Fear. Embarrassment. Anxiety. Panic. For a brief moment my mind went to Jasper, wondering what he would feel coming from me if he were here right now. I'm sure I screamed, too. Who wouldn't when falling down a flight of stairs? But of course, I couldn't just simply fall down the stairs and gain a few bruises to add to my collection. I had to fall face-first – my head, neck, and torso taking the first blow from the offending steps. Carlisle would tell me later that I had broken three ribs, one of them puncturing my right lung. And, in a truly "Bella-like" grand finale, I snapped my left femur, immediately severing the femoral artery.
To be honest, the memory is hazy. I'm not sure if it's because of my current condition or because I had hit my head, but either way most of the details came from Esme after the fact. I know that Esme arrived just in time to see me hit the ground, saving my head from one final smack to the floor with her speed. I vaguely remember hearing her say my name over and over again. I remember thinking it was odd that I wasn't feeling any pain from a fall like that. I know now that I was dying.
The only thing that is clear to me from the incident is the burning. At first, I thought my body had caught on fire somehow. It only took me a moment to figure out what had really happened. It was worse in my neck and my wrists than over the rest of my body and I knew that Esme must have bitten me. It was as though I could feel every single cell as it burned off any traces of being human.
There came a point in the burning when I thought it would never end. It felt like it had been going on for years. And then, finally, it slowed down. As each new area cooled, it felt completely different than before. I could feel every stitch in my clothes and each current of air as it passed over my skin. My heart gave one more fluttery beat and then stopped all together. I took a deep, unnecessary breath and hesitantly opened my eyes.
I often tried to imagine what it would be like to wake up as a vampire, but none of my daydreams could have lived up to the reality. It was overwhelming, yet my brain could easily sort out each and every sound and sight around me in a matter of seconds. For example, the small gasp I heard coming from the right side of the room. I turned my head, much faster than I would have been able to if I was human and hurt. Esme was standing near the large window of the room I was in, her small hand covering her mouth as she looked at me with watery eyes. I was already aware that the tears would never spill over, but her small sobs were enough to portray her emotions.
"Esme…" My eyes grew wide at the sound of my own voice. It was beautiful, like hers and the rest of the Cullens. Suddenly I remembered that Edward and his siblings were not home when I fell, and I sat up, too fast. "Esme, is everyone still gone? What happened?" As soon as I addressed her she came toward me, sitting down next to me on the bed. Edward's bed.
"Bella." Carlisle walked into the room and came to stand in front of us. "How are you feeling, dear?" I thought about that for a moment before responding. I felt great, honestly. Other than my throat, but I had known to expect that part. It had nothing on the burning of the change, anyway.
"I feel good, Carlisle, thank you." I smiled, attempting to relieve some of the tension in the room. I turned to Esme and reached for her hand as she brushed my hair back from my face.
"The kids are still out hunting, lovely. We tried to call them, but their phones don't seem to have service. I'm honestly concerned that Alice hasn't seen anything." Her eyebrows drew together as she spoke of her worries. "They should be back tomorrow, though." Esme was running her hand down my hair as she spoke. It felt nice, and I leaned in to the touch.
"So it's Sunday, then." I said quietly. What was I going to do about Charlie? I was supposed to be back at school tomorrow, and then back home tomorrow night. Obviously, we would not be doing that now. Would I have to fake my own death and leave Forks behind like we discussed doing after graduation?
"Don't worry about that now, Bella." Carlisle started. "We will figure it out when Edward gets back. He will want to be a part of this. For now, we need to teach you how to hunt." At his declaration, the pain in my throat became a little more difficult to bear. I stood up and was out of the bedroom door before I even finished my next thought. However, I came to a stop at the top of the stairs, remembering bits and pieces of what happened to me three days earlier.
"This is where I fell." I don't know if I was talking to myself or to Carlisle and Esme, but Carlisle responded anyway.
"Yes." He put his arm around my shoulders. "Your injuries were extensive dear. You had three broken ribs, a punctured lung, a ruptured artery, and slight head injuries."
As a human, my head would have been spinning at this new information. I was actually able to process what that meant relatively quickly but imagining myself sprawled at the bottom of the stairs was much more difficult. I looked at Esme with a new appreciation than before, realizing what she must have gone through in those few short minutes. Once again, I reached out to hold her hand in my new, strong one.
"Thank you," I whispered when she looked at me. Her eyes filled up again as she leaned over to kiss my forehead. We walked down the stairs together, and Esme held tightly onto my hand until we were out the front door and approaching the tree line toward the east of the house.
"Okay, Bella, I want you to listen very carefully to my instructions." I turned to face Carlisle, suddenly very nervous that I was going to make a mistake. "It is imperative that you are careful about hunting here. I don't want to take you very far just in case they come home early. Do not run south-west. Stick to the north-east and you should be fine. We will be with you, but you will be faster than us. Listen for the wild life and when you've found it, let your natural instincts take over. Are you ready?" He placed his hand on my shoulder.
I was more than ready. Every second since he had mentioned hunting I was getting more impatient. I gave him a quick nod and set off in the direction I was told to. It occurred to me that I should be grateful that I had the undivided attention of Carlisle and Esme for my first hunt, but I was still concerned about making a fool of myself. That thought didn't last long, however, because as soon as I smelled the buck about three miles from the Cullen home, all logical thought was out of my mind. I allowed my instincts to take over just like Carlisle said. The feeling was indescribable and only one thought passed through my mind while I was drinking, and it was that I was absolutely made for this life.