Chapter 14: The Truce
"You're late." I complain, as soon as Edward parks his super-expensive car on my sidewalk.
"My sincere apologies, my lady." He replies, sarcams dripping from his mouth.
I don't hesitate in getting in, and he swiftly rides away, towards Bella's house to pick her up next. The awkward silence inside the car was almost suffocating. It was obvious for both of us that we hated each other, so neither one made a point of speaking.
I hear Edward silent laugh and turn slightly to the left to look at him. He was chuckling quietly as if laughing at some intern joke but never leaving his eyes away from the road. "I don't hate you, you know."
Ah...so that was it. The bastard read my mind. Sometimes i forget he can do that. "I do." I huff like a petulant child and turn to look at the window once again.
"No, you don't. You don't like the way i treat Bella. And how i've hurt her in the past, but you don't hate me. Hate is a strong word. And even though there is a lot of people that have emotionaly hurt you somehow, you still don't hate any of them."
"Stop reading my mind!" I say between gritted teeth. You are so annoying.
"I know you don't like to have me in your head, but it is not something I can control. There isn't an on&off button, you know."
"How long have you been a vampire?" I inquire.
"98 years."
"All this time and you still can't control your powers?"
"It's not that easy." He sounds annoyed now, and that makes me smirk a little.
"Right. You and Alice just love to put your nose into other peoples business, admit it already."
"That was rude."
"Says the man that was psychoanalyzing me with his mind a minute ago."
"I was just pointing the obvious."
"You were trying to piss me off."
"Now, why would I do that?" I wasn't looking at him but I could almost hear the smile on his lips.
"I honestly don't know." The silence reigns once again, as I watch the big green trees passing outside the car's window.
"I'm sorry."
"Excuse me?" The sound of his voice startles me, and this time I fully turn around to look at him. He does the same, and for the first time I can actually see the sincerity on his face.
"I am sorry for...everything."
Oh.
"Oh." Edward-fucking-Cullen was actually apologizing to me? I couldn't held back the dumbfound look in my face.
"Yes. I should have apologized a long time ago. I'm sorry for that. And for causing so much pain to Bella. And to you. And you know, the Volturi thing...sorry." He really looked sincere, and a lot nervous too, probably worried about my reaction. But, seeing Edward actually being sorry for being an ass and actually apologizing to me, all of a sudden, was so unexpected it got me completely frozen in my spot.
It took me a whole minute to compose myself. "O-okay. Sure." The silence reigned once again as we both come an understanding. I don't hate you. You just piss me off constantly.
This time he laughed out loud, the tension around us, completely vanished. "So, truce?" He parks the car in front of Bella's house and look at me in the eyes, expectantly.
"Yeah. Truce." I reply, kindly a smirk forming on my lips as I watch Bella aproaching the car. For now.
His head hangs back when he laughs out loud. Bella opens the car's door and stops completely at seen the light mood around us. Her eyebrows shot up almost to her hairline.
"Hm, you guys are okay?" She asks, a little hesitant.
"Yeah, all's good."
For now.
We arrive at the clearing where we were supposed to meet, and I don't hesitate before of jumping out of the car. The Cullen family was already there, and Emmett was the first to say Hello to me.
"Cassy." He exclaims, picking me up and crushing me to hia chest in a bear hug.
"Ah...Em...can't breath..."
"Oh, sorry." He putts me back on the floor and gives me an apologetic sheepish smile.
"Hi Cassidy." Alice's high pitched voice comes from behind me as a warning before she crushes me in a backhug.
"Alice, let go."
She does, thankfully, and Jasper shows up by her side, smiling and nodding slightly. Bella appears then, and Alice throws herself at her next.
I look around for the rest the clearing and see Esme and Rosalie talking quietly to the side,when they look my way I wave at them shyly. Rosalie nods once and Esme smiles wamly.
"Hello, love."
Carlisle's voice always gives a little hotter inside, and today wasn't any different. By the sly look on his face he very much enjoyed that too.
"Where are the guys?" I ask, as a greeting, trying to pretend his closeness was not affecting me at all.
"Not here yet. I can only hope that they will come."
"They will." I say, a little to harsh. They have to.
Carlisle stops every motion and stares blankly to an empty place in forest. Looking around I can see all the other vampires doing the same, which makes me certain that the was coming. As if to prove my point, followed by Sam, one by one of the wolves come out off the big trees and step into the circle of the clearing. Sam looks magnificent in the front middle. All big and confident, as the Alpha should. Jared, as his beta, by his side, staying close and observant. Paul, on the other, looking as menacing as ever.
"They don't trust us enough to come on they human form." Edwards states, which was kind of obvious, and i shoot him a look that says 'Really?' that he blatantly ignores.
"They came. That's what matters." Carlisle answer, and then take one step forward to speak directly with the pack. "Hello, thank you for coming. We called you here today, so you all could learn, together with us, as much as you can of the new borns. Jasper..." When called by Carlisle, Jazz takes a step closer to present himself in front of the wolves. "...here, has experience with them. He will teach us how to defeat them."
A beat of silence and then. "They want to know how the new borns different from us." Edwards says, serving as the interpreter.
"They are much stronger than us." Carlisle answer, his doctor persona showing once again. "Because they human blood still run through they vessels. Our kind is never more powerful then on the first seven months of this life." Wow.
"Carlisle is right." Jasper takes a step closer to adress the pack. "That's why they were created. A new born army doesn't need thousands like a human army. No human army could stand against them." That thought gives me the chills, and I shift closer to Bella, uncomfortable.
"The two most important thing to remember are: First, never let them get they arms around you. They will crush you instantly. The second, never go for the obvious kill. They will be expecting that, and you're gonna lose." Jasper finish his speech and turns around completely, walking a few meters away to the middle of the clearing. "Emmett."
At the call of his name, Emmett quickly runs to position himself in front of Jasper. By the look on his face, he was loving all of this circus.
"Don't hold back." Jazz replies.
"Not in my nature." Em adds, cheeckly.
The whole fight starts and ends so quickly, I kind of feel like i blinked and lost everything. One moment Emmett was running into Jasper, the next he was on the ground. To say I was surprised was an understatement. I knew Jazz was good, but, better them Emmett? No. I did not saw that coming.
"Never loose focus." Jazz looks like a real war commander right now, and I couldn't help but to laugh a little at Emmett, that was currently picking himself off from the floor.
"Nice Emmett!" I cheer. To which he sends me a glare that was supposed to be scary. But his face was so full of mud it was actually kind of cute and I had to bite my lip not laugh more.
Carlisle and Edward are the next ones to go. They fight for what feels lile hours. They are both really good, but someone was destinated to lose. Carlisle is the first to fall on the ground. Edward catches him by surprise and the next thing I know he is lying flat on the ground. Edward looks up with a smirk, gladly showing off to Bella. Taking advantage of his son's distraction, Carlisle picks himself up from the floor and knock Edward down in one simple move.
This time I laugh out loud with no regrets. Emmett that is currently by my side, joins me and we both chuckle at his brother. Carisle winks at me galantly, and I look down trying to hide my blushing face.
The trainning keeps going on for a few more hours. Rosalie and Esme fight well enough, but it was Alice the one that surprised me the most. She is really fast and smart for someone that looks so small and fragile.
When Jasper was done teaching everything they needed to know, the pack left without as much as a peep. Emmett, Rosalie and Esme left first, Carlisle, Alice and Edward were talking quietly a few feet away, leaving Bella and I alone to walk around.
As we walk quietly to the car, we meet Jasper waiting patiently by the car. "Hey, Jazz."
"Girls." He nods, the gentle sound of his voice is always so calm, it always feels comfortable talking to him.
"Jasper, how do you know so much about new borns?" Bella ask. I can tell that question has been bugging her for a while now, and to be honest, me too.
I see some hesitation on his face for a second, but in the end, he answers. "I didn't have quite the same upbringing as my adopted siblings."
"What do you mean?"
As if to make a point, he shows both his arms to us. From his wrist to the elbow it was filled with bite marks and scratches. I hold back the gasp, but Bella does not. She looks shocked at first, them looks down at her own mark in her wrist.
"It looks like mine."
"And mine." I whisper, my hand automatically goes to my stomach, where I know James claws will forever be. "How did you get that?"
"Well, before I was turned...I joined the Confederate Army, right before i made 17, using way of persuasion." He smiles cheekly, and wink at us.
"So you already had a way of making people feel like you wanted back them?" I ask, intrigued.
"You could say so." The smirk leaves his lips and he takes a much more serious face. "In the following 2 years, I was promoted to major in the army and became the youngest major in Texas. "
"That was all during the civil war?"
"Yes, only that I have never been in one single battle."
"Until?" I ask, a part of me dreading the answer.
He stops and stares at us for a moment, the haunted look on his eyes was enough to make me regret asking in the first place. "Until I met a certain imortal...Maria."
"I was evacuating women and children, when i met them. They were in three. Maria, Lucy and Nettie, who had recently lost their respective territories to other covens."
"Maria knew from my suit that I was in the military and changed me into a vampire in the hopes of utilizing my training and experience to create an efficient army."
"Me and other newborns helped Maria reclaim her territory and later claim dominance over others. I was her second in command, she used my powers to control the other, and also...to dispose of them. An endless task, since she never let them live longer then the first year."
"I thought that, what Maria and I had, was love. But I was her puppet...she just pulled the strings." He said it with so much emotion, that I didn't need to be a empath to know how he felt.
I look at Bella and she is biting her lip worriedly, her eyes were not focused and she did not quite look like she was paying attention anymore. What is it? I try to ask her, but she seems to come out of it. "And how did you escape that?"
"While in the army, I befriended a newborn named Peter, whom i persuaded Maria to keep because of his advanced combat skills and kindred spirit." The tone of his voice is much lighter when he talks about his friend. " Then Peter ran off with Charlotte, a newborn that we were supposed to kill. I allowed them to escape. After that, Maria's feelings for me changed: I could sense how fearful - and somewhat mistrustful - she was towards me, and i knew that she would plot a way to destroy me."
"In 1938, Peter came back and told me about the way vampires could coexist up North. I immediately left Maria and her coven to join Peter and Charlotte. However, i did not find peace, since i could still feel the emotions of my human victims." Hearing about they human victims has always been a sore spot for me, so i was glad when he quickly moved forward.
"Eventually, I left Charlotte and Peter. And tried to kill less often, but the thirst always grew overwhelming."
"In 1948, i ran into a diner in Philadelphia and met Alice." At this he smiles a little. "At first, i was puzzled by her happy behavior around me, but nevertheless, her joyful emotions impacted me greatly." He is full on smiling now, the spark in his eyes was so adorable it made smile too. "When she held out her hand, I took it, and felt an unfamiliar emotion for the first time: hope."
"She saw you coming didn't she?" I ask, a smirk already forming on my lips.
"And he left me waiting for a long time."
Like always, Alice shows up unannounced, and gives me the fright of my life. Bella laughs a little when i jump back at the sound of Alice's voice. She was already so used to Alice's weird behavior that she didn't even bat an eye.
"My apologies, ma'am." Jasper says, looking at his mate with so much love it felt kind invasive to watch them.
Bella and I decide to leave the love birds before they start to make out in the middle of the forest, and walk the way back to where Edward and Carlisle were still talking.
"What was that look back them? When Jazz was talking about him and Maria." I ask Bella.
"Noting." She reply. I don't really buy it, but by them we were already too close to the men and i decide to just let go for now.
"Are we done?"
"Yes, we can go." Edward turns away from gis father to lead the way to his car. Bella follows him closely and when I turn to do so, Carlisle stops me with a hand in my arm.
"Would it be alright if I give you a ride home?" He ask, almost hesitant to do so.
"Did you come by car?" I frown, looking around and not seeing the mercedes.
He chuckle lightly, and says. "No, but it wouldn't be the first time that I carried you in my arms."
Oh.
"Oh..." I wasn't sure if i wanted to, to be honest. I never enjoyed being picked up and carried while they runned faster then a car. It was not a very good sensation. But, a small part of me, wanted to spend this alone time with Carlisle, even though deep down I knew it might not be the very best idea.
"I just...want to spend some time with you...before..."
"Before the battle?" I inquire.
"Well, yes."
"Alice saw the day that they are coming?"
"They haven't decided the day yet, but...soon."
Oh.
"Okay." I murmur, biting my lip lightly.
"Hm?"
"Okay, i'll go with you."
The smile he gave me then, was honestly the happiest one i've seen on his face for a while. It gave goosebumps, and made my heart beat a lot faster than normal. One smile and i was done for, god that's so pathetic. Calm the fuck down, girl.
"Thank you, love. I'll try not to go to fast."
God, please don't make me regret this.