We went our separate ways. In some ways more than others. The Denali family went to Pittsburg. We went to Chicago. Or at least, most of us did. Once again, Rosalie and Emmett decided to go their own way and take some time away from us. Only this time they wanted more than just their own house. They decided to live in a different city altogether.
I suppose I understand. They wanted to see what it would be like to live just the two of them. It was hard for me to get used to life without Emmett, however. Rosalie was not so endearing, and it was easier to push her absence out of my mind. Emmett's loss was truly sad. It was like I lost a real brother. I realized once he was gone that he was my brother, blood be damned.
They didn't go too far, at least. Headed for Indianapolis, Indiana, Rosalie and Emmett were only a two and a half hour human drive away- vampires could drive that much faster. While Indianapolis is sunnier than Chicago, it still only gets about 88 totally clear days per year, which is very manageable. It took very little time for them to set up a nice suburban house.
We went straight for my parent's house in Chicago. It was a little awkward at first. I took my original bedroom, and gave Carlisle and Esme my parent's bedroom. They had offered me the master suite but the idea of sleeping in the room where my parents once slept seemed odd. I felt much more at ease in my old room, and it wasn't much smaller than the master suite anyway. The only real difference was that it was lacking bathroom quarters. My parents were well off in their lives.
My father was a lawyer with a wide range of clients, and was fairly successful. My mother stayed at home, and therefore we had a close relationship. Being back in my old home allowed me to go through some of my old things- Carlisle and I had boxed them up and placed them in the attic- and resurface many old memories. I remember my mother, Elizabeth, was worried about me going off to the draft. The draft was just lowered to the age of 18 a month before we got sick with the Spanish Influenza.
Funny how it got it's name- because most people don't seem to understand, Spain was one of the only countries during that time that didn't censor the news, and didn't hide the effects or mortality rate of the disease- therefore people thought it was worst there. It wasn't. People were sick all around us. People were dying in their homes, hospitals were overwhelmed. Cemeteries were full, and coffins were of short supply. People were being buried in shallow graves, often without coffins. The second wave of the flu struck in 1918 when I was 17, and both my parents died in the hospital, my father first, my mother second.
Carlisle was our doctor, here in Chicago. Carlisle told me once that he thinks my mother picked up on something, somehow knew he wasn't quite human. She begged him to save me, to do whatever he had to do to keep me alive. My mother made Carlisle promise her not to let me die. Carlisle said that he made the promise both because he couldn't bear all the death around him, and because he was just so lonely himself. Walking on this earth for so many years, with no partner, no real friend, he just wanted someone by his side.
My mother died that night and he sneaked me out of the hospital immediately afterward to make the change. The change took several days and was severely painful. I remember it being nothing compared to the pain of Carlisle explaining to me what had happened to my parents. We then had to leave the city, leaving everything but a few trinkets and some photos behind. Later we came back, pretending that I survived the flu and that Carlisle was my uncle so I could claim my families' property and its belongings.
Being back was both painful and relieving at the same time. While I was going back over the sad and hurtful memories, I was also remembering happy ones, and bringing closure to the things I never really got to say goodbye to before. Being here was good for me, and I was glad to be back.
For now, I suppose I should go. I am long overdue for a hunt. There are some wooded areas around Lake Michigan that I am going to go check out. Perhaps I will find some deer. If not I will swim out and catch me some fish, which is a little gross, but challenging, which makes it fun.
Labels:
Before Twilight
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Carlisle Cullen
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Chicago
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Edward Cullen
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Emmett Cullen
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Rosalie Hale
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Spanish Flu
