Twilight (Evergreen)

Chapter 4

I gawp at the scene before me, and a shiver passes up my spine.

"Rose" I whisper. "What's going on"

She doesn't take her eyes off her newborn son, and instead gives an 'mm?' In question.

"Please tell me it hasn't crossed your mind that vampires can't give birth!" I shout, getting irritated as nobody's even trying to figure things out.

Rose strokes her baby's face, and looks me in the eyes.

"Yes, Mai, it has. But every second of my cold, miserable life I've just WISHED that I could change the past, be a human. And now, now I have A BABY- what I've always wanted. Please can I not just pretend that for one second this is natural? That SOMETHING is natural, instead of looking so deep into things that I just WISHED could be a part of life! So please, can I just be human again, just for a minute?" She says.

We're all taken aback by her sudden passionate declaration that she hates life so much. She looks up at all of us, and smiles.

"Any name suggestions?" She breathes.

We all stand, still shocked. Then, slowly, Dad breathes in and walks towards Rose.

"Charlie?" He suggests.

Mum beams at Dad, obviously proud of her husband. She then joins him, and everyone gradually begins to soften to Rose's wish. 

"I remember grandpa Charlie" She smiles, her eyes filling with salty water.

My great Grandpa Charlie passed away five years before my birth. He disappeared dramatically a week after he began acting strange and jumpy. The Police began searching for his body, but they couldn't find anything in a large range of the country. What they did conclude, though, was that it was murder, and that his body had definitely not been thrown within the year they had been searching. By the end of the year, the case had grown dust, been forgotten, accepted for something that would never be solved- but then that changed very suddenly. People finally decided that the house, after months of searching it, was no longer a crime scene, and they got some people to clean it up for re-selling. They were shocked when they found a message written in blood on the wall of Charlie's bedroom- 'I stitched his mouth shut, but I don't have scissors'. It was confirmed that the blood was freshly placed on the wall as people had checked the house only a week before, and tests took place to prove that the blood was indeed Charlie's. Another search was carried out with the new knowledge that Charlie's body was still hidden in the Earth, but again, after a five-month long search, nothing was discovered. A small group of cops specialised in trying to figure out what the message suggested, but they came to no confirmations except that Charlie's murderer had tried to shut him up by killing him. This told them that Charlie had known something that his murderer didn't want anyone else knowing. The cops searched further into that, but found nothing. During this, our family took out a little search of our own using our super senses, but WE found nothing, either. That's when the next shock made it's way into the crime. Charlie's body was found in the most searched river, mauled and ripped apart. But not in a random way. His stomach had been torn in a particular way so that the heart could be taken out, and then re-stitching had been attempted. His head was sliced in a way that allowed the brain to slide out, and that too had remainders of stitches in it. The same thing was found with his lungs. The strangest thing, though, was that his four canine teeth had been pulled out, and pulled in the most mess-free way possible. His gums were polished, and his teeth had been whitened. And the last thing that was missing were his eyes, that had been cleanly pulled out of it's sockets. The body, although missing many qualities, looked pampered. This gobsmacked the Police, and left them in a state of utter confusion. Why would Charlie's killer polish his body after stabbing it, and removing organs and such? They also suggested that somebody had found the body, and for some reason refused to involve the Police, so pampered the body to respect it, and then throw it in the river for the Police to find. A way to get the body where it needs to be, without getting yourself involved. But that rose even more questions- why would you not want to get involved? After all, the Police surely wouldn't suspect YOU as the killer, right? They would interview you, but if you weren't guilty you'd have nothing to hide, surely. No reason that an interview would be alarming. After a while, still nothing had risen, so Charlie was buried and the case was abandoned.

"Charlie brings up bad memories" Rose whispers.

Everyone shakes visions from their heads, and Carlisle stands.

"My father was named James" Carlisle suggests, hand sin pockets.

My cheeks flush.

"Um-" I begin.

Everyone looks at me, and awaits and explanation. I probably look like a tomato.

"My love interest is named James" I choke, wishing the floor would swallow me whole.

Rose smiles, and leans forward slightly.

"Mai!" She mocks, positively beaming.

Dad stares at me, a fatherly look in his eyes to say 'I'm very, very mad'. I back out immediately.

"Name him Archie!" I change the subject, resting on the table by rocking forward and back on my wrists.

Rose laughs.

"I like it" She says, looking down at her son. "Archie"

"It's decided" Emmet declares. "I have a son called Archie!"

He leans down and kisses Rose passionately, both beaming in happiness and exhilaration that they've brought the family they never thought they would ever have. As the kiss deepens, we begin to file out of the room to give the new family some time alone. We rush down the stairs to discuss things seriously. Grandpa starts the conversation.

"What just happened?" He whispers, swiftly taking a seat.

I twiddle my thumbs, not quite caught up with all of the events of today. However, Dad's right onto it.

"Well, we all know the first part. Birds and bees" He waits for someone to chuckle, but when nobody does he slowly sinks into his chair, sighing.

I roll my eyes, but decide to put the basics together. After all, we have to start somewhere.

"So, vampires can't give birth. Can't have children. Correct?" Various nods, I continue. "So that means either the species is changing, or Rose and Emmett in particular. It has to"

Carlisle strokes his chin. I can almost hear him thinking.

"Well that would make sense, but why- after all these years- would the species change?" He questions, although he knows none of us know the answer.

Mum coughs, making our heads turn towards her.

"So, are we confirmed that the species is changing?" She asks, running a hand through her messy hair.

Carlisle sighs.

"Yes, I think so. But how, I have no idea" He says.

Esme rubs his shoulder.

"Evolution?" She questions.

"Why would we suddenly evolve after the centuries we've been living? Besides, it's physically impossible for any species to evolve while it's living. It's the offspring that would carry the updates" He answers.

I wonder why we all turn to Carlisle for answers. After all, doesn't he know the same that we do? I guess it's just always been that way. I want to question Dad about what he said about Rise, but I decide that it's not the right time.

I yawn, and Dad looks at me.

"Go get some sleep" He orders, in a 'don't-mess-with-me' way.

I wince; he's obviously remember the James situation. I nod with no hesitation and rush from the room, desperate to escape the sudden thickness of the air. I stumble up the stairs and eventually crash onto my bed, closing my eyes. Although today has probably been the strangest day of my life, and even though the thought of Rise haunts me, I can't help the image of James seeping into my brain. I smile, and slowly drift into sleep.