The Whispering Woods
Chapter Thirty-two
"Didn't speak the language!" Bella repeated, her tone rising in pitch. "What were you speaking?"
"We don't know," Garrett clarified, huffing as he put the suit on one of his worktables. "We can't even remember the language now to research it." They all surrounded it, noticing the details, under the gleaming copper, silver, and black exterior. "The old man and his wife took us in since none of us came up as missing. No one ever came to claim us, and they were the only ones willing to take us all in."
"'Old man and his wife'—who are you talking about?" Edward watched Esme and wondered just how intertwined their lives were.
"My father and birth mother," Esme replied, earning a shocked gasp from Bella. "Those men, including Charlie and Garrett, had already moved before they had me, but they were there almost every Sunday for dinner until my father died. Well, most of them."
Bella had about a thousand questions—like who were the other "young men" and why had no one mentioned any of this before now? And the whole age thing?
Edward's brow furrowed as a memory from the incident with Charlie popped into his head, one of Charlie's memories. "He was the first, wasn't he?" Edward asked. "The old man, he was the first the woods spit out."
Charlie nodded. Garrett looked impressed he figured it out. Esme appeared worried.
"Grandpa was like you?" Bella screeched, starting to pace. "Please tell me he knew more and told you all something."
"Like we said, our memories are fading, every year we remember less and less." Garrett grabbed Bella by the shoulders, meeting her eyes. "The townsfolk, they've forgotten that we weren't initially from Forks. Or that we didn't age until..."
"Who else is part of the five?" She shrugged out of her uncle's hold and stepped beside Edward, who took a protective stance in front of her.
Charlie and Garrett looked at each other for several seconds, but Esme broke the silence. "Is it instinctual for you to offer Bella protection?"
"Yes," Edward growled, his hands itching for a weapon. "Why is that?"
"He's definitely a guardian then." Garrett nodded and walked into the storage closet, unearthing a sheathed broadsword. The appearance of such a weapon brought an oppressive silence and tension throughout the room.
"Will someone answer his question?" Bella tried to push Edward aside, but he refused to budge, glaring at her when she kept trying. "I can take care of myself, or did you forget what I did to Mike?"
"Did what to Mike?" Esme looked savage in her anger. "What did he do to you?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Charlie asked, just as his cell phone rang. He cursed as he answered when he saw it was from the station.
Bella and Edward didn't have to answer.
The caller relayed what they'd heard from a concerned student at the local high school. The longer Charlie listened, the redder and more imposing he became, his free hand reaching for the sword, crushing the phone in his hand.
"I'll kill him."
AN: I apologize for the delay, I couldn't get time until now to post. Tomorrow is my birthday, I'm hoping I can go to Starbucks to write but it might not happen. We'll see. I might not be able to post next week, my mom is having surgery, and though it's minor, I'll be dealing with everything that entails. Thanks for your continued support, hopefully, you're all still reading this strange little story.