Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. The plot is all mine.
Faucet dripping.
Heater vibrating.
Pipes clinking and clanking.
Branches pecking at the windows.
It was madness. How could anyone live in such a house was perplexing.
The only prospect of tuning-out all those sounds was to harness an acute supernatural focus on one object; one intention.
It could be the ticking of the wall-clock. It could be the wind blowing a strong gust outside.
Or it could be the pulsing heart of the human that stood right before Marcus.
The tolerantly eager young girl that naively invited him into her domicile.
She ushered the vampire through her door, into her living room; and offered him a seat on her sofa.
And now she wanted to play the amiable hostess by offering him libations, "Would you like some tea?"
Marcus held Her gaze; until he realized she awaited his answer. He declined by waving his hand in rebuff. A universal sign that even her fledgling self would comprehend – but it seemed that she did not know when to quit.
"Coffee, then?" she asked again, a little too brightly.
He would take something to drink, he mildly contemplated; except the only option he preferred is the only one off the menu. How appropriate.
His pale hand waved a turndown once more.
"We have some juice …" This young one; she was persistent.
And the pale hand waved again.
"Or water, perhaps?"
He was about to decline again, but stopped himself. Instead, he lowered his hand and slowly nodded.
Water was harmless. He could pretend to drink that. He could keep up the human façade; if that is what the girl still believes him to be. And if not, then it could at least deviate the stereotypical characteristics of his true nature from her suspensions. Not that he exuded any true effort into the feat – No golden star performance there!
With a fainthearted smile the girl skittered away.
Marcus' gaze quietly trailed after Her. His eyes didn't linger on dissecting the interiors of her house as nothing vaguely remarkable seemed to catch his initial interest.
A moment later She returned with his, very full, glass of water. Her hand slightly trembled as she placed the glass on the coffee table in front of her guest. And as she leaned towards the silent leader, she caught him slightly twitch at her proximity. If She felt offended then her face concealed it well.
Marcus didn't expect her to casually lean so fully towards him. Her long hair tumbled over her shoulders and nearly touched the back of his bare hand – the one time he decided to leave the Cullen's Manor and thought to leave his gloves behind – which rested idly on his knee.
He remained still as to appear blasé; but the sweet scent that carried along in her auburn locks nearly fractured his defense. When the Girl straightened fully, he had already collected himself and looked perfectly imperturbable.
The young girl remained on her feet for all of three long seconds before she finally rounded to take her seat on the other side of the sofa that Marcus was currently occupying. Suffice to say, there was a single cushion seat between them. It placed enough distance between the girl and his person – but if Marcus wished otherwise; then for him the vacant space was hardly anything as his arms were long enough to reach out to her.
If he wished otherwise.
Instead, Marcus folded his hands on his lap to refrain himself from such notions. And opted to glare intently at the girl.
"Um …" she mumbled at first. Her curious eyes roaming over her guest's face, unsure of what to expect before she fired her first query. "Are you a resident of this town?"
Marcus silently answered with a gentle side to side motion of his head – 'No.'
She then asked tentatively, "Are you visiting someone?"
There was a slight pause. Was he visiting the Cullens? Inevitably, he wasn't. But the truth was much more complicated. And She hasn't earned the right to know that.
So he nodded 'yes' – Granted, it was a white lie; but it was harmless enough.
"Is it a family member?" She tilted her head.
If Marcus was able to snort, he would. The Cullens were the farthest thing from the farthest thing he would even begin to recognize as 'family'.
When Marcus didn't offer a gesticulation of response, the Girl raised her eyebrows. "A friend?"
Were the Cullens considered friends to Marcus? No, absolutely not. Except for Carlisle, perhaps. Aside from his brothers, Carlisle was the only person that socialized with Marcus in some form of cordial propriety – He nodded; yes.
Pursing her lips, the Brunette then asked; "Are you … staying in town for long?" her voice broke as she held her stare to the mysterious man. A feeling flickered in her eyes, but Marcus hadn't become considerably acquainted with the human to know what it was. However, he pondered her question instead.
He wasn't the leader gifted with mind reading abilities, so Marcus couldn't ascertain the duration his brother had in mind – For as long as Aro deemed it sufficiently adequate to have him stay in this dreary town, he supposed. And Aro's definition of the word 'long' generally varied depending on the situation, the weather, his mood, the lunar cycles, his balance of thirst, the planetary alignments, his habitual obsessive compulsive behavior; and so on and so forth. Or perhaps his most favorite reason of all; "Because I said so!"
Therefore, Marcus benevolently inclined his head and shrugged.
The Girl bit her bottom lip in apprehension. And then she softly said, "You … don't talk much, do you?"
An obtuse individual would have thought there was a burst of sarcasm behind her words. An obtuse individual would have also failed to see that there was absolutely no inquisition behind the words uttered from this guileless mortal. Yet it didn't prevent the morbid Volturi leader from pressing his lips together.
He could feel something unpleasantly derisive festering in his stomach, clawing its path towards his chest. He didn't know if it was a thought, or if it was a feeling, or something else. Whatever it was, he didn't like the sensation at all!
Sensing his entire manner hardening, the girl suddenly muttered "I really don't care! It … it doesn't matter to me." She raised her hand, as if she was about to reach out to him.
Physically she couldn't, as her arms were much too short. But with Marcus' heightened vision, everything appeared closer than it should be.
Marcus was quick, a bit too quick, as he abruptly stood up. Her heart started to beat fast. And despite his satiated state, he felt the beginning of a familiar burn; so he made his way to the door.
"Wait!" She cried.
He shouldn't pause. For even if Marcus didn't expose anything critical yet – and he was still quite curious about the human. The Girl declaring his inability to speak triggered something unpleasant; and Marcus wanted to kill her for it.
But a voice in the back of his mind reasoned that it wasn't her fault. And he couldn't arbitrarily cast the blame on her. And if he wanted Her to live to see another day then he should leave; immediately.
The exit was within his reach – until he felt a gentle warm hand on his arm. He froze.
Marcus curtly turned his head. He realized the young brunette was standing dangerously close to him. So close that he towered over her and had to tilt his head down to look into her doe-like eyes.
Eyes that shined extraordinarily bright, then down at her full lips that evidently trembled. Then down to her chest that rose and fell with each shaky breath she took. Then down to her hand that she placed on him; her easily breakable hand.
His eyes snapped back to her face. And as though She could hear his unspoken discontent, she removed her touch from his sleeve – when she was sure he wasn't going to flee into the night.
Not breathing for the moment allowed Marcus much poise over the situation, and with a clearer perspective he studied the human's visage thoroughly. She was not pleased. Judging by her plea for him to wait as he made to retreat, the only conclusion he came to was that She probably thought she had offended him. And she looked visibly distraught by the circumstance.
Marcus, unfathomably, was about to raise his hand and try to smooth the distress from Her pale dollish face. But upon realizing what he was about to do; he dropped his hand.
With the way they were standing, the silent leader knew that the lights from the ceiling in the narrow entryway would cast the Girl's face in illumination, but with the way his head was tilted down it would drown his features in shadows.
The only thing that would burn visibly bright to the girl's mortal gaze would be his piercing red eyes. And his lack of breathing was much too obvious at a close proximity to be ignored.
Had he now truly traumatized her enough by just the mere sight of him looming intently over her willowy frame? Was she silently regretting having invited a real creature of nightmares into her safe haven?
Carefully, Marcus stepped back – and continued to take calculated steps back – until he felt the door handle around his curling fingers.
But before he left, and because of his excellent hearing, he caught a gentle whisper from Her ... "I will always be here."
Marcus felt a faint stirring deep within him.
This girl was either significantly unique, or unmistakably mad as a hatter.
Whatever Her case may be; Marcus had yet to make his choice.
Meanwhile at the Cullen Manor …
"ALICE!"
The little pixie was sprawled on her bed when she heard her name being howled from the other side of the Manor.
Her hand involuntarily jerked, but otherwise she appeared undaunted. Her eyes shifted once to the closed door as she heard footsteps stomping closer and closer to the bedroom.
The door swung open, hard enough to hit the wall but not too hard to damage or unhinge it.
Stepping inside the room was a very heated, very outraged – eyes as black as a bottomless pits – wild looking Rosalie. To her credit, she looked like she was seriously trying to control her temper but failing miserably.
"Alice!" Rosalie snapped again. As Alice seemed to be burying her face in her fashion magazine rather than acknowledging her sister's presence.
But when Rosalie started to growl, Alice lowered the magazine just below her eyes to look at her blonde sibling.
"Yes, Rosalie?" Alice politely responded.
Rosalie narrowed her eyes. "Where is it?"
"Where is what?"
The blonde predator didn't say anything. She simply curled her red-painted lips into a sneer.
Alice changed her position on the bed from laying on her stomach, to sitting with her legs folded in front of her. She closed the magazine and dropped it over the pile of other fashion publications in an embellished melodramatic motion; all the while giving her sister a prissy glower.
"Alice, I swear – the nerve of you, the absolute NERVE!"
The pixie had the gall to tsk at her sister, but otherwise remained tight lipped.
Taking a deep breath, while mentally counting to ten in her head, Rosalie plastered a stiff insincere smile on her lips and asked again; "I'm only going to say this one more time; where is it, Alice?"
There was no denying the venomous tone in Rosalie's voice. All the Cullen members were very familiar with that lethal voice, they didn't even have to be in the same room to distinguish the maleficence of it. Which is why, all the way in the game room of the Cullen Manor, Emmett switched off his gaming device and then bolted out of the nearest window with Jasper right behind him; disappearing into the woods. They will gladly fight the Volturi, werewolves, even wendigos, but they will never ever get tangled in any fight involving their wives.
"What is going on here?" At the doorway Esme stood by as she looked between the two girls. From Alice's childlike expression to Rosalie's twitching face.
Recognizing that Rosalie was the upset one in this situation; Esme's maternal instincts kicked in as she approached the blonde and placed her hands on her shoulders. And rubbed Rosalie's back in a soothing motion.
Feeling some of the sparks of anger leave her body, Rosalie sighed deeply. "I had a bracelet in my room that was damaged. And I was going to take it to a jeweler to have it fixed – It WAS in my jewelry box this morning! But now it's gone!" She explained. (Omitting the part that the bracelet actually belongs to Bella Swan.)
"And she thinks that I took it!" Alice finally spoke as she waved her hands in front of her.
"I know you did!" Rosalie snapped back.
"Now, now, girls. I'm sure this is all just a minor misunderstanding." Esme stated all the while she still kept rubbing Rosalie's tense frame in an effort to calm her down.
Esme's golden eyes regarded the pixie sitting on the bed as she asked; "Alice, did you take Rosalie's bracelet?"
"No, I did not." Alice answered instantly. "I swear!" she added when Rosalie shot daggers at her with her obsidian eyes.
Esme softly sighed. "Rose, sweetheart, you have plenty of jewelry. Is this bracelet really that important?"
Rosalie's eyebrows shot up. "Yes! It has sentimental values. I wouldn't be making a big deal about it if it wasn't, Mom."
"Alright, dear. I am sure it will eventually turn up. In the meantime, you won't solve anything by fighting with your sister, will you?"
Rosalie grimaced and folded her arms. "No … I won't." She uttered in a deflated tone.
"And if Alice comes across the bracelet, then I am sure she will let you know about it at once. Will you, Alice?"
"Of course I will." Alice chirped.
"Right! Now how about you come with me for a bit, Rose? I have a remodeling project that I am working on and I would really like your opinion on fabric samples for the furniture." Esme grabbed the blonde woman's hand and pulled her away as she warmly smiled – even a blind man could see the ulterior attempt of Esme trying to separate the girls until they both completely cooled down. They may have been vampires of nearly a century of age, but they were still young women at heart; having been changed at such a young age to boot.
As mother and daughter were walking away, Esme shut the door behind her.
With an irritated groan, Alice sulked as she noticed that when the door slammed the wall during Rosalie's dynamic entrance, it dented the vintage wallpaper.
Alice really liked that wallpaper. Too bad the company that made the original pattern went out of business over thirty years ago.
Carlisle gently closed the glass patio door behind him as he walked down to the back meadow of their property. Putting substantial distance between him and his home; filled with the sound of his bickering children.
With his smartphone clutched in his hand, he kept walking until he passed the forest border. If he followed Alice's instructions precisely, then his location should be perfect just as the device in his palm would go off.
He walked for a prolonged while, and then right on cue; the phone lip up.
Stopping in his tracks, Carlisle slide his finger over the screen and held the device to his ear. "Yes?" He responded.
"Carlisle, my dear old friend! It has been a long while!" The man on the phone sung with a sugary jubilant attitude.
With a grimace on his face and adopting a faux pleasant tone Carlisle replied; "Hello, Aro. What a lovely surprise to hear your voice."
"A surprise, you say? Is it? … is it truly a surprise?" The sweet mannerism already melting away to slowly revealed the devilish coyness of the dominant vampire of the trio of rulers.
"Of course it is. A wonderful one, too."
Aro snorted at the statement. "If I had a clairvoyant of my own I wouldn't be caught so flimsily on a whim,"
Before Carlisle could retort, the Volturi King went on; "Oh, well! I guess that is the different between you and I, old friend. Where you see compassion in people; I see the practicality –
"Those matters aside, I actually am not simply subjecting myself to the torment of handling such abominable hardware for a courtesy call."
"I know, Aro." Carlisle concurred.
"Wonderful! So let us not pretend that your sweet Alice hasn't prepared you for the inevitability of this endeavor." Even over the phone Carlisle could practically see Aro donning a wide grin on his aristocratic face. "It has been several weeks, Carlisle. I need a report on my dear Marcus."
Carlisle suppressed a sigh as he prepared to convey disappointment to the supreme tyrant of the vampire race.
I know I'm proper shit for disappearing for as long as I have. But I went through some personal stuff. With that said, I will never give up on my stories. And even though I don't deserve it, I hope you continue to support me while I attempt to finish them. I greatly appreciate all the love you guys have sent my way during my absence. I pray the love never stops. Thank you.