Chapter 5

Thanks to my awesome beta Mackenzy L

And to Lissyfaci for her great support !

and also thanks to

Delectable Sweetness

CarlisleandEsme

Just4Me

XVampireEsmeX

lissyfaci

EsmeAliceRose

For all your amazing reviews .

Any way here is chapter 5

enjoy...

"I think I'll take the red couch," I said to the salesman. He looked relieved that I'd finally made up my mind after twenty minutes of looking at living room furniture.

"Very nice choice, miss. Anything else I can help you find? An end table or coffee table, maybe?"

I smiled sweetly at him, knowing he was trying to maximize his sale. I had to give him props for being so tolerant with a customer like me.

"No, thank you. I just need the couch for now," I assured him.

As the salesman sat me down and showed me some papers to sign, I could only think how excited I was to finally have the last piece of staple furniture for my new apartment. It may not look like the cozy home I'd imagined it would one day, but it was coming close. At least, now I could live in it comfortably.

Carlisle had been right all along. Everything had turned out well in the end.

While the salesman was in the middle of explaining something about shipment, I glanced at my watch. "Oh, damn!" I hissed.

"Is everything okay, miss?" he asked with a worry look on his face.

"Umm, not really... I'm very late for something, actually. Is it possible to reschedule this for another time?"

"Miss, all I need is the address of your apartment and we'll have the delivery all set." He gave me a funny look as he handed the pen back to me.

I breathed in relief when I realized my address was indeed the last thing to fill out on the forms. Signing papers made me so bored and distracted that I didn't even notice when we were finally on the last step of the process.

I quickly jotted down my address and booked it out of the furniture store.

The second I left the building, it was 5:30 pm.

I was due for a job interview at 6 on the dot.

_

"Finally!" I whispered to myself when I arrived at the library.

"A library? Seriously, Esme? You are trained to be an architect...An architect! What the hell are you going to do in a stupid, boring library?" said a little voice in my head.

"Oh shut up!" I answered in a low voice so nobody could hear me.

I knew that working as a librarian wans't an awesome job, but I needed to work, and until I could find something else, being a librarian was a good, respectable job. I had signed myself up for an interview as soon as I saw they were hiring on their website.

I opened the door of the library, then whispered to myself, "This time everything is going to be okay, not like the last time..."

_Flash back_

"Okay, it's going to be alright. You can do this, Esme" I said to myself before walking through the elementary school doors. "It's like any other job..."

When I first interviewed with the principal, she said I was perfect for the job. But the disaster came when she asked me if I wanted to see the kids.

Of course I said yes at first, but then when I saw all thease beautiful kids playing and laughing...

It was like reality slapped me in the face. When I saw thoese kids, I relaized what I had lost. If I was smart enough to run away at the right time, my baby would still be alive right now...

As I watched the kids playing and laughing together, my eyes swelled with tears.

"Esme, are you okay?" The principal asked me with an anxious tone.

I had no idea what I was going to say to her. After all my enthusiasm in my interview, how could confess to someone that I didn't want the job she had offered me anymore?

My mind was clearly not in the right place for this. I had to be honest with her. Brutally honest.

"I don't think I am going to take this job after all. You see, I have a story, and not a pleasant one. There are some places that I just cannot face anymore. I'm very sorry for wasting your time." I didn't give her time to respond before I turned on my heel and left the building in tears.

It was raining outside.

And all I could think for the rest of that day was how much better my life would have been if I'd never married Charles.

_End Flash Back_

As I entered the library, a lump formed in my throat. I looked around but no one seemed to be in there. I know libraries can sometimes look empty because they are so big and quiet, but this time I was convinced it truly was deserted from the top floor to the bottom. I wondered if they had asked me to come for a job interview after closing hours...

"Hello?" I dared to shout out, but I received no answer. "Is there anyone here?" I tried again.

"Let me guess. You are Esme Platt," the voice came from behined me, and my heart almost stopped beating in shock.

"I'm Heather. Sorry if I scared you."

I turned to see who was talking. It was a tall young lady, probably my age. I couldn't deny it, she was gorgeous with her short black hair and her big blue eyes. She was wearing a very short red skirt and a white shirt that showed ample cleavage. Her outfit made my trendy black suitdress looked like a nun's robes.

"Hello, Heather. I am here to see someone for a job inter-"

She cut me off. "Yes, I know that. Follow me."

She took me into a room that I assumed was her office. A lot of boxes full of books were everywhere in the room, and there was an unpleasant smell of cigarettes. Since there were no chairs in the room, she sat on one of the boxes and told me to do the same.

"As you can see, it's a mess in here. I just got hired last month as the new 'big cheese,' but now that I'm responsible for firing old help and hiring new help, I knew had to get my rear in gear." she started with a sheepish grin.

"Oh, well do you want to see my resume?" I asked.

"Not really, I just need you to be around almost all the time."

"So, I already got the job?"

"Yeah sure. I think you're presentable and cooperative, and I don't want to waste my time looking for someone else. This library is too dead. We need some new young folks working here to liven the place up if you ask me." Her face changed from bored to interested as she leaned closer to me with a smile. "Now tell me, is it true that you were living with Carlisle Cullen?"

I gaped at her in alarm and confusion. I had no idea how she knew this, or why she wanted details on the subject at all.

"How do you know that?" I asked her when I finally found my voice.

"I know a lot about people in this town," she said in a way that made me exceedingly uncomfortable. "Now tell me this; have you slept with him?" she asked with a perverted look in her eyes.

"No..." I answered weakly. I could feel my shock giving way to anger, it was just taking a longer time than usual. "Do you need this information so you can hire me here?" I asked hotly.

Her shallow giggle infuriated me. "Of course not, Esme. I'm just curious. I just want to know why you're living with him if you're not his girlfriend?" Her eyes narrowed but she was still smiling, which gave her an even more sinister look. I was momentarily scared out of my wits.

"I was... I was living with him for a while, yes. But I don't live there anymore."

"Why did he dump you?"

"I was never his girlfriend, so that's irrelevant!" I laughed ironically, throwing my hands up in the air. I felt like she wasn't even listening to anything I said.

"Maybe, but you want to be his girlfriend...don't you? Every single girl in this city does." She winked at me.

I frowned at her suspiciously. "Do you?" I asked with a sassy wag of my head.

"Nahh, not me." She rolled he eyes and crossed her legs. "I think the guy is a little off, personally. I mean his crazy sister disappeared years ago, and then there was his fiancée's suicide. I think he is cursed or something," she said with an uneasy smile.

Wait...what? His sister? His fiancée?

For some reason I was mad to now have this information. Why didn't Carlisle tell me about all this? I was his friend, wasn't I? We'd lived together for God's sake!

Maybe it was for the same reason he didn't tell me about his conversation with Logan the other day...

Heather interrupted my thoughts. "Oh, let me guess. He didn't tell you anything about his tragic history, am I right?"

"I don't think that is your business," I said firmly, trying not to tear up.

"Whatever you say. But you know, Esme, next time before sleeping in a strange man's house, you should know who are they are." She gave me a patronizing look as if I were a toddler she was trying to teach not to talk to strangers.

I hated myself in that moment for feeling like there was some truth in her lesson...that I deserved it. Had I really been foolish for accepting Carlisle's invitation to live with him? He'd never given me any reason to believe he would harm me. Did the fact that he never told me about his past make him untrustworthy?

I shook my head violently and stood up from the box I was sitting on. "I get the picture," I said, my voice shaking from oncoming tears. "Are we done here?"

"Yes," Heather said slyly. "I'll see you tomorrow, Esme," she said with her anoying smile. "Oh, and you can take this if you don't believe me," she added before giving me a small box.

I looked at the box, then looked to her in question. She stood up to face me and handed me a notepad and pen. "I'll just need your phone number in case I have to reach you."

"Sure."

And I jotted down my number.

"Thank you," I said to the waiter when he brought my coffee.

I looked at the box Heather had given me, somehow knowing what would be inside before I'd even peeked.

"You shouldn't do this, it's Carlisles private life," I reminded myself for the tenth time, looking suspiciously around me at the other customers in the coffee shop.

I ignored the voice in my head and opened the box to find dozens of old newspaper clippings. I took the first one into my hands and started reading it.

I went home immediately after reading those papers. I didn't finish my coffee, and so I was more exhausted than usual for it being so early in the evening. I just wanted to sleep and to not think about what I read about Carlisle sister ... Beth ... that was her name. She was so young...

I couldn't get her face out of my head. The newspaper's black and white photo of her haunted me.

She looked so happy in the picture. A sweet ten-year-old girl, with long blonde hair just like Carlisle's. Her eyes were big and dark, and she was wearing glasses that somehow made her look more innocent.

The picture was perfect, and I couldn't stop smiling while I was looking at her face...until my eyes noticed the small black words under the photo: Beth Cullen - Missing.

Then I had to put the paper back in the box. I couldn't handle looking at the photo after reading those words. I went back to my apartment and left the newspaper with Beth's face on it on the table in my hallway.

I wasn't surprised anymore that Carlisle didn't want to share his story with me.

My phone started to ring, but I didn't recognize the number. That could only mean one thing.

"Hello?" I answered it.

"Hey, Esme?" I knew her voice.

"Yes," I sighed.

"This is Heather. I know it's late and all, but I need you here at the library. There are hundreds of boxes that just arrived and I want to get them inside before it starts to rain again."

I guess I had no choice but to spend the rest of my evening with Heather. I may as well get used to her. She was my new boss. I groaned internally and reached for my raincoat.

"Sure, I'll be there in a few minutes."

_ Carlisle POV _

After a long day at the hospital, I felt like I'd just ran a marathon on an empty stomach. I just wanted to go home, eat something quickly, and fall asleep.

When I came to my floor, three men were knocking on Esme's door. Three men and a big - no, huge - red couch.

"Hey, Mister," one of the guys shouted at me. "We're sorry to bother you, but the lady isn't home, so can we leave the couch out here?" He gestured to Esme's locked apartment door.

"It's okay, guys. I have her keys." I reached into my pocket with a yawn and opened the door for them.

I flipped on the lights and helped them move the couch into the living room. I was on my way out when I saw a newspaper laying on the table in Esme's entryway. I wouldn't have stopped in my tracks if I didn't see my sister's face smiling back at me.

I took the paper and looked at the photo.

"Beth..." I whispered in shock.

She was so beautiful in this photo, a photo that I took long time ago. She was going to a school trip that day and I was driving her to school. She told me to take the photo so she could remember how excited she was for her field trip when she was older.

She'd had no idea that she would never make it to her field trip.

I couldn't think about this anymore. I left the newspaper where I found it and ushered the furniture movers out of the apartment. I gave them a tip because Esme wasn't there, and I didn't expect her to pay me back later.

I walked back to my apartment in a daze and stepped into the shower. It wasn't until the water hit the back of my neck that I seemed to snap back to my senses.

"What was that old newspaper doing in Esme's house?"

Thant was it :)

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