Hello. Here is the next chapter. Thanks for the reviews. I am glad you guys like this story.
ELENA- Yes, I am going to introduce Alice and Jasper, at appropriate time. ;) And they'll play a very important role too. Stay tuned. Can't even imagine Twilight without Alice / Jazz.
Chapter 8: Edward
I arrived at the house. I sighed at the sight of it. All the tension, worries came rushing back to me. Last few hours were kind of DREAMY. I hadn't even thought about what was waiting for me when I would come back to my family. Now, the dream was over, it was time for reality.
I entered the house and found Esme waiting for me. Esme looked relived to see me.
Edward. Where were you? Carlisle told me you went to see someone, is it true? She thought. I gave her a brief nod. Her eyes shined, she looked at me, smiling and I smiled back.
She was truly a mother to me. She cared about me all the time and it was one of her constant reason for worry that I didn't have a companion. She was thinking about her conversation with Carlisle, in which she'd gotten the idea that that "someone" I had gone to meet was more than just a random stranger, maybe that "someone" had managed to capture my heart's interest. And that though made her happy.
I sighed. There was no hiding from Carlisle and Esme. They knew me too well. Just like parents would know their child. She came over and touched my cheek affectionately.
We'll talk about it later. She thought and I nodded.
"Where are others?" I asked her.
"Emmet and Carlisle are in our room. Rose is with Kate and Irina. Tanya's out."
"Oh."
We went upstairs. We went to Esme's room, Emmet and Carlisle turned to look at us.
"Where were you? You were gone for so long that I thought you were planning on joining Team Volturi." Emmet joked.
"Emmet!" Esme gave him a stern look.
I rolled my eyes at him. Carlisle chuckled a little.
"Sorry." Emmet said, guilty. Trust me, the hood will look good on you, Eddy Bwoy, Emmet winked at me.
"And the mental teasing won't be tolerated either." Esme scolded him.
"Fine, mom." Emmet said sarcastically.
Esme opened her mouth to say something but Rose interrupted her.
"I tried talking to them but they are hesitant." Rose said to Carlisle.
"Well, knowing about Sasha's death was bad enough but knowing the reason behind her death must've been too overwhelming for them. I guess we should give them some space." Carlisle replied.
"Yes but the danger is still lingering over us. The Volturi are still here to deal with this situation. If we are to make our case then Tanya and her sisters must recover with their mother's loss. Sentimental actions won't do any good to any of us. It's not like anyone's gonna change Aro's mind for us." Rose said, irritated.
Carlisle's eyes flickered to me. I didn't have to read his mind to know that he wanted to know if I had talked to Bella about this matter, which I hadn't. I hadn't even started with the subject. I cursed myself for not doing what I should have done. I felt pang of shame for not doing my task. I had no idea how I was going to face Carlisle.
Edward, do you want to speak with me? Perhaps, more privately? Carlisle asked me, mentally.
I nodded; after all I couldn't avoid him forever.
We'll leave shortly. He added.
"Rose, your concerns are valid, but think about it from their perspective, they've lost their mother. It'll take some time to deal with her loss." Carlisle explained, calmly.
"Yes I know that but …"
"We'll see how the things go and do our best to protect our family." He said, in a voice of authority.
"Fine." Rose replied.
"I am going for a walk. Edward, come along." Carlisle said, heading out of the room and I accompanied him. Emmet stared after us wondering where Carlisle was taking me, Esme was planning on talking to Emmet about his inappropriate jokes and Rosalie was fuming. I shook my head.
After a few minutes, we were on the road, walking...
"What happened? Did you speak to her?" Carlisle asked.
This was the moment I dreaded. I gulped.
"No, not really. I just thought it wasn't appropriate to ask a stranger for help like that." I lied.
What a stupid excuse! Why did I go to meet her in the first place if I didn't want to ask stranger for help? I knew Carlisle could see right through me, if he did he ignored it.
Carlisle looked at me, meaningfully, but he didn't look angry or disappointed, to my relief.
"I guess its good thing you didn't. Who knows how Aro would react if one of his guards questioned his judgment. She'll probably get into trouble."
"You think so?"
"Yes." He sighed. "I wish there was some other way to help. We can't ask for such a huge favor from anyone. I am afraid I won't be able to help them." He looked upset. Almost disappointed in himself. For a moment Sasha's record crossed his mind. He was feeling helpless that he couldn't do anything, I could see it.
Seeing Carlisle like that made me uneasy. I had never seen him like that.
"Maybe, maybe I can tell Bella about this entire circumstance, we'll leave it to her what she decides to do with the information. That much we can do, I'll talk to her tomorrow."
"Edward, you don't have to do this. Not after what you feel about her." He looked at me meaningfully.
I almost blushed. Almost.
He smiled a little. "Esme was elated with the thought that you were meeting "someone", though she'd no idea who it was. Even in these dark hours, idea of you being happy makes us happy. I hope your meeting went well, at least in that aspect."
"Well, I- I do like her but..."
"But?"
I looked up at him. "I hardly know her, Carlisle. In spite of that, I feel strongly, strangely attached to her and it's making me all confused. I don't know what to think! One second I feel weird talking to a stranger and the next moment I am laughing with her on some silly joke. I feel like I know her even if I don't. All I am sure about is that I want to see her, that's it."
"You can't measure love, affection in the terms of time. What you feel for this girl is real. Trust me, I can see that. It only takes a second to fall in love. Don't hold back only because you think you don't know what this all means. If she feels the same way then…."
"But she lives in Italy. Hell, she works for The Volturi. There is no way this can work out."
"Edward, everything will work out somehow. Just have faith." He assured me. Even though it looked difficult at the moment I decided to think optimistically. I let out a sigh.
"So her name is Bella?" Carlisle asked me, suddenly, smiling.
I looked at him surprised that he knew her name.
"You mentioned it few minutes ago." He answered my unasked question. "Pretty name."
I nodded and smiled back.
"How is she like?" Carlisle asked, curiously.
Thinking about Bella brought involuntary smile on my face. "She's -amazing. Really. She's funny, witty and charming. She's pretty strong, you know. And she's a fast runner. Her shielding power is very impressive, though it irritates me a little."
Carlisle was looking at me intently, enjoying my description.
"I am glad you're happy. We'll figure things out, don't hold back, listen to your heart. Always."
"Thanks, Carlisle." I returned his smile. "And I will definitely talk about Sasha's situation, tomorrow. No matter what, family comes first."
He gave a nod. "Just don't let it ruin these moments for you. We don't have control over Sasha's past actions and its consequences but your current actions can certainly change your future. Think about everything and then decide."
After a little while, we returned to the house. I went to find Tanya. I hadn't seen her after she'd heard about her mother so I felt it was necessary to meet her. She was in her room. Her face was red and her eyes looked tired. I went to her and sat next to her. Yes, I had never found her attractive romantically but she was always my friend and as a friend I felt it was my duty to comfort her.
"Hey.."
She just looked at me and broke into tears. She hugged me and I let her grieve. A part of me was thinking what Bella will feel if she saw me with Tanya like this, even the thought made me uncomfortable. I decided not to think about it, for time being.
After a few moments, Tanya's sobbing stopped. I took that moment to talk to her. I broke away from her hug and looked at her.
"I don't know what I can possibly say to make you feel better. I just- I know you're strong enough to get through this. Kate and Irina will fall apart if they saw you like this."
"I am trying." Tanya replied, weakly. "I don't even know if I'll live to see next week. We're gonna die. Ironically, the person who gave us life is the reason behind our death. I never thought she could keep secrets from us. Immortal child. It's horrible. How could she?" she sobbed.
"What's done is done. We can't change it. Remember her for other things she did for you, not for that one mistake."
"You know, it's a good thing we're not going to live long enough to think about all that." She said, dejected.
"You're not gonna die." I said.
"You can't do anything about that, Edward."
"I will do everything possible," I added. "For our friendship."
"Thanks." She gave me a weak smile.
I stood up and left her room.
After talking to Tanya I knew I had to talk to Bella. Family comes first, I reminded myself.
It was most certainly the strangest day in my life. I hadn't experienced such a variety of emotions in a single day. I decided to focus only on the good part of the day. Bella. Keeping her face in mind, I went running into the woods. Thinking about Bella made me happy and I felt guilty for feeling that way in the current situation when we'd lost a friend, so getting fresh air was my only option. I had no idea which direction I was going. I kept running and running for a long time. It was good to be away from all thoughts. Tomorrow I was going to meet her. I was going to see her pretty smile. I kept thinking about her and my feet were moving. I didn't even realize that I was almost on the top of the hill. Finally, I stopped, only to realize that I was standing in a beautiful meadow.
