Rating/Warning(s)/Note(s): T, Shadows
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Prompt: Impression
It was chaos in the house when we arrived home. Alice had seen the phone call so was running around getting things packed. Jasper was making plane reservations for the entire group to fly to Washington. Jacob was talking on another phone, his conversation revolved around the pack and protecting Charlie. Marta came and hugged me as tears came to my eyes.
"Don't cry, Bella," Marta said. "We'll all work to keep Charlie safe."
That just made a sob form in my throat. "I'm so grateful," I said, wiping away the tears.
"We all love him," Esme said, coming to hug me from the other side. "Alice is making this a quick trip, you'll be back in time for classes on Monday. We weren't sure if you'd want Charlie to know you're even there."
My first response was to say of course I wanted to see him, but the look on Edward's face pulled me up short. "What?" I asked.
He glanced at Alice and grimaced. "She doesn't see him being changed this weekend. But, she does see him freaking out, wondering why you're home, if you visit him."
"Freaking out how?"
Alice froze in her tracks, two huge suitcases that looked to weigh more than she did, swinging at the ends of her arms from the abruptness of her stop. The distant look in her eyes made everyone else stop just as abruptly and wait. Everyone except Edward, who sucked in a breath before breaking out in a laugh as a smile spread across Alice's face.
We all relaxed, but I wasn't sure if it was because Edward found something funny or because Jasper was reflecting his mood onto us. Emmett and Rosalie came down the stairs at the sound, both looking confused.
"I guess we're not stressed out anymore?" Emmett asked. That's when I noticed he had forgotten to leave the mouse for the computer behind.
"No, we're not," Alice said, dropping the suitcases with a thud.
"Want to fill the rest of us in?" Rosalie asked. I gave her a nod of thanks. She sounded as annoyed as I felt.
"Demetri and Jane have had a bit of a tiff," Alice said, only to be cut off by Edward.
"Jane was driving, and Charlie pulled her over."
"It seems her gift doesn't work on Charlie very well."
"It only gave him a hot flash." Edward actually guffawed at that.
"It made Demetri laugh, and he asked if Charlie was related to Bella."
"And that pissed off Jane." Edward turned to me. "I get the impression that he wasn't happy about having to make that call, she forced him into it."
Alice giggled. "Aro found out, and he's upset. Said she violated the agreement with us."
"You know how they are about their rules," Jasper interjected. "Aro doesn't like it when people work independently."
"Did Charlie give her a ticket?" Emmett asked, and we all turned to Alice, who looked.
"Wait, is this happening right now?" I asked, my voice rising with each word. She nodded and held up a finger, asking me to wait.
"No ticket, just a warning," Alice said, the frowned. "Jane's zapping him again, so he's not feeling very good."
"Can we call Aro?" I asked, my hands balling into fists. How dare Jane attack my father? I suddenly wanted to hit someone.
"Hold that thought, Bella," Alice said, giving me a stern look. "You might want to wait until you can't break your hand. Although, calling Aro isn't a bad idea. Carlisle?""
"On it," Carlisle said, pulling out his phone and stepping into the other room. I moved to follow him, but Edward held me back.
"It'd be better if Aro didn't hear any of us in the background," he said, pulling me to our cottage. "Why don't we go unpack?"
"I want to know why Jane and Demetri are in Washington. Aren't they supposed to be following me?" I asked, following him out the back door.
Edward looked off to the east and nodded. "Others are watching you, Bella. You just can't seem them." He sighed and pulled me close. "The wolves intrigue the Volturi, that's why they're there. I think they've been instructed to stay off the territorial ground of the wolves, so Aro is respecting the letter of the treaty, but not the spirit."
"Will he ever leave us alone?" I asked, a whine slipping into my voice.
"I don't know. I hope so." It was nice to walk into our own little home. Edward flipped a switch to turn on a gas fireplace and changed the thermostat to warm it up, explaining that Alice had switched it when she thought we would be flying out. "Maybe one day, you can take them all out."
"Ha, ha. Right," I said, trudging up the stairs. In a second I felt Edward swing me up into his arms and fly with me to our bedroom. I let out a giggle when he dropped me on the bed. "Now that you've got me here…"
I never finished that thought.
How did we get to fifty chapters already? Geez, I need to wrap this thing up. We're over halfway, that's for sure.
Have a great weekend, lovelies!