Forever Young

Chapter 32

The sun was streaming in when my eyes opened next. And Carlisle's hand was no longer on my arm. Esme's gentle humming was no longer next to my ear.

Sitting up, I looked nervously around the room. In the darkness the night before, I hadn't been able to take in my surroundings. The room seemed fairly simple- while it had a dresser, a sidetable, a bookshelf, and even a desk, there seemed to be very few sentimental objects in the room. There were no framed pictures or little trinkets on the shelves. It looked sort of...bare.

As quietly as I could, I slid out of the bed. Sneaking towards the door, I hesitated. Would it squeak when I pushed it open? Would the doorknob make a clicking sound?

So, so slowly, I opened the door. Just barely enough for me to squeeze through. It was completely silent. Holding my breath, I quickly crossed the hall and reached for the doorknob to Mato and Takoda's bedroom. I would feel much braver once they were beside me.

A hand fell on my shoulder and I jumped, yelping as I spun around. A blonde woman was behind me, her hazel eyes widening at my reaction.

"Shh, it's alright, Hun. The boys are still asleep- come to the kitchen so we can get you some food."

No.

The word was caught in my throat as the woman put her hands on my shoulders and guided me down the hall. I glanced back at the room my friends were in, hoping my quiet yelp had woken them up. But this was a vampire's house- the walls were likely very well sound-proofed. And the door stayed closed.

There was counter with tall chairs that I was guided towards. I sat down stiffly, watching as the woman pulled a container out from the fridge. "I'm Kate," She greeted. "Carlisle is something of a cousin to me, I suppose. Renesmee used to call me Aunty, but you can just call me by name, if you prefer. Or Ms. Kate. Whatever makes you more comfortable."

I nodded. She took the lid off the container and handed it to me with a spoon. Despite my nerves, I smiled. It was one of Esme's breakfast parfaits- complete with oats, yogurt and berries. She must have made some food for me before she left. A little taste of home.

I was mostly silent as I ate, keeping my eyes wearily on the woman in front of me. She didn't look mean. She had a constant smile on her face.

"Elody and Tanya will be back soon," she promised. "They made a run to get more human food. Carlisle said those boys eat quite a bit. You don't seem to be the same way."

Looking down, I realized I had only taken a couple of nibbles. Though I didn't usually eat a lot in general, I was even less hungry now that I was alone with a stranger. It left me with a twisty, bubbly anxiety in my tummy.

"So what sort of things do you like to do?" Kate asked, trying to make conversation.

For some reason, this felt like a trick question. So I just shrugged. "I don't know," I answered softly. "Anything."

"Do you like to play or read or write?"

At least now I had options to choose from. "I like to play," I announced. I watched to see her reaction, wondering if that was the correct response. Maybe she only liked children who preferred reading and writing.

Kate smiled. "What sort of games do you like?"

Now this was a question I could answer easily. "I like dolls," I told her. "And also I like marbles. And tag. And hide-and-seek. And chalk. And Koda and Mato are teaching me to play soccer. I'm not that good at it, though. You have to kick the ball with the inside of your foot, but my foot always wants to do it with the front."

Though adults often found children's games boring, Kate kept her eyes on me as I spoke. I went quiet, realizing I might be rambling. Once again, I wished that Koda and Mato would wake up. They never cared if I rambled.