Title: Crossroads
Author: Ilovejohnmayer
Chapter Title: Daughters
Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephanie, just as my stories belong to me!
N/B: This is my fourth Fanfic, but my first Twilight story. Takes place in New Moon time. Please, tell me if anything is wrong or off with Edward or Alice or even Bella. Thanks for all the great reviews, and thanks to askjaz for all her help!
"I just don't understand why Charlie needs to know." Alice complains to me yet again. We are on board an airplane, headed towards the United States. This will be the first time I've set foot on American soil since, well…
"He deserves to know that I am the reason this all happened, and that I will do everything in my power to find his daughter." And I will.
Alice shrugs lightly, taking a slip of her water. Even though there is absolutely no benefits or nutritious value from it, she says the feeling is somewhat comforting.
"He's not going to be happy about this, you know that, right?"
I ignore her and look at the person across the row, trying to keep myself from thinking about it. Thinking about her pains me, and I don't think I can stand this torment too much longer.
There is a little girl, about four or five. Her parents are both asleep, but there she is, wide awake, even though it must be about five in the morning. Her big blue eyes stare back at me, and she smiles a small smile, her dimples lighting up her little face. The innocence of a child…what a lovely trait to have; I would give so much to have what this girl has; love, protection, purity. A small smile before the cruel world teaches her to scorn.
"Edward? Have you been listening to a word I've been saying?"
I turn my attention back to my sister. "Yes dear, I know. Charlie."
I had already seen what Alice had foreseen. Yes, Charlie's going to be angry, especially with me. He's going to stomp and yell and turn red like a balloon. And I do not blame him. If you saw the man responsible for the demise of your daughter, you'd want to smash him into bits too.
"Did you see the bit where it all goes blank, nothing?" I nod and shrug; it's probably just a shifting vision, something's going change. Something always changes.
"Well, do you have some kind of plan?" I chuckle minutely.
"No Alice, I really don't. Why, do you?" She places her finger on her chin and taps lightly, ideas flashing through her head quickly.
I wonder why he's so sad. I turn my head to the sound of the little girl thinking, but she already has her eyes closed, slowly dazing off. Her calm face reminds me of, well, you know. I feel my insides churn uncomfortably. This was going to be harder than I'd originally planned.
When we touch down in Seattle, the rest of the trip passes swiftly. Too swiftly, I don't know if I'm ready to return to Forks yet. Everything, every bare tree, every icy breath, every snow covered street brings back memories of being in the meadow with her, listening to her mumble in her sleep, watching her face light up whenever she saw me. I feel my heart ache terribly, and I put my head in my hands, choking back tears that will never fall from my eyes.
Alice reassuringly pats my shoulder. "I know, Edward, I know."
But she doesn't know; she can't understand what I'm feeling. I miss her so much, all the time. I try to think about other things, or other people, and I just come back to her. It's maddening, and it's the only thing keeping me alive.
Alice slows the car to a stop, as we are now parked in front of Charlie Swan's house. No one is home, and I turn to Alice for instructions on what to do next.
"He's at work. He'll be home late. He spends most of his time looking for Bel-"
"Don't say it!"
She rolls her eyes. "I don't understand you Edward! You fall head over heels into this girl, and now you won't let me say her name."
"It hurts too much," I growl.
"You brought this on yourself."
I feel my temper starting to flare. Alice sometimes has a way of pressing people's buttons.
"Alice, you know why I left her! I left her to save her! Was it not your lover that almost killed her? So don't lecture me about right and wrong Alice, because you're just as dammed as me!" She doesn't turn to look at me, but I can tell that she's furious. She squeezes the steering wheel tightly, and cracks start forming.
Leave Jasper out of this Edward. You know it wasn't his fault. She flashes pictures of Jasper after the incident into my mind, and I instantly recoil.
"I'm sorry Alice," I mumble. She shrugs and flashes me a cheerless grin.
"Things will improve, I promise." As much as I want to believe her, the outlook seems very grim. The car is filled with silence after our little tiff, so Alice turns on the radio.
"No, no music, please?" Even that she has taken with her; I haven't played the piano in months.
"Come on Edward, I'm not going to just sit in this car with no music for four hours. Bear down," she says, quoting the University of Arizona saying. Before I have a chance to respond she quickly turns on a Top 40 station, and soft keys of a piano leak out of the stereo.
"The stars lean down to kiss you, and I lie awake and miss you."
"No Alice, no love songs. At least spare me of that." She grumbles in her head, but ultimately turns to a classical station. I'm not sure how much of an improvement that is, but it's better than 'Vanilla Twilight'.
It's going to be a long night.
WHY NOT TWILIGHT? WHY NOT TWILIGHT? WHY NOT TWILIGHT?
Even though it seems like time passes slowly, especially for an immortal, it does move at a steady rate. Charlie eventually pulls his police cruiser onto the gravel driveway, and I pick up on his thoughts immediately.
Another lonely night. Instantly the guilt that is constantly radiating through me triples. Charlie is an introvert, yes, but even he needs some occasional company outside of Billy Black and work friends, and that company was his only daughter. And now she's gone, just like his wife. This poor man has had his share of disappointment in life.
Alice's golden eyes flicker over to my black ones. "Are you going to be okay?" I tell Alice yes, but if I'm truly being honest with myself, I am not. Charlie Swan's blood smells like sweet spring water in the middle of a desert. I feel venom starting to leak out of my incisors, and take steps to regain some kind of control.
Alice glares at me skeptically. She saw right through my lie, and is not happy about my dissolve for the truth.
"Just don't eat him, no matter what he yells. And try and let me do most of the talking, okay?" I believe I can follow on that one.
As we climb the steps to the front door, I can feel my invisible heart racing. How can I, a vampire, be so nervous to face a mere human man?
"Remember," Alice whispers, "don't eat-"
"Alice, shut up," I state; she's getting ridiculous. Of course, I'm not going to ham Charlie; I have more willpower than that. Besides, I'm only a tad thirsty.
Just saying, lighten up, jeez. Her mind rumbles. I simply ignore her, for everyone's best interest.
"Here goes." She presses her finger to the doorbell, and musical chimes fill my ears. I hear Charlie get off the couch and shuffle to the door.
"Who's there?" His voice is gruff and authoritative. I try to answer, but the words catch in my throat.
Alice answers instead. "Alice and Edward Cullen." It is completely silent for one long minute, as if the world has completely shut down.
No way in hell. Charlie's mind responds, and Alice and I take a step back in anticipation of him swinging the door wide open, which he does.
The second he sees us standing on his porch his face turns a bright red, then blue, then purple, just like Alice foresaw.
"Charlie, calm down, we can-" But Charlie's not really listening. He lunges forward and grabs the cuff of my polo shirt, pressing me against his car. This close, his blood has a mouthwatering scent, and his eyes look so much like hers.
"You have got a lot of nerve coming back here! How dare you, after all the pain you've put my family through! Do you even know what's happened to Bella?! Do you even care?"
I feel as if I'm about to faint. Dear God, he said it. He said her name, I haven't heard that name in over three months, but it still affects me in such strange ways. Can a heart be broken, repaired, and then broken again in a matter of seconds?
"I'm TALKING to you! Show some respect, since you obviously didn't have any for her!" I peer over my shoulder at Alice.
Say something.
So I do. "I'm sorry Mr. Swan." He looks even angrier, and I can hear his teeth grinding together. His mind is scattered; filled with detailed memories of her and silent hopes of choking me.
"Do you think I want your damn pity? No, I want my little girl back! And you can't give me that, can you?" At this moment a neighbor comes by and pulls Charlie off of me. Others have gathered around, and are glaring at Alice and me.
What a shame.
How dare they come back?!
I knew those kids weren't right.
Poor Bella.
Stupid bloodsuckers.
How judgmental… Wait, what? I turn my head, searching out the person who said this latter statement. I sniff the air, and find a horrendous smell. Even Charlie's blood is overlapped by this abhorrent scent; its smells like dirt and wet dog.
"Do you smell that?" I murmur, far too low for any human's undeveloped ear.
She nods once, and then turns to Charlie. She always hot along better with him than I did. "Charlie, if we could just come in and sit down, everything can be explained. Okay?"
As Charlie yells back that I am never allowed in his home again, I pinpoint the smell. It's a child, some boy. He is hiding towards the back of the crowd, his dark eyes set on my own. He is not smiling, and the low growl that escapes his lips is not friendly.
I know this smell, I've experienced it before. I dig through the archives of memories in my mind, trying to revive it.
"Charlie, we just want to help you find her, okay? We have some connections; some resources that could bring her home. That's what you want, right?" Oh, blackmail. Alice is a queen at it.
Charlie looks less angry for a spilt second, and I know that he is going to give in.
"Fine. But ten minutes, and then you're out. And I'm only doing this for Bella, Alice. And definitely not for him." He gently pushes his neighbor off of him and yells for everyone to go home.
The dark-eyed boy steps out of the shadows, and Alice and I instantly tense. There is something very familiar about this boy, yet something very different.
Charlie's features, on the other hand, soften almost immediately.
"Jacob?"
The boy, Jacob, nods. "Heard something was going on here. Wanted to make sure you were okay."
Charlie huffs loudly. "Yeah Jake, I'm okay. Go ahead and start home. I'll call Billy later." That's right, he's Billy Black's son. But there's something else off about him…
The boy nods again, glares at us one more time, and runs off into the darkness. We follow Charlie into the house, a tense silence filling the room.
He turns on us suddenly, his glaze steely and unsociable.
"Okay, talk."