Chapter Eleven – Home
Three days later we were back in Forks. Surprisingly, we'd encountered no real problems getting home despite having no tickets or prior reservations. Edward was able to charm our way onto flights that were apparently full or about to take off. If fact, it has to be said that, apart from his not needing to feed on blood once or twice a week, nothing much had changed at all; Edward was still capable of 'dazzling' anyone he chose to and he still had the knack of getting his own way – in the nicest possible way, of course. He could still read minds and he still had me wrapped around his finger completely and utterly. So much for human frailty; no wonder Alice hadn't frantically worried about the huge change in direction for him, because, if she just happened to take a quick peek at our future, I'm pretty sure it would be nearly impossible to see that anything had changed at all!
And yet…I couldn't help but wonder how Edward was coping with the change. I knew he missed his exceptional speed and I could see that he was still getting used to the fact that he needed to take 'human moments' with stunning regularity. I had taken to watching him like a hawk looking for any sign of regret or discontent.
"I know what you're doing," He said to me as we waited for our very last connecting flight to Port Angeles.
"What?" I asked with mock innocence and not at all surprised that he had sussed out my not so subtle surveillance efforts.
"You've been watching my every move since we left the island…What you're trying to see, I don't know because if you're looking for any indication of dissatisfaction with my choice, you won't find it. I have never been happier. I will never regret this even if I were to be hit by a bus tomorrow."
I punched him playfully in the arm for that remark. I looked at my knuckles in wonder. It hadn't hurt a bit.
Still, by the time we'd landed in Port Angeles we were both noticeably nervous about returning to both our families; Charlie because I was unsure of the reception my homecoming would receive and the Cullen's because Edward had his huge nuclear bomb sized news to drop on them. We'd retrieved Edward's car from the airport garage and were headed back to town. We pulled up at an intersection. Going one way would take us to Forks and Charlie, going in the other would lead us to the Cullen's. I still couldn't quite believe that Alice hadn't appeared yet demanding to know what on earth was going on. Her apparent lack of foresight was kind of unnerving. Edward looked at me for a moment then turned the car in the direction of his parent's house. "Let's get this done, yeah?"
"Yeah," I agreed.
"Then we can come back and see Charlie, maybe have dinner with him."
"Okay. Can we raid the wardrobe at your place too? These jeans I bought at the airport are not great." They were bought on the spur of the moment in the airport in Florida. I hadn't fancied arriving back in the cold climate of Washington wearing nothing but the shorts and singlet I fled the island in. Sunny Miami hadn't offered much choice, so as a result the jeans were uncomfortable and didn't fit properly. Thank god for Alice and her obsession with buying me clothes!
"Yeah of course," Edward agreed, then added, "Not my place, our place at least until we go to Dartmouth."
The Cullen's house was quiet. I expected Alice to dance into view at any moment. But she didn't. We parked the car, got out and let ourselves in without raising the slightest murmur. Edward looked at me for a moment then frowned for a fraction of a second before taking my hand and leading me through to the main lounge room. I knew that he knew something. I didn't ask what, I'd find out soon enough.
We stepped into a room resonating with concern. Alice, slumped on the couch with a dazed expression on her face, was surrounded by the rest of the family. Jasper was at her side, Carlisle was kneeling beside her holding her hand, Esme sat on her other side stoking her hair and Emmett and Rosalie were standing close by, worry suffusing their beautiful faces. Nobody noticed us initially. It was only our rushing to Alice that alerted them to our homecoming.
What followed was very confusing:
"Alice, are you alright?"
"Edward!"
"Bella!"
"What happened?"
"Is Alice alright?"
"Why are you home so soon? We weren't expecting you."
"I know. A big shock."
"How come you didn't know?"
"I wasn't looking. I wasn't looking. I should have seen it coming."
"It wouldn't have changed anything."
"This is to do with you?"
"Alice?"
"Edward?"
"Bella?"
Everyone was talking at once and over the top of each other but I think it went something like this…
We arrived at the house and suddenly Alice was hit with a vision – us arriving home, swiftly followed by a image of me not becoming a vampire and Edward aging. Alice is not stupid, she knew exactly what that meant even of it seemed completely fanciful. It blew her out of the ballpark so to speak. She collapsed in shock which bought the rest of the family rushing in to see what was wrong. Next, Edward and I entered the room. We rushed forward to check on Alice too, asking about her condition at the same time. Alice exclaimed Edward's name, Esme adds mine, she's delighted to see us both. I asked, 'what happened?' but no one answered the question. Esme expressed her surprise to see us. Edward then answered Alice's silent thought which was probably something along the lines of 'so, you're human now.' Then Edward asks her how she didn't know sooner. As we suspected, Alice had been giving us privacy and had deliberately tuned out to all thoughts of us which included short, medium and long term visions of the future. Alice said she should have seen it coming and Rosalie and Jasper both, at the same time, jumped to the (correct) conclusion that Alice's collapse was due to something about Edward.
Five expectant faces, and one slightly resentful one turned their amber gazes on us.
"Alice had a vision and knows about something that happened while Bella and I were away," Edward began to explain. "While we were on the island, we met a man, a scientist who had heard of Carlisle, who was looking for the legendary vampires who don't consume human blood because…because he had a cure to offer us."
There was an audible gasp. Carlisle jumped up. Rosalie sat down. Edward continued talking. "In short, I am no longer a vampire. I am human once more. My heart beats, my body is flesh, I eat, I sleep. Hell, my fingernails grow! Smell the air and you'll see that it's true."
Six noses did exactly that, naturally in a subtle and elegant fashion. Six pairs of eyes widened and they grasped the reality of Edward's words.
"I wanted to bring him back, the scientist, so that you could all have the same choice I had…"
"But?" Rosalie interjected. I looked at her lovely face and saw the most pained expression I could ever have imagined. It was like she was crying only there were no tears and, as if to rub salt into her wound, I felt water fill my eyes and began to comprehend the depth of her pain and knowledge that she was doomed to be disappointed. I didn't want her to have to see me cry. I fled the room.
Once outside I slumped against he wall beside the doorway and let the tears run down my face. One sister felt like she's been betrayed and the other was about to get the biggest disappointment she would ever experience and I was too much of a coward to watch the fallout. Edward was brave. I could hear him finish the story from my hiding spot.
"Rosalie is right, there is a but. I hope you won't think badly of me when you hear the rest. I decided, rightly or wrongly, that rather than bring the man back here straight away, that I should test his theory while still on the island. I did it for Bella. I did it for me. But I also did it because I needed to know if it was real before I came home. I didn't want to offer false hope. Needless to say it worked – here I stand, a human man."
"Just like that?" Emmett asked snapping his fingers to illustrate his point.
"No, not just like that. It was a painful and arduous experience and even after it was done it took a day or so to recover from the process."
"So what happened to the man?" I heard Carlisle ask.
"Unfortunately, in a dreadful coincidence another pair of vampires had found their way onto the island. They killed the scientist. There was nothing I could do…"
I heard a piece of furniture smash to the ground at the same time as a mournful howl filled the air. Before I knew what was happening Rosalie was standing in the doorway raking her fingers through her gorgeous blonde hair in a gesture of despair. I tried to stifle a sob only to have it end up sounding like an unattractive snort. It alerted Rosalie to my presence and she looked at me, her expression desolate.
"I'm sorry," I said beginning to cry again. At first it was the only thing I could think of to say, but then the words came in an inarticulate rush. "I'm so sorry. I know that it's not fair. I'm sorry that we couldn't help you but please don't hate Edward. He so wanted to help you all more than anything and he wanted to be human for me and I can't help but think that if I had never… then things would have…and then maybe…"
I couldn't make my words make sense. I couldn't get out what I wanted to say but Rosalie seemed to understand. She actually came to me and put her hands on my shoulders and bent down so that she could look me straight in the eyes.
"Hey, I don't hate Edward. I know he tried his best. I won't lie to you; I am sad. That's as close as I'll ever get now." She shrugged. "Doesn't matter. It was always only a dream for me. A fantasy, that even though I sometimes thought about it, I never ever expected it to come true, so I'll be alright. I have Emmett and he quite enjoys our vampire existence. I certainly don't begrudge Edward his humanity. It's probably meant to be. Destiny, and all that, what with him loving you. This might surprise you Bella, but you know, if there had been a choice, if just of us had been able to get the cure, I'd have voted for Edward anyway. I always thought the idea of turning you into a vampire was one of the dumbest schemes ever. I would've hated you. Now at least we can be friends. Oh, and you have promise to let me hold your babies when you and Edward have some. I promise I won't eat them."
Rosalie actually hugged me for a moment and I hugged her back, finally feeling a sense of acceptance from her. She pulled away and looked at me with an appraising look in her eyes, "Ya know, I never did understand the appeal of your scent. Still don't."
I laughed at that and was about to agree with her, but before I had a chance to say anything, to even blink, Rosalie had disappeared, I didn't even know in which direction.
I wiped my eyes and found the courage to go back into the lounge. The conversation was muted. Jasper and Emmett were both shell-shocked and I suddenly realised that, for them, it was like losing a brother – not that he wouldn't be around, but that their boys only hunting trips would no longer include Edward, baseball would now lack one very valuable player, no more foot races, or competitive wrestling matches. I felt like crying all over again.
Alice was the worst though. Her pretty little face was so angry. She looked at Edward like he was a betrayer. She looked at me with such disappointment, like I'd promised to join her club only to renege at the last moment. How was I ever going to make it right with her?
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Edward said.
I wasn't sure whose internal thought he was answering
"You can still read minds!" Alice stated with an accusatory tone. She must have missed the fact in the confusion before. She got up and stormed from the room. Jasper followed and Emmett pleaded the excuse that he needed to check on Rosalie. I think they all just needed some space. Once we were alone with Carlisle and Esme, Edward asked with curiosity, "Why do you suppose that is, that I can still hear other people's thoughts?"
Carlisle considered the question before answering. "Eighty years of practice I suppose. This is how your brain works now," he offered by way of explanation. "Don't worry too much about your brothers and sisters – they will come round. I think Alice is a little disappointed that she didn't see it coming. She doesn't deal with surprises very well afterall. She will forgive you Edward."
"Have I done something that requires forgiveness?"
"Of course not," Esme interjected. "But Alice is hurting. You know she has no memory of her human existence and she loved you as a brother from the moment she met you. Probably before. She's afraid of losing you. Both of you."
"She won't." Edward was resolute.
"But there will be change. There has to be," Carlisle reminded him.
"Of course."
"Are you happy?" Esme asked, a motherly look of worry on her face.
Edward looked at me for a moment, his eyes tender and covered my hand with his own. "Never happier," he assured her.
"Then I am at peace with your decision. I want what's best for you Edward and, from the moment I met her, I knew that the best for you is Bella. This is the perfect solution for you both." Esme touched Edward's cheek and they smiled at one another.
"I did manage to save this though," Edward said as he pulled the charred notebook from my handbag. "Some of the scientist's notes. The rest were destroyed. I thought maybe you could look at them Carlisle…see if it might lead somewhere."
"This is his research?" Carlisle took the book with interest. "Leave it with me, I'm eager to read it."
"It's not complete, but maybe…"
"Let me read it, we'll discuss it later," Carlisle suggested. "Come back tomorrow Son."
"Come back?"
"Edward, you are human now. Your place is with the humans. We will always be your family, you will always be my son but your place is not with us now. You and Bella must build a life together, in the human world."
Carlisle was serious. Esme looked heartbroken, Edward was crushed and I felt terribly guilty but I think, deep down, we all knew that Carlisle was right.
I got up and took control of the situation. "You're right. We'll going to see Charlie now. I'm sure we'll be able to stay with him until we go to Dartmouth. We do understand."
Esme embraced first Edward, then me. Carlisle kissed my cheek and held Edward in his arms for a very long time. Then we left. We knew it would not be forever, heck, we'd be seeing them all tomorrow, but still… things had changed and now nothing would ever be the same again.