Emmett's POV
I stared out the window at two of my new siblings, Jasper and Josephine Cullen. They were sitting on the riverbank, staring at the sunset, saying nothing. The faint glow from the sun set off the collages of blonde in their hair, making it a shimmering gold. I had to admit, they managed to look...beautiful.
I find their relationship rather strange, really. They showed up with a physic who said she saw us and knew one day we'd be family. Of course, we were happy to have them. The physic was named Alice.
She was Jasper's mate. Simple enough. But Jo was Jasper's twin sister. They were born together in their human life and somehow became immortal together. We didn't know much about them, apart from the fact that they were twins, 150 years old each and they were both gifted. They had the exact same gift. Apparently they had been through a lot, so they were extremely shy, reserved, quiet...and lethal. I was curious about their scars and if it were anyone else, I would have forced it out of them by now, but they were crazy protective of each other and they didn't like to speak, least of all about their scars, and I rather value my arm. I'd asked Alice once, thinking Jasper would have told her, but she said Jasper and Jo would tell us when they were ready. And that if she told us what Jasper told her, Jo would rip her arm off. Lethal.
I smiled as Jasper said something to Jo in a foreign language and Jo began to giggle uncontrollably. They were also very fond of each other.
They suddenly got up and began to walk towards the house. They walked through the door. They were white even by vampire standards. Jasper was taller than Jo, with wavy blonde hair. Jo hair was the exact same color, longer and more tightly curled than Jasper and they both had wide eyes, the customary topaz in our family. They looked so alike it was startling in twins of different gender. And they were inseparable. I vaguely wondered how Alice could stand it. But she was already pretty close to Edward and I never heard Jasper complain.
They glanced at me as they entered. Their faces still startled me. They always kept their faces so cold and completely expressionless. They didn't say anything to me. They just walked upstairs to Jo's room. I heard the door click shut. Then I sighed in frustration. I didn't understand their shyness. Though I supposed it had something to do with their past.
They didn't know it, but we were going to find out everything tonight.
Rosalie's POV
I was feeling very pleased. Very, very pleased. We had spoken to Carlisle about Jasper and Jo's aloofness and he decided that if we wanted to know about them, we could always ask. And everyone would be there to listen without interruption. Poor Emmett.
It was six pm on a Friday evening. I could tell Esme was nervous, Carlisle was curious, Edward was excited, Alice was uncomfortable, Emmett was excited as Edward. I as always, was plain bored.
Jo and Jasper were out hunting. We had been sitting round the fireplace for about one and a half hours. I was beginning to feel impatient. Where were they?
It appeared Alice was thinking along the same lines. She blanked out, then her eyes refocused.
"They'll be here in 45 seconds" she said. Then she sighed." I really wish you wouldn't do this. They won't enjoy talking about it."
Carlisle answered her. "But Ali, we need to know. That's what a family is for. They can't just lock themselves in whatever's bothering them. We could help."
"They've told me. No one can help."
At this point we could hear them running to the back door. They walked in side by side, and I knew they could feel the tension in the room. Apparently they weren't going to acknowledge it. They were about to dash up the stairs when Carlisle stopped them.
He smiled." Have fun on your trip?" They didn't look at all happy with whatever they could sense. They exchanged a look, sighed and plopped in front of the fire.
"What do you want?"
As they hardly ever spoke, their voices surprised me. Jasper had a deep, resonant voice.
Jo's voice was higher, not as deep. But it had the same clear, ringing quality to it. When they spoke in harmony, it sounded like music.
"We want to know...what happened. Your past." They didn't look at Carlisle. They stared at the fire.
"Why does it bother you?" Only Jo spoke now. Jasper was quiet. He continued to gaze at the fire. The effect it had on his face was mesmerizing.
"We have to know." Esme spoke with affection clear in her voice. "We're family now." She looked at them expectantly. When they didn't respond, she spoke again. "Aren't we?"
Their eyes remained locked on the fire, their faces blank, their mouths sealed shut.
"We know it's hard for you to talk about, but we need to know. What happened to you?"
They were suddenly resigned. "What do you want to know?"
Carlisle smiled, glad we had gotten somewhere. "Everything as far back as you remember."
The twins sighed, looked round the room, and began.