Leave a nice word for my friend who is editing so we can get the next chapter out soon! :) Thank you for reading.
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.
A Guiding Heart
Family Matters
Chapter 26
Despite Justin's attempts to drive me out of the country, which he laughed about, he did bring me and his beloved bike back to the SSA. I still had Justin's family on my mind. It didn't take long before we wandered through the park pointing out various places and ran into the old Ferris wheel. There was a brief unspoken agreement between us that we would go on the ride. My chance to get a do-over for that night we rode together way back. It seemed like I had stepped back in time….until I saw Henry, that is. His eyes widened, and I knew he recognized me as having just been there with Edward. Instantly, I touched my earring.
I urged Justin into the car then pulled Henry aside. "This is an old friend of mine. We used to work here together, Henry, just like you." He looked at me with surprise. "Did I not mention that the last time we saw each other?" I flashed him a big smile and let my eyes flash some amber sparkle. Henry seemed taken, and I wondered ... Had Edward said goodbye to him when he left the note for me at his office trailer?
"Your other, uhh, riding companion is gone," he offered. I smiled as I looked at his uniform. The old fashioned stripes and khaki pants. It hadn't changed over the years.
"Did he say goodbye?" I asked curiously given the chance.
"No, ma'am. But I hope he comes back soon. I've been assigned to be the first one in line to learn how to load and unload guests onto his special Ferris wheel. I have a family member who will ride it," he beamed proudly.
With that I felt happy that others were already depending on Edward's work to come through. He'd have to be back to finish things, I assured myself as I entered the car.
"Your family is great. They love you a lot, Justin," I said as our car ascended with no other passengers aboard any of the other cars.
"I know. I'm lucky, but it was hard not being able to tell them. It was even harder to think what I could have done to them. I don't know how often I'd be able to be around them. I wonder . . . is it easy to be around your dad because you share the same blood?"
"Oh . . . Hmmm? I don't know. I never thought about that."
Justin nodded thoughtfully. "I mean .. .. because I'm adopted, I wondered if the blood difference between myself and my family was divisional."
"You have a lot of time left with them. The Cullens have lots of tricks to help assimilate around the humans. They can show you just how easy it can be."
"Then what?" he asked. "When do you and I leave the area together?"
"I don't know that we ever will," I said taken off guard by his invitation.
"Then we have to make the most of now, Bella. We have to be everything to each other. Don't you want that?" His finger glided smoothly across my knee as he sat across from me. "Don't you want to have everything with me that I couldn't give you when we were kids? I can give it to you now."
The swirls of amber in his eyes invited me further into him...begging for an us. The Ferris wheel car moved along slowly, waiting for my answer. He flashed to my side, capturing a single strand of hair with his hand, tucking it behind my ear.
"I can give it all to you now, Bella," he assured me again in his smooth and seductive voice. "Just like we both wanted."
With a tilt of my chin toward his lips, he paused. "I can express no kinder sign of love than this kind kiss." Justin leaned in and kissed me tenderly, his fingertips lightly brushing across my cheek and smoothing the flying strands of hair away from my face.
As he kissed me, I found myself wanting it. All the nostalgia of the lighter and the time we shared on our "almost" dates together.
"Ooh dreamweaver…" I hummed to myself until he broke the kiss.
"Humming," he stated with a smirk. "I like it."
"It's not exactly sexy is it?" I laughed, but he ignored my self-deprecation, capturing my lips more forcefully and kissing me more passionately. His vampire energy ignited something in me that took over. It ran through my body and yearned to be overtaken by every inch of him as he pulled me closer and closer to him. Our bodies moved together, swaying our car, with the night air fanning our faces.
"Every inch of you is sexy, Bella," he declared seductively. "Here." He placed a kiss on my lips. "Here." He placed a kiss at my temple. "Here." He placed a kiss at my wrist. "Here." He kissed my right hip, dropping to the floor but confined by the car. "I'm going to keep going, but we're going to have to find another place to continue this."
Justin rebounded up in a flash and had kissed my lips again more forcefully. In his kiss I felt my final surrender to my past. Somewhere I believed that I was 18 again, still innocent to the world, still human. Just a girl who liked a boy, and the boy the girl liked, liked her back. I knew it for sure, no hesitations. No second guessing. Here in this place, all of our memories fit together to re-create something for us that had been stolen away by Jacob Black.
Justin's hand rubbed up and down my inner thigh as he kissed me, moving higher with each passing stroke. "Bella," he whispered, running his hand over my crotch. "Bella, I'll be your first, right? As a vamp?"
I moaned into his mouth, pleasure enveloping me, replacing the pain of the past. I nodded a yes to him when he looked at me. He smiled in a way to show me his fangs before sinking his teeth into my neck. I screamed in delightful reaction to his playfulness. "Tell me you want me," he begged.
"I want you," I returned in a daze, not even realizing my lips were moving. What year was it? How old was I? Was I answering as a young naive girl infatuated with a boy or as an older worldly vampire?
With a hungry smile he seemed to relish in both of his small, yet impending, victories while holding me tightly.
"My bounty is as boundless as the sea. My love as deep. The more I give to thee. The more I have. For both are infinite," he told me melodically.
I sighed at the depth of his words that wrapped around me and beckoned me to relax into him and give him more. Infinite. Never growing older. We'd always be this. The past was the past but our future was just that….infinite. How fitting for us now . . . ."Wait…. Is that?" It was like I heard the needle scratch across a record.
"What…. What is that from?" I asked.
"It's your basic ninth grade English class, Bella." He tried to tilt my chin back to him. "It's the language of seduction," he offered with a wicked grin.
"You mean?" I yanked away from him hard, suddenly filled with anger, like tiny flames in my eyes, steam coming out of my ears type of anger.
"Bella, what is it, babe?"
"No," I whimpered, as I began swirling in a devastating descending spiral of truth and realization.
"Bella," he reached out to me. "Babe, it's Romeo and Juliet. It's us, babe, a big misunderstanding kept us apart, but not forever. It was only temporary. Not even death could separate us."
"No. No….." I shook my head vehemently. "Not Shakespeare! Not him! Tell me you did not just quote Shakespeare to me!" I pulled further away from him. "Stop," I yelled down to Henry. "Stop the ride," I yelled again. I took a long clear look at Justin, grasping his face and looking deep into his eyes before the solid memory flashes overtook me.
~memory flash~
It was Justin, pinning 18-year-old me up against the dryer in my own laundry room.
"Want to go for a spin on the dryer? Love is a spirit all compact of fire."
~memory flash~
It was outside my house, the night Justin drove me home after we had gone to the pizza place.
"Hear my soul speak: the very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly to your service," he whispered to me at my doorstep before giving me a wink.
~memory flash~
Justin and I were on the Ferris wheel. That evening after work when he stayed. Still human. I remembered this. The rides we took before meeting up with Mark. How torn I was. How close I felt to him and yet how confused. How he kissed me more passionately than I had ever been kissed before in my life.
"Let's go find an empty stand," he breathed. "Some of the places are closed tonight," Justin said with his arm around me, holding me close to him, kissing me.
"Mark is waiting for me."
"Forget him. Arise fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief
That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she…
The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars."
"I walked away from our moment," I muttered to myself, having not remembered that before my insides all lit up sparking a fire that roared within me. "Oh my God. Oh my God!" I repeated over and over. "Was it ...? Was it you? Justin, was it? All this time with the lines? Feeding me Shakespeare?"
A thousand thoughts criss-crossed through my mind all at once. But Jacob, I thought to myself. I thought it was Jacob. I had always thought it was him messing with me.
But what about Edward?
"Bella...babe." Justin leaned back in the seat, spreading his legs and pinching the bridge of his nose. "C'mon Bella, tell me what's going on," he pleaded, throwing his hand out palm-side up in a gesture of confusion. "Yes the Shakespeare, because I want you." He shifted his legs and leaned toward me, whispering at my ear. "And you want me too. I know you do."
I did. I had. I thought I did. But Shakespeare? Jacob. Justin. Edward.
When I wasn't quick to respond, refusing even to look over at him, he pulled away claiming, "I shouldn't even have to use the lines on you at this point. It's just old habit."
Something specific about Edward raced through my mind. That day on the ice rink he had told me those exact words then apologized for saying them. Wincing hard, I shook my head back and forth furiously trying to understand. Justin tried to get me to stop going down this path and come back to him.
Confused, I covered my face, rubbing my cheeks harshly, only just realizing we hadn't moved. We had been stopped at the top. I yelled out for Henry again.
"Henry's not down there. I told him to take an extra long break when you zoned out on me a minute ago," Justin said like he was frustrated.
"I- … I don't know what's going on!" I cried, forcing myself to look at his face, but this time all I saw was Edward. Like a phenomenon. Though, it felt like the exact opposite of the day I had first laid eyes on Edward in the hospital.
His tone changed to a more soothing, persuasive nature. "Nothing is going on, Bella. Just give in. I'll be your first," he smiled while deliberately gazing into my eyes.
Everything felt too out of control. I glanced down at the incredible height. Justin followed my gaze. "No, don't leave," he ordered me, grabbing my arm.
"Let go of me," I growled. "Don't! Don't you dare try to touch me!"
Justin ignored my plea and held onto me. I shook him off before shoving him away harshly. I just didn't want to be hindered, but even as I climbed onto the edge of our car, he reached for me again, while I stealthily evaded his grip. Jumping hastily, I landed with a thud, before running for the cherry bomb. I willed my feet to go faster than I had ever run through the forest even, unsure if there were any humans around to witness the blur I was creating. When I looked back, he wasn't following me.
I considered for just a nanosecond kicking his bike, really causing it damage, but I decided to save taking my frustration out on my next meal. God help those poor deer.
~AGH~
I jumped into the cherry bomb and drove in the direction of Charlie's house, trying to keep from crushing the steering wheel as I drove. All those Shakespeare lines…. In my house in the laundry room! At the pizza place! On the Ferris wheel! Memories I hadn't readily stored but were carried over down deep I guess and all coming to the surface tonight. Those were all related to him? But what about Jacob taking over-hijacking-Edward's body like Esme had suggested?
As soon as I got to Charlie's, I realized his car wasn't there. Shit! He must be at work. Once inside, I picked up his portable house phone and called him at the station while wondering if Jasper had found out anything more about Edward.
"Bella? What are you doing at my house?" Charlie asked through the phone curtly.
"I …. I needed a place to get away." Geez! Hadn't he told me I was welcome there? "Dad, I have to know more about Edward leaving," I said as I wandered up into my bedroom. Edward's things were gone. The bed was left unmade. I bunched some of the sheet in my hand and brought it to my nose.
"Oh, that. Not much to tell you, Isabella. He packed up and left."
"But did he say anything unusual? Did he mention his aunt or uncle, maybe?" I scanned my room.
"No, no. I didn't hear him say anything about them."
By my desk I spotted some things scattered across the floor, the trash can lying on its side. One of my nametags from the SSA. A picture of me with blonde hair. A picture of Justin. I looked to see all of the contents of the 3rd drawer I had thrown out still in the trash can, now looking like it had all be rooted through.
Edward's text: Why didn't you tell me? flashed through my mind. That I worked there? Is that what his text was about?
"Holy crap Dad, didn't you ever empty the garbage from my room?"
"Well no. I didn't know you'd been home long enough to have left any trash in there."
"I should have emptied it myself. Oh fuck. Dad….Dad I just don't know what is going on right now. Everything is so twisted around and I'm lost. Daddy, I need your help."
"Don't do that to me, Bella….I can't help you."
"Just tell me what he said, please Dad," I begged, wanting to crush the phone. Charlie went silent to the point I thought we had lost the connection. "Dad are you there?"
Silence.
"Yeah, Bells. I'm here. I just had to close the door shut on my office. Look . . . when Carlisle told me that you were alive but different, he told me there'd be things about you and the Cullens that I'd have to accept, no questions asked. I did it Bells, because I love you. I told him I'd accept his conditions."
"I know Dad. I know I'm different now but . . ."
"But you're still my daughter," his voice cracked, "and I can't keep lying to you, Bells. It's not right." Charlie's voice had dropped, a sad effect coming through.
"Lying about what, Dad?"
A cry escaped Charlie's normally stoic nature, surely the same kind of cry that overtook him that fateful day we went fishing. "It was Carlisle. He coaxed Edward to go somewhere with him and made me swear I wouldn't tell you. But I'm telling you now Bella, and I'm telling you that I'm sorry. I don't know what his reasons were. He wouldn't tell me. He just reminded me that he had reasons and I had promised to follow his lead when I consented to him saving your life."
I felt my world shatter having been betrayed by everyone I loved.
"Car-... Car-lisle? But why?"
"I'm sorry honey," Charlie blubbered again. "I hope you can forgive me one day. You have to understand I was stuck between a rock and a hard place."
"But Carlisle? Where did he take him? Where is he? Was he okay?" I demanded from Charlie, the rage inside me boiling over and freaking out that Carlisle went to such measures to keep me away from Edward. I felt betrayed and tricked. I suddenly realized I had been set up the day Carlisle called upon me to come to the hospital.
"I don't know Bella. He wouldn't tell me anything."
That's it! Fuck this shit! I was done with this! How much more fucked up was this day going to get? I hung up with Charlie angrily calling him a choice word then flew out the door and was on the phone calling Carlisle. No answer, of course. Coward! "Carlisle this is Bella! I want you to drop whatever it is you're doing and meet me at the house!" I yelled into his voicemail, hung up the phone and burst out of the house, jumping into the cherry bomb, speeding away. A text came in. It was Jess. I knew I had to calm myself and switch gears to deal with her.
Bella! How are you? I have a few minutes to text. What's up?
Hi Jess. I'm good. I was wondering. Do you remember the guy I first slept with?
The guy from the park? Yeah what about him?
Do you remember his name?
LOL! Bella did you hit your head or something?
Yeah, something like that.
I don't remember! Sorry. I think I have it written down in my old diary though. I can look for it and get back to you.
Great! Just fucking great! Leave me in suspense, why don't you, Jessica! She was about as helpful as Alice. Speaking of which, I called her earlier to find out if she or Jasper had located Edward and still hadn't heard back. Now I had to wonder if she knew about whatever Carlisle was up to. I'm guessing not after she went out of her way for Edward….but who knows with Jasper.
I barely put the cherry bomb in park before I was jumping out, zooming up the pathway that led to the Cullen house and storming my way in.
"Who's here?" I asked, though my keen sense of smell told me Carlisle was not in the house but was close by.
"What happened dear?" Esme asked, appearing in front of me.
"Carlisle lied to me. He knows more than he's letting on. My father told me. Esme do you know too?"
"No, he hasn't told me anything, just to trust him," Esme replied. "Lied to you about what?"
My phone beeped. It was a text from Justin. I sighed and decided to ignore it. In light of this new information, he was definitely going to have to wait.
"What is it?" Esme asked, seeing my frustration.
"It's...it's...well right now Esme, it's freaking everything!" I wanted to go into it all with her, but Carlisle appeared just inside the doorway that led out to the garage. I launched into the story about remembering Justin saying things to me that I thought had been Jacob interfering with Edward, because Edward had told me the exact same words, but he didn't know how or why.
"Hello," he said with a quiet politeness. "Bella is this a social call, or are you moving back in?" He approached Esme and kissed her on the cheek.
"Drop the act Carlisle. I know!" I said to him sharply.
"Know what?" he continued to play it off. And why wouldn't he? He played a role each day among the humans.
I marched right up to him, stood tall, placed my hands on my hips and looked up into his eyes. "I still have Swan blood running through me." If blood was thicker than water . . . or animal blood? "My father told me all about you and Edward ."
"Oh," Carlisle confirmed quietly. "Esme, would you please take a drive somewhere."
"What, why?" she asked surprised.
"Because what Bella is asking me to give her answers about could get us all in trouble if the Volturi were to know."
"Carlisle, I'm not going to tell them," Esme assured him.
"No, not of your own accord, but they have gifts that they'll use, and I will protect you from them by not having information."
Esme hesitated, and I wondered how the Volturi could have anything at all to do with Edward. Esme had paced across the floor then returned.
"No," she said in a way that shocked the hell out of me.
"What do you mean no?" Carlisle asked.
"I mean no because whatever this is, however it involves you, Bella, and the Volturi, I want to know. Or let me put it another way. I get to know!"
"But dear, you don't know how much danger we could all be in. The risk is too high."
"If you're involved and it involves my family, then I have a right to know. And if anything happens to anyone in my family, then I sure as hell better have the details as to why." Esme was very adamant in her delivery.
"Esme, dear, you don't understand. This goes way beyond our family. I need you protected."
"I understand that, but I've made up my mind and I'm not budging. I have just as much obligation to Bella as you do. I consented to giving her a chance at this life. I agreed to be a mother to her. Let me do my job." Esme wrapped her arm around me, holding me securely.
Carlisle rubbed the bridge of his nose then relented. "Your life will be in danger. All of our lives will be."
"If you mean to tell me that your life, Carlisle, was already in danger by whatever you've been hiding then so has my life with you. All of our lives are directly touched by you, don't you see that?" Esme pleaded with him.
"Yes, I suppose on some level you're right."
"Good," I said. "Now that that's settled, I want to know what the hell happened. Charlie said you lied and forced Edward to leave."
"Is this true?" Esme asked with a sense of disbelief.
Carlisle pushed a button on his keychain and revealed a secret compartment in the wall that I had no idea existed there. Striding over, he opened a door similar to that of a medicine cabinet, and put his finger to his lips. I watched as he flipped through switches and a red line appeared in the house, like a laser beam, running across the room from top to bottom. When it was finished, he adjusted some dials in the cabinet.
"There, that will interfere with the frequency in case there are any bugs planted that the scan missed."
The what?
"We've taken Edward to a secure location," Carlisle said quite simply.
"Who's we?" I demanded. "Who else knows? Is it Jasper? Alice?" I wanted to know who was helping him, and I wanted to know now!
"No," Carlisle replied. "It's Garrett. He's on the run from the Volturi. He stole something from them and they have a price on his head. He's been careful, as we'll all need to be. If you agree to being careful, then I will take you to Edward."
"You're DAMN right you'll take me to him. Right now!" I yelled with my voice and my arms, allowing myself to flail while he remained guarded with his arms crossed.
"Bella, you need to calm down and listen to what I'm about to tell you, before I take you anywhere."
I walked away from him. "Fuck that Carlisle! I want to go to him now! You don't know him like I do. He needs me." Too many scenarios of Edward ran through my mind, and I didn't like any of them without me there by his side.
"No," Carlisle said firmly, "Not until you sit."
"I knew it," I muttered to myself, throwing my fists in the air. "I knew it." I raced up the stairs. "Do you have any idea what kind of bullshit my life seems to be right now?" I yelled down from the top floor of the Cullen home. "First, Edward left me and I'm thinking he found out what I am and it drove him away. And then I find out that instead, it was my mentor, my step-father for all intents and purposes, who forced my own father, my own flesh and blood, to lie to me so he could kidnap my boyfriend. And if that wasn't bad enough, a guy I 'dated'" I used my air quotes, "for two minutes, that I used to be hopelessly in love with, shows up and reveals himself to be nothing more than a creep."
"Your father needed to be protected, as well," Carlisle continued. "Bella please, come back down and sit."
"Hold on just a sec," Esme told him. "There are some things I know about Bella, just a little bit better than you do." Esme headed upstairs and asked me to follow her to the guest room. "I was going to change out those 4 pillows anyway. Have at them, dear." She smiled at me sympathetically and gave me an encouraging was right. I needed to break something. I easily tore the four pillows in half one by one. The fabric was strongly sewn together, so ripping it was quite satisfying. Soft, white stuffing went flying throughout the room, some landing on top of the lamps and window curtains. "Don't worry about that," she assured me. "Feel better?"
I nodded slightly, even if I didn't truly mean it, before marching myself back downstairs and sitting on Emmett's green comfy chair.
"You're telling me Carlisle that Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and none of the Denali know what's going on?" I demanded angrily.
"That's correct," he answered. "Try to remain calm."
I agreed that I would try, and he came to sit on the couch. Esme joined us, standing against the wall, her arms crossed.
"Okay," Carlisle said, then shook his head. "I'm not sure where to start. Uhh….when I first learned that Edward was under the care of Dr. March, I was alarmed. There was a time when he and I knew each other well. We studied medicine together, and though he's not a vampire himself, he was made aware of our...community. He was fascinated with pushing the limits of medicine. He wanted to be a trailblazer, but he also got caught up in wanting to be of use to the Volturi. I blame myself, because I'm the one who introduced him. I had thought he had stopped his affiliation with them, that was until Garrett reported to me his involvement in a secret lab. Garrett stole some of their books and has been on the run from them since."
Listening to Carlisle was terrifying. How did Edward, of all people, end up mixed up in this? No, he wasn't. It was just coincidence, I told myself.
"What was going on in the lab?" Esme asked.
"Secret experiments under the ruse of the Volturi doing something good for mankind. Victims were captured and selected to participate in experiments."
I definitely was not liking the sound of any of this. I stood up. "Alright Carlisle, that's enough. I need to see Edward. Take me to him!"
"I'm not done," he deadpanned.
"I don't care. I want you to take me to him, right this minute!" I said in a commanding way that even surprised me. "How long will it take me to get to him?"
"Not until you hear the rest," Carlisle remained calm.
"Bella," said Esme, "I think you should listen."
Great! Just fucking great! Now Esme was on his side and I had no idea how far away - or close by - Edward was. As far as I was concerned, we were losing precious time. Too much time had already been stolen from us. From us? I surprised myself thinking that.
"Dr. March's work was complex and risky, but it's my understanding that some of it has been successful," Carlisle continued.
"For whom? The humans or the Volturi?" I sniped sarcastically.
"In some cases, both," Carlisle answered with his usual comforting nod of acknowledgement that right now was more than irritating.
"Just tell me what the hell they did to Edward so that I know when I'm pummeling those Volturi, because I swear to God, if anything happens to Edward I'm going to ki- . . . "
"Bella," Carlisle interrupted me with his hand up. "That's enough. In the lab, before they were turned into vampires, the humans were treated as organ donors. Kidneys and livers mostly. Anything internal that would be deemed not necessary by the venom during a vampire transformation. The organs were surgically removed and then the venom was implanted into the body, thus beginning the transformation. That was Garrett's job. At least it was, until he walked away, taking the logs with him. That's what the members of the Volturi are really after. He knows too much and has the evidence to back it up."
"Well so what if he has evidence? I thought the Volturi were the supreme law in the world of vampires. It's not like Garrett can tattle on them to someone else."
"Maybe not, but the Volturi have many other vampire clans under their control, and they don't want to lose that. They don't want their name smeared."
Carlisle stood up, heading back to his secret panel in the wall. This time a grey metallic safe door was visible. He opened it and pulled a book out. "This is a record. It has the names of everyone who was transformed and everyone who received an organ."
"Okay Carlisle, so Garrett stole it." I was almost bored by the story. None of it involved Edward in my estimation. "What the hell does any of this have to do with Edward? He's a hockey player for God's sake. And now he designs Ferris wheels. Did he somehow overhear something while under Dr. March's care or something?"
Carlisle stopped to stare at me intensely. I felt daggers coming from his eyes. I couldn't make sense of any of this because all I could think about was getting to my four-circle car guy and apologizing to him for thinking he left me and making sure he was okay. If he wasn't okay, then I know he needed me, as self-centered as that sounded.
Carlisle was still staring at me.
"What?" I asked infuriated by the look on his face. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Bella, didn't you see the scar on Edward's chest?" he asked in a leading manner.
"Well yes," I said thinking back to it.
"And don't you realize why he has that?" he followed with his questions.
What was he trying to imply? That scar was of an inconsequential size to any kind of major surgery. It was from a procedure to help his heart.
"I know it's smaller than a normal transplant scar because Dr. March has also been playing around with using vampire venom topically to help the skin of humans to minimize scarring, similar to how the concoction we gave you during your transformation helped heal the scars left when the wolf attacked you."
"Venom? No. No! What are you telling me Carlisle?"
"I know it isn't in his official medical records, but Edward was the recipient of an organ, Bella. A heart."
I covered my face with my hands and let out a small cry of sadness and confusion and overwhelming disgust that Edward was wrapped up in all of this. Carlisle scooted down on the couch, closer to where I sat in the chair. He gently placed his hand on my arm in a soothing gesture. "Bella . . . there's more."
"No," I cried. "Please! Why can't you just take me to him." I shot up and zoomed across the room in frustration, stationing myself at the top of the staircase that led down to the front door.
"I can't do that until you know the rest." Carlisle gestured toward the couch, and I returned quite displeased with his control over the situation. I sank down onto the couch, moving it with a loud thud across the floor. He was keeping me from Edward purposely. I was sure of that.
Esme had come over to kneel down beside me, holding my other hand in a strength-bracing manner. "We need to hear the rest before we make any sudden moves," she said on my behalf and letting me know she would be there for me.
Carlisle's phone beeped, and he looked down at his text. "It's Alice. She and Jasper and Emmett are wondering why they can't get into the house. Just a minute."
Esme sensed that I was ready to bolt and tightened her grip on me, making me stay in place. Carlisle went to the panel and punched a few buttons with his phone up to his ear. "Move quickly when you see the red light go off," he said into his phone. I watched Jasper and Alice enter with Emmett before Carlisle quickly rescanned the house and resecured the locks.
Esme and Carlisle took a few minutes to bring them up to speed on what was going on, prefacing how this information put them all at risk. Apparently some of the Volturi had special abilities that could be used against us for this information. Each of them agreed that their family's safety was greater than the risk. Carlisle relented to letting the entire family in on it.
"I was just about to share the worst of this with Bella," Carlisle said. "Edward's new heart is failing him. It worked for awhile, but he's been too risky in how he's lived with it and his body began rejecting it."
"Carlisle . . . what . . . what are you saying?" I looked at him incredulously.
"I'm saying that he's dying, slowly. Except somehow, you Bella, you've delayed the body's rejection of the heart, and it has given him false hope that what he experienced was just a phase."
Delayed? He's gone all this time without me near him, without me touching him. Oh my God he must be in such bad shape!
"But it's only a matter of time before his new heart gives out on him," Carlisle concluded.
"No! I won't let that happen! I just need to be with him. You'll see, Carlisle! You'll see how I can fix him."
"I disagree. You can't fix him Bella. And you're going to have to come to terms with the fact that he's dying," Carlisle said with his best bedside manner.
"Then he won't die!" I declared looking at Esme. "If I choose him, then we'll change him, right? Please Carlisle, I want him to be one of us. I can't bear to lose him."
"I can't. I'm not at liberty to do that, Bella."
"Yes, you can!" I yelled back at him.
"Why not?" Alice asked in a surprisingly demanding way. Yes, Alice! "What if that's what Edward wants, in order to be with Bella? Just like Charlie wanted it for Bella? He asked it out of us for Bella and for himself."
"Because Alice and all of you … any human who is involved in these types of experiments becomes marked property by the Volturi. Should their organs fail, the Volturi send in a crew to take care of them, in order to keep it a secret. Anyone that gets in their way, they'll kill with no hesitation." Carlisle turned to me. "Bella, do you understand now why I asked you to stay away from him? And when you wouldn't listen to me, why I moved Edward into hiding?"
All I could think about was that letter "V" I saw on Edward's body. The one he said he had after a procedure. It wasn't for the Roman numeral five, it was the sign of the Volturi, marking him as their property. I grimaced at the disgusting thought. It was sick. It was all so sickening.
"Bella?" Carlisle asked again.
"Carlisle, we have to change Edward now then, before he dies," I begged, half envisioning him dead and half envisioning him one of us.
"Bingo!" Emmett voiced. "Sounds like a plan to me!"
"No Bella. Hiding Edward is one thing, but I can't undermine the Volturi like that. They'll kill all of us."
"But Edward will be strong," I persisted. "Newborn strong. Isn't that right, Jasper? He'll be able to stand with us against the Volturi. We can fight them, and we can win."
"She has a point, Carlisle," Jasper said. "The only way to beat the Volturi might be with muscle."
"I disagree," Carlisle said. "Strongly. There's too much risk in fighting the Volturi. They have powers like you've never experienced. Besides, we'd be up against not just them, but an army of vampires, some of whom are marked."
"Then what do you suggest dear?" Esme asked Carlisle.
"A negotiation for Edward's life and safe passage for Garrett. For right now, we get Bella with Edward and monitor him for any improvement. In the meantime, Garrett has Kate working on something to offer the Volturi that they will view as having so much value that they are willing to trade it for the release of Edward's life."
"She'd … she'd do that for us?" I asked.
"She doesn't know about Edward. She thinks it's to trade for Garrett's life. She'd do anything for him. I'm willing to negotiate for both. And God knows I hope that his safety will be ensured as part of the deal. I've already traveled to Chicago and spoken with Dr. March. He can't help us, and admittedly, he's in too deep to get out now. The only way is for the Volturi to call off any future experimentation, but I can't guarantee that will happen."
Carlisle pulled out his phone. "Yeah Garrett, she knows now," he said into the phone. "I'll be bringing her over soon. How's the patient?" Carlisle paused and glanced over at me. "I see."
"I want to talk to Edward," I told Carlisle, which he responded that Edward wasn't able to speak on the phone.
I had stood up and announced that I was ready to go then. I needed to get to Edward. Esme asked if I had hunted and offered to pack a thermos for me to take for being around Edward.
"Alice," Carlisle addressed her. "I have something important for you to do. There's a record of other patients. I want you to go through it and research how each recipient is doing today."
"I can do that, Carlisle," she responded as I followed Esme into the kitchen. I heard the rest chattering.
"Jasper and Emmett, I need you two on protection detail," I heard Carlisle continue. Then all I could think about was getting to Edward and holding him and hoping to hell it was enough to help him feel better than whatever shape I was going to find him in.
~AGH~
Carlisle insisted on driving me in his car. I followed him to the garage, noticing he carried a backpack and asking if Edward needed food or anything. Carlisle insisted he had everything that he needed. We sped away in Carlisle's black Mercedes until we reached what seemed like an abandoned warehouse. Carlisle pulled right up to the building's wall like he was about to drive through it, when he pushed a code into a keypad in his car that was hidden behind his car's stereo.
Jeeeeezus, who knew Carlisle had this James Bond shit going on?
Just as I thought we were about to drive into a brick wall, an entire garage-sized door appeared and opened, and next thing I knew we were speeding down a ramp and parking the car.
"Edward's here?"
"Yes Bella. Before we go any further, I need to know something. Are you and I okay now?" He gestured between us.
"I wish you would have just told me," I said to Carlisle. I wanted to be mad at him, but I also wanted to throw my arms around him and thank him for keeping Edward safe for me. "But knowing you, you did what you thought was best in your normal cautious manner." I sighed in defeat. "It's part of what makes you a good doctor. It's partly why I admire you as a mentor."
"Possibly." Carlisle smiled hesitantly.
"But I need to know that you are in this for Edward, for my sake. You've already kept us apart for too long."
"Like he was a member of the family," he confirmed apologetically before opening his car door. As mad as I was at him, that was the most comforting thing he could have said to me.
"Wait," I reached across and grabbed his arm before I could take any real comfort in his words. "When I thought he had left me and left town, Edward sent me a text that asked 'Why didn't you tell me?' I thought he found out what I am . . . who we are. Does he know we're monsters?"
"Not that I am aware of. Though I'd prefer you not refer to us as such," Carlisle chided.
"Then what does he think . . . "
"He thinks he was transported and is in the hospital, back in Chicago. His vitals aren't good. His heartbeat is very slow. He's weak, no matter what we've done to try to fortify him."
We exited the car, and I was ready to see Edward - but then what was his text about?
Inside the unsuspecting warehouse was a complete medical facility that I had no idea the Cullens owned.
"Leave your phone in here," Carlisle opened a cabinet in the wall of the first room we entered from the garage. "It's secure so you can't be tracked."
I deposited my phone, and he showed me the code to get the phone out later before leading me down a hall, where we were met by Garrett in a white coat and stethoscope.
"So we finally meet," Garrett said.
"Yeah, finally. I'm Bella," I said putting my hand out, which he shook with a firm grasp. Garrett was tall and solid with strands of dirty blond hair mixed into his shaggy brown hairstyle. He wore a mustache and scruff.
"I'm Garrett, but your boyfriend in there knows me as Dr. Davis." He smiled widely flashing his amber eyes.
"How are you okay around him? If you don't mind me asking . . ."
"Learned from the best," he replied, implying Carlisle. "Are you ready for this? Don't come off too strong, he's very disoriented. We've had to keep him a bit confused so he'd cooperate."
Of course I was ready. I was going to show them exactly how I affected Edward. I nodded an okay to Garrett and entered the room in a panic. It looked exactly like a real hospital room, and Edward laid on a hospital bed hooked up to a heart monitor. I rushed to his side, placing my cool hands on his forehead listening for the change in his very slow heartbeat.
But this time, there was no change.
"Edward," I called out to him out of my own distress, "It's me, Bella. Edward," I said again after he didn't respond. "Edward, I'm here. I'm here. Can you hear me?"
No response. I opened the gown he was in and examined his chest again. The raised scar over his heart was baffling. Definitely not long enough to be a regular heart transplant. "The venom worked?" I murmured to myself, but as I stood there with my hand to his heart, a painful realization occurred to me. I wasn't helping him like I had in days past. His heart wasn't reacting. His rate stayed the same.
"C'mon, Edward," I pleaded, rubbing my hand on his chest. "C'mon!" Fear and feeling distraught and vulnerable crept in. Was I too late? What had changed?
His body lay still and quiet except for the quiet sounds of his breathing that was drowned out by the heart monitor's beeping.
"Edward," I leaned down and kissed his lips. "Edward, I'm here, I'm so sorry this has all happened."
Carlisle entered the room. "What did you do to him?" I accused. "I'm not . . . . I mean my touch normally would help his heart and it's not working. What did you do to him?"
"He's mildly sedated, but I told you Bella, his body is rejecting the heart. The sedation is to keep him from overexerting his energy and overworking his heart. He's just too far gone for whatever spell you think you cast on him, but maybe it's just as well."
"It wasn't a spell, Carlisle, it was real." I watched Carlisle notate a few numbers on a clipboard then excuse himself from the room saying he needed to leave now.
"Did you want to stay here with him?" he asked.
"Of course," I answered. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be," I said, but as I said it, a hint of guilt over the time I had spent with Justin flashed through me. I had just left him a short while ago and now I was here with Edward. Justin was going to be my secret.
"Fine. There's a secure phone line out at the desk. Use it to call me if there are any changes."
Carlisle took one more look at Edward. "He should last the night." That was the last thing Carlisle said before leaving.
Oh how I wanted to crawl into that hospital bed with him. I pulled up a chair and sat beside him, holding his hand and placing the other hand over his heart, silently begging the monitor to begin showing improvement.
Hours went by sitting by his side wondering what would happen. How would he feel about being changed into one of us? How could I allow his life to be stolen from him like that? How could I live with myself if I allowed him to die?
Garrett entered the room with a metal bowl of rocks. "What's that for?" I asked bewildered.
"I want to try something. Put your hands on these," he directed. "The sedation should be wearing off soon."
I heeded his advice and realized the rocks were hot. "It'll warm your skin," he said then nodded his head toward Edward. I followed his gaze and immediately ran my warm fingers over his forehead, through his hair and then placed them over his heart.
A slight increase showed in the monitor.
"Get more!" I commanded with excitement. "Hotter. As hot as possible!"
Garrett left and returned with more hot rocks. I let my body absorb the heat and then quickly transferred it to Edward. His heartbeat picked up more. "That's it, Edward, come back to me," I cooed.
Garrett and I repeated the rocks for several more moments until Edward stirred, his heartbeat crawling along until it finally having reached an almost normal rate and rhythm.
"Edward?" I smoothed a hand over his face, cupping his chin.
His eyelids fluttered. "Fight, Edward, keep coming back to me. I'm here, Edward."
When his eyes fully opened, I watched him struggle to focus. Garrett had left the room quietly. "You're almost back. I'm here, keep fighting!"
With a start, Edward opened his eyes and zeroed in on me incredulously. "Bella!" he expressed with relief. At the sight of him, I cried. Vampires aren't supposed to cry, but my chest heaved like I was sobbing.
"I thought I'd lost you!" I said throwing my arms around him. "I didn't know if you'd know me or want to see me," I babbled. I pulled away from him. "How do you feel?"
"In a word? Terrible," he smiled.
My Edward was back.
~AGH~
~AGH~
A/N: All those times in chapters past we were mad at Carlisle-do we feel better now that
we know he did what he did to protect precious Edward?
Will it come down to a bitter fight - And will it be over Edward's life or Bella's heart?
What was Edward referring to in that text he sent Bella?