Chapter Four

"Tess," a soft voice whispered. It felt like a summer breeze, tickling my outer ear. "Time to wake up."

I shifted over, turning away from the voice and aching to be swallowed by sleep again. It felt nice to sleep, to be warm and protected and encased in that darkness. To not have to remember Mama or Papa or Grandmama. To not have to relive the crash.

A hand pressed itself against my cheek lightly, and I flinched at the sudden coolness of it, my eyelids flickering open.

"Huh?" I said, straightening myself up. I found myself nestled in the corner of a deep blue, plush couch. Rosalie was kneeling in front of me, her topaz eyes wide and shining. Her plump pink lips were curved into a small smile.

"Finally awake, sleepyhead," she joked weakly, getting up from the wood paneled floor. "You're at our house in Oregon."

"Oregon?" I repeated, cocking my head. I wasn't sure where that was.

She nodded, and moved out of the way, opening my line of sight to the rest of the Cullens. They surrounded me in an arc, watching me expectantly—some warmly, others warily. I could understand that my presence here was sudden and a bit unannounced, so I felt bashful under their gazes, choosing not to meet their eyes. I trailed my sight onto the sides of the couch, touching the edges where the stitching peeked out with nimble, fretful fingers.

"Hello, Tess," Alice said at last, running a hand through her short hair. She shot me a hundred-watt smile, which faltered quickly when Carlisle raised a pale blond eyebrow at her. Alice rubbed a hand along the length of her right arm, standing a little apart from the rest of her family.

"Hello," I whispered back, unsure of what exactly I was doing here. Was I going to stay with the Cullens? Could I even stay with them? What was Janet going to do when she realized I was gone? When everybody realized I was gone?

Edward cleared his throat, stepping forward a little. The light hit his hair in a way that made it seem almost like bronze. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

"Uh...yes…."

"We felt like it wouldn't be...prudent...to allow you to stay in a foster home," Edward started.

My brows furrowed at his explanation. Prudent? Like kind? I wasn't sure what he was getting at.

"We thought," he amended quickly, "that it would be better if you stayed with us instead of in a foster home. In fact, Rosalie and Emmett have agreed to adopt you."

Adopt?

My gaze shifted to the couple. One of Emmett's pale muscular arms was wrapped tightly around Rosalie's waist. Rosalie's shoulders were tense, her hands clasped around each other. She gave me a hesitant smile.

Adopt.

Part of me was pleased by this. I wouldn't have to return to Forks. I wouldn't have to be cooped up in a foster home with a dozen other rowdy kids. I wouldn't have to go my whole life wishing for a family that could replace the one I lost.

And part of me was not. Part of me was confused. Why hadn't they come to ask Janet for me? Why did they even want me? They barely knew me. Why did they wait so long? The crash happened weeks ago.

I felt my body seize up a little. My breaths became quick, short bursts for air. My heart was going about a hundred miles a minute.

Edward's gaze shifted from me to Jasper, who remained stony faced, his amber eyes glancing between me and the floor. The others seemed about as nervous as Jasper. Carlisle eyes were glistening, his lips pressed into a thin, sad frown, one of his arms wrapped around Esme's waist. Esme herself was trying not to look at me, her hands busying themselves with the apron that clung loosely to her body. Rosalie and Alice seemed to be undergoing some sort of silent form of communication, and Emmett...

Well, Emmett came over first.

"Hey, champ," he whispered, his voice rumbling like a boulder, his dark eyes shining. "Don't get caught up in the details, okay? Rose and I will take care of it."

He sunk into the couch, pushing me toward him. One of his large hands rested on my head.

"Try to relax. You've had a hard couple of days."

Rosalie walked over as well, completing our new, small family. Emmett moved over to allow her room on the couch.

"It'll be better tomorrow. Esme patched up a little house near a school for the three of us. Your room is a little bare right now because Alice and I weren't sure what you'd like, but we can go shopping soon and you can choose whatever you want…" Rosalie rambled before biting her lip and pausing. "I know...I know you miss your family, but believe me when I say Emmett and I will try our hardest to be as fantastic as your parents were."

That was the tipping point. Tears began to spill from my eyes. Emmett and Rosalie engulfed me in a hug.

"Please don't be like my parents," I mumbled, my voice warbled through their arms.

I couldn't handle another crash.


September, 1955

"You've got to eat up for your first day of school, hon," Rosalie chirped happily, pushing my plate of buttermilk pancakes drenched in maple syrup toward Emmett. "Do you mind cutting up her pancakes, Emmett? I've got to find Tess the perfect first day outfit."

Emmett wordlessly took a knife and fork in his large hands and began to carefully cut up my pancakes into child-sized bites as Rosalie flitted away to my room.

"What're you and Rosie going to do while I'm at school?" I asked as Emmett handed me back my plate. I shoveled up some bits into my mouth immediately, savoring the warm taste. Rosalie made absolutely the best pancakes.

Emmett looked at me thoughtfully, one hand rubbing his jaw. "Honestly, champ, I'm not sure. I guess Rose and I could get some stuff around the house done."

I nodded silently, choosing to focus on my food for the next couple of minutes. I'd been wondering for a while now what Emmett and Rosalie would do when I wasn't at home. We had spent every day of the last few months together, never leaving each other's sides. In fact, Rosalie decided to homeschool me through the rest of the third grade because she didn't want to leave me alone at school yet.

Of course, once autumn came back round, Emmett and I managed to convince her to let me go to school on my own. She still wasn't too sure about it, though.

I swallowed down the rest of my pancakes quickly before bounding toward the bedroom, where, true to Rosalie's word, the perfect first day outfit less: a pink cotton lace dress with a magnificent bow wrapped around the waist lay on the bed. A pair of Mary Janes with white socks had been set aside on the floor.

I smiled to myself as I changed into the clothes. Honestly, I wasn't sure how Emmett or Rosalie got half the things they had purchased for me. I hadn't seen them go out for work at all since we had moved into the new house near my school. Maybe Carlisle just provided for everyone; being a doctor was a very well-paid job, and he did work at the best hospital in Portland.

"Tess!" Emmett's voice boomed through the house. "Rose just started the car. Apparently, if we don't leave in the next thirty seconds, you won't be five minutes early like she wants."

I giggled at the heavy sarcasm in his voice and grabbed my bag full of newly purchased school items before heading toward the living room where Emmett awaited with an exasperated Rosalie at the threshold of the open doorway.

"I didn't say we have to be early," Rosalie grumbled. "Just that we should be. Don't you want to meet the teachers?"

"No."

"Well, we are," Rosalie said sternly, and I knew that Emmett would end up complying anyway.

"C'mon," I said excitedly, skipping out of the door and toward the jet black Rolls Royce that was purring in the driveway. I scrambled into the backseat as Rosalie swiftly sat at the driver's seat and Emmett settled in the passenger's side.

I craned my neck toward the side window, watching with fascination as the cookie cutter houses and sparsely spread trees flew by as Rosalie revved on. I wondered endlessly about the new school. How different would it be from Forks? Would the classrooms be larger? Did they have recess in Oregon? Long lunch breaks?

I was giddy with prospect as Rosalie pulled into the allotted area outside the small school building. Emmett stepped out of the car and helped me out as well, grabbing onto my small hand as we walked toward the school entrance, Rosalie trailing beside me while nervously wringing her hands.

"What if she gets sick?" she whispered to Emmett. "We won't be there and—"

"I'll be fine, Rosie," I said happily, one hundred percent oblivious to her worries.

Rosalie stopped abruptly and grabbed onto my other hand, causing Emmett and I to come to a halt as well. She twisted toward me and bent down so we were eye level. Her eyes were shining with barely restrained tears. I stared into her golden eyes, taken aback. Was Rosalie really this upset about me going to school?

"I just want you to be safe, hon," Rosalie said softly, her voice strained.

"It'll be okay," I said in the same quiet tone. "I'll make a ton of friends, and I'll bring them over, and—and—"

"I know, I know." She took a deep breath. "I guess—I guess I'm just a little emotional, you know?"

I tore my hand from Emmett's loose grip and enveloped Rosalie in a tight hug. Her arms immediately wrapped around my torso. My face was smothered by her honey colored hair. Her naturally cold flesh clashed against the childish warmth that exuded from my body, and I shivered against her slightly as she drew me deeper into the hug. One of her hands rose to stroke the back of my head, her fingers running through my growing pale blonde hair.

"I'll be safe," I promised. My voice was a little muffled. "You're always there to protect me."

The grip around my body became a little tighter.


February, 1956

Emmett and Rosalie preferred to live nearer to the school I was going to, which meant that we all lived quite a distance from the rest of the Cullens. They all lived in the next city over because that was where Carlisle primarily worked. And since I often complained about the fact that they were too far away to see on a regular basis, Em and Rose had decided to delegate weekends to visiting the rest of the Cullen family.

This particular day was a bit different than the rest. Usually, Em and Rose talked and caught up with Alice, Jasper, and Edward while Carlisle would be putting in extra hours at the hospital, leaving me in the calm, blissful company of my adoptive grandmother—Esme.

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear," Esme said in her soft, soothing voice, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. "I've got an emergency appointment with a client of mine."

I pouted, my lower lip trembling. "But we were supposed to do painting today!"

She had promised last weekend that we could paint one of the spare rooms in a house she was renovating with whatever color I wanted.

"We can do that next weekend, okay?" Esme paused. "And I'll bake you some chocolate chip cookies, too. How does that sound?"

I bit my lip and slowly nodded. No matter how much I loved Rosalie's cooking, Esme's was simply out of this world. Her cookies were the perfect balance of soft and crunchy, sweet but not too sweet. I obstinately believed that Esme could get her own cooking show if she wanted. Or publish her own cooking book. I was sure either one would become a huge hit.

"...and here's the name and number of her pediatrician," Rosalie rattled off in the background, writing the details on a notepad and showing Edward. "Wait, let me add the dentist, too—"

"Rose," Edward groaned. "Why on earth would I need her dentist?"

"Anything could happen, Edward!" Rosalie shot him a glare. "What would you do if she broke her tooth, huh?"

"Doing what?!"

She gave him one of her infamous side glares. "I know how you cook, Edward."

I looked at Edward hesitantly. He certainly wasn't my first choice as babysitter. When Rosalie had said that she and Emmett had to go visit someone for passports this weekend (and since Esme couldn't look after me this time), I assumed Alice and Jasper would be babysitting me.

Unfortunately, they both decided to take off for an impromptu vacation to Alaska (Emmett mumbled something about distant relatives when I pressed for details on their mysterious trip).

Which left me with Edward.

Rosalie flipped to another page in the notepad. "And this is a list of things she's not allowed to eat under any circumstances."

"Why is chocolate on this list?" Edward asked bemusedly, peering at the page.

I pouted and Emmett ruffled my hair, causing blonde strands to fall haphazardly onto my face. I swatted them out of the way impatiently.

"Sorry, champ," he said. "I tried to tell Rose it's fine, but after the last time you had chocolate—"

"It was an accident!" I tried to argue, but a smile betrayed me. It really wasn't an accident that all the Christmas chocolate had found a way from the dining room to my bedroom.

Emmett chuckled.

"...and if anything happens to her when I'm gone—a scratch, a bruise, anything—I swear you'll be in a world of pain, Edward Masen Cullen," Rosalie finished off. She turned around and kneeled down to my height to give me a hug and quick kiss on the forehead. "We'll be back before you know it!"

With that, she took Emmett by the hand and trekked to the front entrance, Esme following them. As the door clicked behind them, I turned to Edward, who was looking down at me uncomfortably. He raised a hand and scratched the back of his neck.

This was probably his first time babysitting ever.

A full-blown grin bloomed across my face. I could use this to my advantage.

"So...what do you wanna do?" he said at last, staring at me nervously.

"Chocolate!" I cheered, already making my way toward the kitchen. Since I usually helped Esme bake on weekends, I knew exactly where she stored the chocolate chips she put in all her cookies.

"Wait—Tess, you're not—Tess!" Edward called behind me as I broke into a run so he couldn't catch me. I slid into the kitchen and clambered onto the stool that had been set beneath the cabinet above the stove.

As soon as my small, pale hands had grasped onto the knob, I felt two chilly hands lift me by the waist and set me back onto the ground. I spun around in annoyance, my arms crossing themselves in front of my chest. I glared at Edward Cullen's exasperated face.

"Rose said no chocolate."

I rolled my eyes. "She won't mind a little bit."

"She'll kill me," Edward deadpanned. When he saw my bemused expression, he decided to expand. "No, really. She'll stab me and bury my body somewhere out in the woods. Your mother is scary."

"I'm going to tell Rosie you were telling me about murder," I said with amusement. "I don't think she would approve."

This time Edward rolled his eyes. He latched onto one of my hands and guided me back to the living room.

"Do you want to—um—we could—"

"You're really bad at this."

"Well, what do you and Esme usually do?" He huffed and fell back into the couch, sprawling across the seat.

"Chocolate."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

Well, not all the time. Esme usually did some of her renovating assignments while I watched and occasionally helped. Sometimes she would tell me these really interesting albeit creepy stories about past family members. Her most recent story had been about one of Jasper's distant relatives who had snuck into the Confederate army to join the Civil War when he was young. He was taken hostage by a group of Mexican rebels or something. No one in Jasper's family ever heard from him since.

"You wanna hear a story?" Edward suddenly asked, somehow deducing what Esme and I actually did together.

I shook my head. Stories were a special thing between Esme and me.

"Play piano?"

I blanched. Play piano? Was Edward secretly an eighty year old man? Who just played piano for fun? Even Carlisle wouldn't suggest something like that.

Edward appeared frustrated at this point. His head was tilted toward the cream ceiling, which he was glaring holes into. He ran a hand through his dark chestnut hair, tousling it.

I let out a sigh, deciding to take pity on him. Edward was the youngest in the family (not counting myself), after all. "Fine. What story did you want to tell?"

He continued to stare at the ceiling, tapping his fingers against the couch lightly. I lay further into the pile of throw pillows in the corner of the couch, bringing up my legs and wrapping my arms around my knees. I savored the warmth.

"Did Esme ever tell you about Alice's great grandmother?"

I shook my head.

"Well—" Edward grinned suddenly, bringing his face so it was level to mine, "—she was psychic."

The hour passed by swiftly as Edward spun a tall tale about Alice's great grandmother having been plagued with terrifying, vivid visions of people every since she was young. Her family and friends eventually believed her to be crazy, and she was soon cast out from her small little town in Massachusetts. The story was fuzzy in some parts (Edward said this was due to poor family records), but what was important was the ending: Alice's great grandmother eventually found love in a diner with a gentlemanly veteran soldier.

"Wouldn't it be absolutely amazing if Aunt Alice could tell the future, too?" I said happily, still enraptured by the story as a whole. "Like—if she had inherited it from her great grandmother?"

Edward gave me a tight smile, shifting his gaze toward the floor. "That would be something, wouldn't it?"


A/N : thanks for all the wonderful reviews & sorry for the long wait! i hope the long-ish chapter makes up for it.

honestly, it's gonna be awhile before Demetri makes his first appearance, so i hope you'll stick around till then! :)