Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, just my own characters.
Renesmee Cullen
"Who was that, Nessie?" Carter asked me as he gripped onto my hand as we briskly walked back to the parking lot where plenty humans were congregated.
I glanced behind me for the third or fourth time, scouting the area to see if the nomadic vampire was following our trails.
Thankfully, I saw no one.
"Come on," I uttered, ushering Carter in front of me as we reached my car where I found Alex frantically pacing up and down.
"Alex?" I called in concern.
She darted her head forward toward me.
"Can we go?" She pleaded.
I frowned. "What was all that about? Do you know that guy?"
She pursed her bottom lip, looking over my shoulder in eyes ablaze with shock, worry and fear. A look that I don't always see on her as she's always been someone I considered to be fearless.
"I can't tell you while we're here. Can we please go?"
I stared at the frightened girl. A stark contrast to the confident, strong and badass girl I knew before.
"Now!" She demanded.
I nodded.
"Okay! Okay! Carter, get in the car." I told him as I reached to open the door for him.
Alex quickly jumped into the passenger seat and I followed suit soon after, taking one least look behind me and hopped into the drivers' seat.
As I drove us away from the fair, we all sat in silence.
Alex seemed to visibly calm the further and further we were from the fair but she kept turning her head back, looking through the side-view and rear view mirrors to see if we were being followed.
I stared at her queasy demeanor as I gripped onto the steering wheel.
"You okay?" I reluctantly questioned.
She simply shook her head and stared onto the road.
I sighed, turning my head around to see Carter looking thoughtfully outside the window as a thunderstorm brewed in the congregating skies.
I furrowed my brows I leaned forward and looked up the sky through my windshield as I curved around the road of Oak Mountain.
The clouds were reigning in thick and fast. I have never seen cloud formation and evaporation happen that quickly before. I even checked the weather this morning, there were no signs of rain and yet here we are.
There was no crystal blue sky in sight. Just a thick, dark layer of clouds threatening to burst.
"Looks like it's about to rain," I mentioned. "That's weird. I swear I checked the weather this morning and there was no rain on the agenda,"
"Maybe it's a symbol for what's coming," Alex meant to say under her breath and to herself but I could hear crystal clear.
I didn't reply though.
"Carter, are you okay back there?"
Carter always got agitated whenever it rained. It was an irrational fear he had with a heavy downpour of water and the sound the lightning and thunder makes. My grandfather, however, theorizes that it has something to do with his biology.
He has the ability to influence the element of fire so like the age old tale, fire repels water so naturally, and Carter would hate the presence of water. It definitely made bath time hell for Rosalie and Emmett.
"Yep." Carter whispered back. "I'll be fine."
I nodded then focused my attention on Alex who hadn't moved her eyes from the road.
Who the heck was that nomadic vampire and why did Alex seem to know him? Was he a vampire she encountered recently? Was he a person she encountered before he got turned into a vampire? Why did he look eerily family too?
Why did he invoke so much fear in her? What was he doing in a fair with humans? What does he want?
I had so many questions.
I decided to stop by my place instead of going straight to the Cullen Manor where I would inevitably have to explain everything that happened. I needed to talk to Alex first before I involved my family into this.
I pulled into my driveway and stopped the car.
"I thought you were gonna drop me off at my place?" Alex asked after a half hour of silence.
"No. Not until we talk about what happened." I stated.
Alex sighed. "I really don't feel like talking about this with you, Ness."
"No, Alex. What the hell happened back there? You know that vampire, don't you? Why did you look so fearful?"
"Maybe because I saw a vampire, Ness!"
"C'mon, Alex. You don't easily get afraid of anything. How do you know him? Why does he scare you so much? What did he do?"
"Nessie…please," She implored me.
I suddenly felt bad for making her uncomfortable. She didn't want to talk about it. I shouldn't pressure her to do something she didn't wanna do.
"I'm sorry. I'm pushing you. You don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable." I said.
She stared at me, eyes blanketed with dread and pain before she shifted her eyes away to look out the windshield, overlooking the porch of my house as the raindrops fell onto the glass, the wipers wiping them away momentarily.
She looked in deep thought.
I pursed my lips.
Yep. Now I feel horrible.
"Look, I really am sorry for asking you all those questions. I'm just a little freaked out as well and I'm worried about you, Alex. You looked so scared and that's not a look I see on you often but I know it isn't my place, so…" I said as I went to grab my handbag.
Alex's hand unexpectedly gripped onto my hand, causing me to halt in my tracks.
"It's not that I don't want to tell you about it. It's just…" She paused to think. "I don't know how to tell you."
I furrowed my eyebrows as I fell back onto my seat.
"I don't know where to begin to even…to even let you in on this secret I kept hidden for so many years. This part of my life…I-it isn't something I like to talk about." She expressed.
I listened intently as I rested my one hand onto the hand she had gripping on mine.
"You're right. I don't easily get scared but looking at him again…I don't know, I just lost it." She told me.
I smiled slightly.
"Maybe we should go inside." I suggested.
She replied with a small smile.
I quickly hopped out of my car with my bag and ran to the trunk to grab my large umbrella before opening Carter's door to take him and then Alex under the umbrella and into the house sans being water drenched.
"I'm just gonna grab some firewood. Carter, could you please run down to the basement to grab me a packet of wood?" I asked the little boy as I shook the water off the umbrella.
"Sure! Be back in a jiff!" The kid exclaimed before disappearing inhumanly out of the room,
I sighed as I placed the umbrella against the coat rack. I looked over to see Alex standing awkwardly, draping her arms around her body and soothingly rubbing herself to keep her warm as she shivered from the cold –that didn't seem to affect me at all given that I had a natural and fixed body temperature of 108 degrees.
"We definitely didn't dress up for the weather, did we?" I joked, looking at both of us in our daisy dukes.
She smirked weakly. "No, we did not."
I gnawed my lip.
"Okay, I'm gonna quickly run to my room to grab us both something warm to wear and then I'll make us both tea. Chamomile tea or coffee?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Chamomile's fine,"
I smiled and nodded before running up into my room then reappearing with one wool-woven, button, knit sweaters and two throws.
"Thanks," Alex said.
As I went to the kitchen to make some tea for us, Carter reemerged, carrying a packet of chopped wood we used for the fireplace.
"Here you go." He dropped the wood with ease –unusual for a normal six year old.
"Thanks. Now could you please go up to my room and stay there until I tell you not to. I'll bring over a chicken and mayo sandwich for you in a minute."
He began to moan. "Aw, Nessie! Why can't stay here and watch TV downstairs."
"Because I say so. 'Sides, I have a TV in my room anyway."
He pouted his bottom lip. "Aww! Nessie – I promise I'll keep quiet."
"No. Listen to what I say. I look after you without your parents around and you gotta do what I say. Now, go!" I chuckled, gesturing to the stairs.
He rolled his eyes and stomped his feet like the average five-six year old who doesn't get his way before turning on his heel and running the stairs.
"Bring over cookies and cream too!" He called.
I rolled my eyes. "If you ask me nicely, maybe I will."
"Pleeeaaaassse!" He strained.
"Fine!" I shook my head as I poured the boiled water into the cups of chamomile tea.
After sending over Carter his sandwich along with a plate of cookies and cream, I made my way back into the living room with a plate of chocolate chip and caramel cookies and the tea for Alex and me.
My distraught best friend had her eyes transfixed onto the large television screen planted against our wall, watching the 6pm news although I don't think she was really paying much attention to it.
"…The streets of Oakland Woods, California have been rocked by a brand new mysterious vigilante." The news anchor on the local news stated.
"Yes, new distorted footage taken by a surveillance CCTV camera shows a masked man in a hood disappearing off a rooftop after taking down multiple gunmen on sight all on his own after an attempted hostage heist ensued on the Tribute Building near Reed Enterprises, founded by the late Robert Reed whose former wayward, party boy son Oliver Reed has since taken over."
"Police are concerned about this mysterious who they say is taking justice into his own hands and why they are warning him to shut it down. Candace Hewitt reports from the Oakland Woods Police Department,"
"Commissioner Fitzpatrick, this really is getting a lot of attention. Not just in Oakland Woods, but all of California as well. What do you make of this new mysterious masked vigilante?" The news reporter interviewed Luke's dad.
'
'He may mean well but it isn't his place or his call of duty and authority to take matters in his own hands. There are systems and people in place to handle these type of situations.
'But he means well, doesn't he? Wouldn't you say he's trying to keep the town safe?'
'That is why we have the highly decorated police department who are there to protect and serve.'
Oakland Woods had its own vigilante? When I thought I couldn't possibly find this town weirder, it hurls another curveball at me. Vigilante was definitely not on my 2015 bingo card.
'Obviously he puts himself in danger and puts other people in danger. There are people who are trained for this stuff.' Commissioner/Captain Fitzpatrick added.
'What do you have to say about locals branding him a hero?' The reporter asked.
'He would be a real hero if he stayed out of it. We do not even know what this masked man's end agenda is but any sort of vigilantism is reckless and dangerous. Superheroes do not exist. We live in the real world and such acts can get people killed.' Fitzpatrick added.
'Thank you, Commissioner Fitzpatrick for your time.'
"That's oddly ominous," I said, handing Alex her tea.
She hummed. "Hmm?"
I smiled.
"Oh! Sorry. I guess I sort of spaced out. Thanks," She replied.
"Ooh. That's hot!" She whispered to herself as she gripped onto her cup.
"Hmm. I probably should have tested the temperature for you. Being half vampire, I'm not aware of these things."
She chuckled. "No, it's fine. Promise."
I simpered back, with a nod before curling my feet up onto the comfortable couch with a throw draped around my shoulders as I held onto my cup of tea and kept my eyes on Alex, contemplating whether or not I should be the one to point out the big elephant in the room.
"I suppose I should tell you what happened back there, huh?" Alex stated, noticing my eyes on her.
I simply nodded my head.
She exhaled a heavy, shaky breath before placing her cup on the coffee table and sitting up.
"Okay, um…" She began. "This is really hard for me to say to you because…I haven't told anyone about this. I've only told Seth about this piece of life that has haunted me for years."
"Look, Alex. It's like I said, you don't have to tell me if you feel uncomfortable."
"I know. But…I trust you. You're my best friend and I guess, you need to know." She responded.
I gave her a reassuring smile to which she seemed to reciprocate with a nod as she braced herself, pausing to inhale a breath before speaking.
"So, um…three or four years ago, I met a guy named Connor. He was about 18 or 19 at the time and I was just shy of 15." She began. "At the time, I was going through depression. My mother and I's relationship began to deteriorate, my grandfather had just died (a man I had an incredible bond with), I was bullied in middle school, my friendships began to fall apart, my grades started dropping and my self-esteem plummeted. I was vulnerable. I was broken.
And so naturally, I looked for methods to get some form of escapism from my terrible world. I made the mistake of mixing with the wrong crowd and so I took the drinking and the party life which I'm sure you're not even surprised about." She made a small attempt at a joke, chuckling.
I smiled slightly.
"…And so, I, drank and partied and drank and partied until I couldn't feel the pain anymore and because of that, I became more susceptible to doing reckless things. Like going to the beach and meeting a group of stoner guys who were way too old for me to be around but as a naïve 15 year old, I ignored all of that. Connor saw me at the beach and invited me over. And so I accepted.
I wanted to feel something, something that drinking just didn't do for me. And so I started hanging out with those guys almost every day and I got into smoking weed and –" She paused, pressing her lips as she gulped down the lump in her throat.
"Hatred for myself and my life had driven me to drugs," She laughed non-humorously. "I hated my life and looking back, I think I might've wanted to end it and to be honest, I could've."
My lips quivered as I listened to my best friend be so open and honest about a part of her life I never knew she went through. Alex has always been someone I thought was always confident and comfortable with who she was. Never did I think she'd be someone who hated herself. She knew who she was and didn't care what anyone thought or had to say about her.
But to be fair, I hadn't known Alex all her life. I've only known a portion of her life. There are probably parts of her past that she hasn't revealed yet and it's her prerogative not to reveal those parts if she wasn't comfortable yet.
However, hearing her tell me all of this is really eye-opening…
All of us have demons we have to fight, no matter who you are. You think you're having it rough, then you hear someone else's story and you realize you've had it easy compared to them.
"Anyway, in that period, I met Connor. The tatted up, long haired, Pearl Jam/Nirvana loving bad boy that drove me crazy. He pursued me when we first met, albeit from a far though. He analyzed me when we hung out. He studied me. He studied how I move, how I act, how I walk, how I talk and as a naïve teenage girl, I found that endearing and flattering when I should have found it disturbing.
Connor opened me to a world of new things. He encouraged me to try adult things and I liked it. I liked trying things that I thought at my age would be frowned upon. I did so many bad things that I wish to forget but at the time I wanted so badly. It actually got to the point where I needed it." She stated, her breathing losing stability as she got to the crucial part of her story.
I immediately got up from the couch to move closer to her, taking a seat beside her on the couch and holding her trembling hand in mine.
She inhaled. "…But then one night at the beach, we were alone together. Heavily petting and kissing each other. Connor was a very aggressive man with a very intense sexual desire. He made me do things to him that I thought was normal because I thought I loved him and I would do anything to make him happy."
"Wait, what did he ask you to do?"
She shrugged. "I gave him a handjob." She replied bluntly.
I nodded, feeling a gag coming up my throat.
Disgusting.
"…but that night, Connor pressured me into doing something I wasn't ready for and when I said no to his advances, he got angry and began to beat me repeatedly."
I gasped in shock at her revelation.
"He slapped me across the face first and spat in my face, calling me a "cockblocking slut who deserves to be taught a lesson". Then he kicked me three times in my stomach and I even coughed up the blood and the heavy alcohol I drank. I thought he was gonna kill me that night."
I could feel my tears welling up at her words I knew was painful for her to utter. It was like knives to her gut and I could feel it. I couldn't imagine what she went through, let alone having to relive it right now.
"Thankfully, a bunch of squad cars appeared and Connor and his friends bolted the scene. I contemplated just lying there and waiting for the cops to find me but I knew I wasn't innocent. I would've got into trouble with not just my family but the law as well. So I forcibly picked myself and ran north. I actually ran away from the people that could have saved me. Isn't that ironic? Although, the judicial system has been pretty crappy lately so you can't even trust the cops to help you. So my solution was to run."
"Alex, I can't even imagine what you went through."
"Oh that's not even the end of it all. Far from it." She scoffed. "So I ran back home, in excruciating pain and all I wanted was to fall into the loving arms of a mother but what did I get? I found my mother standing by the porch, looking at me with disdain and disgust and gave me a lecture on how I deserved to get beaten. I knew then that I hated my mom. It's horrible, but I hated her. I hate her for that day."
"Alex…"
I gripped onto her hand tighter.
"It's a night I will never forget and it wasn't the end. It was only just the beginning." She expressed. "About four weeks later, I had a dance class for an upcoming dance championship competition and I was trying to perfect my routine that almost every day I stayed back when everyone left. I was still recovering so it was hard but I managed. That was until I saw him…standing right there in the room, with a look in his eye that told me that made me realize exactly what was about to happen next."
I moved my head to the side, fighting back the tears and gripping my fist to control my blood from boiling.
"Without thought, I began running up the stairs of the dance studio but Connor was too fast for me and when he got to me, he threw me to the ground and began ripping my clothes apart despite my resistance. When he pressed me hard to the ground, he had his weight above me and when he ripped my panties off, I stopped resisting. I knew my fate and I –"
"Alex," I stopped her, tears streaming down my face as I turned to look at her.
I couldn't listen any further.
It was too painful to think and hear about it.
It looked physically torturous for her to talk about it too.
"Often times I feel survivors remorse or guilt when I hear stories about girls who never survived a sexual assault like that. I was lucky to have gotten out as quickly as I did or else I wouldn't be here today."
I looked into her glistening hazel eyes filled with hurt and pain.
I immediately threw my arms around her and brought her close to my chest in a tight embrace.
"I don't know what to say." I sobbed into her shoulders. "You shouldn't have to ever go through that, Alex."
She returned the hug, holding me just as tightly.
"Nobody should," She added. "At least he got he deserved. They arrested him but he went out on parole because he's a manipulative jerk who can make anything go his way."
"I am so sorry, Alex. I am so sorry we live in a world where pricks like Connor exist." I stated. "He deserved life in prison for what he did."
If Connor was able to do that to Alex as a human, what could he do now that he's supposedly immortal?
I immediately pulled away from her to look her dead in the eye.
"He is a vampire now." I exclaimed.
She nodded, her face stricken with fear.
"Apparently, and he saw me today. He knows where to find me now. He probably has my scent, right?" She asked.
I didn't want to answer.
But I am sure my face was self-explanatory.
She groaned. "He's probably going to search for me. I got him in prison and he probably has an axe to grind."
I nodded.
It was dangerous now.
If he was human, it would be different but now he's supernatural, he's a danger not to Alex but to everyone around him and us. We had to involve my family.
"We need to inform our families about this."
I was surprised by her response.
"No! No! We will not do that!" She shouted, gripping both my hands. "I—I can't involve your family in this. I can't be the reason your family's in danger."
"What about you? Don't you care about you being in danger?" I questioned.
She pressed her lips.
"You're my best friend. No—No, you're the closest thing to a sister I have ever had. You're my family too, Alex. And my family loves you because of that. We protect our own." I assured her.
"Nessie – I –"
"No. Forget it, Alex. I'm telling my family."
She stared at me, deliberating as she blinked her tear brimming eyes before sighing and conceding.
"Okay. Okay." She accepted. "Please…don't tell them everything. You and Seth are literally the only ones I trust."
I nodded. "Of course, I wouldn't tell anybody. I promise." I assured her, holding her face in my hands.
She managed to smile weakly and threw her arms around my shoulders, resting her chin against my shoulder.
"I love you, Ness."
"I love you too, Lex." I smiled.
… …
Renesmee Cullen
Today was the day I confronted Felicity after she revealed that she knew about my secret.
I was in the passenger seat of my dad's Volvo as he drove us to the Stone residence. We sat in comfortable silence the whole ride, with little conversation here and there.
I had a lot on my mind and I was doing a lot of analytic processing –as per usual since it's something I always do.
On one hand, I was frantically worrying about what my encounter with Felicity will be today. Will it be friendly? Will it be tense? Will it be short? Will it drag on? Will she continue to hate me? Or will our friendship repair once she hears me out?
These questions have been plaguing my mind and I have been going back and forth with each one.
It is the most frustrating thing having to wait for the unknown.
On the other hand, however, I was thinking about Alex…
After the encounter Alex and I had with her past vampire boyfriend Connor at the fair, she and I, without delay, told my family about it yesterday night.
My family of course went on full panic mode. We were already on high alert what with dealing with the possible danger of the unknown that was Cassia and the potential return of Charles –because we all believe his presence still lingers for as long as we have what he wants and what he wants is Carter.
So now we have this new threat.
Hooray!
We can't catch a break can we?
Alex didn't feel safe going back home alone so she managed to convince her parents to stay over at my house for the rest of the weekend. Frankly, I was happy for that.
I felt more comfortable having her under the protection of my family and after bravely sharing her personal story with me, all I wanted to do was hug her for a long time.
She didn't tell my family about what Connor did to her because she wasn't yet ready to tell that part of the story with anyone else. She only told them that he was a past toxic boyfriend who didn't quite like how things ended between them and that he was capable of anything. Some of my family was none the wiser but my father read her mind and knew. He agreed to keep it to himself out of respect for Alex.
My Aunt Rosalie probably guessed exactly what she was hiding given her own history with sexual assault when she was human.
I heard of all the stories about what she went through growing up and it's something that stained her heart and mind forever. Her sexual assault almost left her dead on the streets before Carlisle found her and saved her. It was a part of her human life she wished she forgot but at the same time made her glad she didn't. It made her stronger and she told me that the more she talked about it, the stronger and more confident she got.
I am sure if or when Alex is comfortable enough to share her story with other people, my aunt would be the best person I would say she should talk to.
Back to Felicity…
Today's meeting could make or break our friendship.
Edward pulled into the long driveway of the Stone residence but parked closer to the sidewalk than to the house. I bet he felt he didn't want to push his luck and make Felicity or her grandmother uncomfortable.
I have been to Felicity's place a few times for sleepovers as she did at mine.
She lived in a large Victorian mansion as do many of the students at Oakland Woods High. Our school had 55% the wealthy elite and 45% middle class students and Felicity fell part of the 55% what with her father owning one of the biggest tech companies in the California state district –which was currently being run by his business partner whilst he was recovering in hospital after the terrible plane crash that took the life of his wife and Felicity's stepmom.
It hasn't been an easy year for Felicity.
Losing her longtime boyfriend, then to lose her stepmom who practically raised her as her own, and with her father in a coma…it's been a lot on her. It hasn't been the greatest of starts to her senior year.
Her usually jubilant, eager-to-please, high-energy was replaced a muted, mellow, broken young girl.
I often feel like I disappointed her. I disappointed her as a best friend and as a sister. I wish I could have helped her more. I wish I was honest with her and didn't lie to her because she doesn't have that many people left that she can trust.
Dad and I slipped out of the car.
I inhaled a heavy breath as I stopped to hold onto the door as I overlooked the Victorian home Felicity and I spent times enjoying each other's company in for the past 2 years.
I sighed as I closed the door and slipped my hands into my hoodie as Edward and I began walking up the house.
As we approached the door, my father looked down at me.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
I nodded my head but didn't speak.
I didn't trust my own words.
"It's gonna be fine. Just be calm. Let her hear us out. Maybe I can reason with her." He assured me. "It's gonna be okay,"
I sure hope so. I responded.
As my dad was about to ring the doorbell, the door was immediately flung open and emerged Felicity's grandmother, Priscilla with a perturbed look on her face.
"Yes?" She spat out.
I have met Felicity's grandmother only a handful of times. She wasn't particularly a welcoming presence. She's very quiet, guarded, cold and aloof, almost antisocial but she was also surprisingly meek, maybe it had something to do with her frailty and age but it was like every time I met her she seemed fearful of something and like she felt the need to protect herself.
My dad extended his hand out to her.
"Good day, Mrs. Priscilla Stone. I am Edward Cullen, family to Nessie here –"
"I know who you are." She said abruptly after staring at his marble hand.
My father furrowed his brows and fell silent for a second as he looked at her.
"…Your granddaughter agreed for us to meet tot talk over a few things. Is she home by any chance?"
The grandmother scrutinized my father with her callous eyes and then drifted her eyes onto me with the same look, leaving me slightly uncomfortable.
"Nana Priscilla. It's okay." Felicity's kindred yet raspy voice uttered from behind.
My breathing quickened as my eyes met with Felicity's.
Dressed in faded rolled up jeans at the ankles, floral flats, a simple buttoned down brown blouse, and her hair pulled up in a high messy ponytail. It was a huge departure from her usual fashionable attire.
She even wore her glasses that she rarely wore because she much preferred wearing her contacts.
I managed to curve a small smile.
"Hi," I whispered.
She looked at me and stared at me for a long time. I had no idea what was on her mind. I couldn't read her.
"Hi," She finally responded.
I couldn't help but smile even wider, although it was short lived since she quickly moved her focus from me to lock with my dad's eyes. A man she had an unspoken crush on before, now she was almost terrified to be in his presence given what she now knows about him.
"Good day, Felicity." He greeted with a warm smile. "We thank you for agreeing to meet with us."
"…Okay." She simply replied.
I heard her heart rate speed up.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
She was nervous.
She was scared.
She was terrified.
And who could blame her though?
She was standing next to people who she thought were normal harmless human beings for the past 2 years only to be thrown a curveball when she found out we were really bloodthirsty vampires.
"Uh…Grams, I got it from here." Felicity turned to her grandmother who hadn't moved her glare away from my father once.
Finally though, she took a brief glance at me and her eyes slightly softened but you could still see the scorn around the creases of her frustrated brows.
When Felicity's grandma finally left the scene, Felicity looked to us.
"Um…you may come in." She uttered nervously as she ineptly stepped to the side to invite us in.
"Thank you," My dad responded then took one look at me before entering the house with me following shortly behind.
Felicity then directed us into the living room where it looked like she was playing the piano and violin.
"You can have a seat over there," Felicity pointed to one of the couches.
My dad and I took the request and sat on the brown couch together. Felicity cautiously watched our movements and replicated them as she took a seat on the parallel couch over the long coffee table separating us.
Probably establishing some flight distance.
"You have a beautiful home." My father commented.
Felicity cautiously smiled back.
"Thanks." She replied nervously.
"Felicity, there is no need to be afraid of us. We are still the same people you knew a week ago. I am still the same man you had a crush on."
I darted my head at my dad with furrowed brows.
Her cheeks suddenly flushed and reddened.
"You know about that?" She stared at the ground ashamed. My dad cocked his eyebrow.
"Yes, I've known for over two years now." He replied. "And no, you don't need to be embarrassed." He added.
Her cheeks darkened harder as she nervously played with her fingers.
"Yes. Emmett knows you found him cute too." My father added, probably reading her mind.
Her eyes bulged and lips parted as she narrowed her crystal blue eyes at my father in shock.
My dad chuckled. "Yes, I do read minds." He confirmed her thoughts. "But I will explain that a bit later."
Her breathing hitched. "…Okay."
"I know all of this may seem weird and disorientating but I promise you this, we will answer any questions you may have for us. At least we'll answer the questions we can answer."
"I can ask you anything?"
"Within reason, yes. There will be certain information I can't divulge to you for security reasons."
She nodded. "I suppose I understand."
As Felicity was about to continue, her grandmother came in with a tray of tea, sugar and cups that she frailly and shakily held in her hands.
"Let me help you, Mrs. Stone." My dad offered.
She scowled. "No. I'm alright dear. Thank you."
She shakily placed the tray on the coffee table.
"I made a special chamomile tea. Hope you enjoy it." She mentioned, looking at my father in the eye.
My father's eyebrows furrowed as he shared the same intense look with her before smiling.
"Thank you," He replied.
Edward went in to reach for the patterned teapot and grabbed a cup to begin pouring the tea ever so gracefully. He then handed me the cup and not without giving me a signal with his eyes.
It was a look to say "Be careful".
I frowned but never questioned him.
He then poured himself a drink into the cup and held it close to his lips but didn't let hot water touch his mouth. He made it look like he was drink.
"Mmm. Thank you. This is delicious." He stated. "A very herbal chamomile tea."
Felicity's grandmother grimaced and nodded her head.
There was a period of awkward silence that crept up.
I glanced at Felicity who soon noticed the weird energy exchange that was halting the conversation from progressing.
"Um…Gran?" Felicity probed. "Do you mind giving us some privacy?"
Her grandmother turned to her granddaughter and let out a smile.
"Not at all young one," She uttered, stroking her head. "I will just be outside in the nursery. Call me if you need me." She stated before frailly walking out of the room.
We all simultaneously watched the old woman saunter her way outside and out of view.
"Sorry about that," Felicity giggled nervously.
I smiled back slightly.
"So…Where to begin." My dad started. "What's the first question you want to ask us?"
Felicity shakily sighed and thought before asking away.
"Um…" She cleared her throat, locking her fingers together. "Are you all…vampires?"
Wow!
Well!
She certainly cut straight to the chase, didn't she?
My dad looked to me then back at Felicity.
"Not all of us, no. But most of us are." He responded, truthfully.
"Who's a vampire and who is not?" Felicity added.
"I'm a vampire. So is my wife, Bella. My father Carlisle and mother Esme, Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice are all full vampires." He said.
Felicity furrowed her brows, then looked at me. "So you're not a vampire?"
"I am." I replied. "Just not a full one,"
She frowned. "I don't understand."
My dad responded next, "You see…Renesmee is a different kind of vampire than the normal kind. She's half vampire but she's also half human." He specified.
Felicity's confusion intensified.
"Wait…How does that even work? Aren't vampires supposed to be frozen in time forever?"
"Yes, that is true." Edward replied. "We didn't think it was possible to procreate as essentially undead, frozen vampires because it is impossible. But then I met my wife when she was still human. It's not common for vampires to fall for humans so we had no knowledge that a relationship between the two species would be able to produce a brand new subspecies but surely enough it did."
"So you experimented?" She questioned.
"No! God no!" My father quickly debunked her theory, glancing back at me to reassure me. "No. That wasn't the case at all. I assure you."
"As I said, I fell in love with Bella when she was a human and our every intention was to be together forever. One could say we were star-crossed lovers from two different worlds. But we made it work." My dad smiled as he reminisced on his and my mom's love story.
Oh brother!
But I found myself smiling at the thought.
"…So she wanted to be turned. She reconciled within herself that she wouldn't be able to have children as a vampire and we never even thought about it until it actually happened. We got married after graduation and planned to turn her after, long story short, that's when Renesmee came into the picture." He explained.
Felicity nodded. "I still don't understand how that's possible though? Aren't your…um…genes also frozen in time after you turn?"
I suddenly felt uncomfortable listening to the conversation about how I was conceived. It's not a story I particularly loved hearing nor be discussed in my presence.
It was weird. It was horrible. The whole experience is just…wrong.
But for the sake of helping my friend understand better about my life, I suppose I had to live with the constant discomfit.
"I do not want to get into too much detail right now. Let's just say, it is possible for a male vampire to procreate with a human and produce a hybrid. Nessie is testament to that." He stated.
Thank you, dad! I uttered in my head.
The conversation was quickly becoming unbearable.
"Are you the only vampire hybrid?" Felicity asked me.
I shook my head. "There are others like me."
"In your family too?" She asked.
I nodded. "My cousin, uh, you know Carter? He is Rosalie and Emmett's son. Yeah he's a hybrid too."
She had only met Carter once or twice when he was only physically 1-2 years old. We wanted to limit our interaction with him and outside humans. It would be too disconcerting for anyone to watch a seemingly normal baby age like a weed in a matter of weeks and months.
We wanted to avoid raised eyebrows as much as possible so we kept Carter mostly hidden until he was of age where his unprecedented aging slowed down to a more normal pace.
"Wait…wait…your cousin is like you? But how? How long has your aunt Rosalie been a vampire? Hold on, I don't remember you mentioning she was ever pregnant?"
"She never was pregnant." I replied. "Carter's adopted."
"There's a hybrid adoption agency?" Felicity asked in rushed chuckles.
Edward snorted, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"No, dear." Dad responded.
"Carter is…" I began, staring at my dad to ask him if I should continue.
He nodded in response and encouragement.
"He is Lizzie's son," I expressed.
I exhaled a sigh of relief.
It felt good to finally be honest and let it all out. Not hide things from Felicity anymore.
Felicity's eyes bulged. "Lizzie? As in our Biology teacher Lizzie?" She questioned.
I nodded.
"W-W-Wait….Is that why she suddenly disappeared and moved back to her hometown? To have her baby? Where is she now?"
"Lizzie left because she was pregnant with Carter, yes but she didn't move back to her hometown. She was under our care and protection up until Carter was born." Edward stated.
"Protection? From what?"
I stared down at my fingers nervously.
I didn't like where this story was going.
This was the part of the story I dreaded the most. We were getting to the part where terrible memories made their return into our lives.
And it all had to do with Charles…
"You see, having a hybrid vampire should be impossible. Not only are our genetics completely different from that of humans, our traits and characteristics are different too. We are stronger. Faster. Deadlier. And much more powerful than any human being. We are supernatural beings. Our skin is harder than human skin, almost as hard as granite and rock, maybe even tungsten. Our speed is 100 times faster than the fastest man alive. Our senses are heightened than any human and animal combined. Our bodies are stronger than anything in this world. Now imagine fusing all of that with a mere, weak, human being to create a species with even half of those characteristics?"
Felicity took the information. "Oh…" She simply replied.
"Yes, Felicity. Bella almost died carrying and giving birth to Renesmee but thankfully I managed to change her in the nick of time and we're now a happy family with our beautiful miracle child."
I rolled my eyes and blushed.
Thanks dad! I replied sarcastically in my head. Way to make a girl feel wanted and also smothered.
Dad snorted.
Felicity looked to me and smiled briefly before turning serious again.
"So…I'm guessing Lizzie died during childbirth, right?"
I looked to my dad.
What do we tell her?
That our biology teacher is now a vampire who abandoned her child and could possibly be terrorizing some town right now?
"We can only answer the questions you need to know."
"Need to know. Got it." Felicity sighed and muttered something under her breath, thinking we couldn't hear.
She exhaled a breath. "Where's Carter's biological dad?"
Crap! Crap! Crap!
"Again, that's a need to know question." Dad answered.
Felicity pouted. "What can I ask then?"
"Anything else that you are curious about but that really just scratches the surface. We can't answer anything else beyond the basics." He stated.
Felicity sighed in exasperation but soon conceded.
"Okay." She hummed. "Um…Do you drink blood?"
My dad and I both laughed loudly at the apparent question.
"Yes, we do." He said.
I heard Felicity's pulse pick up and her heart begin to race as her fear intensified.
She gulped. "Human blood?"
"No!" I quickly responded. "No. Definitely not human blood."
She frowned.
"In the same vein a vegetarian refrains and abstains from eating meat, we abstain from drinking human blood. It's sort of a moral code of ours. We are different vampires than say your average vampire Joe. We survive on the blood of the animals we catch. That is why my eyes are gold because that's the color it changes to after I hunt. Normal vampires have blood red eyes. If we don't hunt for longer than a month or so, our eyes darken till their pitch black."
Felicity chuckled. "That's kind of cool."
I smiled.
I suppose it is cool, now that I think about it.
"That is why you don't need to fear us, Felicity. We aren't trying to hurt you. We are actually trying to do the opposite. We want to be more like you. To live in peace with you all." My dad added.
Felicity nodded but didn't reply for a long while, pausing to reflect on the information I presume.
"Why aren't your eyes gold then?" Felicity asked.
"Hmm?" I hummed.
"Oh…that's because I'm different. Because I'm half-human, I have a lot of character traits a normal human would have. My eyes are actually my mom's human eyes. My skin is warm whereas my dad and family's skin is ice-cold. My skin is harder than a human but not as hard as a vampire's skin. That's why I can get bruised although it's very rare that I get hurt. I have blood coursing through my veins like a human so if I get cut, I can bleed. My heart beats, unlike a vampire although mine is quicker. In addition to blood, I can eat and survive on human food as well. Growing up, I preferred blood but as I got older I preferred human food a lot more. I can sleep the full eight hours needed for a human to be semi-functional whereas vampires don't sleep."
"Like ever?" Felicity cocked an eyebrow.
"Never." Dad said. "Believe me, I've tried."
"Interesting," Felicity smirked. "I don't think I can survive without sleep."
I giggled. "Me too,"
She laughed back.
That was the first genuine laugh I heard from her in months. It wasn't forced. It was the real, sweet, high-pitched, whimsical laugh that I loved hearing about her most.
"…But I also have vampire traits as well. I am as pale as a vampire. I can survive without having to breathe for oxygen or air but only for thirty minutes to an hour, I think, whereas my family can go days, weeks or months without breathing. I am faster than an average human I guess but not as fast as a vampire. I am much stronger than the average human. My body is a lot more durable and flexible than any human. I'm not as indestructible as a vampire but I heal super quickly. I have many talents a normal vampire would have. I have heightened senses such as smell, taste, hearing, sight, sound and touch although it isn't as acute as my big ole' man over here." I chuckled, nudging my dad.
"Hey! I'm not that old, youngling." He joked.
I chuckled. "Yeah, right."
You're super old dad! Don't even try to deny it. I fired back.
He rolled his eyes next to me.
Felicity smiled at our exchange but didn't make a comment on it and moved right along.
"So your parents are Carlisle and Esme, right?"
"My adoptive parents, yes." Edward said.
"Did Carlisle turn you into a vampire?"
Dad nodded. "Yes."
"And Esme?"
"He turned me first, then my mother Esme, then my sister Rosalie, then my brother Emmett." Dad said. "Alice and Jasper were turned before they met our family."
"Oh! I get it now. So most of you fall under Carlisle's bloodline?"
"Not exactly." He said. "We don't have blood in our system. Although we drink it to survive. The blood in our bodies isn't our own. You could say
"Where are your biological parents?" She asked.
"They both died before I was turned."
She nodded. "Sorry about that,"
My dad shook his head. "It was such a long time ago, it has really become a blur."
"I've noticed that you talk as if you're from a different time…" She began. "If you don't mind my asking, sir…uh…How old were you when you were turned?"
"Seventeen." He answered.
Felicity frowned. "Seventeen?" Her face dropped.
My father quickly laughed loudly.
I frowned.
What was he laughing at?
What was Felicity thinking?
"I'll tell you later." Edward replied to my thought.
I sighed.
"How old are you now?" She probed.
"Still 17." Dad stated.
"But for how long?"
Edward smiled. "Close to one hundred years, give or take a few."
Her face dropped even more.
My father sniggered even harder as he read her mind.
"How old would that make your wife?" She asked.
"My wife is 27 years old technically but she's 18 years old physically." He replied truthfully.
Felicity quickly did the math in her head as the genius she is and when the penny finally dropped, her eyes bulged in shock and disbelief.
Then she glared at me.
"It can't be!" She exclaimed. "Your mom was turned at 18, right? So that would make you nine years old…but…I…How?"
"Well, theoretically speaking…yes I am nine years old but I am an 18 year old girl for all intents and purposes." I said truthfully.
"I'm best friends with a 9 year old?" She whispered to herself.
My heart almost hopped into a loop as she said that.
Best friends…
She still saw us as friends.
Our friendship still had a place in her heart.
It made my heart churn with happiness to know that I still had a place in her heart and her life as her closest friend even with all this brand new information I kept hidden from her to protect her.
Makes me wish I had been open and honest with her from the beginning.
"So are you frozen at this age forever? Or are you still growing older by the day? Will you be old and gray by the time you're technically 18?"
"Yes. No. and no." I laughed. "One of the vampire traits I got from my dad was I get to be immortal like him. I stopped aging at seven years old. That's when I decided to start school in public because I knew I had stopped aging rapidly."
Felicity nodded. "Wow. Lucky fish."
I snorted.
"Well that depends on how you look at it."
I wouldn't consider being trapped at 18 forever as a major advantage in life. It is often and probably gonna be a limitation for me in the present and future.
"Okay. You said there are others like you. Who else is a hybrid?"
"Well, besides Carter, there's only 4 other hybrids we know in our world." I began. "Nahuel is a hybrid…" I uttered the name begrudgingly.
Her jaw dropped. "N-Nahuel? The hot guy I helped plan your birthday with?"
I groaned.
"Yes." I grunted out. "And so is Jennifer and their two other sisters,"
Her eyes widened in shock. "Jennifer, too? Are you serious? She kept this secret from me too?"
I smiled sympathetically. Although I wasn't initially a fan of the blossoming friendship between her and Felicity but I did acknowledge that Jennifer seemed to genuinely value her friendship with Felicity. She was her closest confidante when Alex and I weren't around.
So I can only imagine the betrayal now knowing that even Jennifer had kept a huge secret from her all this time.
"You have to understand, Felicity. We are all in a delicate position where we have to keep our true identities under wraps at all cost. It's for not just our protection but the protection of the rest of the world. Nessie would have loved to have told you the truth from the beginning but at the time, it just wasn't possible."
"No – I understand now. You were protecting your family." She stated, looking at me.
I grinned back.
I was so glad she understood.
"What about Jake? Does he know you're a vampire? He doesn't look like either one of you guys."
Edward smiled. "Yes. Jacob does know about us. He's known about us for years and years. And you're right, he isn't like us. He isn't a vampire. But he also isn't human. Not entirely anyway."
Felicity frowned, skimming her eyes over us. "Let me guess, he's a werewolf isn't he?"
"How did you guess?" I chuckled.
"I mean, it's the obvious next best guess. If he's not a vampire or human then he has to be your famous adversary, a werewolf." She scoffed.
"Well…shapeshifter." I corrected.
"Werewolves are an entirely different species. Jacob and his brothers are shapeshifters that take the form of a wolf." Edward stated.
"Werewolves and shapeshifters. Oh my." She snorted.
"Yes. But that's a story for another day," Edward replied.
Felicity nodded. "When you say Jake and his brothers…you mean his roommates?"
I nodded. "Yep. Embry and Mr. Clearwater are part of his pack."
"Jacob's got a pack?" She asked.
I smiled and nodded. "Oh, yes."
"So that makes him an alpha." She concluded. "And that must make you his queen, right?"
"Me?" I pointed to myself.
Of course you, idiot!
Who else would she be talking about?
"Yes. Like a Luna. That's the Latin term for Queen. He's the Alpha, in other words the King and you're his Luna, the Queen." She stated.
I felt my cheeks burn into a fiery red.
I wasn't quite ready to explain the whole imprinting process to Felicity just yet. I suppose it would be too confusing for her, especially if I piled on that weird information onto the one she has now.
"I suppose I am," I chuckled.
"Does Jake know he's dating a nine year old?"
My father groaned by my side as she asked the question.
I suppose it was still hard for him to grasp this thought.
I rolled my eyes.
"Like I said, I am of age for all intents and purposes. Do I look nine years old?"
"Hey! Don't attack me. I'm just saying…" She said in defense, surrendering her hands.
My father spun his head around to look through the window, seeing Felicity's grandmother carrying a pot plant in her arms but looking directly at the house and locking eyes with my dad. It looked as though she had been staring for hours.
"Um…" My dad hummed before turning his head to face Felicity.
"Listen, we have to get going. It is getting a bit late. If there any questions you'd like to ask us, please don't hesitate to call in. Our purpose for this visit was to be open and honest with you. We trust that we did our best in that regard and helped you understand better why Nessie kept this part of her life hidden.
Letting humans in on this secret wouldn't only endanger my family but it puts you in danger as well. We only let you in on this because you mean a great deal to my daughter Renesmee as one of her first real, closest human friends she has. We want you to be part of her life just as much as she wants you in it. We trust that you can protect and safeguard our secret."
Felicity stared at him then back at me and mustered a small smile.
"Of course. Your secret is safe with me. I swear." She replied, air-zipping her lips and crossing her heart.
I chuckled.
Oh, Felicity.
"If there's anything else, I think we should get going." My father stated, standing up.
"I couldn't agree more." The voice of Felicity's grandmother filled the room, causing me to startle slightly as I darted my head to see the old lady entering the room from outside.
Edward smiled warmly as he walked over to her.
"Thank you sincerely for welcoming us into your home, Mrs. Stone." My courteous father expressed, extending his hand out.
The grandmother gave his hand a look until she begrudgingly shook his hand.
The exchange caused my father to unexpectedly hiss at the same as Felicity's grandmother before they both quickly dropped their hands.
My dad swiftly swept the awkward energy under the rug and pretended it didn't happen by flashing his white rows of teeth at her kindly.
"We should be on our way then. Thank you for the lovely hospitality, ma'am." My father stated, taking his keys from the table.
"You hardly touched your tea," Nana Priscilla mentioned incredulously.
"Oh! Sorry about that. Must have forgotten throughout the conversation. Delicious tea by the way." He stated before nodding his head at her.
"Hmm." She responded, eying him warily.
Dad cleared his throat.
"Renesmee?"
I turned to Felicity.
"Um…I'll see you at school?" I expressed.
Felicity ignored the awkward exchange and turned to me.
"Absolutely. Yeah!" She stated.
I smiled. "Can I hug you?" I asked nervously.
Felicity laughed. "Sure!"
I giggled as I gave her a tender, loving, familiar hug that lasted for as long as it should. I missed hugging my best friend.
My dad cleared his throat.
Damn! Well he's in a hurry.
"Bye!"
"Bye!" She replied.
I waved to Felicity as we departed and sauntered my way past Felicity's grandmother to my father who rested his hand on the small of my back to usher me forward.
"Have a good evening," Dad bid final farewell before directing us out.
As we went down the porch stairs and down the walkway, I glanced back at the house to immediately lock eyes with Nana Priscilla's eyes as she stared through her lace curtains out the window.
I shivered at her snare before turning my head back around.
"That was really strange." I muttered.
"Yeah, very strange." He uttered in deep thought. "There's something about that woman." He added.
"She's weird. I know. Felicity tells me she has dementia," I chuckled.
"No. That's not it." He stated as we reached the car and opened the door for me. "There's something different about her. Strange. Different. Like there's a whole other layer to her that she's keeping concealed."
"You mean her mind?"
He nodded. "I tried to read her mind and although I can read parts of it, it was very blurry. Like she was keeping something's hidden in her head, like she's keeping me out of her head for some reason."
I frowned. "You don't think she…?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. It could be that she does know. Makes me wonder how else Felicity would have found out about us y'know?"
Hmm…
But what would a mere old human know about vampires?
"She seems ridiculously intuitive. That's something I have noticed. Uncharacteristically intuitive for a human, especially for a woman her age." He added.
"When I touched her, I felt a shockwave of emotions and feelings. Hunger. Thirst. Pain. Hatred. Power. Death. It was a mixture of every bad energy there is. It was almost like an interchange of emotions and memories. It was very weird." He stated.
I frowned.
That's interesting.
"Should we be concerned?" I asked.
What could a weak, old lady do to us?
He shook his head.
"I don't think so." He sighed, ushering me into the passenger seat. "She's probably just a weak, old lady with issues as you say." He stated.
I laughed.
My father hopped into the drivers' seat and as he started the car, an Oakland Woods Police Depart squad car drove past us. Commissioner Fitzpatrick tipped his fedora at us as we waved back and then pulled into the Stone residence where he and his partner/deputy hopped out of large squad car, approaching the house.
"I wonder what they're here for." I asked.
"They're questioning all the founder families."
"You know about the founder families?"
He cocked his eyebrow. "I live in Oakland Woods too, dear."
"Why are they questioning the founder families?"
"There's been a recent murder at the St. Clair family."
I frowned.
"I wonder where that puts the town death toll."
He shrugged. "Who knows?"
Then he drove off…
A/N: I'm back! By popular demand! Hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know your thoughts. Now that you know Alex's back story (ref. See Chapter 11 and 12), you need to keep an eye out on Connor. Felicity now knows everything but at what cost will her knowledge be to the family?
Next chapter will be the start of Jake and Nessie's anniversary which will be a 3 part chapter.
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