Fiction: The Breaking Of A Human Being #4
Title: The Breaking Of A Human Being
Chapter: Four
Author: fadedpresence
Fandom: Twilight
Characters/Pairing: Rosalie Hale, Edward/Rosalie (not really, but it can be read that way sometimes)
Rating: PG-13 (some violence)
Warnings: Spoilers from Eclipse (if you don't know Rosalie's backstory already)
Word Count: 2,300 approx.
Summary: April, 1933. Rosalie Hale is engaged to Royce King, wealthy heir to bank of Rochester, New York. On her way home one evening, Rosalie is assaulted by a drunken Royce and his friends. Left for dead, she is saved by Dr. Carlisle Cullen, who takes her home to revive her. When Rosalie awakes, she is something else entirely. Desperately trying to adjust, there's just one thing Rosalie wants. Revenge.
Notes: I do not own the characters, obviously. All characters copyrighted to Stephenie Meyer. Some information on Rosalie Hale has been taken from Eclipse and also some from The Twilight Lexicon. Everything else, I've made up. I've tried to make everything flow chronologically and accurately, but I apologise for any errors. Thanks to boleyn for being my beta!
Chapter Four
April 19th, 1933
Rochester, New York
“Rosalie, I’ve got a gift for you.”
I opened my bedroom door tentatively, peering through the crack in the door to see Esme standing with her hands behind her back. I smiled weakly, finding myself quite pleased she’d taken the time to come in and check on me, let alone buy me something… like a real daughter.
“Please… come in, Esme.”
She walked in on my invitation, still not revealing what it was behind her back.
“I know that this might not be as fancy as what you’re used to, but I thought that it might be something nice to wear when you’re able to go out.”
I was flattered. Yes, the Cullen's had given me a few sets of clothes upon my arrival, but nothing overly extravagant. I had two skirts, three different blouses, one casual jacket and a pair of black lace up boots. I had no formal attire and nothing worthy of a dinner party… and I’d ruined my only dress on my first hunt.
“Oh, Esme…” I began, but she had already laid out a beautiful gown atop the bed. It was an unusual color, a faint sea green in a pearly satin. The waist had intricate stitching, bunching the fabric into a beautiful design that would fit around my body perfectly. That being said, it was rare to find a dress that didn’t fit my body perfectly.
“Do you like it?” Esme asked me, her face worried as she tried to evaluate my expression.
“It’s beautiful…” I touched the satin gently, the texture wonderful beneath my skin. It seemed like an age since I’d worn something so soft. “Thank you… I don’t know what to say…”
“Rosalie Hale, lost for words,” Esme grinned. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“May I try it on?”
“Of course, I’d be delighted. I’ll give you your privacy. I’ll be in the sitting room.”
“Thank you, really, Esme.”
She smiled, the warmth in her eyes conveying more than a simple ‘you’re welcome’ ever could.
As soon as I was alone, I stripped off, leaving my everyday clothes piled in a heap on the floor. The satin slipped over me like air, catching on to every curve of my body and accentuating my shape. I tiptoed barefoot to the bathroom, satin in my fingertips so I didn’t step on the flowing hem. Once there, I took a long, hard look at myself. I was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I was back to being the old Rosalie Hale… just… improved.
Yes, this is exactly what I had needed to feel myself again.
---
I drew my hands lightly against the plaster of the white walls, walking along the hallway draped in my new sea green gown. I felt like a princess, one from fairytales, ready to meet her royal court. I laughed to myself quietly. I had not thought such childish thoughts since I was eleven years old. Esme was right. This family did give something more than immortal life.
I could hear Esme leafing through a book in the sitting room. I lingered in the archway to the room, just so she couldn’t see me, but I could see her. I would never pitch Esme Cullen for a vampire… she was just… too normal. An everyday woman with the ability to love everything in the most humane way.
Edward was cross-legged in the armchair opposite her, leaning his head on a closed fist, with an open book as per usual. Carlisle sat at a typewriter, the soft clicking of keys indicating he was at work with doctor’s notes. The whole scene was a reminder that even we, drinkers of blood, could still lead a semi-normal life. It was oddly comforting.
I took a deep breath, a habit I couldn’t shake even though I didn’t need air in my lungs, and stepped into the room.
“Rosalie…” Esme said, her mouth formed in the shape of a small ‘o’. The book she had been reading was immediately discarded. She stood up with amazement and walked to me with outstretched arms. “You are simply stunning… what an excellent fit!”
“Beautiful,” smiled Carlisle, turning in his chair to look at me. “Truly beautiful.”
I glanced at Edward, a thin smile on my lips at the Cullens' approval. He was still absorbed by the novel, sparing on a glance or two at me with a vacant expression. Esme and Carlisle watched him strangely, waiting for his response. I was reminded of what Edward had told me, about Carlisle’s hope for the two of us…
“Edward?” Esme asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Doesn’t Rosalie look striking?”
Edward looked up from his novel and ran his eyes over my body quickly and with little interest. His eyes did not linger in any particular place.
“Hm, yes. It was a nice choice for her, Esme.”
With that, he went back to turning pages. Esme frowned, drawing me closer.
“Well, I can’t take my eyes off you.”
“Thank you, Esme, You’re too kind.” I said, still looking at Edward with confusion.
This certainly was a first. If I had looked this way and entered a ballroom, I could have any man I wished. Edward, on the other hand, must’ve thought he was clearly too good for me. He was so sure of himself, hiding his face behind books and figuring he was far more intelligent than the rest of us, especially me. I found my brows knitting together, I wanted to get Edward Cullens’ attention. It irritated me that there was one young man that did not find me attractive.
No, I didn’t like Edward that way, but I wanted him to like me that way.
That’s what young men were supposed to do. They were supposed to feel things when they looked at me.
Edward didn’t feel anything for me except disinterest, sometimes frustration.
He looked up at me, then, with furrowed brows and wordless eyes.
Oh, he had just heard all of that inside my head.
--
I hadn’t ventured into Edward Cullens’ bedroom before, in fact, I didn’t even know what it looked like. Esme had left earlier to hunt with Carlisle, something I had trouble imagining her doing. I stood outside Edward’s door, my hand paused an inch away from knocking on the door.
“Come in, Rosalie…” I heard him sigh from inside.
I opened the door and stepped in, finding him sitting at a wooden desk with a small lamp on top of it. He was writing something down in black ink, something he covered up when he saw me looking at it.
“Sorry to bother you…”
“I’m not busy.”
Edward’s room had two bookshelves, novels and encyclopedias stuffed in any place they could be. There was an ivory colored chaise lounge angled in the corner, atop an ornate looking rug. On the wall hung a postcard-sized portrait of a beautiful young woman, I wanted to ask him who it was.
“It’s my mother,” Edward answered, glancing at the portrait in my mind. “Well, it was.”
“She was beautiful…” I said, nodding slightly.
“Yes, she was.”
A moment of silence hung between us, thicker than air and deeper than water. I clasped my hands together, walking around in small circles until sitting down on the chaise lounge. Edward watched me carefully, but I was careful to keep my mind on other things than our personal relationship. He already knew too much.
“I wanted to ask you, I suppose,” I said, sighing. “Why it is that you don’t find me attractive?”
“Excuse me?” Edward said, turning towards me on his chair with a serious expression. “I thought it was established that I’m not your type?”
“I’ve seen the way you look at me, Edward. Your eyes don’t betray you like other men’s do.”
“Rosalie, does it bother you that much that there is one man on this earth that doesn’t want you that way?”
I pressed my lips together, scrunching my mouth up in an undecided expression. Edward was watching me with those eyes again, it made me nervous.
“I told you I’m vain…” I said with a whisper. It was all I could say to him.
“Yes, you did…” Edward said. “But Rosalie, it is possible to be just friends with someone. We may not get along all the time, but I assure you, I’m not completely wretched. I’ll be here for you if you need me.”
I smiled weakly and he returned the gesture.
“Things have just been… complicated…” I sighed, my eyes focused on the floor. “I’m sure you’ve seen the things that haunt my mind, the things that were done to me… the way I died. Edward, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”
The night of my assault played through my mind, perfectly recorded in every detail. Everything was etched in for an eternity, I would never forget… I never could. Royce’s hands on my bare body, the way his mouth tasted stale and sticky… the smell of his friend’s skin, the sounds of laughter as they all watched and did nothing to help me.
Edward’s arm fell over my shoulders and I was torn from my memories. He was embracing me… something I thought he’d never do. Edward sat down beside me on the chaise and drew me closer, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and setting his chin atop my forehead.
“Rosalie, you never have to live through that again… never…”
“I do… everyday.”
I thought about the wolf in the woods, my first kill. It had been wondrous, tearing apart all that flesh and bone in my hands while under that spell… it would be the ultimate payback. I envisioned Royce in that forest, body set atop another helpless victim. I’d see him and with a flurry of snapping jaws and clawing hands, I’d rip him apart and not regret a second of it. The clothes would come first, just like he did to me. Then slowly but surely, I’d break skin… it would be painful, excruciatingly painful…
“I’ve killed human beings…” Edward whispered into my hair. I immediately felt guilty for what played through my mind - guilty because Edward had seen it, not guilty because I’d imagined it up in the first place. “I killed the ones that did bad things… I thought it would be justified… but it’s not. There’s nothing glorious about murdering someone else, no matter how evil.”
“I don’t believe you,” I whispered back, almost feeling Royce’s flesh beneath my own nails as I clenched them tight. I’d get them. I’d get them all… each one that was a part of that group. Each one that was present that night.
I knew Edward could hear me. He had to know that I was going to go make these thoughts into actions. But he said nothing, simply holding me while these thoughts played through my mind like film.
The only thing left to decide now were the finer details. Where and when would I, Rosalie Hale, get her revenge?
--
April 25th, 1933
Rochester, New York
Edward had managed to teach me a few things. Now that we had some sort of mutual agreement to stay on civil terms, he was the one that took me hunting. I could now keep my clothes and my hands clean. Edward was the deadliest predator I had ever seen. The few glimpses I had of him out there were quick, lethal and moving faster than any speed I could attain. His attacks were neat, his strikes precise. Edward Cullen had hunting down to a fine art. He promised me I’d be his first pupil.
Carlisle returned home at eight that night. His face was grave as he walked into the sitting room.
“What is it?” Edward was the first to ask, standing up from his chair immediately. He was always so quick to act in Carlisle’s defense. Esme shot me a knowing look and I hid a smile. It had to be hard for Edward, always trying to make it up to the Cullens’ for leaving them just once.
“I think it’s time…” Carlisle said, glancing at Esme and then to me. “For us to move on. Away from Rochester.”
Move on from Rochester? This place had been my home since birth… I knew the streets like the back of my hands and knew each person’s face. Esme simply sighed, folding her hands in her lap.
“Did something happen?” Esme asked, glancing at all of us. “Rosalie? You’ve stayed in the forest, haven’t you?”
“Of course,” I nodded, shuddering at the thought. If I had killed a human being by accident, I probably wouldn’t have the nerve to return here. I couldn’t put the Cullen's in the firing line of suspicion. She sighed with relief at my honest response.
“I just don’t think it’s safe anymore,” Carlisle said. “It’s for the best.”
“Where would we go?” Edward was the next to speak, sitting himself back down.
“Tennessee. There’s a mountain range nearby that would be sufficient for hunting.”
I’d never been outside New York State… I’d never been anywhere too far from my family. The thought of leaving, while they searched for me, sat in my mouth like something I couldn’t swallow.
“Will I…. have to be Rosalie Cullen from now on?” I asked quietly, looking at each of their faces for an answer.
“You won’t be able to put your name on any legal documents while there are still people searching for you,” Carlisle was the one that spoke. “But you can still go by Hale if that’s what you want.”
“Yes,” I nodded. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to be one of them, I did, I wanted to fit in and be a Cullen… but human memories faded. I needed to be Rosalie Hale, if only to remember.
---
Chapter Five Coming Soon!
Previous Chapters:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
I'd love some feedback. Writing this fanfic is taking up quite a lot of my time, so just a simple comment would even be appreciated! Thank you!