Waiting For My Real Life To Begin
by Laura Spudzmom
Chapter 35
“I shouldn’t have said those things,” Bella whispered against Jasper’s chest as he held her. They were back in the cleared corner of her destroyed bedroom, where they’d slept the night before.
He sighed and kissed her head. “No, I reckon you shouldn’t have, but you’re hurting, so it probably isn’t gonna be the last time something like that happens.”
“You’re hurting too,” she said and his arms tightened around her. “But I don’t see you lashing out…”
He chuckled bitterly. “I haven’t exactly been patient with your father, sugar.”
She raised her head and looked at him. “No, but you haven’t lashed out or really lost it.” She quietly studied his face for a moment. “Why is that?”
He sighed as she rested her head back on his chest. “Make no mistake,” he ground out, “I’m plenty angry.” He paused for a moment and took some slow, deep breaths to get his emotions in check. “There’s a rage inside me, Bella…such that I can’t even describe it. And I just know, if I let that loose at the wrong time or against the wrong people…” He shook his head, closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. “I can’t allow that to happen. I don’t want to hurt you or anyone we care for, you understand?”
She reached up and stroked his cheek. “Yeah, I think I do.” She sat up and pulled him down into a soft kiss before meeting his gaze. “You’re a good man, Jasper, and I’m…” she choked as tears misted her eyes, “I’m so lucky to have you.”
He threaded his fingers through her hair and cupped the back of her head. “I love you, and that ain’t never gonna change, no matter what happens.” He captured her lips with his and it was slow, gentle, comforting.
“I miss him,” she whispered as their heads rested together, and she heard him choke back a sob while pulling her impossibly closer.
“Oh Bella… I miss him too, sugar,” he choked past the lump in his throat. “I miss him too…”
~o0o~
“So, what now?” Stefan asked as they sat around the living room. Breakfast and the subsequent clean up had been over for quite a while and it seemed that none of them had much of an appetite for lunch, so they’d gathered in the living room to talk about their situation.
They’d already established they were the only ones with two sets of memories of the recent past and that was a burden off their minds to say the least, but they still had the killer of little Jace to deal with.
Damon placed the top back on the crystal decanter after pouring a fresh drink and turned to face them, drink in hand as he leaned back against the sideboard. “I’d rather have this talk with Bella and Jasper present.”
Stefan pursed his lips and rubbed his brow before looking at his brother. “You think she’s ready to handle it?”
Damon stared down into the amber liquid for a moment. Was she? He had his doubts, but he also knew she wasn’t going to stand for being left out. They’d just have to deal with any break-downs as they came and hope for the best. “Maybe not, but she’ll get better with time, especially if we all help her face this. If there’s one thing I know about her though, it’s that she won’t appreciate being isolated from any plans we make.”
Stefan nodded. “I guess we’ll just handle things as they come up then, which brings me back to my original question… What now? I mean, I…”
“Now?” Jasper cut in as he and Bella joined them. He took a seat in an armchair and lifted Bella into his lap. “Now, we go after the bastard that killed my boy.” He glanced around the room. “Anyone know where he may be?”
Elena nodded. “After Bonnie got back, we did some research and found a Dr. C. Cullen listed as staff at a hospital in Chicago, Illinois.”
“Chicago, huh?” Jasper asked. “And we’re in Virginia, correct?” Jasper asked and Stefan nodded. “Chicago is quite a ways away. We’ll travel by rail?”
“No honey,” Bella said with a squeeze to his hand. “We have much faster ways of getting around now.” She smirked at her father. “Perhaps Dad will teach you to drive, since he missed out on that particular pleasure with me.”
Damon looked momentarily horrified. “Not my Camaro. We’ll use Elena’s piece of shit Camry.”
Elena scowled. “Hey, I happen to like my car, and it’s not a piece of shit.” She smiled at Bella and Jasper. “You guys can use it though, if Damon wimps out.”
“Thanks,” Bella said, looking sheepish before glancing at Bonnie. “Hey, can we go for a walk? I need to speak with you.”
Bonnie took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she nodded. “Sure, you wanna go now, or…?”
Bella got up and headed for the front door. “Yeah, I think now would be best.”
“Bella?” Damon said while looking between the two women.
“It’s okay, Dad. I just need to clear the air. I’m not out to hurt anyone.”
“We’ll be fine, Damon,” Bonnie murmured. “I can take care of myself.”
He gave a nod and the two walked out together into the bright mid-day sun. When they’d made it past the driveway, Bella sighed and glanced askance at her companion. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t fair to you. Jasper’s right, the fault lies with Edward and no one else.”
Bonnie looked down and chewed her lip. “I can see your point though. I made it possible to do what he did. It eats at me and I’ll live with it the rest of my life.”
“I know you will, but I don’t need to add to your guilt.” They walked in silence for a few moments before Bella continued. “I guess this may have been magic’s way of balancing things. You made it possible for me to find the love of my life—my soul mate, while also making it possible for my child to be taken from me.”
Bonnie shot her a grave look. “Magic does tend to seek balance…”
Bella smirked bitterly. “Yeah, believe me, I’ve noticed. Take the good with the bad and all that cliched crap, right?”
Bonnie chose to stay silent.
“Anyway,” Bella said with a sigh, “I just wanted you to know I don’t hold you responsible.” She peeked over at the witch at her side. “I really loved Emily, you know? She and Charles were like family to me. I miss them.”
Bonnie smiled softly. “I wish I could’ve known them. I have her journal and grimoire. She seemed like an amazing woman.”
Bella nodded. “She was.”
“I would like to think I would’ve done things differently, had I known,” Bonnie murmured. “I would like to think I’d have the courage…”
“Stop,” Bella snapped. “Just…stop. We’ll make ourselves crazy with the ‘what ifs’, you know?”
Bonnie blinked at her and looked back down at her feet as they walked.
“I heard him,” Bella murmured, her jaw muscles twitching with angry tension. “I didn’t know it was him then, but I know it now.”
Bonnie glanced at her with a creased brow and Bella continued.
“That day… We were on a picnic in the park. The baby was sleeping beside us on the blanket and Jasper kissed me. There was a growl, and if I had only listened to that little voice in my head that told me something was wrong…” A tear rolled down her cheek and she swiped at it. “If I had just checked out where that growl came from instead of dismissing it, maybe Jace would be alive.”
“Oh Bella…” Bonnie murmured as she reached out and placed a hand on her arm as they paused.
“Yeah,” Bella said, wiping the tears that were falling freely now. “So, you see what good it does to look back? None.” They began walking again and Bella continued.
“All I can do now is look forward to getting my hands on the bastard.” She looked at Bonnie and the sheer hatred in her eyes made the witch shiver. “And I will. Some day, hopefully soon, I’ll get my hands on him.”
“I’ll help you any way I can.”
Bella glanced over. “Thanks. Jasper and I need all the support we can get.”
“Well, you have mine, and I know everyone else probably feels the same way.”
Bella nodded and turned back toward the house. “Time to get back, I think,” she said, her brow creasing at the sight of a car turning off in the driveway of the boarding house. “Someone you know?” she asked Bonnie who shook her head.
“No, I don’t recognize the car,” she said as the sleek silver BMW with limo tint on the windows pulled up and parked.
“Huh, well, let’s go see who it is.”
Bonnie nodded and they stepped up their pace just as the front door opened and Damon stepped out, followed by his brother.
The driver’s door opened then and Bella sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of Emmett. “What the hell are you doing here?” she asked as her eyes narrowed to slits.
Jasper raced from the house and wrapped her in his arms while glaring at the male cold one who put his hands up. “Whoa, I come in peace,” he said as the Salvatore brothers moved to stand with Bella and Jasper, the look on their faces not the least bit welcoming.
The passenger door opened and Rosalie stood from the vehicle. “We’re not here to cause any trouble.”
“Unless you can tell us where to find the mind-reader…” Damon snapped but was cut short by Rosalie.
“That’s exactly why we’re here.”
“Bella, who are these people?” Jasper asked, his green gaze riveted on the two new-comers. There was something about them that grated on him, though their emotions seemed sincere.
“Jasper?” the blonde female murmured as affection and sadness rolled off her. “God, is that really you?” She smiled. “You look so different, unmarked, human… You’re beautiful, brother.”
“They’re two of the Cullens, Jay,” Bella answered. “Your old family, from when you were like them.”
“This is touching and all, but what do you mean, that’s why you’re here?” Damon asked.
“We brought him,” Emmett said, getting right to the point.
Bella’s breath hitched. “Where is he?” she snapped, taking a quick step forward. “Where is the bastard that killed my baby?” She reached back and gripped Jasper’s hand as he stepped up next to her.
His jaw twitched with tension as he struggled to beat back the rage that flared within him.
“Damn, still got the mojo, eh, Jazz?” Emmett said as the pure rage slammed into them from the empath.
“I’d appreciate if you’d quit talking like you know me, and answer my wife’s question: Where is he?”
“He’s in two bags in the trunk,” Rose said, not liking the look in her former twin’s eyes. It was cold and hard and full of hate and she had to suppress a shudder as fear of this strange yet familiar vampire filled her.
Emmett reached inside the car and popped the trunk, before meeting Damon and Stefan at the back to get the bags. “We had to transport him in pieces,” Rosalie explained as she shut the passenger door of the car.
“It’s all right,” Damon said while hefting a bag. “We’ll put his ass back together, at least partially, before dealing with him.”
Rose nodded, her eyes filled with sadness and understanding. “Yes, I kind of figured you would.”
“Why did you do this?” Bella demanded, the look in her eyes calculating. Rose had never been her friend, or even cordial and Edward was her brother—had been for decades…
Rose’s eyes filled with anger. “He killed a baby. He killed my brother’s baby. I couldn’t let that go.”
Damon hefted a bag and walked into the house closely followed by Stefan who carried the other bag and Bella gestured to the house. “You’re welcomed to come in if you like. It’ll probably be a while before we’re set up to deal with…” she trailed off waving a hand toward the house, and Jasper wrapped her in his arms.
“Come on, darlin’,” he said while leading her into the house.
“Yeah, we’ll come in for a while,” Rose murmured while taking Emmett’s hand to follow the rest of the group.
When they’d all taken seats in the living room, Bella looked at her father. “Where’d you put him?”
“Basement for now,” he said before taking a healthy pull from his glass.
“And there’s no way he can get away?” Jasper asked.
“Nope, he’s in pieces with his head in a separate bag,” Damon answered and Jasper nodded.
“Good.”
“So, how did this come about?” Bella asked while leaning into Jasper’s side where they sat on a loveseat.
“Edward came home a few days ago after being gone for a couple of days. He was crazy as a loon, wouldn’t come out of his room for anything and kept muttering things. It was like he was talking to his dead parents, but of course, there was no one there, not that nay of us could see, anyway.
“Carlisle finally went up to talk to him, and got him to confess the whole thing.” Rosalie shook her head while staring at her hands clasped in her lap. “It was Carlisle that took his head off.”
Bella gasped at that. “That must’ve been hard for him.”
Rosalie met her gaze and nodded. “It was. I don’t think he’ll ever get over it, but he knew it had to be done. What Edward did, and the way he was…there was just no coming back from that and Carlisle knew it.”
“He didn’t finish the job,” Damon said pointedly, and Rose shook her head.
“No, he didn’t.” She met Damon’s ice blue gaze. “None of us could, that’s partly why we brought him here. The other reason is, I thought your family should have the right to end him.”
“It won’t be pretty or quick,” Jasper snapped and she nodded.
“I kind of figured that too,” she said, her tone resigned.
“How does your Sire feel about all this? Does he even know you brought him here? Should we be looking for trouble?” Damon asked while sharing a look with Stefan who looked just as concerned.
They all noticed how Emmett cringed. “We didn’t speak to him about what we were going to do.” he admitted. “We just sort-of bagged him and split while Carlisle was busy consoling Esme.”
“Ah shit,” Damon said with a heavy sigh.
“Let him come,” Jasper seethed. “He wants a fight, I’m more than ready.”
“Easy there John Wayne, this is Carlisle we’re talking about. I doubt you need to worry,” Emmett said with a frown, his need to defend his Sire overriding the sympathy he felt for his former brother for the moment.
“He’s right, honey,” Bella said while rubbing Jasper’s bicep. “I really doubt Carlisle would fight us over this.”
Jasper raised a brow, his cold green gaze still locked on the muscled male cold one, already having identified him as the greatest threat in the room. “We’ll see once things get started, won’t we?”
Emmett’s frown deepened and he squared his shoulders. “You know, I don’t remember you being such a cocky…”
“Em…” Rose murmured while clutching his hand. “Cut him some slack. He doesn’t know us at all, remember? We’re strangers to him and part of the coven of the one who killed his son.”
Emmett took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah, all right.” He looked back at Jasper. “Just…calm your tits, okay? I’m not here to fight you.”
“Jay, he’s truly a good guy. He…used to be like a brother to me,” Bella said and Jasper glanced at her before giving a sharp nod.
“All right, sugar. I’ll trust your judgement.”
Just then, Rosalie’s phone rang and she pulled it out and answered as all the vamps in the room listened in intently. “Carlisle.”
“Rose, what have you done? Where is Edward?”
“Em and I took him.”
“Yes, I assessed that much. Why?”
“I overheard your conversation with Esme,” she answered.
“What have you done, Rose?” he demanded. “Where have you taken him?”
She squared her shoulders. “What does it matter? He needs to be destroyed, Carlisle, and we both know that none of us would be able to do it.”
“That’s not true, Rose. I was going to end him quickly after explaining things to Esme. Now, what have you done with him?”
Her gaze flitted to Jasper who gave a sharp nod while holding her gaze.
“Em and I brought him to the people who are entitled to finish him.”
They all heard the Cullen patriarch’s breath hitch. “No,” he breathed. “Rose…Jasper will…”
“What is it, Carlisle?” Esme’s faint voice begged in the background. “What’s happened?”
“Jasper,” Carlisle continued, ignoring his mate for the moment, “at least the Jasper we knew—will not be merciful, Rose. I know Edward did a terrible thing and must be ended, but how could you condemn him to such a fate?”
Her eyes closed and she dropped her head while clutching the phone to her ear as her guilt warred with her anger. Then she pictured a tiny boy with wispy blond curls and Jasper’s dimpled smile and the anger won out. “It’s what he’s earned, Carlisle, what he deserves. Don’t interfere.”
With that, she ended the call and curled into Emmett’s side.
“I shouldn’t have said those things,” Bella whispered against Jasper’s chest as he held her. They were back in the cleared corner of her destroyed bedroom, where they’d slept the night before.
He sighed and kissed her head. “No, I reckon you shouldn’t have, but you’re hurting, so it probably isn’t gonna be the last time something like that happens.”
“You’re hurting too,” she said and his arms tightened around her. “But I don’t see you lashing out…”
He chuckled bitterly. “I haven’t exactly been patient with your father, sugar.”
She raised her head and looked at him. “No, but you haven’t lashed out or really lost it.” She quietly studied his face for a moment. “Why is that?”
He sighed as she rested her head back on his chest. “Make no mistake,” he ground out, “I’m plenty angry.” He paused for a moment and took some slow, deep breaths to get his emotions in check. “There’s a rage inside me, Bella…such that I can’t even describe it. And I just know, if I let that loose at the wrong time or against the wrong people…” He shook his head, closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. “I can’t allow that to happen. I don’t want to hurt you or anyone we care for, you understand?”
She reached up and stroked his cheek. “Yeah, I think I do.” She sat up and pulled him down into a soft kiss before meeting his gaze. “You’re a good man, Jasper, and I’m…” she choked as tears misted her eyes, “I’m so lucky to have you.”
He threaded his fingers through her hair and cupped the back of her head. “I love you, and that ain’t never gonna change, no matter what happens.” He captured her lips with his and it was slow, gentle, comforting.
“I miss him,” she whispered as their heads rested together, and she heard him choke back a sob while pulling her impossibly closer.
“Oh Bella… I miss him too, sugar,” he choked past the lump in his throat. “I miss him too…”
~o0o~
“So, what now?” Stefan asked as they sat around the living room. Breakfast and the subsequent clean up had been over for quite a while and it seemed that none of them had much of an appetite for lunch, so they’d gathered in the living room to talk about their situation.
They’d already established they were the only ones with two sets of memories of the recent past and that was a burden off their minds to say the least, but they still had the killer of little Jace to deal with.
Damon placed the top back on the crystal decanter after pouring a fresh drink and turned to face them, drink in hand as he leaned back against the sideboard. “I’d rather have this talk with Bella and Jasper present.”
Stefan pursed his lips and rubbed his brow before looking at his brother. “You think she’s ready to handle it?”
Damon stared down into the amber liquid for a moment. Was she? He had his doubts, but he also knew she wasn’t going to stand for being left out. They’d just have to deal with any break-downs as they came and hope for the best. “Maybe not, but she’ll get better with time, especially if we all help her face this. If there’s one thing I know about her though, it’s that she won’t appreciate being isolated from any plans we make.”
Stefan nodded. “I guess we’ll just handle things as they come up then, which brings me back to my original question… What now? I mean, I…”
“Now?” Jasper cut in as he and Bella joined them. He took a seat in an armchair and lifted Bella into his lap. “Now, we go after the bastard that killed my boy.” He glanced around the room. “Anyone know where he may be?”
Elena nodded. “After Bonnie got back, we did some research and found a Dr. C. Cullen listed as staff at a hospital in Chicago, Illinois.”
“Chicago, huh?” Jasper asked. “And we’re in Virginia, correct?” Jasper asked and Stefan nodded. “Chicago is quite a ways away. We’ll travel by rail?”
“No honey,” Bella said with a squeeze to his hand. “We have much faster ways of getting around now.” She smirked at her father. “Perhaps Dad will teach you to drive, since he missed out on that particular pleasure with me.”
Damon looked momentarily horrified. “Not my Camaro. We’ll use Elena’s piece of shit Camry.”
Elena scowled. “Hey, I happen to like my car, and it’s not a piece of shit.” She smiled at Bella and Jasper. “You guys can use it though, if Damon wimps out.”
“Thanks,” Bella said, looking sheepish before glancing at Bonnie. “Hey, can we go for a walk? I need to speak with you.”
Bonnie took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she nodded. “Sure, you wanna go now, or…?”
Bella got up and headed for the front door. “Yeah, I think now would be best.”
“Bella?” Damon said while looking between the two women.
“It’s okay, Dad. I just need to clear the air. I’m not out to hurt anyone.”
“We’ll be fine, Damon,” Bonnie murmured. “I can take care of myself.”
He gave a nod and the two walked out together into the bright mid-day sun. When they’d made it past the driveway, Bella sighed and glanced askance at her companion. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t fair to you. Jasper’s right, the fault lies with Edward and no one else.”
Bonnie looked down and chewed her lip. “I can see your point though. I made it possible to do what he did. It eats at me and I’ll live with it the rest of my life.”
“I know you will, but I don’t need to add to your guilt.” They walked in silence for a few moments before Bella continued. “I guess this may have been magic’s way of balancing things. You made it possible for me to find the love of my life—my soul mate, while also making it possible for my child to be taken from me.”
Bonnie shot her a grave look. “Magic does tend to seek balance…”
Bella smirked bitterly. “Yeah, believe me, I’ve noticed. Take the good with the bad and all that cliched crap, right?”
Bonnie chose to stay silent.
“Anyway,” Bella said with a sigh, “I just wanted you to know I don’t hold you responsible.” She peeked over at the witch at her side. “I really loved Emily, you know? She and Charles were like family to me. I miss them.”
Bonnie smiled softly. “I wish I could’ve known them. I have her journal and grimoire. She seemed like an amazing woman.”
Bella nodded. “She was.”
“I would like to think I would’ve done things differently, had I known,” Bonnie murmured. “I would like to think I’d have the courage…”
“Stop,” Bella snapped. “Just…stop. We’ll make ourselves crazy with the ‘what ifs’, you know?”
Bonnie blinked at her and looked back down at her feet as they walked.
“I heard him,” Bella murmured, her jaw muscles twitching with angry tension. “I didn’t know it was him then, but I know it now.”
Bonnie glanced at her with a creased brow and Bella continued.
“That day… We were on a picnic in the park. The baby was sleeping beside us on the blanket and Jasper kissed me. There was a growl, and if I had only listened to that little voice in my head that told me something was wrong…” A tear rolled down her cheek and she swiped at it. “If I had just checked out where that growl came from instead of dismissing it, maybe Jace would be alive.”
“Oh Bella…” Bonnie murmured as she reached out and placed a hand on her arm as they paused.
“Yeah,” Bella said, wiping the tears that were falling freely now. “So, you see what good it does to look back? None.” They began walking again and Bella continued.
“All I can do now is look forward to getting my hands on the bastard.” She looked at Bonnie and the sheer hatred in her eyes made the witch shiver. “And I will. Some day, hopefully soon, I’ll get my hands on him.”
“I’ll help you any way I can.”
Bella glanced over. “Thanks. Jasper and I need all the support we can get.”
“Well, you have mine, and I know everyone else probably feels the same way.”
Bella nodded and turned back toward the house. “Time to get back, I think,” she said, her brow creasing at the sight of a car turning off in the driveway of the boarding house. “Someone you know?” she asked Bonnie who shook her head.
“No, I don’t recognize the car,” she said as the sleek silver BMW with limo tint on the windows pulled up and parked.
“Huh, well, let’s go see who it is.”
Bonnie nodded and they stepped up their pace just as the front door opened and Damon stepped out, followed by his brother.
The driver’s door opened then and Bella sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of Emmett. “What the hell are you doing here?” she asked as her eyes narrowed to slits.
Jasper raced from the house and wrapped her in his arms while glaring at the male cold one who put his hands up. “Whoa, I come in peace,” he said as the Salvatore brothers moved to stand with Bella and Jasper, the look on their faces not the least bit welcoming.
The passenger door opened and Rosalie stood from the vehicle. “We’re not here to cause any trouble.”
“Unless you can tell us where to find the mind-reader…” Damon snapped but was cut short by Rosalie.
“That’s exactly why we’re here.”
“Bella, who are these people?” Jasper asked, his green gaze riveted on the two new-comers. There was something about them that grated on him, though their emotions seemed sincere.
“Jasper?” the blonde female murmured as affection and sadness rolled off her. “God, is that really you?” She smiled. “You look so different, unmarked, human… You’re beautiful, brother.”
“They’re two of the Cullens, Jay,” Bella answered. “Your old family, from when you were like them.”
“This is touching and all, but what do you mean, that’s why you’re here?” Damon asked.
“We brought him,” Emmett said, getting right to the point.
Bella’s breath hitched. “Where is he?” she snapped, taking a quick step forward. “Where is the bastard that killed my baby?” She reached back and gripped Jasper’s hand as he stepped up next to her.
His jaw twitched with tension as he struggled to beat back the rage that flared within him.
“Damn, still got the mojo, eh, Jazz?” Emmett said as the pure rage slammed into them from the empath.
“I’d appreciate if you’d quit talking like you know me, and answer my wife’s question: Where is he?”
“He’s in two bags in the trunk,” Rose said, not liking the look in her former twin’s eyes. It was cold and hard and full of hate and she had to suppress a shudder as fear of this strange yet familiar vampire filled her.
Emmett reached inside the car and popped the trunk, before meeting Damon and Stefan at the back to get the bags. “We had to transport him in pieces,” Rosalie explained as she shut the passenger door of the car.
“It’s all right,” Damon said while hefting a bag. “We’ll put his ass back together, at least partially, before dealing with him.”
Rose nodded, her eyes filled with sadness and understanding. “Yes, I kind of figured you would.”
“Why did you do this?” Bella demanded, the look in her eyes calculating. Rose had never been her friend, or even cordial and Edward was her brother—had been for decades…
Rose’s eyes filled with anger. “He killed a baby. He killed my brother’s baby. I couldn’t let that go.”
Damon hefted a bag and walked into the house closely followed by Stefan who carried the other bag and Bella gestured to the house. “You’re welcomed to come in if you like. It’ll probably be a while before we’re set up to deal with…” she trailed off waving a hand toward the house, and Jasper wrapped her in his arms.
“Come on, darlin’,” he said while leading her into the house.
“Yeah, we’ll come in for a while,” Rose murmured while taking Emmett’s hand to follow the rest of the group.
When they’d all taken seats in the living room, Bella looked at her father. “Where’d you put him?”
“Basement for now,” he said before taking a healthy pull from his glass.
“And there’s no way he can get away?” Jasper asked.
“Nope, he’s in pieces with his head in a separate bag,” Damon answered and Jasper nodded.
“Good.”
“So, how did this come about?” Bella asked while leaning into Jasper’s side where they sat on a loveseat.
“Edward came home a few days ago after being gone for a couple of days. He was crazy as a loon, wouldn’t come out of his room for anything and kept muttering things. It was like he was talking to his dead parents, but of course, there was no one there, not that nay of us could see, anyway.
“Carlisle finally went up to talk to him, and got him to confess the whole thing.” Rosalie shook her head while staring at her hands clasped in her lap. “It was Carlisle that took his head off.”
Bella gasped at that. “That must’ve been hard for him.”
Rosalie met her gaze and nodded. “It was. I don’t think he’ll ever get over it, but he knew it had to be done. What Edward did, and the way he was…there was just no coming back from that and Carlisle knew it.”
“He didn’t finish the job,” Damon said pointedly, and Rose shook her head.
“No, he didn’t.” She met Damon’s ice blue gaze. “None of us could, that’s partly why we brought him here. The other reason is, I thought your family should have the right to end him.”
“It won’t be pretty or quick,” Jasper snapped and she nodded.
“I kind of figured that too,” she said, her tone resigned.
“How does your Sire feel about all this? Does he even know you brought him here? Should we be looking for trouble?” Damon asked while sharing a look with Stefan who looked just as concerned.
They all noticed how Emmett cringed. “We didn’t speak to him about what we were going to do.” he admitted. “We just sort-of bagged him and split while Carlisle was busy consoling Esme.”
“Ah shit,” Damon said with a heavy sigh.
“Let him come,” Jasper seethed. “He wants a fight, I’m more than ready.”
“Easy there John Wayne, this is Carlisle we’re talking about. I doubt you need to worry,” Emmett said with a frown, his need to defend his Sire overriding the sympathy he felt for his former brother for the moment.
“He’s right, honey,” Bella said while rubbing Jasper’s bicep. “I really doubt Carlisle would fight us over this.”
Jasper raised a brow, his cold green gaze still locked on the muscled male cold one, already having identified him as the greatest threat in the room. “We’ll see once things get started, won’t we?”
Emmett’s frown deepened and he squared his shoulders. “You know, I don’t remember you being such a cocky…”
“Em…” Rose murmured while clutching his hand. “Cut him some slack. He doesn’t know us at all, remember? We’re strangers to him and part of the coven of the one who killed his son.”
Emmett took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah, all right.” He looked back at Jasper. “Just…calm your tits, okay? I’m not here to fight you.”
“Jay, he’s truly a good guy. He…used to be like a brother to me,” Bella said and Jasper glanced at her before giving a sharp nod.
“All right, sugar. I’ll trust your judgement.”
Just then, Rosalie’s phone rang and she pulled it out and answered as all the vamps in the room listened in intently. “Carlisle.”
“Rose, what have you done? Where is Edward?”
“Em and I took him.”
“Yes, I assessed that much. Why?”
“I overheard your conversation with Esme,” she answered.
“What have you done, Rose?” he demanded. “Where have you taken him?”
She squared her shoulders. “What does it matter? He needs to be destroyed, Carlisle, and we both know that none of us would be able to do it.”
“That’s not true, Rose. I was going to end him quickly after explaining things to Esme. Now, what have you done with him?”
Her gaze flitted to Jasper who gave a sharp nod while holding her gaze.
“Em and I brought him to the people who are entitled to finish him.”
They all heard the Cullen patriarch’s breath hitch. “No,” he breathed. “Rose…Jasper will…”
“What is it, Carlisle?” Esme’s faint voice begged in the background. “What’s happened?”
“Jasper,” Carlisle continued, ignoring his mate for the moment, “at least the Jasper we knew—will not be merciful, Rose. I know Edward did a terrible thing and must be ended, but how could you condemn him to such a fate?”
Her eyes closed and she dropped her head while clutching the phone to her ear as her guilt warred with her anger. Then she pictured a tiny boy with wispy blond curls and Jasper’s dimpled smile and the anger won out. “It’s what he’s earned, Carlisle, what he deserves. Don’t interfere.”
With that, she ended the call and curled into Emmett’s side.
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