Chapter 1—Moving Back—BPOV
"Emmett! Bella! Dinner's ready!" I heard my mom Renee call from the kitchen downstairs. She has been in the kitchen since I came home from school at four. Almost three hours later Emmett and I stalked into the kitchen to see what kind of meal our mom was trying her hand at today. Renee doesn't cook often, and when she does it usually doesn't end well. So, you can imagine our trepidation as we sat down at the table. Renee began nervously laying plates of food before us. She was obviously preoccupied with something.
"Mom is everything okay?" I asked worriedly.
Emmett seemed un-phased as usual as he began shoveling food in his mouth. "Wow, mom this is actually good!"
"Oh, thank you honey. I just threw together some meat, vegetables, broth.."
She kept rattling off the list of ingredients intent on ignoring me and my question. I immediately became suspicious.
"…salt, pepper,--"she continued until I finally had enough.
"Mom, what's going on?" I asked louder than I intended. I must have been very loud because Emmett stopped eating with his fork in mid-air.
"Ummm…" she paused
"Is something wrong Mom?" Emmett asked finally catching on to our Mother's anxious demeanor.
"Well, as you know I have been seeing Phil for some time now.." she began.
"Yeah?" Emmett and I asked in unison.
"Well, he is traveling to Florida for his baseball team and he asked me to join him," she stated.
"That's great Mom. You should go on a vacation." Emmett agreed happily. "Bella and I will be fine here," he added picking up his fork obviously content with her answer.
I on the other hand wasn't so quick to let it go. I knew I was right as Renee began to fidget while she continued, "Actually, we were thinking of something more…permanent."
"What?" Emmett boomed. I continued to concentrate on my mother waiting for her to explain.
"Phil is going to Florida for good and I am considering going with him," she informed us.
"What about us?" I asked throwing a quick glance at Emmett's shocked face.
"Well, of course you two can come with Phil and me," she said while Emmett let out a sigh of relief.
"However," she continued, "you should know that I talked to Charlie and he was hoping you two would consider coming to live with him."
"Really?" Emmett asked, "We'd live in Forks?"
"Yes," Renee answered simply.
I pondered that thought for a moment. I love Charlie because he is a lot like me. He's quiet and keeps to himself. Forks was a small town where it rained mostly everyday.
My mind quickly jumped to Alice, the best friend I left when I moved away from forks almost five years ago. I would love to live near Alice again. If I was going to leave Phoenix, I would rather move somewhere I would at least have one friend.
Renee began pacing around our small kitchen anxiously awaiting our reactions to her proposal.
I shot another glance at Emmett to see what his reaction was. He sat deeply in thought while simultaneously spearing pieces of meat with his fork and putting them in his mouth.
"Alright," I said breaking the silence, "I think I want to go to Forks."
"Are you sure honey?" my Mom asked after a few short seconds. Emmett just stared at me.
"Yeah, it will be nice to see Alice again, and I should probably spend some time with Ch—Dad." I stopped myself. Calling my dad by his first name was a habit I would have to learn to break.
"Me too," Emmett finally agreed, "I could try out for football again. At least their team is good, with Edward as quarterback not."
I had forgotten about Alice's brother Edward. I remember hearing Emmett mention he made first string quarterback in his freshman year. Apparently that meant he was good.
"And," Emmett continued, "I need a new wingman."
Uggh, I groaned to myself. If Edward was anything like Emmett when it came to girls, he was no one I would be interested in. Emmett considered himself a "ladies man." Great, I thought, just what the world needs, another Emmett.
I shrugged off my thoughts about Emmett and Edward and looked at my mother.
Her face was composed but I could see a small hint of relief in her eyes.
"Well, it's settled then," I said, "we're moving to Forks."
I stood up and began clearing our plates.
After I had finished the dishes, I could hear my Mom talking to Phil on the phone.
"Yes. They are going to stay with Charlie," she informed him, "No a month should be fine. Alright, I love you. Bye."
"We're moving in a month," I stated the obvious.
"Yes, is that alright?" Renee asked.
"That's fine," I assured her, "I am going to go call Alice and tell her the news."
"Okay honey," she said as she gave me a small peck on the cheek, "I am going to start packing."
I could tell she was excited at the thought. I laughed to myself while I climbed the stairs to my room to call Alice.
I stopped in Emmett's room when I heard him talking to someone. He was listening intently with a disappointed look on his face. I didn't have a chance to ask him what's wrong before he was pulling the phone away from his hear when there was a sharp cry from the other end.
I giggled as Emmett pulled the phone away and handed it to me. I grabbed the phone and pressed the receiver to my ear only to hear a soft velvet voice talking to me.
"My God Alice! Emmett is Bella this irritating? If she is we are in trouble," Edward was asking.
I couldn't help but giggle at his question. It was nice to see some things don't change.
Edward, realizing I was not Emmett by my girly giggle stuttered an apology, "I-I'm sorry B-Bella. There's no way you are as irritating as my sister."
I couldn't answer, his voice was so beautiful. I sat in a trance not answering until I heart some ruffling at the other end of the line and Alice's soprano voice replace the soft velvet one.
"OH MY GOD! BELLA I AM SO EXCITED! YOU ARE MOVING BACK TO FORKS!" Alice began screaming in my ear uncontrollably.
"Alice, please stop screaming at me," I begged as Emmett tried unsuccessfully to hide his amusement on his face.
Realizing my efforts would just be wasted I sighed and let her get it all out.
An hour later I finally got off the phone with Alice, telling her that the sooner I started packing the sooner she would see me. She jumped at that and told me she would see me in a month.
I made my way back to my room to prepare for my new life in Forks.
