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Chapter 2: Forks
Catarina's POV
When I woke the next morning, I had that moment of disorientation where I wondered where I was, then it all came crashing back to me. 'I'm in Forks now…' Smelling eggs and bacon, I assumed that Bella was awake and making breakfast. Laying there for a few minutes with my arm over my eyes, I tried to get up the motivation to get dressed and face the day. 'I guess no time like the present.'
With a sigh, I got up and picked out an outfit, keeping the rain in mind: a nice pair of jeans, cute shirt and my form fitting sweatshirt. I went to my bathroom and put on a little makeup to accentuate my green eyes. After pulling my hair up in a high ponytail and doing my bangs, I headed downstairs to eat breakfast.
Walking into the kitchen, I saw that Bella was eating at the table with a boy around our age. He was freaking pale with piercing, yellow eyes. I guess some would call him hot, but he wasn't my cup of tea, so to speak. 'This must be Edward…' He gave me an appraising look and then his face turned to frustration.
Trying to break the awkward silence, I introduced myself. "Um, good morning, you must be Edward. I'm Cat. Nice to meet you." I extended my hand and he took it in a light handshake. He skin was so cold. He must have just come in from outside.
"Pleasure to meet you, Cat. Everyone has been looking forward to meeting you." He said with a small half smile. He spoke a little too formally for the average high school guy.
"Breakfast is all made, help yourself. I'll get the dishes later." Bella offered as she took another bite.
"Thanks, and you cooked, the least I can do is clean up." I made my way over to the counter and made a small plate and sat across from them at the table.
"So I thought maybe after breakfast I could show you around. Dad's at work already, but Edwards parents and siblings wanted to welcome you to Forks and to meet you, so I was thinking we could go over and visit for lunch. The bonfire starts at eight tonight and we will eat dinner ther…" Bella was interrupted by a tinkly voice coming from behind me.
"Well before you go tonight, we are definitely going to have to go shopping. Catarina probably needs some new clothes and some things for her room." I whipped my head around and nearly choked on the food that I was attempting to swallow. 'Shit, where did she come from?'
"Alice, maybe you should let her get her breakfast down and introduce yourself before you take her on a whirlwind shopping spree…" Edward chuckled behind his hand. "I'm sorry, Cat, this is my sister, Alice. She can be a bit pushy and irritating." She had the same pale skin tone as Edward and oddly enough, the same exact eyes. Other than that, they looked absolutely nothing alike.
"Nonsense." Alice waved the thought away. "She just moved here and I'm sure she need things for her room and some clothes that are more suited to the weather here. It's much colder here than in Tennessee and she needs rain-wear. It's only practical; and don't worry, it's my treat." She was grinning from ear to ear. "Bella needs some things, also, so it will be killing two birds with one stone."
"Alice, I don't need anything…" Bella started only to be cut off again.
"Seriously Bella, when was the last time you got new clothes? I think it's overdue." Alice chided.
"The last time I got new clothes was just last week when you dragged me out shopping with you…" Obviously, Bella wasn't into shopping like most girls.
"Alice, really, you don't have to do that…" I tried to reason with her. I didn't have much money but she didn't need to pay for anything.
"Oh, yes I do, and arguing with me is useless. Ask Edward and Bella." Alice left no room for debate. A little pushy Edward had said. I think that was an understatement. I looked over at the couple and they were just nodding.
Edward chuckled again. "You should just give in; it's easier, believe me. Arguing with her really is useless."
Alice practically beamed with joy. "Good! It's settled then. We will leave after lunch at the house. I'll see you then. It was so nice to meet you, Cat." I did a slow blink and she was just gone, just as fast as she had come. I continued to blink at where she was standing just a moment before. 'I think I'm losing time…'
"Don't worry. She is always like this. Let her take you shopping; it makes her happy." He said pulling me out of my astonishment.
"O…kay…" Edward then excused himself saying that his mother requested him home to help prepare for lunch. It sounded like a lame excuse to give Bella and I some time alone together.
"Well, they seem really nice. Alice really doesn't have to do all that…" I felt a bit overwhelmed by the little pixie.
"Cat, it's okay, this is just what she does. Any excuse she can use to go shopping, decorate, or throw a party, she'll use it. Today, she gets to do all three, so she's super excited. She has plenty of money, too, so don't worry about that." Bella started clearing the dishes. I got up and helped her clean the kitchen.
Putting our shoes on and grabbing our purses, we walked out to get in her truck. "Whose truck is that?" Sitting right beside Bella's red pickup was a black one that was probably 20 years newer than Bella's.
"That is dad's welcome present for you. He gave me mine the day I moved in. He thought you'd like to have a little freedom. Jacob dropped it off this morning; he's my friend down at the reservation. He rebuilds them. He did mine too. You will be able to meet him tonight. Do you want to drive today? It will help you remember where everything is." She handed me the keys and a cell phone. "Dad wanted you to have that too, just in case. Our numbers are already programed into it."
"Wow, um, yeah, thanks." Getting into my new truck, I realized I loved it. It was so me. This was really thoughtful of him. It would definitely make adjusting to living here easier. Putting it into gear, Bella directed me around town, showing me where the grocery store, school, gas station, the diner and such were. She was right. If I hadn't driven, I probably wouldn't remember how to get around. After a few hours and a pit stop at the Police Station to say hi to dad and thank him for my gifts, we decided to go ahead and head to the Cullens' house.
We had just made it onto the almost completely hidden driveway. "Just so you know, Carlisle and Esme, Edward's parents, they adopted him, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett. That's why Carlisle and Esme look so young. He's a doctor up at the hospital and she couldn't have children so she decided to adopt. Also, Alice and Jasper are together; Rosalie and Emmett are too."
"Oh, wow, well that was really nice of them to adopt so many kids. That must be strange that they live with their boyfriends and girlfriends, but they aren't actually related so I guess it's not too weird." Finally, the house came into sight.
Inside the house…
Rosalie had a grim expression on her face and she tossed the salad. "Why do we have to do this again?"
"Rose, we are just going to welcome Catarina. She's Bella's sister after all; that makes her family. Don't be so upset, please. We need to make her feel welcome." Esme chided. Emmett came up behind Rose, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck.
"I know you don't like playing human, Rose, but we must in front of her. She knows nothing of vampires, and Esme is right. Bella is family, her family is our family now, too." Carlisle added. Turning to Edward with an inquisitive look he asked, "So Edward, you couldn't read any of her thoughts?"
"No, it would seem that her mind is similar to Bella's. I heard nothing from her. Perhaps it has something to do with them being sisters? They are the only two minds that I have not been able to hear." Edward was more than mildly frustrated that there was yet another person whose mind was closed off to him. The silence from Bella's mind just about drove him mad. Looking over at Alice he asked, "Can you see her future like you can with Bella?"
"I can, though tonight is blank because they are both going down to the reservation. It is so irritating not being able to see around those mutts!" She threw her arms up in frustration. Jasper ran his hands up and down her arms trying to soothe her. They then heard Cat's truck pulling up.
Catarina's POV
The house was absolutely huge. It was so beautiful and the scenery around the house was so picturesque, even with the rain. For some reason, I was actually feeling nervous.
Bella led me up to the front door and a very handsome man with blonde hair opened the door. He had a calming, sincere face. Smiling at us, he motioned for us to come in. "Cat, it's so nice to meet you. I'm Carlisle. Please, both of you come on in. Esme and Rose almost have lunch ready." He had a soft, soothing voice.
He had the same eyes as Edward and Alice. 'I thought Bella said that none of them were actually related? Why do they all have the same colored eyes? Come to think of it, he is pale like they are too… and he looks way too young to be a doctor.'
Getting a look at the interior of the house I realized why Bella said not to worry about Alice spending money. They apparently had a lot of it. The house was tastefully and richly decorated to be warm and inviting. The whole back of the house looked like one big window looking out into the forest. It was stunning. There was a grand piano on a raised section of floor towards the back wall of windows on the back side of the house.
We followed Carlisle up the stairs to the dining room. Once we walked in, I recognized Alice, who was standing next to a boy with curly hair. That must be Jasper. I felt a wave of calm rush over me that somehow seemed out of place considering how I felt when I came in.
Looking further into the room, I noticed a tall, beautiful blonde standing next to a dark-haired guy that looked kind of like a body builder. That must be Rosalie and Emmett. Then I saw who must have been Esme, as she was a little older. They ALL had incredibly pale skin, were incredibly attractive, and they ALL had the same bright yellow eyes.
Edward came forward and put his arm around Bella and made the introductions. Esme came forward with a smile to stand next to Carlisle. "It's lovely to meet you, Cat. Please sit, lunch is ready."
"Thank you." We all sat down to eat. I complimented Esme on her cooking but noticed that all the Cullens just picked at the food. They were all very pleasant, except Rosalie. Emmett was actually hilarious. He seemed so different from Rosalie. It made me wonder how they came to be a couple.
Carlisle and Esme were the gracious hosts and asked me about Tennessee but, gratefully, stayed away from the topic of my mother. Alice told me about all the stores we were apparently going to today.
After we finished eating, we moved into the living area downstairs where the piano was. "Which one of you plays the piano?" I asked curiously. Music was a passion of mine.
"Edward plays more than anyone else. Won't you play something for us, Edward?" Esme was ever the proud parent.
"Alright, just one." He just couldn't say no to Esme. Edward pulled Bella with him to sit on the bench as he began to play a beautiful piece that I did not recognize.
As he ended the song, I told him, "That was beautiful, did you write that yourself?"
"Yes, it was the song I wrote for Bella when we first started dating. Do you play?" He and Bella walked back over to the couch.
"A little. I've mostly practiced with the violin and guitar though." It was one of the things that I did to get away. It helped me to relax.
"Why don't you play something?" Edward looked at me expectantly but a looked passed on Bella's face that I couldn't quite interpret. I haven't known her long enough to decipher her facial expressions.
"Uh, I kind of get stage fright… I hardly have ever played in front of anyone." The last thing I wanted was to embarrass myself on my first day here.
"Come on, I bet you're great." Alice grabbed my arm and pushed me over to the piano. Yeah, I could see the irritating part now.
Tentatively, I sat down and thought about which piece I wanted to play. Putting my hands on the keys I closed my eyes and played a piece I had written when I was younger. Before I realized it, I was finished and when I opened my eyes they all applauded.
"You play very well, Cat. You wrote that piece yourself?" Edward asked. I nodded. The look on Bella's face had gotten more severe while I was playing. It kind of looked like she was pissed off, though I had no clue what could have changed her mood so suddenly. Edward kissed the side of her head and her face smoothed out.
"Okay! If we are going to get to all the stores today, we are going to have to leave now. Rose, are you coming? We are taking my car." Alice wasn't able to hold herself off any longer, apparently.
Rose seemed to think about it for a minute before declining, saying that she had something to do.
"Alright, fine. Bella, Cat, come on!" She grabbed both our hands and started to pull us to what I assumed was the garage.
"Um… It was nice meeting you all. Thank you so much for lunch." I managed to get out over my shoulder before I lost sight of them.
Getting into Alice's spiffy sports car, we went in more stores than I've probably been to in my whole life. She bought me new bedding, wall decorations, clothes, clothes, and more clothes, even a new computer.
She was unstoppable. If I so much as looked at something for more than a couple seconds, she would zoom behind me and buy it before I could say anything. Somehow between all that, she still managed to pick out an obscene amount of clothes for Bella.
It was incredibly fun, even with Bella being in a mood. She must really not like shopping. Finally, we had to head back to the house so we could drive home and get ready for the bonfire. After getting back home, I put all my purchases away and put all my new decorations up.
Since the rain was supposed to let up this evening, I decided to change into one of the new outfits that Alice had gotten me. It was a long, flowy, black and white striped skirt, cute flip flops, and a black lower cut top that accentuated my ample chest. Bella said there would be a lot of good-looking, single guys there tonight. Might as well look good. I touched up my makeup and let my hair down and I was ready as I was going to be.
Bella stayed in her jeans and t-shirt. She seemed to be in a little better mood than earlier. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, just let me grab my purse." I turned my light out and followed her downstairs. Dad was just walking in from work.
"Bells, Cat, where are you off to?" He took off his jacket and gun belt and hung everything up.
"I was just going to take Cat down the reservation to meet everyone. They're having a bonfire tonight." Bella slipped her shoes on.
"Oh, okay, be safe. I know it summertime, but don't stay out too late. Midnight at the latest." That's the most dad thing I've heard him say so far.
"Dad…" Bella moaned. "It's going to go later than that, plus Billy and Sue are going to be there. It's not like it's unsupervised."
He seemed to contemplate it for a minute. "Okay, one a.m., no later. Got me, girls?"
We both nodded and ran out to my truck. She gave me directions and we pulled up to First Beach about fifteen minutes later.