Chapter 12 Bonus Scene

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Chapter 12 Bonus Scene

"Es, are you all right?" Carlisle asked his wife as they headed toward Emmett's house. They'd gone home to change after Jack's game and were now going to his son's for dinner.

To say he was shocked at their being invited when Edward and Isabella would both be there would be an understatement if there ever was one. He sighed and shifted in his seat as he recalled how uncomfortable Edward was when he greeted him at the ballpark.

He hated that their relationship had come to that, and when he glanced to his right and noticed the frown on his beloved wife's face, he really hated it.

"You don't think Edward and Isabella will leave when they find out we're going to be there, do you?" Esme asked.

"No, dear. You saw the two of them today, and you saw how excited Jack and Emma were, not to mention Emmett, to have them over," Carlisle said, hoping to placate his wife. He didn't really think they would leave, but you could never be sure where Edward was concerned.

Esme let out a sad sigh and stared out the window, replaying the words her daughter-in-law had spoken to her earlier. She understood Isabella's fierce protectiveness of Edward, but it pained her greatly to think that Isabella felt as if she had to protect Edward from her.

"We have really failed him; you realize that don't you?" Esme asked after a few moments.

It wasn't the first time she'd had such thoughts, after all it had been over twenty years since they'd taken Edward in. She again thought back to the first time she'd seen him, so scared and so angry, and realized that from the very beginning she'd let her own guilt at her own failures color everything. She knew without a doubt that her sister and her brother-in-law had done something to break his spirit, to make him afraid to trust anyone and instead of trying to push for answers, she let him be, consoling herself with the fact that he'd come to her when he was ready. The more time that had passed, the more closed off he became and the more guilt she felt build up until it threatened to suffocate her.

Carlisle sucked in a sharp breath, the anguish in his wife's voice cutting him to the core. However, no matter how much he wanted to disagree with her, he couldn't.

"Yes," Carlisle said simply, though there was nothing simple about the situation at all.

"I'm so angry at my sister," Esme whispered in a shaky voice, "and I'm so angry at myself. How could we have let things get so bad, Car?"

From the time Maggie had been born, Esme had adored her sister. The moment their mother had brought home the tiny, red-haired bundle, Esme loved her beyond measure. As they grew up, that love had only deepened. Maggie was a beautiful child with her long, silky red hair, bright green eyes, and pale, flawless skin.

Over time Esme could see that their personalities were very different. Where Esme was calm, rational, and exuded warmth, Maggie was just the opposite. She was excitable, did things without thinking, and craved attention and love so desperately it often made her act out just to get attention.

When Liam Connolly entered the picture, Esme knew that Maggie would do something foolish. She never would have expected that the foolish thing would be to run away with a twenty-year-old man to Ireland, never to return. She never would have expected her to turn her back on her family. She never would have expected that when she snuck out of their house one night after blowing her a kiss, it would be the last time she would ever see her.

There were any number of things Carlisle could have said in response to that, but all would sound like excuses and he was frankly damn sick and tired of making them. Edward had not helped the situation, he knew that, but he also knew that if things had been handled differently at the beginning, things might not be the mess they were in now.

How does a family go twenty years without talking about what had happened to Edward before he came to live with them? How can you justify behaving like a jealous, spoiled brat to your own son? How do you tell the woman you love more than life itself that you feel like it's your fault things got as bad as they are? Those questions had plagued him from the very beginning, and to this day he still didn't have an adequate answer.

"Es, sweetheart, I wish I had an answer for you, but I don't," Carlisle answered his wife sadly.

"Did you see him today, how happy and relaxed he looked?" Esme asked rhetorically for she knew Carlisle saw everything she did.

"Thank God he's had Isabella," she said softly.

"Mmmm hmmm," Carlisle agreed.

"She loves him so much," she went on.

Carlisle felt a smile spread across his face as he pictured Edward, Isabella, and Emma walking together earlier. "I'd say that feeling is quite mutual," he told her. After seeing Edward with Isabella today, if he'd had any doubt about that before, he certainly didn't now. His son was definitely very much in love with his wife.

There was a time, not too long ago, when he would have questioned that statement, but certainly not any longer.

"Have you ever seen him smile so much?" Esme questioned, feeling her heart swell when she heard his laugh in her mind. "I miss him, Carlisle. I want my son back...though I feel like I've never really had him in the first place. I can't go on like this any longer, feeling like we aren't a part of his life, of their lives. It's not right," she said as she wiped a tear of her cheek.

Hearing her sniffle and seeing the tears on her face hurt him deeply and he reached across and grabbed her hand. "Esme, darling, I miss him, too. There is so much we need to get out in the open. All of us," he told her.

"I know," Esme said quietly, squeezing her husband's hand.

Gideon and Seth looked at each other, having witnessed the couple's conversation below.

"Things are beginning," Gideon said when he turned to Seth.

Seth floated around in a tight circle, so anxious about everything. "It is. Do you think Edward will understand?" Seth questioned fretfully.

"It will be difficult, but yes, I think he will. You do know that he is liable to get very angry, Seth, when you tell him what he needs to know. Maybe not at first, but he will. Edward tends to let things stew longer than he should," Gideon reminded with a shake of his head.

"No kidding. Damn human," Seth muttered.

"Seth, this is going to be quite the test for Edward, Isabella, Carlisle, Esme...and you. Don't forget what still has to be done. You'll know when the time is right to tell Edward what he needs to know," Gideon reassured. "I have complete faith in you, my friend," he said as he laid his hand on Seth's shoulder for a moment before he floated away.

"I hope you're right, Gideon," Seth said quietly and then heard Edward's plea and went to do his job.

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