Twilight Reverse Rebirth

Chapter 13:

A calming night, and a rather strange dream, are not enough to soothe my troubled soul. I have to become a vampire. If I don't, the Cullens will die.

Bella will die.

I can't. I just can't let that happen. Wait, why can't I? I probably could. Forget the Cullens! Forget them, if not for them, I wouldn't be in this mess! That's right, it's their fault! All their fault! Especially Bella's!

…

I'm lying. It's not their fault. How would it be their fault? If anything, those Vulture vampires are to blame! What were they called again? Ah, Volturi. Yes, the Volturi are to blame! To hell with those Volturi! Them and their stupid vampire laws!

…

I don't even know the Volturi. Why am I looking for someone to blame? Is it because it's simply easier to blame someone else than it is to accept the fact that I'm going to die? Well, not die, but become undead?

I will admit that I have read but a few works with vampires in them. Bram Stoker's Dracula, of course. Carmilla, naturally. And I have seen the film Nosferatu in Classic Cinema at the Human School. All of them painted vampirism as monstruous...

I have no idea what to do. I wish I had answers. I wish someone would tell me it'll all be OK. I wish I could talk to someone about this. I wish to wake from this nightmare.

Someone! Anyone! Help me! Help me! For the love of God, someone help me! I'm scared!

I'm scared. So scared...

I'm crying. I can't cry now. I need to go to class. It is 2 PM. I need to get to class. I need to get out of this bathroom stall. I need to get out of here.

I need to get out of Forks! I need to get the hell out of here!

Someone help me!

God help me...

I dry my eyes. I get up, ever so slowly, from this toilet. I do not want to go to class. I do not wish to go to class. I just want this day to end. I sigh. I don't want to do anything.

"Attention students. Due to unexpected circumstances, classes end right now. All are free to go home." I hear the principal speak through the speaker. Convenient.

I can go home. I can just lay in bed. Or I could run off to Portland or something. Let me just get to my truck...

"Eddie!" Lauren. Just my luck. "Eddie we get the afternoon off! Isn't that great?"

"Yes, fantastic." I sigh.

"Listen..." She bites her lip. I think she has something on her mind. "Uh..."

Times like this I wish I could read minds. "Something wrong?"

"Uh..." She bites her lip once more. She begins to stutter. "I t-think w-we should..."

I have no energy for this. I wish she'd speak up. She eventually just sighs and gives up.

"Nevermind, forget it. See you, Eddie." She leaves. Now I feel bad for her. Fantastic.

"She likes you." A voice startles me. I look behind me and see Jasper Hale. "I can feel it."

"How?" I am scared now. "What are you doing here?"

"Come with me." Jasper grabs me by the arm. This is it...

He drags me past Mrs Meyer's classroom, where I see her just sitting on her desk. Jasper stops a moment and peeks at her classroom. He frowns a bit. "Do you know the story of this woman? Do you know her sadness and solitude?"

"What are you going on about, Jasper?" I ask him. He frowns.

"Let's keep going." He keeps dragging me. He takes me to the chess club room. No one is here save for us. "Do you know about our vampire abilities?"

"Yes, Dr Cullen spoke about them."

"Well, I too have an ability. I can feel what others feel. Extreme empathy." Jasper looks around him. "There is blood...I can sense blood..."

"What's wrong?" I see him begin to twitch. I am scared once more. At that moment the door opens once more.

"Jasper! Oh Jazz, come on!" I see Alice drag Jasper away. Bella is beside her. "Let's get you out of here!"

Alice takes Jasper out of the chess room, leaving me alone with Bella.

"I'm sorry. Jasper has the least control of his urges out of all of us." Bella looks at me apologetically. "He means well, but..."

"He said there was blood here." I look around the room. At that moment I notice a tissue on the floor. It has blood on it. "How could he sense that?"

"Our senses are stronger than those of humans." She looks down on the floor. "I'm OK, though. Eddie, are you OK?"

"I'm fine..." I lie to her. I don't like lying, but I do it anyway.

She looks at me with those golden eyes of hers. Why? Why can't they leave me alone?

"Eddie...I'm sorry. Alice insisted we stay after school so I can talk to you. She said she had a vision about you and that we needed to keep it from happening..." Bella looks away. "I didn't even want to go to school today..."

"Why not?" I ask her.

"Why bother?" She sighs and kneels down on the ground. "What's the point?"

"We would have seen each other." I tell her. Why did I say that, though? Is that really such a positive?

"You wanted to see me?" She smiles at me, weakly.

"Well, that would have been nice." I smile back a bit. I then sigh. I am really between a rock and a hard place here. There is an elephant in the room, so to speak. I look away, staring at the empty chess boards. Think, Edward, think.

"I like chess." I have no idea why I say that. "Do you?"

"I play every now and then. Rosalie hates it, and Esme's OK. Carlisle is really good, and Emmett is a sore loser who whines every time he loses. But Jasper's practically a master at the game, and no one can beat Alice because she can see the future!"

"Well that's not fair..." I try to chuckle. "How is Alice able to see the future?"

"Know what? We don't really know. Her power never made sense to us, so we stopped questioning it sometime after the 60's." She suddenly flinches upon saying those words. "Oh...uh..."

"Are you ashamed of being a vampire?" I ask her.

"No! I love my new life, and I love my family!" She responds. She looks at me with those golden eyes of hers. Enchanting...

"I think we should check on Jasper." I speak quickly. I'm nervous now. Bella nods with her head. We exit the chess room and find Jasper hugging Alice.

How odd, they look so human doing that.

Human...

"I'm fine now, Alice. Do not worry about me." Jasper smiles at Alice. She lets go of him. "Thank you...Oh! Edward, Bella, everything alright?"

"We're fine..." I say. Jasper looks at me strangely.

"Considering how you were just a few moments ago, perhaps relatively you are, indeed, fine." He smirks at me. "Maybe you don't wish to talk about it."

"Jasper, what are you talking about?" Bella looks at Jasper quizically, then looks at me with grave concern. "Eddie, are you OK?"

"Yes, Edward, are you alright?" Jasper raises an eyebrow at me.

"I'd...rather not talk about it..." I sigh.

"Edward, why were you in the bathroom for over an hour?" Jasper asks me. How did he know I was in the bathroom?

I was there for a whole hour?

"Uh..." I stutter. How do I respond to this?

"I had a vision you'd get into an accident." Alice speaks up. "You headed off to Portland and you were assaulted by these goons!"

"What?" I am shocked.

"Edward, what were you gonna do in Portland?" Alice asks me. "And why head there after school? It's such a long drive from here!"

I look over at Bella. Seeing her eyes, I get a terrible feeling in me. I can't even describe it.

I want to cry.

"We should go." Jasper points to the door. "Alice, Bella, come on."

"I want to stay a while, OK?" Bella grabs my hand. "Please?"

Jasper looks at me, then at Bella, then at me again. "You know the way home, Bella."

"Bye Eddie!" Alice merrily skips ahead alongside Jasper. Bella and I are alone now.

"Uh..." Bella and I stand in this hallway, all alone. There is a good minute of awkwardness between us.

"So..." Another minute of awkwardness.

"I guess, I should go now..." She says. I instinctly grab her arm. What am I doing?

"I'm scared." I tell her. I'm not thinking.

"Of?" She takes my hand and looks at me with those golden eyes of her once more.

"Everything. I don't want to be a vampire, but I don't want to die." I am trembling now. How good that there is no one around. "I'm scared, Bella..."

"Eddie...I understand." She hugs me. It feels nice. "I know, it's scary. And I wish I could tell you being a vampire is not that bad. And in my opinion it isn't, but I can understand why so few people would agree with me. Eddie..."

"I'm sorry, Bella."

"Don't be, honey. I know what it's like to be scared. But I want you to know that you can trust me. If not my entire family, you can trust me, OK? I'll never steer you wrong." Bella hugs me tightly. I can feel her shaking a bit. Is she as upset about this as I am?

"What do we do now?" I ask her.

"I don't know..." She responds.

I want to hug her again. Why? I don't get it...

Or maybe I do. I don't know.

"Bella? Thanks." I smile at her and hug her once more. "I feel better now."

"Well, I'm glad." She hugs me back. We stay like this for a good couple of minutes. Not that I'm counting, mind you.

I want this moment to last forever. It's perfect. The silence of this empty hallway, the tiny pittle pattle of the rain outside, the cold air blowing through the hall, the feel of Bella's cold yet soft skin, the smell of her hair, the beating of my heart. Father, is this how you felt the first time you held mother in your arms?

When I'm with Bella, I feel so calm, so good. I can't deny it, there's no doubt: I am falling for her.