Chapter 3: Baby Steps
Beau moved toward the kitchen as if in a trance, his feet taking him to his destination while his mind travelled elsewhere. Earnest was present; the man looked wary, though not because of Beau, but because of Edythe's strange reaction. It had hurt him to see her so afraid of him and Carine, but the strong release of adrenaline clarified the response; fear, an expected reaction by a human to a pair of predators, and Edythe knew better than anyone how dangerous vampires could be. Her instincts, now seeming to revert back to their human roots, were screaming at her to bolt, that she was trapped and in danger.
Carine had explained this to him, but that just unsettled him further, another fear to add to the list that was growing in each of their minds. To hopefully soothe her husband, Carine had added that, despite her instincts, Edythe had held on as much as she could, her mind rational enough to try to force herself to realize that the vampires in front of her were her parents, who would never wish her any harm. Though he and Carine understood the response, it still worried them, and Earnest wondered what Edythe's reaction would be to her siblings once they came home.
Beau, though seeing and understanding Edythe's reaction, held a different train of thought as he methodically worked through preparing two plates of food from Earnest's labors of cooking. He worried for Edythe, who now was as human as he was, frail and vulnerable compared to how she used to be. Besides the physical changes, she seemed to need to make a mental shift from that of a vampire to a human. Her mind had not even registered her hunger when her stomach had growled.
How many other things would she have to learn to understand, to struggle with in the transition back to humanity? Nervousness and a twinge of fear wracked through Beau's body at the thought. No, he told himself, shaking himself free of the thought; he would make sure she would be okay, just as he would have done if she had needed his help before, just as she had done for him the past few months.
Months ago, when Edythe and he had started their relationship, it was quickly challenged when, upon the day he officially met the Cullen family and attended an evening outing of vampire baseball, three nomadic vampires had come upon the scene. Unlike their vegetarian counterparts, who hunted on the blood of animals, these creatures—Lauren, Victor, and Joss—were traditional in their diets, with humans like Beau their ideal meal.
Joss had taken a particular liking to Beau, and when the Cullens had defended him against her, Joss was overjoyed. She was a tracker by nature, enjoying the thrill and challenge of the hunt, and moved against the Cullen clan. Beau was whisked away to Phoenix with Archie and Jessamine—not much more than strangers at the time, while Edythe and the rest of her family had set on hunting Joss, to keep her from killing Beau.
It might have worked in the long run, but Joss was clever and coaxed Beau away from his protectors, luring him with a threat to his mother, Renee. Joss cornered Beau, tricking him to come to her, and worked to slowly and painful kill him, both for her own amusement and to entice Edythe to come after her, which she would have done had Joss succeeded. The Cullens arrived to intercept and end her, but not after Joss had injured Beau to extreme lengths and inject him with her venom, beginning the painful, burning change into a vampire. Edythe had stopped it, sucking the venom back out of his veins and nearly killing him herself int he process, considering the potency and delicious scent of his blood, privy to Edythe in particular. He survived with multiple broken bones and injuries, and he had just started feeling himself, no longer barred by a walking cast or sling or even bandages.
During his recovery, he made found a close friend in Archie, who had graciously helped Beau function while still injured, helping him shower and other daily things Beau could not do without assistance at the time. They became close, like brothers, and he found in Eleanor the older sister he always wanted, quick to jibe him and tease him but with a good heart.
Her husband, Royal, on the other hand, despised Beau, for reasons Beau did not completely know or understand. He felt the animosity rolling off the blonde in waves, and swiftly learned to avoid him at all costs. Jessamine, being the newest member of the family, was polite, but kept her distance, not wanting to risk his life unnecessarily, a feat which Beau was both grateful and sorry for. A fleeting thought came to him, about Jessamine's reaction to Edythe, her house now overrun with not one, but now two humans. He felt a pang of guilt, not wanting to hurt Jessamine any more than he already was on his own.
Carine and Earnest had become like his second parents, acting more like the typical parents Beau had been told about compared to his own mother and father. Charlie had not been around Beau much for most of his life, and had set in his ways, not that Beau minded. He, like his son, was pretty self-sufficient, and Beau took no qualms about preparing their meals and cleaning the house. He had been doing those chores since he was very young, his mother Renee too much of a child at heart to come down to Earth to tend to reality. So Beau had taken the lead, pretty much since he was out of diapers.
Carine and Earnest did not need him to look after them like with his own parents; on the contrary, they went out of their way to take of him whenever the opportunity presented itself, a shift that Beau was not completely sure how to take. They seemed so happy though that he often didn't argue it.
All in all, the Cullens had taken him in as part of the family, accepting him as Edythe's mate unconditionally and with open arms. He couldn't help but feel a little chagrined by who quickly they had taken to him—save Royal—and hoped deep down that maybe he might be allowed to join their family as one of them someday, a promise to seal his fate with Edythe forever.
But now, that plan had become suspended in middair, made null by Edythe's reversed change.
He didn't know what quite to make of it yet, caught in his old plan to leave the world behind and be with her forever, but now, a glimpse of a new future open up to him. They could graduate together, go to college, live anywhere they chose, get married and have kids, have decent jobs and continue life as any other couple. He could see it, and part of him wanted it, but he knew it wasn't just his decision anymore.
And he was getting ahead of himself; none of them knew if this was permanent or how long it would last if it wasn't. He needed to focus on the present; with that, he finished placing well-done steak with mashed potatoes and green beans on each of the plates and, grabbing two bottles of waters, retreated back upstairs to Edythe.
Beau found her in the same position as before, sitting on the edge of the bed, almost as if she were afraid to move. He set the plates down on the night table cautiously before kneeling in front of Edythe. Her eyes, still so strange to look at after he was so used to the amber and black tones, stared at something unseeing, lost in her own thoughts. Hesitantly, he reached out to lay his fingers against her cheek. She jumped, automatically recoiling, and Beau jerked back, apologizing for frightening her. Once she realized it was him, she relaxed and shook her head.
"No, it was my fault. I didn't hear you come in," she said, and her voice trailed off. Beau couldn't help a small smile as his hand returned to her face.
"Humans don't have the best hearing," he reminded her. She shook her head delicately, her face scrunching up, almost in distaste. She inhaled out of habit and her senses took in the smell of food. Her stomach growled once more and she turned toward the plates. She eyed the steak warily, as if it might bite her.
"Do I have to?" she asked, almost like a plea. She had spent so many years of her life repulsed by human food, she couldn't help the natural aversion to eating it once more. Her stomach complained again, and the feeling made her uncomfortable; but the smell of the food was not exactly making her mouth water, as she thought it might.
"Just try it. If you don't like it, I can make you something else. But you need to eat," Beau told her, feeling yet again the instinctual protective edge at his words. She needed him to be overprotective, at least for the time being.
Edythe nodded after a moment, still not looking away from the food. Beau sat besides her on the bed, reaching over her to take one of the plates from the table. He set it on her knee as she sat crosslegged on the comforter. She looked down at it then gave him a skeptical look. Her stomach, though, let out another gurgle. The feeling was bothersome so Edythe moved to take the fork Beau offered her. He had already thought ahead to cut the steak into pieces for her so as to not frustrate her more. Cautiously, almost unwillingly, she stabbed a small piece with the utensil, lifting it to her eye level. She glanced at Beau again, who nodded in encouragement, before placing it in her mouth and began chewing.
Beau watched her face as she ate, watching as the uneasiness gradually turned to satisfaction. She smiled and nodded at him, obviously enjoying the taste. He couldn't help but returning the gesture, gesturing for her to continue. She didn't need to be told twice; she ate the rest of the steak without difficulty and curiously tried the mashed potatoes. They were a different consistency and flavor than the warm steak but still tasty and she finished them too. She ate the green beans as well, not as enthused but them as the other two foods, an emotion clear on her face as she ate—Beau couldn't help but chuckle, as he noticed she didn't have much of a taste for vegetables. He was surprised that she actually finished the entire plate; even more than that, she wanted more.
Beau immediately complied, giving her the second plate, letting her take her pick. She finished half of the steak and all of the potatoes, leaving the green beans untouched. He was shocked to see her have such a large appetite, but was thrilled to find her willing to eat, and enjoying it. After she seemed to have finished, he took the plate and handed her the water bottle. She took a couple of experimental sips as he ate the rest of what remained on the plate.
"It doesn't taste like anything, and yet it does," she commented. He nodded.
"Yup. Water has that interesting taste," he told her. She shrugged and drank some more, the salt from the steak leaving her thirsty, but not in the way she was used to. She seemed to finally noticed what he was doing and her eyes grew wide.
"Was that supposed to be yours?" she asked, sounding horrified. Beau couldn't help but laugh at her expression.
"Yes, but it's fine. Earnest has more than enough extra downstairs," he assured Edythe, who nodded for a moment, still slightly upset. To cheer her up, Beau speared a couple of green beans and offered them to her.
"Do you want some more?" he teased. She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. The vegetables smelled and tasted edible, but they didn't taste as good as the steak and mashed potatoes. It reminded her vaguely of how deer used to smell compared to the bears and mountain lions; the more carnivorous, the better the taste. She guess it must be the same way for meat and vegetables.
Edythe was still feeling strange. After she had fully woken up and her disorientation had cleared somewhat, she had felt different. The first thing she had registered was her lack of thirst; the normally ever-present burning in her throat that often was flaming while near Beau was completely gone, replaced with nothing but the slight dryness from being famished, something that was easily remedied by the water she drank. Now that she was fed, she felt no aches in her body, no tenseness.
But the most shocking thing that had changed was the fact she could not longer read any minds.
Her mind was as silent as when she had been with Beau alone; no other foreign thoughts invaded her head as they had for nearly a century. It was strange but at the same time exciting, just like the entire experience.
For the first time since 1918, she felt human; and not only felt, she was human.
The fact was both nerve-wracking and invigorating; she had no idea what lay in store for her in the following minutes, let alone for the upcoming years—if she was lucky enough to get them—but, as she looked watched and talked to Beau, the love of her life, who had already become her support through this otherworldly and miraculous experience, she couldn't wait to find out.