If You Only Knew- Choices.
A/N: Thanks to everyone that has stuck with me through long updates. I just got back from vacation and I was hoping I could've updated before I left, but it just didn't work out. So here is the next chapter…well, the first ending. ENJOY!
Disclaimer: Still don't own twilight.
Previously:
And with one final farewell, the four figures turned a disappeared through the forest.
"…Winter…" the voice sounded again and I brought a hand to my head again, swaying slightly, my vision overcoming with dark spots.
"No!" I cried as the darkness enveloped me, collapsing on the ground.
Chapter 14- Ending 1- Choices
It had been a couple days since the battle and I couldn't believe what Carlisle was telling me. His words echoed around and around in my head as the reality of his words started sinking in.
I gazed up at my surrogate father figure from my position on the brown leather couch that was in his office. Over the past few months, I had bonded with each of the Cullen's and I respected Carlisle in the way I never had with my own father. Carlisle was kind, gentle, and caring whereas my own father was mean, abusive, and downright cruel. He was like a father to me, and I couldn't imagine doing anything to hurt him.
"Are you sure?" I questioned, my voice unsure and wavering. For a moment I thought that he hadn't heard me, but I knew he had when he spoke moments later.
"Yes." He responded, slowly crossing the room and took a seat next to me. "From the tests that I've done, it seems to me that every time you faint…it takes a part of your life away. That could explain why you feel so weak when you wake up."
I was listening to his words, but I didn't understand them. 'What does he mean it's taking a part of my life away?' It wasn't until he continued that the full force of his words hit me and I began to tear up, trying to keep my composure.
"You're dying, Winter."
His words cut me like a knife, and no matter how many times I had heard it, I still didn't want to accept it.
I was dying.
My body became numb as I sat trying to process his words. 'This can't be happening.' my mind repeated over and over again. I was vaguely aware of his arm across my shoulder, in a comforting guesture, but I made no attempt to acknowledge the movement. I had other things on my mind and eventually I slowly came out of my shocked state. There was one question that I had to ask, and a part of me was afraid of the answer.
But I had to know.
"How long do I have left?" My teary gaze landed on his flawless face, and I could tell that he didn't want to tell me.
"Winter… I-" He started to object.
I felt a cool tear fall from my eye making a trail across my flushed skin. My voice began to crack as I choked out the words. "Please Carlisle. I need to know."
He stared into my eyes, debating within himself for a moment before taking a deep breath, " I don't know. What I do know is that the next time you faint…You might not wake up."
I nodded as I realized that my time was almost up, and it felt like I suddenly had a knife hanging over me ready to strike at any given moment. I had no idea when it would be that I would get a fainting spell and I would die. And that terrified me. They came so suddenly that there was nothing I could do but sit and wait for the next one.
"Isn't there anything you can do?" I suddenly cried my voice somewhere between begging and anger. By the look on Carlisle's perfect face, he had not anticipated my sudden outburst, and as soon as he recovered, his face turned into a perfect mask, once again.
"I'm sorry. There's nothing that I can do."
My heart broke at his words and the tears began to flow freely. I didn't want to die. My sobs increased as I felt his cool arms wrap around my fragile body, and I buried my face into Carlisle's chest. His voice echoed in my ear as he rocked me back and forth trying to soothe me. After what seemed like a lifetime, my sobs subsided, Carlisle insisted that I get some rest to make me feel better and soon I was fast asleep on the leather couch, surrounded by a warm velvety blanket.
(Carlisle's POV)
I gazed at Winter's sleeping form and it hurt me to see her so broken. Even asleep, I could tell that some of the walls that she had built up to protect herself had crumbled. I didn't need Jasper's ability to tell me that my confession had crushed her.
'She wanted to know.' I continued to tell myself, trying to convince myself that I had done the right thing by telling her that she was dying. Even though I knew that I had done the right thing, (if it had been me in that situation…I would've wanted to know too), I still couldn't erase the guilt I felt for lying to her. I knew that there was still one option that would save her from death, but I couldn't do that to her. From the fear I had seen in her eyes from Victoria's attack, I knew that I couldn't cause her that pain again. I had already damned Edward, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett to this life. I would not be the cause of her death too.
It was not only that, that I had to worry about. Since the wolves had agreed to the treaty that we had arranged so many years ago, I couldn't turn her…even if I wanted to. One bite from any of us and the treaty would be broken and a war would be started…I would not be the cause of that either.
Sighing, I took one last look at the sleeping girl, and exited my office, closing the door quietly behind me.
(Winter's POV)
It wasn't until the following day when I realized that I had another option other than waiting for my next fainting spell, so I could die. I was walking through the trees surrounding the house when I'd come to this conclusion.
I entered the house and asked Carlisle if I could borrow his car to go to the store. He agreed and instead of going to the store, I headed to La Push. I needed to talk to the wolves about my situation. I knew what I wanted, but without their approval… I didn't want to even think of the consequences. I drove carefully through the rain, changing the radio station to an upbeat channel. I'd change it back when I got back.
I sung along to some random song that came on as I carefully made my way to Sam and Emily's house, the headlights bathing the little cottage in light as I parked. Taking the keys out of the ignition, I took a deep breath preparing myself for the falling rain, and as quick as I could manage, bolted for the small overhang on the porch.
My closed fist pounded on the wooden door, and I waited surveying the porch. To the left of me stood a white wicker couch with a small table in front of it, a potted plant hung from the overhang, near the edge catching some of the falling rain that managed to drip into it. To my right, various trinkets and odds and ends accumulated against the house into a pile roughly two feet wide, and about three feet high. It was odd seeing the pile. I'd always imagined Emily to be extremely tidy, not so much so as to be particularly obsessive about clean, but always neat. But I suppose living with a pack of unpredictable wolves would manage to create some mess around the house.
My attention was pulled from the pile as the door swung open, Sam himself looking at me quite confused.
"Winter? What are you doing here?" He questioned. It was odd. Although Sam and the others disliked the Cullens,(and myself at first) Since the battle, the two groups had somehow bonded over the adventure, and although they still had some concerns, for the most part…they were friends.
Behind him, I could hear a loud commotion, and banter and guessed that they must have been having a get together.
"I'm sorry. Is this a bad time?" I didn't want to sound rude…I really should have called him first.
"It's fine." He assured, before questioning me. " Is everything alright?"
"Not really." I sighed. "I'd really like to talk to you and Jake about something… if I could."
"Of course."
Sam moved aside and allowed me to enter his wonderful home where I was greeted by most of the pack that were sitting in a living room gathering to watch a movie.
"Do you have somewhere that we could talk in private?" I queried, turning my attention to Sam and was led into a small office type room, Jake following in behind me and closing the door. I knew that the pack would most likely hear the entire conversation, because their hearing was just as good as the Vampires, but I felt better knowing that this would stay between the three of us.
"Alright. So what did you want to talk to us about?" Sam pressed, sitting in a chair casually in front of me. I took a seat on a small couch that was leaning up against the wall, while Jacob stood leaning up casually against the wall by the door.
"I have a situation, and I believe that the two of you are the only ones that could be able to help me." I started, my eyes darting between the two of them. "Let me explain."
I took a deep breath and began my tale.
"After the battle with the newborns, Carlisle told all of you to leave and you did. After you left, a group showed up known as the Volturi. The Volturi are like royalty in the vampire world. The lawmakers, if you will. There is one law that stands above all others. Humans must not be made aware of the existence of vampires. For those humans that DO know about the existence of vampires, there are only two options."
"The first option is death. The second is to be turned into a vampire."
"Okay. So what does this have to do with you?" Sam questioned, clearly confused as was Jake.
"It's come to the attention of the Volturi that I know too much, and therefore for the Cullen's to save my life that day, they agreed to turn me into a vampire. However… With the treaty in place, clearly you can see my problem."
"No way. I'm not going to let you die." Jake mumbled, shaking his head in disagreement. Ignoring him, I continued.
" You might change your mind, when you know all the facts, Jake." I shot back. "Keep that in mind as I tell you this next part. Now, you probably don't know this, but for the past few months, I've been having these weird fainting spells. They weren't bad at first, but now they're really bad. Carlisle has been running tests to try and determine the cause of my fainting, and unfortunately he hasn't been able to come up with any logical diagnoses. The one thing he DOES know is that whatever IT is, it's killing me."
"That's interesting." Sam commented.
"Yeah. Carlisle has concluded that the next time that I faint… I won't wake up." I finished. " No matter how you look at it, Sam, I'm dying."
I looked back up at Sam, to see pain hidden underneath his hard shell.
" I guess what I'm asking is for you to allow the Cullens to change me, without breaking the treaty." I continued when he didn't answer. "I know that you have a responsibility as protectors of the tribe, that you're suppose to protect lives. To SAVE lives, right? So help save MY life by allowing them to change me."
I got up from my seat and knelt in front of Sam.
"This is my only option, Sam. Please." I begged. "I don't want to die."
It was a full minute before he spoke.
"Alright." Sam agreed, before tacking on a warning. "I will agree that the treaty will remain intact, and no harm shall come to the Cullen's as a result of changing you into a vampire. However, The treaty, stating that none of the Cullen's may bite a human, will also apply to you as well after the change has taken place. Do you understand?"
I nodded.
"And that if you or any other Cullen bites a human, the action will therefore break the treaty and we as protectors, will then be forced to take action against those that broke the treaty, the penalty of which includes death. Agreed?"
"Yes, sir." I agreed, pushing myself up off the floor. "Thank you, Sam. You have no idea how much this means to me."
After a few moments, and a few heartfelt 'goodbyes', I was quickly ushered out of the door, and I sprinted to Carlisle's Mercedes and took off into the furiously falling rain.
I was relieved that Sam had agreed to the truce so easily. I was expecting a much bigger fight from them, but perhaps he knew that I had no other alternative. Now all I had to do was convince the Cullens to change me.
Sighing, I stepped on the gas, driving slowly through the falling rain. The rain fell so hard that it was hard to see through the rain soaked windshield, and I debated on stopping and waiting for the rain to lessen. Against my better judgement, I continued.
I turned the radio down so I could concentrate on the road, and as I did so, I heard music coming from the middle console. Feeling around the console, my fingers grasped the source of the music. Pulling it to me, I looked at the small black cell phone still ringing in my hand and from the caller ID it read Alice. I picked it up without a second thought.
"Winter!" Alice sighed with relief. "Thank god you're alright. Your future disappeared and I got worried."
"I'm fine." I assured while squinting through the rain. "I just had to go talk to the wolves."
"You did what?" She nearly screamed, and I had to pull the phone away from my ear for a second at the sudden increase of volume.
"I had to talk to them about something." I assured her again. "Don't worry. I'm on my way back. Then I would like to talk to everyone about something."
She paused. "About what?"
Squinting through the rain, I found the driveway's entrance and pulled in knowing I only had a little further to go. "You'll just have to wait and see, Alice. I'm almost there."
"Alright. Bye" She responded before the line went dead. Sighing, I replaced the phone back into the console and returned the radio back to where Carlisle had set it, parking in front of the house seconds later. Taking a breath, I sprinted through the rain, being quite soaked by the time I reached the steps.
I rung out my soaked hair outside, as to limit the amount of water from being tracked inside, before doing the same to my clothes. When I had thought I had gotten my clothes as dry as I could I entered the house. I strode across the living room and handed Carlisle his keys back before thanking him for allowing me to borrow his car.
"Did you have a nice trip?" His golden eyes studied me as if he knew I didn't go to the store and I had a feeling that he knew I had gone to the wolves.
"Yeah. I did." I assured. "I'm going to go take a shower."
I didn't wait for his reply, just turned on my heel and scrambled up the stairs to the bathroom, passing Alice, who insisted on following me into my room.
"What do you want, Alice?" I shrugged, rummaging around for some warm clothes.
"I know what you did."
I turned to face her. "Oh really? Well. I had a reason for going there. A matter that I'm going to be discussing with everyone as soon as I'm out of my shower." I replied, grabbing my clothes and turning to face her. I watched as her face went blank for a moment, before her face broke out into a grin. I arched an eyebrow at her to which she replied that she 'had to go' and danced out of the room, moments later.
After my shower, I headed downstairs where, much to my surprise, the entire family was seated in the living room clearly awaiting my arrival. Carlisle and Esme turned their attention to me as I entered.
"Change me."
I watched as Carlisle and Esme exchanged a glance, before Esme spoke. "What are you talking about?"
"Change me." I repeated, standing tall as I faced my surrogate parents. "There is a way that will prevent me from dying. You can change me."
"Are you crazy?" Rosalie interrupted standing up from the couch where she and Emmett were seated. "Carlisle, please tell her she's crazy."
"Winter, I can't. Nothing is going to change that." Carlisle insisted.
"Please?" I begged. "What if the Volturi come back? They don't give second chances."
"Winter, please. You don't know what you're asking me to do." He warned, his voice firm as he took a step closer to me.
"I know exactly what I'm asking of you. And I've already talked to Sam about it." I contradicted. It was a minute before anyone said anything. Switching tactics, I tried another approach.
"Please, Carlisle." I spoke softly, as a tear threatened to spill over.
"What about the treaty?" Jasper questioned from his spot on one of the chairs, " You can't change her without breaking the treaty."
"Yes, he can, Actually." I countered, glancing at Jasper. "I've already talked to Sam about it and he's agreed that my change will not affect the treaty at all."
"Why do you want to be like us in the first place?" Edward asked next.
His words stunned me for a moment. I had assumed that Carlisle would have told the family by now about my condition, or Edward would have heard Carlisle's thoughts in his head, but I was wrong. Carlisle had not said a word about my situation, and for that I respected him even more. I took a deep breath before speaking the dreaded words that I now accepted as my fate should they refuse to change me.
"I'm dying, Edward. According to Carlisle, the next time I faint…I won't wake up. Please. I don't want to die."
After my confession, I watched as the Cullen's all exchanged glances, "Winter…Can you step outside for a moment?" Carlisle asked. A feeling of rejection, crashed over me as his words sunk in, and trying to maintain a calm façade I took a deep breath and nodded. Just as I was about to turn, a strong wave of love pushed the rejection away momentarily, and I flashed a small smile to Jasper, knowing he caused my sudden mood swing.
Leaving my fate to be decided, I turned and exited the house, pulling my jacket on and crossed the yard to sit near the trees surrounding the home. My eyes scanned through the trees as my anxiety increased.
I pulled my jacket around me as a gust of wind blew past, my mind silently wondering what I would do if the Cullen's decided to not keep me around. Before I could even begin to consider the possibilities, a voice startled me from behind.
"Winter?"
I turned around to face the source of the voice, my eyes locking with the deep golden hues of Emmett's eyes. Carlisle must have ordered him to come out and get me because I couldn't think of any other reason why he would be out there with me.
"Yes, Emmett."
"Carlisle wanted me to come get you."
"Thanks, Emmett." I replied, grasping one of his outstretched hands to help me off the ground and after brushing off the dirt, the two of us headed back into the house where the rest of the family was waiting. My gaze landed on Carlisle and Esme waiting for their verdict.
"Winter, We've all come to the same conclusion. If you truly want to become one of us…we'll change you."
My heart swelled with relief as I realized that I would be able to stay with them forever.
"That's what I want." I confirmed.
Carlisle nodded. "And you'd like me to do it now?"
"Yes. The sooner, the better." I responded, my eyes never leaving his face.
He sighed, "Alright. Perhaps we should do this in my office."
I nodded and turned, following Carlisle up the wooden steps to his office where I knew I would spend the next three days in agony.
I stood in the center of the room, as I heard the door click softly behind me, and awaited further instructions from Carlisle. A few moments later, he came into view leaning up against his mahogany colored desk, his expression serious.
"This is your last chance to back out, Winter. Are you absolutely positive that you want to do this? There's no turning back once I bite you." He warned.
I sighed, all the fear and uneasiness washing away as I answered. "I'm sure." With my knowledge of what to expect of the process, I was not afraid.
"Ok, then." He replied, pushing himself away from his desk and closing the distance between us. I stood tall as I felt my long curled golden locks being swept over my shoulder exposing my neck. I stood perfectly still as his one hand wrapped around the back of my neck underneath my hair, the other wrapping around my shoulder/upper arms. Leaning closer, I could feel the coolness of his breath as he prepared himself for what he was about to do.
"Wait." I called, feeling Carlisle stop. "Promise me one thing?" His breath disappeared from my skin as he pulled away, his dark gold eyes waiting for me to continue.
"I don't want to hurt anyone. Will you help me not attack humans?"
He smiled slightly, "Of course."
I nodded in appreciation, taking a deep breath and closing my eyes in anticipation of the pain that I knew was coming. Once again I felt Carlisle's cool breath on my neck, and flinched slightly as his teeth penetrated my skin. I clamped my mouth shut as a scream was fighting to break free from the heat that was spreading through my body.
The heat intensified as the venom worked it's way through my bloodstream, becoming hotter and hotter until I was no longer able to contain the scream that ripped through the air. For a while, all I could concentrate on was the pain, until I began to realize that beyond the pain, I could hear the voices of my new family. It seemed like forever until the heat began to fade, and I knew that my transformation was almost complete. I waited until the heat and my heart stopped completely before opening my eyes to my new life.
Meanwhile:
(General POV)
A young mom sat in an uncomfortable chair, staring out the window of the small room she was in, watching the rain cascading to the ground. Sighing, she brought her hand up to rub her tired eyes before turning her gaze to the small figure that lay in bed in the center of the room.
It had been six months since the accident that caused her oldest daughter to slip into a coma. At times it seemed like she was getting better, but then she would slip back into her coma deeper than before. Sighing, she rubbed her eyes again knowing her husband would be back soon with a steaming cup of coffee. But knowing that he wouldn't be back for a while, she repositioned the best she could and laid her head on her arm, trying to get some rest.
It seemed like she had only been asleep for a few moments when a loud rapid beeping woke her up, signaling that something was very wrong with her daughter. She watched in horror as her daughter's body shook violently of her own accord, a seizure ripping it's way through her body. Within moments a nurse rushed into the room to help the poor girl, but unfortunately her efforts would all be in vain. No matter how hard the doctors tried, they could not save the young girls' life.
Winter Rose Riley-Parker's soul would forever remain in the Twilight world her comatose mind created, while her body would forever remain at peace in the coldest, darkest, wettest place in the continental U.S….the ground.
THE END….or is it?
A/N: So how'd you all like that little twist at the end? I had the idea for it a long time ago and just HAD to write it! Did ya'll figure it out? I LOVED writing this story and I'm sad to see it end! Thank you to everyone that reviewed and added to their favorites and Alerts! I really do appreciate every single review and everything, so THANK YOU!
BTW- Keep a lookout for an ALTERNATE ENDING! Yep. That's right! I'm going to be posting an ALTERNATE ENDING, so keep an eye out for that! Hope you like it!
Peace!