Lips of an Angel

Chapter 19-Revelations

There was a moment of silence in the room as we waited for what Carlisle had said to sink into Edward's mind. None of us were breathing, and all I could hear were the signs of life as Edward's body worked along, taking in oxygen and pumping blood. His eyes looked directly at Carlisle as we waited, his gaze never wavering from my adoptive father's.

Then he let out a loud snort.

"Right. Vampires. You have got to be freaking kidding me."

"Edward-"

"No, don't. You not being human? I can believe that. You try to act human, but you're so obviously not. I mean, I've just seen you rip heads off and crash into walls, then get up and fight again. That's not human. But... Vampires? What are you really?"

Nobody said a word as everyone but myself looked at Edward, expressions unchanging. My own eyes were still trained on the floor, not wanting to see Edward's expression when he realised the truth - that we were the childhood nightmares. That we were the mythical creatures human children fear.

I looked up as I heard Edward suck in a breath in a short, sharp gasp, worry jutting through my body at the noise. He had one hand lifted to cover his mouth as he stared from one to other of us, eyes flickering with terror as he looked around. His eyes landed on me last, and I looked back shamefully.

"You're- You really are- You're vampires," Edward whispered, horrified. "Real vampires. I'm staying with vampires."

The moment the sentence was uttered, Edward leapt up from his seat, looking at the door with longing. He wanted to get out, I knew, and I wasn't going to force him to stay. Jasper attempted to flash a wave of calm over the human man standing frightened in the corner; Edward's emotions, however, were far beyond Jasper's help.

"Edward," I murmured, speaking to him for the first time since Victoria's attack. "We are not going to hurt you. I promise. Please, just hear us out. Then if you want to go, nobody is stopping you."

"Are they stopping me now?"

"No," I said, "but it is in your best interests to stay."

"Believe me," Carlisle added, "we don't take telling you of our existence lightly. Technically, humans aren't supposed to know. But this is a special circumstance, for several reasons. So long as you tell no one, there will be no problem."

Edward ran his hand through his hair as he looked from Carlisle to myself, back and forth countless times, until finally, he said, "I'll hear you out. That's it."

"Thank you," Carlisle said, smiling. "Shall I put your mind at rest, first?"

"You're vampires. That's going to be difficult to do."

"Our diet," Jasper said quietly.

"Your- Oh. Oh my God. You- You're a doctor! A psychologist! How can you-"

"We don't," Carlisle said. "We drink blood, yes. But animal blood only."

"You've never drunk human blood? Any of you?"

"It's not quite that simple," Carlisle said. "We suffer from bloodlust, which is what Bella suffered from when she first met you. We call it a singer - someone whose blood calls to a specific vampire. But most of us have slipped occasionally, with regards to bloodlust. I managed to conquer mine, and have never tasted human blood. Bella also has never lost control, though-"

"Though I have consumed human blood," I said flatly, looking right at Edward. "They were the lowest of the low; criminals. That didn't make what I did, taking those lives, any better, but I convinced myself that it did."