Remember Me: Chapter 15

Chapter 15

BPOV

"I…I live in a house full of vampires." I whispered, as they all stared at me intently. They have to be kidding me. I know I am supposed to keep an open mind, but seriously. They wanted me to believe that they were actual vampires that vampires actually existed. I just stared at them, first at Emmett and Jasper who both stood so frigidly at the base of my bed. There was no doubt in my mind that they were the same people from the photo, the only difference were their eyes. How do a person's eyes change from blue to a golden color? My eyes then shifted next towards Alice's and Rosalie's. Both of their beautiful faces were etched in hesitation and fear. Esme and Carlisle were off in the corner of the room, whispering to each other I presumed although it was hard to distinguish what they were saying. I saved him for last. My eyes traveled from his tousled hair down to his golden eyes that seemed to fear looking into mine. I continued over his bold nose and angular jaw and wondered how a person could be so beautiful and yet love someone so plain?

That brought another thought to my mind. Hadn't I asked Edward if he was being truthful with me? He loved me, and in my heart, I knew he did, but why would he lie to me? A cacophony of thoughts plastered my mind, as I trying to comprehend everything Edward had just told me.

"H…how? I mean what's…" I struggled to find the right words, but Carlisle stopped me.

"Bella" he paused. "I know you have question, and I would happily answer them the best I can, but this isn't the place or time. When you're released tomorrow, we can discuss it then."

"I want to know now. " I asked, but he shook his head.

"I'm sorry but no. This place. You wouldn't understand." He said, and for some reason his words made me mad.

"I don't understand? This isn't the time or place. Let me get this straight. I've been lied to this whole time, and I can't even the privilege of being told the truth. I don't understand, you don't understand." I raged, rubbing my face with my freed hand."Bella, please calm down." Edward pleaded, and a moment I almost became lost in his golden eyes, but that was soon replaced by red.

"You want me to calm down? Out of all of you, you're the worst. It hurts me to even look at you right now. What happened to being truthful with me I thought you loved me?" My voice became softer.

"I do love you." He answered, and I felt my heart stutter in my chest.

"If you did, you wouldn't have lied." I whispered, restless.

"Bella," he said, and I could hear the pain etched in his voice.

"Please go. All of you. You want to talk tomorrow, fine, but I just want to be alone." I croaked as my eyes filled with tears.

"If that's what you want." Edward sighed, as he followed behind the others out the door. He paused in the doorway.

"Bella, I know this is hard, but even if you don't forgive me, I'll always love you." he smiled sadly, before closing the door behind him. I let the tears fall, as a few sobs erupted from my mouth. Why did all the bad things happen to me? I thought I was finally through with the heartache. Even the one person who I loved and trusted the most lied to me. A few more sobs fell from me, as a nurse sympathetically rubbed my arm. Soon my sobs, turned into moans, and then soft whimpers. I finally closed my eyes restless when I came to the realization that maybe I was destined to live in my own personal version of hell, alone.

EPOV

I was a monster. The others tried to tell me that I wasn't, but I disgusted myself. All I could see was the hurt look upon Bella's face. Her eyes had taken on a dark reddish brown hue, making them even more mesmerizing than before, but there were filled with hurt and pain and I had put it there. She only wanted me to be truthful and I had bluntly lied to her.

"Edward you have to stop all of this self hatred. It's not healthy." Jasper pondered.

"Since when is my health a concern? I have no health. Bella hates me." I growled, pacing back in forth.

"She doesn't hate you and you know it. She's hurt, that's all. You would feel the same way if you were in her position." Alice chirped.

"I know, Alice. I just can't take her being mad at me." I said, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Well if it helps, she's mad at all of us." Alice said sheepishly moving her gaze when she saw my glare.

"Well, excuse me Mr. Grumpy pants. Just because you're down, doesn't mean you have to kill my high. I thought at least you would be happy that Bella's getting released today." Alice huffed, before turning around to go up the stairs. Bella was indeed, being released today. As by Alice's orders, none of us was allowed to pick her up. Esme being the only candidate that strangely hadn't pushed Bella over the edge. The doctors had gave her the all clear, remarkably surprised at the extent of her injuries, which was nothing. We were all in the living room and I could hear Alice counting down the minutes and seconds until they would both return home.

"There here." Alice said creepily, reminding me of the little girl from Poltergeist.

"Everyone listen. Bella has not made decision yet, on what she wants to believe. If we want this to go well, just answer whatever she asks, even if it's a little personal. Understood?" we all nodded our heads as Alice smiled happily. We then heard the front door open as Esme came in with a sheepish Bella behind her. She looked better, her face slightly flushed as she gave me a small smile.

BPOV

"Are you okay dear?" Esme asked for the millionth time. I know she was just concerned for me, but it was time to give it a rest.

"Yes." I sighed. "I'm fine." I replied looking out the window at the flashes of green as she drove. To be honest, I was anything but fine. I was panicking. My stomach was full of butterflies, and I constantly felt like was going to throw up. How would you feel if someone told you that they were vampires? Not good, I presume. After they had left the previous night before, I laid there staring up at the ceiling for what felt like hours. What was I to do now? I felt like I should just accept things as they came and hoped that I didn't end up self-destructing in the process. Esme had came over the earlier this morning with some fresh clothes for me to wear when I decided to take a shower in the makeshift bathroom. I admit it felt nice. I hated hospitals. They smelled like bleach and stale air and I wanted to get as far away as possible from this place. To me, hospitals seemed to represent death, and believe me, I think I had enough encounters with it to last me a lifetime. After showering, I dressed into the clothes that Esme had brought me. A pair of yoga pants, a soft grey sweater and a pair of slippers. Yes slippers, which were comfortable against my feet. Throwing my hair into a messy bun on the top of my head, I left the bathroom to see Esme perched on the end of the hospital bed with my belongings. She looked so heartbroken, and I felt my heart clench in my chest. It was hard to stay mad at her. We walked silently side by side, as she helped me into Carlisle's Mercedes. She had offered to stop by the diner and pick me something up to eat, but my stomach couldn't bear it. We had just pulled up in front of the house, and I admit I was a little reluctant to get out. I didn't know what I was walking into, and that scared me more than anything. Esme must have saw the reluctance in my eyes, because she settled her hand against my mine.

"I know Bella that this is a lot. Nevertheless, we are good people, and would never hurt you. We only have your best interests at heart." She smiled, patting my hand as she got out. She was at my side in a flash, nearly scaring me to death. She must have heard the frantic pounding of my heart, because she mumbled a soft apology.

I trailed blinding behind her, as she opened the door. I could smell him. My skin began to prickle, and I felt goose bumps rises over my body. It was odd, knowing that my body was so in harmony with his. I continued to follow Esme when she stopped in the doorway to the living room, nearly crashing into her backside. I lifted my eyes from my feet, and immediately focused them on a pair of topaz ones, who was looking at me with conflicting emotions in his eyes. I had missed him. As much as I was angry at him for lying to me, I missed his touch, the way his lips felt against mine. I gave him a small smile.

"Are you ready to talk?" Carlisle asked, breaking my little reverie. I nodded my head and walked over to the lone armchair in the corner. I immediately raised my legs and brought them to my chest, resting my arms upon them. They were all watching me, and I felt like I was under scrutiny. I pushed a stray strand of hair, and focused my eyes back on Edward, although it was Carlisle who was spoke up.

"Where do you want us to start?" he asked.

"The beginning. I want to know it all." I whispered.

….

I listened intently as Carlisle spoke my eyes never leaving Edward's face. They all added their little tidbits of certain events, and it amazed me how much they had been through, even more so than myself. When they were all finished, I didn't move. I couldn't speak, or even come up with a coherent thought. My mind was too busy trying to process things. When my brain finally caught up, I tried to rationalize all the things that I had been told. Carlisle had changed them over twelve years ago; there is a treaty with the werewolves

( that apparently Jacob's apart of ) that prevents them from changing anybody on their grounds, Edward's a mind reader ( crap!), Alice could see the future based on the decisions people made, and Jasper could read people's emotions. There were laws that they must abide by, my dad had actually grew up in Forks when he was younger but left when he met my mom, it was a vampire that caused the accident that killed my parents, a vampire that caused my accident a few days ago, and then there was the fact that they were indeed vampires who drank blood, animal blood to be more precise. That was a lot to process. They also left many blank spots and a part of me wondered if they intended for it to be that way. They either wanted me to ask questions, or they wanted me to put the pieces together myself. I really hoped it was the first one, I didn't even know where to start."Just ask, Bella. We all know you have questions" Alice chirped, and I shifted my eyes to her.

"Okay, um… tell me about the whole vampire complex. I'm still confused about that part." I asked. Carlisle nodded his head.

"When one changes into a vampire, it's a long grueling process. It takes about three days, and you endure what Edward calls "your own little personal version of hell". It's excruciating burning sensation that eventually stops your heart from beating. Your body becomes frozen in place. We become what you call "beautiful". He laughed.

"You never age, and everything about you changes. Our body is impenetrable, even from bullets, our skin is as hard as diamonds, and only such could ever cause us that extent of damage. We become extremely fast, and all of our senses become amplified. We do not eat, nor have proper bodily functions such as going to the bathroom. We are like predators, not are, but it's in our nature for people to be drawn to us. When you awake, you have an immediate hunger for blood. As we told you, our kind only drinks animal blood, hence why our eyes have taken on a golden hue. But there are others of our kind who do not tolerate it. They only consume human blood, which is why their eyes stay a blood red. Then in some cases such as Edward, Alice, and Jasper. When a person changes they may gain a power. As we told you, Alice's can see the future based on a person's decisions, Jasper can read or affect a person's emotions, and Edward reads minds." he stated, and I cut him off.

"About that. Edward can you read my mind?" I asked surprisingly calm, although I was panicking inwardly.

"No for some strange reason your mind is silent to me." he said, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank god. If only he knew." I muttered and I heard him chuckle. I looked at him confusedly. I think you seem to forget that when we change, our senses are magnified. That includes hearing. How do you think we always knew where you were? Your heartbeat is a big giveaway." he grinned and I felt the blood rush into my cheeks.

"Well that explains how Alice how always found me then." I muttered, which brought another question to mind.

"So…" I muttered. "You guys told me that you knew about me right?" I asked, and they all nodded their heads again, confirming what they had told me earlier.

"We would glance in a few times every few months." Emmett added.

"Using Alice's visions." I stated rather than asked, but they all nodded their heads.

"We wanted to ensure that you were safe at all times." Edward said, and I almost laughed aloud at the word safe.

"Every time she checked, you were okay." Rosalie said.

"Well you need to stop depending on her visions then, because I was living in hell. Starving for days on end, because I gave my rations of food to other kids, or taking a beating almost daily for a few of them because they were so young. Try not being adopted, and watching the happy faces of the other kids as they got a new family that loved them. Or the feeling of not receiving any presents at Christmastime, or even waiting for someone to remember that it was your birthday. If that's what safe is, I think I rather be in danger." I whispered, a few tears welling up in my eyes. Their own eyes seemed to glisten, making the molten gold of their eyes seem to glimmer as the light hit their pupils

"God Bella, you don't know how many days, we had to resist ourselves from trying to find you. You must understand that at that time we were unstable. We only thirsted for blood, blood, and more blood. It wouldn't have been physically able for us to be around you." Jasper said. "Some of us struggled more than others, and none of us were ready yet. Even to this day it's a constant battle for us not to give in." he said, and I sympathized with him.

"I understand that, but you don't know how long, I would sit in the small quarters of my room wondering why me? Why did my family had to die and leave me to suffer? Why wouldn't someone adopt me? Why couldn't I be loved like the other kids?" I whispered, a few tears falling my eyes that I hastily wiped away. I could see Edward's fingers twitching and I knew he wanted nothing more than to comfort me.

"Bella, back then I barely understood my visions myself. They would come at random spurs some days, and the others nothing. I would have never let you suffered like that. I still struggle no at the few aspects of my visions today." Alice said, her bottom lip quivering.

"I know." I said, offering her a small smile. She ran over and gave me a hug her little body shaking with sobs. We rocked back a few minutes before she released me, a huge smile upon her face. She skipped back over towards her seat next to Jasper.

"Anymore questions?" Carlisle asked.

"A million more and then some." I smiled. I asked a few more pointless questions and they answered me happily.

"What about the treaty?" I asked. "You stated that it prevents you from changing anyone. Carlisle nodded his head. "Well if my dad grew up down here, and Billy knew about Emmett and Jasper wouldn't that be considered breaking the treaty?" I asked.

"No it didn't break the treaty. Billy didn't know about Emmett or Jasper. The picture you grabbed was from a year before the accident. You three were nowhere in this area, when he told him. He had came down at the news of Harry Clearwater's funeral." he said, and I nodded my head. That made sense.

"So Jacob's really a werewolf then?" I asked, and they nodded their head.

"And I want you to stay far away from him." Edward said, and I was a little taken a back.

"Why?" I wondered.

"He's unstable. Those wolves are unpredictable, and have a very high temper. They could phase at any given moment." he said harshly.

"That isn't far. He's one of my good friends, besides he was cool before, what makes him so different now that I know he's a werewolf?" I huffed.

"Belllla." He drew out my name. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at him.

"Edward." I said, glaring back at him, until he laid back against the couch pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I'll be careful okay, but he's still my friend. If I can accept the fact that you're a vampire I can accept the fact that you're a vampire, than I can handle the fact that he's a werewolf." I said, and a smile broke out across his beautiful face.

"So you accept that I'm a vampire huh?" he smirked, and a small laugh fell from my mouth.

"Yes, I accept the fact that you are all vampires." I stated, and it fell silent. Esme then got up and brought back a huge box, and settled it in front of me. I looked down to see a huge box, full of old books, toys, and what appeared to be an old photo album.

"Is this all for me?" I asked in awe, as I grabbed what looked like a rattle.

"Yes it's all yours." She smiled."How…how did you get all of this?" I asked, tears welling up in my eyes once more."

"After the accident. We wanted to gather things for the others to help them remember, and we couldn't pass it by, knowing that one day we might see you again." she said, walked over to Carlisle.

"Let's give her a little privacy." She said, and everyone got up, although Edward seemed a little hesitant.

I don't know how long I sat there looking over the items and flipped through the photo album. There were so many photos of me and my family. From my birth bracelet, to a picture of me on a tricycle. I flipped through all the pages, stopping on the last one, which was a group shot of the others and I. We were all laughing and I was perched on Edwards's shoulder grinning. I saw that there were quite a few pages left, and I felt a little saddened knowing that those empty page represented missing moments of my life, I looked down to see a teardrop had fell down upon one of the empty pages, and I sighed and felt a cold hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Edward standing beside me. He wiped away my tear tracks with the pads of his thumb and pressed a kiss to my temple. I wrapped my arms around and leaned into his chest.

"It's okay love. I'm glad those pages are blank." he said, and I pulled back.

"Why?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Because it means we get to make many more memories." He grinned, pressing another kiss to my forehead. I fell back into his touch with a small smile upon my face. We still weren't finished talking, and I surprisingly felt okay. And for once, I wasn't lying.