Chapter 3- Visions.
"I'm intrigued by your visions Alice," Carlisle said. "How do they work?"
Always the scientist! I thought. But I too wanted to know exactly what this strange girl saw in her mind's eye, even though just thinking about another smug, psychic know-it-all in the house made me want to kick someone.
"I don't really understand that myself," Alice said cheerfully. "I see it in my mind, what's going to happen…of course sometimes people change their minds and then the visions change. And sometimes I'll see things that don't make any sense in the context of where I am at the time, and I have to wait until something else happens that give them meaning. And of course, sometimes I just don't look for the right things!" She gave a sudden giggle. "I saw meeting you, but I never looked to see if everyone would be here so I didn't know that Emmett and Edward would be gone. They'll be back this evening though." For a moment her smile faltered and was replaced by a wondering frown. "Emmett's clothes are completely destroyed…goodness, what does he do when he hunts?"
I gave a sudden, genuine belly laugh. Oh, my impossible man and his carelessness with his clothes! "Now I know you're telling the truth," I snorted. "Goodness knows Emmett's the only vampire any of us know that eats like such a savage when they should know better!"
Carlisle and Esme, both well acquainted with Emmett's uniquely messy hunting style, laughed with me.
I hesitated for a moment, not wishing to be rude, but I'd never been one to hold back my true thoughts and so I caught Jasper's eye and said to him frankly, "I don't like the idea that you can manipulate my emotions."
He wasn't offended. With an apologetic nod he said, "I can understand that. If it's any comfort to you, I don't do it merely for my own amusement or benefit. I kept you all calm earlier because I felt it was safer, but I have not been sitting here influencing you all along. I can't say I'm not a little uncomfortable at the idea of living with someone who can read my mind," he added, a little diffidently.
"Join the club," I muttered. "I've been doing it for seventeen years and I'm still not comfortable." Edward's telepathy had always been a thorn in my side.
Alice threw up her hands. "Well, if you two have quite finished being so pessimistic about everything!"
Excuse me! I was so astounded that she'd spoken to me like that that I couldn't even think of anything to say.
"It's not as bad as you think, Jasper," Carlisle said with a smile. "Edward doesn't make a habit of listening in to everything, and he's very discreet with what he does hear. He can't help it, any more than you can help feeling the emotions that surround you. Actually, Edward's skills have been very useful on several occasions. It can be helpful to have someone who knows what others are thinking when you're trying to blend in to the human world and avoid trouble."
"It's okay," Alice beamed. "We'll all be friends once everyone gets used to things."
"Of course we will," Esme said. "Now, would you like to take your things inside and get settled? I suppose if you take Edward's room we can work with that."
Jasper rose to his feet and collected the suitcase and a battered old duffel bag. I wondered what they carried with them as Alice skipped over to the front door and grinned at Esme. "You don't have to get up," she chirped gaily. "I know the way. Thank you so much for listening to me and taking us in like this!"
"You're very welcome," Esme answered, sounding slightly bemused at the speed at which Alice seemed to be making herself at home.
I said nothing as I leaned against the porch rail and watched the two of them enter the house, listening to the sound of their footsteps ascending the wooden staircase to Edward's room.
"Well, that wasn't quite what I was expecting to happen on my day off!" Carlisle said with a humorous grin at Esme. "What do you think, my love?"
Esme smiled at him affectionately. "It certainly was a surprise to see them come walking out of the forest! But Carlisle, the things she says she sees about us all being a family together…do you really believe she is telling the truth?"
Carlisle shrugged. "I've seen enough in my life to know that anything is possible. Edward is able to read minds…is it so much more unbelievable that this girl should have premonitions? We've built this family from some rather disparate parts thus far- I confess to being rather intrigued by her visions and how they may be fulfilled."
"Imagine a family of seven," Esme said wonderingly. "There's not a coven outside of Volterra with so many members."
Carlisle chuckled. "It's certainly not something I ever expected. After I changed Rosalie I swore I'd never do it again, and although I broke that vow when Emmett came along that was done in rather exceptional circumstances." He winked at me. "I didn't think that situation would really arise again, and I couldn't imagine too many vampires happy to live our particular lifestyle!"
I couldn't believe how casually they were taking this. I wasn't against the idea of getting to know new vampires…more than anyone else in the family I chafed against the boredom of really having only the same four people for company! Someone new was always interesting, and could be a fun diversion. But…family?
"So that's it then?" I said incredulously. "They just walk up to the door and she tells you that she's a fortune teller and they think we're all family, and you just let them right in the door? Are you mad?"
"Rosalie," Esme began, but I cut her off with a furious shake of my head.
"You're too trusting!"
"You don't believe she's telling the truth?" Carlisle's voice was more interested than reproving as he gave me his attention.
"I don't care if she is or not!" I countered. "I don't want another psychic in my home messing with my head! And we don't know anything about them but what they've told us…who knows what their real purpose is?"
"They seemed lovely. Not everyone is out to hurt others, Rosalie," Esme said gently.
"Well, we don't know that, do we?" I hissed. "The least you could have done was waited for Emmett and Edward to get back before inviting two strangers to move in!"
Carlisle's lip quirked with a barely hidden smile. "For someone who objects to Edward listening to thoughts out of her head, you seem rather keen for him to do it to others."
"That's different!" I shouted furiously. "This is about being safe, not about Edward being nosy! We have no reason to trust them, Carlisle!"
And I have spent years learning how to feel safe again Carlisle, I have spent years trying to unravel that ball of furious terror that lives in my heart and replace it with faith. I have learned to feel safe even in this world that has shown me too much of the darkness, and I cannot lose that now!
"I believe Alice was telling the truth about her visions," Carlisle said quietly. "And Jasper made no efforts to hide things from us that don't paint him in a very positive light…I believe their intentions are sincere, Rosalie."
"And don't forget Rosalie, you were a stranger once too," Esme interjected. "We've created a family from strangers…maybe they are meant to be part of it too."
"I'm not saying they're not," I snapped, my voice tight with frustration. "For what it's worth I do believe she sees things- goodness knows I've seen enough of this vampire world freak show to believe in anything! I'm just saying that we need to be careful!"
I flung my hair back and slammed into the house, only to come up short at the sight of Alice, poised halfway down the stairs, her golden eyes wide. "Were you listening?" I snarled.
"I did hear you," she admitted calmly. "You're right that you have no real reason to trust us right now. But I'm not lying and I have seen what I told you about. I'm just asking that you hold back on judgement for a little while. That's all."
Sighing, I shrugged wearily. It was not that I was against Jasper and her being here, not at all. It was just the lack of caution that had me so wound up! But Emmett and Edward would be back later, I reminded myself, and I could take care of myself until then. "Did you want something?" I asked stiffly.
"I was just wondering what I should do with Edward's things? Should I move them somewhere?" Alice looked at me inquiringly.
"How about the doghouse?" I muttered sourly.
Esme entered the house behind me then, and she giggled as she heard me. "Oh Rose! Don't pout darling, Emmett will be back soon." She patted my arm and grinned at Alice. "Rosalie is just cross that Edward took Emmett away hunting for a few days."
I rolled my eyes dramatically. "Yes, yes, I'm sulking…But they didn't have to go so far away. And it's not like we have a dog, and that little house is out there waiting, just perfect for Edward…" I gazed innocently at Esme, and then flicked a brief glance at Alice, and all three of us laughed.
"I think we'll move Edward's things out to the garage," Esme said thoughtfully. "We can probably turn the back sitting room into a room for Edward, but we'll need to do something with all the furniture in there first…"
I thought of my lovely, spacious garage, with everything arranged just as I liked it and kept pristine, and I moaned. "Not in my garage Esme!"
She raised her eyebrows at me. "I suppose we could find room in your bedroom for some of the boxes then?"
"Ugh, never mind," I sighed. There was no way I was having anything of Edward in my bedroom, not even a box of books! I trailed upstairs after Alice and into what had been Edward's room. At our entrance Jasper rose to his feet and nodded courteously. "Miss Rosalie."
"Just Rosalie is fine," I said, a little awkwardly. Not that I didn't appreciate the gentlemanly manners, but it was a little too formal for home. It brought to mind the way Emmett, newly born to this life and stumbling through the changes in both body and circumstance it had meant for him, had called me 'Miss Rosalie' in his slurred southern drawl and my heart softened. "You were from Texas?" I said to Jasper.
"Born and raised," he answered with his crooked grin. "Alice says you've always been a Yankee…from New York, she tells me?"
"Yes, I spent all my human life in New York," I said briefly. "I've not spent much time down south." There had been a brief interlude in Tennessee that came to a premature end after Emmett became one of us, but we preferred the cooler, cloudier climate of the northern states. I glanced suspiciously at Alice. "You really know all this from your…visions?"
Twirling around, the full skirt of her cherry printed dress flaring out around her, Alice clapped her hands and laughed. "Oh yes. I know lots of things, but it's going to be so much more fun to be here with you all and see it all happening right in front of me!" On her tiptoes, she seized Jasper's tie and pulled him towards her so she could kiss him, before she danced across the room to the stack of boxes. "Now come on, you two…we've got to get all of these boxes and things out of our room and fix it up for us."
Thinking of Edward's reaction to coming home and discovering all his possessions in the garage made me snicker, and I gave Alice the friendliest grin I could muster up and hefted up a pile of boxes. "Come on then. I'll show you where in the garage to stack these- I don't want them in my way."
