Chapter 38

"Something's off with Caleb," Esme said, rummaging through a bag of clothes she had just bought for a few of the kids.

Carlisle kicked off his shoes. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know," she said, shaking her head, "He was asking about when we first met, which is fine, but I think it was for reasons other than what he was saying; and he's been a little moody."

"Is it the girl?"

Esme stopped what she was doing and looked at him, "He said he wanted to talk to you about something. I knew he didn't want to talk to me about it, and he kind of threw it out there that it was a medical-related question when I tried to dig a little deeper. I don't know if that was the case, though." She shook her head. "Maybe you should talk to him anyway."

"I just asked if he wanted to," Carlisle said, "But he told me he was going down to find Alex." His eyes drifted toward the covered balcony doors as he thought, "He did actually kind of sound agitated by the way he responded and turned away so quickly."

"That's what I mean," Esme told him, "It's little things like that that are out of character for him. I don't think he should do it anymore. I just have this gut feeling that he should try to break away and get back to a normal life and a normal routine. He was happier before." She stared across the room toward him with worried eyes that carried just a small hint of motherly sadness.

Carlisle crossed the room and gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead, "I'll talk to him. I'll wait until he comes back upstairs."

She nodded and kissed him, "Thanks."

He nodded and rubbed her back before heading toward the bathroom, putting the water on for a shower.

Esme reopened the shopping bag and removed a hat. It was the same style that her husband wore earlier in the previous century quite often and she glanced over at him.

Carlisle looked up and smiled as she grinned and tossed him the hat. He caught it and laughed.

"Remember the old days?" she asked with a laugh.

He put the hat on and took a look in the mirror, fitting it snugly, then turned to face her, "Of course I do."

Esme smiled, "You look cute in those."

Carlisle laughed and looked at himself again, then shrugged. "Where'd you find this?"

"The Gap," she told him with a shrug.

He crossed back toward her and hugged her, giving her a short string of kisses. Esme sighed and looked at him. She felt as if she could sit and relive their days together for the next couple of hours, but knew he was waiting to go into the shower. She kissed him once more and made her way back toward the bag.

"I love you," he said, removing the hat. He placed it on the arm of a chair in the corner of the room and began to get undressed.

Esme smiled as he winked at her while the last pieces of his clothing came off, then began to laugh. "Go shower," she told him, waving her hand at him with smile. "I have to make my rounds to the kids to give them their new clothes."

"I'll talk to him when I get out," he assured her.

Esme nodded and let him get into the bathroom before she opened the door and made her way through the house.

...

"Wow," Caleb said, upon hearing Jasper's whole story. "That's really... intense. I don't even know what other word to use."

"It was terrible," Jasper admitted, opening up to Caleb about the situation for the first time. He looked at Alice, "She saved me from all of that. I didn't know any better before. I had nothing to compare my relationship with Maria to. I thought what we had was love. When I found Alice, I quickly realized that it wasn't even close. It was a game; manipulation. She had me for awhile, and it took me a long time to get past that whole situation."

Alice smiled at him and rubbed his back. The two of them looked at Caleb, who was slightly awe-struck.

"Caleb," Esme said, prompting him to spin around as if he were just caught stealing.

"Mom!" he shouted, then regained the level of his voice, "Hey..."

She looked at him funny, then toward Alice and Jasper.

"Jumpy?" Jasper asked with a smirk.

Caleb half-heartedly laughed and looked up toward her. "What's up?" he asked coolly.

"I just came to bring the three of you some new clothes I picked up this morning while I was out," she said, "I hope they're okay."

Alice smiled, "Thank you," she said in a cheery tone, then unfolded a sweater and a pair of dark blue jeans, "Perfect."

"Thanks Esme," Jasper said with a smile, accepting a small bag full of things for him.

"Yeah, thanks," Caleb said, nodding toward his mother, "I'd say these would be great school clothes, but we wear those dumb uniforms." He laughed.

"Thankfully Forks didn't make us wear those ugly things," Alice said, laughing with him.

Esme smiled at them and saw the grin on Caleb's face. She knew Alice was good at making people feel better, and thought Jasper's ability may have played a role in Caleb's smiles. "Well, that's all," she said with a grin, "I have to head over to Rosalie and Emmett."

"Don't do it now," Alice whispered, scrunching her nose. "William and Mackenzie are both out hunting so they... are having some alone time."

Caleb looked at Jasper and they both began to laugh quietly.

Esme looked at Caleb for a moment and shook her head, then back to Alice. "Thanks for the warning."

She gave a thumbs up, "You got it."

"Thanks Mom," Caleb said again as she walked away.

"You're welcome honey," Esme told him with a smile.

When the clicking sound of her shoes faded out, Caleb looked back toward Alice and Jasper.

"I still think you should talk to your dad," Alice said, "But that's just me."

"Be careful," Jasper added, "I can sense all of your emotions and they've calmed down a little, but they're still there. Don't feel like you're being weak if you decide to pull out of this."

Caleb looked at the two of them and nodded. He felt more content from their talk, but also more afraid of what could potentially come from the situation. There was something there that he recognized. It pulled at his core, but he didn't feel like he was in so deep that he couldn't get out.

"Rosalie's another one to talk to if you don't want to talk directly with your mom and dad," Alice said, "She'll tell you about her story; how she was in love with the idea of love and ended up in a bad situation."

"I kind of talked to her and Emmett one time about it... briefly. And Alex has already lectured me about Peter."

"We just all want to make sure you're okay," Alice told him, "And I guess we just think maybe you can learn from what happened to us now that we're older, wiser and have more insight."

Jasper nodded in agreement and linked himself closer with Alice. "And don't sweat it that some of us are in relationships, and some of you aren't. You're young. I had to wait awhile before I found Alice."

"Likewise," Alice told him, "And don't get me started on your dad. He was alone for almost three hundred years."

"I can't even fathom that time frame," Caleb said.

"But you also have to live and see things for yourself," she added, "Make your own mistakes; live and learn."

"Unfortunately sometimes that's the only way," Jasper said with a shrug.

Caleb nodded and the three of them sat silently for a moment. He smiled and looked around, then realized Jasper had mellowed him out. "Jas," he said, shaking his head. Like others who disliked the mood control, Caleb welcomed it after feeling so conflicted for the last couple days, "Can you just do that all day and follow me around when I'm around Delilah?"

Jasper laughed but shook his head, "Think about what you just said and evaluate if you should still be doing what you're doing." He raised his eyebrows and Caleb nodded as he began to think.

Alice patted him on the shoulder and took Jasper's hand as they began to walk away. "Spill your guts to pops. He'll give you good advice."

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of," Caleb told them.