A/N: Many apologies for the first time I put this chapter up, I'll try to be more careful.
Please excuse the formatting, it's a long story involving the old computer I write on and the newer one that has internet.
Disclaimer: I have no legal rights to Twilight.
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The Seattle skyline. Pale clouds hide the sun, giving me the freedom to
walk under the sky. As my driver dodges the car through traffic to the
hotel, I watch the scenes we pass. Early in the afternoon, there were few
cars to dodge on the streets away from the business district. The only
pedestrians where tourists walking in groups to the local sights. I see a
sign advertising my presence at the hotel.
I¹ve been on tour for three weeks already. I feel I deserve a vacation
from fawning fans. The last time I heard from Carlisle Cullen, he had
settled in Forks, Washington. Near enough for me to drive there easily.
Ralph met me at the hotel. ³Is everything alright Irene?² he asked
nervously. I was beginning to wonder if being a successful writer¹s agent
was really the best job for him. I¹d chosen him to be my agent as a favor.
He seemed to need a good writer to help his reputation, but maybe it hadn¹t
been such a good idea if he was always this unsure of himself.
³It¹s fine, Ralph.² I tried smiling to calm him down. ³I think I¹ll take
to weekend off, go see some places I¹ve heard about.² He opened his mouth,
but I cut him off. ³You don¹t need to send someone to drive me. I have a map
that I can read quite well. I¹ll be fine. I¹ll leave now, and be back on
Monday.² I squashed a moment¹s guilt about not informing him of my plans
before the hotel room was paid for. It comes of a thrifty upbringing, I
suppose.
For a moment Ralph looked dazed. Then he blinked and seemed to reorient
himself. ³Um, sure. What about your appointments?²
³I only have one scheduled for this weekend, I¹ll see them Monday
morning when I get back. The book signing isn¹t until late Monday morning,
I¹ll be back before then.² It¹s not as if a suspicious Ofellow¹ author or
annoying fan was anything urgent.
³I¹m sure you can explain to the others, can¹t you Ralph?² There is that
dazed look again. This time, when he surfaces, he looks nervous. That boy
needs some self confidence.
³Uh, I suppose so.² It will probably help that he and most of the staff
sent along are in awe of me.
³Thanks so much.² My bags aren¹t unloaded yet, so I sweep directly from
the hotel back to the car.
I stay safely under the speed limit until I¹m on the deserted highway,
out of sight. The speedometer inches up as I indulge my taste for speed.
Most vampires I know share that taste.
The road from Seattle to Forks doesn¹t take me more than a few short
hours. That probably had to do with the fact that I was driving twice the
speed limit.
I had known the Cullens for many years. I didn¹t bother to keep track of
exactly how many. I had met Carlisle, the ³father,² a few years before he
changed his wife, Esme. Carlisle Cullen is a very unusual vampire. He has
spent most of his time since death in perfecting his self-control. Now human
blood hardly bothers him. The reason for this unusual obsession is that
Carlisle Cullen is extremely compassionate. In other words, he has an
extremely soft heart. He couldn¹t abide the thought of killing humans for
food. His chosen profession is doctor. I find it an amusing choice, not
least because he is saving lives that nature tells him to end. My other
reason is this. Vampires have extremely cold skin, compared to humans. We
have no body heat. I have heard patients complain many times about how cold
doctor¹s fingers are. That complaint must help him when patients shiver at
his touch as he examines them. Some of the younger female patients might
have other reasons for shivering. He is very handsome.
He looks young for a doctor. He appears to be in his late twenties.
Really, he is somewhere around three-hundred and fifty years old. He knows
the exact count. The Cullens celebrate birthdays. I don¹t even know my own
age, so I¹m excused from forgetting his.
Esme Cullen is also young and beautiful. She is very maternal and
loving, the perfect mother. She and Carlisle act as mother and father to the
others. They are their parents in every sense but biologically.
There are five younger Cullens. Edward was Carlisle¹s only child when I
first met them. He is the youngest seeming, sixteen, perhaps. His talent is
mind reading. That likely contributes to his rather complex character. I
still haven¹t figured him out enough to base a character off of him
accurately.
The other four are couples. Rosalie and Emmett are together, and Jasper
and Alice. They are all adopted and Jasper and Rosalie use the last name
Hale instead of Cullen, so it is not quite as shocking to the human
inhabitants of the small towns they pass through as it could be. They never
stay long. A few years at most. Humans might notice that they never age,
though they can pretend to be high school students
Alice sees the future in visions. When not seeing visions, she is
amazingly cheerful and graceful, even for a vampire. Graceful for a vampire,
in any case. There are many vampires who are certainly not cheerful. Jasper
can sense and control emotions. Inconvenient when I¹m trying to hide my
reaction to something, but very useful when the others are getting angry.
Edward¹s mind reading already rules out secrets though, so it¹s not much of
a loss. Jasper is newest to their life of feeding on animals, and so has
trouble abstaining from human blood at times.
Rosalie could easily be a stunning model. She looks the part with blonde
hair and a full figure, though she is as deathly pale as any vampire. Once
you get to know her, you notice something else more. She is incredibly
stubborn. An odd combination, she works on cars as well as her own beauty.
Emmett is quite intimidating the first time you meet him. He is very
large, with the obvious strength to match it.
All together, the Cullens are the closest thing to a family I have.
I had been to their current house in Forks once before and found the
turn off from the highway without much trouble. I parked my car beside
theirs, noting that their collection of fast cars had grown.
I walked up to the front door and opened it without knocking. No need to
knock when Edward could hear my thoughts coming. I stopped in shock just
inside the door.
