Hi, so here is another chapter, I hope you all enjoy this one and I can confirm there are only two more chapters of this story left and then we are done!
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And wishing you all health, happiness and a good day.
There In The Disappearing Light
Chapter 23-Yours, Mine And Ours
Rosalie, Emmett and Lena adjust to their new family unit. The Cullen's consider a move. Embry and Lena have a virtual date—of sorts—and some research is undertaken which leads to the beginning of some much needed closure for the newest member of the Cullen clan.
If Lena had thought it had been hard to come back to that big house with the glass windows and the room where she could see the forest with the bathroom that now for some reasons had jets in the bath and a padded toilet seat that she certainly did not remember having when she left.
The Cullen's had either known that she was coming in advance and had chance to prepare or they were used to family members descending down on without any given warnings. Actually with Alice on their side it could be either or.
Either way she slid from the car where she was sure she had fallen asleep (half vampires were not immune it seemed to jet lag) and had staggered out as Emmett had easily taken her carry on into the house. Rosalie had stood next to her but seemed almost hesitant to touch her of which Lena was slightly relieved about. She was not sure weather or not she wanted to deal with anything more when already her head was pounding fit to burst.
It was dusk and Edward and Bella had gone back to their small cottage that they kept for the privacy of Nessie. Jacob had gone to his small bungalow that Esme had made for him clearly in Lena's absence but the rest of the Cullen's—or at least the other four remaining where all in the house when Lena staggered in.
Esme had been waiting by the back stairs and had flown across the room nearly her caramel coloured hair curling around her shoulders in waves that would have been impossible for any mortal to maintain for more than three hours. She was dressed in a pencil skirt of black with a long sleeved silken green blouse tucked into it. Carlisle who had been stood next to her in a way that told Lena they had co-ordinated in a way to ensure that they were less threatening than before if such a thing was even possible. Lena let Esme hug her because it seemed the easiest thing to do in the circumstances but the fact of the matter was she was so tired she could barely speak and she was only half aware of Jasper and Alice watching from the corner of the room that had served as the television room and was now rearranged into something that Lena's brain didn't choose this moment to comprehend.
"Esme why don't we let Lena sleep and then we can have a talk in the morning?"
That was Rosalie…her…no…for now it was Rosalie. Thinking of her in a certain role and hearing about it were two entirely different things. She swallowed again feeling the exhaustion of what was pulling at her hit her and she stumbled a little.
She was aware then of someone pulling her upstairs. Of somehow finding the body parts for pyjama's that had been freshly laundered and sheets that had been changed and smelt fresher, in a neater bed than she left it that day two months ago.
She barely remembered her head hitting the pillow before sleep claimed her and therefore she did not see or hear the closing of her curtains, the smoothing back of her hair or the fact that a woman with even blonder and even longer hair than hers was stood there at the edge of the door looking backwards as if she could not believe the events that had just taken place in the hours beforehand.
Sleep however had come and for once it was dreamless and Lena slept comfortable and warm in her own bed, free from nightmares and regrets and the consequences of Jacob's mattress playing havoc on her back because seriously than thing had been worn down over the years by a teenager who had done more than his fair share of tossing, turning and she was sure as well, bleeding into his mattress.
When she woke up it was late afternoon and the sky was cloudy hiding away the sun that usually hit Vancouver around this time of year. Lena who had spent months travelling around some of the hottest places in the world found the sun rather comforting and she spent a time marvelling at the shimmer in her skin. It was nothing compared to what she knew a full vampire looked like, in fact all it looked like to her was that she had overdone it on the shimmer lotion and the highlighter but she still marvelled at the sight now that she had an explanation for the glowing that (surprisingly) to her made sense.
She stood in front of the window watching the trees and the sky and hearing the rippling of the water of the lake that ran close to the house and thought to herself that she was glad to be home. La Push had been serene and when she had been with Embry she had felt safe but yet there had been times when she had been alone and while Emily especially had done her best to make her feel included she had felt the askance glances and the seen the raised eyebrows that had made her want to hide behind Embry and never come out from behind his back again.
Here she had no such issue. She was what she was here. She was Lena. Lena the half-vampire and while her thoughts strayed to the woman and the man that had made her she found that no longer was she kept awake at night wondering about them until the point of tears and anger and hatred bubbling up inside her.
But she knew that she couldn't remain up their in the bedroom. She had to go downstairs at some point and face the music she had denied listening too last night when she had been too tired to even stand.
But that did not mean that she had do the very moment, in fact she wanted to look somewhat presentable when she got downstairs and looking like she did now was not the way to go about it. So instead she unpacked her small belongings, the clothes and the sand dollar from Mexico, the books and the small wooden wolf Embry had given her on her shelf, she put away the laptop she had bought—though she had already had one—and the candle she had gotten from France, the statues, the small little trinkets and the scattered bits and pieces of the life that she had cobbled together when she had thought she'd had no one and nothing to come back too.
She took out the folded picture she had kept at the bottom of the bag simply out of necessity. It had been a selfie that Embry had taken that he'd printed out for her of the two of them during a day that had seemed to go on forever and never ended.
Lena sighed tucking it away in her draw for a day when she was feeling pathetic and when she was missing Embry and his easy smiles and the way he looked at her as if she was golden. Today was not one of those days. Today was a day where even the shower did not make her feel confident, she showered and scrubbed and buffed and polished and lamented at the fact that she needed new straighteners because her hair was still refusing to stay straight.
When she finally found a pair of clean jeans and a t-shirt that had a rim of white around the bottom contrasting with the black and she left her feet bare. She went downstairs to see what was going on.
Actually it looked rather normal all things considering.
Emmett and Rosalie her…Mom and Dad she supposed now were called were sat at the table peering at the screen of a computer. Lena really hoped that they were not looking at her credit card bills as she suspected that she had gone a little bit overboard the last time but the Mexican food was seriously as good as the Mexican hunting and that had been impressive.
Carlisle was sat reading some big textbook and taking notes in a pen that Lena knew if she used would be coated in ink within ten seconds. Esme was sketching on a big pad in the corner still looking as if she was best friends with the big screen stars of the 1930s. Jasper was also reading his brow furrowed in concentration and Lena could not make out the title of the book because it was in some language she couldn't from this distance (and with her rather limited knowledge) recognise. Alice was sat next to him leaning against his shoulder and flipping through a pile of magazines a red pen in hand ready to circle anything she wanted. Lena dithered a bit longer in the doorway and saw Edward scratching at a music sheet his brown furrowed as well and looking extremely frustrated by what she thought was the slow coming together of his music. Bella was curled up on the armchair her legs thrown over the side and she too was reading but Lena could identify the extremely battered book as the complete works of Jane Austen and therefore didn't interrupt.
"Are you going to come in?"
That was Edward who was scowling at his music sheet now and crossing off notes. Lena came in a little bit more, she saw her laptop plugged in and she went to sit at the big table wondering when the yelling was going to start. She might have gotten approval from Rosalie and Emmett but she was not sure she was going to get it from the rest of her family.
Edward snorted. "Carlisle will you please tell Lena that she is not going to be yelled at so I can continue with this beast of a composition."
Lena scowled at him. "Traitor"
Edward snorted.
"Of course we are not going to yell Lena" Carlisle said putting a bookmark in his textbook. "But I would hope that you have learnt that actions in this world have consequences. Slip ups happen but we must be cautious. This family I fear is on thin ice in the immortal world and it we would do well not to draw attention to ourselves for the next couple of centuries."
Lena nodded taking the rebuke with the gentle tone in which it was offered.
"Were is Nessie and Jacob?" she asked finally.
"School. Nessie has another week before she leaves and Jacob had a last minute essay to get feedback on. Plus he wanted to speak to his Dad"
There was something there that Lena didn't understand, something big and gnarly that she thought about asking Bella about—she had not missed the look shared between her and Edward nor had she missed the fluttering of the connection against her own mind. But she was not going to ask. Right now things were calm. And she was not going to rock the boat.
"We've been thinking about moving now school is finished" Jasper said not looking up over the top of his book. Lena jumped a little. She understood the notion behind it, indeed she had not expected them to be here when she got back but the thought of leaving the only city, the only country that she had known was rather jarring.
"Where to?"
"Well…we've looked at places in the States, but we thought about moving somewhere in Canada for another year, give you enough time to get a human graduation diploma"
Lena blinked, she had not thought of that and the thought that this family all of whom (bar one) had been born and made in America were prepared to stay in another country just for her was touching to the core.
"Thanks" she said swallowing harshly and then turning back to her laptop. Nobody commented on the fact that she had to blink rather rapidly before directing her attention elsewhere. Lena smiled despite herself.
'I'm so happy it went alright'
That was Embry, they were sharing thoughts and Lena was pleased to see that he was getting better at recognising when she wanted to use her gifts. After all not once tonight had he started any conversation by swearing.
'So am I. And I think I could really like being Rosalie and Emmett's daughter. But…but there is one thing, were moving. It's gonna be somewhere in Canada, they want to stay so I can get a diploma here. It…is that gonna be alright with you?"
'Don't see why not' Embry said in a careless sought of way. Lena grinned and fist pumped into the darkness knowing that nobody could see her.
'Hell I like a good run and Canada's nice for a wolf, lots of clean air and snow and woods to hide in. Besides It will be a way for me to condition myself to the smell"
Lena laughed out loud.
Embry cackled in her head too and she found her heart was lighter than she was in weeks.
She was home.
Rosalie was rubbing hand cream on her hands when Emmett came out of the bathroom with a look that she recognised as one he gave whenever he had done something, anything that he knew she would not approve off.
She wiped her hands (granted her skin was perfect but she liked to keep to some routines she depended on in the 1930s) and then turned to her husband.
"What did you do?" she asked reaching for her hairbrush
Emmett gave a sigh and ran a hand through his hair and then pulling at the blanket she kept on the edge of the couch for nights when she wished she was human and could feel the cold.
"Rose I think I found Lena's human Mom" he said finally.
Rosalie dropped the hairbrush.
Upstairs she could hear her daughter giggle.
And there it is, that is the last cliffhanger of this story.
Next Chapter-As Lena finally gets some closure she comes face to face with another half human, half vampire who wants an explanation for why Lena disappeared. Penultimate chapter of this story.