The Man in the Long Black Coat, Chapter Fourteen

“Edward, would you mind sitting and talking for a moment? As you’ve probably surmised, the ladies are getting ready upstairs. Emmett and Jasper are out, procuring dinner.”

Carlisle motioned toward the sofa.

Edward closed the front door and took a seat. He heard Alice’s shrieks upstairs as she, Bella and Rosalie got dressed for the evening. It was to be a celebration of him going almost an entire month without feeding on a human. He'd been dreading it. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd been out with a group of people. Since before he was turned, certainly.

"I regret that this is our first chance to talk," Carlisle said. He smiled warmly. "You've shown extraordinary strength, doing as well as you've done. Your display of restraint outside the gas station was remarkable, I'm told. Jasper is impressed. And he doesn't impress easily."

"Can we cut the chit-chat, Dr. Cullen?" Edward pulled at the collar of his tee-shirt. "With all due respect, what is it you want to say to me?"

"Our truce with the Volturi," Carlisle said. "It's complicated. Aro and I have known one another for centuries. Let's just say there's no love lost between us."

Edward shifted in his seat. He scanned Carlisle's mind. It was nothing but a jumble of words and broken images.

"It comes down to this, Edward. The Volturi and my family share the same goal: Coexistence with humans. We all realize that to be in the open isn't an option. We'd either be hunted and slaughtered as a species, or we'd be forced to turn the main food supply into competitors. Under such a scenario, of course, vampires would quickly outnumber humans. Eventually, there'd be nothing left to feed on but livestock and wild animals. That's not sufficient to support an expanded vampire population. The bottom line is, we would cease to exist as a species. We would all starve to death.

"Although we agree on the goal, Aro and I differ on how we go about achieving it. While he and the council believe it’s natural to continue to feed on humans, however discretely, we’ve come to the realization that doing so presents too much of a danger to our kind.

"We were on the verge of battle several centuries ago, long before your time. But we worked out what has come to be an uneasy agreement: The Volturi would act as a quasi-police force in our world, disciplining vampires who present a danger, who risk exposing us all through carelessness. Or worse."

Edward bristled.

"My family and I would seek to change vampire culture from within. We, as a species, are perfectly capable of surviving on animal blood, as you have come to know in this last month. So long as we don't overpopulate the planet. We believe it's not only the right way to live, but it's the only way to ensure our long-term survival.

"This is where you come in."

"How so?" Edward asked. "As of tomorrow, I’ll be done with my required month. Can't I move on now? Am I not a free man?"

Carlisle smiled uncomfortably. "You have a history with the Volturi, do you not? With Aro, specifically?"

Edward rose from his chair. "You've been in contact with him. About me? My past? How dare you."

"Calm down, please," Carlisle said. "Aro told me nothing specific, I assure you. But I've known the man for quite a long time, Edward. He isn't difficult to read, even without your extraordinary ability. He seemed quite interested in you. Too interested." He phrased this last part almost like a question.

Edward tried to force the memory away, but it was too late. It seeded in his mind and he knew it would continue to grow there all night if he didn't give it some release.

"I struggled, after I was turned. For years, Carlisle. My initial plans didn't work out. As I've said, I thought I could kill only the vile, the depraved. But it turned out that when you can see a man's every thought, everyone is evil.

"And so I went on a rampage that lasted longer than most human lives. I'd heard of the Volturi, of course. Who hasn't? I was aware of the council's policing authority. But I didn't care. I killed whomever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I terrorized small towns and big cities alike. Newspaper headlines followed me across the country. Serial killers got blamed for many of my deeds.

"I laughed it off. I saw it as my right, killing humans. It was my revenge for what had been done to me. To a certain extent, I still see it that way."

He sat back down on the sofa and unconsciously rubbed the scar on his cheek.

"But everything changed about twenty years ago. I could no longer be indiscriminate. Eventually, I noticed that the Volturi would sometimes show up not long after I'd left some town or another. Soon, they began showing up before I'd had my fill. Because of my ability, I was always able to stay ahead of them.

"But for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how they knew. How they'd become so successful at finding me."

"It was the Internet," Carlisle said.

"Yes," Edward replied. "I'd been so wrapped up in my world for all those years, I wasn't more than superficially aware of its existence. But by the mid-1990s, virtually every newspaper in America had a website. Stories of murder and mayhem got the clicks, so to speak. The reading public ate it up."

"As did the Volturi," Carlisle said.

"Indeed. It made finding rogues like me easy."

Edward put his head in his hands and sighed. He heard Emmett and Jasper enter through the back door, but they knew enough to respect Edward's privacy. They simply nodded as they passed, and headed upstairs.

"When they sent James, the tracker, I thought I could outsmart him," Edward continued. "I'd always been able to use my mind to stay one step ahead.

"But he was too good. He found me, and he summoned backup. Felix, Jane, even Aro himself showed up."

"What did they do to you?"

"Aro put his hands on me while Felix held me down. I'll never forget his words: 'That is the saddest memory I have ever had the fortune to behold,' he told me. 'It is quite delicious.’

“He relished my pain, Carlisle. The sick fuck insisted I join them. I laughed in his face, of course. They tortured me. Weeks. Months. I don't know how much time passed. The truth is, I don't even remember all the details. It wasn't the first time I wished I were dead, but up until then, I don't think I really meant it.

"After they let me go, with a promise to keep an eye on me, I knew I had to change. It was simple self-preservation. I learned to cover my tracks. I learned not to stay in one place too long. I kept the cops away by making sure I left no evidence. I avoided the press at all costs, even going so far as to carry the corpses of my victims on my shoulders as I left town in the middle of the night. Sometimes, I’d carry them a hundred miles through darkness before I found a safe place to dispose of them.

"And it's worked for me, this new lifestyle. Until I got here.” Edward paused. “I became careless. Distracted. One thing led to another, and I guess you know the rest.”

He took in a breath and sighed. "Looking back on it all, I do know this: I shed no tears when Bella got rid of Felix."

"Are you talking about me again, Edward?"

Bella strode down the stairway with a smirk on her face. She wore black leggings, a long, form-fitting tee-shirt and a jean jacket that was buttoned at her waist. She'd ditched the black Converse in favor of black heels.

Edward stood up and simply stared, hardly noticing Alice and Rosalie following Bella down the stairs.

Carlisle stood and leaned toward Edward. "She is a vision, Edward. Remember that. It will help you get through the hard times. You've shown before that you're capable of changing your ways. Let's prove that you can do it again."

Bella walked up to Edward and hooked her arm through his. She reached up and kissed him on the cheek as the other couples gathered near the door. She wiped a smudge of lipstick from Edward’s face with her thumb. He frowned. “Don’t worry,” she whispered in his ear as she moved her hand down to his chest. “It comes off easily. That’ll come in handy later.”

He was about to reply when Carlisle spoke. "Shall we go?"

Bella pulled Edward out the door, and he had to admit, he had butterflies in his stomach. He realized he was actually looking forward to having a good time. Remarkable.

The bar and restaurant was only a ten-minute drive into town. They loaded up into Carlisle’s GMC Yukon Denali, a huge, luxurious SUV. Once they arrived, they crowded into a booth near the back, away from most of the Friday night crowd.

Alice jumped up seconds after taking her seat. "Who wants to dance? Edward? Bella?"

Edward pretended not to hear her. Alice rolled her eyes.

"I'll dance with you, Alice," Bella said. She scooted past Edward, brushing her backside across his lap. When she was out of the booth, she turned back toward him and smiled. "Lighten up. We're here for you, Edward. To celebrate you." She leaned over and put her forehead against his. "I'm going to make sure you have a good time tonight," she whispered against his lips. "Whether you like it or not."

She walked onto the dance floor, where Alice was already moving to the music. Bella sneaked up behind her and put her hands on Alice's waist. They moved together, their hips swaying, Alice's hands running through her short hair.

Edward worried, in spite of himself. He noticed the men in the bar starting to pay attention to them. He didn't like attention.

"I'm going to stop them," he said, getting up for the table.

"Relax, Edward. Let them have their fun," Jasper said. Edward sat back down. “Alice has been waiting fifty years for a girlfriend like Bella.” He moved in closer, smiling as he whispered. “Rose doesn’t quite fit the bill.”

Rosalie and Emmett were lost in their own world, Edward noticed. They weren't paying any attention.

He was still uneasy. He began scanning random thoughts in the room, on the lookout for danger. It was a habit that had served him well. He saw no reason to abandon it now.

Someone was thinking about Bella. Who? He looked around.

Jessica Stanley. She was with a whole group of underage kids. Most of them looked half-drunk. Some were way beyond that.

Edward focused as Bella and Alice kept dancing. One of the guys with Jessica leaned in to talk to her.

"What's got your panties in a wad?" Edward heard him say.

"Fucking bitch," Jessica said. "I know she knows what happened to Mike. She was trying to get me to leave him. She was making up a bunch of stories about Mike. Probably wanted him for herself."

"You should do something about it," the guy sitting with her said. Edward knew he was Tyler Crowley, another recent Forks High graduate. He was nearly as tall as Edward, about six feet one, with tan skin and an athletic build.

"Like what, Tyler?” Jessica said. “I mean, her dad's the fucking police chief. Even if she did have something to do with it, there's no way anybody’ll do anything about it."

"We could do something about it ourselves. Mike was a good friend."

Jessica laughed. "Yeah, sure. I'll just ask her and she'll be honest with me. Tell me right where to find his body."

"I'm sure I could persuade her, if I have to."

Jessica gave Tyler a devious smile.

"But what about that group she came in with? I don't know who they are, but the big guy looks like he could be dangerous."

"Don't worry about them," Tyler said. "I'll take care of the tall one in the coat. My boys can handle the big guy and the other one. You deal with Bella."

Edward knew it was time to go. He walked up to Bella and Alice, concerned.

"We have to leave," he said.

"Oh, don't be such a party-pooper, Eddie," Bella said. She grabbed his hands and pulled him to her. He resisted, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his mouth.

Edward pulled away. "I'm glad you’re having fun, Bella. I really am. But we need to go. Now." He nodded toward Jessica and her group. "They're talking about confronting you. They think you had something to do with Mike’s disappearance."

Bella laughed. "What are they gonna do? Arrest me?"

"I think they mean to do you harm."

"He's right, Bella," Alice said. "We should go. We can continue the party at home. It’ll be fun."

They gathered up everyone else and headed outside. Jessica and her friends were there already.

"You don't want to do this," Emmett said, stepping between the two groups.

Jasper went for the car. Edward knew they would need to make a quick escape before things escalated. The last thing they needed was a fight with a bunch of drunks.

“You fucking whore!” Jessica screamed, throwing her beer at Bella. Edward caught the mug in mid-air and crushed it in his hand. Glass shards rained onto the pavement.

No one spoke for half a minute.

“No more,” Edward said, calmly staring at Jessica. “You will leave, and you will live another day. Do you understand?”

Jessica stammered in response. “Yeah. We’ll go. We’ll go now.”

“Fuck that,” Tyler said, awkwardly stepping forward. “She owes us some answers.”

“You don’t want to continue,” Edward said. “Trust me.”

“And who the fuck are you?” the boy said. He stumbled forward, so drunk he could hardly stand up straight. Emmett caught him before he hit the ground. Edward could tell Emmett was being careful not to hurt him.

Tyler twisted free and swung at Edward. Edward automatically ducked the punch, only to see it connect squarely with Bella’s face.

An animal instinct took over then. Edward was not in control of what happened next. Before he knew it, before Bella had even hit the ground, Edward had already returned the punch. He was as surprised as anyone else when it landed on Tyler's face. He hit the teen so hard, he felt Tyler’s orbital bone shatter. He collapsed to the ground at exactly the moment Edward caught Bella before she hit the concrete.

“Holy shit! You killed him!” Jessica screamed. Chaos ensued. The rest of the crowd ran, some into the parking lot, others back inside the bar.

Carlisle bent over the unconscious teenager as Jasper skidded the Denali to a stop at the curb.

“Get in,” Carlisle said, looking at Edward. “Now. Take them back to the cabin. I have to help this boy.”

He remained bent over Tyler as Edward carried Bella to the Yukon. Everyone else had already piled inside.

Edward’s last vision as the car pulled away was of Carlisle giving CPR to Tyler.

If Tyler died, Edward realized, the Volturi would have every reason to come after him.

-30-

A/N I’m going to take this opportunity to write a way-too-long author’s note so I can thank each and every one of you who’s reviewed my story. I simply can’t believe so many of you like what I’m doing here. To reach 700-plus reviews without a hint of a lemon anywhere? I’m blown away.

On that note, I need to tell you this: It’s become really hard for me to reply to every review, as I’ve been doing from the beginning. It’s taking away my writing time, which I don’t want. I write the vast majority of this story on my phone over my lunch hour. So, I’ve decided to stop replying to every review. From now on, I’ll only reply if you have a question, or if there’s something else specific in the review that I think needs replying to.

But please know this: I cherish every single review I get. I mean that.

Now, as for the story. Holy shit! Can you believe it? Edward finally seemed like he was on the right path, and some jerk comes in and screws it all up for him. What do you think is going to happen now? Poor Edward. I have a feeling he might be meeting Aro again one day. Soon.