Something Darker (Book Three)

XXII. Rapprochement

Demetri and I stared at the front door; I looked on with alarm, but Demetri maintained his cool, although he seemed to shift into a more protective stance.

I lurched forward, toward the door, but he caught me by the elbow.

"I'll go first," he said sternly.

I nodded wordlessly and stayed on his heels as we briskly left the house and walked to the center of the street.

Demetri's posture relaxed marginally when we came to a stop, but it took me a few extra seconds for my eyes to adjust to the dark. Once they did, I realized that Jane, Alec, and Felix had returned; and they'd gotten ahold of Renesmee, as well.

The others stood roughly thirty yards away; Felix had a tight grip around Renesmee's upper arm, and the twins stared at her without pity. Renesmee sobbed uncontrollably as Jane gave her a second dose of excruciating pain.

"Jane!" I cried as I tried to run at them.

Demetri caught me by the waist and held me back.

"Let me go!" I demanded, thrashing around in his arms.

"You shouldn't intervene," he said, keeping his voice low, as he released me. "Jane is in a particularly poor mood this evening."

"What are you thinking?" I screamed, directing my question at Jane as I charged at her, despite Demetri's warning. "What the fuck are you thinking?"

Jane turned her icy stare to me.

I stopped in my tracks, frozen by just a look.

"Brother," Jane said, refusing to speak to me directly, "please escort Violet back into the house. I will deal with her in a moment."

Without hesitation, Alec approached me and placed his hand firmly on the small of my back before essentially shoving me into the direction of the house. When I looked up at him, his eyes were devoid of emotion.

I knew what that look meant: he was furious.

"Violet!" Rensemee sobbed after me before her voice irrupted into screams.

I attempted to look over my shoulder at her, but Alec pushed me on with more force, preventing me from even capturing another glimpse of her.

I was terrified. Jane knew the repercussions of harming Renesmee, and she did it anyway.

She snapped.

I'd finally pushed her too far.

I gave Demetri a brief, panicked look before Alec shoved past him and led me back into the house.

As much as Alec's behavior was scaring me, I was grateful to be out of Jane's line of sight.

Based on the look she gave me, I knew I was a dead girl walking.

I stared at Alec with a mixture of fear and bewilderment. How far was he willing to go in order to comply with his sister's wishes? I didn't want to know, but the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach suggested that I was about to find out anyway.

Alec, to my surprise, pulled off his cloak and wrapped it around my shoulders. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly, his expression softening.

I nodded, though I doubt he believed me. I looked like hell.

"Here. Sit down," he said, gesturing toward the couch.

"Thank you," I said, pulling his cloak tighter around me before sinking down on the couch cushions. "I'm sorry," I tried to begin, my voice breaking.

"It's okay," he said, taking a seat next to me and gently taking my face in his hands. "There's no reason for you to apologize."

"Jane's going to kill me," I moaned before falling forward, into his chest.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his lap. "She's not going to kill you," he assured me.

I hid my face in the crook of his shoulder and did my best to hold back my tears. I wanted to be strong, like everyone around me.

"Why did you follow us?" Alec murmured into my hair.

"You wouldn't tell me where you were going. I was worried, and I wanted to help."

"Violet," he exhaled. "You should've stayed at the hotel like my sister instructed."

"I know," I muttered, feeling foolish. In retrospect, my actions were impulsive and poorly planned at best.

"She doesn't give you commands for her health, you know? She genuinely wants the best for you."

Normally, I would've interjected some snappy little quip, but I was too exhausted, and too ashamed to bother.

"I've ruined the mission, haven't I?"

"You've complicated it, but you haven't ruined it."

"What are we going to do?"

"We'll have to wait for Jane and see what she says."

"Right," I sighed into his shoulder. I was glad I didn't have to be the one to make any more decisions, considering my track record for that day.

Alec held me for an immeasurable amount of time, and I found myself beginning to relax in his arms.

"Why did you call him?" he asked quietly.

My cheeks flushed hot against his skin.

For a brief panicked moment, I considered lying. All I had to do was say that I couldn't remember anyone else's number, but I quickly scrapped the idea.

Lying hadn't served me well in the past.

"I felt like he would get to me faster," I hedged.

I forced myself to push forward. Withholding information was just as problematic as lying. "I felt like he would've prioritized getting to me more than...anyone else," I hedged, not wanting to be harsh.

"I would've come for you," Alec said, pulling back a little to look at me.

"I know, but," I said, biting my lip, "I really needed help, and I couldn't afford to sit around and wait for you and your sister to argue before you made your way here."

Opening up to Alec was nerve wracking, but I knew we would never be able to move forward and heal if I didn't try.

Alec held me in silence for a moment as he considered my words. Then, he tilted my face up toward his and looked down at me with a heart wrenchingly broken expression on his face.

"I apologize," he said melancholically. "I'm so sorry I made you feel that way."

My heart ached as I looked into his face.

"It's been...difficult," I said slowly. "Everything has been so difficult between us."

"I know. And I'm sorry for that."

"I'm sorry, too," I said with tears welling up in my eyes. "Really. I'm so sorry for the way I treated you in Italy. I was horrible."

"It wasn't anything I hadn't earned," Alec said, stroking my hair soothingly.

I leaned forward and hid my face in his chest.

Alec ran his hand gingerly through my hair. "I love you, Violet," he murmured.

"I love you, too," I whispered as tears slipped silently down my cheeks.