Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or it's characters...

AN: Hello! So this is my first story, and it's really a hit and miss, I came across the idea for the story the other night, and I just thought, why the hell not... Just a warning though, if any of you live in or have been to North Carolina, my description of the area is probably horribly inaccurate, because I've never been, I just got the idea of the location from 'The Last Song', and thought it would be a really good setting- so if you do know the place, I'm sorry! It won't be anything like the real thing! Please let me know what you think though!

This story is mostly going to be EPOV by the way, seeing as he is the main character.

Sadly, it was not the most fortunate of circumstances that brought me back to the familiar area of Wrightsville Beach, Wilmington, North Carolina. A quiet, weather worn town, the coastal buildings were constantly battered by the sea during the winter months, enduring the harsh winds that rolled in off the North Atlantic. Yet it still stood strong. Ever since I was a child, I had visited Wrightsville, and had, in my early childhood, considered there to be no better place. But I was now 17, to be starting my senior year at Wilmington Central High School, where my cousin Emmett also attended. I hadn't been down to this part of the US for a good five years, having spent a good year of that time hauled up in some rich brat penthouse in New York with my was-then foster family. Funnily enough, they were the unfortunate incident that had resulted in my arrival of Wrightsville Beach.

Nathan and Victoria Windsor had always seemed to have deep, unresolved issues themselves, and that had had some severe consequences on their daughter, Annabelle. Constantly seeking attention, she had pulled some truly outrageous stunts throughout her adolescent years. Being her "step brother", although we were more friends than sibling, she had dragged me in to more than one of her escapades, and eventually, when Annabelle had managed to sabotage Nathan's new partnership with what was to be an extremely important client, he decided he had to intervene. I, unfortunately, got the blame however, resulting in the Windsor's giving up my guardianship, and shipping me off to my aunt and uncle's. It was unsurprising after the stunt Annabelle had pulled, that neither Nathan nor Victoria would want me living under the same roof as her, and seeing as she was their biological daughter, and I had only been there a year, it seemed the sensible option.

Which left me here: North Carolina. I wasn't entirely happy with the arrangement. My heart was still in New York, my birth place, where I had lived with my parents, where my friends were. But seeing as my behaviour had taken a turn for the worse these past few years, it did seem unlikely that many would be queuing up to foster me, and at 17, it was quite old to be going back into care. Here, Esme had demanded I move in with her and Carlisle, not liking the trauma that she assumed I would be put through going through the care system once again.

Sighing, I drove down the quiet roads as the sky lit up in spectacular orange, the sun sinking down below the waters of the Atlantic off on the horizon. I had been driving since around eight thirty this morning, and it was now twenty to nine. Having been on the road for over 12 hours, I was exhausted.

With the end in sight, I stepped on the gas harder, cursing to myself when I nearly ran in to a group of teenagers stood in the road just round the corner. Startled, they turned in unison to look through the front window of the car, missing the role of my eyes behind my raybans, but not the mutter of some of my finest swears. I remembered this road well, and it was the main road people used to go down to the beach, although most people chose to walk right down the middle of the road, seeing as it was only wide enough for one car to fit through at a time, meaning few cars used it. I probably should have remembered to watch out for pedestrians.

I held my hand up in apology as the group moved to the side of the road, two of the boys dragging surfboards with them. Once the way was clear, I stepped hard on the gas again, although I made sure to slow down whenever I came across any corners. Eventually, once I was close to the beach, and darkness was starting to set in, I reached the gravel track down to Esme and Carlisle's. I made sure my window was wound shut as I set off down the road, not wanting to inhale a face full of dust that was no doubt likely to come drifting through my window from the track. It was only thirty seconds, until I finally reached my destination. It was a typical North Carolina beach house, considerably large, and just a two minute walk off the beach, so it did have some privacy.

Large windows lit up the front and back of the house, with decking and a porch wrapping round the exterior. There were three floors, and the house was wide, spreading out a good distance across the front. Being a quiet, safe neighbourhood, the cars belonging to my family were parked up front in the wide space that opened up at the end of the gravel track. I parked my car up alongside Esme's silver Audi, finally switching off the car engine of my exhausted vehicle.

I felt a weird sense of relief as I gazed up at the house in front of me, as well as a rush of memories from the road trips I had taken with my parents to visit this place. Sighing, I grabbed my phone from the passenger seat, clicking off the new messages that had popped up on screen. Rebecca again- one of Annabelle's annoying friends who seemed to have some strange infatuation with me.

Opening the car door, I couldn't help the smile that stretched its way across my face as the sea air hit me. The small of sea salt and the nearby vegetation, as well as the unmistakable smell of summer wafted over me, and I had to force myself to move and get my suitcase out from the back seat that had my overnight stuff in it (the rest could wait until the morning) and not run down to the beach now. That would have to wait until the morning too, I was too tired.

Dragging my suitcase up to the house, and then up the steps that led to the porch, I paused to breathe, before ringing the bell.

Almost immediately, I heard footsteps marching from the direction I knew the kitchen to be, and not two seconds later, the front door flew open.

"Edward," Esme exclaimed, stepping forward to engulf me in a hug. I returned the gesture, which felt quite bizarre, seeing as the last time this had happened, I was not a good head taller than her. "My God you've grown!" She marvelled, taking a step back from me to get a good luck.

I was currently 6" foot tall, and reasonably toned, which was no doubt evident from my grey t-shirt that was loose, but still managed to cling in certain areas. My bronze hair was as messy as ever, and being stuck in a humid car all day certainly didn't help that.

Esme, on the other hand, hadn't changed one bit. She had always been slim, and her long, caramel hair reached down to her mid back, framing her heart shaped face. She was sporting a wide smile, her brown eyes sparkling. She was dressed in loose dark trousers and a white shirt, a heavy diamond hanging off her neck, no doubt a gift from Carlisle. They seemed to have infinite amounts of money.

"You haven't," I teased her, flashing her my signature grin. She huffed in false annoyance, never having liked the fact she wasn't particularly tall.

"I wasn't expecting any of that until tomorrow morning, I didn't think you'd have the energy," she beckoned me inside.

The house had a warm vibe to it, and the oak floor and cream walls that Esme had chosen when they first moved sill there. There was a large light over head, and there were two doors on each side of the entrance foyer. Straight ahead was the staircase leading up to the first level, carpeted a darker cream shade, with a turn in step as the staircase moved in the left direction, being against the back wall. There was a dark wooden chest to my right where mail was kept, with place for shoes and coats just next to it, and a large gold mirror just above. There were also many photos of family, spread all across the walls. Something I had missed when living in another family's home. Although my mind was trying to be stubborn, maybe there wasn't anywhere I would rather be right now...

"I don't think any of us are ever too tired for that Mom," a voice called from the entrance to the kitchen as Emmett stepped out.

He had definitely grown. He was a good 6" 2, with dark brown curly hair, and by God was he ripped! I looked down at my own arms, feeling slightly ashamed I hadn't taken more advantage of the Windsor's gym.

"Hey Emmett," I grinned as he leaned comfortably against the kitchen door frame, watching in amusement as Esme's mouth spread in to a thin line.

"Hey cuz," Emmett grinned back. "Good to see you, you don't look too... good, though..."

I snorted, "Always the charmer, Em."

"Oh he's quite the charmer, Edward." Esme frowned. "Emmett if I come home and find you and Rosalie Hale or some other girl in your room one more time-"

Emmett cut her off, flushing pink. "Won't happen Mom."

"You're just lucky it wasn't your father!" She scalded. She beckoned me in further, taking my suitcase from me and placing it at the foot of the stairs.

I resisted the urge to cringe at the topic of conversation, 'being caught' being the reason I had got myself sent here in the first place, although Esme and Emmett were too tactful to apply the subject to me.

They bantered at each other through to the kitchen, surgically clean, white cupboards and dark granite surfaces. There was a large island in the centre, and the window, now obscured with horizontal blinds, in the day time would give a view of the dunes leading to the beach.

The delicious smell of Spaghetti and meatballs was almost too much as Esme then ushered me in to a stool at the island, then moved to serve me food that had been kept warm in the oven.

"Sorry we're not having a sit down meal or anything, Carlisle won't be home until 2, he's got a late shift at the hospital, and Emmett didn't get in long ago either, so I didn't think we'd be eating together..."

I shook my head. "This is perfect, Esme, thankyou."

She smiled, leaning forward on the opposite side of the island as I took a mouthful, and tried to not moan. A look of satisfaction crossed her face.

Emmett joined Esme on her side of the island.

"Edward, you remember how to surf right?"

I swallowed my mouthful of Spaghetti before answering. "Erm, I'm sure I can pick it up again, we went last summer when we were in Hawaii but the waves weren't so good."

Emmett's eyes bugged. "Dude, you were the best by a mile when you came down last time, you must have been getting in practice."

I rolled my eyes. "What was I supposed to do, surf up the Hudson?"

He pulled a face. "Fair play- anyway, I've been down there the last few days, we've still got a spare board if you wanna' go down tomorrow? Not until the afternoon though, I mean, you really do look like you could use the lie in..."

I smirked. "I see you've still not managed to teach him tact, Esme..."

She shook her head. "One of these days, that mouth of yours is going to land you in to real trouble, Emmett Cullen."

He laughed. "That's what these are for." Emmett flexed his muscles.

I raised an eyebrow. "What if they're 'armed and dangerous'?"

Emmett snorted. "Please, this is Wrightsville we're talking about; don't go all New Yorker on me with your mob stories again."

"I told you that story when I was seven..."

"Yeah..."

"That was ten years ago, you still haven't forgotten..."

Emmett pulled a face. "Yeah well, it freaked me out, we don't get any of that shit down here-"

"-Language." Esme interrupted, having turned to do the dishes, but evidently eavesdropping.

"I didn't mean to give you nightmares Emmy-bear." I teased, using the nickname Esme and my Mom had used for him when he was about five.

Emmett grinned at me, but flashed me the middle finger whilst he was sure Esme wasn't looking, causing me to laugh, which was quickly followed by a yawn.

"You're tired." Esme stated, turning round from the sink and eyeing me warily. "You should probably have an early night."

Emmett's face fell, a look of disappointment marring his features. He was such a big kid.

I nodded, however. An early night was exactly what I needed.

Esme smiled at my agreement. "You're rooms already made up; we've put you in the spare room on the top floor with Emmett, the one with the ensuite, that okay?"

I nodded appreciatively. "Sound's great."

"Here, I'll sort this out," she reached for my empty plate. "You go on up, you know which room it is right?"

I nodded. "Thankyou Esme."

She turned to smile at me, and our eyes met. For a moment, understanding flashed across her face as she gathered the true meaning of my appreciation, for her hospitality and kindness, even though she knew how badly I'd behaved at my previous home, and how much trouble I had been- but she had still taken me in.

"It's nothing, Edward."

AN: I know there's quite a few things unexplained, but they will come out later on in the story! I know everyone says this at the end of each chapter but please let me know what you think- I don't want to carry on writing the story in a way that annoys you guys! Let me know if there's something you think I could improve on!

Please review!

Thanks for reading!

Anna

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