Chapter Two: Cold Comfort
Volterra - February 4th
"Master, he's gone." The guard member stood perfectly still at attention in the doorway of Aro's private chambers. Aro paused his reading just enough to raise an eyebrow and glance at the boy, who couldn't have been more than seventeen when he was turned.
"Is there a guard member tracking him?" Aro's impatience made the boy visibly shiver, so Aro immediately put on his best smile, which seemed to calm him enough to answer.
"No sir, he… we have no idea where he is." Aro's expression broke, and a scowl replaced his frown. The boy's body language changed again, but this time he began to fold into himself, cowering under Aro's furious stare. Aro forced himself to smile again.
"Do not be afraid, I do not kill messengers. Understood?" The boy nodded. "Who was on watch?"
"Elliot." He blurted out immediately, any hesitation in giving up a fellow Guard member had been forgotten under Aro's gaze.
Aro nodded and looked back at his book, "bring Elliot to the council chamber immediately."
"Yes Master." The boy bowed, completely breaking eye contact, a different and more subservient show of respect than his older enforcers bothered to give him anymore.
"Dismissed." Aro said without his usual humor. He snapped closed his book and stood, dropping it on a table as he headed directly to the council room. Two chairs stood where three had once been. The white marble was stained by the wood which had bled into the stone over centuries and marked the previous positions of the chairs.
"Aro, what do you make of this?" Caius said as Aro sat beside him.
"Isabella and her daughter made more of an impression on him than I realized. Their deaths hit him hard, he is in mourning… again." Aro was bored of Marcus and his never ending grief, he couldn't understand how or why Marcus was still so closed off after so long.
"I almost feel sorry for him, if he wasn't mourning two filthy traitors." Caius said with more than an edge to his voice, and Aro wondered if his brother would execute Marcus for such a slight infraction. Still, Marcus was missing now and that had to be dealt with. The boy… Riley was his name… was leading Elliot by a few feet as they entered the chamber. Aro stood and smiled his classic smile.
"Elliot my boy." Aro moved forward and took the guard's hands in his. A flood of memories poured into Aro's mind, and with practiced ease he sifted and discarded the irrelevancies. He had been in the chamber when it happened, and from that moment he was supposed to be watching Marcus…
"... you are far too dangerous to be left unchecked." Aro watched his former self pull out a cell phone, and dial the number to the detonator.
"Aro, please no!" Marcus pleaded, his voice held real emotion and it almost drew the memory copy of Aro's attention. Instead he simply hit the button to detonate. There was a brief flicker of chaos on the other side of the hologram before the line went dead.
"What did you just do?" Marcus said, his voice flat again.
"What I had to do, Sulpicia made sure that the substructure of their home, where their full immersion holo projector was installed, was poured with explosives wired to a remote detonator. If they ever crossed us, it was the only way to be sure we could execute proper punishment." Aro explained easily, and Marcus simply nodded, although the micro expression that flickered across his face felt almost like anger.
"Don't get your panties in a twist Marcus. Your sponsorship was never going to last long term, they were tools, not family." Caius said with his normal sneer, but sat forward slightly towards Marcus to gauge his reaction.
"My definition of family is quite different from yours, Caius. Aro, I have waited long enough." Marcus stood and folded his hands in front of him so as to not look aggressive.
"What do you mean brother?" Aro said, tilting his head slightly to express his curiosity.
"I know what you did to Didyme. I had no interest in revenge, she was gone. Now you have taken from me again, I am done with this charade. I formally resign from this council, this coven. This perverse family, you are no longer my brothers. Perhaps you never have been." Marcus stood and walked out without another word or look, retreating directly to his rooms. Elliot kept pace behind him and then stood sentinel, carefully listening to movements in the room.
Ten hours later and there were no longer even small sounds coming from Marcus's private chambers so Elliot broke protocol and entered the space. Aro didn't react to the memory, but that act alone sealed Elliots' fate. He moved through the rooms silently, finding them empty. Not just devoid of decoration which would fit Marcus's personality, but there was nothing. No books, not art, no furniture. It seemed impossible, there was also no trace of Marcus himself. Elliot sounded the alarm, and Riley arrived less than a minute later.
Aro let go of Elliot and pursed his lips. "Disturbing discovery to be sure. Marcus seems to have been planning an escape from us for some time. I wonder how much of his persona was a charade? Elliot, you did your duty and never abandoned your responsibility. The initial reason why I called you here has been addressed, you were not at fault for this unfortunate situation."
Elliot looked relieved, and started to smile when Aro held up a hand. "However, you did violate the sanctity and privacy of a member of the coven. For that your punishment is quite clear. Riley, it is your turn."
Riley stepped up behind Elliot and without hesitation wrapped his hands around Elliot's head and began to twist it off at the neck, until Aro held up a hand. "Stop, I amend my order. Marcus was no longer a member of our Coven so that rule no longer applies. Elliot you did your duty, and may return to it. Dismissed." Elliot was shaking in fear, but nodded and returned to the Guard wing of the complex.
"I understand you are a wayward pup, turned to begin a plan to destroy the Cullens?" Aro said without accusation, and in turn Riley nodded.
"Yes master, that was many years ago." His voice held a bit more confidence, he was new to the guard even though he was nearly a century old.
"So you know the area?" Aro asked with a raised eyebrow, trying to imply his meaning without asking directly.
"Yes, quite well. I'm from Forks." Riley did emphasize the town name, knowing how much drama had risen up with Isabella Swan and her daughter. He had trained under her, but had never really made the connection to his old home town until she returned there with her daughter. In truth he always had a bit of a crush on her.
"Good, good. I wonder, how long has it been since you've been home?" Aro asked, and Riley looked down knowing exactly how long it had been. Ninety-six years, five months and twenty-two days, when he said goodbye to his parents and little sister on his way to college.
"Ninety years or so." He fudged, feeling where this line of questioning was going.
"It might be a good time for a vacation, I feel you've earned it. May I suggest you return to your old stomping grounds. Or not, whatever suits you." Aro closed his hands together and smiled in that way that set Riley's teeth on edge.
"Yes Master." He bowed again, low and deep breaking eye contact with Aro. Something Victoria had taught him as a way to show subservience even if you didn't fully mean it.
"Dismissed." Aro said with a malicious smile, and Riley knew exactly what his orders were, leaving without another word.
Aro turned to Caius and then marched up to his own chair and sat down with enough force to make the ancient reinforced hardwood creak. "He betrayed us."
"To be fair, you betrayed him first. Murdering Didyme." Caius leveled a miserable smile at his brother, in truth they hated each other but their goals often aligned.
"Betrayed him?" Aro glared at Caius, "she was my sister!" Aro paused and looked down at his own hands, feeling the old shame over his horrific actions again for the first time in centuries, "and she made him weak."
"I am not arguing against your reasons, but you knew this would come out sooner or later." Caius was amused by Aro's reaction, he could never understand the emotional connection he had to his human sister. Her gift was antithetical to their goals, she had to be put down. He would've gladly done it too, but Aro said it had to be him. Centuries of guilt for no reason, he almost sighed at the banality of such emotions. Thankfully, Aro didn't dwell in them for long and looked up at Caius with a questioning brow.
"I wonder, how long has Marcus been working against us?" Aro looked over to where Marcus's chair used to sit and then back at Caius who nodded thoughtfully.
"I doubt we'll ever know for sure, but I can tell you that it grew into something more when a certain dark haired girl showed up in our chamber and Marcus adopted her." Caius let his eyes widen at the memory of Isabella's gasp of surprise and fear as her house exploded and almost let out a laugh of joy.
Forks High School - February 4th
"Why here?" Jasper asked with a slightly incredulous look on his face, glancing at everyone gathered. Four of the Denali, Kate, Garrett, Irina and Laurent and three others from his own coven, Rosalie, Emmett and his wife Adara who had been the one to organize this… conversation.
"There is so much going on. Alice is losing her mind, we have literal disaster victims recovering in Carlisle's office and I just thought we should step away and figure out where we stand. This place is closed on weekends, ensuring a modicum of privacy." Adara explained, her voice anxious and worried. Jasper nodded once, and gave her a sympathetic smile.
"I've always liked this school. I'm not sure why, but it feels good to be back here." Rosalie said unexpectedly as she took in the forest view from one of the windows.
"I still have no idea why you guys go to high-school. Feels a bit like self inflicted torture." Garrett's smile was fuller than it had been since they started their long run south, and Kate pulled him into a side hug and kissed his cheek. He let go of her and wandered towards the front of the classroom, sitting down at the teacher's desk and putting up his feet. "Although I admit I'm curious, I never had a formal education."
"It can be interesting on occasion. I suppose the real reason is that most of the places we have chosen to live have some social visibility so we have to pretend to blend into society." Jasper easily explained, although he knew it was an excuse. They had chosen places before without such a limitation and it suited them.
"Why not a big city where no one would care?" Kate asked with a smirk, sitting awkwardly at one of the student desks. "I spent a decade in New York and barely talked to anyone if I didn't seek out company."
"So that's where you went." Irina managed a chuckle.
Kate shrugged, "figured it was better than trying to live in a small town where I would stand out. I got bored after a while and missed home."
"That's the other reason for school, it keeps us occupied. Sure it can be repetitive, but there is some merit in monotony." Jasper didn't sound excited by his argument, but he clearly believed in what he was saying. The room quieted for a few minutes, as everyone thought about what needed to be discussed. There was one obvious topic, but no one wanted to start.
"So we should probably discuss Edward." Rosalie finally broke the silence.
"What don't we know?" Kate asked with a frown.
Jasper took a deep breath before starting, mostly as a way to delay what had to be said, "about a century ago, the last time we were here, we encountered Isabella. The events of the year following are now controversial, but essentially Edward started up a romance with her. There were some ups and downs, but during a family outing we encountered Laurent's coven."
"That's right, we heard them playing baseball and James, who was a vindictive shit, noticed Isabella and fixated on her and Edward as her mate. He picked up a hunt to draw out Edward. While a petty and cruel game, it was mostly Victoria's design, she was very controlling. I only ran with them for protection, but the things they did would give me nightmares if I could sleep. When I found out about the Cullens I sought out a different way." He looked over at Irina who smiled widely at him. "Anyway, your family did a lot to keep him at bay until eventually James was destroyed and I left the coven."
"After that we learned that Victoria was lurking around, and Edward made a strange play." Emmett continued. "There was an event at Bel.. Isabella's birthday party."
"That's my fault, I was still dealing with controlling my thirst and lingering jealousy because Alice had chosen Isabella over me. When she drew blood from a paper cut, I gave into my instincts and attacked." Jasper looked ashamed, it was such a pivotal moment in time and for years he had blamed himself for causing the drama that forced Edward to make that horrible decision.
"You never told us that." Rosalie said with a notable frown, her arms now crossed over her chest and a scowl beginning to form across her brow.
"It was a private matter at the time, and Alice was worried about acting on her feelings. She didn't want to hurt Edward or lose her relationship with Isabella." Jasper elaborated, mostly from putting together the pieces of his former lover's emotions at the time.
"Edward called a meeting that night and forced the decision to leave, without her." Emmett continued, although from his own hurt and angry expression everyone knew how he felt about that night.
"He actually threatened to kill her if we tried to stay behind." Rosalie said with disgust.
"That's awful." Irina shook her head, she hadn't known her cousin could be so manipulative and cruel.
"The condition was that if she chose to come with us, we would accept her with open arms." Jasper elaborated, shaking his head. "So when he told us that she wanted to remain human, it was sad and none of us felt right about it, but we had to accept her choice."
"All of us loved her as one of the family, so we mourned her. Alice most of all." Emmett chimed in, although he still felt guilty about his part in all of it. It was his vote that tipped the scales to leave. If he had just threatened Edward back, refused to accept his egregious threat and pushed to stay like he knew was right, then none of this would have happened.
"Edward disappeared for a few years, but when he came back it was as though Isabella never existed. I know my own anger grew resentful, and the family hasn't been the same since." Rosalie continued, holding herself a bit tighter and her frown deepening.
"When I came into the family, it was amazing how big of a hole was left by this human girl. I tried to learn everything I could, but no one was really talking." Adara added, looking at each of her family members briefly. "Then we came back here, and she was just alive again. Alice learned the truth first, which was complicated."
"Complicated how?" Irina asked, clearly invested in the story.
"He lied about her choice, and he lied about his reasons for affection." Jasper explained, seeing the confusion on Irina's face.
"Worst of all, he destroyed Alice's happiness because he had seen her vision of the future." Rosalie actually showed her teeth at the thought, she wanted to throttle him for betraying her sister in such a petty and ignorant way. To the point where she wasn't even sure she considered him a brother anymore.
"That makes a lot more sense in context, but can you be sure?" Kate asked, her eyes wide and her anger pushing out, sending sparks across her extended fingertips.
"No, it's her word against his, but I believe Alice." Rosalie's expression was hard but couldn't suppress the small smile of relief upon seeing Kate's reaction.
"I do too." Emmett said, backing up his wife. Rosalie smiled and pulled Emmett's arms around her waist and then pressed back into his chest.
Jasper clicked his teeth together a few times, "there's something else. When we spoke to Edward yesterday he seemed almost gleeful. Just before the explosion."
"You don't think?" Garrett said, shaking his head. It was either a move worthy of a cunning and ruthless man or the craven act of a coward. He honestly wasn't sure which fit Edward's personality better.
"Seems unlikely, but it almost felt like he knew something was coming." Adara added, she was personally convinced that the little rat had done something. But she couldn't begin to imagine how it was possible for Edward to have engineered that explosion. Or if he was not directly responsible, how was he connected to what happened?
"Whoever blew up their house, had to be close by." Garrett threw it out as a simple conjecture. Most explosives were set off using some kind of remote detonator.
"Perhaps, maybe Edward read the bomber's mind. He might have more information." Emmett guessed, although he wasn't sure where that train of thought went. He frowned. "Never mind, that's silly."
"If he had read the bomber's mind, then why didn't he warn us? Warn them? It would've gone a long way towards ingratiating himself back into Isabella's good graces." Irina shook her head in confusion, she couldn't imagine Edward acting so irrationally. Of course she had been witness to his outburst and the violence Isabella had committed against him.
"I don't think he wants that anymore." Jasper said quietly, not really wanting to admit his brother was capable of such behavior.
"I'm not that versed with explosives anymore, but I imagine with modern technology the detonator could be triggered by almost anything. Maybe even a cellular signal." Garrett furrowed his brow then sighed in realization. "The Volturi, they would be the only ones capable of such a brazen act of violence."
"Why would they hurt them? They were members of the coven, not guards." Rosalie countered, although it felt like as good a guess as any.
"Some kind of falling out? The Volturi do not grant second chances." Kate guessed, but couldn't hide her anger and disgust talking about the Volturi.
"We should bring Carlisle into this." Emmett suggested.
"And tell him what? We think Edward might be connected somehow? No, Carlisle is too close to Edward. It would be better to tell Esme, she is more than capable of making the right decision, she always has when it comes to interfamily drama." Jasper said, pulling out his phone and typing out a quick text. "She's on her way."
The group waited patiently, vampires all knew the importance of bringing the matriarch of the coven into this conversation. Esme arrived and immediately crossed her arms over her chest in a subtle defensive posture.
"I assume this is about Edward?" She guessed after looking at the morose expressions of everyone gathered.
"Yes, we have concerns." Adara said with a confidant nod.
"More than lying to us, manipulating us and ruining my daughter's life?" Esme said evenly, without a hint of anger, although inside she was still furious at Edward.
"Damn, I thought you were still having trouble processing all of this." Rosalie said, biting her inner cheek with worry, she knew how much Esme cared. To see her numb was almost worse than seeing Alice go through life as a zombie.
"No, I'm a mother first. What has he done?" Esme said again without much intonation, her voice calm and reassuring.
"We're not sure, but he might have had something to do with the explosion." Rosalie said with a sneer.
"That's a dangerous accusation, do you have proof?" Esme shifted to visible anger, and moved over closely to Rosalie and stared into her eyes.
"No. It's just logic and conjecture at this point." Jasper said, trying to impart a sense of calm into Esme's spike of fury. She glanced back at him and flashed him a thankful smile.
"Alright, I need to get back. I'll look into it, leave it to me. Either way Edward will be answering for his behavior." Esme reverted back to parent mode, and her voice betrayed none of her conflicting emotions.
"I'm sorry, but what could you possibly do to him?" Irina asked with a note of incredulity.
"A mother has her ways." While the words sounded playful, her tone was anything but and she didn't linger for any kind of rebuttal. Everyone watched as she left and kept silent for several seconds afterward.
"I have no idea what just happened." Kate said with a small confused chuckle.
"Esme will defer to Carlisle, Edward is his first. She won't make the choice of punishment alone." Jasper said confidently.
"What is he gonna do? Take his piano? We're talking about potentially lethal acts here, if he is involved with someone that destructive we could all be in danger." Kate asked with real worry on her face.
"Sister, Carlisle will do the right thing." Irina said with an odd confidence, reflecting what Tanya would've said in her place.
"Banishment, it's the only choice." Adara said with a heavy sigh.
"Or death." Garrett said without any of his normal mirth.
"Carlisle would never do that, it just isn't in his nature." Rosalie said with a frown, silently wishing for a different outcome.
"Perhaps the whole conversation is moot, until Isabella and Eliza recover no one is doing anything." Jasper said, ending the conversation. Rosalie turned and took off right away, the rest kept up small talk for a little while before disbursing back towards the house.
Cullen Residence - February 4th
"What was that about?" Carlisle asked as Esme arrived back home.
"Jasper and Adara had some concerns." Esme said casually, before turning towards the upper floor and the office where Isabella and Eliza were recovering.
"Oh?" Carlisle asked, drawing her attention and all but forcing her to stop and talk with him.
"We'll talk later." She said a bit impatiently, and he nodded. She bit her lower lip and sighed, glancing upstairs. "Any change?"
"No, not really. But I'm hopeful given how much they have already regenerated." He gave a slightly hopeful and optimistic smile, but she was still distracted.
"Good. Good… Any word from Edward yet?" She tried to make it sound less probing than it was, and thankfully Carlisle showed no inkling that this was anything other than typical concern.
"No, and I don't expect to hear from him for a while. He was embarrassed, injured. I don't entirely understand what happened between them, but that is no excuse to assault him like that." Carlisle had to ignore the accusations, he had to side with his son because no one else seemed to be, even Esme was seemingly on Isabella's side instead of the boy she had been a parent to for going on two centuries.
"I know hun, violence begets violence." She curled her hand up around his cheek and almost leaned in for a kiss but thought the better of it and dropped her arm to her side. "I'll go check on things, you should have a talk with Jacob when he arrives back here."
"I will search him out, maybe rehash the treaty." His eyes widened at the idea, a full partnership and alliance with the pack seemed like a heady and wonderful idea. No more hostility, no more dancing around borders. Although after two centuries, was it even something that could last? He knew he had to try.
"You'll know where I'll be." Esme headed upstairs to the office and Carlilse looked around for a member of the pack, settling on one he recognized from earlier.
"Hello, Tekali, right?" He held out a hand, and after a brief moment of hesitation she took it.
"Yes, how can I help you Carlisle." She gave him a slightly terse smile, worried about what the Cullen patriarch wanted from her.
"I wanted to speak to Jacob, could you let him know I'm looking for him when he gets back? Nothing bad, I just wanted to have a conversation about the treaty." He sounded confident and her smile was disarming, so she simply nodded back with a small chuckle of her own.
"Of course." Her voice was up and positive, feeling a sense of relief.
"Thank you." He gave her a genuinely happy smile.
"No, thank you for your hospitality. I know this is all tense, and the treaty doesn't cover things like this." She tried to impart gratitude and sympathy in her voice, her head shaking slightly at the situation.
"That's exactly what I mean, and after the alliance with the Volturi it feels like the rules have changed. I was hoping to propose something similar." Carlisle elaborated, hoping to get an idea of where Jacob stood on the issue.
"It is not really my place, but I think you're right to bring it up with him." She nodded once in encouragement, although she wasn't entirely sure Jacob would be open to the idea, let alone Stephen Black.
"That's good to know, and again thanks for relaying the message." Hopeful and surprisingly happy with the possibility, he started to turn away but she opened her mouth to say something else.
"I actually have a question for you." Tekali hesitated, not sure if bringing up this topic was the right move, especially after such a hopeful exchange.
"Go ahead, you can ask me anything." Carlisle seemed very open, and nodded easily.
"With Alice mating with Isabella, do you think that might have caused one of your family to betray them?" She didn't want to say the name out loud, but Carlisle immediately shook his head.
"We would never harm her family, if that extends to you and yours, then such an act would be reprehensible to us." He sounded almost appalled at the idea of one of his children acting in such a way. It made Tekali wonder whether he was honestly sure about their actions, or was deluded by deliberate and malicious lies and manipulation.
After a second of thought, she decided to take him at his word. "We feel the same about imprints and their extended family, but from what little Leah has told us whoever acted against Isabella knew about Eliza's connection to the pack and Leah directly."
"I can vouch for my family, it was not one of us." Carlisle reiterated directly, absolutely confident that his children would never act in such an abhorrent manner.
"What about Tanya's family?" Tekali asked quietly, looking around to see if Tanya was around before asking. Tekali flinched when Tanya came out from an adjoining room with a displeased expression.
Tanya walked right up to Tekali and gave her an up and down look, "We would never harm Alice or anyone she considers family and Isabella, Eliza and Brianna are her family. In fact we were considering coming down here just to offer her a place with us. So no, we had nothing to do with this. Also, and this shouldn't be relevant, but Kate is pansexual and I consider myself omnisexual and so is Garrett, so the idea of rejecting Alice for her choice of partner is insulting."
Tekali smiled at that, already liking the Denali sisters a bit more. "Sorry, I had to ask. The options are very limited, and something caused that to happen. We very nearly lost Leah, Seth, Paul and Rachel, which would have devastated our pack, forever. Unfortunately eliminating you and your family doesn't leave anyone, except for the two upstairs in the middle of transformation."
Tanya's expression softened, "oh, don't get me wrong. I absolutely agree we need to get to the bottom of this, I just need you to understand that we stand with Alice, and by extension Isabella, no matter what."
Tekali sighed slightly, "we do have that in common. It's strange, just a couple of weeks ago we were upset about the return of your family Carlisle. Now we are looking towards a future where your family and ours are permanently aligned.
"It is a strange concept to wrap my head around after so many years, and I wish I had more to offer regarding the attack on Isabella and her daughters'. This is all so confusing and distressing. Since she came back it feels as though it has been non-stop." Carlisle shook his head in frustration, he was at the point of breaking emotionally but had to keep it together for his family.
Tekali bobbed her head a few times, "in that we agree. Thank you Carlisle, on behalf of the pack we appreciate everything you've done for us. I'll see what I can do about shifting the treaty into something stronger and better."
W I94 near Beach, North Dakota - February 4th
"Exit one, Beach. How does that make sense? There can't be a major body of water near here, it's so flat and dry." Charlie said after a few hours of silence. Angela looked at him blankly for a second, and then turned to catch the last sign marking the exit.
Then she glanced down at her phone and poked at it searching for an answer. "Um… named after a Captain who led the survey route for the railroads that established the post office here."
"That sounds about right. How's she doing?" Charlie chuckled, but turned serious as he motioned with his eyes towards Zoey who appeared almost peaceful lying face up in the back seat.
"Could be worse, I've lessened the pain somewhat. Most of the barriers are up, but the last one is tricky and will take a while." Angela's voice was a bit off, and Charlie glanced over with concern. Her face was blank and expressionless yet her tone was bright and almost happy.
"Need to stop?" He had a feeling she was doing her weird mind thing again, but he had to be sure.
"No, I'm so deep into her conditioning now that I'm only functional because I separated out a portion of my mind to remain conscious." She said with what sounded like a smile, but there were no facial movements to match her voice.
"Not the first time I've talked to a fragment of you." Charlie replied, trying not to sound frustrated, although it was hard when she did stuff like this. Although he hadn't encountered this version of her often, it made him wonder how many boxes she had stuffed her problems into over the years. "Old Angela?" He guessed, remembering a vague interaction with her at church a few months before Bella had moved in with him.
"Yuppers, why do you think I'm so nice right now? I know the pain I endured exists somewhere but I can't remember it." He couldn't look at her face while she was like this, but just hearing her youthful bright voice gave him a lift. Wondering if he would ever hear her like this for real.
"That's interesting." He said, although he really thought it was just weird.
"That's compartmentalization for you." She said with a chipper chuckle. Charlie almost shut his eyes in pain, it was quickly becoming too much to hear her like this. A fragment of a girl who had been lost to unbearable trauma, it felt false no matter how much he wished she could be like this again. She hadn't lost her innate kindness, but everything else was darkened by what Victoria had done to her.
"I don't think that's how compartmentalization works." Charlie said, forcing a smile and a small chuckle.
"You're right, this isn't the way it works for most people, unless their mind is like mine. Anyway, I miss this version of me, if I could heal, I would be this again… or someone similar." There was a tiny hint of that darkness pushing through, and for a few words she sounded like normal.
"That doesn't matter, I love you no matter what. I just want you to find happiness again." Charlie said knowing she would remember this conversation and didn't want her to feel as though he only loved parts of her.
"You mean romance, because Zoey makes me happy." Angela replied back, sounding a bit upset about the idea.
"Yes." He said without deflection. She had him and her daughter, but was otherwise alone.
"I can't imagine anyone would… oh no. I… Charlie what happened to me?" Her voice grew hollow, then her expression changed. She shut her eyes and shook, turning her head away from him in an attempt to push away the flood of traumatic memories. "You somehow managed to tear down my memory box, that's a first."
"Sorry. I just said that I want you to…" Charlie started but she shook her head at him.
"I know what you said, and honestly I could say the same for you." She glared over at him, gritting her teeth slightly at the insinuation that she needed more.
"Terminal bachelor." This time he deflected, trying a stab at an old private joke.
"Hardly, you just haven't gotten over Chloe or Renee." She said darkly, turning to watch the expanse of brown flatlands race by.
"Renee was over a century ago. It doesn't matter anyway." Charlie said, trying to stop the conversation, regretting bringing it up in the first place, but Angela shook her head.
"I know you grieved for her, and you're evading the question." Angela gave him a knowing look, and he sighed heavily.
"So are you." He said tiredly, they had both been avoiding the vulnerability essential in forming a romantic bond.
"Fine, we're both messed up and find it hard to connect. The last time I even had sex was with Erica, and that was more of a hate thing." Angela almost let out a smirk, knowing how uncomfortable he was with emotional talk, especially when it came to intimacy. He hadn't even had the birds and the bees conversation with Bella before she went missing.
"I didn't need to know that." Charlie made a gagging noise, the thought of anyone being intimate with that spoiled brat was nauseating. Let alone trying to picture his daughter that way, he actually shuddered a bit at the mental image he didn't want.
"Oh, sorry. My filter doesn't exist in this part of my mind." Angela's face was expressive and her voice sounded normal. Charlie wasn't sure he bought it this time.
"Wait, is this another mental shard?" He almost laughed at the absurdity of it, but instead just let through his incredulousness over the whole conversation. Whether she remembered it or not, it was weird to talk to only a part of her.
"Yes, a stronger one who is able to hold a full conversation. I had expected you to be less than verbose like usual. Anyway, like I said it was a hate thing, and she never even looked at me again after that, except to order me around." Angela attempted to explain, her body language giving the impression she was still upset about what happened.
"Then why?" Charlie asked, hoping to help her sort out any issues that might have arisen from the tryst.
"We both needed something, anything to help us feel. I even thought it was the beginning of more, but she shut that down." She didn't sound upset, but Charlie knew better. He tried not to get too invested in this, he hadn't known Angela to interact with anyone romantically due to her heart still being somewhat fractured after what happened to Ben. "She said she couldn't get emotionally invested, she just liked women for the pleasure they could give her."
"Sorry." Charlie said, trying not to sound deflated. Given how Erica died it was probably for the best that they never got involved more seriously.
"Don't be, it was years ago and it wouldn't have worked out long term anyway." She didn't meet his eyes and actively looked out the window. "So about Chloe, why didn't you consider turning her."
"Just felt wrong, she was starting to talk about children and I just couldn't." Charlie glowered at her briefly, before sighing. Chloe was far too beautiful a person to subject to his life, and she was in perfect health and he just couldn't imagine she would have gone for immortality.
"I looked her up recently." Angela confessed, and Charlie winced knowing he was about to find out her fate.
"I don't think I want to know." He muttered, but Angela just shook her head at him. She knew better, because he cared he would want to know.
"Yes you do, you just couldn't do it yourself." She glanced over to gauge his reaction and he nodded once with notable hesitation. "She died a few years ago after living from all accounts I could find, a long and happy life. She got married a few years after you left, and had three children and eight grandchildren, the eldest of which just graduated college last year. She passed away just before her seventy-fifth birthday."
"Another life." He just watched the road, trying not to get upset. He loved Chloe, had he asked, she might've been here with them.
"Just like Isaac." Angela muttered, but Charlie still heard her and reached over to squeeze her hand.
"Did you check on his family?" He asked after a little while.
"I did, they live in my old family house, which I hope has been renovated by now or I will have to fake a dead relative with money to leave for the family. Apparently I have a great-grandniece named Madison. She's just about to turn eighteen and deeply in love with a girl named Hailey. I may have to befriend her."
"I think that's a good idea, and Zoey will probably seek her out anyway. Maybe she'll be open minded and you can tell her the truth." Charlie suggested, even though it was a fool's hope, it was potentially something. Perhaps they could watch over the girl, and if things went bad for her they could make an offer to join them.
"Zoey already friended her on socials, they've even talked a few times. Zoey never said who she was, but the connection exists. Anway, I doubt Madison would understand, but maybe." Angela sounded hesitant, but also somewhat happy with the idea of reconnecting with any of her family. Then her face went blank again, "crap, I just hit a hiccup that I'll need my entire focus on. I'll come back when the last barrier is up."
"I'll be driving." He smirked, and hit the accelerator to speed up as the wide open landscape began to subtly shift into small hills before eventually rising up into the Rocky's.
Cullen Residence - February 4th
"I don't understand this ability to heal, it is unprecedented." Carlisle marveled as he marked Talia's skin growth with another small line with a wax pen.
"Eliza would probably say something about Wolverine." Leah muttered, her forehead pressed against the open palm of Eliza's hand.
"Supergirl didn't like him." Brianna said quietly from next to Isabella, she had laid down on the bed next her to catch a short nap, relishing the ability to shut her eyes and close out the world. Being close to her new mother gave her a sense of security too, even if she was still healing.
"Wait Supergirl and Wolverine, am I missing something?" Eliza asked, looking over at Brianna with a curious but mildly confused look.
"I'll save you from some heartache later, Marvel folded DC and all those wonderful characters into their universe. Wolverine and the Alura version of Supergirl basically hate each other." Alice explained, making everyone in the room turn to stare at her.
Eliza shook her head, "Alura version… damn I have some reading to do."
"Alura Zor-El-Luthor, the daughter of the power couple of the Marvel DC universe?" Alice said with some pride for her ship, having followed it since it was sort of introduced in a television show back in the late 2010's.
"Is this about comic books?" Esme asked with an amused smile. She knew who Supergirl was, but had never bothered to read or watch any content related to her.
"Comics, books, movies, a couple of TV shows." Alice said with a chuckle shrugging off the looks from most of those gathered in the room. "What? I needed escapism."
"Like now." Leah shut her eyes tightly and buried her face in Eliza's shoulder again, taking in the scent of her hair.
"I always liked Ghost Rider." Rosalie added, she was sitting at Carlisle's desk going over some paper but had been keeping Brianna company as much as possible.
"Wonder why." Alice chuckled.
"Hey, there was more than just bikes and cars, he was all about vengeance too." Rosalie gave her a wide toothy smile, and Alice actually managed to laugh. She hadn't known Rosalie to make self-deprecating jokes very often.
"Rose, did you ever wonder about Edward?" Alice asked directly, forcing Rosalie to look down. She wasn't sure if this was the right time to mention the concerns about Edward's potential involvement in the explosion.
"All the time, I've known him most of my life. I thought I trusted him, but… I can never forgive him for what he did to us, to her, and to you." Rose tried to impart as much honesty as she could, without being explicit.
"I wish we had been closer." Alice said with more than a little regret. They had been sisters for two hundred years, and in a lot of ways they barely knew one another.
"Nothing stopping us now." Rosalie offered easily, having wanted to create a deeper relationship with Alice for years but never having the opportunity because she was so shut down.
"I'm with Isabella, wherever that takes me." Alice tried to express it as a priority thing, not a rejection, but she wasn't sure if it came across that way.
"I know, I talked it over with Emmett. I don't think we can stay either. Not with Edward here." Rosalie kept her focus on Alice in an attempt to ignore Carlisle who looked deeply hurt or Esme who was focused on her husband. What was weird to her was that Esme didn't give her an admonishing stare, instead it was almost sympathetic.
"Okay, I'll talk with Isabella when she wakes. Might take a bit of convincing, you two weren't exactly friends before." Alice said, trying to sound calm about the fact that her sister wasn't abandoning her too. The emotional lift it gave her was almost too much to deal with.
"I know, I'll do anything to prove she's my sister now." Rosalie focused her attention on Isabella, and Alice took a deep calming breath before responding.
"Good, she needs connections." Alice squeezed Isabella's hand very gently, not getting any kind of response in return. Despite her body healing, Alice didn't know if Isabella would ever come back to her.
Author's Note:
Sorry, not sorry about the Supergirl stuff, I'm a very bitter Supercorp shipper who has written some fics about that couple (mostly private and unpublished).
Good news is that Chapter 3 is mostly completed. It will be up early next week.
A lot of these early chapters will be focused on quiet conversations and establishing relationships, I promise there will be plot movement. That being said, I have been thinking about pairings and know where things are going. I won't spoil them now but just so you know I have the entire list and some will be surprising… I think.