Renewal [Emmett Cullen] (1)

[13- Explanation]

"I should probably tell you about me. I was born in Gatlinburg, Tennessee in 1915." He paused and glanced at me from the corner of his eyes. He smiled a tiny smile and continued.

"I went hunting and a black bear mauled me. I was alone, hopeless, about to die. Edward was hunting —he was in Appalachia at the time — and found me dying. He carried me back to Carlisle, more than a hundred miles, afraid he wouldn't be able to do it himself. Edward told me he needed a brother, someone else to talk to since Carlisle had turned his wife Esme shortly after he was saved."

"How old are you?"

He chuckled, "20. I just turned 20. But I usually pose as 17 or 18. The younger we start out in a new place, the longer we can stay." I was surprised. He looked like he could play professional football but his youthful personality made the age difference seem negligible.

"How did he... save you?"

A few seconds passed before he answered. He seemed to choose his words carefully.

"Carlisle turned me. It was difficult. Not many of us have the restraint necessary to accomplish it. I definitely don't. But Carlisle has always been the most humane, the most compassionate of us... I don't think you could find his equal throughout all of history." He paused. "For me, it hurt like hell, maybe worse. It was like being burnt alive, run over, and torn apart all at the same time." I shuddered.

I could tell from the set of his lips, he would say no more on this subject. I suppressed my curiosity, though it was far from idle. There were many things I needed to think through on this particular issue, things that were only beginning to occur to me. No doubt his quick mind had already comprehended every aspect that eluded me.

"You aren't actually blood related then?"

Emmett shook his head.

"Edward was dying from the Spanish Influenza in 1918 when Carlisle turned him."

"Alice and Jasper?" I questioned.

"Jasper belonged to another... family, a very different kind of family. He became depressed, and he wandered on his own. Alice found him. She has certain gifts above and beyond the norm for our kind."

"Really?" I interrupted, fascinated, "Vampires can have gifts? Like powers?"

He grinned, "Sort if like powers. Alice sees things — things that might happen, things that are coming. The future isn't set in stone. Things change." His jaw set when he said that, and his eyes darted to my face and away so quickly that I wasn't sure if I only imagined it.

"What kinds of things does she see?"

"She saw Jasper and knew that he was looking for her before he knew it himself. She saw Carlisle and our family, and they came together to find us. She's most sensitive to non-humans. She always sees, for example, when another group of our kind is coming near. And any threat they may pose."

"Does anyone else in your family have... gifts?" He chuckled.

"Jasper can manipulate the emotions of those around him — calm down a room of angry people, for example, or excite a lethargic crowd, conversely. It's a very subtle gift. Edward can read minds. It can get annoying."

"So he could knew everything I was thinking?" My face flushed bright red. He knew every insignificant thing I had thought of, like private moments I had in my mind were no longer private. I was embarrassed, what if Edward told him about my thought when Emmett wore that cream knit sweatshirt that accentuated his perfect chest. I suddenly felt more defensive.

He reluctantly nodded, I was getting the feeling that Emmett wasn't particularly fond of his brother's gift.

"I know. I find it frustrating too. But if it makes you feel better, Edward sometimes has a difficult time reading your mind. You kept your thoughts pretty guarded." That made me feel slightly better. Why my mind? How often did Edward have trouble reading a mind?

"Do you want to come over to my house? I can introduce you to my family. Alice really wants to meet you," he asked.

"That sounds good."

"Text me when and I can pick you up," he replied and then vanished out the window.