Happy Valentine's Day to all my lovely readers! Apparently, I am about to become a great aunt for the second time – my niece is on her way to the hospital as I type this. Hopefully, by the time little Nathaniel is old enough to fall in love, the world won't care who he chooses.
All the usual applies—no beta, SM owns, Carlisle and Edward own me.
Chapter Fifty
"Hey Seth," I answered, after I stepped outside. "I'm sorry I didn't call sooner. We only got in a couple hours ago and the neighbor was lying in wait when we pulled into the driveway. By the time she left and we ate, Makenna's pastor had arrived to meet with Carlisle."
"It's okay. Garrett and I were getting worried, though. I was hoping you two didn't kill each other. Do you need to go?"
"No, it's fine. We were almost done, anyway. And Carlisle and I are good. Actually, better than good. We talked while we were on the road and sorted through a lot of shit. We —"
Seth interrupted before I could continue, his voice dripping with venom.
"Good, I hope he groveled after the way he treated you. You deserved way better than what he put you through. Now, when you get home you can finally put it all behind you and move on to someone who'll appreciate you."
His words shocked me. I knew he'd been furious with Carlisle over what happened, his anger causing some tension with his partner when Garrett and Carlisle remained friends. Even after I tried to explain that I wasn't completely blameless in what happened, Seth wouldn't listen, placing all the fault on Carlisle's shoulders. I hadn't considered the possibility that he wouldn't be supportive if we renewed our relationship. With calm deliberation, I set the record straight.
"Seth, Carlisle and I are going to make this work. I'm moving back to condo when I get back to Chicago." I had to pull the phone away from my ear when he started yelling at me.
"Are you fucking nuts? He completely took you for granted, had absolutely no respect for your time, your feelings, nothing. And you're going to move back in with him? What the hell are you thinking, Edward?"
"I'm thinking I love him and I want to share my life with him," I shot back, exasperated. "He's it, Seth. There isn't anyone else for me. The past six months proved it. No matter what I did, where I went, who I fucked, I only wanted to be with Carlisle. I'm not walking away from a second chance."
"And when he shits all over you, again? I'm not picking up the pieces, E, not this time. If you're stupid enough to take him back after how he treated you, I wash my hands of the whole thing."
I could hear Garrett in the background, his tone conciliatory, trying to calm Seth down.
"No, it's bullshit, Gar. You want to be friends with him, that's fine, but I don't have to be."
"Seth," I paused, then spoke a little louder, trying to be heard over his tirade at Garrett. "Seth." Finally, I shouted at him, "Damn it, Seth, answer me!"
"What?" he snapped. "I thought you were smarter than this, E. I really did."
I raked my hand through my hair. Seth and I had known each other a long time, I valued our friendship, but no way would I let him continue ripping Carlisle to shreds.
"Look, think what you like, Seth. I'm moving back home with Carlisle next week. He's not the same man I left six months ago; he's changed." Calming down, I paused, lowering my voice, "We were both to blame for what happened. I know you don't want to believe it, but it's true. Neither one of us is perfect, but damn it, Seth, he's perfect for me."
I heard Seth's frustrated snort.
"Don't make me pick between the two of you. You're my best friend, I would do almost anything for you, but giving up Carlisle isn't on that list. Give him a chance, if for no other reason than the sake of our friendship."
When I heard no response, I checked the display to see if the call had been disconnected. Putting the phone back to my ear, I heard Garrett calling my name.
"Edward? You still there?"
"I'm here Gar. Can you talk to him? Please?" I pleaded, hoping he could persuade Seth to calm down and give Carlisle the opportunity to show he'd changed.
"I'll try, it's the best I can offer." I murmured my thanks. "Is Carlisle holding up okay? Do you guys need anything?"
"He's doing as well as can be expected. It's harder now that we're here. While we were on the road, the situation between us kind of kept the focus off Makenna being gone. The funeral's on Monday; I think we'll be heading back on Wednesday, depending on how things go. I may need to call my office to get a couple more days off to help him take care of packing up the house. We haven't really had a chance to talk about the logistics yet."
"Well if there is anything I can do from here, let me know. I'm glad the two of you were able to work things out. I know he missed you after you left; he wasn't the same without you. I'll work on Seth. He's stubborn, but he's realistic too. Take care of each other."
I promised him I would and thanked him again for his concern and support, before hanging up the phone. What a clusterfuck! I hated that Seth and I were at odds, but from over a thousand miles away, there wasn't a whole hell of a lot I could do about it. Hopefully, time and talking with Garrett would calm him down enough to see reason before we got home.
Ahhh, Edward—sometimes our friends are the least understanding. I know, I know -not a completely happy Valentine's Day post, but oh I did love that Edward stood up for his man.
