A/N: Yay! New chapter! :) I have no idea why I got myself into EPOV, after my last try in my previous story I promised myself never to do it again, but here I am, with a 5 page chapter all in EPOV. It's just that the last chapter needed to be explained from the Cullen's perspective, and who better to do that than Edward?
I hope you like it!
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, Midnight Sun, Twilight the movie, or anything else Twilight related… -cries-
Chapter 4: Chance Encounters II
EPOV
Carlisle, Jasper, Emmett and I ran through the trees, looking for game. I knew that this wasn't 'male bonding time', like they had said. It was to stop me from running away again, and it annoyed me to no end that so far they had succeeded. For 10 years I had a constant babysitter. I was never allowed to be alone, which was difficult for me, because I loved being alone, with no one else's thoughts in my head. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes.
Could you please try to enjoy yourself? It was either this or shopping with the girls. Jasper thought to me, responding to my irritation and ever present depression. I sighed as I felt a false tranquility surround me. Ever since my love died I had tried to end my life. I just couldn't stand to live while she was gone from my world. The only snag in my plan was Alice. She could see when I had a plan and she would alert Carlisle and Esme, which earned me a lecture on family.
I was silently brooding when I heard it; two humans in the forest. I stopped dead in my tracts. This would be bad for Jasper, who was completely dedicated to the hunt. The others stopped beside me, not understanding why I wasn't running. The humans had just entered my power's range, which was farther than vampires could hear or smell. I listened intently, waiting for them to leave.
I wonder if Bob is cheating. He seemed so reluctant to leave the city. It was a woman, and through her mind's eye I could see the man I assumed was Bob. I watched through her eyes, as her head turned swiftly, trying to locate where that rustling sound is coming from. I heard it through her too.
"Edward, are you okay?" I dimly heard Emmett ask me, but I was concentrating on the human at the moment. For some reason, I couldn't make myself stop. I delved deeper into the human's mind. I heard what she heard, felt what she felt, saw what she saw. Her eye's scanned the surrounding trees as her husband grumbled about bear's in the background.
Oh God, what if it is a bear? The woman thought, fear coursing through her. The sound increased and suddenly a blur flew at the woman, knocking her over.
What the hell!? Was the man's thoughts as he tried to run, abandoning his wife to her fate. Through the woman's eyes I saw the face of what was attacking her, and it wasn't a bear. My knee's weakened, and I felt my body slump to the ground as I stared through the human's eyes. The woman's eyes were hazy, her body overloaded with pain, and then, she died. The man had died to, another vampire had gotten him. But it was the female vampire who interested me, as I tried in vain to see her through the dying man's eyes. And then, the male, Bob, died. I snapped back to my own body, picking myself up from the ground.
"Two humans were just killed by vampires." I told my family. They were shocked.
"Where?" Carlisle asked, always logical. Jasper's head whipped around, trying to pinpoint the emotions of the other vampires. Emmett flexed his muscles.
"They killed on our land, let's go get them." Emmett growled. Jasper stopped his search and gave me a quizzical look.
"What's wrong Edward?" He asked. I was shaken, I couldn't believe it.
"The woman vampire, she…" I was panting, my dead heart breaking all over again.
"She what Edward?" Carlisle asked.
"She looked exactly like Bella." They looked at me in concern.
"Well then, let's go after her!" Emmett yelled, his thoughts indicated that he was bored with all the talking. I couldn't help but crack a grin, Emmett was always delightfully predictable.
"Which way Edward?" Carlisle asked. Don't worry, we won't hurt them, but we should talk to them, and see if it's really her. I nodded, and quickly gave them the coordinates. We started running and after a couple minutes we could all hear them, as surely as they could hear us. I tried to pick up their thoughts, but the woman was somehow blocking me. Just like Bella I thought, my heart aching for my love's touch, her smell, her laugh. I ran faster, listening to the male intently.
Something's following us. I can't let them hurt Juliet. He thought and I saw him through his minds eye grab the woman's hand, but when he looked at her face, it wasn't Bella, it was someone else. And then his thoughts disappeared. It wasn't her. My world crumbled as I ran. I wasn't running towards Bella. She was dead.
We circled around to cut them off, but they had sensed us and had stopped running. They were weary when we stepped forward. Naturally Carlisle stepped slightly ahead of us, indicating that he was the leader. Jasper immediately sent out a wave of calm was sent out from Jasper, diffusing the obviously hostile feelings from the opposing vampires.
"Hello, my name is Carlisle and this is my family. You seem to have hunted in our territory." Carlisle said. The woman vampire looked horrified, while the male continued to look indifferent.
"I'm so sorry! I can't believe it! I'm so sorry I stole your prey!" The woman apologized frantically, I could see her self-anger in her eyes. Why would she think that she stole our meal? How odd.
"You're worried that you stole our….meal?" Carlisle asked, cocking his head in confusion. His thoughts were racing as he tried to understand.
"Yes. It seems like every time I -" She cut off, turning her head so she could look at the male. I wondered what she was going to say.
"Every time you what?" Carlisle prodded; he was every bit as curious as I was.
"Every time I run into a new coven I seem to make a bad first impression." It was a lie; a well practiced one but most definitely a lie. What was she going to say originally? I wondered, trying in vain to read her thoughts. I hadn't had this problem in 10 years. I watched her as she looked us over. She looked all 4 of us up and down, seeming to catalogue our features. I frowned in frustration. What is she doing!? I was barely containing my frustration when she ran her eyes over me. For some reason her gaze felt far more private than it really was, and I felt self-conscious under her stare. The male stepped forward, his hands still intertwined with the females.
"We are so sorry to intrude on your land. We'll leave you now." He said in a British accent. Is it a fake accent? I wondered, but it sounded to similar to Carlisle's to be fake.
"That is not the problem, you can stay on our land as long as you like, we just ask you to please refrain from hunting in the area." Emmett flexed his muscles, just try it again, I'll show you what happens when you threaten my family, he thought, his pleasure barely contained at the thought of a fight. The female bit her bottom lip, and I felt her anxiousness through Jasper.
"My name's Jasper. Carlisle is our father figure, and these are my brothers Edward and Emmett." He said, and the female's eyes lit up, why did she have that reaction? "What are your names?" Once again the female looked to the male for guidance. It always bothered me to see the woman defer to the male.
"This is Brandon my-" The male cut her off
"I'm her mate." For some reason that bothered me, and from the female's eyes, it bothered her too. Jasper felt her irritation and raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, this is my mate Brandon and I'm Juliet." She stressed the word, and the slightest bit of sarcasm laced the word. You'd hardly notice it if you weren't paying such close attention to her words as I was. It was sad, really. Her eyes were trained on Emmett, her eyes filled with curiosity and frustration. I frowned at her with the same expression. She felt my gaze and turned to look me in the eyes; I couldn't turn away. Her crimson eyes should repulse me, but I found them interesting and deep; like they were windows into her soul. Her eyes darted quickly to Brandon's, as if to compare, and then she returned her gaze to me.
"Would you like to come back with us to our home? Maybe we could introduce our way of life for you."
"Yes, that would be very nice, thank you." Juliet replied, a small smile lighting up her face. Her mate Brandon stiffened beside her. Obviously it was not the response he wanted to hear.
"Follow us please." Carlisle said, running back to the house with Emmett. Jasper and I waited for Brandon and Juliet to follow so we could bring up the rear. Through the entire run, they never stopped holding hands.
When we finally reached the house I thought I heard Juliet whisper "wow". I almost smiled at her, but I didn't. I never smile, not anymore. All of a sudden she gasped and Jasper picked up strong feelings of confusion and apprehension coming from her. Emmett smirked, obviously believing that her gasp came from her reaction to the house. I frowned in frustration again; it's quickly becoming my trademark expression. What is she thinking? I saw her glance at me and I tried to relax my face. Jasper and Carlisle, who had disappeared inside the house, returned with the girls, who beat us home from their shopping trip.
After introductions were over Esme offered the pair a tour of the house. It was quite obvious that Brandon didn't want to be anywhere near our house, or us for that matter, but Juliet agreed enthusiastically, pulling Brandon along. As Esme led them through the house I sat in an armchair in the living room, watching Juliet's reactions through Esme's eyes. It was fairly obvious that she liked my room the best, and I had to suppress my happiness at the thought. I had fought with Alice for 3 years to keep my room that way. She wanted to redecorate but I wouldn't let her. Bella had loved my room, there was no way I would change it. When we had moved, I had tried to recreate it as closely as possible.
The tour ended and it was time for a question period. The couples all sat together, while I continued to sit in the only armchair in the room. My mood darkened.
"Do you have any questions for us?" Carlisle asked, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen over us. Juliet looked at Brandon first, but his jaw was set, his eyes staring ahead furiously. I noted that their hands were still intertwined.
"Yes. How do you live in a certain place permanently?" She bit her lip as she leaned forward slightly.
"I have a job in the city; I'm a doctor at the hospital. We interact normally with the humans and try to blend in." Her eyebrows twitched in disbelief.
"Why are your eye's gold?"
"My family and I feed only on animals, never on humans. That is how we exist peacefully with them." Her jaw dropped, and I had to forcibly stifle a grin.
"How?" Brandon choked. I reveled in his weakness.
"We have worked to perfect out self control so that we can interact with humans freely. It has been difficult, but it is well worth it." I tensed. My self control is where it is because of Bella. My beautiful, delicious, tempting love.
Over the next hour Carlisle and Juliet took turns asking questions. I ignored them for the most part. I spent the time trying to pry the invisible wall protecting Brandon's mind, I had read it before, in the forest. I was interrupted by Carlisle.
"So, would you like to stay with us?" Once again Juliet looked to Brandon before answering.
"I think we need to talk about it first." Carlisle nodded and the two newcomers retreated to the guest bedroom. I sighed and slid down deeper into the chair.
"So Edward, what is with all the frustration coming off of you?" Jasper asked when we heard the door to the bedroom close. I pinched the bridge of my nose with my thumb and index finger.
"I can't read either of their minds. I could read Brandon's in the forest, but now it's just blank." Maybe it wasn't anything to do with me, maybe his mind really is blank. We heard hushed whispers upstairs, but we tried not to eavesdrop.
"Do you think she'll stay with us?" Esme asked. Alice shrugged her shoulders, she was clueless, no decision had been made yet. The whispers upstairs had gotten louder, like they were fighting.
"I don't think so," I said, "almost every time we ask Juliet a question, she looks to Brandon first, as if looking for permission to answer. And Brandon obviously doesn't want to be here," Jasper nodded, he had felt Brandon's feelings of hostility. "So I really don't think she'll stay if he goes." The rest of my family agreed silently with my observations. I was a little upset, she wouldn't be staying, and that's when it happened. Brandon's thoughts were revealed to me.
It's the biggest mistake she's made since I found her! I hope her mask disappears and the Cullen's attack her…No, I could never wish that on her. I hope she doesn't find what she's looking for so that she'll come back to me. I guess I'll do what she told me…In a flash he was downstairs and out the backdoor, and his thoughts faded away as he left my range of hearing. We waited for Juliet to come back downstairs. Mask? What mask? What is Juliet looking for? What did she want Brandon to do? Hearing his thoughts left me with more questions than answers, and I knew I couldn't ask Juliet for answers, not yet.
Juliet descended the stairs and stood behind the couch she had just been sitting in a couple of minutes ago with her mate.
"Brandon left." She said and I could barely stop myself from rolling my eyes. "I would like to stay." My whole family was surprised. She went against what we'd thought she'd do. She was very hard to predict. She must have taken my families silence as rejection. "If that's okay with you! I don't want to impose."
"No, please Juliet, it's fine. We just thought… we're glad that you will be staying with us. Please, it's no problem to us." Carlisle reassured her, trying to ease the tension. Jasper helped, a calm atmosphere settling over us. I was ridiculously happy that Juliet would be staying. What is wrong with me? I didn't have the answer to my question.
A/N: Did you like it? Is it totally OOC? I would love your opinions, thoughts or any feedback.
Review! Please?!
I'm sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes. I was informed that in the last chapter I said clam instead of calm... -blushes- I tried to fix it, but fanfiction wouldn't let me edit my document, so if you see it in the future, I most likely didn't mean to say clam…. :D
-Maggie
