Stephanie's Pov
A week had passed and finally I was able to leave the hospital. Okay, so I was going to have to rest for about another two weeks or so, but after spending a week in the hospital, no way was I going to complain about lying in a nice comfy bed for a few weeks. Carlisle had signed me out this morning and now I was in his car, on the way back to the Cullen's house.
At the moment I was lying across the back seat of Carlisle's black Mercedes, with my head on Esme's lap, while Renesmee was sitting in the front with Carlisle. I was glad that I was feeling a bit better now, but I still got tired easily and I still looked as white as a vampire, according to Renesmee anyway. I honestly was too afraid to look in a mirror at the moment because I didn't want to see how I looked. Renesmee had explained to me that my room had been set up and that Alice had bought me all new clothes, which in my opinion I didn't need. Renesmee also told me that Alice was planning on throwing out some of my old clothes that weren't in the best condition, though Renesmee stopped that from happening, which was good, because if Alice had gotten rid of them, one way or another, I would have found a way to kill her, and I'm pretty sure Renesmee would have helped me. With Renesmee in mind I looked at her in the front seat and saw she had a thoughtful look on her face.
"What are you thinking so hard about?" I asked her. I saw Carlisle look in the rear-view mirror, but apparently, he figured I wasn't talking to him, so he stayed quiet. Renesmee, however, turned her head to smile at me.
"I'm just thinking about how great it's gonna be to have you living with us." She said, smiling widely at me.
"I'm not sure, there are some scaring thing's at your house." I mused. I saw from the corner of my eye that Esme was watching me carefully, and that she was wondering what scared me. Honestly, I was just playing, but I wasn't going to let them know that just yet.
"What have you got to be scared of?" Renesmee laughed, giving me a confused look.
"Alice." I said simply.
Suddenly they all burst into laughter and before I could help myself I was laughing to, but it quickly ended when my stomach started to scream in pain and I started to cough. I could feel Esme begin to run her hand through my hair, which reminded me so much of my mother that I started to calm down.
"It's okay Stephanie, just calm down." Esme soothed, her hand still running through my hair. I knew that Esme cared about me dearly, and the truth was I felt the same way.
Just then we pulled up at the house and Carlisle drove the car into the garage and parked the car. I watched as they got out of the car and felt Esme move so she could climb out. Once they were all out the open door, Carlisle leant down and put his hands under my arms to pull me out.
"This is going to hurt." He warned, but of course I already knew that. It'd be harder for me to get out on my own 'cause it hurt to move.
"I know." I said and I held my breath as Carlisle started to pull. I clenched my teeth so I wouldn't scream and scrunched my eyes closed as Carlisle pulled me out of the car and held me so I could stand up. I was taking quick, shallow breaths.
"Sweetheart, are you okay?" Esme asked, looking at me with concern.
"I'll be fine." I said, forcing a smile onto my face. They were now my family, which meant I didn't want them to worry.
When Carlisle was sure I was fine he made sure my arm was over his shoulder, and that his arm was holding me around my waist, making sure that I wasn't going to fall. We made our way to the door and Renesmee opened it, and after both she and Esme were inside, Carlisle and I followed. Everyone was waiting for us in the entrance and they all had smiles on their faces. I noticed that Renesmee was watching me carefully, like she was afraid I was going to fall over, so I gave her a reassuring smile, even though I was feeling weak.
"Welcome home." Alice said and she came over to me and kissed my cheek. Hearing her say that, I realized that I did indeed feel like I was home, unlike when I was with John.
"That sound's nice." I said, and I know my smile widened.
"Come on, we have your bedroom ready." Alice smiled. Hearing this, I really wasn't eager to see it, definitely if Alice had complete control over decorating. Suddenly I heard Edward laugh and I turned my head to glare at him.
"Don't worry, Esme had full control over designing your room Stephanie, Alice didn't get to make any calls." He smiled and I know my eyes widened.
"How the fuck did you know that was what I was thinking?" I asked, but then I realized I had sworn, which I really hadn't meant to.
"Language." Esme said, giving me that look all parents were somehow able to produce.
"Sorry Esme." I said, though I really wasn't all that sorry. I just wanted to know how Edward knew what I was thinking when he couldn't read my mind.
"Anyway." Edward said. "I was listening to my daughter's thoughts, it just so happened that she was thinking the exact same thing as you."
"Oh." I said, blushing. Now I felt like an idiot, not to mention the fact I was incredibly tired.
"How about we get you to your room." Carlisle said and before I could say anything Carlisle picked me up in his arms like a small child and started to carry me up the stairs.
"Carlisle, I can walk." I protested, though I really doubted I could.
"You are already becoming weak and you're not a burden, so don't worry." He said, and I knew he was just trying to help me, so I stayed quiet.
Carlisle carried me up to the third floor, with the family right behind us, and he stopped at the last door to the east of the house. He used one of his hands to open the door and when I saw my room I was completely shocked. I was still in Carlisle's arms, but he slowly placed me down then, his arm around my waist to stop me from falling.
As I looked around the room I was breath taken about how it looked. The far wall had a large window, which led out to a balcony, and had a beautiful shimmering blue curtain that seemed to keep a lot of light out. My queen-sized bed sat against the left half of the far wall, but it had enough room for a person to walk and a bedside table. My bedding was designed with beautiful blue waves on the bedding and pillows and I was truly in love with it, because it reminded me of Florida and my house near the beach. Above my bed head hung my family portrait and on the other wall was a painting of a beautiful beach on a sunny day. Along the rest of the left wall where my bed sat was a huge bookcase, filled with all my books, movies and CDs. On the right wall sat a walk-in wardrobe, a desk, which had my laptop on it, and a high TV stand with my flat screen on top of it that had a low couch in front of it so I could see the TV from my bed. The walls were a sandy white color, which matched the big fluffy rug that sat on the floor, and the hardwood floors were a medium brown color. On the wall where I was standing now, was I had a floor length mirror, a vanity, and en-suite (I'm guessing) and so much more and the beauty of it made me want to cry. I think it was better than my room back in Florida and that was saying something.
"What do you think?" Esme asked me. I looked up at her and smiled with joy.
"It's absolutely beautiful." I said contently. In some ways it reminded me so much of my home, and I knew I belonged here.
Slowly I went forward, but ended up gasping in pain when my stitches pulled. I started to pant short breaths again and I felt quite a few hands grab my shoulders. Suddenly I was back in Carlisle's arms, which hurt a bit, and he carried me over to my bed, carefully placing me down, trying not to hurt me again. I realized that Esme had moved the bed cover before Carlisle had placed me down when she pulled it over me.
"Are you alright?" She asked, a hand moving the hair out of my face. I noticed that everyone was now in my room and that they all looked concerned, except Emmett, though I couldn't tell what he was feeling.
"I'll be fine, I just need to be more careful." I reassured them. I watched as half of them left, knowing I was okay, and saw that I was left with Carlisle, Esme, Ness, Jack, Bella and Alice still in my bedroom. In a blur of moments Alice practically bounced over to me, smiling.
"The moment your better, we're going shopping." She said excitedly. What was wrong with her, I mean did she always have to go shopping.
"Um, why? Ness said you brought me clothes." I asked, confused.
"You need more." She snapped and I flinched away from her because John had said something similar to me, though he had said it when he was kicking in to me. Alice looked at my expression and he face turned sad when she realized she'd scared me. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, it's not your fault. Anyway, why on earth would I need more clothes, there's a wardrobe full and I wear an outfit more than once?" I said. I liked shopping, but Alice brought bags at a time full of clothes.
"Not here you won't, we're always wearing new outfits." Alice smiled.
"Oh no, just because I live here does not mean you can throw out my clothes after I wear them once or stop me from wearing them." I said, a stern look on my face, at least I hoped it looked stern. No way was I going to let Alice win, not about this.
"Fine, I won't throw away your stuff, but we're still going shopping." Alice said, frustrated, and with that she was gone.
"Is she going to be as bad as last time?" I asked Ness, who came to sit on the bed beside me. Five hours it had taken Alice to shop last time, five fucking hours.
"She'll be worse, trust me." She said, a smile on her face.
"I heard that!" Alice yelled from downstairs. Ness and I burst into laughter (which hurt me a bit), along with Bella, who came over and grabbed my hand.
"Don't worry, Alice has been trying to get me to like shopping since she met me, yet I still don't and I'm pretty sure I never will. Though I have to admit that my fashion sense has changed since I became a vampire, and that is partly because of Alice." Bella smiled.
"I don't hate shopping, but last time we went she dragged me around for five hours, made me try on clothes I hated, and never let me look at movies, games, books or music. I swear she's a slave worker, and you guys were just laughing at me. You're all vampires, meaning your feet don't hurt and you don't get tired." I said, glaring at Bella and Renesmee, who were just smiling at me. I just shook my head at them, thinking about that very long day.
"I'm not that bad." Alice complained, standing in the doorway.
"Yes, you are." Nearly everyone in the house said, including me, causing us all to burst into laughter. I stopped first, since it hurt me to laugh, and the others followed shortly after. Alice was pouting from the doorway when Emmett waltzed in.
"Hey squirt." Emmett said, coming over to me and jumping onto my bed, smirking. Renesmee stood up and moved away a bit.
"What do you want Emmett?" I groaned, flopping down onto the pillow.
"I heard you say something about games, and just wanted to know what a girl like you would know about them." He said, a confused look on his face. I sat back up against the headrest and glared at him, and I swear to god I saw him flinch.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" I snapped. I looked to my left and watched as Carlisle, Esme, Bella and Ness backed away from the bed.
"Well, though I've hung out with you a bit, you look like one of those blondes who cares about how she looks." He said, shrugging.
"Um, did you forget your girlfriend is a blonde. Actually, I should say wife." I said and right on queue Rosalie walked in, looking a little annoyed. "And I don't give a shit about how I look. If I want to do something, I do it." I growled.
"Wow, calm down already." He said, standing up and backing away. "I just meant that you don't seem like that kind of girl."
"Have you ever heard of the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover". I grew up with a race car driver Dad and an athletic Mom, who yes, ran a salon, but in the end, I was always outside or playing games with Noah, so next time think before speaking." I said and watched as Emmett retreated from the room, but not before Rose smacked him across the back of the head.
"Good going Steph." Jake said, smiling.
"Like I said, I grew up with an older brother, who acted a lot like Emmett. I learnt to adjust." I said, a smirk on my lips.
Emmett was going to find out very soon what pissing me off would do to him, since I knew all too well what to do to get him back. It was even better that Carlisle told me that I didn't have a scent, which means if I hurt myself none of them will be able to smell the blood, but that also means that if I hid something, say of Emmett's, he can't follow my scent to find it.
"Steph, I think you're going to fit in great." Bella said, before taking off, I'm guessing to find Edward and do god knows what.
"Come on Jake." Ness said, grabbing Jake's hand and leading him out of the room, leaving me alone with Carlisle and Esme. Esme came over to the bed and sat back down beside me, while Carlisle sat down in a chair that sat beside my bed.
"Steph, we want you to know how happy we are to have you join our family." Esme said, a smile on her.
"But we also want you to know that we'll never try to replace your parents." Carlisle added, a gentle smile on his lips.
"I know, and I am thankful that you were willing to take me in." I said, and I truly meant it.
"It was our pleasure." Carlisle said, then he looked at his watch. "I need to be at the hospital, but I will see you later." Carlisle said, and after giving Esme a quick kiss, he left for his shift at the hospital. Esme went to get up and leave, but I grabbed her hand.
"Esme, can you stay with me for a while?" I asked. When she smiled at me I felt a huge amount of love and caring coming from her.
"Of course, sweetheart." She said. I sat up and let her sit down on the bed and slid back a bit, then I laid my head on her lap and I couldn't help but feel like I was really home, that I finally belonged. Esme slowly started to run her hand through my hair and smiled to myself at the fond memories it brought.
"My mother used to do this for me, whenever I was sick or had nightmares." I said, a smile on my lips.
"What was she like?" Esme asked. I knew she was worried that asking me would be hard, but I was fine with talking about my family now, because it meant I wasn't forgetting them, not that I ever would.
"She was a lot like you in a lot of ways. She was so compassionate and caring, and I loved her so much; she was basically my best friend. I'm not saying we never fought or that she never grounded me, 'cause it did happen once or twice, but sometimes kids and parents have differences of opinions. I take after her in the way I look, though I have my father's blue eyes and ears, which I guess you can tell from the picture above us." I said, laughing. "My mom, she had this laugh, and it was just so light and fun that it filled the room with happiness. My father always told me that it was one of the reasons he fell in love with her. She always believed in me and helped me achieve what I wanted, no matter how she really felt about it. She was passionate when it came to her job, I mean she loved being a beautician running her own beauty parlor so much, doing people hair, make-up and any other beauty treatment she could, though she painted whenever she had the chance." I finished, smiling at all of my memories of her.
"She sounds wonderful." Esme said, her hand still slowly running through my hair.
"She was, and she was the perfect person for my father. I can happily say that they were happily married and while they bickered sometimes, I only heard maybe one or two raised voice fights." I said, a smirk coming onto my face.
"What was your father's name?" She asked. "And your mother's?" She added.
"My mother's name was Clara Jade Murthy, before she married my father. My father's name was Jack Nicolas Cross." I said and smiled up at her. "My grandparents had a thing for J names, considering my other uncles name was Joseph."
"And what was your father like?" She asked.
"My father was the coolest dad around, at least as far as I was concerned. Every Saturday he'd play video games, board games or some other fun active game with Noah and I, and he was pretty good at all of it, I have to admit. He played dress up with me, watched Disney movies and doing sing-alongs with me, and did tea parties when I was little. He'd always take me out on the race course or let Noah take me, and sometimes he'd even let me drive, that's why I like speed so much. Mind you, this was before I got my license, but Mom trusted him." I said. "He was really funny, when he wasn't using dad jokes, though he only used those when he wanted to embarrass or annoy me. He'd always get up and play football, basketball and soccer with Noah and I, and sometimes Mom joined in. He was understanding about Noah, so was Mom, and he never did that insanely overprotective Dad thing when I went on dates." I explained.
"Your parent's sound lovely, but what about your brother?" She asked.
"My brother." I laughed. "He was a lot like Emmett, at least in some ways. He had a sense of humor; I'll give him that, though he did know when not to use it. He was always the one who protected me when I was younger, and he never let anyone hurt me, at least when he could help it. He graduated quite a while ago and ended up joining my Dad's race team. He was a great driver and loved cars; his favorite was the Nissan Skyline that I now own. He and Dad taught me how to fix cars ever since I was younger, so I wouldn't have to ask them for help all the time. He was nearly four years older than me, I was born in July and he was born in September. He turned four right after I was born." I said, tears slowly falling down my cheeks.
"You miss them a lot, don't you" She said, her voice coming out soft, but sad.
"Yes, I do, but I know they'll always be with me, and that's all that matters" I said, wiping my eyes. After that I don't know what happened, all I know is that I fell to sleep.
