Outcast

Chapter 31: One bite

Sam's POV

Finally the first day of school was over. I rode back home and as soon as I arrived I went in the kitchen and started cooking. Nessie and Jake came in the kitchen and noticed me.

"Um... what are you doing?" Nessie asked me.

"I cook when I'm annoyed, sad or frustrated." I responded, chopping the onions. One perk of being a vamp, no onion tears. 

"Really, that's odd. Well, I guess more grub for us! And if it's good we always have Emmett to annoy you." Jake said while checking out what I was doing.

"Somebody said my name?" Emmett said as he entered the room.

"No we just used your name in a sentence. Hey, did you know that Sam cooks?" Jake informed him. Emmett just started at me as if I had just turned in a frog. 

"You're one odd little vampire, aren't you? I blame the Volturi, they must have messed you up."

"Oh yeah, sure. Blame the Volturi for my unusual habits. As if Alec would ever touch this stuff, let alone cook!" I said with a laugh to myself. Then I realised what grave mistake I had done.

"What does that midget have to do in this conversation?" he said. I knew that I was supposed to act cool but I couldn't help it. He insulted my mate! I threw the vegetable knife at him. He caught it just before it hit him in the face. 

"Whoa! Someone's angry." he said as he threw the knife gently at me so that I could continue. I caught it and continued, my first chop denting the chopping board significantly. My mind was racing, thinking about how I could get out of the situation that my big fat mouth had put me in.

"That's hurtful to us midgets. Just because you don't like him doesn't mean that you should trash talk our size!" I said to him. Thank you, shortness! 

"Yeah, but that still doesn't answer the earlier question." he said. Darn! Thanks god Edward wasn't here.

"Okay, you caught me. Alec was my tutor. He thought me all I know and helped me with my power. You should know that I used to faint whenever I had a vision. He also thought me many languages and how to fight." I said to them. They were all surprised.

"Really? Alec played maker? That's odd. I pity you." Emmett said.

"Well you shouldn't. He was actually an okay guy." I told them.

"Do I smell a hint of forbidden romance in this?" Nessie asked me. I looked up making sure that I had my signature poker face on and not the bewildered one I was showing only on the inside. What had given me away? My voice? Had I sounded all loved up? I recapped the last few seconds. I didn't really think that I sounded romantic in any way. I had to do something. They were all looking at me, Jake and Nessie mostly surprised and Emmett grinned. Just then Rose, Alice and Jasper walked in. I realised that I still had to answer. I decided to snort and resort to my ultimate weapon. Sarcasm. 

"Sure, the day pigs start flying." I said confidently with a hint of hysterics. They all seemed to believe me. Ah, sarcasm! You never fail me.

XxxxX 

"Damn, this is heavenly!" Jake said as he tore through his medium rare stake. He attacked the baked potatoes next and the veggies. Man, I've never seen anyone eat with such passion. Nessie had just finished her rare stake. I smiled at them.

"Yeah well, now that you guys are fixed up I should get my squeeze." I heard Rose and most of them laugh.

"What?" I asked her, dumbfounded. 

"You know, Jacob. Wolf. Dog. Fixed." she said. The others burst out laughing. My eyes widened as I understood my mistake. I wanted to laugh but I couldn't. 

"I'm so sorry." I said to Jake who was glaring at Rose.

"No worries, Sam. It wasn't your fault. Oh, and Rose, why don’t you go patronise your reflection in another room so that I can enjoy my dessert" he said as he took a bite out of a freshly baked blueberry muffin. I decided that I should go before I embarrass myself any further or cause World War 3. "So, I'd better get going." I said and slipped away. 

"Wait Sam, can I come with you?" Nessie asked me. I nodded.

"Ness, do you want me to come with you?" Jake asked her. "Jake, there's a football game going on. Don't worry, I'll be perfectly safe." she said and kissed him on the cheek and dragged me behind her. 

After we were out of earshot of the house, Nessie cornered me. "Okay I want the truth. No bullshit. You know you can trust me."

"What truth?" I asked her in confusion.

"That speech you gave to Daren at the vending machine. The others think it was just an excuse but I can see right through it. You're hurting Sam. What's hurting you?" she asked me.

"I...I honestly don't know what you're talking about." I said, though in the inside I just wanted to pour out my feelings. She sighed.

"You'll tell me when you're ready." she said and smiled at me. I tried to conjure a smile, but the shock I felt was keeping me from stretching the corners of my mouth. Was I this easy to read?

We hunted for a while, jumped over rivers, you know, same old same old. We changed the subject completely and lost ourselves in girlfriend bonding. The time had flown by and it was already dark outside. The wind picked up and blew out our hair as we moved. 

I smelt it then.

Like a bolt of the most delicious scent I had ever smelled overwhelmed me. Only one thing in the world smelled like that. Blood. Pure, undiluted human blood. I growled inwardly, ready to sprint in a desperate run but as I was about to let the beast win me over I slapped myself. I'm human on the inside, I kept saying to myself. I was in control, but apparently Nessie had cracked. Se growled at me as I pulled her towards me as she tried to make a break for it. I slapped her too, hard enough to snap her out of it. 

"Ness, listen to me. We have to get out of here." I insisted as I tried to pull her away. The scent had completely filled the air by now. 

"No Sam, there's a lot of blood. Someone's dying. We have to help." she said. Se was right and from the smell of the stuff it was not some little wound. I let her hand go, indecisive about what to do next. She ran towards the source and I reluctantly followed her. I ran up to her and surpassed her. I stopped abruptly as I saw a body outstretched face down. Even though the night was barely moonlit I could see as clear as day, so I noticed the pool of blood next to the body.

"Holy Shit! Stay back, Ness. It's a bloodbath out here." I said to her. I listened to the person's heart beat, which told me he was just on the verge of dying. Ness ignored me and instead came standing next to me, holding on my shoulder for support. 

"Let's take him to Carlisle. He'll know what to do." I said fruitlessly. I knew it would be too late by then.

"You know that he won't live long enough! Sam it's up to you, only you can save him." she said to me. I didn't understand her. What the hell could I possibly do to save this poor human?

"What?" 

"You have to turn him Sam. Otherwise he'll die." she said to me like it was the most obvious thing in the world. And to us vampires it should have been. Denial crept up on me. 

"NO! I won't do it. He's better off dead than living like this." I shouted at her. Just then my phone ran. "Fucking bad timing." I muttered under my breath. I got my phone from my back pocket and picked up.

"You have to turn him Sam. He's going to die in a minute if you don't." I heard Alice's panicked voice said. "Alice, he's better off dead. I don't know what I'd give to be dead right now. Living on is just the beginning of a new world of pain."

"I know. But it's better this than seeing him die. He wants to live, Sam. Don't deny it to him." she said to me. I would have to do it, I knew it.

"I don't know if I'm up to it." I whispered weakly into the phone.

"You are. We believe in you." she said to me. I cut the line and shoved the phone carelessly in my pocket. He was just a few breaths away from death. I turned him around and as irony would have it, it was Daren. His cheek had been burned earlier which left the skin red and blistery. I pitied him. I looked at Nessie who was sharing the same look of surprise and pity with me.

"Universe, there's no word insulting enough to describe you." I said and ran my hand over his shirt which was dripping with blood. I brought my finger to my mouth. The taste was maddening. I savoured it for a fraction of a second and bit his neck straight in the artery just as his heartbeat was on its way to disappear for ever. I sucked, feeling it refreshing me and bringing happiness to my life. It was the purest nectar or life. I felt myself rejoice on the inside, feast on the blood of this innocent being. I sucked heartily until I realised that I was killing him. I heard Nessie scream my name but I hadn't noticed till now. Reluctantly I pulled away. I licked the wound my teeth had made and felt him take a deep breath. His eyes opened for a split second. "Sam...?" he half asked, half stated and pushed my hair out of my face. His hand fell back and he fell unconscious once more. His heartbeat was working in full blast and I felt him getting hotter in my arms. I guessed this was the last bit of life in him, overdoing itself until it faded completely. "I'm so sorry for doing this to you." I said with uncomfortable wetness in my eyes. I remembered the pain he was passing through, and I felt worst. I put him on the ground, resting his head on my lap. I took off my shirt and wrapped it around his exposed neck since I had left my trench coat at home. I knew that I must have looked odd in my black spaghetti straps vest but he needed all the comfort he could get. And anyways it wasn't like the cold affected me. He looked so vulnerable and hurt like this. At least I knew he was going to be okay. The venom was already curing his body. His stomach wound stopped bleeding and the burn on his face was already healing. 

He had been a jerk to me earlier but seeing him like this brought out my maternal instincts. He was my responsibility now. I swore over my walking dead body that I would teach him all I know. Be the perfect maker that mine never was. I smiled a sad smile. I had just killed/ saved a human today. It felt good but I couldn't help the guilt. I picked him up bridal style and carried him over to where Nessie waited for me. I found that I was unable to talk. I was way too shocked emotionally. We ran back to the house. As Nessie opened the door I ran as fast as I could to my room. I put Daren as gently as possible on my couch, putting a red floral cushion behind him to support his back. I put on the first shirt I found which was a simple fitted black shirt. I tied up my hair in a messy bun and sat in a yoga position, in a way that I was still holding his hand. I willed fog around me, engulfing me in Daren’s past. If I wanted to get a peek at his future I had to understand his past and possibly who attacked him and why.