Chapter 5
There were more agonizing cries and then I could hear a wildly beating heart. Confused once again, I placed my hand onto the chest expecting the thudding to be coming from there but I only felt hardness. The beating was getting louder and faster and it was all I could focus on, all I could hear, until suddenly it stopped.
The silence spread out before me and I closed my eyes once more. As I did my mind suddenly managed to focus and images and memories began to flood my mind, almost like they were being downloaded. It reminded me of when my laptop would reboot itself and lines upon lines of code would fly across the screen. I remembered with sparkling clarity every memory, every person I'd ever met, every lesson I'd ever had at school, just everything. It was all coming back to me at once but my mind was able to digest and store it all. Everything I wanted to recall, I just had to think about it and it was there.
It was amazing and terrifying all at the same time, especially as I recalled the events of the past few days. I remembered the black haired man telling me he was a vampire, and then saying he wanted me to be his daughter, before he bit into my neck. I chose not to remember the pain and this was easy to do, I found I could block out whatever I wanted to. Almost like my brain could just put it in a file and archive it. Thoughts of my mother and stepfather entered my mind and those too I stored away and chose not to think about.
So what, was I a vampire now? The very notion of it just seemed ridiculous. I actually physically laughed when I thought about it, but this action only brought my attention back to the burn in my throat. Did I need blood? Just the thought of sinking my teeth into a warm body, made my mouth pool with liquid. Was I really drooling over blood? I let my mind scan over all the things I knew about vampires and they all fit. I decided to test my strength, so I went over to the bed and bent down and placed both hands on the end. I braced myself and went to lift the bed. But I didn't just lift it, I threw it against the wall. I laughed again, amazed and in awe of the new powers I seemed to have. Just then I heard the door open again.
"What has you so amused my precious?"
It was the black haired man again, the vampire! I seemed to have better control of my instincts and they told me that at this moment he wasn't a threat, but I did move back slightly, still feeling the need to be cautious.
"Are you ready to talk yet daughter? I see you have been testing your new strength," he stated, looking at the bed, which was still stood on its end.
"Would you kindly put my bed back down though please, its an antique and I prefered it how it was!" he said with a smirk, that made him look a lot less scary.
Still unsure of exactly how strong I was, I very carefully gripped the bed and guided it back onto the floor.
"Better!" I said with a touch of attitude that shocked me, but had him smiling again.
"Yes, thank you Bella. Now we need to talk. Come sit with me, I know you feel now that you can trust me and your instincts are correct."
He walked slowly over to a small sofa that sat against one of the walls and lowered himself gracefully onto it. I watch him whilst sifting through my thoughts and feelings. He was right, I did know I could I trust him. Once I'd made this decision I attempted to move slowly over to the sofa, but my movements were still faster than any normal human pace and I felt the sofa bang against the wall as I sat down, dislodging some of the plaster. I smiled apologetically at the man and he just laughed again in response. I was feeling more and more comfortable with him, so I relaxed into the sofa next to him and waited for him to speak again.
"Bella my dear, I know you will have lots of questions, but please listen to what I have to say and hopefully most of your questions will be answered."
He paused and looked at me, so I nodded my head and quietly said yes. He then began to speak again.
"As I said before I am a vampire, which I hope is a fact that you now believe." He paused again and waited expectantly, so I nodded my head and spoke.
"Yes, I am beginning to believe that what you say is the truth. I can remember you biting me and there being lots of blood," saying the word blood and recalling the memory of teeth sinking into flesh, had my throat burning again and my speech trailed off.
"I know you are thirsty my love, We will deal with that very very soon, but there are just a few things I need to tell you first."
He waited again for me to nod and then he continued.
"I am nearly four hundred years old, and I have lived my life mostly in isolation. This suited me for a long time, but then I became lonely and slowly began to lose the will to live, I wished for my immortality to end. Then I had a moment of profound realisation when I saw a father playing with his children in park. Before this I had never taken much notice of humans, they were just a means to an end. But this human suddenly had me captivated. I could see the bond he had with his children and I knew that I wanted a family." He stopped talking then and looked ahead with unseeing eyes, recalling the memory I guessed.
He then laughed maniacally and began clapping his hands together in glee, this startled me so much that I jumped off the sofa and found myself in a crouch in the corner again.
"Oh my love, I am sorry. Please forgive me, I forget how flighty newborns are."
He sat down on the floor next me and continued his story, still laughing. Just moments before he'd looked almost normal, but now he looked like a lunatic again, and an unwelcome edge of fear crept upon me again.
"So long story short, I decided to find myself an beautiful daughter and handsome son."
"Why me?" I asked
"Oh, the whys, and the whos, and the whats don't matter," he answered with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"I'm going to cherish you my beautiful girl, anything you want will be yours," he stated.
He then slowly raised his hand to my face and caressed my cheek with his thumb. The look on his face horrified me and I found myself shrinking away from his touch, as a shiver of revulsion went through me.
"Erm, I really am so terribly thirsty," I said quickly in a desperate attempt to distract him.
It worked and he got to his feet and moved towards the door.
"Bella, my beautiful. I have a little snack waiting for you, I thought it was best that I brought your first meal to you."
And with those words he disappeared from the room, returning only seconds later with the bodies of two young girls over either shoulder. He shot over to the bed and laid them both down before darting back to the door and looking at me expectantly. A myriad of emotions went through me. There was desire, fear, guilt, lust, hunger, thirst, and most of all a realisation that this was real.
I was a vampire!
A/N I know our Edward hasn't featured in the these last few chapters (but Bella has had other things to think/worry about), and this is primarily Bella's story, told from her view. But do not fear, Edward will feature prominently from the next chapter and onwards.