Ch. 4; Getting Ready
You could actually feel the tension in the room. And being able to feel everybody's emotions was not exactly helping me much. Edward stood there for a couple minutes just staring at me. I figured I would have to be the one to break this tension so I turned to Carlisle. "Um, Carlisle?" I asked, looking up to him.
"Yes Lily?" He replied, his eyes kept flickering from me to Edward constantly.
"Would it be alright if I had something to eat?"
"Of course. Follow me and we'll fix you up. Esme? Would you come with us?" Carlisle looked to his wife.
"Certainly darling." she said, her eyes glancing over all of her children, "Just give me a minute and I'll be right in."
So Carlisle and I walked from the room and I heard in the distance Esme scolding her children mainly Edward, for making me feel so out of place. "So..." Carlisle began, grabbing a head of lettuce and beginning to chop it up.
"So..." I replied, looking down at my hands, not really wanting to have this conversation.
"Care to explain haw exactly you and my son have already seemed to have met?" he asked, placing the knife on the table and turned back to the fridge to grab more ingredients.
"Uhh.. Sure. Well I was born in Ireland, and when I was about five... I think. I was brought to Chicago so my family could start up a business. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough money to do this so we needed to find a partner. Lucky for us there was also another family looking to start a business so my father offered that they could become business partners. So then after careful planning Montgomery & Masen became the most popular bank in all of Chicago. But then, the Spanish flu hit and well... you know the rest." I finished lamely. Lowering my eyes to the table.
"I had no idea you were in Chicago with Edward. Wait... you were the girl!" Carlisle cried, the memory finally dawning on him.
"Yeah. That was me."
"I always did wonder what happened to you..." He handed me a bowl of salad and a fork which I began to chow down on.
Esme walked in and put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry the way Edward greeted you. He normally is so polite, I don't know what's gotten into him." Esme said, shaking her head slightly.
"It's alright. I don't mind it much." I said nonchalantly, taking another bite of my dinner.
After talking with Esme and Carlisle for a while I finished up my dinner and stood. "Well thank you for the party guys. I really appreciated it. But I think it's time for me to turn in for the night. Goodnight!" I called as I walked up to my room.
"Goodnight!" Carlisle and Esme both called back.
Making my way up the staircase I turned and walked up to my door when I heard music playing from inside the door next to me. Uncertainly, I carefully crept up to it and pressed my ear against the door. I'm sure that Carlisle told me who's room this was but quite honestly I wasn't paying the least bit attention. Closing my eyes I took a deep breath and cleared my mind. I cautiously opened the door silently and slipped through the small crack and was in the room. It was very tidy with a large amounts of books and from what I take it. Journals or diaries (whatever you want to call them). They were stacked up on a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf and inside was a small couch with a stereo next to it. That was where the music was coming from. Then something caught my eye. It was an enormous grand piano sitting in the corner. I hesitantly walked over to it and placed my hands on the keys. Quietly I just pressed one. It's sound resonated around the room. Chuckling quietly, I sat down on the bench and started to play a simple melody. The longer I played I let the sound grow louder and more complicated with every measure. After a few minutes the song ended. Then from behind me I hear footsteps coming up the stairs. Quickly realizing that it would look horrible if I was caught in someone's room that wasn't mine. I stood from the bench and quickly tip-toed back to my room. As soon as I shut the door I heard the footsteps pause in front of my door. Whoever it was, I could feel the hesitation coming off of him. For a moment I thought that they were going to open the door but must have decided against it. The footsteps faded away to a door opening and shutting. Carefully taking off my clothing and throwing on a pair of pajamas I crawl into my nice new warm bed and sleep for hours.
When I woke, the sun was barely up and I could smell Carlisle's cooking from downstairs. Jumping out of my bed, I ran over to the wardrobe and picked out a white sundress that reached down to my knees and had a light blue bow on the back. Then I slipped on a pair of white ballet flats that had some lacy ruffles on the front. Quickly running a comb through my hair and making sure I didn't have any drool on the sides of my mouth, I opened up my door and rushed down the stairs. I entered the kitchen and was immediately greeted with the smell of Carlisle's homemade pancakes wafting through the air. "Mmm! Something smell delicious!" I smiled, and took a seat at the counter.
"Good morning Lily! How did you sleep?" Carlisle asked, placing a stack of pancakes in front of me.
"Very good actually. And... um, I really don't think I can eat this much Carlisle..." I laughed,
"Oh, sorry I've never really served people before." Carlisle smirked,
"It's alright. We can just put them in a container for me to eat later."
"Or Bella could have some." Emmett said, walking into the kitchen, "Morning 'lil sis!" he boomed, leaning over the counter and ruffling up my hair.
"Morning!" I replied, trying to fix the damage that he had just caused, "Who's Bella? Do you guys have like a pet or something?"
Emmett and Carlisle looked at each other and started laughing. "What? What's so funny?" I demanded, already feeling a blush creep up on my face.
"Bella isn't a pet Lily. She's... She's... Well, what would you call her Emmett?" Carlisle turned to Emmett who was thoughtfully stroking an imaginary beard.
"I don't think girlfriend would cover it. And lover sounds to... forward. Maybe she's a companion?"
"Yes, that would work. Well Bella is Edward's 'companion'. They met this year. She still is human you see, and she's coming over today at three."
"Wait, you're trying to tell me that mean to tell me that Eddie- I mean Edward has a girlfriend?" I said incredulously.
"Yeah, pretty much." Emmett replied, "Well, I'm off. Jasper has some new fighting moves he wanted to show me. Catch ya later little sis!" and with that, he was left the kitchen, but not before ruffling up my hair again.
Trying to attempt to fix my hair yet again, I look up to see Carlisle staring at me thoughtfully. "What?" I asked, getting my hair to lay flat.
"Nothing, I was just seeing how you were going to take this." he replied nonchalantly. Putting away the rest of the dishes.
"Oh, you mean about Edward? I'm totally fine about it." I lied, taking another bite of pancake, "He's aloud to date whoever he wants. I'm not in charge of him."
"But you both were close." Carlisle argued.
"Yeah, but it's not like we were betrothed or anything. Honestly, I'm fine!" I said, smiling up at him.
"Alright. I know you aren't but I'm going to let you go this time. But Lily? If you ever need someone to talk to just come to me alright?"
"Okay. Thanks Car- I mean Dad." I said.
He smiled at me and left the room. Once I finished, I put the remaining pancakes in a box and put them back into the refrigerator. I was about to go upstairs and paint a while but I heard somebody call my name. Walking out into the living room I see Alice, Rosalie, and Esme all with jackets and purses smiling at me. "Well? What are you waiting for?" demanded Alice, "Go upstairs and grab a bag and jacket! We're going shopping!"
Laughing I walk up the stairs and pick out a basic black jacket with a matching handbag. The girls and I made our way out and we were sitting in the car when I decided to break the ice. "So... What are the boys going to be doing today?" I asked settling into my seat a little more.
"Oh, you know; boy stuff. Probably wrestle for a while then go hunting. Edward may stay home though and make sure everything is perfect for her." Rosalie said, her voice had a little bit of a hiss at the end.
I tried not to but my will wasn't strong enough to keep my mouth shut. I really need to work on that. "So does no-one like Bella except Edward?" I asked, a bit surprised about the reaction I received from mentioning her name.
"Well... It isn't like we hate her or anything... but when Edward is around her he acts differently. Like she is some sort of Goddess sent from heaven. Not to mention the fact that she probably has the most appealing scent any of us have ever smelled." Esme said carefully, being in her nature to speak ill of anyone.
"Oh." was all I could manage to get out, "And what is she like?"
This time it was Alice who answered, "Oh! She's nice and all but their personalities just clash so much. I mean the only thing they have in common is brains and quietness."
By this time I was laughing. "What? What's so funny?" Esme asked, looking a bit hurt.
"Oh! I'm not laughing at you! It's just the thought of a quiet Eddie is hilarious! He was the loudest boy I had ever met!" I chuckled, wiping a tear from the corner of my eye.
"We aren't joking Lillian... Edward has never been talkative ever since any of us has known him." Rosalie said, looking at me strangely.
Still laughing, I sat up straight and tried to control myself. "You're serious? Well then maybe we're talking about a different Edward. My Edward always had a smile on his face, could keep a conversation going with anybody, and was always joking and making people laugh."
"Well our Edward is always polite, rarely smiles, doesn't speak to anyone more than necessary, and I don't think that he's even listened to a joke." Rosalie smirked, "But who you are describing sounds an awful lot like Emmett."
Alice laughed, "I was thinking the same thing! But anyway! On to more important matters. I am positive that you probably don't have anything in your closet that up to date. Am I right?"
I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat, "Well... I like my clothes, and I really am not used to this whole women can wear pants. So yeah, it's all of my old stuff."
"Now do you see why I needed to take her out Esme? The poor thing is fashionably confused!" Alice cried, looking at her 'mother' incredulously.
"I do see Alice but I still think that it should be up to Lillian if she would like to change her look or not. Personally I think her style right now is pretty cute. I mean, who else do you know that dresses in 20's clothing? Exactly! So what Lillian has right now is individuality!" Esme said, looking back at me and smiling.
I smiled back at her and mouthed a thank you. "I see where you're coming from Esme, but I'm not completely changing her look. Just, sort of enhancing it with some latest fashion accessories." Alice defended.
The conversation stayed the same the whole way up. And we finished shopping around 1:30. So we had just enough time to get home and freshen up before Bella came over for the first time. To tell the truth I was a bit nervous about meeting her. I mean, what if her scent was so appealing that I went berserk and ripped her throat out the moment I caught a whiff of her? So many things could go wrong in minutes! I walked through the front doors, thanked the girls for the fun shopping trip, and sped up the stairs to my room. After putting all of my bags in the closet I slipped on an apron and went over to the desk and began to mix up all the paint I would need. I was almost halfway done with my painting of a water lily when there was a knock on my door. "Who is it?" I asked, not drawing my attention away from the painting.
"It's Jasper. May I come in please?" I felt the nervousness radiating off him even when I was at least ten feet away.
"Sure! The door's open so come on in!" I called, just finishing up the last details of my work. "Sorry to bother you but I just wanted to ask how you were settling in." Lies.
"In other words: you were probably the only one in the room with Esme and she asked you to play therapist on me." I stated, trying to keep a straight face.
"Yeah, sorry 'bout this. But apparently people trust me more than Emmett so... Here I am!"
"Well you can just sit on the bed like a good boy and pretend you did your job." I said, "Because I really don't need any psychological help. So yeah, as soon as I finish this painting you can go back down to Esme and say we had a real heart-to-heart conversation and I now have everything worked out." I winked at him, and I knew that if he still had blood flowing through him, he would be a scarlet red. I had that sort of way with people; I just know how to make them blush.
We talked about a lot of things. My past, his past, his family, my family. I found out that he was a major in the Confederate Army and that he was turned by a woman named Maria. He showed me all of his battle scars and I showed him where Aro bit me. When he discovered that it was Aro that had changed me, he was furious. He swore that he would make Aro pay for doing this to me. But after I pointed out that if it wasn't for Aro, I wouldn't have met all these people and probably would have committed suicide. When I finally finished the last petal on the canvas I called Jasper over. "Well?" I asked, "What do you think?"
"It's amazing! Were you a painter in your other homes?" he asked, gazing at it incredulously.
"Nah, it was just a hobby. Of all the things I did before I came here, my favorite was when I owned a small dress shop. I don't know why but when I start to sew my body just takes control and I just let it do all the work... Well, thanks for this emotional 'chat' Jasper. I'm looking forward to more of them." I laughed and so did he. After he had gone, I took the canvas off of the easel and carried it over to the corner where I had spread out a white sheet so it could dry properly. I took off my apron stepped out of my room to go take a shower before Bella came over. After quickly washing all the paint on me I stumbled on my way back to my room with a towel wrapped around my body and head. Just as I was about to be in front of my door I ran into something. Or should I say someone. "You know, of all the pretty girls I've walked into between my human and vampire life, this has got to be the nicest."
"Emmett!" I cried, pulling the towel tighter to my body, "You just scared the life out of me!"
"Hate to break it to you sweetheart but, you're already dead." Emmett laughed.
"Oh, shut up!" I shoved him a bit but he didn't even move, "Ugh! Are all the men in this house way to strong for their own good?"
"No, just me. And none of them are as handsome either." he replied, still grinning.
"That, was a rhetorical question." I said, glaring up at him, but still had a smile on my face. "Now if you don't mind. I'm going to my room to put some clothes on." I stepped away from him, and opened the door.
"Now don't be like that Lils." Emmett cried, and just to make him even more confused I slammed the door in his face.
Laughing, I made my way over to the wardrobe and took a look at all the new clothing that Alice had said that "they would look gorgeous on my figure" so of course she forced me to buy them. After sifting around for a couple minutes I settled on a basic white tee with ruffled sleeves and a scoop neckline, tucked into a skirt that was the same color as my eyes. It was floral and I added a thick black belt with some light blue and brown beading around my waist to pull all of it together. Grabbing the same white ballet flats I wore this morning, I walked over to the vanity and ran a comb through my hair before trying (and failing) to dry my hair with the hair dryer I glanced up at the clock. It was only 2:45 so I still had fifteen minutes to get my appearance in order. I grabbed my bag of make-up and put on some mascara and eye liner so my eyes would 'pop'. After giving myself a once-over for last minute details, I stood and exited the room. Deciding that it would probably ask Alice if she would help me with my hair, I walked/skipped down to her room and knocked on the door twice. It took less than a second for Alice to open the door and drag me in. "I knew you would come down here!" she smiled, "So what is it you need help with? Your hair? I thought so. I mean, not that it doesn't look fine as it is but I mean you didn't strike me as a girl who wore her hair wet." she just kept rambling on and on and all I could do was just sit there and smile and nod.
When she finally decided on a style for me she settled on curling my hair with a very hot iron and just let them come down in spirals. We both stood and looked in the mirror and smiled at each other. I was ready. "Oh Lil you look so cute! Like a little princess!" Alice cooed, pinching my cheeks gently.
"Hey! Just because I come to you for help, doesn't mean that I can be called that!" I snapped back playfully, hitting her arm away.
"Oh, don't pretend you don't like the attention!" she remarked.
I was about to come back with a witty remark when we both heard Esme's voice call us. "Everyone? Come help us in the kitchen. We need to make sure everything is perfect for when Bella gets here."
Smiling, we both descended the staircase and waltzed into the kitchen to have two aprons thrown at us. "Well?" Emmett said, brandishing his knife at us, "Don't just stand there! Get to chopping that lettuce!"
Halfway through the dinner making I guess Rosalie lost her patience. "Is she even Italian?" she asked holding out the bowl so Emmett could drop the chopped tomatoes into it.
"Her name is Bella." Emmett replied, making it sound like it was the most obvious thing.
"I'm sure she'll love it no matter what." Carlisle said.
We all went back to doing our job when suddenly something that didn't smell right came wafting through my nose. Wrinkling it I kept chopping until I sensed everyone tense up. "Okay so I'm not the only one that smells it right?" I asked looking up at everybody.
"Yeah, get a whiff of that!" Emmett murmured, still chopping up the steak.
"Here comes the human!" Rosalie sang, and I looked around at everybody. Well this is going to be fun. I thought to myself. And just then I heard the front door open and close. Show time.
(A/N: Well, there's the fourth chapter! There's nothing really to report right now and I'm pretty sure that they're aren't any translations in this chapter so... Thanks for reading! If you have any questions just leave a review or something and I'll try to get back to you. Review aren't required but are greatly appreciated! Thanks!)
