Disclaimer: I do not, nor will ever, own the Twilight Saga, or any of its characters and plots.
TW: This story will contain references to child abuse (physical, mental, sexual), self-harm, and suicide attempts (both past and present).
Izzy
"Humans are a liability to our existence." The blonde female, the one that most of the males were drooling over in Biology, said, her eyes narrowing at Izzy.
"And yet you would give everything, including your mate, to be one of us." Izzy retorted, her lips curling mockingly.
The large brunette male at her side had to grab her to prevent the blonde from lunging forward.
"Ilyssa- "
"Izzy." The redhead broke in, correcting the blonde leader.
"I thought it was Isla." The blonde empath, whose memories were now stored in a special vault in her head, said.
She scoffed.
"You act like you've never gone by other names, Major." She sneered, and moved forward, ducking under the brunette's arm when he attempted to stop her from leaving.
"Bloody hell, what am I wearing?" She muttered as she caught sight of herself in the mirror she passed.
Whimsy began to purr at the sight of her, jumping from the back of the couch to follow her up the stairs.
Oddly enough, the vampires stayed put, probably having enough sense to realize she was changing clothes. The skirt went into the washing machine, along with the flowery top. She really wanted to just throw them out, but figured she'd be wanting to wear them again when she got back to her alternate self.
She threw on a plain pair of dark skinny jeans, a black t-shirt with one of her favorite punk bands on it, and black boots. Her blonde hair was tied unceremoniously into a bun at the crown of her head. Whatever makeup she had decided to wear in the morning was washed off. It wasn't like she needed it anyways.
"You can't just leave. We were about to kill you."
The blonde girl huffed when Izzy returned back downstairs, Whimsy on her heels. The brunette woman gave the blonde a warning glance.
"If you were really going to kill me, you would've done so already. And since I'm not dead, I need groceries before my sad excuse for a mother deactivates my card for skipping school."
Izzy turned to Whimsy, who instantly began to purr again.
"Come on, you great ball of fluff. You'll protect me from the evil monsters of the night."
The irony of her statement was not lost on her, nor apparently the vampires, because a few of them cracked a smile.
"I'll go with you." The brunette leader volunteered.
Izzy sighed.
"Fine, but no snacking on the other shoppers – or me, unless you want to pay my hospital bill. Also, if the rest of you aren't gone by the time I get back, I'm going to sic Whimsy on you."
Right on time, Whimsy began to cough up a hairball.
With that, she turned on her heel and walked towards the kitchen. The blonde empath shifted away from her as she passed him, but she ignored him, hitting the button that opens the garage.
When she turned back, only the brunette leader remained, standing casually in the doorway.
"I'm assuming you can drive, yes?"
The leader gave a nod, smiling just slightly.
"Cool. We'll take Dad's fancy car."
Esme wasn't the worst person Izzy had ever met, human or otherwise, and that was probably why they bonded so quickly.
Despite her inability to actually consume human food, Esme offered a kind of specialty in cooking that Izzy had never known, seeing that her parents were more likely to take her off to some expensive restaurant than cook for her, when they were home at least.
That was another thing.
The longer that Izzy spent with Esme, she began seeing the vampire mother in a sort of maternal way… which was more dangerous than taking Whimsy by the fish aisle. The more time they spent together, even doing something as mundane as shopping, the more comfortable their banter became.
"You can't possibly eat frozen foods for the rest of your life." Esme protested when Izzy laid out her meal plan.
"Well, it's not like my parents actually cared enough to teach me how to cook." She snarked back, only regretting her words when she saw that infuriating pity that filled Esme's eyes.
She didn't apologize, however, only suggesting, "Perhaps I can teach you something. It's been a while since I've had the need to cook, but… these things are like riding a bike, right?" She paused, then. "You do know how to ride a-?"
"Yes! That was before they hit the mega millions and went off to explore the world." Izzy interrupted, flushing when a few people looked towards them.
Behind Esme's back, she flipped them off, and they hurried away, looking scandalized.
Upon Esme's suggestion, she threw a few items in the cart that she would've never purchased alone and hurried to pay.
"I'm sorry, miss, but your card was declined." The cashier said, glancing at Esme.
Izzy said nothing when she pulled out her own card and paid. In fact, Izzy remained silent until they were pulling up into her garage.
"You didn't have to do that. My mother's just throwing a temper tantrum; she would've reactivated it within a few days." She murmured, feeling like the air was stifling.
Esme reached out, and then hesitated when Izzy instinctively flinched.
"Please, let me show you." She whispered, looking into Izzy's eyes.
A part of her didn't want to reach out. She wanted to remain alone in her own bubble. She wanted to thank her for the groceries and just leave, and, looking back, that was exactly what she should have done. She should have just smiled and declined the offer to see into Esme's past.
Yet, as Izzy looked into Esme's caring eyes, she felt a small flutter of emotion that she hadn't felt since she was a small child and her mother still cared more about her than growing their wealth.
Was that why she took her hand? Was that childish longing to be touched making her so irrational that she would search for that love in the same person that threatened her life mere hours before?
She took Esme's hand, the subsequent burst of images making her body go limp against the seat. She saw a mother losing her firstborn child. She saw the grief that followed, leading to the mother leaping from a cliff, hoping to rejoin her baby in the afterlife.
She saw the rebirth of the mother, born into a life of blood and thirst, and yet finding new children to guide through their immortal lives. She saw the love of a husband and wife that surpassed anything she had ever seen her parents share.
She saw the love between a mother and child that was stronger than even her own relationship with her mother as a young child. She saw grief, and love, and pain, and compassion.
"Everyone deserves a loving mother." Esme whispered when her eyes finally cleared.
She couldn't find the words in her to respond, but Esme didn't seem to require one.
It was almost midnight when Izzy crawled into bed, the warmth finally cooling in her chest since Esme had left. Whimsy curled into her side, purring softly.
There was a million and one reasons why she should've died today, but she was still there, breathing softly as she stared up at her ceiling. For the first time in a long time, she didn't need to meditate before she fell into a deep sleep.
A/N: Thanks for reading!
