A/N: So I guess I should have included the fact that Edward is kind of a doucheward in my warning last chapter…
Thank you all so much for your reviews :D
I groaned and collapsed onto my bed. It was my last day of being grounded and it sucked more than the previous ones. The freedom was so close and I was still trapped inside. Jasper had made a point to ask me to hang out after school every day this week. That asshole had work every single day; he just did it to point out the fact that I was still grounded.
Angela was already sinking into what we called her Pre-Prom funk, so I didn't try jack shit with her this week. She always got really depressed and shit about a month and a half before prom. As soon as the first invitation is sent she's down in the dumps. Jazz often took her out to smoke during said funk. She was quite honestly just hard to be around during these times. We'd found out later that she was much more bearable when high.
So we lit that shit up.
Or at least they did. I didn't really like being high at school. It made me all paranoid and shit that some fuck would call my parents. I'm not afraid of Carlisle or Esme, per say, I just fucking hate being stuck in this room. I groaned loudly and heard Emmett call out something about going to Rosalie's.
Fuck him. Fuck her.
I didn't know how he dated a chick that had slept with more people at school than I had. It made me sick. I rolled my eyes and rolled on my bed until I reached my iPod dock. I turned on some Muse and shut my eyes as whatever weird as shit music started blasting through the speakers.
I shut my eyes and tried to just focus on the music, blocking out my boring as shit day.
Classes, gone.
Emmett, gone.
Dinner, gone.
I sighed and massaged my temples, thinking about happy stuff. Like being at the beach with my real parents as a kid. Playing in the sun with my father as Mom finished up the sand castle I'd lost interest in. I grinned as my dad tossed me a football and waded farther down into the water, yelling for me to toss the ball back.
"Come on, kid. Put 'er there." He clapped his hands and I looked at the ball with worry. It was my favorite ball, if he didn't catch it, it'd be gone forever.
"I don't wanna', come back!" I called as waved washed and crashed into his back.
"Oh, take a chance, buddy. I'll catch it." He laughed. Mom told him to come in just a little closer so that I didn't worry as much. "Hush, woman." He laughed before clapping again and getting into ready position. I closed my eyes and heard Dad yell, "Woah you might wanna-" I chucked the ball as far forward as I could and opened my eyes to see him beaming as he held the ball.
"Look at that aim! Even with your eyes closed!" He ran towards me and swung me up into his arms and over his shoulder. I giggled as I bounced and swung on his shoulder all the way back to my mom.
"You see that, Elizabeth? Perfect aim." He lifted me from his shoulder and carefully placed me in my mother's waiting arms. She chuckled and wrapped my small seven year old body up in a towel, kissing my wet hair.
"We've got ourselves a football star, huh?" She asked looking up at him with love in her eyes. I hugged the towel a little bit closer to me and snuggled into her chest as the wind turned cold.
"You know it, beautiful." Dad dropped down onto the towel next to her and kissed her cheek before playfully nipping at her cheek. I wrinkled my nose and shook my head at the gross display.
"Nasty," I remarked, my words echoing in my head as the scene changed. Now it was a dark, cold windy night. I looked out of the window from my little alcove in the living room. The house was warmly lit and I could hear mom rummaging around in the kitchen as Dad talked her ear off about various things.
"Edward, look, I'm exhausted, can't we stop by a restaurant somewhere? I'm in no mood, dear." She sounded sad, I furrowed my eyebrows. I turned and got down from the window seat, heading toward the kitchen. I peeked around the doorframe to see Dad sitting at a table with Mom on his knee as he rubbed her back.
"What's wrong, beautiful?" He asked softly rubbing her back. She frowned and worried the pearl bracelet on her left wrist. She never took it off. Which didn't make sense cause it was antique. Which meant old. And probably dirty.
"They laid me off, Edward. The damn company is downsizing." She sighed, her forehead creased. "Ever since the CEO passed, that new dick has just been doing things to cut down on spending so that he can have a fatter check." What in the world was a dick? Was that his name? It couldn't have been a curse word.
I already knew all of those.
"Woah, Lizzie." Dad laughed and kissed her neck. "No telling where Eddie is, babe. Everything will be just fine, okay?" He kissed her cheek. "Just fine. Come on, I'll take you and Eddie out to dinner. We'll go to that place you like… the one downtown?" She nodded and hugged him tightly. "Come on, go get ready." He patted her butt, which was kind of gross. Why would you touch anyone's butt?
My current self willed me to wake up. I knew what came next, the screams and the bad things… I didn't want that. I didn't want to relive any of that night, even though I usually had to.
Tonight wasn't one of those nights though. My mind flashed forward to a small foster home. I leaned back against the light green siding of the small house with my best friend.
"Edward?" She asked softly. I looked over to see her intently braiding her dirty blonde hair. Her eyebrows were scrunched up as she stared at her hair.
"Yep?" I watched her hands fumble with the braid and her fingers awkwardly wind up her hair. I remembered seeing my mom do that with her own hair, I didn't know why my friend couldn't do it. "You look silly." I wrinkled my nose and leaned over grabbing her braid.
She turned and let me undo the messy hair. "Do you think somebody will come get us? Maybe our parents will come?"
"I don't think so." I twisted her hair up, the right way. The way that Mom taught me how to do it. I combed my fingers through the light hair, wishing it was my mother's dark brown strands I was braiding.
"And why not? I'm a good girl." I could hear the pout in her voice.
"And I'm a good boy, but I'm never picked." I shrugged and quickly finished her long braid.
"That's 'cause you always hide! They just don't like me."
"They do too! Why wouldn't they? You're pretty…" I asked and she turned looking at me with really big, pretty eyes. I smiled and she leaned in to hug me tightly.
"Thanks, Edward. You're pretty too." I frowned over her shoulder, not knowing if being pretty was good for a boy.
"Thanks?" There was a loud whistle from the house and I stood, offering her my hand. She took it and didn't let go, even as we walked into the house.
"They don't pick me though. And I want parents, don't you?" I shook my head and squeezed her hand.
"Nope. I only want my real parents. I don't need anyone else." I shrugged and pulled her closer to me. It was visit day at the foster home, lots of mommies and daddies came through the building, picking up the younger kids. No one ever really wanted us older ones. I guess they thought we couldn't fit in as well. I didn't care though, I was happy to stay here and not have two people trying to be my mom and dad. They couldn't be.
Of course that was the day that the pretty, brown haired woman came to me and smiled. I looked for my friend but she was off talking to two other old people, blushing and being cute. The woman stuck out her hand and when I shook it she waved over a blonde man. She asked me a few questions, ones that I answered softly. It was kind of my first time talking to parents. They usually thought I was too old.
"You're lovely, Edward." The woman, Esme, said sweetly. "May I have a hug?" I shrugged and opened my arms. I sighed when she hugged me, she hugged like my mom. I smiled and took a deep breath, before frowning. She smelled all wrong; nice but wrong. I scowled and pulled back.
"Carlisle…" She said before straightening up to her full height and turning to the tall guy next to her. "I think he's the one."
"But…" I whispered, looking over at my sweet friend who sat alone now. She stared sadly down at her hands and I spied the people she was talking to earlier playing with Tommy, a two year old. She looked up at me with tear stained cheeks and I wanted to cry too. "What about-"
"Edward?" Esme's voice woke me and she shook my shoulder. I looked up to see here smiling down at me, the same way she smiled at the foster home.
"Hey, what are you doing in here?" I asked softly, just curious, no hostility behind my words.
"I wanted to say bye, before I left. I'm sorry to wake you… but…" She looked down at her lap, much like my friend did eight years ago. My nameless and apparently faceless friend.
"Hmm?" I sat up in bed and groaned when I realized I still wore yesterday's clothes.
"Sorry, it was dumb." She stood and took a step away from the bed when I touched her arm.
"What's up?" I questioned, we both looked towards the door as we heard Carlisle milling around in the hall.
"I just, I know that we haven't been on the best of terms recently… with the grounding and everything. I just wanted you to know that I love you." I smiled tiredly and she cracked a smile too.
"Love you too, Mom." I opened my arms for a hug and she let out a chuckle. She hugged me tightly and kissed the side of my head.
"Okay, honey. You get sleep okay?" When we pulled back she dropped another kiss on my cheek.
"Okay, have a good day." I knew it had to be at latest four in the morning and I was exhausted. To exhausted for extended conversation.
"Alright, you two. Goodnight, honey." She turned out the lamp that I'd left on all night and left the room. She pulled the door closed and as soon as it touched the frame it swung back open.
"Morning, Edward." Dad greeted a little too loudly for the hour. I groaned and crawled into bed, under the sheets this time.
"Night, Dad. Goodbye… Leave." Esme, I could handle at the hour. Him, not so much.
"Don't forget to take out the trash and then have a great day at school, champ." I didn't even put in the effort to find out if that last part was sarcasm. I just yanked my blankets over my head and tried to let him know, that it was time for him to get the fuck out.
… In not so many words.
"Yeah, okay. Bye." I huffed, turning onto my stomach and burying my face into my pillow. He said another cheery goodbye before my door closed. I shut my eyes and tried to escape back into my dreams, knowing that it was highly unlikely that I'd have the same dream twice in one night.
I sighed and turned on my back, lacing my fingers beneath my head. Every time I had the dream about meeting Esme and Carlisle my friend made an appearance. In the dream her face was clear, she was real. But as soon as my eyes saw daylight her face and name were gone.
Damn.
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