A/N – Okay… so I told a white lie… here I am updating again, but this really will be the last Chapter I post until sometime next week… I promise I 'shall' -for bleed4her- update on my return!
Chapter 58 - History
Alice's POV
As I walked into the kitchen to get Bella a glass of water, I realised something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Esme was standing beside Carlisle, concern etched across her face. Jasper was standing next to Esme, as he held onto her arm, clearly trying to cast a calm wave.
It wasn't working.
"Carlisle?" I question, hesitantly.
Carlisle looked up at me, his face more blanched and spiritless than I had ever seen before.
Carlisle remained silent, as Esme reached out and placed an arm around his waist.
"Jasper?" I asked again, this time firmer.
Jasper broke his eye contact with Esme, and looked at me, his amber eyes flashing.
Still nobody spoke.
"Where are the others?" I asked again, my voice now agitated.
Finally Carlisle spoke, his voice low.
"Rosalie went outside to scan the area with Edward and Emmet"
I nodded as Carlisle turned slightly, and retrieved something that had been sitting on the counter behind him.
A rose.
No, another rose…
Time seemed to holt.
I found myself shaking my head as Carlisle walked over to me and took my hands in his.
Still, everything felt frozen.
I felt frozen.
This couldn't be happening.
Another rose?
"Where did you find it" I asked, my voice now an octave deeper.
"Rosalie found it on the step as she left…." Jasper answered, as Carlisle brought my hands up to his chest.
"We shall conquer this Alice" he whispered, before embracing me.
There we both stood, time shutting down for us both.
Slowly he released me as I held out my hand.
"I need to see it" I whispered, as Jasper now seemed to focus his gaze squarely on me.
Frozen, I still felt so frozen, even as small waves of peace descended on me, attempting to melt the ice that had formed around my very essence.
Carlisle nodded, and handed me the rose.
"The message… it's for me" he almost whispered, as Esme took his hand.
A message for Carlisle?
A message left outside our home?
When had he left it?
Jasper was by my side before I could open the small card, taking my hand in his, he continued to project every ounce of self preservation he had.
I read the card.
Hark,
It's time to
Say exactly how
The clock ticks now.
Oh,
Repayment
Yet to be mine,
Will in time.
Everything and everyone
Shall listen to my faithful song.
How does it feel, my dated friend?
Ah, finally something you can't mend!
Retaliation is the key,
Entwined within this mystery.
Oblivious, for now at least
Let animals be your feeble feast
Do you recall, so long ago
Friend, I thought, yet more my foe…
Remember how you watched me bleed?
Inside, and out, so take my heed…
Endeavour, if you will
Night will come, another kill…
Do not underestimate me.
This time he had highlighted his message by bolding each letter, I almost laughed at that. Did he think we were incapable of deciphering his rhymes?
History we share old friend…
"It's one physiological drama after another" I almost shouted out as Jasper removed the card from me, looking down at it himself.
"He seems to hold a grudge against you Carlisle" Jasper continued, looking back up at Carlisle who slowly nodded.
"Yet I cannot comprehend why" Carlisle answered, as he looked back at the rhyme. "I had very little to do with him before, and as for his reference to watching him bleed… I am at a loss…."
"This cannot continue" Esme interrupted, fear laced in every word.
No, it cannot continue my mind repeated…
"We can't tell Bella about this" Carlisle continued, as Esme nodded in agreement.
"She has the right to know" I shot back, my anger boiling slightly as Jasper squeezed my hand.
"Perhaps, but not tonight Alice. I can sense her turmoil, even from down here. If she knew about this message, it could tip her over the edge"
I shuddered.
"Trust me, Alice. Bella does not need the extra tension this will bring"
I squeezed Jaspers hand back.
"Okay… and sorry for snapping… I just hate keeping things from her…."
Esme cupped my face with her hands.
"It's for the best my love" she answered, as she embraced me also.
"Jasper, go to the others and bring one of them back with you, we'll go out tonight in pairs"
Jasper nodded, as he lent forward and kissed the top of my head.
"Go to her, Alice. You can calm her more than my abilities ever could" he whispered in my ear before turning to leave.
"He remembers you, then, from before" I found myself ask Carlisle, who nodded.
"And do you still think he knows me, from before?" I asked again, as Esme raised her eyebrows.
Carlisle turned to face her, "I suspected the message on Alice's car was left for her, although things are far from clear at the moment"
Carlisle continued, "What is clear, however, is this; he is seemingly playing with you and your memories Alice because I suspect he has realised you don't recall him, if indeed you have met him before"
I nodded.
"He is also playing a game with Bella, insinuating one thing and then another, so she is left wondering exactly what it is he wants from her…."
I nodded again, as I felt a drip of venom hit the back of my throat.
He was so going to pay…
"And he left a message with Jake, taunting him about Bella's relationship with you, requesting that he remove himself from the situation, which suggests he knows Jakes involvement in our alliance…"
Esme rested her head on Carlisle's shoulder as he waved the rose in his hand.
"And this? This is a message for me, 'History We Share Old Friend'… he clearly blames me for his demise from the Volturi, or perhaps he blames me for not helping him… whatever it is, I shall get to the bottom of it"
Carlisle's last words were laced with venom….
The same venom that coated my throat whenever Reuben's name was mentioned.
The same venom that appeared whenever I thought about the misery I was going to inflict on him… forget roses and rhymes, pain and punishment was my way forward…
Oh yes, the same venom that was going to rip his head off…