Chapter 3 – 8th Grade

The Amazing Invisible Boy


I sat quietly in the corner of the room watching people come and go. People dressed in black, flitting around, making small talk with each other, commenting on the food that was laid out on our long dining room table. They came and went like waves of black water slowly churning in the beige room.

Occasionally, someone would glance my way with a look of pity in their eyes but never approached or spoke to me. They had all heard of my disposition I am sure. Small towns provided no anonymity. I was the popular doctor's strange, reclusive son who would go into near panic attacks whenever someone spoke to him. So they kept their distance, choosing to ignore the boy sitting in the corner who was clearly in pain so as to avoid making themselves uncomfortable.

I continued watching the crowd, watching as my mother warmly greeted each new arrival. She kissed them on their cheeks, hugged them, smiled brightly at them. Always the perfect hostess. She appeared oblivious to the fact that this was not a celebration. This was not one of her elaborate dinner parties.

This was my grandfather's funeral for fucks sake!

My hands clinched into fists at my sides as I glared at her. All I wanted was for her to come to ME, to wrap her arms around ME, to tell me that it was going to be okay. I wanted her to reassure me that the pain I felt would go away with time. I wanted her to, just for once, block out everyone else and put me first, to notice me, to be my goddamn mom.

She never did though.

I was invisible not only to the people of Forks but also to my own parents. My father had taken over the position as Forks General Hospital's CEO. He worked long hours and was never home anymore. My mother filled her days with charity events and luncheons. When she was home, she spent her time ordering around the decorators and construction workers who were tasked with the chore of turning our home into a show place. Occasionally, I would try to talk to her, share the events of my day with her. "That's nice, Edward," were the only words she had spoken to me in months.

I had come to miss the days when they criticized me relentlessly. I longed for them to berate me about my appearance, my grades, anything. At least then I knew that they were paying attention to me, that they knew I even existed.

There were only two people in the world that acknowledged my existence. Only two people in the world that seemed to care about me, to love me. My grandfather and Bella.

Now one of them was gone.

Tears begin welling up in my eyes as I thought about my grandfather. I had spent so much time with him over the years. He was the one who spent time teaching me the things a father normally taught his son like fishing and hunting. He was an outdoors man and we spent countless hours together on the river or in the woods just talking. He was the only person I could talk to without my stomach knotting up. Words flowed easily from my mouth to his ears. He never judged me, never discounted my feelings. And he always listened.

As I sat there becoming more upset as I reminisced about the precious moments I had shared with my grandfather, I noticed a sudden hush had fallen over the previously noisy room. I looked up to see what had interrupted everyone's conversations.

That's when I saw her.

She was standing in the doorway to our home. I could see her from the entrance to the dining room from where I sat. She was dressed in a black dress with white polka dots that was too big and seemed to swallow her small frame as it hung limply on her shoulders. She had a pair of dirty flip flops on her feet. Her hair was pulled back in a messy, lopsided pony tail. Wayward hairs stuck out from the sides of her head.

Bella had always sworn it would be a cold day in hell before she ever put on a dress. I had never seen her in anything but t-shirts and pants. I knew she despised anything considered girly so the fact that she was standing in my doorway in a dress stunned me.

My mouth fell open and my heart raced as I took in the site of her. I had never gazed upon anything more beautiful in my life. I knew others were staring at her, judging her, turning their noses up at her. They would never see what I saw when I looked at her. They would never see past the outdated, hand-me-down dress or the flip flops to see what I saw in that moment.

My best friend. The girl who had done what none of them could bring themselves to do. She had sacrificed her own discomfort to show me she cared.

They would never be able to comprehend how that simple act made her absolutely stunning to me.

I noticed how nervous Bella looked standing there amongst the people in their perfect outfits with their perfect hair. She appeared small in comparison, biting her lower lip, wringing her hands together. Her head moved back and forth as she stood on her tip toes trying to see over and around the crowd. My breath caught in my chest at the thought that she was searching for me.

Finally her eyes fell on me. Her body appeared to instantly relax and she smiled wide. She began making her way through the crowd, headed towards me. Everyone else in the room disappeared in that moment. The only person I could see was her, my Bella.

As she made her way through the black sea of people, drawing closer to me with each step, my body immediately began feeling that familiar tingling sensation. It was the feeling I always got when I was with her. I stood up from my chair and began taking steps to close the distance between us. A magnetic force seemingly pulled us towards each other.

Our eyes remained locked on each other as we drew closer to one another. I smiled at her knowing everything would be okay now. Bella was here, she had illuminated my darkness once again.

I suddenly realized that the people in this room didn't matter. I could care less if they ever acknowledged my existence. I knew they were probably staring at her in that moment, passing their judgments on her and I pitied them. They would never be lucky enough to know the real Bella, the Bella I knew. They were too ignorant, too consumed with the labels they bestowed upon her to ever take the time to truly see the Bella I saw. To see the girl that held my heart in her hands.

We finally met in the center of the room. She stared at me not with pity in her eyes but with love. She placed her arms around my neck and whispered in my ear that everything will be okay. And I knew that it would. I knew that I didn't need to be acknowledged by my parents or by these people in this room. Their opinions and condolences would mean nothing to me. I didn't care if I remained the invisible boy for the rest of my life where they were concerned. Because Bella was there.

And she could see me.

She pulled away from me grabbing my hands in hers. She smiled and winked at me and started pulling me in the direction she had just come from.

Towards the door, towards our meadow.


Chapter Notes:

I went back and tweaked the first 3 chapters a bit so you may want to go back and reread them. I just felt it needed a little work as this story originally began with no clear vision on what would happen. I now have a perfectly clear vision of this story in my head. It will not be a long story – quick and to the point. So it was necessary to go back and elaborate on some things. Hope you enjoy.