Author's Note: I've had a few reviewers ask about the Cullens. Where they are, why didn't Alice see this or that, etc. Hopefully this clears things up a bit. Also we finally see some Jasper! A few tweeks to his history here, I just don't agree with the cannon of Peter only spending 3 years with him before taking off with Charlotte. I didn't give an exact number of years, but lets just call it more than 3.
Thank you to everyone that has reviewed so far, please keep them coming! Check your inboxes if you are registered, I have been replying. Hopefully this slightly larger chapter makes up for the lack of one earlier. I needed to do some editing and it slowed me down a little bit. Enjoy! - C
(Alice)
I wasn't sure what went wrong, I had seen it all play out perfectly in my vision. It must have been something split-second. Last minute decisions were the bane of my existence! My best laid plans often went to waste due to them, no matter how many factors I accounted for.
I had been planning Bella's birthday party ever since Bella recovered from "The Phoenix Incident" as the family had taken to calling it. I saw that if we arrived at the airport early, Bella would give Jasper the slip and would become a vampire and my sister forever. Although I couldn't quite see the specifics, I was confident in my gift. When it all played out, I was horrified at what had almost happened. Not even a psychic could have predicted Carlisle's unprecedented suggestion to suck the venom back out of her. It had never before been attempted.
I never wanted my friend to be tortured like that. I would never have allowed it if I had known, but I was focusing on too much at the time, my attention divided, and I wasn't getting a clear picture. That's why I spent months working on her birthday party. I considered every possible problem in detail whenever I could be sure Edward was out of range of my mind.
It was hard for me to see visions of humans. Vampires were much easier, I think because they were my own kind. For humans I had to know them fairly well to get a vision of them and I had to concentrate. With vampires, especially my family, I didn't even need to look sometimes, the visions would come unbidden into my head.
The only exception was if humans would effect my family greatly, but those visions were very murky and hard to figure out. I had known something would happen when Bella first moved to Forks for example, but it was very unclear. I couldn't tell much about her besides that she was a new girl and she would change things, but I had a lot of trouble with how until I met her and then it got marginally better. As I interacted with Bella, it became easier, but still it took work to get a clear view.
Wouldn't it be grand to have Bella's birthday be her transformation day as well? How perfect! I sent emails to Charlie and Renee pretending to be them, making them think they were the ones to come up with the idea of a scrapbook and camera for Bella. The camera would allow me to tell everyone where to stand so that I could manipulate the odds in my favor.
I made sure to personally wrap the presents under the guise of wanting everything to match the color scheme so that at the exact right moment, Bella would cut herself. I made sure Edward went hunting before the party and Jasper was kept busy hanging decorations so that he would be extra thirsty. I felt a little bad using Jasper like that, but after sixty years I was good at only feeling emotions I needed to around him. I couldn't afford for him to get suspicious.
The way it was supposed to happen was so different than how it did. I arranged the family so that I was standing near Edward, but the rest were near Jasper. I knew when the scent of the blood hit the air, Jazz would go crazy and it would take everyone to haul him out. Jasper had so little control over himself, he slipped more often than any of us. It was frankly embarrassing.
Edward would snap and before the rest of the family could stop him, Bella would be on her way to becoming a Cullen. I would be on hand to keep him from going too far and to make sure this time the process completed. I fed myself until I sloshed just to be safe. Edward would need me focused so I could help him. I already had the moving trucks on standby for our escape from Forks.
It turned out we needed the trucks, but everything else went wrong. Instead of a snarling mess, Jasper had to choose this time to be restrained around human blood, barely even struggling. Over the years I watched him fail in our diet almost a dozen times, yet I served up bleeding human on a platter and he couldn't even make a scene for me? The party was broken up, both Edward and Jasper removed to regain control. I was so confused I ran out of the house.
The future went into chaos soon after, it was weeks until I could make heads or tails of it. I found it hard to concentrate on anything when I couldn't see. I barely remember the move, not because of anything wrong with my memory, but because I was too busy trying to untangle the future to pay attention to the present.
The last time I saw my sister, she was wandering around the woods, lost. It was dark and getting darker. She fell and didn't get back up again, and then my vision went black. At first, I couldn't accept it, there had to be another explanation. I kept looking, but there was never any vision including Bella.
For the time being, I knew I had to keep this from the family. Everything was a mess here and I was sure knowing this would make it worse. After the birthday party, I was reluctant to rely on my vision alone to confirm something so important. I waited until I could be sure, keeping my mind off it.
It wasn't hard keeping Edward out of my head at first, he was a broken shell for the first few weeks. Carlisle and Esme put him in his room and took him out to feed every few days, but besides that he didn't move on his own. He recovered after a while, playing melancholy tunes on his piano and acting almost like his usual depressed self. My brother was never a happy soul. The only real difference was he was angrier, especially toward Jasper.
Jasper avoided everyone, staying in his study most of the time. He had considered leaving at several points, but I intercepted him each time and guilted him into staying. Eventually he quit trying. He tried to tell me he couldn't handle all of the emotions from the family but I told him they were his own fault and he needed to deal with the consequences of his actions. He stopped complaining after that, resigned to suffering in silence.
I wanted to punish him for messing up everything. I worked hard for months to make our family complete. I had put up with his slips for years, his lack of fashion sense, his poor taste in music. The man was hopeless, but I dutifully made sure he was presentable and cleaned up his messes. The one time I needed him to act like his usual savage self and get everyone away so that Edward would bite Bella, he wouldn't do it.
He wanted to, I knew that! Everyone saw how dark his eyes got. He was the first one to lunge for Bella after all. Poor Edward was so worried that he pushed Bella away, causing her to get injured even more. I put that at Jasper's feet as well. Then when it counted, he had to go and leave, the job half-done. I was working myself up just thinking about it!
If it wasn't for the situation, I would have loved the house. It was in upstate New York and absolutely beautiful. Esme had designed all the suites with his and hers sitting areas and bathrooms. It was amazing. Mine was designed like my very own fashion studio, while Jasper's was more of an old-style gentleman's study. I was just glad to have his things out of sight. I didn't have to see Jazz at all for days at a time, which with how I felt toward him was a good thing.
Rose agreed with me about the house, but her husband was still whining over Bella, so she had to act like she cared in front of the others. Rosalie was originally from New York, so she had a connection with this area. Esme chose to come here next knowing my sister would be most put out with being forced to move. Rose and I hunted together often, just to talk, and I told her of my vision about Bella.
"Rose, I know you never liked Bella, but I am afraid our leaving got her killed. I can't see her in my visions anymore. The last thing I saw, she was lost in the forest. I think she's dead because of us, because of Jasper." I admitted.
"I may not have liked her, but I never wanted her dead. She was a fool to get involved with vampires in the first place." Rose tossed her hair. "Are you sure?"
"No, I can't be sure. I have been trying to see her, but so far nothing." I rubbed my temples. It was a good thing I was unable to get a headache.
"Only one thing we can do then sister." Rose said smiling. "We need to go shopping."
I bounced a few times and grinned. "Not sure how that will help, but it couldn't hurt."
"Ali, we go shopping in Florida. Her mother lives there, right? We do a little snooping, get the whole story. I'm sure if Bella is dead, we can figure it out. Besides, nothing cheers up my child of a husband more than those ridiculous mouse hats." She rolled her eyes. "It's like being married to a five year old."
I consulted the future. Going to Florida to shop under the guise of cheering up Emmett would work. "We'll need to pick up hats for everyone, and a Captain Hook costume in extra, extra, extra large. Oh and a tinkerbell costume for you..." I shuddered. It was disturbing at times being privy to my family's perversions. Surprisingly, Carlisle and Esme were the worst.
"Forget that, never going to happen." Rose huffed. "He gets a hat and that's it."
"Thank God." I said, rechecking.
"Okay, there is a flight leaving in five hours, so we should leave right away." I jetted off toward the house with Rose at my side. "That gives us just enough time to pack and drive to the airport." I trilled excited to be getting out of the house.
I told Esme where we were going and Rose and I were packed quickly. We only brought a few things, deciding that we would fill our luggage with our new purchases anyhow. Our flight landed in the evening, so we didn't have to worry about the sun the first day there. The Miami area had a great nightlife, so instead of fighting the weather, we just got a hotel downtown.
The first two days were strictly retail therapy. We had the concierge at the hotel fetch us the personalized mouse hats so we wouldn't have to go near the amusement parks or hokey souvenir shops. The stitching needed to be custom done anyhow due to our names being unpopular on the whole. My own and Edward's were easy enough but I'd never seen Carlisle written on a hat.
On day three it was raining so we drove our rental car to Jacksonville and found Renee and Phil's home. We parked down the street and waited until dark, slipping into the house. The couple wasn't at home, so snooping around was easy. On the dining room table I found papers that indicated Renee was removing Bella's name from her assets.
I went by scent, finding where Bella had been. It was hard, I didn't think she had ever actually been in this house before. She had a bedroom here however. I found it on the second floor in the midst of being packed away. The bed was already leaning against the wall and her things were being sorted into boxes labeled "donation" and "trash".
Rose came back into the room, looking around. "I found some records on the computer. No phone calls or emails to Forks since September. However, about a week after Bella's birthday Renee and Phil flew up there and stayed for three days before returning home." Rose's face looked sad.
"Just long enough for a funeral." I waved my hand at the room. "And now she's emptying her dead daughters room. There were some legal papers downstairs as well, removing Bella from documents." I sighed, it seemed true.
"Sorry Alice, I know you cared about her." Rose hugged me quickly pulling back as a car pulled into the drive. She tugged my hand and we ran out of the house before we could be found out. The drive back to the hotel was silent, both of us thinking about what we had learned.
When we got back to our room I broke down sobbing and told Rose how sorry I was for not listening to her about Bella in the first place.
"It's okay Alice, eternity is a long time and you needed a sister you could fix up. Lord knows the girl needed a lot of work to be presentable and Edward really seemed to like her. You were only trying to help. She was even beginning to grow on me." Rose looked a bit sad.
"You can't tell the others." I told her. "They are broken up enough just thinking she is alive and happy somewhere living her life. If they knew that Jasper taking a bite at her caused her death it will rip what is left of our family apart!" I insisted.
"Agreed. I don't think I could take it if Emmett heard about it. He needs to hurry up and forget the girl." Rose nodded.
Rose was as good as I was at keeping Edward out of her mind, so I wasn't worried about that. We decided to end our trip early and headed back to the family. Finally accepting Bella's death released the dam I had been holding my emotions behind however and Jasper got the full brunt of them. I found I didn't have it in me to care anymore.
(Jasper)
My wife had left for a shopping trip to Florida and hadn't even told me she was going. Esme was kind enough to knock on my door and let me know. I thanked her, sending her my gratitude with my gift and some peace. It was hard to send emotions I didn't feel myself, but Esme deserved to feel some peace. If it wasn't for spending her entire immortal life pretending, she wouldn't be able to hold it together. I certainly couldn't anymore.
No one seemed to notice as I fell apart. Everything changed for me in Phoenix. I started paying attention again, after so long of ignoring my surroundings.
I started my life as a soldier in Maria's army, fresh from the civil war. From one battle to another more vicious one. I was good at what I did and at first, I enjoyed it. The raw power that comes with immortality. The blood and sex, rewards that were heaped at my feet with every success I had were too much to ignore. I never failed my sire, never let her down, and I took everything I was offered in return.
It was decades until I began to question my lot in life. I realize now that it was a combination of things. I had finally begun to actively try to remember my human life, my power had magnified as I learned to control it, and we were back in the part of Texas I had grown up in. Maria sensing my mood prepared a special treat for me, so she called it, and led me to my human family's farmhouse.
Some of the newborns had already been released, those that did especially well in our latest battle, and I listened as they destroyed my remaining relatives. I showed no emotion in front of Maria. She ordered me to burn it down when I was done and I thanked her, kissing her before she left. It wasn't wise to appear unappreciative when receiving a gift from our leader.
I marched in the door, not recognizing the children the newborns were draining. I didn't let my eyes linger on them long. It was the blonde woman that caught my attention however. I knew her, although she didn't look as I remembered. She was older and I was forever frozen at the cusp of twenty. My sister, her name lost to me, but I remembered loving her once. I flung the vampire off of her and grabbed her, dragging her into a room and closing the wooden door.
She was already weak from blood loss, but there was no venom in her. Her eyes were wide with fear and recognition. She held her wound closed and whispered my name.
"It will be over soon little sister." I told her, using my gift for the first time to try to ease a human's suffering. I drank from her carefully, trying to keep her from feeling further pain. I couldn't stop my own pain however, I felt her horror and anguish. Her terror for herself and her children which were already dead in the next room. When her heart stopped I kissed her forehead and closed her eyes.
Ordering the newborns to leave, I burned the place to the ground, staying until the fires were out. I was harder after that. Meaner than ever, hiding my weakness. I was broken, unable to simply enjoy the carnage. I felt too much from then on. My gift was my curse.
At first Maria delighted in the changes to my personality. I took the battle more seriously and I was even more fearsome a warrior and lover. Over time, the depression became harder to hide and even my sire noticed it. I think that is why she allowed me to keep a newborn I took a liking to named Peter. He was a good fighter and approaching yearling status. I was reluctant to end him however, I found peace in his company. He had a useful gift besides, he was hard to track, almost scentless when he wished to be. A perfect scout.
Maria saw my hesitation and granted me his life, saying that I had earned a pet for all my hard work. She reminded me that he was my responsibility and I would need to keep him in line or be punished. I accepted, glad to have a friend. Peter felt more like a brother than a friend to me. We didn't speak all that often. I preferred to communicate with my emotions and Peter understood me well enough. I made him my second in command and for years, things were smooth.
It wasn't until Peter fell in love with a pretty little thing named Charlotte that things got complicated. How he hid his feelings from me, I'll never know, but somehow I didn't catch on until the girl was a yearling about to to be culled. Peter shouted for her to run and took off after her, leaving me in the dust. I could have caught them both easily, but I let them go. I could feel their love and it confused me. I had never before felt a mate bond, never felt such pure love and devotion.
Maria tortured me for months when she found out that Peter was gone and took one of the yearlings with him. The pain was horrible, I was scarred worse than usual and refused a drop of blood to drink. I didn't even fight her, I was so lonely without my brother it didn't matter to me if Maria killed me. After feeling how much Peter and Charlotte cared about each other, I had finally realized how much Maria had been using me all these years. She lied to me, told me she loved me, but I could see now that she did not.
My lack of reaction made Maria suspicious and she began subtly looking for my replacement. It was clear that my time here was limited, but I had no where else to go. This life was all I knew. I sabotaged her efforts and it became a game between us, plotting and planning behind each other's backs.
It was three years after Peter left before I caught sight of him at the edge of camp. I followed him out of camp at a distance and found him and his Charlotte standing in a river waiting for me. He didn't say a word, just sent me longing and loneliness. With a nod of his head to follow, I joined him. We stayed in the river for a while to throw off the scent, then headed north and away from the wars forever.
Charlotte forced me to start talking by refusing to give in to my silent communication like her mate did. It was probably for the best anyhow, I was too withdrawn. She was a sweet girl, I was happy for my brother. Charlotte had a hard time seeing past the fact that I was the one who changed her, forcing her from her human life into Maria's army. I probably should have apologized, but I didn't know how to say I was sorry back then. Maybe I was just afraid she would tell me to go to hell like I deserved.
I stayed with them for years, but it wasn't easy. I was finding it hard to feed now that I was out of battle. To kill in the heat of combat was different than stalking prey. Add to that my gift and I could hardly stand to feed myself. In addition, the climate of a newly mated couple was a bit much to take. I was still feeling raw from realizing I was alone with eternity staring me in the face.
I struck out on my own and found Alice, or she found me. She knew I was coming, of course, and even had the guts to scold me for being late. Unsure what to do, I apologized to the strange little vampire. That was the beginning of my deconstruction. I tried to fight it at first, but I just didn't have the energy to keep up with the pixie.
She fed me such good emotions in the beginning and I ate them up greedily. I believed all her promises of a bright future. She told me she loved me and even though I could sense something off in her emotions, I wanted so bad to believe it that I ignored my instincts. I wanted what Peter and Char had, or as close to it as I was able to get.
Even though the food was disgusting, it was a nice break from the depression I had been living in all the time. I let her take over my life piece by piece without a struggle. I had more accidents than the rest of the family combined, but each time I was punished for them by my wife and family's emotions.
I could control myself, I had been tortured, starved, and forced to keep going while I was with Maria. I'm not sure why the Cullens equated human drinker with uncontrolled, but they seemed to think they were one and the same. They had a harder time around humans than most of our kind did in my experience, excluding Carlisle. I had to hunt more often than the rest of them because I could feel their thirsts with my gift, which only confirmed their backwards theories about my lack of control.
My accidents would happen when I got fed up with the scorching burn that was permanent from having six other vampire's bloodlust on top of my own. Animal blood never soothed the burn completely, just dulled it. A constant state of half-starved, it was maddening. So sometimes, I would smell someone particularly appetizing and would indulge as long as it was safe enough to do so. Sometimes the family would panic and move anyhow, but they didn't need to. I was careful.
I took the shame and guilt for it afterwards, just like I felt the depression for ending some poor person's life. It was my cross to bare and I did so without complaint. I made sure my nosey mind-reading brother never got wind that my accidents were less than accidental and I never planned my attacks out to keep my wife in the dark. It was the least I could do, the Cullens didn't need to know they were harboring a monster in their home.
When Bella came into our lives, things began to change. My broody brother started dating his singer of all people and with the family's blessing. His emotions were not love, but of obsession and ownership. The girl's however were so pure that they about knocked me over when I felt them. Bella felt things more deeply than anyone I had ever encountered before. I was forbidden from getting to know her because of my history of having accidents with humans. I regretted giving into my thirst more than anything else I had ever done, now that it was keeping me away from Bella.
Through a twist of fate, Alice and I escorted the girl alone to Phoenix when the tracker was after her. I was even allowed alone in the room with her several times while Alice got refreshments. It was everything I hoped it could be, but not enough. Bella was too concerned with the situation to pay me much mind.
I resolved to keep her safe, hoping one day I would get a chance to become her friend. It didn't feel right to think of myself as her brother. Friend wasn't right either, but it would have to do for now. I wasn't sure what to make of her, I was completely captivated. I helped her to sleep with my gift, watching her in amazement. I was just about to touch her delicate cheek when Alice returned, causing me to step back guiltily. I received a look, but Alice said nothing.
The trip to Phoenix ended in disaster. I felt like a failure. The only good thing that came of it was the satisfaction of ripping James apart with my brother Emmett. Our eyes met for a second as we dismembered him, sharing a moment. Emmett was in every way that mattered Bella's brother and he derived as much satisfaction as I did from destroying this vampire that dared to hurt her.
After that, I made it a point to be in the room when Bella was at our home. I may not have been allowed to speak with her, but I made sure to be there. I learned as much as I could about her from observation. It was concerning seeing her personality become smothered by Edward over time, but she seemed happy so I didn't interfere. After all, wasn't I a prime example?
Seeing Bella become so overcome made me question my relationship with Alice. I could never leave her, I was nothing without her. Still, a part of me wanted to rebel. I used to be Major Jasper Whitlock, leader of men and feared vampire of the southern wars. Now, I was Jazzy, my wife's pet in every way that mattered.
I wished Peter was near enough for a visit. He always helped me get my head on straight. He was a no-nonsense kind of person, cutting through my bullshit faster than I could spout it. Alice didn't like me talking to him, claiming he was a bad influence on me, that talking to him would cause me to lose control and kill a human. Reluctantly, I had cut contact with him for the most part over the years.
Peter and Char had only met Alice a few times and they didn't get on very well, but Peter understood that I needed more than the nomadic life at the time so he wished me well. I always had a place with them, they were my own coven, seeing me as their coven leader even though I had spent the last sixty odd years apart from them. For a vampire, time flowed differently and bonds once made were tighter than in the human world.
When Bella's eighteenth birthday drew near, I detected something strange going on, but I couldn't figure out what was wrong. Alice was being secretive, but she often acted that way. Still, I couldn't shake my unease. I tried to hunt, feeling my thirst growing fierce, but something always seemed to take precedence. By the time Bella arrived, I was anxious, but I resolved to keep it together. I wouldn't fail this time, I had failed the girl enough already.
When she cut herself I locked my body down as much as possible, barely struggling as I was pulled out of the room. Emmett praised me softly as he removed me, surprised at the ease at which I went. He and I had sparred for fun many times and he had expected me to fight him, but I hadn't. If I wanted to, I could have killed the girl before any of the Cullens could have stopped me. None of them were fighters and I had taken on as many as them before and come out on top in the past.
Once away from the scent, I retreated to the forest to feed. I felt guilty for even entertaining the thought of hurting Bella and wallowed in my guilt until I was fetched back, informed that we were moving.
Unsurprisingly, the family turned their anger on me. Edward especially blamed me for the move and the loss of Bella in our lives. I had finally proven to him that it was too dangerous for the human girl to be around such deadly predators. He broke up with her, not allowing anyone to say goodbye. I wanted to apologize to her, but the suggestion was shot down harshly with accusations of finishing what I started. The only one that didn't act that way was Emmett, but he was too wrapped up in his own grief to defend me.
After that, my life became a worse hell than Maria's camp ever was. I was constantly immersed in a sea of crippling sadness and grief, both my own and the rest of the family's. The only break in it was when I was seen, then I was shot with anger and hatred if it was Edward, Rose, or Alice. Pity and shame if it was Carlisle or Esme. Emmett like myself made himself scarce.
I thought about leaving, going off on my own or rejoining Peter and Char, but Alice stopped me every time, reminding me that I deserved to feel the way I did. I hated her for it and quickly stopped planning to leave, just to keep from having to feel her emotions directed at me. Alice never sent anything positive my way anymore, she was my jailor.
Things got even worse when Rose and Alice returned from Florida. The two women didn't even have to see me for me to feel their hate. I stopped eating, but no one seemed to notice except Esme. I would go feed when she came to remind me, but only to keep her from worrying about me. The rest of the time I spent thinking about Bella and how wonderful her emotions felt, trying to use them as a buffer between myself and the rest of the household.
It wasn't until late February that things changed again. Alice went on a trip by herself, annoyed that Edward was trying to get at something she wanted hidden in her mind. Edward was very persistent if he got a hint of something he was interested in and would keep at it until he was satisfied. Not wanting to feel his petulance, I slipped out the window, hunting voluntarily for once.
With Alice away in Alaska I felt like I could breathe for the first time in a while. It should have been the opposite, the mate bond typically causing pain and distress with distance. I pushed the thoughts away for now, not ready to waste this small break thinking about it. I found a deer and fed.
I was sitting on a large rock, enjoying my solitude when my phone rang. The caller ID said unknown.
"Hello?" I asked, unsure.
"Howdy brother. Long time no see."
"Peter!" I smiled. "Been too long." Just hearing his voice made me feel better.
"I heard you and your wife were in New York. Char and I were in the area, thought we'd drop by and say hello."
"I'd love to see you, but things are a bit of a mess here Captain." I quickly explained what happened. He grunted in the right spots, but didn't stop me.
"That doesn't add up to me, but alright. You tell that coven leader of yours we'll be coming to visit, ya hear?" Peter said, his voice a bit hard. "Something doesn't set right with me and I wanna see for myself."
"Alice is off visiting the Denalis in Alaska, so I don't see any major issues anyhow with a visit." I said. She was the biggest reason they avoided coming around.
"All the way in Alaska? How's the pull Major?" Peter asked with shock in his voice.
"Pull?" I was confused.
"Nevermind." he sounded a bit smug. "I'll talk to you when we get there. Should only be a few hours if we run. Get on home and let 'em know we're coming. I'm sure the lovely Esme will want to get a room ready for us."
"See you soon brother." I rang off smiling, running back with more energy than I felt in a while.
I could feel the negative emotions growing stronger as I approached the house, but I fought them off. I had something to do, I couldn't just give in and let them take me under this time. I found Esme first, gardening outside the house. I told her we were having guests and she seemed happy about it. She did indeed head straight inside to prepare the guest room as Peter predicted.
Next up was Carlisle's home office. He was a bit less enthusiastic, knowing that my friends were human drinkers. He was above all things a good host however and accepted that they would be staying. I knew from experience that he'd use the time they were with us to try to convert them to the Cullen diet. I didn't think he had any chance of doing it, but there wasn't any harm in him trying. At least his emotions were of determination and hope instead of the soup they had been mired in. Peter and Charlotte's visit was having a good effect on everyone so far.
I knocked on Rose and Emmett's door next, they would be easier to tell than Edward. Emmett always liked Peter, the two were both pranksters and got along from the start. Rose treated the couple like dirt, beneath her notice. That was pretty much how everyone was to her however, so I told them not to take it personal.
Rose reacted by screaming at me, asking how much further could I sink bringing animals like them into the house. Emmett didn't say much, just clapping me on the shoulder and saying it would be good to see Peter and Char again. The light was gone from his eyes, but he tried on a smile for my benefit. Rose ran straight to Edward and told him, which I guess saved me the trouble.
I retreated to the front porch, waiting outside until they arrived, Emmett leaning against the doorframe with me. Both of us trying to ignore the shrieking and whining coming from the upper floors as Rose and Edward tried to convince Carlisle to refuse our guests entry. Thank God Alice wasn't here as well, I thought to myself.
It wasn't long until my friends arrived, hugging both me and Emmett in greeting. They glanced toward the upper floors where the debate was still raging on, oblivious to their arrival.
"Welcome as always, I see." Peter said sarcastically, causing the noise to cut off and doors to slam above.
Carlisle walked down the stairs at a human pace, embarrassment flowing from him.
"My apologies for my children, they sometimes forget their manners and we have had a trying time recently." he tried to smooth over. "You are always welcome in my home." He shook hands with the pair.
Esme zoomed in, hugging Char and giving Peter a kiss on the cheek. "I have a room done for you, let me show you to it so you can clean the road off you." She beamed a huge smile off them, happy to have someone new to take care of for a little while.
They followed her up, thanking her loudly and promising to stay a while winking down to Emmett and me. I could feel the annoyance coming from Rose and Edward as well as amusement from Emmett. Peter sure knew how to wind them up.