Note: I do not own Twilight!!!
Chapter 8
Glass Houses
Carlisle withdrew the needle carefully from Sarah's arm. A closer examination of her leg put to rest his earlier fears that Cane had broken it again when he and Sarah struggled. Several muscles were severely torn and this only compounded the original injury, but the bone, thankfully, held.
"That should make you more comfortable." He told her as he put a band-aid over the injection site.
"It won't make me sick, will it?"
"It shouldn't." He found out the hard way after her surgery that morphine made her violently ill. Because of her reaction, she was wary of all pain medication. "It might however, make you sleepy."
"Are you sure he didn't break it?" Esme sat behind her cradling the girl's head and shoulders in her lap. If he lived to see the end of time, he would never forget that look of horror on her beautiful face when she saw him carrying Sarah.
"I'm very sure." he comforted his wife, "It's just some soft tissue damage, the bone is fine."
"He knew my name." She mumbled. "He knew my parents names."
The events of the evening had her overwrought, and rightly so. He watched Esme stroke Sarah's forehead as if she were a small child.
"Anyone could learn that information Kitten." Esme soothed. "If only they know where to look."
"He said he killed them and my aunt too." She was becoming restless now, but Esme soothed her until she quieted again. "He said he was the devil."
Carlisle took her hand in his, "He's not the devil honey, his name is Cane."
At that moment, the door burst open and the rest of his family filed into the tiny hotel room. The suddenness of their arrival sent Sarah into a wild panic. It was all Esme could do to hold her still and keep in bed with out hurting her. Carlisle glared at them until each face wore a look of remorse.
"How about a less dramatic entrance next time." The doctor snapped. "You nearly scared poor Sarah to death."
"We're sorry." Edward apologized for the group.
"Did you catch him?" Esme asked hopefully.
"No," Jasper answered. "He escaped into the Atchafalaya. That area covers over 500 thousand acres of nothing but swamp, marsh, lakes, and bayous. With all that water, it makes tracking him almost impossible."
"You should call the cops." Sarah muttered. "They have dogs, boats and men who know the swamp. They track fugitive criminals in there all the time."
Carlisle's gaze shifted from face to face as the room went quiet. This wasn't the first time over the past several hours that she'd requested the involvement of the authorities. She was, in fact, well with in her rights to request such a thing. After all a heinous crime had been committed against her and her family. She deserved justice, to be sure, but in this case, human justice was totally out of the question.
"Sarah, I'm sorry." He did his best to sound gentle yet firm. "I've told you already . . .no police."
He watched the play of confused emotions across her young face and inwardly cursed himself for not being able to explain thing to her. The less she knew of the truth, the better for her. Silently he prayed that her accepting nature would soon kick in and the discussion would drop. This was not to be the case.
"Why?" she demanded.
Why? The question reverberated through the corridors of Carlisle's mind like a rifle shot. He paused as he tried to gather his thoughts and formulate an adequate answer, one that didn't include the truth of what he, his family, her two lost friends, and Cane actually were.
"Well honey, because. . .uhm," he found himself stumbling through his thoughts, which was something he really did. "You see Sarah. . .we, well. . .that is Cane and my family and I. . .well, we're uhm. . .we're uhm. . ."
"Different." She whispered.
He was astonished as well as relieved. "You've noticed then?"
"I'm blind Dr. Cullen, not stupid." Her voice was still soft and it held a slight edge of sadness. "You're all like Skeeter and Vincent; your skin is ice cold and hard as marble, the feel of your breath on my skin is like an arctic blast, your voices ring like music in my ears, each one of you has the strength of a whole football team, and, forgive me please as I mean no offence, but you smell different too . . . Cane is like you, isn't he?"
Carlisle was stunned beyond words. How had he missed it? She never questioned them, didn't react adversely to their touch or their presence. She was completely accepting of their unusual nature. The question now was how much did she really know and how had she managed to hide her knowledge from Edward. He would have to proceed cautiously.
"Did Vincent and Skeeter ever explain these differences to you?"
"No." she answered. He watched a wave of grief twist her expression briefly. "I never ask them about it."
"Excuse me, my dear," The doctor tried not to laugh. "But I find that rather hard to believe."
"She's telling the truth Carlisle." Edward supplied in her defiance.
He sighed. If it were possible for him to get a headache, this situation would certainly have given him one. "Very well, but might I inquire as to why you never asked?"
It simply amazed him that somehow Sarah managed to suspend the powerful force of human curiosity. There was along pause and Carlisle watched a parade of emotions travel across her face as Sarah gathered her thoughts.
"Edward?" She finally broke her silence.
"I'm here."
"Would you mind translating some French for me?"
"Of course." Edward answered. "It would be my pleasure."
"I'll probably get the pronunciation all wrong, but here it goes." She closed her sightless eyes and took a deep breath before plunging in. "Ceux dans les maisons en verre ne devraient pas jeter des pierres."
Edward smiled. "That's a long one Kitten, very nice."
"What does it mean?" Bella insisted.
Edward sighed, "It translates to; those in glass houses should not throw stones."
Silence reigned again. Carlisle couldn't count the number of years since he'd last heard that phrase used commonly. It was derived from a passage out of one of the four gospels; Let he among you who has not sinned cast the first stone. The doctor was more intrigued by her now, than ever.
"I live in a glass house Doc," She finally began. "I have differences of my own, so what right do I have to throw stones at someone else because their different. I owe a great deal to Vincent and Skeeter; they were among the very few people in my life to treat me as if I was normal. In their eyes, I was just Sarah, their friend not Sarah the blind girl or Sarah the freak. How could I not offer them the same level of acceptance in return? They were my brothers, my protectors, and my dearest friends, no matter what."
How was it that this frail human girl made words escape his grasp like smoke? She spoke with power and an ancient wisdom seldom seen anymore. It would be some time before Sarah's words stopped vibrating inside his head.
"You're wise beyond your years Sarah Babineaux." Carlisle finally managed. "I would humbly ask you to extend the same courtesy to us that you gave to your friends?"
He watched eternal innocence light her face as she smiled, "I thought you knew . . . That gift has already been given to you."
* * * *
Carlisle listened to the sound of Esme's soft humming. Sarah lay cradled in her lap sleeping. It took longer than usual for her to finally settle down and drift off and even now, her sleep was fitful. In spite of this, the family council couldn't wait.
Up until now, he had assumed Sarah simply had a more easygoing nature than most humans did. This was, in his mind, why she never seemed to notice there physical differences. The revelation that she did indeed notice but consciously chose to ignore it for the sake of friendship changed things slightly.
"How much does she really know Edward?" He asked in a low voice.
"The physical differences she noted earlier of course." His son began. "She slightly confused by why we seem to eat meals, but her friends never did."
"Does she suspect what we are?" Rose asked.
"No. Though she does suspect we're somehow not quite human." Edward answered.
"Is she afraid of us?" Esme stopped humming long enough to ask.
"No. She feels nothing but deep loyalty and affection for all of us. At the airport, she was willing to allow Cane to drag her away and kill her if doing so would have some how protected us." he paused briefly then added, "She's absolutely terrified of Cane, and I can't say I blame her especially after that comment he made about her mother."
Carlisle and Edward were stalking their way into position when Cane made that comment. If he could have gotten his hands on Cane at that moment, he would have ripped his head off his shoulders without a second thought.
"So, what are we going to do?" Alice asked. "Cane's still out there and he's not going to stop, not until he has Sarah."
Carlisle turned to Alice. "Did you have another vision?"
Alice didn't answer him; instead, she took a sketchbook from her backpack. She handed it out to him open. The drawing he saw made him sick, he closed the book and handed it back to her.
"Sarah is a member of our family now," Carlisle finally answered. "We made a pledge of protection, and we're going to keep it." Then he turned to Edward. "It's time to get off the defensive and take the battle to our enemy."
"Turn the hunter into the hunted, I like it." A wicked smile turned up the corners of Edward's mouth. "Let's see how he feels about a taste of his own medicine."
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