CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE GETAWAY
As they exit the bar, Ariel makes a beeline for the driver seat and after a glance toward Carlisle, he gets the message and tosses her the keys as they slip into the vehicle. If not for their conversation about alcohol tolerance, he may not have offered the keys up so easily.
Curiosity gleams in his eyes as she starts the car as he wonders what she is planning and if, to a degree, he should be worried.
"Most of the people in town know your car," Ariel explains as she backs out a bit too fast and pulls out onto the highway, "If they saw your car here but no doctor, it may have caused some questions. Otherwise, we probably could have walked and been just fine."
"Probably," Carlisle asks, raising a brow. Her wording suggests that she may know something about the speed of vampires, but the hesitation makes him uncertain.
Ariel gives a small shrug, glancing at him through the corner of her eyes, "Can't account for everything, now can we?"
He supposes he can't really argue with that, but at least it infers that she does know exactly how fast vampires are. He sits back for a moment and watches her. He's seen her come into the hospital on her motorcycle, but her driving now seems a bit more uncomfortable, uncertain. A few times the car jerks and she mumbles curses under her breath.
"Should I have my insurance information ready," Carlisle asks with amusement.
To his delight, she flushes a deep shade of pink, huffing slightly with a sheepish look on her face.
"I'm used to my bike, cars are just - different. Always hated them and I'm afraid my skills are a bit rusty. I promise that I have no intention to crash your car."
Her grip on the steering wheel is tight enough that her knuckles are starting to turn white. Carlisle's lips turn into a soft, small smile at her obvious frustration and the flustered expression on her face.
"That brings little comfort."
The car lurches suddenly and harshly as she's forced to harshly hit the brakes as a car swerves in front of her - the driver of the other vehicle doesn't hesitate, speeding away with squealing tires. The momentum should have sent Ariel forward, at least enough to force the seatbelt to stop her and maybe hit the steering wheel. But when she doesn't, she looks down with furrowed brows.
A strong arm is stretched out in front of her, pressing against her chest.
Her eyes go to Carlisle, who is looking intensely at the horizon as if he has any hopes of catching the other driver. He twitches and looks to her when the sound of a rapid heartbeat cuts through the tense silence. Ariel glances toward his arm with a questioning look, a light pink dusting her cheeks. A bit flustered, Carlisle immediately removes his arm as she pulls over to the side.
"I - I think it's best that we switch spots and I - I'll just give you directions."
At Ariel's hesitant direction and Carlisle's better driving, they arrive at the destination faster and smoother. Carlisle parks at the parking lot in front of one of the entrances into the forest - not the most popular hiking spots, but one of the many that Forks has.
"Did you eat," Ariel glances at him over her shoulder as she starts to head toward the entrance, "I wouldn't mind if you had to hunt before we continue."
It's a small gesture, but a thoughtful one that makes Carlisle nod in appreciation before he confirms that he hunted before he headed out to the bar. Ariel nods and takes a deep breath, soaking in the fresh air from the woodland.
"Think you can keep up with me," Ariel's eyes twinkle as she gives him a sideway glance that makes him grin, a warmth spreading through his chest.
"I suppose we'll find out."
It takes Carlisle by surprise. The way that suddenly she's there - smiling at him, glowing with a brilliant beautiful radiance silhouetted by the night sky and the treeline. The next, she's already taken off and he's forced to act quickly to at least catch up to her. It takes longer than it should have to at least finally see her nearly dancing her way through the forest with a grace and natural precision as if she knows each branch, each tree.
The closest it reminds him of is Edward - who has always been the fastest of the coven. But unlike Edward, she doesn't have to focus so intensely on her movements, in fact she looks rather carefree by playfully running backward, just to watch Carlisle behind her. All without missing a beat.
He's still dragging behind her and when she meets his wide eyes with a fleeting grin before she slows down enough for them to match pace.
"Careful, Carlisle, you'll catch debris with your jaw dropped like that."
He gets the undoubted feeling that she is teasing him - poking fun at him just to see his reaction. He hates to disappoint.
"Most races start with a countdown," Carlisle points out as he joins her side,
Ariel's laugh sounds like a melody, chiming through the air with joy. "I never pegged you for a sore loser, Carlisle. The nurses would be disappointed."
Carlisle grins, continuing to follow her lead as she guides them deeper into the forest. He keeps careful track of where they are - how far the border is, but thankfully, if he's right, they're on the opposite side of Forks from the reservation. Plenty of space in between them and the treaty line.
Still, Ariel is definitely not leading them on any hiking trail, venturing far from them and into the dense woods that most humans wouldn't venture into, especially at night. While he isn't worried about himself, knowing that the wild animal that they cross will be something that he can handle, he wonders just how far do the similarities between Ariel - her kind - and the coven run. How indestructible are they? Does she worry about the wild animals or is she strong enough to take care of any issues?
She finally stops at a clearing. Thick trees and flora surround half of it while the other half is against a rocky cliff. Unlike some of the fields in Forks, the clearing's grass is taller with stray wildflowers on uneven ground. When he listens closely, he can hear the trickling of a nearby stream. It has a wild-look to it, unkept and untouched while still being beautiful.
His eyes fall on Ariel. Beautiful. Her eyes are glowing with joy, looking at peace in her surroundings as she ushers Carlisle to join her near the rocky cliff side. The bottom of the cliff has flat rocky foundation - the one even ground in the clearing. She seems unbothered as she sits on the flat rock, resting her back against the cliff.
"I found this spot a while back ago," Ariel finally speaks up, softly as Carlisle hesitantly sits beside her, stiffly with a good foot between them. "I think it's a good place to relax. I get - tired sometimes. I've - I've spent most of my existence in the forest. My siblings all stayed home or found somewhere to go and nature - nature was my place to go."
She closes her eyes as she rests her head against the cliff side. As her voice turns sincere and soft, Carlisle watches her carefully, processing every bit of information she gives him. The idea that she's spent a seemingly long time in nature doesn't surprise him, it oddly suits her and explains much of her behavior. Why every time he passes her house, she's outside. All the flora she tends to with the tenderness of a mother.
He remembers a fleeting conversation, the mention of her only meeting up her brothers a few years back. He wonders just how long before that she spent in the woods. Alone.
"The bar - it all gets a bit too much for my tastes," Ariel admits, "I'm still new to all of this. Being around people. Doing the right thing."
He doesn't ask her what wrong things she has done and she appreciates it. He doesn't have to ask - a part of him knows. He's seen it with his coven - with Jasper especially. The struggle to do the right thing. A part of him knows that her wrong things were driven by the wrong reasons - not hunger, a need for survival, but by hatred. He's seen it in her eyes at the hospital, as much as she's tried to hide it and swallow it down.
He wonders what drove her to do the right thing now, but admires the difficult choice she's making to change.
"I think that's why I admire you so much, Carlisle."
The confession makes what he thinks would be his heart stop, swallowing thickly as he pauses, waiting for her to continue. She opens her eyes just enough to spare him a fleeting glance.
"You can do it so effortlessly, being with humans, I mean. You never break. I've never even seen you lose your patience once. It's - it's incredible, Carlisle. Honestly. I - I wish I had the patience that you do."
Somewhere during that conversation the distance between them had closed. He finds himself against her shoulder and she doesn't hesitate to lean against him. Something about the way she does it so naturally and the way that it warms him makes him feel flushed, despite the knowledge that vampires don't blush. He doesn't move away.
"You mentioned, back at the bar, about wanting to help people," Ariel's voice is a soft whisper. He can feel her breath against his skin. "I - I can't imagine being such a good person that's the first thing you do after becoming a vampire, even though you have nothing to make up for. No blood directly on your hands."
She glances at her palms as she rests her hands on her knees. He offhandedly notices that the wounds on her hands have already healed, but it's a passing fleeting thought in the back of his mind as he watches her flex her hands. He wonders just how much blood she sees on her palms.
"I have blood on my hands, Carlisle. Took lives that didn't deserve to be taken. Took lives that, at the time, I thought they did. Years of it. Centuries. I thought that humans didn't deserve the things that they have blessed with, that they took everything for granted. I thought my only purpose was the plants - being here to protect the nature that's been neglected by them."
He processes each statement one at a time, thinking it over as he nods, never speaking as she starts to admit things that he doesn't think she's fully admitted to herself before. He wonders how old she is? Centuries? Is she older than him? Younger? Somewhere in the middle? He doesn't understand the compulsion she had to protect nature, but if she saw that as her home - or as her gift to them, a gift that they destroy, tear down, he can understand her frustration, as misguided as it was. It brings up even more questions that he knows he won't get his answers for yet. But it's like getting all the final edge pieces to the puzzle without knowing the full picture.
The hatred that seeps in her voice doesn't seem aimed at anyone other than herself and it makes his chest constrict - the knowledge that the similarities are going farther than he expected.
"You've been doing this for centuries, Carlisle. I've been doing it for four years," Ariel continues, her voice cracking slightly, becoming more breathy as she struggles to find the words. "Does - does it ever go away?"
Carlisle hesitates, seeing the gleam in her eyes and the hints of tears in the corners of her eyes. He understands why she brought him here. His chest constricts, parts of Alice's vision swirling in his mind in an odd sense of understanding. Acceptance. The knowledge that they are two sides of the same coin. Parallel.
His arm finds its way around her and she rests her head on his shoulder as he rubs comforting circles against her back. The raw intensity of her emotions hits him hard and deeply. When his fingertips brush against the skin exposed on her back, it feels electric. He hesitates as he feels her stiffen, before he finally presses his hand down fully against the skin on her back, running his knuckles on the muscles of her shoulders to ease her tension. She relaxes into the touch, pressing her back into his palm.
"Some of the others haven't always been vegetarians," Carlisle admits softly, "And they may have a better understanding of it than I do, but I - No. It doesn't. That self-hatred, the guilt, the shame. It never goes away, not really. But it does get better - lighter. Smaller. As long as we continue to move forward and do the best that we can, it will always get better."
The soft sincerity, the unfamiliar, but welcomed intimacy that starts to form between them make them both speechless before Ariel finally speaks up, looking up at Carlisle with intense, emotionally open eyes.
"Thank you, Carlisle."
He swallows thickly. The hand pressed on her back, on the space of skin exposed on the back of her shirt, starts to slip just under the hem. His muscles stiffen as it becomes more difficult to control. Everything is always more intense as a vampire - from everything you hear and see and smell to everything you feel. Emotions are never soft, subtle or slow. It is always intense. Burning.
The urge to accept this - this emotional tension that is forming in the air around them - grows stronger. Her eyes are hooded as they gaze into his and he doesn't miss the way she flickers to his lips. The distance between them starts to dangerously close as he feels her breath against his neck. Against his lips. His hand finds her waist under her shirt and he grips her tightly, not wanting to let her go, but the touch of her lips against his is brief - soft, gentle, emotional and unsure.
She parts away from him too soon and suddenly, her lips leave him slowly. Her nose barely brushes against his and they stay there for a moment. Foreheads pressed to each other. Lips so close, yet too far apart. Her eyes look at him confused, hesitant, but she doesn't leave him - she doesn't run away.
"Ariel," Carlisle's voice makes shivers run down her spine, "If we continue this - you have to know that vampires are different -"
"-I know," Ariel whispers, her eyes closing as she rests her forehead against his. "I know, Carlisle. Anything you have to tell me, I know. The Volturi - strength, how intense everything is. I just need to know one thing."
Her knowledge surprises him, but he stays silent, mouthing his only question softly. What do you need to know? Ariel's tongue licks her bottom lip as she hesitates. He can hear the way her heart beats against her chest. Her hand goes to his cheek and he leans into the sensation of her palm against his skin.
"Is this okay?"
She doesn't need to explain what she means, he already knows. He gives a soft, breathless answer. Yes. Before he's caught up in another kiss, one that lacks the hesitation. Her lips press against his with emotional intensity, passion, force. He returns it with vigor. As his hand dips into her hip, he notices that she doesn't protest his strength nor does it seem to hurt her. The idea of where they can go - the idea that he doesn't have to hold back - makes him stir.
The vampire inside of him - that monster that claws at his chest - yearns for more. But she parts away again, breathless, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Despite the want in her eyes, she pauses.
"I suppose we should be getting back," Ariel softly suggests, despite the way her eyes have yet to leave his lips.
"Yes, I suppose that would be the smart thing to do wouldn't it?"
Neither of them move from each other, his hand is still on her hip despite the way his grip has softened. He still thinks about the taste of her lips. She still feels the electricity against her skin from his palm.
"Carlisle," Ariel speaks up softly, her eyes twinkling as she smiles, "I really think we need to go."
"Yes, we do," Carlisle mumbles in agreement, resting his head against her shoulder as he pulls her closer. He feels the vibrations of her soft laughter before she gently pulls away, giving him a brief kiss to the cheek, a wink, and then she's gone and he's left holding onto thin air.
She's rigged the race - she's faster than she was a moment ago, Carlisle thinks briefly before he sighs deeply, standing up as he readies himself. When he doesn't find her waiting for him in the car, he figures that she must have gone home. He feels too light headed to think about it too hard, his head still weightless in the clouds.
By the time he gets home, his phone vibrates.
From Ariel
I enjoyed our time together, Carlisle
He didn't expect her to use emojis of all things, her message followed by a series of hearts and winky faces, but he knows by now that everything she does is unexpected. New. He smiles as he enters the house, with Rosalie looking at him with curious, knowing eyes and a sigh. Emmett whistles at him, recognizing the dark look in his eyes.
Carlisle barely notices. The night replays over in his mind, carelessly, welcomingly, as he thinks about the way she felt against him - the connection that he started to feel. How far he, almost selfishly, wanted that connection to go tonight despite knowing how unreasonable that is of him to want to go that fast.
He does, however, hear the sputtering, choking noises of Edward from the next room over.
I did not plan for this ~whoops~
