Chapter Three - (Changes)
EPOV
This town is so dead, boring, cold and isolated. Who in their right mind would choose to move to this horrible place? My idiot uncle that's who.
Yeah, I live with my Uncle Carlisle and Aunty Esme with my cousins Emmett, Alice, Jasper and Rosalie.
My mom, Elizabeth Masen, passed away from a brain tumor when I was ten years old. She situated in her will that she wanted me to be taken in by her big brother, Carlisle, and his family if anything ever happened to her. We were always a tight knit family — I got along with Alice, Emmett and Jasper really well; Rosalie's always been a bitch though. But that's to be expected because of her past.
When I first moved to Chicago, I was surprised to see Jasper and Rosalie. I hadn't seen my family for nearly over a year, so I didn't have any knowledge of them adopting Jasper and Rosalie. They came from an abusive family— their dad used to constantly beat Jasper, and his best mate, Royce, began to repeatedly sexually assault Rosalie when she was eight. Their mom just let it happen. Rose is a tough cookie though; she began to fight back and one night ended up picking up her bedside lamp, hitting Royce over the head with it. She then repeatedly kicked him as she screamed for Jasper. Rosalie packed up her and Jasper's things and they caught a bus to a homeless shelter where Esme happened to work. She (Esme) contacted child services and they told her they would be placed in a foster home. Esme being the maternal amazing woman that she is, didn't want that for them and convinced Carlisle to adopt them. Little did they know a few years later, they would then have to take in me as well.
I never really knew much about my father— all I know is that I was named after him and he passed away when I was three. Carlisle has been great though. He hasn't forced the father role onto me, but he is the closest thing I've ever had to a father, even though he's my mother's brother. I remember him always being there when I was little and the whole family getting together; Emmett and Alice were more like my brother and sister than my cousins. That's why I asked Carlisle and Esme to adopt me when I was twelve. I wasn't dishonoring my mother and father; they'll always be my parents. It's not like I call Esme and Carlisle "mom and dad; I call them by their name, and introduce them as my aunt and uncle. I guess I just wanted to belong to a family on paper.
"Yo, Edward. Are you listening to me bro?" Emmett catches me off guard, and I don't realize that he was talking to me.
"Sorry, what?" He gives me an annoyed look and punches me in the arm. I wince at the pain. Strong motherfucker.
"Fuck Em, watch it asshole. What are you on, steroids?" he laughs at me and I quirk my eyebrow at him. I'm not even kidding.
"I was just saying that Alice, Jazz, Rose and I are gonna look around for a bit. You in?" I hear Rosalie groan in the backseat and I automatically laugh at her.
"Does he seriously have to come babe?" He's annoying as shit and he's been out of it all day. I swear, he's probably not even listening right now."
I spin around in my seat and glare at her. She glares right back and then rolls her eyes at me. I look over to Emmett and see the amused look on his face— He always gets a kick out of us two bickering. I swear, it's like a turn on for him, the sick fuck. Oh and did I mention that him and Rose are dating? Alice and Jasper as well, thank god they're all adopted.
"No thanks Em. I don't think I can handle being near this bitch for much longer."
I hear Carlisle sigh next to me and I look over at him to see that he's frowning. He turns his head towards me and looks me in the eyes.
"You know I don't like it when you talk about women like that Edward. It's disrespectful." I roll my eyes at him and slouch back into the seat.
"Well maybe if she didn't act like such a bitch, I wouldn't have to call her one." Rose starts chuckling; I feel her kick the back of my seat, and she begins to ruffle up my hair.
"You still love me, Eddie." My lips turn up into a smile, and I swipe her hand away.
"Unfortunately, you're finally right about something."
She whacks me on the back of my head, and Emmett bursts into laughter.
"Don't be a jerk to my girl; she'll fuck your shit up, man."
Everyone bursts into laughter at Emmett's comment, even Carlisle.
I cannot express how much I hate unloading boxes, carrying them up stairs, and then unpacking everything. Emmett is such an idiot, convincing everyone to go off and explore the dull town called Forks. I'm stuck here at our new home, helping Carlisle and Esme unpack.
After most of the things are unpacked, I collapse onto the couch and turn on the TV. Of course Emmett, the baboon, connected that up before he left. I sit and watch pointless advertisements because there's nothing on. I get annoyed and turn the TV off, closing my eyes and relaxing into the cushions. I can feel someone's presence in the room; I open my eyes to see Esme looking down at me with a content smile on her face.
"Hey, sleepy head. Carlisle wants to know if you want to head down to the store with him." I sigh, forcing myself to get up off of the couch and place a kiss on her cheek.
"Sure thing, Esme. Do you need anything?" She rests her palm on my cheek and shakes her head.
"No thanks, honey, I'm all set. I called in on the way over with Alice and Jasper." She walks away from me, heading up the stairs, most likely to set up her gigantic library of books.
I walk out to the car and lean against the door, waiting for Carlisle to come out. He finally blesses me with his presence and smiles down at me.
"You coming for a ride, son?" I shrug my shoulders, opening the car door.
"I might as well— there's nothing else to do in this god forsaken hell hole."
He shakes his head at me, laughing whilst getting into the driver's seat. He looks over to me before putting the car in the ignition.
"You'll get used to it, Edward. It's not that bad." I lean back into the seat and look out the window.
"I doubt anything in this town will be interesting or captivating."
Little did I know I was going to meet Bella that day. I saw her as I was waiting for Carlisle to get out of the store. She hopped out of her truck and slipped on a patch of ice. She attempted to stand up but fell straight back down again. I felt like an asshole but I couldn't stop myself from laughing. She just stayed sitting there on the ground. I approached her and asked her if she was alright. She replied with a joke about just chilling on the ground. I helped her up and introduced myself. She had taken notice of Carlisle's car thinking it was mine. I walked over to it and leaned up against it and gestured for her to come over. I told her that it was my uncle's car and that I own a silver S60 R Volvo. She rolled her eyes and I smirked at her. Carlisle walked out of the store then and was being a smartass, saying I'm not very nice for not knowing her name. She then said it was her fault and introduced herself before saying she had to go. For some reason, I felt disappointed so I asked her if she went to Forks High. Her nose screwed up at the mention of the school and she said she unfortunately does. I smiled at her and said I might see her there and she agreed before walking into the store.
On the drive home, Carlisle has the biggest smirk on his face, and keeps glancing over at me as he shakes his head, laughing. It's really annoying.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Why do you keep gawking at me for?" He doesn't answer straight away, but continues to laugh until he finally speaks.
"Still think this town is boring, dull and uninteresting? Nothing captivated your attention?"
That, smart ass. I should have known what he was playing at.
"Oh, ha-ha, Carlisle. You're so goddamn funny. If it makes you happy though, then yeah, I'm glad there's at least a girl like Bella in this town. She seems real and not at all fake and shit."
He looks at me with an incredulous look on his face, shaking his head at me again before looking back onto the road. If he wasn't such a good driver, I would have been shitting myself with the amount of times he takes his eyes off of the road.
"You got that all from one conversation? How do you know she's real and not fake?"
I sigh and lean back into the seat again. Typical Carlisle, always turning a casual conversation into a serious one.
"I could just tell. There was pain in her eyes— she's been through some shit, but I can tell she's strong. She doesn't paste on the makeup; she's a natural beauty. And she's funny."
My lips turn up into a smile at the thought of her.
"You think she's beautiful? You hardly know her, Edward. Do me a favor when you go back to school— don't be a creep towards her. Make sure you at least try and control the filter that flows from your brain to your mouth."
I laugh at his mini lecture and run my hands through my hair. As we pull up to the house, I see Emmett's jeep in the drive way.
"It's about time those assholes showed up. I swear, I'm not unpacking anymore shit— they can do the rest."
Carlisle chuckles beside me and hops out of the car, looking over to me.
"I guess I can back you up on that. You've done a fair amount of work today."
He continues to chuckle as he makes his way up to the stairs.
Thank god for that shit.
Rain. That's all it ever does here. Rain. That's going to be fun at school. Another thing I'm not exactly looking forward too. Well, apart from the fact that I may see Bella again. I haven't seen her since the grocery store; like she's just disappeared or something. She intrigues me, she isn't like any other girl I've met before; she doesn't pack on the make-up, she doesn't act fake, and she's real with real problems in her life. I could see it in her eyes— she's been through some tough shit— those beautiful captivating pools of chocolate brown eyes.
"Edward? Edward? Hello is anyone home?"
Alice pulls me out of my thoughts of Bella, standing in front of me, waving her hands in my face before placing them on her hips before she raises her eyebrow at me.
"Sorry, what?" I ask her. Her frown deepens, rolling her eyes whilst sitting down next to me.
"Honestly, Edward, you haven't been paying attention to anything for weeks. What the hell has you so transfixed that you can't stop thinking about it?"
Unfortunately for me, Carlisle just happens to walk into the living room at that exact moment and stops in his tracks, beginning to chuckle to himself. I look over at him and see a smirk playing on his lips.
"Maybe it has something to do with a certain girl he met at the grocery store a few weeks ago."
I glare at him and he just shrugs his shoulders, walking away. Alice jumps up to her feet with a shocked expression on her face.
"Girl? What girl? Why haven't you told me about her?"
I sigh, slouching back further into the couch, hoping it will swallow me whole, saving me from her scolding.
"Because it hasn't come up, and it's none of your damn business anyway."
Alice's face falls, looking genuinely offended, and she starts fiddling with her hands, looking down at the ground.
"You always tell me everything, even the littlest unimportant things, but you won't tell me that you met a girl here? A girl that you obviously can't get off your mind? That's something you would definitely tell me."
I look up at her and see that her shoulders are rolled over in defeat. I grab a hold of her hands, pulling her back down onto the couch.
"I'm sorry, Ali, I didn't mean to upset you. We've been really busy unpacking and getting the house together, and you're always off with Jasper or Rose. It just kind of slipped my mind."
She winds her right arm around my left one, leaning into me and hugging it tightly.
"It's alright, Eddie. I shouldn't have gotten upset about it. So, what does she look like? What's her name? Does she go to Forks High? Do you think she'll talk to you again? Or is she one of those preppy snobby bitches who think they're better than everyone else?"
I look over at her incredulously; how someone so tiny can speak all of that in one breath is beyond me.
"Alice, take a breath will you? Her name is Bella, which fits her perfectly because she's beautiful. She has fairly pale skin, long chestnut coloured hair and chocolate brown eyes. She has a beautiful smile. Yes, she goes to Forks High. She seems pretty laid back, and she's quite funny. So no, she isn't a preppy snob. I think she's actually one of those girls who try to go unnoticed. Which is just stupid because she shouldn't go unnoticed."
Alice keeps gazing at me, the corner of her lips turning up into a full blown grin, and she starts to giggle. I raise my eyebrows at her, and she holds her index finger up to tell me to wait until she gets control of herself.
"You've met her once and that's how you feel about her? I can't wait to meet her; she sounds amazing. Do you think we'll become friends? She sounds like someone I could be friends with."
She gets up with a big smile plastered on her face. I roll my eyes at her and ruffle up her hair; she scowls at me, and then saunters off upstairs, leaving me to get lost in my thoughts of Bella again.
Yep, life is definitely going to be interesting in this town.
thanks for reading! Reviews me me giddy inside :P A huge thanks to my Beta and my amazing friend, Jenndur!
-Natalee-x