Renewal [Emmett Cullen] (1)

[44- Carlisle]

On the north facing wall, the only wall without a bookshelf or windows were rows of neatly arranged paintings. It was like an art gallery, only the paintings seemed to illustrated Carlisle's personal history. I could tell by the quality of the canvas that they were not only centuries old, but worth a lot of money.

"You were in the Volturi?" I asked, pointing to the most vivid, most wildly colorful canvas on his wall of artwork. It was the most ornately framed, and the largest; it was twice as wide as the door it hung next to. There was a calm quartet of men, each with the exquisite face of a seraph, painted into the highest balcony overlooking the swirling mayhem of color. Though the painting was centuries old, Carlisle remained unchanged. Depicted was a calm quartet of men, each with the exquisite face of a seraph, painted into the highest balcony overlooking the swirling mayhem of color.

Though the painting was centuries old, Carlisle—the blond angel—remained unchanged. I recognised the three others standing in front from Emmett's description; Aro, Caius, and Marcus.

He chuckled, "Yes. I went to Italy to study and stumbled upon them. I didn't particularly agree with their lifestyle but I lived with them for 2 decades before moving to America."

"What is it that you enjoy, about being in a hospital?" I wondered. It didn't make sense to me—the years of struggle and self-denial he must have spent to get to the point where he could endure this so easily.

His golden eyes were calm and thoughtful as he answered. "Hmm. What I enjoy the very most is when my... enhanced abilities let me save someone who would otherwise have been lost. It's pleasant knowing that, thanks to what I can do, some people's lives are better because I exist. Even the sense of smell is a useful diagnostic tool at times." One side of his mouth pulled up in half a smile.

Carlisle's phone buzzed, he looked down and then met my glance, "It's the hospital — Dr. Snow is taking a sick day. I have to cover for her." He gave me a smile and left.

I walked back down the two flights of stairs, the familiar cacophony of the sport announcer growing louder and louder. I could feel the vibrations from the stereo system of the crowd on screen erupting into applause as one of the teams scored a touchdown.

Emmett was sitting of the edge of the couch, eyes glued on the screen.

"El, just in time! Dartmouth vs Harvard. Harvard's in the lead but I suspect that Dartmouth's going to pull through." We made a bigger effort to watch college football games since starting college.

My head leant against his muscular shoulder, his arm wrapped around my waist. His frightening musculature and 6 foot 5 size weren't out of place in the world of sports. Dad would have liked him, most men could relate to him as a good ol sports fanatic. I got my love of sports from my dad. Just like me with soccer, he use to play competitively, only his sport of choice was football.  After narrowly missing out on a scholarship to play professionally, he chose another career path and wound up as a surgeon.

"Do you consider Carlisle and Esme your parents?" I asked during the commercial break.

"Carlisle and Esme have been my parents for a long time now. I had what my biological parents considered a wild adolescence. I use to gamble and drink a lot, I was never one to worry about consequences of my actions. After joining their family, their values and ideals shaped me. Through being a part of their lives, I became a better person."

"And you love them." It wasn't a question. It was obvious in the way he spoke of them.

"Yes." He smiled. "I couldn't imagine two better people. Why?"

"Don't get me wrong, I love them but I feel like-"

"You're betraying your real parents?" I nodded.

"It gets easier, I promise," he said, pulling me closer into his chest. It was hard to grapple with the fact that after a few decades, everyone I knew except the people that lived in this house would be dead. My parents were only human, they were fragile, delicate beings. As Emmett said when I was changed, we don't belong in the same world anymore. They would always be a part of me but I had to move on. Soon, perhaps sooner that I would like to admit, they would just become a distant memory.

Emmett unmuted the TV after the ad break. As he predicted, Dartmouth took the lead and won.

"What a game!" He said, flicking the tv off.

It must have been late morning. A group of sparrows ventured into the backyard, hopping closer and closer to the hemlock tress that framed the window. It was nice looking at them, the birds would never come close when we were outside, our scent sharply reminding them of our predator status.

"Are you up for a game of chess?" Emmett asked.