With a sigh, I stepped down from the stool, put the duster down and looked around proudly at my dust-free room. It was not much, my room. It was something my dad had thrown together when he realized that the arrival of a baby into the house required a clean, painted room.
Lack of homework had made me decide to save my room from the hazards of dust, rot and cobwebs.
I stuffed the broom and the dusters into the cupboard, and I was preparing to take a shower when I heard a knock on the door.
"Coming!" I called, and hurried down the stairs.
"Hey." Emmett greeted as I opened the door.
"Oh, hey. I wasn't really expecting you." I said, and gestured him inside.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" He gave me a dimpled smile before settling himself down on the couch.
"Like that's ever stopped you." I muttered and sat down on the armrest beside him. "So, what brings you here today?"
Emmett McCarty was my neighbour. But the bond that we shared was a very intimate brother-sister relationship. Emmett had moved here when I was three. He'd taken an immediate liking to the clumsy wide-eyed girl, or so he'd told me. Emmett was the prefect remedy to my moody personality. He was fun loving and carefree, but when the situation demanded it; he could grow very levelheaded and mature. His extremely muscled body was intimidating, but his twinkling blue eyes were always brimmed with humor, and his dimples always made him look disarmingly innocent.
"Heh. I was bored. My date for tonight sort of bailed. Imagine that, huh? Really good looking girl too. That just took a big chunk out of my ego, I'm telling ya." He shook his head and put his feet up on the table. "Anyway, what's new with you?" He turned his head towards me.
"Nothing, really." He looked back at me, knowing there really was something. "I'm just very… nervous right now, Emmett. I don't know how to describe it." I looked down.
"What's wrong?" He asked, a little cautious.
"Well, there's this guy, who's working at the Newtons' store, and he…I don't know. He freaks me out. He behaves like he's suffering or something. And I remember it clearly, when he looked at me. There was so much revulsion." I recalled, breathing faster.
"Gee, Bells, it sounds like you hate this guy. And for no reason at all." He frowned.
"Yeah, Em. That's what makes me feel worse. I hate him for no reason at all." I admitted.
"What's this guy's name, anyway?" He asked.
"Uh, Edward. Edward Masen."
The change in Emmett curious expression was very sudden. His placid eyes suddenly grew wider, and he swung his legs off the table. He grabbed my shoulder.
"EDWARD MASEN?" He almost shouted.
"Yeah, that's what I just said." I said, wincing at his grip on my shoulder.
"Oh, God Bella. I can't believe it. He did some dirty, dark stuff, Bells, I'm telling ya. The guy killed his own mother." His eyes grew impossibly wide.
I stared back at him, feeling a sick chill creeping up my spine, giving me goose bumps.
"His mother?" It was…it was wrong. It was just wrong. My revulsion, and fear, for the unhealthy man grew stronger. "Isn't he supposed to be behind bars, then?" I enquired.
" He should be. But they don't have enough evidence to lock him in. But everyone knows he did it. Everyone. And there were witnesses. They heard her scream, and they saw him stepping out with a bloody knife. And then he ran." His grip loosened, he fell back on the couch, scratching his curly head.
" I'll talk to that Newton kid. And don't worry, I won't tell Charlie. He'll freak out." He patted my hands.
"Thanks Emmett. I hope I don't have to see him when I go back there next Thursday." I gave him a short hug, got up from the couch, and wondered what was left in the refrigerator to feed Charlie when he came home.
Emmett helped me with dinner, and made the table, talking on and on about the girl he was supposed to go out with. But my mind just kept giving me flashes of a woman being stabbed, the agonized trill of her scream, and green eyes that swirled with dark memories.
I hoped Emmett wouldn't notice my hands shaking as I laid out the plates on the table.