Rosalie hesitated before she began speaking. I could tell she wanted to just plough into an entire hour long speech but she considered her words carefully. She didn’t want to upset me which was weird but good.
“First of all,” she said. “I don’t hate you, Kayla. I never have and never will.”
I nodded. “That’s good. I wouldn’t know what to do if you did hate me.”
She smiled. “Probably run in terror, I think.”
“Probably,” I laughed. Rosalie even managed a tiny laugh.
“But,” Rosalie turned serious. “I do have to stress that I do not approve of you marrying Edward. I think it is wrong. He’s a vampire and you’re a human. It isn’t right.”
“Technically, I’m not human. I’m an Azdi.”
“Yes, I know what you are but human or Azdi you won’t live for eternity. You won’t remain eighteen for the rest of forever. But Edward can and he will. And when you die he...he won’t feel the need to live any longer and he...”
I could see the pain in her gold eyes but her entire body held composure. I knew what she would have said. Edward told me about a group of vampires called the Volturi. They’re like the royal family of vampires but aren’t the ‘official’ royal family but act as though they are. They’re incredibly powerful and are the largest and most influential coven. They act as guardians and keep vampires secret from the human world. However, if some vampires are seen to be a threat and are close to exposing vampires the Volturi send someone out to them and they are disposed of, along with any witnesses including possibly innocent humans. So, you shouldn’t really annoy them as it wouldn’t take much to kill you. Edward mentioned that some vampires have gone to the Volturi as a means of suicide. Normal suicidal methods don’t work on vampires. They don’t need to breathe so hanging yourself and jumping into the ocean has no effect. And walking in front car would cause more damage to the car and the driver than the vampire. If a vampire was extremely unhappy then he could just plod along to the Volturi and request to be killed.
“I know what you’re going to say,” I said, quietly. “You don’t have to explain that part.”
“You understand then,” Rosalie said, blinking quickly as if to stop tears. “You cannot marry him. You should leave now and never speak to him again. He’ll get over it now but if you wait say fifty years then that’s a lot harder.”
“Leave? Rosalie, I can’t leave him. I can’t. I’d fall apart. I’d die. I wouldn’t be able to exist. He’s everything to me. I love him. I couldn’t imagine my life without him.”
I started to hyperventilate just thinking of thinking of leaving Edward. I told myself to get a grip and that I wasn’t actually going to leave him. I’d be stupid to do.
“Edward feels exactly the same and that’s why he’d never leave you. He fears for you too much. Every time he leaves you even just to come here to change in the morning he worries you’ll somehow get yourself into trouble. And when you were kidnapped, he was a wreck. He refused to hunt, wouldn’t leave your house, blamed himself for it and he was just....I can’t describe how he was. It was like he was broken, like his soul have just left him and it was an empty shell left behind.”
I didn’t like this. I didn’t like hearing how my absence affected Edward. It hurt me too.
“And then you got yourself shot!” Rosalie threw her hands up in exasperation. “Do you know how he beat himself up over that? He was right there and he couldn’t stop it. And then you died! You died!”
She was saying this like it was my fault. It was my fault I was shot and then died after it. Sorry Rosalie that someone shot me and I died. I shouldn’t have let that happen. I should have stopped the bullets with my super rock hard chest...oh wait...I DON’T HAVE ONE!
I wouldn’t actually say this to Rosalie. I might not walk out of here in one piece.
“He went crazy. Well, after you were alive he did. Although he was going down Crazy Street when you were dying. I got the entire story from Alice. I don’t think I need to tell you how he was then.”
“No, you don’t,” I said. “Is this going anywhere else Rosalie or are you going to continue to tell me how Edward falls apart when I’m not there?”
I waited for her reaction, fearing she would bite my head off, literally.
“Yes, this is going somewhere,” she replied. “I went a little off subject, didn’t I?”
I smiled politely, knowing I’d say something my decapitated head would regret.
“Enough about Edward though,” she said, smiling. She patted my hand. “What about you?”
“What about me?” I asked. Great, what would she say about me?
“You’re going to waste the rest of your human life with someone who can’t do the same for you. Isn’t that a bit annoying?”
“Rosalie, I’m not going to discuss that with you,” I said, standing up. “That is my business.”
“Is that a touchy subject?” she asked, pouting.
I glared at her and walked away. Of course it was. My fiancé was immortal. I might be but doubt grew more and more with every day that passed when Carlisle didn’t come to me praising Jesus that I was immortal. I never let it bother me. I had other things to worry about but Rosalie just shoved it in my head like the peroxide blonde headed snake she was.
“And what about on you’re wedding night?” she said, standing up too. “Can you trust him not to kill you when you make love?”
“What?” I spun round to face her. I narrowed my eyes. “That is definitely none of you business.”
“Vampires are powerful creatures,” she continued, her voice soft. “We cannot always control our strength. I know Edward is very careful around you but sometimes we slip and when we slip there are always disastrous consequences.”
Rosalie was taller than me by about two inches but right now she did not intimidate me. My personal business was my business. She had no right asking questions about my wedding night. I would not take this from her.
“Shut up, Rosalie,” I said, glaring at her. “Continue like this and you’ll be wishing Edward never met me.”
“I am definitely touching some nerves.” She ignored my warning and smiled. “So if Edward doesn’t kill you when you’re older, Kayla, you’ll want children, right? I mean, every woman wants children. It’s only natural. We have this maternal instinct.”
Children? I’d never thought of children. I’m a bit young to be thinking of starting a family.
“You can’t say you don’t want children,” Rosalie said, before I could speak. “Because you’ll be thirty and walking down the street and see all these women with babies and toddlers and wonder when you’ll become a mother. And then realise. I can’t have children because my husband is dead.”
She spat out the last word.
“But by then people will be wondering why a teenager is holding hands with some middle aged woman and then they’ll think you’re some kind of perverted sex-less woman who can’t get a man her own age and picks on defenceless teenage boys and-”
Rosalie didn’t say anything after that as she was flying into the nearest wall.
“SHUT UP!” I shouted at her. “SHUT UP!”
Rosalie stood up fast and daggers flew from her eyes.
“You say you don’t hate me, Rosalie, but from what you just said it doesn’t sound like it.”
I walked towards her and saw Alice flying down the stairs.
“This is what happens when I leave you alone with her,” she shouted up at Rosalie. “You upset her and make her angry. Why can’t you just be nice to her?”
“I was being nice,” Rosalie said. “She just couldn’t handle the truth.”
“That wasn’t the truth!” I said. “That was you being a spiteful cow because you can’t have kids!”
A flash of shock crossed Rosalie’s face.
“Yes, I know. Edward let it slip in his mind once. That’s why you’re being so hateful towards me. You’re angry because I won’t find some nice human boy and have a ton of kids with him.”
I stepped right up into her face and showed her I wasn’t scared of her.
“This conversation was not what I expected,” I said. “I thought we would sort out our differences but obviously you can’t handle that. I never want to speak to you again.”
Alice squeezed between us looking stricken.
“No, no, no, no!” she said to me. “You can’t do that! We’re supposed to be sisters.” She turned to look at Rosalie. “We’re supposed to plan this wedding together! You’re supposed to be a bridesmaid! The head bridesmaid!”
Rosalie looked down at her sister and then she was gone in a white blur. Alice looked from me to the direction Rosalie had gone and back again.
“Go after her,” I said, wearily. “I need to go home and sleep.”
She gave me a quick hug and then tore after Rosalie, who had run outside somewhere.