CHAPTER SEVEN:

I found myself in one of my whimsical, quietly contemplative moods. I stared out the window, thinking about nothing in particular. Before I knew it, we were in front of the Newtons' house. I slowly unbuckled my seatbelt, suddenly reluctant to leave. I opened the door, stepping outside, but leaning in to talk to them.

"Thank you so much for everything--" I began, but Edward's cell phone rang and he answered it. I was about to close the door and head for the house when Edward held up a hand to stop me, still carefully listening to the speaker on the other end. Once he'd finished the very short, almost entirely one-sided conversation, he turned to Bella.

"Bella, would you like to have a slumber party with Alice? Mary-Celeste is invited too, of course."

My brow quirked. Maybe I was a little old-fashioned, but it seemed a little odd to me that a guy was orchestrating a slumber party for his girlfriend and sister.

Bella smiled, but her brows remained heavy, trying to figure out his reasoning. It was a comfort to know that she was as baffled as I was.

"Um," she began, "where would it--"

"At your house, if you don't think Charlie would mind. That would probably be the best place."

Bella nodded, now looking just a little bit troubled.

"I'm sure that would be fine. Mary? Did you want to join us ...?"

I shot a glanced at Edward and then looked at Bella speculatively. "Edward's not going to be there, is he?"

"No," she answered quickly. Too quickly.

"Well then," I said, "I guess it would be fine. Mind waiting for me while I grab a few things?"

"Not at all," Edward said, "take your time. We'll wait for you."

Bella smiled at me, and I grinned back. There was something strange about these people, but at least I was beginning to feel a little accepted.

I jogged up to the door step and knocked three times, pausing for a moment before opening the door and stepping inside. Mrs. Newton was in the kitchen, a pair of dark jeans hugging her slender hips. Her hair was pulled back into an elegant twist—a casual style for her. She was wearing a designer apron and daintily spreading breadcrumbs on a not-quite-homemade-looking casserole. She looked up at me and smiled when I entered.

"Hello, Mary-Celeste. Your mom called earlier. She said she'll be in Logan for the next few days if you need to reach her."

I nodded. "Thanks."

"Do you want some dinner?" The Newton family had a habit of eating quite late. It didn't agree with my system, so I rarely ate dinner with them.

"No, thanks. I already ate. Just making sure ... you're fine with me staying the night at someone's house?
She smiled at me, but her forehead wrinkled. "Whose house?"

"Um ... actually ... oh, yeah. At Bella Swan's house. Alice Cullen will be there, too."

Her lips stretched a little and I smiled hopefully.

"... sure," she finally said, "that'd be fine."

I could tell she was warring with herself. She wanted to be reasonable, but at the same time keep me nearby.

"Thank you," I said quickly, before she could change her mind and decide to chain me to the couch next to her son. I skipped off to gather my things—there weren't many. Ian had come to collect the car, but he hadn't brought my other luggage with him, so I had been doing my laundry at three-day intervals.

I quickly tucked away all I needed and then glanced once more around the small room to make sure there wasn't anything I was forgetting. Chuck! How could I have forgotten?? I scooped the diary up in my arms and then hiked up the stairs quickly, embarrassed to have kept them waiting for me so long. I came running out of the house, my hair flying everywhere and my cheeks rosy. When I climbed into the backseat, Edward said, "you're trailing."

I was just about to close the door when I noticed the sleeve of a sweater hanging out of my duffel bag.

"Thanks," I said, still a little breathless, and a little self-conscious at his calling attention to my messy self. I really tried to be neat ... sometimes.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked.

"That depends," Edward said, still apparently the one in charge, "would you like to stay at my house or Bella's?"

"Bella's," I said quickly.

He grinned to himself and backed smoothly out of the driveway, his mind far away. Bella smiled at me, as if on cue. She turned around in her seat.

"This'll be fun!" she said, sounding overly bright.

I rolled my eyes. "Relax, Bella. No need to stand on ceremony for me."

She seemed a little surprised, and the tiniest tendril of a real smile threatened to push itself across her face. Her smile made me forgive her for the infuriating way she and Edward and everyone else all seemed to have some huge secret. I was getting a little tired of how insincere Bella always sounded. I vowed to myself, then and there, that I would find out what, exactly, this crazy little secret was.

"Alice should be there when we arrive," Edward said.

When we pulled into Bella's driveway, sure enough, Alice was already there. She skipped out the door as we arrived, waving at us. The sky was a deep, heavy gray and the stars were trapped behind the thick blanket. I frowned a little and mourned loss of the dazzling view of the constellations from my backyard. There, the milky way actually looked milky. Here it's sort of ... smudgy-looking. Oh, but I wish I could see Orion ... or even just the moon ...

"Look," Edward said quietly to me, pointing.

I looked where he pointed, and smiled. The half-moon slanted shimmering silver light through a small hole in the clouds. I sighed a little and smiled, remembering all the times I would sit outside in the middle of the night, writing solely by the light of the white-bright full moon. I stared at the bluish moon. It was absolutely beautiful here. The dense green forests, the fragrant rain ... how could they just walk by and not notice every day how dazzling it was?

"Mary-Celeste?" Edward asked. I was standing in the middle of the driveway. I quickly came to my senses and followed him. He was already carrying all of my things, his stride unaffected by the baggage.

"Thank you," I said, gesturing to his load.

He merely nodded. He opened the door for Bella and I with one hand and then followed us in. Every movement he made was slightly disconcerting to me; it was so fluid, it was almost cat-like.

Charlie was on the living room couch when we arrived, apparently waiting for us.

"Hi, Dad," Bella said, "is it all right if Alice and Mary spend the night?"

Charlie looked as though he were trying very hard to look severe and failing miserably.

"And you're just asking me now?"

"Well, it was a little ... spur-of-the-moment," she said. She looked a little confusedly at Edward. "Would that be all right?"

Charlie hefted himself off the couch. "Well ... I guess so ..." he said, winking. He stood and walked over to me, shaking my hand. I gripped his hand firmly and cheerily shook it. "It's nice to see you again, Mary," he said.

"You, too, Charlie. Thanks for having me over."

Edward jogged down the stairs. That's when I noticed my luggage was gone. That was quick ...

After a brief "conversation" with Charlie, in which the police chief drilled me on high school, college, community responsibilities, and healthy living, we finally all escaped to Bella's room to get ready for bed.