a/n: The next chapter already...i know it's insane! this chapter is dedicated to my mom, mrs. flying-monkey (no that's not her real name) and mr. treefrog (not his real name either) because i would have never thought of the I Love Lucy jokes if it weren't for them. Mr. Treefrog actually calls my mom Lucy and Mr. Flying-Monkey Ethel (b/c it's some inside joke with them) and so i thought it'd be cute to include. I realize that Edward sounds a little obsessed about Bella in this chapter...but it's really that way. It's just kind of like she already seemed like such an amazing person to him before they even met, and now he's kind of amazed. He didn't go searching for articles about her. Sometimes there are articles in magazines and news papers about people and you come across them...which is how Edward read those articles. Alright. Any other questions should be asked if they come up in your minds... Love y'all!
EDWARD'S POV
"Hello?"
"Hey, Lucy. How's my favorite big brother doing?"
"Edward!" Emmett boomed on the other end of the line. "I'm great! How are you? What's new? Are you having fun now that school's over? Did you get any job offers yet? What are you doing this summer?..." Emmett was shooting so many questions at me that I could hardly keep up.
"I'm pretty great myself. Everything's new for me right now. I'm having about as much fun as one could have while spending the weekend with Mom and Dad here in Chicago. I did get a job offer for a hospital in Port Angeles. I'm apartment hunting and moving this summer," I said, pretty sure I'd managed to answer all that questions he'd been able to ask before I stopped him.
"Port Angeles? Really? You know that's only an hour and a half from here, forty five minutes with your driving. Ain't that awesome?"
"It's fantastic. It means I'll pretty much be up there a good amount of the summer scoping out the place and looking for an apartment and everything," I said, feeling pretty excited when I realized just how close I'd be to Emmett. I really missed being with him all day playing pranks on the neighbors and laughing our asses off into our sides hurt so badly that we wondered if we had broken something.
"Hey. An idea just totally popped into my head."
"Uh oh."
He laughed. "Shut up, Edward. Normally I'd agree with you, but this one's actually good. We've got a plenty huge house here in Forks. You should come and spend the summer with us. You could meet my housemates and my girlfriend, all my friends. Get a real taste of the Washington world through the locals' eyes. I may not have been raised up here, but I've learned a lot from my buddies up here in the past six months. Jasper even lives here too, which I'm sure you know. It'll be like old times!! This is going to rock. Come on, Eddie, you gotta get your butt out here. It's no Chicago or California or New York City, but it really is sweet!"
"Sounds like a great idea to me. I guess I'd better start packing then. I'll be up there in a week. I'll give you a little more information on that tomorrow when I figure stuff out," I said, not even having to think twice about the offer he'd just handed to me. "Good thinking, Em. Thanks"
"Hey, no prob lil bro," he said.
We continued on the phone for nearly an hour, Emmett and I rambling on about a lot of useless things that for some reason had the both of us interested intensely with what the other had to say.
When I finally hit end on the phone, I walked downstairs to talk with my parents.
"Mom? Dad?" I called out into the hallways of the large townhouse we all lived in.
"In here," they both called back from the kitchen.
I walked into the room casually, remembering what it was like to grow up in this house. Emmett and I had created so many messes in here that you needed a big crowd of people to count the times on your hands. I realized that this would be my last week taking up permanent residence in this home.
"So, I just got off the phone with Emmett," I said, a little nervous about telling this to my parents now, but probably smiling like a goofy idiot.
"So we've heard," Mom replied, amusement playing out in her eyes.
"He offered for me to stay the summer with him in Forks," I told them, deciding to just come right out and say what I needed to tell them.
"Good. It'll give you more than enough time to settle into the Washington life before you start your residency at the hospital," Dad said, nodding his head up and down.
"I took him up on the offer and figured I'd be leaving in about a week."
"You miss your brother, Edward, don't you?" Esme, aka Mom, asked me with a knowing smile. I nodded in response. "You know you could have visited him at any point if you wanted to. You never went out to visit him during breaks. Why is that?"
"I was always so busy. It was easy to be here on breaks because I was living here all through school. I already had all my school work here and spent all the time that I wasn't with you guys doing that work. You knew that already," I explained to my parents, feeling the guilt that always hit me when I thought about how I hadn't seen Emmett at all since I went to college. He came back a few times after he left for New York City to visit me, but I was still in high school. After that, I stopped having time to see him and he moved to California. Then he moved to Washington, and going to see him became an even harder task to attempt. By that time, though, I'd given up.
"I suppose. At least you get to go and spend the summer with him," Mom said, walking up to me and pulling me into an embrace.
I kissed her on the cheek. "I love you Mom. I'm going to miss you guys."
"You'll be alright, Edward. Just be sure to come back and visit us. Do you want me to call the movers to start sending your stuff up there?" Carlisle asked me, standing from his seat at the table and giving me a quick, fatherly hug.
"Yeah, just as soon as I call a storage warehouse. I don't think that they'll want all my stuff invading their home," I said, releasing my grip on my parents. "I think I'd better start setting everything up. I love you guys."
"We love you too Edward," Mom said.
I drove my Volvo up the winding drive. I pulled the car up in front of the house silently, trying to make the entrance that I knew would have Emmett grinning from ear to ear. I hadn't brought much of my own possessions with me in my car, almost all of them being put into a storage house thirty minutes away. All I had in the back were all of my clothes, three suitcases full actually, and my other necessities like my CDs, my books, and my toiletries. There were also a few photo albums in back, but they were probably going to stay hidden underneath all my clothes until I was sure that no one was around to see me hide them away in the closet or the dresser drawers.
Stepping out of my car, I quietly closed the door behind me. I stalked up the front steps of the grand white Victorian in front of me. The house was huge! I never imagined Emmett ever owning a place like this, even if he only owned a fifth of it.
I opened the front door, happy it was unlocked for me, and stepped into the doorway.
"LUCY! I'm ho-ome!" I called out into the seemingly empty house.
The ground began to shake and I was reminded of the only person who'd ever caused an earthquake just by bouncing up and down in excitement. Emmett appeared at the top of the steps and ran down them, taking four or five at a time.
Once he finally stood a foot away from me, he grabbed me and pulled me into a deathly bear hug, the ones that I remembered all too well. "Hug me brotha!" he boomed.
I chuckled as he lifted me off the ground and I wrapped my arms around him. I didn't care how gay or girly I looked, I really did miss my brother too much for that to matter.
I saw Jasper trying to sneak around Emmett to get behind me for a surprise attack, but I was too observant for him. "Ethel, don't think I can't see you. What are you up to this time?" I warned jokingly.
"Hm, I Love Lucy jokes. Alright, I'll bite," I heard the voice of an angel say.
Emmett finally put me down and stepped to the side, revealing to me the most beautiful woman that I'd ever laid eyes on. Her brown hair flowed gracefully down to her shoulders, inviting the wind to blow through it, though there was no wind anywhere around. Her chocolate brown eyes were deep pools just inviting me to gaze into all day. Her heart shaped face had smooth, silky skin and I wondered what it'd feel like to run my fingers along such skin. A small smile was playing along luscious lips that were drawing my attention far more than they should have. Her body was stunning in jeans that hugged tightly to the lines of her legs and a black t-shirt which hugged every curve of her torso. She was more than perfect…an angel in her own right.
I realized I had to stop staring, but noticed that she was looking intently at me as well. I smiled at her and noticed a gentle blush creep across her cheeks. The color was stunning and looked amazing on her. I thought she was about to speak, but then Emmett saved the both of us.
"Edward, this is the love of my life, the most amazing girl I have ever known, and the most incredible woman to ever walk the Earth. This, is my Rosalie," Emmett said, wrapping his arms around Rosalie's waist and pulling her to him. She smiled and looked up at my brother affectionately.
She was a very beautiful woman, model looks hardly describing her, but I didn't feel that she compared to the angel who stood before us all.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Rosalie. I'm thrilled that he's finally met someone who can put up with him," I said jokingly as I extended my hand out to hers. She shook it and then placed her hand on top of Emmett's, which was now on her stomach holding her to him.
"An honor to meet you as well, Edward. I've heard so much about you. Emmett hasn't stopped speaking highly of you since I first asked him about his family," she said smiling. "Oh! And before I forget, please call me Rose."
"Of course, Rose," I said, returning her radiant smile. I was about to tell her that she shouldn't do what Emmett does and call me 'Eddie', but then Emmett turned to the angel and I closed my mouth immediately, awaiting her introduction.
"And this, my dear brother, is my baby sister, Bella," he said ecstatically. That threw me for a loop. Baby sister? I didn't recall having a little sister, but I knew that Emmett must have had some loving joke with her. He always was a great big brother, and sometimes he desperately wanted a little sister to be a protector for.
I placed my hand out for Bella to shake. "When did Mom have this one? I would have surely remembered," I said, trying a joking tone, though I couldn't get my voice to change in such a manner because I was so mesmerized by the woman before me.
"Emmett's really just like my big, overprotective brother who I never really had growing up. I love him like he was family," Bella clarified in a melodious voice. She placed her hand in mine to shake it, but I felt a shock transfer from her hand, through mine, and all the way up my arm into my chest. At first I thought it was static electricity, but then I had no idea what it was. Bella gasped and withdrew her hand from mine in an instant. My hand felt cool with the absence of her heat, and my stomach did a flip as I clasped my hands in front of me.
Bella turned to look down at the floor, so I decided to speak first. "It's um nice to meet you as well Bella," I said, not sure what to say after what had just happened, feeling slightly dazed.
She nodded. "I'm going to go and find Alice," she voiced quietly. She took off in a dead run up the stairs and disappeared from view.
I looked to Emmett, Jasper, and Rose. The three just shrugged, not really sure of what just happened.
"Writers," Emmett mumbled as he walked out to my car and started grabbing my stuff.
"Wait. Bella? As in Isabella Swan?" I asked, remembering the author of the books I'd read.
Jasper nodded. "Yeah. Why?"
"I…uh…just I've heard of her books," I responded, not feeling the need to explain to Jasper that she was one of my favorite authors and that I'd read all her books a few times over.
I was never the romance novel reading type, but one evening, I found it in my room and there was nothing else to do so I picked it and finished it within a few hours, hooked by the time I'd finished the first chapter.
I turned to go help Emmett get the things out of my car when I saw him coming in carrying all three suitcases and the box of books and CDs I'd brought with me.
"Muscle Man returns," I said. "You want help?"
"I'm good. This is all light weight lifting. I'll be back in few. Sit on the sofa and catch up with Jazz."
I did as I was told, enjoying everything Jasper was telling me. When a tiny little woman walked down the steps and hopped into Jasper's lap, I knew I'd just found little Alice.
"Edward, this is my fiancée, Alice Brandon," Jasper said, kissing Alice on the cheek tenderly.
"Hi Edward. Heard a lot about you lately. Apparently you're Jasper's favorite cousin," she said giggling.
"And I hear you're Jasper's favorite girl," I said. "How long have you guys been engaged?" I asked.
"A month and a half," she replied.
"Jazz, you never told me!" I whined, only half joking.
"Sorry buddy. I was a little busy with this ball of energy," he said.
"Pixie here has been making wedding plans nonstop since she said yes to him," Emmett said, walking in and talking a seat on the sofa next to Rose. He pulled her into his lap and kissed her passionately on the lips.
"Not that I want to disrupt your little moments," I said, noticing that both the couples before me were having minute make out sessions. "But I was wondering if we could get some dinner. I haven't eaten since breakfast and it is already six."
"Sure," Jasper said, breaking away from Alice's lips. "Pizza?"
"Sounds good."
"The usual?" he asked, a wicked smile on his face.
"Come on, Ethel. Do you really want the girls scared of me the same night they meet me?" I asked teasingly.
"Yeah, you're right."
"Hey Lucy, let's go get two pepperonis and two cheeses," I said to Emmett, still sucking face with Rose.
"Get it yourself," he mumbled against Rose's lips. I chuckled and stood up after Jasper, following him into the kitchen.
"Ever the one for PDA," I said.
"Which PDA?" Jasper asked.
"Affection," I said, remembering our little jokes. Public Display of Abuse, as we liked to call it when Emmett pulled his childish pranks…the ones that were a little harsh that is.
One phone call and thirty minutes worth of conversation later, the doorbell rang.
I stood up and walked over to the door. "I got this," I called back to Jasper and Emmett, knowing that they wouldn't stop me once I called it.
"That'll be thirty dollars please," the pizza delivery boy said.
I handed him the money and took the four pizzas and the bottle of Sprite that were held out to me.
"Enjoy your evening," the boy said as he walked to his red, green, and white car.
I brought it into the dining room having noticed that everyone had vacated the living room.
"Here we go," I said, dropping the boxes on the table's surface. Rose went to go get cups from the kitchen and quickly returned with six wine glasses and Margarita Flavoring Mix.
"Mix it in with the Sprite," she said, handing me the green apple flavoring. "Tastes great."
I poured Sprite into each glass and added the mix to the soda as I was instructed.
"Oh! Wait. Bella's still upstairs. I'll go get her," Alice said, jumping up from her seat.
A minute later, a pixie and an angel were walking down the stairs and into the dining room, the angel a bit disoriented from her short nap.
Everyone burst into a fit of laughter as they saw Bella enter the room, and when I looked up to see the cause of their hysterics, I couldn't help but join in.
"Fell asleep writing again Bells?" Emmett asked between snorts.
She only smiled. "Yup. My notebook has become quite a comfortable pillow."
"How many times is this now?" Rose asked.
"Fifteen? Sixteen?" Jasper suggested.
I smiled at the fact that this seemed to be a regular occurrence. Apparently, it never got old.
"I was thinking twenty three, but I like your numbers a little better, Jazz," Bella replied.
She began laughing at herself along with the rest of us as she looked from face to face. When her eyes fell upon mine, her musical giggles immediately stopped and she looked down at her lap. I could see her blush, but only barely as her hair hid much of her face from my view.
"Oh come on Bells, it's not like lil Eddie hasn't done worse," Emmett said.
"Yeah," Jasper chimed in. "Hey Em, remember the time that he woke up, fully covered in make-up?"
"REMEMBER? I STILL HAVE PICTURES!" Emmett boomed.
"Oh no. Emmett I told you to burn those or I'd have your head!" I cried out, feeling my face heat up as I remembered the photos he'd taken. That was not one of the highlights of my life, but everyone else certainly had a good laugh out of it. I knew at the beginning I should have never said yes to Jessica in high school, but I did. Then I knew I should have broken things off a lot sooner, but I didn't. She was so crushed, that she came back in the middle of the night and smothered make up all over my face in an act of revenge and then took pictures which were plastered all over the hallways that next Monday morning.
"Oh yes! And I think that we should all pay a little visit to my 'Edward Photo Album'."
"Emmett? How many embarrassing photos do you have of me?"
"All of them," Emmett replied, grinning wickedly.
Bella looked up at me, though avoiding eye contact, and smiled apologetically. She probably knew Emmett's full wrath as well as I did when it came to thoroughly embarrassing somebody.
"Jessica really did you in that night," Emmett said to me. "She was truly one sad mistake."
"You could say that again," I mumbled.
Dinner continued in the same fun atmosphere, though I was completely distracted by Bella, who was sitting directly across from me at the table.
What was with that shock that I felt earlier? Did she feel it too? Was this really the same woman I'd read about in the news paper and magazines as her books were published? Was there more to her? How had I been so lucky to meet such a talented person? Such an angel? What else could be learned about Bella? These thoughts ran through my head all meal, until finally Bella consumed all my thought processes.
After dinner, Emmett, Jasper, and I played mindless, violent video games. Rose even joined in. She was the best opponent I'd ever played against, but I still had her beat in record timing.
"Take that!" I exclaimed immaturely, not realizing how absorbed I'd been in the game.
She looked absolutely astonished. "I…I…I lost?"
"All hail the mighty Edward, new ruler of the Halo kingdom!" Alice cried out, bowing down at my feet.
I heard Bella giggle. "We're not worthy, we're not worthy!" she cried out from where she sat alone on the sofa, continuing Alice's dramatic performance.
"Willst thou show thy king to thine's sleeping quarters?" I asked Bella, looking directly at her so that there was no mistaking who I was pointing the question toward.
"I er…yeah sure," she said, a bit nervously as she stood from her seat.
"Hey Eddie! Don't pull a move on my innocent little Bella over there when she takes you to your room or you'll have to deal with me," Emmett said.
I followed Bella up the stairs, walking only a few short steps behind her. "Because of course we wouldn't want that, Emmett," I called back over my shoulder to Emmett.
Bella opened the door for me and stepped in tentatively. I leaned up against the doorway, seeing that the guest room looked perfect for me and that my things were placed in the corner. "So, a romance novelist? Very rare to come across these days," I commented.
"Yeah. It just sort of happened that way, I guess," she said, looking down at my shoes instead of at my face.
I felt almost hurt by the fact that all evening she'd refused to look me in the eye. I felt like I had a disease or something. "Really," I said, my voice thoughtful. "Pretty interesting."
I then walked into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. Bella took my spot leaning on the doorframe and began to explain. "I was at college, majoring in English and Literature. I had a real passion for writing and was in love with reading the classics. I decided to write a modern novel with a classic romance feel. I was twenty years old when it was published. I finished college while I continued writing, and my romance novels have been on the shelves ever since."
"I've read a few, actually," I said sheepishly.
She giggled. Giggled!
"Which ones?" she asked, seeming to perk up and feel more comfortable.
"All of them," I replied quietly, smiling a crooked grin.
"Really…" she said. "Well I hope you weren't disappointed."
"Far from. And I must say that First Sight was my favorite. Probably the greatest book I've ever read."
"I loved writing that one. I spent three days without sleep because I was writing nonstop."
We both laughed and I pointed to the couch against the wall in the room. She understood what I was asking and stepped inside the room, taking the seat on the sofa and making herself comfortable before looking back to me. The unease I'd been feeling earlier was still there, but the shackling ice broke as we began speaking about her books.
"So you're going to be a doctor?" she asked, changing the subject to me.
"Yeah. It's like a dream come true," I said, falling back on the bed. She giggled again. "Wait, I sounded like such a girl when I said that."
"You did, but don't worry, no embarrassing pictures to be used for further torture, reminding you of this moment," she assured me with a smile.
I chuckled. "I'm going to have to find that photo album and burn it before he shows anyone else what's in it."
"I'll go get it for you," she said, standing up from the black leather couch.
"You know where it is?" I asked, jumping upright on the bed. I was once again completely mortified, only this time feeling even more embarrassed. Emmett was so dead.
"Don't look so humiliated. Your looking at Bella Swan, Queen Klutz who woke up to find the ink from her writing got transferred to her cheek and is now backwards. Besides, that's about the best of it. I'm sure you'll find out all the stories from Emmett."
"I suppose I'll have to ask him about those," I said, feeling a bit comforted by her words.
"And with that, I'll leave you to your evening." She took one last look at me before walking out of the room. Half way down the hallway she called something else out to me. "Get some sleep because I'm sure Alice has something planned for us that will require early rising. Tootles."
I heard a door open and close, which I assumed was Bella slipping into her room to finish off her evening in peace as well.
I sighed as I stood up from the bed. I closed the door of my room and opened up my suitcase. I pulled out a pair of basketball shorts and threw them onto the bed. I took of my jeans and button down shirt, folding them and putting them on top of the dresser before putting the shorts on.
Now that I was in comfortable clothes, I went over to my box of CDs and books. I pulling out my walkman and checked to make sure my Debussy CD was in it. I put on the head phones and pressed play before going back into the box.
I was disappointed when I remembered that I'd left First Sight out in the passenger seat of my car. I didn't feel like going to grab it and so I decided on one of my other favorites.
Pulling out the book, I read the cover. "A Man's Perspective by Isabella Swan."
I plopped down on the bed and opened to the first page, ending my first night here in Forks on a good note.
But as I read, I realized that I couldn't focus on the book, but on the author who was only a matter of steps down the hall from where I was at the moment.
This is going to be a great summer…
