E D W A R D C U L L E N was a vampire. A revelation that had Erin staring at the Swan girl as if she'd sprouted a second head. Though in all actuality the explanation made complete sense when she thought about it. When she really thought about it. The Cullens had all been beautiful, almost inhumanly so. Absolutely flawless to the point Erin sometimes found them hard to look at. She could even remember the exact moment she'd bumped into Rosalie Hale on her way to fifth period, how cold her skin had been. She even noted the distinct lack of memory in terms of them actually eating normal food. She'd never seen them in school on a sunny day, always pulled out for camping trips which was apparently because they sparkled like disco balls. They all even shared the same vibrant amber colored eyes, apparently a trait reminiscent of their diet, animal blood.
Why they would choose to kill innocent animals over people, Erin couldn't fully understand.
"They feed off animals because they're not monsters," Bella had argued vehemently in their favor. The conviction in her voice, so strong Erin knew she believed the rhetoric with everything she had. According to Bella, vampires had venom, which allowed them to turn their victims into vampires if they wanted to. It's why she claimed feeding off of humans was so bad, they had to kill their prey or else their prey would become a vampire. They couldn't just nip and run. Erin didn't voice her thoughts of opposition, voice box burning. "Laurent fed off of humans, it's why his eyes were red."
Bella's eyes fixated upon her throat as she spoke, blackened marks still branded across her the delicate flesh of her neck, tainting her olive complexing. Marks unlikely to fade for another three weeks according to the doctor, Benjamin Voss. An arrogant prick who thought her too stupid to note the looks he'd been sharing with her mother for the duration of her hospital visit that fateful Saturday. Her vocal cords had sustained some damage, leaving her voice with a persistent rasp and a dull ache that flared whenever she swallowed. It hurt, but not unbearably so like all the pity comments did. Her story of a brutal attack by a strange, masked man while hiking was the talk of the town. A story spun out of necessity that thrust Erin to center-stage as the only survivor of a brutal killer preying upon unsuspecting hikers.
The sympathetic remarks and pitying expressions had begun driving the girl up a wall.
Her mother had also been completely unbearable the past four days, having taken time off to care for her. Though Erin knew her mother's true motive lied with her desire to ensure she didn't leave the house without her knowledge. Thursday was the first day to present the girl an opportunity to slip away, to shrug free of her theoretical shackles. Her history project the excuse burning across her tongue as she spoke in a croak. Her voice sandpaper against her windpipe as she told her mother of her desire for a homework - free birthday. She'd been allowed to leave so long as the chief was home, said man currently out getting pizza for the girls. His absence providing them with the opportunity to discuss the events of that ill-fated day without interruption.
Laurent was a bad person, she'd decided that long before Bella had given her the full story. But what made him bad wasn't him feeding off of humans, no, he was bad because he hurt her. She bore the marks of his cruelty, of his betrayal of the Cullens. His cruelty had marred her, affected her life in a major way - yet also a way that many would find so insignificant in the grand scheme of existence.
"You said that Jacob," Erin rasped, pausing cough as her larynx protested against her speech. "Is supernatural."
Bella nodded. "He's a werewolf. One of the wolves that chased off Laurent." Bella had told her about that part, the fellow brunette having let it slip to her father that large wolves had scared the supposed killer away. Her admission sparked both a manhunt and a wolf-hunt that put the pack in quite the predicament. "They actually asked about how you were doing, the pack wants to meet you at some point."
Erin hummed, scrolling down on her laptop as she listened to the Swan girl. They had, in fact, been multitasking as the second draft of their essay was due tomorrow. The feedback they'd received from the peer review had been taken into consideration as Erin worked to restructure the second to last paragraph of their paper. Noting the specific line another group had marked as being wordy. "What'd you say?"
"I told them your throat was pretty bad," Bella answered, flipping the page of her textbook though Erin caught the way her eyes flickered to her throat. The cringe that seized her body at the unflattering sight. "But that maybe once you've recovered enough to hold a conversation, I could convince you to visit the rez."
Erin just nodded, talking was starting to hurt her throat. She made a mental note to talk with Mr. Vaughn about the presentation portion of their project tomorrow. Barring any miraculous overnight recovery, her vocal cords would likely still prevent her from effectively communicating the key points of the project. Though that wasn't the main concern on her mind.
Vampires and werewolves were real was a far more pressing issue. It was definitely the kind of information that fully altered one's perception of reality, changing the way one would view every interaction, both minor and major, over the course of their existence. From strangers drawing too close for comfort, to old friends who faded from one's life in an instance, a missing persons case with no leads; what if they were instances of the supernatural? If vampires and werewolves were real, did that mean so too were witches? What of cryptids and fae? Elves and gnomes? Hell, leprechauns? Angels? Demons? Ghosts? It was a rabbit hole of thoughts that dragged her ever downward, to the point she felt herself drowning within her own mind. Thoughts she found herself unable to voice as she found her larynx too strained to speak, sandpaper grating her trachea with each breath, scraping her voice box with each strangled vocalization.
A vampire tried to kill her, werewolves tore him apart.
She survived a fucking vampire.
"I'm eighteen tomorrow." It was all she could think to say as she thought of the nearby reservation. She'd finally be able to leave Forks, she'd finally be free. It's a thought that as soon as it crossed her mind, she seized it, forcing the thought to remain at the forefront of her mind. She made it, she survived a vampire and gained her freedom. Her entire existence she'd been at war with fate, with the destiny of eternal imprisonment within Forks. Reaching eighteen meant everything, she'd won. Yet it didn't feel like she had, not even close.
"Tomorrow's your birthday!" The book slammed shut, jostling Erin from her thoughts, dragging her gaze to the Swan that sat across from her. Obsessive blinking the only real movement upon her face. "Why - why didn't you tell me?"
Erin shrugged.
"I..." Bella stared at her for a long moment. "Do you have plans?"
Erin shrugged again before croaking out a feeble response. "Jess does." Erin coughed. "I don't know what though."
Bella looked lost in thought as she continued to stare unseeingly at the fellow brunette. "I'll give Jess a call, maybe we can plan together."
Erin nodded, scrolling further down on her laptop. Rereading the paragraph to account for the flow and comprehension of this particular part. "Worst case, Saturday."
Bella hummed hesitantly answering the girl. "I'm - I was planning on, er, thinking of, maybe going cliff jumping this weekend. If you wanted to, maybe we could go to La Push."
Erin offered the Swan girl a soft smile as she nodded. She'd always wanted to go cliff-jumping, and surfing. So she figured why not?Might as well try and make something of her ruined birthday weekend. The damage to her throat had all but ensured her Seattle trip was not going to occur. An inability to communicate not something that boded well for the girl whose entire trip was a whim of a decision. She had no solid plans, no hotel booked or itinerary planned. Her plan was to make it up as she went and to enjoy her first taste of hard won freedom.
Laurent had killed her dream with a single squeeze of the hand around her throat. You're lucky he didn't crush your trachea, she could still hear the doctor within her head. Lucky. It's what all the nurses had told her over and over again. Yet Erin didn't feel lucky, not with the newfound truth that shifted so much of her perspective. Reality had been completely altered, tipped upon its axis with a truth Erin would've been fine never knowing. Vampires and werewolves, how she wished she could turn back the clock and tell the Swan girl no.
She survived a vampire.
She'd won her freedom.
So why did it suddenly feel like she was losing?