Chapter 1

"Wesley Cullen! Wake up this instant!"

I groaned and turned in my bed, grabbing the pillow and pressing it against my ears, uselessly trying to drown out the annoying sound of being called to breakfast.

"Wesley. Get up." I felt small, warm hands touch my cool skin, and I opened one eye to stare at little Julius.

"Go away, Jules. I'm tired." I begged, brushing off his small, weak hands with ease. Julius was one of my only true friends in this orphanage, even though he was a good eight years younger than me. He was loyal, and that's what counted in my book. I slowly pulled off the blankets that were wrapped around my body and sat up. "Fine." I flashed him my crooked smile, ruffling his soft, featherlike blonde hair. "Go get ready for breakfast." I told him, giving him a gentle push towards the door.

As soon as he was out, I grabbed a plain white shirt from my closet and pulled it over my head. I dragged my feet out into the main hallway, heading towards the kitchen. I could only imagine what I looked like at that moment. My hair probably looked like a rooster's nest, but I couldn't have cared less. Just then, I heard a million little feet pounding on the floor and I turned around to be ambushed by seven hungry little children.

"Let's go, Wes! Faster, Wes!" they chanted simultaneously. I felt their hot hands press against my solid stomach, urging me to go faster, so they could all get to breakfast. Finally, they gave up hope and began to crawl through my legs and climb over me like a bunch of spider monkeys. I couldn't help but laugh at their attempts to scale the walls, but finally, they seemed to pass me. Maybe it was because we were out of the hallway and actually in the kitchen now.

We all took our designated seats at the smooth, tiled square table, with me at the head. Now began the chaotic process of ordering breakfast. Oh, don't you just love having seven little kids all scream out what they want at the same time? Ah, pure music to my ears.

"Quiet!" yelled Ms. Norma, banging her spatula against the frying pan. "We're going in order. Since Wesley is the oldest, he's going first. How would you like your eggs?"

"Raw, if you don't mind. Could you just hand me the eggs without breaking them, please? I like to suck them out of the shell." I said politely, as the children all began to make gagging faces and point at their tongues.

"Wesley, don't start joking in the morning, dear. Now will you please tell me how you want them cooked?" she pleaded.

I scrunched my brow together in confusion and hoped she could see the truth behind my liquid green eyes. "My apologies, Ms. Norma, but I am not joking, or kidding in any way. If you must know, I prefer my food to be as little cooked as possible, when I can help it." Truth was, I hated cooked meat. I just hated it. Especially fried chicken. The taste is horrendous!

Norma gave me an odd look, and handed me two eggs straight out of the fridge with a side of cooked bacon on a plate. I looked at the fried bacon in disgust. How could anyone eat cooked meat? Nasty, I tell you! "I'm sorry, Ms. Norma, but if you could just give me the bacon raw, too, that would be great. Or I could come and get it." I offered. I nudged Julius with my elbow, pointing at the sizzling bacon on my plate. "You can have it." I muttered, just low enough for us to hear.

I don't know how exactly to explain this, but the bloody juices in the meats that were uncooked gave the food the best taste in the world. I couldn't imagine eating it without those liquids.

"Wesley Edward Cullen. You could get sick from eating raw pork! I let you eat raw steak, and that should be enough."

"My apologies." I repeated. Can't anyone respect someone's eating habits these days? I mean for Pete's sake! If I couldn't have what I wanted to eat in this world, what could I have? Oh, well. I knew I could get to the raw bacon later, when Norma wasn't home, and I was watching the kids. That brightened my dark mood for a moment. You see, I kind of get out of hand when I don't get my fill of raw meats for the day. It's a habit, I must say.

Julius poked me in my hard, marble like ribs and pointed at my bacon. I knew what he meant, of course. He was hungry, and he was one of the youngest kids in the orphanage, meaning that he would get to order his breakfast last. I nodded, pushing my plate toward him after I took the two cold eggs in my hands. I held the egg over my mouth, and with just a little pressure from my grip, an almost perfect crack appeared, leaking raw egg whites into my starving mouth. As soon as the uncooked meat touched my tongue, my taste buds went crazy and I found myself wanting the raw bacon more than anything. As I finished off the two uncooked eggs, I decided I couldn't wait for Norma to get out of the house for me to get the bacon. I would just have to do it as soon as she was out of the kitchen.

I looked around and saw that Norma had completed all the children's orders, and that they were all busy eating. The urge for the blood juices in the bacon became more insistent. I don't exactly know how, but I could smell the wet, sticky blood that was stuck to the strip of pork. It was like I could almost taste it. I knew if I didn't have it soon, I would be driven crazy. I began to scope out the room, deciding I couldn't wait until Norma left the kitchen. As soon as she turns her back, I would reach the kitchen counter and back before she ever turned around. I could see it all in my mind. I was moving at lightning speeds, reaching the bacon and coming back to my seat all in less than a second. It seemed so real, so right.

I saw that Norma had finally turned to the sink to do the dishes from last night. I took my chance. My blood was pumping through my veins and the kitchen was a blur as I moved toward the counter with impossible speed. I grabbed a handful of the bacon, the blood dripping down my arm. My senses were heightened and all I could smell was the bacon. Then, it ended all too quickly, as if it was a dream. I had the bacon in my hand, the wet, sticky blood was still dripping down my arm, but it felt so surreal. I looked to see if anyone had noticed that I had ran to and fro from the kitchen counter, but all the kids seemed too preoccupied with eating. That is, except for one. Julius was looking at me with wide, frightened eyes, and I swear they looked like they would almost pop out of his head.

"Whoa." he said. Whoa was right.