All I Wanted Was the Truth

My head was spinning - how could Emmett possibly run this fast? Sure, he was incredibly strong, well-built, in shape. But nobody could've run this fast without some heavy drugs, and possibly rockets attached to their shoes.

Yet here I was, gripping Emmett around the neck as hard as I could, fearing for my own life and for his. What if he crashed into a tree? We had entered the line of trees by now, and that was what worried me most.

But no, he just kept running, on and on, over roots that would've tripped me up long ago, around and under branches that would've ripped me open at this speed, as smooth and graceful as the wind.

After what seemed like hours, he slowed to a stop. I thought that, seeing as he was running so fast, I would've flown off of his back when he stopped. But once again, he surprised me. The screeching, bloody, pain-filled stop I'd expected never came. Instead, his pace slowed gradually, and he came to a full stop without any harm coming to either of us.

I released my strangle-hold on his neck, and immediately fell to the mossy ground. Fortunately, the grass and leaves cushioned the impact, and it only hurt for a split second before the pain dulled and disappeared.

I raised my gaze to Emmett, who, for once, wasn't smiling. The hand he offered me was unsteady, unsure. I took it, pulling myself to my feet with his help. I took me a moment to shake the vertigo from my head. I had to hold on to a tree for a few minutes, steadying myself.

Finally, I could see straight. I no longer had double vision, and nothing was fuzzy around the edges. I let out a long, low sigh.

I expected him to start talking, but all he did was stand there, looking at a bit of air a few feet to my left. He wasn't moving at all. I started to think he wasn't even breathing.

"Well," I said, trying to get the conversation going. "That was... eventful."

Emmett nodded dazedly. "Yeah. Eventful."

I looked curiously at him. His eyes, clear and sharp, seemed troubled. This, in turn, troubled me, though I wasn't sure why. "Emmett?"

He looked at me. The few times we had spoken before, he had managed to hide his emotions under a smile. This time, though, the smile didn't spread to his eyes. "Sorry. I'm zoning out."

I grinned uncertainly. "Emmett," I started again, not wanting to be sidetracked. "What is it that you wanted to tell... that you wanted to show me?"

He sighed. "I already showed you." he said quietly.

It didn't take me long to figure that one out. "The... the running, right?"

He nodded. "Have you ever seen anybody run that fast before?"

"Well, no." I'd never seen cars go that fast before. "So what does that have to do with what you wanted to tell me?"

Emmett bit his lip. "You won't believe me!" he blurted, a longing look in his eyes.

My lips parted slightly in confusion. "Emmett, whatever you have to tell me, I'll try my best to believe you. Fair enough?"

He took a few deep breaths, rubbing his temples. "Yeah. Okay. I guess that's the best I can ask for." He looked at me. "I'll start with Edward. You saw how he reacted to Bella Swan, right?"

I nodded. "Like she was the Bubonic Plague."

He grinned a bit. "Yeah. Well... did you... ever look at his eyes? Closely?" he inquired.

I frowned. "Not really. They're sort of dark, aren't they?"

Emmett cleared his throat nervously. "Only... only sometimes. Look at my eyes. What color are they?"

I peered into his eyes - a deep, golden brown. They were darker around the edges of the iris. "Gold," I said uncertainly.

He nodded. "That's because I fed recently. See... my family. The Cullens, as well as Rose and Jasper... our eyes change from gold to black depending on how recently we fed. No, please, let me finish-" He held up a hand to silence me. "Edward, around the time Bella arrived in Forks, hadn't fed in weeks. He was starving. And..." He closed his eyes, as if preparing for the final blow. "And her blood made him crazy."

I stared. My jaw had dropped, and my eyebrows shot up toward my hairline. "Her... her blood?" I stuttered.

He nodded, and gulped. "Kaya... we're vampires."

Everything around me went hazy once again. The ground was rising rapidly to meet me, and my hands flew out to catch myself before my face hit the ground - but his hands got there faster. He grabbed my shoulder and my waist, holding me still. "Are you okay?" he asked anxiously.

His mouth was open slightly, and my eyes shot inevitably to his teeth. His canines - his fangs - were slightly longer than the others. He shut his mouth quickly. "Vampires," I breathed. My sarcastic streak was trying feebly to protect my mind from the shock. "You're joking, right?"

Emmett shook his head sadly. "We're vampires, through and through. When we feed, our eyes turn gold. But as we get hungrier, our eyes go darker."

I stared at him, horrified. "Feed..." I said, struggling to stay upright.

He shook his head frantically. "Don't worry, please, no - you don't understand! We feed off of animals!" He gestured wildly with one hand, urging me to comprehend. "Other vampires, they feed off of humans, but we don't! Otherwise, our eyes would turn red instead of gold!"

My head was shaking slowly, as my mind refused to take in what he was saying. He grabbed my elbows. I looked up at him, fearful tears welling up in my eyes. "You're so cold," I sobbed, feeling his hands gripping me.

He looked down at the ground, his hands falling to his sides. I swayed, but he made no move to help me. "We're all cold," he said quietly, his voice deep and sorrowful. "Because our hearts don't beat warm blood through our veins anymore."

His voice, so full of hurt and regret, pierced me to the soul. I reached out for his arm instinctively. The coldness of his skin shocked me briefly, but I pushed past that. My hand gripped his forearm. "Emmett, I'm sorry." I said slowly. "I mean, if you're... really..." I paused. "It's a lot to take in."

He looked back up at me hesitantly. "Yeah. That's... yeah. True." His arms, which had been crossed, unfolded slowly. "I'm sorry, too."

I frowned. Despite the fact that he had nearly caused me to have a heart attack, I didn't think he needed to apologize for anything. "Why are you sorry?"

"If I scare you now," he replied, staring back at me.

I shook my head. "No, no..." I took both of his hands in mine, trying my hardest to comfort him. "You don't scare me." I smiled very slightly, very carefully. "Not any more than you did before."

He grinned, relief and happiness tangible in the air around us. He breathed a sigh of relief.

I let go of his hands, thinking to myself what Rosalie Hale would do to me if she found out I had come within twenty feet of her boyfriend.

Emmett reached up and wiped some stray tears from my face gently.

Suddenly, Emmett's arms darted around my waist, pulling me into a hug. I smiled in surprise, and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Thanks," said Emmett quietly. I nodded into his shoulder.

We stayed like that longer than I can remember. After a while, we broke apart, and he turned away from me. "Get on," he said, a smile plain in his voice.

I laughed in response, jumping onto his back. He raced off through the trees, back to Forks, back to his house, back home.