Mortality

Part & Parcel

I stay on the front porch for a while after getting home, just staring at the road, eyes barely following every car that rushes by. I have homework. I have responsibilities. But I can't move. Not ... not after knowing. But it's impossible, right? Literally impossible. Vampires can't exist, they just can't.

The light of Charlie's cruiser illuminates my still sandy sneakers, his footfalls hitting my ears like glass on stone. He sits beside me, not saying anything.

After a moment, he puts his hand on my shoulder and squeezes.

"Billy and Carlisle called me at the station. It seems like I owe you an explanation or two. Let's go in, we'll get some ice cream and talk it over."

" ... you knew? The entire time?"

"I — inside, c'mon." I stand, ambling and with short steps. Charlie goes on ahead of me, talking to himself, throwing down a file on the dining table before going to the fridge. "Read the file. Since you know now, you deserve the full reality."

"I'd appreciate that."

I sit at the table, hands shaking as I slowly open the two-inch-thick file marked CASE FILE: ANIMALS and examine the contents. I remember a few of these cases. We blamed them on bears because of the brutality of the kills, but ... looking at the crime scene photos I know that is a lie. There's no blood, so signs of struggle. The only thing to show that the deaths weren't just natural is the bodies. I set them all side-by-side, my mouth going dry.

Mummified. Drained of all fluids, the hair torn out in clumps, and entire chunks of their upper body torn out. I push the pictures away, staring at Charlie in horror as he sits across the table. He slides a bowl of chocolate ice cream to me and sighs.

"I reckon you have some questions for me, eh Bells?"

"So you knew? About the Cullens."

"I've known since I was a kid. Carlisle helped me survive a measles outbreak, I was five. Edward was his co-worker. The only difference is the hairstyles and names they go by." Charlie weaves his fingers together, his body never relaxing. "I hoped you'd never find out. But, as Billy put it, your detective skills put Batman to shame."

"To my discredit, I never would have cared had Edward not stopped me from being crushed by a van."

"Yeah, he got chewed out for that. Esme told me in full detail." His lips curl up slightly, his eyes locked on his hands. "Being a vampire, I'm sure he was just thinking about what would happen if all the uh ... th-the blood got everywhere, but all the same, my baby's alive and I'll never be done thanking him for that."

"Aw, Dad..." I reach over and take his hand, squeezing gently. He shakes his head, leaving his hand in place. Charlie swallows hard and continues.

"Carlisle Cullen was the first to confirm my suspicion when the men I knew as Doctors Michael Carlson and Edmund Glass just show up, pretending to be adopted brothers. I confronted them privately, but all I got was a 'who the fuck are you?' stare. About a week later, I get a call from Billy, explaining almost everything. But he left it to me to outright say the word."

"Vampire...."

"Yeah... vampire. Since Carlisle now found an ally within the system, we've been working together on these cases. We hide the C.O.D. from the community, rehydrate the corpses, and everyone in our corner of Washington goes on like nothing is wrong."

"The corner ... so you don't just operate in Forks?"

"I wish... I wouldn't be gone quite so long if we did." He takes the files and pulls out a few documents, written by hand in the most chicken-scratch pen I've ever seen. I almost blame Charlie, before remembering his blocky, straight handwriting. "Carlisle wrote these up after examining the corpses, telling me exactly who the vampire is and where they'd be going next."