Chapter 2: Blackmail
A nurse left me alone and told me that Dr. Cullen would arrive shortly. Coming here had been Angela's idea. She thought it would be best for me to approach the vampire we both believed to be the most in control and unwilling to take a life. He was a doctor. I hoped we had been right.
Dying wasn't exactly on my to-do list for today, or even for the next 80-90 years. I knew it was a risky move to come here and reveal to a vampire that I knew what he was. But honestly, this was my best chance of getting through that fucking wedding relatively sane and unscathed.
I had every confidence in Angela's plan. Her plans always worked. However, the thought of being in a closed room with a blood-sucking undead being and trying to blackmail him did make me feel more than a bit nervous.
I drummed my fingers against a desk. Why couldn't I just nut up and tell my family that no, I did not have a boyfriend and there was little to no chance I'd be married by the time I'm 20? Life would be so much easier. I was a hundred percent sure that somewhere, somehow, somebody would find out about this stupid show we were putting up and what then? Oh look, the family pariah! Did you hear what she tried to do? As if Ella could ever get a good boyfriend.
I didn't even really want to use a Cullen. They were so weird, and you know, supernatural beings that could snap me in half like a twig. It made me uncomfortable to think that if something went wrong I'd be unable to protect myself in any way. I didn't know these people despite the fact that I had been stalking them for a while now. How was I supposed to know they weren't sociopathic rapists/murderers that liked to cut up little teenaged girls?
The door opened and Dr. Cullen stepped inside. My eyes followed his form involuntarily. I've gotten more or less used to the stunning beauty of the 'children' of the family, but I didn't have a reason to see Dr. Cullen often and daaaamn... If only he wasn't married.
He was tall. Tall and muscular and chiseled like a Greek God. A smooth-shaven Greek God. I could momentarily picture Ariel's face if I stepped inside the wedding venue with Dr. Cullen as my arm candy. Unfortunately that bitch was throughout enough to go snooping and she'd most definitely find the marriage registeration of Carlisle and Esme Cullen. That would be a doozy to explain.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Johnson. How can I help you today?"
Hot damn his voice was sexy too. I could only hope my intended target had even a smidge of that sex appeal. I have never actually spoken to him, so I have no idea what he sounds like or how he talks. He isn't very vocal in the cafeteria. None of them are.
I clenched a notebook in my hands. I had taken one of my many with me to get this show started. Angela had copied all of them to her computer and she had emailed to her distant cousin living in France an encrypted file holding my notes. Both of them had clear instructions what to do with them if I never made it back home.
"Okay, this is going to sound really weird and fucked up, but I'm here today to blackmail you, Dr. Cullen." I said, trying desperately reign in the anxiousness I was feeling. This was a bad idea, I just knew it. I would be skinned alive. My body would never be found...
"I'm sorry?"
He kept smiling politely. Well, I guess I wouldn't be too worried about some puny little human teenager blackmailing me if I was an immortal demon-thing. I took a deep breath and handed him the notebook.
"Just so you know, I have made copies..." I tried to sound cocky. From his amused smile, I figured I wasn't that convincing.
I watched him as he leafed through the notebook. It was one of my firsts and filled with general observations. I had more detailed notes back home as well as my theories of their special abilies. Some websites claimed that there were vampires with special abilites.
To his credit, his composure never shifted. His golden brows never furrowed and his perfectly straight nose never as much as twitched. He calmly gave me the notebook back once he was done with it. He smiled again.
"I knew I should've taught them better. It's a marvel that no one has figured it out before you."
Huh... that was not what I was expecting. I honestly thought he would either kill me immediately or try to convince me that I was crazy. I had prepared solid arguments against both cases. I didn't expect him to just accept that I knew.
"So, what is it that you want, Ms. Johnson?" He asked, crossing his arms casually and leaning back on his chair. I leaned slightly forward and fought to keep my face from turning into five different shades of red. This was getting embarrassing.
"I need a date for my cousin's wedding. Don't ask me why, I just do."
"So you came to me? I'm very sorry, but I am a married man..."
I actually grinned a little at that. Didn't I know it?
"Not you, Dr. Cullen. That whole marriage thing kind of screws up the forbidden romance between a teenager and a world-class surgeon. No, I mean one of your sons."
He didn't look surprised by that. In fact, he was strangely calm for someone who was being blackmailed. Fuck, this couldn't end well for me. He clearly had a plan. To what end, that remains to be seen.
"Ah. That makes much more sense. So, you wish to date one of my sons in exchange of keeping quiet about our secret?"
Okay, it sounded like really pathetic when someone said it out loud like that. Way out of context and with a heavy splash of mocking thrown into the mix. Fuck me. I thought Dr. Cullen was supposed to be the kind, caring one. The man was clearly fucked up.
"Don't put it like that. It's just a date for a wedding. Four days, then we'll all forget about each other." I said. This was getting more uncomfortable by the minute.
"Sure, that sounds reasonable. Now, which one of my boys did you have in mind?"
"Okay, what the hell, man? Are you saying you're totally fine with this?" I couldn't help but to screech out. And yeah, I'm not exaggerating. I was screeching. I think half of the hospital heard me loud and clear.
Dr. Cullen actually laughed at that. And damn was his laughter doing strange, wonderful things to my body. I guess Angela was fucking spot on when she theorised that vampires just naturally oozed out sex appeal. If I didn't know what he was I might've dropped my pants and bent over just like that. I was reeeally tempted to do that anyway. We might have to work on our strategy...
"Believe it or not, Ms Johnson, but I am quite good at reading people. You do not strike me as a bad person. I think this experience could be very helpful to my children. I have tried very hard to coax them into interacting with humans, but they have been very resistant to the idea. You might just be what the doctor ordered, so to speak."
I let out the breath I didn't even realize I was holding. Dear God I was scared he'd just eat me up and pick his teeth with my bones.
"Now, who did you have in mind, Ms Johnson? Edward?"
I actually shivered in mild disgust at the suggestion. That creep hadn't even crossed my mind. I had a fair share of theories about Edward Cullen, none of which I wanted to explore by getting to know him better. Plus, Angela would have shut that shit down immediately. I trusted her judgement over everyone else's, including my own.
"Oh god no. No offence, but he creeps everyone out." The words were out of my mouth before I had the chance to filter them. I gasped and looked at Dr Cullen, horrified.
His politely smiling poker face cracked just the tiniest bit. A confused frown wrinkled his smooth forehead for just a second before everything went back to normal. Did the guy really not see how creepy Edward was? I guess love really is blind. Or maybe they all were even creepier and just better had hiding it. That would suck, big time.
"Then who-"
"Jasper Hale."
Hah! Guess who just managed to stump a vampire! I'll never forget the look on his face. His jaw actually dropped, like in a fucking cartoon! There was nothing I could do to stop the snort from seeing the light of day. Or the giggling fit that came after it.
I was a giggling mess, trying to gasp for air and remain seated in my chair. It was so inappropriate and fucking stupid, but I couldn't help myself. I had a feeling that not many humans could boast about getting that kind of reaction from the famous Dr. Carlisle Cullen.
"But... why Jasper? He's not very good with... people."
I fought to get myself back in check. This was supposed to be a blackmailing session, not a pleasant lunch date with a family friend. I cleared my throat and fanned my no doubt very unattractively red face. I really hoped I hadn't blown a snot bubble or something like that.
"Well, process of elimination, basically. I can't take you, Edward creeps me out and I have a feeling Rosalie would maim me to death if I ever even looked at Emmett for too long. I think Alice could be reasoned with. She's your favourite daughter, right?"
"How could you possibly know that?"
Ah, finally this conversation was going my way. Psh, and mom thought I'd never be anything but a moderately pretty face. She should see me now. Taking vampires by surprise. I'd like to see Ariel try that. Fucking Ariel... God I hate her.
Is it wrong to hate your own blood that much? Well, I'm not even a 100 % sure we share the same blood. The lines were always kind of blurred when it came to who was considered family. We have a common ancestor so we are related. End of story. Anyways, was it wrong? Fuck if I care.
"Eh, I just notice things." I said, shrugging my shoulders. I had no intention of revealing just how stalker-ish I was. It wasn't like I stalked their house or anything. I just had a bestie who was really smart and could put together little clues that I noticed just by looking at the Cullens during school days.
We spent the next twenty minutes making a verbal contract. Angela said Dr. Cullen was a man of his word so I trusted him to keep his end of the bargain. In any case, I'd find out Friday afternoon. Dr Cullen promised to send Jasper over then.
I really hoped this whole thing didn't end up biting me in the ass.
000
"Oh my God! Mom! Get out!" I screamed, fed up with my mom fussing around the house and around me. Like really, just how impressive-looking did I need to be? This was a business transaction, not a hot date. She seemed to gloss over the faking part of our agreement when she found out I was taking a Cullen as my date. Well, he was Hale, but we all called them collectively as Cullens.
I had to skip my last class just so my mom could get me all glammed up before Jasper was supposed to arrive. I swear, I've never seen her so damn hyped up. Not even when Brody told her that he had proposed to Faye. Dad even confirmed that she hadn't been that excited on her own wedding day.
Mom was fixing my perfectly corkscrew-curled hair. She saw some imaginary smudginess on it or something like that. She had forced me to break out the white denim mini skirt and the form-licking, light blue cashmere sweater. Apparently it made my eyes glow softly and it complimented my 'beautiful copper locks'. That damn woman was out of control.
I'm the first to admit that I'm obsessed with looking good, but fuck! Enough is enough. My goal wasn't to trick Jasper into my bed and get pregnant with his baby. Could he even make a baby? Was his sperm like dead? Or did it live forever like the rest of him?
Do vampires poop? What happens to all the blood the consume? Does it just disappear? So many questions. And none of the answers made me think it would be fine to hook up with a vampire. Nothing good could come out of it. Plus, I had to coexist in the same school as him after this whole fiasco was over. I'd rather not make him think I was just desperate to get a Cullen as my boyfriend.
I had to forcibly shove my mom out of the house after she tried to attack me with a bottle of perfume. I accepted a lot of the shit that mom threw at me, but I've always drawn the line with perfume. Those things give me a head ache like it's no-one's business.
I was sensitive to strong scents. We couldn't even have scented candles in the house without me getting nauseous and possibly break out in hives. It was also one of the reasons I didn't hang out around Lauren more often. The girl was nice and all, as far as 'mean girls' went, but damn that girl bathed herself in perfumes and scented oils. She did make an excellent workout partner, though.
I threw myself to the couch, basking in the glorious silence that surrounded me. It seemed like forever since I last got to be alone at the house. Mom was always lurking around the corner, eager to hit me with something she thought would 'improve' me. It was enough to give a girl a complex or two.
If it wasn't mom, it was Brody and Faye enjoying their disgusting youth. I swear, I had more inside knowledge of my brother's sex life that I EVER wanted to know. Ew. Would it really be so fucking hard to go to Faye's place? It's not like her parents were ever even home.
Then there was my dad. Roger Johnson and his silent judgement. It rang in my ears louder than my mom's loudest screams. You'd think he'd be the less fanatic one, as he was the one who married into this fucked up family, but oh no. Dad's life's work seemed to revolve around perching himself (and the rest of our family) higher on the family hierarchy. He was the catholic priest to my mom's semi-devout believer.
Was it troubling that I spent the majority of my time whining and complaining about my family? Did we really have a loving relationship if all we did was criticize each other? I don't remember when was the last time we just hung out together like a proper, normal family. Maybe when I was five and boyfriends/girlfriends were the farthest from any of our minds. The mind works in mysterious ways.
My musings were cut short when the doorbell rang. Okay, I'm not proud of myself... I panicked. I might've peed a little. Can you blame me? Out of all of the Cullens, the Hale twins were the scariest to me. I honestly didn't think for a second they would've not killed me if Dr. Cullen hadn't ordered them to play nice.
According to the fountain of knowledge that is the Internet, all vampire groups (or Covens) had a leader. Even I, with my limited brain capacity, realized that the Cullen leader was Dr. Cullen. At least for now. Angela seemed to think Jasper wouldn't be sticking around for very much longer.
It would make sense. I don't claim to know or understand the family dynamics inside their house, but I always had the feeling that Jasper was the odd one out. Like he was a foster child in a cluster of adopted or biological children. There was something about him that made him stood out for me. Maybe that's why I picked him. He's the one I accidentally spend the most time 'researching'.
My palms were sweaty as I opened the door. If I hadn't been preparing myself mentally, I would've swooned and turned into a goo at the sight of him.
He was tall. I have a thing for tall. He looked absolutely huge from where I was standing. I didn't even reach his shoulders. His wide, beautiful shoulders. Damn, I would have my hands full with trying to keep the male-oriented relatives away from him. Eric suddenly looked like a lot more appealing date. I could blend into nothingness with Eric. Jasper would not be doing any blending in. Oh no.
"Err... Hi. Come one in." I said awkwardly, trying very hard not to turn into a drooling idiot. Or more accurately, trying not to show that side of me to him. That would most certainly make him uncomfortable.
I stepped aside to let him walk past me. He did not look happy to be here. I wanted to disappear into a hole. Of course he wouldn't merrily volunteer for this. Ugh. I just knew this would end terribly.
Author's Final Notes:
Wee! It's the second chapter! I'm very happy and kind of terrified that people are reading this and enjoying it enough to continue following my story.
I don't know what else to say... thank you...? I hope you'll be entertained by my brainfart of a story!
