Emily's P.O.V.
Ga-thunk. The first beat of my heart startled me and jump started my senses. My first necessary gasp of air blew past my lips, down my throat, and into my awaiting lungs. Everything seemed…dull.
I look, with my terrible human vision, to see Jasper a few feet from me, staring first at his tan flesh and then at me. "E-Emily…what did you do?" he asked, disbelief tainting his words. His voice was still masculine and pleasant, still with his southern drawl.
"You made him human! What have you done?" Alice shrieked. She flitted to Jasper's side and looked in his eyes. "What did you do?" she insisted, as she glanced back at me. It was painful to see the mix of emotions on her beautiful face: pain, fear, and confusion.
"It's fixable, I promise," I assured her. Although I had done my research, this was just as frightening for me as it was for her.
"But-how did you...what?" stuttered an exasperated Rosalie.
"It's ancient magic," I began to explain. "Of course, Jasper and I didn't realize it, but we had done what many in South America had. After I had assumed….that Jasper was dead, I searched for any way for me to join him – "
"What?" Jasper whispered, a look of sadness and hurt upon his face.
"Yes… I tried to kill myself on many accounts. With no success, of course. I knew no other vampire would do it for me if I asked. I first heard of the Volturi. I traveled to Italy, hoping that they could grant me my wish. None of them would appease me, so I left in search of any way to return to humanity, hoping that I could do it myself."
"You were going to kill yourself…? Emmy…" Jasper whispered as he reached for my hand.
I tried to explain the pain ripping through my chest as I continued. "I'm sorry, Jazz, I –"
"Shhh, it doesn't matter now, Emmy," he cooed as he held me close. "You're okay." For the first time in over a century, we both felt tears streaming down our cheeks.
"I didn't want to live without you, Jasper…" I said into his chest. He still smelled of a musky citrus, just as I remembered.
"Emily? Can you tell us what happened after you left Italy?" asked Alice. I knew that my closeness to Jasper made her uncomfortable, so I moved myself a short distance from him.
"Well, I…I began searching for any way to be vulnerable again. Legends, myths, rumors…anything. I tracked down a coven in South America, who I heard had rituals… They explained to me an ancient fertility ritual," I would have been blind not to see the tension in Rose's body. "Their culture warned against vampires as well, and so women were encouraged to place their life into the hands of another, should they be subject to a bite. They would do this by placing their life, their blood, into another through similar wounds. As their humanity was stored in another human, it could be recalled if a female vampire wished to return to a human to bear children –"
"NO!" screamed Rosalie. She turned on her heel and bolted for the nearby woods. Emmett appeared stunned; the state of distress of his wife had left him paralyzed. Esme made a move to run after Rosalie.
"No, let me go to her," I said.
"Sweetie, are you sure?" Esme asked, a look of concern clouding her usually homely face.
"Yes, Rose will listen to me," I assured her. I only prayed that Rose would understand that I had unknowingly done this. I knew of her desperation to have a child, which she was robbed of when Carlisle changed her to save her life.
I could feel all eyes on me as I make my way into the forest. Rose could be half way to Alaska right now, but I was going to look for her anyway. I never would want to hurt Rosalie or Emmett for that matter. We all knew of their wish of a family, how both of them wanted children so very dearly. I understood why my being human would upset her, but it wasn't as if I was going to stay a human. The ritual can be performed and reversed as many times as Jasper and I wished. I had grown so accustomed to my vampiric senses that my human body began to annoy me. Human also meant vulnerable. I didn't want vulnerable, not anymore.
I soon came to a small clearing lined with large, fallen trees and sparse wildflowers.
"Rose? Rose, I'm sorry," I called to the silent and empty space. "I never meant to hurt you…"
"Hurt me?" said her cold voice from behind me. I turned and saw Rosalie leaning on a nearby tree. Her glare sent shivers down my spine. "Oh, of course you never meant to hurt me. Of course you're sorry because poor Emily Morgan always has to take pity on everyone else in the world."
"Rose, you know I know how you feel, I – "
"No! Enough! You don't know how I feel," she yelled. A blur of movement and then she was standing not two feet from me, hatred in her golden eyes. The menacing look seemed odd on her gorgeous face.
"If you would let me explain I could –"
"I'm done letting you explain, Emily. You will never understand what it's like," she whispered threateningly. She began to circle me as I stood in the center of the clearing. This should have been my first warning.
"You will never know what it's like to be me," she screamed, her voice jumping an octave. "I had everything. I was perfect," she insisted. She began jumping from one end of the clearing to another, her teeth and mouth forming a vicious snarl. Every word she spoke increased in intensity and volume until her smooth voice was a shout. "You think you know how to handle your life! You don't know what I would do to have what you have. A chance. And you're throwing it away just like Bella, who made her own stupid choices."
At this point, Rose was thoroughly infuriated. The primal look in her eyes told me that now was not the time to reason with her, while she's overcome by her instincts.
"Okay, Rose, um –"I stuttered as I began to make my way back the way I came.
"Where do you think you're going?" she questioned. She sprang atop a tree in my path.
"I'm just going to go back to the house now," I said.
"You're not going anywhere," she said as she slinked her way towards me. "I waited my whole life to have what you could have, and you're just going to throw it away. You don't know what it's like to have everything taken from you, but you'll learn. Because if I can't have what I want," Rose said with a steely glare, "then no one can."
She was a blur. My human senses couldn't keep up with her as she stalked the space around me. I could hear her feral growl echo through the forest, and then out of nowhere, there was a gash on my arm, bleeding scarlet. Rosalie halted. Her lips pulled back, barring her razor-sharp teeth.
My wound was stinging, the pain almost unbearable. I hadn't felt pain in a century, and Rosalie's nails had cut through my flesh like butter. I fell to the ground, unable to remain upright as my breaths came in pants and my vision clouded. The deadened grass beneath me did nothing to break my fall. I grasped at my arm in a feeble attempt to stifle the bleeding, but an artery must have been hit because my efforts were futile.
Rosalie circled me, her eyes locked onto my blood. If she lost control, I could very well die in this moment, never seeing Jasper again. This was my fault. I had left us unprotected.
Another strike to my leg sent me into shock and sensory overload. She had the recoil of a snake, striking when her prey was vulnerable.
"Rose...please. Please stop…," I begged, my voice sounding hoarse and strained.
"NO!" she growled. "If you can't appreciate what you have then you don't deserve to be here. We were all doing just fine without you, and then you have to come and screw everything up. You don't know what it's like," she screamed. As she finished her shout, she stabbed her stiletto heel into my calf. I couldn't scream. The entire lower half of my body was now numb with excruciating pain. My consciousness was rapidly drifting away as Rosalie continued to attack me.
I could have been laying there for minutes or hours. Time was irrelevant as I awaited the darkness that I was sure would find me. My body was thrown against a tree, broken and bleeding. Rosalie's snarls were still audible but I was quickly fading out of consciousness.
The last thing I remember before blacking out was being lifted from the ground while a figure bounded over me and tackled my attacker.
Oh my goodness! Here is chapter 8 of 'The Past', back from a longgggggg hiatus!
I hope you guys enjoy it as must as I loved writing it! Chapter 9 might be up by the end of the day!
REVIEW!