What. On. Earth.
Is this even physically possible? To look so much like a complete stranger?
Bella keeps her eyes on me as I stand up. Why I'm standing up, I have no idea – I can see him perfectly clear from where I'm standing. And it's creeping me out big time.
He looks so much like me, as if he were a relative.
"Kayla, what's your last name?" the man named Carlisle asked, stepping forward from his wife. I'm even smaller in height than Bella – which is a challenge – and so I feel kind of intimidated. My mouth is open in shock, and I only notice that it's dry when what Carlisle has asked hits my brain.
It takes me a few seconds to reply. They must think I'm insane – a girl gawping at one of their family members. But hell, he's staring at me too, and it's unsettling.
"George."
Through the erratic place that is my brain at the moment, I notice a crease develop between his eyebrows and turn into a frown.
"That doesn't make sense. Is that your father's last name?"
At the mention of him, I wince and look down slightly. Oh God, no, please do not make me have to explain what happened. Not here. Not now. I don't think I can take the embarrassment.
Bella saves the day – again. She's standing next to me, and the timid, awkward Bella that I know isn't there much any more. She's confident around these people. She touches my hand, which is hanging limply at my left hip.
"Kayla doesn't talk to her father."
Carlisle didn't push it. But he persisted in asking his name.
"It was Whitlock, why?" I'm scared now, am I in some sort of trouble? Am I going to get shot? Cabin in the woods...
The people in the room still have shock on their face, but when I tell them the last name of my father, they blink. Why don't I see them breathing? A few of them, like the big dude with his arm around the moody blonde bombshell, have a smile on their face. One, the little pixie-haired one, looks hurt.
"W-w- why?" I hate that I always stutter when I'm scared. It's embarrassing.
"I'm sorry, Kayla, this must be quite a shock to you. Did your father ever speak to you about his family?" Carlisle enquires.
What the hell is with all the questions? If it gets me out of here, though, I'll answer any of them.
"I have an uncle, my dad's brother, but he lives in Louisiana. My grandparents are both dead."
"What of your great-grandparents?" Jasper finally speaks, recovered from shock. His expression goes back to being un-emotional, as if he were asking the weather report. I notice a Southern accent in his voice for the first time.
"I... my grandma said her father died in the army, and her mother was left widowed," Bella takes me by the hand and leads me back to the sofa to sit down. I follow her, but when she sits next to me, I frown. Why do I get the feeling they're away to tell me something shocking?
The big guy left the blonded bombshell, swagging over to give Jasper a whack on the shoulder, then plocking himself in front of me on the futon with his elbows resting on his knees. This guy gives me an enormous grin, with pearly white teeth, and normally I would be alarmed but his smile is strangely infectious.
"Welcome to the family, Pigeon."
The weird nickname would be the most alarming part of that sentence, but it's not.
They explain it to me - which is a good thing as I'm starting to think my confusion is making me become nauseated.
Or maybe that's just the story they tell.
They tell me of Vampires. They tell me about Jasper, his story, and right there he admitted to everyone – including his wife, Alice, the pixie-haired girl – that he left a wife and daughter behind him when he became a vampire. Alice ran out of the room at one point, distraught with the fact her husband hid such a thing from her, but Jasper stayed to explain everything to me as he said he "owed it to me". I was close to laughing initially and only didn't because it would be impolite, but I went through several stages before realisation hit me – shock, laughter, and fearing for this family's mental health. But finally after Emmett freaked the hell out of me by breaking a table with a flick of his little finger, the whole family showing their abnormal abilities, and touching their chilled skin, I finally got it.
You'd think I would be screaming the place down. But if it happened to you, you'd understand that you would be too shocked to do that. You'd be scared, more fearful than you've ever been in your life, but you wouldn't run out screaming because your mind is too busy trying to get around what you've just heard and seen.
Afterwards, there's a silence. There's a lot to deal with – I'm the great-grandaughter of Jasper, a vampire, and his vampire "coven" lives in Forks. Then, I look up from my hands in my lap to Bella, who's still sitting next to me, watching me in trepidation as to what my reaction will be. They're all looking at me, everyone is sitting down in a circle around me, as if I were going to jump up and scream. The thought is tempting.
I look at Bella and give her an incredulous look.
"A vampire boyfriend? Really, Bella?"
Everyone laughed. Bella blushes and smacks my arm, and Edward gives her a special romantic look. I think it broke the tension a little bit. I'm not the type of person to avoid the obvious and live in denial, and after everything I've seen today, how can I not believe them when the proof is right in front of my eyes?
Jasper leaves me, showing no emotion on his face, and chases after Alice. It's weird to me that he is my great-grandfather, standing right in front of me for the whole night, looking only about fifteen years older than me.
Everyone kind of disperses after Jasper leaves, I guess to give me space to absorb it all. Edward, the blonde bombshell, Dr Cullen, and Esme all leave. Emmett doesn't pick up on the cue, however, and bombards me with questions about what the hell I was doing in the woods. I don't mind telling him the whole story – he's like a big older brother, always joking around with a goofy grin. He listens to the whole thing, from start to finish, about my whole history with Brady and how I came to be in the forest, wondering what the hell Brady and his friends were doing there.
Emmett goes silent, avoiding my gaze and picking up a video game controller.
I eye him suspiciously, tilting my head.
"You know something, don't you? Something I don't."
It isn't a question, it's a statement. Bella whips her head around and gives Emmett a 'don't!' look. Instantly, I'm frustrated at being out of the secret.
Emmett gives an uncomfortable laugh, turning the controller over and over in his hands.
"I'm not allowed to say, Pidge. It's not my story to tell, I'm sorry."
My eyes widen when I realise that he knows why Brady and his friends are acting so strangely.
He looks back at me and sees my worried face, giving me an apologetic shove and smile.
"Sorry, darlin', everything will be told to you soon, don't you worry."
I raise an eyebrow at him.
"That makes me even more worried."
To cheer me up, Emmett throws a video controller at me and suggests we play a game – something to do with zombies – and I join in. I begin to become more relaxed and cross my legs on the sofa, just enjoying having a bit of fun with Emmett.
For now, I'll forget about what they're not telling me.