"Hey, I didn't realize that Bella was going to leave so early."
"Mr. Swan, it's six in the morning. Why am I up?" Jude moaned at him.
"I've got work. I'm just going to drop you off. Hey, great, all of their cars here." He stopped the car at the front of an extraordinary looking house. In front of it were several great cars. She couldn't believe that someone in such a small town could have so many nice things.
Jude opened the car door and slung her small backpack over her shoulder. "Thanks for the ride."
"You have my number if you need me."
She nodded and slammed the car door. "Bye."
"Bye." He put his hands back on the wheel and drove off.
Jude bit her lip and grew more and more impressed with the luxurious estate. She slowly walked up to the front door and rang the bell. "Hellooooo?"
She knocked on the door ferociously. "Anyone awake in there? I'm sorry that I'm here so early but I figured that since Bella was here that somebody would be awake."
She sighed in despair and turned around. But what she saw almost gave her a heart attack.
A tall guy stood in front of her. He was quite muscular and stared at her with gold eyes and bright blond hair. His smile was friendly and his expression kind.
"Hello. My name is Dr. Cullen. And who would you be?"
"I- uh- I- I'm Jude. I'm supposed to meet Bella here. I'm guessing by your name I'm at the right place."
"Right place, wrong time. She and Edward went to the park about half an hour ago. But please, you're free to stay and wait here until they come back. We have a television you can watch."
"Sure, I guess." Jude squinted her eyes, "Dr. Cullen, you lip appears to be bleeding. There's some blood at the corner."
He quickly wiped it off. "It's nothing." He then reached into his pocket to pick out a small keychain. He flipped them around and picked one where he then used it to open the house.
"Come on in," he insisted. She went in and gave him a small thankful smile. For some reason she didn't feel like being her regular bratty self. "So how do know Bella?"
"Her father is my foster dad."
"Oh, I didn't know he was one."
"Yesterday was just day one. So Edward is your son?"
"Yeah… Right. Do you know about their-"
"Engagement," she finished. "Bet you can't wait to see her join the family huh?"
"Yeah, she's a really sweet girl."
Jude looked at the various photographs on the walls and the fireplace mantle. She eventually came across one of Alice and Jasper hugging and laughing. "This girl, she looks awfully familiar. I could swear I've seen her before."
He shrugged. "Who knows?"
She turned back around to Carlisle. "If you don't mind me asking, Edward has got to be about eighteen right?"
He nodded.
"You don't appear to be any older than, I don't know, twenty-five. How could you possibly…"
"He, along with all of our kids, are adopted."
"No wonder," she said. "You guys, honestly, don't look a bit alike. So which one is Edward?" she asked referring to the photos.
He pointed to an eight by ten that appeared to be a school photo. The boy was definitely around Bella's age. "Do you approve of them getting married at such a young age?"
"I wish they could wait. But, it's a long story; let's just say that we don't have too many options."
She raised her hands in defeat. "It's your business. I don't have to be all up in it. So, when do you expect them to be back?"
"Maybe around seven."
"Carlisle…" someone moaned. "I haven't been having a good hunt today."
A young woman entered the living room. She had light purple marks under her eyes and the eyes themselves were a dark yellow. Almost… black."
"Oh! I didn't realize that we had company." The woman immediately tried to perk up her face. Her hair was a caramel brown. Jude also noticed how pale they both were. "Hello, my name is Esme. You've appeared to meet my husband."
"Yes. I'm Jude. I came here to see Bella, but I've realized she left a while ago. Dr. Cullen said it would be okay if I stayed in here until they came back. Did you say hunt?"
Esme stuttered. "I- y-y- yes. It's a family sport."
"So is that where your children are?"
"Yes. They'll be back in a few minutes. You can meet them then." She quickly turned her head around. "Oh, I believe that's Rosalie now."
Jude heard nothing but nevertheless a teenage girl walked into the building. She was fairly tall and had long wavy blond hair surrounding her face. Her eyes appeared near black, identical to Esme's, and also had those purple marks under her eyes. She had a look of disappointment on her face and said:
"The guys will be back soon."
She looked at Jude. "Hello?"
"Names Jude. I'm here for Bella. Dr. Cullen said that I could wait here until she comes back." Jude was really getting annoyed at having to explain this to everyone.
"Okay then. I'm Rosalie."
"Nice to meet you." Jude looked at the various chairs. "Can I have a seat?"
"Of course," Carlisle said. "Go ahead, feel free."
"Thank you," she replied sitting on one of the couches. She opened the small backpack and pulled out of it a small MP3. "Is it okay if I just listen for a while?"
"Yeah, whatever you like. It's no problem. Honestly," Carlisle said.
Jude placed the black earphones in her ears and put the music on quite loudly.
"Carlisle," Esme said, "Who is she?"
"She's Charlie's foster child. I'm guessing that he probably wants her to spend time with Bella. I'm pretty sure he isn't the first foster parent she's had."
The three of them looked at her sympathetically as Alice, Jasper, and Emmett came in.