The Immortal Children

Please Sit Down

I look over to my bed, feeling empty. On it I saw a book, a very familiar book. I hoped that book wasn't what I thought it was. As I got closer I realized that it was. The scrapbook. The one that mom had made. And scrolled across the cover was "family is forever"

Which wasn't true. Family wasn't forever. My brother and sister hadn't just forgotten me, but they have replaced mom. Nothing was forever. Nothing. I have no idea how long I stood there just staring at the cover of the scrapbook. As I realized something my anger begin to build again.

How have the scrapbook gotten here?

I lowered my nose to the book and inhaled deeply. Edward scent was all over it. Ashlynn and Chris had told them where our shelter was. They had led the Cullens through the woods and gave these strangers the only place we had to call our own. They had let the Cullens touch our stuff... Our mother stuff.

I hated them. The nicer to Cullens were to us, some more my anger grew. They were strangers! And somehow, they felt that they deserve the title of our family. They weren't. They never would be. I dropped the book on the floor and it fell open to a picture of me, Ash and Chris. We were at an amusement park sitting on a bench, eating cotton candy. We were all beaming at moms camera, except for Chris. He was stuffing more cotton candy in his face, which was already blue. We were so happy, so free, so... Just... So what I wanted us to be now.

But I knew that we would never be like that again. All of those moments had died with mom. Mom... What would she think of our situation? I knew that she would be disgusted with my manners... Or would she? All our lives we have been told to avoid strangers and to never go into a strangers house. Did the rules change now that we were vampires? Did mom want us to leave this house, these people who we didn't know?

Or... Did I have it backwards? Mom would want us to be happy. That much I was sure of. Ash and Chris really liked this place and the people in it. Maybe mom would want us to make a new family. But... I couldn't. I couldn't betray mom like that. She was our mother. We had all been a family. A great, happy family.

How was I supposed to know what to do next? I couldn't understand any of the signals, I couldn't decipher these codes and riddles. There were too many hard decisions, too many emotions. I couldn't handle it. All I knew was that I loved my brother and sister. I love them and I wanted to stay with them. We had been happy, hadn't we? Even after mom died, we have been getting along alright. I kept them clean, clothed, learn how to hunt so I could teach them... And I had put my all into making my siblings lives as good as possible, given the circumstances.

Can you see me Mom?

Do you think I can do this?

Are you proud of me?

I heard a knock on my door and immediately got defensive. "Go away!" The knocking stopped and then the door slowly begin to open. I sat up and glared at whoever was walking in. Seth's face appeared in the door.

Somehow, my anger went down when I saw his face. Still, I stood on the bed and glared at him. "What part of go away do you not understand?" I snarled. He winced at my tone but closed the door behind him anyway, locking us in the room together.

"What was the point of that?" I asked him bluntly. He looked at me, confused. "Why did you close the door?" I asked him slowly. "We are in a house full of vampires. Everyone can still hear us." He looked at me embarrassed but otherwise didn't respond. He walked over and sat on my bed. Why yes, random boy not wearing a shirt, please sit down.

He looked at the floor for a second then back at me. "Are you okay?" He asked. I raise my eyebrows at him. Why did he care? Realizing that the faster I answered the faster he would leave, I quickly responded with, "I'm fine." The words came out hard and frustrated, countering  what  I had actually said.

Seth shook his head at me. "I don't think you are." I gasped indignantly. "I didn't ask what you thought!" I snarled at him. He looked down again, but quickly looked back up at me. His expression was apologetic. "Look..." He said, seeming to be searching for the correct way to word this. "I'm sorry, okay? I promise I'm not trying to be mean or make you feel worse but... I want to be your friend." I was shocked but struggled not to show it. "Why?" I asked, and I meant it. So far he had seen me desperately trying to escape death and screaming in anger. Why would he want to be friends?

Seth met my eyes and said "You look like you could use a friend. I could too. So I just thought..." He broke off, looking nervous. He was being honest, I was almost sure of it. But... Could I trust him? Both my brother and my sister had turned against me so why should i trust him, this boy I just had met, this boy he was just an hour ago trying to kill me? Then I thought about it I realized I really had nothing left to lose.

Without meaning to I blurted out, "I hate them." Seth's eyes immediately snapped up to mine and he sat up, paying full attention to me. When I said nothing else, he encouraged me with, "okay..." I just shook my head. What can I say that wouldn't make me sound like a crybaby? Seth took a deep breath and started talking. "The Cullens... They're good people." I clenched my teeth. I have been so stupid, thinking I could talk to Seth, thinking he might understand. "Get out." I growled at him.

Seth grabbed my arm and gently pulled me to the bed. I could have broken his hold but decided that it was a pointless fight. I sat next to him on the bed and looked at him, deciding that he was going to be the first one to talk, not me.

And he did.