Okay, so it's kind of almost 2AM over here, and I'm just finishing up this chapter. XD I'm gonna make this a quick note so I can get off to bed… as always, thank you all SO much for all the reviews on the previous chapter! They all put a smile on my face and I absolutely love all the feedback I receive. Some more of that good stuff would be great for this chapter. :D Enjoy!
Esme Platt
Waking up next to Carlisle was as close to heaven as I could possibly get, so it seemed. My bleary eyes rested upon the man beside me, watching the slow rise and fall of his chest as he inhaled the fresh morning air. Running a hand through my tousled hair, I sat up and swung my legs off the bed, keeping as quiet as possible in case he were to wake. My footsteps were soft as I made my way towards the bathroom, turning on the warm water faucet when I reached my destination. Luckily enough, my clothes had been shed much earlier before, so I saved myself a step before I immersed myself in the lukewarm water pouring from the shower head. My muscles loosened under the warm water, freeing the tension left by the night before. It had been quite an unforgettable one if I do say so myself; having the love of my life return was most definitely something to celebrate in only the most intimate of ways.
I let the water patter over my body for a few more lingering moments, dreading the departure from the toasty, inviting shower to the chilly air of the bathroom. Finally mustering up the courage to leave the snug environment, I stepped out of the shower, proceeding to quickly wrap a towel around my exposed body. Just as I began to wring out my dripping hair, a faint sound of footsteps made themselves heard as they approached from the direction of the bedroom.
"So this is where you ran off to." The familiar voice danced around my ears, his strong arms around my waist. I smiled to myself as he pulled me backwards toward his chest; he hadn't bothered to slip a shirt on. "I got worried when I woke up and you weren't next to me. I thought maybe you had run off after a one-night stand or something."
"You thought that I ran off?" I suppressed a giggle, one of my hands holding the towel closed while the other reached up to mess with his already tousled blonde hair. "Are you forgetting that we're in my house right now?"
Carlisle let out a short grunt of indifference, pressing his lips to the base of my neck rather than responding to my statement. He muttered something that sounded like 'whatever' against my skin, his grip tightening around my waist. I laughed to myself once more as I took my still-wet hair into my hands and wrung it out over his shoulder. He flinched and jumped back, swatting the stray droplets of water from his skin.
"What was that for?" he questioned with a smile, continuing to dry off his shoulder.
"Well, my hair is soaking wet and I still need to get dressed. You were distracting me from doing so," I responded, a smug smirk taking over my lips.
"Please, it's summer vacation. You don't need to get dressed," he teased, leaning against the door frame, wearing his signature cocky grin.
Wiping any excess water from my body, I responded, "Actually, yes, I do. Alice is coming over later today."
"Should I leave then?"
"No, you don't have to leave. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you since she hasn't in ages." I paused for a moment, my eyes sweeping over his half-naked body. "Although, you may want to consider putting a shirt on before she gets here. We don't want her assuming anything." I brushed past him as I made my way out the door and into my room, sifting through my closet in search of something suitable for the oppressive humidity forecasted for the day. I eventually ended up in a camisole and a pair of denim shorts, not bothering to do anything with my hair. It was only my sister, anyways – and I highly doubted that Carlisle would pay any mind. I bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen, only to find that Carlisle had already situated himself at the table, a bowl of cereal before him next to the Sunday paper. The spoon was halfway to his mouth when he noticed me standing in the doorway, his brows lifting as his eyes widened as if he were a deer caught in headlights.
"Am I allowed to eat your cereal?" he asked, a smile on his lips. I rolled my eyes and nodded in response, pulling up a chair next to his.
"You may as well. No one else does around here." He simply shrugged and continued eating his breakfast while I leaned forward, resting my chin on my fist as my eyes focused on the newspaper, searching for any suspicious or remotely interesting headlines. It wasn't until a few silent moments after that I felt the sensation of a gaze on the side of my face; I looked up from the paper to find Carlisle's eyes set upon me, resting his face in his hands as his lips twisted into a dazzling smile.
I turned my head to face him, mirroring his smile, "What are you looking at?"
"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" My cheeks flushed into a bright pink, so deeply that I could almost see it reflected in his eyes. I trapped my lower lip between my teeth for a few seconds before releasing it to capture his in a tender kiss. He smiled underneath my lips, his fingers twining through my caramel locks of hair. One of my arms absentmindedly wrapped around his neck, tightening its grip to keep him from pulling away. The swish of the front door opening flew straight past my ears, as did the call of my name – it seemed as if I was too caught up in the perfection of my knight in shining armor to notice another being entering my home.
"Ez? Esme, are you home?" The fourteen-year old form of Alice rounded the corner, stopping in her tracks as she found Carlisle and I still locked into our embrace at the kitchen table. "Well, I sure wasn't expecting that this early in the morning." My eyes flew open, finally taking notice of the presence of my younger sister. Carlisle and I both jumped asunder at the voice, the colour of his cheeks the same shade of tomato red as mine had been earlier.
"Sheesh, just 'cause you're a legal adult now doesn't mean that you can sit and make out at the kitchen table like that." Alice tossed her jacket on the couch along with her rather small duffel bag before taking a seat on the extra chair on the opposite side of the table. She leaned forward, her weight supported on her elbows as her eyes glanced between Carlisle and I, before eventually setting permanently upon the man beside me. "Holy crap," she murmured, "Carlisle? What are you doing back here?" Carlisle flashed his signature grin, removing his hand from my hair to wrap his fingers around mine beneath the wooden table.
"It's summer break, so I figured that I'd come back and visit for a little while," he explained, locking his gaze on my sister for a couple of moments. Alice simply nodded, seemingly still in shock from the sudden appearance of her older sister's long-lost lover.
"How long are you here for?" she inquired once she had shaken the overwhelming sense of awe that had been present in her previous expression. Upon hearing her question, I glanced up at Carlisle – he'd neglected to mention exactly how long he was staying until he would have to return to college.
"Only for about another week, unfortunately," he responded, his face falling ever so slightly. "The new semester is starting earlier than usual this year." Now it was my turn to wear the mask of shock upon my face.
"A week?" My voice held an incessant amount of disbelief for such simple words. "But you just got back." Carlisle suppressed a sigh, squeezing my hand once again.
"I know," he murmured, letting go of my hand to instead wrap his arm around my waist. "But I'll come back every chance I get this time. I promise." My mouth forming into a frown, I laid my head on his shoulder, having nearly forgotten that Alice was still sitting across the table. Her eyes had focused in on me, blinking every now and then.
"Ez, can I talk to you for a few minutes? Alone?" I lifted my head from Carlisle's shoulder, my eyebrows furrowing with curiosity. Without words, I placed a soft kiss on Carlisle's cheek as I stood up and led Alice to another room, far enough to make sure that we were out of earshot. I took a seat on the armchair against the wall, nodding for her to begin.
"Go ahead," I instructed solemnly as she leaned against the side of the couch across from me. She drummed her fingers across the upholstery for a moment before looking up from the floor and setting her gaze on me once more.
"How long has he been here?" she asked softly, her face displaying no traces of emotion for me to attempt to read.
"Since a couple days ago." I tiled my head to the side, confused. "Why do you ask?" Alice exhaled through her nose, moving from the side of the couch so sit on the cushions instead.
"I was just curious because… I mean, he was gone for so long. How long was it, four, almost five years?" She stopped speaking as she waited for my confirmation, which I gave in the form of a slight nod. "He was gone for all those years, basically ripped your heart out of your chest and stomped on it by doing so, and just as you try to move on when you met that weird Jason dude, he returns and you immediately take him back, just like that?" She snapped her fingers on that word 'that', emphasizing her point.
I sat in silence for a couple of seconds, contemplating what she had just said. "Yes," I finally replied, my face completely still as a statue as my eyes rested on her face.
"Esme, that's nuts." Her words were short, cutting, almost. "Why would you let him back in after he left you for all that time? You don't know if he'll do that again, he just said that he's going back to college in a week. Who knows how long he'll be gone when that time comes." Leaning back onto the backing cushions of the couch, she crossed her arms over her chest as she awaited my reply.
"I took him back because I love him, Alice. You should know that."
"I do know that. I like him, too, and I'll be sad to see him leave again. I just don't want you to get hurt. I saw you when he left for the first time, Ez. I was only ten, and I could still sense how heartbroken and… lifeless you were."
I had opened my mouth to reply, but was caught on the word 'lifeless'. As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. He had broken my heart by leaving so suddenly – but even something so devastating did not have the power to change my thoughts and emotions. Words or actions cannot say what love can do. It was a funny thing, love. It could seem to be deceiving, pointing you back to the person who had hurt you the most. But me, I trusted it. By some strange leap of faith, I'd decided to trust one of the most bipolar, strange, and deceiving emotions to not let me down again.
"It won't happen again, Alice," I said slowly, involuntarily dragging out my words. "I trust that it won't happen again."
Alice inhaled a large breath, letting it go in a long sigh a second later. "All right. I believe you. It's your life, I guess there's really nothing I can do to change it." She paused for a brief moment before continuing the ending point of her case. "But, you know, if he decides to knock you up or something and leaves you alone to fend for yourself, then I'll have a big issue. Okay?"
"Okay," I agreed, standing up from my place on the armchair. "Although, I highly doubt that will be happening any time soon." I smiled as I walked towards the room's exit, my walk hitching as I caught Alice's last sentence.
"Well, I hope not. But don't you think that I don't know what goes on, Ez. Even a fourteen year old knows when her older sister has that morning-after glint in her eyes."
# #
Several Weeks Later…
The neon green numbers of the clock read 4:39 as I sat up in my bed for what felt like the hundredth time that night, groaning out of exhaustion.
"Why can't I just sleep for longer than two hours at a time?" Continuing to mutter to myself, I decided to just give up on getting any more hours of precious slumber. I brushed through my hair with the tips of my fingers, undoing any bedhead tangles that were caught in the long locks. Not bothering to change out of my old t-shirt and sweatpants, I tiptoed past the room Alice was staying in and made my way quietly down the stairs in case I were to wake her. I stopped in the kitchen, rummaging through the cupboards for some sort of food that held any interest. When I found nothing, I shuffled into the living room, turning on the early morning news channel as I flopped onto the couch. I must have either begun to daydream or dozed off, because I awoke with a start as Alice's rather loud footsteps occupied the ground floor of the house. Rubbing my eyes, I groaned once more as I sat up straight on the couch, looking over my shoulder as Alice emerged from the kitchen with two plates and forks.
"Hey, you're up early," Alice commented, noticing me on the couch from where she was standing in the kitchen. "Couldn't sleep again?" I shook my head in response, groggily standing up and shuffling towards the kitchen table. Taking a seat, I began to absentmindedly toy with one of the forks that Alice had placed next to the ceramic plates.
"No, I couldn't sleep again. I don't know what's going on. I mean, it's not like I'm losing sleep over stress or anything, 'cause my mind is perfectly at ease." Alice simply shrugged, opening the refrigerator to sift around for any sort of breakfast food. She eventually pulled out a half-empty carton of eggs, removing three of them before shoving the box back into the fridge, forcing it between a gallon of milk and a wrapped piece of leftover pizza.
"Well, maybe eating something will help you feel better. Do eggs and bacon sound good?" Eggs and bacon. Even the words made me nauseous. I didn't respond to Alice's question as I watched her crack each egg on the edge of the pan, the yoke and liquid seeming to drip and slop into the cooking pot in slow motion. My stomach twisted in knots at the sight, flipping and churning as I continued to observe the liquid egg swishing around in the pan. I thought that I heard Alice call my name a couple of times and say something along the lines of, "Esme, are you all right? You're turning green." It wasn't until the scent of cooked egg hit my nose that I completely lost it – my stomach contracted in one large, nauseating know as I sprinted to the restroom at what felt like lightning speed. I collapsed to my knees in front of the toilet, beginning a painful, seemingly never-ending chain of dry heaves over the bowl. Sweat began to break over my forehead as I moaned out of illness, adding to the sickening effect of whatever the hell was going on with me at that point. When it seemed like my sudden fit of illness has come to a close, I leaned my cheek against the cool edge of the bathtub in hopes that it would soothe my feverish head. After what seemed like ages of leaning against the hard, uncomfortable tub side, a knock came to the door and Alice's voice greeted my ears as she opened it and stepped into the rather small room.
"Ez, are you okay in here?" she inquired, taking in the probably not-so-pleasant sight of her sister curled up against the bathtub. She knelt down and placed a hand lightly on my cheek, her expression holding an incessant amount of concern. "Jeez, all I did was ask about eggs, and suddenly you run in here and start dry heaving. Is something going on that I should know about?"
I managed to shake my head, turning away from the tub to lean my back against it instead. "No. I mean, I haven't really been feeling one hundred percent well lately, like I've been a bit nauseous and things of the sort. A bit squeamish, I guess. I suppose the mention of eggs just set it off or something."
"How long has it been going on?" She dropped her hand from my face, and it was then that I realized how truly concerned she was. Her mouth was set into a thin line, creases lining her young forehead.
I stopped to think for a few moments; these strange bouts of sickness most definitely weren't anything new. They'd been reoccurring, much like the many nights of odd sleeping habits. "Around two and a half weeks, maybe three."
Alice huffed through her nose. "I take it you feel completely fine a little while after, right? You seem to be just like normal when I've come to see you recently." Her eyes were partly questioning, partly contemplative as she awaited my response.
"Yeah, pretty much. Why?"
"We should both get dressed and take a trip to the drugstore. I think that we should get you something, Esme."
The front door swung shut behind me as Alice and I re-entered our home, appearing to slam louder than what was normal. I threw the small CVS bag along with its contents on the kitchen table, leaning my hip against the side as I folded my arms over my chest. "I can't believe you made me get a pregnancy test, Alice. You're fourteen years old, what the hell do you know about that stuff, anyway?"
"It's called health class and the media," she answered over her shoulder, hanging her jacket on the coat rack. "Please, Ez, just do it. It's only a precaution – better to be safe than sorry."
"Fine." Shaking my head, I pulled the box out of the bag and proceeded into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. I quickly read the back of the package, continuing on to follow the printed instructions as speedily as possible. When I was finished, I set the test down with a trembling hand, kneading my fingers together as I frantically paced back and forth, anxious for the result. I hoped for not only my sake but Carlisle's as well that the result would be negative – with him being away at medical school for the majority of the year and be being busy with both college and a part-time job, we couldn't possibly manage to raise a child on our own. I knew for a fact that there would be several others willing to help, but I couldn't shake the feeling of dreadful apprehension that was trolling throughout my entire body.
"Hey, Ez? It's been way longer than five minutes in there. What does the test say?" My sister's voice halted my frantic thoughts, my eyes slowly lifting from the linoleum tiled floor to rest on the small object sitting on the counter. My footsteps were hesitant as I approached the ledge, my eyes squeezing tightly shut when I picked up the test. Inhaling deeply, I looked down at the stick in my hands. I opened my eyes to look at the result, my breath hitching in my throat, the sound of Alice's fist rapping endlessly against the door making no avail. I simply stared, feeling as if the ground were swaying beneath my feet.
It was positive.