Here is the next chapter, enjoy!

Chapter 7

Thicker Skin:

"Well, I have a confession for you, for what I did…" Dr. Cullen started to say.

"Yes?" I asked, although it sounded louder than how I said it.

"Gabriella, we are," he said softly.

I frowned. Why didn't he just say whatever it was already?

After a sharp intake of breath, he spoke again.

"Esme and I are…v…vampires,'' he said, looking at me fully..

Wait what did he just say? Did he say Vampires?

"What did you just say?'' I asked, but neither one of them answered me.

"You're crazy right? You're lying. You have to be," I said.

Again I was met with silence. Why weren't they answering my questions?

"Vampires don't exist. That's fiction!" I argued.

"Gabriella, vampires do exist. There are two in front of you right now," Dr. Cullen responded.

I couldn't find the right words to say. I was confused.

I thought for a second, letting his words sink in, but my mind was running a million miles per hour; nothing was straight.

"Then that means…no! Don't tell me that I…I…no, no, no!" I said, panicked. It couldn't be true.

"You're lying. This isn't real. No! This can't be true, Dr. Cullen. I can't be one of you!" I exclaimed as I stood up from the bed, knocking some things down. Esme backed into the wall while Dr. Cullen took a defensive pose in front of his wife.

"Gabriella, calm down," he warned.

"NO! Why did you do this to me?" I yelled at him.

"Because it was the only way to save you from the future you were going to have. You were going to be crippled. You were never going to be the same person again."

"Why didn't you just explain yourself to me from the beginning? Why lure me into it? Why did you lie to me after I trusted YOU?" I said, lunging at him, but he caught me in midair and stopped me from crashing into him.

"Gabriella, please listen to me. Calm down," he said, his tone never faltering; it was as if he was trying to soothe a child.

I finally succumbed and fell into his arms. I started sobbing, although no tears formed in my eyes. He didn't say anything but continued to hold me while I dry heaved.

I don't know how much time passed before I finally stood up,

"You're a vampire," I stated.

"And now you are too. That is what I did to help you, to save you." He said, and I still didn't believe him.

I sat on the bed, and he sat beside me. I don't know where his wife had gone, but she wasn't in the room.

"But…how? I mean the blood…I mean how come you didn't drink my blood?" I asked.

Stupid question! But true, as far as I knew vampires survived off human blood.

"How come you didn't kill me?" I added

"Well, Gabriella, we drink blood, yes, but not human blood. We are vegetarian vampires. We live off of animal blood," Dr. Cullen said.

I frowned "What did you just say? Animal blood? Are you kidding me?" I snorted; he just chuckled and then answered.

"It doesn't fully satisfy us, but it is enough for us to survive on," He explained.

"That is why our eyes are golden, not like yours, which are red. They will be like ours in a year or so, if you decide to follow our diet, of course," he told me.

"Your Diet?" I repeated. "If you decide to take the same path as Esme and I, drink from animals instead of humans," Dr. Cullen said to me.

I was shocked. I was a vampire? When did the fantasy world mix with the real one?

"But in the meantime, you can't be near humans," he said, and waited for my reaction.

"But, Dr. Cullen…what about Dartmouth? What about my plans, and the choices I had made for my future?'' I asked, and he looked at my worried expression.

He spoke carefully.

"Well, I have arranged for you to take some online classes,'' he said, reassuring me.

That was not in my plans. That's not what I wanted. I wanted to go to school! I still couldn't believe it. I was a vampire. Well, Gabriella, thought, there are no go backs now. You can't take what just happened back. The choice is made. There are no exchanges; what's done is done. There was just one way to move, forward.

"Well, okay, Dr. Cullen. What's done is done,'' I said after a long silence.

"Well, you took it better than I thought you would. Now it is time for you to do your first hunt, and then later we talk about whatever you want to know," Dr. Cullen said, and then turned to his wife.

"Esme, honey, can you please help her change? We will both take her hunting, but I'm going to scout the perimeter first.

"Of course, Carlisle,'' Esme said.

Dr. Cullen…Carlisle, kissed his wife's cheek and then he left.

"You'll be in good hands, Gabriella," he said before finally leaving the room.

Esme smiled at me.

"But, Esme, I don't have any clothes…my luggage, I don't know what happened to it," I explained, and she just smiled.

"Wait here. I'll be back in a second," she said and hurried out of the room in a movement so fast that I barely noticed it. My vision was enhanced by a million; I could see, hear, and feel everything that was going on around me.

Esme came back with a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans, a light blue, long-sleeved top, and a pair of black converse sneakers that I recognized as mine.

"How…?" I asked.

"The police recovered your suitcase at the site of the crash in New York and took it to the hospital. Carlisle brought it with you," she told me.

I nodded and stood up. Wow, that was cool. My movements were fast. The same smell hit me again. My throat flared, so I grasped it with my hands and noticed that they were cold like Dr. Cullen's.

"What's that smell?" I asked Esme.

She chuckled and then smiled. "I think you need to wash off first. That's the smell of your blood," she told me in a casual tone.

I nodded.

"The bathroom is right there," she said, pointing to the door across from me.

"I'll wait here,'' she said, turning toward the door.

When she left, I walked to the bathroom and discovered that I didn't need the light to see, but I turned it on anyway. The bathroom was precious. The sink top was made of black marble. There where white cabinets, a shower with the biggest shower jets I'd ever seen, and a tub big enough for two people. I turned to the mirror in front of me and removed the white hospital robe I had on. It smelled appetizing, and my throat burned again. It was covered in my blood on one side, the side where Carlisle had bit me on.

I slowly started to look at myself… I was shocked at how thin I was. I guess the transformation restored my body to its original state. This was amazing! I had a whole new body, a new face. My hair was shinier, fuller, longer, more defined, and absolutely perfect! My skin was paler and hard. I couldn't believe it. My hair was beautiful. My face was beautiful. The only thing that was out of order was my eyes; they were bright red, but in a year they would be the same as Esme's.

At least that's what Dr. Cullen said.

I turned on the shower and started rinsing myself off with a washcloth and some soap. I finished fast enough. Then I washed my hair and that was it. I got out and put the clothes on; every movement was so fast I was amazed with myself.

I was absorbed in my thoughts when Esme came into the room.

"Gabriella, are you okay?" She asked, worried.

"Yes, I was just admiring myself. I got lost in my thoughts. Sorry," I apologized, and she just smiled.

"It's okay. That's normal," she added. "Ready?" she asked me.

"As I'll ever be" I replied, and Esme nodded.

"Carlisle is waiting outside," she said.

I followed her out of the house and then I walked beside Carlisle; all the while I copied all her movements and actions. We got to the river, and I jumped behind them. My jump was perfect, I laughed, and they did the same. As we approached the edge of the river, Esme and Carlisle became more alert and so did I.

"Now, Gabriella, tell me, What do you hear?'' Carlisle asked, and I listened for a second.

"I can hear something not far from here, but I don't know what it is. It smells good, though.'' I guessed, and he approved.

"Now, let's get moving before it changes course,'' Esme said, and I started running behind her.

The wind flew past me as I ran. This was so fun. I was beginning to love it. We reached the herd. Esme informed me that they were deer, animals I had never seen since I grew up in Puerto Rico. I mimicked Carlisle and Esme until I caught a deer for myself. I struggled with it for a few minutes, but in the end, it surrendered as I took the first bite.

My teeth cut through the skin and the fat very easily. I drank it completely unaware of my surroundings. As soon as the blood hit my throat, I felt a soothing sensation inside me. The deer was pretty big. I felt full with just this one. I threw the carcass away and went to wait until Carlisle and Esme finished with their deer; they let me run ahead of them on the way back to the house.