~ oOo ~
Sorry for the late update, guys! Real life got in the
way a little bit, and a few technical issues had their
way with my computer so I was late sending
the chapter off to my dream team,
SunflowerFran and annaharding.
Big love to both of them for working their magic
on my rough-and-ready writing! They do an
amazing job, although I know I make it difficult
at times!
So it seems we're all firmly in Edward's corner,
and loving seeing him love on Marley and Scarlett.
Again, sorry for the delay, I'm aiming to be back
on schedule for next week. If I manage to get 18
knocked out before then, I'll post it :)
Thank you!
~ oOo ~
Summary: When two little girls were allowed to walk
home from school one bright spring day nobody could've
predicted the events that followed. The way two families
were torn apart by the vendetta of a deranged man.
Nearly twelve years on, we'll watch as the two girls stolen
away from their homes at eight years old fight to take
back their lives. If only it were as simple as escaping. AU
Pinky Promises
Chapter Seventeen
Careful to close the French doors quietly, Edward's trainer-clad feet made little to no sound as he sighed, running a hand through his hair before stepping into the kitchen and making for the living room. His brow furrowed, however, when the sound of harsh panting broke through the quiet. Jade green eyes swung round in search of the source, feet carrying him another two steps into the room before his gaze fell on her. Though she was curled into a ball on the floor against a cupboard, it was clear the young woman with Charlie's blond curls, and Penelope's petite frame was Scarlett. Why she was up, though, bewildered him.
Her body trembled with the force of her breathing, warbled sobs marring the otherwise peaceful night. Without thinking, Edward moved closer and fell to his knees beside Scarlett. "Hey, hey, steady," he breathed, resting his hand gently on her shoulder. The shudder that rippled through Scarlett would have been obvious even if he hadn't felt it.
"Ed-Edward? What are you doing down here?"
Edward winced, hearing the pain lacing her stuttered words loud and clear. "I went out for a smoke, I didn't want to wake anyone going out the front door, sometimes it squeaks."
"I remember." Though timid and softly spoken, Scarlett's words were resolute. She remembered the squeaky door. Edward wasn't sure why but he felt his lips tug upwards in response. The only thing stopping them from turning into a full-blown smile was the fact that she was still shaking violently on the kitchen floor.
"Can I get you anything? What happened?" A shake of her head was all the answer Edward received. He rocked back on his heels, hating that he didn't know what to do, how to help. Musically talented? Sure, he could admit that, but schooled in dealing with tears? Not so much.
"I c-can't stop sh-shaking," Scarlett suddenly moaned. Her hands slid up into tangled blonde curl, tugging hard as she rested her forehead on her bent knees.
Edward hesitated before asking, "Are you cold? Can I get you a blanket, jumper…?" Another headshake. No. His eyes moved from the small sliver of her face he could see from this angle to the dark blue knitted wrap around her shoulders. It was thick, he could tell, and she was also sporting a pair of turquoise jogging bottoms drawn to her calves. On her tiny feet were a pair of navy ballet slippers and since it wasn't exactly cold outside, he couldn't figure out why Scarlett was shivering so fiercely.
Another tremor rippling through Scarlett's body rocked her into Edward's knees. He shoved away the questions bubbling on the tip of his tongue, reaching for her on instinct like he used to when she was little and would fall over. So torn apart by the lingering nightmare in her head, Scarlett didn't fight him at all as he turned, tucking her securely beneath his chin in his lap. She wound up pressed against his solid chest, covered only by a thin, light blue ribbed vest and an unzipped gray marl hoodie. Her legs rested over his lap, head over his heart. It thumped evenly beneath her ear. Soothing in its steady beat, she relaxed some of her tightly coiled muscles and tried to suck the warmth from his body into hers.
Smells, sounds, and sights assaulted Scarlett's senses slowly. Everywhere she looked Garrett Smith lurked. Rosalie slept soundly upstairs, Marley coiled beneath the covers with Mr. Eddie as usual.
Today, they received the news that in three days they'd have to go to the police station to begin giving their formal statements.
The FBI and police were working together on the case, both of them desperate to nail Garrett Smith for all of his nefarious crimes. It was the thought of reliving every day on the ranch that had Scarlett dreaming of tumbling from a great height, only, as she got closer, it exploded, and she found herself falling faster and faster towards the rising ball of flames Rosalie had described. She was terrified of what the agents, officers, her family, and Edward would think of the things they'd hear, petrified they'd hate her for making Rosalie stay, and for not leaving with Marley as soon as physically possible.
She was desperately trying to stop herself from thinking about when she'd have to explain how her current pregnancy came about.
Scarlett had woken from her nightmare just as the first lick of flames touched her skin and had stumbled down the stairs so Rosalie and Marley wouldn't be woken by the resulting panic attack.
The feel of Edward's hand tracing shapes on her back was soothing instead of frightening, calming her racing heart while smothering the fright that was attempting to claw her into its icy grip. A long, shuddering exhale left her.
"You feeling better?"
Beneath her ear, Scarlett felt the rumble of his voice, his Italian accent, more than she actually heard it. Hating being so close to him, to anybody, during a panic attack, but craving his warmth, Scarlett pushed through the walls she'd carefully constructed around herself in an effort to feel heat in her bones, even if only for a short time.
Not completely content, but more so than she had been in a long time, Scarlett hummed into the soft material of Edward's hoodie, the tears on her cheeks soaking into it along with the sound. He grinned down at her. Overwhelming relief filled him in response to the far more relaxed sound coming from Scarlett.
A few minutes later, he could tell she'd fallen back to sleep. Her breathing evened out, fists unclenched but rested loosely against his chest, and the frown that had been pulling her forehead taut had dissipated, leaving the exhausted face of a troubled girl free of pain. Scarlett, slumped over Edward's lap, had unconsciously sought the comfort he couldn't help but offer. The comfort she couldn't bring herself to ask for when she was awake.
Charlie appeared in the doorway just as Edward began to look around, wondering if he should move her to a more comfortable place to sleep.
"Edward? What's going on?"
"Nightmare, I think. I came down for a smoke, but she wasn't here then. She must've woken up and come down while I was outside. She seems okay now, calmer at least."
Charlie chuckled ruefully, his eyes sad as he gazed upon his daughter. It had been obvious from the moment Riley showed up that nobody would like the news he'd brought with him. Garrett Smith had not been sighted in days, and the girls needed to start giving their statements.
Smiles had been scarce, Scarlett and Rosalie spending much of the day quietly contemplative. Marley had been easily entertained with Archie's, Carl-Roman's, and Chase's arrival late in the morning, but even she had noticed something was going on, patting Edward on the cheek and pointing to her silent mother and auntie to ask what was wrong. Edward had placated her by saying that they were just tired, but it wouldn't fly for long. Marley may be virtually mute, but stupid she was not.
Resisting the strange urge to press a kiss to Scarlett's head, Edward carefully set her down on Charlie's bed a handful of minutes later, careful not to disturb Marley. He'd passed Rosalie on the stairs on the way up, and she'd warned him to mind the Marley-shaped lump beneath the covers. He brushed a lock of hair back from Scarlett's cheek, smiling when she leaned towards the contact with a soft sigh of her own.
In the kitchen, Charlie and Rosalie waited, cups of coffee clasped in their hands, noses inhaling the strong scent greedily.
"There's more over there," Charlie grunted, staring into his coffee. Black with three sugars. He'd always taken it the same way.
"Grazie, Chuck."
He poured himself a cup, taking a seat at the table opposite Rosalie. She seemed lost in thought, though he'd have laughed if he could see into her mind.
Over thirty children squealed, screamed, and laughed as they ran amok on the new equipment at Tugwell Park. The warm July sun shone over Eastbourne like a watchful parent – just cool enough to be gentle, but not hot enough to be stifling. Scarlett and Rosalie were among the gaggle of children playing on the swings, their delighted squeals ringing out as Edward and Archie made their way over.
"Arch! Edward! Push us, push us!" Rosalie cried, showing off the gap in the front of her mouth where her two top teeth had been just days before. At six-years-old, she was excited to have finally caught up with Scarlett, who'd already lost hers and started growing in the adult set a month before.
The two boys, then thirteen and fifteen, grinned at the girls' loud cheers as they pushed hard on their backs, sending them flying up in arcs towards the perfect blue sky.
"Don't tell Dad, all right, squirts? He'll ground us again if he finds out we were pushing you this high."
Edward laughed at the girls' vehement nods, fiddling with the cap in his hands between pushes.
"So, when're you goin' back?"
Edward cursed under his breath at Archie's question. "Twentieth of August. Ma wants me back for school and shit." His scowl turned into a smile again as Scarlett – his pushee – cheered that he was 'the best pusher ever.'
Archie snorted, stepping back with Edward to let the girls swing powered by their own legs. He smirked at his friend. "Yeah, drug pusher."
As the teenage boys goofed around, shoving each other playfully, their fun came to an abrupt halt. Scarlett and Rosalie were winging themselves in towards each other, tangling their feet together as they crossed over then giggling when they released and sailed back down. Edward watched from the corner of his eye as Scarlett's swing caught and twisted. Unbalanced, she shot her hand out to grab the nearest thing – the chain of Rosalie's swing. The pair screamed as they careened through the air and landed sharply on the asphalt with pained cries.
"Oh, shit…" Edward breathed, moving round to scoop Scarlett into his arms. She already had tears pouring in torrents over her rosy cheeks as Archie lifted Rosalie. "You okay, Bella Bean?"
Despite her tears and the pain in her ankle, she managed a weak smile at the use of the nickname only Edward ever used.
"I think my ankle is broke, Edley."
Her whimpers just about broke his heart. To make matters infinitely worse, a boy he knew occasionally said mean things to the girls, chose that as the perfect time to make a bad situation even worse.
"Ha-ha, Scarlett fell over!" He crowed.
Archie saw the anger on his friend's face immediately. Checking with Rosalie first to make sure she could stand, he set her on her feet and clasped Edward's shoulder hard. Deep, dark, furious jade eyes locked on the boy's face as he spun, ignoring Archie's hold. Scarlett cringed and cowered into Edward's chest, clutching at his Rolling Stones t-shirt.
"Are you seriously laughing because she hurt herself?"
The eleven-year-old, redheaded boy grinned wickedly, not realizing it was the stupidest thing he could have done in front of the protective older boy. Edward ground his teeth, fingers flexing behind Scarlett's back and knees where he cradled her.
"Leave it, man. The kid ain't worth it," Archie insisted.
The only thing that stopped Edward from pummeling the little brat was the fact that he couldn't stomach the thought of putting Scarlett on the ground to do it.
"No, he's not." Glaring at the boy, he continued, "If I see you anywhere near these two again, you won't be so lucky. We clear, kid?"
The boy all but wet his pants at the look on the older boy's face as he towered over him, spitting the words angrily. He took one quick glance at Archie's face, set with the grim determination of someone who knew what it was like to lose a fight to the tall, Italian teenager, before turning tail to run right out of the park.
Slowly but surely the fury leeched from Edward's body.
His eyes melted back to the soft shade of green Scarlett often likened to her favorite mint chocolate chip ice cream, a toothy yet sheepish half-smile taking the place of his previous scowl. As the foursome went back to Charlie's to get Scarlett's ankle checked by her dad, Edward apologized, grinning gratefully when she just patted his cheek and thanked him for sticking up for her. Years of being sporty and fitness-oriented allowed him to keep her in his arms until he relinquished her to Charlie on the doorstep.
Rosalie's half-smile was wiped from her face at the sound of footsteps. Baby-blues landed on Edward, after flitting to the doorway in time to see Charlie's retreating back.
"He's gone to take a shower," Edward explained.
"Okay," she mouthed in reply, nursing her coffee.
As Edward stood, blinking blearily now that the adrenaline of Scarlett's panic attack had worn off, Rosalie couldn't help but smile at the look of boyish displeasure on his face; the amount of sun pouring in through the open drapes on the French doors apparently too much. His face reminded her of Carl-Roman, with whom she already couldn't wait to spend more time.
He reached up to scratch absent-mindedly at his stomach, not noticing the way Rosalie's cheeks flushed crimson as her eyes caught sight of his toned midsection, his shirt rising up as he gazed around the room.
"Now, I don't know about you, but I'm dying for another coffee."
With that, he strode across the room, flicking the switch on the kettle to set it going again.
"You sleep all right? I didn't hear a peep last night. It's so quiet here, much quieter than my place. Took me ages to get used to it. I'd forgotten how silent it can be, here."
Rosalie nodded in agreement. Back on the ranch, there was always at least a little noise. The horses kicking about in the barn, Jesse snoring next-door, the cats yowling from the windowsill. The nights back home were eerily silent.
"Where do you live now? Is it near? I think you mentioned it, but I don't remember."
Edward tipped his head to smirk, not unkindly, at her, "Rome. Not so close, no."
Again, Rosalie's cheeks flushed. He ramped up his accent on purpose, her embarrassment acute as she wrapped her arms around her middle. "That should have been obvious, huh."
Humming teasingly, Edward huffed a satisfied breath a moment later when he raised his fresh, steaming cup of coffee to his lips. There was a sharp pang of longing in Rosalie's stomach at the realization – that's how Emmett drank his coffee, too. Black, straight from the kettle, and scalding hot.
"You want…?"
"No, thank you."
The pair sat in companionable silence for a little while, until Rosalie remembered something else. Another childhood memory. She couldn't help but let out an amused little giggle. In response, Edward eyed her with his head cocked slightly to one side. Rosalie likened him to a puppy you couldn't help but be fond of despite his mischief.
"What was that girl's name…Tisha, was it?"
Edward groaned, his head hitting the table with a muted thump.
Charlie had tasked the boys with looking after the girls for the afternoon while he and Peter worked. It was a Saturday, but since Penelope and Tina had died, they'd needed the extra hours, especially during winter months when construction work was scarce. Then, in the bitter cold of late March, two years later, the men were forced to run their construction business while managing their homes and the five children they had between them.
Thankfully, with Edward staying just down the street with his aunt and uncle for a while, they felt marginally better leaving the two elder girls with him and Archie. The two-year-old twins were with their grandparents for the day, so the troublesome foursome found themselves at a loss for something to do.
Deciding they didn't want to stay inside when there were remnants of snow to play with, Edward and Archie bundled the girls up in their outdoor clothes, leading them down to Hampden Park where many other kids of similar ages were reveling in the freshly falling snowflakes. To the boys' delight, there were also some girls of their age. Leaving Scarlett and Rosalie in the playground with some friends from school, Archie and Edward sauntered with all the cockiness of teenage boys towards the giggling girls.
An hour later, when Scarlett's fingers were so red she thought they'd fall off, she and Rosalie made their way over to Edward and Archie. The two would-be studs were still trying to make a good impression, but to little avail.
Seeing her chance to cash in on a piggyback home, Scarlett beamed as sweetly as she could manage and tapped Edward on the hip. He glanced down at her, two pink spots high on her cheeks from the cold. Automatically his lips pulled into a wide, toothy smile that had the girls around him swooning. His mega-watt smile had always been his ultimate weapon – he just hadn't learned to use it to its full advantage yet.
"Whatta you after, Bella Bean?" His strong accent made it sound more like 'afta,' which (to the teenage girls who'd never been anywhere further than Brighton with their mums) was about as delicious as it could get. That wasn't including the way he knelt to talk to Scarlett either, his bright grin never wavering even when she jutted out her lower lip to ask to go home. Intelligent beyond her years and as perceptive as her quick-witted father, young Scarlett knew just how to play the cutesy little angel. After all, Archie had enrolled her and Rosalie many a time to help impress girls. They'd been trained well.
"Well, we'll be seein' you. Gotta get these ones home before they freeze." Edward scooped a beaming Scarlett onto his back, Rosalie on Archie's, before they turned back to their now-staring admirers.
"Add me on BEBO, Edward," one girl simpered with all the grace of a smitten, fourteen-year-old. Her friends were quick to suggest the same thing to both boys, so when they carried the two girls away a few minutes later, the first thing they agreed upon was that they definitely had time to stop and treat their little helpers to sweets from the penny shop. Whilst adding their new fangirls on BEBO, the most 'in' social network site of the times.
Scarlett and Rosalie reached across to high-five each other from the boys' backs.
"That girl, Tisha, she didn't stop harassing me for about a year!" Edward erupted into chuckles at the memory, wiping his eyes theatrically as Rosalie beamed – much like she had back then. "It was all your fault, too. You and Scarlett were too good at playing the cute card."
"Yeah, but it was so fun."
Edward couldn't help but grin and agree, mind full of the beaming, giggly girls instead of the shells they'd become.
~ oOo ~
Charlie hauled himself from the shower almost forty minutes later. The past month had exhausted him physically and mentally, so he'd taken the time to really savor the shower and soak his tired muscles. He followed Edward's chuckles and Rosalie's quieter giggles to the kitchen where he found them raking over funny and embarrassing stories from their childhood. One of which was a trip to the park that Charlie remembered all-too-well, albeit not as fondly as Edward and Rosalie did.
"Archie dropped my new phone in the pond that day," he commented wryly, alerting the pair to his presence. Edward's grin widened, while Rosalie's fell for a second before stretching out again. "Insurance wouldn't pay, so I made him save up for months to buy me a new one."
"Yeah, and then you didn't make him buy it. He was so annoyed 'cause by then he'd missed the chance of a date he was supposed to go on with Tisha's friend."
Charlie wrinkled his nose. "'Tisha?' What sort of name is that?"
Edward and Rosalie shared a bemused look, bursting into loud laughter at the utterly bewildered look on Charlie's face.
~ oOo ~
Five minutes later, after the pair had gathered control of themselves, Peter arrived with the hesitant announcement that the girls would be over at twelve, having returned from their camping trip. They'd be there in less than five hours. Rosalie was filled with nervous anticipation. It felt as though someone was running an electric current through her skin and hummed continuously throughout the morning.
When Scarlett emerged from the bedroom, weary after her late-night panic attack and embarrassed at the way she'd behaved, it was to gentle smiles and a hug from Marley. Once she'd decamped from Edward's lap at the dinner table, anyway.
"Morning, baby girl," she sighed, not realizing how much she needed a cuddle from her baby until Marley wrapped her arms around her neck. "Morning, Edward," she added, smiling cautiously at him. All she could picture was his worried face and the feel of him surrounding her, crowding out the nightmare that had terrified her.
Edward's warm grin melted Scarlett's exhausted body. "Buongiorno, Scarlett."
Looping her arm through Scarlett's, Rosalie led her across the kitchen to the table where the pair perched on chairs beside each other. Edward was opposite them with Charlie beside him and Peter on the girls' left at the head of the table. The men nursed coffees, the smell of which sent a pang of nausea through Scarlett's stomach.
Emmett. Of course, she knew by then that he was in protective custody for his own safety, but she couldn't help thinking if it weren't for us he'd be living a normal life.
It seemed that all she could do was wallow in guilt. Guilt for keeping Rosalie and Marley on the ranch. Guilt for the upheaval Emmett had to deal with. Guilt because she knew that by this time on Friday Charlie would likely know the worst of what happened in Montana, how the scars she found him glancing at when he thought she wasn't looking had made themselves at home on her body.
How he'd have heard about Marley's conception, and that of the baby she currently carried, in detail.
"You know, when I last saw you, girls, your dads were still mastering the braids so you could change out the pigtails every now and then." At Edward's observation, Charlie and Peter snorted.
"Still can't do it, either," Charlie admitted, smiling over the rim of his Number One Dad mug. Peter gruffly told them that Heidi and Pippa finally caved and taught him about a year before.
Scarlett's eyes flitted between her dad, uncle, and Edward, the brother Archie chose for himself. Listening to the easy camaraderie was strange for her. When she and Rosalie were taken, Edward had been fifteen. Not quite a boy but not yet a man. It struck her then that it wasn't just her brother who'd changed considerably in the past twelve years.
Tall, tanned from working in the sun, and broad-shouldered, Edward had come a long way from the lanky boy of her memories. A dusting of scruff covered an angular jaw, the cheeky, charming, touch of a lopsided grin in the center. She also noticed belatedly that he no longer wore his hair flat to his head – it was artfully mussed, sticking up in all directions. And then there were his eyes…dark jade with almost chocolatey flecks around his pupils. Like mint chocolate chip ice cream, her favorite.
Scarlett told herself firmly that it was purely for observational reasons she was studying him in this way, although how she'd missed it in the weeks they'd been reacquainted, she wasn't sure.
After snapping photos on her dad's camera of Edward feeding Marley bites of his pancakes, despite her having one of her own on a plate in front of her, Scarlett excused herself and settled on the window seat in the living room. Nobody followed, understanding how overwhelmed she was.
"Is she okay?" Edward gazed anxiously at the door he'd just watched her walk through.
"Too much to take in at once, that's all. I think she was feeling a little sick today, too," Rosalie reassured him gently. Nobody needed her to elaborate on the 'feeling sick' subject.
The baby.
It was the subject everybody was dancing around. Scarlett never brought it up, so nobody ever mentioned it.
Edward, torn between knowing Scarlett needed space and wanting to comfort her like he used to when she was little, fought a grimace as he shifted in his seat, trailing the tip of his right pinky finger around the top of his coffee mug instead, and refocusing on Marley.
~ oOo ~
"I'm nervous, Dad."
Peter tightened his grip on Rosalie. Though he wouldn't point it out, he already knew she was nervous; he could feel her body trembling something fierce against his side. It was five past twelve. Any minute, Roy and Mary would arrive with Pippa and Heidi.
It would be the first time Scarlett and Rosalie had seen them since they were toddlers.
Their memories were faded from lack of use, but in the minds of the girls, they still had sandy brown bobs, and cherubic smiles in four-year-old faces.
For Rosalie in particular, it was terrifying. These two girls were her baby sisters, even if they hadn't been as close as she was with Archie. Worry churned in her stomach as she considered the possibility that they might not care she was back. After all, they probably had very few memories of her, if any at all. Why should she expect them to miss somebody they didn't remember?
The feel of fingers slotting themselves between hers made Rosalie turn her head slightly to one side. Scarlett offered her a tiny half-smile. "It'll be okay, don't worry. You're doing great."
Even though they were standing just a foot away on either side of her, neither Charlie nor Peter heard Scarlett's words. But Rosalie did.
She smiled back gratefully, albeit decidedly shaky, and steeled herself as the muffled sound of car doors closing filtered in through the cracked-open living room window. Edward excused himself. At the same time, Scarlett slid onto the sofa farthest from the door with Marley on her lap, Charlie adjusting his stance so he could see his daughter, Peter, and Rosalie without having to turn. With Archie anxiously awaiting a phone call to say the reunion had gone well, Charlie's brother Patrick waiting for the 'okay' to at least speak to the girls over the phone, and the upcoming four days of statements weighing heavily on his mind, Charlie was more than feeling his fifty-five years.
While washing earlier in the morning, he'd found two, new gray hairs at his left temple. In the years since his wife's death, Charlie had struggled with the man he'd become, had struggled to come to terms that not only was the only woman he'd ever loved gone, he was left with their two heartbroken children. It took a long time for him to be comfortable within himself again, even before the setback of losing Scarlett and Rosalie.
Now, he found himself looking into the mirror at an unfamiliar man once again.
For twelve years, he'd been 'the man whose daughter was kidnapped'.
Who was he now?