Baby Steps

41

My final exam for the year was coming up fast, and time for study was running out. With me being a vampire in her newborn phase, the whole family had to keep every living being with blood pumping through its veins away from the house.

Jamie's been calling and texting nonstop, looking for ways for us to hang out. I hated lying to her when I told her I can't see her, I'm either too busy studying, or sick or out of town. My excuses were running out, as well as the blood bags in the fridge. In the short month I've been a vampire, I refused to hunt humans or animals. If I knew my thirst was the reason for something to die, I'd live in regret forever. Demetri had a serious talk with me, telling me that if I don't feed on either humans or animals, I would go insane from thirst and set off on a killing spree, killing everything with a heartbeat. My argument was that I fed on blood bags that people donated. Blood that was given by permission.

"Carlisle can't keep supplying you with blood he sneaks out of his work forever." He said, "We're vampires, Grace. Bloodsuckers, leeches, cold ones. We survive off the blood of our victims, those we hunt. If you don't hunt, you'll never live up to your new title."

"Which one, Grace the vampire or Grace Volturi?" I bit right back.

"You know that's not what I meant." Demetri reasoned, "I just want what's best for you."

"Then stop lecturing me about my diet! You should be glad I'm drinking from the bags. At least I'm drinking it without regret."

He left me alone after that. I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration, hating to fight with him, but he just...ugh! Rose and Emmett fight all the time. It's normal for a couple to fight, right? I opened the fridge for a bag of blood, only to find that it's empty. All we had was human food for Jake and Renesmee, no blood for Grace. Fine, I decided stubbornly. I'll wait until Dad gets home with another week's supply of blood.

A crack coming from outside caught my attention. Looking out of the window and into the darkness of the forest, I saw the gleaming eyes of a deer, its ears pointy and its body relaxed as it grazed on. My throat burned. I smelled it from all the way in the kitchen. Warm, oozing blood. Sweet, precious blood. My fangs poked my bottom lip. I opened the backdoor and stepped out on the porch. The scent hit me harder, making it more difficult to hold back. My feet dragged themselves over the grass to the dark woods. The deer grazed on. I was only a few yards away, the thirst was taking over. As it lowered its head again, I saw its long, thick neck with tiny veins bulging underneath its hairy skin.

Suddenly, all hell broke loose. I launched forward and attacked the deer, dragging it to the ground. It wrestled and struggled to break free, its eyes filled with fear while it made shrill noises that were probably signals for help. My grip loosened slightly, allowing it to breathe. I can't kill it. Looking in its eyes, I saw emotions, fear being most of them. Its heart hammered against my side, and every beat shook me like an earthquake. Instead of sinking my fangs into its veins, I muttered apologies to it while stroking its head soothingly. As it calmed down, I slowly let my arms drop and stepped back. The moment it realized that it wasn't trapped anymore, it made a dash for it.

My throat was still burning. I couldn't wait any longer, in fear that I might attack the next living thing passing by. So I took a late afternoon run through the woods in the direction of the hospital where Dad worked. Got to get a blood bag. Got to drink. The moment I reached the edge of the forest, the overwhelming scents of human blood made my vision blur for a second. That smell... It was too much. I was losing it, every bit of control I had bottled up before I left.

My eyes landed on a girl, probably in her early twenties, walking down the street and past an alleyway. In a blink of an eye, I had her by the shirt and pushed her against the wall. She let out a shriek, but I muffled it with my hand. She squirmed and struggled against my grip, but all to no use. I glanced down at her neck and the faint blue vein, bulging from the nerves quick breathes. Her rapid heartbeat betrayed her fear. She was deadly afraid of me.