CHAPTER THIRTEEN
A BIG STEP

In the year: 1942

    "I hate my last name," Thea confessed to Carmilla while she looked through old books in Carlisle's office.  "I'm sure you can guess why."

Carmilla crossed her legs and watched Thea carefully. They'd made progress in the last six months.

Now don't be fooled. Thea is not the best-healed version of herself. Sure, she has improved but she still has much more improvement to do.

"I see." Carmilla listens, "The last name Quarts associates you with your past. Your mother, sisters, father, and your trauma."

"I'm starting to think you know me better than I know myself." Thea wanders around the room, gazing at any and everything.

"Thea, I have a question." Carmilla pulls out her notepad.

"Fire away." Thea crosses her arms, pausing in her steps.

"You've had the opportunity to accept the Cullen name. It's been on the table ever since you've transitioned. So why not take it?" Carmilla wonders.

Thea squints. A tight smile returned to her lips and her eyes tried wandering off, but Carmilla was quick to stop that.

"Thea, we've made some good progress in the past six months. Don't close yourself off to me." Carmilla pleads. "Come. Sit." She points at the couch across from her.

Thea swallows. Taking a few seconds to confess. "I love the Cullen family, but if I take that last name then...I don't know."

"Yes, you do." Carmilla counters, "Just take a moment...find the words."

"What if I ruin them? What if I ruin the people that are supposed to be my family once I take that last name?" Thea confesses, "In my family...nothing good happened, what if I just take all those bad habits and just...do the same thing with them?"

"Thea." Carmilla chuckles, "Based on all I've gathered from you in the past few months...you are so different from your human family. You will not ruin them...they love you and you love them."

Thea stays quiet but her thoughts spiral.

✸

     Thea missed sleeping.

It was the best escape for over thinkers but now that Thea is a vampire, sleep was off the table. So she was forced to deal with all her thoughts for eternity.

The entire Cullen family sat in the living room. Even Carmilla had been staying in the extra room in the Cullen house to be at Thea's aid whenever needed.

Thea and Rosalie were sat on a couch. Rosalie was painting her nails, Esme was knitting, Emmett and Edward were on the floor watching television and Carlisle was reading up on medical techniques.

Thea...well...she was just sitting there.

Thinking. Something she did best.

Edward spears a glance at Thea but turns back to the television.

Here goes nothing. Thea thought.

"Ah," Esme randomly breaks the silence, "Thea, I've been meaning to ask you something."

Thea frowns, "What's going on?"

Carlisle and Esme share a smile. "Well, for the last few years, we've been moving around a lot so that you could adjust."

"Yeah?" Thea's eyebrows downturn.

Carlisle begins speaking, "In the next couple of years, we'll have Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett go back to school."

Thea blinks, where was this going, "school?"

"And you seem to have control with your thirst, so, we think you're ready to start school with everyone else." Carlisle smiles.

"Don't worry," Emmett grins, "you just sit there and let a teacher yap your ear off before you go home."

"Want to tell her the other thing, Emmett." Rosalie quirks her brow, making Emmett smirk.

"What's going on?"

"We wanted to know if you would like to make it official within our family." Emmett looks up at Thea with excitement.

"By taking your last name..."

The Olympic coven could visibly see the stress in her eyes. Rosalie places her hand over Thea's "Don't let this stress you out. You're in no rush."

"I've talked to Carmilla about taking the Cullen last name and—"

"What about mine?" Emmett cuts her off and Thea looks down, very confused.

"Sorry?"

Emmett shifts on the floor so he's fully facing The, "Carlisle and Esme think it's a really good idea to portray us as siblings to the humans."

"You both have very similar features." Carlisle explains, "We think it'll be believable for you both to be siblings."

Emmett didn't believe it would be a lie. He and Thea were practically siblings already, they acted like it all the time.

"So...I won't take the Cullen name?" Thea tilts her head.

Emmett shakes his head, "You'll take mine. McCarty."

"Thea McCarty," Thea mumbled under her breath, and suddenly a smile spread on her lips, it made Emmett smile as well. "I like that."

"Ha!" Emmett cheers, "I knew you would!" He playfully ruffles her hair, to which she squints and puts him in a headlock. He yelps while Edward snorts.

"Definitely siblings," Esme whispers to Carlisle as she watches the two play fight.

In the year: 1949

MARY Alice Brandon was a sucker for love.

The vampire had an entire eternity to live and she couldn't help but want to share that with someone. But she knew she would very soon because she was seeing it. She saw the Cullen family and her.

"Did you have another vision?" Jasper Whitlock, Alice's closest and only friend, questioned her as they watched waterfalls from high up on the hill.

Alice seemed embarrassed but she couldn't help herself. "I saw her again, Jazz."

Jasper chuckles and grins. "What happened in the vision?"

"We were sitting on a dock." Alice explains, "She was in the fetal position and her eyes...she has the prettiest golden eyes."

"Jazz!" Alice squeals in excitement. She pulls him up off the ground and jumps up and down in excitement, "We're about to have an entire family and I'll get to see her! I'll get to know her."

Yup. She was a sucker for love alright.

ragerwrites, Y'all better get ready because Thea is not about to react well to Alice.🫢

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