlie.
"If he learns too much about us, about vampires you would condemn him to either death or becoming one of us. The leaders of our kind are very secretive."
"Oh," Julie gasped. "Wait! What about my mom?"
Edythe shrugged. "I really don't know, but to be safe we better hope that they don't come here."
"So the thing in Seattle?"
Again Edythe shrugged. "If it gets any worse, then they'll have to deal with it. The Volturi, as their known because they live in Volterra, Italy, just dealt with a similar situation in Atlanta about a decade ago and the numbers hadn't yet gotten anywhere close to this level."
"How many?" I asked almost afraid of the answer.
"Eight confirmed deaths with another dozen or so disappearances in the last week," Edythe answered again stating it matter of factly. "I'm a little surprised they haven't already put a stop to them."
"We could," Julie started but was interrupted by Edythe.
"No, you better not. The new ones aren't like us, or even Beau here. They fight solely by instinct but are incredibly powerful as their own human blood lingers in their tissues. Which is why they are so strong. Feeding on human blood makes us the strongest, as I found out in a time of… well somewhere between weakness and curiosity, but only slightly more so than feeding on large predators."
"Wait, you actually were…"
Edythe cut off Jules before she could finish. "Yes, but that was a long time ago. Carine tried to rain in how much I was feeding on animals and I resented it so I went off on my own for a while."
Julie started to shake and growl at Edythe. "Stop it Jules," I commanded her with my right hand finding her left.
"So you are no different than those others then," Jules said sounding pissed.
"Not exactly," Edythe said sounding defensive. "Even when I fed on humans I made sure to bypass those who were decent and focused on rapists and murderers first. Even still, I never harmed anyone who was innocent."
"Whoa," Julie gasped, "you're much better than I thought."
"Thanks," Edythe replied sarcastically which made me laugh.
"Jules, be nice," I said trying to keep everyone cordial. If there was one thing we didn't need right now it was a vampire versus werewolf battle royal.
"When am I not?" She asked also sounding just too innocent. "I meant it Beau; I'm not gonna let some stupid legends stop us from being friends on my end. If you don't wanna be friends anymore, that's your call."
"Of course not," I replied, almost hurt that Jules would even think that.
"Well, I guess I better get going," Julie said as she gave me a parting hug. It felt nice. "Sam's gonna be pissed enough anyway."
"Why?" I asked.
"She's trying to get me not to like you since she thinks that she'll have to fight me for alpha one day."
"What's an alpha?" I asked.
"The alpha's the one who leads the pack. Right now it's her, but after I phased she offered it to me since I guess my great-grandmother was Elizabeth Black, but I didn't want it. Hell, I didn't really even want to be some sort of mythical creature, but I guess its not all bad, eh Beau?" She laughed and smiled; my favorite kind of smile.
"Not really," I said as we separated. "Come by the house sometime, and bring Em and Quinn if they want, 'kay?"
"Sure sure," she answered like always. "You take care Beau, and behave yourself or we might have to…" She moved so fast and grabbed my left arm and twisted but then let it go, then she imitated a knife across the throat. "See ya."
"Bye Jules." Julie left as silently as she had come into the yard. I was so glad that I was going to get everything out of this new life that I didn't even know to ask for.
"Wow," Edythe said surprised at how well that went. "Maybe both of our sides have a lot to learn from the other."
I smiled since I couldn't believe that Edythe would let me still have my old Quileute friends in addition to all those I'd meet in the vampire world. "Thanks Edythe," I said as my focus turned back to my dad. There had to be a way to help him.
Edythe had a look that was so familiar to me on her face; the one she used when she was trying to read my mind. "What are you thinking?"
"Huh?" I said as she pulled me out of my thoughts. Her words registered about an eight of a second later. "Oh, just how I can help my dad. Archie said that maybe I should talk to Royal about it."
"That might be a good idea."
"Great," I murmured kind of sarcastically. The only Cullen who still really didn't like me was going to give me advice about what to do about my dad. Knowing what I knew now about him, I worried that he might suggest that I just put him out of his misery myself but I should have known better. Royal had said the only humans he ever killed were the ones who had beat him to death; well death if not for Carlisle. So maybe he would have an idea of something I could do, short of Charlie knowing that I was seeing him. And there was still Bonnie. I knew that she and also the Clearwaters would help him through this, even though they hadn't been successful yet. I had to be confident because my dad's life might hang in the balance. He couldn't know about this world, but there still had to be a way.
"Okay, it's my turn," Edythe said with a nervous smile on her face, which brought my thoughts back to the present.
"Huh?" I asked. "Your turn?"
"You asked me how you wanted us to go on, now I want to know yours."
"Oh," I gasped a little relieved.
"Hold on," she said before I could start. "First, tell me if any of it was influenced by Archie or anyone else."
"A little," I said and she growled. I could picture her cursing her favorite and most annoying brother at the same time, which made me laugh. "It's not his fault though."
"I know," she sighed. "You two are almost as thick as thieves together."
"He's my best friend, Edythe."
She smiled again. "I know and I still can't believe that he likes you that much."
"Well, best case scenario?" She nodded. "I finally get enough courage to ask you to marry me and we go through with it."
"Is this yours or Archie's?"
"Mine, at least the second part. In my dreams, all of our families are there and after the minister pronounces us husband and wife… after our kiss you"
"I wouldn't have lost control," she interrupted.
I shook my head, "That wasn't what I imagined. You bit me after our kiss. You made the choice to keep me forever, but wanted me tied to you in all the human ways before you made me immortal."
"That would have been nice but there is a flaw in your vision," she said at which my head tilted a little sideways in shock. "If I was planning for that, then your family wouldn't have been able to come."
"I know but you asked for my best case."
She looked almost terrified. "And your worse case?"
This was the one I really didn't want to tell her. "You wouldn't be able to save me anymore," I said.
She snarled at me, bearing her teeth at me. "Beau you're still a horrible liar!" She growled.
"Okay, okay," I relented. I didn't want to out Archie as the source of this one though. "My worse fear was that you would leave me because of something that was nobody's fault. That somehow I'd cut myself around one of the family and they wouldn't be able to help themselves. And then you'd make everyone leave me alone; all of them." If I was still human, I'd tears would be welling up in my eyes.
"Archie," Edythe snapped, saying his name as if it was an expletive. "I could quite literally kill him for telling you that."
"It wasn't his fault. I begged him to tell me about all of the ways he saw us going. It interested me."
"What happened after we left?"
"Well, Lauren came back and tried to kill me. He lost me after that and when you found out, you tried to kill yourself."
"I knew I was going to destroy you," Edythe gasped.
"Don't be sad, "I said embracing Edythe in my arms again. "We ended up getting our happily ever after after all. And everything'll work out with Charlie; I know it will."
"Aren't you ever the cockeyed optimist?"
I laughed. "Well one of us has to be."
AN: So another chapter done. What do you all think? I'm having some issues with the draft for the next one so it might be a little bit until it's done, but I'll get it up ASAP. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
