"Bella!" Alice exclaimed, opening the front door and welcoming me into her home. She threw her stong arms around me and embraced me, "I'm so glad you're alright!" She held me out at arms length and looked me up and down. I looked around the vast room with an open lay out. I saw on the far end of the room the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. She was tall, with long blonde hair and her features are uncomparable to anyone I've ever seen. I immediately felt unworthy to be in the same room with her.
Alice took me by the hand and led me over to the indimating goddess. "Rosalie, meet my friend, Bella. Bella, this is my brother Emmett's fiance I told you about." Rosalie stared down at me and smirked, not welcoming me at all.
"Hi, Rosalie," I somehow managed to say aloud.
"Hmmph," she relied, turning and walking out of the room.
"I'm sorry, Bella, that was very rude of Rosalie." Edward said. "Come here and meet my father." I turned my attention back to where Edward was standing and saw yet another unfathomably gorgeous model. Father? Impossible! He can't be older than 30, and even that's a stretch. "This is Dr. Carlisle Cullen."
"Hello, Bella," Carlisle said, reaching his hand out in a friendly gesture. "I'm so pleased to meet you and I've heard so much about you."
"Hello, Dr. Cullen. It's nice to meet you too." I'm happy this reception is much warmer than the previous one. To his right is a very pretty brunette who also looked warm and welcoming.
"And this is my mother, Esme Cullen," Edward introduced the brunette.
"Hello, Bella," she smiled. "I'm so glad you're here."
"Hello," I returned her smile. "Forgive me if I'm the one who's being rude now, but you don't look like you are anyone's parents. You look like you should be a runway somewhere." I heard a light chorus of laughter.
"Thank you," was all Esme said.
"Bella, if it's okay, I would like to check you out to see if you've sustained any injuries during the... accident." Carlisle said, gesturing toward a long hallway, next to the stairs.
"Sure," I said looking up at Edward, then to Alice. I didn't want to leave Edward, but I wasn't sure how to express this out loud.
"I'll come along too," Alice said, grabbing my hand and gliding next to me down the hall.
After several minutes, Dr. Cullen announced "Everything appears to be perfect." He gave me a compassionate, reassuring smile.
"Thanks," I replied, unsure of what to do next. I just want to get back to Edward, but I refused to say this aloud since I wasn't sure why I was having such a dangerous thought. It's not that I think Edward, my personal super hero, is dangerous, but rather the thoughts I'm having about him are. I shouldn't be thinking about wanting to be with him. It could only end up in heart break, since I can't imagine why anyone so alarmingly gorgeous would want to be with me.
"Come on, Bella," Alice said, leading me back down the hall. "I want you to meet my boyfriend, Jasper and my brother, Emmett." Alice introduced the other two to me. Emmett was nice enough, giving me a goofy smile which helped me to feel more comfortable and Jasper was a little standoffish, which was interesting since Alice is the opposite with me. We exchanged polite conversation for a few minutes.
Then, blushing and slightly embarrassed, I said "Alice, may I see you outside for a moment?"
"Sure, Bella." We walked out to the front porch.
"I can't wait any longer, what is going on here?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" She inquired with an innocent, wide eyed expression.
"Alice, don't play dumb with me! How did you know about what happened and more importantly, what is Edward?"
"Well, I didn't tell you this before, because I don't usually get a nice reaction, but I have visions. I can see the future, sometimes, the future is only a minute away and other times, I can see farther ahead. I had a flash that you would be involved in an accident, but I knew you would be okay." She smiled, and didn't go on.
"And Edward is...?" I probed.
"He's my brother." That's all she can say? I was getting mad now.
"Alice, don't be coy with me, I'm not stupid. He moves at the speed of light and he's stronger than anyone I've ever seen." I stood there, arms crossed, tapping my foot, waiting.
"Well, he works out a lot..." Alice tried to play it off.
"I see what you're trying to do and I'm not going to brush this off. I deserve to know!" I whisper yelled this, not wanting anyone to hear me.
"Bella, can't we leave it at that?" Alice said, slightly wounded from my temper tantrum.
"I don't think I can." I answered in a calmer tone. Just then, the front door opened and Edward stepped out onto the porch.
"It's okay Alice, you tried." He said smoothly. He stood next to Alice, across from me and continued "Bella, it would be better for you to leave now. I can take you home if you'd like."
Of course I want him to take me home, but I can't leave without an explanation.
"I'm not leaving until you tell me what the heck is going on," I was being stubborn, but I knew if I gave it and left, I might never know the truth.
Edward sighed and with an edge to his tone, said "What's going on here is I saved your life."
"Yeah, how?"
"I pushed you out of the way of a moving vehicle," his non-chalance mixed with anger was iritating. I could hear a low snarl building form within his chest and I decided to take a different approach.
"It's not that simple, Edward, please. You can trust me." I was almost whispering, afraid that if I spoke too loudly, he wouldn't believe my words.
"Edward," Alice said. She looked up at him and without saying a word, and finally, he said "Alright, fine." Alice smiled and she came over to stand next to me,
placing a tiny hand on my shoulder.
"Bella, we're..." she hesitated for a moment. "We're vampires."