Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.

As always, huge thanks go to my pre-reader/cheerleader team. Gredelina1, Verseseven, IamTheAlleyCat and Mary-Alice-Brandon-Cullen. Also to Snarkymuch for beta'ing this chapter and listening to all my bitching when the words wouldn't flow. I love you all.

~ Chapter Nine — Story Telling ~

Garrett POV

I stared at the creature in the cave, and a wave of hatred swept through me. I had pitied it. I had tried to help. And all the while she was holding this secret to herself.

She had killed Esme.

I had met Esme over eight decades ago, shortly after her change. She was an uncommonly kind woman with a huge heart that drew me in. I was pleased that my old friend Carlisle had found his mate and even happier that it was with someone so suited to his gentle nature. She was a good woman, and this vampire had killed her.

A low growl built in my chest.

She answered my growl with a whimper. There was a scuffling sound as she disappeared back into the darkness of her cave. I was glad of it. I was fighting the urge to kill her with every breath I took. But it was not my place to avenge her. That joy was for Carlisle alone.

"I will be coming back for you!" I hissed as I pushed myself to my feet and walked away.

I would come back, and I would watch with pleasure as Carlisle destroyed her. He was an exceptionally gentle man, but even he would not be able to resist the urge to avenge his mate. Or would he…?

He had obviously seen her since Esme had been killed as he told her to stay hidden. Perhaps he believed this stunted belief in her own humanity was torture enough for the girl to appease him.

Now I understood why Alice and Jasper were so depressed. They had lost Esme. I didn't like that they had left Carlisle's coven, though. He would need his family around him now more than ever.

I ran through the forest, making my way back to civilization. I wondered what to do next. My next step was surely to find Carlisle. I needed to tell him what I knew and to offer my condolences. But I didn't know where he was living now. He and his family lived among the humans, that I knew, but America was a big country and it would be hard to track him down.

I considered my options and realized there was a surefire way to track him down: Alice and Jasper. They would surely be in contact with him, even if they had left him. I would also like to get the full story of Esme's destruction. How had the girl killed Esme when she believed herself to be human? There was too much mystery here, and I suspected I was missing something very important.

xXx

It took a week to reach the hotel in New Mexico where I had last met with Jasper and Alice. When there, I learned that they had long since moved on.

Not knowing where to start, I set my way north through Colorado. I knew Carlisle favored the northern states, and I hoped Alice and Jasper would do the same. It was a big country, and it could take me months if not years to cross their path again.

I had a stroke of luck in the form of a fellow nomad. I had met with Charles many times during my travels, and he knew Peter and Charlotte. He told me that he had seen them only a week ago in Spring City, Utah.

I knew the places Peter and Charlotte liked to hunt, and so I began my search in the warehouse district. It didn't take me long to cross their scent path, and I followed it back to a small hotel. I bypassed the front desk and made my way straight to their room. I rapped on the door and waited patiently for them to answer.

My anger towards Jasper and Alice had built as I searched for them. I was annoyed that they hadn't told me it was Esme that had been killed and that they had left Carlisle to mourn alone. I knew they were suffering, that was evidenced during my last visit, but he would be suffering even more. They should have stuck together, not abandon him to his misery.

The door swung open, and Peter grinned at me from the threshold.

"Garrett. Did you find your crazypire?"

"I did," I said through gritted teeth.

"What happened?" He picked up on my tension, and his stance changed to one of caution.

"She told me something very interesting." I pushed past him and into their room. "Where are Jasper and Alice?"

"They've gone hunting. They should be back soon though. They've been gone a couple of days. Why do you need them?"

"Because the crazy bitch vampire told me who she had killed, and I want to know why they didn't tell me, and why they have left Carlisle."

"Whoa, calm down," Charlotte said, coming to stand beside Peter and entwining her hand with his. "They didn't tell you because it's hard for them to talk about it, and they left Carlisle for the same reason. Jasper was really suffering. Which is beside the point, what I want to know is why it matters to you."

"Because I knew Esme, and she was a good woman."

"Hold up, what does Esme have to do with this?" Peter asked.

"She's dead," I snapped.

Charlotte gasped. "Esme is dead! When? How?"

"Oh, god. This is going to destroy them," Peter said solemnly.

Charlotte sank into a chair and clasped her hands together. Peter sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"You didn't know?" I asked. "You told me they were suffering because of 'bad stuff'. What else has happened?"

"They had this friend. She was killed a couple of years ago. Since then, they've been really messed up. But what happened to Esme?"

This was so confusing it was making my mind reel. I sank down into a chair opposite them.

"The vampire I met told me she had killed her. Well, technically she told me she had killed Carlisle's mate, but that can only mean Esme. I told you the girl was crazy. Well, we got to talking, and she told me Carlisle was the one that told her to hide. How can you not know about this?"

"Something isn't right here," Peter said thoughtfully. "This doesn't add up. Alice spoke to Carlisle a month ago about some vision she had. Esme was just fine then."

An inkling of hope teased at me. Was it possible that the crazy vampire was just that, crazy?

She could have met Carlisle at any time, and her twisted mind could have confused what he told her. Perhaps he explained the importance of staying away from humans, and she took that to mean she had to hide. But that didn't explain the fact she thought she had killed his mate. How did she even know about mates? It wasn't a term humans used.

"I think your buddy is just crazy," Peter said with obvious relief. "When Alice gets back, we'll have her all seeing eye check in on Esme and all will be good."

"All seeing eye?"

Peter explained Alice's gift to see a person's future. It was an incredible gift.

After a few hours of stilted conversation, we heard footsteps in the hall.

"Go easy on them," Charlotte whispered. "They are always worse after they've been alone a while. I think Alice lets the misery loose when they are alone, and Jasper has to suffer through it."

The door opened, and Jasper and Alice walked in. Charlotte was right; they looked a lot worse than they had last time I saw them. Despite that, they both fixed welcoming smiles in place when they saw me.

"Hello, Garrett. How was your trip south?"

"We'll talk about that in a minute," Peter said. "Alice, we need you to check out Esme and Carlisle's future."

"Why? What's happened?" She gripped Jasper's hand so tightly he flinched.

"Nothing, or at least we don't think it's anything. Just take a look for us, please."

Alice's expression went blank and her eyes glazed over as she searched the future. I hadn't seen her have a vision before, and the sensation was eerie. Luckily, it didn't last long, and she soon snapped back to the present.

"As far as I can see, she's fine, or as fine as she can be, given the circumstances. Carlisle and her are hunting together tonight. Now tell me what happened."

"Garrett's crazypire said she was dead," Peter said bluntly.

"But that's just…" Alice faltered.

"Crazy?" Peter offered with a grin.

"Very funny, Pete." Jasper rolled his eyes.

"Tell me what happened!" Alice demanded.

I explained how I had seen the girl and that I had been able to draw her out enough to talk to me. I told them that she had explained the need to hide and that Carlisle had been the one to tell her. I shared my theory that Carlisle could have come across her and explained the need to remain unseen by humans.

"But he would have told us about her," Alice said.

"Would he?" Jasper asked uncertainly. "We're not the same as we used to be. Maybe he decided not to share this."

"No," Alice said firmly. "He would tell us. We're still family. And he wouldn't have just left this girl to suffer alone. That's just not Carlisle."

"There's only one way to find out," I said. "We call Carlisle and ask."

Alice snatched up a cell phone and dialed rapidly. A moment later, Esme's voice came from the receiver. Though I had Alice's assurance that she was alive, I didn't truly believe it until I heard her voice.

"Alice, how are you?"

"I'm… fine?" It sounded more like a question than a statement.

Perceptible as ever, Esme noticed it too. When she spoke again her voice was cautious. "What's happened, sweetheart?"

"Is Carlisle there?" Alice asked. "I need to speak to him."

I heard the sounds of the phone changing hands, and then Carlisle spoke. "Alice, what has happened?"

"Have you been to the Amazon at all recently?" she asked.

"No," he answered. "You're worrying me, Alice. What has happened?"

"Garrett is here. He has met a strange vampire, and they had mentioned your name."

"Well, that's curious. I haven't met anyone for quite some time. What exactly did they say about me?"

"She said you told her to hide. Carlisle, she isn't right; Garrett said she's crazy."

"Well, that is unfortunate, but I can't think of any vampires I have met recently, strange or otherwise. And I certainly haven't told anyone to hide."

The phone changed hands again, and Esme's voice came over the receiver. "Alice, why don't you and Jasper come home? We can talk about this is person."

"Yeah, I think you're right. We're in Utah at the moment, so we'll be with you sometime tomorrow."

There was an audible sigh of relief from Esme, and when she spoke, it was in a heartfelt whisper. "Thank you, Alice."

"We'll see you real soon, Mom. We love you."

"I love you too, dear. So much."

They ended the call, and Alice looked at Jasper. "We need a car. It will get us there faster."

Jasper smiled and kissed her cheek. "I'll get right on it. You coming, Pete?"

"Sure, I never tire of seeing you spending Daddy's money."

Jasper aimed a punch at his arm and missed.

"You want to come, Garrett?" Jasper asked.

I didn't have much cause to shop usually. My clothes were stolen or taken from my meals, and I had little need for anything else. It might be interesting to see how the humans did it. I nodded to him, and we shrugged on our coats and headed out in to the afternoon gloom.

The nearest car dealership was in Ephraim, so we directed out path there. As we walked, we made small talk about places we had travelled and people we had met. We were almost at the dealership when I ventured the question that had been teasing at me since Peter told me about the friend that had lost.

"Jasper, what happened to your family? Peter said you lost a friend."

His hands fisted in the pockets of his jacket and he gritted his teeth.

"Her name was Bella," he said. "She was my brother Edward's mate. She drowned."

"She drowned!" I said incredulously.

He chuckled darkly. "Yeah. She was human."

"But you said she was Edward's mate. How is that even possible?"

"You haven't heard the best part," Peter said. "Not only was she human, but she was Edward's singer. Eddie boy fell in love with his dinner."

Jasper whipped out a fist and punched Peter on the jaw. "Have a little respect. She was not dinner; she was family."

Peter rubbed his jaw, looking apologetic, and Jasper continued his explanation. "She was Edward's singer, but he had amazing control. They fell in love. I swear I have never felt love from anyone like I did when those two were together. It was remarkable. Well, Bella had a propensity for drawing danger to herself. A lot of bad shit happened. This nomad was after her—"

"Victoria," Peter interjected. "One of those nomads me and Char saved you from. Bella got the blond guy killed, so his mate was after revenge."

"She got it," Jasper said darkly. "Victoria built herself a newborn army and came after us. We fought them, with a group of allies, while Bella and Esme hid out in the mountains. Victoria wasn't fooled, though. She tracked them there and attacked Esme. Esme would have been dead if it wasn't for Bella. Victoria was about to finish her off when Bella cut herself to draw blood."

"She drew blood to save Esme?" I asked incredulously. "A human?"

"Bella wasn't like any other human I've ever met," he said fondly. "She was brave as all hell and a little reckless to boot. She was all about the self-sacrifice, and she adored Esme. Well, all of us, really. I never really got to be close to her because of the bloodlust, but she loved me as much as she did us all. I used to bask in her emotions when she was around. She felt everything so completely."

"She sounds like a rare girl," I said.

Jasper nodded. "She was. Well, her little distraction worked, and Esme was saved, but Bella was carried off. I guess Victoria forgot Bella's human needs, and when she took her into the water, Bella drowned."

"I'm sorry," I said sincerely. I wanted to say more, but I didn't know what.

"Thanks," he said simply. "It's not so bad for me; like I said, I never really got to know her. But Alice and her were best friends. When she died, it just about tore our family apart. Edward is… broken, I don't know any other way to say it. He sought death after it happened, but he didn't get it. I sometimes wonder if we made the wrong choice. He's not living now, just existing from day to day."

We fell into a thoughtful silence for the rest of the journey.

When we reached the car dealership, Peter and I stayed back, shielding our red eyes with sunglasses, while Jasper dealt with the salesman. After half an hour's haggling, we drove out of the lot in a large SUV.

Peter teased Jasper about buying a soccer mom car, but it was only half-hearted. We were all still thinking of the story Jasper had told us of the girl.

I couldn't help but wonder at the power of a human girl that had destroyed a family of vampires so thoroughly.

Thanks for reading. If you would like a teaser of the next chapter let me know in a review or a PM.

Simaril x