Yep... I haven't given you a chapter in forever. Sorry! Time flies and life is busy. I need more time to write...
It seemed like an eternity had passed when the two children finally broke through the tree line that framed the property and walked across the lawn towards the house. Carlisle's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched them, searching for any clues that would tell him what had happened between the two. He'd find out soon enough since they would be standing right in front of him in less than half a minute maybe - but still, it would be easier to talk to them if he knew what the kids were feeling at the moment and what exactly would await him.
Up until now he had been pins and needles, nervous and agitated, and even though they were finally back again and obviously very much alive and well, his nervousness peaked.
There wasn't much in this world nowadays that would really make him nervous anymore - but today his children had definitely done it.
He hoped dearly that Jasper hadn't actually hurt her in any way, and he wondered if the boy had minded his warning and had kept his mouth shut. He shouldn't tell Maddie anything that wasn't for him to tell - some things are just a little bit more complicated than they seem at first, and while it was beautiful to see that Jasper was worried about his little sister and the safety of the coven, he couldn't just go off and do what he thought was right. As the leader of this coven, Carlisle was carrying a lot of responsibility, and he always weighed his options and spend a lot of time mulling things over before he made a decision. Jasper couldn't just ignore his authority and refuse to listen to his reasoning that drove him to make the decisions he had made concerning her.
If the boy had disobeyed him, then he had effectively brought a great danger upon the child and managed to achieve the exact opposite of what he had intended to do.
But Carlisle released a sigh of relief when he noticed that his daughter looked more or less at ease. She smirked when Jasper said something to her, then ran a hand through her tangled hair. Jasper plucked a little twig out of her brown mane and held it in front of her face for her to see. Shrugging her shoulders, she playfully slapped it out of his hand before she lifted her head and looked straight ahead.
Her facial expression as well as her eye colour changed when her eyes met her father's, and she quickly dropped her gaze again while she slowed a little. If he was pushing or guiding her, Carlisle wasn't sure, but Jasper's hand on the girl's back quickly made her pick up her pace again and ascend the porch stairs with him.
Carlisle held his breath.
What did the boy tell her?
It wasn't surprising that Carlisle didn't like not knowing what would await him as soon as his children would step into the house, and he didn't like the thought of his son ignoring a direct order and disturbing the girl with false facts that would only serve to confuse and scare her.
Barely a year ago she had thought she wasn't wanted, and now hearing that they would purposely endanger her by not teaching her anything about this life would be yet another deep tear to her young soul and the band of trust that had formed between them.
Shaking his head to rid himself of these unpleasant thoughts, the coven leader managed to put on a little smile in time as they reached the house.
Carlisle hastened over to them just as the porch door opened.
"There you are," he said, trying to sound casual and happy, like he hadn't spent the entire time of their absence worrying, and his lips stretched even further into a warm and welcoming smile. In a fatherly manner he made to put a hand on his daughter's shoulder when she was close enough, but a hiss escaped her just before his fingers would have touched her. Maddie quickly leaned away from his hand and stepped to the side, all of a sudden glowering at him through darkened eyes like he was the devil himself.
She was angry... and it was directed at him.
Jasper shot her a disapproving look which she seemed to notice, because she immediately took a breath like she was trying to get a grip on herself and calm down, before she hung her head.
Oh, so now she was evading her father's gaze...
And just as Carlisle wanted to address Jasper, he was hit by the sweet smell of venom.
Instantly the father snapped into doctor mode and he scanned his children from head to toe with a trained look to find the injury and tend to it.
"Who's hurt?" he asked and looked in between them when he failed to detect the obviously fresh wound. Weirdly enough, he had the feeling that it was both his and her venom that he was smelling.
When nobody reacted to his question, his jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. "I want to see it," he demanded, his voice filled with authority.
The two exchanged a quick look, but apart from that, nothing happened.
Not even a second passed and Carlisle already grew impatient. "Now."
More than just a little begrudgingly, Jasper slowly revealed his hand that he had kept firmly tucked away in his trouser pocket, and the distinct smell of his venom grew stronger, now with the wound out in the open.
The crescent shaped tear was glistening in the light of the ceiling light, and little black and brown pieces of lint and dirt decorated the entire injury.
While it was relatively deep, Carlisle could also see that it wasn't very big otherwise. But size didn't always matter, and the grime and the foreign venom in the bite wound would hurt regardless.
Clearing his throat, Carlisle turned his head to look at his youngest, who seemed to have taken a sudden liking in chewing on her bottom lip and looking out of the window into the night.
"Are you hurt?"
Jasper answered that question.
"No, she's not."
Now it was hard to smell anything but Jasper's venom, and Carlisle figured he must have been wrong then. Still, he wanted to know why his boy had been bitten. "What happened in the woods?" he asked Maddie, whose only reaction to that question was to swallow hard - she didn't even turn her head to look at her father.
An uncomfortable silence filled the room as the coven leader was waiting for an answer, but Jasper must have figured she wouldn't reply to that question anytime soon, because he suddenly cleared his throat and started to explain.
"I was-"
Holding up a hand to quiet him, Carlisle shook his head and said, "No, I want to hear it from her."
Maddie glanced at her brother, like he was the one talking to her, then glared down at her father's shoes. "I bit him," she practically hissed, her voice oddly aggressive sounding despite the situation.
With a deep breath, Carlisle drew himself up to his full height and stared down at his daughter, folding his arms across his chest as he did so. She wasn't looking at him directly, but she'd still see it out of the corner of her eye.
"Carlisle, I am to blame for this," Jasper quickly threw in. "I wasn't being careful... she was feeding when I found her, I approached her from behind and put a hand on her shoulder. She didn't do it on purpose, it was my mistake."
"Jasper," Esme chided as she suddenly entered the room, her brow furrowed in displeasure. "You should know better than to disturb someone while feeding."
The boy clasped his hands behind his back, wincing slightly when his thumb grazed the bite wound, and respectfully hung his head. "I'm sorry, Ma'am, it won't happen again."
"My poor girl," Esme hushed and ran a hand over her daughter's dark hair, who seemed to tense under her mother's soft, loving touch. "it's not your fault. Accidents happen."
Jasper's explanation was very believable, but there was a tiny little detail that didn't quite add up...
"You don't look very well fed, Maddie," Carlisle remarked as he scanned her with the well-trained eye of a doctor and a father. She looked even paler than before she had left the house, not even the slightest trace of pink was flushing her cheeks or colouring her lips. However, the front of her shirt, her sleeves and even her chin and jaw line were showing traces of dried blood. While it smelled slightly off, he could tell that she must have caught a cougar. Did she just kill it without drinking any of it?
"Like I said, I distracted her and her catch died too quickly. She refused to feed off a dead animal," he let his parents know, then added with a sigh, "What a waste..."
Why did he do all the talking for her? If it was a consequence of their bonding, then he'd gladly accept it, but Carlisle's gut feeling told him something different altogether.
"I am glad you're back. Jasper? Go upstairs and hold your hand under running water to wash the grime out, then go to my office. We'll tend to your wound and then you and I are going to continue our conversation."
"I don't think-," he tried to say while shaking his head, but Carlisle had had quite enough of his boy's disobedience for this day.
"Jasper," Carlisle said in a warning tone and put his hands on his hips, "go upstairs."
To make sure he would comply, Carlisle fixed him with a stern look and let him feel that he was insisting on obedience.
A faint feeling of defeat enveloped the head of the family, and he knew that his son had understood and would comply.
"Yes, Sir," the soldier replied timidly and gave his sister one last sympathetic glance before he left the room and mounted the stairs.
On the upper floor the door to the bathroom creaked open and they heard water running through the pipes.
Time to continue.
With his son out of earshot, Carlisle turned towards Maddie.
"Why didn't you answer my calls?"
"Carlisle...," his wife immediately pleaded with him and pulled her daughter to her side, rubbing a hand up and down her dainty shoulder. She wanted him to drop the subject, to give the girl a moment to breathe, but ignoring his calls was something he wouldn't tolerate from anyone. Maddie knew that - he knew that she knew, everyone in the family did, and now he was waiting for her to give him a damn good explanation for her behaviour.
"I'd like to know, Esme," he replied with one raised eyebrow, before turning his attention back to his daughter who looked like she couldn't decide what made her more uncomfortable at the moment - his presence and his questions or her mother's loving touch.
"So?" he prompted when the girl didn't answer.
She must have decided that she didn't need or want her mother's support, because she pulled away from her and stood by the door through which she had entered the house just a minute ago. "I was talking to Jasper, and then I had to make a few calls myself."
"Who did you call?"
It was quiet for a moment as she obviously contemplated whether to tell him or not, but eventually she released a sigh. "Tanya and Rose."
"Tanya?"
A curt nod. "She'll meet us half way."
Half way? "Maddie, what are you talking about?"
"I don't wanna stay here," she stated.
Esme seemed unable to breathe, but before she would say something, Carlisle raised his hand to stop her. He knew that she'd protest, and that would keep the girl from explaining further.
"Why?"
"I don't like it here."
Carlisle tensed, then took in a deep breath to keep his voice calm as he eyed her and queried, "What did Jasper tell you?"
"Huh?" Her forehead wrinkled ever so slightly and she finally lifted her head to look him in the eye. "Nothing."
From angry to distant to clueless...
"Did he say something to you?" the coven leader questioned further, glad that she kept eye contact this time. It was the easiest way to read someone, to see what kind of emotions his questions would evoke.
He needed to know if she really had no idea what he was talking about, or if she was scared, angry or dismissive. Was she telling the truth, or lying to him?
He needed to know.
"Like what? What do you mean?" she queried, blinking her eyes in confusion. "He told me I shouldn't run and that he came to take me back home."
That was what he had wanted Jasper to say to her, still, he needed to know for sure. "Anything else?"
She swallowed heavily. "That he didn't mean what he said...," she mumbled and dropped her eyes again to gaze at the floor.
Esme followed that motion and distorted her face at seeing the dirt crusted pants and feet of the girl.
Carlisle shook his head at her, telling her that way not to make the dirt the next subject matter. They had more urgent things to take care off.
His daughter looked forlorn and close to crying. Jasper's words must have shocked and hurt her, but judging by the way they had interacted in the backyard, he was sure that she had forgiven him. It might still take a little while until she would stop thinking about what her brother had said, but at least she knew that it was just a mistake and not the truth.
"Is that why you want to leave? Because of what you heard?"
"No," she replied and shook her head while still not looking up at him, "he said he was just mad and that he said things without thinking. I just wanna go back to Alaska because I don't like it here."
Good, she had no idea, and he was not going to ask anything specific and make her suspecting.
Before he could ask her to sit down with them and explain what exactly made her want to leave this place, his wife stepped forward and huffed.
"You are not going anywhere," she stated and encircled her forearm like she feared the girl would otherwise take off right this second.
Maddie turned her head and stared down at her arm, then right at her mother, shock shining in her big, dark eyes. "Wh-"
Esme's eyes narrowed. "You will stay right here, with us."
"But-"
"You will stay right by my side," Esme emphasised and pulled the confused girl closer to herself, "I've had enough of all this trouble for one day."
"No!" their daughter retorted and wrenched her arm out of Esme's grip, then moved away from her mother while shooting her an angry glare.
"Go to your room," was Carlisle's immediate order as his hands found their way to his hips.
Now the girl gasped and looked in between them like she thought they had both lost their minds. "What did I do?!" she shouted. "That's not fair!"
"Ssh, it's not a punishment," he tried to calm her and held his hands up in a soothing manner. "I'd just like to talk to your mother in private."
It took her a moment to realise that she hadn't heard wrong and that he was truly not sending her upstairs because she had just been insolent with them.
Maddie gave a nod. "I'll pack my bags...," she let them know before she darted from the room and ran upstairs.
"N-," Esme tried to call after her to make her stop, but Carlisle interrupted her.
"Esme, love, let's talk."
He gently took his wife's hand in his and led her over to the couch. They sat down together, and Carlisle scooted closer to her, then turned a little in his seat to be able to look her in the face while speaking to her.
"Carlisle, one of my boys is already God knows where and we cannot contact him, I'm not going to watch my daughter turn her back on us as well." The words left Esme's lips in a rush, and Carlisle took both her hands in his and gently ran his thumbs over her knuckles.
"You'll know exactly where she is, you know who is with her and you know that she'll be fine."
"Does that mean that you support this harebrained idea?" she almost shrieked and pulled her hands from his, throwing them in the air in the process to show just how horrified she was. "What is happening?!"
A sigh escaped him as he ran a hand through his hair. "I don't enjoy changes like this, please believe me," he tried to explain, "but I'm starting to think that this move and Edward leaving was a little too much at a time for her. She just needs a break, go somewhere where she's feeling comfortable and at home – it's obvious that right now we cannot provide her with that."
His words, although spoken in a calm and collected manner, did not serve to soothe his wife's worries. In fact, they seem to have made it worse.
"Are you implying that I don't care for my children?!"
Esme was getting too emotional - she was feeling offended by something he hadn't said or even implied. Like a lion she was fighting to protect her cub, even though there was no danger coming from the girl's wish to visit a place she missed. Forcing her to stay in a place that made her unhappy was a lot worse. "Good God, no. Love, you are doing everything you can, but still – a lot has changed. We never stopped to think that she isn't used to us moving and that maybe it confuses and scares her. Everything is still unchanged up in Denali, it'll do her good."
"And who's going to leave next? Emmy? My little Alice?"
"Esme, you miss Edward, but she does too. Having him leave and now being in this new place... let's give her the time she needs to understand that that's what it's going to be. The next move will be a lot easier on her, but this was just a little bit too sudden it seems."
He must have finally gotten through to her, because his wife's shoulders slumped and the fierce look on her face changed. Now she was letting him see what had been the reason behind her sudden outbreak - sadness and fear. Fear of losing someone or something - the same fear their daughter was experiencing ever since they had left Forks.
She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "For how long will she be staying in Alaska?"
"I don't know," he returned and shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe she'll just need a week or two, and then she'll miss us just the same and come back. Let's give her some time..."
Esme bit her lip, shaking her head as she did so. "But I don't like it."
"Me neither," he admitted and leaned back into the cushions. "I'd prefer to have everyone here with us, but this is all new to her and if staying with Tanya and the others is helping her, then so be it. I trust them to take good care of her."
Esme nodded her head like she was agreeing with him, then suddenly scooted closer to him until their knees touched and grabbed his hands, giving him her most pleading look. "Carlisle... please, you cannot possibly just agree to this idea without even giving it a little bit more thought. We'll just ask her to tell us what's bothering her, and then together we can take care of it. Like a family."
"All right...," he mumbled and closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them again, Esme was still looking at him with big eyes, and he felt a little bad for what he was going to say next. "Esme, I normally would have more doubts about this, but after this day and what Jasper had said, I think it's a good idea that she'll spend a few days away from home. There is no need for Maddie to see or hear things that would only serve to confuse her even more."
"She just needs to get acquainted with everything," she stated almost stubbornly, making him shake his head.
"If we don't let her go, then I can guarantee you that Rose and Em will take her somewhere and then you won't be able to see any of them for a while. It has happened before."
Esme's eyes widened even more. To her that thought was horrible... Having one child away from home was already pure torture for her, having four of them gone would drive her insane.
"Is that what it's going to be from now on?" she whispered. "Our family is falling apart and we have no choice but to watch it happen?"
"Edward left before, and he came back. The same goes for Em and Rose, and Maddie also returned. Have faith in our children, they will always come back. They know that they have nothing to fear and can count on us, no matter what. Right now, we have to do what's right for her. I really think she needs a break."
Esme was still not giving up. "Let's wait a couple of days and see what happens," she suggested, her mind already racing with ideas of how she could help her girl feel more at home.
"Esme, she made Jasper unable to smell humans because she feared we'd move yet again and even more things would change. Maybe she was scared Jasper would be the next to leave, then it would be Alice following him... seeing that everything is still the same up in Denali will reassure her and give her a sense of security."
His words sunk in.
"And... Rose and Emmett will take her part of the way until they meet Tanya?" she queried slowly after a few moments of silence. "She's not going to be alone, is she?"
"We can call them and tell them that that's how we want it to be or make the needed arrangements, but yes, that's what she said. She's not going to be alone."
"... do you think we can take her?"
Carlisle rubbed a hand across his forehead and released a breath. "I'm sure you can join them, but I'd prefer to stay here and take care of Jasper's injury first, then talk to him. It cannot wait, love."
Esme's hands were visibly shaking, and she folded them in her lap to get it under control. "But I will call her every day, until she's back here with us."
He gave her a little smile. "There is nothing wrong with that."
"When do you think...?"
"I believe Rosalie and Emmett will be here shortly," he said, knowing what she wanted to know. "Maddie is upstairs packing up."
"They just made this decision without us..."
He softly ran the back of his hand over her cheek at hearing how sad that thought made her. "I believe they knew we wouldn't say No. Of course it would have been favourable to be asked first, but I don't see why we shouldn't let Maddie visit Denali. They are just as much her family as we are. Besides, right now she doesn't have any responsibilities like school or the like... let us not stand in her way."
Maddie was throwing a few things into her duffel bag, just grabbing whatever was nearby without really thinking about whether she'd need it or want to bring it. She still had her room in Denali, with all kinds of clothes, books, CDs and whatever else could be found in the bedroom of an average teen.
This was so weird... she had more things up there than in this place, because she had to leave most of her stuff behind. Esme had packed for her, but must have suddenly forgotten what she liked and what she couldn't be without.
It was also weird that she was feeling more at home at Tanya's than here in this place.
With a groan, she let her bag drop to the floor and kicked it in the direction of the door.
Whatever she had thrown in there was of absolutely no value to her. She could just leave like that, no luggage, no baggage, no reminder of this place or them.
So instead of continuing to look for worthless crap to put into her bag, she went over to her window to peek out into the night. However, all she could see was her dirty reflection.
Rose wouldn't allow her into the car as long as she would look like that and Maddie didn't want to lose any time. Turning around on her heel, she headed for her closet to grab something clean that she could change into. Her fingers hovered over a stack of T-Shirts, but then she just reached behind it and got something different to wear. Her dirty things landed on her bed and she got changed. Then she unrolled a pair of fresh socks that she pulled over her dirty feet before she straightened up again and looked down on herself.
Now she was good to go.
Maddie took a second to decide what's next, but then just grabbed the almost empty bag and left her room.
Carlisle's office was located on the same floor, and just as she passed that room, she heard her brother jump up from the chair in front of the big desk and hurry after her.
"Maddie, hey," he fiercely whispered to catch her attention, and she stopped and turned around.
"They'll be here any second," she replied, sounding a little breathless like she was scared she'd miss them. It was a silly thought, but she just wanted to get away from here.
"I just wanted to-," he started to say, then sighed and closed the distance between them. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he bent down a little to be on the same eye level with her. "Calm yourself, okay? You are still too tense and angry."
The handles of the duffel bag slipped from her fingers and it fell onto the hardwood floor with a soft thud. "I'm trying! Jasper, I cannot stand being near him right now, it's too hard. I-"
"A few more minutes, you can do that. You've done good so far."
She frantically shook her head."I swear I cannot do it again. I'll just wait up here, maybe I-" "No."
"It's safer," she argued, but he wouldn't have any of it.
"No, it's not. You will wait downstairs," he said and removed one hand from her shoulder to hold his index finger in front of her face in order to help her remember. "Our best cover is to make them think you're okay with them."
When she just started to slowly shake her head this time, he removed his hands and straightened up to tower over her. "Do it, or I'll make you-" "Jasper!"
Maddie gasped and spun around, while the soldier went rigid. Both of them stared at Carlisle standing by the stairs - the man's face was absolutely unreadable. Taking a step back, Maddie bumped into her brother, who put a hand on her shoulder to steady her. He didn't realise it, but his fingernails were digging into the skin of her shoulder and her face distorted in pain. She tried to squirm away from his touch, and Carlisle's eyes instantly darkened.
"Let go of her, boy."
Maddie stopped squirming, but Jasper did not remove his hand just yet.
With a quiet growl, Carlisle suddenly marched over to them, his jaw set, and just before he could draw himself up in front of his son, Maddie took a step towards him.
"Don't!"
The look on Carlisle's face changed from determined and agitated to slightly confused as the girl had just yelled at him. But the coven leader wasn't sure if he'd just heard wrong, because her anger was completely gone a second later and instead she sounded afraid and so very small.
"Please... just don't," she pleaded, then dropped her gaze and swallowed heavily like she was just about to cry.
His features softened instantly. "Why don't you wait downstairs, hm? Don't worry, everything's fine," he said to reassure her, and she looked up in time to see that he was about to place a hand on her head.
Quickly bending away from him to evade the gesture, she just nodded her head and hurried away from him, only stopping when she reached the stairs.
She looked back at them like she was unsure what to do, but Carlisle was quick to attempt to calm her nerves.
"Go on, sweetheart, no need to be worried."
When she just remained where she was, Jasper cleared his throat. "Go," he said.
Downstairs, Maddie sat in one of the armchairs, her elbow resting on the armrest and her chin propped up on her hand. She preferred to look down at her lap instead of keeping eye contact with her overly nervous mother.
Esme was constantly wiping strands of hair out of her face, then folding her hands in her lap, before she repeated these motions again and again.
Maddie felt like she was going insane in her presence.
"And what if..." Esme started to say, then stopped when Maddie just shook her head.
Rose and Em were still not home, and Maddie was getting frustrated with herself. She was sitting here, with one liar sitting just five feet from her, and the other one upstairs, threatening her brother.
She was only seconds away from freedom, a few minutes at most, and then a new life would begin. But until that would happen, she needed to keep calm and pretend that everything was fine, just like Carlisle had just tried to make her believe.
Nothing was fine, but it just wasn't possible to tell him that they knew he was only using them. The rest of them wanted to stay, so Maddie couldn't tell him now what she thought of his deceitful manners. It was their decision whether they wanted to stay or not, and she wouldn't force this decision onto her siblings.
It wasn't her business anymore the moment she would step out of this house and leave them forever. Everyone she knew in this world was older than her, so they should be able to make their own decisions, just like she was able to make hers.
When Carlisle suddenly came down the stairs and entered the room, Maddie held her breath. It wasn't just because his presence was making her nervous and she was scared of acting wrong around him, but also because she didn't want to smell him.
Usually the scent of home was comforting, but she really didn't want to risk losing it. His scent might set her off, especially now after he had possibly hurt Jasper just for talking to her.
"Well," he said as he sat down next to Esme and crossed his legs, "let's talk some before Rose and Emmett will get here."
Maddie refused to react to that, and just continued to stare at the carpet instead of lifting her gaze to actually look into his stupid, lying face.
"Going to Denali is a good idea, Maddie," he went on, making it sound like he was praising her. "You'll send them our greetings, won't you?"
"Hm-hm."
"I'm sure you'll catch a bear on your first hunt."
He must have expected her to answer to that, but when she didn't, he heaved a quiet sigh.
"Maddie, I know you're a little confused right now, but things will change again. Nobody is mad at you for trying to help Jasper, and Edward is going to come back in a while. I cannot tell you just when, but rest assured that everything will turn out fine again in the end. It always does."
Maddie moved her head when she heard the crunching of gravel, and she shot up from the armchair like a scalded cat. "I left my bag upstairs," she mumbled without even glancing at her parents, then ran from the room.
Carlisle squeezed his wife's hand while they listened to their daughter head up the stairs to collect her luggage, before she stormed back down.
Just when Esme and Carlisle made to get up to properly say Goodbye to the girl by the door, they heard her mutter a quick 'Bye' before the front door was opened and immediately slammed shut again.
Thank you sooo much for your reviews and PMs, guys! Your support means a lot and I swear I haven't forgotten about my stories, even though it's been a while... a very long while... AND I haven't forgotten about you! I'll try harder to fit writing into my schedule, the next chapter is already in the making, Em is helping me a lot with that.
Stay tuned and THANK YOU!