Chapter 4: Mother
Oh my goodness, this story is growing so fast! I'm glad for the support, the favorites, and the follows. I didn't think it would do so well, considering this is my first story and I have a B in my English class.
When it comes to updates, I have a few things to say. One, I usually work on a chapter over the period of two day. I only write until I feel like I want to stop, because if I get too ahead of myself, then the story would turn south and I don't want that. Two, I can't write on Sundays. This is mostly because of school right now, so eventually that will probable go away once summer hits. But for right now, Sundays are for finishing all my procrastinated homework.
Anyways, let's go!
Hida wasn't the type of girl you brought home. She was the type of girl guys would hide in their closet when their parents got home, the type to crawl out the window at three in the morning. She didn't get to meet the parents, and even if she got the chance, she didn't want to. In her whole life, she had never had enough feelings towards someone in order to become a big part of their life. She did not love anyone, ever, except her mother. She did not have romantic feelings towards anyone.
But as she sat there in the back of their nice car, squeezed between her best friend and the boy who had just bit her, she felt alive. She felt excited, happy, curious. Love. That scared her the most. What was she supposed to do with her love? She didn't know how to express herself. Having sex was something she did for fun, to pass the time, it wasn't something she did to show her affections towards someone. She was scared that she couldn't show her love. She was terrified that she wouldn't be able to, after all the people she had given herself to.
And she knew she shouldn't be getting that nervous. She wasn't going to be introduced as Jasper's girlfriend, because she wasn't; she would most likely be introduced as Alice's friend. But the thought made her nervous, she felt like the bile in her stomach was going to spill out of her mouth just thinking about it. She had never been so nervous, scared, thrilled in her entire life.
She looked over at Jasper, watching him as he stared out the window. She wanted to touch him, he looked like a god even though he was sitting next to her in the same car. He looked like he shouldn't exist, like he was a marble statue; carved and come to life. She glanced over all of his features, taking them in for what seemed like the millionth time, and stopped at his hands. He was clenching them so tight it made his knuckles look impossibly more white that he already was.
She wanted to touch him, but she was afraid she would hurt him if she did. When he was around her, he always looked like he was in pain. There would be times where he'd look at her, and the feeling in his eyes made her shudder. In those amber eyes, she could see his pain, and she knew it was because of her. Maybe it was because he regretted sleeping with her. Maybe it was because she was sleeping with other men. She didn't know how she was hurting him, but she knew it was her fault. It always was.
Jasper looked at her, and for a moment she thought maybe he could feel how nervous and scared she was, because the next moment he was smiling at her. "Relax. Don't worry about meeting our parents. They won't bite."
Hida felt calm as soon as his eyes washed over her. She smirked, replying, "How do I know that, huh? If they're anything like you, I'll have to guard my neck." She laughed, but then looked at him, giving him a smile she hoped would communicate her appreciation. "Thank you, Jasper. I've just never met any of my friends' parents before. I'm usually hidden, parents tend to not like me."
"They're going to love you, Hida." Alice spoke up, grabbing Hida's hand gently. She was cold, like Jasper. "Trust me, I just know they will."
Hida glanced at Edward when he laughed, noticing the smile forming on Bella's lips. She knew there had to be an inside joke in there, but she didn't know what it was. Alice seemed to make a lot of inside jokes, and when she did Hida noted them somewhere in her brain to think about them at a later date.
"Holy shit!" Hida had glanced out the window.
The house they pulled up to was downright gorgeous. She waited for Alice to gracefully slide out of the car once they parked, and stepped out onto the grave. She ignored the rain, it had dulled to a slight drizzle, and took a few moments to take in the appearance of the house. The house was big, bigger than the houses she had lived in when she was little and her father still had money. It was white and very square, and in Hida's mind it was different than what she expected. It had multiple tall, wide windows on every side. To her, the house felt secure and open, it felt like a home should feel, not the way her own felt. It didn't match what she had felt from being around the Cullens, though. They were very closed off, they had secrets they didn't want to tell, stories they kept in the dark. It was a pleasant surprise, she thought.
Alice ushered her to the door, clearly excited to bring her home. The door was unlocked, so they all walked in one after the other, Jasper having held the door open for all of them. Hida heard the door click behind her, but she was too busy taking in the appearance of the interior of the house. It matched the house's exterior. Everything was white, and there was little furniture, leaving it open. It felt inviting.
Somewhere behind her, she heard Jasper chuckle. It made her heart swell. "What are you doing now…?"
She looked back at him from her crouched position. She had started to take her shoes off, and as she finished doing so, she explained, "Well, everything is so clean and neat. The carpets are white, so I figured you wouldn't want my dirty shoes to drag stuff from the outside on them." She had gotten them off and set them aside, placing them next to each other in their place by the door.
"You're an odd one, aren't ya?" Jasper held out his hand to her, smiling at her when she took it. He pulled her up, his hand never leaving hers, even after she was standing. He looked into her eyes, speaking fondly, "You never cease to amaze me, darlin'."
Hida felt herself melt, she felt her heart swell and burst. Jasper had never called her "darlin'" before. The petname made her feel gooey and warm, it made the blood creep up her neck and into her cheeks. She was a sucker for petnames, and the southern charm he liked to use against her so much was making it difficult for her to keep from smiling. She loved him, she loved the feeling of her hand in his, she loved his southern drawl, she loved his petnames. Her feelings were overflowing, seemingly from that one interaction.
Jasper seemed to understand how she felt, and he simply smiled at her. Hida found another thing she loved about him. He tugged on her hand softly, leading her forward, and that's when Hida realized he wasn't letting go of her hand. She smiled, looking at their hands. She could feel his love, even though his hands were very cold in hers. She knew he loved her. The thought thrilled her. It terrified her.
He led her to the living room, the room with the largest windows. Hida wondered for a moment what they would do if the sun was too bright, and she swore she could hear Edward smirk from the other side of the room. He was seated on the couch with Bella, the two were sharing stares and whispers. She wanted that to be her and Jasper, she thought.
"Welcome to my humble abode!" Emmett's thunderous laughter could be heard from down the hall, and he was soon in the room. Rosalie followed suit, appearing to be just as displeased at the sight of Hida as usual.
Hida smiled at him, laughing nervously. "Thanks, Emmett." She waited for them to sit down before looking at all of them. They were beautiful, and they looked beautiful even when they were just sitting down; of course, they were sitting in their beautiful home. "Thanks for bringing me to your house, even with all the circumstances. If I'm ever a bother, please just-"
"Nonsense." Hida looked to see who had spoken and saw yet another beautiful woman. "We're very glad to have you, Hida."
The woman glided over to Hida, and she could see that the woman was older than Alice or Rosalie, but still young. She smiled at Hida, and Hida felt the warmth in her eyes. Her eyes were golden, too. "I'm Esme, Alice's mother. It's so glad to finally meet you, Alice wouldn't stop talking about you since she met you."
"All good things, I hope?" Hida smiled, looking at Alice and giggling.
"Very good things, yes." Esme kept her smile, pulling Hida into a hug.
Even though Esme was cold, like her children, the hug still felt warm and inviting. Hida felt very loved, simply from that one action. When the hug ended, Esme pushed Hida's large curls away from her face and smiled, gingerly touching the wounds to her face. Her cold fingers felt good on her swollen cheek.
"You're very beautiful, Hida."
Hida was shocked by her comment. Esme thought Hida was beautiful? Before Hida could interject, Esme looked at Alice, speaking gently, "Alice, will you see if we have any clothes that might fit Hida?"
Alice grinned, getting up, bouncing slightly on her feet. She reminded Hida of a ballerina, she was graceful and peppy. "Sure thing! I've been waiting to dress her up." She started to walk towards the staircase that connected to the hallway, humming, "Rosalie, I might have to look through your clothes. I don't think anything of mine will fit her."
"You better not!" Rosalie got up and chased Alice, who was already running up the stairs. It was amusing to watch, and Alice could be heard giggling up the stairwell.
Esme laughed softly. It sounded like an angel laughing, and it reminded her of the warmth and comfort of hot chocolate. She led her to the chair on the other side of the room, near the window. "Go ahead and sit here, sweetheart. My husband will be down soon to check you." Esme smiled at Hida, clapping her hands together in excitement, "I'll go make snacks!"
Hida smiled after Esme, watching her walk off to what she imagined was the kitchen. Hida looked to Jasper, laughing, "Your mother is amazing. She's so sweet! She reminds me of my mother, except my mom was a bit stubborn." Hida missed her mother.
"Hida." A man with blonde hair walked up, another beautiful person. He smiled at Hida, offering his hand, "Dr. Cullen. Please, call me Carlisle."
Carlisle was an old name, Hida thought. Now that she thought about it, they all had old names. She smiled, grabbing his hand gently and shaking it, looking him in the eye. Golden eyes. "Nice to meet you, Carlisle. Thank you for agreeing to look after me. I owe you a favor for this."
Carlisle set his medical bag down, shaking his head. He got on one knee in front of her, gently grabbing her chin so he could see her lip. Cold hands. He spoke softly, as if he were thinking about something else while talking. "You owe me nothing. This is my job. Now, let's see what we can do, shall we?"
Carlisle worked on Hida's face diligently. There wasn't much to work with, she had simply just busted her lip when Marissa punched her, but he wanted to make sure it was cleaned and covered. Hida sat there patiently, playing with the clothes that Alice had brought her. It was a soft sweater and a pair of leggings, incredibly simple compared to some of the things Rosalie usually wore. She assumed this was the only outfit Rosalie would let her wear, seeing as how she seemed to hate her.
"So, Hida. Tell me about yourself." Carlie continued to clean her lip, it had split a bit deeper than Hida had originally thought. "Your full name is Hiddaha, right? That's Somali, isn't it?"
Hida was impressed, and she smiled, nodding, "I must say, Doc, you know your stuff." She stopped smiling so the cut wouldn't stretch more than it already had, but continued speaking, "My mother gave the name to me. She was born in East Africa, but moved to America for college. She met my father and when she had me, she wanted a name that reminded her of her home."
Carlisle stopped to listen to her talk, smiling lightly at her. "It's a beautiful name. So, Hida, tell me. How did you meet Jasper and Alice?" He laughed. "Neither of them will tell me."
Hida snorted in response, saying "Well, Alice and I met in class. We have Chemistry together and I sit next to her." She glanced to Jasper before looking back at Carlisle, smiling. "Jasper and I met at a bar. We hooked up in the back." She wasn't going to lie to him.
Emmett was the first to burst into his loud laugh, not even stopping when Rosalie hit him on the arm. Edward tried to hide his laugh in Bella's neck, but it was obvious that they both couldn't handle Hida's blunt attitude by the way Bella's face had become pink at the cheeks. Alice simply grinned at Jasper, whom had since covered his downcast face with a hand.
Esme and Carlisle exchanged quick glances. Esme kept her sweet smile, and Hida simply fell more in love with her. Carlisle did the same, looking up at Hida. "Well, I certainly hope you guys used protection."
"I'm pretty sure he didn't use a condom, and I'm not on birth control."
Carlisle sighed and Hida could tell he was going to go into a speech about using protection. Her father did the same thing, even though he knew. Hida thought for a second, questioning whether or not she should tell them. A curious look from Edward made her make a decision, as well as confirmed that he could definitely read her mind.
She looked at Carlisle, speaking softly, "You don't have to worry. I won't get pregnant. I can't." She played with the clothes in her lap, distracting herself from what she was saying. She didn't know why she felt so safe around the Cullens, she didn't know why she trusted them with this little piece of her life, but she did. She couldn't ignore her feelings. "I'm infertile."
The room went silent, and all eyes laid on her. She could feel how their eyes searched her for answers, and when she looked up, her heart ached for Jasper. He was staring at her, and she could see the confusion in his eyes, she could almost see it in the air around him. It hurt.
"Hida, how do you know that..?" Carlisle progressed the conversation, wanting to know answers. His wife was infertile, but he knew the reason for that. He was the reason for that, after all. "Usually, women don't know until they're older or-"
"Or until they've been through a traumatic enough event to render their womb useless, right?" She stared at him, nodding. "I know."
Hida didn't see Jasper tense up at her mention of this reason, but she could feel it. Something in her was screaming to run to him, to spill her heart out to him, to tell him everything about herself. But she couldn't. She was stuck to her seat. She was terrified. Never in her life had she told someone this, and never in her life did she think she would. Yet here she was, telling a group of people she had just met. And the crazy part?
She trusted them. Completely.
Hida sighed, continuing, "After I was born, my mother and father moved back to Africa. My mother missed her homeland. I grew up there for a little while, and it was fun to play with the other children and run around in the sun all day." She smiled at the thought, her hands once again playing with the gentle fabric of the sweater. "Africa is the heart of magic, you know. It's where voodoo and black magic originated from, after all. There are things there that not even my mother knew about, but that is deeply rooted in the hearts of tribes. My mother knew a little."
She hummed, seemed to be thinking of her next sentence before continuing. "She would tell me about what herbs to use for different illnesses, what dances to do in order to please the gods. She'd tell me about mythical creatures. Things like spirits, fairies, witches… werewolves."
At her mention of werewolves, the whole room seemed to shift as everyone tensed. Even Bella. Hida made note of this, reviewing the notes she had mentally taken down before. She came to a conclusion.
Before Carlisle could say what he was going to, Hida asked him a question. The family's reactions sent shivers down her spine and confirmed her thoughts. Her question struck fear in their hearts. She had looked him dead in the eyes when she asked, and that's what alarmed him the most. She had already decided the outcome. She knew all the answers.
"Carlisle, do you believe in vampires?"