CHAPTER SEVEN: Meeting

(Edward POV)

I was driving around town, trying to decide whether to have dinner at Burger King or McDonalds, when my phone buzzed. "Hello?" I asked, driving one-handed.

"Edward, could you get some toothbrushes and clothes for the two of us?" It was my dad Carlisle, off on a date with some girlfriend of his.

"Why?"

"Esme wants us to meet her daughter, and invited us to stay the night." Esme was his girlfriend. I met her already, and she seemed nice enough. Her daughter was named Ella or something like that.

"What!" Stay the night. He had to be kidding.

"Edward, just do it please. Use the emergency credit card I gave you. Get clothes for tonight and tomorrow for the two of us."

"Dad!"

"Edward!"

"Fine!"

And that was it. I went to the mall and got some clothes for the two of us. Next, I went to a drugstore to get some toothbrushes.

The salesperson was hot, and she looked about my age.

"Where can I find toothbrushes?" I asked in my most seductive voice.

"Aisle three," she answered.

"Where can I get your phone number?" I asked. It was stupid, but I knew I wouldn't mind if it worked.

"She has a boyfriend," some other girl said, coming out of nowhere. She looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't tell where I had seen her.

"Who are you?" I asked, looking at her. Hmmm, she did have a nice figure.

"I don't believe you!" she shrieked.

"Bella, calm down!" the saleslady said.

"No! Sure as hell, no! He was the person at the party, Rose! He's the one!" she yelled.

"Is your friend okay?" I asked the clerk? Was there something wrong with the girl?

"Yeah, she's fine. Bella, is everything alright?" the clerk said. She looked distracted, and slightly annoyed.

"I don't know," the brunette answered.

"Where?" the clerk asked.

"On the counter," said the girl.

This was making no sense. "I'm just going to get those toothbrushes then," I said nervously.

The clerk nodded and turned her back to me. "I think it's time. Let's go," she told the brunette.

I walked over to aisle three, and found a wide selection of toothbrushes. I picked two at random and looked for the clerk. After walking all over the store, I found her in the pregnancy aisle. Both of them were holding various pregnancy tests and having a whispered argument about them.

"It was this one, see. It's red."

"No, that box is too big. I think it was this one."

"No way. It's seven dollars. Yours was nine dollars."

"Um, I hope I'm not interrupting something," I said.

"No," the clerk said coldly. "Did you need something?"

"Well, I wanted to pay for this," I answered. She led me to the register where I paid in silence.

The entire car ride to the restaurant where Carlisle and Esme were having dinner, where they had invited me to go, I wondered what had happened to that poor brunette in the drugstore. Every time she looked at me, it was with hatred. Why was she like that? And why did she need a pregnancy test? Could she be...no. She looked too sensible to get herself into any kind of situation like that.

But she was beautiful, in her own way. However, she could never be as beautiful as my girlfriend, Tanya Denali. She was the most gorgeous person I had ever seen. That's why she was my girlfriend. And why did she look so familiar to me? I thought back to the party. I had slept with a girl. She was so beautiful, so much more than Tanya. Without thinking once of my girlfriend, I had gotten her into a bed and slept with her. It was the most wonderful night of my life. I didn't even know her name.

She had brown hair, wonderful legs, and the sweetest voice in the world. I knew that I loved her, but it was time to get over that. I would never meet her again, and there wasn't much I could do about it.

I was in way over my head, but I figured it would get better with time. Anyway, I arrived at the restaurant just then, and I hurried inside. "Hey Dad, Esme," I said.

"Hey, Edward," they replied.

"Where's Bella?" Carlisle asked Esme.

"I don't know," she answered. "I sent her a text, but I don't think she got it. I'll call her." She pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. "Bella, honey, where are you?...Why are you with Rosalie? I thought you didn't get along?...Really?...That's nice....How long?...Are you coming then?...Are you okay? You sound strange....Are you sure?...Okay then....Bye, I love you." She snapped the phone shut and turned to Carlisle.

"I think that something's wrong. She was so upset when I tried talking to her right now. For the last couple of weeks, she's been so quiet. I mean, ever since she came back from Alice's party, she's barely talked to me at all. I mean, she's talked, but she's been so distant. I keep worrying that something happened at that party."

Alice's party? Oh shit! Was she the girl that I fell in love with? No way. It's not possible.

"Don't worry, Esme. We'll all talk to her, and I'm sure it'll be all right, whatever it is." That was Carlisle, comforting her.

Soon after, the clerk and the girl from the drugstore walked in, along with a huge guy. They talked for a couple of seconds, and then the brunette walked over to our table. Was she the girl checking out the pregnancy tests? Yes she was! Oh crap! My dad's girlfriend's daughter was possibly pregnant! Wait, no. Carlisle had told me that he was engaged to Esme...so it was my future stepsister who was pregnant...Shit! This was not what I wanted at all. This was so unexpected. This was the strangest thing to ever happen to me.

"Now that Bella's here," Esme sang, "we have a little announcement to make."

This could not be happening. Was she telling her? Now Bella would know that I'm her stepbrother-to-be. This was wrong! I thought Esme wouldn't want to tell her because she was still upset over her dad dying, or something like that.

"We're engaged!" Carlisle said proudly.

I studied her face more carefully. She looked so fragile. I wanted to protect her. It was the last thing I'd expected to feel when I looked at her. I thought I saw some pain in her eyes, and then indifference, and then...it disappeared, almost as if she were shielding her emotions from me. Why was that? Maybe—

"Congratulations," Bella said, pulling me out of my reverie. The slightly upset expression on her face was hidden, as she pulled her features into a smile.

"Thank you," Carlisle said happily. Esme just nodded, pleased that Bella didn't make a fuss.

(Bella POV-At the drugstore)

I put my phone away in my pocket. "Rose, there's been a change of plans," I said softly.

"What?"

"Esme wants me to go to the restaurant where she's eating with her boyfriend and his son. She texted me, and because I didn't answer, she called just now. Could you drop me off?"

"Bella, do you want me to come? I could call Emmett..."

"Please do, Rose. You know I don't like asking, but I don't think I can do it alone."

"I know." She sent a quick text to Emmett and said, "He'll meet us at the restaurant in a few minutes."

"Okay," I answered.

We drove to the diner in silence. I was in shock, so conversation was out for me, and Rose...well...what do you say to a seventeen year old girl who's just found out that she's pregnant?

As soon as we found a parking spot in the lot, a huge person bounded over. It was Emmett.

"Okay, Bella? Hanging in there?"

"Oh yeah. I found out that I'm having a baby with a guy I don't even know. I'm just fabulous."

"Great!"

"I was being sarcastic."

"I know."

I rolled my eyes. Emmett was such a baby sometimes. I never used to mind, but now that there actually was a baby in the picture, it was different.

Rosalie chastised Emmett for upsetting me.

"You know?" he asked Rosalie incredulously.

"About what?"

"The guy at the party."

"Of course."

"Who told you?"

"Bella. Who else?"

"Oh. I was wondering, because Alice told Bella that she would tell me and Jasper, but no one else."

"Alice? I'm going to have a word with her!"

"Why?"

"She didn't tell me. Why else?"

"She had a reason."

"Like what?"

"Rose, Emmett, could you guys talk about this inside. I have to go now, before Esme comes looking for me," I interrupted.

"Yeah, sure," Rosalie said quickly.

Emmett nodded too.

We hurried into the restaurant.

"I'll be sitting over here with Emmett," Rose told me, gesturing to an empty table.

"Thank you, Rose," I said. This really meant a lot to me.

"You're welcome," she said. "Good luck."

I looked around and found the right table. He was there. Edward. Shit, he was my mom's boyfriend's son? This was wrong!

"Now that Bella's here," Esme sang happily, as soon as I sat down, "we have a little announcement to make."

You're not serious!

"We're engaged!" her boyfriend said proudly. Well, her fiancé now. And my future stepfather. And the father of my baby was none other than...my future stepbrother!

Life sucks.

A/N: Hey, guys. I'm sorry I didn't update for a while. I suppose I just got a little bit lazy. I just started high school, and since I'm taking most of the difficult classes this year, it's taken me a while to adjust to the schedule. Anyway, the best cure to my laziness is reviews, *hint* so maybe you should consider that....