Dia Cullen
She's 15. She's half-vamp. And she's running with the Cullens.
"Tell me everything that happened. When did all this take place? I must know!" I pleaded them. I was particularly addressing the question to Edward and Bella. They did say that it was their fault that I became a vampire. Not that I was complaining at all.
I had a major flashback and Edward was right about that. But I couldn't recount anything after I saw the 2 pale figures. I simply lost consciousness. Everything went dead black.
"Take it easy, Dia. All the bruises and scratches and wounds you got three nights ago simply healed. No damage at all," Bella said-trying to calm me down. But she didn't understand what I meant.
"You didn't get raped, either," Edward chuckled. For once, I didn't get annoyed when he read my mind. It would have been difficult to try to explain it to the others.
Everyone was silent. Maybe they all thought I was a freak for prioritizing my dignity over my life. Emmet must really think I'm nothing else but a Catholic Schoolgirl. What could the others be thinking? I let my eyes drop to my soiled high-cut sneakers. I played with my feet absent-mindedly.
"Only Edward and I went hunting 3 nights ago. When we hunt, we don't stay too close to each other. I get conscious whenever I feed and Edward's nearby," Bella shrugged.
"But we don't stray too far away, either," Edward added with a smile.
"Anyway, I heard a group of guys laughing maliciously somewhere nearby. Had I acted upon my natural instincts, I would have fled to feed farther away from them, for their sakes. But I went off closer to them and found you. Lying helplessly on the ground. They beat you up real good but you were a fighter. Others would have given up already if they were in your place, Dia," she smiled and I smiled sheepishly back. "Well, you know, I was already praying for my death to come quick."
"I caught up with Edward and the both of us observed for a while. But when they were about to ... you know ... you really weren't in much peril yet. We attacked them. We couldn't just grab you. They would be witnesses to our existence. We were pretty messed-up," she continued.
"What happened next?" I asked anxiously.
"We took you home. Here. Alice already saw everything coming so by the time-" I cut Edward off. "Saw everything coming?"
"Alice can see the future," he explained casually.
"Oh. That's so cool, Alice!" I cried.
"Thank you," she cooed.
"Please proceed, Edward," I told him sweetly.
He rolled his eyes. "So by the time we got here, Carlisle knew what to do. He did what he needed to do. So now you're one of us."
"I remembered the pain. It was excruciating. I also remembered writhing in pain. It seemed like days ..."
"The pain was caused by the venom and the venom is what makes us vampires. It flows in your bloodstream and stops the heart. And you're right. You lay there writhing on your bed for 3 days," Carlisle was a bit hesitant when he said this. Maybe, he thought that I wouldn't be able to swallow everything in one single gulp. Maybe, he thought that I would freak any second.
"3 days. That's really something," I smiled at him. "What's the difference between the transformation of a full-vampire and a half-vampire?"
"To be perfectly honest, changing you into a half-vampire was sort of an experiment. But your life was not put into danger. Not that kind of experiment, of course," Carlisle said. Kind of eased up already but still a little hesitant. "I merely gave you a smaller dose of the venom compared to the usual changing."
"What makes me different from you?" I whispered. I was not prepared to hear Carlisle's answer but I had to listen.
I had no other choice. I was a vampire, a half maybe, but nevertheless, a vampire. I could never go back and mingle with the other humans. I've read stories such as these before. They all turned their backs from their families, from the lives they had before. These were my family now. There was no question to that. What hurt me was that I was different. I was torn between my humanity and vampire-ity.
"You're not different from us, Dia," Esme said. She must've read my expression.
Edward's "It's not that bad, Dee," came in, too. He listened to my anguished thoughts again.
"Would you be mad if we said you're very existence as a half-vampire is an experiment, as well?" Carlisle asked. He went back to being hesitant again so I quickly assured him that I was not mad.
"In fact, it doesn't bother me at all. Being an experiment. I just want to know exactly how different I am."
"You might still crave for human food which reminds me. We bought you breakfast at the nearest diner," he said. Esme was already placing it in front of me. I was starving to death already so I dug in right away.
"You still eat human food? Is that possible, Carlisle?" Edward asked, making a face.
Emmet and Jasper seemed to agree with him, too.
"Well, yes. She will crave for blood but we'll have to wait and see. She may not have to hunt as often. She'll need some human food, too, but she'll still last 3 days without it. Just don't forget to buy groceries from now on," Carlisle laughed at his own joke. It was not a real joke. But it was funny. Maybe they never had to buy groceries before.
"That looks good, Dee, do you like it?" Rosalie asked.
"You cannot be serious, Rose," Alice told her and she shrugged. "You caught me. But still."
"I do like it. Thanks. I'm starving," I told her.
"Well, that's a relief. I was assigned for the food buying and I had no idea where I was going. I asked somebody for the best breakfast-serving diner here. I enjoyed driving the new car, though, that was the best part," Rosalie said proudly.
"Does she also need sleep?" Bella asked.
"Yes. But unlike humans, she can last a couple of weeks without it. Maybe after her first hunt, she'll be strong enough to stay awake for a few days. Exercise her new vampire abilities. We still have a lot to tell her and teach her," Carlisle said and glanced at my direction. My eyes were just wide open-I didn't know what he was talking about. I probably looked clueless-or hopeless.
I yawned and pushed my plate away. "I'm exhausted. May I please be excused?"
"Yes, you may, dear," Esme said right away from the sink. I didn't even see her pick the plate up.
"Good night, guys," I said and stood up.
"Can you find your way back to your room?" Bella asked.
"Yeah yeah. There are lots of rooms with beds anyways. No problem," I merely shrugged.
"Actually, only your room has a bed," she said sheepishly.
"Oh. Okay. I'll just find a room with a bed. Can't be hard to find."
I heard lots of murmurs after I left. But something told me that they weren't talking bad things behind my back. Something told me that the Cullens were nice people. And my new life might actually be fine with them. They might even like me. Eventually.