Hi, hello, bonjour :)

Thank you so much for the nice reviews! It's very encouraging!

I really hope that you'll like this chapter, I really enjoyed writing it!

It's very long, so I hope I didn't make too many mistakes ^^'

Enjoy!

Angie was lying in her bed, too preoccupied to sleep. Carlisle's words had been playing in repeat in her head since she got in her father's car. Every time she closed her eyes, she would see him. She couldn't forget his sad smile. It broke her heart a little bit more every time.

She knew how he felt. He thought she was his soulmate or whatever the "vampire version" of it was. Angie had been lying to herself all week. Alice wasn't wrong, and she knew it. She felt it.

It was an impossible and complicated truth; they were made for each other.

Angie was sixteen. She had never been in love with anyone, not even had a single crush. She thought she didn't know what she was feeling. That they put ideas in her head. She was in denial. She was overwhelmed with confusion and incomprehension. She had billions of questions to ask, and only one person could answer them.

Maybe it wouldn't have been so hard if she didn't know how he was truly feeling. Or maybe it would have been worse. She heard it, in his mind, she felt it. He was in pain, and he was scared. He was afraid she would choose to ignore it, to forget about it, to never see him again.

Her own feelings seemed so insignificant as she thought about his. It didn't matter how she felt, or if she was in pain. He was, and that was unbearable. Suddenly, she understood. "Only you matter." He felt the exact same way about her. They couldn't help it. He was the most important person in her life, and she was his.

How crazy that was. They barely knew each other. It had been eight days. And they talked for maybe an hour. Was it destiny? Was it the universe? Was it magic? All these questions Angie wanted to ask but she was certain even Carlisle didn't know the answers.

When morning came, and it was time to get up, and get ready for school, Angie was certain of two things; Alice's theory wasn't just a theory, and being away from Carlisle Cullen hurt more than a thousand voices in her head.

At breakfast, she sat under the worried eyes of her sister, in front of an untouched bowl of cereals. During classes, she didn't listen to a word her teachers said, and she was lucky enough for them not to notice she wasn't paying attention. At lunch, she sat across from Alice and Jasper, wondering if they felt the same way about each other than she felt about Carlisle.

"Are you okay?" Alice asked, worry obvious on her face.

Angie looked down at her lap and nodded. She hadn't touched the food on her plate. She had been starving all week, always needing more food than her single plate could give her. Alice had been more than happy to share what she wouldn't eat anyway.

"Are you not hungry today?" Alice asked.

Angie shook her head to answer.

"What's wrong?"

"Where's Edward?" Angie changed the subject.

Alice sighed. "He's with Bella," she answered.

Angie looked up quickly and then followed Alice's gaze. Bella was sitting at a table, alone with Edward.

"Is he going to tell her?" she asked.

"I don't think so," Alice said. "Not here anyway. But it's a good start."

"Hopefully, he'll tell her soon..." Angie whispered.

She had been so focused on Carlisle that she had forgotten about her sister, and her own secret. Bella will probably be mad at her for not telling her. Even if she understood why she kept the Cullens's secret, she had been hiding her own for eight years, and Angie was afraid Bella would never forgive her.

After class, Angie walked absent-mindedly toward the red truck, ignoring the cold rain that was falling on the parking lot. Bella wasn't there, she was going to have to wait.

Angie quickly got soaked by the rain but it didn't bother her. Maybe it would have if only she had noticed it. Her gaze was lost in space, and her mind was still busy with the same person. The words were echoing in her head, getting louder with time.

I know how I feel when I'm with you. And I know how I feel when I'm not.
It seems obvious.

Yes, it did. She, too, knew how she felt when she wasn't with him. It was horrible – this need of being with him – it was painful. But among all these unwelcomed feelings was the need to understand. Why him? Why her? Was she really the one? Was she nearly good enough for him?

"Angie."

She jumped, startled by Edward's voice. He was standing just in front of her, he had a sorry look on his face.

"Bella isn't here," he said. "I brought her back home, she fainted in Biology."

"Oh," she frowned.

"She's fine. They were blood testing and she became sick." Angie nodded. She knew her sister couldn't stand the smell of blood.

"Alice will drive you back home," he said.

Angie looked down at her sprained wrist and sighed. "Thank you," she whispered.

"You know," he started, "he's asking himself the exact same questions," he said.

Angie frowned, confused for a moment. "What?" she breathed out, once she understood what he meant. How could he not be good enough for her?

"You should talk to him," Edward said.

Alice suddenly appeared next to her brother and took the truck's keys from him.

"Hey, you ready?" she asked in an unusual and obvious fake happy tone.

Angie kept staring at Edward, her eyes filled with incomprehension.

"Have you talked to Bella?" she asked.

Edward looked down and sighed. "We talked. But, I couldn't tell her."

"Don't worry," Alice said. "She'll know. Come on," she told Angie. "You're gonna get sick, look at you."

Angie stared at Edward for a few seconds, wondering if what he was saying was true. The vampire nodded before he walked away. Angie watched him leave, dumbfounded. She shivered, her body reminding her of her current state. She was wet and cold. She quickly got in the truck where Alice was waiting for her.

"Are you okay?" the vampire asked.

Angie nodded but didn't say a word. Neither of them said anything as Alice drove to Charlie's house. Angie was lost in her thoughts again, like she had been for the last 24 hours. Edward's words were echoing inside her head, but his voice quickly turned into her own.

When Alice stopped the truck in the driveway, it was still raining. The heavy rain made it impossible to see the house. At first, Alice thought it was the reason why Angie wasn't moving. But when she turned toward her friend, she noticed she probably wasn't even aware they had stopped.

"We're there," Alice said in a soft voice, not wanting to startle her.

"I want to see him," was Angie's answer. She hadn't moved. She was still staring into nothingness.

Alice thought she misheard for a second. "Carlisle?"

"Yes," Angie said, looking up at her friend. "I need to see him." Suddenly, there was nothing that mattered more. She had to see him, to talk to him, to stop the pain.

"Really?" Alice asked with a smile. Angie nodded. "Okay!" she said, a little too excited. "How do you wanna do it? Do you want him to come here? Oh! You could come to our house, you could spend the night there, and spend some time with him. We don't have any bed but I suppose a couch could do it, and we could order pizza, and…"

"Alice," Angie stopped her. She looked panicked.

"Sorry. I got excited for a minute," the vampire chuckled.

"I just want to see him," Angie said.

Alice nodded. "We could wait for your dad to come home, and ask him if he minds you coming over to my place. You'll get the time to take a shower and change."

Angie took a deep breath. "Okay," she nodded.

Angie enjoyed the long and hot shower. Warm water mixed with apprehension made her forget she was exhausted. She was anxious. She was about to spend the night in a house full of vampires. A house that belonged to her soulmate.

She was eager to see Carlisle again, but also very nervous. She imagined she was nothing like he had imagined her other half to be, and that he must be very disappointed. Edward couldn't be right. Why would Carlisle Cullen think for even one second he wasn't good enough for her? He was a doctor and a vampire, and she was just a small insignificant human.

Angie took the first backpack she could find and stuffed in a few things she was going to have to need to spend the night out. When she walked down the stairs, her father was home. She could hear laughs coming from the kitchen. When Angie joined them, she saw a suspicious and irritated Bella staring at a relaxed and laughing Charlie.

"Ah, Angie," said Charlie. "Alice just told me you were going to spend the night with her. I'm glad you made a friend."

Angie shyly smiled. She could hear how proud he was of her. She remembered his speech from the week before about the Cullens. He was happy Angie had made friends with them.

"Are you ready to leave?" Alice asked. "Edward's outside."

Angie nodded.

"Well, have fun, honey," Charlie said.

"Thanks, dad," Angie whispered. She hugged him quickly before she followed Alice out of the house. She glanced at Bella for a second. Her sister looked confused and irritated. She looked away quickly, feeling bad for keeping all this a secret.

The rain was still heavy, and they had to rush inside the Volvo. Angie got in the back seats and gave a small smile to Edward as she closed the door.

"Don't worry, she'll understand," Alice said.

"I don't know… She'll be mad I didn't tell her."

"She'll understand," Alice repeated. "It's not your place to tell her."

"What about my secret?"

Alice gave her a small smile. "She'll understand why you didn't tell her."

"I'm not so sure."

"Don't worry about it," Alice said. "You're sisters. She'll get over it."

"We were never really close."

"Trust me. This is going to make you closer," Alice chuckled. Angie hoped Alice was right. But after all, Alice was always right.

Angie nervously played with the bandages on her wrist, thinking about all the questions she had. Only Alice could answer a few of them, but she didn't want to be rude, and hesitated. But if she was going to spend the evening with Carlisle, she had to know a few things.

"Alice," Edward said. "Angie has a few questions for you."

Angie rolled her eyes, annoyed. Alice turned her head, curious.

"We had a deal," Angie complained.

"Sorry," Edward chuckled.

"What's up?" Alice smiled.

Angie sighed and looked down. "How did you know… you know, that Jasper was the one?" she asked.

Alice smiled. "I knew before I even met him."

"Right," Angie remembered. "You saw him in a vision."

"When I first saw him, in my vision, I knew I had to find him. I knew I belonged to him, just like he belonged to me."

"But how? How did you know?"

"I could feel it," she said. "When I pictured my future, we were together."

"No question asked?"

"Ask yourself this; how do you feel when you imagine your future, but Carlisle isn't a part of it?"

Angie thought for a moment. She imagined living in Forks, in the same town as him, so close to him, being friends with his "children", but she never saw him. She imagined graduating high school and leaving Forks for college, alone. She imagined never seeing him ever again.

"It hurts," she said in a trembling voice.

"There you have it."

"But it doesn't make sense! I don't know him, I can't feel that strong for someone I don't know."

Alice chuckled. "We're vampires, Angie. How does that make sense? We don't know how the world works. Is it magic that made us vampires? Is it science? Does destiny exist? Are we free to make out own choices or is the universe making them for us? The point is, we don't know. Maybe my theory is what other people call "love at first sight". Maybe it's something else," she shrugged. "These are answers we don't have, but it's okay because they don't really matter."

"Don't they?" Angie asked.

"What matters is how we feel, not why we feel."

Angie sighed. "I think we make our own choices," she said. "Most of the time."

"It wasn't your choice to be a vampire's other half. But it's your choice to be with him or not."

"So… it's just a coincidence?" Angie asked. "Is my blood different to him because we're meant to be or are we meant to be because of my blood?"

"Well, as you know, it's just a theory, but, I believe your blood is different because you're meant to be."

"So, it's destiny?"

"I don't know if destiny exists."

"What does he think?"

"I can't answer that. You should ask him."

"What do you think, Edward?" Angie asked.

"I…" he sighed. "I don't know why I'm attracted to Bella the way Carlisle's attracted to you. But I know that now that I met Bella, I can't live without her. Just like I can't imagine leaving my family. Maybe it's destiny… Maybe it's something else. But it doesn't really matter. Knowing why won't change anything."

Angie sighed. They weren't telling her anything she didn't already know.

Edward drove fast. Insanely, dangerously fast. Angie would have been worried if only she didn't know that he was in total control. He would never put her in danger. He couldn't do that to Carlisle. He couldn't do that to Bella.

It took them twenty minutes to drive from Charlie's house to theirs. She guessed it would have taken her about twenty more minutes with the old truck and a normal speed. The rain had stopped. It allowed Angie to admire the beautiful house from outside. It was a big luxury and modern house, with big windows everywhere. It fitted perfectly in the middle of the forest.

"Do you like it?" Alice asked with hopeful eyes, as if it mattered.

"It's beautiful," Angie breathed out.

"Wait until you see what's inside," she joked.

Angie was about to follow them, but stopped. Fear seized her suddenly. What if he didn't want to see her? What if the others didn't want her there?

"Carlisle isn't home yet," Edward said. "He'll be here soon."

"Oh," Angie said, disappointment obvious on her face.

"And don't worry about Rosalie. She won't bite."

Angie tried not to laugh. "Haha," she said, and rolled her eyes.

"Come on," Alice said as she took Angie's hand and dragged her inside. "Esme can't wait to meet you."

"What?"

Edward chuckled when Angie gave him a panic look. She was a shy girl, not used to being around people. She never had any friends, and never met any of their parents or other relatives. This was all new to her, and it was more terrifying than the idea of being inside a house full of vampires.

The hall was a big white room. It was very bright, very open, and very large. The back, south-facing wall was made of glass. The first thing Angie saw was the wooden staircase on the west-side of the room that matched with the rest of the house. The room was filled with modern art, paintings and sculptures… Even the little furniture there looked like a work of art.

"Wow," Angie breathed out.

"Carlisle had it built for us," Edward told her.

"Well, he has good tastes," Angie said in a murmur.

"It's the only place where we don't have to hide," he said.

"What time is it?" Alice asked.

"Um, five," Angie said, pointing at the huge clock on the wall.

"Carlisle should be here in an hour," she said. "Are you hungry?"

"It's too early to eat, Alice," Edward reminded her sister.

"I know that. But she hasn't eaten at lunch. You must be starving," she told Angie.

"I'm okay," Angie lied. She didn't want to be a bother.

"Well, tell us when you're hungry, we'll order a pizza, okay?" Alice said. "You like pizza, right?"

"I do," Angie chuckled.

"Come on," Edward interrupted them.

He took Angie's jacket and laid it on the bench next to the front door before he led her upstairs. Alice was right, it was even more beautiful inside. Everything looked really expensive and Angie felt out of place. When they stepped in the living room, Angie didn't have the time to admire the huge white room, or the white couches, or the other pieces of arts that were there, as Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper and another woman, Angie guessed to be Esme, were waiting for them.

"Angie this is Esme," Edward confirmed her thoughts.

"Hi," the small, beautiful, red-haired woman smiled. "It's so nice to meet you Angie. I'm glad you're here."

"Nice to meet you too," Angie shyly smiled back.

"And you already know Rosalie and Emmett."

"What's up?" Emmett gave her a big welcoming smile. Angie wasn't surprised he was being nice, she knew he didn't really have a problem with her. Unlike Rosalie.

"Hey," the blonde said dryly.

"H-hi," Angie stuttered.

"Happy to see you again, Angie," was all Jasper could say.

"So, you really can read minds like Edward?" Emmett asked, amused.

"Emmett!" Esme reprimanded him.

"Yeah, I can," Angie replied.

"Cool. What am I thinking right now?" he asked.

His siblings rolled their eyes. Angie guessed Emmett was just being himself, which reassured her, it meant he really didn't have a problem with her.

"Bears," Angie said.

Emmett laugh. "Cool, another telepath," he said. "But, try and stay out of my head, okay?"

Angie nodded. "That won't be a problem," she told him.

"I like her. She respects my privacy," he said. It was clearly aimed at Edward who rolled his eyes again.

Angie blushed, slightly embarrassed.

"What about your human?" Rosalie asked Edward, disapproval clear in her voice.

"Bella doesn't know."

"Yet," Alice finished.

"Okay," Esme interrupted them. She took Angie's arm and dragged her out of the living room. Angie gave a puzzled look to Alice who just smiled and waved at her. "Are you hungry?" Esme asked. "We don't have any food here, but we could order something."

"That's very nice," Angie shyly said in a whisper. "But you don't need to…"

"We never had any visitors, let me be a good host," Esme smiled. "If I had known you were coming I would have bought food but…"

"I know, I'm sorry, this is really rude of me to…"

"No, no," Esme stopped her. "I'm glad that you're here. I completely understand," she smiled. "I looked it up on the internet and we can order a pizza now, it will be here in 20 minutes."

Angie wondered, amused, if they thought pizza was the only thing humans ate. Of course, she knew it was just the only kind of food that could be delivered in Forks. Angie was starving, and it was only a matter of time until her stomach would loudly and embarrassingly betray her.

She nodded. "Thank you," she shyly smiled.

"I will get the phone," she said, a little too excited.

Esme had led her to the kitchen where a laptop was open on the black wooden countertop. The kitchen was amazing. It was big and modern like the rest of the house. Very well equipped even though they had never used it.

"Did you choose?" Esme asked when she came back in the kitchen with a phone in her hand. The laptop showed the different kind of pizzas she could order.

"Um, the one with lots of cheese," she said.

Alice and Edward joined her while Esme made the call. Angie felt bad for bothering her, she could have called herself.

"It makes her happy," Alice explained. "Now that you're here, she knows Carlisle will be a happier man."

"She can't know that," Angie frowned.

Alice chuckled as she sat on the countertop on Angie's left. "She knows. We all know. That's what happens when you have a mate, you're happy."

"A mate?" Angie repeated.

"Yeah," she nodded. "What's wrong," she asked when she saw the weird look on Angie's face.

"Is "mate" the vampire version of soulmate?" she asked.

"Yeah," Alice shrugged.

"Why not just say soulmate?" she asked.

"Well," Alice mused. "I guess there's a small difference."

"Why would it be different?"

"I think that's something you should talk about with Carlisle," Edward said with a sad tone. He was leaning on the countertop on her right.

Angie frowned again, wondering why it was such a big deal.

"Your house is amazing," she changed the subject.

"Yeah. Too bad we don't get to use the kitchen, it's a great kitchen," Alice said.

Angie raised an eyebrow. She had never noticed how weird Alice was sometimes.

"Bella could do wonders in this kitchen," Angie chuckled.

"She likes to cook?" Edward asked.

"I don't know if she likes it. But she does it very well."

"Do you cook?" Alice asked.

"Not really."

"Why not?" she asked.

Angie shrugged. "My mom can't cook. So, Bella stepped up. Again."

"Bella's very responsible for her age," Edward said.

"Yeah, someone's got to be," Angie nodded. "My mom's great, but… she's a little too eccentric sometimes."

"You miss her," Alice said, it wasn't a question, she could hear it in her voice.

"Yeah…"

"You're going to Jacksonville with Bella, right?" Edward asked. "You'll see her then."

Angie nodded. "Yeah," she sighed. She hadn't thought about it. Leaving Forks. Leaving him. Even for just a couple of days. "How do you know about Jacksonville?" Angie frowned.

"Bella told Mike when she turned him down." From the look she was giving him, Edward realized she had no idea what he was talking about. "He asked her out, for prom," he said. "Monday morning."

"Oh."

"You didn't know?" Edward asked, surprised.

"Bella didn't tell me," Angie said.

Edward felt stupid, and bad; it was his fault if Bella wasn't talking to her sister.

"Don't worry about it," Angie sighed.

"I thought you weren't supposed to listen to my thoughts," Edward said.

"Well, it didn't stop you from listening to mine."

"Okay," Edward chuckled. "Let's make a deal, again."

"Fine," Angie said. "But stick to it this time!"

"I will. Carlisle doesn't want me in your head, anyway. I don't want to make him angry," he chuckled.

Angie frowned. "You told him about our deal?"

"He asked about you," Edward nodded. "He was worried."

"About what?"

"Nothing in particular. He was just missing you."

"I hope it's not too weird," Alice tried to joke.

Angie shrugged. "No. I wanted to ask you about him too. I just didn't dare do it."

"Well, you should have," Alice smiled.

Edward suddenly straightened up as Alice got back on her feet. Angie frowned, wondering what had gotten into them.

"Who ordered pizza?"

Angie quickly turned around to see Carlisle standing in the doorway with a pizza box in his hands. He looked up to meet her eyes. Surprise clear on his face.

"We'll go now," Edward said and followed Alice out of the kitchen.

Carlisle and Angie wordlessly stared at each other for half a minute. They both felt better now. Just seeing each other filled a void in their heart that had been hurting them for as long as they had been apart.

"Hey," Carlisle was the first to talk.

"H-hi," she stuttered. She quickly looked down. "I ordered the pizza."

"I guessed," he chuckled. He took a few steps, rapidly closing the distance between them, and placed the pizza on the countertop.

"I'm sorry to have come here uninvited, I just…"

"It's okay," he stopped her. "It's a nice surprise," he said, happiness obvious in his tone. "What are you doing here?"

Angie blushed and kept her eyes on the ground. "I just wanted to see you," she mumbled.

Carlisle smiled. Like he had the day before, he took her chin between his thumb and fingers and gently made her look up. He was so happy to see her. He wasn't expecting her at all. All day long, he feared he had scared her for good the day before. She met with his dark eyes, it was impossible not to notice how relieved he was.

"I thought I wouldn't see you again for a while. I was afraid what I said yesterday was too much."

Angie shook her head. "I understand why you said what you said," she told him. She paused and looked away again. "I feel it too… Even if it took me a week to accept it. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "This is a lot to take in. You need time."

Angie looked up, wondering what he was really thinking. He was happy to see her, but he was also scared to lose her, and, of course, there was still this delicious smell of candy that was burning his throat.

"You look tired," Carlisle sighed, passing his thumb under her eyes.

"I'm fine," she said, taking his large cold hand in her small ones.

"You should eat before it gets cold," he said, quickly removing his hand from hers.

Angie shyly smiled and nodded. She opened the huge box and the fabulous smell of melted cheese made her realize she was starving. But the pizza didn't smell nearly as good to Angie as Angie smelled to Carlisle. And that's a thought that made her shiver.

"I'll never eat all that," she said.

"Don't worry about it," he smiled. "It's a little early to be eating," he noted after she took her first bite.

"I haven't eaten anything today," she admitted.

Carlisle frowned. "Why not?"

"I wasn't hungry at the time," she shrugged.

She looked up at him when he didn't answer. He looked worried.

"It's not your fault," she quickly said.

Carlisle smiled and chuckled. "Now, you're reading my mind."

"I wasn't," she shook her head, looking back down.

Carlisle sadly smiled again, and nodded. "I wish you wouldn't. I wouldn't want to scare you."

"I can go if my blood's making you uncomfortable," she quickly told him, even though she was hoping he didn't want her to leave.

"No," he immediately said. "Don't go. I'll be fine. You're not making me uncomfortable. Not at all."

Angie nodded, relieved. "Does it hurt?"

"What?" he asked, confused for a second. "Oh. No, it doesn't," he lied.

"You know. You can't lie to me."

"I could if you didn't read my mind," he said with a sad smile.

"I heard it the first time," she said. "I know it burns. I was just wondering… if it hurts the same now…"

Carlisle sighed. "Don't worry about it."

"I think I can't help it," she said.

"I know." Carlisle had spent the entire week worrying. He couldn't help it either.

He watched her eat in silence. It should have been weird, but Angie had spent the entire week eating lunch while her friends were watching her, and she was getting used to it.

"What made you come here?" he asked.

Angie glanced at him for a second. "I… have questions," she said.

"Of course."

Carlisle was leaning on his left elbow resting on the countertop, turned toward Angie whose hair was hiding her face. He couldn't help it, he moved her hair away from her face, and she glanced at him, surprised by his action. He could never get enough of her beautiful blue eyes. He smiled.

"What did you want to ask?"

Angie quickly looked away, and stayed silent.

"You know, I can't read minds," he joked.

Angie closed the pizza box and turned toward him. "I just… it's kind of rude…"

"Ah," he said with a smile, knowing exactly what she meant. "I think it's completely natural to want to know that."

"I haven't asked anyone," she said. "I don't even know about Alice."

"You can ask, she'll tell you."

"I don't want to be rude."

"You're assuming we're old, that's why," he chuckled.

Angie shrugged. "I'm assuming you're "years and years of practice" old."

"Mmh," Carlisle nodded. "I was born in 1640, in London," he said. He watched carefully for any reaction. But she simply looked surprised. Just very surprised.

"Wow," she breathed out. She was expecting him to be old, she imagined he could have been much older. "So, you're like… three hundred and seventy something years old."

"That's right," he nodded, anxious about what she was really thinking.

Angie didn't know what she was supposed to think. She was fascinated and curious. Tones of new questions crossed her mind. One made her inadvertently chuckle.

"What?" he asked.

"What happened to your accent?"

Carlisle laughed. "I've been in America for a while."

"How long have you been here?"

"About a century."

"Did you stay in England before that?"

He nodded. "A little. Then, I moved to France and after that I stayed in Italy for two centuries."

"What did you do in Italy?"

"I stayed with other vampires," he said, he was awfully vague.

Angie nodded. "Mmh."

"What?"

"Were they the ones who… are they the reason why you don't… drink human blood?"

"No," he said. "They didn't share my philosophy," he said, obviously disappointed.

"Why? Why don't you drink human blood?"

Carlisle looked away and sighed. "I don't want to be that kind of person," he said.

Angie hesitated before she asked her next question. "Have you ever…"

"No," he shook his head.

"That's impressive," Angie said. "I know how hard it is. Jasper's always in pain…"

"Jasper's our newest vegetarian. He's still new to this."

"Vegetarian?" Angie repeated.

Carlisle chuckled. "That's what we call ourselves."

"It makes sense," Angie frowned. "I think…"

Carlisle chuckled. "It's kind of a private joke."

Angie shyly smiled, looking away. She hesitated about asking her next question, she guessed it was a subject he would rather avoid.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing," she shook her head.

Carlisle took a step back and moved to stand in front of her, trapping her between his body and the countertop. He was so close, his mere presence made her feel dizzy. He was still smelling like old books, it was an unthreatening smell that made her comfortable. She could get used to it pretty quickly. She blushed at that thought, and looked away. Carlisle slightly smiled, as he slid his finger along her cheek to her chin, and gently made her look up. He couldn't get enough of her blue eyes. There was something pure in them, perfect innocence.

"Have they showed you around the house?" he asked.

Angie shook her head. "I've been in the living room."

"Come on."

He led her into a long hall paneled with a honey-colored wood. "Rosalie and Emmett's room, Alice's room," he said, gesturing as they walked past the doors. "My office," he said, but Angie wasn't paying attention anymore.

She was staring at the large wooden cross hanging on the wall at the end of the hall. It seemed very old, and Angie didn't understand what it was doing there, it seemed out of place, even more out of place than her.

"Do you believe in God?" he asked.

"No," she quickly answered.

"Why not?" he asked, as he stepped into his office.

Angie didn't reply right away. She followed him inside the dark room. There were no windows, it was very different from the rest of the house. There were huge shelves filled with old books. The room smelled exactly like him. There was an old dark wooden desk in the middle of the room.

Carlisle took her hand, and they sat in the black couch behind the desk. Angie kept looking around, amazed by all the books and the dark paintings surrounding her.

"A few years ago," she started. "At school, we studied the witches of Salem," she said. "Because people believed in God then, they burnt girls like me," she explained. "If God did exist, he wouldn't have let that happen."

Her words hit Carlisle right in the heart. It seemed like they were directed right at him. Guilt submerged him suddenly, as his past came back to him. His father was exactly the kind of man she was referring to. He was exactly that kind of man.

"I believe in God," he said. Something in his tone told Angie something was wrong. "My father was a pastor. He led hunts for… werewolves, vampires… witches." He sounded and looked ashamed of himself. Angie felt bad for him, she shouldn't have said anything. "I led hunts too."

"It was another time," Angie said in a soothing voice. She could hear the guilt in his voice, and it hurt to see him in pain.

"I was hunting vampires when I died," he said. Angie quickly looked up at him, he was still looking away.

"What happened?"

"I was 23. At the time, monsters weren't just legends. I was a disappointment to my father, I didn't accuse innocent people, I was more meticulous. I discovered a coven of vampires hiding in the sewers of the city. I wasn't alone, people gathered their pitchforks and torches," he scoffed. "The vampires killed two men after one of them bit me."

"What happened then?" Angie asked in a whisper, incapable of talking louder.

"I knew what my father would do. I hid. The transformation lasted 3 days. It was excruciatingly painful," he said, something in his eyes told Angie he remembered it like it had happened the day before. "I knew what I had become. I tried to destroy myself." Angie gasped. Her reaction made Carlisle looked up. "Are you okay?"

"I don't like that part of the story," she mumbled.

Carlisle sadly smiled. He moved closer to her and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. Angie closed her eyes, enjoying the unfamiliar gesture of affection. She grabbed his shirt and looked up when he moved away.

"I won't give too much details then. I was so… repelled by myself that I had the strength to try to kill myself with starvation."

"Too much details," Angie shivered.

"Sorry," he said, stroking her hair. "Eventually, I was very weak and I realized it was just a matter of time before I ended up hurting someone. So, one night, as a herd of deer passed nearby where I was hiding, the hunger was just too strong and I attacked without a thought. That's when I realized I could live a decent life. I started to study. Then I moved to France, continued on through Europe, to the universities there. And, I became a doctor. Helping people made my life bearable."

"That's why blood doesn't… bother you like it does the others?"

Carlisle shook his head. "It took me two centuries to adjust," he said. "I barely notice the smell anymore, I thought I was immune to the scent of blood by now. And then, I met you."

Angie looked away. "I'm sorry, I know it hurts."

"Don't be sorry," he said. "You make my life worth living."

Angie looked up at him, astounded. His life story had been painful to hear. But this was unconceivable.

"Of course, your life is worth living," she breathed out. "You're a great man."

"I'm a monster," he shook his head and looked away.

"That's not true," she said.

"I'm a vampire."

"So?"

Angie was trying to find his gaze but he was looking away. She placed her hand on his right cheek and made him look at her. She could see all the pain in his dark eyes, centuries of shame and disgust.

"I don't believe it makes you evil," she said. "I believe it makes you an even better man."

Carlisle saw she meant it, she wasn't scared of him, or ashamed, or disgusted. What she saw in him, he had never dared see in himself. She was proud. Proud of him for what he did, and for what he never did.

"You should be proud of yourself," she said. "You should be so proud of what you accomplished. You're not a monster, don't ever say that again. Don't even think about it," she demanded.

Carlisle couldn't help but laugh. It had never, in his second life, occurred to him he was a good man, not even a "man". And now, a human teenager was ordering him to forget everything he believed. She was so full of hope. Pure and innocent. And he hoped with his entire being that he wasn't going to ruin that.

"Am I making you laugh?"

He shook his head. "You're so bossy," he joked.

"I'm serious."

"I know," he smiled.

"You're not a monster," she said. "You need to believe that."

Carlisle sighed. He had been raised to believe vampires were evil. Even if he wasn't the typical vampire, he was still dangerous, and damned to Hell.

"Carlisle."

For the first, she said his name. It surprised him, he felt so good to hear it from her lips, even though she had a very serious tone. Now it was clear to Angie why they didn't say soulmate, but just mate. They didn't think they had a soul.

"If you're damned to Hell," she said. "Then I am too."

"Why?" he asked, confused.

"I can read minds. That makes me something else than human. By your definition, I'm damned too."

"You're not…" he started to say, and then he understood what she meant.

"What we are doesn't define who we are," she said. "And even though I don't believe in Hell, I believe you're not going there. There's a special place for you in Heaven. There must be. For all of you. I'm sure of it."

For the first time in over three centuries, Carlisle started to believe it was a possibility. That he was indeed worthy of living, of calling himself a man. How could he not believe that when he was looking into her bright blue eyes, full of hope? He saw something else in them, something more than kindness and innocence. He saw a glimpse of redemption.

"I don't deserve you," he said.

"You deserve better," she shook her head.

Carlisle smiled as he leaned forward to kiss her forehead again. "Have you thought about what I said yesterday?"

"That's all I've been doing," she said. "But which part are you talking about exactly?"

"I'm yours," he reminded her. These words had the power to heal all her pain. "Have you decided what you were going to do with that?"

She looked away, moved her legs so that she was sitting next to him and her feet were on the other side of his thighs. She rested her right shoulder on the back of the couch, looked down at her hands, and nodded.

"Yesterday you said only I mattered," she whispered. "Now I understand why you said that. Even though it's only been a week since we met, I know I can't live without you. Just thinking about it hurts so much," she said with a trembling voice. "I don't know what I want to do, but I know I want to do it with you."

Carlisle smiled, but she couldn't see it. She felt him lean forward, and he put his lips on her forehead again. "You don't know how happy that makes me," he whispered.

He moved away, but she stayed close to him. She rested her head on his chest, and closed her eyes, exhausted. He was stroking her hair, and the movement of his chest soothed her. She quickly fell asleep. Finally.