Esperance || Paul Lahote

.vi.

"our backs tell the stories no books have the spine to carry"
w o r d c o u n t : 1,097

Ezra didn't wake up screaming every night like abuse victims were made to appear.  Instead, he shot up with a gasp, sweat dripping down his fragile spine as his hands clutched at imaginary foes, finding only silk bedsheets where they should have been.  He refused to blink, knowing he could still see the man's face sneering at him from behind his eyelids, his mere image a torture.

He could feel the marks the man left burning gaping holes into him so wide that he would need patches to put himself back together rather than the common needle and thread.

A soft knock at his closed door startled Ezra, shooting up.  "Hey, Ezra, it's me.  Can I come in?"

"I'm fine."  Ezra blurted, his voice high and sharp.  "I'm fine, thank you."

"Are you sure?"  Esme asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, I am.  Thank you, Esme."  Ezra said, his voice returning to his normal pitch after he swallowed thickly.

He could hear her footsteps retreating before disappearing completely.  He slammed his head into the silk encased pillow, a groan leaving his lips before he rolled out of bed.  With a thud he slammed into the floor, shoving himself up.  The morning light was already streaming through the window, casting a bright yellow glow onto the room.

Ezra turned on the shower before shuffling back into the bedroom to grab new clothes.  His new room appeared to be decorated with an expensive taste.  The sheets were made from silk with a large window behind the king four poster bed.  There was an empty white dresser with a small lamp on top, a wardrobe that held Ezra's clothes filled bag, a hamper in the corner of the room and string lights hanging from the ceiling.  There was a cluttered desk full of old books of lore and notebooks that were rapidly filled with messy writings.  A plush throw blanket was crumpled up at the top corner of the bed and Pads was currently sleeping softly, soft snores leaving his tiny lips.

He felt genuinely guilty.  The Cullens kept giving him things and helping him yet he had nothing to repay them with.  They gave him a room, fed him, offered to buy him clothes, helped him with his gift, and he had done nothing for them.

Ezra tossed his clothes into the hamper, noting it was getting rather full.  He showered quickly, having learned from the last time.  The boredom made his fingers spark up and he accidentally shorted the house's circuit.

Emmett, another of the vampire residents, got it up and working with little difficulty and since then, Ezra limited himself to fifteen-minute showers.

When Ezra stepped out of the bathroom, a towel around his waist he let out a shriek when he saw Niki lounging on his bed, teasing Pads with the tips of her prosthetic hand.

"What the fuck!"  Ezra tightened his grip on the towel.

"Calm down you big baby.  Alice wanted me to tell you they're starting school today so on the weekdays she won't be able to help you until a little later.  She wanted me to tell you to practice for an hour and spend the rest of your time studying the books she gave you."  Niki explained, a tired yawn leaving her lips.  "Carlisle is at work at the hospital and Esme wanted to take a walk so we're the only ones here.

"Why aren't you at school?"  He asked as she wiped at her bleary eyes.

"I took the day off.  I go to school on the Rez with my cousin, anyway."  Niki stood, heading for the door.

"Who's your cousin?"

"Jacob Black, you'll meet him sometime."

"Is he a-"  Niki cut him off.

"He will be."

She let the door slam shut and the room instantly was enveloped in silence.  Ezra turned on the radio, hearing music began to flow out of it as he grabbed the book he was already halfway through.  The Forgotten Facts of the Modern Monster.  Detailing all of the ancient discoveries of monsters that had yet to be replaced with a more effective alternative.

Ezra sat for five hours before he finally had to stand up and move the stiffness from his muscles and the bleariness from his eyes.

He snatched his phone off the desk, rubbing his eyes so he could read the screen.  Paul had texted him and all it took was a simple 'hey' to make Ezra's heart race like a school child.

Ezra quickly texted back, his heart pounding in his chest as yet another short trill echoed from the small device.

"Ezra!"  Alice knocked softly on the door and he glanced up as the small vampire danced into the room.  "Have you been practicing?"

"Of course,"  Ezra lied with a tired smile.  Ever since Paul texted he had been somewhat neglecting his work.  Suddenly there was a large spark and a loud pop and the lightbulb just beside him exploded, embedding shards in the wall, one in Ezra's cheek and another in his arm.

Those that hit Alice merely bounced off her vampiric stone skin, collapsing into finite shards on the wood.

"Are you alright?"  She asked as Ezra pulled out the shards and sighed.

"Yes, I'm fine."  He grabbed a box of rainbow bandaids from his bedside table and plastered them onto the cuts.  "This has happened before."

"You haven't been practicing have you?"  Alice accused, watching Ezra tug a hand through his hair.

"I did!  I promise!  But I got distracted texting Paul."  He admitted, watching her cock a brow.

"Paul Lahote?  You're into that mutt?"  Alice asked as she put her hands on her hips.

"Watch it,"  Ezra warned as he began to sweep the shards into a small dustpan.

"Ezra, before you can pursue any sort of relationship you need to have control.  You could have sex with him and get so excited you electrocute him and he has to go to the hospital.  Or you could get into an argument and burn down his house.  God forbid you get too intense and stop his heart.  Could you really live with that on your hands?"  Alice chastized as Ezra swallowed thickly, sitting back down in his desk chair.  "Keep practicing, Ez."

Ezra took the battery from his phone and put it into his bedside table.  He sat back down and his fingers crackled with lightning.