DISCLAIMER: Twilight isn't mine. Twilight isn't mine. Twilight isn't mine. Twilight isn't mine.

Chapter Three

Control Is Everything

The house was silent except the small whimpers that were slowly turning into screams that were full of pain up the stairs. My hands were clenched in my hair, pulling at the strands in pure and utter guilt. I could feel it swallowing me up until my unneeded breathing was uneven and laboured, gulps of air being dragged into my system like I was suffocating. This was bad, quite extremely bad. Never, in my life of knowing them or my life as a Cold One, had I thought that I would have changed anyone. Especially a child. A small child whose life was being snatched away from him so suddenly. How dare I? Maybe he had been right. Maybe as soon as your heart stops beating, you lose your soul. I just hoped he had been wrong.

"Dolly, why'd you do that?" Peter asked, slinging his arm over my shoulder.

I had to force down the urge to shove him away from me and wallow deeper into self-pity. Why? Little Vincent was the one going through that horrible change. He was so young and had probably never faced this much pain in his short life of living. But then he had been slowly but surely dying? Only half an hour ago, he had been faced with infected cuts and a starved body. So, technically, had I saved his life in some way? I seriously wasn't sure if what I had just done was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Bella?"

Sighing through my sobs, I groaned, "He was dying, Peter. He's so young and I just felt like I should, you know? His little face just reminded me so much of…"

My voice trailed off, realising where I was going. I wouldn't mention any of them, not even the innocent ones that had no say in what had happened to me. Sure, I blamed quite a lot of them but there were a few that had stayed back and not really given their say. One had stayed back the most, hiding from me but I understood. Another believed my decision was wrong and that I was throwing away so much but I still understood. The burliest one of all had taken me in and treated me like family but kept his distance and I understood that too. The rest had been so welcoming. They had acted like the family I had always wanted, giving me a large slice of hope that I had clung to. Then it was ripped away from me. They had left me there to face everything alone. And for that, I hated them so much.

"Reminded you of what?" Peter questioned, elbowing me in the ribs softly. "You can tell me, Bella, 'cos I already know somethin'".

Yeah, there he was with the 'knowing' stuff again.

"How to you know something, Peter? Please, explain", I hissed, feeling my irritation rise.

He grinned, "I just know".

Up went my irritation once again.

"It's like a gift but just not, I refuse to think of it as a gift", he practically growled out the last word, his top lip curling upwards. "And if you call it a gift, I'll tear you limb from limb".

Pushing my smile away, I flinched when a high-pitched shriek tore through the air, gripping me tightly with its hurtful claws. My eyes squeezed shut and I yanked hard at my hair, whimpering along with the little boy who was probably shredding the sheet that covered the mattress. It would be no surprise if he was destroying the mattress either. The pain was excruciating, I knew that. He was only small, it was an obvious fact. Forever, he would be stuck as a child. There would be no need for him to worry about adult life. But I had still changed someone who still held innocence, no matter how much torture Vincent had been through.

"We'll just have to watch our backs a little more now", Garrett was suddenly by my side, pulling me into him. "No one will hurt you or the lil' one".

By the tone of his voice, I knew he was serious. Yet I wondered who would hurt a child, even if it was a vampire one, and why. Honestly, there seemed to be no more danger than a normal newborn vampire and the Volturi would probably not notice a few more humans disappearing every now and then. Vincent would be raised to be like Peter, Garrett and Charlotte. In control when he needed to be but he knew what to do when his thirst was too much. I would help him, too.

"Gar!" Peter yelled, leaping to his feet, "We're gonna die one day 'cos of… it! Whether the Volturi find our by accident or on purpose, we're all gonna die. They will not allow an immortal child to run freely around, killin' villages with each tantrum".

Wait, what? Immortal child? Killing villages with each tantrum? All of us being killed? My vampire mind flew through the information it had just taken in, analysing each word while committing it further into my brain. It was a quick process so I was fast to react.

"Explain Peter!"

His face hardened, "The Volturi does not allow children under the age of thirteen to be changed. It is against the law to do so. In earlier years, people experimented. They turned children and were killed because of the consequences. These children, if you can call them that, don't know how to control anythin' that is within them. The beast is alive at all times. They are around ten times worse than newborns. They get worked up easily, and kill entire villages because of their fury". He sounded strained, like he was holding back from shouting at me, "Anyone who creates or knows of this happenin' and doesn't tell the Volturi, is killed instantly once the information finds its way to the higher ones. The Brothers don't take this offence lightly".

My stunned silence seemed to satisfy him as Peter stormed towards the barn, where I found the sound of a sobbing Charlotte. God, I had destroyed them in so little time. If I were them, I would have been shredded, burned and left, not lectured of the laws of the immortal children. From my left, Garrett was frozen, his grip tight around me but I wasn't going to move soon. All I could do was sit there, staring into space with one screaming thought stuck in my head:

What had I done?

OOO

Three days went by but Peter and Charlotte were hardly seen. Garrett stood by my side when I watched Vincent thrash on the bed, screams turning into scratchy cries of pain. He had been screaming so much that his throat had given up, only managing a shriek-like groan every few seconds. It was horrible but Garrett told me it would get better soon, that the end was nearly here. For me, 'nearly' wasn't good enough. I was still choked up with guilt but it wasn't only for Vincent. It was also for Peter, Charlotte and Garrett. They would be taken down too if the Volturi ever found out. And the odds weren't in our favour. Most likely, a passing nomad would notice the child and run straight off to the vampire royalty, hoping to be rewarded for the information. There would probably be no reward for whoever told; I was sure of that. These 'Brothers' who led the Volturi didn't seem like the type to be nice. I thought they would be cruel and power-hungry. That was the impression I got when Garrett described them.

"Use their Guard as a weapon", he had said.

"Never leave Italy unless it is an extreme problem", he had told me.

"Don't offer second chances", and I was losing all hope of surviving at all.

Garrett kept telling me to be positive, that he'd find everyone he knew if it came down to the battle between us and the Volturi. We would fight until they gave up. We wouldn't leave the battle until we won. He seemed to understand where I was coming from when I said Vincent just seemed different from what Peter had described. The child had been in pain and had experienced torture so I was hoping, wishing, that he wouldn't be like the demons that killed many people with one bad mood. He had experienced a lot of pain. But hoping didn't seem to be getting me anywhere anymore.

"Isa?" Garrett whispered, just as the last beat of Vincent's heart thudded.

There was silence. No birds sang outside. No wind blew at all. No one spoke a word. No one even moved. My attention was on the beautiful boy that had gone still. There was no more thrashing. No more pain-filled noises. He just lay there, eyes still shut, chest not moving.

Until he sucked in a deep breath through his mouth, tasting the air for the first time. A closed-mouth smile worked along my lips as I watched him test his mouth, opening and closing it before sticking his tongue out. It was cute. With little, quick movement, he ran his tongue over each tooth, flicking it over the slightly sharpened edges carefully. Everything would feel so new. So fresh. An eye popped open then, showing the new red colour swirling within, and it grew wide with shock as it darted around, scanning everything in his line of sight. I remembered that feeling. Seeing everything, and I mean everything, float and drift above you. The dust and the once invisible particles. Vincent was so mesmerised with the new, sensitive senses that he had that he had not noticed Garrett and I standing near the wall, in the shadows slightly.

A breath left me slowly, letting Vincent know that he wasn't the only one in the room, and his answering growl was quickly cut off when he seen me. Still smiling, I made sure not to show any teeth before spreading my arms out, showing him I had nothing that would cause any harm. His eyes moved over me then a quiet hiss left him when Garrett stepped forward. They stared at each other for a while before Garrett copied my actions. Vincent's eyes found me again and he sat up, smiling with his newly whitened teeth, back at me.

"Hello Vincent", I said. "I'm glad you're… in the land of the living again?"

His smile widened, "Hi Bella! You're even more pretty than you were".

"Thank you. You're not so bad yourself".

With cautious steps, I walked towards the child before holding out my hand for him to take. For a moment, confusion masked his face but Vincent put his hand in mine before had to explain my intentions. Giving a small squeeze of support, I pulled him up gently and began to stride across the room at his own pace. I watched in fascination as he stared at his legs, amazement showing in his saucer-sized eyes. Garrett was no where to be found so I frowned, knowing where he was and who he was going to be talking to.

Peter would have to get through me to get to Vincent.

"Right, Vince, is your throat burning?" I asked, trying not to sound too angry.

Shrugging, he answered, "No, not really. Why? Should it?"

"Well, I think it should but no worries", my voice was sounding tight, even to my own ears. "It'll be fine, I'm sure of it".

OOO

Peter was blocking the door that would lead us out to the sun. His face was black, arms spread wide in a guarded posture but I could see that his eyes were questioning something about Vincent. The slightly darkened orbs were never leaving the little boy, scanning and analysing his stance. My grip on Vincent's hand tightened protectively but I loosened it when I noticed the child wince. Even as a vampire, I could still bring harm to him but with his newborn body, he wouldn't get too injured.

"Why is he so calm? So controlled?" Peter whispered so only I would hear.

I shook my head slowly, "No idea. I was hoping that someone would have that answer".

We stood in silence for a few minutes. My eyes were never leaving Peter while his gaze only intensified when Vincent shuffled uncomfortably. His eyes stayed on the floor and I could hear him whispering numbers, he was up to sixteen, as he counted each scuff mark on the stone flooring. With each number that went by, he tightened his grip on my hand, a little sting of pain before his grip went slack once again. This entire meeting was frightening him. Seeing Peter, whose eyes were not actually blinking, was scaring him.

"Peter, please, stop staring at the boy", Garrett grumbled as he strode by. "He's gonna hate you very soon".

"His control is astoundin'", Peter's voice was full of surprise, "and he isn't even defendin' himself. It's like he's not even a newborn, least of all an immortal child. I just don't know what to think about it".

My breath caught in my throat when he finally met my stare. It was like, for a single moment, he was telling me that this was not normal. That Vincent shouldn't be like this. That maybe something was entirely wrong. Or maybe, just maybe, it was all right. For a little while longer, we shared an unknowing silence, only filled by the breathing that we had been accustomed to using.

"Garrett", Peter called out, "I think we need to test the child, see how far his control really goes".

In a second, Garrett was down in front of him, pulling out a set of keys before giving a little nod and zoomed out of the front door.

What were they planning…?

OOO

Silence.

Slapping.

Staring.

Growling.

Wincing.

More silence.

"For God's sake, what are you two planning?" I finally yelled out.

Peter smirked cockily, "Oh, we're just gonna see if the kid can control himself with our food source bleeding right in front of him. If you don't ever tell her what's gonna happen, she will never know 'cos I don't wanna be on the wrong side of her for another decade".

My confusion must have been visible as he continued to explain. His tone playful and full of happiness.

"Let's just say that she seriously doesn't like anyone knowing about her 'tiny cleaning problem'", I burst out laughing when he started mimicking her voice. "She was all loud with her screamin' and yellin', tellin' me that I'd just 'destroyed my entire reputation with them'. I believed that her rep had been wrecked long before she'd ever met those women. She married me, what did she expect?"

Around a mile away, I could hear the Garrett's truck engine rumbling through the forest, rolling over the uneven ground quite easily. I didn't think that they would own a car since they just seemed to run everywhere but then I thought about their human activities. Charlotte and Peter went gambling once a month (Garrett told me) and Garrett was believed to sneak out whenever he had the chance to 'show the human girls what they didn't have' (that's what Peter had said anyway). It wasn't surprising for either of the boys to 'tattle tale' on each other. Everything they ever said about the other had to be telling a deep, supposedly dark secret. Most of the time, it was just stupid facts like the gambling and showing off.

"Honey, I'm home and I've brought a gift", the door swung open and I was hit with the delightful aroma of freshly drawn blood.

A hiss left my lips, followed by a frantic growl as I tried to hold myself back from attacking the injured human. My fists clenched and unclenched with every second that ticked by but I wouldn't allow any air to be brought into my body. No more smelling that sweet, delicious blood… I had to stand with control. Had to show how strong I could be.

Vincent, from my right, swept a pale hand over his head, pushing back the black curls that just hid his eyes slightly, like a thick curtain over. I could hear his breathing stay regular and steady, as if he was unfazed by the warm, red liquid pouring from the clean cut in a man's chest, just a few metres away. His eyes stayed staring straight ahead at the wall in front of us but I could tell by the strained set of his lips that he knew his food was right there. But he was controlling himself like no newborn should be able to. His control was better than mine, especially when I was only a day old.

"Vince, you know what this is right?" Peter gave him no time to answer before he was going on, "You see, this is your natural food source. You're supposed to want to kill this man and drink from him. His blood is your energy. It'll give you everythin' you need. More strength. More up-and-go. More of everything a predator needs to survive".

Growls rumbled from my chest but he went on.

"You'll feel more alive than you would ever. And you know the best thing? The taste is incredible, Vince. It's not like anythin' you'd have had before. Not sweets. Not ice-cream. It wouldn't be like you've ever tasted. Blood is our only food source. Human blood is only one option. You can drink from animals too", I flinched at that, "but it doesn't give you the same buzz. It'll satisfy the hunger for a little but being around humans most days can tamper with your need for blood so human blood is a safer option".

Vincent still hadn't moved. His hands kept running through his hair but his eyes still held that same spot on the wall.

"Gar, bring Mr Food Source in, please", Peter sang. "When you see this guy, Vincent, act the way you want to. Don't hold back".

I watched as Garrett dumped the limp body in the middle of the room, blood seeping on to the cold flooring before forming large puddles. The man, who looked like he had been in his late forties, smelled different from anyone else I had come into contact with before. It was a rotting kind of scent, almost like something was dying inside of him. Of course, he was dying right now but this was different. Inside him, maybe, his organs were destroying themselves.

"Act the way you want to, Vince. He's already dying".

So he was dying? Did he have a disease? Cancer? Grief filled me then. He was dying off of his own terms. He was probably leaving people, a family, that he loved so much. Did he have children? Grandchildren?

To my right, Vincent was rocking back and forth, whispering to himself that everything was okay. That this was just a nightmare. That this was all a huge mistake. A big problem. His hands gripped his hair, like my own hands had held my hair only days ago. I could hear the sobs building in his chest, getting louder and louder until they were full-blown, heart wrenching cries. Then, after listening to him for long enough, I reacted with rage.

It was all a blur.

One minute I was sitting beside Vincent, the next I was circling Peter, snarls ripping from my throat.

My vision was turning red.

Teeth snapped, trying to get to his throat. Arms flew, trying to grab on to him. Legs kicked out, trying to get him on the ground. Fingers grabbed at fabric, shredding it when he pulled back. Eyes darted around, watching every one of his movement. I would admit it, Peter was an amazing fighter.

I was being taken down.

Arms circled my waist, throwing me to the floor in one swift movement before I felt pressure above me. Something was seeping into the fabric on my back, warming the icy skin there a little. Someone was lightly tapping my face, bringing me out of my furious daze. When I could focus my vision, I came face-to-face with an extremely worried Garrett. His eyes flittered across my features, taking in the subtle changes that showed that I was slowly beginning to relax and come back to myself.

"Garrett", I mumbled, leaning my head into the crook of his neck.

He rubbed my arms soothingly, murmuring calming words as I felt the anger leave me until all I felt was a weakening defeat. Movement caught my attention and I saw Vincent standing there, venom tears filling his eyes as he took in my physical state.

"You nearly had him", his voice was sweet and carefree, getting a laugh from me.

His dimpled smile appeared brightly on his face. It was reassuring. It was cute and lovely and everything that a little boy should have in a curling lip. He was so much like someone I knew. Someone I had cared about.

So... if you would... review... I'd be extremely gratefuly...

And, lastly, to everyone who has read YOU PROMISED ME FOREVER, I say a huge thank you. Also, to those who have added it to your FAVORITE STORY LIST:

KEEP ON ROCKING LIKE MY DOOR KEEPS LOCKING!

It has given me a good confidence boost so thanks so much.