part 12

I found myself trying to collect my thoughts and summarize the danger I was in as well as my assets. The biggest asset seemed to be the fact that when I was around Edward I could catch small bits of people's thoughts. It wasn't easy and I found myself admiring him for dealing with it full force constantly. He could read by mind with no problem unless his mate Bella was near, which was often. Edward couldn't read Bella's mind so I got a small bit of that power. Both powers had their benefits. Bella handled my ever increasing list of abnormalities the best. Renesmee also handled it well. From time to time she would come and put her hand on my face to ask me a question I didn't know the answer to as I tried to keep my cringing to a minimum. I learned that the first time she did this my hand had flung out and touched Carlisle and he heard a bit of my desperate call for help: one more shadow of a gift.

Carlisle Cullen was the respected leader of the vampires. The others even took his surname when they were not around humans and called him their father. He was the most interested in me yet he was careful not to ignore me in an effort to understand my abilities. He asked me if he could run a few tests and seemed surprised when he found I had a normal chromosome count for a human. Apparently vampires and werewolves don't. I was a little surprised at how he seemed to think of me as more than an interesting mystery. His mate was the same way. She was sweet and maternal. I learned that she wasn't really a bad cook. Food just tasted awful when I was around vampires. I didn't tell them. It seemed rude. Edward hadn't caught it yet. Would he be angry when he did? I shuddered at the thought of angry vampires. Terrifying.

The one who scared me the most was of course Emmett. He teased and joked a lot. His booming laugh made me shudder every time. He liked to fight but he wasn't overly aggressive. His mate Rosalie was stunning- gorgeous even for a vampire. I admired her because she seemed to know what she wanted and exactly what she was willing to give for it. She seemed somewhat indifferent toward me. Refreshing. She kept her distance more often than any of them except Jasper.

Jasper was working on ways to be around me. We were obviously both negative people because we never exited each other, though occasionally I would catch a glimpse of his happiness with his mate. He was covered in scars. From what I could understand his early life as a vampire was hard. The school of hard knocks. I feared him yet a small part of me pitied him. He had the most trouble refraining from human blood, but he didn't have a problem with me. He said I only smelled "faintly human". I was the only human who he didn't mind and he still couldn't be near me. Ironic.

Jasper's mate had come to sit by me at one point. She seemed so young and full of life it was hard to believe she was a vampire. I think Edward told her that I hadn't caught her name. Maybe even that I thought of her as the tiny one. I hoped not. "I'm Alice by the way. Jazz obviously doesn't want to come near but he's trying to be near you without tasting your emotions He wanted to apologize for throwing that pillow at you. He was wondering if you could see the future like I can. He really is sorry." She was an overwhelming person. "Nothing to apologize for" I muttered. There really wasn't. Alice smiled "Just so you know you probably won't be able to see Nessie or the wolves. I can't." She sighed.

We found out that if Jasper was at the right distance he could taste and manipulate my emotions without me tasting him. I suspected that had something to do with the fact that I agreed to stay one more night rather than travel in the dark. The wolves had gone home so I was the only one asleep.

The next morning I was ready to leave again but no one seemed to have even thought about me going. Emmett asked me where I lived exactly. "I move around a lot." It came out like a question. "Maybe I'll go to LA." I didn't know where that had come from, but I did miss LA a lot. If I was being honest with myself I would admit that it was the people I had met there rather than the place itself. "California?" Emmett said, shocked. Alice ran into the room "You're leaving today?" she pouted. Instantly the whole lot of them tried to convince me to stay. Edward mentioned that the pack would want to talk to me. Not good.

Emmett bluntly asked me if there was anything special about LA or if I just wanted to leave. "LA is great." I said "I do think it's best to move on." I admitted. Bella spoke up "Should I call Jacob and let him know? The pack will miss you but they'll understand. Jake understands wanting to walk away from the supernatural world." Renesmee shot her mother a worried look. "Only at first, before you were born." She reassured her daughter "So would you like me to call him?" she asked me again "If you think it best" I replied, happy with my ability to answer without really answering. I had noticed that Bella seemed to be on the best terms with the wolves. As she walked to the phone I wished I had just said not to call.