Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight, nor do I make any money off this story.
~~~~~~~ Italy, Volterra ~~~~~~~~~
The invitation was staring at him, almost as if it was mocking him. Still it looked as if Alice Cullen had been true to her word in a way he was glad that she had been and in a way he was disappointed that she hadn't been lying, and Edward was going to change Bella Swan. Ruby red eyes narrowed in thought, there was something going on. There was something not right about the relationship, he could see it and so could everyone else. But it wasn't their place to say anything not that they would have said anything, no they had chosen to wait and see just what would happen, still it seemed as if Edward was attracted to the fact that he couldn't read Bella's mind.
That in itself was strange, in all of his years being alive he had never came across a shield as strong as Bella's even when she was surrounded by vampires there had been no increase in her heartbeat, no sign of fear at all, she had been calm. She was strange for a human, which was saying something. Still they would go to this wedding, if only to take away some of the boredom that had been taking over their lives.
Sometimes it was lonely being at the top, being one of the ruling brothers was sometimes tiresome. He wasn't the only one to feel this way either, both of his brothers felt the same way, but there was nothing that could be done about it at least not now. They had been married for some time, and it had been wonderful. But now?
Now it wasn't what it had once been, the love that they had felt for each other had slowly faded away, but that had been because they were not mates, because they didn't have the bond between them. Still they had been married for a good long time and it had been good while it lasted, it had been pleasurable for both him and his brothers and the hadn't found any real reason to complain about their marriages either.
Still even though they had divorced their wives and were now living the life of single men, it hadn't filled the holes in their hearts and in their souls, that as if they had a soul, it needed to be filled. By something or rather someone, still they hadn't met them yet and he was slowly doubting that they would find him or her, still they would go to this wedding.
But first it was feeding time, and he was in need of blood. Still he found amusement in their reactions when they found out just where they were and they were about to die, but he had to get his amusement from somewhere even if it was at the expense of others.
~~~~~~ Apartment ~~~~~~~
Milky white eyes stared blankly ahead, sometimes being blind was a curse and a blessing. One on hand he didn't have to look at the thing that dare to call itself their mother and the species that called themselves humans, and on the other? He missed looking at the ocean and seeing the sunrises and sunsets, still it was better to be blind than dead. Something that he was grateful for no matter how much his life had changed, he missed his father and wished that he had chosen to go to Forks instead of Bella.
He had heard that Bella was getting married, while he was happy for her he despised Edward, his sister could do a lot better than him. However both he and Bella were not talking to each other after he had made his opinion known about Edward, his sister would find love again that much was sure. But she deserved better than him, and he knew it. That didn't mean that she was going to listen to him though, and they both knew that. She could be as stubborn as him on a good day, but they both knew that he was far more stubborn than her any day.
Jayden 'Jade' Swan had seen the world far differently than his sister, he had seen their mother get enraged while she was drunk, he had seen her smash things that had once belonged to their grandmother and grandfather. He hated her for that, hated how she destroyed things that she had no right destroying. Still he had saved a few things before he lost his sight, a photo album and a set of crystal glasses that had once been theirs a gift off Charlie for their 60th wedding anniversary, Jade knew that if they were alive today they would weep at weep at what their daughter had became. He also knew that right now they would most likely be turning in their graves, he didn't understand why she had turned out like she had when she had been so privileged, but then again that might have been the problem.
He had paid the price for many things in his life, the scars were all over his body and he knew it, it had been one of the last things that he had saw. The patchwork of scars had been there since he was a child, since his mother had first hit him, still it was better than her hitting Bella and no matter how much they were fighting he still loved her, she was still his sister after all. But that didn't make the argument any less real, he would never welcome Edward into the family no matter how much Bella asked him to.
And she had asked him to welcome Edward into the family, but there was something wrong with him. He was cold, or more colder than a normal human, he hadn't bought the lame excuse that he had blood problems. He had met people that had naturally cold hands and they were nowhere near as cold as Edward's were, it also didn't help that his skin felt strange as well, it reminded Jade of marble or another sort of stone. Jade wasn't sure what was going on, and he didn't know if he wanted to know either. But he could admit that there was something strange about Edward, something not normal about him.
It was part of the reason that he was glad that he was blind, because he knew that if he saw Edward's face then there would be no stopping him from trying to smash his pretty boy face in. Still the lose of his sight had nearly destroyed him, he would never be able to play the piano again or that had been his first thought, he had learned that he could play it. That because he had no sight his hearing was far better than it normally was, that he could hear what people would normally miss. But that didn't change the fact that he would never be able to paint or draw to be able to see what he had created even his passion for cooking had stopped, he couldn't find it in himself to go back into the kitchen and create things again. He would never be able to read books, he could feel the pages between his fingers, could feel the age old paper but the words? He could never see them, still it was better that it was him, he didn't know what he would have done if it had been Bella in the car accident.
Jade gave a tired sigh and slowly stood up, he felt around and smiled when his hands came across the cane that had been carved from oak. A gift from his grandfather before he had died some years earlier. It had made the pain easier to bear, it didn't mean that it didn't hurt though, because to Jayden it would always hurt. No matter how much time had or would pass the hole in his heart would always be there no matter what.
"Morning Jade!"
Jade gave a small smile in the direction of the voice, his hearing and smell had vastly improved. His senses were in over drive most of the time, he was able to tell people what sort of perfume they were wearing before they had even uttered a word.
"I notice that your wearing the aftershave your husband got you Derek."
Derek gave a hearty laugh and looked over at his blind friend, he was glad that he had a friend in Jayden or Jade as he told people to call him, Derek and Paul had been together for some years before they had agreed to tie the knot so to speak, it didn't help that Jade had often teased the two of them about being a married couple already, that didn't change the happiness that the two of them had felt when Jade had agreed to be there for their wedding, to be one of their best men.
"Yeah, I sure am. Heading to Hawaii next week will you be alright?"
Jade gave Derek a smile and nodded his head, he knew that the two of them worried about him and it was hard for them not to. He was blind and living by himself, he spent most of his time in his small apartment and rarely went out. Jade didn't like people, he had always had problems with people even when he had been small, and it had continued to stem from then on. While he couldn't connect with normal people, he had found friends in both Derek and Paul. Which was strange, yet they had pushed him and climbed over his walls and he had eventually found friends in them, and he couldn't bring himself to regret being friends with them.
They brought some colour into his normally dark and full life, and it was dark and dull to him. Most of the time he went through life looking for some way to entertain himself, to help drive away the darkness that would often cloud his mind. He didn't know whether it was due to his blindness or due to the fact that he was bored, but whatever the reason he didn't like it. So yes, Jade was grateful to the two of them. More than they would ever know.
"I will be fine, the two of you are like a couple of mama bears."
Derek chuckled as he helped Jade down the stairs, when they got to the bottom Derek patted him on the back and left him, he knew that Jade would be fine now. They had learned the hard way that Jade was stubborn and very independent, he hated people trying to do things for him and more often than not it lead to an argument of some sort. That didn't mean that they didn't try to help him, they did but Jade was far to stubborn and independent, which was why they helped him with smaller tasks like helping him down the stairs, even though he could do it fine by himself.
Derek patted him on the back and walked to the car park, he had to go to work. While he enjoyed his job most of the time. He hated the fact that it was on the other side of the city, meaning if anything happened it would take him sometime to get there. It was part of the reason why he had put in for a transfer, he would be closer to his home and would be able to keep a better eye on both Paul and Jade.
Jade hummed as he walked down the street people avoiding him as they caught sight of his milky eyes, they way that they were acting made Jade wonder if he had some sort of disease, he was blind not infected with something! Jade shook his head and wondered at the sheer stupidity that people showed on a daily basis, honestly how had some of them been able to live for this long?
Jade nearly growled as someone bumped into him, they didn't even stop to say sorry as they jumped up and continued running, Jade let loose a string of curses that would make any sailor blush, whoever had run into him had split hot coffee all over his shirt and now he would have to head back and get cleaned up. This was not how he wanted to spend his day, growling Jade turned around and began walking back to the apartment that he had, it was nothing fancy but it served his purposes.
Jade practically kicked open his door and stormed into the apartment, just as he was about to kick open his bedroom door a voice stopped him.
"Jade?"
Jade gave a tired sigh and turned around to the door, he inhaled deeply before he spoke.
"Bella."
He heard the rustle of fabric and knew that she was shifting from one foot to the other, she was never able to keep still for long, not when she was nervous. Jade took another deep breath and nearly smiled.
"Your wearing the perfume I got you."
Bella nodded her head even though she knew that Jade couldn't see it, she took a cautious step into the apartment and nearly sighed with relief when he didn't tell her to get out. Bella bit her lip and wondered what she was going to say, what could she say? It wasn't like she could tell him the real reason that she had came down here, it wasn't as if she could tell him that vampires and werewolves were real and he was mated to a vampire or vampires, not just anyone but a member of the Volturi. It also didn't help that she had the three brothers and many members of the guard looking over her shoulder, she needed someone that would tell them to back off.
"Are you coming to the wedding?"
She heard him sigh and knew that he wasn't going to talk about it, she knew that he hated Edward yet she didn't know why, he hadn't told her. But then again she hadn't been willing to listen, she had shouted at him and slapped him, that had been the last time that she had spoke to him, she could still see the pain and hurt in his eyes every time she closed her eyes. Every time she went to sleep she could see his face behind her eyelids, could see the expression that he wore, it was part of the reason why she tried not to go to sleep. Only sleeping when her body demanded that she needed sleep.
Bella didn't want to be like their mother, but she knew that in that moment in that one single moment she had became what they both hated, what she feared that she would one day become. Yet here she was standing in his apartment trying to get him to come to Forks, to come to her wedding. Bella hoped that he would be willing to come, she wasn't sure what she would do if he said no and he had every right to say no and she knew that.
"Bella not now please."
Bella gave a frustrated huff and glared at him.
"If not now then when? I get that you don't like him Jade I really do, but will you at least come to the wedding?"
Bella felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she heard her brother curse, she had never been able to figure out just how Jade knew so many curse words, or where he had learned them. But then again after the car accident the two had drifted apart for a while, it had only been during the last year that they had managed to become close again.
"Come to Forks!"
Bella didn't know why she had blurted that out, maybe it was because of how upset Charlie had been, she knew that not seeing Jade was hard on him. So if she could get him to come to Forks and see their father it might make things a little easier, she had no doubt that Jade would do everything in his power to keep her and Edward apart, normally he gave her a reason but this time? This time he hadn't said anything, and she hadn't asked.
"What?"
Bella cracked a small smile as she looked at the confused look that he had on his face, it was very rare for her grumpy and cynical brother to be confused, normally people avoided him because of how he was. But that didn't change the fact that underneath the bitterness, the hate and the sadness was the brother that she had grown up with, the one that loved to pull practical jokes on people. The one that had ran down three streets stark bullock naked because he refused to go in the bath, or the one that had some how gotten Jacob to eat worms as children. She wanted him back, not this one, the one that was cold and cynical, the one that didn't think that people didn't deserve to live.
"Come to Forks with me."
Jade sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"If this is some attempt to get me to be 'nice' with Edward it wont work hells bells you know that, my mind is made up."
Bella smiled at the old nickname, it had been so long since she last heard it still, it meant that Jade had forgiven her somewhat, she was under no illusions that she hadn't hurt him because she knew that she had. Still maybe he would forgive her, but she wasn't to sure. Jade had changed from the person that he had been, and she didn't like this new Jade. Still she could hope that he would forgive her, one time she would have been sure that he would forgive her, but now? Now she wasn't so sure.
"Then don't come to be nice to him, come for me and dad. Come because you want to."
A small smile played on his lips and Bella was shocked it had been years since he had smiled, it made him look younger, made him look as if he didn't have the weight of the world on his shoulders. Bella felt determination fill her one way or another she was going to get her brother to smile more, no matter the cost. He had already gave up to much, he shouldn't have to give up anything else! Bella jumped slightly as she heard him move around, her brown eyes immediately went to where Jade was.
"What are you doing?"
Jade raised an eyebrow and looked at her, his white eyes staring straight through her, Bella shivered at the feeling. She had thought that she had gotten used to her brother being blind, but it was times like this that she realised that she hadn't, that she had only been pushing the problem to the side. Bella knew that she needed to deal with her brother being blind, otherwise it would and could cause problems for them, it had in some ways. Sometimes she would forget that he was blind and would ask him to paint and draw, only to remember after she had asked the question that he was blind.
She knew that her brother wasn't offended, that was easy to see. Because an offended Jade was a nasty Jade and she knew it, but she didn't know why he didn't get offended when she forgot, was it because they were siblings? She wasn't sure, but whatever the reason she didn't look a gift horse in the mouth, after all she had seen Jade reduce fully grown men to tears. Now that had not been pretty, Bella's entire body shuddered as she remembered the cold cruel smirk that her brother wore that day, it was not something that she wanted a repeat of.
"To pack my suitcase."
With that he walked through the doorway and made his way to his bedroom, Bella hesitated for a few seconds before she followed him. Bella found the photo album and smiled, she ran a finger down the plastic cover and wished that she could go back in time and stop everything that had happened. There had been so much lost on that day, all because their mother had been drunk and had gotten behind the wheel of the car, Jade hadn't told her what had happened that day and she knew that he never would. But that hadn't changed the fact that because of her Jade had lost his eyesight and they had both lost their grandparents.
Bella made sure that the photo album was safe as she closed the suitcase and closed it, Bella lifted it slightly and stumbled at the weight of it. Before she had chance to fall to the floor she felt a warm arm wrap around her. She could feel jade's breath tickling her ear, she could smell his aftershave.
"Careful bells, I maybe blind but you are still as clumsy as ever."
Bella blushed bright red and lightly hit him on the shoulder, Jade gave a chuckle before the two of them set off from his small apartment, what neither of them knew was it was the last time that Jade would ever be there. That he wouldn't be going back to it. Bella threw the suitcase into the car boot and winced as it hit the back of the car, she heard jade snort and knew that he was glaring at her.
"There had better not be anything broken Isabella."
He was glad that there was nothing to valuable in there, other than his photo album. But knowing his sister she would have found some way to break it, still she knew to be more careful with his things, after all other than the cane and two crystal glasses the photo album was all e had left of his grandparents. He wasn't like Bella that had been left clothes, jewellery, and car. He had been able to get what he could, but still the memories were there and that was what mattered to him. But that didn't change the fact that she should be more careful with things.
Full name, this is very bad. Jade very rarely if ever used her full name unless she was in trouble which happened a lot during their childhood, not that she was complaining he was in more trouble than her most of the time. Still it was nice to have some sort of normality to everything, with her life the way that it was. Bella got into the front seat of the car and started the engine, she watched as Jade struggled with the seatbelt before it was clipped in.
Then the long journey of driving to Forks had began, Bella gripped the steering wheel as she thought about what people would say or do, quite a few members of the small town love Jade. They hadn't hid it, the town had been out for blood when they had heard about the accident, but they hadn't been able to get any details Jade had been very closed lipped about what had happened. But Bella hoped that he would open up, if not to her then to Charlie. Bella made a mental note not to call their dad, Charlie in front of Jade, he hated it.
Soon they were out of the city and were heading down to Forks, the drive was going to be long and Bella didn't like the silence that had filled the car. But she didn't know how to break it, normally it was Jade that broke the silence with some sort of joke. He had always been good at breaking silences and tension, he could lift people up, make them feel happier or better about themselves.
"What's black, white and green?"
Bella glanced at Jade from the corner of her eyes, there was a peaceful expression on his face as he stared blankly out of the window.
"I don't know."
Jade's lips twitched into a small smile, he continued to stare blankly out of the window as he responded.
"A penguin rolling down a hill."
Bella chocked on her relieved laughter, and Jade's smile became wider as he glanced in her direction. Bella shook her head and the two continued their drive to Forks, however this time the silence was filled with comfort, as if they hadn't been parted for years. Bella almost sighed with relief when she seen the towns sign, her hands were cramping up and she badly needed to use the bathroom. Not that she had said anything, Bella knew that if she had said anything then Jade would have made her pull over which would have added more time to their trip, so she was quite happy with herself that she had managed to stay quiet for so long. However that hadn't stopped the knowing glances that Jade had thrown her way every so often, sometimes she hated how well her brother knew her.
Bella did sigh with relief when she saw the house, normally when she saw it she was filled it a sense of dread, but this time? She was filled with hope, hope that she would be able to pull Jade out of shell and get him to rejoin the land of the living, no matter how much he kicked and screamed about it. Once the car came to a stop Bella sat in the drivers seat for a few minutes, she had never noticed how peaceful it was, once she had gathered her strength and clamed her nerves somewhat she opened the car door and walked around to the other side to open Jade's door.
Jade gave her a small smile and allowed her to help him up, he stumbled and winced as he felt the pins and needles in his legs, he had been sat down for far to long. Jade smiled as the familiar scents came to him, pine trees, mossy earth and freshly cut grass. They were the things that reminded him he was home, he felt as if he hadn't left the small town.
"Come on."
Jade felt the familiar polished wood enter his hands as Bella made sure that she had tight of hold of the suitcase, she didn't want to drop it. She linked one arm through Jades and guided him to the front door, she fumbled around for a few seconds until she had found her keys. The front door opened with a creak and Bella made a note to get some oil and oil the hinges, it sounded like something off a horror movie. She watched as Jade carefully entered the house, the sound of the cane hitting the floor filled the house, and it brought a sense of familiarity with it. It reminded her of the first time that Jade had done it, but back then he hadn't been nearly as comfortable or as confident.
"Home sweet home."
Bella smiled and placed the suitcase down on the couch, she watched as Jade ran his fingers over the coffee table and down the walls, Bella watched as he took slow but measured steps further and further into the house, she didn't know what he was feeling for or even hearing.
"It hasn't changed."
Bella nodded her head, at first she had found the fact that the whole house hadn't changed depressing, as it showed that Charlie hadn't got over their mother, but she knew that it was for a different reason. He had kept it that way for Jade, it was sweet and kind that Charlie hadn't changed the house but it also brought feelings out in her. Feelings that she didn't want to look closely at, she knew that she had no reason to be jealous of him, but that didn't stop the feeling from forming in her chest.
"Is my room still the same?"
Bella bit her lip and grabbed hold of his hand before pulling him up the stairs, she didn't know what to do. Why was she feeling like this? She didn't understand, she had never felt like this concerning her brother so why had it started now? Bella shook her head, she would try and think on it later, much later when no one was around.
"Here you go."
She held open the door for him and watched as he entered the room, his room like much of the house hadn't been changed, this time is wasn't just jealousy that welled up in her heart it was anger as well, why did Charlie do this for him? Why was it always him? This time Bella didn't try to squash the feelings, her brother had nearly everything and it was burning her inside.
"Well night."
She didn't even turn around when he called her, she continued walking until she got to the front door, she nearly pulled it off it's hinges as she rushed to get out of the house. Bella opened her car door and noted that she had forgot to lock it, if this had been anywhere else someone would have stolen it, but as it stood it was still sitting on the gravel. Bella sat in her car seat and wondered when she had began turning into this, when she had started to act more and more like Renee. Her hands found their way to her hair and she gripped it, she didn't stop when she felt the pain. Because the pain made her realise that this was real, that she wasn't dreaming.
Bella sat in her car for a few more minutes, she needed to get a hold of herself, she couldn't and wouldn't end up like their mother, Bella looked at her hands and noticed that they were shaking, why were they shaking? Bella took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before she released it, Bella looked up as she saw his bedroom light get turned on. It looked like he was doing okay, maybe she could go out for a few hours? What was the harm? Bella started her car and drove to the Cullen's she needed to see Edward, she needed to calm down, from what she didn't know.
~~~~ Charlie ~~~~~
He knew something was up when Bella left, she hadn't said where she was going and he had been to busy to ask, it wasn't to Renee's that much he did know. He wasn't going o push her though, she would tell him when she was ready or so he hoped. The two of them had never been close, at first he had blamed himself for it. But then he watched and saw things that made his blood boil, Renee wasn't the woman that he thought she was.
He had caught her one day trying to hit Jade, he didn't know what had happened. She had said that she was disciplining him, but Charlie knew the difference between a slap across the wrist and what she was trying to do. It had been shortly after that they had divorced and she had left taking his children with her, he didn't know how she had managed that either. But one thing was for certain he would do anything for his children, he had already missed out on so much he wasn't going to miss out on anything more.
So when Bella had came to live with him, he had been happy. That was until he saw just how down about the full thing she was, still he kept trying no matter what, he had even tried to finish work early. But that failed more often than not, still every time he tried it had been thrown back into his face. He had tried to get a hold of Jade, which hadn't worked no one had seen him since the car accident, he hadn't spoken to anyone. He had hoped that with time Jade would have healed, and he had been partially right, Jade had healed but he was cynical.
He had tried to find out what had happened but Jade was as stubborn as a bull most days, so he had waited and bided his time. He was still waiting but he would and was going to wait until his son was ready. Charlie sighed as he looked over the paperwork, it seemed as if there was more animal attacks in the last few months than anything else.
He didn't know why these animals were attacking people, normally they didn't come this far into town, so maybe something was happening in the forest. It was a possibility, Charlie made a note to look into it later on, before anyone else died. Still he was going to do the best that he could do no matter how much it hurt him.
Charlie gave a sigh and stood up, he had been sitting down for too long. His legs had pins and needles in them, not only that his left foot and left arm had fallen asleep. Charlie groaned as he felt the familiar tingle of pins and needles enter his arm and leg, he needed to walk about some more. With a sigh he grabbed his coat and made his way out of the office, maybe a couple of hours at home would give him the energy that he needed.
Charlie smiled when he felt the cold rain hit his face, it was something that he enjoyed, it was part of the reason why he hadn't left the town. After all the cities didn't have anything like this, they didn't have the magic that nature provided. He rubbed his hands together before he made his way to his car, he was going to go home and order some take out, that was if there was nothing in the fridge.
However it didn't go to plan like that, instead when he pulled up in front of the house he saw a light on, one that hadn't been used in nearly 5 years. The last time he had seen it one was the night before Jade left, so what was it doing on now? Was Bella in the room? Charlie looked around and noticed that Bella's car was not on the gravel which mean that either someone had broken into the house or it was Jade.
Charlie wasn't sure which one he would prefer, on one hand it could be his son. Someone who he hadn't spoken to in nearly 5 years or it was someone stealing from his son, and could probably breaking items that could never be replaced. Charlie ran a finger down his holster, with quite steps he left the car and entered the house, he nearly winced when he heard the hinges creak.
He stopped when he heard someone moving around, he held his breath as the door opened as he heard the sound of footsteps approaching him. Charlie looked at the bare feet and smiled, he knew only one person that would walk around in bare feet, when everyone else was wrapped up.
"Jade."
"Hello, dad."
Their eyes met and they both knew that they were home.
