Chapter Ten
While the Human's Away Pt. I
Celeste's backside had grown numb by the time the car wound through the unknown roads of Denali. Despite the stinging tingles, she still turned excitedly in her seat to watch the landscape pass through her window. Here, the air was clear and lush. There were lands still untouched. Alaska was her favorite place she and her family had lived.
Here water like glass reflected the gray cliffs and jagged mountains. The clouds cut across the big, open sky. In the summer, there was no night and, in the winter, there was no sun. At least, for the most part. There may be an hour or two during either season when the sun either dipped below the horizon or rose during the day. For her family, this was no issue – no sleep to be hindered, obviously – but for Celeste this meant a summer of blackout curtains. Though, with the melancholy that had descended upon her, it was likely she gave this minor inconvenience rare thought.
The car had started on its final stretch when a dim smile appeared across Carlisle's face.
"They've come out to greet us," Esme said with a pleased grin of her own.
A few minutes later, Celeste was able to see the five members of the Denali clan waiting to receive them. A striking dark-haired couple stood hand in hand while three beautiful women with varying shades of blonde hair stood to their right. As Carlisle finally parked the car and the three Cullens walked up, one of the blondes – Tanya – stepped forward. The sun caught the tinges of orange in her hair. An outsider might think the true leader of the Denali clan would be Eleazar. But once Tanya stepped up, creating distance between herself and the others, it was distinctly evident who wielded the power.
Ah, thought Celeste sarcastically, patriarchy is a bitch.
Carlisle approached Tanya with ease.
"Carlisle, welcome," said Tanya.
"Tanya," he nodded. This part always intrigued Celeste – how two leaders greeted one another. The greeting set the tone of the rest of the interaction. Carlisle and Tanya maintained respectful distance from one another while some instinctual part of their mind surmised the other's intentions. The stiff air broke when Tanya's lips split into a wide half-moon smile.
"We're so pleased for you to join us," Carmen cut in, already making her way over to embrace Esme. The two lines denoting the different covens disbanded in favor of a large, mingled gathering. Celeste stayed back, suddenly feeling too drained of energy to match the surrounding excitement.
A legitimate jolt at her hip caused her to jump back into her skin. Kate wiggled her fingers, emitting the softest of curves from the side of her mouth. Her bright gold eyes sparkled with an analytical and bemused mirth. Celeste focused in on the soft blue electricity pulsing around Kate's index finger.
"Not sure what I did that warranted an actual electrical shock but…it's nice to see you too," Celeste said, still wary of Kate's pulsing finger. Kate laughed. She had a lower, huskier natural timbre so when she laughed, it rumbled like a brushstroke in her chest.
Kate laid a no longer charged hand on Celeste's arm and briefly squeezed.
"It is good to see you." With the touch of her hand and a hardening of her eyes, Kate made the conviction of her fury obvious. Celeste swallowed hard.
I swear, if one more person touches me and gives me sad eyes I will turn around and sit in that car until they take me back home.
Bracing her thoughts, Celeste offered a tight-lipped smile that resembled more of a turtle retreating into its shell than anything genuine. Kate sensed this and removed her hand from Celeste's arm. The others were still hovering around one another while Kate and Celeste remained apart from it all.
"It's a shame its not colder," Kate mused, "You could have gone ice skating." Celeste's ears perked up. In her many years of living, visiting, and wandering the Denali's property, she spent many hours making figure-eights over frozen ponds. Her siblings would join sometimes – Edward would be a one-man band unless Emmett or Jasper challenged him, Alice would pull Celeste around or try daring flips, Rosalie was most likely to watch. The very first time Celeste had ever ice skated, Carlisle and Esme had brought her out, each holding one of her small toddler hands. Eventually, when she showed independent interest, one would steady her while she skated to the other. Her parents and siblings could have skated with her forever, but it was Celeste that stayed out in the dark daytime year after year. Emmett or Jasper would be dispatched to carry her inside when Carlisle began to worry about frostbite. Rarely did she come inside of her own accord. Eleazar began to call her Ice Princess or princesa de hielo after about the sixth time she was forced inside.
"Guess I'll just have to go hiking? Maybe swimming? Water is melted ice, it's practically the same thing." Celeste shrugged with a cheeky side glance at Kate.
"Hmm, I'm not sure you could get away with that. Professional skaters and swimmers would riot." Kate peeked back at Celeste through her pale curtain of hair. Her deep-set eyes made her look like she had a sly secret. Kate had a calculating, warrior mind. Her shrewd eyes were constantly assessing and reassessing every situation. Celeste could feel her staring at her healing bruises, the scabs and pink scars that covered her face.
Celeste turned her face down, inspecting the dirt.
Eleazar suggested going inside to settle in and unpack, a suggestion Celeste grabbed at greedily to escape. She insisted on carrying her own bags to a west facing bedroom on the second floor. The walls were painted a light tawny brown that paired well with the rich cream comforter and miscellaneous bedroom furniture. Her bags were left to be unpacked at a later time.
Celeste stepped through French glass doors onto a balcony that had a wide stone ledge. She leaned against it, taking in the deep woods extending out from the house. The shadows grew darker the longer she lingered there, and it took the call of her mom to break her away.
Esme creaked open the door, knocking once upon entry. She beamed brightly at her daughter.
"Unpacking?" she asked. The skin at her throat glittered from a passing sunray. Celeste blinked the blinding sparkles away. No matter how many times she'd witness the vampire skin phenomenon, it was still jarring. And, God, just so unreal.
"Um, yeah. It's going great," Celeste flapped her hand in dismissal. Esme frowned.
"You're not happy." I want to be. I'm just not.
"Moooom," Celeste groaned, sinking onto the bed. "I'm doing my best to see your perspective, truly. But you can't just expect me to feel better the moment we arrive. It's…just sort of embarrassing? I could feel everyone looking at them – at everything on my face. Even to me, the bruises and cuts are still a little visible. But to know that you can see even more than I can and that its so much worse…" She trailed off, noting the growing worry overtaking her mother's timeless face. Celeste sighed.
"I'm not saying coming here was a bad idea. I'm really honestly not. But, just a little space? Is that too much to ask for? I mean, Kate literally looked like she wanted to hunt down the guy the minute I was out of sight. And, you expect me to believe that a spontaneous trip to Alaska was 'just for my benefit'? Come on. Like you're not going to go right back home and plot some scheme that I'll be blissfully and conveniently ignorant to." Celeste had been motioning more and more vigorously with her hands and when she ran out of words, her hands slapped against her jeans. Esme joined her on the bed, taking a millisecond to smooth down the soft cotton shirt she'd worn for the drive.
"Celeste," she said in a tone that was gradually descending into lecture territory, "all we've been giving you is space." Celeste almost interrupted. Esme lifted her brow imperceptibly before continuing.
"Please be good to yourself. A terrible thing happened, and you have every right to feel however you want regarding it. I worry when you speak too little, smile too small, can barely manage a convincing laugh. Sweetheart, you are allowed to be angry. You are allowed to want justice. Now, I don't agree with some that hunting down this man will solve everything. I don't like killing. But, my darling girl, you are ignoring your problems. There are options. Chief Swan needs your cooperation for a proper investigation, we need your approval if you would prefer other methods…" Esme stopped to shake her head. To close her eyes. "Vengeance, I believe, is not what you want. For that, I am so proud of you. Your heart, your soul is bigger and brighter than if I had wished it myself. You're so grown up that I can scarcely fathom it. But, there will never be a single day that I won't fight for you. For your heart and what's inside of it. Let us do that much. Because ever since…it happened, I cannot seem to find you. Your heart seems lost to me."
Hot pinpricks of tears warred behind Celeste's eyes before two defectors dropped on her lap. Her mind might have wanted to keep a tight grip on her feelings, but her body remembered.
"Momma," Celeste croaked. This was too big to carry alone. Esme pulled her in. Celeste collapsed into her mother. Where most children would be comforted by warmth and softness, she gleaned solace from frigid air and sturdy arms. Esme acted as a cold compress for her hot neck.
"Please don't hurt anyone for me," Celeste cried. "I don't want you to lose everything. I don't want you to become less human." Esme stiffened and pulled away to look at Celeste's boiling hot face.
"You're worried about us? Oh, honey. Your brother," Esme rolled her eyes heavily. If Edward were there, Celeste imagined he might have cringed at whatever Esme was thinking. "It is not your job to preserve our souls. But it is our job to protect you. I will make sure the others don't resort to bodily harm. We will act, though. That much is certain." Celeste cried a little longer. Esme continued to hold onto her, occasionally rocking the two of them from side to side. A familiar, nearly forgotten ritual.
Eventually, Celeste sat up, wiping her cheeks with sweaty palms. "Okay," she breathed out sharply, "I think I get it. I promise to trust you, as long as you promise to trust me."
Esme pulled her in again, swooped a kiss into her hair, and chuckled softly.
"I promise, my girl. Take your time. I'm here when your heart is ready again."
Celeste and Esme ventured downstairs later, after the redness of Celeste's face had faded and the puffiness subsided. Carlisle sent them a strong tender glance. He gathered Celeste to him first, tucking her under his chin. He took in the scent of her shampoo – a very benign waft of vanilla and pearlescent soap – and dropped a kiss to the top of her head.
"I trust you're feeling better," he whispered, just for her. The others might have heard, but Celeste did not mind much. They stayed together for close to two minutes before Carlisle could bring himself to release her. Esme wrapped her arms around his waist shortly thereafter, the two of them sharing a thoughtful, parental glance. Oh, the conspiracy, Celeste chuckled to herself.
She observed the others. They had interrupted some sort of discussion.
A new face stood out among the rest. He had long, black dreadlocks and wore multiple unbuttoned shirts that left his abdomen exposed. The long-haired vampire considered Celeste curiously. His muted red eyes kept searching her for signs of blood. Celeste had seen that quizzical look from every gold, amber, and red-eyed creature she had ever encountered.
"This is Laurent," Carlisle explained. He glanced between Laurent and Celeste with a mild furrow to his brow. "He provided us with the warning that allowed us to stop James and Victoria. Our cousins have been teaching him our ways."
"And he's been doing quite well," Irina piped in, almost overflowing with pride. Carlisle nodded in acknowledgement. Laurent continued to stare at Celeste like she algae grew from her ears.
"Laurent," voiced Carlisle, "This is our daughter, Celeste."
Laurent barely masked his horror. "Daughter?"
"I have never met a coven with such a collection of humans."
"She's not a candle," Kate scoffed.
Laurent continued, effectively ignoring her.
"Are you not worried the Volturi will come for you?"
Carlisle's countenance changed – just a shift of weight from one foot to another, a soft clasping of hands behind his back – but Celeste could tell he had gone on the defensive.
"Celeste," pressed Carlisle, "as you may have noticed, has no detectable blood scent. I have not been in direct contact with the Volturi in near a century. I see no imminent threat unless you would like to tell them. That is, of course, up to you." Gone was the usual kindness in Carlisle's neutral face. He was not The Good Doctor but rather, The Barely Ruffled But Clearly Annoyed Doctor.
"I have no interest in reporting your petty trifles with humans – "
"Interesting tone coming from someone who claims to be on their way to reformation," Garrett cut in. He had blown in out of nowhere. Celeste started at his voice, noting that his eyes were now an effervescent red. He leaned lazily against the wall, coat collar upturned, one hand in the pocket of his worn jeans. Real, but also not real.
Celeste sensed Carlisle relax. Garrett smirked and then descended the short stairs with a laissez-faire type ease. How he managed to be anarchial and blasé continued to confound humans and vampires alike.
Laurent blinked – just once and very robotically. "I see my opinion will not do much good here." Irina's brow creased and she moved near him to whisper something that Celeste could not hear. Carlisle cleared his throat and turned his kind eyes to Garrett.
"Always good to see you, Garrett." Garrett materialized at Carlisle's side to clap his shoulder in acknowledgement. He sent a nod and smile in Esme's direction.
"Lovely to see you again," she said.
"Nice entrance," Celeste teased weakly. Her throat had gone dry from the crying earlier. Garrett winked and she rolled her eyes. These small moments never changed.
The next few days with Carlisle and Esme in Denali proved more trying than Celeste had originally considered. She didn't want them to worry, she wanted to look like she was making progress. Maybe if she carried on long enough, everyone would stop scrutinizing her every breath.
Days later, once her parents said their beseeching goodbyes and drove off into the unending daylight, Celeste was left with four very persistent vampires. Tanya took her swimming and hiking. She went hunting with Kate (from a safe distance, but it was something she would have to avidly hide from her thoughts once she went home). She turned the Denali's kitchen into a warzone trying to make a traditional breakfast (a food fight ensued, Tanya lunged at Kate when egg found its way into her hair). Carmen read to her in the evenings like she was still a small child and sometimes Celeste would read to her, too. She and Eleazar went on long walks most afternoons. The long days left her exhausted with little time to herself. It was all very well-orchestrated.
On most occasions, Irina and Laurent were off doing their own thing. After the awkward encounter on her first day, Celeste couldn't say she missed the company.
Garrett was often present but liked to watch from the sidelines. Sometimes when she caught his eye, he would smile at her like he knew everything going on inside her head.
One morning, Celeste was up before anyone could barge into her room. She had donned a three-quarter zip athletic hoodie, leggings, and running shoes.
She wandered down the steps, wincing at the eerie calm of the house. Celeste prayed her shoes wouldn't squeak on the floating wood staircase. With the back door in sight, she made a break for it. Just one hour of alone time, that's all I'm asking. Somehow, she made it outside without anyone stopping her. She walked into the quiet forest, picking up the pace, willing her legs to break into a jog.
After thirty minutes of winding through tree trunks, Celeste began to slow down. She'd put enough space between herself and the Denali's that she finally felt peace.
It was then, as she leaned against a low branch to catch her breath, that she heard a crunch from mere feet behind her.
"Son of a bitch," she muttered to herself. "If you're here to kill me, could you just go away? I'm really not in the mood to die today. Please and thanks." Celeste started walking again, acting like the noise she had heard meant nothing – even though she kept looking over her shoulder every few minutes. Her heart had finally settled when a voice from above said:
"Nice and quiet out here, isn't it?"
Celeste actually peed in her pants and that was not a gross exaggeration. Well, it was gross, but…God, gotta love homonyms and the never ending clusterfuck that is the English language.
Garrett (because, of course) was several branches up in a nearby tree, just leaning against it like he could have been taking a nap. He grinned at her, clearly half-enjoying the utter terror that was now soaking through her underwear. Would it be too soon to wish that asshole had actually murdered me?
"I'm genuinely curious as to why you think its funny to sneak up on someone who has just been recently attacked, but you seem like the type to not really give a shit, so I won't even bother." Celeste remarked viciously. She turned away and started walking in a different direction.
Garrett jumped down from his branch gracefully and fell into step with her in seconds.
"I think I'm more hurt you thought I was out here to kill you," Garrett joked drily.
"You're annoying," Celeste bit out, still reeling from the scare. What a stupid man.
"And you smell," Garrett returned with barely a bristle.
"You scared me, and you didn't even apologize. What part of your brain was like 'let's make jokes at her expense, that will fix everything?' 1780 whatever was a long time ago. Men can't just do whatever they want. Not that they ever should have, but yeah, whatever. I've made my point; I don't need to keep going in circles." She wasn't looking at him. Her fingers had curled into her palms.
"This is the most riled up I've seen you in weeks. I would say I just did you a favor."
"Whatever," Celeste growled. "Not like I asked you to 'restore me to health' or anything. And this is an awful way to go about it so you can just leave me alone now, okay? Okay. Goodbye."
"This anger feels a bit displaced," Garrett drawled. Celeste let out an irritated scream.
"Yeah? Well, good. It should."
Garrett stared at her with a sort of mocking expectation and Celeste just lost it.
"Oh my God," she yelled, "Just LEAVE ME ALONE!"
She again tried to stalk off in a different direction. Garrett crossed his arms and followed her, his face glib.
For several blessed minutes, he didn't speak.
"You should keep screaming."
Celeste stopped, whirled around.
"What the actual hell are you even talking about?"
Garrett gave an irritating shrug of his shoulders. His face said: You should already know.
I am going to crack him into a thousand separate pieces and set them on fire one by one and then —
Homicidal tendencies aside, maybe this stupid patriot had a point.
"Scream? Like, loudly?"
He grinned from the side of his mouth.
"Do you need a demonstration?"
Celeste nodded silently.
With a sprawling grin, Garrett let his arms fall away from his chest. He let out a hearty, hollering whoop. Celeste thought it sounded more like a battle cry than a scream of liberation. Or perhaps, for him, this was a scream of liberation. A small fluttering started in her stomach.
She opened her mouth. Closed it.
Garrett turned to her expectantly.
"Ah?" Celeste rolled her eyes at herself. "Ahhhh?" She'd never screamed in the middle of a forest before, it seemed intimidatingly melodramatic when she stopped to think about it. Blood rushed to her face. She could feel the redness pulsing in her nose.
"I can't do this," she said. "It's so ridiculous." Garrett sighed.
Disappointedly? Mockingly?
Celeste groaned, "I'm not screaming while you're here watching me!" Really, who did this?
"So, if I leave, you'll do it?" He didn't sound so sure.
"Maybe!"
There stood a beat of impasse.
"If you promise to run far enough away that you can't hear me, I promise I'll do it."
"Sure."
"I will!"
Garrett huffed and inside, Celeste smiled all too triumphantly.
"Okay," he shrugged. "Have fun."
"I will." She said it with a little ripple of defiance, and honestly, no one had ever mentioned how satisfying that could be.
Garrett gave her a dry nod, turned, and left only the rustle of pines in his wake.
Celeste blinked exactly three times and screamed. Loudly.
When she walked out of the forest an hour later, Garrett was waiting for her.
He'd heard her and she knew that. He knew she knew that. But, neither said anything. Instead, Garrett said:
"You look slightly less tortured." He used a light tone and Celeste found she did not mind the comment. She hummed a response, eyes unfocused to her thoughts.
She felt less tortured.
Celeste existed in her newfound comfort for precisely twenty-three hours before she witnessed something that tossed her off-kilter. She recovered, though. Awkwardly.
She had just filled a green ceramic bowl with some cereal (cold foods only for breakfast, she'd decided, see food fight above). All her energy went into not letting any milk spill from the bowl. She wasn't even looking up as she made her way into the living room.
She didn't stand a chance.
And for God's sake, why did she have to walk in on Kate and Garrett's new development?
Kate was sitting on Garrett's lap – nay, straddling – and poor Celeste, it was all she could do not to dump her cheerios on the floor.
They ceased their efforts at her entrance both with equally nonplussed expressions. Oh hey there, they seemed to be saying, did you need something? A towel for the spit that just came out of your mouth?
Gods above, what a position to be in.
Celeste, eventually:
"I was going to eat on the couch but clearly you need it more for what immortal banging you're currently doing." Immortal banging? Why don't you just say: Hey I see that you're totally fucking on the couch, I'm gonna go die now. In the kitchen. With my spoon. Honestly.
She left.
Funny the lengths one will go to avoid another. Kate was having none of it.
A week later, Celeste found herself in a similar situation. She was about to turn around and walk right back out when Kate said:
"Oh, for all the – I'm a thousand years old, Celeste. I'm allowed to have sex."
So much for decorum.
Celeste wanted to point out that most people – whether 1000 or 18 – didn't have sex where their family could just walk in.
Still, the discomfort did wear off. She and Garrett went back to their regularly quippy ways. Interactions with Kate went back to normal.
Even so, Celeste's mind did wander. What was their sex life even like?
No, no. She shouldn't think about that.
And yet, she did.
Hi, everyone! I know it has been a minute and I'm so, so sorry. This is something I do for fun but no matter what, I will finish it. I started grad school in the fall and I've been struggling with some motivation issues. It felt like the life had been sucked out of me for awhile (haha). Thank you to all those who have favorited and commented while I've been away - I saw each and every one! If you want, let me know what you think of this. This chapter really put me through the ringer, so I'm thrilled to finally be done with it. I hope you enjoyed!
On an unrelated note, I hope everyone is doing okay - what with COVID resurges and political disasters - the world is somehow a crazier place. Please know I wish the best for each every one of you.
Stay Safe and Be Well.