Hope you like this chapter. I don't have internet at home and I lost my job this week so I lost even more internet connection. So I will be posting multiple chapters at a time from my mother's house.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
One Month Later
Riya POV
We had all stayed home today. Carlisle and Esme had court today to finalize my adoption. If all went well, today when they came home, I would be there daughter. Before they left they had sworn Alice and Edward to secrecy. Neither one of them were allowed to tell me the outcome of the hearing.
At two o'clock Esme and Carlisle walked through the door. I had been upstairs with Alice and Rosalie planning outfits when we heard the car pull in, as soon as they parked the car I ran down the stairs to hear the verdict. I met them at the front door. Esme was carrying a box and an envelope.
"Congratulations. You are now Riya Amara Cullen. While we were at the courthouse, we somehow managed to get your new birth certificate and social security card." Esme told me as she handed me the envelope. I opened it to find the documents. I pulled the birth certificate out and looked at the name. Riya Amara Cullen. It was amazing; I was now a new person. "We also got you a cake." Esme held out the cake so I could see the top. Welcome to the family Riya Cullen.
I couldn't help it. A few tears escaped.
"Thank you." I managed to get out, barely above a whisper, but I knew they all heard me. Before I knew it I was in a group hug, engulfed by everyone except Esme who was still holding the cake.
We all made our way into the kitchen where Esme placed the cake on the counter. She got a plate out and gave me a slice.
"Riya," Carlisle started to get my attention, "Last night after you went to bed, the rest of us had a discussion. We thought that after all the bad memories you've had here that maybe you would like to move. We have some friends in Denali, Alaska we would like to visit. Then we have a house in Forks, Washington that we thought about moving to. Would you have any objection to that?"
"No, that sounds fine to me." I told them. I couldn't believe it. I had a family who loved me and now I was leaving this wretched town.
"I told you she would say that." Alice hissed to Edward.
"Good. Then it's settled. Today is Tuesday; I really don't see the point in any of you going back to school this week. We'll spend the rest of the week packing and leave over the weekend. We can take everything to the house and then take two cars up to Denali. Sound good?" Carlisle laid out the plan for us.
"Sounds fine to me." Esme agreed.
"Me too." Emmett and Jasper replied at the same time, while Edward and Rosalie and I nodded our heads.
"Wait a minute. How am I supposed to sort through all my clothes in three and a half days?" Alice screeched.
"I'm sure you will find someway of sorting through them." Carlisle replied with a roll of his eyes.
"I'll help you, dear. You just started sorting and throw what you want in a pile and I'll pack it for you. It should only take me about an hour to pack what I'm taking." Jasper offered, trying to make sure his wife was happy. She looked at him and took off running up the stairs, he sighed and then followed.
--Friday--
It was moving day. We had every car completely loaded down. Alice's stuff took up two cars alone. The rest of us took only the bare essentials. Carlisle and Jasper took their books. Rose her tools. Esme her architecture plans and design books. Emmett took his games. Edward his CD collection and his compositions. Alice made sure she brought over half her wardrobe. The rest of us only brought enough clothes to last until we were able to go shopping at the mall in Seattle. Rose and I got lucky, we were the same size so we could share clothes and double our wardrobe.
After another run through the house to make sure that we had everything, Esme locked the front door and we each headed to our car. Carlisle and Esme were taking the Mercedes. Rosalie was taking her M3. Jasper and Alice were taking the Volvo. Edward was taking his beloved Aston Martin and Emmett and I were taking the jeep.
"I am so excited. The only part of the country I have ever seen is the land between here and my grandparents' house in Indiana." I told Emmett as we got in and I buckled the off-road harness.
"I think that we had better plan on a cross-country trip soon then." Emmett told me as we started down the driveway.
"Isn't this a cross-country drive? I mean we are going all the way to Washington, then Alaska." I was a little confused. Maybe the plan had been changed and I hadn't realized it.
Emmett let out his loud booming laugh. "Yeah, we are going to Washington, but we will be getting there late tonight, early tomorrow morning. We will be driving so fast, you won't get a chance to really see anything this time."
"Oh." I guess I should have figured that. I mean the normally two hour drive to the mall only took them forty-five minutes. Why shouldn't a thirty hour drive take them only 16 hours? It made sense, now that I thought about it.
"You make sure you let me know if you need to get out and stretch your legs."
"I will. So," I started. I was interested in our new home and was trying to find out as much as I could about it. "This house in Forks, have you been there before? What is it like?"
"Yeah, I have been there before. About seventy years ago. It was before Alice and Jasper found us though." He started to laugh, "I think Esme forgot about that. She was so excited about seeing your face when we get there."
"So what is the house like? Is it like the house here?"
"In a way. It's big. Huge actually. Three stories, the entire south wall is glass. It makes everything more open. It's set about three miles off the road. At normal speeds, it's about a thirty minute drive from town; however, at our speeds, it takes about ten minutes. I'm pretty sure you'll like it. Oh and there's a river close by too."
"Oh it does sound nice and uh, this coven in Denali. What are they like?"
"They're like us. They're vegetarians. There are four of them. Kate, Irina, Eleazar, Carmen, and Tanya. I'll warn you now. Tanya is a succubus. She says she is the original. She has a thing for Edward. Don't know why he hasn't taken her up on it yet. I have one of three theories. One, he's a prude. Two, he's gay. Or three, he's a gay prude. I'm not sure which, but Jasper and I have a bet going as to which one it is. Jasper says he's just being a gentleman. I say he's a gay prude." Just then Edward passed the jeep, honked the horn, and gave Emmett the finger. Emmett started laughing again.
"I'm guessing he heard you?" I asked him.
"He did, right now he is threatening to accidentally lose my XBOX going over the Mississippi River. I wouldn't do that Eddie boy. I would hate to accidentally look away and rear-end the Aston Martin. Wouldn't you Eddie……I would….wanna bet? No I don't have a betting problem."
"Would you stop that? Do you know how frustrating it is to listen to you have a conversation with someone whose in a different car without a phone?"
"Sorry babe. I'll stop. Tell you what. I'll think it in my head and he can speak out loud to me. Better?" He asked while taking my hand and kissing it.
"Better." I reached in the back end and grabbed my pillow and laid back in the seat and started thinking about how much my life had changed in just the last six weeks.
--Flashback--
It was the day after I overheard the conversation in the dining room. Emmett and I were sitting on the couch at the Cullen house.
"So, if you're a vampire, how is it that you're able to come outside in the daylight? And how come you don't have fangs? And why is it you have a huge cross in your living room? And ho-" Emmett cut me off before I could say anything else.
"All myths. When vampires first started getting noticed, it was mainly at night because it is a whole lot easier to sneak up on a person. That and humans knew of vampires and would lead witch-hunts against them. It was just easier to come out at night. The cross was hand-crafted by Carlisle's father. He was a preacher who led some of the vampire hunts back in the 1650's."
"Oh." My father is pushing three hundred and seventy something. Wow.
--Flashback--
Ed pov
I was in my Vanquish following Emmett in his jeep. I was listening to Debussy when I heard my name in Emmett's thoughts. Now curious, I started listening to see what he was telling Riya.
"-Tanya is a succubus. She says she is the original. She has a thing for Edward. Don't know why he hasn't taken her up on it yet. I have one of three theories. One, he's a prude. Two, he's gay. Or three, he's a gay prude. I'm not sure which, but Jasper and I have a bet going on which one it is. Jasper says he's just being a gentleman. I say he's a gay prude." Emmett told Riya. Great, now Riya's going to think I'm gay.
I accelerated and passed Emmett and gave him the finger. He started laughing again.
"Emmett, I swear. If you don't start keeping those little comments to yourself. You know what? It would be a shame if your XBOX fell out of the car going over the Mississippi River." I told him with a short laugh.
"I'm guessing he heard you?" I heard Riya ask him.
"He did, right now he is threatening to accidentally lose my XBOX going over the Mississippi River. I wouldn't do that Eddie boy. I would hate to accidentally look away and rear-end the Aston Martin. Wouldn't you Eddie?" Emmett told me with a chuckle.
"You wouldn't dare Emmett."
"Wouldn't I?"
"I don't think you will."
"Wanna bet?"
"I'm really starting to believe that you and Jasper have a betting problem, don't you?"
"No, I don't have a betting problem."
"Would you stop that? Do you know how frustrating it is to listen to you have a conversation with someone whose in a different car without using a phone?" Riya started to yell at him. I could understand her point. She was the only human in the family.
Riya POV
About two hours down the road we stopped at a gas station. We pulled in and ended up taking half the pumps. Alice jumped out of the Volvo and ran over to the jeep.
"Riya, do you wanna run in with me? You could probably use a restroom." Alice asked as she approached.
"You're right. I could use a bathroom and maybe a drink." I agreed as I undid the harness and jumped out of the jeep. We walked in the store and Alice started directly to the counter.
"Umm, hello ma'am. How can we um, uh, help you?" The boy behind the counter asked Alice as we approached the counter.
"Yes. I am needing pumps two, three, four, five, and six turned on please." Alice told him with a smile.
"Uh um yes ma'am." The clerk turned on the pumps while I headed back to the restroom. I came back out a few minutes later, grabbed a water and a protein bar and met Alice at the counter. Alice paid for everything and we headed back out to the cars.
"Would you like to ride with me for bit? Jasper can ride with Emmett in the jeep if you do." Alice asked as we started approaching the cars.
"Sure, let me tell Em." I ran over to Emmett who was talking to Edward. I didn't want to interrupt what they were saying so I stood back for a moment to wait. Emmett looked back at me and held his hand out to me and pulled me to him.
"Were you going to ride with Alice?" He asked me as I snuggled up to his side.
"If you didn't mind. Who knows, maybe you and Jasper can find something to bet about along the way."
Edward laughed, "Apparently I am not the only one who has noticed your betting problem." Emmett looked over at him and growled quietly before looking back down at me.
"Go ahead, have some fun." He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me backwards to him, kissed the top of my head and held me there. I knew I would always be protected with him and I loved being in his arms. I was only five foot five, so he really felt like a giant to me being a little over a foot taller than me. Jasper walked over to us.
"I hear you're running me off and I'm stuck with Emmett for a few hours now." He joked as he gave me a playful shove.
'Yeah, aren't you supposed to get sick of your wife after fifty years anyway?" I joked back.
"Be careful of how you answer that Jasper." Alice warned him as she walked up behind him.
"How would I ever get sick of you? Everyday is a surprise with you." Jasper told her as he kissed her on the forehead.
"Smooth one, man." Emmett joked.
"Riya, did you need to get anything while we're stopped?" Esme asked as she joined us.
"I got it." I held up my water and protein bar as proof.
"Is that all you need, would like to get an actual meal while we're stopped?" Typical Esme, always worrying about her children.
"No, I can wait 'til next time."
"Okay. Well if we don't need anything else, maybe we should get going."
"You're right. We should get back on the road." Jasper agreed. Emmett lightly kissed the top of my head and unwrapped his arms from me. I followed Alice to the Volvo, while Jasper, Emmett, Esme, and Edward went to their cars.
Three hours later we stopped again. Same routine we too up the entire side of the gas station. This time though, I was the only one who went it. Same thing as before, I asked for the pumps to be turned on and ran to the bathroom. When I walked back out the clerk was staring out the window practically drooling. I walked up to the counter and waited patiently, finally I watched as Emmett hung up the hose, he had the largest gas tank so I figured everyone else would be done too.
"Excuse me, sir." The boy turned around. "I'm needing to pay for pumps one through five."
"Are all of you really traveling together?" He asked. Great another person who noticed I didn't really belong. I wasn't as pale as them. I was pretty pale, just not that pale. I knew I looked like I didn't belong and it made me feel more self-conscious when people seemed to notice. When it was just the eight of us at home as a family I was fine, but times like this made me annoyed.
"Yeah I am, why?" I asked trying not to sound as annoyed as I really was.
"Is that an Aston Martin Vanquish?" He started looking back to the car where Edward was standing with a grin.
"Yeah it is." I replied with a small laugh. I let my imagination go wild again and for no reason. He wasn't amazed because I stood out; he was amazed by our cars.
"Wow, I have never seen one of those on the street, just in magazines. Wow, oh wait is that the BMW M3 too?" He asked as he spotted Rosalie next to her convertible talking to Emmett and Edward. That's when I noticed Jasper walking into the store.
"Yeah it is.: I answered again. Jasper walked up to me and put his arm around me.
"Everything okay sis?" He asked me as the clerk looked back to us. "We were starting to get worried when you didn't come right back out."
"Sorry, I've been waiting to pay, but he's been to busy drooling over our cars to notice." I replied loud enough for the clerk to hear. "And Rose." I barely whispered, but knew that Jasper could hear me. He started to laugh.
"Oh, I am so sorry. Was there anything else you were needing?" Jasper shook his head no. "Okay that comes to 104.57." Jasper took out his wallet and handed the boy five twenties and a five.
"Come on Ri, let's get out of here." Jasper told me in a strained voice as he led me out of the store. I knew he wanted out fast because the boy was giving off some strange emotions. He still had his arm wrapped around me; he lightly picked me up to his side and started walking at a very brisk human speed.
"Edward, what the hell was he thinking about?" He hissed so quickly that I could barely understand him. We reached Edward, Rose, and Alice who were all standing beside the Vanquish laughing there heads off. Emmett looked horrified.
"The clerk is a little confused. He couldn't stop thinking about how well you and Emmett would do as models." I felt Jasper stiffen beside me as he set me back on my feet. I started to laugh, but then thought of something. I moved over to Emmett and stood up on my toes, still not quite able to even reach his chest. He bent the rest of the way down.
"I must say that I agree with him." I whispered in his ear. He laughed and kissed me very passionately, probably more so than ever before. He was always afraid of hurting me. He was the strongest of the entire family and he usually had to pay more attention than any of the others when touching me. I also knew he was just trying to make the clerk realize that he was taken. Oh well, I enjoyed it. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he lifted me up as I wrapped my legs around his torso. Before I knew it he was starting to pull away from me. I tried pulling him back to me, but he being stronger finally pulled away.
"Not fair. Entice me and then leave me wanting more. You tease." I joked as I crossed my arms and put on my best pout face.
"I'm sorry Em, but all you seemed to do was make him jealous." Edward told us cringing at whatever it was the boy was thinking. Jasper started to shake a little bit.
"Yeah, thank you Emmett. Thank you so much." Jasper said sarcastically. "Come on Alice." He grabbed Alice and started to drag her to the Volvo.
"We'll catch up." Alice shrieked as she got in the Volvo.
"I could have gone another hundred years without seeing Alice like that." Edward groaned. "Come on, we had better get going or we will never make it to Forks. I looked around to see that Esme and Carlisle had already left as well. Edward got in the Vanquish, quickly revved the engine and was gone.
"Emmett, you better get Riya something to eat before we take off again. See you next time we stop Ri." Rose reminded Emmett of my humanness. She got in the M3, and like Edward, revved the engine and was gone.
Emmett carried me over to the jeep and set me in the passenger seat.
"Sorry I left you wanting more. If it makes you feel better, you left me wanting more as well." He kissed me again. "We better get going. Where would you like me to stop for your lunch? Subway, as usual?" He asked as he climbed in the driver seat.
"Of course."
Ten minutes later we were back on the interstate and I was finishing my sandwich. After lunch, I laid back and fell asleep.
AN: I know this one was long, hope you liked it. Please review.
