✔️Compulsive (Carlisle Cullen)

one hundred & thirty three

For the very first time- Carlisle's circling arms couldn't bring complete calm to Quinn O'Connell as she stood within them but she held onto him with as much strength as her body would allow- and he held her back with equal fury. It was almost time- time to face their biggest fears and inevitable destiny and all happiness had been sucked from the world as they watched the softly falling snow stick to the forest around them. Quinn's blonde hair seemed impossibly dark then- compared to the impeccable pale of the snow that glowed in the eager fire light- dwindling slowly away from the warmth.

"Quinn" his voice was nothing but a ghost because there was no need for strong words- All that could be said had already been exchanged.

"I know Carlisle" and it was a soft promise- a promise that she had remembered every single word he had said to her since they had met all those months ago. It was his words that flowed on repeat in her head as she stood within his arms. It was his words that calmed her when she felt her worse. "I love you"

"I love you too" there was nothing else that could be said and they were resigned to holding one another. Everything, from the very beginning, had led to this very moment. But as Quinn stood with him beside the fire- watching the other equally still couples- she smiled tightly.

Three years ago, Quinn O'Connell had been a broken and abused teenager- living under the thumb of her wretched stepfather, breathing every day in fear and finding peace and calm in the most unlikely of places. Isabella Swan had been the one to change that- with all her stuttering, stumbling words and gestures- she had become Quinn's very first friend in many years and as Quinn looked around the campfire- her eyes locked with the brunette who she had met all those years ago and for a long moment, they both just stared. Quinn O'Connell would always appreciate Bella for the things that she did- Without even realising how much her friendship meant. And to Bella- it was beautiful to have experienced Quinn's journey to happiness, Bella had always had a strange fascination with Quinn O'Connell- the mysterious girl that nobody seemed to truly know... And she was glad that she had been the first to know her.

Isabella had led Quinn to the Cullens. To Alice- the bubbly pixie girl whose incessant nature and excitement Quinn truly missed and as her mind thought of the girl at that moment, she promised that if she ever managed to meet Alice again in good terms- the girl could most certainly plan her wedding. Alice Cullen had become Quinn's first sister because Alice looked passed all the darkness that had lingered in Quinn's powdery blue eyes, and she had introduced her to happier, simpler things. Alice had reinvented Quinn at a time when she needed it most- Distracted her when all she wanted was an escape from her own mind. Alice was an angel.

Emmett Cullen, the big bear of a man that he was, was the best drinking buddy, games player and joker she had ever known. Emmett was the big brother she had never had and always wanted. He was the warmth when all seemed dark- to crack a joke at the most inopportune of time. And when you are suffering- a spark of light is all you need to make you smile. Emmett taught Quinn how to laugh, he taught her how to smile and she would always thank him for that. He would always be her brother.

And Jasper Whitlock, the youngest major in the Texas Confederate Army- was her other brother. Jasper was the serious brother. And he was the man that could understand the hurricane of emotions that she was feeling- and accept them. He'd stopped her from hurting Maddison Grey in the hallway all those months ago, and that was the beginning of the beautiful friendship they had formed. He'd helped her with Bloodthirst, anger and violence. Jasper had taught Quinn how to be strong when she was broken and lost...

Rosalie... Rosalie Hale was a fellow survivor whose influence had been one of the most important. Rose had taught Quinn how to accept and grow. She was her sister, and nothing could change that. The two of them had a bond that could never be broken- not even in the face of war. Not even in death. Quinn O'Connell had been the very first human Rosalie had allowed herself to grow close to- and she was glad that she had.

Esme Cullen had been Quinn's mother. It didn't matter that she'd had another mother. Nothing else mattered because Quinn would always look at Esme and call her 'mom'. Esme was warm, sweet and accepting of any and everything the girl wanted to say... or didn't. Esme's love was unconditional... and Esme taught Quinn how to be love with a warm passion- how to find family, even when your biological ones are gone.

Jack Denali was a brother Quinn had never expected to come across but his warm humour and interesting personality had helped her through the darkness. Jack was so similar to Quinn because the two of them had been quite young in terms of vampirism at the same time. Together, they had learnt to live alongside humans, to control their bloodlust. They had learnt what a family was supposed to be- side-by-side.

Renesmee was their newest addition- the final piece that none of them expected nor knew they needed but was absolutely the thing to hold them all together. And as Quinn's warm gold eyes shifted to the girl lying peacefully in her mother's arms- she couldn't help but smile. This was all for Renesmee. The sweet child had birthed new life into the coven, brought excitement when they were growing calm in their new normality. Renesmee had helped Quinn open up and be herself- she'd become the closest thing Quinn would ever have to a child and she'd helped Quinn accept that. Renesmee helped Quinn reclaim her former, once despised nickname. She was the final piece in her recovery.

Carlisle Cullen was the reason for it all. It was because of Carlisle that she had a new life at all, that she had a family. He taught her everything. He was the reason that she was whole again. He was the reason why- despite the pain that was undoubtedly due to fall upon them soon- she was smiling as she stood within his arms. He loved her and she loved him and that was absolutely perfect. They loved one another in slow motion- the promise he had made her many years ago and it was exactly what they both needed. He taught her to love, himself and herself. And he was the key to her heart...

Glancing around the fire with her well- fed golden eyes, she happened upon Edward Cullen who was stood softly in the shadows of the event, the snow tumbling down around them and he looked up when he felt her gaze- eyes instantly meeting. She knew, as he nodded once with the smallest of smiles- that he knew how much she appreciated him, how much she loved him. Edward Cullen was Quinn O'Connells guardian angel- he'd saved her from the fire of her own personal hell and delivered her to peace. They'd witnessed one another's lives unfold- they'd watched one another find their true loves and they'd vowed to fight along side one another, forever. And that was why they had a bond that could not be understood or broken. They needed one another because they had once saved one another.

Right there, in the most inconvenient and sad of times- Quinn O'Connell realised that she was finally complete.