13

A Boring Freak

I screamed. I believe I had just killed an innocent bird. And worse, my hunger was satiated somehow so its blood must appeal to me. Yuk. If I had even the slightest suspicion that me being a vampire wasn't true, now I knew it for sure. And it was disgusting.

I was disgusting.

But sitting here whining about it didn't help me at all, so now I needed to come up with a plan.

Or, I could return home. Or, I could try and get my answers at the Cullens. Or, I could stay here and destroy some more trees.

And as much as I hated to admit it, even to myself, but Edward did give me the most answers, now that I thought about it. He spoke about a treaty and even called himself a vampire. I mean, my parents didn't even want to tell me why they hated him so much, so my bet was on Cullen.

I needed to go to the Cullens.

Once I made up my mind about that, the clouds in my head became clear and I slowly breathed out. No worries, I just needed some answers from them, and then I… Then I…

I didn't know what I would do after that. First, answers. Afterwards, let's see what will come my way.

I didn't want to scare anyone who could be near me, so I started walking at a normal, human pace. Plus, I needed these extra hours to gather my thoughts about everything. I concentrated on my breathing and paid extra attention to the surroundings.

The trees which were almost claustrophobic to me at one point, became laughable now that I knew I could easily crush them. Funny how different Forks seemed to me. From rainy horrible tiny town to rainy horrible tiny town, where I learned I was part vampire and crushed hard on the only vampire in town. That I knew of.

I sighed. I didn't know what more this town could hide from me, but I would find out soon enough.

The path towards the main road became clearer and way too soon, I was out of the forest. My genius plan of going to the Cullens sucked actually, as I had no idea where they lived. And I never really listened to small-town gossip, so I had no clue where I could find them.

At this point, probably at school, but I couldn't exactly show up there in my green stained dress.

Crap.

The only possible solution that I had was going towards the hospital in the hopes of finding Carlisle there.

So that was exactly what I did. I kept my face to the ground and made sure to walk off-road, to avoid accidentally bumping into my parents who were probably searching for me.

I gritted my teeth again. Even thinking about them made me so angry, I couldn't focus anymore. And I needed all of my focus right now.

¨Bella,¨ a familiar voice called for me.

Don´t look up, don´t look up, don´t look up.

Don´t be a coward and finally look up.

´Alice.¨

I looked up and saw her in an unfamiliar black car. She was alone.

¨Hop on in, then we´re going to my place,¨ Alice smiled at me and from her seat, opened the door for me.

I stood still, too surprised to speak. ¨How did you know I was heading there?¨ I eventually stuttered.

She tilted her head to the side. ¨I can see the future.¨

At this point in my life, I couldn't even tell if it was a joke or not. I was simply grateful she was here and that she offered me a ride, so I sat down in her car.

Alice drove away and I noticed how fast she went. I frowned.

¨Don´t worry, we´ll give you all the answers you need,¨ she assured me, probably misinterpreting my mood.

¨I hope,¨ I spoke softly and I bit my lip. ¨So, are you also a vampire?¨ I tried to ask as casually as possible.

Alice chuckled. ¨We all are. Eddie just doesn't like the word vampire, though.¨

¨Why?¨

¨It makes him feel like a monster. And in all honesty, do you like the word hybrid after yesterday?¨ She quickly glanced at me and I shrugged. I guess Edward and I had that in common.

¨Thought so.¨ She looked at the road again and I saw we left the main road and drove on some trackway I hadn't seen before. They must live very secluded. Or I was getting killed, but I didn't feel threatened in the slightest.

I raised my eyebrows at Alice. ¨Is this the part where I´m getting murdered?¨

She laughed very loudly. ¨Don´t worry, you don't smell appetizing to me, at all. Besides, we don't eat humans.¨ She winked at me. ¨Or hybrids.¨

I frowned. Wasn't that all vampires ever did, eat humans. ¨Why?¨

Alice signed before she spoke, all humour left her voice. ¨Bella, you really don't know anything at all about us or yourself, do you?¨ She looked at me for a quick second before she continued. ¨We don't want to be monsters, so instead of humans, we feed on animals. But I guess you might´ve already figured that one out.¨

¨Because you can see the future?¨ I asked her.

Her eyes lit up. ¨Because I can see it in your eyes.¨

That surprised me. ¨What's wrong with my eyes?¨ I accused her.

¨You have some golden drops in your usual brown ones,¨ Alice pointed out. ¨I'm sure you´ve already noticed our eye colour, right?¨

You mean, the most beautiful golden eyes I had ever laid my own eyes on? It rang a bell. ¨Yes.¨

¨Well, that´s the colour we get when we feed on animal blood. And we've arrived.¨

Alice stopped the car and I looked outside of the window. She was right, we had arrived and I didn´t even notice it.

But what I did saw, was one of the most beautiful buildings I had ever seen. Modern, but timeless. Very large windows so I was sure, you felt one with nature once you've stood in front of them. Wooden accents, making the house almost an extension of the old forest. I was in awe as I got out of the car.

¨Yeah, our mother Esme is really proud of this one.¨ Alice said from behind me. I didn't even notice her until she was very close to me. I gasped for air.

¨Oops, sorry. Forgot our speed is still new to you.¨ She smiled apologetically at me as she grabbed my arm and guided me towards the entrance.

She opened the thick, wooden door for me and the inside interior was even more charming, with creme white furniture and soft plaids everywhere.

But I wasn't here to appreciate the nice atmosphere, I got reminded of as I saw the other Cullens gathered together in the living room. Even Rosalie was there.

Carlisle stood up and took a step towards me. He offered me his hand. ¨Bella.¨

For some reason, I took a step back. He understood and stood still. I felt silly, but still. A part of me didn´t trust any of it, especially as Edward said he wasn't allowed to talk to me in the first place due to a treaty.

I walked over to an empty chair and Alice sat on the floor. Rosalie and Emmett shared the couch. A woman I hadn't seen before -must be Esme- sat next to Carlisle on another couch and Jasper sat on another chair.

Edward was the only one who stood, his posture slightly turned away from us as he looked outside. I wondered what he was thinking.

¨I´m sorry,¨ I apologized and I let my hair fall in front of my face, to hide.

¨Don´t worry about it. I'm sure you have a lot of questions for us, and we´re happy to answer them.¨ Carlisle spoke and everyone let him. And in all honesty, I couldn't really blame them, as he seemed very easy to talk to.

There was only one question that needed an answer. I quickly looked at everyone, and they patiently waited for me to speak. ¨What´s a treaty?¨ I eventually asked.

Everyone turned to Carlisle. He didn't seem surprised at all.

¨I understand you asked that one first. Basically, it´s an arrangement between our family and yours, that we made a long time ago. We promised to ignore the other family and not track attention to us.¨

I frowned. ¨ But Edward said we were enemies.¨

I quickly looked at him and his eyes bored into mine. I had to look away and my heart stuttered. Damn it.

Carlisle smiled warmly as he looked at his son. ¨He can be a little theatrical sometimes.¨

Emmett chuckled loudly and Jasper bit his lip to prevent from laughing. Alice softly slapped him and I was absolutely in shock. What?! I quickly noticed the dirty look Edward gave everyone before he turned to me again and studied my face.

I looked away and turned to Carlisle again. ¨What do you mean?¨

¨¨We don´t mean your family any harm and I'm sure, they don´t mean us any harm as well. But, given we both aren't human and Forks in an ideal place to live in, we promised each other to leave the other alone. If we attract too much attention, people might get suspicious.¨

I already knew they had to know each other before, but I still had to ask. Only to keep my mind busy. ¨So you already know my parents?¨

¨Of course. They come to Forks from time to time. Just like us, they travel a lot. You see, we don't age anymore so we can´t exactly stay long in one place, as you can imagine.¨ Carlisle smiled at me and much to my own surprise, I smiled back at him. He was just so easy to talk to, which might be due to his work as a doctor or something.

I frowned as I remembered my pictures. ¨But, my parents' age?¨

¨Yes, because they were part vampires, part humans. Your parents -and you- still have some blood in you. Which ages you.¨

¨So you don't have blood in you?¨ I turned away from Carlisle and looked at everyone. Wow. They didn't have any blood in them, how strange.

Carlisle raised an eyebrow. ¨No, we only consist of venom. You also have a bit of venom in you. Do you remember our little physical exam?¨

¨Of course.¨ How could I forget, it literally happened yesterday.

I was sure he was aware of that. ¨Well, venom looks a lot like white blood cells. I´m guessing you were already aware you had a high percentage of white blood cells in your blood? Well, that´s venom. Human doctors can't pick that up.¨

I nodded. Oh, my God. It was all coming together now. Still, I had so many unanswered questions left.

But I had to cut those short, as the horrible headache returned. Shit, not right now, please not. I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to ignore the nagging pain as I tried to ask my final question.

¨Why can't I remember anything?¨

A/N: Thank you for reading!