Chapter 10- Decisions

Carlisle drove me in the morning to school. He was thinking very intensely about work, which made me think he was trying to hide something from me. He was better than the rest of them at hiding his thoughts because he had lived with me the longest.

"Nervous for your exams?" His voice sounded casual. Too casual.

"No. What are you hiding from me?"

Carlisle smiled, continuing to think about a patient he was trying to diagnose. "Nothing you need to worry about right now son"

I signed dramatically.

Carlisle walked me into the office, even though I told him he could have just stayed in the car.

He looks so… different. Yet still the same. Mrs. Cope compared myself to my vampire self in her head, noting the similarities and differences. He's still as beautiful though. It's good to see some colour in his face.

I sat in the little office writing my exams while Mrs. Cope and Carlisle chatted quietly. All my teachers were sitting in their classrooms, grading exams, making it very easy for me to cheat. I did not need to hear their thoughts to ace these exams though.

I finished my English essay on Fight Club and Psycho. I was comforted, looking at my writing. I was glad that it did not seem to change, and I was relieved to have another piece of myself that was not altered.

I was almost finished with my Spanish exam when a few of the teachers came by the office. Mr. Mason smiled at me and took my biology exam,

"Do I even need to bother grading this? Or should I just give you 100%?"

I shrugged, not wanting to be smug.

"I heard you got into a few different premed programs," Mr. Mason continued, "Congratulations"

Harvard, Dartmouth, NYU, Columbia… I wonder which one his father went to. He strikes me as a kid who would follow his dad's footsteps.

"Thanks" I muttered,

Mr. Mason smiled at me again and went to sit beside Carlisle, "You must be proud"

"He wouldn't be here without his great teachers"

Mr. Mason and Mrs. Cope were both thinking about Carlisle's modesty. Everyone here thought of him and Esme as saints for taking in five children who grew up in foster care. Their conclusion was right.

I finished my history exam and handed the pile of tests to Mrs. Cope and walked out of Forks High school.

"Your teachers are all very friendly" Carlisle commented. I could tell he was relieved to do something normal.

"Yeah, I guess so"

I climbed into the passenger side as Carlisle sighed, allowing his thoughts to flow more freely. The wolves had come back to our place, Jacob being concerned about Bella's well being. Tanya and Eleazar being defensive, uncomfortable around wolves that killed their friend.

"What?" I choked, "Why did Jasper put me in a comma then? I could have helped"

"There was too much tension in the room. He thought it would be easier with less emotions in the room"

I rolled my eyes, "Everything is getting so complicated."

"It'll be okay Edward. No need to worry" Carlisle's tone was sincere, but I could tell he did not think I would stop worrying.

"We still have a newborn army to deal with. And the Volturi"

Maybe we could make peace with the newborns, but that would not help us with the Volturi. They wanted Alice, Bella, and I. I couldn't see a way we could avoid that.

Carlisle parked in the garage and we walked over to the house. He was not annoyed at moving at human speed, but those in the house were whining at our slow pace.

Bella quickly moved to my side as we entered the room.

Tanya was very rude to Bella this morning. I calmed Bella down and explained Tanya's… Obsession. Bella is feeling pretty insecure about everything. Alice winced in sympathy as I squeezed Bella's hand.

I thought Tanya was going to be good. She seemed polite to Bella last night.

Jacob was also here, surprisingly. He was not watching Bella though, which I was extremely grateful for. He was watching one of the other wolves, Leah Clearwater. He clearly did not like her on a surface level, but it seemed as though he was developing an understanding of her.

"We need to kill them. All of them" Jacob began,

"There may be another way" Esme insisted, "They are young. They do not know the rules. We could go to Seattle and explain them to these young ones and ask them to leave Seattle."

"No," Leah said as she stood up, "They killed Sam, They need to all die for what they have done"

"And they are killing innocent people now," Jacob added, "We need to end them"

We cannot alliante the wolves, Rosalie pointed her thoughts towards me, We have to help them avenge their leaders death.

"This isn't our job anymore" Jasper's thoughts were on Alice, as usual. He was not about to put Alice into any danger. "The Volturi knew about Victoria's plans. They will deal with the newborns"

Alice gasped metally, her vision of the future changing dramatically.

Alec using his gift to restrain them all. Jane, Demetri, and Felix putting them in a uhaul truck. Them coming here, focused on killing Bella, ready to end us. All of us dead on a field.

There was another future though. It was hazy, very less probable compared to the other. Aro stood by our home, with Tanya and Eleazar beside him. They were sad. Aro touched Tanya's hand, smiled, and then walked off.

What decision was separating these two futures?

Alice stared at me, her eyes swirling with confusion. Jasper felt the mood change, and was about to say something out loud until Alice put a finger on her lips.

We have to figure this out. Figure out what is behind it. We cannot let the others know yet.

Alice did not know why she was reluctant to tell anyone about her vision, but she listened to her instinct.

"And what happens if the Volturi come after you?" Tanya blurted out,

"We need to focus on one issue at a time," Jasper bellowed,

"These two issues are molded together"

"Not necessarily," Carlisle sounded stressed, "They follow the law. They know we did not have a part with the newborns, and therefore will not punish us"

"But they will punish us for having two mortals who know the truth" Esme's voice was quiet, but still had the same level of anxiety that Carlisle's did.

"Then change us," Everyone turned to face Bella, "Changing us is the only way to keep everyone safe"

"We will start a war with you if you change them" Jacob's tone was furious. What is she thinking? She can have her happily ever after with her vampire without having to become a corpse.

"Well what if afterwards you changed us back into humans? Would that be okay?"

"Absolutely not," Jacob thought of his nightmare. Bella dead, drained of blood. My eyes red with her blood.

It was my nightmare too.

"We cannot put either of you through the pain," Carlisle tried not to remember me screaming in pain, asking to die.

"Bella is right," Tanya's words came slowly, "That is the only way to protect everyone"

I listened as the logic kicked in to everyone's mind.

Jacob and the pack looked at Tanya furiously and then left the house. None of them wanted Bella to be turned. They all heard stories of humans dying in the process.

"We will… give you some time" Tanya murmured as her and Eleazar left to go hunting.

Edward has been too quiet. This is the longest he's been silent for. Ever. "Edward, Sweetheart, what are you thinking?" Esme continued out loud, "We will get this sorted out. It will be okay"

I couldn't let Bella turn into a vampire. I couldn't allow her to be in pain. There had to be another way.

Edward, don't worry. Alice showed me her newest vision, which seemed very probable now. Aro arriving with Jane and Alec, and Tanya letting him know her thoughts. She seemed distraught, and even Aro seemed sad by whatever Tanya saw. Aro and the others leaving Forks, the murders in Seattle stopping.

I exhaled. Her vision seemed extremely likely now, even though nobody had made a decision about whether or not Bella or I should become immortal.

"The home phone is going to ring in a few minutes. Charlie is wondering when Bella will be home" Alice tapped her chin, looking into the future, "Esme, can you field the call? Tell Charlie the boys are camping tonight and ask him if it would be okay if Bella stayed here again. We should stay together in a group, unless Bella would rather go home"

"No," Bella insisted, "I'm good with staying here another night"

Esme nodded as the phone rang.

Bella blushed and leaned her head against me. I wrapped my arm around her waist and Jasper chucked,

You two totally had sex last night.

I buried my face in Bella's hair, hoping my face gave nothing away.

You're lucky Emmett is distracted right now. I won't tease you two.

I looked up at him and raised my eyebrow,

Okay, yeah I will when Bella is not around, and I will make jokes privately in my head. But I'm not going to ask for details like Emmett will.

I was a tad resentful that I did not make many sex jokes at Emmett and Rosalie during their nearly wed phase. Emmett did not know Jasper and Alice well enough to be making indiendos when they were in their nearly wed phase, but he unfortunately knew me well enough to. Hopefully he would leave Bella alone though.

"Can I take Bella to the meadow?" I asked Carlisle, turning away from Jasper. He seemed reluctant to say no, but he was uncomfortable with the idea of us being that far.

"Or we could go to the fort" I asked,

"What fort?" Bella was lost,

"You haven't shown her the fort? You have to take her there" He could see the fort from here, which made him significantly less nervous.

I smiled as I pulled Bella through the backyard. The sun broke through the clouds, and I watched the rays shine on my arm. My skin looked the same as Bella's now, and I couldn't help but smile.

It was easy now. We always belonged together. And now we could be together.

Forever.