The Hydra Chronicles 1: Hunting Diana

Chapter 8: Cullen POV-Avenger POV: Where the Cullens Meet the Avengers

*Forks, Washington*

*Cullen House*

Carlisle Cullen stepped out of his Mercedes and slowly made his way up the stairs to his home. His movements were robotic, and unusually slow for someone who wasn't human. He was just going through the motions now.

Things had not been the same since Edward's death. Ever since the Final Battle, The Cullen's had been struggling to move on. Esme never left the house except to hunt, but even then, she hardly hunted. She'd snag a deer or two and then call it quits. On days she didn't hunt, she would sit on the couch curled up in a ball and stare into space. She hardly ever said a word.

Alice never shopped anymore. In fact, she was still wearing clothes from the previous year, something that was unusual for her. She had always cared about what year's fashion she wore but now she tossed on anything and hoped she didn't leave the house naked. And she never confided in Jasper anymore. When she wasn't at school or hunting, she was sitting by the river flowing in their backyard. It was the only thing that ever grounded her now.

Rosalie was so consumed by her guilt and grief that she had ran away. She and Alice had gotten into an argument about a couple months after Edward's demise. Alice had brought up about Rose's issues with Edward when the two had first met and Rosalie had gotten defensive, and the argument ended up with Rosalie cutting ties with the family and she moved out. Poor Emmett had to go with her as he was her mate, but he still visited.

Not long after moving away, Rose went to the city where she was first turned into a vampire and had a break down. Unable to reconcile with her family just yet due to her overwhelming guilt and shame, she fled. No one had spoken to her or seen her since. Emmett was utterly crushed. Not only had he lost his brother, but his mate as well. He stopped laughing. He stopped pranking. He just existed, an emotionless robot.

Poor Jasper was just sucking in all the negative emotions. He found himself involuntarily embracing those emotions as his own so not only was he feeling extreme pain and grief but everyone else's as well. He was starting to lose his grip on all of it. He was starting to think he should get away from everything for a bit.

He had already taken several trips to Texas to visit Peter and Charlotte, who supported him however they could. But Jasper didn't want to be a burden to them as he already felt like one to his wife, who barely paid him attention anymore. He was considering moving to Colorado and getting a cabin in the mountains. But he wasn't ready to give up on Alice or his family, so he stayed.

And for Carlisle? He was struggling to keep what was left of his family together. Or he had, in the first six months after his son's death. After that, he couldn't bear being in his own home, so he took on more hours at work. Sometimes he would work three shifts in a row with no break and without ever leaving the hospital.

He took to avoidance so he wouldn't have to deal with the pain of losing his first son. He was falling apart. He was usually so well put together but now his sanity was beginning to slip from his grasp.

Carlisle entered the home and stopped right in his tracks. Edward's piano was gone.

"Esme?" he called, hanging up his coat, not that he needed it. He was a vampire; he couldn't get cold.

He walked into the living room and found his wife in the same position that she was always in now. She was clutching a blue jacket to her chest. Upon further inspection Carlisle realized it belonged to Edward.

"Esme, where's the piano?" he stood in front of her, unsure. At this point he wasn't sure how to comfort her. He had stopped after a few months. After ignoring his grief for so long Carlisle had become numb to it. He avoided everything that reminded him of his loss.