Disclaimer: if only… -sigh-
Hey everyone. This chapter needed inspiration, for cereal. I couldn't think of a single topic so I asked you (yeah, you) for ideas. I thank everyone who put in input and I hope you like this chapter!
Chapter Eleven.
I was watching TV when the news came on. I was about to turn it off when Alice cried, "NO! Don't! You're going to want to watch this!"
"Okay," I said. I put the remote down and cuddled up closer to Edward.
"Good evening, Virginia," said the news anchor, "Tonight's top story is talking to the people closest to Abby Glad-Masen."
"When was a hyphenated name discussed?" I asked.
"Abigail Glad, seventeen, died three days ago with her husband of a few hours. They drove off of the cliff at around three in the morning," said the anchor, "We spoke to some people who were close to Abby."
We saw my parents and Zack on the screen. "She was my only daughter," said my mom, "I wish that I could have said goodbye."
"Just about an hour before this happened, she'd called and said 'tell mom and dad I say hi. I love you.' I really do miss her." Said Zack.
"I regret kicking her out after she got married," said my dad. He seemed unmoved by my 'death.'
Tear, Emmett and Sara flashed on the screen. "Abby was our Queen Burrito," said Tear, showing his hand that said 'I is a burrito.'
"She became my sister-in-law, and then died," said Emmett.
"Yeah," said Sara, "She'd been my best friend since I moved here last year, and then my cousin, Edward Masen, moved here. They got married on the last day of school."
"Abby, if you're up there, you will always be a burrito!" said Tear. He smiled and wiped a tear away.
Then, Courtney and some of her friends showed on the screen. They were crying fake tears. "Oh my god!" cried Courtney, "Abby was my best friend! She was the greatest girl in the world. I wish she were still here to, like, comfort me."
"Are you freaking kidding me?" I laughed
"And there you have it," said the news anchor
I shut the TV off and went upstairs.
A few weeks later…
"Hey, Abby!" called Emmett, from right in front of the TV, "Come here!" Edward and I left our room and went downstairs.
"What is it, Emmett," I asked, "Did you loose the remote again?"
"No," he said, "look!" I turned my attention to the screen and looked utterly shocked. My older brother's picture was on the screen. My brother, Zachary Glad, was on TV.
"Zack Glad of Vienna, Virginia was made the youngest quarterback on record," said the Announcer, "We spoke to him earlier about this accomplishment."
"This is the greatest thing I've ever accomplished. I'd like to thank my sister, Abby, rest in peace. She was my biggest fan up until a few weeks ago," said Zack, "She and her husband drove off a cliff and died. I miss her a lot. She's the one that made me believe in myself. I miss her a lot. I'm glad she's in a better place though. I regret being a jerk to her in public, but I did love her. I just wish she were still here." He winked, knowing I was still alive, so to speak. I started to cry, dry tears of happiness.
"The teen star player is now known all across the country, and so is his sister, Abby Masen," said the announcer. My school picture showed on the screen. Below it, it said 'deceased.'
And after all of that, all I could say was, "holy shit." Emmett started to laugh at me. "Shut up, Emmett! This is huge! He knows I'm alive!"
"What?" Emmett said, "You told him?"
"No!" I said, "He saw me at the mall. I mean, come on, he's my brother, what am I supposed to do? I love him to death, no pun intended."
"So you didn't tell him, but he knows," said Emmett slowly. "I'm confused."
"You're always confused," said Artemis, walking in with Joseph and Mango. "What is it this time?"
"Zack knows that Abby's still alive," said Emmett.
"I know," said Mango and Artemis.
"YOU know?" asked Emmett, "How do YOU know?"
"We were there…" said Artemis.
"God, I miss out on everything!" said Emmett.
"You need to come to the mall with us then," I said, "And the only was to do that is to be in the group. Hey Alice, if Emmett joins the group, can we be the sexy six?"
"NO!" cried Alice, "He's not going to be in the group."
"Why not, AAAAAlice?" asked Emmett
"Because you aren't a girl," said Alice.
"But I can sound like one," said Emmett in a high-pitched voice.
"Emmett McCarty Cullen Smith Raid!" cried Sara, "Stop that right now!" Emmett grimaced as Sara walked into the room.
"You don't want me to be in your group?" asked Emmett
"I like time with the girls," said Sara, "But I also like time with Emmett. Se everything balances out."
"Okay," he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Wow," I said, sitting down on the couch, "My brother is the youngest football player in the country."
"Lucky," mumbled Emmett.
"What?" I asked.
"Well," said Emmett, "You've a biological brother who's a football star that's known all across the country. I've got two adopted brothers, one can read minds and the other controls your emotions."
"I've also got two adopted brothers," I said, "One can lift six cars over his head with ease and the other can make me feel so angry, I feel like I might explode."
"I've got two brothers, a sister and a cousin who's also a sister," said Edward, "I feel like a vampiric hillbilly."
"I'm an only child and the only one in a whole pack of werewolves," said Mango, "And my boyfriend is, like, forty something."
"Lovely," said Artemis, "I'm a vampiric werewolf that can change my appearance so that I can look like this." She altered her appearance to look just like Edward. Imitating him perfectly, she said, "I'm fell like a disgusting monster. I'm glad I've got Abby, though, otherwise, I would have gone to Volterra!"
"That was grim," said Edward. Artemis changed back into her normal body.
"I just love to make fun of you," said Artemis.
"Hey, Abby, there's something I'd like to talk to you about," said Sara.
"Okay," I said. We went upstairs to a guest bedroom. "What's up?"
"Do you know Artemis's story?" she asked me.
"I know she was changed into a vampire by accident," I said.
"Do you know who changed her?" she asked. I shook my head.
"Who?" I asked.
"Well… it's a really… really… REALLY long story. But in the end… it was Edward and me," said Sara.
"Well I've got all eternity," I said, "Tell me the story."
"Okay," said Sara, "Here it goes."
Flashback to 1979
POV (Sara)
It was Joseph and Artemis's sixteenth birthday. They had changed four days before. Two weeks before they changed they made friend with the Cullen Family and I was once again reunited with my cousin. We were all friends and we were having fun.
Artemis wanted to be different. She wanted to fit in with both communities. She didn't want to only understand one side of the immortal life. She wanted to know what it's like to be both. But once you make that decision, you can't go back.
She asked both Edward and I to bite her, so that the change would take even less time. And we did. We both bit her wrists. She cried out and wanted to hold her arms but she contained herself. Instead of three hours, it only took an hour and a half. When she awoke, she had red eyes, her normally tan skin was now so pale and her hair was lighter. Her features were more angular. We showed stood her in front of a mirror. She hated her new appearance. She was thinking in her head, 'I want to look the way I did!' and then, he appearance changed into her previous self.
Artemis was still able to phase into her wolf form, which was good, seeing how she was the pack's alpha. Artemis claimed it was the best birthday of her life… minus the pain.
End Flashback (Back to Abby's POV)
"So you and Edward changed her?" I asked.
"What's what she wanted," said Sara, "And we couldn't deny her what she wanted. And frankly, she scared the crap out of me. Even though I'm nearly indestructible, Artemis happens to be very intimidating, Scary, even." I laughed. Artemis was pretty scary.
"I guess I'm not too upset, I mean, she's a great friend," I said.
"Yeah," said Sara.
"Was that it?" I asked.
"Well," said Sara, "She asked me because I was her best friend. But she asked Edward… because she knew Edward would."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because he liked her… he had a crush on her," said Sara, "It's no where near what he feels about you. But he liked her enough to tell her. She didn't like him that way, after all, she had Max. But… she played it to her advantage."
"Nice," I said.
"Well, now you know the story!" said Sara.
"Because stories are fun!" I said.
- - -
Later, after Mango and Joseph went home, Artemis stayed around to hang out with some fellow vampires. We sat out on the deck for a little while. We talked. I found out that Artemis loves to read, write and draw. She showed me a piece of work. It was a portrait of Joseph and Mango. She said she did it about two weeks before and was working on the final details. The entire time, Edward had his arm around me. I now understood why he felt so uncomfortable around her.
Eventually, Artemis got a phone call from her dad.
"Missy, you've sort of got to go home now," said her dad.
"Fine," said Artemis. She closed her phone and said, "I've got to go. Bye." We all hugged her goodbye, well, besides Edward, and she left.
Edward and I went upstairs to our room. We laid down on the bed. Edward wrapped his marble arm around my shoulders. I didn't want to ever leave this position, although I knew I'd eventually have to.
"What did you and Sara talk about earlier?" asked Edward.
"Can't you just read her mind?" I asked.
"She's blocking it," he said, "Besides, she's the type of person who'd twist the truth in her head."
"We talked about Artemis," I said, "About her change."
"Oh," he whispered.
"Why didn't you tell me that you used to like her?" I asked.
"it wasn't important," he said, "I didn't feel one tenth or even one hundredth the way I feel about you. I've never loved someone so strongly."
"I know," I said, "But it would still be a nice heads up, in case I have a little competition."
"A little?" he chuckled, "From what you say about the book Sara wrote, the whole teen female population is your competition."
"Mostly," I said, "But if you love me as much as you do, you wouldn't leave me for some other girl, would you?"
"Never!" he said. I kissed him. "Abby, if anything ever happened to you, I'd never be the same. I wouldn't be able to live."
"That's beautiful," I whispered. I moved closer to his ear and whispered, "Ditto." He chuckled and stroked my hair. I shut my eyes, never wanting to leave him.
Now, Tell me what you thought. Please review. I, personally, like the part where Courtney was fake-crying to get on TV. What has been your favorite part so far? Because… not reviewing is for… dun, dun, DUUUUN… squares!
The One And Only
Sarah
