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Chapter Ten - A Silver Lining

Cover up with make up in the mirror

Tell yourself it's never gonna happen again

You cry alone and then he swears he loves you

Do you feel like a man, when you push her around?

Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?

Well, I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end

As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found

-"Face Down"(song) by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Carlisle Cullen

I froze and looked over my shoulder at the open door that led to the bedroom. Looking back at Esme, our eyes met for a split second before I jumped out of bed as quietly as I could and pulled on my clothes. Esme also got up and slipped on a rope that hung on the bedpost. She suddenly gasped. My eyes flew to hers. "Carlisle, your bag!"

My blood ran cold as I remembered my gym bag on the couch. It had my change of clothes, my keys, a comb… and the condoms Edward had given me. That alone would be a dead giveaway. I crept toward the door slowly as I began to realize this would be my chance to get back at Charles. I could beat him like he had done to Esme… I could get revenge for her. I wanted to grab him by the throat and squeeze it until he choked to death.

Consumed in my dark thoughts, I didn't notice Esme until she tugged on my arm for me to come forward. She led me down the stairs and shoved me in a supply closet and closed the door, but not all the way. Charles was still nowhere to be seen though we were in sight of the living room. Esme ran over to the couch and shoved my bag underneath it, just as Charles entered from the hallway. "Where the fuck have you been?" he demanded in a snarl.

Esme gasped and stood up quickly. "I was asleep, honey," she said backing away from him as he stepped forward. "I didn't know you'd be home this early."

Charles growled and grabbed her still bandaged arm and held it tightly. Esme yelped causing me to let out a low growl. I swear to God I wanted to kill that man. Charles pulled him close to her so his face was inches from her.

Esme made a disgusting face and moved away, gasping for breath. "Charles… you're drunk," was all she could gasp before he shoved her to the ground.

"NO I'M NOT YOU FUCKING BITCH!" he screamed at her.

"I could smell the beer on your breath," she whimpered.

Charles glared and kicked her hard in the ribs. I couldn't take it any longer. "Leave her alone!" I shouted, bursting out of the closet.

Both of them looked at me. "You again!" Charles growled. He then looked at Esme and kicked her again. "IS THIS WHAT YOU'VE BEEN HIDING FROM ME?"
Esme whimpered, tears streaming down her cheeks. "He came over this morning to borrow some of my books… I… I knew you'd be mad, so I… so I hid him," she lied.

Charles kicked her again. "YOU DON'T HIDE THINGS FROM YOUR HUSBAND YOU UNGRATEFUL CUM-SUCKER!" he yelled.

"Hey, just lay off her!" I growled, still not sure if I should interfere further.

"Just shut up and get the fuck out of my house!" Charles shouted at me. He stalked over to me and punched me hard in the stomach. I gasped and nearly doubled over in pain. With all the force I had, and using all the anger that had built up inside me, I punched him hard in the face.

Charles gasped and stumbled backward. He backed up and into the couch. He fell over backwards and flipped over, hitting his head on the coffee table. Esme watched with wide eyes as Charles slipped into unconsciousness. She looked up at me and tried to get up.

I went over to help her. Gently, I guided her to her feet. She locked her arms around her neck in a hug. "Thank you, Carlisle…. for everything. I hope we can meet again soon."

I felt horrible leaving Esme in that house. I wanted to take her back to my apartment and keep her there forever, but she insisted on staying at her house. She told me that Charles wouldn't remember anything since he had been drunk. He sure didn't seem drunk to me, but I barely knew the man, and frankly, I didn't want to.

I drove him slowly, thinking about the previous night. The perfection of her and that night almost overwhelmed me. When I was with her, it felt right. It felt that my life was finally going in the right direction. My heart stopped whenever she called, or whenever I saw her. My heart bled when she was gone, or I could no longer hear my voice. And my heart was going steady and strong when I was near here.

After I parked the car, I went back up to the room with my gym bag. I knew Edward would pound me with questions the moment I opened my door, and I wasn't eager to tell him all about my night. I put the key in the lock and turned it.

I entered the apartment to see Edward sitting on the couch watching TV. I heard Bella somewhere in the kitchen doing something that sounded like washing dishes. Edward looked up and smirked when he saw me. "So, the tomcat returns, eh?"

Rolling my eyes I threw my gym bag at him. "Shut up Edward, I'm not in the mood," I muttered. I was surprised at the tone of my voice. I sounded more hostile than I was. Maybe my body was more angry than my brain was. My brain was the only logical thing in my body, the rest was spontaneous, and usually stupid.

"Christ, what did you have for breakfast this morning? Carnation Instant Bitch?" Edward snapped back. "Why the hell are you home so early anyway?"

"Charles came home early," I replied frostily, retreating to my room.

Edward jumped off the couch to follow me, but ignored his many questions. I yanked open the door to my room and stalked inside, slamming it behind me. I began to pace back and forth in my room. I was angry at Charles for abusing Esme. I was angry at myself for leaving her in that hellhole. I should have called the police a long time ago, but something couldn't bring me to dial those three numbers… I didn't want to see that monster behind bars, I wanted to see him hang.

I pulled out my phone and called Esme. I had put her on speed dial the day Charles burst into our house to take her back. She answered a few rings later. "Carlisle? What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm fine. Are you alright?" I demanded, unable to keep the anxiety and apprehension out of my voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Charles is still unconscious," she said. "Are you sure you're alright."

"Esme, I want to take you back here. I want to take you back to my house and we'll pack, and fly to a different state. We'll run. We'll do something. I just can't bear to let you suffer at that monster's hands any longer," I replied.

Esme was silent for another moment. "Are you in your room?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah… why?" I inquired a little confused.

"Could you play my song?" she requested sounding sheepish. "Well, I mean your song… You know the one. 'Esme'."

I smiled a little. Esme seemed to know how to calm me down. Playing the piano always soothed my nerves. Maybe listening to me play soothed hers. I put the phone on speaker and set in on top of the wooden piano. I sat down and began to play her song.

By the time I had finished I picked up the phone, and checked to see if she was still there. She wasn't. She'd hung up.

Have you ever had an experience that when things were going bad, things just go even more bad? Well, that's what happened later that day. I had tried to call Esme back several times, but she never answered. I knew she wouldn't hang up on me without reason, so I could only come to the conclusion that Charles was finally awake.

I was sitting in the living room with Edward watching the football game. We had made up, as all brothers do eventually, and were sitting on the couch drinking a beer. Bella was in their room on the computer typing a story she'd been working on for two years. We were in the third quarter when the doorbell rang. Edward looked at me, signaling it was my turn to answer the door.

Sighing, I got up and went to the door. I opened it to see none other than Bella's "friend" Jacob Black.

Jacob Black was 6'7" and looked very imposing. He was tall, muscular and tanned. He had large brown eyes and short, cropped black hair. He lived on the Quileute Reservation out at La Push, and had known Bella since they were kids. When she used to visit her father, Charlie, in Forks, she and Jacob would play together. Their fathers were good friends, that was until Charlie died about a year and a half ago from a massive heart attack. Bella was devastated and instead of turning to Edward, she went to Jacob. Edward partially never forgave her for that, but he loved her too much to hold a true grudge. He still hated Jacob though. Bella said that she didn't have romantic feelings for him, but Jacob sure didn't hide his feelings for her. He was a nice kid and all, and I normally would have gotten along with him, but when he was trying to steal my brother's reason for existence, it was hard to like him.

"Oh, Jacob," I greeted him, trying to make it clear I was disappointed. I looked over my shoulder at Edward. He was shaking his head and mouthing "no", clearly stating he didn't want the boy in our apartment.

But it wasn't Edward's decision. Bella had made that clear many times before. As if on cue, Bella came out of their room and saw Jacob over my shoulder. "Oh! Jacob," she said happily and went up to greet him. I stepped aside to let her through, and I could only watch as Jacob wrapped her up in a large bear-hug.

Edward muttered to himself and got off the couch before promptly leaving the living room. Bella pulled away and watched him go. She narrowed her eyes, displeased. One thing was for sure: Bella terrified even me at times.

Bella took him into the apartment and sat on the couch with him. The two "friends" talked for a while, which I allowed. However, when Jacob asked her to go back to La Push with him for a bonfire, I had to intervene for Edward's sake.

"I'm not sure if Edward would like that idea," I said, interrupting them, but trying to sound casual.

Jacob looked at me and shot me an annoyed glare. Bella glared at the ground rather than me, which I was thankful for. The Indian boy's I could handle, but Bella's a whole 'nother ballgame. "Edward is just going to have to learn to deal with the fact that I have friends. He treats me like a child. I barely leave this fucking apartment! I feel like a prisoner in my own home!"

Something about Bella's words reminded me of Esme. I knew that Edward was not like Charles in every way. He loved Bella, and would never dream of hurting her, but he iwas/i very possessive. I knew I had to talk to Edward unless he wanted Bella to feel so trapped that she would leave him. Bella wasn't like Esme. Bella knew Edward would never hurt her, so she wasn't afraid to stand up to him, or any man for that matter. She could handle herself. If Edward did too many wrong things, she would most likely leave. It all depended on how much she loved him, and these days, she just seemed to get more and more annoyed with him.

"Well then, maybe we could go see a movie," Jacob suggested. "Edward can come too."

That'll be fun. Two hours of discomfort, pain, and tension, I thought resisting the urge to roll my eyes. "That sounds fun," Bella agreed. "Carlisle, you should come too!"

My head snapped up. "Oh, um…" I said awkwardly. "I have to… um… do some stuff… for work… tomorrow," I said, making it up as I went along.

Bella folded her arms across her chest and gave me the glare. "You're a pianist, Carlisle," she said sternly. "I think you should come."

I groaned. "Fine, I'll go to your damn movie," I muttered angrily.

"Yay!" Bella squealed, jumping up like a five-year-old that just got her way. "Edward, come on we're going to see a movie!"

Edward, Jacob and I waited outside the movie theater. Jacob watched the cars go by and named each and every one for us. We had decided to go see a movie called Hidden Predator. Jacob, who was only 17, was barely old enough to see the movie. Bella had to buy his ticket, but since I was the oldest, he was my responsibility.

Bella came out just after Jacob had punched me in the arm when a Volkswagen Bug drove past. "Kay guys, come on," she called.

Edward and Jacob both followed her like lost puppies while I took up the rear. We went to the concessions and got all of our food. Bella and Edward got a large bucket of popcorn to share, and a medium drink. The medium drink looked more like it was an extra-large. Jacob got a pack of licorice, and I got a small bag of popcorn and small drink. The small looked like it should have been a large. I never liked to drink too much in a movie so I wouldn't have to use the restroom, but this drink shattered all hopes of not having to get up. The popcorn was very buttery and made my throat dry, which made me need to drink.

The movie was about two hours long and I sat next to Edward. Edward sat next to Bella. On the other side of Bella was Jacob. Bella and Edward held hands and shared the popcorn, while Jacob kept trying to do the yawn-and-put-your-arm-around-her-shoulder routine. It was a little amusing since every time the kid tried, Edward stopped him in his tracks with his own death glare.

The movie was all about this woman who was a spy for the Russians, and ended up sleeping and falling in love with an American soldier. They end up going on this journey and killing a bunch of people to save this U.S. regiment. I didn't really pay attention in the movie.

About halfway through it, my phone began to vibrate in my pocket. I got up and left the theater before pulling it out. The caller ID said "Esme". I answered it immediately. "Hello?" I asked urgently into the phone.

"Carlisle," Esme's surprisingly happy voice sounded from the other end. "I'm coming back to work tomorrow."

A/N: Thanks so much for all your reviews! Please continue to do so! You people always keep me wanting to write, so thanks a bunch! Hope you enjoyed. Please R & R!