Family Meeting Part I
The family, including Bella, had just sat down at the Cullen's dining room table. Bella was sitting between Jasper and Alice on one side, with Emmett, Rosalie, and Esme opposite them. Carlisle was at the head of the table, and Edward was standing to his side, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
His mouth was turned down in a petulant frown that Jasper honestly just wanted to punch right off his face.
Jasper hadn't spoken a word to Edward since Volterra. He was afraid of what might come out if he so much as opened his mouth.
If the circumstances were different, he'd have been thrilled his 'brother' had walked out with his life.
But the circumstances weren't different.
His self-absorbed, arrogant, immature, angst-ridden shit of a 'brother' had not only caused the entire family immeasurable pain, but he'd put both Alice and Bella at risk because he was too fucking stubborn to listen to reason.
So no. Jasper wasn't all that thrilled that Edward had walked out with his life. And if he didn't have so much love and respect for Carlisle and Esme, he would've lit his ass on fire before now.
"Thank you all for being here," Carlisle started. "Bella has asked for this meeting to discuss some of the events that occurred in Volterra. Bella?"
"Look, I don't think—" Edward started before being abruptly cut off by Rosalie.
"That's the whole problem, Edward, you didn't think. You didn't think Alice should be given five damn seconds to explain her vision. You didn't think about the fact that you'd be breaking Carlisle and Esme's hearts. You didn't think that walking into Volterra and giving Aro your fucking hand while you beg for an unnecessary death meant a death sentence not just for you but for this entire family. Just like always, you didn't think about anyone but yourself."
When Edward bared his teeth at Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper both let out low warning growls.
Carlisle sighed and turned to look at Edward. "Edward, you have created the bed we are now laying in. You may not like what the other members of this family have to say but you will hear them out," he said firmly before turning and looking at the others. "I know emotions are high and tempers are probably short, but I believe everyone in this room deserves to be heard. All I ask is that we try to stay calm."
Everyone nodded their agreement, though Edward did so while scowling.
Esme looked at him in silence for a moment before speaking. "I think sometimes in order to know how to move forward, it's necessary to look backwards first. We don't even know where you've been for most of the past seven months, Edward. So perhaps we could start there."
"I've been tracking Victoria," Edward said with a sigh.
Alice, Jasper, Bella, Rosalie, and Emmett all glanced at each other.
"And how's that workin' out for you?" Jasper asked with a smirk.
Edward scowled at him. "I think I almost caught up with her a few weeks ago, but…" he trailed off when Bella and his 'siblings' burst out laughing.
"I don't think tracking is your calling, bro," Emmett told him with a wide grin.
"What is so funny about me wanting to protect Bella?" Edward growled.
Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Bella was always protected, asshole. Haven't you seen this in our thoughts you've no doubt been pillaging?"
"No, I can't hear the four of you right now," he admitted grudgingly. "I haven't been able to hear Alice or Jasper since Italy, and you and Emmett have been silent since you walked in."
"Oh good, it worked!" Bella smiled, and everyone but Alice and Jasper looked at her in shock.
"That's you?" Edward asked incredulously, making her smile dim slightly.
"Don't look so surprised, Edward. I'm not just a pretty face."
Rosalie and Alice laughed while Jasper sent Bella all the pride he was feeling. She shot him a wink and her own feelings of relief. She hadn't been sure it would actually work when she needed it to. And the fact that she'd been shielding both Alice and Jasper was a surprise. She hadn't made a conscious decision to shield Jasper in Italy.
"How are you doing that?" Edward snapped.
"Watch your tone, Edward," Esme warned him. When he nodded contritely, she looked at Bella. "I would like to hear more about that, sweetheart, but could we go back to Victoria for a moment?"
Bella nodded. "Of course. Although there's not much to go back to, honestly. Victoria's dead. Has been for months," she explained with a shrug.
"Dead? That's not possible, I was on her trail less than a month ago," Edward insisted, making Emmett laugh again.
"Like I said, tracking is not your calling."
"Will one of you please just explain?" Edward demanded through gritted teeth.
Alice was the one who answered him. "Victoria is dead, Edward. Bella is telling the truth."
"How can you be so sure?" he challenged.
Alice glared at Edward, her eyes hard. "How can I be sure? How can I be sure? First off, let's go with the fact that I'd seen visions of the woman, and I do understand my visions, unlike some. Second, I can be sure because I'm the one who took her head off while Jasper had her pinned to the forest floor. And, dear brother, Victoria has been dead for months, so you've been tracking a ghost, you pompous little shit."
Edward just stared at Alice with his mouth hanging open for a moment, surprised not just by that news but by Alice's obvious anger at him. "You and Jasper killed Victoria?"
"And the wolves. Yes," Alice nodded.
"Why?" Edward asked.
Jasper just barely kept himself from lunging for the boy. "Why do you think? Same reason you were 'tracking' her," Jasper said, using air quotes just to really drill home the point that the telepath was an abysmal tracker. "To protect Bella."
"And you needed the dogs to help?" Edward sneered.
"Watch your mouth," Alice and Jasper snapped at the same time, making Bella smile, both at how in sync they were and at their defense of the wolves.
Carlisle jumped in at that point. "The tribe has a new pack?" he asked. "We should probably ask for a meeting with the Chief, just to reinforce the treaty."
Alice and Jasper exchanged a quick glance. "The elders informed the current Alpha about the treaty when he phased for the first time. It has been explained to all the wolves," Jasper told him.
"Is there anything we need to be made aware of?" Carlisle asked, catching the look between the two.
Both Alice and Jasper looked a little unsure of what to say, but Bella, Rosalie, and Emmett just smiled.
"Well, when Alice and Jasper were on the Reserv—"
Bella was cut off by both Edward and Carlisle shouting "What?" at the same time - Edward in sneering disbelief, Carlisle in surprised worry.
Bella dissolved in a fit of giggles at that point. Alice started laughing with her, and Jasper rolled his eyes but couldn't hide his smile.
"They were invited," Bella clarified through her laughter. "Oh man, your faces! That was just as funny as I thought it would be."
Edward was scowling, while Carlisle just looked shocked.
"The two of you were… invited to the Reservation?" Carlisle asked.
Alice nodded. "After Victoria was killed," she explained, shooting the telepath a glare. "We worked with the wolves so the elders allowed us to come to a celebratory bonfire."
"And they let you go to the cliff diving cliffs," Bella reminded them.
While Carlisle and Edward both seemed frozen in shock, Esme was giving Alice and Jasper a beaming smile, her pride in the two clear on her face.
Carlisle cleared his throat. "Well. It seems like a lot of things have happened that we were unaware of. Perhaps you could catch the rest of us up."
Jasper and Alice both nodded, and for the next hour, the two of them and Bella filled them in on the events of the past seven months.
"Is that what you were referring to earlier when you said you understood your own visions?" Esme asked, after Alice explained how the wolves affected her gift.
Alice gave her 'brother' another hard glare. "Yes. And if someone had given me the opportunity to explain, none of this mess would have happened."
Esme nodded. She'd been wondering what Alice and Jasper had kept back that would account for Edward misinterpreting a vision.
"Alice, a quick question before we turn our attention elsewhere," Esme started, giving her telepathic 'son' a look. "Why was it that you didn't explain that piece to us when you told us Edward had seen your vision?"
Any attempt Alice might have made to look innocent was broken completely when Jasper started laughing.
"It was so Bella could have that moment, wasn't it?" he asked. "You wanted her to be the one to do the big reveal about the wolves and the Reservation? So she could shock everyone?"
"And it was so worth it!" Alice said through her giggles.
"Thanks for letting me have that one, Ali," Bella laughed. "I've never heard Carlisle so much as raise his voice before, so hearing him shout was a fun surprise."
Carlisle gave her an amused smile. "I'm the head of a coven of seven vampires and now one human. It may have been the first time you heard me shout, but I think it's safe to assume it won't be the last."
Bella gave him her own smile, grateful that he included her among his coven.
"Edward."
Esme's sharp tone pulled everyone's attention back to the telepath, who was scowling at Carlisle, his eyes a shade darker than they'd been. Jasper could feel the boy's anger and irritation. Seems he didn't like Carlisle claiming Bella as one of his own.
After a moment, Edward dragged his eyes away from Carlisle and looked at the matriarch of the family. "Yes, Esme?"
"Let me make something clear before we go any further. Bella is a member of this family. She has been from the first day you brought her home. Her position in this family, however, is not dependent on you. Whether the two of you are in a relationship or not, she will always belong here if she so chooses. The only reason any of us left Forks was because we had a fair idea we wouldn't be gone long. Every single one of us wrote letters to Bella before we left—"
"You did what?" Edward snarled, eyes black, as he took a step away from the wall.
In the blink of an eye, Jasper vaulted over the table to stand between Esme and the enraged vampire stepping towards her.
"Don't take another fuckin' step, Edward," he said, his voice hard. "If you think I'm gonna sit quietly while you try to intimidate the woman who has done nothing but love all of us unconditionally, then you don't know me as well as you think you do."
Edward froze. Jasper could feel his slight apprehension, but it hadn't made a dent in his rage.
Carlisle stood and gently put his hand on Jasper's arm, letting the empath feel his gratitude. "Thank you, Jasper."
Jasper nodded but didn't take his eyes off Edward.
"Edward, perhaps you should sit down," Carlisle said and gestured to the chair at the other end of the table. It was situated between Emmett's chair and Jasper's, which put him farthest from the women in the room.
"Carlisle—"
"Sit down, Edward. If that is beyond your capabilities then I suggest you leave."
"Carlisle, you can't—"
"Edward!" Carlisle shouted, cutting off whatever rant was about to come out of Edward's mouth.
Edward stared at his sire in shock for a moment, but when the man didn't blink or back down, Edward scowled and took a seat, petulantly crossing his arms.
Carlisle's tense posture relaxed completely as he turned to Bella. "I didn't expect it to be so soon," he said with a smile.
The others - not Edward, of course, because the boy had zero sense of humor - all started laughing, while Bella looked slightly confused for a second.
"Oh! The shouting," she giggled. "You really nailed that 'Dad Voice'. I've only heard Charlie's once or twice but it sounded just like that… you know, without all the vampy undertones."
Jasper tousled Bella's hair as he sat back down beside her. "Vampy undertones?" he laughed.
"You know, there's always a little bit of a growl in there when you guys are angry," she shrugged.
Carlisle retook his seat after double-checking that his mate was alright. "Okay, where were we?"
"I believe you were in the middle of telling me how you wrote letters to my mate after I expressly forbid it," Edward snapped.
Before anyone else could reply, Bella spoke up. "I think you and I both know I'm not your mate, Edward. Your actions in Volterra made that perfectly clear."
Edward froze as the rest of the family turned their eyes to him.
"Would you like to tell the others you were going to let the Volturi guard kill me just because you wanted me to stay human?"
It was completely still and silent for one beat, two beats, three… and then the room suddenly exploded around Bella.
Between one of Bella's breaths and the next, Jasper and Rosalie both lunged for Edward in a blur of pale skin and blond hair, hitting him so hard that his chair splintered beneath him. By the time they had him against the wall - Jasper's hand around his throat, Rosalie's nails piercing the skin of Edward's wrist where she had it pinned to the wall - Emmett, Alice, and Esme had all moved to defensive positions around Bella, and Carlisle was standing between the two groups.
Bella was frozen for a few long moments, her ears ringing and heart hammering in her chest as she watched drywall dust settle around them from the cracks made in the wall by the force the two had slammed Edward into it.
Emmett caught her eye and gave her a wink. "And that is why they can pass as the Hale twins."
Bella's laugh bubbled out of her, part genuine humor, part relief because she knew Emmett wouldn't make a joke if Rose was in any danger, and probably a little part was the shock. It was the low, steady, rolling growl coming from Jasper that had her taking a few deep breaths to pull her shit together.
As much as she thought this was nothing less than Edward deserved, she didn't want to see Jasper or Rose do something they'd regret.
When she stood up from her chair, Edward's eyes shot to hers. "Bella, please, that's not what—"
Jasper's hand tightened around his throat, furious to even hear his mate's name coming from the telepath's mouth.
"Shut up, Edward. Was Felix kicking your ass not enough for you? You're determined to have Jasper and Rose do it too?" Bella asked.
At that, Jasper and Rosalie both looked over their shoulders at the human.
"Felix kicked his ass?" Rosalie asked with a hint of a smile on her lips as the hard line of her shoulders relaxed a little.
Alice laughed. "He did. Maybe someone should have actually paid attention when Jasper was teaching the rest of this family to fight rather than pretending he didn't need to learn because of his gift. Can't hear any of us now, can you, Edward? Not that your gift did you much good in Volterra," Alice taunted.
A tiny little laugh escaped Esme as she looked at Alice. "Alright, you guys, maybe we should take a few minutes to calm down. Jasper, why don't you and Alice take Bella outside while I sweep up the dust and wood splinters. Get some fresh air before we continue."
Jasper looked hesitant to release his hold on Edward so Esme walked over and gently rested her hand on his cheek, letting him feel all her love and pride and gratitude. "Thank you for always protecting Bella, sweetheart, but she's alive and safe… Look."
Jasper turned his head to see Bella standing calmly a few feet away, a smile still on her face from Alice's dig at Edward.
"I'm fine, Jasper, I promise. But fresh air sounds good. And I could use a stretch after all this sitting," she said and held her hand out, wiggling her fingers. "Will you come with?"
Jasper only hesitated for a moment, then quick as lightning snapped off Edward's pinky. As the telepath's pained scream filled the room, Jasper gave her a bright smile. "Love to," he nodded and as they were walking out the door, he tossed the finger to Emmett. "Hang onto that for me."
Emmett laughed and tucked it in his pocket, but just as quickly pulled it out when it started wiggling. "Ew, gross," he whined, holding it between two fingers with his arm stretched out away from him.
Rosalie grabbed her purse with a wicked smile. "I'll take it."
She opened it just in time to catch the finger when Emmett tossed it away from himself. She zipped it back up with smirk.
"Carlisle! You can't be okay with this!" Edward protested incredulously while cradling his pinky-less hand against his chest.
Carlisle looked long and hard at Edward before answering. "You are on very thin ice right now, Edward. Your behavior since you saw that vision of Alice's has been selfish and appalling and you will be explaining what Bella meant by what she said. Just be grateful I'm not allowing them to burn it. Yet," he added.
Then Carlisle turned his back on the telepath to help his wife tidy up the room while Rosalie and Emmett made for the door to join the two vampires and the human on the porch.
Which left Edward standing there alone, no one paying him the slightest bit of attention. It was quite a shock for the boy who thought he was always the most important one in the room.
A/N: Aw, poor Edward. Hahahaha JK. Fuck Edward. And it's only going to go downhill from here for the boy.
This was my favorite chapter to write so far. Do any of y'all have a favorite chapter so far? I'd love to hear if you do!
Thank you all for reading and for leaving such lovely reviews! Sending all of you my heartfelt gratitude:)
Take care, M. x
