I own NO Twilight characters…….just so you know.
Let me know what you think of this so far. It has been a bit more difficult than expected, and would love some feedback. Thanks!!!!
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Kendra took a deep breath and stood up on trembling legs, and she felt Alice next to her instantly supporting her with her arm around her waist. Kendra glanced at her with a small smile and then her gaze went to Edward, who was gazing at her with a fearful gaze. Kendra stared back at him, realizing that he had never answered her. Maybe she would get that later after she was done purging with Carlisle, and the thought made her struggle with her own breath again. "Come on, Kendra. I'll help you." Alice urged her, and Kendra broke the eye contact with Edward as she nodded. She walked to the office as Alice helped her, and Esme brought a bottle of water into the office just before they reached it. It was a huge room on the first floor of the expansive home and Kendra peeked in curiously as her and Alice walked in. "I'll stay if you want me to, Kendra." Alice offered, and Carlisle looked at them from the door with a curious look.
"Ummmm, I……" Kendra stumbled, and Carlisle touched Alice's shoulder.
"Perhaps a moment. I think she would be better on her own." Carlisle suggested quietly, and Kendra met his eyes gratefully. "Please tell everyone that we'd like some privacy." His words had a hidden meaning, and Kendra looked curiously at both of them. Carlisle noticed and seemed to give Alice a long look.
"Sure. I'll see you after." Alice told Kendra, a comforting smile on her face and reassurance in her face. She impulsively hugged Kendra, and Carlisle smiled as he shook his head. Kendra widened her eyes, both at the shock of it and the cool skin, and she stared at the girl as she pulled away. Alice danced out of the office and closed the door, and Kendra started to feel the room closing in.
"She has really taken to you." Carlisle observed, and Kendra nodded. She looked around the room and noticed the detailed paintings that covered the walls, and also the age of them.
"Why is that? All I have heard is how y'all keep to yourselves." Kendra said, walking over to take a closer look.
"I am not certain why, but Alice always has a reason behind things." Carlisle mused aloud, and she stopped at one painting in particular. She stared at it for a long moment, and then gazed at Carlisle. He looked back with a neutral face but his eyes held a bright curiosity.
"Is this you?" Kendra asked finally, her mind racing as she tried to think.
"It is." Carlisle told her, and walked around to the back of the massive cherry wood desk slowly. He turned to face her as he reached it, and she shook her head.
"But this must be…..centuries old." Kendra said, and she stepped forward to the chair that was in front of the desk to sit down. "Carlisle, what are……how old…..are you?"
"Which question would you like me to answer?" Carlisle asked her gently, meeting her eyes with calm ones.
"I have noticed things about them. Your eyes are all the same, I don't think they eat at school at all, and I have seen their eyes change color. Your skin is so cool to the touch….." Kendra flashed back to the night in her room, and she blinked. "They seem to know about me. I mean, they seem to understand things about me that nobody does."
"We do not know of you on a personal level, Kendra. Alice has said that you seem to be harboring a strong pain, and it is evident in your face."
"What about Edward? Why does he look at me the way that he does?" Kendra asked, and Carlisle walked to the window and looked out at the gray skies.
"Anything you learn today needs to be kept private, Kendra. I normally would not take this step, but it seems that you have a serious situation on your hands. We would like to help, but we need to know what is happening to you." Carlisle suggested to her, and she nodded as she stared at him. "First things first. What do you think we are?"
"You're not human, not like I am. You are……." Kendra looked at him, and tried to think. "You don't eat food, so you need to survive on something. Is it blood?"
"Yes, Kendra. Though we do survive on animal blood, as opposed to human blood now. We are no threat to you, aside from Jasper who is a bit newer to the lifestyle that we lead. You may have noticed his discomfort around you so far, but it should not be a problem."
Kendra focused on his face, and then she took in the very pale skin with the circles underneath his eyes. It did not take away from his beauty in any way, but it did add to the fact that he did look different. "Vampire?" Kendra asked, and he smiled vaguely at her. "Oh, wow. I had not thought it through that far." She slipped into deep thought, and Carlisle sat behind his desk. "So you're stronger that I would ever be, as I gathered from Alice. I saw that you move faster than I do, though I am not sure that I have seen the best example. The eye thing……?"
"They are this color due to the animal blood the we survive on. They can vary in color depending on when we feed." Carlisle told her, and she stared at him. "Are you frightened, Kendra?"
"I don't think so. Not so much of being harmed, but of the…..intensity. What is going on with Alice and Edward?" Kendra asked, and bit her lip. "They seemed in tune to me or something."
"Alice predicts the future, and she saw you coming. She had a good feeling about you from the start, as far as her being friends with you. Edward….well he can read minds typically. He helps us in knowing who is aware of us, and when we are in danger of being discovered. Your mind is a different thing for him though. He reads emotions from you more than thoughts, and he has said it is highly painful for even him to experience." Kendra's eyes filled with tears, and she shuddered a little. "Are you ready to talk to me now?"
"I don't know where to begin." Kendra said after several moments.
"I did hear something about your mother being hurt. Attacked, correct?" Carlisle asked, and Kendra nodded as the tears slid down her cheeks. "Are you alright?
"Yes." Kendra said simply, and took tissue that he offered her across the desk. "She was attacked in her home, my old home, this morning. She was beaten until she gave out the information to where….to where I am. Her facial bones are broken and her arm is broken, and there is some other minor stuff. I can't go see her, because I might not be safe there. It's killing me to stay away from her right now. I feel so guilty about everything." Her tears gave to small sobs, and he was instantly by her side comforting her with his arm around her shoulder.
"Who did this to her?" Carlisle asked her, and she shook with visible fear.
"My ex." Kendra whispered, and closed her eyes. She felt him pull her into a comforting hug, and she slowly returned it. She found it to be more comfortable that she expected, and she let her tears flow freely. "He is a terrible person. Horrible." She felt herself calming down some, and he led her to a leather couch against the wall. "I met him three years ago at school, and was immediately in love with him. He was so mature and stable somehow. He seemed perfect, but of course there were signs that he was not. I just didn't see them through the first year. A year into the relationship, he slowly started to change. He became more possessive, and jealous. He really started to control me, and he weakened me along the way emotionally. I tried one night to break up with him one weekend, before it was too late for me to regain my stability and he lost it. He started to choke me and told me that he would kill me and my family if I ever left him." Kendra took a moment to take a deep breath through her tears. "I was only fifteen and terrified. I stayed with him and he got worse and worse, and I always tried to smile and pretend everything was okay. He started hurting me and forcing me to……I was so scared of him. I was finally really scared that he was going to kill me at one point, and I told him that we were done. I was stupid enough to do this alone in my house, and he…….he raped me for hours. There was no caring, no love in it at all. I was begging for him to stop, but he just….." Kendra sank into her knees and sobbed, and he stroked her shoulder gently. She flinched a little, and he got the message. "I was hurting and bleeding….and he just left. Nobody saw him again, but my family wanted me to come here. He really didn't know where my father lived or anything about Forks. So here I am and now he knows it. He's going to kill me. He's going to rape me again." She shook with real fear, and cried as she tried to calm herself down. "I was so scared that Edward and Alice knew him, and that he was going to find me. But he got to my mother instead and it is all my fault."
"It isn't your fault. You were young and you tried your best to do the right thing. I know that we can help you with this and you will not get hurt."
"Why would you help me?" Kendra asked softly, lifting her face to look at him with watering eyes.
"You are Alice's friend, and the only one she has outside of the family. That's reason enough. You are such a promising person, Kendra, and you need to have this behind you."
Kendra stared forward, feeling her heart ripped out painfully but also a little glad that it was spoken. Not even Heidi knew of the details of what had happened. She had not gone into it as explicitly as she could have, but she was sure that Carlisle had gotten it. She glanced at him, and saw a painful look on his face. He seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, and she looked back down at the ground. She felt drained, and she closed her eyes as she leaned against her knees. "Thanks for listening." Kendra whispered, and felt herself drifting off. The stress was too much for her, and she fell asleep.
Kendra woke up later, and sat up with fear. "It's OK, Kendra. I am right here." The lilting voice came from across from her, and Kendra took a deep breath of relief. "You're on our couch. Carlisle said that today wore you out."
"Alice." Kendra said, and felt the pain radiating all over her body. "Was he okay after we……we talked?
"He told us we need to protect you from now on. We'll talk about that very soon. Carlisle said that you thought someone from your old school might be coming to Forks."
"Yes, I am nearly sure of it. He really wants to get his sick revenge on me." Kendra replied, shuddering again. She thought of something quickly, and her eyes widened. "My family!"
"I called your sister and told her you might be here tonight. They know what happened too and they sound so distraught. I gather they did not know the seriousness of the situation?" Alice asked, and Kendra bit her lip.
"Nobody really did." Kendra replied, and peered around. "Where are you?"
She felt someone sit beside her, and take her hand. "There you are." She felt the cool skin against hers and knew that she should be scared. Terrified really. But Alice was not about fear, nor was Carlisle. They were comfort. She was still hesitant about Edward, and she was angry at herself for feeling anything towards him. "I am sorry I was rude to you at first. I was really scared."
"I understand. Edward sensed that you were in pain and I could see it all over your face." Alice told her, and Kendra nodded slowly.
"How much do you know?" Kendra asked her, her face turning red from embarrassment as she asked.
"He didn't go into detail, but we can all see that you were hurt badly. It will not happen again, Kendra." Alice assured her, and squeezed her hand. "Are you afraid of us?"
"Not afraid, but maybe a little uncomfortable. I need to know you guys better." Kendra said, and she felt a person enter the dark room. Alice clicked on the television, and Kendra saw Edward sit down on the chair that Alice had been in.
"Is this better? I always forget that not everyone can see in the dark like us." Alice apologized, and smiled at Kendra.
"Yeah. Thanks." Kendra said, looking at Edward for a moment. The look her gave her in return was intensely pained, and she frowned for a moment. He glanced away, and she did as well as she glanced at the television screen. She leaned back into the comfortable cushions and sighed slowly, trying to forget about the night. She would have been happy to forget her own life at that moment. "Can I ask you anything?" Kendra murmured, and she was happy when Alice responded positively. "So when do you sleep? Not during the day since I see you at school."
"We don't sleep at all." Alice told her, and Kendra stared at her. "We really don't need it with the whole absence of growth after we are changed."
"Is anything else true that I have read or seen? It has always been so fictional up until now." Kendra said, and shook her head.
"Well, one thing is. We avoid the sunlight, though not due to it injuring us. It just makes it much more obvious that we are not human. Garlic does not bother us, coffins are not a part of our lives, and we don't turn into bats and fly. We just run really fast and jump very well." Alice giggled as she told Kendra that, and Kendra could not help but join in with the musical sound. She could tell that Alice found enjoyment in it, but she saw distaste when she glanced at Edward. He met Kendra's eyes and she saw hesitation in them.
"You won't run and tell your sister about all of this?" His voice was quiet and serious, and she stared at him.
"I tell her very little. Your father knows more then Heidi does now." Kendra told him, and he raised his eyebrows. "We are really not that close. She was born a year and a half after me and they always lived here. I only spent time with her when I would visit, but that became rare. So we're trying to get to know each other in abysmal circumstances right now." Kendra sighed, and looked at Alice. "How did she take your phone call?"
"She was very sweet and very concerned about you. They had heard from your stepfather as well, and had no idea what happened to you today." Alice assured her, and Kendra closed her eyes. "Call your mom tomorrow at the hospital, Kendra. Heidi said she'll be there for about a week, and she has police protection so you can be assured that she is safe."
"I know. I am pretty sure that he is headed here, but I am still not willing to make the trip there. His family disowned him, but he has friends that would put him up if he needed it. I just cannot stand that thought of……."
"You have nothing to be scared of/" Alice told her, putting her arm around her as she let go of Kendra's hand. "I am going to see when he comes, and he has no chance against even two of us. Emmett is happy to get involved, as is Jasper. Emmett gets so bored and loves a little action. So it should be all of us, and he will not get to you."
"I wish that I could be that confident." Kendra murmured, and leaned against the pixie. "He is a monster."
"What is his name?" Edward asked her softly, and she sat silent for a long time.
"It's……. David." Kendra said, realizing how much saying the name pained her. She felt a tear slide down her cheek and shuddered as a memory flashed through her head. Alice stroked her hair and she took a deep breath.
"Did you look the same there?" Alice asked her quietly, and Kendra tried to calm down as she felt a rush of tears.
"No, I was blond there. I did this when I got here." Kendra replied, and laughed without humor. "Of course I know how much I stand out now. Maybe I should go brown instead."
"It's gorgeous and you won't." Alice told her, and Kendra forced a laugh again. "Calm down, Kendra. It'll be fine. Do you want to sleep more? We have a guest room upstairs and you'll be safe here."
"I don't want to be alone." Kendra said shakily, and Alice shared a worried glance with Edward.
"You won't. You'll never be alone until this is over." Alice promised her, and Kendra nodded slowly.
"I have to go home sometime." Kendra said, wiping her eyes with one hand.
"You don't need to be alone there either." Edward's voice was firm, and she peeked at him. His gaze was in the floor in front of him, but she saw him glance at her quickly.
"We'll figure it out." Alice promised her, and hugged Kendra. "Let's get some sleep for you. Come one, Kendra." She helped the crying girl to her feet and took her upstairs to a huge room that had a king sized bed in it. Kendra crawled under the covers and Alice sat by her and stroked her hair gently.
"Why are you doing this again?" Kendra murmured sleepily, and curled up into a ball.
"I saw that we were going to be friends before you came." Alice told her, and Kendra smiled wanly.
"What else have you seen?" Kendra asked her, her curiosity keeping her awake for a moment.
"Nothing of importance." Alice replied, but Kendra could hear that there was more in her voice. "Sleep, Kendra."