✓ | 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍, j. hale [1]

XIII. Family Ties

The following week, Evelyn sat cross-legged in the swing on her front porch, her sketchbook in her lap and her pencil sketching lazily across the thick paper. She had just started the drawing, but already it was beginning to take shape: a clearing in the forest, thick trees surrounding a stream that cut through the meadow like a sword. A man, turned away from the viewer towards the water, soft curls falling to the back of his neck...

Evelyn glanced up as she heard Edward's silver Volvo come purring down the wet street and quickly shut the book, standing and wrapping her cardigan tightly around her as Edward and Bella stepped out of the car and into the soft drizzle of the afternoon. They were here to try and uncover more of the Masen family history that tied Evelyn to Edward, and secretly Evelyn hoped she could find out more about him and his family. Jasper had been rather tight-lipped about the rest of his family's story, and by the hopeful look in Bella's eyes as they approached, she knew that Bella was wondering the same thing.

"You're late," Evelyn said, sending the pair a teasing smile as she led them into Marie's small green living room. The boxes full of the Masen family papers and photos were on the coffee table, and Edward led Bella to the couch where they sat down, hands intertwined. Evelyn sat across from them in an antique pastel green armchair that carried a faint smell of coffee.

"That's my fault. I had to cook dinner for Charlie for when he comes back from his fishing trip." Bella smiled quickly before her eyes returned to the piles of aged paper. "So what is all this?"

"Photos, letters, newspaper clippings, birth certificates, journals, pretty much anything that anyone in my," she paused, her eyes meeting Edward's, "our family ever kept. I don't know much about it, though."

"You kept all of this stuff?" Bella asked, incredulous.

"It was my grandfather's hobby. This is the picture I was telling you about." Evelyn pulled the photo that had changed her life out of the pile and handed it to Bella, who stared with wide eyes.

"Oh my god, you guys, this is insane! Elias Masen? I didn't know you had a brother, Edward."

Edward's eyes were far away as he leaned in close to Bella to better see the picture. "I had no idea that he survived the influenza. He was sent away when my father and mother got sick, I didn't hear from him after that." He picked through one of the stacks on the table, smiling suddenly as he found another picture. "This is us as children. We were visiting my grandfather's farm, I think. My memories of my previous life are not very clear."

Evelyn frowned, suddenly overwhelmed with sadness for the man in front of her. Bella had filled her in on Edward's story a few days ago when she had finally solved the puzzle (and gotten over her anger at Evelyn for not telling her sooner). Like Jasper, Edward's story was one from a horror movie. Why were their lives filled with such pain? Were all vampires' stories so tragic?

She heard Edward chuckle, and she frowned when she remembered that he could hear her thoughts. "You worry about such strange things, Evelyn. It's really alright, we can barely remember our human lives, anyway."

"It's not strange to be a compassionate person," she argued, busying herself with searching through an unopened box. "And I hate when you do that, by the way. Can't you tune me out, or something?"

"I could try," he said, "but then I'd have nothing to keep me entertained. Your thoughts are quite amusing sometimes, much better than the mundane broken records I hear at school every day."

"I am so glad that you can't hear me," Bella said, occupied with a journal.

Evelyn scoffed, throwing aside two photo albums with a little more force than was necessary. "I hate you both, I hope you know that."