What's this? An update that didn't take 7 months? No, your eyes do not deceive you; it's exactly that. Once again, I had started this chapter as soon as I posted the last one, but I decided to power through it instead of leaving it there for months. This did turn out to be a very dialogue-heavy chapter, and I do apologize for that. It's something I've struggled with a lot, and I am trying to work on telling stories without relying on dialogue as much. That's a big work-in-progress though, so who knows if you'll even see it here? I know I've said it plenty of times before, but this is just a story that I work on for fun and when the inspiration strikes and is not meant to be taken too seriously. That does not excuse trash writing though, and I apologize if the trash that I sometimes put out offends you, haha.
(Also, this chapter was kind of dragging on for me, so I did cut it a bit short, apologies.)
To say that talking with Carlisle was informative would be a drastic understatement.
Sure, I'd been able to piece together a few things by watching the Cullens and relying on my 'gift', but it was nothing compared to what Carlisle was able to tell me in the span of a couple of hours. For example, how in the hell would I have ever known vampires were venomous? Of course, I knew a bite from a vampire burned and could change humans into vampires as well, but who would have thunk that there was venom coursing through our veins instead of blood (with the exception of newborns). It was odd because I could taste no difference in my 'venom' and my regular ol' saliva.
I also learned that there was a theory that vampires were literally frozen in immortality. It hadn't been confirmed, but it was one of the most popular ideas considering the hard skin, cool temperature, and—morbidly—the way vampires looked when pieces of them had been torn off. That was something I could go my entire life without seeing. Edward had told me to picture cracked marble, and I was sure the image would haunt my dreams for a good few years, at least.
I was mentally cataloging all the info that had been dumped onto me as Carlisle explained the most important thing every vampire should know about: the Volturi.
"They're the rulers of our kind; they uphold and enforce the laws to keep our secret safe from humans. The coven is led by the 3 kings: Aro, Caius, and Marcus. They have been around for millennia and have been in power for nearly 25 centuries after usurping the Romanian coven who'd been in power for centuries before that. They have only gained power as time goes on and are easily the biggest and most powerful coven to exist. No one could hope to stand against them.
"To keep the peace, there are laws that have been put in place. Most important is never revealing the existence of vampires under any circumstances. Anyone who finds out must be changed or… dealt with. If the Volturi were to get involved, there would be punishment for all those involved." Well, I could definitely see where Rosalie was coming from more clearly, now. Had I not been a vampire, I could hardly imagine how all of this would have gone over. I probably wouldn't be sitting here chatting so easily right now.
"Another law is to feed inconspicuously, which leads into a couple of others. We aren't to sire any immortal children. Their minds aren't fully developed, and they are incapable of self-control, which is a threat of exposure. Similarly, a newborn's creator is responsible for the newborn's behavior and teaching them our laws before they are left on their own. Allowing a newborn to hunt conspicuously would mean punishment for the creator and the newborn, regardless if they are ignorant of the laws or not."
My face screwed up and I shifted on the couch. Edward, who was sitting a small space to my left noticed, and his eyebrows furrowed. "Don't worry. Nothing will happen to you because of his actions. You're learning now, and you haven't broken any of the laws thus far."
Despite believing his words, I was still uneasy. "It's just… I can't help but wonder how things would have gone if I didn't have my gift. I wouldn't have known that I could try drinking from animals; I definitely wouldn't have known I can 'transform', and I probably would have killed everyone on my block without even thinking about it… even my own father." Just remembering how I'd reacted to Charlie's scent alone stung. If I had killed him just to sate my own bloodlust-I couldn't even finish my own thought.
"You don't have to worry about that, Addison. The important part is that you do have your gift and you were able to make it this far without guidance or incident," Edward soothed. He didn't need to know about the couple of close calls, I decided. The only reason I hadn't already exposed myself for what I truly was had been because Edward's scent had blocked out most of the enticing aroma of Tyler Crowley's blood. Had Edward not been there, I had no doubts in my mind that the Volturi would have sent a small army to wipe Forks off the map.
"Yes. Some newborns aren't nearly as lucky." I understood that Carlisle said that to make me feel better, but it just got me thinking even more about how cruel my fate could have been had I not had my gift or even the Cullens. I would have been bound to slip up somewhere at one point; without them being here to explain things, who knows what would have happened. Maybe I would have gotten everything eventually, but would I have killed before then? That was the question that occupied a small percentage of my brain, and I momentarily wished I could see that possible future.
"Speaking of gifts, I know Edward can read minds, and Alice has something that deals with the future, but what about the rest of you?" I questioned, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees.
Edward answered instead of Carlisle. "Alice can see the future, yes, but it's based on people's decisions. The more resolute a decision, the clearer the vision. She can seek out a person's future based on their current course of actions, but if they change their mind, the vision changes along with it."
That sounded super handy… but also easy to get around if you knew it was her gift. A person could constantly change their mind until the last moment when it would be too late to plan a defense. Also, not settling on a plan or decision at all could throw her off as well. So long as they didn't know her gift, though, it was nearly unstoppable. I could only imagine how good at making investments Alive must be. Maybe that's where a lot of the money comes from.
Edward continued. "Jasper is an empath. He's able to feel what others feel as well as manipulate their emotions. Alice, Jasper, and I are the only three in the family with these gifts."
My thoughts instantly flickered back to the first day of school. I could remember vividly how angry I was at Edward. The emotion had nearly consumed my being, but it was gone in an instant, replaced by an unnatural calm that had left me reeling. So, that had been Jasper. Now that Carlisle had given me the newborn crash course, I knew that we were very emotional, and that emotion could be incredibly dangerous. Good thing he had stopped me then or Edward would have had a fist through his windshield.
My eyebrows furrowed. "That reminds me. What had you so angry at Bella on the first day? What'd she do that made you leave for a week?" Of course, I could understand being a vampire made being around humans difficult, but he seemed completely fine around other people. For some reason, Bella specifically had gotten that reaction out of him. It couldn't have been anything she'd said or done to deserve a look with that much hate. Not even her thoughts could have done that since she was completely silent to him. I was curious to know the answer.
His eyes left mine, and he suddenly found great interest in the thread of the carpet, and his shoulders tensed up as he seemed to subtly curl into himself. Judging by the way Carlisle's smile faltered by the most minute amount, I could tell he knew what was up, and that made me want to know even more. Seeing as Edward didn't look like he was about to give the information up easily, I was about to prove further when a knock at the door stopped me. I'd heard the footsteps coming closer, but hadn't paid much attention.
Alice poked her head in and smiled at me like she usually did. "Bella's calling; she's going to ask where you went. As far as anyone needs to know, Esme had an accident and sprained her ankle, and we all rushed home to check on her." Just as she finished, my phone started buzzing in my pocket.
"That's convenient,"I joked, pulling my phone out and seeing Bella's name on the screen, just like she'd said.
She giggled. "Feel free to use the spare room to talk. It's up the stairs and the second door on the left." And with that, she disappeared once again, probably to go back to Jasper.
Standing from my spot on the couch, I made a move to follow her out the door. "I'd better take this, sorry."
Carlisle waved me off with an indulgent smile. "No worries. We can continue this conversation at any time. Please, speak to your sister. She must be concerned."
With one last glance at Edward, who still wasn't looking at me, I nodded and went to the room Alice had directed me to. Controlling my speed was something I definitely needed work on, but I took great care not to crush the door handle when I twisted it. Just the barest hint of pressure was needed, and I still felt like it was a bit much for the fancy handle. The door closed a bit louder than I'd intended, and I cringed as I answered the call.
"Sup Bells?"
"Where are you?" she asked instantly, not bothering with pleasantries.
"Rude. I'm at the Cullen's house." There was no point in lying about that.
There was a pause. She must not have been expecting that. "The Cullens? Why are you there? Last I checked, school doesn't end after lunch."
"A wise man once told me that it's healthy to ditch occasionally. I was hanging out with Edward when he got a call about his mom getting hurt, and I hopped in the car with them when his siblings swung by to get him." I could only hope Bella didn't ask why I'd decided to go with them to check on their mom because I didn't have a valid reason ready. Maybe I could say we were planning to study together or something?
"Oh… is she okay?" I could hear her shuffling with something in the background, probably getting out her homework for the night.
"Yeah, for the most part. She sprained her ankle. Thankfully Carlisle was here to help her."
The shuffling stopped. "Carlisle? Since when are you on a first-name basis with Dr. Cullen?"
"Well, I mean, they asked me to call them by their first names when we met, so it just stuck. They're really nice people."
The shuffling resumed, and I could hear the zipper of her bookbag. "So, you just went over to the Cullen's house while skipping school? Really?" Her voice held an accusatory tone that had me crossing my arm.
"Yeah? That's what I just told you. Why did you say it like that?"
There was another pause, this one longer than before. "People said they saw you walking into the woods with Edward Cullen… alone." My heart sank, and I knew where she was going before she even finished. "There's a rumor floating around that you two went off to like… make out and… do stuff."
"What?! You're serious?!" Had I still been disguised, my face would have been burning. Instead of blood, pure mortification ran through me as I covered my face with my unoccupied hand. The fact that everyone could hear what we were talking about, based on the laugh I could hear from Emmett across the house, made it even more embarrassing.
"Seriously. Pretty much everybody was talking about it by the end of the day. You two were having a pretty intense conversation at lunch, it looked like, and the next thing I know, people are saying you're walking off in the woods together. What's all that about?"
"Bella, it's seriously not what you think, I swear."
"I don't know. You two have been hanging out more and more lately. Jessica and Angela told me how you had dinner together when you went dress shopping."
"It's not like that! We just talked, nothing like… that happened," I argued, mentally wishing that she would drop the subject so looking at Edward later wouldn't be so difficult.
"Must have been some conversation if you had to go into the woods to talk about it," Bella teased; I could hear the smile in her voice.
"What, you're suggesting we should have sat in the parking lot where teachers would have caught us skipping?"
"You and I both know the teachers rarely leave their classrooms during the day. It's easy to get away with skipping in the parking lot."
"Are you insinuating something, Isabella?"
"Just making an observation, Addison. You and Edward Cullen are getting chummy," she shot back, a smile in her voice.
My voice took on a dramatic tone. "Well, I never! Do you think I'm some little floozy who'd get down in the woods? I need a bed, at the least," I joked, huffing.
"Well, you are at his house-"
"Goodbye, Isabella! I'll see you at home soon!" I could hear nothing but her laughter as I hung up the phone. Emmett's laughter and Alice's snickers became even more clear then. "You didn't say that she was gonna bring that up," I grumbled, letting my head fall back on my shoulders, know Alice could hear me clearly. Less than a second later, she was walking into the room with an impish grin on her face.
"What would have been the fun in that? I hardly ever get to see Edward that flustered." Even with my enhanced senses, Alice looked like she was gliding across the floor as she moved to the closet in the room. I was shocked by the sheer amount of clothes that were packed inside. I'd noticed the many boxes of shoes and jewelry stands inside, and I should have known a closet like this would be inside to match it.
I watched as she went inside and stood completely still, staring unblinkingly ahead of her. Seeing a vision, maybe? "I'm gonna go on a limb and guess that you didn't come up with a story for that part, right?"
Jasper breezed into the room and made himself comfortable on the single armchair. There was an air of ease around him, but I could see the way his shoulders never fully relaxed in his position. For the first time since I'd seen him, he had his sleeves rolled up, allowing the scars on his arms to be in full view. It was a warning, loud and clear, and I tried my best not to stare or look in his general direction. "Of course, not. What you two come up with is much more entertaining, and before you ask, I'm not going to tell you what happens."
I let out a soft sigh. "Of course, not." She smiled as she snapped out of her daze and began pulling a few items from the racks.
"Anyway, now that we don't have to keep our distance from you, how do you feel about going shopping with me the weekend after the dance? I want to get a better feel for the kinds of clothes you like for the future," she asked while moving the clothes she'd grabbed into a fancy-looking tote.
When she'd said that we were going to be the best of friends, she wasn't wasting a second. "Uh, sure. I'll just let my dad know."
Her eyes clouded over for a second before her smile widened. "No worries. He'll be completely fine with it. Now," she moved to stand in front of me and dropped the bag into my hands, "you'll look amazing in these, and yes, they are in your size, so no excuses. You're welcome." My mouth was left slightly agape as she basically danced away and into Jasper's lap, who was looking on with a small smirk.
I wanted to argue, but I couldn't find it in myself to refuse. A more dramatic sigh left my throat, and I rolled my eyes. This didn't seem like it was going to be a one-time thing.
"It's not, trust me." I'd heard the footsteps, but I hadn't expected it to be Edward to speak from the doorway. I was instantly reminded of what Bella had insinuated, and was once again glad that my face didn't heat up. "I've given up at this point. She picks out most of our clothes every day."
"His fashion sense would be atrocious without me," she teased, smirking at Edward.
He scoffed, but there was a smile on his face. Looking back at me, he gestured with his head to the door. "I can give you a lift back to your car if you'd like. I'm sure keeping you overnight wouldn't go over well with Charlie."
I grimaced at the thought. Even if he did have a good opinion of the Cullens, he definitely wouldn't approve of me spending the night without so much as a notice. "Yeah, definitely not." I started to follow him out the door, but paused and turned back to the smirking couple. My eyes narrowed. "You two together is completely unfair." Alice giggled, and Jasper's smirk widened. I would need to be able to pick up on the signs of his manipulation sooner than that.
"It's too late, you've already accepted them," Alice quipped, already having seen that I was going to attempt to give the items back.
Defeated, I grumbled out my thanks and waved at them as I followed Edward to the front door. Carlisle and Esme were already there waiting. "It was nice to finally meet you, Addison," Esme said, smiling as she leaned into Carlisle's side.
"I'm sure we'll be seeing more of you in the near future," Carlisle added with a nod.
"I sure think so. Today was very enlightening. It was nice to meet you too." With another parting wave, Edward was leading me out the door. Of course, he opened the door for me before I could, and I playfully rolled my eyes as I thanked him. He was in the driver's seat a second after my door closed.
As he started the engine, I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. Staying as I was while we made our way back into town would just be asking for trouble. Only when my heart started again did I reopen my eyes. Pulling out of the driveway allowed me to release the tension that had snuck into my shoulders the longer I'd been at his house, and I had the time to reflect on exactly what had happened. That had gone much better than I'd been imagining.