I hadn't been this annoyed about the existence of a human in a very long time. I tended to ignore all humans to the best of my ability, but Edward had made this human impossible to ignore. He was all but obsessed with this human girl with a silent mind, this girl that he declared to be his singer. I had never personally experienced a singer but from what Emmett had shared it sounded like the unfortunate human was the best thing any given vampire had ever smelled and their life expectancy immediately shrunk from years to seconds, at least in the case of any normal vampire. Of course, Edward had to make himself the exception and resisted long enough to run all the way to Alaska to collect himself before finding his way back to play the family masochist.
Jasper had been avoiding Edward to the best of his ability since his return from Alaska, his conflicting emotions over the girl were enough to set Jasper's teeth on edge and staying away was the best way to ensure that Edward's head remained attached to his body, though if something didn't give soon it was likely that Rose would have the honors of putting our brother out of his self-imposed misery.
Things had been tense, but ultimately fine when they had left for school and Esme had asked me to help her change and wash all the bed linens. We had only had time to strip the beds before the phone rang. Esme rushed off to answer it while I carried the linens to the washroom. I could hear Esme answer the phone, but I couldn't hear the other end of the conversation from the other end of the house.
"Oh, my lord, is she going to be alright?" Esme exclaimed and I abandoned the linens to rush to Esme's side.
"Physically she is going to be fine." Carlisle's voice assured and I was relieved though I was still concerned about who they were talking about. His use of she didn't narrow down the possibilities when you considered our 'cousins' up in Denali.
"Edward stopped the van before it could do any damage, but he says that her head struck the parking lot, she's likely got a concussion. I'm more concerned of what she has possibly seen and can remember." Carlisle sighed and I was conflicted in my emotions. He was obviously not talking about Alice or Rosalie which brought me relief, but risk of exposure that Edward had provided sent a wave of anger through me. Before, we had thought that the risk was mostly for the girl as she unknowingly depended on Edward's restraint and control over his thirst, there was very little risk to our family as long as Edward was able to refrain from draining the girl in public, but now the risk fell on all of us. What had the girl seen during Edward's foolish endeavor? What had the student population seen?
Esme fretted about pulling the others from school, but Carlisle spoke against it. Stating that he was going to send Edward back to school to assess the damage and that he would be home to discuss this when the others would be getting home from school. Esme relaxed a little, but it didn't stop her from continuing to worry for the rest of the day.
When Carlisle arrived home, Esme met him at the door and he began filling her in on what he knew of the situation, but I wasn't interested in listening to his second-hand account that was no doubt being understated for Esme's sake. Instead of remaining inside with the duo I went outside to wait for the others. Jasper was sure to be the least biased in his perspective of the situation and I wanted to hear it all from him before forming any opinions of my own.
Edward was visually tense and agitated as he drove up the drive. From the scowl that graced Rosalie's face I could only imagine the mental tyrant she was giving him. Jasper was standing next to me before Edward could shut off the car and took my arms before hurriedly leading us away from the house a distance. I knew his opinion differed from the others just by his behavior, Jasper was never one to worry about others' opinions to the facts unless it was causing a strife. Jasper's eyes didn't meet mine till after he took a deep breath to calm himself.
"The girl needs to die." He said gruffly. I knew he didn't like the idea any more than the others but if anyone could be trusted to see the situation clearly it would be Jasper.
"Tell me what happened." I said, laying my hand on Jasper's arm.
"A van came into the parking lot too fast, and they hit a patch of black ice. Driver couldn't control the van as it slid sideways toward the far end of the lot. The girl was standing at the back of her truck, completely oblivious. Alice got a vision as the van hit the ice, Edward saw it in her mind and raced across the parking lot. The van slammed into the truck, there's no doubt the girl would have been crushed, no way that she would have escaped injury if Edward hadn't intervened. There's no way to know how many people saw Edward standing with us before the van came into the parking lot. There's no way to know that no one saw Edward's imprint in the side of the van from where he used himself to block the girl and stop it. There's no way to completely explain this away. Plus, there's no way to know what the girl saw or what she believes she saw. For one, she's well aware that Edward was nowhere near her before he was suddenly between her and the van. Edward says she'll stay quiet, but it's not safe to let this all hinge on a human girl." Jasper growled again and I sighed my own irritation.
"What do the others think?" I asked.
"Rosalie agrees, better to be safe than sorry. Emmett will vote with her, like he always does, though I know he's conflicted about this one. I'm not sure how Alice will vote. Edward will obviously vote to spare the girl along with Carlisle. Esme can be swayed, but I think she'll ultimately vote with Edward." Jasper stated and I nodded.
"So, this all hinges on Alice then?" Jasper nodded and I sighed.
"Let's get back before Rosalie can no longer refrain from tearing into Edward." I took Jasper's hand and we raced back to the house. We slowed to a walk at the door before proceeding inside to the dining room, everyone else was already seated, I went to take my seat but Jasper held fast to my arm and we moved to stand against the wall behind Rosalie. Rose was glaring at Edward while Edward's jaw was clenched as his eyes locked on Jasper and I for a split second before looking to Alice who was staring off into space.
There was a moment of tense silence before Edward took a deep breath and commenced the family meeting.
"I'm sorry." Edward started as he looked between the four of us at the other end of 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." He didn't look as remorseful as his words intended, no doubt only regretful of the effect on us versus what he had done or else this discussion would be going very differently.
"What do you mean 'take full responsibility'? Are you going to fix it?" Rose sneered.
"Not the way you mean." Edward retorted.
"I'm willing to leave now, if that makes things better." Edward continued and I scoffed.
"No, no Edward." Esme pleaded and Edward patted her hand as if it would make the woman feel better.
"It's just a few years." He tried to placate, but everyone knew that wasn't going to make the thought any easier for her.
"Esme's right though." Emmett cut in.
"Going anywhere now would be the opposite of helpful. We need to know what everyone is thinking. Now more than ever." He argued.
"Not to mention it would be cowardly." I added and Edward's face contorted briefly into a scowl before he caught himself and quickly restored the mask of unaffected calm.
"Alice will catch anything major." Edward argued as if I hadn't spoken and I rolled my eyes at his pigheadedness. Carlisle shook his head before Edward could continue to outline his cowardly plan.
"I think Emmett is right, Edward. The girl will be more likely to talk if you leave. Either the whole family leaves or none of us leave." Carlisle stated calmly.
"She won't say anything." Edward insisted.
"You don't know her mind." Carlisle reminded and Edward's fists clenched.
"I know this much, Alice, back me up." He pleaded turning his head to face our sister. Alice grimaced at the attention before speaking.
"I can't see what will happen if we ignore this." She said cautiously her eyes darting to the end of the table before looking back toward Edward making Jasper tense beside me. I took his hand and ran my hand over his knuckles soothingly, but it didn't help, especially when Rosalie smacked the table in her anger.
We can't allow the girl a chance to say anything. Carlisle you have to see that. Even if we all disappear, it's not safe to leave stories behind. With how differently we live – you know there are others that would love to point fingers. We have to be more careful than this!" Rose plead and I silently agreed.
"We've left rumors behind us before." Edward argued.
"Just rumors and suspicions, Edward. Not eyewitnesses and evidence!" She spat.
"Evidence." Edward scoffed but Jasper nodded his agreement with Rosalie.
"Rose–" Carlisle began but Rose wasn't ready to be interrupted.
"Let me finish, Carlisle. This doesn't have to be a big production. The girl hit her head today, injuries can turn out more serious than first appeared and every human goes to sleep with the chance of never waking up." Rosalie shrugged.
"The others would expect us to clean up after ourselves. Technically, this makes it Edward's job. But since this is obviously beyond him, I'm capable of control and wouldn't leave any evidence behind." I was a little surprised by her offer to play executioner, but we all knew Rose was indeed very capable.
"Yes, Rosalie, we're all aware of how proficient an assassin you are." Edward snarled, earning himself a hiss from Rose in return.
"Edward, please." Carlisle rebuked before turning to Rose.
"Rosalie, I looked the other way in Rochester because you were owed justice. The men you killed had wronged you in a monstrous way, this situation is not the same. The Swan girl is innocent." Carlisle stated, leaving no room for argument on the fact. Rosalie was calmer when she spoke again.
"It's not personal, Carlisle. It's to protect us all." She said simply. Carlisle remained silent for a moment, thinking through something before nodding.
"I know you mean well, Rose… but I'd like our family to remain as something worth protecting. The occasional… accident or lapse in control is a regrettable part of who we are, but to murder a child in cold blood is an entirely different matter. I understand the risk she presents but I believe that whether she speaks or not, the risk she presents remains less than the risk of losing something much more important. We risk losing the very essence of who we are." He spoke strongly at the end. I felt a small amount of shame at his words but refused to let it truly affect me, like Rosalie the thought was based in protecting what we had. I didn't have to see Rosalie's face to know that she was upset by Carlisle's words.
"It's just being responsible." Rosalie stated, though her words were much softer than they had been before, a weak justification and a small olive branch.
"It's being callous." Carlisle corrected gently, anyone else would have been a lot harsher, but Carlisle always tried to placate even when giving a dressing down.
"Every life is precious." Carlisle finished and Rose gave a heavy sigh. Emmett laid a hand on her shoulder in comfort.
"It's going to be alright, Rose." He assured.
"Carlisle." I spoke up, bringing the room's attention to me.
"If neither option is going to be taken into consideration. What is our contingency?" I asked calmly, though I was irritated by his ability to shoot down suggestion while refraining from making his own suggestions for consideration.
"Well, Abilene, I feel the decision we need to make is whether or not we move on?" Carlisle said and Rose immediately groaned. I wasn't thrilled with the thought either. I didn't play a high school student given that I was a little older than the other 'children' when they were turned, therefore my role was the long-distance girlfriend from wherever the family was claiming to have moved from. I was supposed to 'graduate' from high school in Alaska at the end of the year when Jasper graduated from Forks. After 'graduating' Jasper and I usually took the time that we were supposed to be away at college to travel with Peter and Charlotte for a year or so before rejoining the family, moving ahead of schedule would change that.
"No, we just got settled, I don't want to start over again yet." Rose objected.
"You could keep your present age." Carlisle offered.
"And have to move again that much sooner?" Rose countered and shook her head. Carlisle shrugged, continuing to leave the decision up to those at the table.
"I like it here! There's so little sun, we get to be almost normal!" Rose lamented.
"Well, nothing has to be decided now. We can wait, move if it becomes necessary. Edward seems certain of her silence." Carlisle replied and Rosalie snorted. It was a rather unladylike action, but one I could agree with given that we had come full circle, back at the beginning with nothing decided and the likeliness that nothing would be done. I became worried when I saw Edward's eye lock on Jasper, uncertain of which cause had brought him into Edward's focus.
"Jasper." Edward said and Jasper's hand tightened on mine as he looked to Edward. As I looked to Jasper I was momentarily angry with Edward, Jasper was holding himself completely straight and stiff, his face expressionless as he met Edward's gaze head on. These were actions reminded me of the Jasper Peter had led to the wilderness so long ago, the soldier trapped in a perpetual war. I hadn't seen him like this in years and hated that he felt the need to react this way with those we called family. Edward's actions were farther reaching that anyone would fully realize and that made me hate this all the more.
"She won't pay for my mistake. I won't allow it." Edward stated. Jasper's hand twitched in mine, his eyes giving a small twitch.
"She benefits from it, then? She should have died today, Edward. I would only set that right." Jasper said gruffly.
"I will not allow it." Edward repeated, his words sounding resolute. Jasper's brows rose with whatever he was feeling from Edward and I couldn't help but feel a little lost as I looked between the two. Jasper shook his head after a moment.
"I won't let Abilene and Alice live in danger, even a slight danger. You don't feel about anyone the way I feel about them, Edward, and you haven't lived through what I've lived through, whether you've seen my memories or not. You don't understand." Jasper's voice was little more than a growl.
"I'm not disputing that, Jasper. But I'm telling you now, I won't allow you to hurt Isabella Swan." Edward's gaze never wavered from Jasper's, almost as if daring Jasper to make a move. There was tense silence for a long moment before Alice finally broke the stare down.
"Jazz." She called out and Jasper hesitated a moment longer before looking to her.
"Don't bother, Alice, I'm more than aware. It doesn't change -" Jasper stopped as she gave a small shake of her head.
"That's not what I was going to say. I was going to ask you for a favor." She said and I could feel Jasper's curiosity at the same time Edward let out a gasp. The room's collective gaze moved between Edward and Alice.
"I know you how much you care. Thank you. But I would really appreciate if you didn't try to kill Bella. First of all, Edward's serious and I don't want you two fighting. Secondly, she's my friend, or at least she going to be." Alice declared.
"But… Alice…" Jasper wasn't sure what to say and quite frankly I didn't know what to say to that either.
"I'm going to love her someday, Jazz. I'll be very put out with you if you don't let her be." I growled lowly at the manipulation. It wasn't necessary to use emotional blackmail.
"Ah." Alice said after a moment seeing something in one of visions that pleased her, likely the girl surviving the night.
"See? Bella's not going to say anything. There's nothing to worry about." She said like it was the most obvious things in the world. I trusted Alice, but I could only trust her visions up to a point. Sure, right now the girl had decided to stay silent, but what about tomorrow, what about next week? Would she maintain her decision to stay quiet? That was something that Alice couldn't answer and that was still going to be a problem, a problem that everyone else seemed completely fine with ignoring.
"Alice." Edward choked out; his eyes glazed over much like Alice's during her visions.
"What… does this…?" His question was incoherent, but Alice seemed to understand whatever he was asking.
"I told you there was a change coming. I don't know, Edward." She answered though the rest of us remained confused. Alice's expression changed suddenly, her jaw clenching and then Edward's expression changed too, becoming frustrated as he continued to stare at Alice.
"What, Alice? What are you hiding?" He demanded. Emmett began to grumble, of all of us he hated Alice and Edward's half conversations the most though the rest of us didn't like them much more than he did. Alice shook her head in response and Edward's expression became more pinched.
"Is it about the girl? Is it Bella?" Edward demanded. Alice grit her teeth and I didn't even have the time to wonder what Alice was trying to hold back from Edward before he exploded.
"NO!" He yelled, standing so quickly that his chair was knocked to the floor with a resounding bang and causing the rest of us to jump at his unexpected reaction. Jasper immediately had me behind him, blocking me from Edward. I could feel him twitch, wanting to pull Alice away from Edward but not wanting to leave me exposed to do so.
"Edward!" Carlisle snapped.
"It's solidifying," Alice whispered.
"Every minute you're more decided. There's really only two ways left for her. It's one or the other, Edward." Alice spoke far too calmly for the situation that she was in.
"No." Edward said again like a petulant child.
"Will somebody please let the rest of us in on the mystery?" Emmett growled and I peeked around Jasper to see that everyone other than Alice was standing. Rose standing a step behind and to the side of Emmett while Carlisle and Esme stood on the other end of the table.
"I have to leave." Edward whispered though it might have been only to himself as his eyes weren't focused on anyone.
"Edward, we've already been over that." Emmett reminded irritated as we started the circle all over again.
"That's the best way to get the girl talking. Besides, if you take off, we won't know for sure if she's talking to not. You're staying, deal with it."
"I don't see you going anywhere, Edward." Alice informed him.
"I don't know if you can leave." Alice said and I spotted the beginning of a smile on her lips. She was happy about this.
"I don't hear that." Edward replied to something Alice was thinking.
"Why are you doing this to me?" Edward growled out and Jasper twitched again, his eyes never leaving Edward, doing his best to evaluate what Edward was going to do.
"Love her, too?" Edward asked incredulously and Alice sighed. I looked between the two unsure where their conversation had gone while the rest of us couldn't hear.
"No." Edward said again, shaking his head.
"I don't have to follow that course. I'll leave. I will change the future." Edward said adamantly but Alice merely raised a brow.
"You can try." Her voice was skeptical.
"Oh, come on!" Emmett bellowed and Jasper once again had me pulled behind him and we were ever closer to the door and farther away from the other occupants of the room.
"Pay attention." Rose hissed.
"Alice sees him failing for a human. How classically Edward." Rose sneered with a gagging noise. I couldn't help but admire Rose's utter disregard for behavioral etiquette, I often wondered if it was Emmett or the teenage humans that were rubbing off on her to create such displays.
"What?" Emmett said before his laugh echoed through the room.
"Is that what's going on?" He laughed again.
"Tough break, Edward." There was the sound of a hand clapping against fabric before the sound of something rubbing against fabric.
"Fall for a human?" Esme repeated softly from across the room.
"For the girl he saved today? Fall in love with her?" She clarified.
"What exactly do you see, Alice?" Jasper demanded and I once again moved to see what was going on around the room. Alice turned to look to Jasper.
"It all depends on whether he is strong enough or not. Either he'll kill her himself." Alice turned pointedly to Edward before continuing.
"Which would really irritate me, Edward, not to mention what it would do to you." She said before again turned to face Jasper.
"Or she'll be one of us someday." Alice said happily and Esme gasped, her hands coming up to cover her mouth.
"That's not going to happen!" Edward shouted.
"Either one!" He clarified and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his dramatics.
"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. The only thing he's not strong enough to do is keep himself away from her. That's a lost cause." Alice happily informed. The room was quiet as Edward and Alice stared each other down till Carlisle sighed.
"Well, this… complicates things." Carlisle struggled for a moment to find the right word to describe out situation. I couldn't help the laugh that fell from my lips at the utter understatement.
"I'll say." Emmett agreed.
"I suppose the plans shall remain the same then. We'll stay, watch and no one will hurt the girl." Carlisle looked between Rosalie and Jasper as he said the last part. Jasper had managed to relax a little with the revelation that eventually we'd comply with the laws, one way or another.
"No. I can agree to that. If Alice sees only two ways…"
"No! No!" Edward snapped again before stalking out of the room. Esme's hand brushed his arm but he ignored it and fled. I gave a disgusted sigh at his behavior before looking to Alice.
"How long before he realizes that this will ultimately benefit him?" I asked, already fed up with his petulant behavior. Alice rolled her eyes with a smile.
"Even I can't predict that, but he'll come around sooner or later." Alice with a laugh.
"May we all hope for sooner." I groused before taking Jasper's hand and exiting the room. A hunt would do us both some good.