I'm editing the two projects I finished in 2018. Idk why no one told me it was so hard.
Enjoy this overdue update! Thanks for sticking with me!
27. THE CULLENS
I didn't give a lot of thought as to how or where vampires lived, mainly because I was still trying to get over the fact that some of them somehow didn't kill people – at least, they somehow didn't kill people now. But they used to. Including the vampire that brought me here, who was stalking toward the middle of the cavernous living room to slump on one of the massive plush light-colored couches.
Everything was in varied shades of white: from the walls, to the furniture, to the patterned rugs accenting the hardwood floors, all of it. Light hardwood floors and exposed beams holding up the large staircase and adorning the ceiling above us framed the sea of brightness and balanced it.
The entire house was filled with soft lights that illuminated the home in a hazy glow. I realized they were meant to be ambient like a theatre, because the hulking eighty-inch flat-screen TV hugging the wall in front of the couches would be the star of the show. A glass coffee table in front of the TV was filled with so many snacks I couldn't keep my expression in check. I swore my eyes practically bugged out of my head.
From another part of the house, I could hear something crackling. The warm scent of meat cooking and bread toasting met my nose. My mouth watered.
"We weren't sure if you actually liked McDonald's, or Taco Bell, or Wendy's, or – or whatever other fast food restaurants there are," Alice admitted from beside me. I jumped, not expecting her voice to be so close to my ear. I smiled sheepishly and quickly shied away from her, stepping further into the living room. "And then we also realized that we're a little too far away from… well anything, really. It would get cold by the time we brought it home."
"Hope you're hungry," Emmett said, emerging from some doorway that led further into the house. His hulking form nearly swallowed up the large open threshold. His wide grin made me bristle. "Because you're going to need the energy to beat me."
"We'll see about that," I said as Alice ghosted past me, nodding her head for me to follow.
"Come on, I think Esme's almost done," she said.
I trailed behind her, the house opening up to me as I walked further in. To the left was a large staircase leading up to another floor. Windows made up the entire back wall of the first floor, offering a nearly panoramic views of the forest behind it. At the back of the living room was a sleek black grand piano that shone in the soft lighting.
"Edward's," Alice answered my unspoken question. The crackling noises became more prominent as we neared it, then Alice turned right, exposing a large kitchen. A young woman stood at the stove, cooking burger patties on a skillet. A toaster ticked beside her, no doubt browning buns. "Blaire, this is our mom – for all intents and purposes, of course – Esme."
Esme looked up at me and smiled, and I could not for the life of me figure out how the hell the Cullens managed to make everyone believe she was the mother of four teenagers. She almost looked as young as they did! And she was just as beautiful, in a classic sort of way with her rounded face and soft light brown hair styled in large curls. Mostly, she looked nice compared to the others. "It's nice to meet you, Blaire," she said, her voice sweet like honey.
Then she looked down. I followed her gaze to my hands, where the mug of hot chocolate was still nestled in my palms. Her smile became bemused. "Alice, I said make a chocolate milkshake. To go with the burgers."
"What?" Alice plucked the mug out of my hands to inspect it for herself. "This isn't that? But it has milk in it – and chocolate – and I shook it."
Esme laughed quietly and shook her head. She took the mug herself and put it to the side before smiling ruefully at me. "Remind me not to let them go grocery shopping unsupervised again," she said.
I frowned at Alice. "You don't know what a milkshake is?"
She looked so dejected I had to bite back a smirk. "I guess not," she said morosely. "We, um, don't really… eat human food."
"Oh." I said, my eyes roaming back to the skillet on the stove and the four burgers cooking on it. Did that mean I was expected to eat all of those? "You didn't have to go out of your way for me –"
"It's not going out of our way," Esme said. "I enjoy cooking. It's nice to do it for someone who can appreciate it."
I tentatively smiled back. "I'm sure I will. It smells amaz –"
"This house smells disgusting," a female voice said loudly from behind us. I turned around, finding Rosalie standing at the top of the staircase. She was dressed in her own casual-chic, though her outfit seemed reminiscent of a Victoria Secret model. Her gaze was cold as she stared at me. Like a true predator.
Her eyes skipped to the living room. "Was that what you were going for when you wanted to bring her over? To make her feel more at home?"
A growl, guttural and deep, tore through the air and made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. It sounded like a tiger was in the living room – sitting on the couch, more specifically. When I looked at Jasper, he was motionless like a statue. He didn't even look like he'd turned his head.
"Rosalie…" Esme warned.
Rosalie rolled her eyes and looked back at me. "This is stupid," she told me. "You know that, right? You're going to get yourself killed running around with him. Or worse."
"Nothing's going to happen," Alice said. She walked past me and curled into one of the armchairs near the couches, closest to Jasper. "We took every precaution –"
"Really?" Rosalie asked her flatly. "You took every precaution when you invited her over here? When you made sure Carlisle had a night shift and Edward was out with his own little –"
"Babe," Emmett tried to call to her.
"Oh, Rose," Alice groaned. "Don't –"
"– blood bank," Rosalie finished.
"Rosalie –" Esme admonished with a surprised gasp, but she was cut off by an unnatural quiet stilling the air, one that was filled with uncertainty. It was so intense it nearly choked me. A thrill of fear ran down my spine, but it wasn't my own.
Not when I felt rage crackling through my veins.
"His own… what?" I demanded.
Rosalie stared at me. I met her gaze with equal fire. If she wouldn't try to hide what she was with me, I wouldn't try to hide what I was capable of from her. She narrowed her eyes.
"It's not like that and you know it," Alice snapped. "None of it is. Why can't you just let this run its course?"
"Because I'm not naïve," Rosalie hissed, and it actually sounded like a hiss. "Jasper and Edward are putting this entire family in danger of exposure by playing human –"
Indignation rolled through me. "No one's playing anything –"
"You could have fooled me with your moronic attempt at the nineties-themed supernatural vigilante game you've started," Rosalie said. I was kind of amazed she actually fit all of that in one breath. "And with your friend forcing Edward into playing house, though I'm not sure he minds –"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I demanded.
"It would seem that…" Alice started off. "Edward and Bella may be… involved."
Rosalie snorted. "Didn't you know?" she asked condescendingly, like she already knew the answer.
No… I didn't… know anything. Why didn't she tell me? What the hell was Bella doing? "Involved…" I echoed. "Like… Like… Like they're dating?"
"That's a word for it," Rosalie mumbled. Horror washed through me. Oh my God. "I can't decide which of you is more foolish. You for thinking you could actually kill one of us, or her for thinking she could actually be with one of us –"
"Don't talk about Bella like that," I snapped. "Ever. Or else we'll both find out how stupid I actually am."
Pride swirled in my chest, and I was too mad to know it wasn't mine. I glanced at the couch, noticing Jasper had swiveled his body around so he sat on the back of it, watching both of us like he was a spectator in a tennis match. It would have been comical, if he didn't look so serious. Alice pressed her face in her hand.
"Am I the only one who thinks this is absolutely insane?" Rosalie demanded. "This is all doomed to fail. With Edward finding his singer and whatever Jasper's seemed to find in this would-be vampire slayer –"
The words stung. Jasper was suddenly on the stairs, in Rosalie's face. In the same time, Emmett made it across the room and stood at the bottom step. "Stop," Jasper commanded.
Calm erupted and washed over the room, forcing my anger to fizzle out, but it was tinged with a small note of fear, anxiety – no. Desperation.
What the hell was I doing? I shouldn't have come here. I needed to get out before it was too late.
Esme suddenly appeared in the middle of the living room, standing next to Emmett at the stairs. "This is over now," she said. Her voice was calm, still sweet, but it took on a whole new level of authority I hadn't expected from her. "Rose, you should remember it wasn't that long ago that we had to be flexible for your circumstances. We support each other in this family, and we extend that support to everyone who needs it."
Oh, so I was supposed to be their would-be charity case? Hell no. I spied a sliding glass door leading outside next to the piano. "This was a mistake," I muttered before surging for the handle.
"Blaire, wait –" Esme said, but I was already on the house's wraparound porch, stalking toward the front.
Growls erupted in the house, wild and primal. Terror iced my veins, accented by a sharp, fleeting sense of anger. The latter wasn't mine.
WHOOSH!
I whipped around, just in time to catch a blonde blur shoot out of the house and into the forest beyond. Even if I could barely see her form, I knew it was Rosalie. Trees practically bowed back at the force of her speed before shuddering back into place. I glared after her, hoping a rogue branch ripped some of her perfect blonde locks off of her perfect scalp.
When the rustling of the forest faded with Rosalie's departure, I finally let the tightness in my throat to take over. Tears made my eyes sting, but I tried to fight them back as I strode to the front of the house. I wouldn't cry, I wouldn't cry, I wouldn't cry, I wouldn't –
"Blaire?" Alice called. I spun around, bracing myself as she slipped out of the front door. "I'm so sorry –"
"She's right," I said, folding my arms over my chest as a breeze cut through the clearing. "I shouldn't be here."
"Blaire, no, please," Alice said. She crossed the space between us in less than a second. I didn't flinch even though she stopped inches away from me. Her arms were out, as if she meant to hold my shoulders, but she hesitated. "You should be here, don't worry about Rose, she doesn't understand –"
"No, she doesn't," I sighed. "I don't even understand it, either. Everything is so… fucked."
"I know," she said, surprising me. "I'm sorry. Things would have been different – maybe – if I had seen it coming. If I knew before… Nothing would have stopped us from saving Waylon, Blaire. I promise."
"Why though?" I asked. "Why do any of you want to help me? You don't owe me anything. I'm prey to you. Shouldn't this be nature taking its course?"
"But it isn't," Alice said. For the first time since I met her, her voice was measured and low. Her words were deliberate, chosen with care, and they made my head spin. "You being hunted – dying – isn't nature taking its course."
"What the hell are you talking about?" I demanded.
"It's not right," she said. "It's just… not."
I tightened my arms closer to my chest, trying to block the cold air from sinking further into my skin. "You know what I'm going to say to that, right?" I asked.
Alice sighed. "Oh great, more vague bullshit to add on top of my bull-shit answer-pile," she replied in a monotone. "Is being chronically vague to the point of bringing people physical pain a side effect of drinking blood?"
I snorted. It was true. She offered me a small half-smile.
"Look… I know this doesn't make sense," she said. "And I know how frustrated and scared you are, and I know that while Jasper means well, he's not very good at putting people at ease – without his gift, of course, so he's kind of lost. It's why I suggested that you should come over tonight. I thought you could use the distraction."
"But I don't –"
"Want to be distracted," she said. "It's the last thing you think you can afford to be right now. I know, I know."
"Is this how conversations usually go for you?" I asked, bemused.
She answered with a slightly wider smile. "Only when I'm trying to convince certain people to stay for burgers and video games."
I smirked. "Don't ask me why, but I think it might be working," I admitted. "Especially since Rosalie is gone."
"Why do you think I kept egging her on?" she asked mischievously. Then her expression melted into something a lot more sincere. "This secret is a burden, one that you've had to shoulder alone so you can protect the people you love. It's noble, and so very brave, and it means more to any of us than you can know. We're grateful for your trust, so we just wanted to make tonight a little less… lonely for you."
My throat tightened at the raw honesty of her words. This couldn't be some trick, could it? I didn't know how I would be able to tell. But I had nothing else to lose at this point, so why couldn't I believe her? Just for tonight, at least.
I was so tired of being the only person trying to stay afloat in a sea of uncertainty.
"Okay," I said, quietly.
Alice smiled. "Okay," she echoed before leading the way back into the house.
We made our way back into the living room, and I plopped on the corner cushion of the couch stationed in front of the TV. Alice sank down on the other end of the couch, the polite distance she kept spoke volumes of respect to me. I reached out to pick up the first controller I could get my hands on. "You ready to get your ass handed to you, Cullen?" I called back to Emmett.
The loveseat framing the right side of the living room scooted backward a little as Emmett vaulted himself over the side, a controller in his hands and a wicked grin on his face. "I already made my bets with Jazz," he said.
Esme breezed past me, setting a plate filled with a burger and chips on the coffee table. I smiled up at her gratefully, letting her trail a hand along my shoulder as she strode away. I was surprised I didn't find the move as chilling as I would have before. When she was out of sight, the lights in the house dimmed and the TV flared to life.
"I'm counting on you," Jasper called. I glanced around, finding him standing next to the kitchen, across from Esme. His skin glowed cold in the harsh light of the TV screen, but his eyes were warm, like the small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. I could almost smile back, but I turned to look at the TV before it would break.
The opening sequence to FIFA07 scrolled across the screen. "Hell yes," I muttered. "Don't worry, I got this."
"Told you she'd like it," Jasper said to Emmett. I pretended to ignore him while I scrolled through the team list. I clicked on Chelsea, smirking.
"She'll hate it by the time she plays me," Emmett replied, a competitive edge in his tone.
"She's right here, so you can stop talking about me like I'm not," I said, sliding off the couch so I could sit closer to the coffee table. I set the controller and waited for Emmett to choose his team while I grabbed the burger.
Emmett chuckled. "She's gonna fit in just fine."
Tbh my biggest struggle with this chapter was trying to capture Alice's character and mesh it with Blaire, so she could convince Bee to play video games. I swore I rewrote their conversation a million times. Did you know that Blaire is super difficult to convince of literally anything? I didn't. Shocked and hurt.
I'm obsessed with Blaire and Rosalie's dynamic. I can't wait to write more of them soon!
In other news, is anyone as excited about the upcoming baseball scene as I am?
