"Edward, get back in your room! Now!" Esme demands, standing in his way to keep him from rushing to Rosalie's bedroom.
"It's her and Jasper's fault! They ruin everything! Things were just fine before they came along!"
"Edward, lower your voice and get back in your room! You'll be grounded for even longer if you don't!"
"Why am I the one who's always in trouble? Jasper sneaks out, steals from Dad, and fucks some old lady, but I'm the one grounded!"
"You were grounded for inviting Bella over when you knew you weren't suppose to!"
"Emmett and Rosalie were feeling each other up on the couch!"
"Get back to your room, Edward."
"This isn't fair!" Edward shouts. He balls up his fists and the muscles in his arms tense.
"Ed-"
"I fucking hate it here!"
"Calm down-"
"I'd rather be dead than to live-"
"You're going back to your classes, Edward!" Esme responds firmly.
As soon as the word "classes" leave her mouth, Edward releases his fists. He finally shuts his mouth, pressing his lips together in a fine line. His shoulders stay tense, and he doesn't loose his scowl, but it's more than clear to Esme that she finally got the angry boys attention.
"I don't need them." Edward murmurs under his breath, just loud enough for Esme to hear.
"You obviously do. Get back to your room, sit down, and let's talk calmly."
"I don't!" He repeats.
"Then prove it." Esme instructs simply. She points to the knob-less bedroom door. Relentlessly, Edward turns on his heels and drags his feet in. Esme follows him, shutting the door softly. Edward flops down into his bed, staring at the ceiling. "Edward, you cannot keep flying off the handle like this."
"I won't."
"You've said that before."
"I mean it this time."
"You've said that before, too."
Edward sighs and covers his eyes with his hands.
"I'll start using the techniques again. I already know them, so there's really no point in sending me back. I already know what they'll tell me."
"You obviously have forgotten some parts of it. If you can't handle your temper-"
"I can handle it!" He snaps back with a scowl. "You just won't give me the chance to prove that!"
Esme takes a deep breath and resists rolling her eyes. When she and Carlisle came to the conclusion that Edward needed to go to some sort of anger management therapy when he was thirteen, he fought it tooth and nail. It curbed his temper, but not as well as they had hoped. He took another round again when he was fourteen. That second go around, she was amazed at his attitude change. He was actually happy. That lasted for maybe two months. He started to slide back into his old habits. Slowly, of course, but surely. That was a little less than a year ago. He's had more than enough time to prove it.
"If you can keep your temper and attitude in check for the next three days," Esme compromises. "Then you won't have to go. Things are going to be tense around here, but you have to stay calm. This is your chance to prove that you can handle it, Edward Anthony."
"I can."
"Good." Esme says with a small nod before turning around and heading for the door.
"But what about Jasper?" Edward questions, sitting up quickly and gesturing over to Jasper's empty, messy bed. "I get choked out and I'm the one being threatened with-"
"We're not threatening you," Esme sighs, stopping in her tracks. "And trust me, Edward, Jasper is going to be getting much, much more than you. Not that it's any of your business, though."
Edward glares at her and lays back down. Snatching his Ipod off his nightstand, Edward shoves his headphones on and blares his music. He waits until Esme leaves his room to cover his eyes again and tries to remember his anger management classes.
"My Daddy use to take me to this ranch that was down the road. I'd sit in front of him on the four-wheeler and we'd drive off-road. He would help this old farmer out on the really hot days, so he would let us come over and ride his horses. Rosalie got to ride by herself. There was a little black and white pony named Queenie that she loved. I was too little to ride by myself, though, so Dad would saddle up this huge horse named Bunker and we would ride like we did on the four-wheeler. I sat in front of him and behind the horn of the saddle. We'd ride for hours through these old trails on his property."
"So you got your love for nature from you father?"
"Yeah," Jasper nods. "It would get so hot, though, and I always had a hard time dealing with the heat. I passed out once when I was four, so when it got too warm, he'd make me and Rosalie stay inside. It drove me crazy. All I wanted was to go outside with him. He would promise me that if I was good for my Mom inside during the day, that we would go outside at night and star gaze. Rosalie and I would lay on the hammock with him and watch the stars until we fell asleep. Usually he would carry us inside, but a few times he fell asleep too and we woke up to the sun rising."
"That must have been beautiful."
"It was. Texas is a beautiful state." Jasper sighs as he remembers the brightness of the stars, the colors of the sun rise, the freshness of the air.
"Hey," Carlisle reaches over and pats the blonde boys leg. "Maybe one day we can plan a family trip back to your home state."
Jasper's eyes widen and he gives Carlisle a big smile.
"Seriously?"
"Seriously. It sounds wonderful."
Jasper keeps his smiles and looks out the windshield. They pass another exit sign. He's forgotten exactly how long they've been driving, but he knows they're far from home.
"And as much as I love hearing about your childhood, we do need to finish our business. The whole reason we went for this ride is to talk things out."
Jasper sighs and loses his smile. His eyes drop to the floor.
"What else is there to talk about?" He mumbles. "We already talked about Edward. We talked about Rosalie. And I think we've talked enough about Maria."
"What about your plan to mend your issues with your sister? Don't you have questions about what will happen next with Maria?"
"I don't know what to do with Rosalie. I already know she won't talk to me. And you've already told me you're taking Maria to court." He says, shifting himself down in the seat.
"Do you want my suggestion, Jasper?" Carlisle asks. He just earns a shrug. "I think this is nothing more than a speed bump between you and Rosalie. Sit down with her. Talk it out with her. Let her know how you feel about everything that has happened. Let her know you value your relationship with her. And apologize."
Jasper doesn't respond.
"I have quiet a few more years over you, buddy, and I promise you, that is the best way to handle it. I can't deny that I've lost my temper in too many arguments. If that has taught me anything, it's that calm conversations give you better results."
"Calm conversation?" Jasper scoffs.
"I know I'm the best at demonstrating that." Carlisle admits.
"Is Edward your son? Biologically, I mean." Jasper wonders out loud. Carlisle nods.
"He's my nephew. After I was taken from my parents, they popped out a baby girl, who later popped out a baby boy. That little boy was Edward."
"So, you keep in contact with your biological family?"
"No. Not at all, actually. Meredeth found me online when she found out she was pregnant. I tried to get to know her and all, but," Carlisle grimace and shakes his head. "She's too much like my father. We talked while she was pregnant, but as soon as Edward was legally ours, we cut contact."
"Too much like your father?"
"She was a drug addict. Luckily, she got knocked up in a rehab home, and we were able to convince her that we could get her thrown in prison if she used while pregnant. And a little cash thrown her way helped a lot. It's a miracle that she made it that long. The moment she was released form the hospital, she was back on the drugs. Anyways, she signed all her rights away, so they're not making a reappearance anytime soon."
"You don't want to know your own sister?" Jasper asks in disbelief. Carlisle shakes his head.
"No. All I need to know from her is Edward's health information." He says.
"I can't imagine not knowing Rosalie."
"Which is exactly why I know you and Rosalie will work past this."
Jasper shrugs again and looks to the ground. Carlisle eyes the Jasper nervously, wondering how the hell the boy is dealing with a man's issue.
"I'm hungry." Jasper tells him with a whiny tone. "Can we get breakfast?"
"Sure, buddy."
"Your son is very polite." A short old lady with a hunched back and curly gray hair tells Carlisle with a smile as she walks through the door Jasper's holding open for her. Carlisle smiles back.
"Thank you."
"But did you two forget to get dressed today?" She adds on with the chuckle. Carlisle looks down at his black pajama pants and tee-shirt, then at Jasper's flannel pants and wrinkly tee. His cheeks burn red.
"We had a rushed morning." He says in a failed attempt to justified their clothing. Jasper smiles.
"We do look rough."
The duo walk slowly back to the car. Even though Carlisle didn't want to get out of the car and be seen in his pajamas, he couldn't bring himself to say no when Jasper spotted the Ihop on the exit sign. It was better than a drive-thru anyways.
"Are you ready to go back home, J?" Carlisle asks. Jasper nods.
"Yeah. But don't call me J. Maria called me J."