Chapter Four: Persuasion

I paced angrily around the room. "I can't believe you think I would even consider —" I snarled.

Esme was out of hearing, Jasper having convinced her to go hunting with him after Alice "saw" the state we were coming back in. Alice sat a little apart from the others now, her eyes closed and her hands pressed to the sides of her head as she tried to "see."

"Carlisle, you're the one who thinks every single day that you wish she could forget," Edward said patiently.

"That she could forget, yes. Not that some meddling vampire would come along and steal her memory!"

"Memories, not memory," Bella said quietly.

"Right," I said sarcastically. "We have only Anastasia's word for it that it's selective."

"She wasn't lying, Carlisle."

"Not lying. But can she read minds to see how much her victims really remember afterward?" No one is experimenting on my Esme, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen!

Edward sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just consider it for a minute, Carlisle. You're giving Alice a headache; she can't even 'see' what will happen as long as you're so set against it."

"No." I can't get the image out of my head, Edward… I didn't put it into words; I didn't have to. He saw as clearly as I did Esme lying there with her mind completely gone.

"Carlisle," Bella said softly, "wiping memories isn't the same as…stealing minds. I don't think Anastasia could wipe every memory and not notice — but even without memories, Esme's mind and personality would be there. Don't you think you could make her fall in love with you again?"

For a single second, I wavered, and a grin burst across Alice's face. "It will work!" she crowed.

I turned swiftly to face her. "Are you positive, Alice?"

"Absolutely. The only decision involved was yours, Carlisle; Anastasia's power isn't a variable."

She sounded more sure of herself than she had of any prediction since missing Brigham, and I found myself giving in.

"Esme will be fine, Carlisle," Edward promised quietly. "Do you want Bella and me to ask Anastasia —"

My eyes narrowed. "Don't you trust me to do it?"

"In your current state of mind, no," Edward said frankly.

I sighed, leaning my hand on the wall and burying my face in my arm in an attempt to calm myself…to bring my thoughts to a level of clarity Edward felt he could trust.

"Just remember," he said quietly, "we all want what's best for Esme. Even Anastasia truly wants to help."

I drew a deep breath as I lifted my head. "All right…I'll go talk to Anastasia. Edward, you and Bella explain what's happening to Bree, Rose and Emmett, and Jacob and Nessie, and tell them that under no circumstances is anyone to ever mention Brigham's name or what happened in Esme's hearing." I didn't know if, once wiped, the memories could be brought back by the right trigger…I didn't want Esme to know about the rape even secondhand. "Alice, I assume you'll tell Jasper."

"Of course."

I left at once to return to Anastasia, and Edward followed me out to the porch. "Carlisle…if you asked, I'm sure Anastasia would wipe the memory from your mind, too."

I let myself consider the idea for a moment…not to have those images seared in my mind…but I knew the answer even before I met Edward's eyes. "If it was Bella…would you?"

"No," he admitted. "I'd remember…to protect her if it ever happened again."

Next chapter coming next week!

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