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All an Illusion
The stranger
“So how’s your mother these days, Jade?” Mrs Flower asked Jade as she swiped her oranges across the till.
“Fine,” Jade mumbled back annoyedly, wondering if the woman could go any slower.
“I never really see her anymore, after she quit her job,” she continued skeptically eyeing her behind her large rimmed glasses. She watched as Jade only grunted in reply, not even bothering to look at her. Instead she opened her purse pulled out a credit card and a handful of food vouchers and started paying for the food. It was such a disturbing image to see from a young girl of only sixteen. She was quite pretty as well, if it weren’t for the permanent scowl that always covered her face. She had quite long dark hair, a nice rounded face with watery blue eyes. She would have done well in school, Mrs Flower liked to think. Girls like Jade didn’t mess around they simply did what they wanted and what they had to when they were told. Only, Mrs Flower couldn’t get round the girl dropping out at sixteen, the mysterious disappearance of her mother. She didn’t like how Jade was slowly cutting herself off from the world, taking on all the problems around her on to her small shoulders. And like most old, nosy retired women that had nothing to do, Mrs Flower liked to think, she could fix Jade Stone.
“So did you hear about the Spring party they’re having tonight down at the school?” Mrs Flower casually asked, trying so hard to sound nonchalant and uncaring, when her head was screaming out to the girl for some sort of reaction. She was heavily disappointed though when Jade simply gave a small smile, took the tow bulging shopping bags and sauntered out of the shop her nose in the air.
Something wasn’t right about that girl, but who was she to go running after the girl and take some of the shopping load from her hands? After all she had a job to do, at least for now there was nothing she could do.
*
Jade didn’t know why she was torturing herself by going over the events of that evening again and again in her mind. Did she really have to scowl at that poor old lady? Did she really have to be so anti social? Maybe, just maybe if she hadn’t been so crude and stubborn then she would have listened, and seriously considered going to the stupid Spring party that evening. Still, deep down inside Jade knew that could never have happened. She was always going to be a pushy obstinate person who refused to depend on no one but herself. She was always going to have gone to the meadow that night for fresh air to be alone, and she was always going to have been turned into a vampire. Maybe that made her feel slightly better, to know that this was always going to have happened to her. That it was her ‘destiny’ to have been turned into this. But then if so, where had this destiny bought her? Crying alone in her apartment, with only the dead body of her mother and of some stranger she had killed to keep her company.
That was how they found her; Carlisle, Edward and Bella. It didn’t take long to work out what had happened. When Bella knelt beside her, trying desperately to comfort the small girl that was breaking her own heart by her sadness, Jade flinched away her scowl returning.
“How could you do this to me?” she hissed.
“Do what?” Bella puzzled, wondering if Jade’s grief was playing tricks with her mind.
Only Edward understood, “We had no idea Jade. I was here, only the other night, and your mother was fine. I think she was even on the phone to someone.”
Jade wiped away her tears and stood up. She didn’t need to ask him twice, she knew he was telling the truth, though some small part of her wished he wasn’t. It was nice to have someone to blame and now they’re arrival had caused only more confusion. She bit her lip and then rushed over to the stranger lying sickly on the floor, its body drained of blood. She averted her eyes from the cold lips and open dead, staring eyes, but instead started to feel her pockets.
“Jade, stop. You don’t need to do this,” Carlisle said trying to reassure her, “You’re probably in shock. Come back home with us and we can talk…”
“No,” Jade’s voice was as hard as diamonds. She spoke with such decision and command, but this wasn’t what made Carlisle freeze.
“Jade?” Edward whispered as his mind tried to piece together what had just happened. He took one step towards her before he was also rendered useless and unable to move.
Jade didn’t look at them, but continued to search the stranger’s pockets, who she had now realized was a middle aged woman with tanned skin and thick dark hair with some graying strands. In her pockets she found her wallet, and Jade immediately began to read aloud, “Marissa Stone, aged 44!” She dropped the wallet, her hands flying to her chest.
“Jade, what’s going on?” Bella asked now also slowly moving towards her.
“Stop, wait,” Jade commanded, “I need to think. I think this person is my Aunt!” But Bella didn’t stop; Jade had no control over her, unlike Carlisle and Edward. Bella could block her power and now she was only seriously concerned about Jade.
“No, please don’t stop me Bella,” Jade said quietly as she finally turned from the dead body, fresh tears trickling down her cheeks, “I know I’ve been anything but nice to you and your family, and you have done so much for me, by taking me in and helping me. I am so sorry for any trouble I have caused you. At least now Charlie and Jacob can start visiting your house again without being in danger of being attacked by some mad sixteen year old,” she laughed nervously to herself.
“Don’t say that Jade, it’s been a pleasure having you, we would never push you out on the streets or want you to leave,” Bella said carefully taking one step closer towards the girl.
Jade shook her head absently; she knew it was all lies. She had been nothing but a burden to the Cullens. She found it very hard to understand how Edward had survived in the house before Bella came, with the rest of them in couples. It was always Bella and Edward, Jasper and Alice, Carlisle and Esme, Emmett and Rosaline and then her. She didn’t fit in there, or belong. If she really was meant to be a vampire, it wasn’t with the Cullens, they were too perfect and she simply wasn’t.
“It’ll get better Jade. The fact that you made it all the way here, shows how you’re getting stronger already. It’s been over a month now, you’re not going to be a desperate new born forever,” Bella tried, but she knew it was too hypocritical for her to say that since she herself had never known what it was like to be a proper new born.
“It’s okay Bella. Please tell everyone how sorry and thankful I am. But I have to go now, this person that I have killed,” she swallowed, the words sounding strange in her mouth, “is my family, and for all of my sixteen years I’ve lived with my mother, we never heard from them. I think when Edward said she was on the phone before she was talking to them, maybe asking them to come to visit? I have to find out what happened, who was here before and so on. I’ll see you soon,” she lied, “But until then, please don’t look for me.”
And she was gone, out the window and hurrying away into the dark of the night. As soon as she disappeared Carlisle and Edward started to move again. Jade’s power was that she could command people to do whatever she wanted and they would be forced to obey. Bella could only watch as she disappeared, dreading all the trouble that she would bring.
“Fine,” Jade mumbled back annoyedly, wondering if the woman could go any slower.
“I never really see her anymore, after she quit her job,” she continued skeptically eyeing her behind her large rimmed glasses. She watched as Jade only grunted in reply, not even bothering to look at her. Instead she opened her purse pulled out a credit card and a handful of food vouchers and started paying for the food. It was such a disturbing image to see from a young girl of only sixteen. She was quite pretty as well, if it weren’t for the permanent scowl that always covered her face. She had quite long dark hair, a nice rounded face with watery blue eyes. She would have done well in school, Mrs Flower liked to think. Girls like Jade didn’t mess around they simply did what they wanted and what they had to when they were told. Only, Mrs Flower couldn’t get round the girl dropping out at sixteen, the mysterious disappearance of her mother. She didn’t like how Jade was slowly cutting herself off from the world, taking on all the problems around her on to her small shoulders. And like most old, nosy retired women that had nothing to do, Mrs Flower liked to think, she could fix Jade Stone.
“So did you hear about the Spring party they’re having tonight down at the school?” Mrs Flower casually asked, trying so hard to sound nonchalant and uncaring, when her head was screaming out to the girl for some sort of reaction. She was heavily disappointed though when Jade simply gave a small smile, took the tow bulging shopping bags and sauntered out of the shop her nose in the air.
Something wasn’t right about that girl, but who was she to go running after the girl and take some of the shopping load from her hands? After all she had a job to do, at least for now there was nothing she could do.
*
Jade didn’t know why she was torturing herself by going over the events of that evening again and again in her mind. Did she really have to scowl at that poor old lady? Did she really have to be so anti social? Maybe, just maybe if she hadn’t been so crude and stubborn then she would have listened, and seriously considered going to the stupid Spring party that evening. Still, deep down inside Jade knew that could never have happened. She was always going to be a pushy obstinate person who refused to depend on no one but herself. She was always going to have gone to the meadow that night for fresh air to be alone, and she was always going to have been turned into a vampire. Maybe that made her feel slightly better, to know that this was always going to have happened to her. That it was her ‘destiny’ to have been turned into this. But then if so, where had this destiny bought her? Crying alone in her apartment, with only the dead body of her mother and of some stranger she had killed to keep her company.
That was how they found her; Carlisle, Edward and Bella. It didn’t take long to work out what had happened. When Bella knelt beside her, trying desperately to comfort the small girl that was breaking her own heart by her sadness, Jade flinched away her scowl returning.
“How could you do this to me?” she hissed.
“Do what?” Bella puzzled, wondering if Jade’s grief was playing tricks with her mind.
Only Edward understood, “We had no idea Jade. I was here, only the other night, and your mother was fine. I think she was even on the phone to someone.”
Jade wiped away her tears and stood up. She didn’t need to ask him twice, she knew he was telling the truth, though some small part of her wished he wasn’t. It was nice to have someone to blame and now they’re arrival had caused only more confusion. She bit her lip and then rushed over to the stranger lying sickly on the floor, its body drained of blood. She averted her eyes from the cold lips and open dead, staring eyes, but instead started to feel her pockets.
“Jade, stop. You don’t need to do this,” Carlisle said trying to reassure her, “You’re probably in shock. Come back home with us and we can talk…”
“No,” Jade’s voice was as hard as diamonds. She spoke with such decision and command, but this wasn’t what made Carlisle freeze.
“Jade?” Edward whispered as his mind tried to piece together what had just happened. He took one step towards her before he was also rendered useless and unable to move.
Jade didn’t look at them, but continued to search the stranger’s pockets, who she had now realized was a middle aged woman with tanned skin and thick dark hair with some graying strands. In her pockets she found her wallet, and Jade immediately began to read aloud, “Marissa Stone, aged 44!” She dropped the wallet, her hands flying to her chest.
“Jade, what’s going on?” Bella asked now also slowly moving towards her.
“Stop, wait,” Jade commanded, “I need to think. I think this person is my Aunt!” But Bella didn’t stop; Jade had no control over her, unlike Carlisle and Edward. Bella could block her power and now she was only seriously concerned about Jade.
“No, please don’t stop me Bella,” Jade said quietly as she finally turned from the dead body, fresh tears trickling down her cheeks, “I know I’ve been anything but nice to you and your family, and you have done so much for me, by taking me in and helping me. I am so sorry for any trouble I have caused you. At least now Charlie and Jacob can start visiting your house again without being in danger of being attacked by some mad sixteen year old,” she laughed nervously to herself.
“Don’t say that Jade, it’s been a pleasure having you, we would never push you out on the streets or want you to leave,” Bella said carefully taking one step closer towards the girl.
Jade shook her head absently; she knew it was all lies. She had been nothing but a burden to the Cullens. She found it very hard to understand how Edward had survived in the house before Bella came, with the rest of them in couples. It was always Bella and Edward, Jasper and Alice, Carlisle and Esme, Emmett and Rosaline and then her. She didn’t fit in there, or belong. If she really was meant to be a vampire, it wasn’t with the Cullens, they were too perfect and she simply wasn’t.
“It’ll get better Jade. The fact that you made it all the way here, shows how you’re getting stronger already. It’s been over a month now, you’re not going to be a desperate new born forever,” Bella tried, but she knew it was too hypocritical for her to say that since she herself had never known what it was like to be a proper new born.
“It’s okay Bella. Please tell everyone how sorry and thankful I am. But I have to go now, this person that I have killed,” she swallowed, the words sounding strange in her mouth, “is my family, and for all of my sixteen years I’ve lived with my mother, we never heard from them. I think when Edward said she was on the phone before she was talking to them, maybe asking them to come to visit? I have to find out what happened, who was here before and so on. I’ll see you soon,” she lied, “But until then, please don’t look for me.”
And she was gone, out the window and hurrying away into the dark of the night. As soon as she disappeared Carlisle and Edward started to move again. Jade’s power was that she could command people to do whatever she wanted and they would be forced to obey. Bella could only watch as she disappeared, dreading all the trouble that she would bring.
♠ ♠ ♠
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