Rating/Warning(s)/Note(s): T, Homeless Bella
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Prompt: Unicorn

My dad smiled at Miss Jessie before giving my mom a concerned look. She reached over and squeezed his hand. "Go on, he needs to know," she told him. There was a touch of fear in her eyes as well.

Taking in a large breath he folded his hands on top of the table, encapsulating one of mom's in between. "This is a rather long story, I'm afraid. You may as well start eating." Letting Miss Jessie's food get cold was probably a felony, since it was so good, so I took a bite, hoping it would encourage him.

"I met Mr. Slovak at a job fair when I was graduating from college. As you know I majored in both pre-med and pre-law, not knowing which one would be what I decided on. He invited me to come and work for him for a year, and I decided that would be a good idea. Only by working in a firm could I see if I really liked it or not.

"At first it was wonderful, there was just so much to learn, and even then Mr. Slovak had a propensity for wanting to represent athletes. As a result, I got to meet quite a few, something any young man would love. He always told me I was his good luck charm, that when they saw me they understood he was honest because I was. My face was an open book back then, I've had to learn to control that in my job as a surgeon, but at the time it was a help.

"So I went to work each day, my resolve to become a lawyer strengthening. After all, it was exciting, fun, entertaining and you got to meet famous people. What's not to like? So I started studying for the LSAT, but still listened to my parents and so also prepared for the MCAT. They were really similar, so it wasn't like it was a difficulty.

"Mr. Slovak wasn't pleased, though. He kept telling me not to bother, that he'd make sure I got into Harvard Law, and would then guarantee me a job. He waved off my attempts to explain I was going to take the MCAT to appease my parents, constantly telling me it was a waste of my time.

"After about nine months the tests came around, and I took them both. My score on the MCAT was incredibly high, high enough that Harvard called and offered me entrance into their medical school as well as a research stipend and a full scholarship. They also said I could come to their law school, but that offer wasn't nearly as rich, only a partial scholarship. As much as I had enjoyed law, this pretty much decided it for me. To say Mr. Slovak wasn't pleased is putting it mildly.

"Still, he threw me a party my last day of work, insisting that I stay on until my stipend kicked in, and even giving me a raise and a bonus. 'One day you'll have a son who might be interested in law. If he's as smart as you, send him my way,' he told me, and all I could think was how good-natured he was being, even though he didn't understand."

Dad shifted in his chair, breaking us all from the trance we seemed to be under. I had only eaten that one bite, not even remembering swallowing it, as my fork rested on top of my waffle. When he reached for his glass of water we all mirrored him. The air suddenly seemed quite dry.

Having gotten his drink we all settled in, finding a more comfortable spot in our seats. Miss Jessie excused herself to get us all some sweet tea, which I found somewhat odd. She had been so intent on hearing this story.

The rest of us looked expectantly at my father; he didn't keep us waiting. "Mr. Slovak kept in touch all through school. He was at our wedding, and sent gifts for the birth of each of our children. Whenever I would question his generosity he would just say that once someone worked for him he considered them family. Only now do I understand what he meant. At the time I just grew to think of him as the best boss and friend I could have found."

A smile broke through on his face as he looked at me. "Remember when Alice insisted on having a unicorn for her birthday party, and nothing anyone said could dissuade her? Well, Mr. Slovak found out and contacted a company who does those kinds of things. He let me pay for it, and just said his finder's fee was to let him come to the party and see how happy Alice was. That wasn't the first time he had seen you kids, so I saw no harm in it.

"But even while he was being nothing but kind and generous, it seemed like something was wrong. Men I had worked beside and kept in contact with were suddenly being tried for ethics violations. Some of them committed suicide, something that made me sad, and always prompted a call from Mr. Slovak, asking me if I could recommend a good psychiatrist for his firm. Then athletes he represented started getting into trouble, gambling, steroids, you name it. He asked me to see some of them, see if I could help them, but there was nothing I could do because they all refused to talk to me.

"It was a year after you went to work for him, Edward, that I really started putting things together. You said you just now saw how the people you were finding were coming up dead? I noticed that months ago, I just didn't know what to do." He propped his elbows on the table and rested his head in his hands, his fingers pulling at his hair in a manner I recognized. "I was going to talk to you, but then thought of all those men who had disappeared over the years. Still, it didn't stop me."

There was silence for a few minutes before I found my voice. "What did stop you?"

"Mr. Romanski came to visit," he said, and my heart jumped into my throat. "He told me that if I said anything then you might disappear as well. He also said he knew about Marie and wanted to know why you were hiding her."

"What did you tell him?" I whispered, hardly able to even make that sound as fear constricted my throat.

"The truth, that you were in love and wanted to prove her parent's innocence first."

Shock flowed through me like a tsunami, slamming against my head and heart, overwhelming me. My throat was closed off, making breathing difficult and speaking impossible. I just sat there and stared at him, until the silence became too much for him. "Please say something," he pleaded, but I just shook my head, unable to come up with words.

"I'll say something," a young, female voice said nearby.

Now before you all get excited, nope, that's not Bella.

I hope that explains Carlisle a bit. Have you ever met someone who seems nothing but wonderful, and there's no reason for your distrust, and yet something holds you back? Only to find out later that person was no good but just knew how to charm everyone? Yep, that's Mr. Slovak.