13Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I don't think I could handle it!
Chapter 8: Nobody Said It Was Easy
"Renesme, how could you have been so stupid, so selfish?" Rosalie shouted, waving her hands about frantically. She'd been going at it for a while, unnecessarily chewing me out while Carlisle was out of the room. He was putting Ma-, I mean, Hunter up in dad's old room. It was next to mine, a convenience when trying to keep an eye on somebody. I was close to tuning Rosalie out completely, but that was a task. She was just so loud. "Why would you ever ask this of your grandfather? It's the most ridiculous, useless, silly, insane thing you've ever asked for!"
"Alright Rose, I get it! You're pissed off because there's something else to look at other than you!" I snapped, gritting my teeth and making for the stairs. "I'm sure people in Scotland can hear your shouting," As the rest of my family watched me from the living room, Esme's eyes followed me as I stomped up the wooden steps. When I reached the top, she approached me and placed a slim hand on my shoulder.
"Honey, don't take Rose's words to heart," She smiled reassuringly. "We're all just in need of some readjusting time. It was a little… abrupt, even with your grandfather's warning," I nodded, flashing Esme weak smile.
"I understand, Nona," I sighed, chewing my lip. "It only makes sense," My grandmother gently patted my cheek.
"Your grandfather would like to see you in Hunter's room," Nodding a last time, I started down the hallway towards the room. Rosalie's voice stopped me cold as it echoed against the walls.
"How do you even know this kid, Nessa?" Rosalie was, clearly, still frustrated. "Anymore information, niecie?"
"He's the Ashbury's youngest son and went to school with Renesme," Esme replied softly, leaning over the banister. "It'd do you good to read the newspaper every once in a while, dear," Biting my lip to keep from laughing, I kept on walking, trailing my hand on the wall. I could hear Jasper snickering from his room as I passed; probably heard Esme's shot at Rosie. From what Carlisle had told me (which wasn't much, mind you) Hunter's burning process was going quicker than he'd anticipated. He said it reminded him of my first days alive, constantly changing.
My grandfather was sitting in a chair near the window, book in hand and reading glasses on the end of his nose, when I slipped in. With a quick wave, I moved to the side of the couch where my new sibling lay. He wasn't shaking or screaming, in fact he was completely still, his breathing barely there. Sitting down, I moved strand of hair off his forehead. I played with it for a while, making my obsessive-compulsive side content by smoothing it down. Alice had already had a field day shopping for Hunter, so I didn't wonder the drawers were filled.
"Interesting choice of name, pip," Carlisle spoke quietly. I didn't turn and I don't think he even looked up from his book. "Hunter… almost seems like a dead give away," he mused. I snickered a little; it was kind of ingenious.
"I did my half," I smirked. "Now, tell me your bit, avo," I picked up Hunter's hand and played with his fingers. Even for a boy, he was very pretty; features pale and soft, his mop of dark brown hair looked black against his skin. I imagine that he'd wake up with those startling red eyes that newborns are known for. And yet, I could still hear the dull thud of Hunter's heartbeat and the light puff of his breath, chest rising and falling.
"He's going to be you're older brother," Carlisle began with calm matter-of-factness. "When Jasper helped us find you in Los Angeles, your file contained the information that you had an older brother, but were separated at four years old in… well, you can decide that. You don't have much memory of him; never were much of a diary keeper and don't have any pictures from that time. Jasper spent the last couple of months tracing your foster care trail back to the place you two were split; took your brother's trail and ended up finding him in Greensboro, North Carolina,"
I let the story sink in before turning to my grandfather. "That's near perfect, avo. But, could you explain something to me?"
Carlisle smiled. "Does 'something' mean why Hunter have a heartbeat at this stage in his transformation?" I nodded. He stood and walked over to me, holding the book at his side with a finger keeping his place. "I haven't figured it out entirely, but I think we may have created a hybrid of sorts,"
"Of sorts?" I laughed. "Sorry, avo, but I thought being a hybrid was an all or nothing kind of thing,"
"I'm still working out the kinks, Nessa, be patient. At this point, I feel as though we just need to wait and see. He'll be waking up in the next day or so. Once that happens, I'll have access to the answers," Ruffling my hair, Carlisle told me he'd be in his study if I managed to come up with any more questions. I sat there for another ten minutes, letting that "tiny" revelation sink in.
Creating a hybrid without meaning to but by normal means was unheard of. Unheard of is an understatement. It hadn't ever been pondered. As a certain older movie character would proclaim, the whole situation was inconceivable. My mind ran over any possibilities how that could happen: blood type; the meds pumping through his system at the time were way more advanced than anything from my family's day; maybe the stuff Hunter had been popping had an effect.
After those ten minutes, my head pounded with the worst kind of headache. Flattening one last piece of Hunter's hair down, I left the room in search of an ibuprofen and a way to go back in time to keep from losing my other best friend.
[A/N: hey folks! Bit of a change-up here; this is now from Hunter's POV. – Carie]
When I opened my eyes (probably the first time in ages), Ren was sitting next to me, talking. She was talking to me. I could hear her clearly, see her crystal-clearly. The image was so vivid, I began to wonder if it was really Ren. My friend always turned heads, but I don't remember her being that striking.
The last thing my brain truly remembered was opening the hidden drawer in my desk, extracting the glass bottle, and my little sister Juliana screaming for my mother. Only Juli would've done that; she actually cared for me, seeing as she was the youngest of us all – the one who got the short end of the stick through no fault of her own. My parents, like the stereotypical perception of the elite, were the distant kind and only showed concerned when something threatened their personal state of affairs. They were very short-sighted, privileged, and pretty damn ungrateful. No wonder nobody liked them.
"The next few weeks are going to be really hard for you, Hunter, but you can handle it," She spoke so uninhibitedly, lightly. "You're stronger than most, a little more sturdy than other people. You'll be fine. My brand new brother is going to be perfectly fine,"
"Ren," my voice was dry and barely a whisper. "Why are you calling me Hunter?" Ren jumped off the couch onto the floor, hands clamped over her mouth and eyes bulging. A split second later, I was at her side, questioning how I had moved that fast.
"Mar - I mean, Hunter, can you sit back on the chaise?" Her voice shook as much as her legs did when she stood. "I'm going to go get Carlisle, alright? Please, just stay put for now," Next, Ren was zipping out the door, like Satan himself was on her tails. Her scent, sweet orange and clove, lingered on. Had she always smelled so, I dunno… delicious?
I didn't want to lie back down. I felt like I'd been asleep for years, but in that way only Monday mornings feel; foggy but still pulsing with energy. The room wasn't my own, so I decided to explore. One wall was nearly all windows and the opposite wall was all shelves, filled to absolute capacity. Books, vinyl, CDs, tapes all lined up like wooden soldiers on the glass covered cases. The whole room was neat and chrome-plated modern. A chink in the book cases led to a small hallway with 2 doors; one led to a walk-in closet and the other, the bathroom. I chose the bathroom, wandering up to the mirror.
I walked myself into an out of body experience. The cold feel of the glass solidified the vision for me, but it wasn't convincing. I looked dead, really, with my dark brown hair now a glaring black. My skin was washed out, drained of blood and ghostly. I expected my eyes to be black or a creepy red, but both were wrong. They were a weird navy blue colour, lighter around the pupils and darker toward the whites. Jabbing my fingers at my neck, desperately trying to uncover a pulse, I found a faint one by my jaw. I realized I hadn't been breathing much either. Of all the panicked thoughts and questions firing through my head, "what the hell?" captured it perfectly.
"Hunter!" Ren's voice called from the main room. Feeling like I half ran into the room, I rounded around the door. Ren stood there with a fairly young blonde man, dressed smartly in khaki slacks and a dark green pullover sweater. Ren was partially hiding behind him, in a pale blue dress that fell to her knees and had a sparkly collar. Her legs were covered in white, knit stockings. Something about the way Ren was standing made the man look shifty, like he is what made her uneasy. A hiss escaped my lips, which shocked me. I wasn't sure where the cat-like hiss resonated from, but I didn't like the reaction. Neither of them flinched. Instead, the blonde man stepped forward.
"Hunter, I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen and Nessa's grandfather," He gestured to the couch. "Please sit, then Nessa and I will explain everything," I hesitated at first, but when I glanced at Ren and saw her grin, the tension melted away.
"First, can I ask one thing?" The doctor nodded and I continued. "You said you're Ren's grandfather, but you don't look older than 30… how?" Suddenly, Ren flitted to my side and gently led me back to the couch by my hand.
"That's probably the first bit to explain. Sound good, avo?" Ren smiled at the doctor. She pushed me onto the couch, but sat on the coffee table. The doctor sat in an armchair to the left of the couch. I'd heard the name Carlisle Cullen from my father, so I wondered if he worked at the hospital; maybe as a psychiatrist, but probably not. I'd seen every damn head-shrinker in that place and never came across a Dr. Cullen.
"Alright, Hunter," he spoke in a professional way, but still relaxing. "Would you like the full lecture or small talk?"
Author's Note:
Hello everybody! Sorry it's taken me so flipping long to update. I'm taking Chemistry this summer and that's 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 5 weeks. It's a week in a day! Anywho, thank you so much for all of you who have been reading, liking, subscribing, commenting, and all around supporting this wacko endeavor of mine. Please, venture to the link in my profile for various other ways of contacting me, as well as a link to my Polyvore if you want to see Nessa's outfits.
Thanks again!
Carie