Chapter Six
Rose Thorns
Elizabeth Cullen
Tennessee. September, 1935.
"Liz, have you seen my Fred Astaire record Carlisle got me?" Rosalie called out to me from the living room as I cleaned the kitchen. "I could've sworn we were just playing it the other day."
"I think Edward borrowed it to play it in the parlor. He's been trying to learn it on the piano." I answered her.
"Of course he did." She muttered angrily. "I guess I'll just go hunting instead." She told me, gracing the doorway with her presence.
"Alright, just remember to keep away from the hiking trails." I smiled encouragingly at her.
"Got it." She smiled back before breezing out of the kitchen door.
I touched the faint scarring decorating my shoulder and smiled at the amount of progress Rosalie has made these short two years.
After Edward had managed to rip Rosalie off of me, Carlisle and I convinced her to calm down enough to explain what had happened to her. The trauma of her attack had taken a huge toll on her, she was full of rage, and I was happy to help her through the pain however she deemed fit.
Carlisle hadn't been happy that I was involved in so many murders, but he understood the need for justice and the peace it brought to Rosalie. Besides, he was mostly upset that I broke into the Hale household to steal Rosalie's wedding dress for her. I was quite proud when I found out why she wanted it. Wearing your wedding dress to murder your rapist ex-fiancé and his friends was the most theatrical thing I had ever heard of, it was brilliant.
Strangely, plotting murder together seemed to be our gateway into friendship. After everyone involved in the incident was deceased, Rosalie and I bonded even more by her love of makeup and clothing. I was her own personal Barbie doll as she loved to pick my outfits, style my hair in newer fashions, and even apply makeup to enhance already flawless features. I had never been one for such vanity, but in my eagerness to experience things with the daughter I never had I was fully-willing to humor Rosalie and let her have her fun.
She came around to Carlisle's fatherly aura gradually, as she was still a little guarded when it came to men's involvement in her life. She claimed she had had wonderful parents and didn't feel the need to replace them, which Carlisle and I respected entirely, but that still didn't stop him from showing her the same attention that he did Edward and myself. The first time that he had brought me home flowers when she was with us, she was entirely surprised when he handed her an arrangement of roses and babies breath.
"I...What is this for?" She had asked him, still a little stunned as I placed a vase with some water on the table beside her.
"He's always bringing me home flowers." I told her. "He knows I like having them in the house and the boys like the smell, as much as they won't admit it." I teased them, pinching Edwards cheek as I went to get a vase for mine.
"They looked like something you would like." Carlisle told her. "It didn't feel right to not bring both of my girls home something nice." He smiled, kissing me on the cheek in greeting before heading upstairs to change from his hospital wear.
"Rosalie? Are you okay?" Edward asked her, and I turned to find her looking both incredibly sad and touched at the same time.
"Yes." She nodded quickly. "They're perfect." She offered us a soft smile before going to take the flowers up to her room.
"You know, she's even prettier when she smiles." Edward laughed, just as surprised as I was by the genuinely soft emotions Rosalie exhibited.
Then, months later, I was shocked to see her curled up on the couch next to Carlisle, peering over his shoulder as he flipped through the pages of one of my old sketchbooks. The sight was so touching that I felt I could cry, and I would've if I actually was able to. For her to have struggled so much with letting us love her, and to finally have softened so much as to be so close and open with us, it was a fulfilling sight.
"Elizabeth!" She had gasped, startling me as she noticed my presence. "I had no idea you were so talented!" She praised.
"Oh? Thank you." I smiled widely, daring to sit on her other side and drape an arm over the back of the couch behind her. "I'll paint you something for your room, if you'd like, anything you want." I promised her.
"Really? I'd love that." She smiled happily, catching my hand in hers. "Thank you both for being so patient with me. I know I haven't been easy to love, but you've both never given up on me for a moment. I really can't thank you enough." She spoke softly, and Carlisle looked to me with wide surprised eyes in his excitement.
"No thanks are necessary." Carlisle assured her, offering her a gentle hug. "We both just want the best for you, for you to be happy, and above all we want you to know you're always going to have a place with us...in whatever fashion you chose."
"I know I said I had great parents...but the more I watch you two with Edward the more I realize that I was really just a tool for them to get what they wanted. They used me to get my father a promotion by having his bosses son fall in love with my looks, not me." She frowned. "That's not the kind of parents I want. I'm not ready for the Mom and Dad stuff yet, but one day I will be."
"And we'll be here whenever you are." I assured her. "We'll always be Elizabeth and Carlisle at the very least though, no matter what. If you decide you don't need or want parents, we'll still be eager to be here for you as friends. We just want to be apart of your existence."
"Thanks." She nodded her head. "You know, there's been one thing I've been too hesitant to ask." She turned to me, a new playful look in her eyes.
"Anything." I nodded.
"Can I call you Liz?" She asked. "Elizabeth just sounds way too formal for someone as fun as you are." She laughed.
"For you, anything." I promised. "Call me Liz then." I laughed, never thinking I'd so willingly accept a nickname.
Rosalie's relationship with Edward, however, was very strained. He didn't understand her attacking me when she awoke, no matter how many times I tried to explain that she was simply terrified after the amount of trauma she had experienced, he wasn't willing to let the grudge go easily. She had always been so used to be sought after that Edward's lack of interest greatly offended her, even though she didn't really want him in that way. They fought constantly, always arguing and bickering and making snide comments at one another any chance they could get.
However, as time progressed and they both learned to adjust to each other, they were quite surprised at the amount of shared interest they had. They both enjoyed cars, music, and astrology. In an effort to establish some goodwill between them, Carlisle and I set up a nice telescope in the backyard on a clear night in hopes they'd take the bait.
"Honeybee, it's working." Carlisle had smiled excitedly at me as he peaked out at them through the kitchen window curtains. "Come look."
It was a sweet sight, seeing them genuinely getting along as they pointed constellations out to each other and took turns looking through the telescope.
"What are they thinking?" He asked eagerly.
"Carlisle, that's such an invasion of privacy! I could never actively do that to my kids." I frowned at him. "Hold on, let me turn my switch on." I giggled after he laughed at my joke.
As I concentrated on tuning into their thoughts, I could only hear chatter from each of them about being excited to have a sibling.
"Not as much of a pain as I thought..."
"...might be nice to have a little sister."
"An older brother to go to for help-"
"I should apologize for being so rude-"
"Siblings." I smiled widely at him. "They're thinking of each other as siblings!"
"I knew we made the right decision." Carlisle laughed happily before pulling me into a loving kiss. "Looks like we might have a daughter after all." He smiled proudly.
"Elizabeth? Love, are you alright?" Carlisle asked, surprising me as he and Edward entered the kitchen.
"Yes." I nodded. "Just got a little wrapped up in my thoughts I suppose." I giggled, realizing it was getting dark outside.
"Where's Rose?" Edward asked. "Carlisle and I found this yearly astrology chart I want to show her."
"Oh, she went hunting earlier, she should be back any time now." I smiled sweetly at him, touched that he had thought of his sister.
"I've done something...bad, maybe." Rosalie suddenly rushed into the room, drenched from her neck down in human blood, and instantly sent me into a panic.
"Are you alright? Did you get too close to the trails? Did you slip?" I cooed to her, petting and checking her for injuries unnecessarily. "Your eyes are still golden. How did you get all of this human blood on you?" I asked her, Carlisle hovering over my shoulder worriedly.
"There's a dying man on the back porch I need you to change." She told us firmly.
"But, Rose, Elizabeth and I agreed no more-"
"If you love me at all you will do this for me." She countered him. "I can't let him die and I can't change him myself. So, if you love me, you'll change him for me."
"Show me the way." Carlisle nodded, following her outside quickly, leaving Edward and I standing shocked in the kitchen.