Chapter 4: NOT ALONE
CERTAINLY, IF HE WAS A hybrid, wouldn't I already know of it? Shouldn't I know if there were others like me? If he was a hybrid, we were either about to have a lot to deal with or a great companion. And I was about to have someone I could relate to. Because if this boy was really, truly a hybrid, that meant that there really were others like me. Maybe I wasn't as alone and solitary as I thought I was.
He didn't notice me until after several minutes of me blatantly staring at him. He let out a warm, musical laugh and spoke to me. "Can I help you with something? I'm sure we've never met before."
I shook my head. "No, no, I'm fine…"
Lana hadn't picked up on my strange behavior and smiled, gesturing to me. "Alex, this is Nessie Cullen. We're taking her under our wing."
Alex's eyes went wide. "Cullen?" he choked.
"Yes," Lana replied, confused now. "Babe, what's wrong?"
He cleared his throat and his face and became friendly again. "Nothing, Lana. It's nice to meet you, Nessie. I'm Alex Scott."
I reached out to shake his hand and found that our skin was the exact same temperature. If my suspicions hadn't been confirmed enough, this definitely sealed the deal. He was a vampire-human hybrid. There were others of my kind. I wasn't completely alone in the world. In fact, I wasn't alone at all. He was living, breathing proof of it.
The bell rang and the gang and I went to our last classes of the day. I caught up with my father, showing him what had just happened and what I'd just discovered. He gave me a nod, telling me that we'd talk about it later. I took this as a bad sign, that I was just crazy and desperate, looking for a way to fit in somewhere. I doubted this almost entirely, but it was still a possibility. Even though I'd never admit it aloud, the few times I was on my own, it hadn't just been for drinking human blood. I had been searching for hybrids for decades at a time, and I'd had no such luck. But I almost positively found one in Forks, Washington, though. The world was seriously messed up…
Arriving upon my classroom, I found Lana and Alex there, sitting next to each other. I took a seat behind Lana and we talked until the bell rang. She was a seriously sweet girl, and it was highly probable that we would become friends. She was just one of those people that everyone wanted to be around. And it wasn't because she had the best clothes, or because she was what humans thought was "pretty" or "popular." It was because she had a kickass personality and she lit up the room.
I silently laughed the whole way through U.S. History because I already knew everything about it. My family and I had been some of the first English immigrants to journey to the U.S. and I'd experienced everything we were going to learn in person. Every war, every inch of progress, every buying of every state, every president. I could ace this class without ever showing up for a lesson.
I made sure that after the bell rang, I caught Alex alone. I found him in the parking lot at his car, unlocking it and throwing his backpack in the back seat. He noticed me and stopped what he was doing, leaning against his car and waiting for me to initiate the conversation. I had a lot to say and ask and I think he knew that.
"What do you know about me?" I blurted out. "Or, rather, my family?"
He sighed, looking across the parking lot at my mother and father waiting for me. Alex waved to my dad, and to my surprise, he waved back. Puzzled, I turned back to him, and his eyes returned to mine. His expression was knowing and I wondered how my father knew him and how he knew my father.
"Do you know my family?" I asked.
"Yes," he answered. "I do."
"How? And what are you?" I demanded.
His lips turned up into a kind smile. "I'm like you, Nessie. A hybrid. Half vampire. I'm not sure what you call it, but we're the same. I encountered your family about ten years ago when I was running away from my father."
"Your father? If you don't mind me asking, who is your father? He's definitely a vampire…"
"Aro," he said bitterly. "Aro is my father."
I stared at him in shock, entirely incapable of speech.
Aro.
Aro of the Volturi.
Aro, the evil leader of the Volturi.
Aro, the evil leader of the whole vampire world.
In my mind, I was back in England, where the Volturi had come to kill me. Irina, who'd been one of my family's good friends, had mistaken me for an immortal child. Immortal children were completely against vampire laws and always would be. The frightening cloaked creatures arrived at a meadow on the English countryside to battle us and destroy me and my family. We'd convinced them of what I truly was; the product of a human and a vampire, and they'd – for the most part – stayed away from us. I still had that last picture of Aro tucked away in my brain, that terrifying expression on his face. He sometimes still showed up in my nightmares.
"Oh my goodness," I breathed. "We need to talk about this some other time. My dad's impatient." As if to confirm my statement, he honked his horn and I flipped him off.
"Alright," Alex agreed. "Some other time. I'll give you my number. And Lana's, just in case I'm over at her place." He wrote down the phone numbers, which was a little silly to me. I had a perfect memory. I could remember them only ever having heard them once. He handed me the piece of paper and opened his car door to get in.
"Wait!" I exclaimed, grabbing his forearm. He looked up at me, waiting for my next question or statement. "Does… does Lana know?"
He nodded, sadness in his eyes. "I tried to keep it from her, but she was too smart. She figured it out on her own. I didn't even have to give her any hints. She's okay with it, though. I live with another hybrid, my sister, Antonia."
My heart started to pound, but my voice got even softer. "There's another?"
"When Aro found out about you," explained Alex, "he wanted his own hybrids. I have four other siblings, but the only one I know is Toni."
I gasped, moving my hand over my mouth. I removed it only to give him a quick, "Goodbye. I'll see you tomorrow," and then I hurried over to my father's car. I felt as though I'd just discovered a whole other world. I technically had. It made me resent my family a little. They'd known about this for as long as they'd known Alex, which was ten years. They hadn't called me or written me at all. Nothing to notify me of what I'd searched my whole life for. Bastards.
"I heard that," reprimanded my father. "We should have told you – I'm not debating that. We might've gotten you back earlier. We just didn't want you to do… well, this. You're going to devote so much time to this, and with the wolf thing… Like I said, we just got you back, and we want to spend as much time with you as we can."
I tried to relate to why he would do and say this, but I just couldn't. I couldn't fathom what motive any of them could have to keep me from finding more of my kind. It made me want to leave again. I knew that would make my mother so sad, and I couldn't bear hurting her again. My guilt about ever hurting her in the past stuck with me every day. I would never let her know that, though, because then she would feel bad. I would never win in this family.
The first thing I did when I got home was the minimal amount of homework given by my teachers. Then, I called Alex and talked to him for at least an hour before I got everything I need to get. I found out a lot about him and I figured out that I actually really liked him – he was just generally a good person and he really adored Lana. I could tell by the way he talked about her and just melted around her. I'd picked up on those few minutes he sat with us at lunch and all through History. He'd been holding her hand and randomly kissing her cheek when the teacher wasn't looking.
I suddenly felt bad for both him and Lana. They were undoubtedly in love – there was no denying that – but she was mortal and he was immortal. There love could never last. Not unless he changed her. (Which I'd recently found out that he very well could. Unlike me, he was indeed venomous.) It reminded me of the situation my parents had once, quite briefly, been in. It was the classic tragic love story – the handsome vampire boy falls in love with the beautiful human girl. I cringed at the thought of how many times throughout history that'd been written about.
After a while on the phone with Alex, I debated calling Jacob. I must've dialed his number ten times before actually pressing the call button. I was afraid he wouldn't pick up, afraid that he had caller ID, and afraid that he just didn't like me. Then I realized two things – I didn't care whether or not he liked me and he obviously did like me. It was a silly assumption, because he answered before the fourth or fifth ring.
I talked to Jacob for hours. I just had so much to talk to him about, and he was an interesting person. He was so full of life, so warm and human. It almost made me crave being human, which was something I was not at all used to. I'd always wanted to be a full vampire, not a full human. But after so long of not being one or the other, I wasn't even sure what I wanted anymore.
Finally, at two in the morning, we both agreed to go to sleep. I was exhausted, my eyes bloodshot and my eyelids heavy. I was sad to hang up, but I did it gladly and climbed into my warm, comfortable bed. It was warm and luxurious and I had no trouble falling asleep. I had a pretty pleasant dream, but what was not pleasant was being woken up at six o'clock in the morning.
When Alice loudly became my alarm clock, I groaned and rolled over onto my side, cocooning myself in my blankets. After twenty minutes of extra sleep, I got up and slowly got ready, picking out a pair of distressed skinny jeans, an old Beatles t-shirt, black blazer, and mid-calf, leather stiletto boots. It was definitely my style, something I would've worn in New York. I'd bought most of the outfit in New York, except for the Beatles t-shirt. That had come from a concert in nineteen-sixty-seven in Chicago.
Although I was in a deadened, sleepless state, I noticed something in the garage. At first, I'd thought it was a figment of my imagination, but examining it closer, I discovered that it was definitely what I'd thought it was. I was my Mustang.
I turned to whoever was in the garage with me, and almost started to cry. I found that it was Rosalie, and she was smiling widely at my reaction. "Rosalie… When did this get here?"
"Last night," she answered. "When you were on the phone with that boy."
I sighed, perceiving that my whole family had heard me talking on the phone to Jacob, and that my dad had been able to hear my thoughts. I wondered if I'd said anything particularly embarrassing, but at that point, I honestly couldn't remember and I didn't really care. My family didn't control me and I was an adult and had been for about five-hundred years. Thinking more deeply into that, I realized that my birthday was only a week away.
I opened the driver's door to my Mustang, finding the keys in the ignition. I put my hands on the wheel, stroking the gorgeous black leather. I shifted to examine the rest of the car, seeing that it was exactly the same as it had been when I'd had it in New York. My father told me not to worry about it, but I figured that meant he was going to sell it. I was so wrong, and I was so happy for the first time in my life that I was wrong about something.
I almost started crying when I started the engine and rolled down my window. At least in this shitty town with so many things for me to figure out, I had a piece of New York here with me. It was all I needed to keep from hating this place even more. This car had meant everything to me in my years away from my family and I never wanted to part ways with it again. I'd always thought that I had a better relationship with this car than I did with either of my parents, which was probably true.
I gave everyone a general, "See you at school!" and rolled out of the garage after Rosalie opened the door. I drove much too fast, but I didn't care. I was like my father in that way – I'd never been pulled over for speeding. Come to think of it, I'd never been pulled over for anything. I was just that good of a driver.
On my way to school, I stopped at a gas station to get some energy drinks. Although I was on a new high from getting my car back, I was still exhausted. Talking on the phone all night was draining, even to a half-vampire. Even I needed sleep. It wasn't that I regretted talking to Jacob all night – I didn't. I actually quite enjoyed it.
While my family's cars might have been nice and new and shiny, my car was all that and more, and that was proved when I pulled into a spot in the school parking lot in everyone's view. I doubted anyone had seen a car like this in a long time, such a stylish, deep blue Mustang. I almost laughed at the stares and open mouths, but I stopped myself. Turning the car off and getting out, I slammed the door, locked it, and threw the keys in my backpack. And then half the people staring began staring at me, the other half still staring at my car. This was exactly the sort of thing I'd wanted to avoid, but when it came to my car, I wanted to do everything I could to show it off.
After drinking two Monster energy drinks and a Rockstar, I was fresh and ready for the day.
Until my fourth class when my heartbeat began to slow and my blood pressure lowered significantly. I also really had to pee. I felt horrible, and I regretted ever drinking those energy drinks. I'd never felt like this before – I'd never even purchased an energy drink – and it caught me off guard. I asked my Spanish teacher if I could go to the nurse and he didn't hesitate in writing me a pass. I must have looked as bad as I felt.
I got to lie down and relax in the nurse's office for two or three class periods, which was exactly what I needed. While I was there, the injured and sick students asked me all about my car with excited eyes, even if they were injured and sick. It was almost funny, how one new thing could cause such a mania. It was only one car, but somehow, the whole school already knew about it. That only proved how pathetic humans were, especially the ones in Forks.
When I decided I was well enough to leave, the nurse let me go with a pass to English class. Great. Mr. Russo was going to give me hell for this. Only if I told him the truth, though, but I had a feeling it would be pretty hard to lie to him about this. He seemed like he could see right through me, like he was a human lie detector test. He might as well have been a vampire.
I arrived a few minutes late upon his class, and he stopped whatever he was talking about to probe me on why I was late. I seriously liked this guy, but there was just something about him that made me want to punch him in the balls. Hard. There was also another thing that set me off about him, but I couldn't quite yet pin it.
"Miss Cullen," he said in an elegant manner. "Coming from the nurse?"
"Yes," I replied.
"Why ever would you be coming from the nurse?" he questioned. "You seemed perfectly healthy yesterday, and you look so today."
I swallowed, looking him in the eye shamefully. "I drank too many energy drinks this morning."
I thought Mr. Russo was going to die laughing, but he didn't. "You weren't up late talking to Mr. Black on the phone, were you?" he wondered.
My eyes flashed to Jacob, and he was smiling slightly. I rolled my eyes and gave my teacher the best answer I could. "You told us to work on our paper, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did," he corresponded. "But I didn't tell you that you had to stay up until all hours of the night to work on it. It also isn't due for another three days."
"You know, you can be a real–" I stopped myself from saying something that could definitely get me suspended.
The class laughed at my attempt at a comeback, and so did Mr. Russo. I had a feeling that this would be us for the rest of the year. He was young, and he was damned good at bickering. He was clever and quick and I hated him for it. He really was exactly what I'd stopped myself from calling him. Douche bag.
The rest of the class was miserable. Mr. Russo constantly kept poking at me, calling me out on having a crush of Jacob, being a love-struck teenager, blah, blah, blah… The funniest part about everything he was accusing me of was that it wasn't even a little bit true. I didn't have a crush on Jacob… Or did I? I was in no place to decide that yet, though. I barely knew him.
That's a lie, I told myself. I did know him. Not well, but well enough. Talking on the phone for hours and hours gave me an inside look into his personal life. Of course, I didn't know everything, but I knew a lot more that I'd known twenty-four hours earlier. He was actually a pretty amazing person from what I'd heard, too…
Oh no. I couldn't be falling for him, could I? There was no way! I'd just met him! The deepest I'd gotten with him was how much he missed his mother. And I couldn't doubt that that was pretty deep for a teenage boy to admit. I liked him, though. It was definite. But I didn't want to. I wanted to find more hybrids, find others like me, like Alex. I wanted to meet his sister, and after high school, I wanted to go searching for more. I didn't think I'd ever be satisfied if I didn't.
And the worst part was that he was human. That was bound to end badly for the both of us. I didn't want him to be any part of this. I didn't want the Volturi to find out and threaten to kill him. He was too good, too innocent for this crazy, messed up world. I'd also never fallen in love. I'd hooked up with plenty of humans and plenty of vampires, though, but that wasn't real. I didn't have any feelings for any of them.
However, I did kind of maybe almost have a little bit of feelings for Jacob.
Shit.
I wasn't even kidding myself.
TAH-DAH! Sorry for the wait & sorry it's a little short…! I've been super busy, it's spring break and Easter was yesterday and Glee is on tomorrow and I just – my excitement toward everything – I just can't and– I'll stop LOL. Tell me how you like it! How is Nessie going to come to terms with having feelings for a human? ;) What more will she learn about Alex? Do you like Alex? LET ME KNOW! (Review) ahahaha