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How can you prepare yourself to meet the family of the man you love? How do you walk up say your name and expect to be accepted into their lives. I stood there next to the love of my life holding Alaundra and staring at them.
"Hello, I'm Carlisle," he said introducing himself.
"Hi, I'm Kyrah," I said.
"Mom, dad this is my wife Kyrah and our daughter Alaundra,"
"Daughter?"
They were all confused. I knew it didn't seem possible for him to have a human daughter.
"Yes," he said slowly.
"I'm a genetically altered human," I said holding Alaundra close to me.
"Is that possible?" A girl with long brown hair asked me.
"Yes, my uncle has been doing it for decades," I said.
"How?" her eyebrows were furrowed and she had a look on her face full of concern and confusion.
"Bella," Carlisle interrupted, "I doubt now is the time to ask that."
"Your right, forgive me," she said.
"I don't mind."
"This is almost everyone," Emmett said.
I could pick out their names by just looking at them. Edward was Bella's husband; he gave himself away by how much he hovered around her. I knew who Carlisle was, and holding his left hand was Esme. She had a yearning look on her face, like she was inwardly reaching out for something. I looked at her, her eyes told her story she was the easiest, other that Bella, to read. I lifted Alaundra from me and held her out to her. Her face light up. She carefully took Alaundra from my arms and looked into her deep blue eyes.
"How old is she?" Esme asked. Her voice I could compare that to of an angel, or the mother I always wished to have in my life.
"She is eighteen months old," I said.
"Her name is Alaundra?"
"Alaundra Esme Cullen," I said. That was the first time I said her full name since we had decided on it.
"After me?" She sounded surprised.
"We named her after the two most influential women in our lives," Emmett said.
"Your mother," Esme said to him, "and who?"
"Alaundra was my mentor in my uncle's facility," I said.
"That's a nice gesture," Esme said.
I knew that Bella and Edward had named their daughter after Esme and Bella's mother. I loved that Emmett had his mother, I felt happy for him that there was someone that loved him and wanted him to be happy, just like I did. Esme and Carlisle were far from perfect, that wasn't what made me love them. It was that they had both over come struggles and were proudly working to keep six members together to form their family, that no matter what mistake they made they never stopped caring and loving them. I wished I was able to say the same of my own family. Thinking about them brought tears to my eyes.
There wasn't a day that went by that I wished for the chance to explain to them why I did what I did, for the chance to make our relationship better, to apologizing for walking out, instead of sticking it out. I had so much I wanted to share with my own mother, who would never give me the time of the day.
"Hey," Emmett wrapped me in his arms. He knew that the biggest thing I struggled with was my mother.
I was so lucky to have him in my life, he gave me so much and a lot of the times I felt like I couldn't amount to much, yet he never made me feel worthless.
"There is so much I wish I could have said that day," I said wiping the tears from my face.
"The day we took your sister home," he said.
I nodded, "I should have said sorry."
"Kyre it is not you anymore who needs to handle this. You have tried; you have made your best attempts to patch this up. You have a family Kyre, we stand behind you. I'll never leave," he said.
"I know part of me feels responsible though. It wasn't just me who left Emmett. I fought so hard and did my best to take Maddi home and she turned and made the same mistake I did. She was six Emmett her whole life still ahead of her."
"The best you can do now is to make the best of the mistakes you have made. You tried to patch things up with your parents; we both know that it's their turn to make the next move. All you can do for Maddi is to be there with open arms no matter the situation."
Don't get me wrong, I knew he matured a lot in the last few years, but he was still child like. I wouldn't change that, it made him a better dad in my eyes. It was these moments that I couldn't ask for a better friend or a husband.
I made eye contact with a bubbly looking girl, I guessed was Alice. Next to her stood Jasper who looked concerned for me and my feelings, he was slightly uncomfortable having Alaundra that close to him. I had no fears of him hurting her. Rose stood in the background, I nudged him.
"Hey Rose," he said.
He made his way through his family and wrapped his arms around the woman he had been with, and loved for decades. She started to cry.
"I thought you hated me," she said.
"Never Rose," He said.
Right then I could feel all eyes on me as he said to her, "You'll like her Rose."
"Hello Rosalie," I said.
She was wrapping her arms around me faster than I could blink.
"Thank you, if he never found someone I don't think I would be able to forgive myself."
"What we have is a learned love Rose, I'm more lucky than he is," I said.
"I doubt that," he said.
"Still, knowing he has someone that cares about him," she said.
"It's nice," I finished.
"Well come in," Carlisle said.
"Jasper, Edward, will the two of you help Emmett with their luggage?" Esme said carrying Alaundra inside.
Bella took my hand and Alice took hers, the two of them led me into a large living space. There were a few couches spaced apart, a large television, a bookshelf, a few scattered books and a large sound system. The carpet was thick; Alaundra was running her hands through it. Esme was smiling as she rested her head on Carlisle shoulder. Alaundra let out a giggle and Alice lifted her into her arms, she looked at her.
"You are going to love it here," Alice told her. Alaundra looked at her and smile.
Emmett looked at me with one eyebrow raised; I knew he was silently asking if I was okay. I tried to hide the smile that was plastered on my face. He looked silly with one eyebrow up, he was almost winking.
"What is making you laugh?" He demanded.
"Emmett, I'm begging, please don't ever make that face again."
"This?" He asked. His face was mimicking the same expression he had on earlier.
I smiled, and he laughed.
His family looked at the two of us, his sisters laughed along with Emmett and his brothers shook their heads.
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I could hear their voices down the hall as I sat up and looked around. I vaguely remembered Emmett carrying me upstairs last night after I spent the most of it talking to his parents and sisters.
"You don't talk to you parents?" Bella asked.
"No I walked out when I was sixteen and the next time I saw them was when I took my sister home. My mother has a hard time accepting that I made the choice to let my uncle experiment on me."
"How does that work, did he inject you with something?" Bella asked.
"Yes, until my body started to shut its self down, I spent almost a year in the hospital waiting as each organ began to learn to function on its own. It wasn't until a year later that he learned that I no longer registered as human when I came to my DNA."
"Do you do anything special?" Alice asked.
"Like?" I said.
"I don't know fly, super speed," I laughed they were fast, "sonic strength."
"Yes and no," I said. They looked waiting for me to explain.
"I have a beating heart functioning organs, a body that will never age, a human daughter and I'm able to be pregnant again. No I don't run fast I don't have super strength and I can't fly, I can do something unique though." I grinned and the two of them laughed.
"What can you do?" Alice asked.
Bella laughed at her, Alice growled.
"That was it." I said. She looked confused for a second and then realized that I had made them laugh.
"How did you meet her," one of his brothers asked.
"I filled up her gas tank two years ago," Emmett said. I knew he was smiling.
When I met Sophia McCullie a year and a half ago she had asked me how we met. I had found a sister in this stranger. She had lived next to Emmett for several years and the day he brought me home she had hopes of seeing him smile. She said she spent years watching him moap around looking lost and alone. When she first saw me a few days after I arrived she was hopeful to kindle a friendship. Neither of us expected the bond we had.
My phone went off from down the hall, my guess was that it sat in his pocket, laughed my hair was a mess but at least my pajamas were decent. I walked down the hall and leaned against the door way trying to steady myself. Emmett had the phone up to his ear and he was talking to someone.
"Soph, she just walked into the room," he held out the phone.
"Hello, Sophia."