I wake up out of breath and sweaty after the disturbing dream. It takes a minute for me to notice all the cables connected to my body and the faint beep of the heart monitor. The room is empty, and I can't understand what's happening. I fell asleep and then… My head hurts, and I can feel the sweat dripping from my neck. I move in my bed, trying to stand up, when Alice, Rosalie, and Emmett enter the room together, looking surprised.
—Anne! Alice smiles —You're finally awake! She hugs me. Her voice is full of relief, but I don't know for what.
—What happened? Carlisle and Esme also enter the room while I still try to make sense of everything. —She's awake! Alice says, letting me go.
Esme doesn't say anything and hugs me. Carlisle also looks surprised, but at least he answers me.
—You spent most of the day in bed, running a terrible fever. We were worried because you wouldn't wake up. How are you feeling?
—Like I had a powerful muscle relaxant. Esme still won't let go. She must've been really worried about me.
—You'll be ok. She whispers. —All will be ok.
Hearing her voice brings back all the memories from the other night. Now that the surprise of waking up like this is gone, I remember what today was supposed to be.
—It's good to know you're feeling better. Carlisle says and puts his hand on Esme's shoulder. —Esme, maybe we should prepare something for her to eat.
Esme finally breaks the hug and looks at me. Her eyes appear tired and sad.
—Of course. I'll be right back, ok? She squeezes my hands and leaves the room with all the others.
I don't know what happened, but today is the day. We are leaving. I think removing the cables from my body and standing up. Carlisle didn't say anything about resting, so I figured I could just stand up and get ready.
My eyes look dark and deep in the bathroom mirror. I'm not sure why I was sick, but I have a theory. My body wants to keep me here, I guess. I can already hear the excuses at the back of my mind. You're sick. You can't go now. Tomorrow, tomorrow we'll leave. But I tell myself No excuses and shut down those thoughts.
I take a quick shower and wash out the sweat before getting ready. The days I spent here pass by like a movie before my eyes. I look closely at Esme's smile and swear to myself I'll never forget it. I hear Alice's voice, Emmett's cheerful chant, Carlisle's kindness, Rosalie's beauty, and Seth's eyes. I'll never know what it feels like to be carefree like him. He won't be able to calm me down ever again or tell me stories about his family. I never asked to look at those flowers.
I work on my resolution once again. We are out of here. I can't bring the police to their house and cause a scene. My plan still sucks, but it'll have to do. I'll tell them I can take care of myself and that I'll find my family on my own. I have a backup plan if they don't believe me, but I don't want to use it. Plan B is to storm out, tell them I can't stand staying here anymore and that they can't help me. Maybe we'll make it plan C. I don't know if I can even say such a lie.
I get dressed and go downstairs for the last time. I take a last look at Seth's room and wonder where he is. He didn't come to see me when I woke up, so I can only imagine he's out. Maybe it's better like this—one less lie.
I control my facial expressions as I go down the stairs and into the kitchen. Esme seems surprised to see me.
—Why are you up? I was going to bring it to you upstairs. She still looks tired, but maybe a little better now.
—I'm fine. I control my voice the best I can while looking for the best time to say what I have to say. My head starts to hurt, and my neck is unbelievably stiff. We are doing this. I order my body to get it together as I sit at the table.
Esme doesn't seem to believe me, but she says nothing. She never asks me for answers; she always waits patiently until I finally say what's bothering me. We are not doing that today.
She puts some food in front of me, and I eat it in silence, trying to find the moment to say something. The sky is dark outside, and I can't see the snow anymore.
When I finish, Esme asks for my help for the first time. She never lets me help with the dishes, and I always felt out of place watching her do the chores alone, but now when she asks for my help with those sweet eyes, I can't say no. A little later. After we finish cleaning.
I'm washing the dishes, and she's putting them back in the cupboard in silence. I can tell she's looking at me, hesitating. I know what she wants to ask, but today, it's not about the truth; it's about what I can do to keep them out of harm's way.
I finish washing the last cup when I hear Rosalie's voice. I turn around, and she's in front of the door, looking annoyed to see me. I never felt angry about her hate towards me because I know it's justified, but she doesn't know me. Whatever she heard about me is not the whole truth, and it's frustrating that she won't listen to my side.
Maybe it's the pain in my head and body, but my emotions are on edge right now. Seeing her looking at me like I'm nothing makes me want to grab her and ask what's her problem. I want to fight and say everything that bothers me right to her face.
She is smiling now. Her grin makes my blood boil. The small voice in my head starts to get louder and louder until it becomes a scream. LEAVE ME ALONE! The cry gets so loud that I drop to the ground, covering my ears. I look up to Rosalie and watch her expression go from confused to scared until it's finally empty and emotionless. Her eyes get darker fast until all the hazel is gone, and they become pitch black. The voice screams until her eyes are deep and dark, and then, it's all silence.
I look at my hands, and they are red from the blood coming out my ears. That's when it happens.
Everything seems to happen in flashes before my eyes. Esme screams my name; Rosalie's eyes, black and empty, staring at my hands; Rosalie breaks the dining table in half; Esme jumps over the kitchen island, and Rosalie throws her in the air. She lands on the fridge, wrecking it, and I can't make a sound.
Rosalie is still staring at my hands with a crazy look, and I don't know what to do. My survival instinct moves my hands so I can protect my body and face when she's about to jump over me. Her body flew back, but not before she dug her nails on the palm of my hand. Alice and Carlisle are holding her, trying to keep her from moving, dragging her outside the kitchen as she kicks the air, trying to get free.
I keep looking at the kitchen door, now empty and quiet. Noise on my left scares me a bit. It's Esme. She stands up, throws the fridge pieces to the side like cardboard, and walks in my direction. She is perfectly fine. I should be relieved to see she's not hurt, but I'm going crazy here. How did she do that?
The stupid survival instinct makes me crawl away from her when she comes close. Her eyes snap me right back into reality. She looks like she's about to cry. I've never seen such an expression in her eyes. She looks heartbroken like she's about to crumble right before my eyes. My body is still shaking and unable to make a sound.
Carlisle comes inside the kitchen, startling us. He comes in my direction, and I crawl away again.
—It's all right. I won't hurt you. I'll explain everything but please, let me treat your hand first. He has his hands in the air like he's showing me he's not a threat.
I look back at Esme again, and she's staring at her hands with the same sad expression. I can't look at her suffering like that. I reach out my good hand to her, and she holds it close to her face, eyes closed.
—Esme, I need to close the wound… Carlisle says urgently. I thought my head was light due to the confusion, but it was probably because of the pool of blood on my clothes.
She nods her head, and Carlisle picks me up. He takes me to the living room and puts me on a makeshift hospital table using the big carrier. The robot opened a large seat over its head, big enough for me to sit on.
He looks at my hand for a moment and walks over to one of the closets in the room. He takes out a big white box, puts it on the table next to me, and takes out a lot of instruments, some bottles, and a box of cotton. He embedded the cotton in a yellow liquid and held my hand before speaking.
—This is going to sting. When he touches the wound, the sharp pain makes me more alert than ever. He apologizes and grabs a needle and a white bottle.
—I'm sorry, but it'll be over soon. He fills the needle with the transparent liquid from the bottle and applies it right to the wound. The pain is intense, but it just lasts a second.
He takes a look at the other cuts on my body. Apparently, I broke the cup in my hand and kneeled on it when I fell.
—The other cuts a superficial, so let's take care of your hand first, ok? Carlisle looks for something in the box while the anesthesia works its magic.
I look at the kitchen; the dining table is destroyed, lying on its side in the middle of the room. Esme is next to me, holding my good hand, looking distressed. Her hair is messy, and her clothes are ruined, but she's unharmed.
—All right, let's start. Carlisle has gloves on, needle and thread in his hands. I stare at his skillful hands closing up the wound; my body is light as a feather, but my mind is lucid from the pain.
I want to ask what the heck happened, but I don't know how to. I can't even believe my own eyes when I look back at the kitchen, let alone process what happened. Rosalie's eyes were so… animal-like. She was like a lion about to eat me up, and I'm almost sure I was the one who poked her.
Carlisle looks calmer now, but Esme is still shaking. I can feel her hands in mine, still cold even after holding them for so long. How did she survive it? How did she just walk it off? What are they? And why I'm not more scared right now?!
In the middle of all this, all I can think is, "How can I stay?" Even after all this mess, my mind is still looking for reasons for me to stay with them, but after all this, I'm out of options. The tears roll down my eyes as the last remnants of hope burn out and disappear. There's an even bigger reason to leave.
—Carlisle! Esme's voice makes him look up at my face.
—Are you in pain? I can apply more anesthetics if you like… I shake my head no but can't stop crying. He finished suturing the cut in silence while Esme wiped away the tears dripping from my chin.
When he's finished, Carlisle takes me to the sofa, cleans up the minor cuts on my knees, and wipes away the blood from my ears. I didn't notice Esme leaving my side, but now she's back, holding a sweater and looking all cleaned up.
She helps me change and gets rid of my bloody clothes. My pants are also destroyed but not dripping red like the sweater.
One by one, the Cullens go back into the house. Emmett and Alice are standing in front of the window, but Rosalie is by the door, refusing to come in. She won't look at me, but her eyes look normal again.
Carlisle clears his throat like he's about to give a speech and stands before me.
I can tell he's about to talk about what happened, and I'm not sure if I want to hear it. If he talks, I'll have to talk. This is the perfect excuse to leave. Whatever happened here, I can keep it a secret if they let me go. Tanya was right; I shouldn't be here.
—You don't have to say it. I interrupt him. —I'll just walk away. I won't tell anyone, so just let me leave. It's not safe for you if I stay.
I controlled my voice the best I could but couldn't stop the tears.
—What do you mean, "Not safe for us"? Carlisle asks, looking confused.
—I heard your conversation yesterday. When… Tanya came to the house. I'm embarrassed to be snooping around.
—What did you hear exactly? Alice asks, taking a step forward.
—I heard they say it's not safe to keep me here. That I was a problem you couldn't handle and that I had to leave. I understand. I'll go and look for my memories myself. I don't want to cause more trouble and, of course, won't mention you guys.
Their reaction is different from what I expected. Emmett is the first to burst into laughter, followed by Alice. Carlisle ran his hands through his hair, and Esme held my hand a little stronger.
—You got it all wrong, dear. She says.
—To understand what she meant and what is happening here, you need to understand who we are… what we are… Carlisle's face is more serious now, and everyone stops laughing. I couldn't be more confused.
—Now, He continues —I need you to keep an open mind here. You saw with your own eyes, so I don't think it'll be difficult to believe, so I'll just say it. He pauses for a moment, watching my expressions.
—It's also crucial that you understand that this situation is complicated and you can't tell anyone about it. I nod my head "yes", waiting for him to spill the beans.
—It may sound confusing now, but you saw it happen just now. The truth is, my family and I are all… vampires.