"Rose, please."
"What? I'm not doing anything."
"Oh? So you just enjoy casually discussing the safety of plane travel?" Lily challenged.
The two girls were taking the rare opportunity to relax in Rosalie's room. Well, Lily was relaxing. Rosalie appeared to be doing the opposite. They did not often spend time here. It was a little too sterile to be completely comfortable. It didn't seem to impede Lily's relaxation today and she longed in an oversized accent chair in the corner. The other girl was taking advantage of the open floor to continue her pacing. She had long since gotten ready. Both girls knew they were postponing the inevitable.
"All I'm saying is that you could go anywhere in the world, free of charge, and completely safe." Rosalie was making her last-ditch effort to get the girl to leave.
Lily laughed. "Has anyone ever mentioned that you can be a little stubborn?"
"It may have been brought up once or twice." The vampire gave a soft smile.
"And what about you?" Lily questioned.
"What do you mean?"
"Where are you on this hypothetical trip?"
"Ridiculous," Rosalie muttered mostly to herself while shaking her head fondly. She turned to face the girl straight on. "Well, I say I would be on a similar flight tomorrow."
Lily hummed in agreement. "That would be nice, but Rose, I really don't have any interest in taking any sort of flight without you."
"How about..." It was clear that Rosalie was trying to come up with another plan. "You go with Edward and Bella for the day and I can meet you once this is all settled."
Lily's response was quick. "No. The last thing I need is to spend the entire day with Edward and Bella alone."
"But..."
"Rose, no. You honestly can't believe that would be any safer."
"You would at least be protected."
Lily sighed. She could understand Rosalie's fears. She held the same ones for the other girl. She slowly stood up and made her way over to the other girl. She grabbed the cold face in both of her hands to make the taller girl look at her. "I will be fine. Alice hasn't seen anything."
Rosalie scoffed and stepped away, making Lily's hands fall to her sides. "She can't see everything. She can only see when a person of interest makes a decision. There are too many of them. She can't see them all."
"Exactly. She can only do so much. I could just as easily crash on my way to the airport. Alice can't even see Bella clearly and we know she's Victoria's intended target. You can't honestly believe that Edward would be able to keep both of us safe if she found us. We are both liabilities."
"Lilianna, he's better than nothing!" The volume of her voice raised slightly.
"Do you honestly believe he would protect me? Sure, he would try but if it came down to Bella or me..." Lily didn't even bother to finish her statement. It was clear that Rosalie understood.
"That wouldn't happen." Rosalie's voice was quiet again. It was obvious that she didn't even believe her own words.
"It would. That's not a bad thing. Everyone would pick the one they love most. Carlisle would pick Esme, Jasper and Alice, you and.."
The pause was deafening. Lily couldn't bring herself to say it. She hadn't been thinking about what she was saying. Her filter had dropped. Love and Rosalie were not two things that could be uttered in the same breath. It didn't matter if it was true or not. Lily didn't know what would destroy her more, a denial or a confirmation.
Lily shook her head, not letting Rosalie speak. "Just promise me you and Emmett will watch each other's backs. Everyone else will be partnered up. You need someone to watch your 6. Emmett needs that too."
Rosalie seemed to swallow her words and give a tense nod. It was getting obvious to both girls it was time for the vampire to leave.
____________________________________________
Lily wished she could say she wasn't surprised to find Edward standing in the kitchen. She thought everyone had left. The house had been completely quiet for a few minutes. Alice didn't see them arriving for a few more hours, but they wanted to hunt right before they arrived. It was better to be prepared. They needed to draw all the newborns into the clearing and away from the town.
"I thought you would be at Bella's."
"Alice is over there. She saw that Charlie would be easier to convince without me present."
"Makes sense. I heard he wasn't your biggest fan."
"That's putting it lightly." Edward chuckled.
"Well, I bet the idea of his daughter going off into the woods with her boyfriend alone wouldn't help things."
"She would be perfectly safe."
"Eddie, there's not what I'm implying at all. It's just when two teens sneak off for an evening getaway..."
Lily found great amusement in Edward's eyes widening in sudden understanding. "What? We aren't! We aren't even married! I.."
Lily couldn't contain her laughter anymore. "I know. I'm just messing with you. You know premarital sex isn't that big of a deal anymore. I bet you Bella would agree. You never know, it could be fun."
Edward groaned. His awkwardness over the topic on clear display, "Her, um, willingness is not the issue. It wouldn't be right. There's a way these things should be done. It's also fairly dangerous. We are dangerous, Lily. A simple mistake could have lifelong consequences."
Lily rolled her eyes at his dramatics. "You would be fine. Rose didn't seem to have any issue."
"What?!"
Lily didn't know if she should be embarrassed or amused at the conversation. Even as she tried to fight it, she could feel a blush forming on her face. "I mean, yeah. We had that whole overnight trip. Even I knew that it wasn't exactly subtle."
Edward groaned. "Please stop talking. No. No one suspected. There were no signs when you two came home. We all thought it was just a hiking trip. You can never tell Carlisle. He would kill both of you."
Amusement won out over embarrassment as Lily laughed. "Deal. I never want him to know anyway. But, seriously Edward. Enjoy your time together."
"I'm assuming that this means that Rosalie didn't convince you to join us?"
"No. Not due to a lack of trying, but it won't make much of a difference."
"You were wrong about your reasoning upstairs. I would protect you both."
"I wish you wouldn't listen in on us." Lily sighed, she knew it wouldn't make a difference. They couldn't help it to a certain extent. "It's sweet you think that way, but we both know it's a lie."
"Lily, it's not."
"You cannot stand there and tell me you would pick me over Bella. Bella is your number one. Own it."
His silence was all the confirmation Lily needed.
"Anyway, I think it would be good for Bella and you to have some alone time no matter what you do. Everything has been so stressful. You may be able to get a few moments of peace."
Edward appeared to be debating what to say next. For a man who usually knew everything, it was a rare sight.
"I'm going to ask Bella to marry me." Lily had never heard Edward this nervous.
Lily couldn't help but smile up at him. "She'll like that."
"Do you think so? Do you think she'll say yes?"
"To you, yes. She loves you with her entire being." Lily answered with complete honesty.
"I don't want her to feel pressure, but I know she's my mate. I just wish she was easier to read."
"I don't. I think it's good you don't know. The nervousness you feel, it's all a part of the journey. Not everyone has the ability to know what others think of them. You have to trust your gut."
"I can't live my life without her. Not anymore. I can't go back to existing without her. I want her to be changed. I want her to be this soulless creature. Does that make me selfish?"
"No. It makes you human. No one wants to live without love. If anything, that proves you aren't soulless. I wish you didn't think of your life that way. You are some of the best people I've ever met." Lily sounded exhausted.
"If the reverse could happen, I would do it in a heartbeat."
"I know that. Bella knows it. Everyone does. That's why Bella will say yes. You love her. That's all anyone wants. She loves you just as much."
The two fell into a comfortable silence. Lily watched as Edward's face refused to relinquish the slight smile that graced his face.
Edward checked his watch. Lily figured it was about time for him to leave her too. He briefly hesitated before speaking.
"You could have just told her."
"Told her what?"
"That you love her."
Lily laughed coldly. "And what good could that have done?"
What could possibly be gained from her confession? Love was an irrational feeling. There was no rhythm or reason to it. People always talked of love as if it would hit you like a train. Lily never had that. She supposed some people did, but not her. It was a slow gradual feeling that built up over time to the point that sometimes she feared it would overflow. It was quiet and reassuring. At moments it felt like a physical pain to hold so many emotions inside.
There was always the possibility that it was all a fantasy. Everything could have just been twisted in her head to reconfirm a false narrative Lily desperately wanted to believe. Looking only at the facts, they shouldn't work. Maybe this was always destined to be a fling? It's not like Rosalie wouldn't have time to get over her. Eventually, she would move on. All the Cullens would. She would be like a drop of water on the surface of a lake. There was an observable disturbance in the immediate area, but the lake at large was unaffected.
"Stop thinking like that." Lily was pulled out of her head at the sudden sound of Edward's voice.
"Get out of my head." It sounded more like a plea than a demand.
"I'm not making that mistake again." Edward sighed.
Lily thought they would spend their remaining time together in silence. She was mistaken. "She feels the same way. It would be obvious even if I couldn't hear your thoughts screaming at each other. She's never going to say it first. You need to tell her before you force her to spend the rest of eternity wondering if any of it was real. Isn't that what everyone wants? To have love and be loved?
"No. It just makes it worse."
Eventually, Lily made her way back upstairs as Edward ran to meet Bella. There was only one thing left to do. Lily must wait and hope that her family all returned to her.
____________________________________________
Newborns had one weakness. For a few first weeks, they were solely at the mercy of their base impulses.
Even in their frenzy state, it was easy to tell that they walked into an ambush. The scent of blood lingered in the air, but there were no humans to be found. Instead, the forest was filled with a mix of highly trained vampires and deadly wolves. Masses blurred together as the two sides collided with deadly effects.
Honestly, the fight was going better than Carlisle had hoped. Their alliance with the wolves seemed strong. The wolves, unsurprisingly, worked together as one unit. They were family, same as the Cullens. They protected their own. The two group groups, however, appeared to be working seamlessly with each other. The practices had paid off. It was obvious that these newborns had not been properly trained. They were sloppy. They projected their moves clearly. Most of them had deep black eyes. An obvious sign they had not been fed. It made them motivated fighters, but not as strong as they could be.
Alice almost appeared as if she was dancing across the forest floor. Her eyes were completely covered in a thick fog. She couldn't see anything happening around her, not that it mattered. She didn't need to even look at them. She swept their feet, confusing them and keeping them off balance. Jasper had been trying to follow her until she told him off. She would not let his protectiveness be his downfall. He already gained one new bite mark because of her, she didn't want the weight of any more. Jasper reluctantly obeyed. He attacked with no hesitation. Years of battle training had committed the moves to memory. He was able to move quickly and provide support when needed. There are very few moves he had not seen before. Once he found a target, they did not survive.
Emmett did not share Alice's grace. He moved in powerful strides. His hands gripped and ripped anything he could reach. There had always been some part of him that enjoyed this part of being a vampire. The raw power he held in his hand. He relished in it.
Rosalie did not relish her power. She blocked out every thought out of her head that did not center on the fight in front of her. She had no feelings. If she could see herself, she would see the soulless monster staring back. Her face fell into an unnatural icy calm. She didn't think about the consequences of her actions. She knew any delay in action could cause her downfall. She had no interest in leaving this fight in anything other than perfect condition.
Carlisle and Esme worked with deadly efficiency. Neither one of them acted as an aggressor. Instead, they waited for the newborns to come towards them. They protected each other as much as they protected themselves. They shared the burden of taking a life. Both of them would do whatever it took to defend their family, but they would not lose themselves. They would not lose their mortality. They would not lose each other.
They were all trapped. There would be no mercy. The newborns had all been brought into the world incorrectly. They were too dangerous to be left alive. They had to die. The wolves had no issues with this. The Cullens had made peace with it.
They had to use all their focus to fight the enemy in front of them. They could barely think beyond the target in front of them. They all failed to notice the lack of a familiar red-headed vampire and her companion.
____________________________________________
Lily hated today. She hated having to stay at home with no news on the fate of her family. She had gotten used to the patrols, but this was different. She knew something was going to happen. She just didn't know when.
She spent the first several hours sitting unmoving in her room. It was what she was supposed to do. She had done this before. At first, it helped with her fear. Eventually, it made it worse. It was difficult to remain still. There was a steadily building ache in her legs while other parts started to tingle before losing feeling. She needed to distract herself from the physical toll. As a result, she felt herself getting pushed further and further into her head. She closed her eyes as her mind conjured up hypothetical situations her family could be facing. She had no idea who would make it home. Would she ever see Carlisle again? Alice and Jasper? Would Bella and Edward finally be able to live together in peace? Would she ever hear Emmett laugh again? Would she see her mother? None of them were guaranteed. She always thought she would be the first to die. There was now a very real chance that was not the case. Rosalie could die. It was a very real possibility that she could never see her again.
She couldn't take it anymore. She threw her head back and pushed her legs forward trying to relieve some of the pressure in them. She needed to move. She needed to push the thoughts out of her head. She was fine. She wasn't in danger.
She needed to forget the image of Rosalie's lifeless eyes staring up at her.
She hated when her mind played tricks on her. She could almost convince herself that she heard movement downstairs. She was obviously paranoid. The woods were never quiet. It was possible that the wind was picking up outside. She stood frozen as she peered down the hallways. Everything was perfectly silent. She let out her bated breath and chuckled to herself. She was letting her imagination get to her again.
She decided to stretch her legs for a while and started heading for her door to go downstairs. Before she could cross into the hall, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She swallowed nervously. Maybe she was insane? She mustered up all the courage to turn and put her mind back at ease.
Before she could even fully turn around, she felt her body being slammed into one of her bedroom walls. She gasped as she was faced with the towering figure over her. Red eyes consumed her vision. The shock and fear she felt were almost enough to block out the feeling of a cold hand wrapping around her throat.
The vampire relished in the girl's surprise. His lips curled up in a twisted smile. Lily fought against the panic to lift her leg and try to attack her assailant. If she could think rationally, she would have known it would have no effect. Her brain flooded with adrenaline. She needed to escape.
"Oh, they were right about you. You are such a pretty thing. I was disappointed when I thought no one was home. I'm glad I decided to stick around regardless."
"Who...?" Lily's voice was strained. The attacker tightened his grip, cutting off her ability to speak.
"Victoria sends her regards. Fortunately for me, you were not her priority. I'm sure she will dispose of the other human quickly. You, my dear, are just icing on the cake."
Lily was forced to stand as his grip progressively got tighter. Her hands wrapped around his wrist trying to claw at him to get his hand to move. It was getting significantly harder to see. Her vision swam. She felt her legs give out under her. Her lungs burned. She felt her head loll to the side as her eyes became unfocused.
Lily slumped to the floor as he released her throat. She could feel tears prickling in her eyes as she gasped for air. She coughed and heaved as her body fought for the air surrounding her. Her throat burned. She wanted to speak, but the pain in her throat was making it hard to think. The relief was short-lived as the vampire lowered himself in front of her. She felt a cool object pressed against her forehead. She tried to look up, but she could not see the object making its way against her skin. At the end of its arch, Cox flicked his wrist to nick the skin right above her eyebrow. She could feel a small trail of blood slowly starting to run down her face.
"I wish I felt sorry about breaking it, but I'm not. It was a nice vase, but I think this may be a better use of it." A wicked smile was painted on his face.
Lily's eyes followed him as he stood over her. It felt like a ton of lead had taken home in her stomach. He towered over her. He watched as the trail of blood continued. He loved seeing his victims like that. Their heads tilted back as they gazed up at him with fearful eyes. Lily sat frozen. That wasn't nearly as entertaining for him.
His face dropped. He grabbed her hair and threw her onto her back on the ground. His actions were erratic. It was hard for Lily to keep up. She couldn't anticipate his moves. She moved to try to crawl away.
In the blink of an eye, Lily felt her arms being raised above her head. Cox used one hand to keep her arms pinned above her as he used the other one to drag the large glass fragment down the length of her arm.
Lily couldn't stop the whimper that tore its way from her throat. The vampire seemed to enjoy that. His pressure was inconsistent. The glass would occasionally just graze over the skin before piercing it again. Lily squirmed desperately.
Cox eyed his prey. She really was a pretty reward. Her eyes were trained on the piece of glass as he twirled it around his fingers. "But don't worry. You can be my priority."
Lily gritted her teeth as she felt the shard of glass slowly piercing her skin right above her hip bone. The jagged edges made the skin tear that much worse.
Cox continued knowing that Lily probably couldn't even focus on his words. "It's a shame no one else is here for this. I'm sure some of your so-called family would join in. They're beasts just like the rest of us."
He kept a steady pace as the glass sunk lower and lower into the girl. The pain was all consuming. With every breath, the wound was disrupted. More pain caused the girl to breathe faster. It was like a never ending cycle of pain. Lily felt almost delirious. Cox was content to just watch her struggle.
"Aren't you going to scream for your fake mommy or daddy to help you? Oh, what a poor little human." Cox sneered.
Lily spat in his face. She refused to give him the satisfaction. Immediately, a loud growl filled the room. Lily felt his hand leave her wrist as he wiped his face clean. Lily's hand flew to the side desperately trying to grab anything that could be of use.
"Now, that's not very nice. I thought pets were supposed to behave." He was angry.
He grabbed her chin to make her look at him. She was quickly losing the battle to stay in control of her fear. He looks deranged. It was obvious the growing amount of blood was getting to him. His free hand trembled as he slowly pushed the piece of glass deeper into the dip above her hip bone. His eyes flickered between her face and the growing stain on her shirt. The pain was blinding. He watched in sadistic delight as Lily's eyes shut while her head was thrown back in a silent scream. Her mouth quivered with no sound being able to escape.
Cold fingers grabbed hold of the bottom of her shirt. Lily felt a wave of nauseous wash over her. She was disgusted. She was revolted. As the fingers quickly moved to expose the entire wound, he leaned forward to lick the expanse of her exposed neck. He could practically feel the venom dripping onto his victim.
Something in Lily snapped. "No! No, please! Let me go! Help!! No, stop! Stop!" She wasn't even aware of what she was saying. Her words were tangled in sobs. She felt the large tears running down her face. She didn't want this. Her attacker's sick and twisted laughter surrounded her. She was helpless. She wasn't going to win. She was completely at his mercy.
Cox absent mindlessly drummed out a rhythm on either side of the protruding piece of glass. He could feel the warm hot liquid surrounding each of his fingers. While he was finding this experience enjoyable, he could barely fight against his own need to feed. It was time to end this.
Lily saw the exact moment her fate was sealed. He removed his hand and tasted the trance of blood on his fingers. When he looked up, his eyes held none of his early excitement. They were pitch black. There was no one to save her this time. After everything, she was still destined to die alone at the hands of a powerful attacker. She found herself thinking how much simpler it would have been to have just died with her parents all those years ago. It was almost poetic.
And then suddenly, the weight was gone. She didn't even realize she had closed her eyes. She figured she could already be dead, but then why was there still pain radiating from her abdomen? Then, she heard the pained growl. Her brain kick-started again. She used her arms and one leg to scramble back against the wall. She tried to make sense of the scene playing out in front of her. There was another vampire.
Lily watched as the new person attacked quickly. She was significantly smaller, but it did not seem to matter. The older vampire was caught off guard. He wasn't able to think. He had already given control to the beast within. The fight was easily won. Her eyes focused on one of the detached arms that laid across her floor. She could feel the other girl watching her. She braced herself as she moved her eyes to look back at the figure.
The face of a child looked back at her. Well, the girl wasn't exactly a child. She was probably a teenager, but Lily had never seen a vampire who had been turned so early in their human life. She looked lost. It was obvious she didn't fully think through her actions. Her eyes kept flickering between the mass of separated limbs and Lily. Her hands were clenched.
Lily gritted her teeth, the pain in her midsection was white-hot. "Blood bags. Downstairs...in...office safe. Break it." Carlisle always kept a stash in case of emergencies. Lily knew the girl would need something to keep her resistance up. Her eyes were red but she was at least acting like she didn't want to treat her as a meal. It may not help the end result, but it would at least delay it.
The vampire moved out of the room immediately. Lily was left alone with the disjointed body of her attacker. She didn't have the stomach to look at his decapitated state. She didn't know if she wanted the girl to return or not. She didn't want to be alone, but she knew how hard it must be to be such a new vampire and be surrounded by the scent of fresh blood.
She didn't have to ponder for long. The new vampire reappeared suddenly with a pile of blood bags held in her arms. If Lily had more strength, she would have laughed at the comical sight. She noticed she was thinking slower. Her arms felt impossibly heavy.
"Sit. Please." Lily fought to keep her voice level. Now that the vampire was here, she didn't want her to leave. They both knew it would be more dangerous for her to leave now. There were too many people outside ready to kill any vampire they crossed without question. If she was spotted without context, she would die. No one wanted to die.
Lily's eyelid felt impossibly heavy. "Wait. Get heavy books. Towel" Every word was taking more and more effort to say.
The vampire was obviously confused but luckily didn't question it. The requested objects were quickly beside her. Lily was trying her best to think clearly. She knew the pressure of her hands on her stomach was not doing enough. She couldn't ask the vampire to help who was already obviously struggling as her fangs pierced the plastic bag. She wasn't able to force herself to push down harder. It hurt too much. She would pass out eventually from the pain. She may pass out regardless. Her head was still swimming. Her limbs felt lethargic. She was losing too much blood. She wanted to pull the glass out so badly, but she knew it would only make matters worse. She was already living on lost time. She realized she didn't even know her savior's name.
"Name?" She croaked out.
"Bree." It came out pained.
"Thank you, Bree." Lily didn't have the strength to stay everything she wanted to. She hoped this was enough. She would thank her more later if she could.
She sat up slightly as she wrapped the towel around the wound. Why was she sweating so much? It felt cold. Everything felt cold. She let her trembling take hold of the books. A sob ripped away from her chest and the added weight pressed down on the sensitive skin. The pain was overwhelming. She gritted her teeth. She couldn't scream now.
"I should've come sooner. I'm sorry. I didn't know if I could stop him. I didn't want to die. I don't want to fight. I promise. I promise I won't hurt you." Bree was pleading. Lily hated that she was trying to plead with her life to a dying girl. This didn't need to involve her. She could have run far away and left Lily to fend for herself, but she didn't. Lily sent a silent vow that her family would be able to protect her now.
"Keep close. It's okay. Safe."
Lily focused on controlling her breathing and stopped moving. Maybe it would be possible to hide? The thought gave her comfort. She doubted she would be safe. She had no idea where anyone was. She knew she may not be able to hold on for much longer, but Bree would be safe. They would keep Bree safe. Bree tried her best. That thought gave her more comfort.
She forced herself to keep her eyes trained on her ceiling. Lily finally allowed her tears to fall. She gripped her carpet as she silently cried. Her face showed no signs of struggle as the tears made fresh paths down her cheeks. She had no idea if she was wishing for peace or a miracle.
A/N: I'll try to have the next chapter up soon. Thanks for reading. Happy Easter. Meant to post earlier in the day.
(You may also notice I reposted this story, but it has multiple books. I honestly just wanted to be able to mark some things as complete to feel accomplished. I also like the vibes of it better. I don't really enjoy this story's name anymore, but I didn't want to change it.)