DC: Still don't own it...but I'll keep wishing
Thank you to my reviewers! You guys rock!
Not much for pre-story ramblings. Yay for it almost being Friday! Not so much yay for work later but still.
Chapter 4,
Edward had lost all sense of time. He never slept but he wished he could, at least then he would be able to get a grip on how time was passing. There were no windows so there was no sunlight. No clocks on the wall. Nothing to show that time was passing without him. He decided that of all things that would break him, it would be the insanity. He felt so overwhelmed by the idea that he had been trapped for days, weeks, maybe months. Years? No. Masen would get bored of him before a year.
Already he could feel himself slipping. How long had it been since he last hunted? A week before he was taken. But that did him little good without knowing how long he was here. The powerful thirst had started...a few days ago? It had been more than a week, he could be certain of that. But even that was a guess. For all he knew it could have just been a day.
No, he told himself, more than a day. His father had fed at least ten times. He had no idea how often Masen usually fed, but he remembered that human blood was very filling. Much richer than animal blood. From what he had heard, teenage blood was the best. He also heard a myth that the blood of virgins was also very delicious.
But now wasn't the time to think about blood. No. He had to think about something else. But what? What was there to think about in his stone prison? He had already counted the stone blocks that made up all four walls and the floor and ceiling. He had counted them several times and in a few different languages. If he thought about blood any longer he was most certainly going to go mad. He was so thirsty but snippets of memories from his human life told him that his father wasn't going to feed him any time soon. It was usually Elizabeth that fed him.
The faint memory of his mother's face brought him a rare calm. Beautiful Elizabeth Masen and her beautiful heart. She loved him. Someone loved him. He remembered her sitting in the warm kitchen making a small dinner. He had been eleven at the time and his father was away on business. It was like every holiday combined into one when Edward Masen was out of town. It happened so rarely but it was the only time the small family was at peace.
Chicago 1912
"Edward, could you bring mommy two bowls?" Elizabeth asked. Little Edward nodded and crawled up on the counter and grabbed two bowls.
"Here mother," he chirped. Elizabeth took them from him and filled each with hot soup with chicken and carrots from the garden in the back. She put the two bowls on the small wooden table and cut some bread.
Edward put the bread on the table when she was finished and got two cups of water. It was just the two of them for dinner. Elizabeth told him to sit at the table and he obeyed. He was an obedient child. Defiance was punished.
"Mommy why did you marry father?"
"I was young," Elizabeth said with a sigh. "But would you like to know a secret, Edward?"
Edward nodded and his mother smiled at him.
"It was you I was waiting for," she said, "a mother like me doesn't deserve such a precious little boy."
Edward hopped down from the chair and ran to his mother, giving her tight hug around her legs. Elizabeth knelt down and hugged him tight. "I don't deserve such a good mother," Edward assured her.
Elizabeth stroked his hair tenderly and let a few tears roll down her cheeks. Moments like those were few and far between. She wasn't to love anyone besides her husband. There was only enough room in her heart for him. Masen made sure to remind Edward every day of that fact.
But what everyone in the small family knew was that it wasn't Edward Masen that was the only one in her heart, it was his son.
2008
So he lied to Bella and said he had no memory of his human life. He lied to everyone in the family when he said he had no memory of human life. Only Carlisle knew. Carlisle knew everything. He knew about the abuse, about the neglect and about the powerful connection a son shared with his mother.
--
"I'm not going to pretend that you don't have secrets, Carlisle," Esme said quietly on a sunny afternoon. Sunny. Ironic. "You know more about who took Edward than anybody."
"Is there a question in there?" Carlisle asked mildly. Probably with a little more attitude than he had intended.
"What haven't you told me? About Edward?"
Carlisle wondered if the entire question was about Edward. He looked at Esme with tired eyes. She was dressed in a pink t-shirt and blue jeans. Her hair was spilling out of a messy ponytail. She carried herself like she had when he had first met her. Her body language screamed that she was putting on a front when inside she was crumbling.
"What do you want to know?"
"I want to know who has my son," Esme said firmly.
Carlisle sighed. They had been short with each other lately. Esme's eyes were dark with thirst but she refused to leave to hunt. Emmett was always out these days, bringing game back for the rest of them.
"His father," Carlisle answered finally. "His birth father, Edward Masen, has him."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"Yes, you do."
Carlisle looked her directly in the eye. Of course he knew. Or at least he had a great guess. The words couldn't form in his mouth. To kill Edward. That was what Masen wanted. That was what he always wanted. Elizabeth had told him that much when she lay dying. Edward's eyes told him just before he was pronounced dead.
"I don't know why his father suddenly showed up and took him."
Esme didn't buy it. Carlisle didn't blame her. It was a feeble lie. He didn't have the energy to keep up a face.
"If you don't want to tell me because it'll upset me then that's your decision. But you could have at least a little more faith in me."
With that, Esme turned on her heel and left. Carlisle ran his hands through his hair and threw the first thing he could grab, a cup of pens, at the wall. It exploded and left a dent in the wall. He stood sharply and left the room just as Esme was turning to go down the stairs.
"Esme, it isn't that I don't have faith in you."
Esme looked up at him. He leaned against the rail and looked down at her. "Carlisle, I'm not asking to probe your mind. We agreed when we married that we would keep some things private. I accepted that. But this is our son we're talking about, not some silly girlfriend from your past!"
"Silly girlfriend?" Carlisle repeated.
"Whatever!"
It was nice to see a little spark in her eyes. They had been cold for almost three weeks. "Edward and I..." Carlisle began but didn't know where to finish. "There are things about Edward's past that only he and I know."
"You aren't going to tell me, are you?"
"What would it matter?" Carlisle asked. He closed his eyes and winced at the reaction that would come. That had definitely been the wrong thing to say at a time like this.
"I suppose it doesn't," Esme said quietly. She hurried down the stairs in a way that told him loud and clear not to follow. So he didn't.
--
Emmett and Bella walked alone through the forest. He was teaching her to hunt. "You don't have to do this," Bella said feeling like a bother.
"No," Emmett said with a sigh, "I want to. Hunting takes my mind off of things."
"Everyone is acting like he's dead," Bella said angrily, "why? He's not yet! We can still find him!"
Emmett didn't respond. He sniffed and picked up a scent quickly. He wasn't really teaching her anything but she was getting cabin fever and he was strong enough to keep her from running off after the nearest hiker. Also, this was what he did to take his mind off of things.
"It's not that simple," he said finally in a low voice. "Jasper and I couldn't find a single trace of the scent. It was everywhere. Whoever took Edward...his father...has been a vampire long enough to know our strengths. He covered Forks with his scent. Hell he's covered Washington with his scent!"
"But..."
"I know you're worried Bella," Emmett said gently, "and believe me so am I. Edward is a quick little thing but strength wise he's average. He relies on strategy and speed to win. Me? I'm more brute force. Jasper is a strategist and he is also very powerful from years of training. Now that you're one of us you'll start to realize that we are just like humans. We come in all varieties. I mean I'm considered slow."
Bella looked him over and figured he was probably right. Someone of his size looked like he would be slow but would have unlimited stamina. They walked through the forest in silence. Bella was feeling a bit overwhelmed by all that she could hear.
"When the hikers come near don't hold your breath," Emmett said suddenly. "You'll never learn how to resist human blood if you don't smell it often."
"Carlisle said..."
"Yes, Carlisle is right that you'll get a taste for animal blood quicker with his method and already it is easier for you to resist, but it's one of those things you just have to experience. Like how you can't really learn a language fully until you're surrounded."
"You're going to..."
Emmett let out a laugh. "Hell no, we're not going to drop you into a high school until you're at least a year old. That'd be suicide! Or rather murder...which ever."
He put his arm around Bella's shoulders and before she could question she smelled the sweet scent of the hikers. The smell was much more appealing than rabbit blood (which was what she tasted first due to the rush to get something) or grizzly blood. Edward was right. It was like a fine wine.
Without thinking she felt herself stray towards them. Emmett's strong arm tightened and she was pushed closer to him.
"See, what did I tell you?"
"I can't believe I thought about..."
"Lesson two of many," Emmett said, "get over it. Sounds harsh I know, but what else can I say? Humans are our natural food source. Just like when you were human you ate a hamburger. We're the vegetarians of the vampire world. You have instincts. Like a baby you have the instinct to feed. Only instead of milk it's blood."
"Why does it smell so good?"
"Why did a steak smell so good and vegetables didn't?" Emmett asked.
"I see," Bella muttered.
"I won't lie, Bells, it does suck for the first year or so but you get used to it and you feel better. Besides, you don't look good with red eyes."
"Do I still have them?" Bella asked.
"A little, just around the iris. They're a lovely shade of gold." Bella laughed and Emmett squeezed her shoulder in a hug. "Welcome to the family. You're gonna love it."
"Hey Emmett, there is always something I've wanted to know."
"Shoot," Emmett said, releasing her shoulders now that they were far enough away.
"Well, that night everyone voted on me being a vampire...what did Edward break?"
Emmett grumbled something about temper tantrums. "A sixty inch plasma t.v imported from Korea because it wasn't released in the united states. Don't worry," he added with a grin, "I got him back."
Bella smiled, so that was why Edward had been late the day after.
--
Forty one...yonjuuichi...dreiundvierzig...cuarenta y cuatro...forty five...
Yes. It would be the madness. Edward was one hundred percent certain. One hundred, hyaku, hundert, cien. Counting bricks was keeping his mind busy for a while, but it was starting to wear off. Soon Edward wasn't sure what brick his was on, only that he was somewhere in the sixties. He was just saying numbers now.
He closed his eyes and his stomach churned a little. He wasn't used to being so hungry.
"Eat your soup."
Edward's eyes snapped open. "Carlisle?" he breathed. He searched the room but there was nothing. His mind was playing tricks on him again. He decided his mind was cruel.
The good thing was that he was starting to get feeling back in his feet. The bad thing was that it meant the venom his father filled him with was wearing off, which meant Masen would be back from hunting soon.
Its not like he had the ability to go anywhere. His hands were still tied with impossibly strong rope. Not that it mattered any. Yarn could hold him now with how weak he was from hunger and fatigue. Edward didn't think vampires could ever feel tired. Maybe it was a state of mind.
--
When Masen was finished feeding he came into the stone prison and looked at his son. "You look pathetic, you know that." Edward didn't respond. "If you hadn't killed your mother I wouldn't be doing this."
Masen squated before Edward, resting his elbows on this thick thighs. "So what did you give the doctor to save you?"
Edward didn't look at him. He didn't move. Masen growled something and grabbed his son's hair. "Answer me when I'm talking to you boy."
Edward looked at his father. It was hard to believe that he was related to this man. This cold and empty man. He could answer. Maybe then Masen would kill him. It had been a while since Edward had hoped for death. In eternal sleep he wouldn't feel pain.
Yes. He would push his father to kill him. He had a short fuse, Edward just had to anger him enough. Remind him that he was the one cherished by Elizabeth, that it was her husband that killed her. Oh yes, there were many ways to push Masen over the edge.
Edward, no, don't do that.
Bella? Here? Edward's eyes flicked across the room in hope.
Please Edward, please stay alive!
Edward didn't say anything and Masen hit him over and over.
--
Alice knocked gently on Carlisle's office door.
"Come in," Carlisle said from inside.
Alice walked into the office and looked at her father who was sitting by the window, his skin was shimmering dimly in the sun.
"Carlisle, when are we going to do something about finding Edward?" Alice asked.
Carlisle didn't answer. He barely acknowledged her. Alice didn't move. She folded her arms.
"Carlisle," her voice was louder and tighter, "what are we going to do about Edward?" she spoke slower and her voice got angrier with each word.
"Nothing until I know where he is, Alice dear," Carlisle said in an equally tight voice.
"Well we'll never find anything sitting around!"
"Patience, Alice, is a virtue!"
"I'll tell you where you can stuff your patience!" Alice snapped before leaving in a whirlwind of fury. Carlisle glared at the doorway but went back the window.
"I can't take this anymore!" Alice cried storming through the living room. Jasper and Bella looked at her. "Edward isn't going to find himself!"
"Where are you going?" Jasper asked, watching as Alice stormed out of the room.
"I have not decided yet! Where are my keys?!"
"In your pocket," Jasper said lightly. She jammed her hand into her pocket and fetched the keys for her yellow porche. "Where are you going?"
"East. Then West. Then North. I'm going to find my brother!"
"Carlisle said we can't leave until he knows where to go," Jasper reminded her. "Or at least until you've had a vision of his location."
"Okay this doesn't leave the group," Alice said dropping her voice so low that Bella and Jasper could hardly hear it, "but I don't think Carlisle is up to speed."
"He's under a lot of stress," Jasper sighed. "He and Esme are bickering."
"Parents are very protective of their children...usually," Bella reminded them.
"Whatever the reason, Carlisle is distracted by that and something else," Alice continued. She turned on her heel and crashed directly into Emmett.
"Leaving?"
"Don't try to stop me! It won't work!"
"For a fortune teller you aren't that great," Emmett sighed. He picked Alice up by the waist and carried her under his arm. It irritated her and he was in need of a laugh. "You kids comin' ?"
Bella and Jasper leapt up and followed Emmett into the garage.
"Guys wait!" Bella said slowing to a stop.
"Oh come on Bella, you of all people should be ready to leave!" Alice protested from under Emmett's arm.
"I never said I wasn't ready to leave. But I think we need to have a plan."
"I agree with Bella," Jasper admitted, "Alice, sweetheart, we need a plan."
"Fine, but can we plan away from here?!" Alice moaned.
The four vampires piled into Emmett's jeep and they sped out into the town. As they drove everyone remained quite silent.
"Chicago," Bella said suddenly. "Edward said he was born in Chicago!"
"Do you think Masen would take him that far?"
Bella shrugged. "James went to Phoenix."
"Yes, but James was also after you," Jasper reminded her. "And that was where he could go to trick you."
Bella looked down and if she had been human she would have flushed. Jasper and Emmett chuckled.
"You do have a point though," Jasper said gently. "It would be likely that Masen would take him somewhere familiar."
"Chicago is really far though guys," Alice reminded them, "and I don't think the airlines would take very lightly to an unconscious vampire."
"What if he was conscious?" Bella asked. "What if he was going along with his father?"
"Why would he do that?" Emmett asked, looking at her in the rearview mirror.
"I don't know," Bella muttered to herself. She closed her eyes. She felt a wave of sadness and fear building in her chest. Please, Edward, please stay alive she hoped with her whole heart.
Bella, please, help me
TBC
Whee that was long. Emo!Carlisle kinda freaks me out. .