Chapter two

Surprises

My car was gone. I was standing in front of an empty space in the rain loaded down with books and gift bags. I tried to shelter the gifts from the damaging drops with my coat. However, my hair on the other hand was a lost cause. My bangs already clung to my forehead, making it difficult to see. Maybe that's why I missed the shiny silver car following me as I turned to walk home. Luckily Edward didn't make me walk farther than the end of the parking lot until he gave the horn a small honk to grab my attention.

I grumbled at him as I got in the car, taking care to shake a few drops from my soaked hair on both him and his black leather seats. My resentment was subdued, however, as the heated seat he had waiting for me warmed my numb body.

"You could have told me I was riding home in your car." I tried to keep some of my quickly dying anger in my tone. I didn't want to let him off easy.

"It wasn't something that was planned." Edward replied casually as he turned out of the parking lot onto the main road.

It took a minute of silent brooding, looking out the window, until I realized how I could actually count the trees as they passed by. I removed my forehead from the cool glass window and glanced at the speedometer. Edward was actually going the speed limit. He never followed the speed limit. My eyes narrowed.

"Why are you stalling?"

He kept his eyes on the road, even though he didn't have to, especially not at the rate we were going.

"I'm not stalling." It was delivered perfectly so that I would have believed the words if I hadn't noticed the tiniest upward movement of the corner of his mouth.

I opened my mouth to contradict his statement when he interrupted me. He probably sensed my thoughts and was trying to distract me.

"What unanswered expectations does your birthday have?"

So he had been listening.

"Didn't you hear what I was thinking?" I spat out, not having to try very hard to make my voice angry this time.

"No, I wasn't listening to you" he answered gruffly.

His anger confused me, who had he been listening to then?

"Then who…?"

"It's not important, just answer the question." He replied just as curtly as before.

"Nothing much, it's been great, I just wish Seth could be here." I answered truthfully. If he had been listening to me earlier he would have known that.

He was struck speechless, obviously not receiving the answer he expected. Although once the shock wore off a wide smile lit up his face. Since he was suddenly in such a good mood I decided to try my luck at getting an answer for my own question.

"So now will you tell me why you are driving sanely slow?"

"To give Alice a few extra minutes."

"For what?"

"To acquire one of your birthday presents." I frowned.

"You know that does me no good."

He smiled at my confusion.

"I know, but I promised I wouldn't give any hints, although it looks like she's left a pretty big one herself."

We had been winding up the long driveway, and were just turning the corner that would make the house and the garage come into view. I didn't understand Edwards's cryptic response until he turned towards the garage. There, in the spot that belonged to Edward's Volvo, sat three shiny motorcycles, one in particularly sent my heart flying. It was cherry red and I knew from the many times spent on the back of it that it had a lot of horsepower.

Before Edward had come to a complete stop I was out of the car and flying up the porch steps. I didn't care about the rain, I barely felt it now, and I was already soaked anyhow so a few more gallons wouldn't hurt. My wet hand slipped on the knob, causing a few seconds delay as I fumbled with it, but I finally wrenched it open and ran across the hardwood floor dripping water as I went.

My wet flats squeaked against the floor as I slid to a stop in front of all six foot seven of my best friend. I threw my arms around his waist in a welcoming hug just as I started losing my balance. He returned the gesture and his warm arms prevented me from falling on my butt.

"Happy Birthday" He whispered softly in his husky voice.

His warm skin felt good against mine so icy cold and wet, I didn't want to let go. But I felt a shiver ripple through him at the contact. So I stepped back, dropping my arms to hug my body in an attempt to replace the heat of Seth's skin with friction. It wasn't as effective.

"Surprise" Alice called from behind me.

I turned to see her perched on the coach looking completely satisfied with herself.

"Thanks, it's the best present so far." I smiled in appreciation, but it was somewhat ruined by my chattering teeth.

"Why are you so wet?" Seth asked as he nonchalantly sidled up to me and draped his arm around my shoulder to try and warm me.

"That was one of Edward's gifts." I replied darkly as the devil himself entered the room.

Seth couldn't hold back his laugh. His chuckle seemed to burst out despite his attempt to stifle it. I turned my accusing eyes on him as I stepped out from under his arm. I didn't appreciate my supposed best friend laughing at my discomfort.

"That wasn't very nice Edward." Esme softly chided as she entered the room.

Edward had the good grace enough to duck his head in shame, but I saw the edge of his mouth turn up.

"Sorry Alyssa." He handed me my bags as he said this. I hadn't realized I had left them in the car in my haste to see Seth.

"S'okay." I mumbled. "I'll just put these in my room."

"Take a warm shower while you're at it." Esme called after me as I started up the stairs.

My room was on the second floor, at the very end of the hallway. It was fairly big. Big enough to fit a four poster queen bed, a dresser with a vanity, a loveseat and my stereo system that was a thirteenth birthday present from Edward. Not to mention it had a fully stocked walk in closet (courtesy of Alice) and a personal bathroom off of it.

I dropped my bags on the loveseat before making my way into the bathroom. I inspected myself in the mirror for the first time, trying to see any sign of aging, but the only changes I saw were artificial. The bright lights made my skin actually look pale, which was a great feat, and my hair looked black from the rain.

Turning away from the mirror, I stripped out of my wet clothes and stepped into the warm shower. I took my time, actually following the wash, rinse, and repeat directions on the back of the shampoo bottle. By the time I gave in and turned the shower off the mirror was fogged up from the steam. I cleared a spot on the mirror with my hand then rushed to dry my hair to stop it from dripping on me, taking no care to dry it straight.

That meant that I ended up with wavy hair that was semi-messy, but I didn't care. I wasn't going anywhere tonight. No, I had plans to spend the rest of the afternoon curled up in sweats, finishing my homework. My plans where altered however as I entered my room to find Alice had once again picked out my outfit. She never got tired of treating me like an oversized doll.

I wasn't going to actually wear Alice's outfit, but I conveniently couldn't find any sweats in my overstocked closet. So in the end I put on her stylish, pay-no-attention-to-comfort get up and set to work on what little homework I had been assigned. It didn't take long; I had already translated the dialogues from French to English in class, English was just reading which I would do later in bed, and Goff had actually given us a night off. Labeling the states of the world didn't take very long with help from my atlas. The only real struggle I had was when it came to Chemistry.

I swear Gerard really had it in for me. He had loaded on the homework tonight: twenty problems on hybridizing molecules, a unit which I was completely lost in. I got through half of the assignment by looking up the answers to the odd problems in the back of the book and soon gave up on ever understanding. I slammed my book shut in frustration.

"Knock knock, can I come in?" I jumped at the sound of Seth's voice. I had been so engrossed in looking up the answers to my impossible Chemistry problems that I hadn't heard him approaching.

"Sure."

"So what's the deal, you hiding out in here or what?" He came to sit on the loveseat by my desk.

"No, I just wanted to get this work done so it wouldn't be hanging over my shoulder throughout the evening." I motioned to the pile of books in front of me.

"Anything I can help with?" He rose to stand behind me, flipping through my book covers.

"Not unless you're any good with molecular orbital's and can explain how to tell the difference between a diamagnetic and paramagnetic molecule."

"Uhhh, not so much" He dropped the cover of my Chemistry book and slowly backed away. "I was just sent up here to fetch you for the birthday festivities."

"Seth I can't. I desperately need to improve my Chemistry grade. It's not looking too great so far."

"I'm sorry but I was told I wasn't to leave without you. So no isn't an option." He crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows as if daring me to refuse again.

"Then you might want to sit down and get more comfortable." I turned back to my desk, reopening my Chemistry book.

Seth moved closer to where I sat, and when he stopped behind me his shadow fell across my desk, making the book unreadable. I tapped my pencil against my pad of paper, hoping he'd get the hint and move. He didn't.

"Seth would you please move so I can see?" I swiveled around in my chair to confront him.

"Sure I'll move," he smiled impishly. "But you're coming with me."

I had no time to object before he lifted me out of the chair and flung me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Seth put me down right this instant!" I protested as we started moving towards the door.

"I'll put you down once we get downstairs."

"I am perfectly capable of walking on my own." I sighed exasperatedly. "Now put me down" I emphasized each word with a punch to his back: thump, thump, thump.

"Alright if you really want down…" I could hear the smile in his voice and squinted in suspicion.

Then suddenly the floor got a hell of a lot closer to my face as he let me slip. I flung my arms around his waist, grabbing a hold of his shirt as an extra measure in an attempt to prevent my face from crashing into the hard wood. It was an unnecessary action as he grabbed a hold of my knees which prevented my blood staining the lovely oak floorboards.

"I've got you, you can let go now." He reassured me.

My arms were still locked around his torso. I was in too much shock to function.

"But if you really don't want to, I don't mind." He laughed.

"It has nothing to do with a preference. I don't particularly trust you right now." I snipped at him.

"Aw, don't be that way. I was just having some fun. I caught you didn't I?"

I didn't answer, giving him the silent treatment as we continued down the stairs. My lip jutted out in a defiant pout as we came into view of the living room and Emmett busted out in loud guffaws.

"Well that's one way to get her down here." Emmett chuckled.

I huffed loudly as Seth set me upright on my feet again. Looking around the room I noticed that everyone found Seth's stunt funny. Carlisle couldn't even hide his.

"It's not funny." I insisted glaring at my foster family.

"Of course it wasn't" Esme tried appeasing me, hiding her smile as well as Carlisle had as she wiped her hands on her apron. "Now shall we move to the dining room? Dinner is ready."

Everyone rose and I started to follow Emmett when I heard my name.

"Alyssa" Seth called.

I reluctantly turned to look at him.

"I'm sorry." His big brown eyes looked so pitiful I couldn't help but forgive him. I would forgive those eyes anything.

"You're forgiven" I mumbled, still clinging to my stubbornness. I didn't want him to know my weakness.

Turning back towards the dining room I saw Edward and Carlisle share a small smile. They obviously had an idea as to why I was forgiving Seth. Don't tell him. I pleaded with Edward through my thoughts. He just nodded his head slightly, his smile widening.

Dinner was delicious, with all my favorite dishes: a garden salad, French Onion soup, then garden burgers all around. I was impressed at how well Seth and Jacob responded to the vegetarian menu. Usually Jacob would tease me about my dietary habits, but tonight the meal actually went without complaint, well almost. Emmett made a derogatory comment about how disgusting the whole thing looked, but then again no solid food ever appealed to him or the rest of my foster family.

After the last plates had been cleared Bella and Alice slipped out to the kitchen, flipping the lights off on their way out. When they returned I only saw the faint flicker of candlelight before my vision was obscured by Carlisle's cool hand. I welcomed the heat from the candles as the cake was set in front of me, relishing the contrast between fire and ice. However I was even more eager to see the masterpiece that had Alice busy planning and perfecting for several weeks so I was soon pulling on Carlisle's hand.

"Hold on a moment, Esme and Rosalie are getting the cameras ready." He laughed at my excitement.

I sighed, dropping my hands to fold them patiently in my lap.

"Alright, we're ready." Rosalie called with the excitement evident in her voice.

I gasped as Carlisle dropped his hand to reveal an artistic creation that belonged in a museum not on our dining room table. The color scheme was springtime pastel: yellow roses, pink butterflies and blue icing lavishly outlining the rectangular cake. It was a garden scene and in the middle of the garden, in intricate scripture, were the lavender words: Happy Seventeenth Birthday Alyssa. Around the writing were seventeen white and pink rose candles that were the only illumination in the room.

Esme wasted no time. As soon as Carlisle had removed his hand she started snapping pictures at a mile a minute, the flash going crazy, trying hard to keep up. Rosalie, who had the video camera, zoomed in on my awed expression, while Emmett was adding his own commentary.

"The birthday girl seems to be speechless at such a grandiose display of affection. Is that a tear on her cheek? Zoom in Rose. I believe it is. The birthday girl is crying, but are they tears of happiness or grief?"

I laughed at his statement, touching my hand to my cheek to find that I was indeed crying tears of happiness.

"Alice, you've outdone yourself." I exclaimed gripping my foster-sister's hand as it rested on my shoulder. I glanced up at her to see her gleaming with pleasure.

That's when the singing began, again. Seth started it, his deep tenor voice reverberating against the walls. I quickly turned tomato red, and buried my head in my hands. The singing got louder as everyone joined in and I was forced to be caught on tape, red faced in all my embarrassed glory, as Alice pried my hands away from my face.

"Make a wish." She whispered in my ear as the song came to an end.

Closing my eyes I thought long and hard before settling on just one wish. Please let me remember every aspect of every day spent with my family for as long as I live. Taking a deep breath I managed to extinguish all seventeen candles in one breath.

As tradition called for I got the first piece of cake, Alice actually took the trouble to cut and serve me the piece with my name and a rose on it from the center. Not a memory was missed by Esme who was still snapping photos and managed to get one of me with icing on my nose, courtesy of Seth. I hadn't laughed so much in a while, especially with my family being so tense the past few weeks. It felt nice. The excitement only escalated as the night wore on, as we moved from the dining room to the living room where I was placed on the couch to open my presents.

"Go on and open it already!" Seth prodded as I was admiring the wrapping of his present to me.

It had self drawn cartoons all over the brown paper and I was taking my time trying to read them all. He sighed in frustration as I delicately opened each end, trying not to rip the paper. Finally I pulled out the box, placing the wrapping in the neat pile I had started a half hour ago.

I had already opened the perfume Alice had bought me (and then proceeded to drown me in) as well as three new outfits while Rosalie had presented me with several CD's I had been wanting. Emmett and Jasper had sprung for a plasma screen for my room, Bella and Edward gave me tickets to a concert of one of my favorite bands for the next weekend and Renesmee and Jacob got me some new earrings.

Seth had wanted to go last, but Esme and Carlisle had already claimed that place. I could tell Seth was eager to see my expression when I opened the box, so I toyed with him. Holding the box to my ear I shook it lightly in case it was fragile. Seth was bouncing up and down in his seat on the floor in front of me, looking like he was ready to just open the lid himself, so I finally lowered the box and lifted the lid.

A slow smile crept over my face as I realized what I was looking at. I quickly lifted the leather book from the box and opened it to see the same exuberant brown eyes that were boring into me from the floor. Beside him was a younger version of me, sleeping, curled up on a couch, with her head leaning against his shoulder. Flipping further through the book I stopped on a picture of Seth and me in mid-air, my first experience Cliff Diving. It was an album of our time together.

"I love it Seth. It's perfect."

He squeezed my hand and smiled at me. "I'm glad."

"Our turn." Carlisle called, as he entered the room with Esme on his arm, carrying a small box wrapped in red with a gold bow on top. I hadn't even noticed them leaving.

"Happy Birthday." Esme whispered as they presented me with the box.

I noticed Edward focusing the camera on me, prepared to snap a photo of my expression. I managed to ignore him as I carefully untied the bow, and then slid my finger under the taped ends to open it with the least amount of damage. The paper fell away and I was staring at a plain white box. I carefully pulled the lid off and pushed away the tissue paper to discover a delicate silver necklace with an oval pendant, slightly bigger than a quarter, on the end. I lifted it to get a closer look and gasped as I saw what was adorning the pendant. It was the Cullen crest.

"But…" I was confused at the gesture. I wasn't technically a Cullen. I couldn't wear a family crest.

I was about to place the gift back in the box and return it to Carlisle, when I noticed a white slip of paper sticking out of the box. I opened it and studied it for a few minutes before I could make any rhyme or reason of it. I gasped again when I realized what the paper meant.

"It's only if you want to that is." Esme said, uncertain of whether the tears streaming down my face were happy or sad.

"Of course I want it; it's all I've ever wanted." I sobbed.

Esme carefully pried the necklace from my hands. She delicately hooked it around my neck as I searched the paper with my eyes, trying to find the part that I wanted to see again. And then I found it, the words I had always dreamed of putting together slightly blurred by my tears: Alyssa Cullen. I was adopted.