Don't laugh at me
Chapter six
When we got in the house Anthony ran upstairs to change and then sat in the kitchen waiting for the kids to get back from school. I told him I was going upstairs to lay down and grabbed the folder the lawyer had given to me. I nearly ran up the stairs I was so curious about its contents. When I was finally situated on my extremely comfortable California king bed, I opened the thing up. The first thing I wanted to see was the job and school history.
Mr. Cullen had homeschooling until his junior year in high school. Then he attended high school in Atlanta Georgia until he graduated. From there he moved to London, which explains the accent, and worked for a publishing house. He then moved to Georgia and has that listed as his primary residence for the last 10 years. I flip through the folder looking for any criminal history and find only a few traffic violations. Apparently he doesn't pay attention to yield signs. The worst is a public nuisance on the road he got when he was 22, about the time he got back from London. It says his current job is.. an author through the same publishing company he worked at in London.
I hear a knock on my door and stash the file under my pillow. I'm not sure why but I feel like I was doing something wrong by looking into this man. I decide I will only skim it from now on. I do need to know something's about him but I also don't need his full personal information, It just seems rude, Dominick walks in and throws his avengers back pack on my bed.
"What's up butter cup? How was school?"
"It was lame. Can I play halo 4?" he says looking up at me with a big cheesy smile.
"No you got to do your homework first nugget" we go through this every day after school. The kid hates school. I get it though. He doesn't really like kids his age and struggles with the work. He has trouble recognizing letters but could probably write code for EA games.
"How about this, I will do half of the home work and then I will play halo and then after dinner I will do the rest aaannnndddd take a bath." He looks me dead in the eye with a very serious expression on his adorable face.
"Alright but you have to eat your mac and cheese, all of it, and we got a deal." I stick my hand out and he shakes it. There's only been a few times I forgot to shake on our deals and every time he reminds me that it's not a deal if you didn't shake on it. He runs out to do his homework and I get up to follow him when jewel walks in and shuts the door. I sit back down and pat the bed next to me and she climbs up without saying a word.
"What's up lady?"
"I like someone and they don't like me back." She looks at me with her little broken heart and I feel bad that she is a teenage girl. I remember those times and they sucked. Well mine sucked for different reasons but still the naïvety and hurt is all the same.
"Have you told him you like him?" I grab her hand and rub circles on the back on it.
"No! Are you crazy! That would be so embarrassing!"
"Well how do you know he doesn't like you back?"
"Because he never flirts back with me and he is all preppish, and I'm all rebel and he likes preppy girls, and I can't be that."
"Well you shouldn't have to change who you are to please some, boy. I love you for who you are, and so will some boy one day, he will even love your blue hair. If this boy doesn't see how great you are then it's his loss. When I met ben I was a mess. I was still struggling with my issues from growing up and I was mad at the world and just messed up in the head. He loved me anyway and it was the best thing ever. I want you to find that hunny and I don't want you to have to force it. Who is this kid anyway? Anyone I know?"
"Nope, got to go mom. I am going to talk to Michael about it. No offense but, your no help" she runs out of my room and looks like she has a plan. I don't take any offence. I'm not a master in all things teen and although I think my advice was solid. She won't see that for a few more years. The biggest thing I've learned having teenagers is that some mistakes must be made on their own. I walk down the hall towards the stairs to tell Michael he needs to go get the some wood for the bonfire later.
When I walk into his room it's like I'm walking into a jungle. The room is 'tagged' with all his artwork and there are clothes all over the floor. It doesn't surprise me. I always tell the kids that their room is for them. They may decorate or mess it up as much as they want. All I ask is that it's cleaned every other Monday.
"Hey junior, you want to go get the wood set up for the fire tonight?" he looks up from his algebra homework and nods then goes right back. So I just walk out. Alice called and said she would bring over the sides and rose is bringing the stuff for s'more's and drinks so it's up to me to make the main dish. I have decided to make some chicken. It's a new recipe that I am pretty sure I'm going to burn but it's all good I have stakes ready to grill in the fridge just in case. As soon as I drop the chicken into the pan the doorbell rings and I yell for someone to get it.
Jewel hops down the stairs with Anthony right on her heels. They run through the kitchen and I yell at them to slow down but know they won't. Sometimes those two can be so competitive over the smallest things. So I roll my eyes and go back to the chicken. As soon as I hear the door open and Jewel squeal I know exactly who it is. I turn to say hello and be polite and such. When mason walks into the kitchen holding ice cream and wearing this sexy ass tight black cotton shirt with khaki shorts I forget all about how I think he may be a douche and how he is probably going to steal my son and how I'm currently cooking chicken on the stove. I forget about all of this and just stare into his beautiful eyes and that sexy smirk and then the fire alarm goes off and I realize my stove is on fire. He sets the ice cream down and heads toward the pan while I grab some water from the sink. Just as he is lifting the pan off the stove I throw the water on. Apparently that was the wrong thing to do and a burst of flames shoots to the ceiling just as mason pushes me behind him.
Jewel and Anthony start laughing and Mason sets the pan back on the stove now that the fire has been extinguished.
"Sorry! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me! I promise that wasn't on purpose! Please say something!" I am yelling now. I think he may be in shock. Oh my goodness I just tried to light Anthony's dad on fire. I am a douche. He probably thinks it was on purpose. Why isn't he saying anything! He won't even turn around. I hope he isn't burned to badly. I grab his shoulder and try to turn him to face me and he doesn't budge an inch. Then I hear it. The dorkiest laugh I have ever heard.
"So do you try to burn down every guest who comes for a visit or am I special?" mason says while laughing his dork laugh. He even snorts after he finishes speaking. I inspect his face and realize he is missing part of his eyebrow. And that's when I lose it. I don't think I have laughed this hard in years. He smiles at me and uses the dish towel off the counter to wipe what I assume is soot off my cheek.
"Nope you're just special." I say but it comes out as a whisper. I don't know what the deal is with this guy. He just has me mesmerized. I know in the back of my mind that I should be hesitant to trust him but he just puts me in this trusting mood. I noticed it that day at the diner. I fought it then because I was upset he was trying to steal my son. Now I can't find it in me to fight it. Someone coughs and I turn to see Michael with the fire extinguisher and a glare marring his features. I give him a questioning look and then notice that mason has his hand on my waist and we are very close together.
I quickly step back and grab the extinguisher from Michael. "Thanks but I put it out already."
"Yeah junior she threw water on it and burned the heck out of this guy's eye!" jewel says and starts cracking up again. Michael grunts something and walks out. That's when I notice that Carlisle is missing. Esme is sitting at the island with jewel and Anthony on each side of her smiling comfortably.
"Well I guess we are having steaks tonight." I clap my hands together and tell Anthony to go start the grill while I get the kitchen cleaned up. Mason sits down at the island with his mom and asks for a damp cloth. Jewel runs to get one. Once everything is all cleaned up, including mason I show them to the back porch where we will be eating.
Rose and Emmet walk out back and Emmet introduces rose to the Cullen's. They sit and chat for a bit while I make the stakes. Alice calls and I send the junior and Anthony out to help her carry in the grocery's. A few minutes later I have the steaks ready and rose takes them into the kitchen while I ring the dinner bell (yes I have an actual dinner bell), with a house this big and a yard quadruple that, I need it to wrangle all the kids up. The only one who ignores it is Dominick, so I head inside to grab the lil stinker of the Xbox.
When we come back out Paige is already getting Dom's plate ready. He notices the others at the table but doesn't make a move to say hello to any of them but Esme. He climbs into her lap without saying a word and pushes her plate away from her towards mason who is sitting next to her. "Hi aunt Rosy, can you get me some chocolate milk please?"
"Yeah buddy but don't you think you should sit in your own chair first?"
He looks around and says "I am in my own seat. This old lady just happens to be in it too. That's her choice not mine." He reaches out for the glass rose is holding like nothing happened. I have to suppress a giggle because it is "his spot", he even wrote his name on the bottom of the table where the chair is.
"I'm so sorry Esme. He has Asperger's, so he is often a little blunt." She smiles and looks down at dom." Do you think I could share this chair with you? Just this one time?"
"Yeah but I get to have my plate in the middle or else I spill, you can have yours to this side" he says as he points to the side next to mason. "You will have to pay me one marshmallow too." He turns and holds his hand out to her to shake on the deal.
"Esme if you shake hands then you have to make him a marshmallow tonight." Jewel says very seriously.
"That's fine dear. I am an expert marshmallow roaster." She shakes his hand and Rose hands him his glass of milk and Paige sets his plate down in front of him. I make my plate and look for a place to sit and the only spot is next to mason so I take my seat. His plate is slightly invading my area because he has to share his area with his mom. Our hands keep touching throughout the night and I get these little butterfly feelings in my stomach every time they do. We say grace and dig in. by the end of the meal we have all learned that mason plays many instruments, but is best at the acoustic guitar just like Anthony. He is indeed an author. Apparently Alice reads his books so I assume they are romance novels. Anthony kept things light and I am glad he did. Dinner ended up going great up until jewel brought the ice cream out and directly asked mason why he had abandoned his son. It got real quiet and a bit awkward and Paige took Dom in to do his homework while Michael and Emmet went to start the fire and Esme and Alice decided to do the dishes. So there we sat the four of us. In a very uncomfortable situation with a necessary question laid on the table.