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Edward's four siblings arrived at the crime scene. At that moment, no one said anything. Emmett and Rosalie took care of disposing of the bodies, while Alice and Jasper got rid of any remaining evidence. Meanwhile, Edward headed to the Cullen residence with an unconscious Devon, where Esme was waiting for them.
Edward was in Carlisle's study, arms crossed, and sitting on the edge of the desk. Any feelings of anger or rage had dissipated a while ago, and now he could think with a completely clear head.
He wasn't regretful of his decision, but he did feel a bit uncertain about what Devon might think or feel towards him when he woke up.
Esme and Emmett stayed with him, promising to clean him up from the blood and provide him with fresh, clean clothes. Jasper went to find Devon's motorcycle to prevent any of the boy's relatives from seeing it at the crime scene.
The study door opened, but Edward kept his gaze on the floor, knowing who was entering. First came Rosalie, followed by Alice, and finally Carlisle. Alice seemed a bit sad or rather concerned about her brother's state. Rosalie, though understanding her brother, still thought that transforming that boy was a very bad idea, and Carlisle had blind faith in his adoptive son's choice, ready to support him unconditionally. However, in that moment, Carlisle was a bit annoyed.
"Have you talked to Isabella?" Rosalie asked. Edward shook his head.
"Not yet. I don't think she'll take the news very well."
"But we need someone to tell Devon's mother and Sheriff Swan some excuse as to why their son won't be coming home today and probably for the rest of his life."
"I know. I'll talk to her later."
Rosalie rolled her eyes with some annoyance. "Great. We just arrived, and we'll have to leave already."
"We could stay a bit longer if we manage to make Devon act like a normal human," Alice suggested. "I had a vision. It was Devon as a vampire, living with his family. It won't be easy, but we could achieve it. Besides, it's easier to get him used to animal blood and control all his instincts from now on. If he gets used to animal blood and controls his instincts, we might succeed."
"You can't force him to have a diet just because you think it's right," Rosalie told her. "What if he prefers to eat humans instead of animals? What if he doesn't even want to be a vampire like us?"
There was a short silence, and everyone looked at Carlisle, who had been silent all this time.
"Edward, I understand that you did it to protect that boy, but you shouldn't have killed those four men in that way. Do you know the danger you put us in? The danger you put Devon in? If someone had seen them, it would have been a terrible catastrophe."
"I'm sorry," Edward murmured. "I was very angry about everything that happened, and I really didn't think about the consequences. I saw how they hurt Devon, and I... it was just instinct."
The blonde approached Edward and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a small smile. He couldn't stay angry with him for too long. He understood why he had done it.
"If I'm honest," Carlisle began, taking a few steps back and crossing his arms, "since the first time I met Devon, I thought... I'd see him more often at home."
Alice let out a giggle, and Rosalie just smiled. Everyone in the house thought that when Edward suddenly announced one day that Isabella Swan was his girlfriend.
"I'm confused," he confessed. "I feel something for Bella, but it's completely different from what I feel for Devon. When I met Bella, I just wanted to drink her blood until my thirst was satisfied... but with Devon"—he paused for a moment—"I just know that I want to protect him from everything and everyone. Being with him makes me feel... calm. I feel... happy."
Carlisle nodded in understanding. "I think we once talked about what a Tua Cantante and a mate are," he smiled. "It seems you found both. What attracts you to Bella is her blood. It's different from what you might have tasted before, and you're eager to consume it. On the other hand, with Devon, you feel what I feel for Esme, what Jasper feels for Alice, or what Rosalie feels for Emmett. You love him in a more sentimental way. You should sort out your feelings, Edward."
"I will," he murmured. "I'll go see Bella to explain the situation."
"Just be careful," Alice told him. "She might not take it well."
Edward nodded slightly and left the room, leaving the others alone. They weren't sure what to expect from now on.
🥀
Devon felt... strange. His mind was foggy, but it was as if a ten-ton truck had run him over. He remembered what had happened in that alley and understood that Edward had done something to him, but he didn't understand what.
He remembered a lot of blood around him; someone had stabbed him, and he knew he was about to die, but it didn't happen. The last thing he remembered before closing his eyes was Edward biting him, and an intense pain ran through his body.
However, a strange memory appeared in his mind, one from when he was thirteen, a week before his fourteenth birthday.
It was dismissal time, and he was walking home with one of his friends, Oliver. Both lived quite close to each other, making it easy to walk home together. Besides, they shared classes, making everything more straightforward.
However, for a few weeks, Devon had been feeling strange around his best friend. He couldn't understand what it was, but every time he walked home with him and started talking about that movie he would watch with his mother, he couldn't help feeling a strange sensation in his stomach. He had never felt it before, but it was odd. He felt his face heating up when he looked at Oliver smiling with excitement, talking about that basketball game he saw on TV, and suddenly, he wanted to become a player like them.
"I know you could do it, Ollie," he had said with a smile. "You're tall, so you would be a great player."
And Oliver's eyes would sparkle at his best friend's declaration.
Upon arriving home, Devon would go straight to Margo, who was in the kitchen preparing some snacks.
"Margo!" he would call with some excitement.
The woman would look at him with a maternal smile, revealing her voluptuous belly due to her eight-month pregnancy.
"Hello, Dev. How was your day at school?"
Devon dropped his backpack
next to the island chair and took a seat in front of Margo, who handed him a plate of snacks and then a glass filled with orange juice.
"Very good, thank you," he took a big sip of his glass before speaking. "Margo, can I ask you something?"
Devon looked quite shy, and his cheeks were rosy.
"Of course, sweetheart. Is everything okay?"
The boy dropped his eyes, blushing even more. "There's a boy." Margo was surprised to hear the word "boy" instead of "girl," but she didn't show it too explicitly. "He's my best friend since kindergarten, but lately... I've been feeling weird around him."
"What do you mean, sweetheart?" Margo sat in the chair next to Devon and combed his hair back a bit. It made the boy feel a bit safer.
"I'm not sure," he looked at the woman with puppy eyes, "but when I'm around him, my stomach feels weird, like I have tickles inside, and my heart beats faster. Also, I love seeing him happy when he tells me about the things he likes."
Margo felt quite touched by the emotion and happiness with which the boy recounted these things.
"Well... I think you're in love with that boy," Margo explained calmly. Without a doubt, Devon was still too innocent for his age.
"But..." Devon seemed confused, but at the same time, the woman's words made sense. "I'm supposed to like girls, right?" He seemed to reflect on it for a moment. "Although I don't like them that way. A girl told me a week ago that she liked me, but I don't like her. I've never felt this way about any girl."
All his life, they told him that boys liked girls. That when he grew up, he would marry a nice woman with whom he would have children and a happy family. So... why? Why did he seem like a weird boy who didn't like girls? His other classmates also talked about the girls they liked, but he never cared about those conversations, no matter how hard he tried. He felt like a freak.
Margo gently shook her head with a smile and ran her hand through the boy's hair again.
"Well, it's not always like that. Sometimes, boys like other boys, and girls like other girls. It's normal to be that way, but some people don't understand it."
Devon felt relieved. "So... is it okay that I like Oliver?"
But before Margo could answer, Devon's father appeared in the kitchen. Neither of them had heard him come in. The man's expression frightened them both because it was between serious and angry. Devon had never felt more terrified than at that moment.
He didn't say anything, but he grabbed Devon's hair tightly and made him walk towards the main entrance. Margo was surprised by such an act and hurried to catch up with them, but she couldn't do much in her condition.
"What did you just say?" the man asked forcefully.
Devon felt his head starting to burn from his father's strong grip, and his eyes stung from the tears that were approaching.
"You're hurting me," the boy complained, trying to pull his father's hand away.
"Did you just say you like a boy?"
Devon was scared by his father's gaze. Why was he looking at him like that? What had he done wrong? His father had always been strict, and he never showed much affection towards him, but he had never beaten him or treated him that way.
The older man tightened his grip, and Devon couldn't hold back a scream of pain.
"I asked you a question, brat."
"Yes!" he shouted, feeling a tear rolling down. "I like Oliver."
The man let go of his son, but quickly, Devon felt a strong blow to his cheek that left him completely stunned. He had never been hit so hard, and he almost felt like fainting.
"Devon!" Margo was going to go to his aid, completely scared by the situation.
"Don't you dare!" the man shouted at her. "Leave right now."
But Margo didn't move from her place and glared at the man. However, he began to remove his belt and turned his back on Margo to look at Devon, delivering a strong blow with the belt. The boy let out a cry of pain, but the blows continued one after another all over his body. The man seemed furious, but Devon didn't understand why.
Margo didn't know what to do. She wanted to stop her husband, but in her condition, she feared what he might do to her. Could she call the police? No, that would get her and Devon into more trouble.
"Never say again that you like boys, you damn freak," the man yelled, delivering another blow.
The beating stopped, but the man took Devon by the arm with force and made him walk, even though the boy could hardly move, and locked him in the small cleaning closet next to the kitchen.
"You're going to stay here all night, and you're going to reflect on your actions."
Devon couldn't answer; he lay on the floor, trying to overcome the pain that spread throughout his body. He heard Margo screaming outside with his father in a heated argument. Devon's eyes were clouded with tears, but as soon as he heard the sound of skin against skin, anger flooded the boy's veins, and without thinking about the pain that spread throughout his body, he stood up and opened the door, luckily not locked, and saw his father and Margo, the latter touching her reddened cheek with accumulated tears in her eyes.
"Don't ever hit Margo again!" he shouted furiously and didn't think twice before attacking his father with all his might.
But it was pure luck; he had taken him by surprise and managed to land a few blows before the man reacted and knocked out his son with a couple of punches. He looked at his wife with fury, but instead of doing something, he went to his room.
Margo couldn't bend down, but she still tried to lay Devon down on his back and clean the blood stains that had accumulated on his face and body.
Since then, Devon's relationship with his father worsened. Within a week, he changed schools, and they moved a month later. It was in that move that Devon began to get into more trouble due to the fights he got into trying to defend others. He never mentioned that part of protecting others because no one believed him. No one believed that such a violent guy like Devon fought just to defend someone else, and he was never the type to give explanations. And so it went on until he turned seventeen.
But he was sure of one thing.
He wouldn't hide from anything or anyone. He liked men, and he wouldn't be afraid to tell the world. He wasn't doing anything wrong to have to hide.
Devon opened his eyes and felt strange. He was awake but not breathing. It was a very strange feeling, and he was almost sure it was a dream, but something told him it wasn't. He felt like he could see and feel everything.
He looked at the ceiling of the room where he was and found it somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember where. He looked to the right, realizing there was a huge window with a beautiful view of the forest. Then he looked to the left, where he
found a wall and a door that opened at that moment.
His eyes met Edward's, who seemed... sad? He didn't understand the reason.
"Edward?" he murmured.
"How do you feel, Devon?"
"Why can't I breathe?"
Edward showed a small smile as he approached. He was almost sure Devon would hate him for the rest of his life.
"Well... there's something you need to know."
Devon frowned, but he slowly sat up on the edge of the bed.
He looked at his hands; they looked somewhat pale. He also realized he could hear the leaves rustling in the wind and the distant singing of birds. He looked intensely at Edward, trying to understand what was happening.
"What is it?"
Edward sat next to him, placing a hand on his knee. It took Devon by complete surprise, but he didn't mention anything at that moment.
"I turned you into a vampire."
There was absolute silence for a moment, and then Devon burst into loud laughter before giving Edward a strong pat on the back that almost made him fall. It was when Devon stopped laughing and realized the strong blow he had given.
He looked at Edward with a bit of fear and panic.
"What?" he stood up. He felt fear and panic, but for some reason, he wasn't hyperventilating. His hands weren't sweaty, and he didn't feel like the air entering his lungs was not enough.
Everything was strange.
Edward also stood up nervously.
"Devon, I need you to calm down, and I'll explain everything. Just don't get upset right now, or you could cause an accident."
Devon stayed in his place, but something told him that things were about to get really weird.