Author's Note: Hi! I'm so happy! A lot of people have been viewing my stories, and they seem to like it. I think. I mean, several people have followed this story, and I'm extremely grateful for that. It means I'm a good writer! :) So I've decided that I will keep updating. My little experiment's over! Thank you!

Now, this chapter is a bit longer than the last two. Again, I'm sorry about that. But I think I'm spoiling you. I've been updating everyday. That's not good. ;) So anyway, I might be a bit inconsistent in updating from now on. High school is no joke. Enjoy, guys!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Chapter 6

The house was already noisy when I let myself in. The first things I saw were muddy footprints, leading to the living room. Curious, I wandered into the room where the source of all the noise was coming from. From the sound of that shrill, high, musical voice, Alice was indeed home, just like I'd suspected.

"YOU FREAKING NEVER CLEANED IT UP, YOU IDIOT!" Alice shrieked at Emmett who towered over her petite form by a total of almost more than a foot. I, too, towered over her by nine inches exactly. I knew I was going to grow more though, and I grinned in spite of myself at the thought.

"I GET HOME AFTER TEN MONTHS AND THE FIRST THINGS I SEE WHEN I COME DOWNSTAIRS IS A BUNCH OF MUDDY FOOTPRINTS!" Alice continued, looking up at Emmett angrily. For a small older sister, she could definitely be extremely frightening.

"ESME HAS TOLD YOU TO CLEAN THAT UP MULTIPLE TIMES ALREADY! DO IT! NOW!"

Emmett looked slightly annoyed, but he was still glad to see Alice again. He didn't mind that she was angry with him. He'd missed her, and he had never been the type to take any type of situation seriously. He was more amused right now, I daresay.

"Yo, Alice," Emmett said, running his fingers through his wet hair. Apparently, he had gotten all wet and muddy from the rain outside. It had been pouring when I had been driving home. The damn weather forecast had been wrong.

"You gotta chill, girl, 'kay?" Emmett said, not at all intimidated by our older sister. Probably because of the height difference.

Alice still hadn't noticed me at the doorway. Which was something. If anything, I had always been Alice's favorite brother. And Alice had always been my favorite sibling. I loved both of them, of course. But Alice had always been more supportive towards me. She seemed like a little sister to me rather than an elder one though. She was just too small for me to imagine that.

"Just because you're a jock does NOT mean you can call me 'girl'!" Alice fumed. She had lowered her voice, but she still sounded pissed.

The kitchen door, which connected the dining room to the living room, opened, and Esme stepped out.

Carlisle and Esme had adopted the three of us when we were younger. We had all been young back then. I had been brought first into the family, but when I'd looked lonely all the time, they had brought in Emmett, then Alice.

We all thought of Carlisle and Esme as our real parents. We had never known, or remembered, the love we should have gotten from our biological family. We had felt real love and care from the couple, and, though they were both much too young to be parents, we all trusted and loved them equally.

Esme looked slightly amused at all the shouting, which was different from all other moms. All of my friends' moms had been nice and polite at first, then had gone to screaming when we got carried away. Esme never got seriously mad at us. She understood. She was young too.

Esme had caramel brown hair with warm brown eyes. She had a heart-shaped face and her body was small and slender, but curvy. Her job was to restore old houses, had a hobby in photography and studying in architecture and art.

"Alice, dear," Esme said soothingly. "Please try to calm down. I know Emmett did make a mess, but I'm sure he will be more than happy enough to clean it up." She shot Emmett a mocking harsh look. Her lips curled up a little, smiling pleadingly. "Please, Emmett. It's hurting my ears to hear Alice's shrill, high-pitched voice."

Emmett's deep laughter boomed out and rang out through the house while Alice scowled at our adopted mother. The two females were fairly close because they were the only females in the house, but it didn't stop Alice from becoming annoyed with her from time to time.

"I bet he won't do it," Alice said swiftly.

"And you're right, Alice," Emmett said cheerfully. "I won't. It's not my fault it's raining outside, you know. The eldest one is supposed to do this sort of stuff. And, again, it's not my fault that I'm the second one in our family." He shrugged, his sly smile in place.

Alice looked ready to explode.

Esme suddenly looked towards me, looking surprised. I had been watching amusedly from the corner.

"Edward," Esme greeted me. "You're home. Alice, dear?"

"Edward?" Alice perked up. She grinned happily when she saw me smiling at her. She ran towards me and collided with me, her tiny arms snaking around me. For a small person, she did have massive strength, much like Emmett in a different way. While Emmett's strength hurt and made it hard to breathe, Alice's strength was like home.

"Edward, I missed you!" Alice sang as I hugged her back. "You cannot believe how much!"

"Yeah," Emmett grumbled, glancing at me amusedly. "You're favorite brother's here. You're lucky, kid. She didn't give me that much of a welcome before."

"You were always dirty when I came home," Alice snapped. "Now go clean up! You look like a cow that was dragged five miles in the mud!"

Emmett grumbled inaudibly, but did proceed to trudge upstairs to his bathroom to take a shower.

"Um, Alice?" I asked, a little uncomfortable now. She was still hanging onto me. "You could let go now, you know."

Alice let go, pouting. Esme, who had silently been watching our greeting, smiling while stirring a batter, chuckled.

"Welcome home, Alice," I said. "But I do need to wash up as well before dinner. Which is in…" I looked at Esme inquiringly.

"Thirty minutes," Esme finished. "Your father will be home in ten. He called just before you stepped in."

"But someone's gotta clean that mess up before Carlisle gets here!" Alice pouted, pointing at the muddy footprints. "And I'm not going to be the one to do it!"

"I'll do it," I sighed, volunteering to shut her up. I was glad to have her back, but her whining did sometimes get annoying.

"Thank you, Edward," Esme said, smiling. "I appreciate the thought."

Alice's expression immediately darkened as she looked at me guiltily.

"Edward…" she began.

I held up my hands. "It's fine, Alice. Go help Esme in the kitchen."

"I didn't mean to have you do it," Alice grumbled. "Emmett was supposed to be the one to do it. That brother of mine…"

I laughed. "I'll get back at him for you."

Alice immediately brightened. She knew I meant it. Happily, she flounced off into the kitchen after Esme.

I headed to the laundry room downstairs to retrieve Emmett's clothing. I found a white T-shirt and white boxer underwear and smirked slightly. He'll be pissed, but whatever.

I was wiping the floor clean when the front door opened and Carlisle stepped in, his hair glistening wet from the rain.

My adoptive father had blue eyes and blond hair. He was tall and handsome, and very young, only thirty, four years older than his wife, Esme.

He was a doctor at Forks Hospital, having studied to be a cardiac surgeon at Harvard University in Massachusetts. He was the youngest surgeon at the hospital, and many of the nurses had a hard time concentrating working when he was around. I had always been good at reading faces and what people were thinking about. I had once asked Carlisle about the nurses' distraction, and smiling sheepishly, my father had asked me to keep it a secret from Esme. As if she didn't know already.

Carlisle stopped dead when he saw me on the floor. He looked confused.

"Edward, what are you doing?" he asked curiously, recognizing Emmett's clothing.

I grinned. "I'm just getting back at Em for leaving muddy footprints in the house. Alice wanted me to."

He chuckled, shaking his head at my immature revenge. His face looked brighter. "Alice is here?"

"Yes, helping Esme in the kitchen," I replied, getting up. "I'm going to go wash up, Carlisle. I'll see you at dinner."

"Okay. Hurry up, Edward, I'm starving," Carlisle said, smiling at me fondly. He disappeared through the kitchen door.

I threw Emmett's white clothing back into the clothes hamper, being careful to bury it at the bottom, and ran upstairs. I bumped into Emmett who had just come out of his room, having just showered. He wasn't wearing a shirt and had a towel in his hand, drying his hair.

He looked at me strangely when he saw me, as if he'd just remembered something.

"What?" I asked, frowning.

"Nothing, I guess," Emmett said. "But I gotta talk to you later. After dinner. See you downstairs, buddy." He patted me on the shoulder and went back inside his room.

I shrugged, and then disappeared inside my own room as well, which was located at the way end of the hallway. I didn't mind that Emmett had something to tell me. I had something to tell him and Alice too.

AN: What do you think? The next chapter will be much longer, I promise. Hope you enjoyed it! Remember, review, follow, favorite!