Sooooo… it has been quite a while since I have last posted an update, and I do apologize for that. I said I was gonna update in two weeks… nearly 7. Whole. Months. Ago. I really have no excuses that would make up for the absence, and I hate to say it, but I can't guarantee it won't happen again. My motivation for a lot of things has died, and I work on them when I can manage. I just hope not to keep y'all waiting so long for another update. Anyway, I hope y'all are doing well and enjoy this chapter.
I'd like to say that I didn't feel any fear as I clung tightly to Edward's back, but that would be a lie.
The speed wasn't what bothered me; my eyes could still keep a track of most things even when I wasn't vamped up. It was the knowledge that not even half an hour ago, most of his family had been ready to find a place to hide my body. I may disregard some dangers when it came to Edward, but, contrary to his belief, I did care about my life. Going into an unfamiliar place with potential 'enemies' did not sit right with me at all, but I knew at least Edward would be on my side. I wasn't really sure what the two of us would be able to do against the rest of his family-or if he would even go against his family for me-but it would be better than going alone.
My anxious thoughts were interrupted when a bug flew into my face and got stuck there. A disgusted noise left my throat as I aggressively wiped at the spot and rubbed it on my leg. I understood Edward not wanting me to have a chance of an 'accident', but this was the second thing that had flown into my face since he started running, and it was already old. At least in my vampire form, I'd be able to keep up and dodge them. Like this, I was at the mercy of random tiny objects.
Not long after, Edward came to a stop and crouched for me to get off his back. "Are you okay?" he asked, trying to hide a smile and failing. He knew exactly what had happened and had the nerve to find it funny.
I scrubbed at my face again as I glared at him. "You can be a jerk sometimes, ya know?"
He looked even more amused. "So I've been told."
Looking away from his stupid face, I took in the large house looming intimidatingly before us. I probably would have been able to appreciate it's beauty had it not been for the fact that I knew his family was inside waiting for me to enter. Hopefully, Rosalie wouldn't sneak attack me and kill me before I could explain how I knew their secret. That would be very not good.
Gesturing lamely to the house, I coughed out, "That's a… a lot of windows. It must have been hard to find curtains big enough to cover them, ya know, for when it gets sunny." To my chagrin, Edward knew I was attempting to stall, and put a hand on my back as he began to guide me towards the door.
"There are no curtains. This is the one place we can be ourselves, so we don't hide. Besides, we don't have many people who come out this far, and Alice would know if they were," he explained, holding open the door for me to enter first. The most I could respond with was a noncommittal hum, too nervous to speak much now that we were actually inside. If it were me, personally, I'd still want some kind of privacy just in case. You never knew what could happen or who would decide to randomly stop by to get a look at the "elusive Cullens".
My eyes darted around to get a quick look at everything we passed. They were living… quite well. Everything as far as I could see screamed 'expensive', but that was to be expected. Being immortal and all, they must have had plenty of time to stack up quite a bit of money; not to mention that their father is a doctor. Even so, a doctor working at Forks Hospital didn't make enough money to get the kind of decor this house has.
"We can discuss that later." I turned my head to glance at Edward and saw that crooked grin on his face. My facial expression—or possibly my thoughts—must have given away just how confused I was, because he added, "You were wondering how old we were, right?"
I let out a dramatic sigh. "That's gonna take some getting used to, I can tell."
"It won't be too long, don't worry."
My head whipped to my right to see Alice gliding into the room with a bright smile on her face; Jasper wasn't too far behind her, eyes immediately landing unblinkingly on me. He must still be wary after what happened at lunch. To my surprise, the shorter girl came right up to me and threw her arms around my shoulders in a hug like we were great friends. We smiled and waved at each other a few times in the halls, but that was the extent of our relationship. Eyes going wide, I opened and closed my mouth a few times, struggling to find words. She pulled away before I could do anything. "It's so great to finally get to talk to you. We're going to be the best of friends." Her smile was bright and her eyes held a sparkle that told me her words were more than just surface level.
Glancing at Edward, I tried to get some clue on what was going on, but he was just pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes squeezed shut. "Alice, what…" he didn't seem to have words either, which was a slight comfort.
Clearing my throat to try and clear the air, I offered her the best smile I could with Jasper staring a hole into my forehead. "Um, it's nice talking to you too… though it sucks it had to be under these circumstances, heh." Reminding myself of the current situation, I averted my gaze and found the sleeve of my sweater to be the most interesting thing at the moment. Alice's odd greeting was only a small distraction from what was waiting for me further inside the house.
"Don't worry about it. Everything is going to be fine. I've seen it." I didn't get the chance to question her before she was turning on her heel and pulling a stone-faced Jasper out of the room and back to where they'd come. Blinking a few times, I quickly tried to mentally process that first interaction. To say I hadn't been expecting that was an understatement.
"I apologize for Alice. She can get a bit… overeager at times. Don't mind her," Edward consoled, sighing as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
I was about to ask what Alice had meant by 'seeing it', but a beautiful woman gliding into the room made my mouth shut with an audible sound as my teeth accidentally clicked together. This woman was just as good-looking as the rest of the Cullens and had the golden eyes the rest of them did. She did look older than the others though, so I assumed this was the Esme I'd only heard about from Jessica. At least she didn't look like she wanted me dead. An equally handsome man was by her side only a moment later, and I guessed this was Carlisle or Dr. Cullen.
"These are my parents for all intents and purposes, Esme and Carlisle; this is Addison." I'd hit the nail on the head it appeared, and I put on my best smile despite the nerves flaring inside of me. I'm meeting his parents for the first time under these circumstances?! This could literally be the first and last meeting if they decide to kill me.
"It's so nice to meet you finally! We've heard so much about you." Esme greeted with a warm and motherly smile that put me slightly at ease.
Forcing the knot out of my throat, I greeted them both. "Uh, nice to meet you as well, though I can't say I've heard much besides the gossip people make up at school, sorry." I sent a glance up at Edward. It wasn't like he had helped me in that category before just throwing me into this conversation with his parents. Though, I couldn't say I blamed him too much. This was all super sudden and wasn't meant to be an introduction at all.
As if Rosalie was the mind-reader here, she suddenly appeared in the room with no human-like preamble as Carlisle and Esme had done. Both their smiles became tense as they looked from me to her. "Can we not pretend like the human doesn't know our secret already and get this over with?" My body tensed at her harsh tone, and I found it difficult to look her in her eye. No doubt about it, this woman wanted me dead, and she wasn't bothering to hide it in the slightest.
"Rose-" I cut Edward off.
"No, she's right; I'd rather get this over with before she decides to kill me before I can explain myself."
"The thought did cross my mind," she hissed out, fists clenching, "a human knowing our secret puts us all at risk, and I'm willing to protect this family at all costs." A low growl followed her words, and I was surprised to find that it was coming from Edward. I could tell he'd said something, but it was too low for me to hear in my current state. It did cause Emmett, Jasper, and Alice to come into the room though.
Seeing the start of an argument brewing, I spoke again. "Well, there's a couple of things wrong with that. First of all, if you're to kill me here and now, Edward would be the prime suspect considering plenty of people saw us walking into the woods together. I don't doubt you have your ways to disappear, but Charlie isn't gonna let it go as easy as you think, which would put your family at risk either way." Rosalie opened her mouth to speak again, looking even angrier than before, but I continued. "Secondly, I don't know if you forgot what I said in the cafeteria, but I'm not human… not anymore… not fully."
"Could you explain what you mean?" Carlisle asked, looking more serious than before, but still kind. I chose to focus on him and Esme as I spoke considering they seemed the most willing to hear me out. Alice did too, but Jasper was right next to her and probably cycling through ways to keep their family guilt-free in the event that they did try and kill me.
"So, to keep it short and sweet, I have some kind of… cover or disguise might be a better word. It makes me seem human, but I'm really a vampire-"
"Lies! Do you think we're stupid enough to fall for something like that?" Rosalie interrupted, eyes black as night.
Now, I could honestly understand where she was coming from, and hearing it with only words did make it seem like I was lying to save my own ass. "Oh, no. I'm just like you guys, but I can't prove it because my ability makes me seem like a normal human." Even so, I couldn't control the irritation that had been steadily building the longer she was glaring at me. I was steadily moving from flight to fight on the scale, and I knew that wouldn't be the best idea considering my position. It was difficult to get a grip on my emotions though, and my eyes narrowed on hers.
"If you'd let me finish at least a couple sentences before interrupting me, that would be great. You can't expect answers to your questions if you don't give me a chance to speak." Electricity crackled between us in that instant, and I was hyperaware of the way Rosalie's muscles tensed. Seeing movement from the corner of my eye, they cut over to see Jasper moving to stand more in front of Alice while leveling me with his own glare. That made Edward move to half-block me from view, which made Emmett move to Rosalie's side. Everything was quickly going to shit, and my instincts were screaming at me to get out of the situation as fast as possible.
If I don't change now, either Rosalie or Jasper are going to make a move to attack me, and if one of them do something, the rest of the family is going to get involved. The odds of me escaping a brawl with the entire family were low, and I closed my eyes to start the change before it was too late.
"She's not lying. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. Just give her the chance to show you before acting," Edward hissed, voice rising in an effort to make his family listen. Rosalie growled again, and I was far along enough in the change to hear Carlisle whisper her name sharply. Though it was obvious she was still incredibly upset with the situation, she stayed quiet after that. I was incredibly thankful for that. Just hearing her was making me irrationally angry for some reason.
After a torturous amount of time, I could feel my heart beat once more before stopping completely, signaling my change had completed. Opening my eyes, I could see the confusion on all their faces as bright as day. Well, Edward was unphased… along with Alice somehow. She was just smiling like before. She has to have some kind of future vision. That would explain her odd behavior earlier.
I wrung my fingers together when it became apparent that no one had anything to say at the moment. "It's the truth. I was changed the first day I came to Forks, and somehow I'm able to switch back and forth between this and a more human appearance."
Esme's face fell. "On your first day? How awful," she breathed, wrapping her arm around Carlisle's for comfort.
"Once you're bitten and changed you're a vampire, and that's it. How is this possible, Carlisle?" Somehow, Rosalie sounded even angrier than before, but I had a feeling it wasn't aimed directly at me.
Said man was looking at me with a furrowed brow. That didn't look like the face of someone who would have answers for me. "In all my years, I've never come across a vampire who has been able to do anything quite like what you are able to. You say it is like a disguise of sorts? How so?"
"Uh, well, I can still eat, sleep, cry, and all those other things humans do, but there's still the burning thirst in the background that lets me know what I truly am… this." At the mention of thirst, my throat flared, and I had to swallow back the sudden saliva that filled my mouth. If it weren't for my now perfect memory, I would have doubted just drinking the blood of an entire bear not even an hour ago.
I was only slightly startled to hear Edward speak rather than Carlisle. "Addison had the same idea. Giving Eleazar a call would be a good idea to check if it's a true second gift or not."
"Second gift?" Jasper questioned. The others seemed intrigued as well.
Edward nodded. "It seems like she has a gift that gives her increased insight; she had the idea that her ability to 'disguise' herself could possibly be a gift as well."
At their looks, I gave a shrug and averted my eyes to the windows around us to see a couple of squirrels chasing each other around a tree. "I just know stuff," I added lamely. I didn't feel as comfortable telling them that I could hear voices. Only having Edward know that was enough for me.
"I'll be giving him a call after I ask a few more questions… if that's alright with you, Addison?" Carlisle asked.
"As long as I'm allowed to ask some questions of my own. I've had to figure out a lot of stuff on my own, and it'll be nice to learn as much as I can about being… a vampire."
"And I'm assuming the vampire who sired you didn't do so out of necessity or want, correct?"
I resisted a shudder. "Not by a long shot. I was supposed to be dead; I don't know what made him stop when he did, but here I am… like this." I wasn't sure if it would be offensive to say that no part of me would have ever wanted to become a monster, so I kept that little tidbit to myself.
Carlisle gave a grim smile and nod. "We can speak in my office. I'll answer as many questions as I am able." At his words, everyone began to disperse until it was just Edward, Carlisle, and I standing there. I could hear them whispering and things being shuffled around, so I knew they were still in the house and could hear everything we talked about, but I did appreciate the illusion of privacy. The fact that Edward stayed behind made me feel better. Though Carlisle didn't seem like he was a bad person, I would feel more at ease with Edward's familiar presence.
Seeing the small smile Edward sent my way, I took a deep (and unnecessary) breath and followed Carlisle up the stairs.