Vengeance

Chapter Thirty One

Chapter 31

Trying.

Rosalie and Emmett were not happy with my decision.  In fact, had Emily not been in my arms, I was pretty positive they would have ripped my head off for wanting to leave with Edward.  They took turns reminding me of all the horrific acts that he was guilty of, and I agreed with every one of their accusations.  Even when I explained that I was doing it for my daughter, Rose still begged me to reconsider.

Unfortunately, there was no swaying me from my choice.  I was determined to put Emily first, above my anger, revenge, and especially, above myself. I knew it would be a slow process, something that I would have to get used to, but the smile on my daughter’s face was completely worth it.  After about two hours of constant debate, Rose and Emmett acquiesced to the idea of living with us and even went so far as to discuss which Cullen property we would use as our new “home.”

It was ultimately decided that all five of us would move to the upstate New York house.  There was a vast amount of local wildlife for us to feed on, and the property had two houses; Rosalie and Emmett had refused to be in the same house as Edward, and even took a separate plane to get there.

After we had landed in Albany, Edward had received a disturbing phone call from Carlisle, informing us that the Forks property had been completely destroyed in a fire.  Apparently, Charlie had called after the blaze had been put out, wanting to make sure everyone was all right.  My father-in-law had informed him that we were all on an impromptu family vacation in Italy for the rest of the summer.  Charlie had made a point to tell Carlisle that he wanted to hear from me as soon as possible.

I tried not to think of the inevitable phone call we’d have to make, the one informing Charlie that I was dead.  Edward had spoken of this lightly after he hung up with Carlisle, but I had grown too angry for him to continue.  I didn’t want to ponder a life without my dad just yet, especially when all I wanted was to be able to return to my old life despite the impossibility of it.

The property was much larger than Edward had led me to believe, and I gasped a little when I saw it.  The main house was ten times the size of the one in Forks, but like the Washington house, the massive structure was hidden from sight.  In fact, it felt like we drove a mile or two into the brush before I spied it.  The smaller house, still double the size of the Washington property, was about five acres behind the first house, and was fully furnished.

There were tons of boxes of different shapes and sizes sitting on the front doorstep.  I threw a cautionary glance at Edward, and he informed me that he’d ordered several items for Emily before we’d left Seattle.  I wondered how on earth any postman could find this place, but stopped when I realized it didn’t matter.  While Edward opened the boxes, one-by-one, Emily and I decided to explore the massive structure that was now our new home.

Each bedroom was pretty much identical, filled with couches, bookshelves, fancy electronics, and elaborate decoration pieces.  It wasn’t until we got to the third story that I found something that differed from the rest.  The first door I walked into was slightly ajar, which I found odd since all the other doors were shut.  When I walked in, I immediately marked the differences between the other rooms and this particular one.

There was a massive bed in the center, surrounded by a solid metal frame that resembled vines, a delicate blue comforter set atop the giant king size mattress.  The entire room was a rich cherry wood, and the walls were adorned with empty picture frames—a place for memories to be immortalized.  However, the biggest surprise was waiting in the massive walk-in closet. 

The closet was stocked with tons of clothes, some elaborate and some simple and plain.  Three walls of the massive room were covered with what looked like women’s clothes, while one side was dedicated solely to men’s clothing.  I set Emily on the ground, giving her a shiny silver scarf that I found on a giant rack to play with.  As I fingered through my new wardrobe, it didn’t take long to wonder who had done this.