Made of Glass Chapter 24

A Chapter by Charlie

Mission Carlisle

The next step was Carlisle. Eddie was hard at work on the plan while he drove me to the city for a play date with Alice.

“So the key to Carlisle, I think is the fact that you are by far the most intelligent person either of us have ever met.”

“That’s a gross exaggeration.”

“How do you know?”

“He’s like ten thousand years old!”

“People were none too bright back in the dark ages,”

“Actually that’s a common misconception. It was only called the dark age compared to the Renaissance. It wasn’t like people were just rolling around in the muck the whole time! There were still smart people.”

He threw his hands up in the air like I had just proved his point for him.

“You’re not an accurate judge. You’re prejudice,” I stood by original assertion.

“Maybe. Still no one can deny your intelligence is above average and just after talking to you for a little while he will see that. He admires intelligence. Besides you have books in common too! This is going to be too easy. We should have started with him than the others would have given in that much easier! Your project wasn’t planned out very well.”

I ignored that last jab. Considering he didn’t even want to do this in the first place and I had to drag him along the whole way he thinks he- no no, I was ignoring that.

“We didn’t start with Carlisle because he is going to be the most difficult.”

“Why do you say that. You know something about him that I don’t know?” Eddie said teasing.

“He’ll stick to his guns on this front because he views himself as the caretaker of the family. It is his job more than anyone else’s to project the Cullens from people like me.”

“Oh, I see. You mean terrifying hundred pound blonde book worms?” he was not taking any of this seriously.

“You know what I mean. I’m a threat because when it comes down to it he thinks you’d pick me over them.”

Eddie’s lighthearted manner slipped away as the words sunk in.

“So all we have to do is prove that his worries are unfounded,” I continued on.

“You’re right this is going to be the hardest.”

“But we can do it. We could-“

“I would pick you over them.” Eddie interrupted my scheming.

“No you wouldn’t,” I blatantly denied him. “They’re your family you’ve know Carlisle for like a hundred years and me for only a couple of months,”

“It doesn’t compare," Eddie said shrugging. “Maybe we’ll have to settle with four and two.”

“No!” I nearly shouted. “I will not be defeated!”

“Pulling out while you’re ahead isn’t really being defeated.” Eddie tried to sooth me.

“That sounds like trying to justify giving up!”

“Dolly-“

“I’ll think of something!” I cut him off as Alice came into view. He seemed to sense that I wasn’t going to be swayed and let the subject drop. I gave him a quick peck on the cheek before jumping out of the car and running over to Alice’s side.

I loved having a girlfriend, a girlfriend that I actually liked, for a change, but it was a lot more work than I would have expected. Alice seemed to think that we needed to develop a sisterly bond over night which meant almost daily excursions to fancy shops and stores and restaurants which she didn’t even eat in. All places I had never heard about or ever thought about going in. Despite how uneasy I was about possibly touching something worth three times my life savings and shattering it into a million pieces I couldn’t complain too much. I couldn’t hang out with Eddie twenty-four seven and Alice was exactly the right person for me to split my time with.

Now if only she would let me pick what we were going to do for once. I put on my best fake smile as she pulled me into a day spa. Great. Hours of strangers rubbing their hands all over me and plucking and pulling and rubbing. This was going to be fun.

I was never going to get used to the Cullen mansion. I was sure that I could spend every day here for a year and I would still be discovering new rooms. I was confused by the simple task of making my way from the front door to Eddie’s room. Usually I wasn’t allowed to roam around alone in the mansion what with hostile vampires all around me but apparently Alice thought the threat was over now that there were only two left. After she and I had come back from outing she dumped me off at the front door and told me that Eddie would be back in fifteen minutes. That I should just wait for him in his room until he got there. Then she drove off in her shiny expensive car. Probably to do something glamorous and exciting. I watched her drive off with a sigh. Then walked into the mansion. I found Eddie’s room after just a little wandering around upstairs but quickly got bored waiting for him. I sat on his couch for a solid five minutes before I told myself I wasn’t the kind of girl who sat around wasting her life away while waiting for her boyfriend. There had to be something in this mansion to do. I thought Alice had mentioned that Jasper was going out with her but maybe I could find Emmett. He would be good entertainment until Eddie returned. He had recently found my clumsiness hilarious. He marveled that someone could be so into sports and yet be so incapable of playing any. That one amazing football catch he was convinced was a fluke and now he felt the need to test me with every other imaginable sport. Playing any sport with Emmett was just as frightening as the first time. I spent most of our games running away in fear but I couldn’t say it wasn’t fun.

The problem came when I couldn’t determine which room was his. I knocked on a few doors somewhere in the vicinity of where I thought it was supposed to be but no answers came. I didn’t want to be opening any closed doors and peeking into Rosalie’s room or anything so I was pretty much stumped. There was only one door that was slightly open. I thought it might be the right one so I stuck my head in.

“Emmett?” I called into the dark room.

No one responded and I assumed that no one would be sitting alone in the dark so I was about to give up. If Emmett was anywhere in the house he would have responded to my calls by now. I turned to leave but I caught my bag on the doorknob and when I stepped away the contents of it spilled out all over the ground.

“Oh great!” I bent over to begin retrieving my things but found it exceedingly difficult in the dark. I felt along the wall for a light switch. Finally my fingers met one and I flipped it on.

My breath caught at the glorious sight that met my eyes.

This was definitely not Emmett’s bed room. It looked more like an office only it was probably the biggest room upstairs. In the center of it was a large mahogany desk with a few trinkets well organized on its surface. This wasn’t what had caught my attention. It was the book shelves. The rest of the large room was completely taken up with rows upon rows of shelves filled with ancient looking books. The shelves lined the walls and several were spaced neatly in rows in the empty spaces of the room just like a library. Actually this library might be bigger than the little one in my tiny hometown. The rows and rows of books were so neatly organized and beautiful. I could only stare for a few more moments.

I didn’t mean to snoop. I really didn’t but it would be a sin if I didn’t take a little closer look. Wouldn’t it? I meant to just glimpse at a couple of the titles. Hopefully they were medical journals or something equally uninteresting and then I would be able to leave. Unfortunately the first thing I saw was the Decameron by Boccaccio a collection of 110 short stories. Now I had read that book before. The general publication with 100 stories in it. I had to see what these mysterious extra ten were about. I pulled it from the shelf with the utmost care. The pages crinkled as I slowly turned to the table of contents. Unfortunately it was written in the original Italian so I gently placed it back in its spot and moved on to see what other special treasures this room was hiding away from the rest of the world. I browsed slowly taking in the riches of the room. Every so often I would pick up a volume that caught my eye like when an unfamiliar book showed up by an author that I was sure I had read everything they’d ever written. I wanted nothing more than to just sit on the floor and read every book in the room Even the ones I had already read through. If they came from this room they probably were better than what I had read. I smiled when I got to Dracula. This must have been Eddie’s source. So this was Carlisle’s office. I really shouldn’t have been in there. Yet I couldn’t tear myself away.

I was so caught up in my browsing I jumped a foot in the air when I heard Carlisle’s quiet cough come from the doorway.

“Enjoying yourself?” he said polite yet distant.

“I’m-I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to . . . but I was just admiring. You have a very impressive collection.”

He walked toward me and took the book I was holding from me placing it back on its spot on the shelf.

“Right, I’ll just go. Sorry,” I mumbled trying to side step around him.

“You like Robert Louis Stevenson?” he asked coolly.

I paused in my escape. “Not particularly. A little too dark I think.”

Carlisle just looked down at me with a blank face. I felt the need to fill the silence.

“I like happy endings in my books. It’s just that I had never read that one before . . .” I trailed off getting the distinct impression he really didn’t care. More awkward silence. I casually walked my gaze over to the exit and stared at it longingly.

“Edward mentioned you were well read,” Carlisle finally said.

“I thought I was but you’ve changed my whole life now!

“Right, so. Sorry again,” I took another step toward the door.

“Don’t be. I often feel guilty for hoarding all of these in here. Feel free to borrow any you wish.”

My mouth feel open. “Really?!”

“Certainly.” He took his steady gaze off of me and walked to his large desk.

“Don’t taunt me, Dr. If you plan on receding the offer to screw with my mind I will be heartbroken,” I had meant to be respectful but I was too overcome by the offer to mind my manners.

Carlisle turned back to me and cocked an eyebrow as he sank down into the comfortable chair that sat behind the desk.

“I should have offered them to you long ago. I apologize for being thoughtless.”

I stared at him stunned for a moment.

Oh crap. I was dreaming. None of this was actually real. This fantastic room and nice Carlisle could only exist in my imagination.

“Y-you don’t have to apologize,” I said laughing nervously. I could at least play along till I woke up.

“May I ask you something, Dolly?” Carlisle said with another scrutinizing glare.

“Of course,” I said wanting to seem eager to please but not really sure if this could end well.

“What are your intentions for your relationship with Edward?”

I wondered if this was a joke. Such a traditional question for a disapproving father in such an untraditional situation.

“Uhhh,” I said inelegantly.

“Do you intend to join this family someday?” Carlisle pushed further.

Awkward.

“Umm I think it’s a little early for that kind of thinking . . .” I hedged.

“On the contrary. I don’t think you comprehend just how deep you are in all of this. You can't just walk away now,” he said it in the polite tone he had been using but for some reason it still seemed very menacing to me.

I did not like being told what I could and couldn’t do.

“No, Dr. Cullen, I don’t intend on becoming a vampire,” I said stiffening my back. “And I can leave anytime I want just like Eddie. Not that it’s really any of your business.” I really needed to be nicer. This was not going well.

“My family is most certainly my business,” Carlisle said standing up. I took a reflexive step backward.

No, I wasn’t going to back down. I took the same step forward again.

“I don’t know what you’re afraid of anymore Carlisle,” I said my tone becoming a bit more harsh. “Eddie clearly isn’t going to kill me. It’s not like I’m going to be running off to the tabloids and you know that full well. From where I stand all I see is you standing in the way of your son’s happiness. I shouldn’t have to declare a deep everlasting love that will last for all of eternity. We’re still kids. All I know is that I’m happy like this. Eddie makes me and happy and I make him happy and we should never live only half our lives because we’re afraid of how it’s going to end. You need to come to the realization that I’m going to stay as long as I damn well please!”

That was so over the top. I needed to take back half of that. Actually like the whole thing would probably be best.

Carlisle remained cool and composed throughout the whole long embarrassing speech and answer in the same cool tone. “He’s not a kid. He’s looking for the real thing.”

“He’s a kid when it comes to these matters. He doesn’t know what he’s doing anymore than I do.”

“What I’m afraid of, Dolly, is that you’re going to break my son’s heart.”

That was definitely not what I was expecting.

“Oh, well, I’m not,” I said weakly.

“Do you promise?” Carlisle said boring me with an intense glare.

“Uhhh,” How could I promise that this was going to end perfectly and that we were going to get the happily ever after? I was too young to know what would make me happy for ever after. I tried to imagine my future with Eddie. Originally it was two old biddies rocking on the porch but then I realized I would be the only old biddy. Eddie would be just as beautiful till the day I died. He would be just the same as he was now for all the rest of eternity. Was that enough for me?

“I promise.”

Carlisle took a deep breath. “Alright. I’m done standing in the way.”

Really that was it! Mission Carlisle was a success and I didn’t have to do any near death experiences or shopping? This was fantastic.

“Just- Be careful,” he cautioned.

I beamed at him. “Sure thing! Thanks for the books Dr. Cullen!”

“Call me Carlisle,” he said warmly.

I giggled and ran out the door.

When I emerged into the hallway I saw Eddie standing at the bottom of the stairs. I ran down to him and he pulled me into his stony chest.

“What was that about. I only caught the very end. You got Carlisle on our side?”

“He said I could use his library anytime I wanted!”

He was appropriately shocked “What did you say to him?”

“Some nonsense about being happy for all eternity.”