The Other Sister

It only took two days for the Cullen’s to convince me to stay with them. After hunting with the Cullen’s I felt like I needed to learn more about them. They were all so fascinatingly interesting. I felt so intrigued by them. I knew very little about my own kind, and what I did know was tainted with pain and misery, so to see a large coven living together without hostility amazed me.

My first time at the Cullen’s home was a little awkward. Alice had known about me for a while now, known I was looking for something before I did. She had already given me my own room and started my own wardrobe collection. I was a little taken aback by her, she knew I would eventually be a Cullen, and she made sure they were prepared for it. I still wasn‘t sure though, I felt like an intruder, an outsider come to ruin their lives or something. They didn’t feel like that at all though, and I think that was what finally did it.

Two days doesn’t seem like a long time, and trust me, it isn’t. Except when for those forty-eight hours you’re constantly being shown what it’ll be like. You can’t help but start to believe it and want to be a part of it. All the laughs and smiles, the happiness and love. It starts to make you yearn for it to be true.

Within the first decade I was able to tune my abilities. I was able to read minds, like Edward, even when he was around. I learned to concentrate enough to tune out the echo. I was able to see glimpses of the future, and as prior to my encounter with the Cullen’s, I could see someone’s past. I was also able to influence emotions. It took a long time for me to be able to control myself enough that I wasn’t sprouting my past into everyone’s heads. We still weren’t really sure why that started happening. I was just thankful that I got it under control, because when I was able to make everyone see and feel all that pain, I wasn’t fun to be around.

The Cullen’s lifestyle was something I was used to, but I had spent a good century away from humans and away from the temptation. The first time I smelt human blood wasn’t quite as hard as I thought it would be. I took as many precautions as I could, hunting often, and not allowing myself to breath when I was near them. The last was hardest for me to deal with. I deeply relied on my sense of smell, maybe more than any of the others. The Cullen’s said I’d get used to it, it would just take some time. I was guessing that since I wasn’t a newborn, it helped a great deal to keep me under control.

I never could have imagined living like this, living with others, feeling loved. It was all so new to me. I didn’t know what to do with myself. The only family I ever had was my brother Levi, who died the night I was turned. It had been over one hundred years since I felt loved, and now it seemed like it came so naturally. I understood the bonds I sensed throughout them, I understood why they were so deep, and now I was apart of it.

“Evelyn, do you mind if I ask you something?” Rosalie asked one Summer evening - a few years after I had started living with them - as we worked on one of her cars together. I could already hear where her thoughts were heading but I agreed anyway. “Are you happy… with what we are?” She asked as she slid under the car.

“I’m happy with what I have. I never could have imagined being surrounded by anything better.” I couldn’t tell if that was what she wanted.

“But, do you feel like you’ve missed out on so many human things? Things that this life could never allow you to have?” I could then see in her mind what she was looking for.

“I was raised in an entirely different atmosphere than you Rosalie. My father had died a few months after I was conceived and my mother died giving birth to me. The only true family I knew was my brother. Our Uncle took us in, but treated us like servants. He was a hate filled man and that was what I lived with. I was banned from the village, as I was not allowed to leave the grounds. I never knew the concept of falling in love, of having a loving family. The only thing I dreamed of was making sure my brother was safe.

“Although he was older, I felt that I needed to look after him. Uncle was fond of my looks, and that kept me around. It was part of the reason I was not allowed to leave, he was afraid I’d run off with someone I’d meet. Those were the furthest things from my mind though. I could never leave my brother behind.

“Even now, I feel as if you are all enough for me. I don’t feel as if I’m missing something in me. Some days it is a little sad that I am alone in the sense of a mate, but I have more than I deserve. So that alone makes me grateful.

“Do I wish I could have died with my brother? Yes, actually, but it does me no good to dwell on it. I can only work with what I have now.”

“I suppose it is difficult for you to imagine why I am the way I am, after living so differently than I have.” I could tell she was saddened and wished there was someway to make me understand how she felt.

“I know you wish you could be human, and have children that you can watch grow up. But have you ever thought, that maybe you wouldn’t have that had you not been changed? Carlisle saved you, in a sense, and had he not done so, you still would not have had your family.” I was trying to cheer her up a little, but I was afraid I might have made her more angry.

“You’re right, I guess I just wish I wasn’t so aware of what I can’t have.” I knew this was a rare moment for Rosalie. She usually wasn’t so open it was nice to see a different side of her. I knew it was not going to last though.