CHAPTER TWO: FIRST SIGHT
Edward's teeth gleamed in the moonlight that filtered down through the treetops as he eyed the stranger who had just walked into our midst. He snarled, and I knew he was reading this foreigner's thoughts to try to decipher if she was a threat or not.
I, on the other hand, could only stare in awe at this otherworldly creature as she eyed the two of us cautiously. She was every bit as breathtakingly beautiful as any of the Cullens, even Rosalie, although her beauty was a different kind. All of the Cullens looked like angels, pure and ethereal. This woman was like the devil. Every inch of her long white body screamed sin, including the outfit that hugged her body too tightly to be considered appropriate. Her hair was black as pitch, shiny and long, and her eyes were just as dark, trained on Edward. Her red lips curved in a slight smirk, as though she were reading his mind instead of the other way around. As the two vampires stared at each other, the planes of Edward's marble face smoothed out, and his eyes turned back to the inviting ocher shade that dazzled me so often.
"Hello, my name is Edward Cullen. Please don't be afraid, you are welcome here." He extended his hand to the beautiful woman slowly, as if trying to pet a frightened animal. I frowned, unused to seeing Edward being so gentle with someone other than me, but I felt disgusted with myself instantly. I needed to have more faith in Edward and his love for me. The two shook hands, and stared into each others' eyes for a long moment. Unable to stop myself, I coughed as quietly as I could. The spell seemed to be broken, and Edward took a step back and gestured to me.
"Please excuse my rudeness. This is my fiancée, Bella Swan."
The woman finally turned her gaze to me, and her eyebrow quirked up in amused confusion. Yeah, yeah, I know, I thought. What would someone as wonderful as him be doing with someone like me? I frowned.
"My name is Abadonna, Bella, and I am very pleased to meet you." She said in a rich voice that exuded sensuality. She extended a long, white hand and we shook once. As soon as our hands fell to our sides her gaze was pinned back on Edward, but as usual he only had eyes for me.
"Please come back to our home so you can meet the rest of our family." Edward said politely. "If you'll just follow us through the woods it will only take a moment." Abadonna nodded, smiling. Edward threw me on his back and the world became a cool green smudge.
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"Oh, Emmett! That is hysterical!" shrieked Abadonna. She was beginning to get on my nerves. Even Emmett seemed to like her more than me. I wasn't usually the jealous type, but something in the way this woman made everyone seem to forget about me, their favorite human, irked in a foreign way.
"So then, as Jasper's running around with no pants on, a group of hikers walks right by!" Emmett roared with laughter at the memory, and everyone joined in. Even Jasper was chortling, sending unwelcome waves of joy my way. I seemed to be the only one who was immune to Abadonna's apparently magnetic personality. Something about that thought tugged at my memory, but suddenly Abadonna rose to her feet.
"I would love to see the rest of your house. Edward," she said, causing him to break off mid-guffaw to stare back at her. "Would you like to show me around?"
"Of course," he said, kissing my cheek quickly and bounding up to lead her over to the grand piano, talking animatedly about his compositions. I laid my head back on the ivory couch we were all settled on, hoping that the absence of our visitor would at least allow me to talk to the rest of my extended family. But almost instantly, everyone went off in different directions, leaving me totally alone.
I was pretty sure this was the first time I was left completely unsupervised in the Cullen household. It wasn't that I wasn't trusted, not at all. Rather, when I visited the Cullens, they usually all seemed to want to be around me. I groaned in frustration with myself as I listened to Edward's voice and Abadonna's high-pitched giggles drift away as the tour moved upstairs. I tried to tell myself that I was being stupid, and that this woman was sure to leave soon. Edward had proven his love for me so many times over, it was beyond ridiculous to be jealous over some stranger. Proud that my maturity was for once victorious over my less rational side, I turned on the rarely-used giant flat screen television that the Cullens had in their living room, turning on MTV to watch Rock of Love II. Chuckling over Daisy's emphatic hand gestures, Ambre's age and of course, Bret Michaels' ridiculous wigs, I had almost forgotten my worries.
Suddenly, a loud thudsounded from upstairs, and I jumped. It was followed by a rhythmic creaking. I knew it! I thought, both ecstatic that clearly Abadonna was attacking my love and was therefore not as wonderful as everyone thought her to be, and completely terrified for Edward.
"Emmett! Jasper! Carlisle, come quick!" I screamed, and then made a very bad decision. I ran up the stairs two at a time, even though I knew that there was nothing I could do to stop a vampire attack. I tripped three times, but the ominous creaking noise that grew louder with each step made me only run faster.
As I reached Edward's room, which was inevitably the source of the creaking, I threw open the door without thinking. And then immediately wished I hadn't.