Bonjour! Well, here's another update for you… though… I'm sad to inform you all that this fanfic may be coming to a close soon. I know, I know, I don't want it to end either. But I'm hoping that you all will be satisfied with the end product when that time comes… and just for kicks, I'm again going to thank my friend/beta Thorfaxic for all of her help with not only this chapter, but also for the brilliant ideas that we've thought up for the ending. Oh, and credit to her for the nickname "chainsaw Jason" too. XD Really, she's the best. (even though you barely update your stories *cough*) So, I'll stop rambling after I thank all of my wonderful reviewers. You guys are awesome, and I absolutely adore all the feedback I receive for this story. :) Thank you all times a billion, and here's another chapter for you.

Esme Platt

Positive. The test was positive. The room seemed to swirl and fade from around me as I stared at the small, bright green plus sign in the middle of the stick I held in my hands. My fingers were glued to the test until I finally managed to peel them away and set it back on the counter, my legs involuntarily buckling as I plopped down to sit on the edge of the bathtub. One of my hands dropped to rest upon my abdomen while the other supported my weight on the tub side, keeping me from swaying and possibly falling backwards. The sound of Alice's fist knocking against the door suddenly ceased, enveloping the room in near complete silence until the doorknob twisted and the creaky door swung open.

"Okay, before you yell at me for knowing how to pick locks, I'm telling you that it was the ginger's fault. He showed me how to do it a while back." When she received no response, her lips screwed to the side and she took another step closer to where I was perched on the tub. "You know, your ginger friend? Clark? Come on, you've got to remember him. He knows how to pick –"

"I don't care that you can pick a lock, Alice." My low voice sounded false to even my own ears as I tried my hardest to hide my overwhelming concern, the hand that was placed over my abdomen involuntarily molding into a fist.

"Okay, well, that's good to know." She placed herself next to me on the tub side, closely examining my face that must have been set into a mask of shock. Or even, due to the wild emotions that were circulating at high voltage throughout my entire body, terror. "Well, now that I've managed to get in here… are you going to tell me what the test result is?" Please, like it's not obvious already. Instead of simply forcing my voice to form the words, I made a slight gesture towards the edge of the counter where the test and its nearly unbelievable result sat. Alice stood up for a moment, craning her torso past my body to catch a glance of the positive outcome. Her eyes were fixed upon the test for a couple of seconds, her mouth forming a string of unintelligible words as she took a seat at my side once more. I squeezed my eyes shut, taking in a deep breath before I opened them once more and lifted my gaze from the tiled floor to look at Alice. Not to my surprise, her eyes were also upon me, her mouth set into a thin line of indifference. I opened my mouth to speak, but my sentence was interrupted by two, distinct words from Alice's mouth.

"You're pregnant."

Pregnant. Even just the word seemed much too unreal, let alone the fact that it was now the bittersweet adjective to describe my current state. "I know," I began, speaking quietly in order to keep my voice from cracking under pressure. "What… what am I supposed to do?"

"Well," Alice paused, wrapping her rather thin arm around my trembling shoulders, "you might want to start with telling Carlisle. That would be useful, considering he's the father… wait, he is the father, right? It's not chainsaw Jason?"

"Chainsaw Jason?" I raised one eyebrow, before just shaking off her comment – she was always one that enjoyed using strange analogies. "No, no, it's Carlisle. I'm sure of that."

"Right, then, you should call him or something. Unless you'd rather tell him in person, 'cause I can't imagine telling someone that you're pregnant with their kid over the phone. It just seems like it would be kind of inconsiderate to give that sort of big news over the phone – kind of like dumping someone over text message. It's just cruel." I internally rolled my eyes in response to her rambling – of course she would compare this to such a petty situation.

I held onto the edge of the sink as I pulled myself to my feet, clinging to the edge for support. "Well, he has to know some way or another. I just hope that no one else finds out about this yet. Especially…" I let my sentence trail off, my train of thought halting in its tracks as it considered one of the worst possible scenarios.

"Alice?" I croaked, my fingers still attached to the sink. She stood up and placed a hand on my shoulder, nodding for me to continue. "What if… what if Dad finds out about this?" The image of my father filled my vision, his large, meaty arm pulled back, his fingers clenched into a fist. His face was the same shade of tomato red it had always been during one of his fits of anger, a vein pulsing violently underneath the skin of his forehead.

"He's still in prison, Esme. He can't hurt you, nor will he be able to find out. He had nothing to do with us anymore." Alice's hand put a small amount of pressure on my shoulder a reassuring gesture. "Why are you so worried about him finding out, though? I can't imagine that he'd be angry over a grandchild." Trapping my lower lip between my teeth, I looked over my shoulder at my younger sister. She had one eyebrow raised, her innocent hazel eyes begging for an answer.

"You don't know what he did, Alice," I whispered faintly, "you don't know what he did behind closed doors. You don't know what he was like to me."

"Why don't I know?" She dropped her hand from my shoulder, waiting patiently for a response that I wasn't sure how to give.

I took a deep breath and shuffled out of the bathroom, leaning against the back of the couch.
Alice, not to my surprise, followed me and stood a few feet away, her arms crossed over her chest. "He wasn't – isn't – a good man. You were young, Alice, I didn't want for you to have to endure the things he did. I took it instead – I let him do what he pleased with me, no matter what it entailed, because I knew that he would eventually get his fill and leave you alone." I paused for a moment, swallowing the large knot that had formed in my throat. "He did a lot of awful things to me, and I just know that it will all come flooding back if he were to find out that I'm," my voice stopped before the last word, unsure if I was truly able to admit it, "pregnant."

Alice seated herself lightly on one of the armchairs, her expression softening as she absentmindedly kneaded her hands in her lap. "I take it that you're not going to tell me about the things that he did?"

"No. No, I'm not going to tell you. I don't think you need to know all the details right now. The only part you should be concerned with is that he is not the man you think he is, and that you should be careful."

She neglected to speak for the next couple of seconds, her eyes traveling to the cordless phone that sat on the end table. "Well, if this topic of discussion is over with," she began with a sigh, "then you should try getting a hold of Carlisle. You shouldn't keep this from him." I sniffled once, straightening my stance as I walked across the room to pick up the phone. Sitting on the chair opposite my sister, I dialed the familiar phone number and waited for an answer. I absentmindedly kneaded my fingers together as the phone continued to ring, seeming like an endless string of tolls until the sound of Carlisle's voice finally hit my ears.

"Carlisle, I –" My mouth stopped mid-word, allowing his voice to continue. 'Carlisle here. Sorry, I don't seem to be available right now; I'll get back to you later.' Defeated, I clicked the red 'end' button on the phone and set it back in the cradle. "Voice mail," I muttered, hunching forward as I rested my elbows upon my knees.

"You could have left a message for him."

"This isn't really the best thing to simply leave a message about, Alice."

"Well, maybe his cell phone is off or something. Doesn't his dorm room have a landline in it?"

"Yes, yes it does," I whispered half to myself. I frantically grabbed the phone once more, racking my memory for the number that he had given me. Once I finally remembered the last four digits, I held the receiving end to my ear, waiting for the ringing to end.

"Hello?" came a voice from the other end. I hesitated for a second, unsure of whether or not to proceed.

"I-Is Carlisle there?" I questioned softly, positive that the voice at the other end was not the one of my child's father.

"No, he's not actually. He left a couple days ago and hasn't been back or contacted anyone since." The voice stopped, a slight crackling sound filling the phone. "Is this his girlfriend or something?"

I stifled a short, exasperated sigh; even after nearly five years, I still despised the word girlfriend. "Uh, yeah. It is. Could you tell him to call me when he gets back?"

"Sure, I will. I don't know when or if he'll be back though. It was kind of a sudden disappearance. I'll give him the message, though. Catch ya later." Before I could say 'goodbye', the line went dead. I dropped the phone in my lap, throwing my head back against the cushion of the chair.

"He's not there," I informed, "his roommate there said that he left a few days ago and hasn't contacted anyone since." What if he's gone for good this time? I attempted to push the errant thought out of my mind, but it returned a second later in full blast. What if he decided that there are better things than me? Or he somehow has an idea about the baby and wants nothing to do with it? I unknowingly placed a hand over my lower abdomen at the thought, chewing lightly on my bottom lip.

"Maybe something came up." Alice shrugged, pulling me out of my dark thoughts.

I shook my head, lifting my gaze to the ceiling. "No, he would have called if something had suddenly 'come up' like that. He would have notified if he wasn't going to be available." A frown took over Alice's face as she shifted from a standing position to take a seat next to me.

"We'll get a hold of him eventually, Ez. Maybe it's better that you don't tell him right away, you probably still need some time to get a handle on it." I closed my eyes and leaned forward, resting my face in my hands.

"I don't know what to do, Alice," I murmured, my voice muffled by my hands that were placed over my face. She gently leaned her head on my slender shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"You'll get through this. You have me, okay?" she reassured softly. "I know I'm only fourteen, but I'm still here."

"Yeah." I removed my head from my hands, shooting a short glance at my sister beside me. "But, there's kind of something that I neglected to mention before."

"Okay, what is it?"

"Dad." I sucked in an apprehensive breath, my voice quieting to a shaky whisper. "He gets out of prison next Wednesday."

# #

The sound of the heavy rain pattering against the window was the only audible noise in the house besides my own breathing. I glanced out of the window at the gloomy grey rainclouds, watching the steady fall of the rain. It had been quite a while since I received the news that Carlisle had suddenly disappeared from the college campus, and during the span of these several weeks, his whereabouts had continued to go unknown. Along with my worries, the small child inside of me had also grown within the lengthy time span – my stomach was finally beginning to become slightly swollen and rounded, and luckily enough, Alice had taken an oath of silence about the pregnancy.

Though my father had made no attempts at contacting either me or Alice since the time he'd been released from prison, it still didn't hinder me from living with a constant sense of alarm. I jumped at nearly every creak of the floor, and flinched every time a door was opened or closed. This mindset of sickening fear also prevented me from sleeping normally, decreasing my attention span when it came to work or school.

The noiseless air was suddenly disturbed by the shrill ring of the phone, earning a flinch from my body as my heart nearly skipped a beat. I pulled myself up from my comfortable position on my bed, managing to grab and answer the phone just before the last ring.

"Platt residence." I brushed a stray piece of hair behind my ear as I waited anxiously for a response, hoping that the smooth tone of Carlisle's voice would soothe my mind.

"Esme?" That's not Carlisle's voice. The man's voice was low, raspy – the tone could only belong to one person. "Is that you?"

Air hitched my throat, my fingers tightening around the thin shape of the phone. "Yes," I squeaked, my free hand lifting to nervously twirl a strand of hair between my fingers.

"Hm, how nice to hear your voice again," the man purred, his voice growing huskier as he continued. "What do you say, how about I pay you a little visit sometime soon? I believe we have some… catching up to do."

I bet you all can guess who's on the other end, eh? XD