CHAPTER FOUR:
'I could kill you'
The Cullen's shuddered at hearing themselves referred to as monsters. But it didn't last long because the little girl had gotten to her feet to turn and look at Emmett.
"You can't be vampires, but you feel like vampires," she said, looking directly at him. Emmett frowned, looking to see if someone was behind him, confused by the girl's direct address to him.
"Why would you say that?" Carlisle asked curiously, claiming her attention once more. At first he had been distracted by the girls accusation that they were monsters, he always assumed they did a good job of hiding their true nature. Then he heard the girl compare herself to them and was intrigued. But now she claimed they were like vampires but not vampires. This little girl understood a lot about their world but at the same time seemed completely naïve to it.
"Your eyes are the wrong colour," Evelyn whispered turning back to look at him. "They should be red, unless, maybe you are good vampires. Can there be good vampires?"
The little girl sat again on the couch to ponder her own question. Her curly ringlets danced beside her face. She yawned away the answer because she couldn't figure it out. She had never encountered such strange and beautiful creatures since her tragic birth; it was overwhelming to her senses, which were rather deprived from the lack of sleep and nourishment she had been getting over the past few weeks.
Esme chuckled at the girl's child-like reasoning. Good versus bad, associated with colour. Like light versus dark, associating a superhero from a villain.
Evelyn's stomach rumbled and she clasped at it subconsciously.
"Are you hungry?" Rosalie asked her. Evelyn seemed to consider her for a second then nodded.
Rosalie held out her hand, "Come with me, we'll find something in the kitchen." Evelyn inched closer to her, sizing up the hand. She placed her tiny fist in Rosalie's tentatively, bracing herself to pull back quickly. But Rosalie's hand squeezed her own gently and she found that the coolness of her touch actually felt good against her skin.
Rose and the rest of the Cullen's led Evelyn down the hall towards the rarely used kitchen. It was only stocked with food for when Renesmee was home or when Jake and the pack stopped by. Evelyn shot the rest of the Cullen's sideways glances, trying to observe all she could. She didn't feel threatened by them, but she didn't like the fact that there were so many of them. She sat at the table, where Rosalie pulled out a chair and waited patiently while she prepared a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
"Could I have another one?" Evelyn asked after devouring the first. Rosalie grinned, moving to retrieve the bread but Esme had beaten her to it. There was a plate of sandwiches waiting on the counter already. Rose had barely noticed the rest of them standing around the counter. She had been enthralled with the little girl; watching her sniff the bread, chew thoughtfully, lick the sticky peanut butter from her fingers. She even had to bite back a laugh when the little girl had looked at her plate, shocked to discover her sandwich was gone.
Rose placed the platter in front of the girl. She took two sandwiches, one for each hand and began munching them, one after the other.
Carlisle pulled out a chair and sat beside the girl. "My name is Carlisle, this is my family," he said gesturing around. "This is Rosalie and the big guy over there is Emmett. I know he looks scary but he's really a goofball. That's Edward and Bella," Carlisle said, pointing across the room. "They have a daughter named Renesmee, she's older now, but you kind of remind us of her. Alice and Jasper are probably still upstairs. And that is my wife, Esme."
Esme smiled and waved. Evelyn acknowledged them all with a nod.
"Can you tell us your name?" Carlisle asked.
Evelyn thought about it for a second. The strangers were weird. They wouldn't eat with her. They all just stared. Not talking, not moving, like they weren't even real. Sometimes they stopped breathing for a long time. Sometimes they seemed to talk to each other but their lips moved so fast she thought she just imagined it. But the blond man who was talking seemed nice and they had given her food. Plus if they really were vampires they hadn't tried to kill her. Yet.
"Evelyn," she said through a mouth full of gooey bread.
"That's a pretty name," Rosalie told her.
Evelyn shrugged. "My friends called me Evie."
"Where are your friends now?" Carlisle asked.
"Back at the orphanage, I suppose," Evelyn said thoughtfully. She took another sandwich. For some reason she felt as if the hole where her stomach should be would never be full.
"Is that where you live?" Esme asked frowning. "At an orphanage?"
"I used to."
"Where do you live now?" Bella asked.
"Nowhere, I guess. I ran away."
"Why did you do that?" came Emmett's voice.
"I didn't want to kill any more people." Evelyn was beginning to get nervous. "I could kill you if I wasn't careful," she blurted without thinking. But instead of backing away these strangers were coming closer, looking worried, even sympathetic. Didn't they know how dangerous she was? Just as she was contemplating making a dash for the back door that seemed to open onto a green hillside, a tall man with golden haired walked into the kitchen followed but a short delicate woman who reminded Evelyn of a fairy. Her first instinct was there are more of them? The copper haired Edward seemed to laugh at her but she didn't know why. Then she remembered that Carlisle had told her that Alice and Jasper were upstairs. She assumed this was them.
She's thinking of running away, Jasper thought out agreed with the nod of his head and then murmured something about calming her down.
Evelyn felt a rush of warm happiness trickle into her body. She didn't know where it came from but suddenly she felt very content just to sit at the table and eat as much as her heart desired. She wasn't nervous or skeptical of the strangers that surrounded her anymore, but it only lasted a few precious minutes.
"Evelyn?" Carlisle began. "You said you killed people before?"
She nodded, but looked away, angry tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She didn't want to talk about this. She felt a cool hand cover hers. It was Rosalie. Her golden eyes were warm and comforting. She didn't seem appalled by the fact Evelyn was a murderer; in fact, she didn't seem to care at all.
"How many people have you killed?" Carlisle pressed.
"Three," Evelyn whispered. Rosalie squeezed her hand and Evelyn tried to smile.
"How?" It was Jasper who spoke now. He had his head tilted, as if perplexed by this tiny girl. She couldn't be more than seven and had already developed the type of conscience that had plagued Jasper in the years before he found Alice. She was angry at herself and angry at her mother for leaving her as a baby all those years ago. She hated what she was. She hated the smell of blood that taunted her. How could someone so small possess so much self-loathing?
"I bit them!"
"Oh, you mean you turned them into vampires," Esme tried to correct her. Maybe the child associated that with dying.
"No they died. It was an accident, but they died. That's why nobody wanted me. And I didn't want to hurt Beth. She was mean sometimes, but she was just a little girl. She was bleeding and I didn't want to kill her so I made myself run away."
"So she's toxic to humans?" Rosalie asked Carlisle. Edward and Bella stood beside them.
"I suppose if what she tells us is the truth and she really only bit a human and they died then she must be toxic, but I'd have to analyze a swab of her saliva to be sure. If she drank fully from them they would have died, but it doesn't sound as if that's what she did. And if she had injected her venom into them they should have changed into vampires."
"Well, that doesn't make her any more or any less dangerous than us," Emmett shrugged. "If we bite a human our venom makes them a vampire, she just kills them. I know a lot of vampires who would classify those as the same things. And it's not like none of us have killed before, sometimes they weren't even accidents." Emmett shrugged as if to say whatever. It took a lot to get him worried and when something was actually bothering him or his family he assumed brute strength would be able to take care of it. He turned back towards the kitchen to find Jasper.
Carlisle pursed his lips, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "I want to find out more about her, how she came to be in the orphanage. But I think she's exhausted. She could probably use a real nights rest; she looks like a walking corpse."
Bella nodded. "She can bunk in Renesmee's room upstairs for a while. Jake and Renesmee will be gone at least a couple of weeks, maybe more." She heard Edward grind his teeth. He motioned to walk away. "Where are you going?" Bella pleaded.
"I still have to call your daughter back."
"She's only my daughter when she's in trouble."
"I never said she was in trouble; in fact, it might be a good thing that she's not coming home right now."
Bella saw the look that flashed across Edwards face. The wheels in his beautiful head were spinning, fabricating something. Edward left the kitchen, leaving Rose, Bella, and Carlisle to ponder the little girl.
Alice and Esme had disappeared with her up to the bathroom. Edward could hear the water in the bathtub running. Emmett had taken Jasper out to hunt. Jasper really did have a great deal of self-control now, but the child smelled particularly sweet and there was no reason to provoke any type of 'accident' by being thirsty. Hopefully, if the girl stuck around for a while, Jasper would grow used to her smell, just as he had Renesmee and even most of the wolf pack.
Edward hit the speed dial for Renesmee's cell. It rang three times before she picked up. At first she didn't say anything.
"Renesmee?"
"Hi dad," she muttered, knowing she was about to be scolded.
"If you didn't want to go to school why didn't you just tell me, honey?"
Edward heard her suck in a deep breath and hold it. "I just want you to be happy, darling."
"I know," she sighed, "but I didn't want to disappoint you. And I knew you would be mad."
"I'm not mad."
"Yes you are. Mom probably threatened you and told you not to yell at me, but I know that tone of voice."
Edward laughed which surprised Renesmee. "What tone?"
"The one where you grit your teeth, get that funny smile on your face and pretend to be calm but are secretly fuming with anger."
"Renesmee, if you want to take some time off that's fine with me."
"Really?" Renesmee asked in disbelief.
"Yes, just don't make it all about Jake. I know you like him but if you haven't noticed I'm pretty sure he'd walk to the end of the world for you. It's not like you have to say goodbye to him. He wants you to explore the world. You have so many possibilities open to you, I just don't want you to close those doors and settle down too early. Jake will understand, and if he doesn't, I'll make him."
Edward heard Jacob chuckle through the speaker.
"Oh, daddy," Renesmee sighed. Her father was never going to completely accept that his daughter was in love with a shape shifting wolf. He didn't even let her use the 'L' word around Jake, unless it was just 'like', because there was definitely not allowed to be any love in their relationship, at least not said out loud anyways.
"And if you and Jake want to spend a few weeks in Florida with Renee and Phil than I think that's a wonderful idea. Make sure you say hi from everyone."
Edward expected Renesmee to be elated, but instead she was silent. "Dad, what's going on?"
Edward frowned. She was perceptive like her mother too.
"Two hours ago you were ready to drag me back to the house kicking and screaming and now you're all like go, go, have fun!" Renesmee questioned.
"It's nothing to worry about, there have just been some minor developments since I last talked to you and I think it would be best if you and Jake stayed away for a while, just until I make sure everything is safe."
"What's going on? Is someone in trouble?"
Edward could here Renesmee and Jake talking in muffled whispers. It sounded like Jake was trying to get the phone from her so he could hear better.
"Don't worry about anything; just have fun with Jake, er-just not too much fun." But Renesmee didn't laugh or sigh, Edward heard her mumbled something to Jacob.
"Dad you're lying, something is wrong, we're coming home."
"Renesmee Cullen, you will be the death of me," Edward sighed.
"Nice try dad, you're immortal. Now tell me what's going on or we are coming home. Right now!"
"Can you please just trust me and stay away for a while."
"Nope."
Edward groaned. That is exactly what her mother would have said too.
"Emmett and Rosalie found a little girl in the garage. Emmett left the door open and it appears that she crawled in looking for some kind of shelter."
"That's all? A child was hiding in the garage…it's kind of far from the main road for her to have wandered in but maybe she was lost and-"
Edward cut her off. "She's not a normal child, Renesmee. Carlisle thinks she's part vampire, like you."
"Really?" Renesmee was in awe.
"We don't know much about her yet."
"I want to meet her."
"And you will, just not right now. Please give me some time to figure this out."
"What's there to figure out?"
"Look Renesmee, part vampires are rare, you should know that. And from personal experience they attract a lot of unwanted attention."
Renesmee nodded solemnly and Jake reached out to grab her hand. Her face had gone from excited to worried in a matter of seconds.
"You think the Volturi are after her?" Renesmee whispered.
"I didn't say that."
"But you were thinking it."
Edward chuckled. Sometimes he felt like it was Renesmee who could read his mind and not the other way around. He became serious again.
"I'm not sure, but I just find it an impossible coincidence that another half-immortal child shows up on our doorstep, looking as if she has been running from someone or something."
"Do you think it's a trap?" Renesmee asked quickly.
"I'm sure your Aunt would have picked up on that, unless someone's playing with the holes in her vision again."
"Okay, dad, what do you want me to do?"
"Just have fun and be safe. I'll call you when we figure out what's going on. Can you put Jacob on the phone, please?"
Renesmee seemed unsure but passed the phone to Jake. She leaned close to him so she could hear and just because she wanted to listen to the strong beat of his heart. That sound made her happy. It was the rhythm her life beat by.
"Hey pops, what's up?" Jake meant for the greeting to be light and casual but his tone was dead serious. He wasn't even in the mood to taunt Edward into scolding him for calling him 'pops' which Jake knew Edward hated. There was something about the way Edward had made a complete 360 and was now trying to keep Renesmee far away from her family that made him sense something was brewing. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and he was getting a strange vibe from Renesmee. Jake wasn't all that surprised to hear that the Cullen's were once again up to something that the pack might have to eventually deal with. Ever since Bella had joined the Cullen's, even before she was turned into a vampire, they had been magnets for trouble.
"I'm not sure yet, but the last time a part vampire child came into our lives we had a visit from the Volturi," Edward repeated.
Jake grumbled. "We should have killed them when we had the chance."
Edward sighed. "Look Jake, I don't know if this is anything we need to worry about but let's just air on the side of caution, okay. Keep Renesmee away from Forks for a while."
"No problem," Jake said holding the phone to his ear with one hand, the other gripping the steering wheel far too tightly. He stared straight down the road as the Rabbit zipped through highway traffic.
"Jake, do you think you could have Leah and Seth meet you at Renee's? She'd be more than hospitable and I'd feel better knowing you had some back up."
"I can take care of myself, dad," Renesmee grumbled into the phone. Jake winked at her but then became serious again.
"You're really worried something is going to happen, aren't you?" he said into the receiver.
"Don't you think it's weird that another human-vampire hybrid just happens to cross our path? I mean, anywhere else in the world and she finds us? I'm not taking chances with my family Jake."
"Don't worry Edward; I won't let anything happen to Renesmee. I'll call Leah and Seth when we get to the hotel."
Edward let out a sigh of relief. "I know, thank you Jacob. Tell Leah and Seth they'll have plane tickets waiting at the airport in Seattle."
"Okay."
"Be safe."
"Aren't I always?" Jake smirked, but he could almost feel Edward glaring at him through the phone. "Uh, I mean, you too."
"Tell Renesmee to call tomorrow, by-"
"Two o'clock, I know dad."
"I love you, Renesmee."
"Love you too, dad, say hi to everyone for me."
The phone clicked off and the knot in Edward's stomach seemed to loosen but only slightly.
"So you think she's dangerous," Bella asked coming up behind Edward. She was being sneaky. He hadn't even noticed her come into the room.
Edward turned and smirked, "Eavesdropping?"
Bella crossed her arms. "Did you pick up on one of Alice's visions? Are we in danger?"
Edward smiled. "I don't know anything, darling. I'm just being prepared. When we encounter strangers it's usually followed by some sort of catastrophe and I would just prefer that Renesmee was far away from here if that happens.
"You're being awfully pessimistic," Bella purred in his ear.
"I'm being realistic, that's all, better safe than sorry."
"Well, I hope for the family's sake that the girl is harmless. Esme already seems taken with her and Alice is raiding Renesmee's old closets for clothes."
Edward chuckled. It was only a matter of time before Carlisle just caved and bought Alice a shopping mall of her very own. "Great, Alice has another doll to play with."
Bella giggled, "Better Evelyn then me."
Evelyn slid beneath the mountain of bubbles holding her breath. She could stay submerged for a long time she noticed, without having to come up for air. She was never allowed to play in the bathtub at the orphanage because the caretakers said it was a waste of water. But here bath time was actually fun. The warm water felt good against Evelyn's skin, which had a permanent chill from living outside for so long. It was also nice to see the milky white skin on her hands again that had been hiding underneath all the grime and muck. Plus Esme had filled the tub with sweet smelling soaps. She didn't know what it was but she guessed a mixture of orange blossom and vanilla. The odour made her head feel warm and fuzzy, but it seemed to make Esme crinkle her nose, which was funny.
"Evelyn?" Esme called from behind the shower curtain, worried that the little girl had not surfaced for several minutes. Although she could hear the strange heart beat echoing through the water like a rubber band being snapped, the stillness concerned her. She heard a pop, the sound of something breaking through the flat plane of the water, followed by a giggle, which allowed her to relax again.
"Do you want the shampoo yet?"
"Okay," Evelyn said. She wiggled her toes beneath the water and spun quickly back and forth, until the frothy bubble mixture threatened to engulf her completely. When Esme pulled back the curtain all she saw was a pair of bright green eyes staring back at her through a mountain of white soap suds.
She couldn't help but laugh. "My, you've been quite busy back here." She heard Evelyn giggle, and that made her smile. She handed the shampoo bottle to Evelyn. "I hope you like lilac, I'm afraid that's all we have, it's Renesmee's favorite."
Evelyn grasped her slippery wet hand around the bottle, but instead of staying put it shot straight up into the air. Without even a second thought, Esme's hand shot out and retrieved the bottle from midair, almost effortlessly. "How about I help you?" she offered.
Evelyn nodded, feeling Esme's cold fingers press gently against her scalp. The cold felt nice sitting in the warm bathwater.
Esme smiled to herself, humming without realizing it. Sitting with the little girl and scrubbing her hair had put Esme in some kind of a trance. It was a nice feeling. A motherly type of gesture that she hadn't often experienced, because even with Renesmee in the house, she had left chores like that up to her parents because she didn't want to intrude on the memories she felt would be important to Edward and Bella once Renesmee was all grown up. But even that hadn't lasted long for Renesmee's body grew exceptionally fast, as well as her mind, which made her more that capable of completing mundane human tasks, liking bathing and preparing meals, on her own, when she was smaller than Evelyn. And being a stubborn child, Renesmee had decided she was going to do everything by herself.
Esme rinsed away the last of the soap from Evelyn's hair, careful not to get it in her eyes, though she wasn't sure if the soap would have stung the eyes of a half-vampire like it would a human child. She guessed it wouldn't but decided not to test her hypothesis.
Evelyn's toes and fingers resembled small shrivelled raisins and she shivered now that the water had started to cool off. If she wasn't squeaky clean by now, Evelyn feared she would never be clean again.
Just as the last of the bubbles were disappearing from the water, Alice walked in with a fluffy pink towel and an armful of clothing. She helped Esme wrap Evelyn in the towel, which was so big it made the girl look as if she was surrounded by a thick coating of cotton candy.
Alice took a blow dryer to Evelyn's dripping hair. "I should really get Rosalie, she's much better with hair than I am," Alice mused. A quick knock and Rosalie appeared behind the girl, taking the blow dryer from Alice and running it along the blonde locks of hair that were slowly curling into tight ringlets. Alice left the clothes on the counter and took Esme to prepare Renesmee's room for Evelyn.
Evelyn watched Rosalie in the bathroom mirror who smiled as she ran a brush through Evelyn's hair, complementing her on how beautiful it was. A couple times Evelyn caught Rose's eyes in the mirror and though she wanted to look away, something about their golden colour left her transfixed. Rose noticed Evelyn staring, feeling a ball of nerves struggle in the pit of her stomach. Could she really be feeling self-conscious under the watchful gaze of this little girl? Rose swallowed out of habit, reminding herself to blink and breathe to appear more human. She caught the smell of lilac and orange blossom mixed with a sweet hint of vanilla and blood. It was intoxicating, but not in a bad way, not like she was thirsty. It was more like something that compelled Rose to draw closer to the girl. She felt as if she could have stood there, drinking in her scent, watching the bright eyes flicker back and forth across her own reflection, forever.
"You look like my mom," the girl said pointedly. And for no reason whatsoever, because vampires have an impeccable grip, Rosalie dropped the hairbrush and let it hit the floor.
She crouched slowly to pick it up, letting her hand rest on Evelyn's shoulder. When she righted herself the little girl had tilted her head, the blond curls falling across her forehead. Rosalie was mesmerized by the green eyes that seemed to look right through her. "Can you tell me about your mom?" she asked, wondering who would possibly want to give up this little girl. Unless they were dead, how could Evelyn's parents have walked away from something so precious?
"She had hair like yours before she was a vampire, but not as bright. Yours is like a shiny gold, but hers looked more like straw, but it was still nice."
Rosalie nodded.
"When she became a vampire her eyes turned red, like they were bleeding."
Rosalie sat with the girl, helping her into the pink pajamas Alice had left on the counter. As she did she listened to the girl recount how the male vampire had taken her from her mother's womb after letting the venom spread. She talked about the hiker who found her, the hospital where the social worker let her go home with the nice couple. She talked about the way blood made her thirsty and the people she had accidently killed. Evelyn talked about the orphanage and running away, afraid she would hurt someone else.
Rosalie listened attentively, nodding at all the right places and when the little girl finally finished she pulled her into a hug. Not a hug that was only given out of obligation or uncertainty of how else to respond. It was the type of hug a mother gives a child to comfort them. "You don't have to be scared anymore. You can't hurt anyone in this house. We are much tougher than the human families you have lived with before."
"And much nicer," Evelyn commented, swirling in the pink nightgown, stifling a yawn with her hand.
Rose grinned. "I think someone's ready for bed. Let's go see if Alice and Esme are finished turning down the covers."
She picked Evelyn up, feeling a warm tingling sensation flow through her as the girl rested her head on her shoulder. She didn't shudder away from Rosalie's cold skin, but seemed to relax at the feeling, which pleased Rosalie, though she had no idea why.
"Sleep now. Have good dreams," Esme whispered into Evelyn's ear as her head hit the pillow.
"Will you be here when I wake up?" Evelyn asked, suddenly afraid she had passed out cold on the forest floor and this had all been a wonderful dream. Her eyes drifted between the three inhumanly beautiful women, their golden eyes glowing in the twilight that seeped in through the glass windows that made up an entire wall of the room. Esme and Alice nodded.
"We'll be here," Rosalie promised. They walked out of the room, Rose leaving reluctantly.
Evelyn tossed and turned for a while. She wasn't used to such nice things or even a comfortable bed. She may be half vampire but she did need her sleep and could appreciate comfort. The pillows were big and soft. The comforter was warm. The bed was huge. She looked around the room. There were pictures all around. There were some photos of a girl and in some she looked about the same age as Evelyn. She seemed to age quickly though, captured in several still images in front of the big white house, but her features were still the same. Her hair was long like Bella's, with gentle curls, but the same colour as Edward's. She had chocolate brown eyes, but pale skin. She was beautiful. There were more pictures, ones where the girl was older. There was also a boy, a lot of the boy. He had tanned skin and jet black hair. His face was defined, pointed chin, wide set jaw. Warm eyes. He looked like he was laughing in all the pictures or else completely overjoyed.
This room was a happy room. And it made Evelyn feel safe. Everyone in the house was happy. The appearance of the small girl, with a strange past, had made everyone feel giddy. It was strange having a child in the home again and being responsible for something so small and precious was oddly satisfying; it gave them a sense of purpose. All the Cullen's were taken with her in some way or another. So much so that they didn't even realize that another vampire would be passing through their land in another day or so, close enough to watch this peculiar family. Nor did they realize that he was destined for Volterra in the coming month.