Hello!
I am incredibly sorry for making you wait, I really am. I'll try to have the next chapter up in a few days, as well as another chapter for my other story, which I haven't updated in forever ... gah. So frustrating.
But please read now ;-)
The noises from the garage got louder as soon as the door was being opened. It was just chatter, laughing and the sound of car doors being shut, but it seemed incredibly loud when it penetrated the odd silence in the house.
Edward stepped inside and immediately headed for the living room in which Carlisle, Esme and Maddie were standing.
He didn't know what was going on as he had spent the car ride concentrating on his music so he wouldn't need to listen in on Emmett and Rosalie secretly planning a romantic evening. But as soon as he entered the house, he picked up on the tense atmosphere and caught a glimpse of his father's mind.
A frown appeared on his forehead as he noticed that Carlisle was upset but didn't know why - at least that was what it seemed like to Edward. Only on very rare occasions had he seen Carlisle in such a state ...
Judging by his thoughts alone, his father was nervous, panicky even, but the way he behaved he appeared to be calm and collected. He didn't wish to unnerve his mate or children any more than he already had, and he tried not to affront his youngest.
Esme seemed like she had zoned out, which wasn't exactly what Edward had expected to find after coming home from school.
Something bad has happened ..., Edward figured and cleared his throat before speaking.
"Carlisle, what happened here?" he asked and his eyes darted between his father leaning against the backrest of the couch and his sister facing the wall. Her thoughts had an edge to it, which told him that she had been seething before. Not unusual, but interesting.
"We might have a few things to discuss," Carlisle answered carefully, and a sense of foreboding came over Edward.
Maddie got suspended. Again. Great. But Carlisle should have already expected it after a morning like that ...
Edward gestured with his hand towards Maddie, his face distorted in confusion. "What is she doing in the corner?"
He could hear Maddie letting out a puff of air at his question, but otherwise she just kept on busying herself with her thoughts.
"Thinking about what she did," Carlisle replied and there was a sharp edge to his words, a hint of anger.
Oh. So she was in trouble for playing pranks or something she wasn't supposed to do, then she had probably mouthed off to him and now he was punishing her. But what did that have to do with the rest of them? And for how long was she supposed to be standing there? Days? A grounding would be a lot easier.
"Down here?"
Carlisle gave him a curt nod, and despite the stern glance he shot the girl standing in the corner, his voice was calm. "Yes."
Edward shook his head lightly, a little laugh escaped his lips. "You can send her upstairs. She's singing musical songs in her head," he told his father with a smirk, trying to let him know that putting someone in a corner wasn't as effective as he thought it would be.
Carlisle's lips stiffened into a straight line and his gaze hardened as he looked his son in the eye. His face was unreadable, but Edward could tell that he was unhappy. Uh-oh, was he the one in trouble now? He did not mean to provoke his Dad, just point something out!
Without looking away, Carlisle ordered, "Madeline, go to your room."
She turned around, relieved that she could finally leave the corner and didn't need to feel the eyes of her parents burning holes into the back of her head any longer. Giving Carlisle a little mock salute, one that he luckily did not see because his eyes were still locked with Edward's, she sprinted up the stairs and they could hear her door click shut a second later.
Now that Edward was home, as well as the rest of his gifted children, Carlisle could let Maddie be alone in her room without fearing she might run away and go on a widespread rampage around town. Well, even if she would try, they would know immediately and stop her before anything bad could happen. Once was enough and they would make sure to not let it happen again - if she indeed slipped up at school.
Not knowing was frustrating.
Carlisle looked away and let his fingers run through his hair, already dreading the upcoming talk with the family. And now Edward realised that he had been wrong before. This was not about some stupid suspension, it was about something completely different. Something dangerous.
Alice and Jasper entered the room after Maddie had left, having waited in the kitchen for a moment to find out what was going on.
Alice had been blinded by a few very conflicting visions, and she had grabbed Jasper's arm to steady herself. And Jasper, more than anyone else, had felt the different, but equally heavy emotions rolling off of his family and it made him stop dead in his tracks to analyse the situation before becoming part of it. It was practically an instinct to him - making sure to get a little headstart whenever he could, so he wouldn't be taken by surprise. It wasn't really necessary in a coven like this, but old habits die hard.
First of all he had noticed that Esme seemed to be a nervous wrack, getting worse by each passing minute - but now he saw she did not look it. She was fidgety and her breathing was quickened, but he could tell she wanted to seem calm.
Carlisle felt first and foremost worry and concern, and then there was frustration and anger on an equally high level. Whom it was directed at was easily determined.
Jasper felt that Maddie, who had just reached her room, was easing up a bit. The anger she was feeling evened out a little and she was kind of nervous and frustrated now and longing for comfort. He didn't need to be a mindreader to know that she wanted Rosalie to make it all better.
Maddie's emotions were somehow always accompanied by a little waft of confusion, and sometimes he wondered if he might be to blame for that. But now was not the time to rack his brain about this emotional quirk of hers ... he needed to know what evoked these different feelings in his parents and sister.
Esme rubbed her forehead a little like she was having a migraine, then she walked around the coffee table and lifted a dark blue garment up from the couch to sit down. Without thinking she swiftly draped it over the armrest next to herself and that motion stirred the air and send a waft of human smell towards her children.
It hit them all at the same time and they suddenly went rigid with tension - the feeling was obviously contagious in this house right now. Of course Esme noticed, and she wasn't too happy with herself for being so, well, inconsiderate. Her children shouldn't have to find out about this just like they did - they actually wanted to break it to them gently.
"Carlisle?" Jasper asked and stepped closer towards his father, his eyes never leaving his. At the same time he scanned his peripheral view for any traces of human, for a person that might be here, but he couldn't detect anyone or anything that would indeed confirm his worry.
"I don't wish to upset you, son. I'm not sure what took place at school today, therefore I cannot tell you," Carlisle replied, not needing to wait for his son to frame the question as of what had happened.
Jasper did not look like this answer satisfied him, because he kept his eyes on his father's and hoped he'd give him some more than that.
Carlisle sighed and nodded, indicating that he was giving in. He motioned towards the blazer lying next to his wife. "See for yourself."
Jasper closed the distance between himself and Esme and took the clothing off the armrest.
Apart from the smell he could have sworn this was Maddie's blazer. He lifted it up and took a good look at the front.
Alice silently gasped, her hand covering her mouth, while Jasper froze. The only movement he made was his eyes shooting back to Carlisle - he was quietly asking for affirmation or negation of his assumptions.
But just like Jasper, Carlisle did not speak.
What Jasper's question would be was as clear as day - he held a bloody blazer in his hands, after all - so it was obvious what he would want to ask. But Carlisle just couldn't respond because he did not know anything about the happenings at Maddie's school today. Just like anyone else, he could only assume and hope that he was wrong.
The odd silence was broken by the rhythmic sound of Rosalie's heels on the floor and Emmett's heavy footsteps heading for the living room. They entered, Emmett having an arm around his mate's shoulders, and they were silently whispering to each other and laughing like newlyweds.
Even though this was far from funny, Edward couldn't help but smirk a little - realisation would hit soon, very soon. 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...
Gasp.
Then the hurried clicking of heels hitting the hardwood floor and the blazer was suddenly snatched from Jasper's hands.
"What happened?" The shock Rosalie felt made it hard for her to speak. Her wide eyes were glued to the blood and the tears in the fabric of her sister's blazer – which absolutely did not smell like the one she wore that morning.
The sudden change in her emotions - from cheerful to fearful - was like electricity in the air. Everyone could feel it and it made the atmosphere in the room seem even more tense.
"She won't tell us," Esme said and looked over her shoulder at her children. "We tried talking to her, but she refused to answer."
Jasper focussed back on his father. "Have you tried beating it out of her?" He seemed to be dead serious, like it was the natural course of action in a situation like this. Maddie withheld important information from their coven leader, and they all knew. So in order to get the much needed information they should maybe go beyond just begging her to tell and saying 'please'.
"Excuse me?" Rosalie whipped her head around and glared at Jasper, his question obviously having released her from the immobilising first shock. In a fraction of a second, Emmett was standing at his wife's side. He knew that tone of voice she used, and he wanted to make sure to be close enough to calm her in case she would lose it. Might happen, who knew.
Carlisle shook his head. "No, Jasper, that is not the right way to approach this matter. We might not have much time, and we were hoping Edward could -"
"Fine, I'll do it then," Jasper uttered and stalked towards the stairs, ready to make his way to Maddie's room and take care of her dangerous petulance.
"Jasper, you will do no such thing!" Esme gasped, quickly getting up from the couch and turning to face her son.
Jasper stopped at the bottom of the stairs because he had to obey Esme and it was frustrating him immensely right then. "I will not stand here and watch her endangering herself as well as the rest of this coven! You tried the easy way and it did not work. The hard way it is then." He knew the threat alone would make Maddie comply, so he didn't quite know where his family's inappropriate reactions were suddenly coming from. Of course he didn't wish to undermine Carlisle and Esme's authority, but he just couldn't suppress the protective instinct he had for this coven. Therefore he didn't see his behaviour as being disrespectful ... more like being proactive.
"Shut your face, Jasper!" Rosalie hissed and Emmett held an arm out in front of his wife so he could restrain her. Just in case. She looked like she wanted to scratch Jasper's eyes out and that wouldn't help anyone. Well, it would be fun to watch, definitely, but it wouldn't help the situation. "Rose," was all he needed to say to calm his wife.
Maybe he and Alice were the only rational ones here right now. Alice was quiet, watching the scene from her position on an armchair, her eyes glazing over at irregular intervals.
She, too, wasn't sure what happened. And she couldn't retroactively see what decisions had been made by her little sister in the past. Maybe she should have focussed more on Maddie today instead of the boring assembly or her next shopping trip …
"She is endangering all of us!" Jasper retorted before turning away and pinching the bridge of his nose. Why did nobody see reason? The safety of the coven comes first, always. No exceptions.
Rosalie narrowed her eyes in irritation and snarled, "You don't know that!"
"What does it look like to you, Rosalie?" Edward asked and nodded towards the soiled blazer in her hands. He was taking Jasper's side, because he had more information about Jasper's motivation for acting that way than she had. "There's human blood on it!"
"That isn't proving anything, you moron!" she bit back, her eyes gradually darkening with the anger she was feeling. "Put up evidence or shut up!"
Edward's jaw dropped at her obvious stupidity before he took a step towards her, yelling, "Don't be so daft, you -"
At the same time a low growl rumbled in Emmett's chest and he stepped in between his wife and brother, squaring his shoulders in order to shield her and intimidate him.
"QUIET!" Carlisle yelled and the room immediately fell silent.
His sharp tone of voice made everyone retract a step and their aggression towards each other diminished.
All eyes were on him when he took a calming breath and stood up straighter.
"We are all shaken by the possibility of what might happened, but yelling at each other will get us nowhere." He looked in between his children, making sure they all understood what he was telling them.
They nodded their heads in response.
Letting out another breath of air, Carlisle then focussed on Edward and said, "I don't like to adopt such measures but she left me no choice. I have to ask you, Edward, to pay close attention to Madeline's mind. See if you can find out what happened. Could you do that?"
Edward nodded, but at the same time distorted his mouth. "She's not thinking about it now. Whatever must have happened, it doesn't faze her at all," he said half apologetically.
Maddie was either really not feeling guilty, or she was purposely thinking about something else. She did have knowledge of the obvious flaw in his gift - he could only see and hear what others were thinking while they were thinking it. So right now his gift was useless and he could, just like the rest of the family, do nothing but wait.
To be honest, Carlisle had not expected to get the full story the moment Edward would step over the threshold, but that Maddie was that unconcerned even after the talk they had and probably hearing the quarrel down here was quite shocking. She didn't even spare a single thought about her behaviour.
"You know what? Just stay out of her head. I'll go upstairs and talk to her," Emmett barked, then hurried into the foyer and quickly up the stairs - he wanted to make sure that no one could order him back.
While he ascended the stairs, he couldn't help but shake his head in disbelief.
It's hardly surprising that Maddie wasn't willing to comply when she was threatened with Edward reading her thoughts at Carlisle's command. What was wrong with him?
And he didn't want her privacy violated like that, she was just a little girl! No matter what she had done - that consequence could under no circumstances be deemed appropriate. Their safety might be at stake here, sure, but Maddie's well-being was, too.
The rest of the family watched him leave, and Carlisle mentally slapped himself for not realising it sooner. Sending Rosalie or Emmett upstairs to talk to Maddie would be the simplest and probably most effective way to find out what really happened.
"Mad?" Emmett called as soon as he reached the top floor. He wanted to make sure that his sister knew it was just him coming towards her room and not someone to pester her or beat the answers out of her.
Her door was closed, but he could hear her shift on her bed and whisper, "Emmy?"
He opened the door and walked over to her, not even bothering to close the door again.
She got up on her knees on the bed and stretched her arms out towards him. Emmett hugged her, stroking her hair. "It's okay, Tiny," he cooed. Their parents didn't say it out loud, but it was clear that they suspected her of having murdered someone. He didn't know how exactly they had approached the matter, but she really seemed to be seeking comfort. Did they forget that if she really fed off a human it might have shaken her? Scared her?
When she pulled away, Emmett let go of her and straightened up again. She sat back on her heels and hung her head, all the while fumbling with the hem of her shirt.
"It's okay, Tiny," he said again, placing one of his large hands on her delicate shoulder, giving it a comforting rub.
With her eyes downcast, she whispered, "I want Rose."
He had already expected her to ask for Rosalie, and with one last squeeze he removed his hand from her shoulder and walked over to the open door.
He wanted to step out into the hallway, but his sister's voice kept him exactly where he was. "Don't go," she said, sounding afraid and indignant at the same time at seeing that he might walk away.
"I won't! Of course I won't," he responded and looked at her like she was crazy, like the mere idea of him leaving was ludicrous.
"Rose? Come up here, would you?"
When he heard Rosalie leave their room and come up the stairs, he marched over to the bed Maddie was sitting on and plunked down. He stretched out and folded his hands behind his head like he was just getting ready for a nice afternoon nap.
Not even a second later, and Rosalie appeared in the doorway. She had been waiting in her room for something to happen, and due to the anxiety she felt she got rid of her high heels and undid her hair, just to have something to do. It had taken Carlisle and Esme only a few moments to brief them about what happened and what might have happened before that. And then, to evade another heated argument with either Edward or Jasper, she just decided to leave the living room. No need to make this day worse.
Her eyes fell on Emmett and Maddie when she looked into the room, and she sighed while approaching them. Maddie sat Indian style, her eyes fixed on her folded hands in her lap while Emmett was lying there like he didn't have a care in the world. It was really cute seeing Emmett like this right now. Rosalie knew he was tense, too, but he didn't show it in front of his little sister. He probably figured Maddie was about to tell them what happened, and in an attempt to calm her nerves some more he stretched out and made himself look completely relaxed like all this was no big deal. It might seem strange, but his relaxed pose helped Maddie quite a bit.
Rose climbed over Emmett's outstretched legs, then settled down in a perfect imitation of Maddie, sitting Indian style. She scooted closer towards her and when they knees touched, Maddie took her first breath in minutes.
Without hesitation Rosalie reached out and caressed her cheek, giving Maddie a sad, little smile when she lifted her head to look at her. At seeing her still darkened eyes and the sad look she gave her, she pulled her in for a hug.
It was weird ... Rosalie was certain that normally she would have been very upset with Maddie for refusing to talk about what happened. The situation itself was dangerous, resulting in time pressure and worry about getting Maddie away from humans for a while and back to drinking animal blood only, and that would have been enough to make her yell at the young girl in front of her, prompting her to comply. Another thing was, that if Maddie liked the taste of human blood – and she would, no doubt about that – she might want to stick to that diet and leave. They didn't want to see that happen, especially Rose did not want to see that happen.
But while she had stayed downstairs to let her parents tell her about what they knew and what they assumed, caused her to want to approach the matter differently.
The poor thing needed comfort, no matter what she had done or what happened - she needed support above all this. How could Carlisle and Esme expect her to open up when she felt nothing but accusation and anger directed at her? Rosalie had no clue how exactly they had tried to talk to Maddie, but they must have done something wrong, that much was obvious.
And yes, Maddie wasn't a newborn vampire anymore, but she was still young and inexperienced, obviously still struggling with her affective states. So they couldn't just judge her by the way she was acting right now, now could they?
Rose held her tight for what felt like an eternity, and she could feel her relax in her arms. When she stirred like she wanted to move away, Rosalie loosened the embrace.
Maddie pulled back, then slowly lifted her head and tentatively looked Rose in the eye while chewing on her bottom lip.
A surge of relief as well as confusion shot through Rosalie and her eyes widened involuntarily. She quickly tried to regain her composure, cursing herself for reacting that way, but hoping that Maddie hadn't noticed.
"Your eyes are golden," she breathed - words she couldn't keep herself from uttering.
And Maddie nodded.
What do you think? Well, you already know what happened, but next chapter you'll see the reactions of the family. It might even be the last chapter, but that depends on Carlisle ;-)
Again, I'm sorry for making you wait but I hope you still like the story!
REVIEW please! GO GO GO!
