From High To Low

Closing the door behind me, I hummed a light tune which was fast paced and up beat.

Dropping my keys Into a small dish next to the door, I took off my jacket and hung it up, never stopping my humming.

"someone seems to be in a good mood." Carlisle's curious voice said from behind me.

I smirked, turning to face him.

"That's because I am in a good mood, Carlisle." I said, my smile never leaving my face.

Carlisle only raised a brow questioningly as I smirked.

I looked down, a nervous chuckle leaving my lips.

"There's this girl." I managed to get out before the sound of a book hitting the ground registered in my ears, as well as the startled gasp from Esme who was seated in the living room.

"A girl!" Carlisle asked, surprise written across his face.

"yeah." I said, just as Esme's blurred form shot past Carlisle, stopping just in front of me.

"What's her name?" Esme asked excitedly, her hands clasped together.

I chuckled at her reaction.

"Her name is Evelyn Russo. She's a waitress at Deano's diner close to the docks in Manhattan." I said, slipping off my shoes.

"Oh, a waitress." Esme said happily, her eyes sparkling, Evelyn's job not even a thought in her head as she thought about a possible love interest in my life.

I nodded my head.

"Damn it!" I heard Carlisle mumble under his breath as he looked down at the ground.

I turned my head in his direction.

"Sorry?" I asked, more surprised than angry.

He looked up at me startled.

"What was that?" Carlisle asked, playing the fool.

"you just said Damn it…why?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

Carlisle blinked at me a few times, panic causing him to fidget uncontrollably.

I turned my head to the side slightly, showing I wasn't letting the issue go so easily.

Carlisle coughed into his fist before speaking haltingly.

"Well, you see…me and Julius may or may not have had a small bet."

I sputtered in surprise, both eyebrows shooting up to my hairline.

"Whaat!!" I asked.

Carlisle chuckled nervously.

"What was the bet?" I asked.

"Well, it's been a bit of a running joke between us." Carlisle said, a small smile spreading across his face.

I rolled my hand for him to go on.

"It was a bet set for if you would ever have a partner at all, or…if they would be male or female."

My eyes went wide, a gleam of anger flashing in them.

But before I could speak, Carlisle cut me off.

"Julius put his beachside estate in Monaco on the line, while I put my estate in Vigo, Spain on the line."

"Carlisle!" Esme gasped out, whipping around to give her mate a stern glare.

He raised his hands in surrender, clearly expecting the chidding he was about to get from Esme.

But before she could start in on him, I cut in playfully.

Dramatically, I raised my hands to my heart.

"Carlisle! You wound me!" I gasped, falling to my knees, my face a mask of overdramatic grief.

He gave me a glare over Esme's shoulder as she started to chide him.

I couldn't help but give him a wicked smile, knowing he would be getting it far worse from Esme then I could dish out to him.

Later that night, I stepped out of my room for a drink.

But as soon as I stepped out, I could hear Carlisle call to me from his office room.

Turning, I changed directions and stepped into his office.

Seated behind an ornate wooden desk, Carlisle, his hands stapled together in front of himself as he gave me a small smile.

Walking over to his desk, I took a seat in the plush leather chair in front of his desk, not saying anything, and instead giving him a raised brow of anticipation.

Carlisle let out a small sigh.

"I would like to apologize for earlier." He said, making sure his voice was loud enough that Esme, who was currently in the living room, could hear his words.

I smirked at him, waiting for more.

He looked away before continuing.

"It was quite childish of me to participate in that…'bet' with Julius…and Jane." He said, finally looking me in the eyes.

"Jane was also a part of it?" I asked, surprised Jane would even take part.

Carlisle shrugged.

"If it makes it any better, she won the bet." He said, knitting his brows together.

"Really?" I asked, surprised once again.

He nodded.

"She bet you would find a female partner." Carlisle said sheepishly.

I paused for a moment, my brain grinding all the new information.

"What did you bet?" I asked curiously.

He bit his lower lip.

"I bet that you would stay single." He said, looking at the wall so as to not look me in the eyes.

"And let me guess," I said, sitting forward in the chair. "Julius bet I would have a partner, but it would be male?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

Carlisle smiled sheepishly again with a shrug.

My face deadpanned.

"It was all in good fun, Adam," Carlisle chuckled.

"We have nothing but time in our hands, it's good to have a little fun every now and again. If I remember correctly those tend to be your favorite fall back every time you play one of your pranks." Carlisle said, a chuckle escaping his lips.

I rolled my eyes, he had a point after all.

After a few seconds of silence, I couldn't help but break out in a fit of laughter, quickly followed by Carlisle.

"Alright!" I said, whipping a tear from the corner of my eye.

Sitting in comfortable silence again, Carlisle leaned forward in his own chair, his voice now serious.

"I just have a question, though." he said, his eyes now sharp.

I raised a brow, curious as to what he wanted to know.

"Do you think you can handle it?" He asked.

I tilted my head to the side slightly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He looked uncomfortable for a moment, "Well…Adam, she's mortal. What happens if you fall in love with her or something of the like." he asked, his meaning clear.

His words surprised me, then I felt like I had just been hit by a truck.

"Shit!" I breathed out.

The thought of her mortal existence was something that never seemed to enter my mind.

"And from what I remember from Julius and your Journals, you didn't take the loss of your two sons too well." He said, his eyes now darting around the room, knowing he was walking on thin ice.

The room became tense as any emotion seemed to slip from my face, a mask to hide the bits of grief which still remained.

"I only say this, Adam, because if you fall in love with this woman and she stays mortal…could your heart handle it?" He asked, his eyes now meeting mine with resolve.

I tapped a finger on my chair a few times as I settled my inner turmoil.

Stopping my tapping, I spoke.

"In all honesty…that never came to mind when I was with her." I said thoughtfully.

Carlisle nodded his head in understanding.

"I know how you feel, Adam." He said, looking to a wall full of books.

"When I first met Esme, she was just a young girl. But over the years as she grew older, a bond began to form. One I never expected to feel for another human," he said, leaning back in his chair and looking back to me. "But nonetheless, it did. Then one day, I found out she had gotten married." his voice took on a sad tone, one of heartbreak and despair. "It was an arranged marriage…one she didn't want. But you know how life was then." He said, his voice becoming stern.

"She ended up having a miscarriage. It destroyed her, Adam. The only possible hope in her life…died." He said sadly.

"It was only by sheer luck I caught word of what happened. When I did, I went out in search of her, I managed to follow her scent from her home…I found her barely hanging on to life at the bottom of a five story cliff."

I sat in silence as Carlisle told me her story, a story I had not known before.

"It was out of selfishness that I changed her…and hope. Selfishness that the bond between us still existed, and I could finally find someone to love. And Hope that she wouldn't hate me for what I had to do to fulfill my selfishness." We sat in silence for a moment, before Carlisle continued.

"I tell you this, Adam, because I don't want you to feel the loss I did in that moment when I found Esme," Carlisle inhaled sharply. "Or maybe you do know that feeling, when you lost your sons. But there is this different feeling when it's someone you love like you couldn't love anything else in this world." He said, his eyes seeming to dig into my soul as he finished talking.