Okay so since I'm on Feb. vacation I have more time to write fanfics. So while I'm finishing What I couldn't tell you I'll also be working on this little number.

Summary: Following the death of his father Edward has taken on all the responsibilities his father had left behind causing him to mature literally overnight. No longer a carefree teenager like he once had been Edward now shoulder's all the responibility for his mother and sister Alice's sake. Forcefully Edward is sent along with Alice to Pheonix to spend some time away from the painful memory of their father's death, a memory Edward tries hard to forget. Upon arriving at His Aunt and Uncle's house he meets Bella, the girl next door, someone who tries to find the good in everything.

I do not own Twilight

Black wave- The Shins

EPOV

"There's no way I'm going" I spat back stubbornly as I paced the expanse of the kitchen, keeping my eyes down on the floor as I tried to calculate the odds of me not being forced into this.

"Awh c'mon it will be fun!" Alice chirped enthusiastically from her spot next to our mother at the kitchen table. I snorted, my eyes flashing to Alice's eager face for a second before they trained back on the floor.

"Edward I think it would be good for you to visit your Aunt and Uncle for the summer" I stopped short and turned back to my mother, her voice like a wave of calm, even though there was no emotion behind the words.

In the past months since my fathers passing I noticed the drastic changes of her appearance. She hardly smiled anymore, the skin of her face stretched tight across her prominent cheekbones (a sign that she had lost a significant amount of weight), her voice once light and airy now felt like deadweight to your ears, but her eyes where the worst to look at. Once the brightest green I had ever seen (brighter than my own green eyes) they were now vacant, unfocused, and lifeless.

Sometimes I wondered if maybe just one day she would wake up and they would suddenly become gray. I sighed remembering that she was waiting for an answer "I can't leave you mom, it would be better if I stayed here and helped you out around the house"

her lips turned up into a small smile (the first for today) "Edward…" she trailed off pushing herself away from the table taking small, sluggish steps in my direction until she was inches in front of me. Gently she cupped both her hands on either side of my face and I smiled minutely from the warmth, something that hadn't changed.

I wasn't that much taller than her making it easier for her to look me in the eyes, and as she held my gaze for a second I thought I saw something ignite the light behind her eyes, something I had not seen since the last day my dad was alive, her unrelenting love. She pressed her lips against my forehead before pulling back and capturing my gaze once again

"you can't keep taking care of me like you have been. I just want you to be happy again and I think it would be best if you left town for a little bit, act your age again" I smiled sadly down at my worn mother and I couldn't even imagine how spent I must have looked. I hadn't slept through a full night in weeks, always worrying about what chores had to be done the next day, if all my schoolwork was finished, not to mention I still had half of my dad's office to clean out. My mom was right; I needed to get away from everything that plagued me here.

I acted as if I was no longer seventeen again, the morning after my father's funeral I had woken up a middle aged man taking on all the responsibilities my father left behind, my mother and sister being first priority.

"If it's want you want I'll do it" I murmured defeated. My mother smiled again which made me smile in return; I would do anything these days to just make her happy. I could hear Alice squealing in the background but I paid no attention, instead I watched as my mother passed along a silent thank you through her now blazing green eyes.

"Aunt Esme!" Alice squealed almost startling me into dropping our bags. I watched as Alice hopped up the front porch steps and into my aunts arms without any hesitation, leave it to Alice to dispel any further awkwardness between us later on. Esme hugged her back just as excited as Alice was about being here. I kindly thanked the cab driver before he sped off down the street, the back windows of the car catching the Arizona sunlight from above.

I sighed staring down at the five suitcases that weren't mine just Alice's alone; this would at least take three trips to get all of it. I bent down almost breaking my back from the weight of one of them before I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. I dropped the bags and spun around unexpectedly coming face to face with my uncle whom I thought would be working at the hospital by this time in the afternoon.

"Edward" he greeted with a warm smile, it was hard to smile back at my late father's brother. Someone who I hadn't noticed resembled my father in such a significant way that it was painful to look at.

"Carlisle" I choked out, my shoulder's stiffening as his arms wrapped around my back giving me a small hug and a pat on the back, my hands hung limp at my sides.

"It's good to see you again" he picked up one of the bags at my side but before I could protest and tell him I was perfectly capable of carrying in my own things Esme had come up behind him wrapping her small arms around my neck giving me a kiss on the cheek

"Oh Edward look how much you've grown!" she stood away from me at arms length to admire me up and down. I smiled as best I could without making it look like I was trying too hard, because to me I felt all wrong here, I felt out of place. I was second guessing my decision to leave Chicago to come to Phoenix for the summer, I should have stayed home to be with my mother, it was making me sick to my stomach thinking that my mother was now all alone in a house filled with bittersweet memories.

"Oh! Are you alright dear? Your looking a little sick" Esme voiced her concern but I ignored it picking up the rest of our luggage

"I'm fine, just a little tired from the flight" she nodded in understanding and then shooed me toward the house. Alice was standing by the door watching as first Carlisle and Esme passed leaving me the poor victim to her worried stare.

"Are you okay?" her eyes widened just the slightest, she always hated my moods.

"I'm fine" I snapped throwing her bags down carelessly in the foyer before retreating upstairs towards the guest room I could now call my own for this long, torturous summer.

I excused myself for dinner that night, opting to sulk alone upstairs. I knew it was rude of me; a guest, to lock myself in one room for the whole entire evening but I couldn't help myself because it was something I did frequently back at home. I was hoping Alice was making up a good excuse as to why I wasn't socializing tonight and after a few hours with no interruptions I could fully relax and surrender my mind to what I hoped would finally be a good nights rest.

*******************************************

I gasped shooting up to a sitting position on the bed that was now a mess from my tossing and turning. I could feel the cold sweat on my forehead and the back of my neck as I swiped at the dampness hoping to rid of the nightmare along with it but there was no use, the images were still fresh in my memory. I rubbed a hand over my face choking back the sob that was trying so badly to escape.

I dropped my head back on the pillow but sleep was long gone by now. As long as I had that nightmare I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, it was useless to even try. I stared up at the bland white ceiling trying to think of other thoughts, anything to keep my mind wandering back to what I had just dreamt. It had only been five minutes that I laid in silence. The only noises I heard at first were the crickets outside my window but then I heard the crunching of gravel and the loud bass from a passing car, I waited for the loud thumping music to fade but after hearing the squeaking of brakes I got up out of bed wondering who would be coming home at two in the morning.

One window in my temporary room gave me a clear view of the side of the neighbor's house from there I could also see the street below. I peeled back the curtain and peered down towards the dark street. Sure enough the source of that irritating sound was sitting parked outside the neighbor's house, a jeep twice the size of my car back home idled alongside the curb. Above the music I could also hear the sound of laughter which got louder once the music was turned down to a respectable level as to not wake everyone else up.

I listened as the laughter continued and then watched as someone climbed out the back of the jeep almost falling flat on their face from tripping on the sidewalk before running up the walkway. I smirked watching as the clumsy person came into better view under their houses porch light. I could see as the browned hair girl waved goodbye to her friends before the jeep sped away. When the music was gone I could hear the crickets again but I didn't step away from the window. Instead I watched as the brown haired girl stepped off her front steps relocating herself in the middle of her front yard. My interest in to what exactly she was doing piqued when I saw her throw back her head so that her face was facing up towards the sky and then watched as she slowly raised her arms up from her sides, palms turned in the same direction as her closed eyes. It was almost like she was waiting for something to happen and I started to chuckle to myself at how crazy she looked out there, that was until it started to pour.

"Edward sweetie would you like some breakfast?" Esme asked softly, I groaned into my pillow as a response. "Okay well I'll save you a plate. Alice and I are going into town for a little bit and Carlisle is at the Hospital for the day so if you need anything just call one of us" her voice was still low and soft as to not wake me up anymore than she thought I wanted to be. Little did she know that I wasn't just waking up from a deep sleep, in fact I had been up all night listening to the rain which stopped a little after six AM.

I flipped over onto my back not wanting her feelings to be hurt if I started to ignore her first thing today too, my behavior had been bad enough as it was. "Thank you Esme for breakfast" I sat up running a hand through my hair while I yawned giving out the appearance of a normal seventeen year old boy just waking up from a twelve hour sleep. She stepped through the threshold of my room giving me a small satisfied smile before shutting the door behind her. I sighed and lay back down in bed, listening as Alice and Esme gathered up their things and headed out the front door, leaving me alone for the morning.

I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I wasn't sure what rooms were off limits, what out of the fridge I could or couldn't drink and at first I couldn't even find the bathroom. Carlisle and Esme's house was nothing like mine and Alice's. Everything here was all orderly, neat, and perfect. Our house was now in ruins, who would have known it took so many boxes to pack up all my fathers stuff?

After throwing on a clean shirt and jeans I ambled downstairs and into the kitchen where I found my plate of eggs, bacon, and home fries still warm and waiting. I sat down at the kitchen counter eating in silence, just as I liked it. I looked out the back patio door to the house and saw that the sun was now shining brighter than it was yesterday which struck me as odd because I figured since the downpour last night it would at least be cloudy today.

The rain, that was right I had almost forgotten. That girl last night was still a mystery to me, how could she have known it was going to rain right that minute? Watching her was the most interesting part of my night, I had thought that she would have gone inside right after the rain had started but yet again she had surprised me by sticking out her tongue and drinking in the rain like it was snow, thinking back on it; it was all very bizarre. Proving my point that sometimes its good to mature at such a young age like I had but here Esme and Carlisle were stuck with a crazy neighborhood girl.

There was a loud knock on the front door after finishing up that last though and it rang throughout the empty house. I got up from my chair dragging my feet towards the front door; I wasn't sure as to whom it was but whatever the case it didn't matter I would get rid of them quickly. The person on the other side of the door knocked one more time before I twisted the knob and swung the door open. To say the least I was a little surprised to see the crazy rain girl from last night standing on Esme and Carlisle's front porch her eyes so engrossed on the front cover of one of the four books she was carrying that she had yet to realize who she was speaking to.

"Esme thank you again for letting me borrow these…" she laughed nervously her eyes still glued to the book cover, her fingers nervously playing around with on of the corners of the withered books "although I think I may have accidentally ripped out a page from Jane Eyre…" so that's why she wasn't making eye contact. I smirked watching as she not only fidgeted with her fingers but also started to bite her bottom lip too. I watched as she kept on rambling on and on about how sorry she was for ruining one of her books and by the third "I'm sorry" I decided to stop her.

"She's not here but I'm sure she wouldn't mind" her head snapped up and for the first time since I opened the door her wide eyes met mine. I sucked in a breath not expecting the intensity of her eyes to hit me like they had; never once had I ever met someone who showed all that expression in just a pair of eyes but in under a minute I could read every emotion that she felt; embarrassment, relief, and then finally confusion.

"Oh…you're not Esme" her brows furrowed and she had her lips pursed.

"I'm Edward, Esme's nephew" I formally stuck my hand out for a shake, something I had done many times before as part of my introduction but this girl stared down at my hand and then looked back up at me before hesitantly taking my hand and shaking it slowly.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Bella" she muttered taking back her hand and then giving me the stack of books "well when Esme gets back can you just tell her thanks again for letting my borrow those" she pointed to the pile in my hand before I started reading the titles silently to myself

"You're a fan of Austen?" I asked curiously coming across two of her novels.

"Yeah, she's one of my favorite authors" Bella said with a smile as she watched me mull through the titles. It was silent for a minute as I looked down at the last book thinking that Bella had walked off by now but to my surprise when I looked up to close the door she was still standing there admiring the inside of the house behind my shoulder.

"Are you here all by yourself?" she asked, her eyes landing on my face, eyes full of curiosity. I nodded silently and then suddenly had to maintain my balance as she pushed passed me inviting herself in.

"You know I've never been past the foyer in this place, I've always wondered what it looked like in here" her voice echoed throughout the high ceiling room as she admired Esme's taste in home décor. I watched amazingly as she adapted comfortably in my presence, a complete stranger. She disappeared around the corner and into the kitchen as I followed dropping the books off on my way. For such a strange girl I couldn't help but feel attracted to her in some way. I had to admit he was nothing like the girls back in Chicago. She had natural beauty something not a lot of girls posessed. Maybe it was the way she had looked up at me on the front steps, or how she carried herself in front of me no shame in her actions, for example here she was now picking at my breakfast making herself at home. I was stunned speechless of her actions and all I could do was sit on one of the stools across from her watching and also admiring as she picked apart my breakfast.

"Want some?" she offered popping a home fry into her mouth as her legs swung back and forth under the counter.

"Lost my appetite" I mumbled watching as she speared another home fry with my fork shamelessly eating right in front of me. After a few minutes of me watching her clear off my plate I was slowly becoming irritated with her. Never once had I ever met someone my own age who still acted like they were eleven.

I finally cleared my throat as she finished the last of my eggs "May I ask what your doing?"

She laughed carelessly and it was like music to my ears "Just polishing off your breakfast" she hopped off the stool clearing the crumbs from her lap "which was very god by the way" she was still smiling as I followed her back out toward the front door.

She opened the door herself and stepped out into the sunlight, her brown hair growing a tint of red now that it shined. "Listen, do you want to hang out tonight?" she as blantly walking backwards down the first step and I almost warned her that she seemed too clumsy for an act like that but that would be a give dead away that I had watched her last night.

Immediately I started to shake my head. In no way had I any intention of socializing while here for the summer. Not taking my rejection to heart she took another step down

"okay I'll pick you up at eight" she hopped down the last step and started walking across Esme and Carlisle's front lawn toward her own. I sighed frustrated and stepped off the porch calling out to her

"I can't, I have other things to do tonight" she had just gotten to her side of the lawn when she spun around squinting her brown eyes to get a better look at me

"What else could you possibly be doing, you just got here yesterday" she pointed an accusing finger at me "And don't say you didn't because I saw the cab drop you off" with that she sprinted across her lawn yelling at me to be ready at eight o'clock over her shoulder before disappearing through her own front door.

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