Three Months Later

“That was a great landing!” Alice applauded. Leslie smiled at her adopted sister. “You keep practicing like that, and you’re going to medal at your next competition.”

“I doubt it. Kimmy is way better than I am.” Leslie headed for the showers.

In the shower room, she leaned against the lockers, pulling out her cell phone. She checked it hopelessly for messages from Alec. There were none. She sighed.  Pushing off the lockers, she began to pull out her change of clothes.

Just as she was about to get undressed, her phone rang. She checked the caller ID. It was Alec. She answered. “Hello?”

“I don’t have long. I just wanted to know how you were doing.” His voice was soft, as if he was whispering. Through it, Leslie could still hear his general concern.

“I’m doing okay.” Leslie paced in the locker room. “I miss you ....” She heard Alec sigh. “What?”

“There was another reason for my call.” Now his voice was louder. She heard a door close in the background. “Leslie, I can’t contact you anymore. The Elders have spoken. They said... that if I really wanted you to live a normal life, I would let you go.”

“Wait. I don’t want to live a normal life!” Leslie heard her voice echo in the locker room, and she was quick  to lower it. “I want to live it with you in it. Besides, I’m living with well, yeah, and that’s not really normal, Alec.”

“I’m sorry, Leslie. It has to be this way. You won’t hear from me anymore after this. The next time you see me, it will be when we come to take you in as our own. If you decide by then you don’t want to join us, then you know the consequences.” As he spoke her friend’s voice grew more and more formal.

“A-Alec, don’t ... this was Jane’s doing!”

“My sister has nothing to do with this. Despite what you think, she doesn’t always have the final word. Now, I must go. Please. Do not make this harder than it is already.”

“You promised me...” Leslie said. She could barely choke the words out. Her hand went to her throat. She had moved Alec’s Royal Guard pendant to a smaller chain to keep it less obvious. She grabbed a hold of it,  giving it one sharp yank. The chain gave in her hand.

“Good bye, Leslie.” The line went dead. Leslie stuffed her phone back in her bag, dropping the chain in after it.  She finished changing, and then went to the sink.

As she let the warm water run, tears spilled form her eyes. And then she couldn’t stop them. She had done everything Alec had asked of her up to that point. She’d gone with the Cullens without a fight, she’d moved on to doing more productive, age appropriate activities. And Leslie had only done these things because Alec promised her it was temporary, and he would come for her. Now it seemed as though Alec was giving her up.

“Leslie? Are you almost done?” Alice’s sweet voice called into the locker room.

“Y-yeah ...” Leslie tried to pull herself together. She didn’t want Alice to see her like that. When ever she was upset, Alice always overreacted. Emmett claimed it was because they felt like they had a lot to live up to, what with her having lived in luxury with the Volturi, and everything.  She finished resituating her hair, and then grabbed her bag. Leslie slung it over her shoulder, before walking out.

“What happened?!” It was if Alice could see right through the act Leslie was trying to put on. “Alec called, didn’t he? What did he say?” The small girl put an arm around her shoulders. “Talk to me.”

Leslie shook her head. She didn’t want to talk about it right there. She wanted to wait until they were in the Porsche. Alice didn’t press her.

***

“I’m sorry,Leslie. “ Alice said once Leslie finally managed to get the whole story out. “This is how the Volturi operates though.”

“But I really thought he loved me ...” Leslie frowned, sipping the apple juice she’d poured moments before sitting at the table.

“I’m not so convinced, honestly. They probably needed him to make you trust him.” Emmett said. His voice held a note of sympathy. “I do agree with him about one thing though. You’ve made great progress with us, and I think maybe... this is good for you.”  Emmett sat down next to her.

“I know...” Leslie sighed. “I just ... he ... I must have misunderstood his intentions ...”

“It’s not hard to do with them. They’re very calculating. It’s frustrating.” Edward said. He stood in the doorway next to Bella. 

“You’ve had a long day. Why don’t you go up and rest? We’re ordering you some Chinese.” Esme put in.

“Alright.” Leslie knew when the fight was over by now. She hugged Alice tightly, and then went to her room.

***

In her room,  Leslie pulled her hoodie off, and tossed it on her desk chair. It was then that she noticed a folded piece of paper on her pillow. She walked over, and picked it up. She recognized the handwriting. Alec had been there. She hurried to close her door. She didn’t want anyone to come in while she read the last note she’d probably get from him. Leslie sat down on her bed, and unfolded the paper.

Dearest Leslie,

This isn’t an  easy note to write, but I must. When I left you in the hands of the Cullens, it was in the hopes that you would one day forget about us, and continue to live your life until such time that you’d be a part of us.

Now I find that I don’t want you to be here, or a creature like us. We are not human, and we honestly do not enjoy our immortal lives. Jane and I would rather be perished, and buried with our parents, than live over and over. It hurts me more than ever to say what I must.

Leslie, I don’t want you. I want you to find your own boyfriend, a human one, preferably, and live your life. Keep my chain as memento, if you wish. I have already told them that I lost it. And above all, stay out of Italy. They have decided to let you live. Let us keep it that way.

Alec

By the time she got to the last paragraph, Leslie was in tears again. She curled up against her pillows, and sobbed. She knew now that it was truly over. Alec had broken a promise to her, and she would never forgive him for it. Though she was still convinced that Jane had a lot to do with it, she could not deny the emotion in the letter that was still clutched in her hand. She threw the paper across the room.

“I’m... sorry.” Bella stood in the doorway, holding a mug of something steamy. “Rosalie... made you some tea. Do you want to talk?”

“Not really... there’s nothing to say.” Leslie wiped her eyes. “You’re so lucky... you got to keep the person you love.”

“Yeah, but it was a real struggle. He kept trying to push me away. The trick was to make it clear that I wasn’t going anywhere.” Bella set the mug down. “I know that the general family consensus is that you stay away from him, but I don’t think that’s fair to you. However, I wouldn’t try and pursue him right now. Let Alec figure out what he wants.”

“Thanks, Bella ...” Leslie gave her a genuine smile. “Good to know you understand.”

“Sure. Hey, let’s go out tonight. You, me, and Alice. Isn’t there a dance coming up?” Bella stood up. “I hated it when Alice tried to make me get all social. Once she finds out it’s really over, you’re headed in that direction anyway.”

“Sure. Let’s go.” Leslie didn’t want to think about Alec anymore right now. She was sure it was going to be hard for a while, but she was determined to abide by his pleas of living a normal life. Not that living with vampires that are supposed to be fictional is normal... “I’m just going to freshen up, okay? I’ll be down in a minute.”