Chapter One: Boredom

(1936)

I surprised myself as I closed the book I had just finished reading. I had picked up my favorite novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, but never expected to be able to finish it in one day, let alone one sitting. I like to have peace and quiet while I read, and in my house, that is hard to come by for any length of time. I decided it was time to go exploring and see why my family was being quiet.

I first went outside. Esme was out there, working on planting her new garden in front of the house. Esme was my mother for all intents and purposes, despite the fact that I was technically a little over a century older than her. That was just how things worked out as a vampire – Esme was the mate of my vampire father and creator, Carlisle, which made her my mother.

"Esme?" I asked quietly, not wanting to spook her. When Esme got involved in a project, she sometimes forgot where she was. I understand that feeling well…it was like that with books for me.

Esme smiled as she saw me, "Yes, Martha?"

"Do you know where everyone is? I know Dad is at work, but the house is deadly silent."

"Edward and Rosalie went hunting…I don't think Emmett went with them, though. He should be around here somewhere."

"Edward and Rosalie are hunting together….alone?" I said, pretending to sound horrified, "Hopefully they both come back in one piece."

Esme laughed, "I doubt they will get into too heated of an argument…Carlisle just discussed their arguing with them last night."

I winced at sympathy. Everyone else had gone hunting last night while Carlisle had his "discussion" with Edward and Rosalie. The rest of the night, Edward had avoided sitting at his piano…the bench was not cushioned.

"I guess I will keep looking for Emmett, then…thanks Esme" I said.

"No problem, sweetheart"

I headed back inside the house, and let my vampire senses lead me to my newest big brother. Emmett had only been with us for just over a year, and he had been a great addition to our family. He was always full of life and his joy was very contagious. Even Rosalie couldn't stay in a foul mood for any length of time with him around – of course, that might be because they were mated.

My nose led me up to Emmett and Rosalie's bedroom. The door was closed, and I didn't hear any music or any other hands that hinted at some kind of activity. If he had been human, I would have wondered if he was sleeping. I knocked lightly.

"Come in"

I opened the door, and was surprised to find Emmett lounged out on his and Rosalie's bed, looking down.

"What's the matter, big brother?" I asked him.

"Nothing, I'm just bored…Edward and Rosalie are out hunting, so I have no one to hang out with."

"I'm glad to know I am a no one" I said, slightly insulted.

"Aww Martha, I didn't mean that" Emmett said, "I went to go see if you wanted to do something, but you were reading, and I know how much you like to read, so I didn't want to interrupt you."

"Well I just finished the book I was reading, and am all freed up…what would you like to do?"

"Want to play a game?" Emmett asked, his eyes shining.

"Nothing physical" I said, "Your newborn strength is gone, but you are still stronger than me."

"How about Truth or Dare?" Emmett asked after a moment of debating.

I shrugged, "As long as you promise not to dare me into challenging you to anything"

"Deal" Emmett said.

"Alright then, me first"

Emmett's eyes gleamed mischievously. Uh-oh, maybe this had been a bad idea. "Truth or Dare, little sister?"

I quickly figured out the solution to those mischievous eyes, and smiled as I answered, "Truth."

Emmett's smile fell. He'd been hoping for a Dare. "Darn it…alright uh…what are you most afraid of in the world?"

I stopped to think for a minute. Afraid of? I was a vampire…I wasn't afraid of much. There was really only one thing for a vampire to fear, "The Volturi" I answered.

Emmett nodded slightly. We'd told him about the Volturi and their laws. He'd know why I was scared of them. "My turn"

"Truth or Dare?" I asked him.

"Dare" Emmett grinned, "And make it a good one, nothing wimpy…I have to make up for you chickening out and picking truth."

I stuck my tongue out at him, "Fine, you want something dangerous?"

"Hell yeah!" he cheered.

"I dare you to go with me to the hospital, and flirt with the first nurse you see-"

"Aww Martha, I said dangerous!" he protested.

"I wasn't finished" I said, and smiled wickedly. "The second part of the dare is that you then have to tell Rose that you flirted with another woman."

"Rosalie will kill me for flirting with someone else" Emmett said.

"You wanted dangerous." I said, "I don't think there is anything more dangerous than Rosalie in a rage."

Emmett continued to think about my dare, "Alright, let's go!"

I grinned, and the two of us headed outside where our family's second automobile was parked – Carlisle had taken the first one to work with him this morning.

"Where are you two off to in such a hurry?" Esme asked without looking up from her work.

"Nowhere…just going out to get some fresh air and exercise" I said, "We won't be gone long, Esme."

"Alright, just be careful" Esme said.

"We will be" I promised, and then got in the front passenger's seat of the car. Emmett was already in the driver's seat, with the engine on. We took off towards the hospital.

Emmett was so excited to be doing something that we made it to the hospital and he all but ran into the hospital to find the poor nurse he was going to fluster with his shameless flirting. I don't think he noticed the white sign out front, I almost missed it myself, but when I spotted it, I froze. On a plain white board, the words were painted in big, bold letters

BLOOD DRIVE - DONATE TODAY

"Oh no…" I whispered, and immediately rushed inside the hospital. Like I feared, Emmett was not headed towards the nurse's station. He was heading towards the spot where the blood donors were sitting while their blood was drawn. He was stalking towards a man with dark blonde hair, who had his face buried in a newspaper.

"Emmett, no!" I yelled, not caring who heard me. We'd have bigger problems than a few people thinking some kids were goofing off in the hospital if Emmett didn't snap out of his bloodlust.

I ran to him as fast as I could with humans around, and reached him quickly. Thankfully, he had been stalking towards his prey, not charging. I grabbed him around his arm, and tugged. It didn't do me any good, Emmett was too strong.

"Emmett, come on. We'll go back home. I'll give you a new dare" I said urgently.

Suddenly Emmett was being shoved backwards into me. I stumbled and fell to the floor, landing on the tile floor with a SMACK! I let out a gasp – it hadn't hurt when I fell, but with the sound of my stone body hitting the tile, I had to make it sound like it had hurt me to land so roughly. I only hoped I hadn't cracked the tiles.

I pushed myself up, and saw Emmett was being blocked by Carlisle. That surprised me…Carlisle was strong, but not as strong as Emmett. I guess vampires could get adrenaline rushes, just like humans.

"Outside, Martha…now" Carlisle said. The strain was obvious in his voice. He was able to hold Emmett off for now, but he wouldn't be able to do it much longer…and we needed to get Emmett outside before he hurt someone. I immediately headed outside, with Carlisle shoving Emmett out quietly. I didn't miss the numerous stares we got as we left. Carlisle was going to have some serious explaining to do once we left…and that was my fault. It had been my idea to come here.

As soon as we were outside, Carlisle growled. His patience was wearing thin quickly. He would have been using a lot of his self-restraint today with the blood drive as it was, and then he had to use more force than he usually used to shove Emmett outside. This was not going to end well for Emmett and I.

"Emmett, son, it's alright. It's just a little blood…you're fine" Carlisle said, trying to soothe Emmett's wild side. Emmett just growled and shoved Carlisle out of his way. Carlisle grabbed Emmett by the back of his shirt, and brought his hand back as far as he could, before bringing it forward with all his speed and strength.

"Ow!" Emmett yelped. Clearly, the pain had cut through his instincts, and brought him back. "Pops, what was that for?"

"Can I trust you to stay still, or are you going to walk back inside the hospital and nearly attack someone again?" Carlisle asked, his lips pressed into a tight line.

"Attack someone?" Emmett asked, his eyes full of horror, "Pops I didn't…tell me I didn't…"

"You didn't actually reach anyone. I stopped you before it got that far." Carlisle said, "But I would love to know what you two are doing here…and your answer better include someone being hurt back home, since I told everyone to stay away from the hospital just this morning! I told you all there was a blood drive today."

"I forgot, Dad…I'm sorry" I said

"Me too, Pops…sorry" Emmett said, looking at the ground.

"Why are you two here?" Carlisle asked again.

"We were playing Truth or Dare" I answered.

Carlisle turned to me in shock, "A game? A human could have been hurt or killed today because of a game?"

"Yes sir…I'm sorry, I really am…it was all my idea."

"No, it was mine…I asked Martha to play Truth or Dare."

"But it was my idea to have Emmett's dare be to flirt with a nurse here…if I had remembered that the blood drive was today, I never would have done it."

"I believe you are both at fault here" Carlisle said. "You, Martha, for suggesting Emmett's dare, and you, Emmett, for agreeing to the dare. I don't care if you had forgotten or not, you both know better than to play games in the hospital."

"I'm sorry, Dad" I said again.

"Yeah Pops…sorry" Emmett said.

"Both of you go home, right now…and go straight to your bedrooms. You are to stay in your respective bedrooms until I say otherwise. I will be home after my shift at the hospital is over, and will deal with this then."

"Yes sir" Emmett and I said together, and headed to the car. Carlisle followed us, and right before I got in the driver's seat, Carlisle stopped me. "I am very disappointed in you, Martha. Yes, Emmett shouldn't have come, but he is still new enough that his control can't be trusted at all times. You know that, and you should have known better than to bring him here."

I looked to the floor, and tried to keep my voice from cracking. Venom tears filled my eyes. "I know, Dad…I'm sorry." I quickly got into the car, and drove off. Out my rearview mirror, I saw Carlisle watching us leave with his arms crossed, shaking his head slightly.