Chapter 2: Introductions
The den was located on the second floor right beside my room. It used to be our escape an adult free zone we had games and a television and comfy couch in here. I spent hours in here with my siblings messing about laughing, playing, talking. Can it really be that long ago?
That was gone now there was a small bed, the little girl curled up sound asleep in it at this very moment. Burly wasn't wrong earlier she was incredibly beautiful. I hope she has a disposition to match her appearance I would prefer not to listen to the temper tantrums of a toddler for the next couple of weeks.
This child had everything toys and clothes more than most grown adults, oh I hope she's not spoilt such a sin to spoil a child.
My thoughts were interrupted by a sound for the next door room my room I recognised there were people in there.
Oh this stops right now, within a second my arms shot up pointing towards the sky causing an eruption of lightning and thunder. Oh game on people!
I walk straight through the nearest wall, the kissing couple didn't seem to notice, and I quickly with a flick of my wrist sent the bookcase at the far end of the room tumbling to the floor with a second flick I had the bedside lamp flying and crashing into the window.
Now I turned my attention to the couple I expected them to be staring at where the bookcase had landed or the spot where the lamp hit the wall instead they were staring in my direction.
"What are they looking at?" I said to myself while spinning around to see what was behind me.
"We are looking at you?" a calm voice came. If it had been possible for me to have a heart attack that would have done it.
"Who me?" I said like an idiot
"Yes you" He replied
"Wait you can hear me better yet you can see me?" I asked excited
"Yes, should I not be able to?" He asked in confusion
I turned to the girl she didn't look any more than twenty.
"And you? You can see me and hear me too?"
She nodded
"This is wonderful, I've had nothing but one side conversations, this is marvellous" I squealed loudly wrapping both of them in a hug
A light knock came on the door
"Edward, can I come in?" A female voice came
"Work away Alice" Edward replied
"We heard a strange voice…." Alice said coming in the door she stopped when she saw me yes she saw me
"Who are you?" Alice asked
"You too? You can see me this is marvellous, I'm Melanie, Melanie Taylor delighted to meet you" I shrilled I was no longer in control of the pitch of my voice. I throw my arm around her apparently excitement makes me overly friendly. She didn't seem to mind a little surprised perhaps but she hugged me back all the same.
"I'm Alice Cullen"
"Lets go down stairs, Carlisle we want to hear this" Edward got up off the bed
I was too excited to walk I closed my eyes and in a second I was sitting and the dinning table. Surprisingly Alice came through the door only moments after me. I felt like hugging her again but restrained myself. No need for the only people who can see me to think I'm a freak.
They all assembled rather quickly. I was right four couples although three of them I'd guess were in there late teens maybe early twenties far too young in my opinion to be so serious but who am I to judge. Keep an open mind Melanie. The extra male was twenty something I'd say and he really seemed to be the odd one out in many ways. His appearance clearly not related to any of them and his overall attitude he didn't seem to like me. He was kind of scary. I laughed silently to myself what had I to be scared of?.
When we were all settled Carlisle introduced himself and the others, he appeared to be the father figure while his wife Esme seemed motherly towards the others. They were much too young to have teenage children but it felt rude to ask.
The two who had been in my room where Edward and Bella, I guess it's their daughter in the den because she is such a perfect combination of the two. The woman from under the car was Rosalie and it appears Em was short for Emmett. Alice's boyfriend was Jasper and he didn't seem to like me very much either. Jacob was the very odd addition, he seriously did not seem to fit and it was more than the being alone thing but I couldn't put my finger on it.
"Well, it very nice to meet you all, I'm Melanie and can I just check ye can all in fact see and hear me" I asked it felt too good to be true
"Yes dear, but can you explain why we wouldn't be able to see you?" Esme asked so soft and gentle like she was worried about frightening me
They really don't know
"I don't seem any different to you, do I? I seem exactly the same as you?" I asked
I was stalling I didn't want to scare off the few people who can see me. What if they didn't believe me and thought I was crazy? What if they did believe me and got spooked?
At my question Emmett chuckled and Rosalie slapped him hard across the back of the head.
"Ouch" Emmett complained rubbing his head "She thinks she's just like us it was funny"
"No, I know I'm not like you, not any more" I sighed
"Ha shortie, I can guarantee that" Emmett said still amused. I was just confused now, was he making fun of me? Maybe he knew what I was and he was just teasing me.
"Quit it Emmett, your confusing her" Edward said then turned to me "Yes Melanie we see you are a little different the throwing object around and the walk through walls and the weather but we have as of yet no ideas"
A little different that's putting it mildly
"Don't forget the no scent and no heart-beat that's freaky" Emmett added earning him an even harder slap from Rosalie. She a strong and clearly not worried about breaking a nail.
"What no heartbeat?" I panicked when his words sunk in, I started looking for my heart beat on my neck when I found nothing I moved to checking my wrist. Nothing. I suppose I should have expected this one but I honestly just never thought of it.
"I've no heart-beat, sorry I didn't think to check" I thought out loud "But wait how did you know I didn't have one? And what do you mean about a scent"
"Emmett you're an idiot" Rosalie said
"No Rosalie it's okay I see we are all going to be good friends" Alice said smiling at me
"You don't see anything" Edward said emphasising the "see". Weirdo!
"Yes but I don't have to see to know" Alice smiled turning to Carlisle for an answer
"Melanie, we are not quite typical humans that is probably why we can see you I want you to trust us but it is okay if you are not ready to talk to us" Carlisle said slowly and calmly. I liked him already. I like them all already.
"I can tell ye but I don't want to scare ye" I almost whispered
With my words Emmett burst out laughing he fell off his chair and was rolling around the ground. It seemed this time everybody else had a fit of the giggles too but nobody as sever as Emmett. I just sat there in a roomful of giggling laugher and wondered what I'd said.
"Don't worry, you won't scare us" Edward said
"Melanie, would you happen to be dead?" Carlisle asked, I was surprised he guess right first time
"Yes, for the last six years" I said smiling glad to just say it and have it out there
They didn't have quite the reaction I was expecting they all tried to ask questions at once. They seemed almost excited. I couldn't hear anything they were saying too much noise.
After a few minutes they stopped and Carlisle spoke
"What are you exactly?" He asked
"I think I'm a ghost but this whole thing didn't come with an instruction manual so that is basically my best guess," I said I decided it best to simple tell my story to help them understand "This used to be my house I lived here with my parent and my older brother and sister, I was eighteen only just finished high school, it happen here on a Friday night in November in was raining and I got home late, it was dark, I was suppose to be home alone my parents were on a romantic weekend, my sister was away at collage and my brother work in New York at the time, he was coming home in the morning and I really didn't mind." I paused a moment "I still can't remember exactly what happened I've pieced together as much as I can, I got home and the alarm wasn't on I thought that was strange for my parents to forget, I took off my coat and went to head for the stairs I was exhausted before I reached the stairs something really hard hit me on the back of the head, I turned to see what it was and another blow hit my face, That's it that's all I remember really, I know that I was found the next morning when my brother returned I was in my room lying on the bed battered and bruised and stabbed twenty four time blood everywhere"
"Oh you poor darling" Esme said and she got up and wrapped her arms around me.
"It's okay, I don't really remember, this dress was destroyed covered in blood and torn" I smiled indicating I was talking about the dress I was wearing which now looked perfect good as new
"You kept the dress you died that's morbid" Alice said
"Actually, It is all I wear I can't change my clothes, so I have to keep it" I smiled it wasn't a bad outfit to have to wear for all eternity a smart plain black cotton dress which cam to my knee with flat black shoes.
"What you stuck in the same clothes forever, that's terrible" Alice said her eyes welling up she looked like she was about to cry "Does that happen to everybody?"
"It's really not the worst part and I've really no idea if it happen to everybody I've never meet a ghost"
"You know I knew we could see ghosts, Aro told me years ago, but I until now I've never meet one, I suppose that's hardly surprising there are so few, they have to have been murdered in a physically and emotionally traumatic way and they have to be a pure and innocent soul, well that was according to Aro at least" Carlisle said
"Well I have the murder not so sure about the pure and innocent but I was young I suppose that counts for something"
Alice seemed to have recovered herself now
"Where you on your way to funeral when you were killed" Alice asked looking me up and down. She a little obsessive about clothes I mean is there not more interesting questions to ask me?
"No, I was coming home from a concert actually" I laughed softly as I examined myself again
"You could have dressed up a bit for concert" Alice complained
"Actually, I couldn't it would be considered bad taste to do so and distract from the music, I wasn't attending the concert I was playing" I explained
"Oh wonderful, what do you play? How delightful" Esme smiled
"Violin, first violin or at least I used to…" my voice trailed off
Alice totally spaced out for a second.