Disclaimer: As always. Rights belong to Mrs. Meyer and ITV
Chapter Twenty-nine: Unclear future
Edward's pov
We reached the deserted hallway just as the vampire sank his teeth into Monica's right ankle. A red haze of fury swept over my vision and I threw myself at the maniac that was tearing into her flesh.
"Carlisle! Save her!"
I can't, Edward. He bit her all over. Carlisle's thoughts were horrified and as I saw through his eyes how often he had bitten her I crumpled to the floor.
Emmett had the other vampire pinned to the floor, growling menacingly down at him. I crawled back over to Monica's body. I smelled the venom spreading through her and I knew she must be in agony.
"Why did you do this?" I snarled over my shoulder.
"I did you a favor. You'll have a mate for eternity."
I spun around and looked at him in shock. "You don't expect me to believe that you did this out of the goodness of your heart, do you?"
He laughed darkly. "Believe me. I am selfish, so no I didn't."
"Then, why? Why curse her to an eternity of darkness?"
He snorted and rolled his eyes. Being crushed under Emmett didn't seem to faze him. "Really, Edward. If you believed that, there are ways to get out of this life, you know."
A shriek tore from Monica's lips, breaking me from my stare down with James.
"We need to get them out of here before her screaming alerts the humans," Carlisle pressed.
I cradled Monica in my arms, gripping her tight, so she couldn't start writhing. Emmett and Jasper hauled the vampire along with them. Rosalie was busy distracting a couple of security guards, while Esme and Alice were doing their utmost to keep people from straying into the hallways we were using.
We reached the cars and without a word I slid into the backseat of the Volvo, holding Monica in my arms.
Her mind was silent and that was confusing me. Earlier in the parking lot of the school I had temporarily heard her thoughts. Despite the fact that they were dim, I heard them. But now that she was obviously in agony I heard nothing.
His name is James, Alice told me from afar. I grunted in response. I really didn't care.
Carlisle drove my car, Rosalie was behind us in the Jeep with Emmett, Jasper and James. Closing the line was Esme in de Mercedes with Alice. I locked into the mind of the man who had forced this half life on my love.
James was thinking back to when he was recently changed. He came across a beautiful girl, who was taken into an asylum. James wanted to talk to her, but there was another vampire who guarded her.
He was entranced by the smell of the girl's blood, but also by her beauty. He was unable to get to her. He kept watch from afar and attempted to get to her, always to be tromped by her guardian.
One night he attempted to sneak into her chamber in the asylum. When he rounded the corner he was stopped by one of the nurses. He was told to leave, so he had to turn around and sneak back in. The vampire that was guarding her, got to her first and bit her to change her. While the guardian was fighting with James to keep him away, the girl's change was set in motion and when James finally managed to dismember the older vampire, he could not reverse the process.
He stayed with her while she burned, but he was forced to leave before she woke up. James saw her again a few weeks after her change. The girl was Alice
I forced myself away from his thoughts. Jasper was getting annoyed with the nostalgia that James exuded and he was trying to force other emotions on him, which was starting to mess with his thoughts.
I looked down at the girl in my arms. Monica was completely still and quiet. I looked over at Carlisle.
"This isn't normal, Carlisle."
"I know, son. Perhaps she will not feel the same pain because she is from another world."
I shook my head. "Then how will we know that she'll be okay?"
"We won't until she wakes. Don't worry, Edward. I am sure she'll be okay."
How could he say that? She came from a different world. Her body might not respond to our venom the way a human body does in our world. What if she just dies?
I fought hard to keep my emotions under control, but it was difficult and I was starting to affect Jasper in the other car.
Edward! Get it under control! I'm going insane here! He shouted in his mind.
I focused on my breathing, counting each one until I found my self-control again and was able to endure the ride back without another anxiety attack.
When we pulled up to the house, Emmett and Jasper took James down to the basement to restrain him. Alice went upstairs with Esme to prepare a room for Monica and Rosalie just hovered in the kitchen without purpose.
"Son, we need to get Monica upstairs," Carlilse said quietly.
I followed him up to my floor of the house and took Monica into the room where Alice and Esme had headed for.
I gently lowered her to the soft sheets and laid down beside her. I wanted to know if she's be all right, so I turned to Alice.
"Alice? What do you see?"
"She'll be okay. She'll be beautiful, Edward."
The images flashing through her mind were reasonably clear, but I noticed that she couldn't see past Monica's first day as a vampire and that worried me.
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know. I wish I did. There are so many factors to deal with. We have Monica's response to the change. James. Bella. The fact that Monica is from another world. So much is uncertain that it is completely obscuring what I see."
I groaned, but smiled to let Alice know that I realized this was not something she could help.
Alice's pov
I did have one clear vision that I didn't show Edward. It was big, but if her knew he'd let himself make decisions with that vision in mind and lately I have come to realize that many things will happen whether or not we are all aware of them.
When I tell our family what I see we start reacting accordingly, but when I saw Edward falling for Monica, I didn't tell him and it still happened.
Some things didn't need to be predicted. They just needed to happen on their own accord and this particular vision was one of those that were suitable to keep quiet.
Taking a deep breath I headed to the basement to face my own future and with it my past. I was going to talk to James.
When I reached the basement door, I hesitated briefly. I needed this information, but I knew that my connection to the past was lying in the hands of a scheming scoundrel and I wondered if he would tell me the truth. I decided to just go ahead with it. There would always be a way to verify it.
Edward's pov
I laid quietly beside Monica on the bed. For a brief moment the seventeen-yar-old boy reared it's ugly head and wondered if I should buy a bed for my room, now that Monica was going to be one of us, but I quickly shot that thought down. We'd have to wait and see if she was willing to stay here with us. She might not want anything to do with us any longer.
I heard the faint sounds of the conversation that was going on in the basement.
James was telling Alice that he had known her when she was still human and that he had wanted to get to know her. He claimed that she had been his singer and that they were meant to be together, but Alice simply scoffed at that.
They argued back and forth, but in the end Alice relented and trudged back up the stairs.
A few moments later she came in and flopped onto the bed on the other side of Monica. She turned to her side and propped her head up on one arm.
"Will you help me find out if he's telling the truth? Will you help me do the research?"
"Yes, I will."
"Thanks, Edward. I'll go get my laptop so we can get started."
"Alice, please. Can't this wait until we're sure Monica will be all right?"
"Edward, you don't have to leave her side. We'll work from this room."
I simply nodded and my sister flitted out the door to get her laptop.
I gently stroked Monica's cheek and placed a soft kiss to her temple.
"I love you," I whispered, hoping that somehow she could hear me.
A/N: No Monica's pov this chapter, but don't worry she'll be back next chapter. Thank you all for the reviews. You guys rock! More than 100 total and last chapter broke a new record with more than 10! I love you all to pieces and hopefully you'll throw me some love for this chapter.
