TW: r@pe, brief mention of suicide.
THE next morning, Elexia woke up earlier than expected - at around six o'clock. She couldn't control the excitement - and the nerves - so she just decided to get out of bed instead of attempting to keep sleeping. She struggled on picking out an outfit for a while, but eventually settled on a bright blue button up shirt with white polka dots and white jeans. The weather outside was beautiful, so she chose not to grab a sweatshirt.
She ate cereal for breakfast, too excited to eat a real meal. Her father was at work; unfortunately, his streak of late mornings had ended. The second she had put the bowl in the sink, a soft knock sounded on the front door. Rosalie was an hour early. She assumed she had Alice to thank for that.
When Elexia opened the door to see her vampire girlfriend, heat filled her cheeks. Rosalie's same amused smirk was on her face, as always when she saw Elexia.
"Good morning to you, too," Rosalie grinned and swiped her thumb along the tip of Elexia's nose.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Elexia pouted slightly when she noticed how Rosalie was staring at her.
"You look cute, Elexia." Rosalie laughed a bit. "I've never seen you without a sweatshirt on."
"Oh," suddenly, she was flustered and unable to meet Rosalie's golden eyes. The Hale girl was in a violet shirt with black leggings and somehow, she looked perfect as ever.
They walked to the car silently, Rosalie opening the passenger side door for Elexia as usual, and then they were off.
Elexia had finally gotten used to - and grown to appreciate - Rosalie's maniac vampire driving because they always managed to get to their destination faster.
"How was the doctor's appointment with Emmett?" Rosalie asked.
"It was good. It was nice to have someone there with me for once," Elexia nodded. "Baby still looks the same," she sighed.
Rosalie placed a comforting hand on Elexia's knee; she hated that every time she went to that doctor, nothing changed.
Elexia was quick to change the subject after that. It was going to be a long four-and-a-half hours, so she didn't want to put a damper on the atmosphere.
"Have you ever been to Mount Rainier before?" Elexia decided to ask.
"I have." Rosalie nodded. "I go there quite often. Usually for hunting, especially with Emmett. But I have a place there that I like to go when I feel overwhelmed or frustrated with the world,"
Elexia smiled. She liked to hear more about Rosalie.
The rest of the long ride was filled with mostly Elexia talking about her favorite shows, movies and music. At one point, they fell on the topic of traveling and Elexia expressed her want to go to Hawai'i.
The entrance sign was in front of them when suddenly, Rosalie took a sharp right into some trees that led to a small, dirt pathway. Trees blocked what the pathway led too, but Elexia could hear water moving. The weather was warm with a slight breeze when they stepped out of the car, which was deeply welcomed by Elexia.
Rosalie walked over and gently took her warm hand in her cold one and led her through the trees. When they made it through - after getting smacked in the face and shoulders by multiple branches - the view was breathtaking. Bright green grass littered with newly blooming purple and pink flowers and a thin river of water sliced through made Elexia's jaw drop. You could still see the mountain peak along with some tall trees scattered around the field but it was so quiet; so peaceful.
Elexia looked at Rosalie with wide-eyes only to see the vampire smiling lightly at her, still ducked under a tree, hiding from the sun. Elexia's blue eyes seemed to sparkle with the sun rays hitting them.
"Go sit over there," Rosalie grinned and motioned toward the small hill covered in flowers.
Elexia playfully squinted her eyes, but walked to the hill nonetheless. She was wondering why Rosalie was hiding under the shade. Her heart was pounding against her sternum as she waited for Rosalie to make her next move; to do anything, really.
She didn't even really have a moment more until Rosalie took all of the air right out of her lungs, her throat going dry instantly.
The blue-eyed girl didn't know what she expected to happen when Rosalie stepped into the sunlight. It could've been anybody's guess, but what did happen, was farther from what Elexia could have ever thought.
She was sparkling; literally sparkling. It looked as if specks of glitter were embedded on every inch of the blonde vampire's skin. Elexia had yet to find a single flaw to Rosalie Hale - and she knew she never would.
Slowly, Rosalie walked over to Elexia, bright blue doe eyes trained on her every elegant movement. It took everything in the vampire to restrain her smile. When she sat down, Elexia's warm hands were all over her.
"I just. . I'm speechless." Elexia muttered, picking Rosalie's stone hand up and holding it in her own. She traced every one of her fingers, her touch so light that it was barely there - but Rosalie felt all of it. She pushed the sleeve of her purple shirt up, tracing all of her beautiful skin. Rosalie lifted her own hand to place it on Elexia's cheek, rendering her motionless again, looking from her hand up to her eyes.
"I love your blue eyes," Rosalie whispered, so quiet Elexia almost didn't hear it.
"I love your everything," Elexia breathed out, a soft chuckle escaping with the words.
Rosalie smiled and leaned down to place a soft kiss on the tip of Elexia's nose.
"One day, we'll take Gaia here. Show her the Earth she was named after," Rosalie softly spoke as Elexia stared off at the view of bright greens, blues, pinks and purples - so amazing to her sensitive human eyes.
Elexia smiled, turning back to look into Rosalie's eyes; warm honey, as always. They were so comforting to Elexia. She could tell Rosalie was doing her best to stay as still as possible; to not freak her out. This was all new for the both of them. Elexia had never been with a vampire, but she tried to remember that Rosalie had never been with a human, either.
"You know so much about me, I think it's time you told me about you. And your family." Elexia offered, raising her brows just a bit.
"Well, for starters, Carlisle only turned us when we were each near-death, or along those lines. He saved us, if you can consider it that. Esme attempted to end her life by jumping off of a cliff, Carlisle saved her. Emmett had been mauled by a black bear; I found him and brought him to Carlisle. Edward was dying of Influenza."
"What about Alice and Jasper?" Elexia asked.
"Alice and Jasper are a bit different," Rosalie began. "When you're human, if you're going to have a particularly special vampire ability - if you were to be turned - it can show up in human traits, too. Alice was having premonitions, even as a human, and her family locked her in a mental asylum for it. Alice said she doesn't remember much of it, but an older vampire turned her when she was being hunted."
"Oh, wow," Elexia's eyes were wide. She would've never been able to tell Alice had gone through all that, because she was so light and delicate.
"As for Jasper, he was turned by a woman named Maria to use him to train and kill newborn vampires. Eventually, Jasper was exhausted from being used like this, and him and Alice found each other & then found the rest of us. Jasper is the newest to the animal diet, so it's still a little hard for him to be around humans."
Elexia nodded. "And what about you? Tell me your story."
"Elexia. ."
"You don't have to," Elexia clarified. "If it's too hard to talk about."
"No," Rosalie interlocked their fingers. "You should know."
Elexia nodded, motioning for Rosalie to continue when she was ready.
"When I was eighteen and still human, during the Great Depression, I was the most shallow person you could've ever met. I lived in an upper-middle class home and I was incredibly spoiled by my parents. People were suffering on the streets and I couldn't care less. Men looked at me and it made me feel validated; although, now looking back, it was gross. I had everything I wanted growing up. But I always wanted more. I wanted to be loved. I wanted to get married and have an extravagant wedding that would make everybody talk about it for months to come. I had all I wanted, and I never had any reason to be jealous of anyone in my life.
She paused, before smiling slightly. "I had a friend named Vera. She married a carpenter when she was seventeen, and a year after that, she had a son. He had dimples and black curly hair. That was the first time I had ever experienced jealousy." A nostalgic, sad smile covered her beautiful lips and if she could cry, she was sure a few tears would have slipped from her eyes.
"I wanted my own baby; a little bundle of love and joy that I could call my own. I wanted what Vera had, a husband who adored her and a baby to raise." The sad smile left her face, and a harsh frown replaced it. "There was a royal family. Royce King owned the bank where my father happened to work and that's how I met Royce King the Second. He was meant to take over at the bank.
"That night, I was sent a bouquet of roses, something he would continue to do for a while. My parents were excited over me being with him. It was all so perfect. They'd got me off to a good man, and I was going to get my dream - a husband and a baby. We were engaged after only two months. We never even spent much time alone together, since he was always so busy with work. The marriage wasn't set to be too long after the engagement. I was no longer jealous of Vera, and even began to pity her; knowing my life was more than hers and my children would have more than her son."
Suddenly, Rosalie went rigid, her voice going quiet. "I was at Vera's one night. I remember right as I was leaving, seeing her husband leave the most gentle kiss on her cheek, her son on her hip, smiling in adoration at his parents. I realized that I didn't quite have my dream life. Royce didn't look at me like that, or kiss me like that. I had more, yet Vera was still happier than me."
Her teeth clenched. "It was pitch black out already by the time I'd left her house. It was so cold. I remember being only a few blocks away from my house when I heard them. A group of men, drunk on a sidewalk. One of them called my name, I recognized that voice. It was Royce and his friends. He was calling me over. It was the first time I'd ever seen him drunk. He had a friend from Atlanta visiting, named John. They were making some dumb comments. Suddenly, Royce ripped my jacket off. My hat was next. I remember screaming out in pain because the pins of my hat got caught in my hair. They laughed."
When Rosalie looked back at Elexia's face, it was etched in horror, tears filling the rim of her eyes as she couldn't fathom how they could do that to her. She knew what came next, she didn't want to hear it.
Rosalie caught Elexia's tear with her thumb, smiling sadly at her. "I won't finish the rest. They left me there, in the street, laughing to themselves as they walked away. They thought I was dead. The road was freezing cold, so cold it burned my skin. I waited to die. It started to snow, I couldn't even move.
"That was when Carlisle found me. He smelled blood. He picked me up and ran with me. At that point, I really thought I was dead. The speed he was going at made me feel like I was flying. I blacked out, and then when I opened my eyes, I was in a bright room. The pain was better, but then I felt sharp cuts in my throat, my wrists and my ankles. I assumed he brought me there to hurt me more. Then, I felt fire burning through my veins and I begged them all to kill me, to end it all. Carlisle sat down and apologized, he told me it would all be over soon. He told me who he was, and that he was turning me into a vampire.
"Edward complained. He didn't understand why Carlisle didn't just leave me. As I kept listening to them, I noticed my pain lessened and I was beginning to get stronger. Once I was fully awake, they explained to me again what I was. I felt the thirst, my hard skin and saw my red eyes. For a bit, I loved it. I was even more beautiful than before. But after a while, I realized I still wasn't happy and I never would be. I'd never get married to someone who really loved me, I'd never have babies, like I yearned for."
She turned to grin at Elexia. "However, I am almost as clean as Carlisle. Better than Esme, much better than Edward. I have never tasted human blood. It's why I trust myself around you so much, more than Edward trusts himself around Bella."
Elexia looked at her incredulously. "What do you mean 'almost' as clean?"
"I murdered five people," she shrugged. "I did make sure not to spill any blood. I saved Royce for last. I wanted to torture him, as he'd watched each of his friends die first. I found him, guarded by armed men. Oh- I killed them, too. Seven people, sorry." She smiled sheepishly, Elexia almost felt crazy that she smiled back. "I wore a wedding dress. He was terrified."
"Anyway, Elexia, that's why I care so much about Gaia." Rosalie took an (unneeded) deep breath. "I love you, and you're having a baby. My dream. To be in love, with a baby. That was all I've ever wanted. When I found out about you, I was already excited. But when I found out you were pregnant, and got past the initial shock, I was overjoyed. You are my dream. Since meeting you, I've felt more human than I ever have; even more than when I was actually human. I know Gaia isn't mine-"
"She's yours." Elexia cut her off. "If she is mine, she is yours."
"Thank you for giving me a family," Rosalie smiled and looked down at Elexia's stomach. "A real family. A family I could call mine."
"Thank you; for being here for me. For Gaia. I don't know how we got this lucky," Elexia chuckled.
Rosalie stroked her warm cheek. "Let's go home, Lex, the drive is long."
"Wait," Elexia stood up when Rosalie did, grabbing her arm as she tried to turn. Before she could stop herself, she pressed her lips against Rosalie's cold ones. At first, Rosalie was a bit shocked and didn't respond, but she finally pressed her lips into Elexia's after a moment, gently grasping her hips.
When they pulled away, Elexia's cheeks were flushed and her lips were swollen. Rosalie ran her thumb along Elexia's bottom lip and smiled.
"Okay, let's go now." Elexia nodded quickly, making Rosalie snort.
i have no idea what mount rainier looks like so if u live in washington dont @ me
also this chapter was SO hard to write im sorry I've been slacking