LILY'S POV
Sitting down awkwardly on the couch, I glanced around the room. Alice and Esme certainly liked decorating- this was very different from how Nahuel had seen the Cullen house. The colours were warm, but pale. Whites, golds, caramels and lemon yellows played around the room. Everything matched perfectly- it was flawless.
I crossed my legs.
"You have a beautiful home," I threw a smile at Esme, who returned the warmth.
If I remember correctly...
"You always remember correctly," I pointed out softly.
She laughed, So I do. I think Bella said a similar thing about our house when she first came here. We must be doing something right with the décor.
I grinned, then sighed, clasping my hands together. Esme frowned. We were the only two in the room- the others had 'business' to attend to. Bella had shielded their thoughts, which made me all the more curious, but I didn't mind giving them some privacy.
She glided over, and sat beside me.
Is anything wrong?
"You're all so used to talking to Edward with thoughts. I guess I just wasn't ready for it- you don't mind talking to me like this?"
She looked thoughtful for half a second, then smiled again.
Not at all, we're quite used to it. Although...
"...If you'd rather we spoke to you aloud, we could do that too."
The way her thoughts flowed so steadily with her speech made me smile inwardly.
"It depends on the situation- on what you want to tell me, and how you feel about it."
Esme nodded then gracefully made her way to the window, looking out at nothing in particular.
I took this as a good opportunity to ask some questions- knowing that she was the most trustworthy of them all.
"Esme, I have a few questions to ask you, if you don't mind,"
She turned to face me again and was instantly by my side.
"Of course," She said, "It was expected you'd be curious,"
I shifted my weight slightly, then started.
"What 'business' has everyone gone to? Am I causing any trouble? I could leave if that was the case, I mean, I could go right..." I rushed the last part, trying to finish, but Esme stopped me mid-sentence.
"No, don't leave. You're no trouble, we're just sorting out an issue with the werewolves- they weren't expecting you to stay, that's all."
My mouth made an 'o' shape. I grimaced, remembering some of the thoughts in the clearing. Some of the wolves hadn't been too pleased about my arrival- indeed, the female was furious, she hated me, and she had made that very clear.
Jacob had listened, interested in my story- which didn't surprise me, considering his adoration for Renesmee.
The others had mainly been alert, waiting for any sign of dangerous change in my behaviour so they could tear me apart.
I winced. I'd only ever experienced the sound of an execution once- and I had no desire to hear one again. It had haunted my dreams for weeks afterwards.
Suddenly my mind was filled with another question, one that was very important. The first one I should have asked.
"The werewolves! In the clearing, I- I couldn't hear one, exactly. He seemed... tense. Was he angry? Why couldn't I hear him?"
Esme's expression was unreadable, and she was quiet for a moment. I didn't think of raiding her mind for answers- she deserved privacy.
"Bella was shielding him." She said simply.
I frowned. "So he was angry." I sighed, for some reason, my heart fell, and I felt strangely empty.
Esme bit her lip and her brows furrowed.
"No, not exactly..."
It sounded like she wanted to say more, but her voice trailed off until I could no longer hear it.
So there was more... It was obviously meant to be kept secret from me and at this present time I knew Esme had given me too much trust for me to waste it by burrowing in her thoughts for my information, so I decided to delve deeper.
"Who was he?" I murmured.
Esme sighed then looked out of the window again, he eyes glazing over slowly.
"Seth Clearwater."
I remembered that name from somewhere- I knew it. It was so fresh... who was he? My thoughts raced until-
Oh
"Any relation to the female of the group?" I asked worriedly.
"Leah? Yes, she's his older sister. Why?" Esme turned to me again, her eyes glinting in the light.
"It's just, she was very angry with me. Furious is more the word- she made it very clear she didn't want me here, her hatred seemed only to intensify,"
Esme pursed her lips. I looked at her more, given the opportunity. Esme was beautiful. In some ways, she outshone Rosalie- although this wasn't surprising as Rosalie's beauty was more physical than Esme's.
Whereas Rosalie constantly had the seductive, bored look about her face, Esme's showed creases, lines, little paths that showed she smiled. They showed her happiness in this life- that was more beautiful to me than Rosalie.
I let my thoughts drift away to the wolf in the clearing. I remembered smiling at him, and he'd stared back, almost in a trance. His eyes seemed caring.
"Seth," I murmured involuntarily.
Esme's head snapped up and she shot a look of confusion at me.
"His name- I think it suits him," I explained quickly.
"You haven't met him properly yet, and I don't think you looked through his thoughts so..." Her voice trailed off and I saw something click.
What was it? I hadn't done anything, I only... Oh.
"I didn't look through your thoughts, Esme, I can assure you I have more respect than to do that."
She smiled and tried to convince me the notion hadn't crossed her mind, but I knew she was lying.
"It's perfectly fine," I grinned, "I was just commenting based upon the way Edward talked to him and..." I stopped for a second, almost embarrassed. "...His eyes, he seems kind."
Esme shot the confused look again at me, then she smiled.
"Yes," she said fondly, "Seth is a good friend to all of us- he's such a pure soul, it's hard not to like him," she beamed and I giggled.
I wanted to know this Seth more- the way they spoke about him was truly fuelling my curiosity, but it was something more.
Like a flame inside of me, a match, even, had been lit inside my stomach. I glowed, I felt warm, but I also burned. My chest ached- but I didn't want to focus on that.
"No," I heard Esme gasp.
She stood up at the same instant and fluidly made her way to the front door, without a second passing.
I followed with the same speed, worried something was wrong.
Esme had stopped at the door and was listening intently. I heard... footsteps. Low, thudding, on moss or grass perhaps? Whoever it was they weren't wearing any shoes... but they were coming closer.
They were headed straight for us.
The door flung open and Esme hurled herself into a sprint towards the trees. She was so graceful- but the panic on her face was unbearable.
I followed her path exactly, but slower, unsure of what was happening.
Then I smelt it. Blood. It didn't smell entirely human, but it was still enough to echo a faint burn in my throat. I heard the beating of a racing heart- and more footsteps. A lot more footsteps.
Oh, god they were coming to kill me- they'd made up their minds. I had no time to hesitate. I needed to leave. I wished I could write a note- maybe I still had time?
No. No. I couldn't leave- I'd travelled so far, Carlisle at least would let me speak before anything happened.
My heart thudded frantically, but I wasn't scared. I had nothing to fear, they would kill me quickly, I didn't need to worry.
I stopped and looked into the trees. My breath caught.
I closed my eyes, counting steps. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve...
The footsteps reached me. I flickered my eyes open.
Esme was by the trees, looking back at me. At us. Her expression anxious. A few feet in front of me stood a panting boy, gazing at me. I heard the rest arrive- the Cullens and the wolves all emerged from the trees. But this didn't matter. I stared wide-eyed at the boy.
He was beautiful.
For a moment I stared deeply into his chocolate eyes, forgetting myself. But then I let my eyes really look at him.
He was quite tall, thinner than the others, but his muscles were still well pronounced underneath his flawless, russet skin. His coal-black hair was messy, but it suited him. He looked warm.
I smiled, and he grinned back, looking somewhat dazed.
I could hear the collective holding of breath behind him, but I ignored it.
"Seth Clearwater?" I whispered, looking up at him from under my eyelashes.
His gorgeous smile seemed to stretch even wider.
"The very same," he grinned back.
My heart was frantically pounding, jumping like a mad-man.
And the match in my stomach, well, it seemed like I was now on fire. Goosebumps raised along my whole body and I had an irresistible urge to touch him. I would have, if we hadn't all been startled by a late arrival.
"Seth Clearwater you step away from that leech now!" Screamed the furious female stepping out of the trees.
Seth called back to her, but didn't take his eyes off me.
"Leah, you're a bit late, aren't you? Why don't you take a seat and we'll chat later?" His voice was beautifully deep, and I barely noticed the underlying anger in it.
The female snarled and glared at me now, staring right into my soul with hatred.
"Don't you even lay a finger on him you blood-sucking, lowlife bitch!" I flinched, she spat the words with such venom that tears welled in my eyes.
Seth began to shake. I looked anxiously back at him, trying to hold back my tears.
"Seth?" I whispered, "Are you okay?"
But he wasn't listening, his glare was fixed on Leah.
"What did you just call her?"
I reached out to touch Seth's arm, which was violently shaking, but thought better of it.
"Seth." I heard someone say, "Seth, you could hurt someone,"
He answered coldly, "I know. That was my intention,"
Seth's gaze met with the person he'd talked to, and his eyes flickered back to me. They widened slightly, and he took a step back, the shaking gradually fading away.
When it had stopped he scratched his head, embarrassed.
"Not the first impression I wanted to give," He mumbled.
I nodded. He had scared me, but his eyes were too kind for me to believe he could actually hurt anyone.
"Well, I didn't exactly want blood-sucking bitch to be my first impression, but hey ho."
My voice was shaky, the tears still in my eyes.
The female looked down, somewhat ashamed.
A single tear rolled down my face and I looked away.
Suddenly I was surrounded by... warmth. Then I caught on...
Oh. It was Seth.
His huge frame engulfed me, his arms wrapped around me tightly.
He was warm. And he smelt good too.
"You're not, so don't worry about it," he whispered into my hair.
I nuzzled my face into his t-shirt and smiled.
"I've only just met you, you know," I mumbled, laughing.
Seth suddenly sprung away from me and stuttered out frantic apologies.
I couldn't help but laugh, and clearly everyone else knew an inside joke because they all began to laugh too, Emmett booming and grinning, "Way to go, little buddy!"
I laughed too, because I knew I was going to be happy.