Chapter 2: Stitches

CARLISLE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO STAYED CALM. Or maybe that was my perception of him. His age gave the illusion of calm. No one was screaming or running around, but I could see in their faces that scenarios were screaming and running in their heads. Edward's expression was the worst, the most worried—but the lack of a mirror in the parlor made it difficult to judge my own expression.

Edward, Carlisle, and I had engaged in some small talk to avoid the letter that had obviously caused Carlisle's worry. It wasn't until after Esme offered me a slice of her peach cobbler (and the Cullens all watched me eat, as if watching me might help them remember what flavours existed for the human tongue) that we discussed the letter. Edward had his arm around me. Alice took her place beside Jasper, who, as expected, stayed the furthest distance away from me while remaining in the same room. High school halls were torture for him, but it was better than being in the same room with one human. It was too easy for him to focus his senses on my heartbeat.

"After we watched the recording James made," Esme said, her voice careful and even, "we knew there was more to James' story than we initially thought."

I shivered. I was nauseous. James had recorded my mother's murder. James was another reason for me to remain human; James was a vampire; James had no humanity. There was more to becoming a vampire than fangs and thirst. Vampirism heightened the strongest parts of a person. For Rosalie, who had been beautiful as a human, was now incomparable. Esme had lost her child but clung to her mothering instinct, and now she exuded motherly warmth and welcoming like light from the sun. Edward admitted he'd been stubborn (aka controlling) as a human and that trait had strengthened too. Whoever James had been as a human, becoming a vampire made the darkest parts of him stronger. I was afraid of that happening to me.

"James mentioned the Volturri."

"The Volturri," I echoed. What had Edward told me about them? A group of three very old vampires that made some rules, recruited some rule enforcers, and now they're the most powerful vampires in the world.

"We tried to track Victoria when we realized there was more to learn," Esme continued. "But whatever she might have known…"

"She left the country," Emmett explained grouchily. "She probably left the continent. Jasper and I searched. Nothing. Not a whiff of her."

"Which is good," Rosalie said firmly. Her body was stone, pronouncing her inhuman features, like how little she moved, like a wild cat waiting in a shadow. "James was dangerous. It's better that Victoria give up and leave us alone."

"We did find out some things," Esme said, but she didn't sound happy. Her expression was hard. Her hair was combed back, achieving a perfect fishtail braid. Her black pencil skirt folded over her thighs giving them both shape and structure. Esme's attire was always professional and elegant. "James coming here was no coincidence."

I inhaled sharply. "What?"

"He was sent here."

"By who? The Volturri?"

"I have friends in the old world," Carlisle said. His expression was plain. "Some are willing to provide me with warnings, and any information that might protect me and my family. More than ever I am thankful that I made friends during my travelling years, many who owe me favours."

Carlisle took Esme's hand. Her face was tight. She needed his support. Edward took my hand too, and I noticed that I had been quivering. From rage at James. And from fear about why the Volturri had sent James.

"The Volturri have many scouts," Carlisle explained. "Usually pairs. These pairs investigate rumours, if any rules have been broken, or if any suspicious behaviour is suspected. James and Laurent were one such pair. My theory is that, perhaps, some nomadic vampires reported that a large coven had settled in Forks, which is forbidden. James and Laurent might have been sent to see if the rumour was true and take action against us."

My eyes widened. Edward had mentioned that vampires were nomadic because if humans started dying or getting their blood drained by the dozens, the trend would be noticed, and retaining secrecy was the number one rule the Volturi enforced. I thought the rule was about not causing suspicion—I didn't know that it was forbidden to have a large coven.

"My old friendship with Aro made our family an exception," Carlisle added. "Since we do nothing to arouse suspicion of what we are and leave before revealing how unchanging we are, we break no rules by existing as we are. However, it would seem the Volturri, more than ever, have decided that enforcing the rules absolutely is the only way to protect us all. The exceptions they might have made before no longer apply."

"You're saying that the Volturri are coming down hard on rule breakers," I summarized.

Carlisle nodded.

"Aro," I said, "he's one of the Volturri?"

"He is the Volturri," Edward said coolly.

"Aro and his two brothers, and their wives, are the head of the Volturri," Carlisle answered. "Aro, however, is considered by many to be the true leader. When I knew him he was the most forceful. His brothers debated with him, but never disagreed with his decisions. The final say was always the word of Aro."

Aro. How strange that his name had been in my dream. Alice was the psychic one, not me—but maybe my subconscious knew more than I was aware of. Maybe my dreams had warned me something big was coming.

"I received a letter from a loyal friend within the Volturri." Carlisle held up the same letter he'd had with him on the porch. "She confirms that the Volturri have sent out more scouts and lately have tuned their ears to listen to even the least threatening rumours."

"Laurent joined the Denali clan." Emmett frowned, his forehead wrinkled. "When he left us he said he wanted to try their lifestyle, but once he got to know them he confessed everything. He told them that he was meant to investigate them for the Volturri but decided to join them instead."

"The Volturri won't be happy about that," Edward said.

"Hell, they'll be pissed." Emmett's spoke with a growl. But he smiled too, as if making the Volturri mad was an entertaining thought. "I know I'd be."

Carlisle's expression remained unchanged. "Tanya is convinced that Laurent made peace with the Volturri. The Denali clan is safe."

"And us?" Rosalie asked. "We killed James. The Volturri loves anyone with a gift, and James was gifted. They won't let us off as easily."

"That is why we have decided to leave Forks," Esme said. She exhaled long and slow. Her sad eyes met mine. "If we stayed we'd only risk drawing attention to ourselves."

It was a jaw-dropping moment. My jaw didn't drop, but I did gape. Leave Forks. Edward squeezed my hand. I couldn't look at him.

"You're leaving Forks?"

"Likely," Carlisle confirmed. "I am waiting on some details from my friend, the same one who wrote me this letter. When we leave will depend on what else she tells me. I need to be sure that leaving here will be enough to cease the Volturri's interest in our family."

"When would you leave?"

"Next June," Alice squeaked. Her eyes loomed, two orbs focusing all attention of me like spotlights monitoring a coast for signs of passing ships. I felt watched, and a little lost at sea.

June. That was a year away.

"Being immortal, the Volturri tend to move slowly. They're very patient." Edward winked at me. He was pretending not to worry. But a year wasn't much time to an immortal.

"Rosalie and Emmett already have plans to leave in three weeks," Edward added to reassure me. "Any scout of the Volturri that finds us after that won't have much to complain about if there are only five of us here."

"Makes sense," I agreed. If covens were typically two to four vampires, one more couldn't be considered much of an offense.

"It does worry me about our future," Carlisle admitted, "especially regarding what we now ask of you."

I sat up. Alice mouthed words at me, but I couldn't focus on her. Rosalie's expression had soured again. Emmett rubbed her shoulders, like that would help.

"Our departure brings attention to the decision you must make," Carlisle said. "We have discussed this, all of us, and we would welcome you if you chose to leave with us."

My whole body became an ice cube. I wriggled my hand free from Edward's. I stood. I never thought Carlisle would ask me that. He'd done what I'd asked when I'd been devastated and sobbing in that ballet studio with James' venom spreading inside. He'd saved me. He'd kept me human. Now he'd asked if I wanted to become a vampire.

"It is a lot to think over," Esme whispered. "We don't need your answer today. We only wished for you to know you are welcome and, no matter what your decision is, we consider you a part of our family."

I nodded. "Thank you."

Esme smiled, but there was more worry than reassurance in her eyes.

"Excuse me." Without another word, I walked from the room, closed the front door behind me, got in my truck, and drove home.

Exams. It was a routine. The right answer was in the textbooks I read and re-read. There was no reason to consider other answers or second-guess myself. The answers were all there.

Edward didn't bring up the choice Carlisle had given me. He drove me from my house to the exams. He wished me luck, even though he said that I was smart enough not to need luck. Smart, maybe. But I wasn't wise. I didn't have an answer to his question.

It was a relief to be stuck in a desk with an exam paper and a reliable number two pencil in hand. Although only half my study time had been used to study. When I sat on my bed, reading the same line over and over, Edward lying next to me, my mind repeated the promise I made to Rosalie. If Edward ever left me, I had to let him go. Was this what she had meant? If the day came that Edward and the Cullens had to leave Forks, she had wanted me to promise to stay behind?

Then there was the other thing to consider. If I ignored the promise I'd made to Rosalie that only made room for my worries about forfeiting my humanity. Being human was what I wanted. Going with the Cullens… It's not like I could travel with them as a human. It was dangerous for me and risky for them. Edward wanted me to be a vampire with him. Alice wanted me as her new sister. Carlisle and Esme and Emmett treated me like we'd known each other my whole life. Jasper…probably found my human state an irksome temptation. Rosalie was the only member of the coven who would be happier if I choose to stay in Forks.

Jess organized a party to celebrate the end of exams. Next year we'd have a grad party. Jess was already trying to convince Angie and I that we needed to join the committee behind all the grad festivities for our graduating year. Lauren was in. That gave me good reason to not want to join. Lauren hated me. She never said a good word about me—and often said more than a few bad ones—and she never spoke directly to me. Why Jess was friends with her I could never understand. They had the same classes, they'd been in the same swimming lessons, and they're mothers were friends since high school. It practically made them sisters. I had to tolerate Lauren being around because I was Jess' friend. (Jess had her undesirable traits too, and she was sometimes selfish, but she was never cruel.)

Jess' post-exams party involved a few rounds of Jenga, some underage drinking, and visiting a playground after dark, acting like children. Angie and I competed for height on the swings. I won. Then we went back to Jess' and played a marathon of Game of Thrones episodes. I'd never seen a single episode before that night, and boy was I shocked. It was also unexpectedly fantastic.

The shock that came next was bigger and not at all fantastic.

As planned, Alice and I baked a chocolate cake, placed a large thin layer of wafer cookie on top to shape it into a graduation cap, and then Alice used yellow icing to make the graduation-cap-cake. I wasn't sure what to make the tassel out of, but I bought a pack of rainbow licorice and stuck a yellow one on and Alice finished it off with more yellow icing. It was no Cake Boss creation, but it was the best thing I'd ever made with cake.

Alice set up a table with the cake, cards from teachers and classmates that Rosalie and Emmett knew, and then I helped her haul photo albums into the parlor. Some of them were old, with black and white photos—faded, less black and white and more brownish-yellow. It was a tradition to look back at photos during events like graduation. Carlisle had started the tradition as a way to remind their family to be grateful for all that their lives had given them.

Rosalie wore an above-the-knees black dress with one bare sleeve and one shouldered. She wore a necklace with a large pendant—a sea green stone swirling with splashes of navy blue and fleck of yellow surrounded by a gold frame that gave the pendant an oval shape. Her long nails were painted the same sea green as the stone. The ends of her golden hair were curled in; the front smoothly folded up and pinned back on one side. It was a hairstyle influenced by the 50s. Of course she'd lived through that era so it was no surprise that she would no how to pull off the modern version of that look.

Emmett, though it was his graduation, though Rosalie had surely told him otherwise, had decided to wear jeans. He wore a nice shirt, the sleeves rolled up, and it had recently been ironed. Rosalie hadn't managed to make him wear dress pants, but at least she got the top. Emmett's hair had also been combed and slicked back. Rosalie was trying to make her man match. She suited it more easily than Emmett did.

Alice had put me in blue again—as she was convinced that it pleased Edward—and she wore a yellow dress with eyelet lace. Esme too had dressed up. She wore a long navy blue skirt with a white top, the high neckline sheer lacework with solid white starting inches below her collarbone. Her hair was pulled in a bun and held in place with black chopsticks—a hairstyle I'd never managed to recreate on my own (the chopsticks always slipped out). Carlisle wore the same dress pants he'd worn to the ceremony, but he'd loosened a few of the buttons of his shirt to relax the look. Edward and Jasper, having experienced their siblings graduate many times and there only concern about fashion came from not making enemies of the ladies in their family, wore everyday clothing. It irked me. I'd been forced to dress up. Why hadn't Alice made Jasper wear a dress shirt? Alice had made me wear heels! Hells too high for me. I felt unstable. I'd wobbled a few times. I was practically the same height as Edward now! Plus the straps were cutting off my circulation, which wasn't right at all.

Alice announced Rosalie and Emmett's entrance with a loud, "TADA!"

Rosalie couldn't help herself. Her lips curved. She raised a hand to her chest and examined the cake from a few angles. "This is…actually not bad." She laughed.

"You can thank Bella and me," Alice cheered. She threw her arms around her sister and then her brother. "Happy grad again!"

"Thank you, Alice." Rosalie's smile broadened. Her eyes found me and she rolled her eyes, but she didn't lose her smile. "Thank you, Bella."

I don't know who was more surprised, Edward or myself. "You're welcome," I said stiffly. "Congratulations. On graduating."

"It's not like we haven't done it before," Emmett said with a chuckle. He clapped my back with a slow cautiousness—which only slightly bruised.

"But it's the first time I've congratulated you," I noted.

Emmett blinked. Then he clapped his hands together and laughed for a moment. Emmett was probably the least like a vampire in the whole bunch. He laughed easily, he laughed deeply, and he didn't care about being quiet or careful. He was probably the warmest, jolliest vampire on the whole planet. I was a little sad that he was leaving. At least he was taking Rosalie with him.

"Should we…try it?" Esme eyed the cap-cake nervously.

"No way," Alice said. She shivered and stuck out her tongue. "We'd just have to throw it up later. No way are we doing that to my magnificent creation! Oh and Bella's."

"Seems like a waste of perfectly fine cake," Rosalie said.

"That's why Bella is here," Alice said. She bounced up beside me, pushed her hands against my back, and scooted me toward the kitchen. She looped her arm with mine and stopped us by the sink.

"Success," Alice said. "Our cake is a hit." She faced her palm toward me. I clapped her hand in celebration.

"I'm impressed it's still standing," I admitted. "Most of my baking tends to be…lopsided."

"That's what I'm here for. To straighten you out."

"Why are we in the kitchen, Alice?"

"To get a knife to cut the cake."

I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yes. This is your kitchen. I don't know where you keep anything."

She mimed smacking her forehead. "Duh!" She opened a drawer. "Here." She held open the drawer. Her expression froze in place and she watched me. "You're the newest member, so I think it's only fair you do the honours."

I frowned. Alice knew how I felt. She knew I'd avoided answering. Alice was too stubborn to surrender.

"Alice."

"So have you thought about it?"

"You know I have."

"But you don't know."

"No, I don't know." I cast a weary look at the doorway. Not that it mattered if they were in the room or not. They were definitely listening. "We can talk about this later."

"Sure." Alice stayed with her hand on the drawer. She hadn't so much as blinked. Something was strange.

"Let's hope it tastes half as good as it—"

A prick on the edge of my fingertip made me jerk my hand out of the drawer. The line across my finger reddened. Alice turned on the tap and I ran my finger under the water. The blood that washed out coloured the sink's drain for a second. I saw the enemy in the drawer—a small knife in the back pointed in the wrong direction with a shadow of red on the point.

Before it could sink in what had happened, two things happened in the blink of an eye. Jasper grabbed my wrist. His tall frame cast a shadow over me. His mouth opened, teeth ready to bite. A few snapping sounds made my stomach tighten. Edward had broken Jasper's fingers to get his hand off me. Alice stood in front of Jasper, one hand on his chest, speaking softly and quickly. Carlisle had him by one arm and Emmett had the other. Jasper's chest rose and fell. His breathing was heavy and quick, but slowing. Alice touched his cheek and he met her eyes. He searched her face, his expression wavering between guilt and rage—that small amount of blood had made him remember all the thirst he had been resisting for years.

"Bella." Edward turned from Jasper.

"I'm okay," was my automatic response. I wasn't okay. My legs were shaky and my wrist ached. Touching the skin hurt. Already bruises shaped like Jasper's fingers had formed. They were light now, but they would darken. I could see my arm so I knew it wasn't true, but it felt like my arm had been crushed, like someone had taken a mallet banged all around my wrist. I could practically feel the blood pooling under my skin.

It wasn't something I normally thought about—at least I never used to—but that's what new bruises were. Blood. Rushing to repair the injury. A mouthwatering injury. A bruise filled with Edward's most delicious temptation.

Like lightning striking across a storm-darkened sky, Edward leapt. One second he'd been beside Jasper in the doorway, helping to restrain him, and the next second I saw him in front of me. He didn't seem to recognize me. I hardly recognized him. But I'd seen this side of Edward before. No words could bar him from what he wanted. He couldn't see me. He saw the veins beneath my skin growing darker in colour the deeper he stared. He could hear my blood pulsing inside me. He was a vampire now. No part of him was mine. It only took two seconds, too fast for me think what I should do—run, duck, beg, cry, nothing—but Edward's teeth touched my neck. I felt my skin split. I felt the sting.

I was waiting for worse. I thought for sure that this was the moment that pain would come. Vampires didn't make two neat little holes like in the movies. No, a hungry vampire was like any animal, and I expected my neck to be gashed apart. That didn't happen. Terror had shut my eyes, but I opened my eyes to see what had delayed my gory demise.

Carlisle, of course. Alice and Rosalie had a solid grip on Jasper and were taking him into the other room. Emmet was shadowing them, making sure Jasper didn't make a run for it. But Carlisle had wrestled Edward to the ground. Esme now stood in front of me, her arms out, ready to grab Edward if he slipped out of her husband's hold. Edward didn't fight. Carlisle's lips moved, but he spoke too low for me to hear. Edward seemed more wounded than I was. He was horrified.

Esme's soft, cold fingers brushed over my neck. "It's shallow. A scratch," she whispered calmly. "Bella, honey, do you feel any burning or stinging?"

I shook my head once. It wasn't like when James had bit my palm. I curled my fingers. I could remember that burn. It was cold fire, like frostbite. Edward had, at the very least, been stopped before he could make his desire come true. He hadn't tasted my blood and his venom hadn't reached me. I would be human another day. Human and fragile.

Carlisle released Edward. They stood a few feet away. Only Esme stayed close. Edward tried to speak twice, but he only said my name and nothing else. I knew what he wanted to say, but we both knew an apology wasn't going to make me forget how much he had scared me.

Rosalie returned to assure us that Jasper had calmed down, but Alice wanted to keep him at a safe distance for now.

"This is why Bella isn't safe with us," Rosalie said angrily.

"Rosalie," Esme said, her tone warning.

She ignored her adopted mother and took a step toward Edward. "She isn't safe because of you, Edward."

Edward's eyes narrowed as he looked at his sister. He shook his head and closed his eyes.

"It isn't fair," Rosalie continued, "to any of us. But especially her." She nodded her head toward me. "You've done enough to her."

"We can have a shouting match about this later," Edward said quietly. "I think Bella should go home."

"She should go home," Rosalie agreed. "Go and never come back. She shouldn't come with us. She's human. She deserves to stay human and live a life uncomplicated by us!"

"Enough, Rosalie," Edward shouted. He turned on her and stood inches from her. It was as if the years of no sleep finally showed. His voice was rough. His eyes had narrowed, heavy from tiredness.

Esme's hand rose to her mouth. Vampires didn't cry, but I'd learned to recognize the expressions that matched what they couldn't show. Edward was exhausted, ruined from his mistakes. Esme cried because her family was fighting and it hurt her that she couldn't stop it. Carlisle sighed and set his hands on his hips, bowing his head. My family wasn't the only victim of my connection with Edward. The Cullens were at odds, standing on opposing sides, deciding how best to deal with me. If Edward hadn't wanted me so much, I wondered how many more would side easily with Rosalie—would they have decided to kill me or maybe move far away if Alice had warned them I'd be showing up that fateful day?

Alice crossed the room in a second and took my hand. "I'll take Bella home," she said.

"Thank you, Alice," Carlisle said.

She nodded once and guided me around Edward, using her body as a shield between us. Whether Edward was trying to find the right words still, I didn't know. I couldn't look at him now.

Neither of us spoke until Alice had driven through the trees and out of sight of the Cullens' home. It was afternoon and the sun had darkened with orange. Would Rosalie and Emmett go to the grad dance like nothing had happened? Or would they leave for their trip early to put a lot of distance between us?

I wiped tears from my cheeks and leaned my head against the window. "Did you know?" I asked her.

"Yes." Her voice was quiet and shaky. "I saw that Jasper might go for you, but he needs practice. If it had been only him…I know that's not a good excuse, but the truth is being with us is always going to be dangerous—more so when you're human, but probably big things will happen when you're a vampire too. I wanted you to have a chance to look at your choices realistically."

"Alice."

Her hands curled tensely around the wheel. Her voice trembled. "I know."

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the headrest. "You said when I'm a vampire."

Her fingers loosened. "This was the only way you'd know."

The moon was almost invisible, barely a wisp of silver in the daylight, but somewhere in the forest I heard a wolf howl.

Chapter Update: Changed some things. I think it is an improvement. Thanks again for reading (and, perhaps, also reviewing?)!