Tuesday was the last day the sun would be out; it was also the last day of Charlotte and Peter's visit.
After their game, which ended nine hours after it began (something about a three way tie and multiple attempts to implement a tie breaker and a necessary two hour cool down period (during which Peter snuck out to the garage for a couple intense games of chess, he won the first one and I whopped him on the second)), Peter and Charlotte, following the others, invaded the garage and my peace and quiet again so that Rosalie could show them the Mustang.
After showing it off or at least what we have of it to show off, the others all went back inside 'cept for Alice.
She had seen something, I could see it on her face, despite my decision that I had reached where I could now care less what Edward was doing. I could profile Alice enough to know what she had seen involved our brother.
"What he do now?" I asked, lifting myself into the empty space of the car where the engine had been.
"He's on his way home."
"Bout bloody time," I said shortly, not geared at Alice of course, just Edward. "But?" I finished, seeing something else to her sentence.
"But he's not staying long, apparently Bella is going into Port Angeles with Jessica Stanley and Angela Webber."
Names didn't mean much to me normally, but this time I recognized them. Jessica was the girl that Marie had for a mentor and Angela, she must be the caring one that I had pegged as perfect for Marie, had ended up mentoring Paige, but had taken care of Marie just the same.
"Ok, let me guess…he's following them?" Alice's face was enough answer for me I rolled my eyes and ducked deeper into the frame of the 'stang. "So where the bloody hell has he been all day?" Again, my sisters face was like an open book for me to read. "Of all places… he gives up football to go stalk her during the day and then to watch her sleep and now he's stalking her from the shadows while she's at school!" I paused, giving a sigh "he's lost his mind hasn't he?"
Alice shrugged and rubbed my shoulder
"I don't condone what he's been doing Chris, but love is a funny thing and it makes you do funny things you wouldn't otherwise do, someday soon you'll understand." I rolled my eyes "don't roll your eyes, it will Chris."
I gave her a look, reading between her words, it wasn't her being hopeful, it was a vision of a future, my future.
"What do you mean 'it will'?" I repeated "Alice did you see something 'bout me?" She let her face go smooth, there was no profiling details right now, she wasn't going to let me, I sighed
"Just trust me on that one and this Chris."
"Come on Alice what did you see?" she shook her head, but still kept her face smooth "Alice!"
"It's not a 100% clear Chris, certain factors haven't fallen into place yet." She reached over and hugged me, but knew I wouldn't drop this, nor would I forget about it. My curiosity is always on high and when Alice 'sees' something, especially when it's about me, especially the way she said it, I like to know what it is.
But I know she's not going to tell me until she's certain, though my sister knows I take her visions like my own profiles with a grain of salt so to speak she likes things to be over a certain line of certainty.
So I changed the subject.
"But Alice, is what Edward's going through, is that real love like you and Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett, Carlisle and Esme…or is it…" I sighed… there was no better way to put this… "is it just a fondness for his meal?"
I lowered my voice at that last sentence, it sounded cruel and bitter and I didn't mean for it too, but it was a question that had been stabbing at my thoughts for a while now and Alice was the only one I trusted to give me an honest unbiased answer.
"Christian"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it the way… the way it sounded." I ducked my head again, going even deeper into the frame, so much that I was touching the garage floor, if I could have gone through the cement floor I would've.
Alice leaned over the frame and looked down at me,
"I don't know."
I looked up at her my eyebrow raised
"Huh?"
"I do not know," she repeated, "I don't know what is going through Edward's mind right now, you probably have a better idea of what he's thinking than any of us. But I do know what I have seen and that has a heavy stake in the whole thing."
I raised my head, looking her straight in the eye.
"You mean…her becoming one of us? Joining our family?" Alice nodded "but Edward said that it wouldn't happen he wouldn't let it." I reminded her.
She gave a knowing smile
"Chris you have known Edward longer than I have, how many times has he sworn something would not happen?" I thought that over, knowing the answer, "and how many of those times has that completely backfired?"
"A few, not many." I sighed "like he swore he wouldn't give into my pleading to go see my mother for the last time" I paused "it took me running off, but he did cave."
"See."
There was a few minutes of silence, outside of my spraying WD-40 and dropping lug nuts into the box I had for them. I looked up at my sister slowly
"So you really saw her…y'know."
Alice nodded
"I know you are afraid of her Chris," quickly I ducked down again, I had been trying to keep that from my family, but keeping anything from Alice isn't easy it's like keeping something from Edward. "But it will all work out, I promise you this."
I looked at her
"You can't promise something like that Alice, but thanks I appreciate you talking to me." Alice nodded; she reached down and hugged me tight, giving me a kiss on my cheek before skipping back to the house.
I looked over at the Volvo and found myself glaring at it for a second, angry, with not only its owner, but also the girl that it had given a ride to.
The side door to the garage opened and Esme stuck her head in "Christian Peter and Charlotte are leaving, are you coming to say goodbye?"
I nodded and lifted myself out of the car, following her into the house.
I shook Peter's hand and Charlotte gave me a quick hug, just as I heard the kitchen door swing open.
Edward was home…'bout bloody time. He nodded to me and I turned back to face Charlotte and Peter, he could read my mind and knew I was angry at him.
I felt betrayed and angry at what he had been doing to the family, but more specifically what he was consciously and selfishly doing to Esme. If there was anyone in this house that deserved to be mad at him it was our mother, but she was more concerned for him then anything.
"It was great to see you both," I said, stepping back to where Rosalie and Emmett stood, so Jasper could say goodbye to his friends.
I refused to look at Edward, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him hang his head a bit as he went to his piano and pounded out some strange sounding song.
Charlotte and Peter exchanged a look, then looked to the rest of us for an explanation. I shrugged when their eyes fell on me and I walked over to the couch. I vaulted myself over the back onto the cushion and leaned against the top cushion of it watching everyone.
I could read both Charlotte and Peter's facial expressions; sympathy and utter confusion written on Charlotte's and Peter was convinced Edward's odd behavior had something to do with our diet, their expressions were so similar, it made so much sense that they were together, they were a perfect match, like Jasper and Alice.
As Jasper and his friends continued to speak, I lowered myself to the seat of the couch and flipped on the TV, keeping the volume low, but I began turning it up slowly to try and block out the music and I use that word lightly to describe the noise that was coming from Edward's piano.
"If you see Maria again," Jasper said, warily, catching my attention from the program I was watching. I pulled myself back to a kneel against the back of the couch. "tell her I wish her well."
Ah Maria, the woman who changed Jasper, Charlotte, and Peter; she had been trying to create an army to counter a virtual turf war that was spreading from Mexico to the states in the mid to late 1800s, she saw the potential in Jasper and made him her right hand man, took him out of one war and threw him into another.
Jasper was in charge of the newborns and keeping Marie's army strong and trained. She would change Peter later, but for the same purpose she had with all of her quote on quote soldiers. War.
Jasper helped Peter and Charlotte escape from Marie's army, and they returned shortly after to help Jasper do the same.
Since Jasper and Alice have been a part of the family, Maria has only looked Jasper up once. When we were in Calgary in the 80s, she came calling.
I met her first and it didn't take me more than a few seconds to profile her and know who she was. I quickly informed Jasper and Carlisle and after her eventful visit, we had moved very quickly.
After that initial meeting, Jasper asked her politely to keep her distance, especially from me.
She had been very intrigued by my physical age and my profiling ability, between what I read on my brother and on her I was really uncomfortable; like the Volturi before her, she apparently saw me as useful.
"I don't imagine that will happen soon." Peter replied, laughing. "But should it happen, I certainly will." He looked over at me and gave me a reassuring nod, but there was something in his eyes, his, Charlotte's, and even Jasper's eyes, that made me not only suspicious, but a little anxious as well.
Jasper had told Peter about what had happened in Calgary and both he and Charlotte understood perfectly Jasper's concern, both knowing exactly what Maria is capable of and why she would want someone like me and felt responsible to also keep her from me.
Maria had changed three people who were under the age of fifteen to serve in her army while Jasper was with her.
Kids were…ok I'll just say it useful. These kids were not changed to fight in her army of course, but innocence has it's benefits in war, even I know that. Heck it still happens in wars today, how many times does the news report that some little kid walked up to soldiers, seconds before pulling the pin out on a bomb, killing both themselves and anyone within fifty feet, including the soldier.
It's nasty to think about, but it's been going on for as long as mankind's been at war. Adults always trust kids, or at least grossly underestimate what a kid can be capable of doing; no adult could get that close to a soldier.
It's basic animal instinct for the adult to protect the young and in war that instinct can get the adult killed.
She used the kids to lure human adults to what the humans saw as kids in need then she and the other adults would attack the human to change them, or at times feed from them.
The kids were a decoy and the younger they looked the better it worked. But even Maria wouldn't violate the Volturi rule of Immortal Children, so not one of the kids was younger than nine years old, so she teetered on the edge of the rule, but never went over it.
The kids whose lives were ruined by Maria's selfish cause were younger than I had been, not by much though.
One was ten, one was thirteen, and the other was just nine years old, according to Jasper, she didn't last long, she didn't take to the change well and it near drove her insane and out of mercy without Maria's permission, Jasper killed her, he's never said it out loud, but killing her has never left him. Jasper had told me all of this after my first and only encounter with his creator, partially so I could understand and partially because he was trying to protect me, the warning has stayed with me since.
As Jasper and Peter shook hands, movement caught my attention. Edward left his song unfinished and got to his feet.
"Charlotte, Peter," he said.
"It was nice to see you again Edward," Charlotte said, uneasiness in her voice, Peter nodded his acknowledgement of my brother as the rest of the family looked on. I could only imagine the thoughts going through their heads, but I had a guess.
Alice seemed to be concentrating on something, something that was meant to calm whatever was bugging Edward now.
Rolling my eyes at him, I watched as Edward headed to the garage to take the Volvo to track down the Swan girl and her friends in Port Angeles
I gave Peter and Charlotte a wave as they headed out the front door. Peter looked at Charlotte for a moment and nodded for me to come over.
I jumped up and headed over to the couple and my brother. Jasper put a hand on my shoulder and guided me to the door, where he, Alice, Peter, and Charlotte stopped on the porch, a second later; Carlisle joined us, all five looking serious.
"What?" I asked, wondering what was going on. Peter tried to give me a comforting grin,
"Chris, do me a big favor ok?" he said
"If I can," I replied
"Trust your profile, no matter what."
"What's going on?" I asked looking at my family
"There's just been some unsettling rumors floating around about Maria, you were mentioned by name, and we just want to make sure you are on your guard. Your profile helped last time, you recognized that she was trouble and acted accordingly just keep up on that like you always do." Peter said in a reassuring tone,
Jasper nodded in agreement with Peter. He exchanged a look with Carlisle, before turning to me.
"It's nothing to be overly concerned about Chris, we just want you to be aware." My brother said. He wasn't trying to alter my emotions or calm me, he was just telling me as it is.
"We just wanted to make sure you all knew to be on alert." Charlotte said softly.
"Thank you both." Carlisle said to Peter and Charlotte; shaking Peter's hand, Peter nodded and without another word, both Charlotte and Peter gave a nod to us and with a reassuring smile disappeared into the woods.