My Path To You
by Wizardtho
Chapter 5:
It took me a good five minutes of trying to move Carlisle before I finally plopped down next to him, panting, “This isn't working. You're harder to move than the damn pack at dinner time. Jesus.”
I huffed out a breath, blowing my hair out of my face, then a thought came to me. “Okay... new plan. I'm going to have to put you together out here, so you'll need to keep your eyes and ears open for trouble. This really isn't how I wanted the first night in my new home to go, Carlisle, so I hope you understand that you have a lot to tell me when you're healed and back to your normal self.”
He whispered his agreement seriously, so I went to open the gate.
Luckily, his other parts had all been squirming their way toward him from different areas, so I gathered them up before carrying them back to Carlisle. I got his arms and hands reattached relatively quickly after that. Though the venom was leaking all over me, I knew I didn't have any cuts or scrapes to worry about, so I was able to focus on Carlisle.
Once he was holding the first leg in place to fuse, Carlisle winced and said softly, “I think I'll need more than one animal before I am able to hunt on my own, Bella. I've lost too much venom, and am extremely weak. I am truly sorry that my being here has ruined your night. I will try not to be in your way while I'm healing.”
I felt like snatching his leg away from him, then beating him with it. “Jesus Christ, Carlisle! Seriously? You could never be in my way. Yes, it's my first night here. I've been waiting for this for more than two years, but you didn't ruin anything. It'll actually be nice to have someone to share it with. Now, let's get your other leg put on -before I'm any more tempted to beat some sense into you with it- so that we can get you into the suv and onto safe territory.”
He agreed softly, so after waiting for his leg to fuse, I was able to pull the suv up and guide him into it.
I made sure the gate closed behind us, then said as I drove up the drive, “There's security running all over the property and perimeter wall. On the highest setting, which we'll be at, nothing can get within a hundred feet of the wall without the alarm sounding. We can lock down tighter than Fort Knox, but I'll explain more about that once we're in the safety of the house.”
When we pulled into the clearing a few minutes later. Carlisle's breath hitched in his throat. I smiled, remembering myself having that same reaction, then looked over at him, “It's beautiful, isn't it? It's a lot bigger than it looks from here, though, so don't let it fool you.”
I smirked at him, but he gave me a genuine smile in return. “I just finished moving in all of my things this morning, before I took the guys back to the airport. Let's get the suv into the garage, then we'll get you set up down at the pergola for when I bring your dinner. I'll leave it in the woods at the edge of the clearing, then head into the house so you can feed. Put my cell number in your contacts, so that you can reach me if something happens, or I can let you know if the alarm sounds.”
I handed him my phone. He immediately started inputting his phone number. Once it registered, he added my number to his contacts. I was parked and opening his side of the suv to help him out by the time he finished making sure his number was in my contacts list.
Carlisle's breathing hitched again as I guided him through the mudroom and main front hall, then he whispered hoarsely, “This is spectacular, Bella. How did you find this place?”
I shook my head as I beamed up at him, “I designed it, Carlisle. This is my baby, from the foundation up.”
He looked at me, awed, then asked, “You did all of this? How were you able to get someone to take it from rough sketch to completion?”
I shook my head again when we neared the elevator. As we started descending, I turned to look at him, “Not rough sketch. I'll show you once you're healed, but I started designing this while I was getting my degree in architecture. I have my Master’s degree, and I’m licensed both here and in Washington. I designed this house, from the foundation up, all on my own.”
Carlisle beamed at me, “Congratulations, Bella. Charlie and Renee must be very proud. You have an exceptional eye for detail, and it shows. Truly, it's a stunning home.”
I choked a bit at his words as we exited the elevator, then blinked back the tears while looking up at him, “I'm sure they would have been, but that's a story for after I've had something a hell of a lot stronger than coffee to drink.”
He gave me an alarmed look, so I shook my head, “You're too weak right now, and it's a very… involved... story, Carlisle. I promise I'll explain once you've fed and cleaned up. While you're feeding, I'll put a few things for you to change into in the bathroom...”
I showed him the door I was talking about as I said, “Of this guest suite. It has the largest tub and shower other than mine, so you should be comfortable in either, depending on how strong you feel.”
He nodded minutely, then I was able to guide him out to the pergola without further question.
Once he was settled, I was able to walk back around to the rear garage, grab the rifle, extra ammo, rope, my bow and arrows, then load all of it into the safety latches on the 4-wheeler. I hooked up the trailer before driving back down toward Carlisle.
I smiled at him as I passed, and with his return smile, I was off quickly toward the trail. It was a good night; I was able to get both a large elk and a hurt mountain lion within 30 minutes of setting up.
I called Carlisle's number as soon as I finished loading them both, to tell him I was bringing him a pleasant surprise. He chuckled, asking if I was alright, so I rolled my eyes as I replied, “Not a scratch, Carlisle. Stop worrying. I'll be there in a few, but hold your breath, because I have animal blood all over me from hog-tying and loading them.”
He agreed quickly, so I hurried to start the 4-wheeler before heading back to the house.
When I got back to the edge of the clearing, Carlisle stood and slowly walked to me. His eyes were the deepest, most captivating onyx. I could have sworn I heard him let out a sexy groan just before he reached me. He wiped his thumb against my cheek, sucked it into his mouth with a groan as he looked into my eyes, then whispered, “Go get your shower, and I'll see you in a bit... otherwise, I may be tempted to lick every bit of this mountain lion blood off of you.”
I had to bite my tongue at the innuendo -because truly, Carlisle was gorgeous- but managed to nod before heading into the house.
Forty-five minutes later, I had showered and scrubbed, dressed, placed a set of Phil's lounge clothes in Carlisle's bathroom, made sure that there were toiletries in there for his use, then gotten my purchases from the market put away.
Just as I was opening up the back doors in the lounge area downstairs, I saw Carlisle walking my way with a large smile on his face. He looked a bit more rumpled, plus had a few smears of blood on his shirt, but otherwise looked much better than before. He was still not quite up to par, though. I could tell he had a lot more healing to do by looking at him, but he looked happy.
I smiled at him while asking, “Good hunt?”
He grinned, “Yes, very. Thank you, Bella. Your property has a plentiful supply of hunting options, so I didn't need to go out too far to fill my needs. I'll get cleaned up, then explain how it is that I came to be here.”
I nodded as I made my way to the bar, but he asked, “What are you stocked with, if I may ask?”
I hummed, “Mmm, let's see. We have Jack, Johnny, Jim, Jameson, and Jose... I think that takes care of the J's. Then we have Patron, Appleton, Stolichnaya, Grey Goose, Pyrat, Captain, Crown, Black Maple Hill, Wild Turkey, and several others.”
Carlisle chuckled, “Nice selection. Would you mind pouring me an Appleton, straight, please?”
I looked at him dumbfounded, but he laughed, promising, “I'll explain, but I'd like to clean up first. It's a bit unnerving to sense that I have as much of my venom on my skin and clothes as I have in my body.”
I nodded, then as he retreated, I called, “No ditching out on the explanation to this, Carlisle. I'm serious.”
Ten minutes later, I was in my drawing room with the door open, sipping on my own glass of Appleton as I smiled down at the plans for the house, which were on my drafting table. I hummed as I felt Carlisle lean in to kiss the top of my head, saying, “You are an amazing creature, Isabella. Promise to give me a tour soon?”
I turned to smile up at him, “Absolutely. Now come relax with me, and explain the vampires drinking alcohol bit. Then if you're up for it, you can tell me what landed your dismembered ass on my drive. In return, I'll tell you what's happened since you left Forks.”
He wrapped my hand on his arm with a chuckle, then led me out to the lounge before sitting with me on the u-shaped couch.
Once we were settled, Carlisle smiled as he curled a stray hair around my ear, saying, “It is so good to see you again. As for your question, vampires can in fact consume alcohol, but only when straight. Something about the makeup allows it to absorb into our systems. As soon as it is mixed with another substance... for example Pepsi, juice, or even water... it becomes intolerable to our systems. We can actually become intoxicated if we consume enough, but it takes quite a bit more than it would for a human. Tonight, for me, this will help take the edge off of the pain I am in during the healing process.”
I chuckled, “A drunk vampire... what I wouldn't give to see that.”
Then I winced, asking, “Is it bad? The pain? What happened, Carlisle?”
Carlisle took a deep breath, then cupped my cheek. “The pain is tolerable. Seeing you allows me to concentrate on something good.”
I nodded, so he said, “To explain, I need to start from when we left Forks. We went to our Alaskan home, near the Denali coven, but we were barely there for three days before Edward claimed he could not handle being around everyone. It was clear to me before we even settled in, that our family would fall apart with you no longer in our lives. My thought was proven correct when Edward made his decision to leave. Alice had been blaming Jasper for what happened at your birthday party almost non-stop, so when Edward chose to leave, I was not surprised that Alice went with him. Esme was only a few months behind them, in terms of leaving, but our marriage had been over since we moved to Forks. I knew it was coming sooner or later.”
I looked at him wide-eyed, but he shook his head before smiling softly. “Rosalie and Emmett ended up staying for almost 8 months before they left, then Jasper asked me if I would like to go with him to visit Peter and Charlotte. We stayed for about 2 months with them before the news reached us. Irina killed Alice and Edward, claiming that Laurant was her mate. She blamed them for not stopping his death. In knowing them both so well, she knew how to get around their gifts, and was able to kill both of them. Apparently the Quileute wolves had killed him a few months prior. She blamed Alice for not warning Laurant of the danger and Edward for hearing her as well as going along with it.”
I shook my head, bitterness clear in my tone as I said, “Oh, that's rich. He was killed by the pack because he was a hair’s-breadth from sinking his teeth into me, Carlisle.”
Carlisle looked at me horrified, but I just told him I would explain after he finished. He nodded, then said, “After that, Peter got the feeling that Jasper and I needed to go off the grid for a bit, but didn't know why. We did, ending up in a two-bedroom cabin in the Poconos. We had running water from the well, but no electric or means of communication with the outside world, other than the emergency cell phones Peter supplied. Those we charged in our vehicles when we had the opportunity. Peter would call to inform us when to move, but he never knew why. We went from hidden cabin to hidden cabin, about once every 4 to 6 months, until just yesterday. I had been lounging in a clearing after a successful hunt when I was caught unaware by Victoria.”
My breath caught in my throat as I choked out, “Oh, God. No.”
Carlisle nodded sadly, then continued, “We fought for almost three hours before I was able to run from her, to try to lose her. I couldn't seem to gain the upper hand in the fight. I didn't dare go back to the cabin, as it would have led her directly to Jasper, so I started randomly changing direction and doubling paths. She finally caught up to me again, after I was able to text Jasper the emergency code we had agreed on, but this time she had help. We fought and chased each other through the night, well into this morning, until I was able to rid of her help. That was when she was able to get the upper hand. She had set him up to die, using him as bait to distract me. After she dismembered me, she ran my limbs to where I eventually found out was inside your property. When she came back and picked me up, she was raving about me being the perfect housewarming gift. I didn't -and still don't- understand about half of what she was saying, but I understood the housewarming comment as soon as you mentioned tonight being your first night here.”
It took me a good five minutes of trying to move Carlisle before I finally plopped down next to him, panting, “This isn't working. You're harder to move than the damn pack at dinner time. Jesus.”
I huffed out a breath, blowing my hair out of my face, then a thought came to me. “Okay... new plan. I'm going to have to put you together out here, so you'll need to keep your eyes and ears open for trouble. This really isn't how I wanted the first night in my new home to go, Carlisle, so I hope you understand that you have a lot to tell me when you're healed and back to your normal self.”
He whispered his agreement seriously, so I went to open the gate.
Luckily, his other parts had all been squirming their way toward him from different areas, so I gathered them up before carrying them back to Carlisle. I got his arms and hands reattached relatively quickly after that. Though the venom was leaking all over me, I knew I didn't have any cuts or scrapes to worry about, so I was able to focus on Carlisle.
Once he was holding the first leg in place to fuse, Carlisle winced and said softly, “I think I'll need more than one animal before I am able to hunt on my own, Bella. I've lost too much venom, and am extremely weak. I am truly sorry that my being here has ruined your night. I will try not to be in your way while I'm healing.”
I felt like snatching his leg away from him, then beating him with it. “Jesus Christ, Carlisle! Seriously? You could never be in my way. Yes, it's my first night here. I've been waiting for this for more than two years, but you didn't ruin anything. It'll actually be nice to have someone to share it with. Now, let's get your other leg put on -before I'm any more tempted to beat some sense into you with it- so that we can get you into the suv and onto safe territory.”
He agreed softly, so after waiting for his leg to fuse, I was able to pull the suv up and guide him into it.
I made sure the gate closed behind us, then said as I drove up the drive, “There's security running all over the property and perimeter wall. On the highest setting, which we'll be at, nothing can get within a hundred feet of the wall without the alarm sounding. We can lock down tighter than Fort Knox, but I'll explain more about that once we're in the safety of the house.”
When we pulled into the clearing a few minutes later. Carlisle's breath hitched in his throat. I smiled, remembering myself having that same reaction, then looked over at him, “It's beautiful, isn't it? It's a lot bigger than it looks from here, though, so don't let it fool you.”
I smirked at him, but he gave me a genuine smile in return. “I just finished moving in all of my things this morning, before I took the guys back to the airport. Let's get the suv into the garage, then we'll get you set up down at the pergola for when I bring your dinner. I'll leave it in the woods at the edge of the clearing, then head into the house so you can feed. Put my cell number in your contacts, so that you can reach me if something happens, or I can let you know if the alarm sounds.”
I handed him my phone. He immediately started inputting his phone number. Once it registered, he added my number to his contacts. I was parked and opening his side of the suv to help him out by the time he finished making sure his number was in my contacts list.
Carlisle's breathing hitched again as I guided him through the mudroom and main front hall, then he whispered hoarsely, “This is spectacular, Bella. How did you find this place?”
I shook my head as I beamed up at him, “I designed it, Carlisle. This is my baby, from the foundation up.”
He looked at me, awed, then asked, “You did all of this? How were you able to get someone to take it from rough sketch to completion?”
I shook my head again when we neared the elevator. As we started descending, I turned to look at him, “Not rough sketch. I'll show you once you're healed, but I started designing this while I was getting my degree in architecture. I have my Master’s degree, and I’m licensed both here and in Washington. I designed this house, from the foundation up, all on my own.”
Carlisle beamed at me, “Congratulations, Bella. Charlie and Renee must be very proud. You have an exceptional eye for detail, and it shows. Truly, it's a stunning home.”
I choked a bit at his words as we exited the elevator, then blinked back the tears while looking up at him, “I'm sure they would have been, but that's a story for after I've had something a hell of a lot stronger than coffee to drink.”
He gave me an alarmed look, so I shook my head, “You're too weak right now, and it's a very… involved... story, Carlisle. I promise I'll explain once you've fed and cleaned up. While you're feeding, I'll put a few things for you to change into in the bathroom...”
I showed him the door I was talking about as I said, “Of this guest suite. It has the largest tub and shower other than mine, so you should be comfortable in either, depending on how strong you feel.”
He nodded minutely, then I was able to guide him out to the pergola without further question.
Once he was settled, I was able to walk back around to the rear garage, grab the rifle, extra ammo, rope, my bow and arrows, then load all of it into the safety latches on the 4-wheeler. I hooked up the trailer before driving back down toward Carlisle.
I smiled at him as I passed, and with his return smile, I was off quickly toward the trail. It was a good night; I was able to get both a large elk and a hurt mountain lion within 30 minutes of setting up.
I called Carlisle's number as soon as I finished loading them both, to tell him I was bringing him a pleasant surprise. He chuckled, asking if I was alright, so I rolled my eyes as I replied, “Not a scratch, Carlisle. Stop worrying. I'll be there in a few, but hold your breath, because I have animal blood all over me from hog-tying and loading them.”
He agreed quickly, so I hurried to start the 4-wheeler before heading back to the house.
When I got back to the edge of the clearing, Carlisle stood and slowly walked to me. His eyes were the deepest, most captivating onyx. I could have sworn I heard him let out a sexy groan just before he reached me. He wiped his thumb against my cheek, sucked it into his mouth with a groan as he looked into my eyes, then whispered, “Go get your shower, and I'll see you in a bit... otherwise, I may be tempted to lick every bit of this mountain lion blood off of you.”
I had to bite my tongue at the innuendo -because truly, Carlisle was gorgeous- but managed to nod before heading into the house.
Forty-five minutes later, I had showered and scrubbed, dressed, placed a set of Phil's lounge clothes in Carlisle's bathroom, made sure that there were toiletries in there for his use, then gotten my purchases from the market put away.
Just as I was opening up the back doors in the lounge area downstairs, I saw Carlisle walking my way with a large smile on his face. He looked a bit more rumpled, plus had a few smears of blood on his shirt, but otherwise looked much better than before. He was still not quite up to par, though. I could tell he had a lot more healing to do by looking at him, but he looked happy.
I smiled at him while asking, “Good hunt?”
He grinned, “Yes, very. Thank you, Bella. Your property has a plentiful supply of hunting options, so I didn't need to go out too far to fill my needs. I'll get cleaned up, then explain how it is that I came to be here.”
I nodded as I made my way to the bar, but he asked, “What are you stocked with, if I may ask?”
I hummed, “Mmm, let's see. We have Jack, Johnny, Jim, Jameson, and Jose... I think that takes care of the J's. Then we have Patron, Appleton, Stolichnaya, Grey Goose, Pyrat, Captain, Crown, Black Maple Hill, Wild Turkey, and several others.”
Carlisle chuckled, “Nice selection. Would you mind pouring me an Appleton, straight, please?”
I looked at him dumbfounded, but he laughed, promising, “I'll explain, but I'd like to clean up first. It's a bit unnerving to sense that I have as much of my venom on my skin and clothes as I have in my body.”
I nodded, then as he retreated, I called, “No ditching out on the explanation to this, Carlisle. I'm serious.”
Ten minutes later, I was in my drawing room with the door open, sipping on my own glass of Appleton as I smiled down at the plans for the house, which were on my drafting table. I hummed as I felt Carlisle lean in to kiss the top of my head, saying, “You are an amazing creature, Isabella. Promise to give me a tour soon?”
I turned to smile up at him, “Absolutely. Now come relax with me, and explain the vampires drinking alcohol bit. Then if you're up for it, you can tell me what landed your dismembered ass on my drive. In return, I'll tell you what's happened since you left Forks.”
He wrapped my hand on his arm with a chuckle, then led me out to the lounge before sitting with me on the u-shaped couch.
Once we were settled, Carlisle smiled as he curled a stray hair around my ear, saying, “It is so good to see you again. As for your question, vampires can in fact consume alcohol, but only when straight. Something about the makeup allows it to absorb into our systems. As soon as it is mixed with another substance... for example Pepsi, juice, or even water... it becomes intolerable to our systems. We can actually become intoxicated if we consume enough, but it takes quite a bit more than it would for a human. Tonight, for me, this will help take the edge off of the pain I am in during the healing process.”
I chuckled, “A drunk vampire... what I wouldn't give to see that.”
Then I winced, asking, “Is it bad? The pain? What happened, Carlisle?”
Carlisle took a deep breath, then cupped my cheek. “The pain is tolerable. Seeing you allows me to concentrate on something good.”
I nodded, so he said, “To explain, I need to start from when we left Forks. We went to our Alaskan home, near the Denali coven, but we were barely there for three days before Edward claimed he could not handle being around everyone. It was clear to me before we even settled in, that our family would fall apart with you no longer in our lives. My thought was proven correct when Edward made his decision to leave. Alice had been blaming Jasper for what happened at your birthday party almost non-stop, so when Edward chose to leave, I was not surprised that Alice went with him. Esme was only a few months behind them, in terms of leaving, but our marriage had been over since we moved to Forks. I knew it was coming sooner or later.”
I looked at him wide-eyed, but he shook his head before smiling softly. “Rosalie and Emmett ended up staying for almost 8 months before they left, then Jasper asked me if I would like to go with him to visit Peter and Charlotte. We stayed for about 2 months with them before the news reached us. Irina killed Alice and Edward, claiming that Laurant was her mate. She blamed them for not stopping his death. In knowing them both so well, she knew how to get around their gifts, and was able to kill both of them. Apparently the Quileute wolves had killed him a few months prior. She blamed Alice for not warning Laurant of the danger and Edward for hearing her as well as going along with it.”
I shook my head, bitterness clear in my tone as I said, “Oh, that's rich. He was killed by the pack because he was a hair’s-breadth from sinking his teeth into me, Carlisle.”
Carlisle looked at me horrified, but I just told him I would explain after he finished. He nodded, then said, “After that, Peter got the feeling that Jasper and I needed to go off the grid for a bit, but didn't know why. We did, ending up in a two-bedroom cabin in the Poconos. We had running water from the well, but no electric or means of communication with the outside world, other than the emergency cell phones Peter supplied. Those we charged in our vehicles when we had the opportunity. Peter would call to inform us when to move, but he never knew why. We went from hidden cabin to hidden cabin, about once every 4 to 6 months, until just yesterday. I had been lounging in a clearing after a successful hunt when I was caught unaware by Victoria.”
My breath caught in my throat as I choked out, “Oh, God. No.”
Carlisle nodded sadly, then continued, “We fought for almost three hours before I was able to run from her, to try to lose her. I couldn't seem to gain the upper hand in the fight. I didn't dare go back to the cabin, as it would have led her directly to Jasper, so I started randomly changing direction and doubling paths. She finally caught up to me again, after I was able to text Jasper the emergency code we had agreed on, but this time she had help. We fought and chased each other through the night, well into this morning, until I was able to rid of her help. That was when she was able to get the upper hand. She had set him up to die, using him as bait to distract me. After she dismembered me, she ran my limbs to where I eventually found out was inside your property. When she came back and picked me up, she was raving about me being the perfect housewarming gift. I didn't -and still don't- understand about half of what she was saying, but I understood the housewarming comment as soon as you mentioned tonight being your first night here.”