( outfit for
chapter above )
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chapter thirteen
mirror.
She didn't want this.
Those were the words that Carlisle kept repeating in his head like a mantra. He's never felt more sick to his stomach than Edward telling him his fiancée was in transition. He didn't blame Edward or Seth for it; he couldn't because it wasn't their fault. No one could have predicted that Riley and Victoria would show up at the campsite instead. If they did, Carlisle would have been up on the mountain instead. But because Alice's visions were cut off because of the wolves, there was really no telling that this could happen.
Carlisle cursed his legs for not moving faster to get to the house. He believed both Alice and Edward that Christina would wake up perfectly fine; but he had to see it with his own two eyes. Hearing that she could have died on the mountain was enough to scare him into never leaving her side again.
He also wouldn't have been able to see her again if she didn't tell Edward to change her at the last minute. He wanted to throw up at the thought— the pain in his empty chest was almost too much for him to handle.
She didn't want this.
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Bella jumped as the office door slammed open. She had just told Seth to leave and pick up Annie from Emily's house, and moved on to cleaning up the rest of Christina's body.
She had yet to remove her clothes, mostly because she didn't have anything to change Christina into afterwards— so she had to wait until the rest of the Cullens came home.
Carlisle and Edward speed walked across the room— the latter bringing the brunette into a hug, ignoring the fact that she was still covered in her sister's blood. Carlisle brushed his fiancée's hair away from her face, before staring at the long gash across her neck. The wound that almost took her away from him.
"I tried..." Bella spoke up softly. "I tried cleaning her up before you got back..."
Carlisle shook his head, trying to keep his composure until later on. "You did well, thank you. Both of you."
"She's so quiet," Bella muttered, looking down at her sister's stoic face.
"But her heart's getting stronger," Edward commented, listening to her empty thoughts, but strong heart beat. Bella sighed thankfully against Edward's chest.
Rosalie and Alice knocked lightly on the door before entering; a summer dress in Alice's hands. "Boys need to leave while we finish cleaning her up."
Carlisle's heart clenched at the thought of leaving Christina even for a moment. He left her yesterday morning, and she almost got killed.
Alice patted her adopted father's shoulder with a reassuring smile. "She's going to be okay."
Bella stepped out of Edward's hold as he left the room after placing a kiss on the top of her head. "Annie will arrive anytime soon with Seth."
Carlisle nodded his head before laying a kiss on Christina's forehead slowly. He took one last breath of her scent before leaving the room.
"I'll brush out and wash her hair," Rosalie offered before setting up a stool at the head of the bed.
"I'll get her clothes before burning them outside," Alice said as she stepped closer to Christina. "Bella, you can finish cleaning her body, and I'll help you get her dressed."
Carlisle shuffled across the living room as he heard feet running back and forth upstairs. He kept glancing towards the stairs, waiting until he was given permission to return to his fiancée's side.
"Daddy!"
The blond turned quickly at the sound of the six year old running up the stairs with Seth in tow. Annie grinned brightly before jumping into his awaited arms. Carlisle held on tightly to Annie as she squeezed around his neck. He was forever grateful that she was safe and away from the battle; Christina's mothering instincts coming in clutch.
"Where's mommy?" Annie pulled away with a smile still gracing her face. Her eyes shifted around the room, trying to see the familiar face that belonged to her mother.
"She got sick," Carlisle explained gently. Annie's smile dropped at the news, making his heart clench. "She'll be okay in three days— she just needs bed rest, and lots of it."
Annie rested her head on top of Carlisle's shoulder with a deep sigh. "So, I can't see her?"
Carlisle swayed the six year old as he moved towards the couch. Annie fixed her position until she was curled up under his chin with a blanket wrapped around the both of them.
"Not yet," Carlisle sighed sadly. "Soon."
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If Carlisle wasn't watching and playing with Annie, he was sitting next to Christina's still body. It was times like these were he almost wish he could sleep— like Annie and Bella.
Annie has fallen asleep down stairs with Rosalie playing with her hair— ignorant to the pain her mother was in right above her. And Bella had fallen asleep on the couch in the office, refusing to leave her sister's side until it was time for the newborn to wake up— and even then, she wasn't happy about the thought of being kicked out of the room.
Carlisle leaned his head down and rested it on Christina's shoulder as he gripped her left hand. Her ring, freshly cleaned by Bella, rolling around in his fingers as he twisted it around hers.
A couple times through Christina's transformation, she would twitch in pain. Sometimes it wasn't noticeable by human eyes— but other times, her whole hand would twitch, scaring Bella as she played with her sister's hair.
Right now was one of those times where Christina's fingers were just slightly twitching. It was a nice reminder to Carlisle that she was still alive, despite hearing her heart beat against the venom running through her veins.
Carlisle listened silently to Rosalie's foot steps, walking up the stairs and into Annie's room. He listened to Emmett and Jasper return from their hunting trip after learning of Christina's new transition. Edward was playing with Bella's hair as she slept; sitting with one leg up as he leaned against the couch staring out the window.
Alice opened the door to the office, waking Bella's light slumber. She gave everyone a reassuring smile before standing on the other side of Christina, grinning down at Carlisle's silent question.
"Ten hours left."
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Ten hours a night was nothing for a vampire. Nothing in comparison to their decades of living. Except when you were waiting for the final heart beat from the newborn laying still on the medical bed.
"Alice," Carlisle sighed as he turned his head towards his short daughter. "It's been ten hours."
"She'll be awake any minute," she promised, an excited skip in her step. "We'll be downstairs if you need us."
Carlisle nodded his head. The blond doctor grabbed his fiancée's hand before laying a kiss directly on her engagement ring. It still smelt distinctly like blood from the day of the battle, but Carlisle paid no attention to it. He couldn't allow himself to think too much into it or he would end up in a guilt trip again.
With his lips still lingering on her hand, he listened to her heart rate speed up. If his heart could beat, he was sure it would beating just as fast in anticipation. He gently placed her hand down on her stomach before taking a couple steps away, allowing her to have her space when she first wakes up. He remembered how in the past with the rest of his family, how territorial they would become in their first few moments.
Everyone in the house waited with baited breath as the hummingbird-like heart finally stopped.
"It's time," Edward commented, more for Bella's sake than anything. The small brunette bit her lip as she stared at the stairs, almost anticipating her to show up at the top.
Christina cracked her eyes open for the first time in three days. Wide crimson eyes stared at the ceiling as it collected every single detail someone could possibly point out in a wooden ceiling. She could see every crack, every splinter, and every intricate line the wood naturally made.
Her eyes followed down the walls until she looked out the window— surprise filling her senses as she stared at the trees from a field away. She could point out each individual tree from the rest of them, and tell exactly why they were different. Her eyes caught a dew drop falling from the window she was staring at, and she could see her reflection staring back. She could also see another person standing next to her.
A hiss escaped her lips before she could make up a reasonable theory of who was behind her. She crouched down against the window and stared at the other person in the room.
At first, she was staring at him with menace— but that soon turned into wonder.
Her eyes took in his calm posture— hands resting together behind his back, and a calm smile gracing his lips. She slowly stood up from her crouch as she continued to look at the details her eyes previously skipped out. Like how the blond hair had darker strands resting in between the light. Or how his golden hues swirled with recognition and love. The curve of his lips delicately molded a single dimple on the corner of his cheek. Looking at him now, made her realize she never really looked at him before. He was beautiful, in every single way. Deep in her thoughts she knew that it was because he was a vampire, but she was positive she was think he was perfect even if he weren't.
Not realizing how fast the young mother was, she bumped into him as she wanted to get a closer look. They would have fallen over if Carlisle didn't gently grasp her forearms to keep them both steady.
A deep melody rang in Christina's ear as she stared at the blond chuckling. She could almost purr to the noise of his laughter; enjoying the look of happiness in his eyes.
"Hi," she whispered, surprising herself by how different her voice sounded. It rang like a Christmas tune while everyone opened presents. Like that one song that hasn't played in a while, but made your heart swell with memories every time it came on.
"Hi," he answered back, continuing to surprise her. His voice matched his laughter— a deep vibration settled in her gut as he muttered the single word.
In a flash, her arms were wrapped around his waist as she leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her new eyes. She purred lowly as Carlisle danced his fingers in her hair as he hugged her back.
"Be careful of your strength, love," he muttered breathlessly. She gasped as she loosened her arms, forgetting how strong she would be for the first year.
"Sorry," she mumbled into his shoulder, making him chuckle back.
"It's okay," he whispered back. "You're just going to have to be careful not to break me now."
She nodded her head. "I thought I would never see you again," she admitted lowly, taking a deep breath in from her nose.
It was incredible the amount of things she could smell. The first thing being Carlisle— he smelt just a little bit like medical supplies from his occupation, but he mostly smelled like cedar wood, first rainfall, and fresh cut grass. The second thing Christina could smell was the dew in the morning air surrounding them. It mixed in heavily with Carlisle's scent.
There was a distinct scent from farther away that made Christina's throat twinge with a burning sensation. She pulled away and held onto her throat, feeling for the long cut that almost killed her three days ago.
"I'll take you hunting," Carlisle murmured, thinking that she was in pain from her blood lust.
She shook her head as she continued to hold her throat. The blood lust did bother her, but not enough to distract her from her train of thought. It was like a scratch in the back of your throat in the beginning of a virus. Easy to ignore, but not comfortable.
"A mirror," Christina muttered looking around the room. "I want a mirror."
Carlisle stepped aside as he pointed to the mirror Alice has brought in just an hour ago. He was confused at first, but now understood how cautious Alice was being by bringing in the mirror. It would risk exposure to the humans downstairs if Christina went searching for one.
Christina stepped closer to the mirror, blinking at how fast her reflection moved. "I'm gonna have to get used to that," she muttered under her breath, making Carlisle chuckle.
The first thing her eyes focused in on were the crimson eyes she barred. She was sad to see her green eyes go, and to be frank the red eyes scared her enough to never want to see them again— especially on her. "How long?"
He instinctively knew what she was asking. He stepped into the corner of the mirror, slowly not to frighten her. "Just until you become accustomed to the new diet."
Christina watched as she nodded her head in response. It was unnerving how perfect her reflection was— it was like photoshop, but she couldn't ever get rid of it. Her complexion was smooth; all the scars and wrinkles she received over her twenty-two years of living had disappeared. The freckles that once lingered on her nose were hardly visible until you looked hard enough. Her hair had become more full, and shined with a red tint she didn't even know was there in the first place. The gentle waves ended around her shoulders. Which brought her eyes down to her outfit— it was a gorgeous floral summer dress, caressing her new skin like a second layer. She lifted her hand to feel the material, and it licked across her thumb and index finger.
"I can hardly recognize myself," Christina muttered as she looked at Carlisle through the mirror. "I'm beautiful."
"You always have been," came his reply. He held out his hand, patiently waiting for the newly turned mother to grasp it in her own hand.
Her skin became inflamed as she met skin with Carlisle. Looking at their hands in wonder before meeting his golden hues. "We're the same."
He gave her a light smile. "We're the same temperature now."
A giggle sounded downstairs, making Christina eyes turned away from her fiancé's and towards the door to the office. She instantly knew who the giggle belong to, and her heart hurt. "Annie—"
"We should get you to hunt before you greet our daughter," Carlisle muttered lowly, making Christina purr in response.
Her undead heart sang at his words. "Our daughter." She stepped forward and bumped her head against his shoulder with a grin.
"Alright, lets go hunt."
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Ya'll know I love you. ❤️