Forever Young

Chapter 19

"What do you want?"

Mato's voice didn't sound angry. Rather, it seemed like he was trying really hard to come across as bored. His eyes flickered towards me wearily, though, as if he were expecting a surprise attack.

I stopped when I was about a foot away, not wanting to get too close. Both to make sure he knew I wasn't here to fight, and also so I would have time to respond if he suddenly attacked, as unlikely as that scenerio seemed.

"I just want to talk," I assured him. Then, in what felt like an incredibly courageous move, I sat down on the ground. There was no better way to show my lack of hostility, but if he did decide to lunge at me, my position put me at an extreme disadvantage.

Mato just rolled his eyes at me. "You already got me in trouble. Isn't that enough for you?"

I took a deep breath, struggling to keep my temper in check. None of that would have happened if he hadn't followed me around the side of the house. Even if I had told Carlisle what had been said to me, without starting a physical fight, Mato still would have been in trouble for being mean. It wasn't me who caused that.

"I didn't mean to get you in trouble," I said simply, biting back everything else I wanted to say. "And I got into trouble, too, you know."

He scoffed at me, a sharp laugh escaping through his lips. "Yeah, no kidding," he mocked. "Everyone in a ten mile radius probably heard you crying about it."

Maybe I shouldn't have come to talk to him. Though I understood his disdain for me, and his anger at the world, I wasn't that good at staying calm when someone taunted me. I could feel my pride rising, demanding that I defend myself.

"Look," I told Mato, struggling to keep the irritation out of my voice. "I said that I was sorry. And that I didn't mean to get you into trouble. And I heard you crying, too, but I didn't come over here to make fun of you. So stop being mean to me. I'm not being mean to you. I'm not like the vampire that-" I stopped talking, realizing I was about to unintentionally cross a line. 

"I'm not like other vampires. That hurt people," I finished lamely. But there was a spark of rage in Mato's eyes, making it clear that I had caught my mistake too late.

He shoved away from the tree, his hands shaking. At first it looked like he was going to step towards me, but he turned his back instead, clearly trying his best to calm down. "He told you," Mato fumed, clenching his fists. "Takoda told you about my Dad."

I nodded, feeling bad for giving away the secret. 

"And you're still here for some reason," Mato said, spinning to face me. "You know why I don't want vampires on our land, and you still come back."

"A vampire killed my Mother too!" The words rushed out of me before I could think about them. "And I hated vampires, too. Because my father was one, and he left my Mom to die. All by herself, in the middle of the forest. And he left me all alone, stuck next to my Mother's body until I could figure out how to crawl away."

Though I hadn't really meant to reveal all of that, Mato's face was softening as he looked at me. So I kept going.

"Vampires can be bad," I whispered, glaring at the ground. "Really bad. And mean. And evil. But that doesn't mean they all are. Anyone can be bad. But some are good. And I try really, really hard to be good. So I just don't think it's fair for you to judge me for something some random vampire did. It wasn't me. Or my family."

We stood in silence, looking at each other cautiously. And then he nodded. 

"Fine," he said hesitantly. "But if you ever do anything to hurt my tribe-"