Chapter Three
EVE - 2020
Alice tried to make conversation while we waited, but I couldn't focus on anything except for the vision of the man's weeping face. "Alice!" I said louder than I intended. She snapped her mouth shut mid-sentence. "I'm sorry, but I need you to stop rambling." I regretted the statement almost immediately, the silence was worse than the aimless chatter.
Edward rubbed Alice's back while she glared at me in silence. My head still throbbed, but the pain was subsiding. It felt like years of repressed memories were all trying to resurface at once. I wasn't sure if I could handle any more. Something seemed important about the first memory; like I was missing a piece of a puzzle that I didn't even know I was doing.
Car tires rolled along the gravel driveway before coming to a screeching halt. I could hear four sets of feet trample up the driveway and stairs before the front door swung open. Alice and Edward were on their feet in a flash; they nearly flew through the living room to the front door to explain the situation at hand. Jasper moved closer to me on the couch and whispered reassuring words in my ear. A few moments later a young blonde woman waltzed in with a larger man, his hair dark and curled. "Eve, this is Rosalie and her mate Emmet," Jasper gestured to the young couple. They looked like the kind of couple you would see in a celebrity magazine.
I felt a pang of jealousy, but kept my thoughts hidden. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Eve, an old friend of Alice's." I looked over the two and smiled.
Emmet had a kind smile that gave him a youthful aura. Rosalie had a smile that lit up an entire room, she reached out her hand and took mine in her own. "It's so nice to finally meet you," she said with a hint of a laugh. "Jasper and Alice never stop talking about you."
Emmet nodded his head in agreement and came around to sit on the love seat across from Jasper and I. "Maybe now Jasper will have something better to do with his mouth than just talk!" Emmet joked, Jasper made a face, though I couldn't tell if he wanted to die or if he wanted Emmet to die, most likely a mix of both. "So, you passed out, huh? Didn't know we could do that."
"I didn't either," I said, warming up the couple immediately. "I never have before, but I guess there's a first time for everything." Jasper began rubbing small, comforting circles on my back. He began talking to Rose and Emmet about the fall and headaches while I listened in to the other conversation happening in the hallway. It was only now that I took notice of the other members of the family. I heard a woman's voice talking gently to Alice, I assumed she was the mother figure, and Edward was talking to someone else. The fourth voice came out and I nearly passed out again.
"Carlisle?" I questioned while rising to my feet much faster than I intended to. Everyone in the room grew quiet and all eyes fell on me. I should have guessed that life would only grow more difficult with Alice back in it. At the mention of his name, the young blond man came gliding into the room. Not much had changed about him in the last three-hundred-and-twenty years. "I can't believe it's you…" I trailed off.
"Guinevere Parrish…" Carlisle looked me up and down. I couldn't tell if he was angry or simply surprised; I could tell, however, that he was not pleased. "It's been quite some time."
"You two know each other?" Jasper asked, coming to stand by my side.
I wasn't sure what Carlisle wanted to tell them, if anything at all, so I decided to stay quiet and give him the chance to speak first. Eventually Carlisle signed and answered, "yes, we knew each other a very long time ago." He looked to me for confirmation before he continued on. "Maybe this is a story better saved for after I have examined Guinevere."
I nodded and took a step forward, "I will pay for the damage done to your kitchen."
The young matriarch of the family laughed. "Not at all, dear, don't worry about a thing. I trust Alice, Edward, and Jasper have tried to make you comfortable? Do you need me to get you anything in the meantime?" Her kindness was a shock, clearly she knew nothing about my past with Carlisle, but I smiled and shook my head nonetheless. "In that case we will all give the two of you some space." With that she ushered the family out of the living room leaving Carlisle and I alone.
"Hi…" I said, barely able to keep eye-contact.
"Let's check you out, make sure you're okay, okay?" Carlisle answered. He brought me upstairs to a home office of sorts and began doing a preliminary exam. "Anything wrong with your balance, hearing, vision?" He rattled off different problems and I answered in short 'yes's' and "no's.' "Okay, well I can honestly say I have no idea what is going on…"
"At least you're honest," I joked, though he didn't seem to find me funny. "Carlisle?" I lowered my voice to as quiet as possible while still letting him hear me. "Do you hate me?"
He let out a short laugh, "Guinevere, hating you would require me thinking of you, and I can assure you, you have not crossed my mind up until this very moment. Now, if we're done here…" He began cleaning up his makeshift work stationed and motioned for me to make my way out. Normally I was the type to stay back and hash things out, but at this moment I knew there were six other vampires in this household waiting for us to make an appearance downstairs.
I left the room hastily, looking back only once to seem him hunched over his equipment. I moved swiftly down the stairs and into the kitchen where the Cullen family was cleaning up. "Again, I apologize for the mess I have made, and thank you for letting me into your home-" I was cut off shortly.
"Eve, it's no worry at all. I fear I haven't introduced myself yet, but I am Esme." She was beautiful, with kind, golden eyes and soft brown hair that flowed in perfect curls. She motioned for me to take a seat on one of the barstools but I held up my hand instead.
"I'm afraid I have overstayed my welcome, I really do have to leave. Alice tipped me off on a problem on the reservation and the quicker I take care of that the quicker I can move on." I smiled before turning on my heel and making my way back out to my car. I heard two sets of footsteps following closely behind me, but I was in my car and out of the driveway before they were able to make it to the front porch.
I drove west down the highway towards La Push, Washington where the Quileute reservation lay behind a thick band of forest. I pulled over right after crossing onto the reservation and turned off my car. Rain pelted at the windshield as lighting lit up the sky, which grew darker and darker with the new cover of clouds. If vampires could cry I knew my face would be drenched by my own tears, instead I let out a sob and hit my steering wheel with my fists. The airbag deployed and burst into shreds as it made contact with my face. This felt like the last straw, I screamed into the silence and cursed for what felt like hours but was only a few minutes.
My phone buzzed nonstop, it was Alice calling and texting over and over. I had no intention of reaching back out to her until I knew what was going on. My mind was racing with so many different thoughts and feelings, mainly confusion. Confusion for everything that had happened, meeting Jasper, passing out, the visions, seeing Carlisle again. I found it impossible to focus on any one thing. The only thing I could think to do was go and help these shifters.