Instinct

Memory Lane

Chapter 18

Carlisle sat on his silver chair contemplating his life, and his daughter. Bree had always been difficult, stubborn, and hard to control. She always acted on what she believed rather than what was right. But yet, he loved that about her. She was so strong and independent, and it's not like Riley wasn't the same, he just didn't have quite the same willpower. Carlisle began to remember what it was like when he first saw her.

He had been reviewing some of his patients boards when he heard an almost silent whimper at his door. It was raining so it was almost hard to hear anything. He walked to his window, and to his surprise, he saw a tall, blonde woman with bright red lips holding two blankets. Carlisle didn't notice what was inside the blankets. She was wearing a tan trench coat that covered her body and face and black boots that came to her knees. The woman wore a blue triangular necklace that hung off her neck. Carlisle was confused as to what was going on. She had placed the two blankets down at the doorstep along with a letter stuffed into one of them. To Carlisle's realization, inside the blankets were babies with fluttering hearts. One of them was crying as the mother began to leave, but before she did, she removed her necklace and place it around one of the babies. The woman looked like she was trying to pull a truck, with how slowly she moved away from the children. Like he was thinking it was a mistake. Suddenly, she looked up and saw Carlisle watching her. Carlisle ran downstairs to confront the woman, but the woman ran. Ran away from him and ran away from her children.

Carlisle reached the door and almost tumbled over them. He looked down at them. One had the first signs of brown hair and green eyes like the leaves on a summer tree. The other one had blue eyes as deep as the sea. She seemed to be staring into Carlisle's very soul with those powerful eyes. She looked almost like an adult the way she sized up Carlisle. His heart melted. Her nose and he fingers were so small and soft and fragile. Her lips were tiny and a pale pink. Not a crack on them. Her blue eyes lit up her whole face. Carlisle just stared at her beauty for a while and he loved her in that instant. He wanted to keep her and her brother so badly, bit he couldn't. He was a vampire and he wasn't capable of raising a child. Edward and all the others were already fully grown when he found them, so it never really mattered, but now it did. He imagined watching her first steps, playing on a sports team, graduating and smiling radiantly at him as she called him dad. These possibilities seemed endless and Carlisle couldn't say no. He already loved her too much. This baby seemed to sense this and smiled warmly at him, so warmly that he forgot he was outside and it was still raining.

He brought the children inside to dry them off. The one with the green eyes seemed happy to be out of the cold and laid his head on Carlisle's shoulder. He would have flinched if he hasn't found it so adorable. The blue-eyed one was still watching him. She seemed to be taking in her new surroundings. Carlisle noticed that she had paper sticking out of her blanket and pulled it out. The letter, he thought. He placed the children onto the couch next to each other and read aloud the letter:

Dear Carlisle,

My name is Rose. No need for any other information. I have left my children at your residence because I feel as though I am not capable of taking care of them. They are so small and so innocent. If my boyfriend found out the existed, he'd have them killed.

Your vampires. You stood up to the Vulturi when one of your own was endangered. I know because one of my good friends told me how you gathered witnesses to testify against their accusations. My children are also vampires.

Carlisle stopped and looked at the kids, then continued reading:

They were born when I was human, the same as your Renesmee. My friend changed me when I was dying. She told me to run. Run away from my boyfriend because he was extremely violent. If he found out that I was pregnant and kept the children, he would come after them and kill me. This is all my fault as this was the life I chose to live.

My children are Riley and Breeanna. They are twins, born two days ago. I chose to leave them with you because I know you will protect them and care for them, as you have all your other children. I've made wrong decisions and choices and now I have to live with them. Please take care of my children. They were all I had and cared about. I love them with all the intensity in my heart. I love them to the moon and back. Tell them that. That I love them from the moon and back.

Sincerely,

Rose

Carlisle put the letter down. He's lived over 300 hundred years and this was hard to take in. Someone had left him children because they trusted him. He prayed for that poor girl, giving them up must have been the hardest thing she's ever done.

He turned to the little girl staring up at him. She didn't understand what he had just read, but she didn't need to. She knew that her mother was gone. And she began to cry. Carlisle picked her up to cradle her and he swung her gently in his arms. She rested her head on his chest and sobbed softly. Carlisle then noticed the triangular pendant around her neck. The one the woman was wearing. He gently took it off her neck and put it in a drawer in his room, along with the letter. She wasn't ready to know. It was better off this way.

Carlisle jumped back into reality just as Bree walked through the door. She was wearing a short black dress and had her hair pulled down in curls. She looked beautiful and grown up. Carlisle could have cried if he were able to.

"Why are you all fancy?" He asked. She stopped and looked at him surprised as if she hasn't realized he was there.

"I went to a nice restaurant in Port Angeles with Liliila. It was dressy attire. Is that ok?" Bree had never asked his permission or approval for anything. That was just the way she was. She liked doing things her own way. But now she looked at him like the 2 day old girl who had first stared at him when he brought her from the porch. She was special.

"Yes that's fine. Did you have fun?"

"Yeah I had fun." She smiled at him, like actually smiled. He was getting all kinds of surprises from her today. It was actually scaring him. And the scariest thing was when she walked over to him and hugged him tightly. They just say there hugging for a few minutes and Carlisle knew this was about more than a "good night" hug, this was something else.

"I love you." She said while she hugged me. I was confused. She had never said she even like me, and now she loved me. I wish she knew how much I loved her.

She let go and walked up the stairs.

"Goodnight Carlisle." She said. She stopped at the middle if the stairs and turned back to me.

"Goodnight dad." She smiled radiantly at me and ran to her room.

I love you too, Bree. No matter what.