Shifting Moon

  Edythe looked at her mother of nearly 100 years, "Hi Mom, could you maybe give me some advice?"

"Anything my baby girl." Esme sat down next to Edythe and embraced her. 

"I... I don't want to see my brother hurting. I can feel his pain in every thought he has about this girl, and I hate her for it. She makes Edward second-guess everything about himself and many times he hates himself for the way he feels. But I also see that he can't get away from her either. I thought that by talking to her family, then maybe I could make her stop hurting Edward."

 Esme shook her head, "Oh my dear love. Alice is right, you have gotten so used to having everything go your way that you have forgotten what it is like to work through a problem. Most things can't be solved with a simple sentence. Edward has to come to a decision about this girl on his own, none of us can do it for him. Alice has said that in some of her visions, Bella becomes part of our family. Would you take away the happiness that would bring to Edward?"

 "Then should I take it out of Edward's hands and just turn her now, so he suffers less?"

 "No, that may hurt Edward more than anything. You know what he feels about making someone like us. It should only be a last resort not used to take away someone's future. This one he will have to work out. I am just excited to see someone that can make him feel so much. He has been alone for so long. Just like you my dear. Would you want someone to interfere in your matters to that extent?"

 Edythe shook her head. "Then what should I do Mom?"

 Esme reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind Edythe's ear, "We can only support Edward and be here when he needs us. Now tell me about this Thomas, you have focused on him quite a lot these last few days?"

 Edythe quickly said, "He is not my singer, he smells very nice, but I have remembered the way Bella smells to Edward and it's not that for me and Thomas."

 She thought for a moment, "His eyes are a glorious blue and strangely his hair is white. He has a very chiseled face, with no fat on it at all. He is nearly as big as Emmitt but the way he walks reminds me of Edward. He moves almost slow to the eye, but he is always prepared to move quickly if needed, his balance is always evenly distributed.

 His clothes are baggy like he wants to hide his physique. But he must work hard at it to reach his size at his age, he just needs someone to pick his clothes for him. He hums to himself under his breath when he works on a math problem that challenges him."

 As Edythe was lost in her description of Thomas, Esme smiled more and more as Edythe continued, but she quickly hid her smile before it could be seen by her clueless daughter. She tried to straighten her face lest her daughter try and read her mind.

 As Edythe finished her description of Thomas, Esme grabbed her hand. "You will have to explain everything you just told me about how you feel to Edward and accept that this is not about you in any way. Only Edward and this girl can work this out no matter how we feel. Now, I need to go talk to Alice for a bit and take her to look at a meadow for another house build. Emmitt and Rosalie will marry again soon, and I want it to be perfect."

 Edythe didn't say anything to Esme as she started to work out the best way to tell Edward her feelings for him and this girl Bella.

 Naturally, Alice saw her and her mother running to a meadow with her powers but was confused as to why. Esme managed to wave off any questions Alice would ask until they were far enough that Edythe couldn't read their minds or hear them.

 Esme took both of Alice's hands and jumped up and down in excitement. "I have never seen Edythe so. So.... Feminine before. Tell me everything about this boy Thomas."

 "You see it too? He doesn't show up in my visions so I can't be sure, but she is so falling head over heels for him. Best of all, she doesn't know anything. Jazz and I are trying very hard to not leak it until she is too far gone to pull back but it's so hard."

 "Even Jasper can feel it? Hoh, I am so happy I don't know how I'm going to keep it to myself."

 As Esme and Alice were trying to get their excitement out of their system so they could control their thoughts around Edythe in case she tried to read their mind, the rest of the family arrived home.

 Edythe went directly to Edward and just opened her thoughts for him to read, showing all her doubts and wishes. He was so caught up in looking at the thoughts about himself and Bella that he didn't recognize the sharpness of the memories about Thomas.

 After a few moments, he reached out and hugged his sister. "Mom is right sis; I must work this out with Bella. My pain is not her fault, she knows nothing about it. I also think you need to set some boundaries on your new powers, something along the lines of only in emergencies and only for the sake of others. Controlling the way people think is a dangerous thing." 

 "I will try," Edythe responded.

 The rest of the day and night were normal for the Cullen family. Carlisle and Edward went to feed so Edward could stand to be around Bella and then worked on their project for clone blood. Alice and Rosalie worked on a fashion brand that was exclusively for Rosalie until after she wore the outfit. Then it was sent to their designers for mass distribution. Emmitt was still working on a metal compound he thought would look like glass but be as hard as steel.

 Jasper was working on his latest book about the Civil War and its effect on westward expansion. Edythe decided to look over some legal paperwork that was from the parent company they had started back in the 40s. The Cullen's were silent owners, they allowed proxies to run the company with their supervision. This was much easier now with Edythe's new powers. Combine all this with Alice's future sight power and they were one of the unseen powers of the world.

-(Thomas POV)-

 Thomas was hiding behind a stall in the middle of the hallway. His mother and her boyfriend Johnny were with him. There were screams and loud noises all around them. Johnny grabbed my mother's arm, "Nancy, the next time a crowd runs our way we have to run with them trying to keep them between us and the gunmen." The fear in his voice was evident even to the young Thomas.

 My mother looked at him, "I don't know if Thomas will be able to keep up though."

 Johnny looked at her, "Don't worry my love, I will keep him close to me, I am strong enough to pull him along. If he wasn't so fat, I would just carry him."

 My mother looked at him in anger, "Don't call him fat Johnny, I have told you I don't like it." She reached down and took her high heels off to run better.

 "Sorry love, the situation has me freaking out. Don't worry I will bring him along."

 Moments later he looked over and started waving his hand at a group closer to the gunmen than us. "Come on, let's make a run for it, they are facing the other way." The group started moving our way and Johnny grabbed my arm painfully. As soon as the group of 20 got close Johnny shouted "GO!!!" and started to push my mother in front of him while dragging me behind him.

 Loud bangs reached Thomas's ears and people started to run faster. Johnny looked behind us, seeing the crowd start to pass him. He finally shook his head, "Sorry fat ass, I told you to lose weight." He then let my arm go and tripped me, causing the crowd to stumble over my body and slow down. The kicks and stomps were painful, I felt bones breaking. My ribs burned, and I couldn't catch my breath.

 Thom... Thoma... Thomas! Wake up! I was pulled from my dream by Bella calling my name. I sat up quickly, "I'm ok, Mom, don't leave me..." I reached out and grabbed the arm in front of me. "Please don't leave me!!!" 

 Bella winced in pain as Thomas grabbed her arm in desperation. "Thomas, wake up, it's Bella. It's ok, I'm here. You're ok, you're safe now. It's all a bad dream." She reached out with her free hand to comfort him, wiping the sweat from his forehead and caressing his face. "I'm here brother, it's ok."

 Charlie's door opened and he appeared while trying to tie his robe. "Is everything ok? I heard shouting."