la belle dame sans merci | carlisle cullen

38

His soul, what was left of it, was void from his body as he marched to his car. He settled, heavy in the driver's seat for a moment before he gained his wits enough to call Alice. The country music drifting up from the basement was a sure enough sign that Jasper was home and where Jasper was, Alice couldn't be far behind.

"Sooo, how is she?" Alice asked when she picked up, a light and airy tone in comparison to the dreariness in Carlisle's demeanour.

"There's been a death in town." He skipped past the pleasantries, "They think it's an animal but I just had a look at the body. Definitely not the case."

"Oh, shit." Alice replied.

"Charlie's asked me over to the station. I need you and Jasper out to the docks. As soon as it's clear, scope out what you can. See if it's a familiar scent." He ran a hand down his face as he started the car, "I'd been naïve to hope they'd go around us."

"Let's hope they're just passing through." Alice said reassuringly, "We'll go scope it out. Where's Minerva?"

Carlisle sunk further into his seat, "She's home.. which would make me feel better if she didn't live in the middle of nowhere. She's a sitting duck."

"Maybe that'll be a good enough reason for them to let you tell her." The girl said helpfully on the other line but Carlisle could find little comfort in it. "We'll call if we find anything."

"Thank you." Carlisle said before he let the phone drop onto the seat next to him with the end of the call. There were a slew of curse words on the tip of his tongue, each coming out in mutters old languages in which they sounded far less crass.

He wanted this business with Charlie to be over with, even if only to text her and ask if she'd managed to fall asleep to gauge the likelihood of her heart still beating.

Carlisle did all he could not to run into the police station, settling on a hurried step. "Carlisle, thanks for doing all this on such short notice."

"Of course." He said with a terse smile, "I think you're quite right about it being an animal attack. Big animal, at that." Charlie heaved a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose in silent contemplation. "I'm sorry for your loss, Charlie. I know you were quite close."

"I've gotta call his wife still." He mumbled remorsefully, "How do you tell a woman her husbands never comin' home?"

"I can not say I know." Carlisle admitted, lacing his fingers together behind his back. "as much pressure as it is, I'm sure there's no one better for the news to come from than a friend." Charlie only nodded once more.

"Gettin' people around here outta the woods is like tryna' keep sheep outta the grass." He leaned back defeated in his chair.

"Hopefully these events will make them heed your words." Carlisle said mechanically, "If there's anything more I can do, please call me."

"Thanks again." With a wave, Carlisle was heading out the door to be greeted with a most bizarre and unwelcome sight. His son was trekking toward the door with the chief's daughter in tow. Carlisle's teeth grated against his tongue.

"Carlisle?" Edward called as he closed his car door, "What's going on?"

"Waylon Forge was found dead out on a boat near his home. Charlie called me in." Carlisle responded with a sigh, keeping his disapproving eye on his son who seemed to shrink away from it.

"He died? How?" Bella asked, forcing his attention to her.

"Animal attack." He replied shortly summoning a change in Edward's posture, no doubt picking through his mind for the details.

"Was it the same one that got that security guard down in Mason?" She continued on.

"Most likely." Carlisle was resolved to redirect her, his patience was infinite but his civility in a moment such as this was not. "Bella, you should go inside. Waylon was your father's friend."

"Right," she moved around them, giving Carlisle a moment to let his true disapproval shine through before she turned back to address's Edward as she grabbed the front door, "I'll see you later."

"I can-" Carlisle put his hand up, stopping him short.

"I don't want to hear it, Edward." He said sharply, "We'll talk about this at home." It wasn't often Carlisle was in disagreement with any of his children but to be at odds with Edward was the worst. Not only because, admittedly, Carlisle did favour him but any unchecked angry thought was free for Edward to read. It made the whole business much trickier.

In a case such as this, Carlisle wasn't sure he'd ever been so disappointed. He paced over to his car and settled in to get on the road to home. If Edward hadn't been so adamant in his disagreeing with Minerva's place in his life, Carlisle would have found himself much more compassionate. Had honesty prevailed, he might not be so cross. Instead, Edward swore up and down he'd avoid Bella Swan like the plague. He'd make sure his earlier misstep would fall from her mind. This was quite the opposite.

He reached for his phone, typing out a text as he drove. The only thing that would qualm his irrationality in the slightest would be any sign of life from Minerva. It was a mundane text given the chaos of his past couple hours: Manage to get any sleep?

It never took long to reach home but Carlisle was especially heavy footed. He pulled into the garage with surprising grace given his temper and threw his door open to face his son who was already out and trying once more.

"I can explain!"

"Then come inside and do so." Carlisle responded shortly. "You are on my final nerve."