petrichor [rosalie hale]

xvii. country lines

"How long has she been gone?" 

Carlisle spoke from where he was standing in the kitchen, his arm around a worried Esme. He looked across to see the concerned looks on his children's faces and knew that they weren't out of the woods yet.

"A few hours," he admitted, his eyes flickering over Beverly who was standing with her back to them as she stared out of the window. Jasper could feel the tension in the room even without his ability. It was clear that Beverly was blaming one individual in this room for getting them into this mess to begin with, and Edward didn't blame her for the thoughts that he was trying to ignore.

"She'll be back," Alice told them all. "Before sunrise."

Bella shuffled awkwardly as she stared at Beverly's back. She knew the vampire was blaming Edward for bringing Bella into their dangerous lives and damaging Rosalie's relationship with Kiara. She couldn't help the guilt that seeped off her, no matter how much Jasper tried to help regulate it.

"I think it's best if you take Bella back to her house, for tonight," Carlisle told Edward, grasping his upper arm gently as he stared into his sons eyes. Edward looked at Carlisle, listening to his thoughts and seeing the chaos that had happened since Bella left Forks to stop him. Edward nodded, his eyes shuffling to Beverly before placing his hand lightly on Bella's back and directing her out of the house.

Edward and Bella sat in silence in the car, one of his hands rubbing reassuring circles on her knee as he drove them back to her place in silence. They remained sitting outside her house for a long pause, Edward hearing Charlie's snores from inside the house. Jacob's scent was there, but it was faint and signalled to him that the werewolf was long gone now. Most likely with Kiara, he thought.

"Is Rosalie okay?"

The question hung heavy in the air for a second. Edward mused his lips together before turning off the car ignition and zooming round the car to open the door for Bella.

"She will be."

___

"So quiet in here, where's the twins?" Charlie asked Billy as he picked the fishing rod up from the kitchen counter, having noticed the lack of noise that usually played from Kiara's room and Jacob's loud snores. Billy forced a smile on his face as he looked at the police chief, not wanting to worry him.

"Jacob's over at the Clearwater house, spending time with Seth. He's taken it... hard since Harry passed," Billy explained, knowing that spending time was just his codeword for being on patrol. They'd all agreed that even though Charlie was their friend, he wasn't allowed to know the secrets of the reservation. He wasn't in the tribe. "Kie is out of town."

Charlie furrowed an eyebrow at this as he packed some bread and turkey into a cooler, looking at where Billy was packing his rucksack across the room. His wide rimmed hat covered his eyes from view but Charlie had heard the uncertainty in his friend's voice.

"Where?"

"She's with Paul and Leah. Leah's taken it harder than Seth, so Paul and Kie offered to take her mind off things with a little road trip."

Charlie was aware that Billy hadn't answered his question but instead deflected it. He knew that Paul, Kiara and Leah had all been troubled kids growing up, and even though they were the children of his friends he was concerned about their safety. Charlie sighed, noticing Billy's tone and knowing that the man wasn't wanting to keep talking about it.

"Okay, I won't dig," Charlie murmured, noticing the relief in Billy's shoulders as he dropped the topic. "I just hope they aren't out by Seattle, been lots of kids running off recently."