Hearts & Spades

Cullen residence.
Forks, Washington.
2009.
Bella.

Ivory stares up at an elegant painting encased in a gold frame in Carlisle’s office, completely enthralled by it; she doesn’t even acknowledge Edward and me as we walk in.
“Someone’s obsessed with that,” Edward jokes, trying to break the silence, but he instantly realizes it was the wrong thing to say as the look in her eyes changes.
“Nice try,” she says quietly. “I admire your efforts to change the silence but, as usual, they fail miserably.
“This painting’s inaccurate anyway,” she continues, switching topics effortlessly as she points to a spot towards the middle of the frame. “There are 14 circles, not 13.”
“And how would you know?”
A small smile creeps its way onto her mouth. “Previous experiences.”
“Who’s in the painting?” I ask, trying to break the growing tension in the room.
Silence.
“The Volturi,” Ivory answers. “A very old and powerful vampire family. Think of them as royalty.”
“And how did you know them?”
“Let me put it this way,” she says suddenly, turning to face me. “The Volturi notice things. When you’re the leader of a group of vampires that gets paid by gangs and shady businessmen to assassinate humans, the Volturi are bound to investigate.”
She disappears suddenly, no doubt running out of the room to avoid any more questions.
“I didn’t know that she…” I blink.
“That’s one of the very few things she’s told us.”
I glance up at him in surprise and he nods. “Ivory doesn’t like to talk about her past, for whatever reasons. All we know is that she was the leader of a nomad group who caused some trouble in Alaska and decided to stay with us when Carlisle offered.”
“But you guys still trust her?”
“Bella, when you live as long as we do, there’s bound to be things that you wouldn’t want to talk about.”

~~~~~~

I stand at the top of the stairs, laughing to myself as I take in the room in front of me. Alice suddenly pulls me by the wrist and I stumble, nearly losing my balance.
“Sorry about all this,” Carlisle apologizes. “We tried to rein Alice in.”
“As if that were even possible,” Esme smiles, pulling me into a hug. “Happy birthday, Bella!”
“Thanks.”
A camera flash distracts me and I glance over at Alice, who, of course, is holding my camera.
“I found it in your bag,” she says guiltily. “Do you mind?”
I shake my head. “No, it’s alright.”
“Dating an older woman,” Emmett suddenly grins, turning to Edward. “Hot.”
Edward gives him an incredulous look.
“What?” Emmett frowns, and I bite back a laugh as Ivory elbows him in the ribs.
“Tone down your inner pedophile for at least one day,” she teases.
Before he can respond, Alice passes a long box to Rosalie. “You first, Rosalie.”
Rosalie immediately hands it to me. “It’s a necklace,” she says simply. “Alice picked it out.”
“Thanks.”
Alice drags Edward over to me, holding up the camera. “Show me the love!” she says brightly, and I blink at the sudden flash again.
“This one’s from Emmett,” she smiles, handing me a large square box.
I shake it and glance at him for an explanation. “Empty?”
“Already installed it in your truck,” he grins. “Finally, a decent sound system for that piece of cra-“
“Hey, don’t. Don’t hate the truck,” I cut him off.
“Open Ivory’s next!” Alice jumps in, handing me an even bigger square box.
I slowly pull off the dark green bow and open the box, my eyes widening in surprise as I look at the contents; a framed sketch of Forks, from the view of a hill just outside of town. “Ivory… You drew this?”
She nods. “Alice wanted me to buy something but I figured I should get you something more… personal.”
“Thanks,” I smile. For once, we’re getting along. No awkward silences, and no glares from her that are full of something close to jealousy.
“Carlisle and Esme’s next!” Alice says cheerfully.
“Just a little something to brighten your day,” Carlisle explains as Alice hands me the box.
“You’ve been looking kinda pale lately,” Esme smiles, and I wrestle with the wrapping paper.
“Ow,” I curse under my breath, holding up my finger. “Paper cut.”
A sudden silence fills the room, and Edward looks up at Jasper, whose face has completely frozen. Their eyes lock and suddenly, Edward shoves me back into the table, the musical sound of broken glass filling the room.
I watch in horror as Edward stops Jasper in his tracks and pushes him back into the piano. But he quickly snaps to his feet and ducks under Carlisle’s arms before being pulled to a stop by Emmett.
“Jas, Jas, shh! It’s okay, it’s just a little… blood…” She cuts off her sentence and everyone turns to look at me.
Her eyes widen. “Ivory, don’t-!”
Ivory has been standing in the corner this entire time, shaking as she tries to control herself, but after a beat of silence her eyes turn black.
“Two months,” I swear I hear her whisper as a smirk creeps onto her face and she steps forward, sliding under Esme’s grasp and racing forward.
Just as she’s two steps away, Rosalie suddenly wraps her hands around Ivory’s arms and brings her to a stop.
“Take Ivory and Jasper outside,” Carlisle orders, kneeling next to me and examining my arm. He holds up his hand, his fingers stained with blood, my blood. “Go.”

Ivory.

Esme and Rosalie sit with me outside, calming me down as Emmett and Alice do the same to Jasper.
“There was just so much…” I whisper, keeping my head in my hands as I sit at the base of the tree. “I didn’t mean to…”
“I know,” Esme says simply, rubbing my back, and I bury my face in my knees.
What was I thinking? I can’t lose control like that again. There’s a reason I drink human blood once a month; even a small taste can help keep my thirst under control for a while. It’s been two months since I last hunted, so it’s no wonder that I went insane.
I glance up at Esme, trying to convey through my eyes that I need to talk with her, privately.
She nods. “Rose, I need to talk to your sister. Go help Emmett and Alice with Jasper. He’s very upset with himself.”
Rosalie nods and stands up, glancing back at me as she walks away.
“Mom, should I tell them?” I ask quietly.
“About the Volturi or about the fact you still have to feed off human blood?” she questions, and I look down in shame.
“You know about that,” I sigh.
“Of course I do. I’m your mother, aren’t I?” she smiles. “I know you only do it for the safety of those around you. I’m not sure if your siblings will approve, but I trust you and Carlisle trusts you. That’s all you need.”
“Should I tell them… everything?”
“Ivory, I know you’re still trying to move on. Just tell as much as you want to.”
"Or I can say nothing at all," I point out after a brief silence.
"There's always that option."

~~~~~~

Cullen residence.
Forks, Washington.
2010.
Bella.

The Cullens are gone.
That’s just it. They left after the… incident at the birthday party. Disappeared. Got the hell out of Dodge.
Or in this case, Forks.
It’s as if someone punched a gasping hole in my chest. Everything feels so empty.
I think it’s been 4 months now, but it feels like so much more.
And I can’t think of anything else. All I do is review that night in my mind, over and over, wondering what would have happened if things went differently?
I stop the truck and look up at the house, the tapping sound of rain almost like a soundtrack. Zipping up my hoodie, I step out and slowly walk across the slick pavement, stopping just short of the porch.
I stand there for a while before turning back to the truck, then freeze as I glance something on the ground, half-buried by a pile of dead leaves.
Carefully nudging the leaves aside with my toe, I realize it’s a black sketchbook.
Ivory had a black sketchbook.
I flip it open to the front cover and, sure enough, there it is, written in dark red ink.

Property of Ivory Gianna Cullen.
Steal and I will kill you.
THAT MEANS YOU, EMMETT!