Hey ya'll! Okay, so I just got the coolest review for my story The Secret Compartment. I had a woman from France message me telling me that she reads my stories to her two daughters once a month. I must admit I love to hear that. You guys are my inspiration and motivation :) Therefore, I have decided to update! Enjoy!
"Are you kidding me," I muttered under my breath. Emmett pushed on my back with persistence as we reached the end of the stairs. I stretched out my leg expecting to step down, instead I slammed face first into the boy I presumed to be Justen.
"She definitely knows how to make an entrance," Emmett howled as he stomped into the living room. My face felt like a ball of fire. Justen's chaotic breath vibrated beneath my hands.
"Wow," he huffed, "Alice wasn't joking at all. You are gorgeous, baby girl. Rawr!" A feeling of deep repulsion coursed through my veins. I tried to pick myself up from the floor but Justen's robust hands gripped my waist.
"Funny," I growled, curling his fingers back. "She didn't tell me how nauseating you were." A sickening snapping sound filled the air as the boy beneath me shifted his hands irreverently to my butt.
"OUCH," he wailed, obtrusively. "Dammit! Oh, dammit, dammit, dammit! You…You broke my hand you little…"
"I suggest you watch your language, young man," Charlie's voice echoed from upstairs. I couldn't help but smile slightly as Justen rolled around the floor foolishly. His face was a deep purple and his long curly hair stuck to his tear streamed face.
"I left you alone for two minutes," Emmett whispered in my ear, coming around the corner. His gigantic body was pulsating with silent laugher. My older brother was easily amused when it came violence.
"Two minutes was long enough," I sighed, flipping my hair to the side. "He should be happy that I didn't decide to break another appendage from his body. That is of course, assuming he has one."
"You're such a little bruiser," Emmett growled playfully, mussing my hair. I shifted away from him and leaned down to give Justen a hand. He stared up at me with a seductive gaze and I smiled back attentively at him. He leaned forward to kiss me and I signaled Emmett to open the door. Two seconds later Justen was ancient history.
"How many is that now," my father asked, inspecting his uniform before putting on his jacket. Charlie was the Chief of Forks, and one of only three cops in this measly town.
"Three," Emmett answered, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me into a headlock. "Your daughter can definitely take care of herself. I taught her well." My brother gleamed with pride as he stared down at me.
"I hope he doesn't decide to press charges," my father said playfully. "Perhaps you have influenced your sister a little too much, Emmett."
"I'm the one who enrolled into self defense classes," I sneered, sliding my foot underneath Emmett's feet and pulling forward. He fell to the ground instantly pulling me down with him.
"Children, please," Charlie said, trying not to laugh. Emmett and I had been like this for as long as we could remember. We were always challenging each other and always fighting. It may have appeared that we hated one another, but this simply wasn't true. If I were an only child, Emmett would be the big brother that I would wish for.
"Thanks for helping me get rid of him, Em," I chuckled as I picked myself up from the floor. Emmett wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed my head.
"It's my job to protect you, kid," he mused. The sound of heels clacked against the tile of the kitchen. Emmett's face suddenly resembled a love sick fool. I knew what this meant. Rosalie Hale had entered our kitchen with Alice in tow.
"Rosie," Emmett breathed, rushing to her side. My eyes began to roll instinctively. Alice walked to my side with a sadistic expression on her face and Rosalie soon followed after.
"Emmett," I gulped. Rosalie turned around to shoot him a warning glance.
"Sorry, Bells," he said, goofy eyed. "Rosalie Hale isn't a force to be reckoned with." I couldn't believe how idiotic love had made him. He never used to be like this, at least, not until Rosalie came over for a sleepover one night. I still hated myself for introducing them.
"Come on, Bella," Rosalie smiled, curling her manicured fingers around my arm. Alice hovered by my left side as if she were preventing me from escaping. Rosalie turned around to wink at Emmett before pushing me into my room.
"Ok, girl," she said pouncing onto my bed. "Tell me what happened." Rosalie, Alice, and I were the dynamic trio. We had been ever since two years ago when the Hale twins moved from Texas.
"Rose, I don't want to talk about it," I said, pulling the pillow from my bed and burying my face in it. "It's over, it's done. Obviously Justen wasn't my soul mate, and I wasn't about to pretend that he was."
"Bells, come on," Alice growled. "You have got to stop being so negative! I know that Seth dumped you and I know that he is responsible for turning you into a temporary zombie, but eventually this all has to stop."
"She's right, sweets," Rosalie said, thumbing through a Cosmo. "Moving three hours away isn't going to make glitter pants come back to you." I had been hearing this same speech for the last three months, and I couldn't have been sicker of it.
"What do you suggest I do, then," I said with an edge of hysteria in my voice. "Should I stay here and go to the community college? Do you know who is going to be there?!" Rosalie held up her blood red finger to silence me.
"Bella, please," she said, calmly. "You have never been one for dramatics, and truthfully it would just be annoying if you started to be now." I took a deep breath and tried to think rationally.
I truly hated the person Seth had turned me into. Rosalie was right, I never was one to care about what people thought of me. Self image wasn't important and neither was my relationship status. It was hard to believe that that was only six months ago.
"Bell," Alice said, thumbing through my hair, "think about all you have accomplished. You already have a partial associate's degree because of Seneca. Why not finish your degree and then transfer to Seattle University?" Seneca Career Center was the trade school Alice and I attended to become teachers. We had been going there for nearly two years and already had half a year's worth credits.
"What would be the point," I argued. "I've worked my butt of for four years, Alice. If I stay here then I would be forced to go to the community college. That is the last place I want to be."
For me, staying in Forks would be like failing. Before my mother died, when I was twelve, she would tell me stories of her past. She would tell of how she went to Europe and how she studied abroad. My mother had attended Fairfield University as well, which was one of the main reasons I wanted to go.
Though it had been nearly seven years since she died, I still missed her tremendously. Going to Fairfield would be like following in her footsteps. I would major in both teaching and journalism, and make all her dreams for me come true. I wanted to make her proud, regardless of where she was now.
"Honestly, Bella," Rosalie said. "You wouldn't stay in Forks forever. Eventually you would branch out to somewhere distant. You could pursue a career in teaching and work in Tacoma. Or, you could become a book editor and move to New York."
"Don't encourage her," Alice snapped. "Bells, why would you want to leave? You have everything you could ever want here. If living in a big city is so important to you then you could move to Seattle. You could still come home on weekends and Charlie would be so happy."
My whole life had been dictated by everyone else. It wasn't that I resented them for wanting me it stay; it was that they refused to let me go. More than anything, I wanted the possibility of being able to leave. How would I ever be able to start my own life if they continued to coddle me?
"We just want you to be happy," Rosalie said, sitting down beside me. "You have always been a very sheltered person, Bella. It's time that you learn to socialize and stop fearing rejection. As scary as it is, rejection is something everyone has to face eventually."
It was strange to hear these words coming out of my friend's mouth. I found it impossible to believe that Rosalie Hale had ever been rejected. She had the type of beauty that stopped everyone dead in their tracks.
"Fairfield would make me happy," I whispered. "It would be a place where I could finally break out of my shell and make a new start. The college is so massive that I wouldn't be conspicuous like I am here."
"I never understood you, Bella," Alice said, hugging my shoulders. "You never want to be seen, yet you were born to stand out." Her comment left me confused. There was nothing about me that was extraordinary. I was quiet and boring, and I preferred that.
"I don't want to be conspicuous," I laughed, humorlessly. "I just want to be happy with myself and with my life. When all is said and done, I don't want to look back and wonder, what if?" Rosalie and Alice starred quizzically at one another for a minute before responding.
"Well," Rosalie began. "If it's that important to you…"
"Then it's important to us, too," Alice finished. "We will come with you this Saturday to tour the campus. After that, we will support you in your decision, if you decide to go there." I sighed in relief before pulling my two best friends into a hug.
"I love you, guys," I said, gratefully.
"We love you, too," they said in unison.
The next day was uneventful, as usual. It was Friday which meant tomorrow we would make the three hour road trip to Fairfield, Washington. My stomach filled with butterflies as I contemplated what my life would be like in just six months. I continued to think about this as I sat down at my computer.
There was a note on my screen, and I didn't have to look twice to know who it was from. It read 'let's meet up', and had a smiley face at the end of it. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mike Newton, the only boy in our class, stare hopefully at me. Just as I was about to confront him, Alice pranced into the room.
"Good morning," she said, with a beaming smile. She ran to my side and plucked the note out of my hand. After reading it a couple of times she began to laugh.
"Nice try, buddy," she winked at him. "But I'm afraid our precious Bella would never go out with you. Not even if there was a fire."
"Alice," I laughed, trying to maintain my composure. "That wasn't very nice. Besides, weren't you the one who encouraged me to date?" Jessica Stanley leaned in from her desk to hear our conversation.
"Take a picture, sweetie," Alice sneered. "It will last longer." Jessica Stanley had always been the snoop of our class. She knew everything about everyone, or at least she thought she did.
"Bella, Mike isn't someone I would ever allow you to date," she told me. "He's too much of a stalker and after the Kyle incident I don't think you want to waste your time on him." Kyle was a boy who had a followed me around since I was sixteen. He had also deluded himself into believing that we were boyfriend and girlfriend. I honestly didn't know how these people came up with these ideas.
"I heard that," Mike said, from across the room. "My mom thinks I'm special." I buried my face in my hands to reduce the sounds of my laugher.
"I'm sure she does, Michael," Alice said, brushing off his words with a roll of her eyes. "Listen, Rose and I have decided to give you a makeover before the trip tomorrow." The smile from my face instantly dropped. Alice's makeovers took hours from my life and usually left me irritated and irate.
"Alice, please," I begged her. "Can we not do this tonight? Why don't we just order some Chinese or something?"
"I love Chinese," Mike bellowed. Alice ignored his remarks and focused all her attention on me.
"We are doing this, Bells," she said, with authority. "You are going to look hot whether you like it or not. Plus we already ordered Chinese. Rosalie is picking it up after school. So, be ready to go at three." I felt my throat drop into my stomach. Tonight was going to be a long night.
Tell me what you guys think!!! Review, review, and review! If I get 15 reviews by the weekend then I will update on Saturday!
P.S. Edward will be showing up very, very, very soon :)