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The Newborn
By : belladonnacullen
Category: Twilight Series > Het
Views: 3452 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or make any money from this story.
Chapter List
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"Yes, we'll talk when he gets back. Carlisle and I had something we wanted to discuss with you and Rose as well."
Esme tried, but couldn't keep her thoughts completely guarded from me.
"We're moving where, Esme?"
*
"I'd like to wait for Carlisle, if you don't mind, Edward. Nothing is decided yet, and it's his news to tell."
"What are you two talking about? We're moving?" Rosalie asked.
"We can't stay here now Rosalie. Did you forget about the building you knocked us into?" I accused.
"The building I knocked us into? You know very well you started it!"
"Please! We were having a civil conversation when you blamed... this... on me." My voice trailed off reluctantly. We'd been fighting about Rosalie's existence before we knocked the structure down. A juke joint and a forced move meant little in comparison to her soul. I threw myself into a chair, crossed my arms and watched the door for Carlisle. He had a lot to say for himself.
The three of us settled into an uncomfortable outward silence as we waited for my father. Rosalie rocked impatiently back and forth in a creaking rocking chair. The thoughts and concerns of the others swirled around me in the cold cabin air.
"Like some sort of prize for his son." Creak. "Just my luck he finds me dying." Squeak. "What kind of woman does he think I am?" Creak, creak. "I told Carlisle that he should have said something." Creak. "It's a marvel he was able to keep it from Edward as long as he has." Squeak, creak. "And just when the two of them might have been --"
"Rosalie, please!" I sprung from my seat. It hadn't been Rosalie that caused my temper to flare, but it was easier than yelling at Esme. I'd never felt for any woman the way Esme hoped I might feel for Rosalie. While this sometimes left me feeling damaged and inhuman, it was something very personal that my mother had no right intruding on. I was tired of being pushed on this matter. Now a soul had been lost in this quest to find me a mate.
"What is it now, Edward?" Rosalie scowled.
"Nothing. The chair. Could you stay still?"
"Anything for you, Edward. That seems to be the rule in this family. Myself included." With that Rosalie crossed her arms and stayed vampire still, glaring at me all the while.
"Happy now?"
"No." I could feel the anger rolling of my body, shaking the air around me.
"Seems to be a recurring theme with you."
"I'm sorry, but I can't stay here and wait." I was quickly out the door, running into the cold night, trying to catch Carlisle's scent. The air was heavy with hickory, sassafras and white pine, but Carlisle was nowhere near. I heard Rosalie's footsteps behind me, but she was no longer as fast as I was and stood little chance of catching me.
"Damn it, Edward!" she called. "Why is it always about you? This concerns me, you... you --" I'd outrun the range of her voice. Unfortunately, I could hear thoughts from a much wider distance. Her silent curses were probably well deserved.
As much as I was searching out Carlisle, I was also running to quiet my mind. I felt my body and mind relax as I pushed myself over the harsh mountain terrain. As a vampire, I could never turn off my conscious brain, but running was probably the closest I could get to it. I felt the sharp winter air pelt at my skin and pull at the roots of my hair. Frozen rain began to fall from the sky, and small needles hit my face and left a layer of frost on my clothing. The soft gray mist that always hung low in these mountains enveloped me and held me close as leaves and twigs scraped at my skin. I picked up the distant smell of fox, beaver and wild turkey.
But try as I might to avoid it, my mind inevitably cut through the sensations of the cold night. Rosalie was another life to add to my escalating body count. I'd had a clean record for four hard-fought years, and yet here was another death at my feet. Was it my destiny to destroy humans, whether intentional or not?
I ran faster, pushed harder, over granite outcroppings, weaving easily between tall pines until I caught something in the wind. It was a scent almost more tempting than any other. More tempting than anything except the smell of human. Venom filled my mouth, electricity exploded through my limbs. I ran faster, then took to the trees, moving silently and swiftly through the branches, delighting that my meal was running quickly, inexplicably, in my direction.
Suddenly, wordless images flashed through my brain. There was another tracking my prey. In the other's mind I heard rapid footfalls and steady breaths. I watched the wet world flash by in greens and grays. The other's eyes caught everything as they ran; it wasn't a blur. The other was a vampire.
But this cougar would be mine.
The cat was trapped between the two of us. I smelled its anger, tinged with fear. It took to the trees, but I was already there. The other vampire was closing in. I could almost smell it. The scent of the cat had my teeth dripping and my lips damp with venom, my throat burned. I moved swiftly along the tree limbs and the cat let out a guttural snarl. We sprang at one another, colliding with a dull thud, and she was knocked unconscious on impact. My teeth met her neck before we hit the ground, piercing deep into her buttery flesh until they sliced through her jugular. I landed on my feet, the cat cradled in my arms.
It was mine.
Her blood was salty, earthen and warm. The thick liquid caressed my throat with its silken texture. My eyes rolled into the back of my head as I fed. But then I heard the near-silent footsteps and the snarl building in the approaching vampire's chest. I wasn't finished. I wouldn't give the cat up. I pulled hungrily at her throat, inhaling the vinegar and copper scent of her pelt, digging my nails into her skin. Mine.
The footfalls drew rapidly near, the crisp leaves almost rustled, the night moved around me as the vampire came to lay claim to his stolen prey.
I spun around to glare into my father's dark eyes.
*
We eyed each other silently, minds wordless, his eyes fixed on my body, my prize, my mouth. I saw him suppress a snarl, at war within himself. For an instant I was glad. She was dry and I threw her at his feet.
"I'm sorry, was she intended for you?" I growled.
"Edward." There was a predatory undertone to Carlisle's voice. I stood my ground.
"What were you thinking?"
"Edward."
"Rosalie Hale."
"Edward, it's been a year. You and she --"
"Enough, Carlisle. I know." With those words the predator in front of me melted, and my father stood before me, suddenly smaller and more vulnerable. "What you did to that girl was unconscionable."
"Edward, I never claimed to be infallible, I'm just your father. To see a child in so much pain, you would do anything."
"But how could you manipulate life like that? How could you turn someone with the idea that she was intended for me?"
"The same way I turned you, Edward. My actions were selfish, but you never questioned my intentions, because it worked."
"But you thought I would love her?"
"Son, what do I know of love? It took me hundreds of years to find Esme. I'm nearly as much as a novice as you are in that regard. You and Esme changed me, changed my existence forever. I'd hoped having someone would change you too. It may not have turned out like I hoped, but I can't believe it was a mistake."
"Ha," I managed sarcastically.
"Rosalie has always had the power to draw you out of yourself."
"You enjoy the anger? The exasperation? You see this as an improvement over..."
Carlisle puckered his lips in a bemused smile, stopping my words in my throat. "It's heartening to see you fight for yourself, at least."
"And at what cost?"
"Edward, let Rosalie's soul weigh on my conscience. That's between me and my god. But she is part of our family now. She is my child. She will always have a place here."
"She's not happy."
"This coming from you! Do you remember your own state of mind four years ago, one year ago? I'll talk to her."
"Good luck with that."
This time Carlisle chuckled out loud. "Again, this coming from you. Do you know how hard it was to approach you when you turned up on our doorstep in Bronxville?"
"I tried to make it easy for you."
"You weren't successful. But I appreciate your effort." I saw Carlisle trying to restrain his grin.
I looked away. I wasn't ready to find humor in my actions. There was too much horror intertwined with it all.
"There is something Esme and I would like to discuss with you and Rosalie."
"Cumberland?"
"You heard."
"From Esme. It's a point on a map, Carlisle, little more than that. Why do you want to move us deeper into the woods?"
"Esme and I would like to help the humans in this area. This is a time like few others in history. These humans have nothing. The government plans to build a community from the ground up in Cumberland. A place where men can get work building houses, roads, dams for electric power. A place where children can attend school again.
"I would be in charge of creating and maintaining the medical co-operative. Esme would like to submit blueprints for the houses to be built. They'd like the dwellings to be aesthetically pleasing, and to utilize the very trees and rocks they clear to build the community. It's a challenge she's excited about."
"But, the woods?"
"I know you'd prefer a city. We've all sacrificed this past year for Rosalie. Esme and I won't go if it means you or Rosalie would leave us, or if it means you'll mope in the wilderness. I'm not making a decision like that for the family again. It's something we would all have to agree to."
"What would I do there?"
"Whatever you'd like. As Esme's younger brother you could attend school, you could get a job."
"A job?"
"Think about it, Edward. We have some time before we need to decide."
"Not exactly, Carlisle. Tonight Rosalie and I destroyed a bar on the outskirts of Waynesville."
This time Carlisle's laugh rang through the trees. "You see what I mean, Edward. She draws you out of yourself. In all our years together, I would never have expected that from you. At any rate, that pushes things up a bit. I suppose we should decide by morning. Now if you'll excuse me, you interrupted my hunt."
"Sorry about that."
"It was bound to happen sooner or later."
*
I don't know what Carlisle said to Rosalie. I tried my best to stay out of it. Of course, over the years, I saw glimpses. Carlisle had grown to love Rosalie, he made her, and he would care for her. I knew the feel of Carlisle's unconditional love. I knew it would win Rosalie over. What was her alternative? So she stayed, she agreed to their plan, and we moved deep into the Tennessee wilderness.
The Cumberland Plateau was a vast rolling landscape, thick with stands of hickory, oak and red maple. The rounded mountains dropped off into steep-walled canyons cut out of the sandstone by raging white water. Blue clouds rolled through the landscape, hugging the ground and clinging to the trees.
Carlisle and Esme hummed with satisfaction. Carlisle worked tirelessly, applying for grants, for donations, recruiting those with a medical background. He built a bustling facility deep in the shade. He made up for any shortage in supplies by using the native medicines he'd collected over the past year. I heard the thoughts of the other homesteaders as they marveled that the new doctor always seemed to be in the clinic. He very nearly was.
Carlisle used his clout to introduce Esme to William Stanton, the architect in charge. Her help, since it was offered for free, was gladly employed. On cloudy days, I'd often find Esme watching her designs being raised from the earth with a smile on her lips.
I attended high school for the first time since I'd been human, whenever the weather allowed. Rosalie came with me and stayed close to my side. She was cautious around the humans, trying desperately not to give herself away, yet trying desperately to be noticed at the same time. My concerns were of a more gastronomical nature. Although it had been four years, I still hungered for human blood. Between the two of us, we had all the vampiric worries covered.
Our absences during sunny days never raised much suspicion. In this community, formal education at our age was a luxury that was barely tolerated. If we were needed to help our parents in lieu of schooling, it was taken in stride.
When we did show up at school, the other students kept their distance from us as much as was possible in the confines of the classroom. When we were dismissed in the afternoon, they drifted intentionally away from us. I was never invited to play football or baseball with the boys, and Rosalie was never asked to join the girls when they would gather at one another's home. We never showed up at their weekend bonfires in the woods. They assumed we were too stuck up to associate with them, which worked to their advantage. The more space between us, the safer they would be. This was their world, we just existed in it.
Of course, there wasn't much I could be taught in that tiny school. Against my better judgment, I found myself listening in on the thoughts of the other students. In principle I was opposed to this. I thought it brought myself too close to the humans around me. I believed that if I let myself into their mind, I'd created a connection; one that could put their life in danger. But with little else to hold my attention, I used their thoughts to explore the countryside, learn to shoot a gun, see which crops had been planted in the field, and learn what our classmates did on the weekends.
Many of the boys in the class used their time to daydream about Rosalie. She was universally admired. I didn't tell her for fear that it would go straight to her head. But she never failed to notice their furtive glances and the way the humans would linger to watch her walk to and from school.
At the end of the school day, the older boys would often gather together in a group and watch Rosalie as she walked home with me. While it brought her a great deal of contentment, it also reminded her that she would never again be one of those humans. And every day I watched her pleasure turn to anger as she stomped off toward our house. The humans interpreted her attitude as snobbishness, but that didn't dampen their desire in the least.
It was a day like this when someone spurred the boys to take things a step further. I heard the dare a second before I heard the whistle. Suddenly all of them were whistling at Rosalie. I spun around, ready to quiet them all, but Rosalie grabbed my arm.
"Don't do it, Edward."
"I'm not letting this go," I growled. I tried to pull my arm away, but Rosalie held it tight.
"Please Edward, don't make a scene. Leave this to me."
She stalked over to the group of laughing boys and glared at them savagely, with a look only a vampire could give. They were struck silent. I heard Rosalie chuckle under her breath before she joined me on the path, took my arm, and began leading us home.
But one of the group, a boy named Warren, unexpectedly took off after us. It happened quickly, he'd decided in the moment. Up until that time his thoughts had been in line with the others. The crude attitude of the other boys spurred him to action.
We both heard him approaching. "What does he want, Edward?" Rosalie asked silently.
"He feels badly. I think he wants to protect you."
Rosalie laughed out loud before spinning around to face the boy. I guessed Warren was about a year younger than my human age, and he was already several inches taller than I was. He had a mess of wavy brown hair and pale freckled skin that was sunburned over the bridge of his nose. The boy was thin, but he had muscles that showed he grew up helping his parents on the farm. Overall, he looked like he could take care of himself.
But the look Rosalie gave him stopped him in his tracks.
"What do you think you're doing?"
If her look froze his limbs, her voice stopped his heart. By the time he recovered, Rosalie had turned back around and was walking towards home.
But somehow, Warren was undeterred. From the moment we walked into the classroom the next day, I heard his plans to accompany Rosalie home. I warned Rosalie as soon as I had a chance. By the time the school day came to a close, the boy's heart had accelerated to a dangerous pace, and I could smell the fear coming out of his pores. Rosalie stood to leave with her jaw set, her hands balled into fists and a determined look in her eye. And again Warren ran to catch up to her.
"Rosalie?"
She spun around faster than she should have and the boy took a few quick steps backwards.
"Leave me alone little boy. I could eat you for lunch."
"Rosalie!" I gasped.
She turned on her heels and stomped toward our house. Once again, the boy was immobile and his heart sputtered in his chest. When his heart came back to life I thought it might pound through his rib cage, and I saw beads of sweat break out on his brow.
"Sorry, Warren," I murmured, afraid to make eye contact. For all her fears about being suspected a vampire, she certainly hadn't acted human.
"It's alright, man. Your cousin is something."
"If you know what's best for you, I think you should leave my cousin alone."
"Yeah, right," he agreed half-heartedly. He walked off in the other direction, but snuck a few glances over his shoulder at Rosalie's disappearing silhouette.
*
Unfortunately, my warning did little to deter Warren, and I wondered at the boy's instincts. Everyone else in the school kept a respectful distance between us. But Warren grew bolder with the day, conveniently walking along the same route to school, approaching Rosalie and I at lunch breaks, and always hanging behind us as we walked home.
And little by little, Rosalie's attitude changed as well. She looked forward to his daily attention. Each morning as she prepared to leave the house, she would hum a little tune and repeatedly check her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes scanned the horizon looking for him as soon she left the house. This didn't escape Warren's attention, and he was encouraged to continue his pursuit. Each overcast day he walked silently along side us as we came and went from school. On sunny days Rosalie would mope at home, feeling trapped, and loathing her vampire skin.
Finally, the day came when Rosalie asked me to leave her and Warren to themselves as they walked home from school.
"Rosalie, no."
"Don't fight me on this Edward."
"I won't do it, Rosalie."
Warren jogged over to us. "Hey guys."
"We'll talk at home, Edward." Rosalie's voice sang sweetly. I heard Warren's heart hammering in his chest. He was considering whether or not he should hold her hand.
"Edward, so help me, if you don't leave right now, I'll make what happened to the juke joint look like child's play."
I clenched my jaw, narrowed my eyes and silently fumed at Rosalie. We would talk at home, all right.
*
An hour later, Rosalie practically danced into the house. I met her at the front door.
"So, are we going to have this out in the entrance?" she asked. Her tone of voice dared me to confront her.
"Rosalie, this isn't good for you. You need to stop playing with this boy. There's no point. It could be dangerous for us. Carlisle, and Esme have too much invested here."
"But it makes me happy."
"You don't care about him."
"I like him enough, Edward. Just because you don't like anyone, don't hold it against me." Rosalie always knew how to push my buttons, but I tried to contain my anger. It wouldn't get me anywhere. I needed to make her see what she was risking.
"Rosalie, it's wrong. You're putting his life in danger."
"You're confusing us, Edward. I've never fed from a human. I can control my hunger."
"Where do you think this will go?"
"I don't care. For once I'm happy. He's hardly scared of me. It makes me feel normal."
"We're not normal, Rosalie. We're vampires. What happens when he get's the nerve to hold your hand? What if... if --"
"Please Edward, I can handle myself. This boy could never hurt me."
I almost laughed. "It's not you I'm worried about."
"How very brotherly of you," she snarled.
"That's it, Rosalie. I'll speak to Carlisle. I can't let you put our lives at risk this way."
Rosalie spun around and went back out the way she came, slamming the door hard enough to crack its frame. Esme was going to be livid.
*
I was waiting when Carlisle returned from the clinic in the early hours of the morning. He listened to patiently to the story and my worries on about the matter.
"Edward, she's done nothing wrong," he decided.
"But interacting with a human that way!"
"I interact with humans every day," Carlisle reminded me.
"You and Rosalie are two different creatures entirely."
"I don't think so, Edward. We're both vampires."
I snorted. This wasn't a joke. "But, he has feelings for her. It's not right to lead him on."
"That may be the case, Edward. But that's a different argument. Morally it's wrong for Rosalie to lead the boy on, especially if she doesn't return the sentiment. But I won't try to stop her from speaking to him. I'm pleased that she finds solace in human interaction. We have to co-exist with them, after all."
I gritted my teeth and turned to look at the sun rising over the mountaintops, glowing dull red behind a thick blanket of clouds. The air smelled like snow.
"Son, I'll speak with Rosalie before school. But she's given us no reason not to trust her. She's an adult. Let's try to give her the space she deserves." He paused to make eye contact with me. "That includes mental space."
But the following day at school, Warren wasn't there. Rosalie was on the edge of her seat the entire time, constantly on the look out for him to show up late. Her eyes scoured the landscape when school let out. The following day was sunny, and Rosalie paced the small house like a caged panther. I slipped into the forest to escape her wrath.
Finally, the next day dawned cloudy and gray. Two days apart had been too much for the boy. He spent the day in class thinking about nothing but Rosalie. Despite his obsession, his thoughts were mostly pure. He longed to hold her hand, stroke her cheek, and to find a quite place to kiss her. His determination made me anxious, and Rosalie's inviting smiles had me livid. Her personal entertainment seemed a poor excuse to put the boy's life in jeopardy.
However, I honored half of my father's wishes. I didn't try to keep the two apart after school. But I didn't give Rosalie the mental space he requested. I held my breath and walked slowly toward home as I listened to Warren's plans. He wanted to take her to a sandstone cliff overlooking the Cumberland River. It was at least a mile into the forest.
Through his mind I watched as he reached out for Rosalie's hand. She hesitated and I heard her fears about how he would react to her touch.
"Please, Rosalie. I'm not like those other jokers. You don't have to worry about me."
And with that, Rosalie offered her hand tentatively. I watched Warren flinch as he touched her for the first time, but then he held her hand tightly his, with a look of determination in his eyes.
"Can I show you a place I like to go? It's real pretty."
"I don't know," Rosalie answered coyly.
"But it's not as pretty as you," Warren continued in a low voice.
"Oh, all right," Rosalie giggled as she batted her eyes.
I didn't follow them, exactly. I just stayed close enough to monitor their thoughts; close enough to see that the boy was safe. I tuned out their idle chitchat and I tolerated Rosalie's vain thoughts as the boy complimented her endlessly. Finally, they came to the overlook and I smiled as I recalled that Esme had drained a deer on that exact spot only two weeks prior.
I watched the boy tremble through Rosalie's eyes and I saw him wipe his palms on his trousers. And I saw him shyly look up at her, an unspoken question on his slightly parted lips. I watched him close his eyes and move his head closer to hers.
I shook my head and closed my mind. This was wrong. Carlisle was right, I shouldn't intrude. What Rosalie was doing in the woods with the boy was none of my business. I turned to walk away, when thoughts screamed at me from the cliff.
"Rosalie!" Warren shouted.
Images assaulted my brain. I saw Rosalie through Warren's eyes. Her eyes were on fire, her hands clenched his arms in a painful grip, and her lips were glistening with venom. And then through Rosalie's eyes, a saw the bloody scratch where a twig must have scraped Warren's arm. She pulled his arm to her face and inhaled. In her mind, her mouth was already clamped around it, her throat was already coated with his blood.
I saw the urine dampen Warren's pants and his face go pale. I was running as fast as I could.
But before I could reach them, Rosalie threw the boy on the ground and fled. I monitored the boy's thoughts to make sure he was unhurt before continuing after my sister. Using her mind and her scent as a guide, I easily overtook her. She spun around to face me before I could tackle her.
"Let me go, Edward."
"I let you go once before, I can't do it again, Rosalie."
"Leave me alone! Do you know what I almost did? Do you know what I still want to do?"
"Yes."
"Of course you do! You're a monster just like I am, and you read minds. God, I hate this! Just when I thought I could be normal, I could handle it. I can't stay here Edward. Let me go or I'll fight you right here. Let me go!"
"Esme and Carlisle would have my head. It would hurt them."
"Tell them I need to be alone. I can't stay here. I can't let that boy look at me again!"
"We can all leave, Rosalie."
"No! Don't try to stop me, Edward. Please."
Rosalie turned and ran through the trees. For a second time, I let her leave.
*
A week passed slowly by. Warren was left confused, with two bruised forearms and a broken heart. He didn't speak a word of the incident to anyone, instead letting the other boys in the class imagine he'd had his way with Rosalie in the woods. Carlisle and Esme were resigned, and not so secretly angry with me that I didn't physically restrain Rosalie. But she'd left us many times before and they were hopeful she would return.
True to form, when Rosalie returned, she made an entrance that no one in the settlement would ever forget.
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The Newborn	By : belladonnacullen Category: Twilight Series > Het Views: 3452 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or make any money from this story.

The Newborn