Chapter Seven: Tree House
BPOV
"Bella!" Emmett boomed as I stepped out the back door and into the yard. Edward kept a tight hold on my hand, true to his promise not to leave me. Rosalie waved at me from across the yard, where she was talking to Alice and Jasper. Everyone else was accounted for, but Emmett was nowhere to be seen.
"Edward, where's Emmett hiding?" I asked, still scanning the yard. Edward chuckled and pointed up. My eyes followed his hand to where Emmett was sitting in a rather large tree house that was resting on a large, low branch of an oak tree.
"Bella, get up here!" he yelled again. I turned to Edward with a look of fear. Edward chuckled.
"It's safe, I promise. If it holds Emmett, it will hold us too," he reassured me. I nodded and turned to face the tree house, which was a good twenty feet up in the tree. The ladder swung unsteadily as Emmett shook it from the top to indicate his impatience.
So, I've always been afraid of heights. When I was a learning to climb and crawl as a baby, I was scared to climb onto the couch. At age 10, I was scared to walk up the stairs without someone with me. When I turned 14, I was the only one of my friends who didn't ride the ferris wheel at the state fair. When I was 21, I drove home for the holidays because the time I'd flown, the plane experienced more turbulence than I could stand. Heights and I don't mix.
But, Edward would be with me. I took a deep breath and pulled Edward over to the tree house. I reached a tentative hand to touch the ladder before turning back to face Edward.
"I'm going to be really pissed if you don't catch me," I threatened. It was my way of saying, 'I trust you enough to catch me when I fall," but I couldn't say that out loud.
"I promise to catch you," he said seriously. I nodded before taking another long, deep breath. Come on Bella, you can do this.
I started putting one foot above the other while never taking my eyes off the tree trunk directly in front of me. The ladder swung slightly as I moved, but I tried my hardest to ignore the motion. The seconds seemed to drag on and each time I raised my leg, it seemed like it weighed a ton. Eventually, my hands reached the top rung and Emmett reached out to help me up.
"I've got you, Belly," Emmett said, reading my mind. I liked the nickname, too. It was something only Emmett would come up with. He pulled me up easily and I breathed a sigh of relief when I felt the solid wood beneath me. I quickly scrambled up to my feet before pressing my back against the trunk of the tree.
"Belly, the tree house isn't falling to the ground anytime soon. Chill," Emmett advised. I wanted to look down to see if Edward was coming up, but I decided that would be a very bad idea. Instead of looking down, I looked out. Alice, Jasper, and Rosalie were staring up at me as I gripped the trunk of the tree.
I'd actually never been introduced to Rosalie. I'd walked in on her with Emmett, worked in the same building, and I knew her name, but I'd never actually spoken to her. I'd met Alice on my way into the house. I met Jasper and at lunch on the teacher work day, but our classrooms weren't in the same part of the building so I never ran into him in the hallway. I waved at the three people on the ground awkwardly.
"Hey Bella," Jasper yelled up as they waved back. I could see they were fighting back their laughter, but I tried not to notice. Thank God Edward climbed the ladder quicker than I did. I saw his messy bronze hair peeking over the floor of the tree house and the rest of him quickly followed. He took one look at me and he cracked. His laughter echoed throughout the huge yard and the others quickly joined in.
"That's right, mock the mentally unstable woman," I joked loudly enough for Alice, Rosalie, and Jasper to hear. I could see the humor in the situation and joined in their laughter. "I don't really like heights. It must've had something to do with something I said at a Christmas party last year," I added cheekily and there was a new bout of laughter.
Well, at least they thought I was funny.
"Bella, you're too tense. Loosen up, they won't eat you," Edward insisted and I reluctantly let go of the tree. "That's better. By the way, do you see the windows right across the yard?" he asked, pointing to a wall full of windows. I could see the outline of a piano and a couch directly across from the tree house.
"Is that your room?" I asked, interested to see the room Edward grew up in.
"Yeah, I'll show it to you after we eat," he promised. Just as I was beginning to adjust to being twenty feet off the ground, Alice yelled from the ground.
"Bella, get back down here! I'm so excited! I want to show you my room. Oh, and we must go shopping," she said the last part seriously, and it made me a little nervous. Shopping wasn't my favorite thing in the world, but I wanted to get to know Alice. I'm sure I'd like her.
"I think you should go first," I suggested to Edward. He laughed and nodded before turning around and starting to climb down. Emmett completely ignored the ladder and started swinging on the branches like Tarzan on steroids. I gulped before making myself put my foot on the top rung.
I carefully lowered myself down towards the ground. It was slightly easier going down because I knew I wouldn't have to worry when I got to the end. I put on a burst of speed to get it over with more quickly, and I did surprising well.
Until the last rung, anyway.
I was so close. My foot slipped at the very end and I fell backwards, too startled to tighten my hands on their rungs. Instead, I closed my eyes in shock and bit back my scream. I was surprised when two arms caught me and I was even more surprised when I landed on the body that the arms belonged to.
"Edward, are you alright?" I asked frantically, flipping over so I could see him. I was surprised to see him smiling.
"I'm fine, love. Don't worry about me. Now, if you're OK, Alice is bouncing out her skin," he said. I stood up carefully and straightened my shirt. I looked up when I felt eyes on me and I saw Esme peeking out of the kitchen window. I could've sworn she winked at me before disappearing from view. I blushed so deeply, I'm sure I looked like an American flag with my white arms, blue shirt, and red face.
"Bella, get your ass over here!" Alice yelled. I blushed even harder at the mention of my ass. Edward chuckled and took my hand loosely, giving me the chance to let go. Instead, I gripped his hand harder. We walked to the corner of the yard and Alice pulled me into a tight hug.
She felt tiny in my arms. I would've thought she was as fragile as a toothpick if that toothpick hadn't been squeezing the life out of me. Alice had spiky black hair and didn't even come to shoulder, despite the almost two inches of hair. When she let go of me, I shook Rosalie's hand. She was gorgeous, of course. Blonde, long legs, and blue eyes. My brown eyes couldn't compare, but I answered her polite smile with a smile of my own.
"I'm Rosalie Cullen. I meant to meet you earlier, but…things came up," she finished with a sheepish smile.
"Yeah, sorry about that," Emmett said with a laugh as he wrapped arm around Rosalie. I, of course, blushed.
"Bella, come on. I want you to see my closet! I might even have something for you to wear…" she muttered, deep in thought. Thankfully, Esme saved me.
"Dinner is ready, kids! Hurry up or it'll be cold," she yelled from the back door. We filed through the door and found our seats at the table. I sat between Esme and Edward and across from Alice. Dinner passed quickly and the conversation focused on school and work. I enjoyed watching the way they interacted. As an only child, I've always been curious about what it was like to have siblings.
After desert, Esme suggested that Edward show me his room. We headed up the grand staircase and were silent until we reached his hallway.
"You've been awfully quiet, Bella. Is everything alright?" Edward asked. He stopped in the middle of the hallway next to a door.
"I was just watching and listening. I love the way your family interacts with each other. You guys obviously love each other," I explained, blushing a little. He took my hand and kissed it softly.
"As far as we're concerned, you are one of us too, love," he murmured against my hand. He pulled his head up and loosened his grip on my hand, obviously giving me the chance to let his hand go without it being awkward.
I didn't want to let go.
EsmePOV
I'm just so excited!! Edward was so happy and talkative during dinner and I caught the looks Edward and Bella shared. It's every mother's dream, to see all her children happy.
Maybe I was getting ahead of myself.
I knew they weren't technically together but, according to Rose, they had an official date Friday. I felt a little bad for interrupting them with my phone call, but if I hadn't I knew Edward would never have stepped up and invited her to dinner. Well, now that she knows all my children, I'm sure Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie won't let Bella slip of their radar. Once the Cullen's meet a person and like them, we don't forget and loose touch.
I just have to give them time.
I knew that, and yet I was still feeling meddlesome. At least I can call Alice anytime and know she'll help me with any scheme I come up with. I'll have to think about some reasonable possibilities later.
At any rate, I had no doubt that Bella and Edward would be together soon.
The staff at Jones Middle School are going to have a lot of gossiping to do.
AN: I'm back!! YAY! I had an amazing vacation, but I am now back in home and writing when I get the chance. I hope I haven't lost too many readers because I haven't updated :(. So...I have a present for you guys :). I'm posting another chapter of 'Apple' within the next hour, so look for that.
FUNFACT: I loved Duke TIP (nerd camp) and San Fransisco. If anyone gets the chance to go to either: DO IT!! Seriously, some amazing places and people.
A huge hud to my Beta, Music ADD, for all the stupid mistakes she caught for me. Thanks for reading and I like reviews, Emma
