Family. Something I've never really had. Currently, I live up in Denali, Alaska. Now, I live with Kate, Garrett, Carmen, Eleazar and Tanya.
My twin brother, Warren, and I had just moved in with them a couple months ago and now it was Tanya's birthday. Already, the Denali Coven was like family.
Coven? Yes, a coven. I am a vampire. Both my brother and I are about 300 years old. Our parents died from yellow fever in 1793, when we were 13 years old. My brother and I were found outside of Philadelphia when we were 17, I was extremely sick and about to die and Warren was taking care of me, unusually healthy.
The vampires that found us attacked us then left us there to change in pain. We lay there for days before it was complete. Soon after, we looked around for some help. We came upon some secluded vampires in Boston who helped us train.
Afterwards, we became nomads, traveling from group to group. It took many years for us to find a "vegetarian" group and we instantly turned. Like Tanya and Kate, and their late sister Irina, I was a succubus, luring men with my body and then killing them.
They never even got to second base. It was a pity, really. To waste blood on stupid fools like them. You could say I was taken over by my power. In truth, I was. By the time I was 100 I had stopped, ashamed.
But I am not going to dwell on the past. The Olympic Coven, or the Cullens, were coming over to celebrate with us.
I was working in the garage when they came. That was the weird thing about me. Well, one of them. I loved working the human way. Slowly. I don't use my Speedy Gonzales power as often as other vampires.
As a vampire, I have super senses, and the whole super speed, super strength, Iron Man kinda stuff. I also have another power, a special power.
So do Eleazar and Kate. Kate can send electricity through her skin and Eleazar can sense someone's powers.
My power is purely scientific. I manipulate matter in my mind until in becomes a sold object. I can create anything out of thin air. I believe that anyone can, but that they lack the strength to do so.
You simply find that one place in your mind that holds the key and imagine the object in front of you and BAM! There it is, just where you pictured it. I have tried manipulating the matter of myself; to make myself invisible or to move myself to a different place.
The possibilities are endless. I have had little progress but I did make my left foot disappear for a minute until I finally found it, camping out on the couch.
"Twins! Come and meet our guests!" Eleazar yelled, or at least it seemed like it.
The smell hit me before I came out to the yard.
"Oh dear god, what smells like mutt?" I wondered. I looked up and into his eyes. They were charcoal black. "Oh. It is mutt."
I tore my gaze from his and surveyed the crowd. There was Bella, Edward, Renesmée, Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, Carlisle, and Esme. I knew them from the many photographs I had been shown. The werewolf I didn't recognize.
"Everyone, these are our new members," Eleazar announced. "Warren and Juliet."
Warren smiled and greeted everyone with a warm handshake. He had always been great with people. No one on Earth could hate him. I was impossible.
I would have shaken hands, but mine were covered in motor oil.
In seconds, I was by my brother's side as he greeted Bella and Renesmée.
"Ah, Bella. This is my sister, Juliet." Warren introduced.
"Juliet. What a creative and…lovely name." She said, trying not to make a rude comment.
"Yes, I could say the same about Renesmée."
She smiled, "We call her Nessie."
"So, you like cars?" A different voice said.
I turned around to find the mutt talking to me.
"Yes. How could you know?" I asked.
"You're cover in grease and you smell like a garage. And reek slightly of death."
"At least I don't smell like wet dog."
"Touché," he smiled. "I'm Jacob. I like cars, too."
I shook his hand. "So I smell."
"And you are?"
"Juliet."
He didn't make any comment on my name.
"So you're what 16, 17 years old?"
I scoffed. "Try 230."
We all heard the car before it pulled into our driveway. It was Eliza, my best friend. We hadn't known each other long, but we stuck together like glue.
I sniffed. She had gotten a new car. A VW Bug, yellow, and used.
I raced to the door and opened. She stood there poised to knock.
She smiled stupidly. "You always know when I'm here."
I smiled back and gave her a hug. "Hey, Liz. I love your car."
I stepped out of the doorway and came with her to inspect her new ride.
"Yeah! It's great. But, I was wondering if you could look it over. See if there's anything wrong." She begged.
"Sure. Just leave it here overnight, and I'll take you home in my car."
"Your car? It's ancient!"
I frowned. "It's not ancient, it's a classic."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she groaned. "It's a dinosaur."
We walked into my house.
"Hi, Eliza." Eleazar greeted her.
"Hi, sir." She smiled cheerfully. "And who are your guests?"
"These are just some family friends," I explained. "They came for Tanya's birthday. This is Bella, her husband Edward, and their daughter Nessie. There's Alice and Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie, and Carlisle and Esme."
"Cool." She turned and whispered to me. "Who's the hunk in the back row?"
I saw a slight smile flash across Jacob's face, so I knew he heard.
"Oh, that's Jacob," I whispered back. "It's sad, really. He was dropped on his head as a baby. He's really quite stupid, and those muscles are just flab. You just can't tell from here."
Everyone but Jacob was now hiding smiles behind their hands. None of it was true. His muscles were as real as my un-beating heart.
"So, Lizzie. I see you dyed your hair again," Garrett said to break the silence.
It was true. Liz had dyed her hair so many times, no one remembered the original color. Now it was bright pink. She always kept her hair short in a little pixie cut.
Another thing about Liz, she dressed—well—crazy. Now she was wearing a high-waisted poodle skirt and a polka-doted muscle shirt.
But there was one thing that never changed. Her sparkly red "ruby slippers". Ever since she was little and she saw "The Wizard of Oz", she had worn ruby slippers in case she ever got lost.
"Oh! I just remembered," Liz squealed. "We got our aptitude tests back! Here's yours."
She handed me a small white envelope. We both opened them up. She squeaked and jumped up and down.
"I'm going to be a designer! What did you get?"
I looked down at the crisp white paper.
"A mortician."
"A mortician? Your lack of interest in personal interaction makes you an ideal candidate for working with the dead. Jules, have you given any thought to your career plans?"
"I guess I'll just wait around for people to kick the bucket." I joked.
"I can't believe you're not more ambitious. This is our senior year."
"You want me to kill people to drum up business?" I laughed, secretly noticing the irony of my comment.
"Ok," I said. "Why don't I drive you home now? I'll pick you up tomorrow for school."
I drove her home and she talked the entire way, as she always does. Finally, I got home and I was forced to continue to socialize.
"Hello, I don't believe I've properly introduced myself. I'm Carlisle Cullen."
"Carlisle? You don't remember me?"
"I can't say I do."
"It's me, Juliet. Juliet Graves."
"Juliet? Well, it has been some time. How are you?"
"Very well. I haven't seen you since you left the Volturi."
"You two know each other?" Bella asked.
"I came to the Volturi while Carlisle was there and left a few years after him. I only stayed about 50 years while Warren traveled around Europe."
Next up, I met Rosalie and Emmett. When I reached out to shake Emmett's hand, he grabbed me up and gave me a full-fledged bear hug.
"Welcome to the family," he bellowed.
"Ok, wow. All right. Um…ow? Down, down, down!" I said, in pain from his monster hug.
He set me down and I massaged my poor arms. I held out my hand and imagined a glass of water. It appeared, much to the amazement of all the newcomers in the room. I sipped it, saying nothing.
I didn't actually need water for my diet. To tell the truth, it made no impression at all. I simply enjoyed the feel of the liquid. It made me feel more human.
I smiled at Rosalie. "Hi."
She nodded, trying not to look amazed.
After that, I met Edward, Bella's husband.
"Interesting power you have," he complimented.
I replied, "Ditto, mind-reader."
He chuckled.
"So, is it frustrating hearing everyone's thoughts?"
"Yes," he answered. "Sometimes. But I have grown accustomed to it. The most frustrating thing is not hearing thoughts. With Bella, I am completely blocked out. I hear nothing."
"Can you block out the voices or just focus on one, or is there just a bunch of random sentences flooding your brain?"
"I can block what I want and focus on what I want. If I let my guard down there can be a sudden rush of noise. Why?"
"I'm just curious. It's strange, knowing you're already different from everyone else and having some freak power on top of it."
He smiled and I excused myself to go and hide in the sanctuary of my garage. I lived in the guesthouse that was vampire-hearing distance away from the house.
It was pretty small with a tiny kitchen I never used, 3 bedrooms with a bed, closet, drawers, desk, mirror, and whatnot. Of course, there was also a bathroom equipped with anything I needed to hold up appearances.
It also had a cozy living room with a loveseat, a TV, a big couch, and a fireplace. The closet in my room had a door to the attic in the ceiling, where I kept old memories from my 200+ years.
I lay on my car creeper (the little platform that slides under your car) and gave my car a quick once-over.
"A 1967 Mercury Comet. Interesting choice."
I rolled out from under my car. Jacob stood over me and stared down.
"Knock much?" I growled.
He took my spare creeper and lay down beside me.
"So, engine head," I said. "You want to help me look over my friends car?"
He smiled, "Yeah, sure."
And if my heart was still alive, it would have skipped a beat. What was happening to me?