FALSE GOD | leah clearwater

two.

"Get Jasper out of here," Carlisle instructs softly before coming over to Bella's aid. Devyn takes a step back and allows Carlisle to take over.

"I'm sorry but I can't," Alice says as she leaves the room. Esme throws a comforting arm around her shoulder as she talks softly to Alice. Edward and Rosalie are the only two who remain. Rosalie had abandoned her place on the stairs and now stood beside Edward and Devyn didn't like that the siblings were both wearing the same expression.

"You're going to need stitches," Carlisle says, which shifts Devyn's attention back to Bella.

"Oh okay," Bella says softly, and Carlisle helps her to her feet. Devyn feels weird, like she should go with Bella. They were sort of sisters. Kind of.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Devyn asks and Bella looks at her, almost surprised that Devyn would ask.

"Um yeah," Bella responds with a nod and Devyn nods her head in response. She avoids Rosalie's eyes as she follows Carlisle and Bella to his office. Devyn takes a seat as Carlisle grabs his medical equipment.

"Does it hurt?"

"Just a bit," Bella answers.

"Well, you're handling it much better than I would."

Bella looks over at her and Devyn offers a small smile, one that the other girl returns. It was a peace offering in Devyn's eyes. When Carlisle returns, he places the equipment down and grabs the tweezers as he begins to remove the piece of glass that was lodged in Bella's arm. Devyn watched intently, amazed by Carlisle's control.

"I never wanted a party," Bella says softly.

"It's not your fault," Carlisle tells her, "Jasper hasn't been without human blood as long as the rest of us."

"How do you do it?" Bella asks.

"Years of practice," Carlisle responds. More like centuries. If Devyn had her timeline correct, then Jasper had been feeding on animals for half a century and the fact that he still didn't have control made Devyn worry.

"Did you ever think of living differently?" Bella wonders and Devyn also has the same question. What on earth made Carlisle choose this?

"I enjoy my work too much," Carlisle says as he begins stitching Bella's wound, "Helping people, saving lives. I'm hoping there's a point to my existence even if I am damned."

"Damned?" Bella asks, "You're not damned."

"Agreed," Devyn vocalizes, "You guys are the best vampires I know."

Carlisle chuckles as he looks over at her, "We're the only vampires you know."

"True," Devyn says with a smile.

"But I don't believe I'm damned, not truly. Edward and even Rosalie to an extent, don't believe in an afterlife for our kind. They think we've lost our souls."

Devyn's posture straightens more at that. She knew Rosalie didn't like that what she was, but for her to think that there was nothing after death because she was a vampire, made her heartache a little. That was a painful way to move through life.

Bella frowns and her eyes dart up to meet Carlisle's, "Is that why he won't change me? He thinks he's damning me?"

"If you believed as he did, would you risk it?" Carlisle asks as he finishes the stitch. He puts gauze over the stitch.

Devyn and Bella return to the living room where the mess had already been cleaned. Devyn glances over at Bella wondering what was going through her head at the moment.