Adrian sat back in the rich leather chair, facing away from the door, a tattered book with a teal cover rested against his drawn up knee, held open by his hand. He read in silence, turning the yellowed pages with his thumb. He heard their laughter drawing closer from the woods, he didn't bother to look up from his book to check who the giggles belonged two. Two heartbeats, one heavy and one fluttering. What an incredible oddity, little Nessie Cullen with her hummingbird heart, mothered by a mortal, fathered by a corpse. He continued reading his book as their footsteps crossed over the drive, up the stairs, and through the front door. As they moved across the living room towards the stairs, he noticed that the second set of steps wasn't as heavy as Jacob's, they must be someone else's. He ought to pay more attention while he's reading, getting lost in a book is a bad habit for a vampire like him to develop. He sighed quietly, and put down his book just when the woods-and-earth scent of one of the Quileute wolves drifted up the stairs and into his temporary quarters. He quickly straightened his tie with his left hand, then swiveled the leather desk chair around to greet his guests.
Renesmee and her companion rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, and Adrian got his first look at the newcomer; another oddity, a woman. She was wearing a simple pair of cargo shorts and a sports bra, and nothing else, odd. He smiled for them, and waved them in to have a seat in his rented room.
"You'll upset your mother coming to visit me, you know." Adrian said coyly, and gave a very quick wink.
"And that's exactly why I'm leaving!" Renesmee exclaimed, smiling. She stood, receiving confused looks from Leah and Adrian as she marched out the door and down the stairs.
"Well I'm Adrian." He introduced himself, both of them still tentatively watching the spot where Renesmee had vanished from sight. He turned back to look at her; no shoes, rough feet, no shirt, smooth rouge skin, short black hair, proud features. All before she turned back to him, I'll give him some time to look she thought to herself.
"I'm Leah. Leah Clearwater." She said, turning back to face Adrian, and leaning far out of her chair to offer him a hand. He looked at the hand quizzically, held sideways for a handshake, he smiled lopsidedly, took her hand and turned it palm down, then brought his head down and kissed her middle knuckle lightly; always the gentleman, he thought to himself with amusement. "What were you reading?" She asked, and when he raised a single eyebrow at her, she continued, smiling "I can smell the paper on your hands-- hand." She corrected herself, feeling foolish
"Ulysses." He answered. "by James Joyce. I found this first edition in Carlisle's library." He almost said more, but she didn't seem all that interested in modernist literature.
"Where is Carlisle?" She asked, looking out the hallway towards his study. She had been in there a couple times over the years, but never for more than a few seconds.
"He and Esme are hunting, and I suspect Bella and Renesmee are out at the cottage." He answered, eying her carefully.
"Read me something." She commanded matter of factly, leaning back into the couch she was sitting on. Adrian raised his eyebrows in mock surprise, but then picked the book back up, and opened it.
"Paternity may be a legal fiction." He read, "Who is the father of any son should love him or he any son?" While he read, eyes on the book, Leah took the moment to look him over. She knew from Renesmee's visions that his hand was missing, though he tucked it behind his back constantly. His hair was unkempt in an intentional sort of way, and he wore simple clothes that spoke to the Cullen's money. The tie was a little clownish, she thought. All the same they fit him exceedingly well, like they had been made for him, or rather that he had been made for them. She let him keep reading for a while, taking in his details. She didn't so much listen to his words as she did listen to the sound of his voice. After sitting in the room with him for several more minutes, she started to notice his scent. All the vampires she had known had smelled very similarly, disgustingly sweet, like too much sugar in soda, or eating fruit jam straight out of the jar. Adrian's scent was sweet like every other candied vampire she knew, but there was something arid to it that she couldn't place, a bite in her nostrils that she couldn't recognize. She wondered if the Cullen's had noticed this oddity about him, but then her nose was significantly more keen than theirs. The more she smelled it, let it roll over her palette, and listened to his words washing over her, the less he smelled like a vampire, and the more he smelled like something more pleasant.
"Are you a vampire?" she asked, interrupting his book. Adrian looked up, confused.
"I'm fairly certain. I drink blood for nourishment." He answered. "Why do you ask? Don't I look like one?"
"You don't smell like one, the more that I think about it, you smell more like someone I used to know than one of the Cullens." She said, trying to remember who exactly he smelled like. Cinnamon, caramelized onions and--
"Who?" he cut in on her thoughts. There was a desperate tone to his voice she found odd, she hadn't heard it before, or was he just as curious as she was?
"I'm not sure, I'll let you know if I remember." She said gently, now sitting forward from her relaxed posture a little. Adrian looked like he was trying to suck on one of his own canine teeth, his tongue pushing against his gums. "What's wrong?" Leah asked.
"I don't remember..." Adrian paused, "I don't remember anything."
Leah stared, the bitterness in his voice was so latent he seemed almost like a different person, nothing like the cheerful man who had been reading Ulysses to her for the past ten minutes. "You don't remember anything at all?"
"The farthest back I can remember is three weeks ago." Adrian sighed heavily, and his posture collapsed, his shoulders sagged and his head fell forward. "I was on a bus to Spokane with a note in my hand, and fifty dollars in my pocket." Adrian seemed resigned to something. Leah was silent for a moment, then she quickly crossed the room, sitting in a chair next to Adrian's, and laid a hand gently on his right shoulder. It was always surprising how cold they were.
"I'm sorry." She said quietly.
"No, it's fine" Adrian said, resolve in his voice. He sat up straight again, reaching across and over his shoulder, and taking hold of her hand, it felt scorching hot to him. He looked into her eyes and told her, "It's nobody's fault, and I doubt I could have found someone who would show me more hospitality than Carlisle. I must have known he could help me..." He trailed off, and let her hand go, then looked down at the floor.
"What did the note say?" Leah asked, trying out a cheer-you-up tone. He looked up at her plainly, then reached into his left pocket and pulled out a folded note, and handed it to her.
Carlisle Cullen
Forks, Washington
Only eat animals