Edward didn't even look at Lily. She wouldn't let it bother her. She supposed that as long as she was out from under his radar, she was probably safe. Or rather safer than if she had been under it. The ranges of emotion that filtered across the family ranged from guilt to anger. She wasn't sure how each emotion played into the dynamic of this household, but quickly realized she may not want to know. Knowing would mean she had become involved.
Frankly, Lily felt she had enough weird drama on her plate at the moment thank you very much.
It wasn't meant to be. Edward sat right next to Lily, moving his chair to face Lily directly. The family still hadn't moved or spoken sense his arrival. Esme hadn't removed her hand from Lily's so maybe that was a good sign. Or maybe not, Lily couldn't be sure with social interactions involving non-human entities.
Still, she refused to look at Edward after his power play. As a matter of fact, Lily found taking a forkful of the scraps of her dinner much more interesting. Chewing slowly, contemplating her next move Lily came up with a fun idea.
After swallowing, Lily turned to Emmett and raised her eyebrow. "So big guy, what's the move here? Do I have to shower before I'm sacrificed or do you all enjoy the… human seasoning I've acquired throughout the day?"
This caused several members of the family to react. Edward looked horrified, as did Esme. Jasper looked ready to murder someone, which was a nice change of pace when considering how his facial expressions hadn't changed once during the "meal." Emmett was laughing again, while Rosalie looked torn between constipated and disgruntled. As if someone as pretty as her would ever enjoy something before it had been washed. She probably didn't eat food in her human life before washing it off, let alone a living human.
"Lily, dear you are not nor will you ever be our main course, side dish, or dessert" came from Carlisle. He shot a look at Edward, who finally lightened up on his power play position.
Clearing his through, he began. "Lilianna, I apologize for how I treated you the other night in my home. It as wrong. I could have hurt you. I am… happy… to know that you are fine. Bella is sporting a big bruise on her face, which Charlie blames me for, but at least you are ok. Its not as if you caused yourself the injuries to begin with."
"Edward!" Esme corrected. "If you cannot do it right and honestly, you are excused for the evening."
"No, why is she even here? Rose had the right idea for once to get rid of her before she becomes a bigger issue!"
Alice decided to join the conversation now. "Oh? So, what is fine for you isn't ok for everyone else?"
"Alice, not now. You know this is different. Bella is sweet and kind and wants this. She's been ordered for this life, regardless of how I feel. Lilianna here is an unknown. A dangerous unknown. We need to deal with it quickly."
Back and forth the two of them argued. Lily had been told they were closest of all the siblings with each other. She wasn't so sure at the moment.
Rosalie had joined in, as had Emmett. She believed that wherever Rosalie went Emmett would follow. That seemed like a lovely thing. Esme looked heartbroken watching her children fight amongst each other, while Carlisle looked ready to call everyone back to attention.
It was Jasper, the angry one, who got everyone to stop.
"Enough!" short, sweet and simple. His voice sounded rough, like he had a growl halfway formed in his throat when he interrupted everyone.
"Thank you, Jasper," came from the head of the table. Carlisle looked much more relieved. Everyone seemed to calm down slightly after the interruption.
"Lily is our guest. She is a resident of Forks. She has her own issues and life to live. You, Edward my darling son, do not get to decide her life for her, or anyone else's for that matter. One of the few guarantees we have in life is choice. How can we take that away from anyone, especially one so young? Her situation is not Bella's. Our family's situation is not her concern nor her responsibility beyond whatever she decides it to be. You, Edward, do not make the choices for this family. We are a democracy, but I am the ultimate decider when it comes to things. I have allowed you to run amuck for nearly a year. I allowed you to make you own decisions, at the great detriment of this family. No, Edward. You do not get to make the decisions for this young woman."
Silence invaded the room. Lily began to feel self-conscious as her stomach started to digest her food. Could they hear that? Could they hear her breathing too? That must be extremely distracting.
"Now, if you are not going to apologize the way you were told to by your mother go up to your room."
With that, Edward left the table without looking back.
"Well, as always Cullens it seems I know how to make an evening entertaining. Thank you again for the dinner invite. I believe I should head home now though." Lily began to stand up, grabbing her dirty dishes.
"Please dear, just leave those there. You should really have Carlisle take a look at you though. Please?" How could Lily deny Esme after how kind she had been?
"Yes, dearest. Please, we can retire to my office. That will give you some privacy for everything. Would you like Esme or one of my daughters to be there as a chaperone just in case?"
Lily thought on it, and decided that she would like someone there. "If Rosalie is alright with that, I would appreciate her being there. She looks less like she wants to eat me which is a good sign. No offence Alice, but you look like you want to hug me to death. That's not a good look for anyone."
Alice just laughed while Rosalie snorted at the thought. Esme was instructing her sons on cleaning up dinner, while Alice appeared to get comfy on the couch with a magazine.
"Dear, its right through here. Rose darling thank you for staying with Lily." The three went to what Lily assumed was Dr. Cullen's home office. After opening the door for the girls, they were shown in.
The office was warm. There were paintings hanging on the wall from time long ago Lily assumed. Books lined the walls, with the gentle evening light shinning through the windows. His desk appeared to be a warm mahogany colored wood.
"please, take a seat just through the side door. I have an examining table with some of my equipment there."
Lily hopped up onto the table, the paper crinkling underneath her. All doctor's offices seemed to be the same no matter where they were situated.
Dr. Cullen was in the house, and he had honed his skills well. He began with a short history of her life, injuries, past illnesses, everything. He asked for any and all information should could remember about her parents. Dr. Cullen had been able to pull up her medical file on his home computer, but Lily chose not to focus on that.
How did a vampire get so good at working with patients?
"I can practically hear the cogs in your mind spinning in over drive Ms. Rose. Please, maybe I could help if you tell me what you're thinking." Carlisle asked gently.
"I was wondering, if it isn't too personal Sir, why you became a doctor? Aren't there… other professions that wouldn't be so…"
"Tempting?" He offered kindly.
"Yes, tempting. How do you manage to treat patients without ever having issues? If its too personally, please don't feel obligated to tell me just to sate my curiosity.
"I have a feeling we will be seeing much more of each other, especially at the hospital, so please let me put you at ease. I wasn't always a doctor. I was born around 1640 as far as my best guess goes. We didn't keep records like we do today regarding births. So many people died in child birth or the children before they could grow past their first few years.
"My father was an Anglican pastor. His cross from the church he used to practice in is actually on one of the walls here. Sentimental, I know. But when you have so few things from your past the things you do have matter that much more." At this, Carlisle began to look into the distance.
"My father and I lived in London at the time. He and several other pastors in the city led various witch hunts as well as attempting to hunt down any and all evil and sin in the world. It was ambitious, but it was his passion. He sought werewolves, witches, vampires and anything else that was suspicious. I can barely remember what he looks like now, but I remember the practical zealot like behavior he had for his life's passion.
"Eventually my father got to become too old to comfortably hunt down the evil of London proper. He passed his duties onto me. Unfortunately, I focused more on the factual evidence of the accused rather than hearsay. It was probably my downfall, as I actually managed to accomplish something my father hadn't.
"I ended up tracking within the sewers of London n actual coven of vampires. I had my followers with their torches and pitchforks to come and help remove them from the bowels of our city. Unfortunately, pitchforks and fire don't work as well as we thought against an ancient vampire. He must have been ancient, as he tried to convince us to let him go. He must have been starving for ages before we came across him. We were stubborn, and continued to provoke him.
"I was eventually attacked along with the others. I had been bitten by the vampire, but not so damaged that I couldn't crawl into a potato cellar nearby. I was unsure how I long I remained buried in potatoes, but the burning was agonizing. I knew I had to stay silent, for my father would have me destroyed if he ever found me. Anyone would, as I had become the very thing, I had sworn to protect my people from."
At that, Carlisle looked up from his note taking to look at Lily. She had been so engrossed in his story she hadn't realized her vitals were spiking. Her heart sounded fine, which comforted him. Her comment about wanting an echocardiogram had him worried. He wondered what else she could do. He truly cared for this young woman. He couldn't explain how, but she felt just as dear to him as any of his other daughters did. He supposed only time would tell.
"After I had emerged, I knew I had to leave the Ton as quickly as possible. I ran, swam, and climbed for as long as I could. I was still strong as I still had my human blood within my frozen veins. We, as in Vampires, are at our strongest just after the change. The first year or so we still retain some of our human blood within us. But we are also at our most vulnerable. We are wild and hard to control. I had been left on my own, but knew I couldn't seek out help. Who would help me? I was a monster in my mind.
"I had tried many different ways to… finish what I had started with the ancient vampire. Nothing worked. We are much harder to kill than I had eve realized." With that, he smiled down self-deprecatingly at Lily. She seemed to understand what he was trying to say.
"Oh Carlisle, I am so sorry…" Lily whispered.
"Oh dear, its fine. It was hundreds of years ago. Let's continue the story, shall we? Now, where was I… Oh yes! I had been trying to avoid quenching the thirst I had awoken with. It was at one point while I was at my lowest that a herd of deer had bounded by. I remembered enjoying venison while I was human. I had hopped it wouldn't be too much different.
"In truth, it wasn't that good. But, when faced with an ethical dilemma of needing to eat but refusing to eat what you always thought was your only option, you learn to do anything you can to keep your convictions." He paused at that.
"I have never had a drop of human blood if you can believe that. Even when changing my wife and children, I didn't allow myself to taste it. After I was turned, I vowed to ever hurt another human being if I could help it.
"Now, I have heard all the theories. Drinking from humans is natural. It keeps us strong, its only the food chain at work. But if I could survive off of animal blood, wouldn't that be another option available to me?
"I spent some time with the Volturi after that. They found me… unique. An oddity. Probably a freak but then again, I had done something that as far as we had known had never been attempted before. They had been my first home after everything that had happened.
"Aro became one of my closest friends during that time. He is one of the three kings. The Volturi are both royalty in our world as well as the hammer. They ensure everything runs without being noticed by humans. They sometimes… receive a bad reputation. However, they are the ones that help ensure we all remain peaceful. I was grateful for the time I spent with them. Aro remains one of my closest confidants to this day.
"As I said earlier, I vowed to never hurt another human if I could avoid it. I dedicated my life to medicine. At the time, everything focused on miasma and the humors of vapors. But, as the times progressed and science did too I was able to learn so very much.
"My abilities let me find where someone is hurt, sick, or otherwise incapacitated quicker than a human can. My surgical skills are highly precise. I have to be careful, but I try my hardest to keep my oaths to both myself and my patients. I vowed to bring some good into this world before I could even understand the life I would begin to walk.
"It has been a long life, but it has been a full one. It continues to grow with every step I take."
With that, Carlisle collected the papers he had accumulated regarding Lily, signaling the exam was over.
"Everything seems to be in order. Your vitals are strong as is your heart. I would like to do a much more thorough evaluation on your heart and other organs if you will allow me. I am unsure what you are testing, but I would love to be brought in on it. I am, after all, quite well read when it comes to medicine." At that, he laughed lightly, putting Lily at ease.
"Father, I think Lily needs to go home. She looks dead on her feet." Came the sarcastic response from the corner of the room. Lily jumped upon hearing it, as she had forgotten Rose had been there, as she was too engrossed with Dr. Cullen's story.
"You're absolutely right Rose dear. Lily, I think Esme has packed a to go bag with leftovers for you and your family. Please, take them with you. It would break her heart if you didn't."
Lily knew a guilt trip when she heard one, but after everything that had happened tonight how could she deny such a simple request? Besides, Esme was an excellent cook. It wasn't a hard decision to take leftovers home.
A selfish part of her deep down didn't want to share with Bella, as awful as that sounded.
After giving Esme a hug goodbye, and thanking the Cullen's for the evening and checkup, Lily walked back to her car in a daze. It wasn't too late in the evening, but it felt much later than it truly was. Life altering stories has a way of doing that Lily supposed.