Bitten (Twilight Fanfic: Jessica Stanley + Rosalie Hale)

Perfect - Rosalie's POV

Seven days later, the house was finally quiet.

This past week had been filled with endless talk and discussion, with Carlisle and Esme leading the way as Jessica asked a million questions.

What had happened to her?

What had she turned into?

What was this terrible burning in her throat?

Jessica had agreed to vegetarianism immediately, faster than any of us could have expected. Still, I couldn't help worrying that this might be too much for her. This life could be too much for anyone, even if you had groomed yourself for it like Bella.

Standing in my bedroom, staring down at the early-afternoon light shining through the trees, I wondered how Bella and Renesmee were doing. They were both still in Portland as a precaution, though I hoped that would change soon.

My eyes found my reflection in the glass. My expression had pinched the way it had been so often lately. A part of me wanted to pin on a smile, in spite of everything.

My special ability might not be much, but it was mine. And if beauty was all I had, then I may as well embrace it.

But I couldn't bring a smile to my face.

I continued scowling at myself, even though I had no real right to do so. Jessica was doing remarkably well, her newborn temperament almost as even as Bella's.

Something about those little girls from Forks...

I shook my head and turned away, loping across the room to retrieve my laptop.

The rest of the family had taken Jessica on another hunt, another test of her control around human scents. She wasn't ready yet to appear in public, but that might change sooner than later. Her lack of overwhelming bloodlust was a good thing, certainly, though all the training she had been doing with the rest of the family had made it much easier for me to avoid her.

And yes, I had been avoiding her.

At least I could admit it to myself, now that Edward was out of the house.

Naturally, Jessica was thrilled with being a vampire. The first days were always a high, one not unlike sating a thirst. Not that Jessica would ever truly understand how that would feel since she had agreed to join the family as a vegetarian.

A little ping of guilt jabbed at me as I opened up the lid of my laptop and logged in.

I had never tasted human blood myself. Even when I had bitten Jessica, I had been careful not to get the blood anywhere near my tongue. But I was no stranger to cravings, and as the years passed, I started to realize what I had been missing.

Jessica would feel the same, eventually.

How would I explain that to her? How would I explain any of this to her?

I wished I could run. Perhaps I could go to Portland later tonight to visit Nessie, Bella, and Jacob. Esme had left an hour ago on the same errand. I could catch up and join her.

But no. That didn't feel right. As much as I had tried my best to avoid being alone with Jessica since she had woken up, running away to Portland felt strangely like abandonment.

I checked an email address I had started secretly, one that I only checked when Edward was gone. The last thing I needed was for him to ask about my ridiculous flights of fancy.

In my inbox, I found messages from the private detective I had hired to find the descendants of my friend Vera, starting with baby Henry. A fire in our Boston neighborhood a few decades ago had destroyed many of the public records, but my detective had been working hard to find the family's whereabouts.

It was silly of me to care, really, but perhaps there was something I could do from afar to make their lives easier. Tuitions to pay? Businesses to fund? Houses to buy?

Just the thought of reaching out, even anonymously, brought a small smile to my face.

The sounds of excited whooping and heavy footsteps from a distance made me quickly log off, clear the browser data, and shut off the computer.

Less than a minute later, my family had arrived from their hunt.

Carefully, I cleared my mind of any thoughts of Vera's family, focusing instead on how annoyingly loud the house seemed to be again.

"Rose! Come on out!" Emmett called up.

Annoyance spurted through me. I hadn't intended to stay hidden in our room, but then again, I wouldn't have emerged so quickly, either. If I'd had my druthers, I would have waited until Jessica was somewhere else.

I wandered out onto the second-floor landing, then down a few stairs. I lingered by the mural of graduation caps and stared down at my family.

Carlisle, Edward, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper were all standing in a loose clot around Jessica, each of them congratulating her on a successful second hunt.

In the middle of them, Jessica smiled almost shyly, though the pride beamed off her like sunshine.

As a vampire, not much of Jessica had changed. Her warm, brown hair still held the same naturally golden brown highlights, though her hair was glossier and wavier now, hanging around her slim shoulders like a silk curtain. Her face was nearly unchanged, with only a few, subtle shifts.

The vampiric Jessica looked remarkably, amazingly, surprisingly human... And yet so perfect.

Amazing, I thought, staring down at the newborn. I was almost proud, though that made very little sense.

It took me an extra moment to notice that Jessica was covered with a messy spray of what smelled like elk blood.

Jessica's bright eyes found mine, and I felt it hit my body like an electric shock. She offered me a smile.

I glanced away, feeling myself edge backward.

"The girl's a freakin' natural," Emmett declared, wrapping a brotherly arm around Jessica.

"Yeah, well," Jessica chuckled, "maybe next time I won't come back looking like an extra from a bad horror movie."

Everyone laughed.

"You'll catch on, Jessica," said Carlisle.

"He's right." Edward nodded. "You're making remarkable progress."

"Yes," Jasper said, his serious tone cutting through the mirth, "she is."

We all turned to Jasper, watching him as he considered his next words. Jasper didn't speak as often as some of us, but when he did, we all listened.

Jasper looked to Carlisle and nodded. "She's ready, Carlisle. I can feel it."

Carlisle grinned. "Perfect. I'll let Esme know it's time for Bella and Renesmee to come home."

"I'll come to pick them up myself if you don't mind," Edward said, barely pausing before he ran in the direction of the garage, moving so fast that he was almost a blur.

Alice jumped and clapped her hands together, the graceful movement making her all but floating in the air like a pixie. "Give me three hours to plan the party," she called after Edward, then leaped up to the second-floor landing. She disappeared into her office less than a second later.

A party, one in which I would be crowded into a room with my family. My family... Which now included Jessica Stanley, the girl I didn't know what to say to. With no excuse to run off to Portland, I was stuck.

"Perfect," I heard myself say, my voice as hard as a shard of broken glass.

As I turned away, I caught only the barest glimpse of Jessica's hurt face, but my clear, vampire vision allowed me to take it all in.

Dammit.