I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I'm still setting the stage a little but I think you'll enjoy the interaction between Bella and Edward.
Reflections is beta'd by the perfectly coiffed, Mullet86. Love you Babs!
Reflections
Chapter 4
"Your Uncle Mark is going to kill me when he sees this month's credit card statement." Aunt Janet grimaced as she struggled to close the door to the back of her car. "I don't think we left much inventory in the linen store" She chuckled. The beeping of the door confirmed that it was locked and our treasures were safely secured.
"You really didn't need to buy all of that." I said, gesturing to the overflowing cargo area of the Tahoe.
"Don't be silly." She admonished, unlocking the doors of the car and walking to her door. "What kind of aunt would I be if I didn't strive to make your stay with us as comfortable as possible?"
I clumsily hoisted myself into the passenger seat of her big SUV, marveling out how easy my petite aunt made the task appear. "Making me comfortable doesn't mean buying me two complete bed sets." I countered, buckling my seatbelt. Yes, two complete sets. I'd thought she was kidding when she'd mentioned outfitting my bedrooms last night at the party. But it turns out she wasn't. Apparently I wasn't only spending my days at Aunt Janet's. I would also stay with her on the nights Charlie worked the late shift. She'd insisted on purchasing linens for both rooms as well as matching bathroom décor for my bathroom at her house. "I really don't need all of this to be comfortable." I mumbled, halfway embarrassed that she was making such a fuss over me when my own mother rarely acknowledged me much less worried about my level of comfort.
She started the car and adjusted the temperature. Despite the cloudy cool weather, the inside of the Tahoe was a bit on the stuffy side. I tilted to vent so the cool air blew on my face.
"First, it's not about need Bella. I wanted you to have these things." She paused and leaned over to pat my knee. "Secondly, I strongly believe that a beautiful girl should be surrounded by beautiful things. If I left it up to your father, you'd be surrounded by plaid and drying yourself with a 'Shamwow'. "She winked and began to back out of the parking stall. I let her absurd assertion that I was beautiful pass. I didn't really feel like having that conversation. But I couldn't hold back a chortle at her sad but true 'Shamwow' statement. I'd noted the lack of towels in Charlie's bathroom last night. In fact, I'd noticed the lack of several things in the house. Things like soap that didn't smell like an Irish Spring, washcloths, Kleenex, cleaner for the tub or the toilet, toothbrush holder and anything that resembled a bath mat. It was a sparse, no frills type of room, much like the man who inhabited it. Charlie's bathroom was a world apart from the overly decorated bath I had at Renee's house.
Thankfully, Aunt Janet's tastes in décor was somewhere in the middle of the two styles, neither early lumberjack nor pretty princess. She'd allowed me to pick the linens for both rooms and demanded that they be different. For my room at Charlie's I'd chosen a simple shiny dark purple comforter with dark purple stitching. It was feminine without being too frilly and pink. Like the stuff that currently adorned my childhood bed.
For her house, I'd chosen a taupe colored comforter with lavender flowers and sage green leaves and vines. Aunt Janet had insisted on purchasing the dust ruffle, pillow shams, curtains, rugs and everything for the bathroom that matched the bed set. I even got new sheets that matched both comforter sets. "Bye, Bye" Care Bear sheets!
In spite of the Tahoe's size, we easily maneuvered around the crowded lot. I guess the 'Bath, Bed and Beyond' store was the happening place to be in Port Angeles on a Sunday afternoon. I stared absently out of the window as Aunt Janet chatted excitedly. My mind started to drift and I began wonder how Emmett and Jasper were doing. They'd spoken so animatedly about their project this morning at breakfast that I couldn't help but be a little excited about it myself.
I absently rubbed circles onto the leg of my jeans as I wondered how much they'd gotten accomplished on their tree house. My thoughts took a turn and drifted to Edward. I'd felt bad when the two boys were picking on him at breakfast. As far as I could tell he was pleasant enough and sure didn't appear to be the pest that Jasper and Emmett made him out to be. But then again, I'm in no way an expert when it came to boy behavior so I could be wrong.
Funny enough, I found myself wanting to know more about Edward. I wondered how old he was, what grade was he in? He was obviously smaller than me but then again who wasn't? But he was also smaller than Jasper and Emmett.
Why was he doing a ballerina twirl in the driveway last night? Even as an admitted amateur on adolescent male behavior, I knew they didn't routinely do a lot of twirling.
"Does that sound OK?"
I snapped out of my daydream at her question.
Crap! I wasn't listening. "Um, sure." I said uncertainly. Double crap! What had I just agreed to? Knowing my aunt it could be as trivial as agreeing that I'd like pizza for dinner or as scary as agreeing to attend an all girls slumber party. Complete with hair braiding, toenail painting and shudder, talking about boys.
"Good. I'm so excited Bella. Jasper will barely allow me to buy him underwear at Target anymore. "She smiled widely as the Tahoe made a quick lane change.
Wait, Jasper… underwear… What?
My embarrassment at getting caught for not paying attention and possibly agreeing to something that I was unqualified to handle, quickly evaporated at the thought of my cousin Jasper in his tidy whities.
Cringe. Shudder. Cringe.
"We're going to have such a good time." She exclaimed. Her eyes shone with excitement at the impending fun times ahead. I grabbed the 'oh shit' handle on side of my door as the Tahoe negotiated another sudden lane change. Despite its bulk, my body shifted in the seat from the force of the maneuver.
Holy Cow! Where did my docile aunt learn to drive? I was sure that Charlie would not approve of her erratic driving skills, but didn't have time to ponder her lead foot or blatant disrespect for proper passing procedures before she began weaving in and out around the traffic. Her giant SUV darted in and out of traffic, a close call with the back end of a Honda Civic, had me fearing for my life. I closed my eyes and cringed, hoping that the other cars on the road would have the good sense to get out of her way.
"Honk! Honk!" The horns of the other traffic blared as we barreled down the road.
"Out of my way granny!" Aunt Janet yelled out the window. I couldn't help but giggle at her outburst. "I don't get to drive in traffic like this very often." She admitted with a sheepish grin.
After a couple more close calls and a few more honked horns, we pulled into the parking lot of a mall.
Another mall? No. No. No. I don't deserve that kind of punishment just for not paying attention.
"This is going to be so much fun." Fun? If this were going to be fun, I'd be in a dark room with surround sound technology blaring the lines of a current thriller or action movie. There would be ice cold bottles of Diet Dr. Pepper, bowls of buttery popcorn and multiple boxes of Hot Tamales and Pretzel M&M's as far as the eye could see. I have several descriptive words I would use my impending foray into brick and mortar building before me. 'Fun' was not one of them.
"Um, OK." Still having no idea of what I'd agreed to or why we were in the parking lot of Hell, I followed her out of the car and tried not to let the fear show on my face as we entered the mall. As far as I was concerned, the slamming of the car door might as well have been the clank of a cell door on Alcatraz.
Have I ever expressed how much I hate the mall? Well, I do. I hate it with a passion. Fat girls with low self esteem have no place in a building with mirrors everywhere and pretzel and Cinnabon stands on every corner. Seriously, what can possibly be gained by making us watch blank eyed, plastic skinned mannequins wearing size 0 skinny jeans wander around places like The Gap and then tempt us with parmesan coated doughy goodness?
Oh 'Auntie Em,' you tempting bitch.
"I think we should have a quick lunch and then get started." Having come this far without knowing what exactly was planned, I merely nodded and followed her into the food court.
Several hours later we emerged from Hell laden with even more shopping bags to add to the bulging trunk of the Tahoe. Fueled by Chick-filet sandwiches and diet cokes, we'd visited every store in that place that sold plus size clothes. In addition to the new bed spreads and bathroom stuff, I now had two new pairs of jeans, three pairs of shorts, five tops, a pair of flip flops, and to my great dismay, a one piece bathing suit. It was called a 'skirtini'. I didn't care what you called it. The thing covered my thighs and that's all I cared about. We even got a purple cover up that did exactly that. It covered me from my neck to my knees. I didn't anticipate needing it since I had no intention to ever bare that much skin outside the privacy of my bathroom. But Aunt Janet insisted that I get it since she'd planned for many summer afternoons of lying around the pool. I doubted very much that the cover up, much less the 'skirtini' would ever see the light of day but allowing my aunt to purchase them for me made her happy, so I conceded.
Spending the day shopping with my aunt was much less stressful than doing the same with Renee. With Aunt Janet, there were no reproachful or disapproving looks and words. She was all helpful suggestions and funny comments. Not once did she chastise me when I couldn't fit my size 16 butt into a size 10 pair of jeans. She merely went out and got me the bigger size. When the young attendant at Hot Topic snidely remarked that the Scooby Doo t-shirt I was trying on didn't come in "hefty size", my petite and well mannered aunt went straight to the manager and demanded the girl apologize. She apologized through gritted teeth; we bought the shirt and after a quick reprimand from my angry aunt we left the store with a promise to never return. I hate to admit that I took any pleasure from watching another person being scolded, but, um I really did! Inside I was jumping cartwheels at witnessing the bully get a dose of her own medicine.
After the episode in the t-shirt shop, we wondered into the sweetly perfumed world of Bath and Body Works. Aunt Janet had claimed she needed to cleanse the stink of pettiness from her nostrils. One Cherry Orchid body wash for her and a Vanilla Caramel lotion for me, we were back in the overflowing Tahoe and headed back to Forks.
The drive back to Forks was filled with more horn honking lane changes and ABBA sing along.
Who knew Aunt Janet was a 'Dancing Queen' diva?
The rest of the drive was filled with more disco music and easy conversation. We talked about the new linens and clothes we'd purchased. We discussed paint schemes and the dangers of updating the early 1970's theme that permeated Charlie's house. Charlie was very set in his bachelor ways and any attempts to drag him into the current century could potentially be dangerous to anyone who tried it. He did carry a gun after all. But the possible dangers were nothing compared to the truly hideous avocado green, plastic barca lounger that now resided in the corner of Charlie's living room. That thing was an affront to anyone with eyes. I also had the sense that my aunt was not scared of Charlie. She may be small, but she sure wasn't timid.
"I wonder how the boys have gotten along while we've been gone."
I was actually wondering the same thing.
She let out a deep breath. "I hate leaving them home alone." She glanced at me briefly before putting her attention back on the road. "Not because I don't think they're old enough to take care of themselves mind you. It's just that those two seem to have a knack for ignoring common sense."
"A year or so ago, I left them alone for the afternoon while I went to the hair dresser's, only to come back and find burned popcorn all over the kitchen and one of my best pans scorched beyond recognition."
I straightened up in my seat as she continued regaling me with the boy's antics. "One time they decided to make themselves baked potatoes as an after school snack. They blew the door right off my microwave and I was cleaning potato off my walls, ceiling and floor for a week."
I couldn't help myself. I started to laugh. They'd all alluded to this incident this morning in the kitchen. I was hoping someone would give me the rest of the story.
She looked over at me and smiled as I giggled. "Oh, I can laugh about it now too. Of course having the boys scrub and repaint my kitchen helped."
As an only child and a fairly timid one at that, I was captivated by her tales of the boy's antics. I wanted to hear more.
"When we left you warned them to not go on the roof. Why?" She chuckled at my question.
"Oh lord, the roof incident." She paused to turn the radio down. "I blame your uncle for that one. It was his idea to get them that damn trampoline. He was being sentimental about his childhood summers." Trampoline plus roof? This cannot end well.
"The boys loved that thing, couldn't get enough of it. They even slept on it a couple nights." I giggled as my mind brought forth a hilarious image of my cousin and Emmett snuggled together on top of a trampoline.
"Despite my misgivings, we'd allowed them to take down the protective netting. Big mistake." She shook her head slightly from side to side. "I was inside doing laundry and your uncle was mowing the front yard. Thank goodness we were home when it happened." She paused and I could tell that despite how funny this story started out, something bad had also happened.
She took a deep breath before continuing. "Those two decided to climb up onto the roof and jump off onto the trampoline." My eyes got wide as I thought about the simple physics of that maneuver. "Did they get hurt?" I'd guessed by her earlier frown the answer was yes, but I asked anyway.
"Did they get hurt?" She shook her head. ''Oh no dear, they didn't get hurt"
I was confused. If they didn't get hurt than why did the incident still obviously upset her?
My confusion must have shown on my face. "It was Edward." She said softly.
"Edward?" I heard the alarm in my voice and cringed. I didn't understand why it was there and I wasn't sure I wanted to know. I decided to stuff that little unsettling tidbit in a box and deal with it later
She turned onto Orchard Drive; we had only minutes before we'd be home.
"Yes, Jasper and Emmett decided to try out their plan on Edward before jumping themselves." Her voice turned somber. "I was upstairs putting away towels when I saw him flying across the lawn. He landed in that big elm tree out back and ended up with a broken arm and numerous scrapes and bruises."
I gasped. I'd only just met Edward last night but the thought of him hurtling through the air to land in a tree and end up broken and bruised, disturbed me.
"That was my reaction too." She said in acknowledgement of my earlier gasp.
"Poor Edward, he's such a sweet boy but there's a lot of fight and determination in him too. Thank God because he seems to find himself in the middle of Jasper and Emmett's schemes more often than not. And unfortunately, he usually ends up bearing the physical brunt of whatever it is they've come up with."
Suddenly I remembered what Jasper and Emmett had said this morning in the kitchen. They'd talked about using Edward to do a lot of they're grunt work for the tree house. I hoped we would come home to find Edward unscathed.
"How do they get Edward to do that stuff?"
"Edward is the younger brother." She stated matter of factly. I tapped my fingers on my knees as I waited for more of an in depth explanation why Edward's age would have anything to do with why he'd be the guinea pig for Emmett and Jasper.
Finally, I couldn't wait for her to be more forthcoming. I gripped the arm rest and leaned closer to her. "I don't understand. What does being younger have to do with it?"
"I guess as an only child it would be difficult for you to understand." She paused for a moment and made what I'm fairly sure was an illegal left turn. Once the UPS truck that we barely missed was safely on its way to deliver another box of Amazon books or shoes from Zappos, she continued with her explanation. "Well, as the youngest he's constantly looking for acceptance from Emmett and Jasper. He does things like jump off of roofs, crawl under sheds and eat questionable things all in the name of being accepted. In order to be included, he tends to cater to them." With that, she shrugged and turned her full attention back to driving.
Leaning back into my seat, I mulled over what she said for a moment. Admittedly as an only child I was oblivious to things like sibling rivalry but if there was one thing I knew a lot about, it was how a person would be willing to do almost anything in order to gain acceptance. I was quite familiar with the sting of rejection and how the fear of one could push a smart person to do 'un-smart' things.
"Did you act like that with dad?" I wondered if it was just a male thing or a sibling thing. My knowledge was limited on both counts.
Aunt Janet tapped the steering wheel. "Well, I think it might be a little different between brothers. Grandma Marie would have beaten your father six ways from Sunday if he'd ever allowed me to jump off a roof." I nodded. Grandma Marie was a tough egg. She was fiercely protective of her loved ones.
"I remember one time I wanted to go fishing with him and Billy. He made me make the lunches, carry the poles and handle all of the worms." I looked at her in astonishment. The mental image of my petite, well coiffed aunt out on a boat handling dirty, smelly worms was practically inconceivable.
"Don't look so surprised." She gave me a side glance. "I have no problem getting dirty when the situation calls for it." I got another side glance with a raised eyebrow. "But I only did that once. Most of the time, your dad did his thing and I did mine. His things usually involved melting plastic army men with a magnifying glass while I occupied myself with things that were a bit more civilized."
"Is it just a boy thing to jump off roofs onto trampolines? "
"I think that's probably more of just a Jasper and Emmett thing." She laughed and pulled into the driveway.
"Well, the house is still standing and I don't see any evidence that fire trucks have been here." I looked out the window as she pointed to the still pristine lawn. "That has to be a good sign. Right?" She asked hopefully and cautiously unbuckled her seatbelt.
Having just heard about the things Jasper and Emmett could get into when unsupervised I laughed at her assumption that just because there were no tell tale truck tire marks on the lawn, that everything was OK.
"Let's grab a few things and then we'll have the boys unload the rest." I nodded and pushed my way out of the car. Shielding my eyes from the rare ray of sunlight to penetrate the murky Forks sky, I took another glance at the house for anything amiss. Seeing no scorch marks or broken windows, I headed back to help Aunt Janet unload our stuff.
I rounded the back of the SUV as the hatch came up. I found my aunt with her hands on her hips, surveying the mountain of bags threatening to spill out of the car. Suddenly there was a slight shift in the pile. "Whoa!"Aunt Janet screamed and slammed the door down before we could be buried under bags of linens and plus sized clothing.
"What say we just have the boys come and unload the whole thing while we sit on the porch sipping lemonade, like the two ladies we are?"
Hmmmmm, make the boys do all of the heavy lifting, while I sit in a comfy chair, sipping on a refreshing drink? "That sounds like a good deal to me." Laughing, we shook on it and walked up the stairs to the front door.
Slowly, Aunt Janet opened the front door and cautiously stepped into the house. Not seeing any broken furniture or water streaming out of the kitchen, we walked further into the house.
"Look!" Aunt Janet exclaimed, pointing to her still in one piece kitchen. "No potato on the ceiling and the door is still on my microwave." She clapped in mock excitement.
"I wonder where those two are." She leaned over the sink to look out the window onto the backyard.
"Found them!" I heard her exclaim as I was grabbing my backpack from the hallway and sat down at the table. "They're out here in the back yard." She pointed out the window. "Typical boys, they're surrounded by chunks of wood… and junk food wrappers?"
"No, no, no. Growing boys need ham and cheese sandwiches. Not Twinkies and Tim-Tams."
I chuckled at the sound of dismay in her voice.
"I bet they're thirsty. Don't they look thirsty?" Before I could agree or disagree she decided for me. "Why don't you take them out some drinks while I fix us all a snack?" The question was obviously rhetorical. Because before I could offer an answer, two ice cold glasses of lemonade were shoved into my hands and I was pushed out the door.
The sliding door slammed behind me and I was alone on the deck.
"Hi." The sound of the glass falling to the deck was followed by my scream of surprise.
"Oops sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"Then why did you sneak up on me?" I questioned in a fairly gruff voice.
"Umm, sneak?" Edward smiled and gestured towards his crutches and puffy ankle.
Despite being surrounded by broken glass and a sticky, cold beverage, I had to laugh at the absurdity of Edward and his messed up appendage sneaking up on anyone.
"Ok maybe not." I grudgingly admitted.
"I heard a crash." Aunt Janet stuck her head out of the door and quickly surveyed the damage. "What happened? Are you OK?"
I nodded and pointed to where Edward sat on the deck.
She turned towards him. "Oh, hi Edward." He waved shyly. "How are you feeling? Better I hope." He nodded slightly. "Good to hear. Would you like a ham sandwich and a glass of lemonade?" He nodded enthusiastically. "Great. I'll bring it right out." Her head quickly disappeared back into the house, intent on feeding her growing boys.
I stood in quiet shock as I was left to stand in my sticky circle of carnage. She was just going to leave me here surrounded by shards of broken glass? Didn't she know I was clumsy? I'm surprised my mother doesn't make me wear a sign around my neck warning people of my aptitude for tripping over air and catching my shoe laces in escalator teeth. Boy that was an embarrassing trip to Macy's. But then again, weren't they all?
"Are you just going to stay standing there in that mess?" Edward raised his eyebrows quizzically from his comfy chaise lounge perch.
"No!" I snapped. I would eventually find a way out of the ring of flesh slicing shards. I hoped.
I was still contemplating my way out of the chaos with Edward watching silently, when Jasper and Emmett decided to wander in from their backyard construction site.
"What the hell happened here B?" Emmett asked, surveying the crash site.
"Geez cuz, you're still just as clumsy as ever." My soon to be dead cousin chimed in.
"So, B is a bit ungainly huh?" I glared at Emmett and again attempted to find an escape.
"Oh my god." Jasper exclaimed and gestured wildly with his hands. "Do you remember the time you tripped over Grandma Marie's poodle and landed face first into her dirty laundry basket?" My face reddened at the memory. "You got up and had giant white…" I launched myself at Jasper. But being the giant land mass that I am, 'launch' meant to only jump several inches off the ground and come to rest on my hands and knees in front of a surprised Edward. His eyes were as big as saucers as he took in my giant body huddled at his feet.
"Yeah, it was just like that only you don't have the granny panties and bra hanging off your head." The raucous laughter of both Jasper and Emmett was horrifying to my ears.
"Dude, you…" Emmett had to bend over to catch his breath before continuing. "You had a granny bra on your face!" Both boys were bowled over in their mirth.
"Grandma Marie's bra took up half of your face. You were stumbling around screaming that you'd gone blind." The two hyena's laughter got louder.
My forehead hit the deck as I used my hair to hide my red face. "Damn B, you're about as graceful as Eddie- poo over there." Emmett motioned to the now red faced Edward as he wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes.
"Stuff it Em." Edward retorted, glaring at his brother.
"Bumble, grumble, stumble…" Emmett muttered. He tapped his temple in thought as he mumbled to himself.
"Here let me help you." Edward thrust his hand down to help me up off the deck. I stared at him like he'd asked me to donate a kidney. His hand hung suspended before my face for about thirty seconds before he spoke again. "It's not dirty or anything." He looked down at his hand, turning it slowly to look at both sides.
"Don't believe him B, he picks his nose with that hand." Jasper pointed out. "I've seen it."
"Shut it Jasper."
I wasn't worried that his hand was dirty. I was surprised at his offer. No one had ever tried to help me up after one of my 'accidents'. Even as he made fun of my rescuer, my own family made no move to help me. Edward looked down and slowly started to withdraw his hand. Oh no. He thinks I've rejected him. Without thinking about the unlikelihood that Edward actually possessed the strength to lift me off the ground, I grabbed his hand. He smiled and pulled back. Between the two of us, I was able to finally get off the deck and landed next to him on the chaise lounge.
"Well it's nice to see one of you was brought up to be a gentleman." Aunt Janet suddenly appeared with a tray of sandwiches and a pitcher of lemonade.
"Here let me help you with that Miss Janet." Emmett stopped his incoherent mumbling and jumped up to grab the pitcher out of my aunt's hands. He sat it down on the table and turned to smile at her. "Kiss butt." I heard Edward mumble beside me. I choked back a giggle which earned a crooked grin from Edward.
"Thank you Emmett." Emmett beamed at my aunt. "Why don't you and Jasper go get the glasses I've laid out?" She waved them towards the kitchen. They lumbered off to do her bidding. "Grab a mop and a dust pan to clean up the glass." She yelled after them.
I sat silently next to Edward and watched while he picked at the flowered fabric of the chair as Aunt Janet busied herself with dishing up the sandwiches. Soon the return of Jasper and Emmett was heralded by the sound of two mop handles smacking against each other joust style. Emmett flew out of the door first. His back was to us. His feet shuffled in a dancing pattern as he met Jasper's lunges. "Boys, boys, that's enough." Aunt Janet's order was ignored as the clanking of the two mops echoed across the deck as they continued their dance. Sighing, she grabbed the dust pan and began picking up the glass pieces.
"You have besmirched my family name. Prepare to eat deck knave." Jasper lunged forward, forcing 'Bear Boy' back several steps.
"Thee will be the one eating deck you scurvy…"Emmett's voice trailed off as he slipped on the lemonade and fell on his butt. "Shit!" Emmett yelled. He wasn't on the ground 10 seconds before Edward started laughing. Jasper soon joined in. I sat silently on the chaise. It wasn't in me to laugh at another's misfortune. How many times had I been on the receiving end of that stick?
"Language!" Aunt Janet chastised, as she went back into the house to dispose of the broken glass.
As soon as she disappeared, Emmett hauled himself up from the deck. "Geez Emmett, you hit the floor so hard you wet yourself." Edward laughed and pointed to the big wet spot that adorned the back of Emmett's pants. "Watch it 'Special Ed'. At least I didn't break a leg walking across a flat surface." Emmett pointed to Edward's sprained ankle. The two brothers glared at each other. I spoke up in Edward's defense. "He didn't trip over air; he did a twirl and lost his balance." All at once three sets of eyes zeroed in on me. I shrank into my seat. The look I was receiving from Edward led me to believe that I just divulged something he'd prefer to have left a secret between him and the driveway.
"So, Eddikins was doing a little dance for you. Huh, B?"
"Were you wearing your tutu or was it at the cleaners?" Jasper teased.
I could feel the embarrassment roll off of Edward. His fists clenched and the tips of his ears turned red. If it were possible, I shrank even further into the seat, hoping to disappear into the flowered fabric.
"Shut up Jasper." Edward's voice cracked with his demand.
"Did you have your tights on or were you going commando?" Jasper rewarded Emmett with a high five.
"Stop it!" I watched Edward's fists clench and unclench as he fumed over the boys taunting.
"Wait, I got this." Emmett took a deep breath before continuing. "Where you practicing for that summer job as Tinkerbell at Disney World?"
Finally Edward had enough. He grabbed his crutches and got up off the chair. Emmett turned to him and the two brothers glared menacingly at each other.
Finally Edward broke the silence. "At least I never fell off a stage taking out the first row of the orchestra." It was Emmett's turn to be embarrassed. His blue eyes got real wide and then turned hard. While Edward's comment puzzled the hell out of me, it was readily apparent that there was more to that story. And that Emmett was not at all happy with his brother bringing it up. "You better stop right now Ed." Emmett warned. His lips were drawn tight and his voice was deep and strong as he glared at Edward. "I'm warning you."
"I'm not scared of you Em."
"Then you're not as smart as everything seems to think you are." Emmett spat back.
Jasper and I sat silently, watching the two brothers stare at each other. Edward's knuckles turned white around the handles of his crutches and his eyes narrowed into slits. Once again, my inexperience with sibling friction reared its ugly head. What was I supposed to do? Did I try to separate them? Did I yell for my aunt? I looked to Jasper and tilted my head towards the two boys, silently asking him to stop whatever was about to happen. Surely he'd seen them act like this before. He'd know what to do. Right? He just shrugged and went back to watching them.
Great. Now what?
"What's going on" Thank God for Aunt Janet. "Boys, is there a problem?" Her stern tone caused both boys to turn towards her. I could visibly see the tension release in Edward as he loosened his grip on his crutches. Emmett's body relaxed as well. His shoulders slumped and he took two very deep breaths. "No Miss Janet, no problem." Emmett flashed his dimples and went to sit down in the chair next to Jasper. Edward resumed his position next to me on the lounge chair. "OK then, everyone grab a sandwich. There's carrot and celery sticks as well as fresh lemonade." Her statement did not disguise her tone. She knew something was going on with the two brothers, she was choosing to ignore it. Jasper and Emmett eagerly grabbed themselves plates of food and drinks. "Edward, would you like a sandwich?"
"Yes, ma'am." He said quietly. She hurriedly turned to grab Edward his snack.
"Bella, are you hungry?"
I shook my head no. "Some lemonade?" She turned and shook a glass at me. The ice cubes clinked seductively against the sides of the glass. I licked my lips, feeling the dry, chapped skin.
"I could use a drink." I got up to take the glass from my aunt but succeeded in tangling my feet up in Edward's crutches and knocking them over. In fear of being crushed by my bulk, Edward put his hands on my waist to stabilize my body.
His warm hands felt foreign and awkward on my hips. Only family ever touched me and even then it was usually hugs from Aunt Janet and Uncle Mark. Unsurprisingly, Renee was not very affectionate.
Edward had touched me twice in two days.
He wasn't even family!
"Whoa, are you OK?" I nodded quickly, shaking off his hands and sat back down, once again using my hair to hide my embarrassment. I also tugged at my shirt, hoping to hide my fat rolls.
"Stumble B" Emmett exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "That's what I'm going to call you." He beamed at me and took a huge bite of ham sandwich. Jasper shook his head at Emmett's outburst and continued eating his snack. Great one more name to add to the others. 'Stumble B' was mild in relation to 'Jelly Belly' and about a dozen more names I'd been called in my years as a fat girl.
"There will be no name calling Emmett." Aunt Janet admonished him while handing me my drink. She winked at me before turning and asking the boys about the construction of their tree house. As interested as I was in their plans earlier today, I found myself indifferent to them now.
The boys chatted to my aunt while I sat silently next to Edward. I sipped my lemonade, concentrating hard not to drop it. I was sure that even though I'd already dropped two glasses today, I was still under my daily limit for destruction.
"You know there's more to that story." Edward whispered to me, in between bites of his sandwich.
"Huh?"
"Emmett used to take ballet classes."
I quickly glanced at my aunt and the boys. They were still deep in conversation. "He did?" My mouth dropped at Edward's admission
Edward smiled at my expression. "Oh yeah, he was like a ballet savant or something. He wore the tights, the shoes… everything."
I could feel my eyes widen at the thought of Emmett in tights. Yikes! That was just all kinds of wrong.
"What happened?"
Edward glanced slyly towards his brother before scooting closer to me. "He and my mom traveled all over the West coast with his dance troupe. Well, they did until the 'incident'." He used air quotes when he said incident.
I leaned closer so he wouldn't be overheard by the grumpy looking boy we were gossiping about.
"The troupe was performing in a contest for the privilege to tour Europe and perform for famous people like kings and queens." I was astonished. I looked over at Emmett, trying to imagine him as a ballet dancer. I couldn't. The boy was built like a pro wrestler.
Edward must have recognized my doubt. "Emmett didn't look like he does now. He was smaller. More like me." Edward frowned and lowered his eyes. I wondered if he felt a bit self conscious about his size. I smiled at him, hoping to covey that I could relate to what he was feeling.
"Well two summers ago he had a growth spurt."
"He got huge," Edward moved his hands like someone would if they were exaggerating the size of fish they'd caught. "Huge like he is now. Dad called him 'Left foot Louie' because he tripped over his feet all of the time." He grinned. I nodded in understanding, urging him to continue with his tale.
"They were doing a routine where Emmett was supposed to lift the ballerina up into the air, leap across the stage and then catch her."
"Emmett threw her way up into the air like she was a football, but when he did his leap, he over shot the target and fell into the orchestra pit." I covered the sound of my gasp with my hand. Edward grinned. "Yep. The girl fell onto the stage and Emmett broke both of his legs when he landed in the pit. He destroyed three violins, one cello and the conducter had to have a French horn removed from his… his um, his butt."
I covered my mouth trying to contain my giggles.
The sounds of my muffled mirth must have carried over to the part of the deck where my aunt, Jasper and Emmett were sitting. "What's got you two all giggly?" Aunt Janet asked, turning to look at us.
Edward smiled widely and stated simply, "I was just telling Bella a joke." My aunt's eyes widened, she winked at me before going back to her conversation with the boys. Apparently, both Cullen boys liked to dazzle my aunt with their smiles.
I looked over at Edward; his eyes twinkled as he made an exaggerated motion like he was throwing a ball up in the air.
He was obviously mimicking what Emmett had done to the ballerina. I couldn't hold in my laughter any longer. The thought of Emmett in a leotard surrounded by tiny girls in fluffy pink tutus was too much. Before I knew it, the sound of my own laughter filled my ears. Soon, the sound of Edward's laughter joined mine.
Our shoulders bumped together as we laughed. Instantly, I pulled away not knowing if it was OK that our bodies touched. I wasn't used to people touching me voluntarily. But when I moved away, Edward shifted his body closer and bumped my shoulder once more before leaning back.
It was…nice.
Once our laughter died down, Edward sighed and spoke again. "After that, Emmett was declared too big to dance with the troupe anymore. The lucky dog." Edward lowered his eyes and looked onto the yard. His statement was laced with what sounded like jealousy.
I knew there was more to this story. Emboldened by the bonding we'd shared over Emmett's brief ballet career, I cocked an eyebrow in his direction, silently demanding that he finish the story.
"Um, well, you see my mom was a classically trained ballerina. She studied at the Princeton Ballet School in New Jersey. I guess she was really good." He shrugged.
"And?" Where did pushy Bella come from? I don't know but something about Edward made me feel comfortable being her.
He rubbed his neck and sighed. "She met my dad when he was looking at some clinic or something like that, a place where he could finish his doctor school." Wow, I knew from the brief moment I got to see his mom that she was beautiful but a real ballerina? Just wow!
"Anyways, one big fat Emmett baby later, she couldn't dance anymore. But she keeps hoping that one of us can." I sat in silence and absorbed his last statement, which was quite a feat because he said it in one rushed breath.
"Wait, let me get this right. You said that Emmett used to dance but had to quit because he grew to be the overgrown bear cub that I see now?" I gestured to where 'Yogi' was stuffing another sandwich into his mouth. I shook my head in wonderment as the whole sandwich disappeared in seconds. It's a wonder the boy still had all of his fingers.
"Bear cub?" Edward chocked.
"Yeah, he looks like a cuddly bear cub with dimples."
"Cuddly?" Edward's laughter became louder.
"Shhhh." I admonished. "He'll hear you."
Edward slapped a hand over his mouth in an effort to muzzle his sounds.
"Wait, you said that your mom keeps hoping that one of you can dance." Suddenly, Edward's laughter stopped. Uh, oh, I think I was onto something. I let the now silent Edward sit and stew for a moment while I figured the rest of the story out.
"So, does that mean that you dance?" Edward's whole body sagged at my statement. I guessed that was a 'yes'.
"Yes." He admitted quietly. He was obviously embarrassed.
I was quick to try and make him feel better. "That's nothing to be ashamed of Edward."
He shook his head and frowned. "You don't understand. Emmett was really good and he liked it but his size closed that door for him." I wouldn't understand? Um, I think I know a little about how a person's size will not only close doors, but also double and triple bolt them shut.
"Look at me." He demanded. "Look at my ankle." I winced as I did. It really looked gross. I mean like scary monster makeup gross. I don't think there are names for all of the colors his puffy foot was sporting. "Yeah, it's a beauty alright."
"I was late to your party because I was at dance class. And I fell in the driveway trying to perform a simple 'Spring Pointe'." I knew nothing about dance and had no idea if the maneuver he was trying to do was hard or not. Judging from the scowl on Edward's face, I'd guess it wasn't that hard.
"A 'Spring Pointe' is a very basic move." Hmm, I wonder if Edward can read minds.
"Finally my stupid stunted body is the right size for something and I end having absolutely no talent for it at all. Instead, I trip and fall doing a move a three year old could accomplish." He looked over at Emmett. "He had the talent but his body actually grows so instead of taking stupid ballet, he gets to play football and build dumb tree houses while I sit here like a baby." He took a deep breath. "They won't even let me work on their stupid tree house!" He threw his crutches to the ground. I flinched as they hit the deck.
"Edward are you OK?" Aunt Janet and the boys all looked over to us. She frowned but didn't say anything else.
Edward just nodded and picked his crutches up off the floor.
The house phone began to ring, Aunt Janet quickly rose from her chair and hustled into the house.
"I think I'm going to go home." He announced and unsteadily stood up from the chair.
"You can't, mom isn't home yet."
"I'll be fine."
"You know the rules." Emmett raised his voice and stood up.
"I'm not a baby Emmett!" Edward all but shouted and began shakily moving towards the door.
I went to get up to help him but perhaps sensing my intent; he turned to me and shook his head. I nodded and settled back into my seat. "Thank you" he mouthed.
"Edward, Emmett that was your mom. She wants you two to head home."
Edward's shoulders visibly sagged. I understood. He was about to make a point to his brother, only to be foiled by his own mother.
"Well, it looks like mommy saved you again Einstein." I didn't understand the hostility in Emmett's voice. And why call Edward, Einstein?
Edward didn't say a word as he resumed his journey towards the door.
I decided that I'd had enough fresh air and followed Edward inside.
"Edward, do you want me to drive you home?" Aunt Janet asked as she began taking food out of the refrigerator.
"No ma'am I can walk."
Aunt Janet shut the fridge door. "Are you sure? It'll be a long walk on crutches."
"I can do it."
"OK." She turned and went back to her dinner preparations.
I followed silently behind him as he shuffled down the hall.
"You don't have to follow me. I'm not going to fall."
"I know, I was just looking for my back pack." I shrugged.
"Uh, huh." Edward snorted.
He could think what he wanted, I needed a pen so I could do a crossword or maybe get a start on next years taxes.
LIES! I was totally following him so I could help if he needed it.
Edward opened the door; I moved to stand next to him in the doorway.
"See? No accidents." He smiled and wiggled his eyebrows.
I smiled and looked down at my shoes.
"I'll see you tomorrow right?"
"Where else would I be?"
"Maybe we could play a game or something. Do you like chess?"
I'd never played chess. Charlie had tried to teach me when I was nine years old. But I could never get the hang of it. "Um, I like Monopoly."
"Great. I'll bring my Star Wars edition. I'll even let you be the Milenium Falcon." His eyes widened as he spoke.
"Ok. That sounds like fun."
'Cool. I'll see you then." Edward smiled and made his way out onto the front porch. I don't know why he thought he was so clumsy. He made going down stairs look easy. I would have ended up in a rose bush by now.
Just like last night Edward stopped at the end of the driveway and turned to wave goodbye to me. I smiled and waved back at my new friend as he disappeared down the street.
Friend, I had a new friend.
Yay Bella!
A/N I'll keep this short and sweet. Many thanks to all who have taken the time to let me know you're reading my little tale, to those who have put Reflections on alert. I would love to hear your thoughts when you have a chance
