Hey guys! Another great chapter! Hope yall like it! Thanks KenoshaChick!
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We talked with Jasper, Alice, Esme, and Carlisle for a while as we waited for my parents, Uncle Emmett, and Aunt Rosalie to come home. Nothing had gone as planned so far. I never anticipated most of the household would be gone when I arrived home. I supposed I should have called first. That would have been a perfectly sensible thing to do. I was a little embarrassed that I was just self-centered enough to believe they would all be at home waiting for me with figurative bated breath. Of course, the fact that they were all living their lives as normal was a good thing. I was glad that they could survive without me, but I wouldn't let myself think this meant that I hadn't hurt them by running away.
Then again, if they had been hurt, they didn't give any indication. Jasper, Esme, and Carlisle were just as shocked and thrilled as Alice to see me home again. When Jasper hugged me, he sent waves of pure joy in my direction. The giddy excitement being radiated by Alice probably helped him quite a bit. Esme actually got pulled over by a policeman on her way back from Port Angeles. She was so eager to get home, she sped through a part of the highway we all knew to be a speed trap. She was able to charm her way out of a ticket, even while going thirty-five over, but we teased her mercilessly about it regardless. Everyone wanted to know every detail of my trip; Carlisle especially wanted to learn about the supernatural cultures I had encountered. It was an interesting role reversal. I became the teacher for once. Several times, they became impatient with my attempts to explain things verbally, and I was asked to repeatedly show parts of my journey with the pictures in my head. They were all so excited it was difficult to say no.
I tried numerous times to apologize for my behavior, but they dismissed my apologies as soon as I attempted to make them. I felt very much like the Prodigal Son, or in this case, Daughter. I should have counted my blessings. I didn't want to be yelled at and scolded. I didn't want to know the horrible things they might have gone through. At the same time, there was something very weird about pretending like I had returned from a long trip while ignoring the circumstances of my departure. They were all too nice and they were still spoiling me. Old habits die hard. I decided to just be in the moment and be as happy as they were, which wasn't difficult to do. There would always be more time to apologize. There would be more time to prove I had changed and that the entire trip had been for the best.
Sasha was especially useful in taking the attention off me from time to time. Everyone was interested in his journey through the supernatural. Carlisle knew bits and pieces of the histories of merpeople and werewolves, though he didn't know the extent to which those histories were correct. However, he didn't know anything about Gypsies or their folklore. Needless to say, everyone was fascinated by Sasha's story and extensive life. He apologized several times while explaining that his life of isolation did not leave him with more interesting stories to tell. Did he not understand his existence was more than interesting enough for a story? Eventually, the conversation did lead to his thirst and what he preferred to hunt, be it human or animal or human food. They assumed Sasha could consume human food since his eyes were a human color, but Sasha had a little too much vampire in him for that to work out. Sasha did his best to be polite, but he looked extraordinarily uncomfortable while explaining how his thirst worked. I felt more terrible than ever that I had convinced him to come with me, so I did my best to steer the conversation to something else as soon as possible. Before I could do that, I had to confirm whether or not Sasha was having any impact on Jasper's bloodlust.
We were all gathered in the living room. Sasha was sitting directly next to me with only a few inches separating us. He kept his hands folded in between his legs to help hide the fact that he was clenching them together. It didn't help that everyone in the room was staring at him like he was a new toy. Few people can handle that kind of attention, let alone Sasha. If it was just the two of us, I would have taken his hand and filled his mind with restful images. Instead, I had to sit still with my hands in my own lap.
