Chapter Seventeen: Yesterday
'Suddenly,
I'm not half the man I used to be,
There's a shadow hanging over me,
Oh, yesterday came suddenly. '
The Beatles - Yesterday
It was raining as Jasper made his way through the woods back towards the large white house. He and Emmett raced to see who would return soonest from their hunting trip further North than the Olympic Peninsula.
"I'll beat you, little brother!" Emmett's loud voice carried through the woods as he attacked Jasper once more. They were hardly a mile from the house, and would be able to reach it within thirty seconds at best. Though now they were tangled on the forest floor, splinters of a tree shattered around the two men.
"In your dreams." Jasper growled viciously, attacking his brother with annoyance. Emmett had spent the entire trip trying to wrestle, or fight in some form or another.
"Are you having problems with Rose?" Jasper laughed as he rolled about on the ground with the larger man, crunching could be heard beneath the two as their already torn clothes grew even more tattered.
"At least-" Emmett began in response when a piercing scream emanated from the direction of their home. Both froze and darted away towards the house with such speed that a human would have seen nothing. 10 seconds had never passed so slowly as they feared the worst, neither knowing what it could have been.
Jasper's eyes widened as he entered the living room. Clinging tightly to the back of one of the taller wolves was the figure of a girl he had not seen in well over a year. She clutched to his shoulders tightly, her red eyes wide with fright as she was panting for breaths, the wolf beneath her did not seem to enjoy her position, though the others all laughed.
"Lucy, what is wrong?" Esme asked quickly, looking over the scene before her. The girl, seeming to finally sense that there were others around looked up to the woman. Edward was laughing besides Bella and Nessie.
"There..." She trailed off, her voice unsteady, shaking with each letter. Her hand shakily pointed out, though she was clutching on to the wolf as though her life depended on it. "i..."
"She saw a spider on the floor." Edward tried to maintain his composure. The room filled with laughter, though she didn't seem to bother growing embarrassed, she maintained her position.
"Can't you kill it?!" She whined, refusing to let go of her unwilling savior. She looked like a young child, her fear made him scared. Even with the entirety of his family laughing at her, he felt frightened of whatever spider she had seen.
"What kind of vampire are you, afraid of a spider?" Jacob laughed at her, his grin broad as he snickered with his pack. Jasper shook his head, listening for the heartbeat of the small creature.
"I am not a vampire, you beast." She growled, her voice low and angry. Jasper had no doubt by the waves of anger coming from her direction that were she not so frightened, she would have attacked him instantly. Her heart beat faintly, but her skin was still pale, her hair much smoother than normal, her features more defined, and most noticeable, her eyes a strong red. The sound of the spider was coming from under the couch, he quickly jumped down, pulling the large brown spider out by its legs. It curled up in his palm, its heart rate increasing. The strange dark haired girl clutched the wolf-boy beneath her even more tightly, her eyes widened as she focused on the spider in his fingers, glancing back up to him. Emmett laughed boldly, grabbing the spider from Jasper quickly as he rushed in front of the girl.
"You're afraid of spiders, Luce?" Emmett laughed boldly, holding it inches from her face. Her eyes were plastered open, her quiet heart racing faster as her face seemed to turn green with fear. The fear was practically crippling as Emmett swung the spider from one of it's legs. A loud crunching that was followed by a loud cry of pain came from the boy beneath Lucy. The boy began to crumple towards the ground in pain as his shoulders throbbed at the pain of being crushed. She jumped up against the wall as though being threatened by an entire army. Suddenly, as the boy cried out in pain, she was shaken from her fear.
"Oh my goodness. I am so sorry!" She proclaimed, her eyes widened with remorse. "I didn't mean to hurt you!"
The old Lucy was there; when he had come to assume that she had become a complete stranger, there were hints of who she was. The strange fear gave her a humanity that he had feared she would no longer possess, and her worry for harming the wolf boy made it obvious that she was, at least not here, an entire monster.
"Get away from me, Leech." The young man cried out angrily, jumping up to glare at her. Suddenly she looked extremely affronted, her eyes widened with anger and disgust. The spider in Emmett's hand was all but forgotten. Jasper was thankful that Emmett took the spider outside, rather than taunt the girl... though he knew the man well enough to know that this tidbit of information would be stored away, waiting for an opportune time to spring it on her. Her eyes narrowed at the man, though suddenly Jasper felt a strong sense of nausea overwhelm his senses, she angrily stalked away from everyone to disappear upstairs. The door to her bedroom slammed shut angrily.
"What is she doing back?" Jasper asked honestly, wondering what had brought the woman back who had seemed so eager to leave the family.
"Please don't start fighting with her again, Jasper." Esme asked with exasperation "She needs us."
With a frown he watched the rest of his family go about their daily business as though nothing strange was happening. His ears picked up a soft sound of gagging from upstairs, causing him to cringe as he focused on taking the emotions of Bella and Edward, rather than the girl upstairs. His mind was racked with unanswered questions as to why she had returned, why so suddenly with no warning. She hadn't even made a foul comment at him, or attempt to attack him as he had expected she would.
"Why don't you go make sure she is all right, try to make her feel more comfortable." Esme spoke softly. Jasper wanted to protest to tell her that she and him would only fight, and she sounded in no position to fight... yet he could not deny Esme.
His feet were heavy with each step, moving at a slow human pace as he dreaded the inevitable. There were no spiders to hold her back from attacking him, and there was a house full of people who would be more than eager to hear the argument between the two. They blamed him for her leaving, for her hard feelings towards the family... and now they expected him to make it right, to fix the wrongs that he had done.
The door to her bedroom was shut tightly. With a deep breath of unnecessary air he knocked lightly.
"Go away." Her voice wasn't nearly as firm as he had expected, it sounded muffled as she was more likely than not in the bathroom. Suddenly a strong scent greeted his nose, it made his throat burn with such anger that he nearly tore the door down to get in; yet he fought the urge. It was not her smell that tempted him, but the smell of human blood.
"Can I help you, Lucy?" Jasper asked gently, pushing the door open slowly, one hand holding his nose closed tightly. She glanced up from the toilet where she sat; blood was smeared around the ivory toilet, her face had smears of it. Her skin looked more pale than usual, tears were filled in her eyes, her cheeks flushed a bright red. Every ounce of her felt uncomfortable, and pained... it was similar to the sensation he got when a student at school had come in with a stomach flu.
"Go away, Jasper. I really can't handle being bitten again." She said quietly, a wave of nausea erupted, though she was clearly trying to hold it down with little success. A large amount of red fluids poured out of her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"What happened to you?" He asked her, shocked to see the woman in such a vulnerable state. Despite the bright red of her eyes, and the knowledge that she had just broken every bone in the dogs shoulders, she looked defenseless, and weak.
"I ate something bad." She said with sarcasm, grabbing the side of the counter to hoist herself up as she flushed the toilet. She grabbed a brown wash cloth as she leaned over the sink, running cold water on the rag before wiping her face. A cup sat on the counter and she eagerly filled it with water, downing it quickly, swishing it around in her mouth before spitting it back in to the sink. A pale red fluid came out, remnants of blood in her mouth.
"What do you think happened?" She frowned, wiping her face down with the rag once more. She looked tired, and defeated. Scars covered nearly every inch of skin on her body, that he could see anyway. The black tank top made the scars stand out even further on her pale skin. She wore dark jeans, though he suspected that she had more scars town her legs. Her limbs were as thin as the last time he had seen her, her face more hallowed. She had a strange sort of haunting beauty to her that he was certain had come from the vampirism.
Ignoring him, she pushed past and in to her room; scars trailed her back. He understood stronger than before how the others had been so affronted by his appearance, by the scars that marred his skin. They were frightening, particularly on such a small figure. She opened a large window with little effort, a soft breeze rushing in with cool fresh air. The idea that she had been able to survive so many attacks made him wonder how many fights she had truly been in; how many she had killed. Judging by the scent of the blood that she had been throwing up, she had drunk blood from humans, which further explained why her eyes were such a vibrant shade of red. A sheer black sweater sat on the bed and she pulled it over her head; the only scars visible were now along her neck, and jaw-line.
"How many times have you been bitten?" He asked her with a frown as she leaned over the windowsill.
"How many times have you been bitten?" She countered, not looking back from the window that overlooked the small clearing in front of the house. Her voice was quiet, yet firm in defiance of him. She was still holding a grudge against him, though he could hardly blame her, he had chased her away from the family that she had come to think of as her own, forcing her to survive as a vampire. Daring a breath he could still smell the blood, though not nearly as strong. She had a strange scent, a mixture between the old scent of her blood, with the new scent of the venom that coursed through her veins.
"I know Esme sent you up here, but I'll be fine." She sighed with exasperation, she didn't want him around her, but she was too tired to fight with him. "Go out with everyone else, I'm not really up for being around people."
"What happened to you?" He asked her, his arms folded across his chest casually, his brows furrowed slightly in worry. He shouldn't have cared about her, he knew that much... but he was guilty, he had caused this. He had gotten close enough to her, and then he pushed her away because he couldn't handle the fear of himself. He had done exactly what Edward had done; he ran away from her so that she could be 'normal', without taking in to consideration that she would never be normal... or that there were things out there that meant much more harm to her than he and his family ever could. She scoffed a laugh, so quiet that human ears would have heard nothing.
"You mean Peter and Charlotte didn't tell you anything when the came to visit for Renesme? Alice and Nick said nothing?" She asked him, turning with a frown. She was tiny compared to him; her arms and legs smaller than even Alice's. Her voice was quiet, yet there was nothing soft about it. Much as before, he was reminded more of Jane from the Volturi, than of Lucy.
"No, though Peter and Charlotte refuse to speak with me. The entire family is very cross with me." He told her darkly, a look of smug satisfaction crossed her face as she yawned slightly. She wasn't tired, her body was exhausted, briefly he allowed his emotional barrier down and he realized the immense amount of fatigue that seemed to radiate from her.
"Good." She turned away and returned to the bathroom, from the corner of his eyes he saw that she was brushing out her hair. Long, in beautiful waves. Her hair had always been curly beyond belief, large ringlets formed naturally around her face... it was not elegant on its own, but it suited her... yet even her face was different now. Her face held an aristocratic air about it that he suspected her mother would have held; she would have fit in with the Volturi by her looks alone.
"I'm sorry for making you leave." He said after nearly five minutes had passed. Time should have went quicker for them, after being alive for so long minutes should have felt like seconds; yet it felt like each minute passed as hours; she stared icily in to the mirror, as though he were not even standing there.
"I know." She responded plainly. She did not accept his apology, nor did she feel anything from it. She proceeded to brush her hair; the motion did nothing, her hair remained the same as it had before. "Your remorse nearly makes me feel guilty."
"I'm sorry." He said quietly; trying to keep his emotions in tact. He had thought he was doing quite well at keeping himself in check.
"You ought to be." She said, setting the brush down softly, turning to look at him with her eyes glistening darkly. "This is your fault."
"What happened to you?" He repeated with a frown. She wanted him to suffer, she truly did hate him for this, he could feel it radiating from her, even as her shrill laugh filled the room.
"What happened to me?" She asked with a wicked mirth, stepping closer towards him menacingly. "What do you think happened to me? Do you think I went for a bike ride in the park? Perhaps a casual stroll down the boulevard at sunset, while eating ice cream and walking a small dog?"
He didn't respond, though she walked past him, shaking her head before sitting on the large bed in her room. He had never truly looked at her room before; it was inappropriate for a man to be in a lady's room, and she had always been very proper; to enter her room would have been disrespectful. She was watching him, though the innocent curiosity that had once been in her gaze was not present, it had been replaced with contemplation, and calculation; she was studying his movements, waiting to see his next move.
"If I allowed myself to become human, or rather, as human as I ever was, they would prey upon my weakness. If I stayed as a vampire, I had the power to fight back." She told him, not moving her eyes from his as she sat on the bed casually. Her voice was quiet enough that the others would have had difficulty hearing it. "I was as good as a vampire, and the moment I sensed weakness, I forced one of the foolish newborns to bite me. It was really no hard task, the slightest hint of blood and they go wild."
"You were with newborns?" He spoke darkly, envisioning what she had last said to him, a year before.
'Maria told me to say 'Hello' to you. She wanted me to bring you the most delightful smelling little boy, though I told her that you were didn't feed on humans any more' Her voice had been so sickeningly sweet and innocent, undoubtedly part of the facade she had built up around herself.
"For some time, they were very interesting." Her eyes glistened as she spoke, a brief image of her in school came to mind. She was amused at his rising frustration and anger.
"You stayed with Maria." He said, trying to keep his voice, and emotions, calm. Her cold nature made much more sense with the idea that she had lived with them. For some reason, the idea of her staying with the woman that created him enraged him.
"For a time; I learned some very interesting things about your past that you would never share with me." She spoke, gently picking at her perfectly manicured nails. Her nails needed no help to look better, she inspected them, much in a similar way to Rosalie when she was pretending to me human. Yet, there was something different about the way she did it, like there was something slightly off about it. Everything about her was off, looking at her, he knew it was her, but it didn't feel like it was her; his mind didn't want to accept that it was her, that it was really the person from so many years ago.
"Why did you come back?" He asked her, forcing his anger at the realization of why he had not wanted her to be with Maria to subside. He knew that Maria would have told her stories of him, she would hear all about his colorful past that he had not shared with many. For some reason, he didn't want her to know his past; or at least, who he used to be. He knew that he had never deserved someone like her, even in his human life. The brief memories would still occasionally flicker through his thoughts, reminding him of their brief past together.
The sun was setting slowly on the horizon; it was a welcome time in Texas. It meant that it would be cooler, though glancing around, the tall blonde major realized that many of these people were ill equipped to deal with the cold. The threat of battle had led the military to evacuate them immediately; many not bringing anything more than the clothes on their back. It had been a small suburb of Galveston that he had been in charge of. There were about 1,000 women and children, and a few older men, though most of the men from their town had went to war; many of which were not to return.
His eyes fell on the small figure of a woman of the group. She looked very young, practically a child. She couldn't have been older than 17 or 18. She was obviously from a well off family, her clothes were some of the nicest there, her hair was in black ringlets. Her skin was fair, with a slight hint of tan, though he could tell she had never been required to work in the sun. Yet she now knelt down to two children from the town; her face was soft, it glowed in the pink light of the sunset, her eyes a pale shade that he couldn't quite see from the distance. She was smiling at the kids, and a young girl with curling blonde hair held her arm up. The woman looked at it warmly, and pulled a glove off to touch the skin gently. It wasn't the compassion she exhibited that surprised him, but rather when she pulled a blanket that she had been carrying and put it over the girl. She then lifted up her dress slightly, revealing the white petticoat. She then began doing something unexpected, she was tearing it with her hands. It must have taken all of her force, though she tore a long piece, and began wrapping it around the girls arm. Her lips were moving as she spoke to the two small children. The girl gave her a quick hug before the boy darted under her blanket as well. She smiled at them before standing. Her smile lit up her face as a few more children went under the blanket as the temperature dropped quickly.
She then approached another woman who had three children. They were sitting towards the outskirts of the camp; he wondered if perhaps she had been the daughter of the mayor, or perhaps someone of importance, as she walked amongst the groups with such a tall head that it seemed as though she was used to speaking with them. He watched as she pulled her cloak off and gave it to the woman, who looked as though she were one of the least fortunate in the town. She then hugged the older woman warmly, putting a hand on the heads of her children affectionately.
"That's Lucy Merriweather." A voice shook Jasper from his thoughts as he curiously watched the young woman. "Her father built their whole village." He turned to see one of the men in his cavalry John Lewis. He was a good looking young man, a year younger than Jasper. "Lost everyone in the war."
"Everyone?" Jasper frowned as he looked back to the woman. She was kneeling down besides another group of people who had sat around a fire that another soldier had built. She looked so warm, and loving.
"I've known of her since she was born; every boy in town tried sparking her, They'd be a fool not to. She's the kindest person you'll ever meet; rich, too. It's a real shame, but she's strong. But can you imagine losing everyone?" John frowned, folding his arms as he took a swig from his flask. She had finished her rounds of talking to everyone in the town and was now sitting on a log at a fire near the woods. She held a small cup with tea that another soldier in his company must have given her.
"I'll see you later, I've got to go find my family." John patted his back before he disappeared. The sky was now a light shade of midnight blue, a dark violet. Stars were shining dimly, though within an hour the moon would be shining brightly. He watched her curiously; he hadn't been sure why he was so intrigued by her. Perhaps it was because she was so alone. From across the camp he could see her shiver slightly, despite being besides a fire. She had given away her jacket, and her blanket, leaving nothing for herself.
"Would you like to use my jacket, Ma'am?" He asked her politely as he approached her fire. She glanced up somewhat surprised. Her eyes were the palest shade of green and blue, like warm ocean water. He had taken his jacket off and was motioning it to her. It was probably dirtier than anything she'd ever seen, he felt somewhat inadequate for offering it to her, though she looked cold, and he had nothing else to offer. She glanced to his jacket. He nearly thought she would deny his assistance.
"Thank you, Major." She said with a slightly polite smile as she bowed her head quietly. Her voice was quiet, and soft; as he had expected it would be. Her dark curls fell around her face as she spoke.
"Don't you have any family here?" He asked warmly, thinking that perhaps she had had cousins, or aunts and uncles at least. Her eyes dropped to her cup somewhat grimly.
"No, I don't have any family." She spoke quietly, he almost thought he hadn't heard it.
"Well, That's a shame. A beautiful girl like you without a family." He said to her in a polite tone. He felt a slight smile as her cheeks began to turn a slight shade of pink at his comment. "My name is Jasper. Jasper Whitlock. I'm a major in the infantry."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jasper. I am Lucy Merriweather." She said to him softly, politely reaching her hand out to shake his. Her hands were tiny; soft and clean. His hands looked almost brown in comparison due to the sun, and dirt. He lightly knelt down to kiss the top of her palm in a polite manner.
"The pleasure is all mine, Ma'am." He told her, smiling slightly as he bowed his head and her delicate hand returned to holding her warm teacup.
"Ah, Major Whitlock! I see you've met Miss Merriweather." The short figure of John Lewis said eagerly. Her pale eyes glanced up to him slowly, she looked pained before her eyes immediately turned to the cup. It was like her security blanket when she didn't want to look at anyone. She took a delicate sip of it.
"Yes, We've just met. You know one another?" Jasper asked him with a frown. It seemed that John knew her, more than she wanted to know him. She had now turned her head up to look at the moon, it was higher in the sky, and made her skin look even more pale.
"We grew up in the same town, Didn't we, Luce." His brown eyes were looking at her like a hawk; Jasper then realized that this man had not simply known Miss Merriweather; he had wanted to court her, though for whatever reason, he had not.
"Yes, We did." She told him as she looked up at him, frowning slightly. She tried to laugh, but got choked up. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."
"I didn't think I'd ever see any of you again either. It's been hard. We lose people every day." John said grimly, sitting on a log across the fire from her. "How are you doing?"
"I'm surviving. I want this war to be over." She said quietly, pulling the jacket closer to her body, a strange sense of satisfaction coursed through him as John watched her, frowning as he realized that it was Jasper's. "I want everything to go back to how it was."
"It will get better, I promise." The boy said firmly. Jasper frowned at him, it was impossible to promise that. He knew that you were not supposed to talk about things like war with women, but there was no use in lying.
"John was best friends with my fiance." Lucy said, he felt her eyes on him. She was frowning. "He disappeared last month in Gettysburg." She then glanced back down to take a sip of her tea as she breathed in deeply.
"He was one of the best men we had; A colonel in one of the best brigades we have. He probably killed hundreds of yanks." John said firmly as he took a drink from a flask. Somehow it had seemed fitting that the woman would have been engaged to a man of such rank and stature. He could almost imagine the man as a tall and proud man, perhaps from a well-to-do family in town.
"John!" Lucy hissed angrily, her eyes looked angrily at him. "That is hardly appropriate to say. What would Wilfred say if he heard that tongue?"
"Darling Perfect little Lucy Merriweather; always the prim and proper southern belle." John tutted as he stood, feeling that his time was up. "It was nice to see you, Luce. Maybe we'll see one another after all of this is over."
She watched him walk away, tears filling her eyes as she looked even more pained than before. His comment had been one of jealous, and anger, and they had hurt her how he had wanted to. Jasper couldn't believe a man would act so callous towards a woman; other soldiers was one thing, but an innocent woman who had lost everything did not deserve it.
"The war should be over soon." Jasper spoke softly, she glanced from the vacant space where John's figure had once been to look at him. She looked as though one word would break her. "Would you like some company?"
"Yes." Her tone was quiet, she glanced back down to the flames as he sat across from her. He watched as she sighed, taking a sip of her tea. She looked like a lost child; there was something that made him drawn towards her, more than the others he had met. He felt as though he had to protect her, to make sure that she was okay. For most of the night she didn't speak, occasionally she would glance up at him, look as though she were about to say something, though then she would simply smile slightly and glance back at the fire. He couldn't understand why, but having her chose to allow him to sit with her gave him a prideful feeling. A young farmers son, wearing a dirty uniform that hadn't been washed in at least a month, sitting with the most beautiful and well off woman in town.
Even as a human he had felt inadequate for the woman, and yet she had always been nothing but accepting. A wave of nostalgia washed over him as he glanced to her; feeling a strong sense of loathing at what he had created. Was this how she had felt when she first recognized him? The strong sensation of dread and regret? The pile of 'what-if' situations seemed to grow exponentially with each passing thought, while the remorse over what had truly happened seemed to worsen.
"I don't remember the last time I was bitten, but I haven't fed in nearly a week." She said quietly, holding a pillow to her chest as she folded her slender legs on the bed. Nausea was taking over her senses, though she closed her eyes tightly as though willing it to go away. "I don't really need the blood, it actually makes me ill afterwards. I suppose that makes me more of a monster." She laughed sardonically.
"You're not a monster." He told her, watching as she shook her head with the cold laughs.
"I killed people because I wanted to. I had no temptation physically, the burning was perfectly manageable... but I enjoyed the taste, so I did it." She spoke softly enough so that no one else would hear. She was watching him with wide, fearful eyes. Years could have passed as the moment seemed to stop, though it was cut short when a wave of nausea hit her once more. She disappeared swiftly in to the bathroom. Taking a deep breath he followed her in, making sure not to breath when he saw her hovered over the toilet.
"Go away." She feebly told him before a thick red fluid poured in to the bowl with an unsettling sound. He hadn't been so close to someone throwing up in a very long time, and it made him feel like throwing up. Ignoring the ill sensations shooting through his body, he walked past her, opening a long window above the toilet that would have been well above her head even if she stood on her toes. The soft spring breeze swept the smell out in to her room, perhaps not making it any better.
"I want to help you." He told her softly, shutting the bathroom door and turning on the fan. Her stomach retched once more, emptying its contents in to the stomach. Truth be told, he had no idea how he would help her; he had a hard enough time fighting off her feelings. What would Esme Do? He asked himself firmly, keeping his mouth closed tightly, refusing to breath. He had never had to try stopping someone from being physically ill, so the most he could try was to calm her. Esme would probably have gotten a rag for her, and held her hair back; Esme would have been much better suited for this.
Sucking up his pride, he rinsed a rag in the sink quickly, and carefully pulled her hair away from her face. From a close distance he had been able to see her face clearly, though at this near a proximity it was haunting at best. Among vampire standards she would have been pretty; not gorgeous like Rosalie, or unique like Bella... but she could have easily passed as a relative of Alice's. Her features were pixie like, with sharp angles and childish large eyes. Had he not known her prior, her appearance would not have been so daunting, though compared to her usual self it was like looking at two separate people. A cold sweat formed on her forehead, her skin looked clammy... tears fell down her cheeks unnoticed by her.
A wide grin spread across the pale features of Lucy as she erupted in to a fit of laughter. The sun was shining, and it had finally reached over 70 degrees. Emmett and Bella were currently wrestling in the backyard while Rosalie and Jacob played with Renesme, who giggled profusely at her mother and uncle. Bella had just tackled Emmett and a large hole filled the position where they had once fell towards.
"Are you going to let a girl beat you like that, Em?" Lucy called out with a smile as Bella dusted herself off. Emmett jumped out, frowning with a growl.
"She's a newborn!" Emmett huffed, walking towards the group sitting on the back porch.
"Her eyes are turning already!" Lucy told him with a giggle. "Admit it, Bella's stronger."
"I let her win." Emmett grumbled under his breath grumpily before stalking towards Rosalie.
"Of course you did." Rosalie chided, patting his chest affectionately as Bella took Renesme away from her. The small curly haired child glowed in the soft sunlight, while the others all had radiant bursts of light shooting out from their skin as though they were covered in a strangely glittering cloak. Lucy glanced down to her skin with a sigh. She looked pasty white, her skin reflected the light, though only because it was inhumanly pale due to lack of being able to absorb the sunlight. A slight peachy tint was slowly returning to it, though it seemed nearly nonexistent to human eyes.
"Lunch time!" Esme called out happily from the house. Jacob jumped up eagerly, grabbing Renesme's hand as he led her in to the house. She looked closer to a five or six year old than a child only a year old. Lucy followed slowly behind Bella and the others, her hands shoved in to the pockets of her black shorts. Nearly two months had passed since she first arrived with the Cullens. The first month had been spent with her locked in a room vomiting, unable to hold any food down as her vampiric traits slowly dwindled. She could no longer run miles in minutes, her teeth could not cut through the tough flesh of animal skin, and she could hardly break a stick, let alone a rock, or bones. Her hair had returned to being unruly, and her face had returned to it's slightly more rounded and cheerful shape... the last traces of her past couple of years lingered in her pale eyes that once had been a light greenish golden, though now were an odd blend of orange and green as a result of the combating colors. Her vanity hoped that one day she would at least regain some human color to her skin, though she knew the scars would be a permanent fixture. It had taken four months, but she was practically her old self again. Her figure was slimmer, and she would never be quite the same... though Alice said it was worth it, and no one bet against Alice.
"It smells delicious, Esme. What have you made?" Lucy asked politely, entering the kitchen. The wolves and Renesme were already eating; her stomach churned with disgust at seeing the russet skinned men... another lingering remnant of her recent past was a strong sense of smell, particularly the disgusting scent of the dogs. They shoveled food in to their mouths as though they were nothing more than common mongrels.
"Just some roast beef, and french bread." The taller woman said with a warm smile as Lucy entered, standing besides her as she grabbed a roll of bread, tearing a piece off before sticking it in her mouth.
"Mmm. It's even better than it smells. Thanks!" Lucy said with a grin as she stuffed another broken off piece in to her mouth, walking away from the kitchen and towards the living room. Unceremoniously, she threw herself between Emmett and Bella. She pulled the remote control for the video game from his hand, causing his character to swerve off of the track.
"Hey!" Emmett called out in an annoyed tone as Lucy grinned innocently, holding his controller as she shoved the remainder of her roll in to her mouth, holding back her laughter.
"Hmm?" She asked with a mumble through her full mouth. She was chewing quickly, swallowing a large bite that she cringed as it went down somewhat more harshly than she had intended for. Eating regular food still felt strange, and nearly everything tasted the same; it was quite a disappointment to smell a delicious chocolate cake, only to realize that it has the same dull taste of a slice of bread, or a potato that had just been pulled from the ground and had dirt covering it.
"You made me lose!" He protested, his arms folded across his chest.
"I wanted to play." She told him, batting her eyelashes innocently, her teeth bared in a broad grin. He wasn't truly upset, he could have stopped her from even touching the controller; she had no misconceived notions about her ability to surprise anyone in the house. It served as yet another reminder of the fragility of her state. Giving up the bad sides of being a vampire meant giving up the benefits of it as well. Being physically ill, weak, slow, and having hot and cold flashes were not what she had hoped for in returning to her 'original' state. Yet being a vampire was no longer an option. She would remain strong, and be 'human'.
Even as a vampire Bella was not very good at video games, Lucy found it easy to beat her quickly. Grinning with laughter as Emmett laughed loudly at the dark haired girls.
"Lucy! Let's go shopping!" Alice sang musically as she entered the room. "I had a vision of it happening. You won't say no."
"I am starting to think you're lying about these visions of shopping trips. You're mistaking day dreams for visions, and forcing me in to them because no one bets against Alice." Lucy responded with a smirk, raising a delicate eyebrow to the girl who looked severely offended at that statement. Even as she huffed in indignation she sounded musically beautiful. Lucy would never sound that magical again, she would never have the ethereal beauty of Alice.
"You're still coming. I am stronger than you." Alice said with a cheshire grin. Lucy's eyes widened. Alice would force her, she couldn't fight the small woman.
"Emmett! Protect me!" Lucy jumped on to his back, her arms latched tightly around his neck. One slender arm reached out, pointing to the small girl. "Get 'er!"
"Why should I help you! I just lost because of you!" He proclaimed viciously.
"Next time you and Jasper are fighting, I'll send him especially strong emotions, rendering him stupefied." She whispered quietly enough that the others would not hear. One of the few things that had lingered still yet was that her senses were still better than before, though they were worse than that of the vampires. At that moment Jasper arrived at the bottom of the stairs, looking in to the living room. Alice looked extremely amused, and Lucy was perched on Emmett's shoulder, whispering quietly in to his ear, hovered over delicately.
"What do you say, big guy?" Lucy grinned as they could feel the anger flowing off of Jasper at their closeness. She hadn't spoken to the man since the incident, though he had been nothing but kind to her since her return. He was trying to make up for having been so horrible to her before, and she would let him continue to try making up for it, she was still slightly bitter with him. Emmett was glancing to Jasper with a look of slight concentration.
"You got it, kiddo." Emmett patted her shoulder before jumping up from the couch.
"Tally-Ho!" She pointed theatrically as they charged towards Alice, who quickly jumped on to Nicks back. Lucy couldn't help but laugh at the game of chicken that had commenced in Esme's hall.
"I expected this from the boys... But you two?" Esme cried out, her eyes inflamed with anger at the risk of ruining one of her vases that sat on a small table besides them.
"She started it!" Alice proclaimed like a small child caught in trouble. Her slender fingers pointed firmly to Lucy, whose eyes narrowed slightly.
"You were going to drag me shopping with you! Don't I have enough clothes already?!" Lucy proclaimed darkly, folding her arms across her chest as Emmett held her calves carefully to keep her from falling.
"But Betsy Johnson just got in a new dress that you need to try on." Alice told her quickly, giving her a look that was supposed to explain her insistence.
"Last week Louis Vuitton had a bag I needed to look at on Monday, and Barney's had a sweater I needed to get on Thursday. The week before that, Nordstrom's got in their fall couture. I realize you're excited, but can't you drag someone else?" Lucy whined. "I'm too tired to go shopping again."
"No you're not." Alice folded her arms. "You're going to go out and play frisbee with the wolves if you stay here."
"Really?" Lucy asked, her eyes lighting up slightly at the thought of going out to play in the sun. The thought then hit her that it was sunny. "You can't even go to Seattle, it's too sunny."
"It's overcast there." Alice said with a smirk. Lucy would much rather have played frisbee than go shopping again. It wasn't that she couldn't afford it, years of working as a nurse had given her a quite comfortable cushion
"I don't care what the two of you do, just stop rough housing inside. Take it outside." Esme said firmly, her lips pursed slightly.
"Emmett?" Rosalie's sweet voice carried from behind the four. Emmett turned around, causing Lucy to spin slightly with a frown.
"Sorry, Kiddo. Hunting Date." Emmett told her quickly, setting Lucy down on to the ground before darting after Rosalie.
"Ha!" Alice cried triumphantly, jumping nimbly from Nick's shoulders. Glancing up to Lucy with a grin she took a slow step closer.
"I don't want to. I need more sun." Lucy whined, folding her arms like a small child that was sourly defending their point. "Human skin needs sunlight to produce vitamin d... and my skin is pretty close to human. I need to be healthy."
"You'll be fine." Alice said brightly, dragging Lucy upstairs. There was no use fighting the small girl; she was stronger, and determined. Alice had a way of making things happen how she wanted them, simply because she refused to not get things her way.
A/N: I liked this chapter a lot more than the last one. I probably should have just written the last one as two separate chapters so it could be timed better, but honestly, I didn't want to write it. You have no idea how tempted I was to simply write a little timeline and post that instead of a chapter. lol. I swear the information is important for later on... I'll probably rewrite it at some point, but today is not that day. I usually try to wait until I get 15, but the last chapter was total crap, so I just want this one up. :p
Hopefully you guys liked this chapter more. Let me know what you think. And, once more, the more reviews I get, the sooner I post the next chapter.