Chapter IV

Annie was shocked and almost hit the cabinet behind her. The skin of the needle on the boy's right hand was forcefully torn off. The hose on the drip with the medicine bottle hanging on the shelf smashed heavily onto the ground--

"Do you think I want them dead?! Do I want them dead?!"

Edmund roared at John like an enraged wolf.

'"Didn't you expect me to react?! How do you expect me to react?! Crying for my mother?! Jumping from the roof ?! Kneeling down while crying and begging you to help me catch the criminal?! Or rush out of the hospital to find that scum and stab him to death with a knife?!"

"You suspect me?! Just because I reacted too calmly?!"

"Edmund, calm down." Carlisle rushed over and hugged the boy's waist, stopping him from pouncing on the sheriff.

"Let go of me, Doctor Cullen!"

"Calm down, Edmund." Carlisle holded the boy tightly into her arms and signaled Annie to send the two policemen out. "We understand you.-At least, I know how you feel."

"Don't judge me by the standards of a normal child, sheriff! You don't know anything-" Edmund suddenly stopped, his face as pale as a parchment that had just been dried.

"Don't move, Edmund!-Annie, schedule a surgery." Carlisle adjusted the boy's posture and laid him flat in his arms. The vampire's excellent hearing told him that the guy's ribs, which he had just grafted, were out of place again.

John froze there like a wax statue, not knowing what he was thinking.

"Yes, Doctor Cullen.-Please go back, sheriff. It seems impossible to see him again today.-Rib displacement is not fun." Annie said unhappily.

"Can't you just stay calm here? Hmm?" Carlisle gently stroked the small dent in the boy's chest with his fingers, and her purely golden eyes suddenly filled with a look of displeasure. "Looks like your discharge from the hospital is going to be delayed again."

Edmund frowned and sobbed, turning away from Carlisle.

The sunlight landed on the spotless marble floor through the thin glass window, adding a lot of life to the room.

"Edward." 'Tell me what Carlisle is thinking. He's been upstairs all day.' Alice called her brother's name in her mind.

Edward blinked lazily, still staring at a black spider weaving a web on a pine tree outside the house.

After a while, he spoke.

"That boy." Edward said. "He was worried that the little fellow would run out again. So he was thinking about going to the hospital tonight."

"Oh, we finally know why Carlisle is not home often these days." Alice blinked her eyes. 'This is the first time for him, isn't it?'

"After all, he is Carlisle's singer." Jasper added. "We all know how attractive singers are to vampires.-In every way."

"Fortunately, the vampire he met was Carlisle." Said Esme. "If he were any other vampire, the poor child's life is dead for sure."

Jasper laughed, his tone filled with deep respect. "Very few vampires can reach Carlisle's level."

"Of course, Carlisle is the pride of all of us.-Here he comes." Edward turned to look at the wooden stairs.

Not long after, the handsome vampire doctor slowly walked down the ladder with a black car key in his hand.

"Be careful on the way." Edward, who had read Carlisle's thoughts earlier, smiled and waved at him.

It was Carlisle's day off. So he didn't have to come to the hospital.

But when he opened the door to the ward, he was glad that he had made the right decision.

The boy looked terrible.

Edmund was dreaming.

He dreamed that a gray-haired man raised the dagger in his hand and stabbed into his family's chest.

"Stop!" He shouted.

The man immediately turned to him. Then, a sick smile appeared on his face.

"My little Ed." The man licked the blood on the knife and stood up. He grabbed the boy in front of him and said, "Come on, boy. Try your parents' blood."

"No! Let me go!"

The man was very strong. He strangled Edmund's neck with little effort.

He used a dagger to gouge out a piece of meat from the corpse beside him and handed it to the boy's mouth.

"Come, eat it.-How delicious, my dear little Ed."

The man laughed and stuffed the meat into the boy's mouth, forcing him to swallow them all …

"Doctor Cullen."

It took Edmund a long time to realize that he had woken up and was lying in Carlisle's arms, clutching the latter's clothes tightly.

"Doctor Cullen?" The boy shouted again, as if asking why Carlisle had suddenly appeared in the hospital.

"I just passed by the hospital and decided to come in and see you." Carlisle reached out and rubbed the boy's temples, did not wnat to let him go.

"… Looks like you're very idle." The boy loosened his fist and looked at the wrinkled clothes in front of him, trying to make himself seem unconcerned. But deep down, he was glad that Carlisle had come to see him. Especially after the people who cared about him left.

Perhaps he hated Carlisle for the first few days, but after spending some time together with him, he had to admit that he liked the young and handsome doctor. Chatting with Carlisle was a pleasure, and it was never boring talking with Carlisle with his knowledge and thoughtfulness. Most importantly, Carlisle treated him like an adult, not just because he was a child.

"There is no such thing." Carlisle hugged the boy and put him on the bed, while he sat in an armchair beside the bed.

"…"

"You're still a child."

"I think I'm mature enough."

"That's compared to your peers." Carlisle looked at the boy in front of him and tried to calm down as much as possible. "Don't keep it to yourself.-It's better to say it out loud."

"…"

'At first I thought you had selective amnesia. Because you didn't react like a child who had experienced that kind of thing at all. But soon I realized I was wrong.-You remember what happened that night. But you didn't overreact at all.-Except, of course, that day when Sheriff Chris came.' Carlisle handed Edmund a cup of warm water. 'It surprised me.-Even an adult would be left with a psychological shadow after experiencing something like that. I thought you had overcome it, but obviously you didn't. You've disguised yourself too well, Edmund.'

"I--"

"I hope you can open your heart to me." Carlisle put the empty cup aside and said softly. "If you tell me what you think, I will be very happy."

"…"

"I will keep it a secret for you."

The boy hesitated for a moment before shifting his gaze away from Carlisle's golden eyes.

"It's not that I don't care about them.-My relationship with my parents is bad, but we're still family." The boy said softly, "I was thinking when the man killed them.-I must kill him, even risking my life."

"But in the end, I didn't do that."

"To be honest, I'm afraid of blood. And I don't want to turn myself into a murderer at all."

"He can go to jail, he can be spurned by everyone, but he has to live. At the very least, it should not be me who ends his life."

"Dad said that life is equally precious. Soldiers and officers, men and women, old people and children, even innocent people and murderers. There should not be such law as'life for life 'in this world. It is born from the selfish thoughts in the depths of people's hearts. People are not gods and cannot be judged fairly in everything. It was because of this that the law was created. He believes that any wrongdoing can be forgiven as long as there is repentance. "

"I think what Dad said is correct.-Doctor Cullen, what do you think?" The boy blinked his beautiful blue eyes, revealing an expression that was almost begging. Edmund was still a child, so he needed someone to approve of his ideas and actions, or he would not be able to move on.

"You are right." Carlisle smiled faintly. "Your father will be proud of you, Edmund."

"Unfortunately, he doesn't know." The boy smacked his lips with regret. "Why don't you ask me why I'm not crying?"

"Because I knew you would tell me." Carlisle said. He knew that there was no one else he can talk to except him.

"I've read a book that says that the soul of a dead man can't go to heaven if it hears someone crying for him." The boy slightly closed his eyes to cover the azure color inside.

"… Do you believe it?"

"I don't believe it." Edmund said. "That's just a reason to be strong."

The boy hugged the soft blanket and played with a thread on it unwholeheartedly.

"They're not coming back anyway, so why should I continue to be sad? And--I'm afraid I'll never stop crying again.--I hate crying."

"You won't." Carlisle gently touched the boy's head. "You're very strong, really."

"Thank you, Dr. Cullen." Edmund hesitated for a moment before finally straightening up and hugging Carlisle's neck. If it had been a few weeks ago, he wouldn't have done it if he had died. "You're such a nice person."

Carlisle laughed. He found it inappropriate. 'Good vampire' sounds better. However, since the boy did not know his true identity, he temporarily accepted this title.

"What are you laughing at?" Edmund stiffened. He thought he was mocked.

"Oh, don't misunderstand." Carlisle put her hand on the back of Edmund's neck and patted him heavily. "I'm just glad you said that to me."

"Really?" It didn't sound like he believed Carlisle's words.

"You're not a normal kid." Carlisle continued.

"You're the best old man I've ever seen.-Interest is meddling." Edmund immediately returned it.

Carlisle was amused again.

"If you've done well enough these past two weeks-don't run around and stay in bed-maybe I will consider taking you out for a walk."

"Really?" Edmund immediately raised his head to look at the handsome doctor. He didn't realize that he had agreed to something incredible without paying attention.

"Yes."

"Great! Dude!" The boy raised his hand and patted Carlisle on the shoulder.

"…"

Is it really okay to call a vampire who's over 300 years old "dude"?