Unexpected [Rewritten Version] | Twilight Edward x OC

Chapter 12: Prospects

"You don't look like the type to have any interest in high fashion," she then heard Rosalie jest.

Looking up, Irene saw Rosalie wiping her hands with a cloth. "And what type do I look like?" Irene asked.

"The type that would kill anyone who looks at you the wrong way."

Irene let out a chuckle as she nodded. "Well, I won't deny that." She closed the magazine and put it aside. "We move a lot and never stay in one location more than three years, so I don't get to care too much about style. I have to value practicality first, especially if we run into trackers."

Rosalie tossed the cloth away and leaned on the car, beside the tray of tools. "Isn't it tiring? To always be on the run?"

Irene remained silent for a second, her gaze meeting the concrete floor. In the early years of her travels, it did get to her how she'd never be able to settle down. When she'd see the beautiful architecture of Algiers, feel the serene atmosphere of Tokyo, or witness the lushness of the forests in the Philippines, she'd irrevocably want to stay longer. But she knew the risks for Damocles' sword never stopped hanging above her head. So in the end, these thoughts rarely came back to her. So Irene said, "You get used to it eventually."

Rosalie was smart enough to understand she did not want to talk about it. Despite having spent almost every day of their days with the twins for the past two months, they knew nothing of their past as vampires. They never talk about it and even Edward was not able to find out anything in Tony's mind. The Goodwin boy was very aware of his mind in a way Edward was even surprised was possible. Tony was able to conceal parts of his life by thinking about anything else the very moment it would come back to him. Of course, it was not infallible for it was impossible to control one's own mind at the fullest. But having a psychic sister surely helped him master this skill.

"Can I ask you something?" Irene then asked Rosalie who nodded. "Have you ever considered... adopting?"

Rosalie's widened for a second but quietly replied,  "I did." Her eyes grew sorrowful. "Emmett and I talked about it for a while. But... eventually, our child would die of old age while we would remain stuck in time for the rest of eternity... I don't think I could handle that."

"You could turn them," Irene said. "After they have lived their life at the fullest or if they want to. Unlike Bella, they wouldn't lose their parents. They won't have to stage their death."

"But they'd have to cut off any contact with the friends they've made and grown up with, and eventually watch them die," Rosalie retorted. "I don't want to impose that on my child."

Irene felt bad for Rosalie, her life had taken quite a tragic and cruel turn. Betrayed by the one she thought loved her, then turned against her will. Though Carlisle might have thought he was saving her, Rosalie had mixed feelings about it. She met Emmett, so a part of her was glad she had lived that long for it might have never happened had she never crossed paths with Cullen. But then, all her dreams of having her own family just... vanished. Irene had never aspired to have children, after all, with her lifestyle, she could aspire to nothing. Which was the reason she understood Rosalie so well.

* * *

The shifts guarding Bella's house continued as the Cullens kept investigating the Seattle problem, all the while graduation kept getting closer and closer. Irene did not plan on going to college. She had already collected quite a number of degrees and, after moving so much, wanted to spend these few years on Forks resting. There was something... familiar with this little town. Walking in the forest, enjoying the scents of flowers and woods, Irene let her mind wander back decades prior. So many things here reminded her of Briançon, the quaintness of the town and the dense forest encircling it. The only difference was the sun here that was less prominent than in the south of France. Irene could imagine Eleanor's cheery voice expressing her excitement at such a new adventure while Marie and Charles would already be trying to find some wild animals to test their archery skills on. The Argences would have definitely loved it here.