Chapter 18
"Thank you for telling me," Edward said somewhat seriously once Harry had stopped giggling and the mood had started to calm again.
Harry smiled softly at the vampire and just tilted his head in acknowledgement, unsure of what else to say since he hadn't really wanted to tell Edward at first. "What's the plan now, partner?"
Edward hummed thoughtfully, trying to think of an activity that would brighten both of their moods. It was only in that moment of concentration, however, that he caught the faintest sound of movement downstairs, no doubt from his family. He took a second to collect his thoughts so he could sense what they were all thinking, having been too consumed with Harry before to notice their audience. When he did finally connect, it was all he could do to hide his grimace. Thoughts of anger and sadness immediately assaulted his senses, but he wasn't so concerned with their reactions as he was with Harry's once the human realized that he wasn't the only one to hear his confession. He had assured his mate that they would be alone, and he couldn't bear the thought of Harry knowing he had broken that trust.
"Let's just stay up here for a bit longer," he suggested as casually as he could, hoping that Harry wouldn't want to go downstairs.
Harry fished his phone out of his pocket and pressed the home button, watching the screen light up with the current time. "I'm not sure," he worried, "I have to be home soon. I'm cooking my dad dinner."
"Your dad can cook himself dinner," Edward bargained, deftly stealing the phone from Harry's fingers.
"My dad is so focused on the recent murders that he'll forget to eat," Harry chuckled, stealing his phone back easily and putting it back in his pocket. "That man gets so focused on his cases that he all but ignores the rest of the world. Plus, if I let him cook dinner, he might just catch the house on fire."
Still not ready to hand in the towel, Edward leaned closer and captured Harry's lips in a kiss. "He's survived just fine so far," he suggested.
Harry grinned into the kiss and pulled away, "Barely. I believe he subsided purely on fish that he would catch every weekend up on the reservation. Without Sirius Black, he very may well have starved."
"Sirius Black?" Edward titled his head at the name he hadn't heard mentioned for a few decades.
"Hmm," Harry nodded in agreement, "and his son, Jacob. My dad and them have been friends for a few years, I believe they help each other out with law enforcement every so often when something involves both the res and town."
"I wasn't aware Sirius had a son," Edward mused.
"He's about my age," Harry supplemented before shaking his head, "Either way, I really do have to be home soon. As much as I love spending time with you, I'd also like to ensure my father doesn't starve to death."
At this moment, Edward wished for nothing more than his power be able to be used in reverse. Being able to read minds did very little to help him when all he needed was for someone else to read his. Unfortunately, he could clearly hear his family downstairs gathered in the living room oblivious to his current situation.
Harry scooted to the edge of the couch and gracefully stood up, waiting patiently for Edward to follow his lead and also rise from the chair.
"Harry -" Edward began, knowing it would be best to warn Harry ahead of time. His mate didn't give him a chance to explain though, cutting him off before he could get it out.
"You're not going to convince me otherwise," Harry laughed and pulled Edward up. Rather, Edward let Harry think he pulled him up, knowing full well his mate didn't have the strength to pull up his stone-like figure.
"That's not what I was going to say," Edward murmured almost weakly, wincing as he thought of the reaction waiting for them yet unable to build up the courage to tell Harry himself. Such cowardly actions for a vampire, but he couldn't find it in myself to laugh at the irony of a vampire afraid of a human.
Harry ignored his comment and opened the door, leading them both out of the room and down the stairs. He felt remarkably more relaxed than he thought he would. It almost felt as if a few pounds had been lifted off his shoulder. At least, it did until he came to the bottom of the stairs and found 6 pairs of golden eyes waiting for him.
It was silent for a few seconds, the only sound in the room the unsteady beating of Harry's human heart, thudding so unnaturally loud that even the human could hear it clear as day.
"Harry?" Edward asked nervously, knowing by the uneven beat of the normally steady heart that Harry definitely wasn't okay.
"Edward," Harry responded in the same tone, though his voice definitely contained a more stony inflection.
The Cullens facing them were silent, and Harry couldn't find it in himself to address them, too horrified to even consider the implications of them being here. By the looks on their faces and their body posture, he knew better than to assume they had only just arrived. Out of the corner of his eyes he could just barely see around the corner into the living room where it looked as if a small bomb had gone off with broken furniture littering the ground. Tiny splinters were stuck to the carpet next to some feathers which he could only assume came from a torn pillow.
What bothered him most wasn't the sight of broken furniture, however. It was the look in the eyes of the people facing him, people from whom he had tried so hard to earn respect. Standing there in painful silence, he could almost visualize that respect flying out the window and waving a cheeky goodbye.
"…what are you thinking?" Edward urged, breaking the silence, almost fearful of the response he was going to get. He understood Harry was furious with him for not hearing the others after he'd promised to keep their conversation private. His mate had every right to be angry and upset, but right now the silence was worrying him.
"I'm not sure I'm capable of thought right now." Harry said, still shellshocked into silence.
"Are you angry?"
"I'm not sure I'm capable of anger either," came the dry response.
Harry took a deep breath, recognizing from the growing burning in his chest that he had forgotten to breathe in the minute since he had come downstairs. Reminding himself to continue breathing, he took a half second to look around the room, afraid of what he would see but also needing to know what he was dealing with.
Emmett was standing off to the side, his usually puppy-like happiness gone and replaced with blinding rage that was evident in his darkened eyes and his clenched hands. Seeing such an imposing figure so angry made his pulse quicken for a brief second before he reminded himself that this was Emmett who had been nothing but welcoming from the beginning. He was more nervous to look at Rosalie, not knowing what to expect but assuming it would be some sort of disgust or heightened dislike. He was surprised, however, to find that all he received from her was a soft, sympathetic smile. He made a note to wonder about that later, letting his eyes continue on their searching path.
Looking at Alice and Esme had to be the hardest. Alice, usually so bubbly and friendly, was standing next to an expressionless Jasper with a small frown and hurt eyes. Esme looked about ready to cry, her face morphed into an expressing of grief.
Harry learned back on his heels, took a deep inhale, and ran a hand over his face. "I don't reckon we can all take a blood oath to keep quiet, can we?" he said with a quiet, huffing laugh.
"Was that an amused laugh or an angry laugh?" Edward questioned with a grimace.
"I don't think you really want an answer to that."
"That's fair," Edward nodded, wincing at the curt response.
Harry took another look around the room and shook his head lightly in regret at the heartbroken gazes of his two favorite non-Edward vampires. "It wasn't really that bad," he tried to assure the two girls, but that just made them look sadder and everyone else look angrier. He refused to turn around to see Edward's reaction, not trusting himself to remain calm with Edward's eyes on him.
Still, the first dry sob coming out of Esme made Harry feel so absolutely horrible and guilty he couldn't stop his own tears from filling his eyes, despite avoiding looking at Edward for fear of that very thing happening. "It really wasn't," he promised again, somewhat desperately this time. "Everyone gets hit around sometimes, there's millions of relationships where it happens. Not to mention, I'm here in Forks now which is a good distance away from London."
"Not so far of a distance that I couldn't be there by nightfall," Emmett growled quietly to himself, flexing his knuckles so loudly that Harry nearly flinched at the fist crack.
It was Carlisle that spoke up in the following silence, surprising Harry. "The fact that there are others that have been in a similar situation, does not negate yours," he corrected gently. "You were abused, and it matters very much. Not because we think less of you now, but because you are a part of our family, and we want you to be safe, and feel safe."
"I do," Harry whispered quietly, avoiding Carlisle's gaze.
"You did not deserve to be hit. Ever." Emmett now growled, his voice a sharp contrast between the gentle tone of the patriarch. "No one will ever lay a hand on you again," he promised and Harry could feel the vibrations of Edward's approving growl behind him.
"We're sorry for eavesdropping," Rosalie spoke up this time. "We weren't aware it as a private conversation and once we heard….we couldn't stop listening," she admitted.
Harry nodded quietly, feeling his heart still beating way too hard to be healthy. Appreciating her honesty, he offered Rosalie and the rest of the Cullens a forgiving smile, hoping they understood that he didn't have any hard feelings. He could feel Edward shifting closer behind him, but before the Vampire could get any closer he turned around and sent him a testy glare.
"Oh, don't think you're off the hook just yet," he threatened with as threatening of a glare a human could produce.
Edward looked up with a feigned innocent expression but Harry cut him off before he could even try to defend himself. "You know what you did, Edward Cullen, so don't even try to get out of it."
At that, the mood in the room lightened a bit as Alice and Emmett started quietly laughing, enjoying seeing Edward in trouble with the small human. "Rule number one, son," Carlisle chuckled, "never play innocent and always accept fault."
Edward stepped closer again, feeling relieved when Harry didn't shy away this time, and wrapped his arms securely around his mate. "I am sorry," he murmured, "I know I promised to make sure we were alone, but I truly didn't hear them come in. I wasn't intentionally trying to deceive you."
Harry sighed and relaxed into the hold, "Fine, but I'm still angry."
"That's fair," Edward echoed again.
"It is," Harry nodded sagely.
"Where does that leave me?"
"Besides the doghouse?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
Edward groaned at his family's laughter and nodded, trying his luck by pressing a kiss to Harry's forehead.
"You're lucky I can't hold a grudge," Harry laughed, unable to stay angry when faced with the clearly fearful expression on his vampire's face. He turned back to face the Cullens, finding them in varying states ranging from still-present anger to amusement and fondness. Seeing the welcoming expressions didn't make him any less nervous to address them, however.
"Just to clarify, no one knows and I would prefer it to stay that way," he began awkwardly, dancing from foot to foot while still somewhat constrained by Edward's arms.
"James?" Alice asked, speaking for the first time since Harry had come downstairs.
Harry shrugged, "He knows I was in the hospital for my specific injuries because of someone, but that singular incident is the extent of what he knows." He was most worried about Carlisle's response to his request, knowing that his job as a doctor came with a certain moral code. He was relieved, however, when the Cullen patriarch just gave him a subtle nod when he sensed his concerned gaze. "Thank you," he murmured quietly.
"For the record, this was not how I intended this day to go," Harry sighed in the following silence. "Though I suppose I should have known better than to expect anything else," he shook his head tragically and offered everyone a slight smile in an attempt to ease the awkwardness.
Edward huffed a short laugh against Harry's neck and shook his head fondly at his mate. "I suppose you'd like me to drive you home now?"
"Mmm, you'd suppose correctly."
"And am I too optimistic to suppose that you'll ever want to return again later?"
Harry laughed at that, "That may indeed be too optimistic."
"I do hope you don't let this make you reluctant to return," Esme worried in a motherly tone. "You're always welcome here, with or without Edward."
Harry smiled at the woman, heart filling with fondness for the motherly figure. "It'll take a bit more yet for Edward to scare me away," he chuckled. "Though I am hoping that my next visit isn't so shocking," he said with a pointed look behind him.
Edward released Harry and stepped up to his side so he could take his hand instead. "In that endeavor I'll try my best," he promised before gently guiding Harry towards the door, sensing the human was more than ready to leave.
"Bye, Harry. I'll see you at lunch!" Alice said cheerily, though everyone caught the still subdued undercurrent. Harry just offered the girl a smile and nodded, waving goodbye to the rest of the family before Edward all but ushered him out the door.
The walk to the car was silent, both of them waiting before they were in the Volvo with the car doors shut before speaking.
Edward waiting for Harry to buckle himself in before starting the engine and turning to face the human. "I know I said this inside, but I would like to offer you a sincere apology. I was so focused on you that I didn't hear them enter until just before we went downstairs. I had no intention of allowing them to hear anything, and I can fully assure you that they will remain quiet about what they heard."
Harry nodded, feeling as if he might as well have been a bobblehead for all he had done it that day. "I know and I forgive you. I'm not exactly happy about it, but I trust that they wont say anything."
Edward sighed in relief and nodded, giving Harry a grateful smile before leaning forward to press a chaste kiss against his lips. "I can't promise I wont bring it up again," he said lowly, knowing better than to expect so much of himself, "but I can promise that knowing this about you doesn't change anything. You are still the same person, and I love that person endlessly."
Harry blushed brightly at those words and offered Edward a shy smile before initiating a kiss of his own. "Thank you," and both of them understood the depth of emotion under those simple words.
"Are you dropping me off or coming inside?" Harry asked as Edward put the car into drive and made a narrow turn in the driveway.
"Dropping you off, if you don't mind," Edward looked at Harry out of the corner of his eye as he turned out of their driveway onto the street that would take them to the main road. "I feel an…intense need to hunt tonight, or at least before school tomorrow."
Harry grimaced, "Mountain lions, right?"
"Mountain lions," Edward agreed with a wry smile, knowing that they both understood the unspoken idea that it wouldn't be a mountain lion on his mind tonight when he took down his prey. The only thing keeping the detestable human alive was the knowledge that killing Oliver wouldn't make Harry feel better. If he had thought that murdering the abuser would make Harry feel even second of relief, he would do it in a heartbeat, regardless of what Carlisle would say. Especially knowing that most of his family would back him. He had read the thoughts of murder and death, especially in Rosalie and Emmet's mind, even Jasper's. If anything, he knew his siblings would enthusiastically help him enact revenge.
"Should I lock my window tonight then?" Harry wondered, unable to stop the feeling of disappointment at the thought of the vampire not joining him.
"I'll be back," Edward promised. "Leave it unlocked, and if I'm not back by the time you go to bed, I'll have a member of my family keep an eye just in case."
"Will do, though I think I'll be fine without a patrol," he teased.
"The patrol is more for my piece of mind than yours," Edward answered wryly. "You appear to take many more liberties with your safety than I can sanely support."
"You say liberties and I say you overreact," Harry turned to smile fondly at the overprotective vampire. For all that he grouched at the bronze-haired boy, he couldn't help but feel satisfied that he cared so much for his safety. Even if he sometimes wished he'd keep the concern to himself.
"Regardless," Edward murmured. "I shouldn't be out too late. I'll try not to wake you if you're asleep, though."
Harry shook his head at that, "I'd tell you to wake me anyways, but I'm not sure you even could. I've been told I'm quite a heavy sleeper."
Edward laughed at that and silently agreed with the statement, fondly remembering the first time he had tried to check up on Harry in the night. The silly human had left his window open and, not wanting him to catch a cold during the week of snowy weather, he had tried to shut the window. Unfortunately he had incorrectly estimated the force it would take, and he had been sure the resulting slam would have startled him awake. Harry hadn't even flinched though.
Edward pulled into the driveway, both of them noting the absence of a police cruiser. "I'll pick you up for school tomorrow?"
"I do have a car I can drive to school, you know," Harry grinned.
"You do," Edward agreed, "but then how would I ask you questions before school?"
"Yes, that would make that difficult," Harry noted. "However, if you're going to insist that you get to drive to school, I insist that I get to ask the questions tomorrow."
"That's a fair tradeoff," Edward agreed, silently wondering at the questions his devious mate could possibly think to ask. He wasn't ashamed to admit that the thought slightly worried him.
Harry unbuckled his seat belt and opened up the side door, flashing Edward one last cheeky grin before sliding out of his seat. "I'll see you tonight," he restated one last time before swinging the car door shut and walking towards the front door, offering one last wave as the Volvo reversed out of the driveway.
It was another hour before James got home, and in that time Harry had managed to tidy up the downstairs a little bit and start preparations for dinner. He hoped his dad was okay with spaghetti, because they were woefully lacking in groceries again.
"How was your day?" Harry called from the kitchen as he heard the front door open and James start to take off his work gear, hanging it up in its usually spot.
"Interesting," James responded, walking into the kitchen too see what his son was up to. "What's for dinner?"
"Spaghetti, I hope that's okay. We're running low on groceries again so I might have to go sometime this week."
James gave a hefty sigh and rubbed his stomach. "Sounds great," he practically moaned. "I forgot lunch today so I've been starving."
Harry shook his head at the man's forgetfulness but he supposed he couldn't fault him. "Anything new come up today?"
"Actually, yes. We have a new deputy."
Harry turned away from the cutting board where he had just placed a loaf of bread. "A new deputy?"
"A new deputy," James nodded. "I was as surprised as you. We don't normally get too many newcomers here, as you can imagine. He had great credentials though and we could always use more help, especially right now with our patrols spread so thin."
Harry hummed to show he was listening and turned back to dinner, slicing the bread in half and slathering a garlic and butter mixture on each half before carrying them over to the open oven and sliding them inside. "Do you like him?"
James's hesitance before answering told him all he needed to know. "Whats wrong with him?"
"Nothing's wrong with him," James began slowly. "I'm just…not too sure about him yet. On paper, he looks great, but some of his behaviors are just…odd."
"How so?" Harry learned against the counter and frowned softly at his father, who upon further examination looked exhausted.
"Well we figured we'd stick him on traffic duty today just to get him warmed up and familiar with the town. Didn't seem too pleased with it though. He kept asking us about the murders, bringing it up even when we weren't talking about it."
"It is pretty interesting," Harry reasoned.
"I suppose," James hesitated. "Anyways, we ended up letting him shadow us for the rest of the day. I'm tempted to have him on desk duty tomorrow though. If he can't work all aspects of law enforcement without complaint, he shouldn't be a deputy."
Harry turned back around the the stove to stir the boiling pasta. "Anything big happen other than that?"
"All quiet on that front!" James learned back and inhaled deeply. "Smells great, carebear."
Harry groaned in complaint at the nickname, thinking back on the fact that Edward now knew that backstory. Stupid, mind-reading vampire.
"How was your day? What did you get up to after school?"
Harry grimaced into the pot of pasta and stirred a bit more vigorously than was probably necessary. "Nothing much," he lied, knowing it would be easier to deny the entire trip to the Cullens happened than pick and choose parts to be honest about. "Edward drove me home and we did a little homework in the living room. It was a pretty boring day, honestly."
"Well I'm hoping for many more boring days in Forks," James gave a short, unamused laugh. "This case is still driving me crazy. I even had Dr. Cullen come over the other day to look at the bodies and give me some medical insight that the autopsy might have missed."
"And was there?"
James just shook his head. "He was as baffled as the rest of us about the injuries and lack of evident first strike. I'm thinking about sending it off to see if any other districts have something that matches. Besides that though there's nothing we can do right now but wait and hope something else comes along that will help us connect more dots."
Harry could connect those dots on his own…they were waiting for another body to turn up and hoping that this time it would at least offer more evidence.
"On that note," Harry grimaced, "dinner?"
At James nod, Harry served them both some spaghetti and garlic bread. He carried the plates to the table where conversation turned away from murder and stuck on school, how Harry was adjusting to the town, and whether or not either of them had heard anything particularly interesting today.