Chapter 4 – Meeting the Family
"Wake up, love. We're here," Edward's sweet voice whispered in my ear.
I squeezed my eyes shut and stretched my arms as far as they would go. I then searched around and when my arms found his hard chest, I opened my eyes.
Our surroundings were not what I had expected. I gasped when I took it all in.
We were in a leather-padded taxi cab, with a native man at the wheel, now turned around; curiously watching my sudden surprise. He smiled when he caught my eyes, and I blushed in return.
I turned around and glanced outside. Behind the window, everything was covered in snow. Ugh. Even with all the wet muck, I could tell it was beautiful. There were sky-high mountains towering over the row of houses behind us, each one a unique figure. As I slowly faced the front again, I noticed we were parked in front of a huge three-story building. It contained many windows, each of them with large curtains draped around them. The door was just as gigantic, probably because Tanya's clan was as tall as the Cullens.
"Five sixty, please," the driver interrupted my thoughts.
"Five hundred and sixty dollars?!" I whisper-screamed at Edward, who handed the man a wad of cash and smiled.
"It's no big deal, Bella," he said as he turned to the man, "Thank you, we'll be going now."
He stepped out of the back seat and appeared at my door faster than twice the speed I could run at, fortunately without any unwanted attention from the driver. My door swung open and Edward held his hand out, always the gentleman.
Unwillingly, I took his hand and placed one foot down onto the snow-covered pavement, squishing the mess underneath it. My other foot followed, and I had to admit, the sound my footprints made as I walked to the trunk were quite refreshing.
"It's not usually snowy in August. But in Denali, the weather changes very frequently. It ranges from rainy, sunny, snowy or windy, usually within the same day," Edward knowingly proclaimed.
"Thanks for the geographic lesson, but I don't think I'll be needing it. I barely passed high school, and since I did, that's enough learning for me," I rolled my eyes.
"University or college is still on the agenda. Human experiences, remember?" his eyes got serious.
"You're kidding, right? Didn't we already talk about this? We'll get through the Volturi problem, go to Vegas, get married, and you'll change me into a vampire. I don't think we can fit more school into the agenda, sorry," I smirked.
"We can't send you to school within a year of your transformation, but after that, it can be arranged," Edward winked and his eyes sparked. Too gorgeous.
I rolled my eyes. I didn't feel like arguing now, but I hoped he knew I wouldn't rest my case.
As he got my suitcase out of the trunk and waved goodbye to the driver, he walked over to me and carefully put his hand through mine. We both stood there for a minute, admiring the remarkable house. I guessed Tanya's clan would be a lot like it; stunning.
Suddenly, movement from the front door caught me by surprise. I tilted my head to get a good view of what it was, but a high, piercing sound got my attention.
"Welcome, darling! How've you been?" a striking woman with strawberry-blonde hair glided out from the door with a wide grin on her face.
"Tanya!" Edward smiled politely, "Still beautiful, just as I remember."
Edward's words made me choke a little. I've never heard him acknowledge a female like this before, right to her face, with me beside him. I held my breath, not wanting to give away my sudden discomfort.
Unfortunately, Edward seemed to notice. He stiffened a bit, although managing to keep up his perfect smile, and squeezed my hand.
Tanya's eyed drifted to me, and she seemed to frown. Her features still looked flawless, even with her unpleasant expression.
"Who do we have here? The infamous Bella, I suppose? I've heard so much about you," her tone changed as she talked to me, clearly displeased as she took in my appearance compared to Edward's. You could tell just by looking at our wardrobes that he was more appealing than I.
I was wearing a long sleeved white shirt with a thick red sweater overtop paired with an old worn-out pair of sweat pants, while he turned a simple pair of jeans and a slender grey sweater into a work of art. It was almost embarrassing.
"Bella, this is Tanya. Tanya, Bella," Edward properly introduced us.
"Nice to meet you," I managed to mumble, not meaning a word I just said.
Tanya's scowl seemed to vanish as she turned back to Edward.
"Shall we go inside, then?" if I wasn't mistaken, her voice almost sounded like she was trying to seduce him.
"Sounds like a plan," Edward replied, dragging me in one hand and my suitcase in the other.
The inside of their house was very open, much like the Cullens'. The walls were light purple, adding a homey feeling to the atmosphere. The staircase leading up to the second floor was gigantic, with many artwork pieces hanging on the walls. The one thing that really caught my eye was the garlic chain hanging from one side of the staircase.
Edward seemed to recognize my puzzled expression as I stared at the chain and answered my thoughts.
"Tanya's family is very sneaky. Sometimes people get suspicious with their looks, speed, strength and so on, so they invite them into their home where a chain of garlic hangs. This eliminates the possibility of them being vampires because, as you know, your people believe that myth that says you can use garlic to prevent them," he grinned, admiring their well thought-of idea.
"Sneaky, sure," I said as Tanya studied me.
Just then, a pair holding hands appeared at the top of the stairway, wide smiles plastered on their too-attractive faces. Both of their outfits looked like they had been picked out by designers, and were more appealing than I could describe.
"Greetings," the man proclaimed in a deep voice, "I am Eleazar. This is my love Carmen."
The woman smiled even wider and said a quick hello as the couple filed down the impressive set of stairs.
"Bella Swan. Very pleased to meet you," I meant it more than I had for Tanya.
"It's great to see you again, Eleazar. And you, Carmen. You both look simply lovely," I was more comfortable with him using 'lovely;' it didn't compare to calling another female 'beautiful.'
"Thank you, Edward. Still the gentleman," Carmen's soothing voice giggled, "Kate? Irina? Leo? Come down!"
At once, three other individuals skipped downstairs. The two females were drop-dead gorgeous, of course, but it was the male that really caught my attention. He had light brown hair and golden eyes, with a medium frame and muscles showing through his shirt. He seemed to notice my admiration and chuckled.
"Hi, I'm Leo. Delighted to meet you, Miss Swan," he stuck his hand out and I shook it.
"Thanks, I look forward to getting to know you already," I smiled.
One of the females faked a cough, and my attention turned to them. One of them was wearing a dark green t-shirt and grey pants, while the other was looking comfortable in a red hoodie and jeans.
"I'm Katrina, but everyone calls me Kate," the one in the hoodie tilted her head as she smiled and shook my hand.
"I'm Irina, and that's what everyone calls me," the other girl giggled and gave me a quick hug.
"Thank you all, it was a pleasure to meet you. But I would really appreciate a shower right now," I bit my lip.
"Oh, yes, I'll take her," Edward informed the others with a chuckle, and led me upstairs. We turned a couple times until he opened the door, revealing an L shaped bathroom that was larger than three of my rooms in Charlie's house. He put my bag down and handed me a towel.
"Wow, it's huge. But I guess I should have expected this. All rich and beautiful," I was hoping he'd know I was referring to the fact that he called Tanya beautiful right in front of me, "But I guess it must be a vampire thing. Well, I need to clean up. See you later."
I booted him out the door and left him standing with an unimpressed expression.
"Bella, is something bothering you? I can't read your mind, you know," his voice sounded unhappy, but still silky smooth.
"How unfortunate for you," I sighed, "And no, I'm fine, just need to get cleaned up. I'll meet you in whatever part of the house I wander to when I'm finished."
I could imagine his unsatisfied expression as I walked over to the shower, taking out my shampoo and soap. The thought made me feel even worse for my behavior, but I kept telling myself he deserved a little punishment for calling her beautiful. Others girls wouldn't take that kind of behavior from her boyfriend, but I couldn't resist being the inexperienced self that I was.
"I love you," I whispered, giving in to my heart.
xxx
I heard a knock on my door just as I was blow-drying my hair. This surprised me, since I thought Edward knew I'd come out when I was ready. I unlocked the door anyway, surprised at what I saw.
Leo was leaning over to one side of the door, a wide grin painted across his breathtaking face. I hadn't noticed his features before, but now that I looked closely, each part of his face appeared perfect.
His nose was medium-sized, curving upwards at the bottom. His eyes were big and innocent with long eyelashes, and I guessed they were originally blue. His teeth were unbelievably straight and so white I almost had to look away, and paired with the lips of an angel, he looked like such a model I couldn't take my eyes off him. His hair hung sideways just above his right eye, and it looked so smooth I almost reached out and touched it.
Once I finally convinced myself to breath, I put on a confused face referring to the fact that he was standing here, watching me while I was blow-drying my hair.
"Hey, I was just wondering how you were settling in. Nice hair," he picked up a strand and played with it, "Do you need me to show you your room?"
I didn't immediately answer, and once I hesitated, he batted his eyelashes like a girl and winked. I couldn't help but giggle and nod.
"Are you done cleaning up? Because I can wait if you'd like," Leo asked politely.
I turned around and scanned the room; my shampoo, soap, towel and blow-dryer sprawled across various locations.
"Um, just give me a minute," I mumbled as I tried to swiftly pick everything up, but as usual, tripped over my feet.
I closed my eyes and waited for the pain of the floor to hit my knees or arms, but when the pain didn't come, I opened my eyes and saw Leo holding me up. I immediately blushed.
"Sorry. Thanks," I felt my face heat up even more.
I went back to picking up my belongings, and followed Leo through the hallway when I was finished. We passed what seemed like a hundred pieces of artwork until we reached a big white door. Leo opened it and escorted me in.
When I looked around, I gasped. There was an overly-large plasma screen TV across the room from a king-sized bed with dark purple covers. The room itself was painted light purple, like the rest of the house. At the side of the room were two large windows looking out on the front yard and the other row of houses with mountains behind them. There were statues standing all four corners of the room, and of course, a chain of garlic lying on the bedside table.
"Superstitious much?" I joked about the garlic.
Leo chuckled, "But besides that, you like it, right?"
"I do, but I think it's too much. I would have settled for a single bed and a lamp," I sighed, being the simple self that I was.
"Really? Then you can have our dog's room. He's been dying to move out," he winked.
I was caught by surprise by his offer. Was he being serious?
"I'm joking, Bella. Relax. We don't even have a dog, don't worry," he grinned.
That's a relief. The thought of living in a dog's room would remind me every day of Jacob. Just the idea made me wonder what he was doing right now, if he was still getting all the wolves ready for the Volturi's visit. I honestly hoped not. I missed him already, but I knew it wasn't possible to see him now.
I realized I was still holding my bathroom necessities, so I put them down on the bed and sat. To my surprise, Leo sat down beside me. I was pretty sure I was giving off the wrong impression.
"Listen, Leo. You've been nothing but helpful to me today, but I think I have to make myself clear. I'm with Edward, and always will be. I'd love to be friends with you, but nothing more, right?" I really hoped he understood what I was saying.
"Oh, of course!" his expression became serious, "I would never do anything to break you and Edward apart. Although watch out, Tanya's not too pleased about the marriage. And when Tanya doesn't like you and you're living under her roof, you'd better watch out. Anyway, I should be going now. I forgot, you're a human, you need your sleep. See you in the morning."
And with that, Leo danced out of my room.
"Bella?" a voice beside me suddenly said.
I spun around, my heart stopping for a few seconds. It was Edward, and I sighed with relief.
"Sorry. You look very tired, would you like to go to sleep?" a worried expression spread across his marvelous face.
"No, I'm fine. I'm glad you're here," I put my head on his hard chest.
"I see you met Leo. Nice guy, don't you think?" I could tell he was a little jealous. Maybe it was good for him, considering what he said to Tanya.
"Tanya's nice too," I smirked.
"Bella, you should know, I was just being polite when I called her beautiful. You're the only I'll ever want. I give you my word," his eyes looked so honest I couldn't help but believe him. He kissed my forehead and I nodded.
"You're cute when you're jealous, you know that?" he chuckled and started humming my lullaby.
Hope ya liked it. Sorry it's taking me a long time, I don't write too often. If you read it and liked it, please review, it takes 10 seconds of your time. Thanks (:
-AnaCullen♥.