Disclaimer: I own nothing. All Rights go to Stephanie Myers
One minute, thirty-seven seconds.
That's not very long, but when you're waiting it seems like an eternity. Each second slowly passes by, as if a snail crawling on the floor. Anticipation swells up in my heart. It feels as if it would jump out of my skin at any given second. This is it. This is the part everybody waits for. My legs are shaking so much I wonder if the people passing me on the street notice. There's no way I can do this.
One minute, nine seconds.
I glance around at the passing faces. I look from the tall good-looking man with no wedding band, to the elderly couple who look so in love with one another. My meeting would take place in the park, next to the overcrowded playground. Somewhere within this small park is someone going through the same pressure as me. Someone somewhere is counting down the ticking seconds.
Forty five seconds.
This is it. There is only a matter of seconds left before I meet him. I've been waiting for this day since I was old enough to realize what the clock was counting down. Over the years I'd grown to hate the clock ticking down this second. How could it really work? What if I'm not when he expects? What if I'm not what he expects? What if we really aren't meant to be?
Ten Seconds.
My heart is beating so fast I fear people can hear it. I find my hands getting sweaty along with the rest of me. My mind is racing as I look around the faces one last time my eyes meeting a set of piercing green eyes that look just as terrified as mine. Could he be? No. That's impossible. He's so gorgeous. How could that gorgeous man be mine? It's absolutely not him. Bella, tear your eyes away from him right this instant! I tore my eyes away looking anywhere else trying to focus on something other than the man walking to me.
"Isabella?" I heard a voice like velvet say. No doubt the man knew my name, after all how else would they arrange these meetings. Although we only learned each others names this morning before we awoke. I pushing my long brown hair behind my ear looking down at the clock on my wrist that was now nowhere in sight.
"Edward?" I questioned slowly turning around meeting the same green eyes I had met moments before. His eyes looked over my body a smile approaching his lips before he gave a shy wave. I wonder if everyone meets their soul mate like this. I let my eyes roam over his well sculpted body. If I had a choice I wouldn't have had this clock ticking down the day I met him, I would have done this my way. But nevertheless, here is perfection standing in front of me, and yet I feel disappointed. I'm not sure what I was expecting. "You're different then I expected," I said the first words that popped into my mind immediately regretting them. My cheeks flushed, the way they always did when I did something stupid, which happens to be ninety-five percent of the time.
"Different how?" He questioned politely. Anyone else probably would have been offended. I expected him to flinch away from my words glaring at me the way I would have done to him. Instead he put his hands awkwardly in his pockets, and we walked over to the nearest bench.
"Just different," I almost whispered smoothing out the summer dress I had decided to wear to the special occasion. I watched his eyebrows pull together as if he were merely curious. I knew somewhere around here his family was watching curiously just as mine was. They wanted to meet the boy I was someday going to marry. "I didn't expect someone that looks the way you do," I said honestly biting my bottom lip cursing myself for making the situation even more awkward than it already was.
"Is that a bad thing?" He questioned as if he didn't know that he looked like something that was taken right out of some magazine. He looked like a model, like he belonged with someone better looking than me. I'm not someone you look twice at. I'm average. But this man is someone that girls dream of having to call their own.
"No," I said automatically popping my knuckles, a habit I picked up somewhere when I got nervous. My grandmother says that my knuckles are going to look like mini sausages if I keep it up. Apparently popping them makes your knuckles bigger, however, I've been popping them forever and my fingers are still as small as can be.
"Since are parents are around here somewhere would you like to meet mine?" He questioned at a lack for conversation. What were we supposed to be talking about? The wedding. Fat chance. I only shook my head getting to my feet knowing our parents had already met up by know. The Volturi had a strange way of mushing everything together so it all works out. Too bad they couldn't have given me a heads up on this one. Not like they would have if I asked about him.
"Bella sweetie," my mother cooed with a brilliant smile. I noticed eight people all standing together. Two of the eight were my parents. The other six, I'm assuming, were Edwards family.
"Isabella," Edward said making me cringe slightly.
"Just Bella," I corrected him shyly. He gave a half-smile that didn't dare touch his eyes. He was disappointed with me.
"Bella, this is Esmé, my mother, and Carlisle my father," he introduced. No wonder he had such good looks. His parents were gorgeous, they were actually kind of hard to focus on. Esmé, had bright green eyes, long bronze hair that fell just passed her shoulder, and a smile that made the stars look dim in comparison. Carlisle, had bright blue eyes, short blonde hair that, and something about him was just incredibly handsome. I couldn't put my finger on what exactly it was though.
"It's nice to meet you sweetie," Esmé said sweetly coming in for a hug. There was no way I was going to cringe away from her touch the way I wanted to. That would have been misread, and they would have thought something was wrong. Carlisle stuck his hand out for me to shake, thank God.
"Uhm," I said biting my lip turning to my parents. "This is my mother Renée, and my father Charlie," I introduced him to the two of my parents shifting uncomfortable as he made introductions with them.
"Since you two are soul mates," Esmé said placing her hand over her heart before continuing. "We were thinking Isa, I mean Bella, would like to live with us for the time being," she said talking more to my parents than to me. I didn't have a say in what was going on, at least not really. Whatever they decided is what would be done. I could argue but it would do no good.
"Bella," my mother said impatiently calling my attention. "We're trying to discuss this with you," she said smiling apologetically as Esmé.
"Alice and Rosalie both moved in. We've got a guest room ready for you so you and Edward can get to know each other without all the pressure. We know how strange this all must feel for both of you. I just want to make sure it's something you're ok with," she said sweetly as Edward stood back chit chatting with his family.
"I… Uhm… I mean, if it's what you think is best," I rambled on just wishing I could throw myself into hiding and never come out again. This was more terrifying then I ever thought. I thought I was going to faint my legs still shaking uncontrollably.
"It really is," Carlisle offered lightly. "Why don't we give it a test run? You can spend the weekend. If you feel uncomfortable we can all put our heads together and think of something else," he offered with a light smile.
"That sounds ok," I said softly biting my lip turning to my dad. "Is that ok?" I questioned watching him move out-of-the-way. They'd talked about this the night before, they were only making sure I was ok with what was going on. Of course they made me feel like I had a choice.
"Your mother and I are going to let you get acquainted with the Cullen's. If you need anything call," he whispered in my ear kissing my forehead. My mother kissed my cheek fighting back tears of her own.
"You will call once a week," she informed me with a smile. "And we want to see you once a week as well," she said sniffling. I was holding back my tears, there was no way I was going to start crying in front of people I knew nothing about. That's when I watched my parents walk away and I stiffly turned around to face the curious eyes.
"Bella, this is Alice," Esme introduced me to the small pixie looking girl. She stood no taller than five feet tall, had short choppy black hair, and a set of dazzling blue eyes. She was almost the prettiest girl in the area. "She is our daughter and Edwards younger sister," she introduced as Alice gave a dazzling smile.
"We're going to be great friends," she said with a wink pulling my in for a hug. "This is my boyfriend Jasper Hale," she said introducing me to the tall blonde man who stood away from the crowd of people. Jasper had short blonde hair, but it was longer than Carlisle's, he was well toned, had grey eyes, and an almost welcoming smile. Together the two of them made a beautiful couple.
"Hello darling," he said sweetly with a head nod. "This is my sister Rosalie," he said motioning to the gorgeous blonde that stood only inches away from me. She was the kind of girl who made your self-esteem go down more than a few points. She was as tall as Jasper, with legs that stretched for miles, her hair fell in perfect ringlets down to her waist. She looked like she belonged on a runway.
"Hi," she said sweetly shifting awkwardly to the side. "This is my fiancée Emmett," she said with a proud smile motioning to the very muscular very scary like man who stood in front of me. He had a buzz cut and had brown hair, grey eyes, but smiled at me with a nod.
"I'm that knuckle heads older brother," he said with a chuckle in his voice.
"You can ride home with Edward if you like," Esme said sweetly as Edward gave me a smile.
"Ok," I said feeling more and more exhausted by the moment. I've never been allowed to be alone with a boy for more than five minutes and now one was driving me back to his place. This all seemed so unreal. I wonder if it's like this for everyone or if sometimes its an automatic attraction. Alice skipped over to the shiny Volvo getting in the backseat with Jasper. Edward opened the passenger door for me without a word. At least he seemed like a gentleman. Then again, it could be an act.
"So Bella," Alice chirped up. "How old are you?" She questioned automatically placing her hand over her mouth. "I mean you look about my age is all," she said sounding as if she was afraid she had offended me.
"I'm nineteen," I said in a small voice watching Edward glance over to me. "I'm almost twenty," I muttered mindlessly playing with the string of my dress.
"Edward's twenty three," Alice informed me with a smile. "I'm twenty and Emmett is twenty five," Alice said giving me at least something to go off of. "Do you like the color purple? Because that's the color we painted your room. I'm sure we could change it if you don't like it though," Alice said as we pulled up to a mansion like house.
"Purples fine," I said in a small voice, as they started getting out. "This is your house?" I questioned my eyes just about bugging out of my head. I had never seen a house as big as this one.
"This is home," he said with a smile shrugging his shoulders at my shocked expression.
"Edwards going to cook for you tonight," Alice announced shooting her brother a glance pushing him over to me. "Now you to need to socialize," she snapped with a smile skipping into the house.
"You'll get use yo her," Rosalie whispered seeing the worried expression on my face. Although it wasn't because she was ordering us to socialize, it was because I had no clue how to talk to him. I was afraid I would forget how to form complete sentences.
"I'm actually not a very good cook," Edward said sparking the conversation walking into the kitchen. "I can make cereal," he said with an innocent smile grabbing a box from the top of the fridge.
"I could cook," I said shyly. I wasn't a gourmet chief, but I knew how to cook a few things. "I mean if you want me to," I said quickly watching him put away the cereal.
"I'll help with what I can," he offered with a smile. "What do you want to cook?" he questioned with a smile.
"Do you have stuff for salad and spaghetti?" I questioned as he shook his head getting down all the things I told him to.
"Are you always this quite?" He questioned looking up from the salad. "Or is it just because all of this is overwhelming?" He wondered out loud. I wasn't sure if it was a bad thing that I was being quite.
"I'm not always quite," I told him. The only reason I wasn't babbling uncontrollably about nothing now was because of the fact that I didn't want to look like a nut job. "Do all these people live here?" I questioned referring to all his siblings. He gave a smile shaking his head.
"For now. Rosalie and Emmett are looking for their own place. Alice and Jasper are staying home until college starts back up, then that leaves you and I," he explained finishing the salad placing the bowls on the dinner table. This was going to stay awkward for a while.
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