Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
The whole family was congregated on the porch by the time Carlisle turned off the engine. Both he and Esme were quick to exit the vehicle, concern etched across both their faces. Edward could hear their thoughts, they were worried, but the edge was taken off when they accounted for each and every family member, Bella included. He felt, rather than saw, Carlisle's gaze turn to him, but kept his head lowered, scuffing his shoes a little on the gravel on the drive.
Esme spoke first. "What's going on? Why are you all out here?"
The siblings exchanged glances, and Edward could feel the weight of their eyes upon him. Though he could hear their internal discussions, it seemed his brothers and sisters were going to allow him to bring their parents up to speed on the situation, not a prospect he relished in the slightest. He sighed.
" Bella and myself were having a discussion..I think perhaps the others were finding it interesting viewing. There's nothing wrong, Mom"
His eyes met those of his adoptive mother, and he could hear the relief in the tenor of her thoughts. None of her babies were in danger, she could relax. Edward basked in her maternal warmth for a moment, before she looked over at Bella and her thoughts changed direction again.
"Bella dear? You look a little upset there honey?"
Edward watched Bella flush as she realised that Esme's question had drawn everyone's attention to her. She looked panicked for a moment, before her eyes found his and narrowed slightly. He gulped. Bella had the power to get him in a whole world of trouble right now, and judging by the way she was straightening her shoulders and jutting her chin, she wasn't planning on holding back for his sake. He chanced a glance at Carlisle, who was watching him right back, the now familiar block up in front of his thoughts. Alice had said that the school had called him, and Edward didn't usually bet against her. The last thing the teenager needed was for Bella to reveal how he had not only broken his restrictions by going to her house, but the business with the truck as well. He averted his eyes from his father,a sure tell that he was guilty of some infraction, and studied his shoes intently as Bella spoke up.
"...thank you Esme, but I'm okay."
Her words sounded strained to everyone's ears, and Carlisle and Esme exchanged a look, the silence eventually broken by a sigh from the coven leader.
" Edward, go and wait in my study please. The rest of you surely have better things to do,no?" Carlisle looked hard at his other children, until all but Alice began to move away. Edward too dawdled, anxious to leave Bella, even if he wasn't her favourite person right now. He caught her eye, not missing the slightly challenging look that she leveled at him. He gazed back, his mind running through what he wanted to say, rejecting all of it. It took his father speaking again to remind Edward that he was supposed to be moving. Carlisle's voice was tinged with annoyance, he had evidently prompted Edward in his mind, but the message hadn't gotten through.
"My study son. I want to speak with Bella and Alice and then I'll be with you"
Edward sighed. Carlisle was obviously going to interrogate them to figure out what was going on. Even if Bella didn't divulge the reason for their disagreement, he knew Alice would. She hated lying to Carlisle and Esme, and given that she was pissed at his behaviour too, she didn't have much motivation to try and save his ass. He could hear Esme wondering internally what had got Bella upset even now, and running his hand through his unruly hair he figured they might as well hear it from him. His eyes flickered between his creator and the woman who had become his mother in all but blood. It wasn't going to be pretty.
" I..uh..disabled Bella's truck" he said quietly, answering Esme's thoughts "That's why we were arguing"
He glanced up at his audience to gauge their reactions, even though their thoughts gave him a pretty good picture. Carlisle was irritated that he had ignored his instruction again, but was waiting to hear if Edward would add anything further. Esme's brow was creased in confusion as she looked between Bella and her son.
"Why would you do that? Explain please"
Edward's eyes flickered sideways to where Bella was standing with Alice, and even the precarious situation he found himself in now didn't stop his feelings of anger returning as he obeyed his mother's request.
"She was planning on visiting the reservation. To 'hang out' with some werewolves."
A little of his displeasure had seeped into his voice and Esme frowned at her son. Her thoughts showed surprise and disappointment that Edward would choose a course of action so controlling and childish in response to a problem in his relationship. She shot a glance to her mate and Edward dropped his head. Neither of his would be parents were happy.
"Is that what happened?"
Carlisle's question was soft and directed at Bella, who nodded in response, her brown eyes seeking out Edward, hurt and anger still visible in their mahogany depths.
"I'm sorry" she mumbled " I didn't mean to involve everyone.."
Carlisle waved his hand " Bella, don't apologise. Whatever occurred, vandalising your property was certainly not Edward's best decision. He will be apologising to you for that later"
Edward looked up at his father's comment, finding Carlisle's shrewd gaze burning into him. I'm guessing this had something to do with you walking out of school as well came the silent question. Edward sighed and gave a small nod. It was almost imperceptible, but it was enough to spur his father into action.
"Esme, why don't you and the girls go and find Bella some food and watch a movie or something?" he said, walking at a human pace to Edward's side and taking a firm grip on his shoulder, moving him bodily towards the front door. Edward didn't resist. He had known the likely consequences of cutting out of school, and whilst it would have been a bonus if no-one had found out about the reason as to why, he'd known it unlikely. So he allowed his father to steer him inside and towards the stairs, continuing his trudge towards misery even as Carlisle released his grip. His creator's thoughts were clear, Carlisle was beyond frustrated. He had hoped that after the drama of their last confrontation that they wouldn't be in this position again for a good while longer. Now he was wondering if anything he had said had made an impression on his errant son. He was thinking about Edward's punishment and struggling. It wasn't as if the teen was running on many privileges as it was.
Once he reached the door of his father's study Edward paused, waiting for Carlisle to open the door and then reluctantly following him inside. He looked around miserably. Carlisle's study was a warm and functional room. In it, he kept many of the artifacts he had collected over his long years, those which Esme had not snapped up for the rest of the house. A large antique desk dominated the space, with a leather backed chair behind and similar but slightly smaller chair placed directly in front of it. Emmett referred to it as the 'hot seat', and no-one liked to find themselves sitting there, for it was a good indication that you were in trouble and in for a lecture if not worse. Edward slumped into it and stared resolutely at the carpet, waiting for the inevitable scolding. He was not kept waiting for long.
" I honestly don't know what to say to you Edward" Carlisle began. Look at me please, he requested silently, before continuing.
" I certainly wasn't expecting to receive a call from the school informing me that you'd walked out. Need I remind you, we're trying to keep a low profile?" His father stressed the last two words, his golden eyes burning with frustration. He was standing behind his desk, his hands bracing themselves on wooden surface, his weight appearing to rest on his finger tips as he leant forwards towards his son.
" I don't need to ask why you left, as that has become clear. But perhaps you could enlighten me as to where you went?"
Edward shifted in his seat, an unnecessary movement, but one that had become second nature after many years trying to 'blend in' with the human population. He knew that Carlisle had pretty much figured out the afternoon's events, and he resented him a little bit for prolonging this ordeal by making him explain it himself. But he sighed and did it anyway.
"I ran to Bella's home. She was inside, I took this out of the engine of her truck and then waited and watched her come out and try and start it. Then I ran home through the forest."
He placed the missing engine part on Carlisle's desk and sat back, placing his hands on his lap, a sullen expression gracing his features. He knew it was a dick move, sabotaging her truck, but sometimes he just didn't know how to respond to her. Obviously, the puppy had been some comfort to her in his absence, but Edward was worried that perhaps Jacob Black had made further in roads than first anticipated. His scowl deepened at the had been a long silence, and Edward sought out his father's thoughts, only to find them blocked from him. Carlisle was looking out of the window towards the tree line, absentmindedly turning the engine part over and over in his hands. He eventually placed it back on the desk with a measured movement and moved around to stand in front of Edward.
" So you ditched school, broke your curfew and went against Bella's wishes" he stated simply, looking down at his first turned child. Edward didn't meet his father's eyes, but nodded, looking off to the side. He wished Carlisle would just get on with it, whatever his punishment would be. It was stifling being here, feeling the weight of disappointment and knowing that some kind of discipline was going to be meted out. Given that he had knowingly violated the restrictions his father had placed upon him after their last encounter, he knew that Carlisle would feel the need to correct him strongly. And his last punishment hadn't exactly been a walk in the park...he exhaled loudly, letting some of the nervous energy leave his body in a whoosh and dragged his eyes up to his creator's face, wishing that at this moment it wasn't so tainted with anger. Carlisle's eyes bore into his own, and with a sigh of resignation, the coven leader let his firstborn see into his thoughts. What Edward found there did not please him.
"No way! " came his verbal response, louder than he intended " Not the Vanquish Carlisle...you know how long I searched for that model!"
It was true. The vehicle sitting in the garage was one of only forty ever made. Edward had spent a lot of time arranging for it to be converted to a stick shift and imported from England, and he was obsessively protective of it. In his eyes, it was a thing of beauty only second to his dear Bella. Smooth lines, glossy black bodywork and a top speed of 200 mph. It was perfection and therefore Carlisle's indication that it was to be sold was a crushing blow. Edward found himself on his feet without having consciously made the decision to stand, facing off with his father.
They stood barely centimeters apart, Edward's outrage clear on his face. Downstairs, the conversation had fallen into silence as the family decided whether to intervene,Jasper's projected calm lapping at the consciousness of everyone in the house. Carlisle was resolute however, and he simply stared Edward down , golden eyes blazing, brow set, until the situation become untenable to the younger vampire and he dropped his eyes. Edward huffed, but let himself be guided back down into his seat by his father's index finger, which was momentarily rested on his chest, exerting a subtle pressure.
Once seated, Edward fell into a mammoth sulk. He refused to meet his father's eyes and glared bitterly at the floor, everything about him screaming petulant child. He knew it and didn't care, already grieving for his beautiful car. For once, he had Rosalie's sympathy, her thoughts traveling to him as the family guessed at what was to happen. His blonde sister shared his appreciation of cars, and felt a little of his pain. Of course, he could re-appropriate a Vanquish eventually, but it would be very obviously defying Carlisle, and that wasn't really how things were done in the Cullen family. Free will be damned, at the end of the day, it was Carlisle's final word on everything.
His father was looking down at him, obviously displeased with his son's reaction to news of his punishment. He didn't allow Edward to stew for long. Only three weeks ago his hand had been forced in disciplining the vampire before him, for all the good it seemed to have done. True, Edward's infractions were not as serious as the failed suicide mission and subsequent melt down, but they had shown a knowing disobedience towards Carlisle, and again, the same overbearing attitude towards Bella that had been brought up last time they were in this situation. Even if he were acting under the misapprehension that he was protecting Bella, Edward needed to see that his behaviours were completely unacceptable. He was at risk of driving away the best thing that had ever happened to him. But it was a perplexing situation. Bella herself was guilty of letting Edward lead in everything, of giving him too much power over her. This meant that on the rare occasions that she decided to go against Edward's wishes, he was left floundering, and made silly choices like he had today.
This was the reasoning that had led Carlisle to the path he was following, and the reason he had asked Esme and Alice to bring Bella into the house. He figured that perhaps if Bella saw Edward as less infallible, less immortal, invincible being and more as the teenage boy that also made up so much of his character, that they would both find it easier to find balance in their relationship. He knew what would follow would be distressing for both of them, but he was at a loss as to how else to respond to his son, and so with a quiet determination he spoke to his sulking charge.
" Edward, I want you to submit to a spanking now please"
A/N: Sorry for the long delay in updating. I must admit i really struggled coming up with a punishment for Edward in this chapter. What would you have done?