Chapter 14 - The Locket
Where the wild roses grow
~10~
She'd been a fool. Such a fool. Charles was right. Money shouldn't matter. There were more important things in this world than having a secure financial future. Love was one of them. She didn't want to marry Philip Stanhope. Who could stop her? Her father, God rest his soul, was no longer in this world. Her mother, she was basically a shell of her former self ever since Abby's pa had died. The only person who could stop her was herself.
Her mind thought of Charles. His lips on hers. How that had made her feel. A wave of warmth washed over her. Philip never gave her that feeling. Even with his dashing looks and his strong physique. She didn't think him as handsome as Charles. Nor was he as kind. As smart. As annoying maybe even. But most important of all, Charles was her friend. Philip was nothing more to her but the man she was suppose to marry.
Now she'd placed herself at a crossroad. Having to make a choice between following tradition and duty. Or following her heart. If Charles hadn't kissed her, would she even be contemplating this? A question she didn't want to answer as it frightened her. It was a scary decision. But if it was the right one, all would work out. She'd thought about it long enough now. A choice was going to be made.
Abby took a deep breath and entered her house where she knew Philip was already waiting for her return. He wasn't going to like this, but he couldn't force her go through with it. Surely there were enough and even better candidates for him to marry.
"Philip!" She shouted as she walked through the entrance hall.
It didn't take long for him to appear. He stood on the first floor, looking down over the railing of the steps.
"Dearest?"
Dearest. she'd always found it a bit weird when he called her that, they weren't even married yet. But since she'd kissed Charles in the church, even the sound of Philip's voice especially now that he was calling her lovey dovey names, made her feel sick to her stomach.
"We need to talk."
"How was your visit to the Church, Abigail darling?" Philip asked, blatantly ignoring her words, as he descended the stairs.
"It went well. It was nice to see Charles again." She answered truthfully.
"And what did the two of you discuss?" He arched an eyebrow as he halted a few feet before Abby.
A lump began to form in her throat. "That's between Charles and me."
Talking to him about Charles made Abby feel incredibly anxious. Her hands were sweaty and she couldn't stop fidgeting her fingers behind her back.
"Is it? Come now, it had to do with your father's grave, did it not?" Philip crossed his arms and cocked his head. "Surely that is not a secret between just the two of you?"
"I assure you, Philip. All is well, it was a small matter I had to take care of."
"Mmm,-"
There was a look in Philip's eyes that Abby hadn't noticed before. Something was going on, but what exactly? And why was he looking at her like that.
"There is something I don't quite understand. Why is it that Charles Coulton told me that his father needed to discuss matters on your late father's grave with you, when he isn't even in town?"
Abby blinked. She knew Charles had lied to Philip in order for her to come to the church as he'd figured Philip would never have let her go otherwise. It seemed Philip was already more than aware of the lie. Which wasn't her problem, she hadn't been the one to tell it.
"I don't know, Philip. I don't speak for Charles." Abby answered.
"Indeed." Philip replied, his face turning sour. "Whatever it had been about, it was the last time."
"The last time?"
"Yes. I don't want you to be near that man ever again. Do we understand each other?" His gaze was angry, his lips pressed in a thin tight line.
Clearly Charles had been right. Philip did see him as a threat and he indeed did want Charles out of her life. That was not going to happen. Not if she had a say in it. Which was exactly why she wanted this conversation with Philip. It was him who was going to be cut from her life. Not Charles.
"No."
Philip parted his mouth and arched his eyebrows. "No?"
"Philip Stanhope. I'm afraid this is where our paths shall go their separate ways. I apologise for not doing this sooner. I'm not going to marry you. The engagement is off."
With ease she slipped the ring Philip had given her a few years ago, off her finger and extended it towards him. He stared at it and then looked at her again. Before Abby realized it, Philip had raised his hand and smacked it hard against the side of her face. The ring flew from her hand and it the floor with a clang. Her cheek stung, as did her lip. She flicked out her tongue and tasted blood.
"Pick that up." Philip spat.
Abby narrowed her burning eyes. "No. It doesn't belong to me anymore."
"Pick it up, I said!" Philip wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pushed her to the ground.
He was incredibly strong. Something she knew of course, but never comprehended before. There had been no need for it. This wasn't the Philip she knew, this was somebody else. A cruel man, who wasn't used to hearing the word 'no'. His nails were digging into her skin. A cry escaped her. She tried to reach for his face or anything else so she could hurt him the same way he was hurting her.
She reached for the ring, clasped her fingers around it. It had been the smart move for Philip's hold on her neck loosened slightly.
"Good."
He shoved her down to the cold floor and stood back up, straightening his jacket and running a hand through his hair.
"Best we pretend this never happened. Just like I will pretend this has nothing to do with that Charles Coulton."
Port Angeles
She'd left a note behind in case Carlisle decided to come back while she was out. Out. Not gone. She'd contemplated following through with her plan. To finish packing her belongings, take a cab to Seattle and find a new destination from there. But she couldn't. Carlisle was right, despite the hurt and pain it would bring for his family, they were fated mates.
As he saw it, there were only two options. Accept and embrace it or deny and ignore it. With the latter death was eminent. He had made it sound so easy. But were these really their only choices? During the last three-hundred years they had managed to live and survive without ever even knowing the other was still alive. Why would now make any difference?
Still Carlisle was so certain. So confident. She might have been the one who remembered him and their mortal past, yet she was the one showing doubt and resistance to the idea of being together. Whereas Carlisle did not remember her except for how she made him feel and he was committed to her already.
What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she just stand up and say, yes, she deserved this. That she deserved to be with the man she'd loved ever since she was but a little girl. She'd already ignored the threat Alice Cullen had given her and look where that had brought her. Quite ironic for one of her kind to be getting cold feet.
Ada let out a deep groan of frustration and plopped down on one of the rock near Ediz Hook. It was quiet at this time of night, nothing but the seagulls calling out and the waves crashing.
Or so she thought.
It was a slight familiar scent, one she had encountered once before. It caught her by surprise. But knowing the person who the scent belonged to, they probably had a reason, yet again, for visiting her.
Alice Cullen halted on the road and walked up to her in a slow pace. When she reached the rocks, she hopped on them one by one until she was directly next to Ada.
"Hello." She said with a smile. "You're surprised to see me."
The girl was stating the obvious, was the look on Ada's face that transparent? She turned her head away from Alice to stare at the darkness of the ocean. Not saying a word.
"I,- uh," Alice cleared her throat. "I owe you an apology."
Ada frowned. That was a surprise indeed.
Alice sat down on the rock next to her, her golden eyes practically begging Ada to look her way. The older vampire threw her head back, looked up for a couple of seconds before eventually turning to Alice.
"I'm listening."
A smile emerged on the shorthaired girl's face. "Thank you. It's two apologies actually. One for yesterday, or is it two days ago already?" She averted her gaze, but then shook her head. "Never mind, one for when I popped in for a visit unannounced and the other for not being there when you visited our house."
The first apology was one she had expected, but the other not so much.
"I'm not sure what to make of that." Ada admitted.
"Well, it was rude of me not to be there. But it was not because of you, I had to be elsewhere. Meeting up with an old friend." Alice explained. "That being said, I feel more guilty about the other thing."
"The one where you threatened me?"
"Oh, that was suppose to be seen as a threat. I had meant what I said. Albeit not in the best way. I should have elaborated more as to why I didn't want you to visit us."
Was Ada going crazy? It had not been a threat? Had the girl not said 'but between you and me, I think it's best if you don't accept?' How should she have interpreted that? As a piece of well-meant advice?
It was a mystery why she'd even come here in the first place. Just to apologies? Had Carlisle already talked to her? That sounded a bit improbably as he hadn't left that long ago, not even half an hour had passed yet.
"How did you know I was here?" Ada asked out of sheer curiosity. "Did you pick up on my scent?"
"Not immediately. I wasn't entirely sure where you were, only that it was somewhere near the water. Then I saw the note you left for Carlisle,-"
Ada stared at Alice with wide eyes. She had been at her house again. Understandably considering she'd come looking for her, but to hear she'd actually been inside her house.
"Bloody hell, you are quite something." Ada huffed.
"Maybe I owe you three apologies?" Alice smiled quite innocently, though oddly enough sounded sincere.
"Why are you here, Alice Cullen? I know you said to apologize, but you are dragging this quite a bit."
"You're right. Sorry." The girl said and she folded her hands in her lap as she sat crossed legged on the rock. "I told you not to accept the invite because I wanted you and Carlisle to be alone when you made the discovery."
"I'm sorry?" What on Earth was she talking about?
"Oh, they didn't tell you about my powers, did they?"
Oh, dear Lord. Not another one. Edward a mind reader, Jasper and empath and he capable of altering emotions, and now Alice was gifted too. What other secrets did Carlisle's coven hold?
"I'm completely in the dark." Ada replied and she meant it.
"I get visions. About the future. Sometimes they're a hundred percent accurate and sometimes they change. It all depends on who I'm watching and choices that are made. When I came to your house, it was because I needed figure out more because of a vision I'd had.
Premonitions. There were many gifts their kind got granted with after turning, but Alice's gift was a powerful one indeed. And not only that, Alice had seen something about her and Carlisle. Something significant enough which had caused her to drop by unannounced two days ago. Ada remembered Esme mentioning something about how her daughter handled things in a certain way, was this what she'd meant?
"Visions?" Ada repeated.
"Yes. I don't always understand them immediately. I tend to go with my gut and I realized that I handled this wrong. I meddled with something that didn't need meddling."
"Did your coven send you here?" The older vampire asked with a frown.
But Alice shook her head. "No, but I know what happened. If I had seen it on time I would have done something about it. Things kept on changing and,-"
"Alice..."
"Sorry, I tend to blab." The brunette replied.
"What exactly did you see? You mentioned that Carlisle and me should have been alone when making the discovery?"
"Mmm, not exactly should have. But it would have been easier. For everybody else. Because now they all got to see up close the effect you two have on each other and that you both are each other's fated,-"
Ada suddenly stood up causing Alice to stop. The girl really had a way with words, and Ada should have expected it to come out the way it did, as honesty was something that always happened around her.
"Wait, what I meant was,- well, I meant that actually, but what I'm trying to say is that..."
"You don't have to explain yourself, Alice." Ada told the girl.
"No, I do. I made you feel unwelcome, as did the others. You did nothing wrong, Ada. This was destiny. No matter how it would have happened, you and Carlisle would have figured out your connection at some point. You belong together and I'm here now because,-" She paused and clasped her hands in front of her mouth. Her eyes widened.
Ada stared at her for a few seconds, the girl stood there staring dead ahead. Some sort of trance? Then she blinked and the lifeless expression disappeared from her face.
"Alice?"
"I see a necklace." She said softly.
"A necklace?"
Alice nodded. "Silver, with some sort of,- Where have I seen this before?"
Abruptly she turned around and darted off into the darkness. Ada stared into the distance. What had just happened?
The Cullen residence, Forks.
This was probably one of the most difficult talks he was ever going to have in his lifetime. He was used to having heavy conversations with people, being a doctor and all. Talk of death, an incurable illness, the loss of a loved one. He'd done them all. But this one topped them all as it meant hurting someone who Carlisle had thought was the one for him. His significant other for however long he was going to live.
But neither of them had ever considered this might happen to one of them. To find your destined mate. At least he had never thought it would happen to him. After all, he had been around for three centuries. But not Esme. Esme hadn't been immortal as long as he had. If any of them had a chance of encountering their life mate, statistically it should have been her. Right?
Great, he was making excuses now. He had to talk to her about what he found out. Who Ada was and how long they'd apparently known each other. Only he didn't. He didn't really know her, but he also did. It was hard to explain. It infuriated him immensely. Carlisle ran his hands through his hair and cradled his head for a couple of seconds. This would be so much easier if only he knew everything.
"Carlisle?" Esme's voice sounded merely a couple of feet away. How had he missed her walking up to him?
Carlisle turned around and looked at her disheartened face.
"I've sent the kids away." She said as she stepped closer. "How did it go? Did you find her?"
There was no doubt he'd found her and Carlisle was certain Esme could detect Ada's scent on him. But Esme was always polite in that sense. Never making assumptions, always trusting the other person to be truthful to her.
"I found her. Followed her scent all the way to Port Angeles. To her house."
"Thank goodness. How,- how was she?"
Though Esme's concern about Ada's wellbeing was a true one, she now felt a different type of worry coming to the surface. One that had to do with herself and the man in front of her.
"She was, she was busy packing."
Esme arched her brow. "Packing?"
"There were bags, clothes, shoes. She was getting ready to leave." Carlisle added.
"Where is she now?" The brunette frowned.
"Where I left her. She promised not to leave. I,- I convinced her not to."
The thought of Ada possibly leaving flashed through his mind again. She might have made some sort of promise that she wasn't going to run, but how could he be sure? The longer he was away, the bigger the fear. Every fibre in his being was screaming at him, telling him to go back and check on her. Just in case. They may have a history together, she may be his destined mate, but there wasn't enough trust yet to say with absolute certainty that she would be there when he'd go back.
Esme nodded and she licked her lips. "Was it true what Edward said then? Does she remember you?"
Carlisle let out a deep sigh as he looked at her. "Yes. She remembers me."
"And you?" Esme added. "Do you remember her?"
A simple question but the answer was so much more complex. Still, he was going to answer it truthfully as he would every question she was to ask him. Everything was about to change between them.
"We were loved ones. When,- when we were mortal." He eyed her carefully as Esme let those words sink in.
"Mortal?" She mouthed.
"Yes."
"It all adds up, doesn't it?" Esme said. "The age. The country." She suddenly paused and frowned. "You grew up together?"
"I, I don't know, Esme." He answered. "I can't remember any detail."
With a low growl he turned away from her and walked to the edge of the porch. He wished he could tell her more. Why couldn't he remember anything specific besides feelings? There must be a logical explanation. Yes, in time your mortal memories fade away. But he didn't want to believe it that it was this severe with him. Not when Ada seemed to remember so much more than he did. Maybe he needed to talk to somebody else who had been around for as long as he had, how much they actually remembered from their mortal life.
"What did she tell you?"
"Nothing." Carlisle sighed.
"Nothing?"
He ran a hand through his blond hair and leaned his back against one of the porch columns. "Not much, Esme. She confirmed a few things. Mentioned a place called Hadleigh. That did ring a bell. She kept pushing me away."
Carlisle made his hands into fists. Esme could see a huge amount of frustration building up within him.
"If she remembered you, why didn't she come to you sooner?"
"She didn't know I still existed, not until this week. She thought me dead all this time."
Esme's eyes widened. "Dead?"
"Imagine believing the person you love to be dead and then three hundred years later he stands right in front of you. She couldn't believe it at first, wasn't certain until tonight. And then she saw our house. The children...and us." Carlisle shook his head. "That's why she was packing her bags when I arrived at her house tonight."
Esme wasn't sure how to feel. After all, she was the one who'd gone and invite Ada into her house. Part of her realizing the possible consequences of that decision, but she never had imagined this being the result. Carlisle's intense reaction to sensing her scent on Charlie Swan, his mind constantly wandering back to the woman. Alice warning Ada not to come by. She had known something was up, hadn't she?
"So what now, Carlisle?" Esme placed a hand on his arm and searched his eyes. "What does this mean for us? You said you made her promise not to leave."
That alone told Esme so much. Carlisle had showed how he felt about Ada, despite not remembering almost anything about her.
Her husband pressed his lips in a tight line as he looked at her hand. Neither of them were able to shed a single tear, but if they could, this would be one of those moments. Carlisle reached for both of her hands with his and held them together tightly.
"I will never be able to let her go, Esme. She's my life mate. I do love you and care for you. I always have and I always will. But this,- this isn't the same."
It was the most God honest truth. Even Ada might have said, out of sight out of mind, but that's not how it worked with their kind. A fated mate meant you were done for. A destined love that only death could part.
"I understand." Esme pressed herself against Carlisle and waited for him to slip his arms around her, which he did. "I wish I didn't. But if it were me instead of you,-"
She didn't finish her sentence as Carlisle hugged her tighter, whispering a thank you against her hair. Esme cursed herself in that moment. She'd meant what she said. If it were the other way around, she could only wish and hope Carlisle would have given her the same love and understanding in return. That of course didn't take away the pain she was feeling or the hurt she felt in her heart.
"Carlisle!" Alice's voice was coming from the trees, interrupting what felt like a final moment between Esme and Carlisle.
The short haired girl appeared from out of the woods and skidded to a halt next to the porch. Esme had sent all of the kids away, though she hadn't seen Alice when she'd talked to the others, but she was certain Jasper would have passed the message along. Unless something was wrong?
"Alice, what are you doing here?" She asked her daughter. "Is everything alright?"
Alice waved her hand. "I'm fine. I went to see Ada."
Both Carlisle and Esme observed their daughter with confusion. Esme more so than Carlisle, who looked quite upset at the news. The last thing he needed was another one of his children going up to Ada without a warning. He didn't want a repeat of how Edward and the others had treated her.
"You better have a good reason for that, Alice dear." He told her firmly, though his expression spoke volumes.
"She's alright, Carlisle. I didn't scare her away or anything. I went to apologize for tonight and for the other night and,-" She stopped and reached for something in her pocket. "I've got something for you."
Esme and Carlisle exchanged glances with each other. What was going on exactly? Esme shrugged, just as equally surprised with Alice's behaviour.
"Here. I think this belongs to you, Carlisle." Alice extended her hand towards her surrogate parents.
She moved her fingers and in the palm of her hand was a necklace. A chain with a silver locket. Carlisle frowned and took it from. A piece of jewellery wasn't what he was expecting to get from her.
"Where did you get this?" He asked her.
"Do you recognize it?" She asked in return. Her voice rather excited and hopeful.
Carlisle held the necklace up to the sky. Then back down again when he caught an engraving on the back.
Never forget, ~A~
As if on instinct he pried the locket open and stared down at two small painted portraits inside of it. A boy and a girl, or man and woman. He couldn't really tell with the cracks in the paint. But then he felt it. A jolt of electricity. A tug in his gut and a shot through his heart. He stumbled back and nearly tumbled off the porch. The boy in the painting was him and the other one...the girl. It was Ada.
No...
Not Ada.
He closed the locket and turned it around to read the engraving again. She'd given it to him for his birthday. In Hadleigh. A present for his sixteenth birthday. A gift for somebody you like. Oh how she had denied it.
"Abby..."
It was a faint whisper, but he was certain. Abby. His Abby. Carlisle clasped his hand around the locket and pressed it against his lips. He remembered her name.
Carlisle looked at Alice. His daughter. Then his eyes moved to Esme. Who gave him a nod. She understood what was going on. It had been a night full of emotions, but it wasn't over yet. He had to go back to Ada. No...
Abby.
And that's it for this chapter. Carlisle remembers (well, her name at least).
Alice was a big help for this one. And don't you all worry about Esme. She will get a happy ending. This won't be a Greek tragedy tale.
Would love to hear your thoughts :) please r/r
Until next time.