A/N… I apologize profusely for the hiatus that this story was on. These last chapters are all on me, but with work and real life, this muse just wouldn't speak to me, so I finished Even in Death first.
This is the last regular chapter of Six. Only the epilogue remains. Thank you guys so much for your patience. See me at the bottom… Deb.
~oOo~
Chapter 28
EDWARD
Salem, Massachusetts
A black cat streaked ahead of us, and Bella chuckled. "Fitting, Rose."
Grinning, I shook my head. "You look like the cat from Hocus Pocus."
Rosalie's amused mind met my own, but she hopped up on the low, brick wall running down the sidewalk. Are you sure this is where we need to be, Edward? she thought to me, her sharp, yellow eyes on me.
"Yeah, Benjamin said it was this cemetery," I sighed, grimacing at that fact. He had been monitoring the activity in this area for some time now.
I gave our surroundings a slow gaze, trying to find a safe spot for Bella to open a window for my dad, Eleazar, and Benjamin to join us. It was nearly nightfall, and the cemetery's wall had dark corners, especially near the far back.
"Yeah, that'll work," Bella murmured, giving me a small smile for the help.
We all went inside what looked like the oldest cemetery I'd ever seen. Headstones were thin, upright, not to mention a little crooked, and with dates going back as far as the 1600s. Hell, some were so old that the engravings were worn almost smooth with weather and time.
The eldest of the sixxers had started to truly find their footing as some sort of government. We couldn't be discovered by the rest of the world, so when strange headlines or news stories or even those grocery store gossip rags started to leak out something out of the ordinary, one of us would go and check on it. Normally Eleazar left us out of it, simply due to our class schedules at NYU, but this one had everyone a little on edge. They'd asked for my mind-reading ability, along with Bella's windows, just in case something went weird.
Rose stayed on the wall, opting to run the perimeter of the cemetery to make sure we were alone. I kept Bella's hand in mine as we aimed for the far back corner.
"You're clear, pretty girl," I told her, listening with my mind and giving another glance around, but Rose's mind called us clear as well.
The flickering light of twilight in Florida lit up the corner of the cemetery, and Eleazar, my dad, and Benjamin all stepped through, thanking Bella once they were all cleared of her window. The light dropped away like someone switching off a wall switch.
"I appreciate the help on this one, Edward," Benjamin said, shaking my hand. "The rumors are all over the place, so I'd rather have you along to hear them."
"This is the cemetery with the most activity, son," Dad said to me. "There are dozens of them throughout this city, but witnesses state this one more than any other."
There was a part of me that didn't think this was a sixxer situation. It sounded like something out of a bad horror movie, but considering I could essentially be Stephen King's Carrie, who the fuck was I to judge what was considered scary.
Bella snorted, rolling her eyes up to me. "Stop that," she said through a laugh but switched back to thoughts. If that were the case, you're standing in the middle of several movies. Jumper, she thought, pointing to herself. There's Firestarter too. She pointed to Benjamin, smirking my way. And I am pretty sure Rose is something out of Harry Potter, only without a wand.
Grinning, I brought her hand up to kiss her fingers.
We'd been together for well over a year now. More than one time had I asked her if she ever got tired of hearing my mind – and all the shit that came with it. It wasn't just my own idiot thoughts, which most of the time revolved around getting her alone and naked somewhere, but my mind brought everyone else's with it. In order to hear me, she had to hear everyone around us, and despite the fact that I was used to it, it could be truly annoying and invasive and downright disgusting, depending on where we were.
However, Bella's answer was always the same. No. No, she didn't mind hearing my thoughts. She loved that I could sort through her messy head, so it was only fair that she could sort through mine. She felt needed, really. She knew that for me, sharing myself with her completely and openly this way was a bit of relief from the weight of everyone's minds. She also loved the fact that I'd never let anyone into my mind prior to her.
Kissing her temple, I inhaled the scent of her hair and let my gaze wander the cemetery. Rose was still pacing the brick wall, and I'd lose her in shadows, but every little bit, she'd reappear under a streetlamp.
If the rumors were true, then we were looking for what was called a necromancer. That thought alone was a touch creepy, but it was a bit intriguing too. By definition, the necromancer had the ability to speak to, see, and sometimes resurrect the dead. Reports in this area were that someone was doing that in the local graveyards.
Night fell around us. Dad and Eleazar wandered quietly around the outside of the cemetery, while Bella and I found a bench in the corner to sit with Benjamin. Rose would occasionally drop to the ground, dart up a street, and come right back. Everyone stayed quiet, opting to think to me rather than break the silence of the quiet cemetery.
About an hour after we'd arrived, someone else's mind came into focus. Bella looked to me when she heard it, thinking they sounded young.
Rose stopped her trek around the wall, sitting down and curling her tail around her. Edward, it's just a kid.
A short, shadowy figure appeared at the cemetery gate, pigtails showing me it was a little girl. She couldn't have been more than seven or eight – maybe nine at the most. However, it was the mind of the child that had my mouth falling open.
I'd thought we were sitting alone. I'd thought that we were the only activity inside that walled graveyard. But no. As soon as the young girl stepped inside the hallowed grounds, her smile curled up on her face.
Through her mind, several people greeted her. They showed a grayish-blue and transparent in her thoughts, but they were her friends. They were also hundreds of years long gone from this earth.
"Whoa," I barely breathed aloud, nudging Benjamin. "She… She's… Dude, there are at least ten ghosts talking to that kid. And they're all from…way back."
Bella's eyes widened as she saw through my mind, glancing from me, to Benjamin, back to the little girl laughing at the beings surrounding her.
Eleazar and my dad stepped to the gate, essentially blocking her in as Benjamin stood to walk toward the girl. As soon as we neared her, one of the ghosts – a woman – leaned closer to her to whisper.
"You have visitors, young one." The voice was silent to those around me, but the little girl heard her just fine.
The little girl gasped, her eyes darting around her, and when she caught sight of Bella, Benjamin, and me, she spun toward the exit, only to run into Eleazar and Dad.
"Wait, sweetheart," Dad said, holding his hands up. "We aren't going to hurt you. We just want to talk."
The little girl's mind was frantic. She'd been warned over and over by who looked to be a parental figure not to sneak out of the house at night. She'd been in trouble for it; she was supposed to be in trouble for it at the moment, but she'd sneaked out of the house anyway. They'd tried to scare her into obedience by telling her that she could be kidnapped, hurt, even killed, but she hadn't listened.
"We aren't here to do any of those things to you," I told her, stepping closer. "We just wanted to talk to you about what you can do…in here." I pointed to each and every shimmering entity watching over her. "We all have special abilities."
"You can see them too?" she asked, forgetting her fear and giving me her full attention. No one believed her.
"I can…through you." I tapped my temple, kneeling in front of her. "My name is Edward. What's yours?"
"Sarah Osborne."
At the sound of her name, the woman ghost who'd warned her about us, stepped forward.
"I know that name," Bella whispered, her eyes wide. "Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good were the first witches to be convicted during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. Sarah Good was hung. Sarah Osborne died in prison." Bella pointed to the female ghost.
"I was named after my great-great-great..." The little girl shrugged. "I don't know. She was my aunt."
"I knew it was sixxers in the Witch Trials. I just knew it!" Bella whispered, almost to herself.
"Sixxers?" little Sarah asked.
"What you're doing," I started, pointing again to the ghosts, "that's an extra ability not everyone is born with. It's a sixth sense. We all have one. I'd be willing to bet that your great-great…etcetera aunt was one, too."
The bluish woman nodded, a smile curling her lips.
I ignored the thoughts of everyone with me, focusing on the little girl. "Sarah, you have to keep your ability secret. You can't set ghosts free, because people will start to ask questions. Eventually, it'll catch the wrong people's attention. Understand?"
"They're my friends," she whispered, glancing from me to them. Her face was heartbroken at the prospect of not being able to talk with them.
"They might be," Eleazar agreed, smiling at her. "But some you've set free aren't. They aren't supposed to stay around. I bet you can send them on, Sarah. That's a powerful and honorable gift you have there, but with that power comes big responsibility. The ability to communicate with the dead is very special, but…" His eyes drifted to me, silently asking how many there were, and I held up ten fingers. "But ten all at one time is causing a bit of a stir. They may be your friends, but they still haunt the area, move things, show themselves to people. So many in one place is too much."
"They'll hurt you," the ghost Sarah warned.
"No," I replied instantly, shaking my head. "Times have changed enough that she wouldn't instantly be killed. They'd simply lock her away, test her, and consider her insane. It's a different sort of prison. We came to make sure that didn't happen." I sighed but smiled at the little girl. "Keeping the secret is like acting. You just have to pretend you're like everyone else. One day, you may be able to use that ability to help people, but for now, sneaking out of your house to set this many free is too dangerous."
"That's what my mom said," Sarah said forlornly. "They tell me stories, better than any book!"
Grinning, I tilted my head at her. "I'm sure they are some really good stories, but you have to protect yourself, us…even them." I jerked a thumb to the murmuring ghosts beside us. "They may not want to be stuck here. Some may want to move on. Hmm?"
Her nose wrinkled, but she nodded and then looked to the group of swirling entities. "I'm sorry."
Some of them smiled her way. Some nodded, but they all faded into oblivion when her hand shot up. All but one – the original Sarah Osborne. I could see she'd been a beautiful woman, and despite her imprisonment, they'd dressed her in one of those ornate dresses that laced up the back and had like a hundred damn layers to it. She'd had money, it seemed.
She pressed a nonexistent kiss to the middle of the little girl's forehead. "My sweet niece, it was a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. Do what they say now, and keep yourself safe."
"Okay," Sarah said with a nod, and she held up her hand. "Bye, Aunt Sarah."
Once the cemetery was ghost-free, little Sarah looked a little lost, until her mind realized that she had several ghosts to put back.
Chuckling, I said, "Just don't sneak out to do it, okay? And make sure no one is looking when you do."
She smirked mischievously. "Yeah, okay."
She started to leave, but my dad stepped forward and called her name. When she turned, he held out a hand toward her.
"Take this card with you. If you ever run into trouble with your talent – if someone who shouldn't sees you or something goes wrong with your ghosts – and you need some help, you can call one of those numbers and reach either myself or a friend of ours. Like your talent, it must be kept a secret, all right, Sarah?"
The little girl grinned and then used her fingers to zip her lips closed before taking the card from him and sliding it into her pocket. Then she turned and walked off without another word or look back. Her mind was racing, though – thoughts of there being others like her, people who could help and understand, as well as the hope that she could crawl back through her window without getting caught, not to mention the small sadness that she wouldn't get to see her ghostly friends anymore.
Rose, still in her black cat form, hopped down from the cemetery wall, letting me know she'd be right back. She was going to follow Sarah home to make sure she stayed safe.
I stood up, wrapped an arm around Bella's shoulder, and kissed her temple. "That might be the craziest talent I've ever seen. Some of those ghosts were almost five hundred years old."
My dad and Eleazar chuckled, along with Benjamin, who was thinking that most of the unusual occurrences we would most likely be checking from this point on would be children who couldn't control themselves. Bella, however, took a different, more academic train of thought, finally voicing it aloud.
"You know, I read there were something like a hundred and fifty men, women, and children put to death and imprisoned during the Salem Witch Trials. If they… I mean, if they were all sixxers, imagine what the bloodlines could've been. If given the chance to pass on their sixth senses, maybe we wouldn't have to stay secret. You know?" she said, looking to me and grimacing, because it sounded pompous or power hungry, but really it was just her observation.
I smiled her way, kissing her lips. "Times have changed, pretty girl. But not that much. We'd still be 'evil.'"
She remembered my own birth parents and grandparents thinking that about me, and she narrowed her eyes in hatred. Nothing about me was evil. Nothing about any of us was evil. Hell, Aro had been evil, and he was just a normal, talentless human.
"Easy, baby," I whispered.
Once Rose had returned, we walked toward the back of the cemetery so Bella could open the windows back to Florida and New York. Eleazar spoke up just before we left.
"You know, I've seen a lot of talents over the years, especially since the whole VI thing, but that talent right there could solve a million cold-case murders. She could find, speak to, and implicate the killers of people every-damn-where."
"That's the future, right there," Dad piped up. "Look around you, El. Look at Rae's home alone. We've got healers and time-manipulators, shape-shifters and teleporters. We have the ability to see the future, speak to animals and now the dead. It's imperative that we stay a secret. Aro won't be the only one who will try to exploit what we are. There will always be someone out there who will know what we are, whether by knowing one of us or by accident."
What he didn't say aloud was that my senses alone made me the most powerful of any sixxer he'd ever seen. He was proud, but he worried. He gripped my shoulder when he knew Bella and I could hear him.
Never let your guard down, my son. Protect each other at all times. You two will eventually inherit this job, not to mention pass this on to your children.
Bella kissed his cheek, and I nodded his way before we stepped through the window to the balmy Florida evening.
~oOo~
Thunder rumbled in the distance, and lightning flickered across the bay. It was sunset at Rae's motel, but it was also the Fourth of July. Hotdogs and burgers were on the grill being manned by Dad, and Jasper had put a playlist on that tried to appeal to all the ages around us. Emmett and Liam were in the pool with Maggie, Makenna, and Bree.
Makenna's latest adopted animal paced nervously from one end of the pool to the other, until she finally took pity on the big dog and swam to him to calm him down. He was a mixed breed containing boxer and pit and maybe some lab. But holy hell, he watched over those girls. They'd named him Hercules.
Apparently he'd wandered up the beach covered in skin problems, fleas, and open wounds. Some asshole had treated him like shit, and between Maggie's healing and Makenna's ability to talk to him, he was right as damn rain within a day. And Hercules was a very grateful boy.
Rae didn't want to like him, but she did, and she dared me to call her out on it as she shot me a withering glare.
Grinning, I shook my head, sipping the beer in my hand as I kicked back on the lounger. We were staying with Rae for a week or two during the summer. Jasper and I had one more year of NYU, and Bella had two. I wasn't sure what I'd do after I graduated, but I knew one thing for sure. I was going to marry the girl sitting on the edge of the pool and talking to my sisters and Renee. Christ, she was just gorgeous in a bikini in sky blue and her hair up in a sweet, messy knot.
I kept that thought to myself, though, closing my mind briefly to Bella in order to consider the whens and hows, but one person saw that decision. Alice gasped, her mouth hanging open as she tried to force a vision on it. I messed with her just a little, making stupid decisions on Vegas, the courthouse, and even the way Tanya would find out. Alice laughed, flipping me the bird.
The sight of her milky white eyes made me frown a little. My sister, for all her bravery and her talent, still wouldn't let Maggie heal her. The mere suggestion, despite how safe we were now, sent my sister into a panic of epic proportions. There was a part of me that wanted to hold her down and force it, but I didn't. Everyone had tried to get her to do it, but the end result was always a fight and yelling. Jasper, my poor brother, wanted it and didn't at the same time. Both were insecure about it all.
Alice pretended to ignore my flickers of decision making. She shook her head, telling me to stop it through her thoughts.
Sadly, the selfish part of me really wanted my sister to see me get married. I knew Bella would say yes. We'd already talked, and we knew without a doubt that we were it. But there was a small, selfish part that really wanted my sister to see it. Really, truly see it.
It was more than that, though. Alice was missing out on so much, and even though she thought she would lose her talent or diminish it in some way, I honestly didn't think it would happen.
"Edward, I said stop it!" Alice shouted from across the pool deck.
My nostrils flared as I glared down at the water. Everyone came to a standstill, glancing between Alice and me. They were used to us blurting weird shit out at random moments, but they could tell something was pissing her off. Jasper shot a look my way, and I waved him away.
Getting up from my chair, I walked to my sister. "You know, Alice, I think we need to take a walk," I told her, offering her my hand. When she pouted, I added, "I'm fairly certain you can see that I won't back down, so humor me, please."
Bella's curiosity was written all over her beautiful face as her eyes flickered between us. When she realized she couldn't hear my mind, she let it go. Rose was amused but carried on her conversation with Renee.
Alice took my hand begrudgingly. I led her across the pool deck and out onto the beach. The sun was almost below the horizon, the air humid and filled with the scent of salt and tropical flowers. There were a few low chairs still out from when we'd been out swimming, and I guided my sister to one of them, taking the one next to her.
Her belligerence continued. "You won't change my mind, Edward."
Smirking, I shook my head. "Maybe I've got you out here to ask for proposal advice."
"Try again, smart-ass," she huffed but grinned anyway. "You read each other's damn minds. I'm pretty sure I don't need a vision on how that goes down."
"Well, good to know," I replied softly, looking off to the left to see someone setting off fireworks at the other end of the bay. Sighing, I gazed over at Alice. "You know, I can see your fears, and I can promise you…most of them are unfounded."
Her nose wrinkled as she shrugged a shoulder.
"Do me a favor, Alice." I sat forward, turning her way a little. "This is just an experiment. Make the decision to let Maggie heal you. Then… Then check my future." When she started to argue, I interrupted her. "I don't want to hear about all the other things…Jasper and visions and whatever else you have built up in your mind. I just want you to check on me. Okay?"
Her brow furrowed, but she nodded. Simply making the decision was difficult for her, but when she did, she reached for my face, fingers trailing across my brow, nose, jaw. It was her way of seeing my expressions, something she'd done since we were kids. The memory made me smile, and she felt it but said nothing.
Her visions were spotty and blurry at first, because so many things could change. However, the unwavering and solid picture was the happiness on Bella's and my faces. The venue, the colors, and the little details weren't steady, but the love on my pretty girl's face was bright and beautiful and solely on me. Again, I smiled, but while Alice focused on me, I sought her vision for her. And when I found what I wanted, I smirked.
"There. Right there, Alice," I whispered, taking her hand from my face and keeping it in my own. "Do you see what I see?" I cupped her face when I saw blue eyes, instead of milky white, and a blinding smile aimed at my brother.
Alice froze, tears welling up in her eyes as she nodded. "Edward…"
"No, Alice, please… Just listen to me for minute," I begged her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "You remember the day we met at Brookside?" I asked, and she nodded, her own memories making her smile. "You remember the day we met Carlisle?"
"Yes, Edward, of course I do."
"No, you're remembering it differently than me. Did you know that your visions never center around yourself?"
"Yes, they—"
"No, Alice, they don't. Look again," I instructed gently. "All your visions from then, and even more so now, are about everyone around you. Not yourself." I scooted closer to her. "You saw what those kids were going to do to you that day, yet you still didn't call me. I had to hear you in order to intervene." I took her fingers and tapped my temple with them. "You don't see you. You never have."
"Edward, I can't."
"You can." I waited patiently, letting her mind sort it out herself. "Alice, you saw me as your brother, not yourself as my sister. You saw Jasper coming to live with us but not yourself falling for him." I got up, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, and then knelt in front of her. "Alice, you saw your parents' accident but not your own loss," I expressed gently, and I reached up to wipe away her tears. "You were about the same age as the rest of us when our sixth senses kicked into overdrive, but unlike the rest of us, you feel like it's punishment or some shit for your parents and your eyesight. One thing doesn't have shit to do with the other.
"And if you think Jasper isn't scared shitless, then the two of you know nothing about one another," I tacked on gruffly, rolling my eyes at the idea of the two of them not together. "Did Esme ever tell you her hypothesis on sixxers and relationships?"
Alice shook her head.
"She and Carmen have this idea that sixxer relationships are different than everyone else. They think we fall in love with the one person meant for us. The one person perfect for our talent. It's the one person who can handle all you have to throw at them." I snorted, adding, "Carmen told me about it when we were talking about why Tanya and I didn't work out."
"Because she's a cheater?"
"Well, there's that," I said through a laugh. "Tanya and I didn't work because our talents clashed, because of who we are…as sixxers. Bella and I are perfectly matched, because where Tanya resented my ability to read her mind, Bella depends on me to sort some things out. And Bella…she can handle hearing all that comes with me."
Alice smiled softly.
I kissed her forehead and stood up. "I don't think you'll lose your talent, Alice. I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit, and I am absolutely sure that you're underestimating Jasper and your own strength. And yeah, there's a small selfish part of me that would love for my sister to see me propose, walk down the aisle, and get married." Leaning in closer to her, I whispered, "And from what I can tell in your own damn visions? You have pretty blue eyes, little sister."
Her cheeks bloomed pink, but she sighed deeply, wringing her hands in her lap. "Edward, I'm scared. What if… What if everything changes?"
"Does it?" I asked her. "You tell me, almighty seer. And so what? I mean, in reality, everything will change. That's a given."
"Jasper…" She barely spoke his name aloud.
"Pfft," I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Let me tell you something… If this changes shit between you two, then it wasn't meant to be, but that man is terrified of you not liking what you see. And it doesn't matter how many times I've told him you already 'see' him."
Alice was quiet. Her mind and visions were a cacophony of colors and sounds and scenes I couldn't keep up with, but they made some sort of sense to her. Her white eyes darted back and forth, but she held out her hand for me when she finally pushed through the fear.
"Yeah?" I asked her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
She took a deep breath, nodding a little.
"Okay."
I guided her back to the pool deck and then sat her down in the lounger I'd been in. Grabbing my beer from where I'd left it, I took a long draw – I had a feeling I'd need it. Jasper was immediately behind her, whispering if she was okay and if he needed to kick my ass, which made me laugh. However, I walked to the edge of the pool, kneeling beside Bella.
I kissed her temple, but my eyes were on the little girl with long wet curls. "Maggie, she's ready."
Maggie gasped, her mouth open as she shot a look to Alice. The pull to heal my sister had never gone away from the minute that they'd met, but Maggie completely respected Alice's decision.
With those words said, the whole pool deck became reverently, if not eerily, quiet as Maggie scrambled out of the pool. Mom and Dad were already at Alice's side, making sure I hadn't pushed or cajoled her, but she shook her head.
"Before I change my mind, please, Edward!"
Grinning, I stood up, as did Bella.
Oh my God, Edward, what did you say to her?! Bella thought to me.
"Just the truth, pretty girl," I whispered against her lips.
I grabbed a chair, setting it down in front of Alice for Maggie. I dragged another over for Bella and me to share. Everyone was quiet verbally, but their minds were loud, worried, and shocked. Most of the people sitting on that pool deck had seen my sister lose her mind at the mere mention of this situation, so to see it come to fruition was a surprise.
Maggie sat forward on the chair with her knees touching Alice's. She shot me a quick, questioning glance, but I nodded for her to go ahead.
"Alice," she said so very softly, and my sister turned toward her voice. "I'm… I have to touch your face. Okay?"
When Alice held out her own hands, Maggie placed hers on top, palms up. Alice lifted them to her face. Both girls' hands were shaky.
With palms flat on either side of Alice's face, Maggie's eyes welled up a little. "Alice, I can make it better. I can fix it," she vowed.
Watching Maggie's talent through the little girl herself was beyond fascinating. The beacon that drew her to the pain or injury was a bright light. It didn't always tell her what was wrong, just simply where to go. In my sister's case, it was her face, her eyes, her mind.
"Close your eyes," Maggie said so softly, and when Alice's eyes slipped closed, Maggie's thumbs brushed lightly across them.
I'd been on the receiving end of Maggie's power. I'd watched her heal minor scratches and burns, and I'd witnessed the absolute massiveness of her power when she healed Marcus's son, James, not to mention the cleansing of Renee from her addictions. This was somewhere in between. With simple injuries, Maggie was finished in a flash. When the problem lied within the mind, the brain, she took a bit longer.
Alice's mind registered warmth from Maggie's touch, but she twitched a little when she felt an electrical tingling travel from the top of her head, down her face, and continue down her spine.
Maggie smiled softly, brushing her thumbs across Alice's eyelids one more time before pulling her hands away. "That should do it."
Alice nodded, leaving her eyes closed for a beat or two more. With a deep breath, she bravely opened her eyes.
I'd been so right about the color, which made me smile and hold my Bella closer. Alice's eyes were so blue, bright Autumn sky blue in the middle, but there was a ring of deep sea blue around the outside. There was a collective gasp from all of us.
At first, Alice could only focus on her hands, her lap, and then Jasper's hand that covered hers. The familiarity of his touch was like coming home, so she tentatively followed that hand, up the arm, and finally setting eyes on Jasper for the first time.
My brother was a wreck inside, but he merely smiled her way. "Hey, darlin'," he drawled.
"Oh my God," Alice breathed, falling into his arms.
I wasn't sure there was a dry eye on the deck. Bella leaned into me, and I wrapped my arms around her, pressing kisses to the top of her head. What was fantastic to see was visions started to pummel my sister. And now, they were vivid and pure and true.
"Well, would you look at that," I muttered teasingly. "You already know everything we're about to do…"
Alice gasped, spinning toward my voice. "Edward!" she sobbed, letting go of Jasper and falling into me when Bella moved.
As I hugged my sister, I thought about our history together. The two of us had been together since we were kids. We'd always dreamed of one day Alice getting her sight back, but she never believed it would happen. We'd been through a mental hospitaltogether, running from Aro's men, and being adopted by Carlisle and Esme. I'd always protected her, always watched over her, and she'd known just how badly I needed to be accepted for all that I'd seen and done and dealt with daily. She'd been my best friend from the moment we'd met at Brookside Psychiatric Hospital, and thanks to her, I had found Bella – the one Alice had seen to almost perfect clarity, stating "the girl would become important." I owed my sister this.
I hugged her tightly, whispering in her ear. "You ready to meet everyone?" When she nodded in the crook of my neck, I pulled her back, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Pretty blue, Alice. Huh… Who knew?" I smirked at her sniffly laugh. "Ready?" I asked again, and she nodded, trying to match what she'd thought I'd look like to the real thing. She'd been damn close.
Turning her toward Carlisle and Esme, I started with our parents. My dad was medically yet mentally assessing her, but he simply shook his head and pulled her into his arms. Esme, however, was a complete mess as she wrapped her "baby girl" up in her arms and sobbed. Emmett, who had always quietly watched over Alice more than he let on, couldn't help but pick her up and hug her tightly. Rose, with tears streaking down her face, whispered in her ear things that no one but me could hear. It was promises to shift into anything she ever wanted to see – because Alice had always felt left out when it came to Rose's sixth sense.
However, it was Bella who Alice sought out next. In her mind, she'd been damn close to "seeing" Bella correctly. But for the years of me protecting my sister, Alice wanted to set her eyes on the one person who finally made me happy.
Bella shifted nervously, and I set my hands on her shoulders when Alice walked to us. Mentally, Alice was in awe of Bella's beautiful face. Some things wouldn't change, and Alice thought to me rather than speak aloud. She was trying her damnedest to reconcile what she'd seen at the very beginning with Bella to what she saw now in front of her. Flashes of the hungry, homeless, angry Bella stealing from the bodega in New York she'd seen in visions versus the stunningly healthy, happy girl between us – Alice simply shook her head back and forth.
Bella, though, wasn't going to hold back. She just couldn't. And instantly, the two hugged tightly.
"I guess I don't have to paint your toenails anymore, huh?" Bella teased, grinning through tears and sniffles.
Alice shook her head, laughing. Suddenly, her mind was an endless list of things she just needed to see. Places, things, people, colors, events, and even shit on TV – Alice couldn't stop herself. At that moment, she truly realized exactly what she'd missed out on.
After thanking Maggie profusely, Alice got to meet everyone else – Rae, Liam, Makenna, Bree, Renee, and even Hercules. When she focused back on Jasper, I could see nothing had changed between them. It made me pull Bella to me, wrapping my arms around her.
Hercules barked a low "boof," and Makenna giggled at him, rubbing his ears.
"It's just fireworks, Hercules," she soothed him, and he looked to her face and then the sky off over the bay.
"Alice, would you like to watch the fireworks?" Jasper offered, bowing low just to see her smile.
She nodded, and we all made our way out to the beach. I sat down on the sand, opening my arms for Bella, who situated herself between my legs, her back to my chest.
The rumbles and pops of the fireworks were faint, but it was interesting to see everyone else watch Alice watch those damn fireworks.
The little shit we take for granted. Bella's mind was calm and sweet, but she turned to me. Why can't I hear you? Is there… I'm…
Pressing soft kisses to her lips, I opened my mind back to her. Sorry, pretty girl. Iwasn't sure how it would go with her. That wasn't exactly true, but instead of saying that, I simply let her hear my thoughts, because the beautiful girl in my arms, the same one kissing me stupid, had once told me that she never minded my talent to hear her thoughts. She was happy that she could hear mine and had said over and over that maybe we'd just know. It was how I'd heard she thought I was handsome, how she'd heard I thought she was gorgeous. We'd learned we'd fallen in love that way, as well as when we were ready to take the next step. All of it had been easy because we'd already heard it, seen it in each other's minds.
Sitting in the warm Florida beach sand on the Fourth of July as my sister took in fireworks for the first time since she was five years old, I let Bella know that I wanted to marry her. I wanted it all with the girl I'd searched high and low all over Manhattan, because the very second I'd set eyes on her, I needed her.
Bella's eyes never left my face as a small, amazingly sweet smile curled up on her lips when she saw it all through my thoughts.
"So…now I just…know."
Nodding, I kissed her again, because her answer was an unwavering yes. My lips barely left hers, even when Alice's mind cheered.
My lips were still on hers when my thoughts rambled about the unsure things like careers and living arrangements and the future, but the one thing that I was completely sure about was her.
Bella's hands cupped my face, and she pulled me back just a little to look me in the eyes. "I'm sure about you, too. The rest we'll just…" She trailed off as I truly couldn't keep my mouth from hers, and then I pressed my forehead to hers, smiling at just how easy it was, how I was pretty fucking sure that Esme and Carmen were on to something about sixxer relationships, and that made Bella giggle sweetly against my lips.
"Yeah, pretty girl… The rest we'll just know."
~oOo~
A/N… Like I said, there's still the epi to go. There is just something a little special I'd been wanting since about chapter 10 of this story, so that would be why the last chapters fell to me.
Again, I thank you for your patience. I rarely let it go this long, and I never drop a fic, but time and muses were working against me. And I haven't started the epi yet, but it is plotted out. So as soon as it goes up, this will mark complete. I'll save my thank-yous for then.
Until then… Mooches, Deb :)
