Rose knew Jasper hadn't been telling the full truth about his trip. She knew her brother well enough to know when he wasn't telling the full truth. Having said that she definitely wasn't expecting the truth of his phone call. She hadn't had anything personal against Bella, she just knew that as a human that her presence would either cause trouble for their family or the girl herself. Jasper had been the only other one remotely cautious. Then again, they had had much harder upbringing and were slower to trust. But even she had come to see the positives of Bella's presence in time. But then it had fallen apart.
It had more than fallen apart it had imploded. First with the paper cut, then Bella wanting them gone. Them desolate times where they all thought the girl they saw as family had finally had enough danger. And then before they had even started to repair the cracks from that wound Jasper had brought their world crashing even further around them.
Rose supposed that as she looked back there had been some signs, but they had all been oblivious, seeing their closeness as them just being family, the best of friends. They had no reason to suspect anything else. And then Jasper had left. Rose felt like it was only her and Carlisle even remotely keeping it together, but even then, she could see that even Carlisle was only hanging on by a footstep. One wrong move and she'd be the only keeping this family together. Emmett and Esme were truly a mess. They were both so finely family orientated that as every piece of their unit fell apart, so did they.
Rose wanted to hurt them all. Bella for abandoning them, Edward and Alice for their betrayal. She hated what it was doing to those she loved most. She hated how much it hurt her. And then Alice and Edward had come swanning back in from their hunt. They laughed and spoke together like normal, and yet it wasn't normal. It made Rose want to scream.
"Where's Jazz?" Rose fought to hold back a scream. Jasper positively hated that nickname and she knew there was no affection behind it. Now she knew the truth she could see the hidden truths. It was there in her tone, the slightest dip of her face. The way Edward stiffened beside her, his hand twitching as if to make a claim on her. How had they all missed it this whole time?
"Things were getting a bit much for him here, he left to visit Peter and Charlotte for a while." She bit out the words, wanting them out of her sight as soon as possible.
"He went to them degenerates? When we were meant to be leaving for fashion week tomorrow?" Little petty Alice stamped her foot at not getting her way.
For what it was worth Rose quite liked Peter and Charlotte. Yes, they were more rough and tumble than the Cullen's but Jasper always seemed at home with them and they were rather amusing. Maybe Alice's distaste bolstered their favour in her eyes.
"Don't shoot the messenger. Your precious fashion week was never his thing anyway," Maybe she could get rid of them both, "Why don't you take Edward instead. I'm sure Jasper will be back by the end of your trip."
Well, it had certainly got rid of them. They had swanned off together. Rose almost puked into her mouth thinking about just what they'd get up to on their trip.
And with them gone came true silence. Until the phone call.
Esme jumped on her phone as the call came through. She had waited by it desperately. Waiting for any news from Jasper. She couldn't believe how easily the family had fallen apart. She couldn't yet believe Alice and Edward's betrayal. And yet she could, they had always been so close, since the second they had met they had been inseparable. But with Jasper in the picture they had chalked it up to them just been the very best of friends.
"Jasper?" She couldn't keep the concern out of her tone. At her voice speaking Jasper's name, Carlisle came to her side, his mere presence comforting her as it always did.
"Hey Esme, are you somewhere private?" Esme was no fool, she knew just who Jasper meant privacy from. Though the fact that he wanted the privacy made her curious.
"They've flown to Paris. 'If my husband cannot be here to take me to fashion week, at least I can count on my dearest brother'" She was sure her attempt was to mock. That atrocious line Alice had fed her when informing her of her plans. She lost the mocking though, drowned out by the soul deep tiredness. "Shall I fetch the others?"
There was a pause on the line, as if Jasper was contemplating his answer before moments later confirming. He definitely had more than just a regular update to give, that much was obvious. She called out to her two remaining children. They answered the call immediately, seconds late the door to Carlisle's office opening. Rosalie looked to her with curiosity until she noticed the phone in her hand. "Jasper?" The words were silent and mouthed and so too was her nod in response. With that exchange she turned her attention back to the phone call.
"We're all here now Jasper. Has something happened?" Carlisle's hand gripped her shoulder a little tighter as Jasper sighed on the other end of the phone, tumbling over his words slightly as he tried to put into words just what had happened.
"It wasn't just about Edward and Alice's affair that I heard about in the forest. What I heard from them was terrible and I wanted to see if what they hoped was true before coming to you because I knew it would hurt you. So, I took a detour on the way to Texas." So far, all Jasper had told them had created more questions, and yet they knew that they would not be helpful right now. So, they waited. "Alice could no longer see Bella in her visions, and believed, hoped, that meant she was dead. So, I went to Forks." Esme gasped as her fear set in, she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the rest of what Jasper had to say. "I bumped into Angela, who berated me for turning up after it was my family that had caused Bella's death. I took that as confirmation and left Forks and headed to Texas." Esme felt the world fall out from beneath her just a little, the phone slipping from her grasp onto Carlisle's desk. She couldn't imagine that sweet, sweet girl that had captured all their hearts was dead. She didn't want to even know what had caused it. She sobbed onto Carlisle's chest, as his arms encircled her. He was ramrod straight as if struggling to process it himself.
Emmett felt the pain rush up and hit him at full force. It felt as if he had been living in a nightmare since the paper cut, and this must be the precipice. Because he was falling now. Bella had been his little sister, and he hated that she thought them too dangerous, and now there would be now way to find her in the future. She was gone. He buried his hand into the door beside him, the heavy wood cracking under his force. He wanted to continue on, but he lost his strength, sinking to his knees. Rose was there by his side, rubbing circles in his back. It was comfort, but not comfort enough. And then Jasper continued on.
"Angela wasn't completely right. When I got to Peter and Charlotte's they were training a newborn. That newborn was Bella."
Carlisle felt like he was on a rollercoaster of emotions. Even his enhanced vampiric brain was struggling to compute this whole story. It all seemed out of his control. It had done for a while now as he watched his family crumble around him with nothing to do. He wanted to hate going to Forks, but the cracks had obviously been hidden under the surface long before then, and without Forks they would have never got to know Bella.
"Bella is a vampire? With Peter and Charlotte? How did that come to occur?" Carlisle was aware that he was snapping the questions out, the way he would talk to an EMT when they brought him a critical case. Maybe it was because in this mess of a time his work was something he could count on.
"Yes, Bella is a vampire and with Peter and Charlotte. How that came to be is her story, but in short, Edward told her as many lies as he told us." Jasper's words made it occur to him that maybe Bella had wanted them to leave as little as they had wanted to go. There had to be a way forward from this.
"If Peter and Charlotte are amenable to hosting us, I believe the best next step would be to meet as a family to discuss what this means for us as a group and where we go from here." Carlisle was that kind of detached formal that he adopted when relaying important information, before his voice softened at the end, "And of course if Bella is willing to meet with us."
He felt inexplicably responsible. He was meant to be the coven leader, and only if he had fact checked, tried to talk to Bella then maybe this could have all been avoided. Or at least part of it, it was only so long Alice and Edward could have kept their mating a secret, even if they had managed it for sixty years. He had got so accustomed to Jasper's voice that he had been shocked when the voice changed.
"Please, I'd like that." The voice had changed since them few weeks since Forks but was clearly, undoubtedly the voice of Bella. There were many things he wanted to say, many he imagined the others wanted to say, but they would see her, and Jasper, again soon. He quickly discussed arrangements with Jasper, before cutting the call.
Two days. Two days until they were going to reunite with the girl that had pulled them closer than they had been in years. Hope had clearly been renewed in Esme, she sprung into action, as if she'd never been lifeless at all. It had barely been two weeks since they arrived, but she was pulling their suitcases out the attic, filling them mainly with clothes. They weren't moving permanently so she didn't need to pack up the house, but she also didn't know how long they were staying. As they were having to take luggage, they were going to have to take the cars, the slow human vehicles adding time to their journey.
Rosalie sighed in relief as she saw Esme come alive. Rose was cold and closed off, she was never made to be the matriarch of this family, she had accepted her role as daughter a long time ago, even come to love it with time. After being on the other side as her family fell apart, she gained a new appreciation both for her own simpler role and the inner strength Esme had as a woman. She was most glad for the change in her own mate. People often thought them both shallow, but just because they were cautious of sharing their affection with outsiders, she knew her husband felt things deeply and with his whole heart.
As Esme had went into preparation overdrive, Emmett had pulled her aside into a quiet corner. He was filled with new hope, but she could see the fear still dancing around his eyes.
"Do you think she genuinely still cares?" Rosalie's heart broke, her man was one of the strongest people she knew, but not around his family. And Bella was apart of his family. And, she was no longer loathed to admit it, a part of their family.
"I suspected Jasper left for more than the affair. I think there is more to this mess than we knew, and we can only wait to hear her side." She pulled her husband into her arms, her hands wrapping around his broad back. She could comfort him, but she knew at this point only Bella could soothe his fear and worry. And if it all fell apart again, then she would be there with him every step of the way, but hope had found its way into her chest.
It was barely two hours after the phone call that the Cullen clan had all piled into Emmett's jeep. It had been most convenient with the luggage. Rosalie had taken the driver's seat, her spare hand resting on Emmett's thigh. While he was loath to give his baby up to anyone, even he could admit he was too nervous to drive safely. A crash wouldn't hurt them, but he didn't want it to hurt an innocent stranger either.
The drive was mostly silent, Esme and Emmett too nervous for chatter, Rosalie focused on driving. They drove straight through day and night; it was obvious when they started to reach Texas. It slowly got warmer; greenery gave way to desert. Even Rosalie herself felt the nerves creeping up on her as she slipped off the main highway into the twisting, turning dirt road that took them into the middle of nowhere. Well not nowhere, where Peter and Charlotte lived.
They travelled almost half an hour on these desolate roads before coming upon the ranch, it stood large and proud, framed by the strong Texan sun. Rosalie slowed as she got closer, not quite trying to prolong it, but giving herself and her family the chance to steel their nerves. She could see Peter and Charlotte framed in the doorway, Jasper and Bella currently no where to be seen. Charlotte looked positively wary. Rosalie met the other woman's eyes and exchanged a nod.
Subtle, but it expressed their own understanding for their family to be happy. They had each recognised themselves as the mediator of their own side if things went sour. Peter stood beside her, arms crossed against his broad chest. His eyes were hard. He had been wary of the family before this, she couldn't imagine this mess had exactly warmed him to their plight.
With one final sigh, she shut off the car, gave Emmett's leg one last comforting squeeze and then opened the car door. It was time to face this mess head on.