A/N:
What's your favorite 90s to 00s memory?
Mine was the millennium shift. As a child, I didn't quite understand how big of an event the shifting of a millennium is, but now I do, and I'm happy I got to experience through the innocence of a child's eyes :)
Title: Origins: Living in my Future
Author: MarieCarro
Beta: Alice's White Rabbit
Pre-reader: BitterHarpy and brierlynn03
Genre: Supernatural/Mystery
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Mary Alice Brandon had always been different. She seemed to know things that had yet to happen, and the people in town avoided her at all costs. But the cries of 'Witch' or whispers of 'Changeling' wasn't her biggest concern. Someone much closer to her than the townsfolk couldn't accept her differences, and it put her in life-threatening danger.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
CHAPTER 34
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16th 1998 – FRIDAY, AUGUST 1st 2003
I carefully hid the newspaper behind my back as I approached the open door to Emmett's and Rosalie's room in our new house in Alaska. We'd just moved in, and everyone was still occupied with unpacking. Tomorrow, Jasper and I would finally meet the other vegetarian family considered to be our cousins, and I was beyond excited to get to know them.
But first, I had to speak with Emmett about something I wasn't certain he'd want to know, but I still wanted him to have the option.
"Emmett?" He looked up from the boxes he was bent over. "If I had news about your human family, you'd like to know, right?"
"My human family?" His tone was both surprised and cautious, which was understandable. He had barely mentioned them since he secured their financial future shortly after his transformation, and that was fifteen years before Jasper and I joined them.
It hadn't been my explicit intention to look them up for the purpose of telling him. I had simply been overcome with the desire to learn more about my own past now that we had access to such advanced technology compared to when I gave up the search all those decades ago. But then, as I had all of that potential at my fingertips, I'd been frightened of what I could possibly find and decided to head into safer waters instead.
That was when I found the news about Emmett's little sister. The one he'd compared me to when we first met; Beatrice McCarty.
"Depends on the news, I guess. Is it something I would want to know, or something I could live without knowing?" Emmett asked, and I shrugged.
"Naturally, you could live without knowing it, but I thought it would be fun for you."
He relaxed when he understood I wasn't about to deliver the news of a horrible tragedy. "Okay, so who is it about?"
I pulled the newspaper from behind my back and gave it to him, folded perfectly to display the photo of an elderly Beatrice, now bearing her married last name, with her granddaughter in her arms and her daughter standing behind them. The article revealed that Beatrice had not only achieved success, but she'd paved the way for other women in Gatlinburg by becoming the city's first female mayor. Now retired, she was happy to play the role of proud grandmother.
"Well, I'll be damned," Emmett said as he looked at the picture and read the caption. "Mayor, huh?" He looked up to meet my eyes, and I smiled widely at him.
"Yeah, and the first female one in Gatlinburg, at that," I said with excitement, revealing the contents of the article within the paper.
"Really?" His eyes swept over the image and settled on the tiny baby girl in his sister's arms. "And she's a grandmother now, too."
"Your grandniece," I said to remind him they were his blood relatives and not just hazy memories in his past. "They gave her a beautiful name, don't you think? Doesn't it mean 'fair' in Gaelic?"
Emmett snorted. "I have no idea. I never learned the language, but Mama's name was Fiona, so they most likely named the baby after her."
I smiled. "That's nice."
"It really is. It feels good knowing the money I left made a real difference."
"It did more than just make a difference," I said and reminisced about the time I'd explored how deep I could go into my visions and everything I'd seen. It had scared me when I lost track of time, but it had also allowed me to get to know every member of my family on a deeply intimate level that made me feel like I was truly with them at that moment. "It saved their lives."
"How do you know?"
"I saw it," I said casually, then realized it wasn't perhaps the type of omniscience he'd imagined when he learned I'd basically kept tabs on them. I gave him a guilty smile. "I told you I saw all of you before Jasper and I joined the family."
"Yeah, but I didn't know you looked that closely."
"I didn't." I hurried to reassure him. "But it was a big decision on your part, and while you contemplated it, I saw both outcomes. If you hadn't left that money, it would have started a chain of events that would have caused your family to first have their house taken away. They'd have to live in shelters and on the streets. Eventually … well ..." I trailed off since Emmett could easily figure out how it would have ended.
The mood had turned gloomy, so I quickly changed the subject. "I also have it on good authority that Beatrice named her daughter after you," I said and pointed back at the caption under the photo where Beatrice's daughter's name was written out.
Emmy.
It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out from where she'd gotten the name.
"Shut up, you little imp, or you'll make me cry," Emmett said, exaggerating with a tearful grimace, and I wrapped my arms around his large middle with a small laugh. "Thank you for this," he said.
"You're welcome."
{=LMF=}
Tanya offered her hand for me to shake with a friendly smile, but I didn't accept it for a normal handshake. Instead, I clasped it with both of my hands and squeezed lightly. "I'm so excited to finally meet you. All of you." I looked at the rest of her family behind her. "Even though this is the first time we've seen each other, I feel like I already know you."
The three fair sisters exchanged looks before fully relaxing and embracing me and Jasper, who was standing right beside me, talking with Eleazar and Emmett.
"While none of us possess your kind of gift, we feel the same," Tanya said. "We all wanted to attend your wedding, but we understood your reasoning." She turned to look at Jasper with sympathy shining in her eyes, much the same way Carlisle had looked at him in the beginning. It wasn't pity, but rather a deeper understanding of the struggle he'd gone through.
He definitely felt both her eyes on him and her emotions, and he gave her a short, appreciative nod in response.
Carmen left her mate's side and came up to me with a kind and warm expression. Just as I had seen in my visions, she was a lot like Esme and possessed the same maternal energy. "I have something I would like to show you," she said, her Spanish accent very faint but still there.
I was tempted to immediately look into the future to see what she wanted to show me because I was impatient when it came to surprises, but when I was interrupted by another quick vision, I disregarded my own eagerness.
"Jazz," I said to gain his attention, and he immediately looked at me. "Jenks will call you in ten seconds to tell you our papers are ready."
He immediately reached into his pocket and pulled out the small, black mobile phone he carried specifically to deal with our family's legal matters. Jason Jenks a.k.a. Jason Scott, our previous attorney's curious intern, was the only person who had his number, so the device was mostly silent—unlike Carlisle's, which was always ringing or notifying him of a page from the hospital—but in this hyper-modern decade where everything was always evolving to become faster and faster as we approached the millennial shift, it had become essential for him to be easily accessible to Jenks.
When the phone started to ring, it was already up to his ear.
I turned back to Carmen, and she led me farther into the house until we reached a hallway closet.
"When you had to leave Calgary so quickly because of your mate's creator, Esme gave us a call once you'd settled in your new place. She let us know you had to leave a lot behind, including some very sentimental items." Carmen opened the closet and pulled out a familiar garment bag.
It was so rare for me to be truly surprised, so whenever it happened, I was always rendered speechless.
I reached out to unzip it and reverently touched the pristine white satin. It was as perfect as it had been forty-seven years ago, and I could barely believe it was in front of me.
"You went to Calgary to get my dress?" It was a dumb question since I was literally looking at it, but it simply felt surreal.
Carmen nodded. "Yes. We all went there and gathered what she wanted us to store for you, and she mentioned it was particularly hard for you to part with this."
"Thank you," I said, unable to word how grateful I was. My eyes burned without blurring or tearing up, but inside, I was crying rivers filled with so many emotions it felt as if I'd burst.
That was when Jasper found me, smelling fresh of pine and white spruce as if he'd been outside.
"Alice, are you okay?" he asked, but I couldn't get the words out to answer him.
Carmen hung the dress back and gave me a hug, then maternally cupped my cheek. "I believe your little mate is just a bit overcome with emotions at the moment," she said and gestured for him to come and take her place. Then, she left us alone.
"What's wrong, darlin'?"
I shook my head. "Nothing," I said, finally assuaging his worries. I gestured toward the dress in the closet and when he recognized it, his concern morphed into a happy smile.
"Oh, my sweet Alice," he said and pulled me into his arms, kissing the top of my head. "I just have to close my eyes, and I can see you on our weddin' day. You were the most beautiful bride that's ever been."
"I shouldn't be so attached to a dress," I said. "My memories of that day are as clear as they've always been, and yet, looking at it now, it feels more real somehow."
Jasper stepped away from our embrace and took a hold of both my hands in his. "You should never have had to part with it. I always knew how important it was to you." He smiled and raised our clasped hands so he could kiss my knuckles. "Which is why I asked Esme to reach out and ask if they were willin' to fetch it for you."
"You did that?" I asked, my voice barely audible even for vampires. "Why didn't you tell me?"
His smile turned apologetic. "Weeks had passed before we'd settled in the house in Maine. I wasn't certain whether our landlord in Calgary had already had people clean out the house and sold everythin'. I didn't want to get your hopes up if that was the case. I'm sorry."
I shook my head before jumping up so I could properly kiss him. "Don't be," I said. "I love you so much. I couldn't even have imagined a more perfect man for me than you even if I'd tried."
{=LMF=}
"Forks? You want us to move to a town named after a utensil?" Rosalie asked and grimaced at me with disdain.
"I don't care what the town is called, Rose," I said. "It's perfect for us. Most days are supposed to be overcast, and even though it's small, it has a school for us and even a local hospital for Carlisle."
Edward hummed in agreement next to Carlisle. "It does appear rather perfect. And it's been almost seventy years since we lived in Washington State, so we know the chances of recognition are slim." But then he narrowed his eyes and looked at me with suspicion. "Why Forks though? What's so special about that town?"
I met his mistrusting stare with a small smile. "I couldn't even tell you if I wanted to, so poke around my head all you want, brother. All I know is that Forks is where my visions are leading us." I turned to Esme and offered her a printed ad of a mansion on the outskirts of town. "It's been standing empty on the property for longer than the town's existed, and it's stated in the ad it needs quite a lot of work, but it's a good size for us, and it's surrounded by forest. Even the driveway is miles long, so we definitely won't be disturbed by curious townies."
"Oh, it must've been stunning in its day," Esme said and looked at the picture with excitement and joy. "And it definitely has the potential."
Carlisle smiled and nodded. "That's settled then. Our next home shall be in Forks."
{=LMF=}
"Carlisle, wasn't it around these parts we encountered the wolves?" Emmett asked as we toured around our new property.
Jasper immediately turned to Carlisle with genuine fear in his eyes. "Wolves? What wolves?"
"Last time we lived in Washington State, we encountered a small pack of werewolves who came from the local native tribe—the Quileutes," Carlisle said in his usual matter-of-fact tone, but it only served to put my husband even more on edge.
"Werewolves? The real deal with the full moon and their immunity to our venom?" he asked and pulled me close to his side while scanning the area around us. It was rare, even for me, to see Jasper truly afraid of something, but at that moment, I was more concerned with the fact I hadn't seen anything about any sort of wolf encounter during their residence in Hoquiam.
"No, not real werewolves in that sense," Carlisle quickly stated. "These actually look like wolves. I think shape-shifter is a more accurate name for them, but they see themselves as werewolves, even though they're not nearly as dangerous to us."
I felt Jasper relax a little, but he still remained mostly tense.
"Was this when you lived in Hoquiam?" I asked even though I knew it was since that was the last time they'd lived in Washington State.
"Yes, why?"
"It's just strange," I said. "I never had a vision of this encounter."
Emmett shrugged, unbothered as usual. "Maybe it wasn't a life and death situation, and it wouldn't have affected your future in any way. They were pretty tame."
I doubted that was the reason, but I appeased him anyway. "Yeah, maybe."
"We went into a treaty with them," Carlisle said. "They were very civilized and cooperated well enough. The spot where we met is on the other side of town."
"So why are we here? If we have known enemies here, why did we move to Forks?" Jasper asked, and his frustration was understandable. It wasn't exactly the most strategically sound situation we now found ourselves in.
"It was sixty-six years ago," Carlisle said. "I've never heard of immortal shape-shifters, and that means the wolves we met are most likely dead by now. The tribe used to take care of the entire forest around town, but now, they only have a small reservation called La Push. As long as we stay away from there, I think we're as safe as we can be."
Jasper's hand in mine tightened, and he stared our chosen leader down while shaking his head in disagreement. "That doesn't answer my question. Why did you agree on this place when you knew it could be dangerous?"
"The Northern Peninsula is one of the cloudiest and wettest places in America. If there's ever a place where I believe we can live a life as normal as possible, then it would be here."
I stepped in before the argument could get worse. "Please, Jazz. I didn't see any dangers when I had visions of this place. Carlisle's probably right, and the wolves are most likely dead since far back." I entwined our fingers and raised our hands to hold them up between us. "There's something special about this place. I don't know what yet, but I don't want to miss my chance to find out either."
"And we've already bought the house and enrolled in the school. We can't just up and leave now," Rosalie said.
A mere second before the sound of an engine alerted us all to the approach of a car, I saw the uniform of the man behind the wheel.
"A man," Edward said. "But I don't know who. His thoughts are very obscured."
"The Chief of Police," I clarified. "His name is Charles Swan, and he's here to welcome us to the town." As I said his name, I was struck with an odd sense of familiarity even though I had no idea who he was.
Chief Charles Swan was in his early forties. His hair was dark and curly while his eyes were a warm, chocolate brown. He was tall, almost as tall as Jasper, and he held himself like a man who was very proud of his profession.
"Can I help you with something, Officer?" Carlisle called out as loud as a human would have as Charles walked over to our group.
"Dr. Cullen, I assume," he said once Carlisle had offered his hand to shake. "I'm Chief Charlie Swan, and I just wanted to welcome you to our town and formally introduce myself."
"Pleased to meet you," Carlisle said politely and turned to introduce all of us. "This is my wife, Esme."
Esme smiled at Charlie, whose cheeks immediately flamed red. His scent intensified, and we could all smell it, so I knew the desire for the man's blood hit Jasper from several directions, and he tensed up.
There were no visions, so I knew he wouldn't attack, but I still placed a soft hand on his arm to remind him I was there and that he was strong enough to fight his instincts.
Carlisle hadn't even faltered in his introductions. "And the others are our kids. Adopted, of course, but we still see them as our children."
Charlie nodded at us, still cautious but pleased with what he'd seen. "Well, I need to head back to the station, but as I said, I wanted to welcome you to Forks, and I hope you'll like our small town," he said.
"Absolutely. Thank you so much, Chief Swan. I'm sure we'll find Forks very pleasant," Carlisle said with a friendly smile.
A/N:
Oop! We've arrived in Forks!
Tomorrow's THE day! The day that my origin stories merge into the canon saga :D
Until then,
Stay Awesome!