I was chilled to the bone, thanks to my hasty exit to get to
Edward after he ran out of the conference room in the Seattle courthouse.
Despite taking a long, scalding hot shower, I could not stop shivering. I was
wearing leggings, loose pajama pants, a long-sleeved t-shirt, hoodie and
covered in a blanket. Edward was in the bathroom and I could hear him crying
inside of the shower. The loss of Jared had hit him to the core.
“Here, Bells,” Rose said, handing me a large cup of tea.
“Hold it for a few minutes. Maybe it’ll help warm your hands.”
“Thanks,” I replied, taking the tea and wrapping my fingers
around the mug. I inhaled it, smiling at the spicy orange flavor she’d chosen.
“Rose, I want you to do some digging about Jared. Find out if he has family.”
“Already on it,” Rose smirked. “Carlisle actually beat me to
it, using Emmett and his contacts at the Seattle PD. The preliminary findings
indicate that Jared was alone in the world. His wife left him when their son
died. She disappeared, it seemed. My guess is that she went back to her maiden
name and flew across country.”
“What about that family he worked for? The Volturis?” I
asked. “Do we know why Jared stopped working for them?”
“Hold on,” Rose said, flipping through her notebook. “Ah,
got it. Aro Volturi had to go to Italy to care for his dying father, Caius and
his mother, Maria, who suffered a stroke. He’s been in Italy ever since late
2015. Marcus gave Jared the option to stay, but since Marcus preferred to drive
himself, Jared left the company and began working for Esme shortly after.”
“Find out as much as you can, Rose. But, I want to help out
and pay for the funeral, if no one claims the body,” I sighed, taking a sip of
the orange spice tea.
“I’ll make the necessary arrangements,” Rose said. She
kissed my cheek and got up. “I’ll leave you with Edward. I don’t want to intrude
on whatever is going to happen. If you need anything, I’m just a call away. And
take your medicine. I really don’t want you back in the hospital, Isabella
Marie.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said. She kissed my forehead and left me in
the living room, looking at the beautifully decorated Christmas tree. I got up
from my cocoon of blankets, taking the time to admire the elegant decorations,
ornaments and details that Edward chose for our first holiday together. I
reached for a crystal ornament of two angels, twined together with their
foreheads touching. Half of the angel was a clear, faceted crystal and the
other was smooth, but frosted.
“You are the one with the sparkle,” Edward said, his voice
somber and gruff. “You always had this glow about you, pulling me in and giving
me hope.”
“And the other?” I asked, turning to look at him.
“It’s me, but I’m no angel. My life was dim and lifeless
before I met you,” he murmured. “I don’t know. I saw it on a website and fell
in love with it. It was very expensive, but Rose ordered it for me for our
tree. I need to pay her back.”
