"So, Tessa, I was told how you and my children met." Carlisle said. I nodded my head.
"Yeah." I said.
"I wanted to thank you. Without even knowing my family and I, you defened us, and for that, I will always be greatful." He said. I smiled, shanking my head.
"Mr. Cullen, it was no big deal. It was only the truth. I'm not the type of girl who sugar cotes or keeps my opinions to myself. It's a curse." I said. Stiffly, he took a few steps closer, only to stiffen even more, and take a few steps back.
"Please, call me Carlisle. And it's not a curse, it's amazing. You don't meet many people who says what's ever on their mind." He said.
"Okay, well, do you mind if I say something now that everyone is here?" I asked, as Esme walked into the room.
"Sure." He said. I sighed.
"Now, I don't want you all to freak out about what I am about to say, but to just stay calm." I said.
"Okay, just tell us." Emmett cheered. I sighed.
"I know that you're not human." I said. Everyone seemed to stifen more if possible.
"What?" Rosalie gasped.
"I know that you're vampires. And that you don't feed off humans, because if you did, I would be dead by now." I said.
"Belieave me, if it were not for us huting for a week straight and not wanting to expose our secret, you would be. Your scent is driving us insane!" Emmett blurted seriously. I sighed.
"I apologize for that. If I knew how to make this easier, I would." I said. Rosalie stiffly took a step forward.
"It's not your fault Tessa, we're not blaming you. It's just, we've never smelled anything like you. When you and your sister first entered the building, your scents were crazy, but one of yours were beyond intoxicatingly insane. We didn't know whos the scent belong to until the day you met us at our cars." She said.
"Even out doors is your scent insanely intoxicating. Bellas' scent is strong, but compared to yours, she smells like every other human." She said.
"I still wish I could do something to help you guys deal with this. I don't want to cause any of you any discomfort." I said. She smiled stiffly.
"Don't worry, just try not to break the skin, blush to much or jump on us to much. Do any of those things, we can't guarentee anything." She said.
"Even Carlisle has a hard time controling himself, and he is the most controlled of our kind." She said.
"Okay." I said.
"How? How did you find out?" Jasper asked. I looked over at him and Edward, who looked to be in pain, and his eyes filled with worry and regret.
"Your characteristics. From the moment I saw you, I could tell you were different. So, I typed in everything that described you and your family, and Vampire Characteristics popped up the most." I said.
"Sweetie, how long after you and your sister enrolled, did you find out?" Esme asked.
"One day." I said. Everyone seemed to gasp.
"You've known for three weeks?" Rosalie asked. I nodded.
"Wha- you wern't scared?" Emmett asked, seriously. I shook my head.
"I found nothing to be afraid of." I said, shrugging.
"We're monsters! That's something to be afraid of." Edward snapped suddenly, disappearing upstairs. I looked at Alice.
"He hates what he's become. He thinks he's a monster, and hates that you know our secret. He doesn't want you to get hurt." She said. I then looked up at Carlisle.
"Can I speak to him?" I asked. He nodded.
"Second floor, the last room on the right." He said. I calmly made my way up to his room. Once I stood outside his door, I gently knocked.
When he didn't say anything, I slowly opened the door. peaking my head inside. He was standing infront of his full wall window.
"Edward." I said, entering his room, then shutting the door behind me.
"Why are you not running away screaming.?" He asked, calmly this time.
"I don't find anything about you frightning." I said. He spun around to face me, suddenly right infront of me.
"Why not? I could kill you where you stand. Drain you of every drop of blood that fills your small, frail body." He growled, stiffly. I looked up into his eyes.
"You're not scaring me Edward." I said, truthfully. He stared back into my eyes, searching for truth. I guess he saw that I was telling the truth because he groaned in frustration and took a few steps back.
"Why couldn't you just be a normal human and run away? Curse us? Scream for us to stay away from you?" He groaned. I took a few steps towards him.
"I'm sorry, that I'm not normal." I said. He let out a bitter laugh.
"I will, you know. I can run away, screaming for you to stay away from me. If that is what you trully want." I said. He went stiff, lifting his head up, his eyes boring into mine.
"That's what I'm afraid of." He said.
"What?" I asked.
"As much as I don't want to put your life in danger, I want you to stay. You have no idea how much it hurts for me to ask you to hate me, to loathe me, or to curse me, or to have you run away screaming." He said.
"I don't want you to hate me, to loathe me, to curse me or run away screaming. As selfish as this may sound, I want you to stay. I want you in my life, even if that meant I had everything to lose." He said.
"Then let me. Stop concerning yourself with my safety, I can take care of myself. I'm a big girl." I said.
He took a half step forward, looking down at me and into my eyes.
"How do I do that? How do I let the most important person in my life endanger her life and not do anything to stop it?" He asked, resting his palm against my cheek.
"It's my life, my decision. If I want to imprint myself into your life, then it's my decision to make. I'm not as fragile as you think I am." I said. He searched my eyes.
A small smile formed on his lips.
"You're stubborn, you know that." He stated. I smiled.
"I've been told." I said. He smiled his crooked smile.
"What am I going to do with you?" He asked. I smiled, then turned serious.
"Let me make my own decisions, even if that means I have everything to lose." I said. He sighed, letting his hand fall back to his side, and made his way back over to the window.
"Is there anything I can do to change your mind?" He asked. I made my way up next to him.
"No." I said. He sighed, turning to look at me.
"Then I guess I have no other choice but to do as you wish." He said.
"I guess so." I said. He sighed, again.
"Why are you so against me being in your life? Your life can't be that bad." I said.
"It's worse. Your blood is insanely intoxicating to my family. It's already hard enough to control ourselves. If any other of our kind cought wind of your scent, they will stop at nothing to have a taste." He said seriously.
"I can't let that happen. I can't risk your life just because I want you with me, it's not worth your life." He said.
"I wish you'd never met me." He said, his voice low.
"I'd rather die tomarrow, than to go the rest of my life without knowing you." I said. He looked up at me.
"I wish you would accept the fact that I am here, and here to stay. I'm not going anywhere Edward, whether you like it or not."I said.
"Okay, fine, but if anything goes wrong, if anything happens that puts your life in danger, I am going to leave, and never come back." He said. I smiled softly.
"That's good, for now." I said. He smiled.
"I would like to take you some where, would you join me." He asked. I smiled.
"Sure. I'd love to." I said. He hesitantly held out his hand. Smiling, I took it. He then led me down the stairs, and out the door.
"Climb on." He said, bending down slightly.
"What?" I asked.
"Where we are going is quite a walk. We'll make it there faster if I run, so climb on." He said. Sighing, I climbed onto his back. He stood up straight.
"Hold on tight. And you may want to close your eyes." He said. I smiled.
"And miss out on all the fun? No, I don't want to miss a thing." I said.
"Okay, hold on." With that, he took off running. I gasped. Everything was a blur.
"Are you okay back there?" He asked me. I smiled.
"Yeah. This is amazing." I said. I could see the corners of his lips pull up into a smile.
After another minute, he came to a stop, and I climbed down from his back. I looked around and gasped. We were standing in the middle of a meadow. It was beautiful. I began to walk forward, smiling at my surroundings. Smiling, I began to spin around, taking in the senery.
"It's beautiful." I said.
"Yes, you are." He said. I blushed slightly. I then took a few more minutes to look around. When I was facing Edward again, I noticed he was smiling.
"Why are you smiling?" I asked. He made his way towards me.
"You're beautiful. Watching you take in your surroundings, you looked peacefull, a look I've never seen before. You keep my intrest, something no one has ever been able to do." He said. I smiled.
"You're beautiful too. And you also keep my intrest, which is hard to do." I said. I then thought of something, and smiled.
"Lets play tag." I suggested. He smiled.
"What?" He asked.
"Lets play tag. We have more than enough room." I said.
"You're serious." He said. I shook my head.
"As I'll ever be." I said. He studied me for a minute, then agreed.
"Okay, but you can't use your super speed. You have to run at a humans pace." I said. He smiled.
"I can't believe you would think I would cheat." He said, moked hurt. I rolled my eyes. I then tagged him.
"Tag, you're it." I said, before taking off into a run.
He ran after me. I could heard the light thudding of his feet hitting the ground. I began to laugh out loud. I was having the most fun I've ever had playing tag with Edward. After five minutes, he finally got me. He gently tackled me down onto the grass.
"Got you." He laughed. I threw my head back in laughter.
"Took you long enough." I laughed. I looked up at him. He was staring down at me, looking into my eyes. My laughter began to falter as I looked into his eyes, seeing that he was really looking at me.
I cocked my head to the side.
"What?" I asked. He moved a strand of hair out of my face.
"I've never met someone so beautiful." He said. I sighed, and moved to sit up. He moved beside me.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Why are you saying these things?" I asked.
"They're true. You are the most beautiful being I've ever met." He said. I looked back at him, as one hand rested on the ground and the other on my knee.
"Bu-" Before I could say anything else, he'd leaned forward and kissed me. At first I was stunned, but after a few seconds, I began to move my lips with his. He moved his hand to the back of my neck, pulling me closer. I then combed my fingers through his hair, pulling him even closer, wanting more.
Suddenly, he was no longer infront of me. A growl erupted behind me, echoing thorugh out the meadow. I turned to see Edward crotched down, as if he was ready to attack his prey. I slowly got to my feet, bot wanting to startle him.
"Edward? Are you okay?" I asked, taking a few steps forward. He growled.
"Don't move. Don't come any closer." He said, through clentched teeth.
So, I stood where I was. After about five minutes of not moving or talking, he began to move towards me. As he came closer, he seemed to stiffen, so, I took a few steps back. He stopped and looked at me.
"I know its hard for you to be near me. I don't want you to have to struggle with thirst." I said, before turning around to leave. He was suddenly standing infront of me.
"Where are you going?" He asked me. I looked up into his eyes.
"I didn't realize just how hard it is to be around me. I don't want to-" I started, but was stopped by Edward crashing his lips down apon mine.
He wrapped his arms around my waist, and pulled me closer, our bodies tangled up in eachother. I moved my hands up his side and up to the back of his neck, deepening the kiss. He then pulled away, resting his forhead against mine as he cupped my face in his hand.
"I'm in love with you." He said. I gasped, shooting my head up, looking at him.
"I know it's sudden, but I- I had to tell you how I felt. I don't expect you to say it back or to feel the same way. I just- I thought you had the right to know how I felt about you." He said.
I looked down at the ground as if it was going to tell me what to say.
"Edward I-" I started, but couldn't find the words to say. He pressed the palm of his hand onto my cheek.
"Tessa, it's ok. You don't have to say anything." He said.
"I have to say something." I said. Sighing, I looked up at him.
"I have feelings for you, strong feelings. I want you in my life. I can't-" Edward stopped me by taking my hands in his.
"I'm not going any where you're not." He said.
"But I- I didn't say I love you. I didn't return your feelings." I said, lowering my head.
He forced me to look at him.
"You didn't have to. I know how you feel. You don't have to tell me you love me for me to love you." He said, with a smile. A small smile formed on my lips.
"You're amazing, you know that?" I asked, pressing the palm of my hand on his cheek. He smiled down at me.
"So are you." He said. I blushed slightly.