The next morning I am grateful to see a clear blue sky outside as I open my bedroom window. The sun is shining and I feel positive about the day ahead. I slept much better last night than I did the night before; I didn't even wake up when Connor got in, which must have been around 12:30.
After I get dressed, I go downstairs and find Connor in the kitchen just as I did the morning before. I hope our lives don't become repetitive and mundane, but I guess it's likely that they will, at least for another year. That's what happens when you get a routine, and I suppose routine and structure isn't a bad thing for Connor and I at all.
"Morning." Connor says. "Look at that." He seems perturbed and gestures to the card on the counter. I pick it up and see from the torn envelope that it's from our Aunt Bessie. She received us when I was in middle school and Connor started junior year of high school. Connor could have left three years ago, I encouraged him to, despite really wanting him to stay. But he refused; he wouldn't leave me until I turned 18, too, and no longer needed a legal guardian. I prepare myself for the kind of falseness that only comes from obliging relatives.
"My dear Connor and Rosalie." I read aloud, mocking her voice. "I hope you are settling in well and that this school is working for you, Rosalie. So glad that you two are finally able to live on your own as you wish to. We'll visit when we can, though as you know, we are very busy. We're throwing a birthday party for your Uncle Stephen next weekend. Of course, I wanted to invite you but we though it best blah blah blah... Best wishes... Wow." Connor raises his eyebrows and nods. We don't need to say anything to know what one another are thinking.
"Yeah". I crumple up the card and dump it in the trash. She sent that to us as a formality. As a way of keeping control over our relationship; by sending us that note, she ensures that we will keep our distance, while superficially doing her duty as our ex-guardian, our supposed "family". I don't know why she thinks that we might turn up unannounced and embarrass her in some way. She must know that we are just as repulsed by her as she is by us, if not more.
"Who needs them, Connor?" I smile, shaking my head and ruffling his hair as I walk past him to the table. I see him smile sadly as he looks down at our breakfast and I sigh. Connor gets more affected than I do by the absence of good relationships with our extended family. I think it's because, in a way, he's lost more than I have. I don't expect kindness or loyalty from anyone but he has always hoped for more and has usually been disappointed. I hate it and wish that I could be more for him. I wish I could create more family members that appreciate him just like I do. I wish I could bring our parents back for him.
We eat breakfast and then Connor drives me to school again.
"I'll start walking tomorrow." I tell him as I get out of the car. Really, I don't want to walk, I want my own car to drive myself. But I'm not going to let him drive me everyday.
"Yeah, you better, lazy ass." He jokes. I glare at him and he chuckles. So much for me trying to consider his feelings. "Have a good day!" He shouts as I slam the door and walk away. Before he leaves I turn around and blow him a kiss sarcastically. He mimes catching it in his hand and throwing it at the windshield.
As I enter the building there is no sign of anyone that I met yesterday. I have Chemistry first and successfully remember where the room is, thanks to being the kind of person who worries intensely about that sort of thing. I plan to introduce myself to Alice and Jasper Cullen, to tell them that if they really are a family that sticks to themselves, they should prove it by not sticking to me like they did yesterday.
But when I get to Chemistry, I am surprised because they aren't there. In fact, they don't turn up at all. I focus my attention on my class work but I can't ignore my disappointment. I wanted to confront them and see for myself what the deal is with them and their family. Maybe even find out more about Emmett... Emmett, I like that name. I now have a name and a face for someone that I barely know anything about. It's not enough and it bothers me.
By lunchtime I have had my first Spanish class, in which I got to chatting with a girl named Rebekah, who was sat at the same table as me at lunch yesterday. Together we go to find the group that apparently I am already a part of. Aside from the slight angst that this gives me, mostly I feel happy at the idea that I am starting to belong somewhere.
"They'll probably be outside." Rebekah tells me as we walk along. "Whenever the weather gets like this, everyone goes outside. You will learn to make the most of it in this town." Rebekah sighs.
"Yeah, I think I'm starting to catch on." I say and exchange a grin with her. Rebekah is one of those people who is just really easy to talk to. I can tell that she and I are going to get on well. We've already bonded over our similar taste in clothing and plan to go shopping some time soon.
It doesn't take long for us to find Angela, Mike, Jess and Brad - who I also met at lunch yesterday - at a picnic bench. Jess is basking in the sun, probably trying to get the most tan that she can. I think it's useless; her skin is fair and more likely to burn. But I don't tell her that.
"Hey." I greet them all as I sit beside Mike on the bench. Most people around us are our mirror image. There are groups of friends everywhere either at another table or on the grass. I can even see a few teachers clustered together.
"Hey!" Mike says happily to me, turning in his seat. "How you doing?" He reminds me of a puppy.
"Great, on account of this." I respond in a similar, upbeat tone and gesture to the sky.
"Yeah, I think that's the general consensus today. It's like Christmas when we get the sun in September." Brad says.
"Yeah, I mean why do you think the Cullens didn't turn up today?" I look up at Jess, who is sat on the other end of the table. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion.
"What do you mean?" I say. She has peaked my interest and she knows it.
"Whenever the weather is like this, Dr and Mrs Cullen pull their kids out of school and take them hiking in the mountains." My mouth opens wide in both shock and jealousy. I'm not jealous that they get to skip school - as most people probably are - but I'm jealous of the image that this conjures in my mind. They have a big family, with parents who prioritise going on adventures and spending quality time together. I bet they are all very close with each other. No wonder they're not interested in getting to know anyone else; they have everything they need right at home.
"I know." Angela says in response to my expression. "I doubt they'll be back until the weekend, it's forecast to stay like this for rest of the week." I have the sensation for a split second of my heart sinking.
"It's not like it will effect them, they're all super clever. I think they get extra tuition." Jess speculates and I wonder whether that's true. I'll have to keep a close eye on Jasper and Alice in Chemistry.
They continue talking but I faze out. I won't let it upset me that he won't be back at school this week. I'll have a good week. I have a group of friends right here that I can spend my time getting to know. I won't think of a perfect family. I won't think of his eyes on me.
It's Friday afternoon and I am sitting in Spanish class. I've almost done an entire week of school and I've actually enjoyed it. I feel like I have known my friends for much longer than a few days. Even Jess has warmed to me, though the jury's out on how long that's going to last. I have almost forgotten about the first day of school, it is far away now. I am here.
Only five minutes of class has passed when my phone starts to buzz. I do my best to subtly reach in to my pocket to see the caller ID. It's Connor. I guess that's the only person it would be. But why is he calling me at this time of day? Usually he's at work. I feel worried and apologise to my teacher, walking quickly out of the room. I have learned this week that teachers at Forks High are pretty relaxed about seniors; yesterday in History class, Jess asked to go to the bathroom and then just didn't come back. Miss Roehampton didn't bring it up once. The only person who reprimanded her was Angela later that day.
"Hey, is everything okay?" I speak into the phone, closing the door behind me and standing in the middle of the deserted hall.
"Is this Rosalie?" I freeze. This isn't Connor. I don't know this voice. "It's Matt. From the bar." What the hell is going on?
"Oh, yeah." Connor has told me about Matt, they work together. "Why are you on Connor's phone?" I try to keep my voice down.
"Listen, there's been a bit of an accident and Connor's on his way to the ER. Now don't worry, he's okay. He just cut himself on a broken glass bottle and he's gonna need a few stitches." Panic rises in me. "He was reluctant to have me call you but we just wanted to let you know."
"Thanks, Matt. I'm on my way." I say and put the phone down before he can respond. Of course Connor would be reluctant to call me. Yet, if it was the other way around, he'd want to rush to me, too. I figure it's okay for me to leave as it's almost the end of the day anyway. I decide that my best option for getting to the hospital is walking in to town and grabbing a bus. Theoretically the bus service is good because it's a small town that is quite rural and so needs easy connections to places like hospitals.
I arrive at the hospital later than I wanted to and ask the woman at reception if she can direct me to where my brother might be.
I walk quickly in the direction that she points me in and, when I find the door that I want, I barge through. I don't expect to see what is there. Connor is sat on a hospital bed with his left arm out. There is a long line of stitches from his hand down to his forearm and it looks as though the doctor is just doing the final stitches. When I approach them the doctor looks up at me and I take a moment to digest who he is. I haven't met him before but there is something about him in the way that he looks. The same something that I recognised in the Cullens.
"Rose, you didn't need to come!" Connor says rolling his eyes as he sees me. I rush over to his other side.
"I didn't know what happened Connor!" I say, annoyed. "Of course I had to make sure! You'd do the same." I tell him before placing a hand on his shoulder. I meet eyes with the doctor on Connor's other side, who has just performed the last stitch.
"You must be Rosalie. I'm Dr Cullen." He smiles charmingly. I stare at him and need some extra time to respond. He's handsome and his eyes are a beautiful deep golden colour, similar to Emmett's, now that I think about it. He must be the father but he looks too young to have children my age, even if they are adopted. And why is he here? Maybe they came back from hiking already and the others just took the day off from school? But that seems strange. Or maybe Dr Cullen just got called in? But if he was on a mountain then they could not have easily contacted him and he wouldn't have been able to easily make it back. I don't understand.
"He'll be okay." Dr Cullen continues when I don't say anything. "Just needed a few stitches, broken glass can cut deep." I'm not paying enough attention because I am too deep in thought, but I glance down at Connor's arm and decide that "a few" stitches is an understatement. I make a mental note to tell Connor that he's an idiot when we get home.
"Thank you." I nod and offer him a smile, though I know it probably doesn't look too genuine. Dr Cullen holds my gaze for a moment before returning his attention to cleaning up his medical supplies and bloody rags that I guess Connor had around his arm on the way to the hospital.
"Yeah thanks a lot, doctor." Connor says, standing up and shaking his hand. As Connor puts his shirt back on, I consider asking him about his family, his children, what they've been up to for the past few days. I tell myself that I probably shouldn't ask searching questions and should keep to my own business. But then I decide that that's never really been my style.
"I think I go to school with your children." I say nonchalantly, watching Dr Cullen's face for his reaction. Connor looks between us confusedly.
"Yes, I'm sure you do. It's a small town." He responds. He is polite but clearly does not want to engage in a conversation. I push further.
"They haven't been at school recently. Is everything okay?" Connor stares at me. He will tell me later that I'm being nosy. Dr Cullen chuckles.
"Just a bug that's been going round. Excuse me, I have other patients to attend to." He gestures with his arm towards the door and smiles slightly. So, it's a bug now. Maybe the hiking thing was just a rumour, just gossip. But that doesn't explain why they would be sick every time that the sun comes out. Unless they only go hiking sometimes but then it's still strange that they would get sick at the same time. And they all looked fine as far as I could tell on Monday.
"Of course, we won't keep you. Thanks again." Connor says quickly and leads the way toward the exit. As I pass Dr Cullen I look at him but he keeps his eyes fixed in the other direction. I don't think he likes me very much.
If I have gained anything from that interaction it's that I am even more confused and even more curious about that family than I was before. I have mixed feelings; I think of Alice and Jasper staring at me, I think of Dr Cullen's evasiveness and my suspicion grows. I'll have to keep an eye on them. Because maybe there has just been a miscommunication about the reason for their absence, or, just maybe, there is something bigger going on. I can't trust them.
But then I think of Emmett and the guard that I am building up against the Cullen family dissolves. I don't see any malevolence in him, anything that could repel me. Whichever feeling I pay most attention to when it comes to that family, I know that I reach the same conclusion: I have to find out more about them.
"What was that about?" Connor says when he begins driving us home. He's taking the rest of the day off from work and I know that the school day is well over by now. My first weekend is here and I realise that I have nothing planned.
"Nothing." I reply. I could explain the few encounters that I've had with the Cullens to Connor but I don't really see the point as, in reality, nothing has actually happened. Today was the first time that I even spoke to one of them. Oh god, have I been blowing this thing entirely out of proportion? These are probably just normal people that I am planning on harassing for what is probably no good reason.
Also, the guy topic is something that I generally endeavour to avoid with Connor. He has always been protective of me as it is but my first and last boyfriend, Ryan, who I dated over a year ago now, was awful to me. He ignored me when I tried to contact him and then he was verbally abusive to me when I refused to hang out with him. In fact, he was angry whenever I did something that he didn't want me to do. Connor didn't like him one bit. He didn't care about me, or know me for who I was and I even heard a rumour that he was dating me because of a bet with his friends. I finally broke up with him but he still hung around and made comments about me with his friends from time to time. I was so glad to get away from him when I finished junior year. Since being with him I have had a few guys interested in me and many that I myself have been interested in but nothing has ever come of it. I think I naturally keep my distance now, partly because of Ryan and partly because, as is the case with having friends, I know that it's likely I will soon have to leave again.
"Made friends already have you?" Connor jokes. I have actually, I think in response.
"Like he said, it's a small town. I know who a lot of people are now." I say, which is true. Everyone is friendly here and I have been told a lot of names this past week. Connor pauses as though he is preparing to say something.
"What?" I ask bluntly. He glances at me nervously.
"Actually, before you came in." He starts. "When Dr Cullen was stitching me up, we got to talking about how I'm interested in becoming a doctor." He says as though he is admitting something. His words hold a lot of weight. Why is it difficult for him to talk to me about something that I know he is so passionate about? Surely he knows that all I want is for him to follow this dream of his. He doesn't explain anymore and I realise that I will have to prod him with questions to get him to open up about it.
"Oh yeah? What did you talk about?" I smile, hoping that it reassures him about any hesitation or temptation to hold information back from me.
"Well, he told me about good med schools in the area. He also said that if I was serious about applying for next fall I could shadow someone, a doctor or a nurse in the ER, to gain experience, which would look great on my application." I see his face brighten up as he talks about this.
"That's great!" I grin.
"He said I should look into it." Then he pauses and looks at me. "Rose, I know I'm jumping ahead here, we haven't really talked about me actually goin-"
"Hey." I interrupt him before he starts putting doubts and excuses into his own head. "Of course I want you to do this! Connor, you could finally put yourself on the path of doing what you love. Go for it." It occurs to me that this is the first time that an adult has ever encouraged Connor to pursue med school. I've always supported him but, as far as I know, he has never spoken to an adult about it. What was it that made him feel at ease to talk about this in the short time that he and a stranger spent together? Especially when he'll barely talk to me about it. This irritates me. Maybe Dr Cullen is just the type of person that people feel comfortable around, but you would think that Connor would feel more comfortable around his sister than a random doctor.
I decide that whatever this may indicate about my relationship with Connor it doesn't matter because, really, this makes me like Dr Cullen. It makes me like the Cullen family even more. If Connor could find someone to support him in becoming a doctor that would really help him and boost his confidence.
I wonder why Dr Cullen willingly integrates with the community but his children keep to themselves? I consider this, frowning as we pull up into the driveway, when my thoughts are stopped short by the unfamiliar truck that's parked there already.
"What the hell?" Connor mumbles and makes eye contact with me. Slowly we remove our seatbelts. I feel my heart rate increase.
"Stay in the car, Rose." Connor says over his shoulder as he jumps out. I oblige for three seconds before I get out and follow him. He rolls his eyes but knows that it is pointless to argue with me.
Lingering by our porch are three men. Connor walks slightly in front of me, protectively, as we approach them. They all look related and I quickly make the conclusion that they are part of the Quileute tribe that resides nearby. One of the men is middle-aged and in a wheelchair and the other two appear a similar age to Connor. They are well-built, with long black hair and when they see us, they all smile - especially the older man - as if they know us. Connor and I exchange a look of caution and bewilderment, each having no idea who they are.
"Connor and Rosalie Hale. Look at you both!" The older man grins friendlily, making me feel more uneasy. "You've grown up so much." I freeze. What? You've grown up so much. The words echo in my head. Shock runs over me. Rarely do we see people from our past. And if neither of us recognise him, then how does he know us? How long ago did he know us? Most importantly, did he know us when our parents were alive? Could he tell us about them? These thoughts buzz around my head and I feel dizzy.
"I'm sorry…" Connor responds uncertainly, attempting to process the situation. "You know us?" The man laughs.
"Why yes, of course, you used to visit us all the time! Used to be the best of pals, your father and I." He says with so much cheer that I thought he would burst out of his wheelchair.
Suddenly this man has become precious. He has become vital. He knew our father. He knows things from the past that Connor and I thought lost forever. I fight tears that form in my eyes.
"We did? You were?" Connor says bewilderedly. "How?" I'm glad that Connor could be the voice for both of us; he can barely get the words out and if it were just me this conversation would have never continued.
"Son, your dad and I were friends since we were kids. Friends almost our whole lives." He pauses and smirks at our shocked expressions. "These are my boys, Kit and Sam. You used to play together." My eyes scan over the two guys, trying to digest them, trying to find familiarity.
"You and Kit reminded me of me and your father." The man says nostalgically and somewhat sadly. My mind races as I search and search through my memories. One of the clearest of my earliest memories is the day of my parents' funeral. I could never forget that day. I don't remember seeing these people there. Connor stares at Kit for a long moment and then I see a lightbulb go off in his head as he recognises the person in front of him.
"Kit?" He laughs. "Kit Woodgreen? Oh my gosh!" Connor exclaims, relieved and excited like rainfall has just come after a huge drought. "We used to make dens in the woods and dive off rocks together! I remember you!" I feel relief but also jealousy at this statement. Connor knows them. Sam is quiet but he is smiling. I don't know what I expect to find as I study his face when he makes eye contact with me and his expression changes. His face softens and I smile sheepishly at him. I feel about five years old again, not knowing what to do in the face of strangers.
"Hey Connor." Kit says warmly as Connor pulls him into a hug. When Connor steps back Kit places a hand on his shoulder and looks him up and down. "Man, you were my best friend when we were little!" They grin at eachother and I just stand there stupidly, gawking at them.
"And Sam, man!" Connor says, clasping his hand. "And you're Billy, right?" Connor says as memories that I wish I could see come flooding back. Billy smiles. 'Billy' sounds right to me. But maybe I am just telling myself that because I am so desperate to join in with this reunion.
"Nice to see you boy." He shakes Connor's hand and then turns to me; though I feel more relaxed knowing that Connor remembers them, I still feel uneasy. I frantically search my memories but I can't tell what is real. Everything before my parents died is a blur.
"I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't remember us, Rosie, you were so young." He spoke softly. My parents used to call me 'Rosie'. "But you made quite the impression. Sam didn't shut up about you half the time." I can't help but feel better now that I know I was remembered. The version of me before my parents died lives on in somebody's memory.
"Alright Dad!" Sam says irritably and we all laugh. Sam's face goes red. Do I remember him? I feel as though I might know him but I can't be sure.
"Anyway, sorry for the intrusion. It's just that news travels fast in this town and when I heard today that someone named Rosalie started at Forks High School, I had to know if it was you. And here you are." I can't stop myself from leaning down and hugging him at this point. I laugh as fresh tears fall down my face. I can't help it, this is overwhelming. I have so many questions about my dad and about when we used to know them.
"It's alright, honey." Billy says as he hugs me back and I think I hear the strain of emotion in his voice. When I step back Connor puts his arm around me.
"I had no idea you were here! This is so great." Connor tells them. Something has changed in him, he must feel the warm glow that I do. The only way that I can put it into words is by saying that at this moment I feel safe, for the first time in forever, I feel safe.
"Well, now that you're both here, what do you say to coming down to the reservation this weekend and we'll catch up?" Billy offers. I think's that's a great idea; if I saw where we used to go that would jog my memory. I hope it does. This place could be very important.
"We'd love to." I speak for the first time and feel exilerated. Billy and Connor exchange numbers and moments later the three of them are in their truck and reversing out of our driveway. I slowly turn and look at Connor, struggly to process what just happened. Neither of us were expecting anything like that to happen. Ever. I am completely shocked and overwhelmed and above all, hopeful. We erupt in to laughter like little kids. When we first got here I saw a small, miserable town that I would just use for graduation and then leave. Now I see that there are many things that are special and intriguing about this place.