Chapter 27: A New Turn of Events

I beat the kids home from school. I did it on purpose. I needed to talk to Esme. I needed to tell her what happened, if someone else hadn't already, and I needed to hear her view of things. She was waiting for me when I walked in.

"Alice came home and told me everything," she said at once. That saved me an explanation.

"And?"

"To say I am worried would be an understatement, Carlisle. All I want is for our family to stay together. If it means we leave and Edward doesn't find love here, then so be it. But I can't lose any of them." Her voice grew in conviction until her final statement was an all out declaration.

I paused a moment to think. It was really only a few milliseconds, but for a vampire it was a usual amount of time. "We may not be able to avoid that," I replied, my voice soft. "If Edward decides he has to leave, nothing either of us can say would stop him. You know that. And to be honest, I'm not sure if the others want him to stay. I'm not sure if they will forgive him."

Esme sighed. We heard the Volvo pull off the highway and wind its way down the driveway. We took places in the dining room, which was sort of the family conference room. I sat in my usual seat to the east, while Esme took her seat next to me. She took my hand and gripped it firmly, as if she had to hold me in place. But I wasn't going anywhere. She was my angel, whom I couldn't live without, anymore then I could live without blood.

Edward was first in the dining room. He took the spot on my other side. Esme reached her hand around to lay it on Edward's shoulder. It was like she was trying to physically hold her family together. I was tensed for the inevitable onslaught. The tension was like electricity in the air, ready to lash out when it built enough power. Rosalie took a seat opposite me with Emmett. It was obvious that she was entirely against Edward. Jasper paused for a second, before settling on standing by the wall behind Rosalie. Alice, when she came in, was obviously preoccupied. Her vision was not in the current scene, but more then likely jumping around all the possible outcomes of this confrontation. She took a seat to Esme's other side.

Edward spoke up first. "I'm sorry," he said, looking around the table. "I didn't mean to put any of you at risk. It was thoughtless, and I take full responsibility for my hasty action."

But it was obvious from Rosalie's expression that Edward's words weren't going to make everything better. "What do you mean, 'take full responsibility'? Are you going to fix it?"

"Not the way you mean," Edward replied. "I'm willing to leave now, if that makes things better."

Esme tensed immediately, "No. No, Edward," she breathed.

"It's just a few years," Edward assured her.

Emmett spoke up this time. "Esme's right, though. "You can't go anywhere now. That would be the opposite of helpful. We have to know what people are thinking, now more than ever."

"Alice will catch anything major," Edward insisted.

It was time for me to put my opinion in. "I think Emmett is right, Edward," I said, shaking my head. "The girl will be more likely to talk if you disappear. It's all of us leave, or none of us."

"She won't say anything," Edward replied.

"You don't know her mind," I reminded Edward. Bella was the one person who's thoughts Edward couldn't read.

"I know this much. Alice, back me up."

Alice spoke for the first time since coming in. "I can't see what will happen if we just ignore this." She looked over at Jasper and Rosalie. They were Edward's main opposition.

Rosalie slammed her hand on the table and Esme cringed. "We can't allow the human a chance to say anything. Carlisle, you must see that," she appealed to me. "Even if we decided to all disappear, it's not safe to leave stories behind us. We live so differently from the rest of our kind—you know there are those who would love an excuse to point fingers. We have to be more careful than anyone else!"

That wasn't entirely true. "We've left rumors behind us before," Edward countered.

"Just rumors and suspicions, Edward. Not eyewitnesses and evidence!"

"Evidence!" Edward jeered.

From his spot against the wall, Jasper nodded.

I tried to head Rosalie off, "Rose—"

"Let me finish, Carlisle," she cut me off. "It doesn't have to be any big production. The girl hit her head today. So maybe that injury turns out to be more serious than it looked. Every mortal goes to sleep with the chance of never waking up. The others would expect us to clean up after ourselves. Technically, that would make it Edward's job, but this is obviously beyond him. You know I'm capable of control. I would leave no evidence behind me."

"Yes, Rosalie, we all know how proficient an assassin you are," Edward growled.

I had to stop this now. "Edward, please." Then I turned to Rosalie. She'd obviously put some thought into this. And that wasn't honorable. "Rosalie, I looked the other way in Rochester because I felt that you were owed your justice," I told her. "The men you killed had wronged you monstrously. This is not the same situation. The Swan girl is an innocent."

"It's not personal, Carlisle," Rosalie said icily. "It's to protect us all."

Rosalie was worrying me, in the way she hadn't worried me since those first few months when she'd first became a newborn. Was Rosalie really this heartless monster she was portraying? I thought she wasn't. I knew she wasn't. Rosalie was just worried.

I nodded and Rosalie's eyes lit up. She must've thought I was saying "yes" to her proposal. But I was far from it. This was a subject I would not budge on.

"I know you mean well, Rosalie, but…I'd like very much for our family to be worth protecting," I said carefully. "The occasional…accident or lapse in control is a regrettable part of who we are. To murder a blameless child in cold blood is another thing entirely." I grimaced at the thought of such a heinous act. "I believe the risk she presents, whether she speaks her suspicions or not, is nothing to the greater risk." Jasper had said something like that not too long ago. The gains have to outweigh the risk. "If we make exceptions to protect ourselves, we risk something much more important. We risk losing the essence of who we are." Then we would be just like all the others of our kind, killing innocent lives needlessly, even sadistically.

Rosalie grimaced. "It's just being responsible."

"It's being callous," I corrected, careful to keep my tone gentle. "Every life is precious."

Rosalie sighed and pouted. Emmett, the dutiful husband, rubbed her shoulder. "It'll be fine, Rose," he reassured softly.

I continued. "The question is whether we should move on?"

"No," Rosalie complained. "We just got settled. I don't want to start on my sophomore year in high school again!"

"You could keep your present age, of course," I suggested.

"And have to move again that much sooner?" she retorted.

I shrugged. We couldn't always get everything we wanted.

"I like it here! There's so little sun, we get to be almost normal."

"Well we certainly don't have to decide now," I said. "We can wait and see if it becomes necessary. Edward seems certain of the Swan girl's silence."

I felt Edward's attention shift to Jasper, who still stood against the wall behind Rosalie, having yet to say anything.

"Jasper," Edward said.

Jasper looked to Edward, impassive.

"She won't pay for my mistake. I won't allow that."

"She benefits from it, then?" Jasper countered. "She should have died today, Edward. I would only set that right."

"I will not allow it," Edward said again. He'd taken on my role as human protector.

Jasper shook his head. "I won't let Alice live in danger, even a slight danger. You don't feel about anyone the way I feel about her, Edward, and you haven't lived through what I've lived through, whether you've seen my memories or not. You don't understand."

"I'm not disputing that, Jasper," Edward insisted. "But I'm telling you now, I won't allow you to hurt Isabella Swan."

"Jazz." Alice broke through the glaring contest between Edward and Jasper. Jasper looked a way after a moment.

"Don't bother telling me you can protect yourself, Alice. I already know that. I've still got to—"

Alice cut short his statement. "That's not what I'm going to say. I was going to ask you for a favor."

Edward's mouth fell open. Obviously he'd seen something in Alice's visions that was a complete shock.

"I know you love me," Alice continued. "Thanks. But I would really appreciate it if you didn't try to kill Bella. First of all, Edward's serious and I don't want you two fighting. Secondly, she'd my friend. At least, she's going to be."

"But…Alice…" Jasper choked.

"I'm going to love her someday, Jazz. I'll be very put out with you if you don't let her be." Alice's eyes wandered to a not so distant future. "Ah, see? Bella's not going to say anything. There's nothing to worry about."

Edward was seeing more. "Alice, what…does this…?"

"I told you there was change coming," she said. "I don't know, Edward."

Alice's gaze fell on Jasper, who seemed to be too stunned to do or say anything.

"What Alice? What are you hiding?"

It was odd being on the outside of Edward's mental battles. Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, Esme, and I could only look back and forth between Alice and Edward as each spoke aloud, or did something we could see. It was like watching a tennis match at Wimbledon.

"Is it about the girl? Is it about Bella?" Edward asked.

Alice was concentrating, gritting her teach with the effort.

"NO!" Edward shouted, jumping up and knocking his chair over.

I was up in an instant, my arm on Edward's shoulder. "Edward!"

"It's solidifying," Alice murmured. "Every minute you're more decided. There're really only two ways left for her. It's one or the other, Edward."

"No," he insisted.

"Will somebody please let the rest of us in on the mystery?" Emmett grumbled.

"I have to leave," Edward whispered, ignoring Emmett.

"Edward, we've already been over that," Emmett said, too loud for the setting, or the present company. "That's the best way to start the girl talking. Besides, if you take off, we won't know for sure if she's talking or not. You have to stay and deal with this."

"I don't see you going anywhere, Edward," Alice added. "I don't know if you can leave anymore." Alice and Edward stared at each other for a moment, obviously having another one of their mental conversations.

"I don't hear that," Edward said finally.

Again Alice looked at him, saying something silently.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Edward laid his head in his hands. None of this was making much sense to the rest of us.

"Love her too?" Edward hissed, incredulous. I was intensely curious. From Edward's verbal replies, their conversation obviously involved Edward and Bella, and something he didn't want. But it couldn't be him killing Bella, because he wouldn't have said anything about love, would he have?

Silence from Alice. Edward shook his head, his expression changing to one of horror. "No. I don't have to follow that course. I'll leave. I will change the future."

Finally Alice spoke aloud. "You can try," she challenged.

Emmett lost patience with them. "Oh, come on!"

"Pay attention," Rose shushed him. "Alice sees him falling for a human! How classically Edward!" She pretended to choke.

"What?" Emmet was startled. Then he laughed his ringing laugh that could shake a room. "Is that what's been going on?" He laughed again. "Tough break, Edward." Emmett rested his hand on Edward's shoulder, but Edward shrugged it off.

"What do you see, Alice?" Jasper asked. "Exactly."

"It all depends on whether he is strong enough or not," She said. "Either he'll kill her himself"—so they could've been talking about Edward killing the Swan girl—"which would really irritate me, Edward, not to mention what it would do to you, or she'll be one of us someday."

Esme gasped.

"That's not going to happen! Either one!" Edward shouted.

"It all depends. He may be just strong enough not to kill her—but it will be close. It will take an amazing amount of control. More even than Carlisle has." I looked around at the mention of my name. It was more of a knee-jerk action. Psychologists would call it the "Cocktail-party effect". "He may be just strong enough…The only thing he's not strong enough to do is stay away fro, her. That's a lost cause."

Everyone was silent in response to Alice's prediction. Edward stared at Alice, horrified, while we all looked at him. After a while, I spoke.

"Well this…complicates things."

"I'll say," Emmett concurred. He seemed on the verge of laughter.

I thought about this new turn of events. "I suppose the plans remain the same, though," I said. "We'll stay, and watch. Obviously, no one will…hurt the girl."

Edward tensed.

"No," Jasper murmured. "I can agree to that. If Alice sees only two ways—"Jasper was probably the most ready to trust Alice's visions of all of us.

"No!" Edward wailed. "No!" Edward left in a rush. Esme briefly touched his arm as he left the room, and then he was out of the house, running away. The rest of us were left, stunned. Nobody spoke for a good two minutes, simply deep in our own thoughts.

I trusted Alice and I trusted Edward. Some how, things would work out. Patience was the key here. Let the events play out, but keep watch carefully, and be ready to step in if need be. That was the easiest way to approach this new turn of events.

"Well," Emmett said finally, "That was a good family meeting." He got up and followed Edward's path out, except his ended at the couch with remote in hand. Slowly, the rest of them followed him out until only Esme and I remained in the dining room. It was the same scene we'd started with.

"I'm not sure what to think," Esme admitted.

"My philosophy has been and always will be, patience," I told her. "I think we need to see how things play out."

"And if they play out for the worse?" Esme asked.

I frowned. I hoped everything would be fine, but we should be prepared for the worst.

"Then we'll have to move," I said.

Esme met my gaze with her butterscotch stare. We'd hunted not to long ago. Slowly, she nodded. "I would follow you anywhere," she said. "And I pray the others would too."

A/N: Hey! I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter, because I stayed up late to finish it for you guys. So review this and pass it on!

-Wish