For someone who didn't have the human urge to move around, I was quite fidgety. I couldn't stay in one position for more than five minutes, and I couldn't stay in the same room for more than an hour.
Making sure I was being more cautious this time, I announced to the family that I would be out on the front porch. I doubted that they cared. I just didn't want to be blamed if I somehow was being attacked by another mystical creature.
It was probably four in the morning by now. The late autumn sky was still as dark as it had been hours ago and I could see the clouds passing, coving the moon, and then showing it again. I curled up on the wooden steps, bringing my knees up to my chest. I was thinking too much.
I thought about how awesome this would have been if I was still a child. Pulling all-nighters every day; I would have thought I was the coolest kid ever. It was only my first night, and already, it was getting old. I thought about my mom and dad again. I wished I could sneak off to see them, even just to take a peek through the window. I missed their company. I missed my house. I missed my room.
I even missed my school. One of the boys from my French class had been paying extra attention to me before I got sick. I could have gotten to know him better, even been his girlfriend. But it was all over now. Not like I'd had much of a choice anyways. Death, or this. Death, or living dead. I made it sound like I was a zombie or something. At least that would have been a bit more entertaining.
I was staring down the long driveway when I heard the light click of the door. Someone was joining me.
I had already guessed it would have been Carlisle. No one else was willing to even look at me. He looked at me, though, in the way that my dad had. Superior in their wise minds, but honest in their full hearts. I didn't know if I had a heart anymore. It felt like it had been ripped out of my chest.
Surprisingly, Carlisle said nothing as he slumped down onto the step beside me. He looked into the distance with me, probably trying to find out what was so fascinating.
After a few minutes, he spoke confidently. "Rough night?"
"That's an understatement." I grumbled.
"Could have been worse." He reminded me. Carlisle paused, as if waiting for reassurance. "What exactly did you mean when you said that we're better off without you?"
"I dunno." I sighed. "I'm just causing trouble for you."
My plan was to avoid eye contact. Maybe he'd stop asking so many questions.
"It's not your fault." He said with confidence. "Whatever trouble there is, it's mine."
He looked me directly in the face. It was hard to stick to my plan now.
"Andrea," he said, "I chose you for a reason. There are many dying people I see each day, but I wouldn't put myself at risk for just anyone.
He talke I gd about me like I was something special. I almost snorted at how ridiculous it was.
"From the moment I met you, laying there in the hospital, I could tell that there was something different about you. You had character. You weren't some ignorant teenager with an attitude and an addiction to reality TV."
Well, the last part maybe, I thought. I did own every season of The Hills. I used to anyways.
He went on. "You were someone who would make something of yourself. A doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, something. I couldn't let that go to waste just because some half-wit doctor didn't take your illness seriously. And your parents..." He trailed off for a moment. "They had a whole lot of faith in me. They trusted me with your life. I told them the same thing I told you. I would not let you die."
"I guess they don't think so highly of you anymore." I grinned for what felt like the first time in ages.
"I guess not." He agreed, called my grin and raised a smile. "I didn't lie, though."
After a while more of talking and laughing and grinning and smiling, he somehow coaxed me to come back inside.
Alice had pulled out some clothes for me to change into. They fit me well, but they didn't exactly match my personality. Before this, I had been very practical, a t-shirt and jeans type of girl, so the pale pink cocktail dress didn't really suit me. It was better than nothing though.
I dressed in the bathroom since it seemed more private. Everything in the room sparkled, adding proof to the fact that it had never been used.
As I was leaving, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I could hardly even recognize myself under the pale skin and deep red eyes. Even with make-up, I could never get myself to look this good. I was amazed. It was how I imagined myself to be only in my dreams.
My dish-water blonde hair was brighter and shiny, falling in waves down my back. All of my features were sharper, but sexier, like a model. I was almost too skinny. I guessed that was how I was before I ... changed.
I had to pry myself away from the mirror. Dawn was approaching, and we all waited for the arrival of this "friend of the family" character. I hated inside jokes, but I would go along with it in exchange for mercy.
