Grey Skies and Blue Eyes

Chapter Ten

Rosalie wasn't lying when she said it wasn't pretty, nor was it happy. Evie was in tears the moment she heard of her friends attack, but while most of those tears were for Rosalie, some were for Carlisle. Rosalie didn't blame Carlisle for her life of damnation, as she put it, but she hadn't exactly made his existence easy in the beginning either. If there was only one thing Evie knew about Carlisle, it was his compassion, and knowing that Rose hadn't been happy with her new 'life' he had given her, he would have blamed himself and questioned his choices. However, Rosalie had given Evie hope. Hope that even in the darkness of living in shadows, there was always an upside. To her, that upside was Emmett, but to Evie, it would be Carlisle. Rosalie wasn't one to beat around the bush, it was a trait that Evie liked, but resented all at the same time, so Rose's next question was blunt and to the point.

Flashback

"Could you be happy being a vampire if Carlisle was by your side?" The question should have been a simple 'yes' or 'no' question, but it wasn't. Evie didn't quite know how to answer that question, as she felt both answer's applied at the same time. Frowning to herself, she visualized what her future would be like as a vampire. Obviously she would have Carlisle, whether as a friend, lover, husband, or even acquaintance was yet to be determined, but she could hope, right? Evie knew that having Carlisle would be a huge plus, but not being able to have a child with him, or grow old with him? Was it worth it? While the answer should have been an immediate 'yes', Evie knew deep down that it wasn't that simple.

"I don't know." It seemed as if that answer both satisfied, yet disappointed Rosalie. Evie's attention was no longer on the striking blonde beauty, though, as Alice practically appeared before her eyes, fuming with anger, Esme hot on her heels, trying to reign her in.

"You don't know? How could you not know, Evelyn? He is your soul mate and he loves you. How could you choose to be human while he watched you grow old? Even if you decide you don't want him in your life, you know, deep down, that he would still watch over you till the moment you died of old age, then find a way to have himself killed! I know that having a child may be important to you now, but Carlisle will always be the most important thing to you once you figure out that you love him!" Evie couldn't tell you which emotion rushing through her was the strongest, but she had a feeling it was either rage or hurt. Rising from the couch she had been sitting on, Evie turned her best glare on Alice, feeling a sick sort of delight rush through her when the short haired vampire cringed. Evie knew her eyes were odd and added an eerie effect when narrowed in a glare.

"First of all, unless I am hit by a car and in critical condition with only a five percent chance of making it through the night, my transformation will always be MY choice, not yours. On second thought, even then it won't be your choice. If that ever happens, I want Rose to be the voice of reason, and I want her to choose, because unlike you, she might actually take my wishes to heart." The widened eyes of Rosalie and Esme were filled with surprise at Evie's outburst, but Evie only had eyes for Alice at the moment. "Second, I don't care whether you can see the future or not, you don't know how important a child is to me, neither do you know how important Carlisle is to me, so throwing around his death and my death like it's my fault will only serve to make me hate you, so don't you dare do it again. My choices in life, or in death, are exactly that; MY choices. If Carlisle brings up the subject of turning me, then we, as in Carlisle and I, will discuss it in an adult manner, but I will NOT have my choices taken from me because you don't agree." With those words, Evie had walked calmly to the front door, slipped on her shoes, and grabbed a coat before heading to First Beach.

End Flashback

It had been two hours since her emotions took over her, but Evie couldn't bring herself to leave the shore. When she had arrived, there had been no one on the beach, most likely because all of the teens were at school, but now there were a few people a couple hundred yards away. Evie sighed, watching the waves crash onto the shore, before rushing back out into the ocean. While she knew Alice was only trying to help, albeit in a very unorthodox way, it still hurt that she didn't have a choice in the matter. She knew that Carlisle head probably already been told by Esme what had happened, and she knew she'd have to confront him sooner or later, but she hoped it was later. Hell, we only just got together this morning. This has to be a new record. Picking up a stray shell, Evie rubbed the smooth surface for a moment, letting the questions she had practically drown her. Would Carlisle want her to become a vampire? Would he be happy with forever with her by his side? Would he respect her choices, or demand she be changed?

"What's got your panties in a twist?" Jumping in surprise, Evie realized she was no longer alone. Sitting next to her, looking as if she was in the most comfortable spot in the world, was a tanned girl, just staring at her with a lopsided grin. Her hair was long and dark, but not quite as dark as Evie's. Her brown eyes were filled with happiness, but Evie knew she was hiding her emotions under the fake mask.

"Who are you?" The girl rolled her eyes, before holding out a hand.

"I'm Leah Clearwater, and you?" Evie shook Leah's hand, smiling slightly.

"Evie Swan."

"Well Evie, what's got your panties in a twist? You were thinking pretty hard, and I'm pretty sure you had smoke coming out of your ears at one point. Want to clue a girl in?" Evie laughed a little. Leah was refreshing, especially after her fight with Alice. The tanned girl had a no-nonsense attitude, kind of like Rosalie's, and Evie knew that if Rose wasn't a vampire, they would be best friends.

"I got into an argument with my friend. We disagreed over some personal choices, and I kind of snapped at her." Leah didn't comment, only nodded, and for that she was grateful. It wasn't like she could tell her the whole story.

"Arguments happen, but if she is really your friend, she'll get over it and you both will respect the choices you make, even if you guys can't agree. It's what friends are for."

The rest of the afternoon passed by quickly, and Evie knew she had to be leaving soon. Leah hadn't said another word about Evie's argument, but had instead questioned her on boys and hobbies, which also, unsurprisingly, included boys. After a few minutes of talking, both girls had found themselves completely comfortable around the other. It was as if they were twins separated at birth, so when Evie announced her departure, both girls were upset. Evie knew, however, that Carlisle would be out of work soon and she needed to be home for when he got there. So with one last hug, the exchange of phone numbers, and the promise to visit in a few days, both girls went opposite ways.

When Evie pulled into the driveway, she wasn't surprised to see the cruiser still missing. Her father had been investigating the animal that was terrorizing the people of the surrounding cities late into the night, lately. Making her way inside, Evie almost jumped out of her skin when she saw Bella standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Her sister, grinning at the glare she was now receiving, only rolled her eyes when Evie huffed. "Did you actually want to talk, or were you just planning on staring at me for the rest of the night?" Bella laughed, not letting Evie's sour mood get to her, before nodding.

"We got invited to La Push this Saturday by Mike, Jess, and Angela. I thought it would be nice to get out of the house a little, so I told them that we'd be there. Is that okay?" Evie nodded, not really caring about the trip, but getting excited about going to the reservation again. While Bella and Evie had been regulars down at the Rez when they still lived in Forks, that had changed once they moved. While Bella had been close to Jacob Black, Evie had taken a shine to Samuel Uley. He was only a few months older than her and they both enjoyed football, so they had immediately gotten along. Her father used to joke that Sam and Evie were as close as Rocky and Bullwinkle. Evie hated the analogy, but understood what he meant. There was the added bonus that she might be able to see Leah again if they went down there, so Evie definitely wasn't going to say no.