SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW ➻ DEMETRI VOLTURI

Q U A T T R O

"Cecilia," she heard a voice say softly. It was an angelic voice, full of warmth and love. She felt two cold fingers stroke a lock of wild hair out of her face and slowly, she opened her eyes. They burned from tiredness, but at the sight of her mom, she smiled. 

Even though her mother was a vampire, Cecilia thought she looked oddly pale and tired. Much to her own surprise, she found that she was relatively calm about the whole situation. Maybe Jasper was meddling with her emotions, but she had a feeling that wasn't the case. Why exactly she was calm about her death nearing she didn't know either.

Her father entered her room as well, a tightly wrapped box with a big red bow on top of it in his hands. Cecilia frowned, not sure why all of a sudden her parents were bringing her gifts.

"We know you don't want presents for your birthday since you think you're spoiled enough during the rest of the year, so this is the first no-particular-reason present," Esmee explained.

And probably the last, she thought to herself, but her smile didn't falter. "You didn't have to."

"But we did anyway," her father quickly said, placing the box on her lap in a resolute manner.

Not being able to contain her curiosity, she pulled the bow from the box and put it next to her. The wrapping suffered the same fate, leaving her with only a cardboard box. She opened the lids, an immediate expression of awe taking over her face as her eyes caught sight of the violin-shaped coffin. She looked up to her parents, who'd found each other in a sweet embrace, her eyes twinkling with excitement. "You guys didn't."

"Open it," her mother urged her on.

She grabbed the coffin out of the box, quickly opening the clasps. The violin inside left her breathless. The upper side was made from bright spruce wood, shining from newly applied polish and she felt as if the black strings stared at her, inviting her to play.

"Edward tuned it for you already," Carlisle said.

Carefully, she grabbed the instrument, laying it on her shoulder and adjusting her chin rest to a comfortable position. She grabbed the bow and a second later her room was filled with beautiful sounds.

Sometimes her family teased her that even though she was 'only a human', she was extremely talented. She guessed that was true to some extent. After all, she did catch onto new things with great ease if it was theoretical matter, but learning to play the violin had taken her years of blood, sweat and tears and spending hour upon hour with Edward as a sometimes slightly impatient teacher. It was a skill earned through discipline, not because she simply could.

"It's absolutely beautiful, thank you!" she said, hugging her parents close after she'd laid the violin back in its coffin.

"We're glad you love it," her mother said. "Oh, and I smell your breakfast."

Cecilia sniffed the air and a second later she smelled it as well. "Pizza buns?" she said quizzically.

She didn't waste another second, rushing down the stairs, an amused smile on her lips. As soon as she noticed Rose standing in the kitchen, an apron tied to her waist and her hands carrying a tray of pizza buns from the oven to the dining table, her smile grew into a grin. She knew how much Rose hated cooking, but she made the best pizza buns in the world. The rest of her food was worthless and would probably end you in the hospital, but the buns were worth more than gold.

"I thought fat food in the morning especially was horrible for your skin," Cecilia said cheekily. Not bothering to grab a plate, she took a seat, her hand immediately going for one of the steaming buns.

"Don't you have manners," Rose said as she slapped Cecilia's hand away before she could snatch away one of the buns. She turned into a white blur rushing from one side of the kitchen and back. A split second later, a plate with a bun stood in front of her.