A/N: I would just like to let all of my readers know that this story GENTLE TOUCHES is the very same as author ANIMAL8. As I adopted it from her earlier on this year, most of the chapters that ANIMAL8 had already created are being posted the same as I do not want to ruin the amazing work she has worked so hard on. I will be setting up a link to ANIMAL8 page so it will be accessible to new and old readers. I do hope that I can do this story as much justice as ANIMAL8 and I do hope that you enjoy the old and new chapters of GENTLE TOUCHES.
Disclaimer: I Own Nothing Twilight
Gentle Touches
Chapter 2 – Discussions (EPOV)
We needed to decide what we were going to do with this girl. It would be dangerous to keep her here; living with a bunch of vampires wouldn't be healthy for any human. But from Carlisle's thoughts, I gathered that he thought it might be a better idea having her in the house where he could look after her properly.
The rest of the family was crowded together in the dining room as I entered with Alice. She immediately crossed to the corner where Jasper was standing anxiously, arms crossed across his chest.
Carlisle smiled at me sadly. You know that we had to do that, son. I nodded in response to his concern. We needed to be worried about the girl, not me.
I sat by his side, Esme opposite me and Emmett and Rosalie next to her. "Before we do anything, how is she?" Emmett asked a frown in his brow and images of the strange girl huddled in the corner of the cabin bedroom in his mind.
"Physically, she seems fine," Carlisle answered cautiously, "There were some cuts and scrapes and obvious abrasions on her feet. There were also rope burns on her wrists where I presume she was bound for long periods from the extent of them, and probably multiple times".
A growl automatically wanted to escape, but I squashed it down. I hated the thought that anyone had hurt such a fragile angel, but I couldn't explain my sudden attachment to this human.
"Mentally and emotionally, however…" he continued then hesitated. I knew what he meant. We didn't know what traumas she had gone through, but she had basically been reduced to a feral state. We didn't even have any idea as to what her learning capabilities were or even if she was able to communicate at all.
Emmett broke the silence again. "She seems to be in a pretty bad way," he noted, sadly, his frown deepening. "She wouldn't even let anyone touch her, and she growls," he added.
"Her emotions are unusual, though," Jasper spoke up. Everyone turned to stare enquiringly at him, including Alice. "Well, normally if someone is feral, they only feel basic emotions like fear," he tried to explain, "But she feels other things. Like she felt trust in Edward and then upstairs she felt betrayal. So, she must have some understanding and intelligence".
We were quiet again after his revelation. Would she be able to talk? I wondered. It was something to be considered; maybe we could try to test how much she knew and understood.
"Can you hear what she's thinking, Edward?" Jasper asked, his thoughts now considering the possibility that I could decipher her thoughts to know how to help her.
I focussed on the girl in the room, my sensitive hearing showing that she had made no movement since I had put her on the bed. To my astonishment and annoyance, I found that there was nothing: no thoughts or feelings running through her head. I couldn't hear her. "No, I can't get anything," I frowned, feeling strangely off balance as I tried again to listen.
My father broke the unsettled atmosphere by continuing his evaluation of the girl. "We also have the problem of her being underweight," Carlisle included onto the growing list of problems for my angel. My? I shook my head. I definitely couldn't begin to think things like that, but it did really feel like she was mine somehow.
"Would she eat if we tried to give her something?" Esme asked aloud. We turned to stare at Alice as she gazed blankly around her. I watched as she searched the future, trying to see the outcome.
She let out a small sigh and shook her head. "I don't think she will," she answered, "She's exceedingly wary and won't trust us at all. It looks like we might have to wait for a while before attempting anything".
Carlisle shook his head stubbornly, his doctor mind already analysing possible consequences of waiting. "We don't know how long she could hold out," he argued, "The longer we wait, the higher the chances of there being irreparable damage".
"I don't see any harm coming to her for waiting, which is strange actually," Alice replied calmly. "However, if you were to try and force feed her…well, let's just say, we really don't need her any more traumatised than she is already".
The doctor in Carlisle wanted to do everything possible to help this child, but he could see the sense in her words, even if it went against his nature. "I'll have an IV ready in case we need it in an emergency," he bargained. Alice smiled and nodded.
"Great now that we've argued about that, can someone tell me why it's suddenly decided that she's staying here?" Rosalie snapped bitingly.
"Where else would we send her?" Alice asked, glaring a hole straight into her head alongside the one I was drilling. She's not getting rid of my new friend, she thought fiercely.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe a hospital?" Rosalie hissed sarcastically. An involuntary snarl erupted from my throat at her condescending thoughts.
Emmett shot me a warning look but returned to watching his wife worriedly. "Rose," he said softly, "There's nothing wrong with her staying here".
"Nothing wrong? Nothing wrong!" she exploded in fury. "There is everything wrong with that human staying here, or did you forget that she is human?" Her eyes were blazing by the time she finished her sentence, and I'm sure my black look was matching hers as we continued to stare the other down, both determined not to lose.
"Rose!" Esme chastised, scowling at her daughter's behaviour. She was already feeling motherly towards the unknown girl and was worried about what she had been through, wanting to help and comfort her. I smiled slightly at her, distracted briefly from my aggravating sister.
"You know it's true. You know the risks," she was becoming desperate, I could tell. She already knew that no matter what, this angel was going to stay.
Rosalie finally fell silent as she looked around at us. Her shoulders slumped in sign of her giving up and accepting that she was defeated, at least for now. I doubted this would be the last time we heard of her on this topic; she wasn't giving up.
Carlisle stood, clearing his throat to gain our attention. "I don't think it would be a healthy decision to hand her over to authorities," he shot us all a sad smile, "They would be more interested in studying her than helping her get better, I fear".
"And for all we know, they could be the ones she escaped from in the first place," Alice added, a satisfied look on her face.
"Poor dear," Esme sighed, a forlorn look crossed with pain on her face. "Do you see if she will learn to trust us?" She asked Alice with a hopeful look.
Alice's face turned into a grimace. "No, I can't see that," she reluctantly admitted, "There are too many things that could happen and she's not in a good mental state. I don't even know if she understands us, but I do feel she is important".
"We should concentrate on trying to get her better, we can worry about that stuff later," Carlisle sighed, rubbing his brow with his fingertips, "The abrasions on her wrists will need looking after and that certainly won't make her like me". He looked up at me, asking silently, and I nodded; I would give her someone to trust.
"Maybe we should bring another blanket up to her," Esme considered aloud, compassionately thinking about how she might get cold, or she could at least have some comfort.
Alice nodded vigorously. "Edward can take it up tomorrow," she looked at me then. She will still be scared around you, though, remember that; don't be disheartened. I looked at her curiously, wondering what she was talking about but she shook her head.
I sighed, frustrated that she was keeping things from me again, especially things that were related to this girl. I felt surprisingly protective of her and I wanted to do anything I could to help her get batter. After having seen the state she was in, I couldn't help but worry about what her past held for her to be so traumatised.
"She needs to be cleaned as well, so we'll have to figure out a way to do that considering she won't let any of us touch her," Carlisle said, debating before coming to a quick conclusion. "It will probably have to be a blanket bath," he assumed.
Alice looked into the future again and I saw the image of the distraught angel as she lay on the bathroom floor, whimpering away from Alice's form beside her. "I can do it, but it won't be pretty," Alice sighed, "She'll get quite upset, but after that she should be fine. I don't understand why she behaves this way when we're only trying to help her".
Carlisle smile sympathetically. "Yes, but, Alice, you know she won't see it that way," he tried to explain, "Obviously something happened that made her withdraw from human contact. Possibly the way she was treated before, but we may never know, the one person who could tell us that would be her, and she's currently not in any state to tell us".
He shook his head sadly. That poor child, I don't even want to think about what she may have gone through. "Maybe in time she'll learn to trust us. Even then, though, you should be aware that she may not remember what happened, or she may just want to forget, so don't be surprised if that turns out to be the case".
His words quietened all of us as we descended to our own thoughts and considered the implications of what he was telling us. This girl was in a delicate state, and we would need to treat her with care. Feeling my protectiveness again, I decided to just check what the others were thinking.
Oh, the poor dear. I wish there was something more we could do for her, but she most likely needs some time to settle first and adjust. This must be a terribly confusing change from what's she's used to; she is bound to be distressed. Esme's motherly nature had already accepted her as one of her children with no questions asked. She made a good point, but I knew there was more to it than that, like emotional scarring.
Oh, Edward, she's going to be a part of our family, I just know it, Alice was thinking. It's going to be perfect, you'll see. I shook my head at her exuberance.
Maybe she would be fun as a new sister, once she's better of course, but all of us will make sure she gets there. Emmett was imagining her as a new play buddy and I wondered how my angel would react to her new 'brother'.
It's so dangerous to keep her here where anything could happen. One of us could slip or we could have a visitor, particularly the Volturi, Jasper was worrying about the issues and his own control. But she does need help and we could probably help her if her instincts don't scare her away first. And Edward is attached to her as well…
I left his thoughts as soon as he started to become inquisitive about my own motives with this girl. One set of thoughts stood out more from the rest simply because of their unexpectedness, though, and my mind automatically tuned in on them.
Perhaps it won't be so bad having her here. She's not exactly in the best state, here an image of how the girl was when we first arrived home, me with her cradled tightly to my chest, protectively. Everyone seems to like her and she can't exactly reveal our secret. We will have to be careful about anyone discovering her, but we have Alice and Edward. Rosalie was finally willing to welcome her into our group.
I must have been wearing a slightly smug expression, for she suddenly rounded on me. Don't get carried away, Edward. I can still change my mind. But for now I see no problem. She backed her words with a sharp glare in my direction.
I gave her a short nod in acquisition; I was just happy that she wasn't going to fight us on this. Carefully, I listened in on the girl again and found that both her heart rate and breathing were more relaxed. It seemed Alice was right about leaving her alone, but I should have known not to bet against her.
"We will have to take things very carefully with her," Carlisle announced and we turned to face him. "We don't want her to be overwhelmed, so just go slowly and don't force too much on her at once". I didn't miss the look he sent to me and Alice, obviously knowing that we would somehow be the closest to her.
I already knew this, of course. She was fragile, both emotionally and physically. I had seen how she shied away from contact, so I knew that I would have to take this slow, but I was determined to get her better. She would learn to trust me, I knew it.
Alice smiled at me, though I knew that she could not see anything of the girl's future, and I returned it with a short nod and left for my piano. I allowed the soft notes of the instrument to flow over me as I thought about how I would try to help my beautiful angel.
A/N: I make no promises as to when I post new chapters…but I will do my best to make them as closed together as possible. Please remember to review as more reviews will get a faster posting of the next chapter.