Something to Believe In
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters.
Author's Note: I bring you, ladies and gentlemen . . . the third chapter of Something to Believe In.
Quote of the Day:
Edward: And so the lion fell
in love with the lamb.
Bella: What a stupid lamb.
Edward:
What a sick, masochistic lion.
—Twilight
—*—
Alice's POV
Truth be told, I was shocked—but not surprised. I should've known. After all, those two did have similar features. They had so much of a resemblance, that it hurt me. Even though, the memories of my past were so blurry. I could only remember the familiar face of my sister back then. I bit my lip, keeping my eyes on the road. "Cynthia." I repeated, drowning myself in my own thoughts. I wondered, however… had this little girl known who I really was? More importantly, had she seen my tombstone? Or was I simply a figure of the past?
Twenty minutes later, we were at my house. I couldn't allow her to stay in the car, so I brought her with me. She stood behind my petite being as I turned the key and began to wonder what my excuse was. I mean, bringing a human to a home of vampires was really uncalled for—although Edward had broken that rule before… Falling in love and everything.
But this girl was my niece for goodness sake. And when I entered the room calling for a family meeting, I could feel a storm brewing. Jasper just looked at me—almost disgustedly—as if he thought I was trying to torture him. He, however, had it all wrong. It was nothing like that.
"Uhm…" I paused, Melanie stood still behind me looking down at her shoes. I could feel a nervous vibe emitting from her, but then she calmed. Thank you, Jasper. I thought. Although, I wasn't entirely sure whose side he was on. "This is Melanie. Melanie, this is my family."
I introduced her to each and every member: Esme, Carlisle, Rosalie, Emmett, Edward, and Renesmee—Heck, I even reintroduced her to Bella. I was nervous, and Jasper's ability hadn't done much of a good job either. I could tell he was holding his breath, trying to hold back any temptations from hurting the poor girl. I saw Rosalie roll her eyes at me, and it quite obvious what she was thinking: Not again. Edward probably noticed this too. This time, however, I could tell she didn't want to become involved with the situation.
"Alice Cullen," Carlisle said, beckoning me from the kitchen. "Come here for a sec."
"Be right back, hon." I smiled at Melanie. "Bella?"
I saw her nod, and then she took Renesmee along with her. It seemed natural that Renesmee and Melanie were going to get along, and it pleased me. I was hesitant, but I eventually made my way into the kitchen avoiding the stares of my fellow siblings. Jasper followed behind me. He surely had a thing or two to say.
"First of all… Why is she here?" Jasper asked. It wasn't in a bratty-spoiled-kid kind of way—it was more like Rosalie's reaction when she first heard about Bella. I sighed, folding my arms. Would he understand?
"It seemed… necessary at the moment." I responded.
"Alice," Carlisle looked at me with concern in his eyes. "We need to know the truth, now."
"Carlisle, Jasper." I swallowed, trying to look for the right words to say. "Please understand… she's important to me."
"Care to explain?" Carlisle asked. I glimpsed over his shoulder and saw Jasper looking out the window. He seemed quite bothered, apparently. I couldn't quite understand why. I could tell that whatever it was, he was trying so hard to get it out of his mind.
"She's my… niece." I finally said, suddenly afraid of the consequences.
"She's… what?" Jasper turned around, looking straight at me. "How'd she get here?"
"I don't know." I admitted. "She ran away from home. "
"Alice." Carlisle finally said at once, closing his eyes. "You do know this could endanger us all."
Jasper gritted his teeth, uncertain of how he felt with the new situation that I was in right now. He was unbelievably worried about me, when he shouldn't have. "We already went through this with Bella. Now, do we have to go through it with her too?"
I frowned. "This isn't your problem, it's mine."
"If something were to happen. . ." his voice trailed off, and then he walked away—or jumped out of the window. What's wrong with him? I thought. I couldn't understand him right now, it was all too frustrating. I closed my eyes, and then opened them again after a few seconds.
"I will take full responsibility," I nodded. "Give me a month or so, please."
Carlisle sighed. "Yes, I don't seem to have another choice—"
"Thank you so much!" I practically squealed, hugging him in midsentence.
"You didn't let me finish." He began, once I let go. "You need to find Jasper, pronto."
