Chapter 26 - And so the shadows become more dense

.

Seth didn't reply to their text message. At least not straight away.

Sighing with exasperation, Bella resigned to the fate of being tucked back into bed again. Edward thought it necessary to guide her the short walk to and from the bathroom and when she tried to bring her phone with her into bed he promptly snatched it away from her.

At least Esme had agreed to stay and chat for a while on Bella's suggestion. Edward courteously allowed it as long as she remained in bed. Bella felt a bit like a kid grasping for straws to stay up past her bedtime. They talked about how the house was coming along, how to organize the upcoming move itself and, of course, about Tony and the baby.

Carlisle poked his head inside the room and apologized for being sucked into some German TV show about neuroscience, before disappearing again.

Esme made another one of her not-so-stealthy attempts to get Bella and Edward to reveal the sex of the baby, not quite believing them when they told her they honestly didn't know. It was the truth. The little note Edward had been given, after the ultrasound scan at nineteen weeks, was still safely tucked away in a sealed envelope. He still threatened to open it occasionally, but so far the envelope remained unopened.

The conversation then turned upon the subject of all the thoughtful baby gifts they had received and which items, if any, they still needed to purchase to complete the nursery. Surprisingly, they still had quite a long list to work through. …. How many burp cloths, scratch mittens and bibs could one newborn baby possibly need?

At one point Edward went to check on Tony and came back reporting that the boy wasn't the only one snoring like a chainsaw. Grandpa Carlisle seemed to have fallen victim to Sandman's sleep magic as well.

Bella was beginning to find it bit difficult to concentrate on the conversation after that point. This idle chit-chat wasn't enough distraction to keep her thoughts from straying. As much as she tried to keep her spirits up, she couldn't just forget about the disastrous day they had just had. Also, it felt a bit odd that everyone around her was acting like everything was normal, like nothing unusual had happened. Because something HAD happened. Something that wasn't normal at all.

Edward seemed to sense her inner turmoil, because he was trying to hint to his mother that maybe it was time to say goodnight.

It took a phone call from Alice to finally drive the point home. Apparently they all had plans to meet up for breakfast in the morning, Edward and Bella included. And apparently it was planned to take place at a quite early hour in the morning as both Alice and Jasper had work to get to.

With midnight only an hour and a half away it really was time for bed for everyone involved.

.

...

.

"I'll leave you now, Isabella." Edward's mother patted Bella's blanket-covered leg and rose to her feet. "If there is anything I can do for you, just ask. I hope you know you can come to me if you want to talk, right?" She didn't wait for a response, instead she continued. "Don't let your thoughts run wild. I'm sure this situation with your mother will sort itself out with time."

"I'm not holding my breath on that one," Bella cleared her throat. "But thank you for caring."

"She's your mother, I'm sure she'll come to her senses."

"Maybe… I mean, ultimately I'd like to maintain at least some contact with her, but if she can't behave like a normal, civil person, then... I don't know… "

"If she pulls a stunt like this again, we'll have to take some drastic measures," Edward grumbled in the background. "Without sinking to her level, of course," he amended after catching his mother's raised eyebrow.

The truth was, his parents didn't know half of what had transpired between Bella and her mother over the last couple of years. They didn't know the things she'd dealt with in the past and they didn't know how the present situation had come about. Hell, Edward wasn't sure he understood it all himself.

"I still think there must be some other explanation for this," Esme said, giving Edwards shoulder a light squeeze as moved past him. "Maybe Renee was planning on surprising you both with a visit, but then changed her mind when she got there and saw that you were having the house full of guests…?"

Snorting, Edward narrowed his eyes. "So she decided on trespassing and spying on us instead?! Yes, that makes perfect sense…NOT!"

"I don't know… None of this sound like something a rational thinking, adult would do."

"It doesn't, I agree," Bella said, sharing a glance with Edward. 'Rational thinking' was the key phrase here. Had Renee gone completely off the deep end? Bella shook her head, indicating she was as lost as Edward was.

It should be easy enough to for her to verify Renee's whereabouts, but her mother's motive for causing all this trouble however, was still largely a mystery.

If Esme noticed their silent exchange, she didn't comment on it. "I mean, all this over some baby photos... It just doesn't add up," she said instead, shaking her head.

"Actually… it wasn't the baby pictures she nicked," Bella admitted, against better judgment.

Seth had done right in not revealing any details. His actions were textbook perfect. Bella on the other hand was still processing everything that had transpired.

"The album with my baby pictures was intact as far as I could tell," she revealed. She didn't see any harm in doing so. These were people she trusted, after all.

"What? So, it was the other album then, the one with the engagement pictures of Charlie and Renee?" Edward asked, surprise evident in his voice. He hadn't been exaggerating earlier, when he had complained about Clearwater whisking the albums away. They guy had taken off rather abruptly without explaining anything, leaving Edward feeling utterly clueless, as always.

"Yes," Bella replied. "Weird, right? Those photos, Maggie's photos, I've had them for years. All she had to do was ask and I would have gladly shared them with her. Lord knows they take up a lot of shelf space."

"Amen to that," Edward muttered.

"Charlie and Renee's engagement photos?" Esme interrupted, as if the concept both amused and confused her.

"I don't think Charlie was actually present in any of the photos on the page that was stolen, but yes, they were from the same album as the one with the engagement pictures. The ones that were stolen were just various photos of Renee, Maggie and EJ hanging out in and around my grandparents' house, taken around six months, or so, before my parents got engaged, I guess."

There was a sharp intake of breath. "EJ?" Esme asked, her voice sounding a bit higher pitched than usual.

Crap! Bella realized she had not thought ahead with this one. Of course, Esme would recognize that name. "I know you know who Maggie was and I know you know Renee and Maggie spent a lot of time together as teenagers," she started, looking at Edward to try and get a feel for how he wanted to proceed with this.

His face was unreadable.

She made her decision in a split second. No backpedaling.

"EJ was Maggie's older brother," she clarified. "Come to think of it, you probably met EJ too, right? In Forks, twenty eight years ago…"

Esme's eyes widened just a bit. "I'm not sure who you-…"

"Oh, you know exactly who we're talking about," Edward cut in, crossing his arms over his chest. "Edward O'Sullivan… Ed Jr. or EJ for short. I believe I was named after him."

"Edward, I didn't think...I didn't know, you knew… We never told you his name. We never… We haven't talked about this since you were a-..."

"Just because you never told me, doesn't mean others didn't. I know what happened," he interrupted. "I know exactly what that jerk did to my mo-... to Elizabeth."

"What do you know and who exactly have you been speaking to?" Esme asked in a tone of voice that suggested she was choosing her words carefully.

"I picked up bits and pieces growing up. Gossip runs rampant in small towns. I shouldn't have to tell you that."

"And I shouldn't have to tell you not to pay attention to gossip," she sighed.

"I know, which is why I also made sure to read the newspaper articles written about the incident. I even asked chief Swan about it one time and he was kind of nice about it too. I didn't get any answers out of it though."

Both Bella and Esme looked baffled at that revelation. As they should perhaps, because this was brand new information. Edward seeking out Charlie for a chat, voluntarily… it was a concept that was unheard of.

"When you say 'incident', it's the incident, when he pulled a knife on poor Lizzy, you mean?" his mother asked.

"The 'church incident', yes. Are you telling me there are more 'incidents' I should know about?" Edward questioned.

"No. I was just… Never mind." As she started to sputter a response, he spoke over her. "You know what? I don't need to know the nitty gritty details of what happened that day. Whatever happened, happened. I don't care anymore. There was a time when I did care, but not anymore."

"Oh, Edward. I wish you would have come to us with your questions," Esme straightened herself up, using the wall behind her for support. "Carlisle and I would have told you-..."

"I did ask, several times even. I kept asking, but you had no concrete answers for me." There was a hint of accusation in his voice.

"You were too young back then Edward, "Esme answered, sounding a bit at a loss. "I know we told you we'd talk about it when you were older, but then one day you stopped asking about it all together and we thought… I thought-…" she corrected herself. "I thought it didn't matter anymore, that it was better to leave it be. I didn't want to tarnish your memory of your mother."

While Edward's shoulders rose and fellheavily, Bella seized the moment to ask, "You were there? That day, in the church, when everything went down?"

"No, but … I suppose it's true, what Edward said about small towns…" She made a talk-talk-talk gesture with her hand. "I didn't know Lizzy personally, but I knew of her."

"The same way you knew of Renee and Charlie?" Bella asked, pushing herself up on her elbows so that she was sitting up in the bed. "You all went to school together, but different classes."

"Lizzy and Charlie went to school in Port A. Lizzy because of her musical talent and Charlie because…. it was closer to where he lived, I suppose. He was quite a few years older than me. But yes, we knew each other through school and mutual friends. That's essentially it."

"What about Maggie and EJ, how well did you know them?"

The question seemed to make Esme a little uneasy for some reason. "Maggie was lovely, a very warm and caring person. She really did seem to be a good influence on Renee at the time." She hesitated for a split second. "EJ…. I only ever saw him around a handful of times. I believe he didn't spend half as much time in Forks as his sister did, right?" She waited for Bella to confirm this with a nod before continuing. "But when he did spend time there, he certainly attracted attention… a lot of attention. He had this 'bad boy' vibe around him. All the girls were crazy about him, and he enjoyed that thoroughly. I was a bit too young to understand what all the fuzz was about, but then again, Lizzy was just as young as me and-…"

"Great, so he was a monster and everyone knew it. How was he not arrested for what he did?" Edward spat, clearly getting more worked up with every word that was spoken. "That's what I'd like to know. I know he was staggering drunk, quite possibly high on something a little bit more solid than booze too, and I know he spent the night in police custody. That's about all I could get Chief Swan to tell me. Why did they release him? He held a freaking knife to her throat."

"Honestly, I don't know what happened," Esme replied. "I always figured some kind of deal was made. Lizzie didn't press charges. She was still a minor. Her parents could have had him charged for statutoryrape, at the very least. However, they chose not to take that route. There were rumors that Lizzy stated to the police that she did not know who the father of her unborn child was. I've also heard she refused talking about it altogether. So who knows…"

"She let him get away with it? Despite what he did to her, the humiliation he put her through, she protected him?"

"I wish Carlisle was here. He'd know what to say to this," was Esme's rather cryptic response as she glanced at the door.

"Why? What can he possibly tell us, that you can't?" Edward asked.

"I'm sorry, Edward. Lizzy… she wasn't herself; she wasn't in a good place at the time. Her OCD was in full bloom, perhaps because of her pregnancy. Obviously, Carlisle can explain the medical aspect of this a whole lot better than I can. I hope you can see it now, the reason we didn't want to get into this discussion with you when you were thirteen."

Edward had started pacing now, hands clasped over his ears, as if he refused to take in any more information. "So what happened?" He stopped in front his mother. "I still don't get it. He openly threatened someone with a knife and they just let him walk?"

"Like I said, I think some kind of deal was made. I'm guessing that his father's political connections didn't hurt.. EJ left and was never seen in Forks was already enlisted for the army, so I assume that is where he went. "

"Right, because that's exactly the kind of men we need defending our nation," Edward laughed darkly. "Whoever signed off on that deal needs to have their head examined."

"Edward, honey, do you remember that one time in Port Angeles, when that stranger approached you? The lawyer?"

"If you mean that Sanders guy? Then, yes, I remember, but what the fuck does that has to do with anything?"

"What are you talking about? A now thoroughly confused Bella asked. Edward had his back turned to her, he was still pacing.

"A few years back this man, this lawyer, approached Edward on the street in Port Angeles," Esme started explaining, when Edward didn't say anything. "He asked if it was Edward Anthony Masen he was talking to. He knew all these things about the past… and Lizzy."

"He claimed he knew my father too." Edward cut in. "Though, he wouldn't give me a name or back it up with any hard facts to make it credible."

"The man introduced himself as a state lawyer, that alone gives him at least some credibility," Esme objected. "He said that the man that fathered Edward was thought to have a golden ticket in life, born into a wealthy and very influential family, but that he as an adult never escaped the misdeeds he had committed in his youth. Apparently EJ was discharged from the Army before the conclusion of basic training, and after that he never really got his life on track again. I'm only bringing this up, because I'd like to believe there is some justice in this world after all."

"That isn't justice, that's just stupidity and self-importance showing itself through," Edward said in a slightly lower voice. "But I doubt there is much truth in anything that man said. "

"What would you say that?" Bella asked, interest sparked. " I mean what else did he say? And why did he approach you in the first place? Did he have a specific reason?"

"Who knows? He said a lot of things, a lot of words that were supposed to mean something, but didn't. I walked away. I didn't want to know what he had to say. It did not feel worth my time."

"I understand," she said, but she didn't understand at all. "When was this? How long ago, I mean?"

"Four years ago, maybe," Esme answered in Edwards place. "It was around Christmas time and all the kids were home as per usual. Carlisle and Edward went to Port Angeles for some last minute shopping. Even though Sanders asked to speak with Edward in private, Carlisle still managed to overhear bits and pieces of the conversation. That's how I know about what was said in the first place."

"Yeah, because you certainly didn't hear it from me. That's for sure," Edward grumbled.

"I'm sorry, Edward. You know Carlisle. I'm sure he didn't mean to eavesdrop. The things he did overhear though are all consistent with what we already knew. Like that thing he said about the army, for example. We already knew EJ was thrown out of the army for stirring up trouble with the base commander. Carlisle looked it up when you first came to stay with us all those years ago."

"Great, but I'll have you know that there were a lot of the things that man said that didn't check out…at all," Edward objected. "He was a scam. State lawyer, or not, he was talking shit."

"Edward, are you sure about this? You were pretty quick to brush him off and walk away," his mother countered. "Carlisle reckons you never bothered to hear him out properly,"

"Yes, I'm sure. One of the things he said was that the guy he claimed was my father was deceased. That he had been gone for something like four years. I know for a fact that's a lie." The conviction in her voice was strong. "And yes, I was quick to walk away. He tried to leave me his card with his name and phone number, but I threw it in the closest trash bin and I haven't regretted it once."

His mother still wasn't entirely convinced. "But how do you know it was all lies?"

"I just know."

"Edward's right and I can actually vouch for it," Bella said slowly, surprising herself as much as the others. "EJ is 'technically' still alive. I use the term technically because he is in a-..."

"A long-term care facility in Boston," Edward finished the sentence for her.

"Yes," she uttered softly, and her eyebrows shot up in surprise. She hadn't known, he knew that. Edward was at the foot of the bed now, only a few feet away from her. "I had Seth look into it," she admitted to him, then waited silently, to see how he'd react. Much to her surprise, he didn't seem too upset by this.

"I assumed you would," was his short and simple reply. "But, I already knew."

"Then you probably already know about his present condition as well?" She waited until he nodded to continue, "Esme, EJ is in a persistent vegetative state after brain injury he sustained after a drug overdose roughly eight years ago."

"Is that true? I didn't know any of this," Edward's mother frowned. "I'm gonna go get Carlisle. He should be here for this conversation."

"Don't, mom," Edward stopped her. "I'll speak with him in the morning. I promise. It's fine. I've been meaning to speak to him about it anyway. I've decided… we've decided, Bella and I," he corrected himself with a small smile. "Bella and I have decided to ask dad for a bit of assistance. We're going to need some help to piece everything together. The past. The future. Where to go and how to get there. "

Cue … teary eyes and lump in throat. "Honey…" Bella held her hand out and he moved closer to the bed to take it.

"While I don't care much for Ed O'Sullivan, I've come to realize that it would be beneficial to know some basic facts about my background and whether or not I have any other living relatives."

"For Anthony's sake," Bella reminded him squeezing his hand.

Esme responded something, but Bella wasn't quite sure what is was, because Edward was speaking over her saying, "Yeah, it's something I need to do for the sake of our children, our family."

In that moment, it truly felt like they were a family—by choice, not by circumstance. The past didn't matter—only their present and their future It didn't matter how much crap Renee spewed at them, or how many other curveballs that would come in their way, together they'd make it through, no matter what.

…

.