Chapter Twenty-Six: Outrunning a Storm
Angela (POV)
"I'm the first vampire." He said completely seriously. I found myself falling back with a loud sigh, because of course he was the first vampire. I stared up into the sky for a few minutes before I sat up and met his gaze.
"I don't even know what to say to that. How do you know?" I asked curiously. "Actually, before you start your story lets head back, I think everyone should hear this." I wanted to know more, I desperately wanted to hear more, but they needed to hear this as much as I did.
"Of course." He stood and offered me a hand, I took it and braced myself as he gently lifted me onto his back. Then we were moving so fast. Behind us I heard a crack of thunder and chancing a glance I found the snow had turned to rain and was falling in sheets. I wondered if he was faster than the storm cloud. I kept looking back, and for a while it felt like we were keeping pace with the incoming storm. Then it overtook us, and I felt myself laugh despite the fact the cold rain soaked me to the bone in seconds.
"What's funny?" He asked looking over his shoulder.
"I hoped you were faster than the storm." I said with a touch of disappointment.
"That's one I've never tested; I understand clouds move quickly in a thunderstorm." He said with a small laugh, his smile giving me a boost of joy.
"I have no idea how fast they move; I could just see the rain coming and I was hoping you could outrun it. You were so fast when you killed…" I knew I had said the wrong thing but couldn't take it back. He stopped and let me down under a tree which provided a bit of cover from the downpour. He took off his coat and draped it around my shoulders.
He looked away from me for what felt like an hour, although it was probably only a couple of minutes. I wanted to reach out to him, find out what was wrong. He eventually shook his head and turned towards me.
"I killed for you. I swore to myself centuries ago that I would never take another life. I learned to be a doctor so that I could develop patience and resistance to the pull of human blood. I actively try to source blood from butchers, rather than hunting in the wild. When I voiced my opinion that we may have to kill James, I did it with a heavy heart. I held no excitement in my heart for the game, the hunt holds no meaning for me anymore. What does mean everything now, is your life." He looked tortured as he explained, and his words held a weight I wasn't sure I could bear. He had killed for me, and it hurt my heart to know how much pain it caused him.
"That's too much, I'm not worth…" I started but he moved to me, and gently cupped my chin bringing my eyes up to meet his. Then he stepped back and held the eye contact with me.
"Worth." He let out a half-defeated laugh. "Even if I hadn't gotten to know your wonderful mind or seen you accept horror and tragedy with grace and understanding, I would have sensed your soul. I know it's a silly thought, but how else do I feel the gifts of vampires? It isn't telepathy like what Edward has, it is far less tangible and for the most part I cannot do anything useful with it. When I first realized your importance to them, I reached out. Most human's feel like echoes, like a forgotten voice heard after bouncing off a canyon wall a thousand times. Some, usually those that are gifted when they turn, have presence. They shine."
"Are you saying I shine, why do I suddenly feel like I'm in a Stephen King novel?" I said breaking eye contact for a second.
"Yes, I can tell you will be gifted. It's hard to tell what you will be able to do, but it will be wonderful." He gave me a happy smile as he spoke, but I don't think his words hit me the way he intended.
"Is that why?" I finally said after spending time searching his expression, had I been a fool to think he liked me because of me? Was it all just some fascination with the kind of vampire I would become? I felt my stomach fall, and my heart ache. I hadn't realized how much emotion I had already invested into this bizarre… relationship? Could I even call it that?
"I don't understand." He said cocking his head at me, I could see in his expression he could see the change in my demeanor, but I was sure he didn't understand why.
"You said I had a nice mind I guess, and I cope well with things. Thank you for that, but your interest in me started when you realized I would be a kick ass vampire. Isn't that right?" I said hoping he would say anything other than a confirmation I was right.
"No. I started to take an interest in you the moment you defended the Cullen's. A human, knowing the risks, threatened a vampire she hardly knew to protect creatures like us. I started thinking about you the moment I got home. I've thought you were special you since you made clear to me, I had to choose between my heart and my mind. I realized I was infatuated with you, curious what you meant to me. Then he took you, threatened you. No, there are no words. I knew you had to live, more than anything I couldn't accept a world where you were no longer in it. It is strange, that before I met you, I had ever lived. I spent so long waiting for something, without even knowing I was missing it. I… it's too soon… I cannot put that on you yet." His words filled me with such joy, my heart felt like it was about to beat out of my chest. How could he feel that way about me? The girl not even good enough for a loser like Ben Cheney.
"I don't understand. How can you see me this way? I am only important to the Cullen's because of Bella. I'm one of those people in the background of a movie, a bit player at best. I was never even asked to prom, I'm nothing. My life isn't important, I've done nothing, and I will probably do nothing amazing with it. Maybe live a painfully normal life with some guy I haven't met yet. Have a couple of kids and die of cancer at sixty like my grandmother. I'm a statistic, a number, a nobody. How can you see me as anything other than food?" I knew it was denial, but it was far easier to deal with than the idea a vampire who had seen the building of the Pyramids was in love with me.
"Answer me this, and I will leave you alone forever." He requested, folding his arms across his chest. I pulled the coat around me tighter, the cold rain running down my chin. I nodded in response. "Is your mortal life enough for you? Or do you want more out of your life?"
"I don't know. I've accepted the fact that I will be turned sometime soon, out of necessity." I said with a small sigh.
"I have connections, I could arrange a job offer for one or both of your parents. Something they couldn't refuse. You could start somewhere else, away from here. Safe from our kind and this life. I imagine you could keep in contact with Bella long distance if you like. But it would mean you have a choice." He spoke in a friendly tone of voice, but there was something in his eyes I couldn't quite pin down.
"You would do that for me?" I said feeling overwhelmed, the offer was a lifeline. He was giving me an out, a chance at a normal, human life.
"You need only to say the word." He gave me a reassuring smile, but I finally understood the look in his eyes. It was pain, he was putting my happiness above his own.
I wanted to say yes, but the word felt like acid on my tongue, and I couldn't say it out loud. Yet this had to be my choice, I had to choose life over becoming a monster. I wanted to be a mother, I wanted to live… a normal… mundane… human life. Didn't I?
I had been turning over my eventual transformation into a vampire again and again, I had come up with a thousand reasons why it was better to stay human. I would be there for my parents, my brothers. I would go to college, start a family. My human family. Parents who I would eventually have to bury no matter what I chose. I couldn't do that to my brothers though, I had to be there for them. Except they were so young, I would be off to school and another life in less than a year anyway. I wouldn't see them grow up. I would just be their older sister who lived in the city. Or maybe I would have a kid of my own who would be close to their age… No, they were another excuse. So, what was I really fighting against? My faith? Was I worried about my soul? No, there was almost nothing left of my beliefs, and what little I did keep close to my heart was spiritual and not religious.
It suddenly dawned on me that I already knew my answer, why rejecting his lovely offer felt so wrong. I had chosen him because he was my future. I just needed to articulate my choice.
"No. I chose you." I said feeling tears sting the corners of my eyes, only to get lost in the rain as they fell. He opened his mouth several times to say something, but it was clear he couldn't find the words.
"I would very much like to kiss you." He finally said after several seconds of clear shock.
"Please." I said feeling a warmth spread across my chest, a need I hadn't ever felt before that moment rocketed to the pit of my stomach. I felt small, overwhelmed and not ready or worthy of what I was asking for. Yet in the next instant he closed the distance until barely an inch of air separated us. He lingered there, waiting, staring into my eyes. His offer made. I leaned forward and kissed him, softly at first. And then I felt my passion for him overwhelm reason and I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him against me.
I don't know how long we kissed; it didn't matter. We were lost in each other's embrace. The only reason we stopped was because my body started to shiver. At first, I thought it was from emotions, but I quickly realized I was freezing. I broke our kiss, and he pulled away and looked at me quizzically, then looked at my lips and fear crept into his expression. He immediately scooped me up in his arms and we were moving through the woods so fast the rain was pelting us like a firehose. I buried my face in his chest and pulled his coat up around my head.
The rain stopped after another ten minutes, and soon after that we found ourselves near the Cullen house. As we approached, I could see Bella standing in the rear patio window, watching the woods. She was out of the house to greet us before we even made it to the edge of their back lawn. She looked happy to see me, and as Mason set me down, she pulled me into a tight hug. Yet, there was something in her expression that had me concerned. As we separated, I searched her face for an answer, but I couldn't figure out what was wrong.
"What happened?" I asked, but she just shook her head.
"The woman attached Charlie." Edward said from beside her, I hadn't even heard him approach.
"Damn it." Mason said. "I let her go."
"Is he?" I started. Bella just shook her head.
"It's complicated, but she had started to feed and was interrupted. Charlie is in transition right now." I blinked at him, the thought that Chief Swan was about to become a vampire sounded absurd. I felt Mason intertwine his fingers in mine, and I squeezed his hand thankful for the support. We moved into the house then, mostly because I was still drenched and shivering from the chilly air.
Emmett was building a fire in the fireplace I had never saw them use, he glanced over at me with a wide smile as he lit the Firestarter log. Almost immediately I felt the warmth of the fireplace, as I searched the rest of the room and found Bella's father on the couch, writing in pain. The agony on his face, punctuated by the occasional whimper or groan.
Esme rushed over to me, "I'm so glad you're home, I don't know what I would've done if they had hurt you." She touched pulled me in to a tight hug and I felt myself melting against her. A deep part of my mind was furious that I accepted her, but she would be a mother to me for the rest of my existence, which was a comfort I couldn't deny.
"Carlisle, she has some minor injuries." Mason said, and Carlisle nodded.
"Angela, let's get you into some warm clothes and check that cut on your temple." Carlisle offered, and I nodded easily. Esme led me upstairs to an empty bedroom already decorated with a bed and several nice pieces of dark wood furniture, a lot like the stuff I had chosen for my own room. "Alice took the liberty of filling out your wardrobe, this room is yours."
"What?" I said looking around the space as I realized they had done all this for me. "Thank you." I squeezed her hand in appreciation and she then left me alone. I almost sat down, but realized I was dripping onto an expensive looking throw rug. So, I went into the bathroom, which was not huge, but larger than the one I had grown up with. I stripped off the wet clothes and took a hot shower, the soaps had scents I liked, but were higher end than I had ever bought for myself. Then I searched the closet and drawers and started to laugh at Alice's choices. They were all beautiful, but just one outfit would've cost more than my monthly allowance. I picked something simple and warm, and found matching shoes. I pulled my damp hair into a simple ponytail and cautiously opened the door. Carlisle was leaning against the opposite wall, waiting patiently for me.
"Shall we?" He said with a warm smile. I nodded and followed him down to his office. He had me sit down and checked my head, shined a light in my eyes and asked me questions. He worked quickly stitching up the cut on my head and gave me some medication which would help with the pain in my shoulder, which he gave me a sling to support.
"Why do you have so much human stuff in here?" I asked trying to figure out the oddness of him having medical supplies in a house full of vampires.
"Bella, you… Tyler. I never felt secure having you here unless there were supplies and equipment in place in case any of you were ever injured." Carlisle gave me a small tired smile.
"This isn't your fault. What you did for Bella and me took a lot of courage. You risked your family and your life for us, and I'll never forget that." I said trying to sound as open and sincere as possible.
"You have always been gracious with us, even before you knew what we are. I know being around our kind can be difficult for humans." He gave me thankful smile, which did reach his eyes. Even though I was sure I hadn't assuaged any of his guilt.
"I fantasized about living with your family before I was even Bella's friend. Being here is impossible, but I've made my choice now. However, there is something you should hear. Mason wants to explain his past." I said with confidence, even though the whole thing was still terrifying. Carlisle raised his eyebrows and nodded. Then we went into the main room.
Bella was sitting on the couch with her father's head in her lap. Edward was sitting on the arm next to her, their proximity confirming that Bella had finally forgiven him. Alice sat on the floor in front of the couch, her hand holding Chief Swan's. Emmett was standing stoically, and Rosalie was nearby sitting on a rocking chair and anxiously rocking back and forth. Carlisle moved over to Esme and she immediately wrapped an arm around his waist, and he put one around her shoulders. Mason was near the fireplace, staring into the now roaring fire, he turned and smiled at me as I entered.
"I ask only that you let me finish without forming an opinion. This isn't easy for me to tell." Everyone nodded or verbalized agreement and he took a deep breath before continuing.
"As far as I know, I am the first vampire." The room gasped in shock, but kept silent as he started his story.
Author's Note: Funny story, this was originally going to be Mason's backstory. I started writing it in Angela's point of view and it become it's own thing. The next chapter will be Bloody Skeletons.
As always please check my profile for upcoming release dates for all my projects. I abandoned My Darkest Dream because I found it nearly impossible to write quickly. When I have a chance to spend time on it properly, I will get it back up and posted. In the mean time I will be working on two other projects, Scattered Ashes and At First Sight. These are my Bellice stories, and are about as different as you can imagine. The first chapter of Scattered Ashes is already posted, and the second will be up later today. At First Sight may not release right away because I have to change the tense from 1st person to 3rd.
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Thank you for reading!