Chapter 1 Home

The plane ride had been quiet, not surprising considering there were only two other passengers. I guess not many people felt the need to travel from Seattle to Port Angeles on a Friday afternoon. I did...I was going home.

As I collected my luggage, I began to worry about how the rest of my family would take the news of my arrival two weeks before summer vacation. Emmett knew, of course, as he was picking me up from the airport. I was terrified of my parents' reaction to my decision not to return to my very expensive boarding school in the fall. I guess I'd just have to cross that bridge when I came to it.

My painfully large brother was waiting for me, bouncing on the balls of his feet like a huge child waiting for a promised cookie.

"Eddie!" he bellowed.

"Emmett, please don't call me that," I begged as he grabbed my bags from my hand and slapped me on the back, making me stumble. "I haven't answered to Eddie in years."

"You sound just like Bella," Emmett laughed. "She hates it when I call her Belly."

Wonderful, I thought, not even a full sentence and my brother was already talking about this Bella girl. Every member of my family thought she was wonderful. Alice, my twin sister, went on and on about her. It was always 'Bella and I did this…', 'Bella said...','Bella's the greatest…', 'I'm so glad Bella moved to Forks'. Personally, I was firmly in the 'I wish she had never moved to Forks' club. Unfortunately, I was the only member. It's hard to be happy when someone moves into town and steals your family!

"Hello, Earth to Edward," Emmett shouted, a concerned look on his face.

"What?"

We must have been walking as I mused because we had reached the parking lot. I could see my silver Volvo parked in a space not far from where we stood.

"I said do you want to drive?" My keys were spinning around on his pinky finger.

Grinning, I snatched the keys and ran for the car, quickly popped the trunk for my bags and pulled open the door. As I jumped in the driver's seat, I grimaced. The car smelt...well there was no other word for it…girly! Emmett slammed the trunk and got in.

"Who's been driving my car?" I demanded. Something about the smell annoyed me tremendously.

"Um...I think Alice drove it to Seattle the other weekend, and I drove it today to pick you up. Other than that it has been in the garage. Why?"

"It smells weird," I grimaced.

Emmett's booming laughter filled the car as I turned the key and the engine purred to life. It took him until I was pulling out of the parking lot before he could control his laughter long enough to ask, "What do you mean it smells weird?" More laughing ensued.

"Forget it!"

"Oh no Eddie, please enlighten me, in what way does your car smell weird?"

I ignored him and put my foot down on the accelerator.

Because of my distraction, the normally hour long drive was completed in about forty minutes. Emmett and I had talked about everything but the one question I knew he was burning to ask. Why was I home now? I looked at the overcast sky and the beautiful moss covered trees surrounding my home and sighed.

"That's a big sigh, little bro," Emmett commented.

"I'm just glad to be home," I told him candidly.

"Honestly mate, I've got no idea how you can come home and then leave every year."

"It gets harder each time," I sighed.

Emmett was silent for a few minutes. It was very easy for people to believe Emmett was a perceptive as a dish-rag. They were dead wrong.

"You're not going back are you?" he asked, proving my big brother didn't miss much.

"I have to talk to Mom and Dad, but no, not if I can help it."

"Jasper would love that, his Mom is constantly yelling about the amount of time he's on the net or phone talking to you."

Three years ago, I'd come home prepared to hear about how Bella was the greatest person in the world and how everyone just loved her. But instead I had met Jasper and Rose, Forks' only other pair of twins. Although they were a year older than Alice and me, Jasper and I had been friends since the day we met. We had a great deal in common, being twins, and a similar age and intelligence. I normally didn't get along with people around my own age, so having a friend like Jasper was surprising.

"Did you tell Jazz I was coming home early?"

"Nope, you told me not to tell anyone, so I didn't."

"Not even Mom?" I choked.

"Nope." Emmett was grinning again, I was assuming due to the fact that I was turning off the road onto our driveway.

I drove up the twisting drive, and as the trees thinned and the house came in to view I felt euphoric. I was home, and if all went well I wouldn't have to leave for a while.

As I parked the car in our huge garage, my beautiful mother stormed in.

"Emmett Cullen, what I have I told you about driving other people's cars? If Edward comes home to a wrecked Volvo there will be hell to pay!" She raged.

Shame-faced, Emmett got out, but Mom didn't even seem to notice he wasn't exiting out of the passenger side.

"You let Alice drive it!" Emmett argued.

"Yes, only because Alice asked Edward, otherwise I never would have let her drive it."

I was half way out of the car before I said, "When did she ask to drive my car?"

"The night before her, Rose and..." Mom stopped then stared at me open-mouthed for a few seconds. Slowly blinking her eyes, she closed them again, took a deep breath and opened them another time. It seemed like she was trying to work out if I was real or not.

"Edward!" She screamed running to me. "Oh, my Edward," she cried wrapping her arms around my neck. I could feel her tears soaking though my shirt.

"Hi, Mom," I grinned, hugging her tight.

"Oh…" she pulled away looking me up and down. "You look tried and half starved!"

"I'm fine. Mom, I've missed you."

"And I you, my darling. Let's get you something to eat and a little rest before Alice gets home. Oh this is wonderful. Emmett!"

"Yeah Mom?" Emmett answered immediately, he almost stood to attention.

"Go drop by the hospital and tell your father your brother's home. Then you can go let Alice, Jasper and Rose know. Oh and how wonderful, Edward can finally meet Bella!"

I grimaced. Emmett noticed and his eyebrow shot up. I just shook my head. Mom was ushering me into the house when I noticed the concerned look on Emmett's face as he pulled his Jeep keys from his pocket.