Chapter Five
"It feels much better now Dr Cullen," the adorable little ten year old girl said in answer to his question on how her broken arm felt, "And thank you for the pink cast, it's lovely." Her mother smiled ruefully and shook her head. Carlisle could understand why, little Becky was wearing nothing but pink and her schoolbag was pink and her school stationary was pink…apparently even her bedroom and it's entire contents was pink, Becky had proudly described everything in great detail as her arm had been seen to.
"Well then you're free to go home and I'll see you next Monday. And remember to look after that arm like I told you," Carlisle said with a kind smile for both Becky and her worried mother. He then left the Nurses to deal with the rest of the paperwork and headed back to his office to write up his report, everything was forms and papers and reports these days. He'd been typing quickly for about five minutes when his phone rang; the screen telling him it was an outside call. Saving his file he picked up the black phone, "Dr Cullen speaking."
"Stay the fuck out of my life!" He knew that voice…
"Jasper…"
"I don't need your help. I don't need your pity! And I don't need you interfering with my life!" Carlisle heart lurched as he heard the boy choke back a loud sob. "It's my life and my problems! Stick to your own!" The boy hung up, obviously slamming the phone down on his end as a loud bang in his ear made Carlisle wince.
"What the…?" Carlisle asked himself quietly, wondering what had happened to upset the boy so much, wondering what Jasper thought he had done…
"Carlisle! We're needed in the ER!"
Pushing his worry for Jasper aside temporarily Carlisle followed his fellow doctor out of his office and took off for the ER as quick as they could.
~ * ~ * ~
As he drove home Carlisle thought of Jasper and that phone call, running what was said over and over again in his mind, trying to think of something he had done that would have affected the boy like that. He couldn't think of anything. Parking his car in the garage he hit the button for the automatic doors to close as he headed inside the house, the unusually quiet house. Where was the music and the laughter?
"What's wrong?" he asked Esme as he bent to kiss her on the cheek as she washed up by hand at the sink, something she did when she was upset. She sighed deeply before answering,
"Someone at school has said something about the children. It's upset Alice so much she'd not said a word to anyone all day and has locked herself in her room." Esme slipped off the unattractive rubber gloves and Carlisle pulled her into his arms, his worry increasing rapidly. Alice not talking? Alice talked about everything! When she was happy or sad, when she was hyper (especially when she was hyper), when she was depressed, when she was hurt…Alice always talked!
"Who was this someone?" Carlisle asked.
"Rosalie told me it was a boy that they kindly gave a life to school," Esme mumbled into his shoulder, "Carlisle I'm really worried about Alice, this really isn't like her. If someone had upset her she'd have told us. Why is she…?"
"Esme, what as the boys name?" Carlisle asked, a sinking feeling of dread growing in his stomach. First the phone call from Jasper and now this…it was too much of a coincidence.
"I can't remember. Rosalie knows it," Esme said, pulling away from him and taking a tissue out of her pocket to wipe away the streaks of mascara her tears had put on her cheeks. Fondly he cupped her cheeks in his hands and brushed the pads of his thumb over the smooth skin once she'd wiped away the black marks.
"Where is she?" Carlisle asked, his thumbs still stroking her skin.
"Computer."
"I'll talk to Rosalie and then I'll go up and see if Alice will talk to me," Carlisle said, kissing his wife's lips softly before heading towards the family computer in the living room. As he walked he heard Esme return to the washing up. "Rosalie?" He called out to his blond daughter who was watching something on Youtube, the computers headphones on. "Rosalie?" He pulled the headphones away from her ears and she turned around indignantly.
"Oh it's you dad, I thought it was Edward again. He keeps bugging me even though he knows it's my turn," Rosalie huffed in annoyance. "All he wants to do is IM Bella, as if he doesn't spend enough time talking to her already." Carlisle smiled down at Rosalie. His blond daughter hadn't liked Bella at first but mostly now her moaning and complaining was just an act to cover up the fact that the girl who had stolen Edwards's heart was growing on her.
"Rosalie, can you tell me what's upset Alice today?" Carlisle asked.
"I can tell you what I've heard," Rosalie conceded, "None of us were actually there when it happened but the whole school was talking about it by the end of the day." Carlisle perched on the edge of the desk to listen, "We gave this boy a life to school and he seemed quite nice, shy but nice. Turned out he was in Alice's first class so she offered to walk there with him. I think she liked him."
"Go on," Carlisle nodded his head.
"This is the bit that's just gossip as none of use were in the class with them," Rosalie reminded him, "Well apparently she sat with this boy which caused a scandal of it's own, a Cullen girl with a nobody and all that. You know how high school kids are. Anyway for no apparent reason he blew up in her face, swearing at her and shouting at her. He even called her a B-I-T-C-H! And then he just stormed out of the class and one of the supply teachers saw him leaving the school grounds."
"What was his name?" Carlisle asked, having a tough time believing that Alice could have given anyone a reason to shout at her. Alice was just too nice.
"Jasper something. Alice knew him but I didn't recognise him," Rosalie answered, confirming Carlisle's suspicions. Something had happened to make Jasper mad not only at him but at Alice as well and he had a horrible suspicion it was something so simple as finding out Alice was his daughter. Jasper's earlier words came back to him,
"…I don't need you interfering with my life…"
He hadn't interfered with his life, not on purpose. But his children HAD given the boy a lift to school. He couldn't have thought…surely he wouldn't have thought…
"I'm going to go try and talk to Alice," Carlisle said finally.
"Good luck, I've never seen her like this before. Emmett even offered to let her give him the girliest make-over she could manage and still we got the silent treatment," Rosalie said, looking back to the computer screen. Now that really was serious. Carlisle ran a soothing hand down Rosalie's soft hair before heading upstairs and along the corridor till he was standing outside of Alice's room.
"Alice?" he asked as he knocked, "Alice let me in honey."
Nothing.
"Alice please let me in? I want to talk to you about what happened today, I want to try and help," Carlisle said loudly, knocking again.
"Go away," the little mumble was only just heard but in the room behind him, Emmett's room, there was a little cheer of,
"She spoke!"
"Alice please let me in," Carlisle kept his tone gentle but loud. The minutes ticked by as he stood outside her door until eventually he heard the lock click and the door was opened. He stepped into the room as Alice flung herself back down onto her bed, her face pressed into her pillow. "Oh Alice sweetheart, tell me what's wrong." Carlisle said softly as he sat beside her on the bed, his hand beginning to rub up and down her back in a soothing motion.
"Didn't-Rosalie-tell-you?" Alice asked with little gasps between the words.
"She told the me the gossip," Carlisle corrected, "I want to hear what really happened from you. What's upset you so much sweetheart?" The back rubbing continued even though she rolled over slightly to face him, her red cheeks and bloodshot eyes on display to him.
"We-We gave Jasper a lift to school," she began slowly, "And it was all good and he was really nice and…and well I might have flirted a little," a shy smile broke out then only to be quickly killed off by her sad look, "We went to history and Mr Roberts started the register. After he said my name Jasper just…freaked. He was so horrible," two tears fell from her eyes and Carlisle pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket, gently dabbing at the tears until they were gone.
"What did he say to you?" he asked as he put the hankie down on her pillow.
"He said he knew what we were doing, 'scept when he shouted it at me he swore," Alice gulped and rubbed at her eyes, "He said he knew what you told me to-to do and-and he called me a 'right little devious bitch'." A little sob escaped her, "I don't know what he meant! I was just being nice to him!"
"Did he say anything else Alice?" Carlisle asked.
"He said that I should tell you that he didn't need your help or your pity or-or your children interfering with my-with his life. And then he called me an evil little cow, that I made him sick and that I shouldn't try to talk to him again. He said this in front of the whole class, the whole school was talking about it," a loud sob escaped her now and the tears began anew, "What did I do to him?"
"Oh Alice baby come here," Carlisle pulled her into his arms and she sobbed into his shoulder, her hands clutching at his shirt as he rocked her back and forth. "You didn't do anything Alice. I did."
"You did?" Alice blinked up at him tearfully.
"I treated his hand last night," Carlisle explained sadly, "And I called Chief Swan to the hospital to meet him because I suspected he wasn't telling the entire truth about how he got the injury."
"What?" Alice asked, understandably confused.
"We offered to help him but he refused, he told us that he didn't need help. I can only assume that when he found out that you were my daughter he thought that I had instructed you to befriend him so that he would let me and Charlie help him…"
"But you wouldn't do something like that!" Alice gasped, sitting up straight.
"I know that and you know that but he doesn't know that," Carlisle said, still speaking softly, "I'm sorry honey but in a way it's my fault he shouted at you like that. I pushed the subject last night and he took it out on you."
"Do you-do you think he's being hurt at home?" Alice asked fearfully.
"I'm afraid so," Carlisle nodded sadly.
"And you think he really thought that you told us to…"
"Yes."
"Well then," Alice's stance changed now from indignant to pure determination, "We'll have to sort that out won't we?"
"Alice…?" Carlisle asked worriedly.
"Next time I see him we're going to have a little talk and I'm going to clear up all the misunderstandings," Alice said strongly.
"Be gentle with him Alice," Carlisle said, again sounding worried.
"I will be."
A/N There we go, another chapter. Another soon to follow I hope.