Disclaimer: I do not own nor do I make profit off of Twilight. All rights belong to it's Author Stephanie Meyer.
Reviews:
YellowSmoke- Hello my friend! Sorry about the abrupt ending and sorry for making you wait so long for an update! I had a hard time determining what to and what not to put in this chapter. The good news is, I'll be able to update you sooner this time and I'm still working on getting a better upload schedule! I absolutely love that your getting the characters in the way that I want them to come off, it makes me so incredibly happy and I can't stop smiling ever time I see your screen name and your TOO KIND reviews! Thank you for always taking the time out of your busy day to leave some incredibly generous words! You have no idea how happy they make me!
Hinanui98- Hi! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, honestly I'm excited to see the same. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to leave a few kind and interactive words. I really appreciate them!
AzureTheVampire- First let me start by saying I LOVE the user name! Second, you are incredibly TOO NICE! Way more than I deserve and after reading your review I could not get the smile or the happy feeling to go away until the next night. I too love stories with Esme and Carlisle being parents than just side characters, because I feel like if given the chance they would honestly just be the best! It also makes me really happy that you like Mare, I know at this point of the story she's still a little unknown and I can't wait until I can peel back the layers of her backstory and personality in later chapters. Thank you so much for sticking around and for leaving the insanely kind review! I appreciate it so much and can't thank you enought for taking the time out of your day to leave it!
jingerr- A little bit! Theirs still some mystery, but have no fear all will be revealed soon, I promise. For now enjoy a little taste of whats to come! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review! You have no idea how each and every one makes me happy! Thank you for the interactive words and please enjoy this chapter!
Carlisle's Comforts
Ice encase's my hand, pushing into the soft fleshy part of my wrist. When I force my eyes open I'm not surprised to find it's not ice but Carlisle's hands,
"You're hands are cold," I mumble. Carlisle looks down at me and I realize I'm on something soft and warm, the bed Esme got me.
"That's what I've been told," He smirks and place's my hand down on the soft fur throw that's been tucked under my arms,
"Doctors a good cover," I push out through numb lips, "All doctors have cold hands."
"Are they?" I nod. Everyone in this house is cold, but it never accrued to me that maybe, when they shake others hands, they cant tell if their also cold.
"All the one's I've meet." I swallow, my throat feeling incredible dry, and I almost ask for a glass of water when something hits me "You were out." hunting, Edward had said...I didn't ruin that did I?
"We were done." He smiles gently, "I promise, you didn't ruin anything." I purse my lips,
"How did you know?" His eyes smile, but his lips frown,
"Because I'm beginning to know you Mare." His words hit and I feel a shiver creep up my spin. Even my mother doesn't know me this well. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" Panic seeps into my chest again,
"I was hit by a car." Carlisle scrunches his eyebrows,
"In the house?" I shake my head and cast my eyes downward thinking back, Mario Cart, the tunnels, the lights...headlights,
"I think I was hit by a car!" I jump up, the overwhelming need to scream and run pounds into my mind. Carlisle grabs my shoulder
"Mare-"
"I was hit by a car and now I'm dead aren't I?" Tears pool in the corners of my eyes "I can't go back, I was sitting on the curb and all I saw was bright lights, and I thought it was me somehow transporting here, but that's not what it is at all. It was car light and someone hit me and I'm dead-"
"Marceline sweetheart calm down." Carlisle pulls me into his chest, I can hear his lungs expand as he takes a deep breath and I realize I was talking so fast I'm almost completely out of air,
"I can't" I reach forward grabbing the sleeve of his sweater, I need something to hold on too.
"Yes you can, you're breathing now, you just need to relax, listen to me and follow." My head moves with the movements of his chest while his lungs expand. I take a deep breath although it gets stuck in the back of my throat and hitches,
"Thats good, lets try again, shall we?" This time I follow his movements getting a full breath, "Good girl," he murmurs rubbing my back. His cold hand feels good and I let my body relax, my muscles burn when I un-tense them and sigh. Carlisle keeps rubbing my back, while taking deep breaths although the longer we sit here, the more it begins to dawn on me that I really don't think he needs to breathe, meaning he's only doing it for my benefit. After a few more minutes I find the voice to speak,
"Am I dead?" I've asked this before, but back then then it wasn't as real as it is now. If what I saw is true then I really could be dead,
"I don't know sweet girl."
"I don't think I can go home," I mumble gripping his sweater even tighter, the tears no longer threatening to fall, instead just over flowing creating two large streaks down my cheeks. Carlisles grip tightens just a bit, I sniffle feeling snot start to loosen, I reach up with use my sleeve to quickly wipe it away, realizing I'm in full cry mode.
"We don't know anything yet." Carlisle encourages, but I'm not an idiot and neither is. I wipe my nose again, caring less about the continuous stream of tears and swallow before speaking,
"Can I stay here for a little bit." Carlisle stops rubbing my back, instead grabbing my shoulders and pulling me back to look at him,
"Marceline, their was never a question about where you would go." He states gripping my shoulders a bit tighter, "This. Is. Your. Home." He emphasizes, "and you will stay here for as long as need be, Esme and I are you legal guardians here and we take that job very seriously. We will provide anything and everything you need, do you understand me?" He reaches up with his thumb to wipe at my eyes. I nod, "I need to hear you say it."
"I understand."
"One more time."
"I understand." I swallow realizing theres still one thing beating into my head, "is all this possible?" Carlisle grabs my hand and places it between both of his,
"I don't know sweetheart, what I do know is that you're here, and I can't worry about what happened then but more about right now." I swallow my words, feeling the bubbling in my brain. I want to scream, tell him, it's easy for him, he isn't in a world that's not his own, he's right where he's suppose to be, but...I'm lost. I force those word away and nod, Carlisle reaches forward and uses his thumbs to rub my cheek bone, pushing the tears away. I reach up with my free hand and quickly rub my eyes, forcing away any tears and stopping new ones from forming.
"How did I get here?" I ask, using the back of my free hand to wipe my nose, Carlisle gives my hand another squeeze,
"You lost consciousness in the living room, Edward carried you here just as Esme and I came home," Mario Cart, dark, light, tunnel, rainbow bridge, light...headlights, it was hypnotizing and I couldn't stop watching, then everything went dark.
"I passed out?" Carlisle nods,
"That you did, has this happened before?"
"No"
"Any numbness in your limbs, nausea, upset stomach, headache?" I shake my head,
"M'fine." Carlisle places his hand on my shoulder, stopping my from getting up before I can even think to get up. How does he know me this well?
"I want you to stay in bed the remainder of the night, Esme is making you something easy on the stomach, and tomorrow we'll check in alright?" I take a deep breath feeling the pull of the my ribs, crying has reminded me that their still a bit soar although more improved that when I first got here. That feels like weeks ago. Carlisle pats my hand and smiles. "I do believe everything will be okay." It's a sentence I need to hear, and without realizing it, I'm giving Carlisle a faint smile.
"You're really good at this." I yawn pulling the fake fur blanket closer, Carlisle reaches forward and tucks it up under my chin,
"good at what?"
"Being a good parent." I mumble. I hadn't realized how tired I am, or how tired I am after crying my eyes out. Carlisle forces me back down onto my back, but against my ribs protest I turn to my side back now towards him. For a second he doesn't do anything, and then his cold hand lightly runs down the back of my hair before getting off the bed and quietly crossing the room to close g the door. I let the lure of sleep pull me under ….
…
Something cold grabs my ankle, involuntarily I kick out, sitting up in bed and throwing the covers off,
"Oh good, you're awake." Alice smiles, pulling her hands up to clap them together. I look around confused for a second, it's still dark and I can't figure out if it's late at night or early in the morning, I turn back to Alice
"What?"
"Did you sleep well?" I reach up to rub my eyes and nod,
"I was, what time is it?" She shrugs
"6:12" I tilt my head to the side, trying my hardest to convey my "Why are you waking me up this early?" look.
"I wanted to let you know, when I get home today, you, Esme and I are going to go school shopping, so make sure you're ready by 3:30" I turn towards the direction of the closet before looking back at Alice,
"You already bought me clothes." She tsks me and smiles,
"Those were just the basics, besides you said we would go shopping and since you're coming to Forks High in two days, we have to get you ready, so have sweet dreams and then at 3:30 you're mine."
"Alice!" Esme's voice shouts from outside the door. Alice gives me another smile and then gets to her feet,
"Remember 3:30." She turns practically skipping out, leaving me alone and...scared.
I brush the last of the wet knots from my hair and toss my drenched stands into a too soft towel and squeeze as much water as I can out. The scent of fresh waterlilies and Jasmine invades my nostrils. After a few days I couldn't take it anymore and had to use Esme's too expensive shampoo and conditioner. I used as little as I possibly could, but the scent still sticks to each stand of hair, reminding me of it's potency with each shake of my hair.
After Alice woke me up this morning, I tossed and turned for around 20 minutes before falling back asleep for a few hours and by the time I really woke up for the day it was 9:30 and I was craving a shower. I turned the water up as hot as my skin could take it sat under the spray until the water grew cold and then quickly washed my hair and jumped out. Again I found it hard to find an outfit that was comfortable but not too expensive. Again the icky feeling of people spending their hard earned money on me sinks in, money's hard to earn, it's easy to spend, money makes the world go round, and for others to spend it on me...even my mother didn't spend this much on me I think in my whole life. Theirs easily thousands of dollars worth of clothes in this walk in closet that shouldn't be mine. I sigh and throw on the simplest pair of jeans I can find, and a green oversized sweater from and wonder downstairs. I feel my stomach rumble and head to the kitchen where I know Esme is probably already waiting for me. She smiles when I walk in, I give her one back and head to the bar stool,
"I apologize for Alice waking you up, she knows better" Esme sighs, "Did you sleep well?" I nod and smile, "I though you could decide what you're hungry for, something light?" She guesses, a gently smile on her face, I shrug,
"I'm actually really hungry." Her face changes,
"Really?" I nod and her smile gets bigger, "How about oatmeal, I can add some fun things in there."
"That sounds really good." She reaches over and pats my hand. Clearly happy that I actually want to eat.
"What's this I hear?" Carlisle comes up behind me, placing his hand on the back of my chair, a smile on his face, "Does someone have their appetite back?"
"It came back last night, I just didn't say anything." Esme made seasoned broiled chicken with rice and a sweet potato, all foods easy on the stomach as Carlisle had requested, but I ate everything and even thought about asking for seconds before I feel back asleep.
"Keeping secretes are we?" Carlisle musses, I give him an innocent smile, as Esme slides over a full bowl of oatmeal.
"Let her eat." Esme demands and Carlisle throws his hands up in surrender. Esme wasn't lying when she said she would add some fun things in there. She only started making it minutes ago but somehow she's added cooked apples, brown sugar, honey, walnuts, and a dash of cinnamon.
"It looks...really good." Esme beams at my simple compliment,
"I thought we'd get some fall flavors in there before the holidays hit," I look up realizing that it's November, November 29 exactly, winter is coming. Back home, winter had just left, and spring had finally started to show it's face in the forecast of 75 degree days. And by this being November it means only a month ago I was 13, or younger. I honestly don't know what year it is either. I turn back to my oatmeal and dig in taking a large bite. I never knew oatmeal could be this good, and I give Esme a thumbs up, swallowing,
"It's really good."
"Then again are we surprised?" Carlisle adds, coming to stand next to his wife and placing his arm around her waist,
"My mom never cooked like this." I didn't realize how sad it sounds till it's out of my mouth. It doesn't bother me, but from the look on Esme's face she feels a stab of sadness for me, "She couldn't cook," I elaborate with a smile on my face. Esme shouldn't feel sad for me,
"A little young to be cooking aren't you?" Carlisle adds, a hint of curiosity in his voice, I shovel another bite into my mouth a swallow before giving him a laugh,
"I can't cook either."
"What did you eat?" Esme leans her elbows on the counter, I spear a cooked apple and pop it in my mouth,
"Take out."
"Every night?" She keeps her voice mellow, but I can tell she finds this appalling, obviously these people have never had New York style pizza,
"Well...almost, theirs TV dinners and boxed mac and cheese...sometime the neighbors would bring stuff over." I think of Mrs. Madison and her casseroles and almost choke on my oatmeal. She meant well. She'd always notice the Pizza guy or the greasy brown bags mom would always have in her hands and bring over glass pyrex dishes of noodles and tomato paste.
"You and your mother need a home cooked meal every once in a while"
"TV dinners?" Carlisle questions, "Their is no nutritional value in those whats so ever."
"but their good." I point my fork at him and then point it down speaking another apple while and scooping another large portion of the thick oatmeal.
"Not in this house." I shrug, honestly I probably won't miss them.
"Esme's food is better anyway." I catch her smile out of the corner of my eye and feel something swell inside of me, making Esme happy, makes me happy. Carlisle laughs and then pats the table,
"Finish eating and then meet me in the living room." I peak my head up, anxiety seeping into my mind,
"Why?"
"Would you like to learn how to beat Edward at chess?"
"Learn to beat Edward?" I question, already feeling the excitement bubble in my chest, "I really want that." Carlisle chuckles,
"Then once you're finished, come to the living room. I'll start setting up the board." I wait until Carlisle disappears down the hall before turning to Esme,
"Is he serious?" She smiles, leaning forward to tap my bowl,
"Finish and find out."
…
I sigh, leaning forward I place one finger on my king and push it over. Carlisle wins again,
"You're getting better." He encourages, his tips and directions have been helpful and I'm able to strategist a bit better and keep the game going longer, however I still haven't won. I look up to Carlisle and raise an eyebrow,
"One more time?" He smiles and reaches forward setting up the board again, I catch Esme smiling too. After the first three games, she came into the living room, hands full of papers and markers and set herself up at the couch.
"I don't think I'll ever be able to beat anyone in this house." I grumble setting my king back up,
"That's not true, you could beat Emmett, he's never picked up a chest piece in his life." I can't help the laugh bubbling in my chest. "Who taught you to play?" My laugh is silenced and I look up at Carlisle swallowing a lump in my throat,
"Ahhhhh...my mom." I say slowly
"Very smart of her," His smile is meant to be encouraging, happy that it seems like I've come from a good home, had a good childhood. That my mother cared to teach my such a complicated game, what he doesn't know is that my mother never wanted children never knew how to raise one. Teaching me to play was the only way she could bond with me and it didn't even work, she spent most of her time yelling at how bad my moves were or how I need to use more strategy. God how I hated playing this game with her. My king slips from my hand landing on the ground, quickly I reach to pick it up. When I slip back up, Carlisle is watching me, eyes soft and mouth relaxed, it's clear I'm not as relaxed as he is and carefully I release a large breath and place my king down.
"She was very smart." I mumble,
"I do believe if we could ever have the chance to meet her, we would like her very much." Carlisle smiles, even Esme looks up from her work to smile.
"You wouldn't have." Carlisle smiles fads into a small look of curiosity. I hold my breath and reach forward to making the first move, knowing very well white doesn't go first, "You're turn." Carlisle waits for a second, before sharing a look with this wife and then reaching forward to make his first move,
"You know that was wrong." I smirk,
"Shhh."