*All characters except Emily and Sarah are the intellectual property of Stephanie Myer. Emily and Sarah are the intellectual property of me.*
I looked around to make sure that there was no one else around and went to step into the alley. I froze when I saw a shadow suddenly appear behind her. I tried to scream her name but it was stuck in my throat. I knew this shadow but couldn't place where I had seen this before. Then he stepped into the light and gave me the same smile that he had flashed to me before killing me. He quickly reached down and wrenched Sarah's head from her body. A scream tore from my lips as he dropped a match on the bodies then disappeared behind the flames. I collapsed to my knees as scream after scream erupted from my chest. Sarah was gone. He had killed her, this time for good.
A hand touched my shoulder and I grabbed the forearm, wrenching my shoulder down and pulling. A figure went flying over my head only to land on his or her feet. I brought myself to a crouch and a growl whispered through my clenched teeth. I checked myself when I realized that it was Edward that I had thrown.
"I'm sorry Edward. I didn't know it was you." I stood to my feet and looked back at the flames. All I could see was the outline of the man that Sarah had killed. She was gone.
"Edward I called Carlisle. He is going to meet us back at the house." I heard a car pull to a stop and a door open. I sighed knowing what was coming next.
"So I guess I either go willingly or I fight all five of you?" Edward nodded grimly at me and I grabbed my backpack from the ground. Spinning on my heel, I walked over to the open door of the car and slide in. Edward closed it behind himself as he squished me between him and the giant.
No one spoke a word as Jasper drove us out of town. The girls were nowhere to be seen and I figured that they had already gone to meet this Carlisle. I knew that being a nomad, rather a mom of a volatile monster would be hard but I never imagined that she would be killed. Not now, not ever. I clenched my teeth together to keep the sobs from escaping. I would hopefully have time to grieve in silence when this meeting was over.
Eventually the car came to a stop and everyone climbed out. Edward held the door and the males stood waiting for me for exit. I allowed them to guide me into the home and attempted to stand with my back to a wall rather than another vampire. I took small smells of the home but only noticed faint traces of blood. It smelled more like the animals that Sarah had killed than people did.
Everyone in the room sat but kept their focus on me. I stayed standing against the far wall, glancing around at everything. They seemed to be a family. There was a large photograph of them all behind the couch. There were a man and woman who I had yet to see. I jumped when I heard footsteps walking up the stair and stared at the entrance of the room.
Two more vampires entered but slowly. The male was tall with blond hair and the same piercing golden eyes as the rest of this odd coven. The female held his hand and had a beautiful smile on her face, one that reached her eyes and made her seem almost like a mother. I clenched my hands together and glared at these new comers just wanting to go.
"Hello there. I see that you have met most of my family. I am sorry that we have had to meet under these circumstances. My name is Carlisle and this is my mate Esme. We are the parents for all purposes." He smiled at me and held his hand out. I shook it quickly not wanting to give this man any reason to kill me. "You can sit. I promise that we mean you no harm." He gestured to a seat but I shook my head and stayed where I was.
He leaned forward and clasped his hands on his knees. He looked around the room then back at me. I refused to take my eyes off of him as it was now obvious that he was their leader.
"Emily is it?" I nodded really wanting to bolt. "We all have a story but yours is rather odd. Jasper told me that you have never once tasted blood. Is this true?" I again nodded, keeping my lips in a thin tight line. "May I ask how you have survived?"
Everyone was looking at me as if I held the answer to eternal life. I sighed and let my backpack drop to the floor.
"If you call it surviving. I call it a dream, or rather a nightmare. One that I can't wake up from no matter how hard I try. And trust me I have tried. Everything from ripping a limb off to jumping off a cliff. Nothing changes. For the blood? I do nothing. I drink nothing. I simply am." I spat the last word and glared all the harder at him, hoping that he would give up and let me go.
"Emily I am not going to hurt you. No one here is. We simply want to help you since it seems as if you have no maker." His face and tone screamed sincerity but what did I know of this man?
"I have one. But apparently I am too much work." Sarcastic laughter erupted from my lips as I thought back to the day my life was stolen. "I've been alone since he bit me. Nothing new. My human mother couldn't raise a rat if she tried. I've been alone since forever. Can I go?" I nodded towards the door and waited for his answer.
"You can but we would love it if you stayed with us for a little while. Just until things in town get sorted out anyways." Esme nodded in agreement and scooted forward on the couch.
"Get sorted? The bodies are burned. Nothing to sort." I turned to go when the small pixie girl was suddenly blocking me.
"I've seen it Emily. You get blamed. If you choose to stay here no one will know. Carlisle and Jasper will handle your old place and the cops will think that whoever killed that man kidnapped you and your mother. Please. Stay." Something in her tone and the way she said it made me believe her. I realized that for the first time in five years I actually wanted company that didn't need blood every twenty minutes. I missed being around people.
"Okay." I sighed and set my bag back down, praying that I was making the right choice. She squealed and grabbed my arm dragging me back into the living room. She pushed me into a chair and perched herself on the arm. I rolled my eyes and saw that everyone was looking at me again.
"What?" I wanted to shout at them but knew that I had to stay civil. Esme giggled and Carlisle cleared his throat.
"You're rather human for someone who had lived alone. We are simply curious." I pursed my lips knowing that I was eventually going to have to tell my story.
"I've had to look after my mom since I was killed. The cops only found my bloody scarf in the park so they figured I was killed. My mom had never been exactly a mom. She, she doesn't know how to look after herself let alone another human being. So I quickly figured out how to look after us both. Anyways, when she learned that I had been killed, she struggled. I had to go to her house at night and clean for her. I threw out the pills that the doctors kept throwing at her and basically kept her alive. I couldn't leave her to fend for herself. That would have been cruel. So I adapted pretty quickly. The first few times I went I would have to hold my breath the entire time that I was there. Thankfully with my newfound speed I was out within twenty minutes. I'm not sure she would still be alive if I hadn't of gone to look after her. I miss her everyday but I know that she can survive now. Maybe my dying was the best thing that could have happened."
"You were in a house, with a living human at a few days old?" The young blond male was on his feet and his jaw would have been on the floor if that were physically possible.
"Yes. Is that odd?" I looked around and saw that they were all looking at me with the same look.
"Yes it is. Most of us are unable to control our thirst in the first few months of life let alone the first few days of life. May I ask how old you were?" Carlisle seemed to be trying to calm everyone down by focusing on something else.
"Thirteen. It was the day after my thirteenth birthday but I don't like letting on that I'm still a child. Anything else?" I looked around and saw pain streak across Esme's face. She stood up and quickly wrapped her arms around me. I froze, unsure what was happening. Then it dawned on me, she was the mother of this odd family and she felt bad that I had been the mother for my mother. A small smile crept across my face and I wrapped my arms around her in return. For the first time in my life perhaps I could be a part of a family, this family.