Chapter 9

I woke up to the sound of a slight knock on my door. My room was dimly lit from the foggy sunlight outside the window. Sighing, I rolled over and looked at the time. It was 10am.

"Bella, Honey, are you going to get up any time soon?" my Mom asked, her voice muffled on the other side of my door. Slowly, I sat up in my bed. I ran my fingers through my unruly hair before answering.

"Mom, you can come in. I'm not naked or anything,"

The door opened quickly and my Mother stepped in, cautiously. She smiled slightly before walking over and sitting on my bed.

"What happened, Bella? Your eyes are all red and puffy," she asked me with concern. I pulled my knees up and wrapped my arms around them, hugging them to my chest.

"Angela and I broke up last night," I stated simply. During the night I had cried for hours, but I could feel the tears threatening to come spilling out again.

"Oh, Honey, are you alright?" she asked, resting a hand on my knee in a comforting gesture.

"No, but I'm the one to blame for all of this. She broke up with me only because I deserved it," I admitted, tears starting to spill down my cheeks.

"Bella, what happened?"

"I kissed someone else. I have feelings for her, too. So, pretty much, I cheated on the love of my life and broke her heart," I said, brokenly. My Mom pursed her lips, probably trying to think of a way to make the shitty thing I did, not so bad, to make me feel better.

"Bells, we are only human. Sometimes we make mistakes. I'm sure if you give her enough time, Angela will forgive you. She's a nice girl with a big heart," she said. For some reason, anger coursed through me, but not at my Mother, at myself.

"She won't forgive me! I don't deserve to be forgiven. Angela trusted me and I betrayed her! And you wanna know what's even worse?" I asked her, my voice rising in volume. My Mother was taken aback for a moment before nodding her head slowly. "I don't want her to forgive me! I've fallen for someone else. I don't want Angela back and I hate myself for it! I'm such a shitty person!"

Instead of saying something, my Mom reached for me and held me tightly in her arms. I sobbed into her chest, enveloping myself in self pity. Slowly, she released me from her embrace, kissed the top of my head, and walked out of my room, shutting the door quietly. I fell back into my bed and buried my face into my blankets.

I was jerked out of my stupor when I heard my phone vibrating furiously against my nightstand. Reaching over, I grabbed it and unlocked it with a swipe. Alice was calling.

"Hello?"

"Bella, it's me. How are you?

"Ugh,"

"Mmm, gotcha. Well are you up to coming over to my house today?"

"Your house? Oh dear God,"

"What? You don't have to. I was just offering. I would love for my family to meet you. They are very…curious about you,"

"Sorry, I want to. I guess…I'm just nervous is all. What time?"

"Well, I'm a very impatient person… so how about fifteen minutes?"

"Alice! How on earth do you expect-"

"See you in fifteen minutes, Bella!"

My eyes bugged out of my head when I heard the dial tone on the other end of the phone. I jumped, ninja style, out of my bed and ran to my closet. Rummaging through, I found a simple outfit, one I wore often, a t-shirt, Buckle Jeans, and a black fleece. When I looked in the mirror, I cringed. My hair was a mess and my eyes were swollen and red. I ran a brush quickly through my rat's nest and applied some make up, trying to make my face less… I don't know…Hideous?

Deciding that my appearance was good enough, I opened my door and flew down the stairs. My parents were in the living room. My father was reading the newspaper and my Mother was on her laptop.

"Bella, good afternoon!" my Mother greeted as I passed through. I kissed her quickly on the top of the head and pecked my father on the cheek.

"Hold up, Bells. Come here for a second," my father requested. I quickly turned around to face him again.

"What's up?" I asked curiously.

"I was thinking that after school tomorrow, you and I could trade in that old Volvo of yours. We haven't had any time together lately and the hospital gave me a vacation day tomorrow," he offered. I smiled. I loved getting new cars and getting rid of the Volvo would help me not to think about the person who loved it so much.

"Sure, Dad, that sounds great!" I exclaimed.

"Did you have any vehicles in mind?" he asked, looking back to his newspaper.

"Um, well, I think I want a motorcycle," I said with a slight smirk on my face, almost laughing out loud when my mother practically dropped her computer to the floor.

"Bella Marie Swan! Is it not enough that we let you drive insanely fast cars? A motorcycle? In Forks, Washington? Umm, I'm thinking not," she said with a note of finality in her voice.

"I was joking, Mom. Maybe a Camero? I'm not sure. We will just have to shop around," I said, giving my father a wink. I could barely see his eyes over the top of his newspaper, but from the crinkles at the corners I was able to tell that he was smiling at me.

"Where are you off to anyway?" My mother asked.

"I'm going to hang out with Alice. Is that okay?" I asked rhetorically, already knowing they would let me.

"Alice? Have we met her before?" My father asked, curiously, still hidden behind that damn newspaper.

"Nah, but I'm sure you will soon enough. She's coming to pick me up since I don't remember where her house is. Did you want to meet her today?" I asked them, hoping they wouldn't. I had been to Alice's house once before, but I doubted that I could find it again. Plus, she said that she was going to come pick me up.

"No, sweetheart, we will meet her some other time," my Mom said, mercifully. I sighed in silent relief.

"Do you need money in case you two go somewhere tonight?" Dad asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I don't know, I have the credit card otherwise," I said. My dad chuckled as he leaned forward and grabbed his wallet out of his pocket. Pulling out a couple of crisp One-Hundred-Dollar bills, he handed them to me.

"Thanks, Dad," I said, rolling my eyes as I turned around. I didn't understand why he always gave me so much. Of course, I wasn't complaining, but it made me feel like a spoiled little rich kid. When I was younger, I didn't have anything, but now I had everything I could ever ask for. All of the material things I could ever want or need and most importantly, adoptive parents that loved me.

I walked through the house toward the kitchen, surprised that Alice was taking so long. Opening the refrigerator, I pulled out a can of Monster and popped the tab. Soon enough, there was a knock at my door. I grabbed my purse and headed for the door. Opening it quickly, I saw Alice standing on my door step. My lips spread themselves into a huge grin when I saw her. She was dressed simply, as simple as she could dress of course, and her eyes where a brilliant topaz, shining with excitement.

"Hey, Alice," I said. She pulled me in for a tight hug then, almost spilling my Monster.

"Hello, Bella! Are you ready to go?" She asked, a smile still plastered to her face. I nodded slightly before she led me to her car. Alice opened the passenger door for me and closed it swiftly when I was situated. Soon we were speeding toward her house.

I was quiet on the ride there. The only thing I could think about was the fact that her family probably wouldn't like me.

"Is something wrong, Bella?" Alice asked me, breaking the silence. I shrugged my shoulders and turned to look at her and almost shit my pants when I saw how fast we were going.

"Jesus Christ, Alice! Slow down! Are you trying to kill me?" I yelled, suddenly afraid for my life.

"Oh, silly Bella, I would never let anything happen to you," she replied, still not letting off of the gas pedal. Sighing audibly, I reached over for her hand and held it tightly, enjoying the feel of her cold skin.

We arrived to her house quickly because of Alice's driving habits and I took a few deep breaths before opening my car door. Alice walked around the car and held out her hand for me to take. She smiled reassuringly at me and pulled me along behind her. We walked up the steps quickly and before reaching the top step, the front door flew open, revealing a gorgeous middle aged woman and an equally beautiful middle aged man.

"Greetings, Isabella, it's so nice to finally meet you," the woman said extending her hand forward. I stepped forward and shook her hand. It was as cold as Alice's, which I found odd because Alice was adopted like myself.

"These are my adoptive parents, Carlisle and Esme," Alice introduced. I smiled and shook her father's hand, which was as cold as Esme's and Alice's. But the hands weren't the weirdest thing. It was their eyes. Esme, Carlisle, Alice, and Edward all had the same topaz eyes with slight purple bruises under them, making them all look tired. I shook my head, trying to stop thinking about their similarities as I followed Alice's parents into their gorgeous white house.

A/N: Hey everyone! I apologize for the wait on this update. Life catches up with all of us sometimes. Anyway, did you catch that Charlie and Renee are Bella's adoptive parents? Whoa! Surprise! Do you feel bad for Bella having to meet Alice's family so quickly? What do you think Bella will do when she meets Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmet? Why aren't they in school? Hmm, questions!