Hey guys! I decided to start the Project Team Beta's Writing Challenge for 2013. However, I'm the smartest person ever and started in December. So clearly I didn't finish lol. But I got a couple done so I figured I would post them.

This one is called, The Empty Glass. We were supposed to write something centering around an empty glass. So I tried and this is what happened.

Thank you to my awesome beta kitchmill! She makes everything I write so much better, and most importantly, readable!


The kitchen was bright when I walked in and found my parents waiting for me at the table. They flashed me identical fake smiles, and my stomach dropped. The good news about acing my science midterm was going to have to wait, because I knew this wasn't going to be pleasant. Whatever they had to say was going to be important.

Sinking into the creaking wooden chair across from them, my mom slid an empty glass at me. Her quiet voice seemed to fill the room as she asked me if I wanted something to drink.

"Milk, maybe?" Her voice shook as I stared at her, watching the tears fill her eyes.

Shaking my head, I wrapped my hands around the empty glass, staring at it. I knew if I looked at my parents I would break down. Something wasn't right and I could feel it like lead in the pit of my stomach.

My dad cleared his throat as he drummed his long fingers against the maple of our kitchen table. "Edward." His voice was calm and smooth, like he had prepared something to say. "Your mother and I received some news today, son."

From the corner of my eye, I saw my mother clutch onto my father's arm for support, her fingers digging into his shirt and trying to get to his skin. Almost as if she was holding on for dear life.

I had never seen my mother like this. She was always so strong, so supportive. If she was breaking down, I soon would be too.

"Yeah?" My voice squeaked, and I kept my eyes on the glass in front of me. It seemed like it was taunting me, as if it was waiting to be filled with bad news.

"You know Elizabeth?" This time I heard the uncertainty in his voice and I couldn't keep my eyes on that empty glass. Instead, my eyes held his blue ones, and I nodded.

Elizabeth was my birth mother. She gave me up for a life of crack and sex. Hearing her name made me feel bitter, but I had to remind myself that without her I wouldn't have had my real parents, Carlisle and Esme. I wouldn't have the life I have now. I wouldn't have anything.

"She's..." He paused and his face fell. "She passed away."

I felt a tingle up my spine, and I tightened my hold on the glass to the point that I thought it would break in my hands, trying to hold back a laugh. Not a laugh for what I heard, but the irony of the situation. My mother always told me to look at things in a glass half full way since I normally saw things cynically, or glass half empty. But hearing the news, it was more of an empty glass type of thing. There really wasn't any positivity to it, it was just empty.

"How?" My stomach dropped.

"Suicide," my father said, his eyes holding the pain I refused to let out.

I nodded my head and shoved my chair away from the table. I didn't flinch as it hit the wall with a thud.

"Edward," my mother said, her voice holding back a sob. I just grabbed my glass and walked away. As I passed through the kitchen I saw all the letters addressed to me with Elizabeth Masen's return address on them that I had been piling up for months. I didn't grab them; I barely spared them a glance before I stomped to my room and slammed my bedroom door.

The only thing I did was take that damn empty glass and throw it at the wall, watching as the glass shattered into a million pieces. At least I wasn't the only thing that was empty and broken.


A/N: Ohhh and if you guys feel inclined, please go check out the Bad Boys of Twilight Anonymous contest! I was asked to judge and I'm beyond excited about it. I'm also apart of the Doctorward contest, they've pushed back their entry date so you have a ton of time to write! ANNNNND the First Time Fumble Contest! I'm co hosting with my friend sophiacorgi We want awkward lemons!