I highly recommend you guys to read this chapter while listening to the Superman song (the one with the lines: I'm more than a bird, I'm more than a plane). I was listening to it while writing this and I didn't realize that Edward's thoughts had similarities to those in the song. My brother pointed it out to me and told me that this chapter is under the influence of Superman. Honestly, it adds more emotion. :D

Anyway, there is very minimal or almost zero dialog in this and it's kind of different from the other chapters. Also, it kind of segues from the all the gossip and stuff. Enjoy!

Edward's POV:

I was listening to my iPOd, trying to drown out the shouts from downstairs. Honestly, I thought the shouts were better than all the silent treatment. At least, when they were fighting, we had a vague idea of what they were talking, or rather, screaming about. Despite all of the heated conversations, Alice and I still had little knowledge on the reason for their fighting.

I remember, since Alice and I were born, our parents would always take us to the place they first met. It was near First Beach, a few miles outside Forks. They said it was the day Mom broke up with her ex-boyfriend. She was sitting alone in her car when Dad suddenly knocked on her window. Dad was in his early 20's at that time, working hours, while he finished medical school. Our grandparents were co-owners of the little resort in that beach. So, back to the story. Dad knocked on Mom's window, telling her that overnight parking was not allowed and it was already half-past eleven in the evening. Mom told us she blushed furiously and hurriedly sped out of the lot. Although, that was not the last time they saw each other. To cut the story short, they kept on seeing each other at the beach after that and were married after a year. They had me and Alice three years later. And, ever since, we'd go and visit First Beach during their anniversary. That was until last year.

This year's anniversary passed by unnoticed. It was two weeks after their fighting started. Alice and I were planning something special, something we put our whole hearts into, in hopes that they would be reconciled. Our plans were a failure. Just as we were about to say that we were taking them to First Beach, where there would be a party and reminiscing of their past, they started to argue with each other over something stupid which eventually led, you guessed it, to shouting and cursing. That was when Alice and I realized that all our efforts to keep them together might be anything but fruitful. We gave up after that.

Right now, it's been two months since all this mayhem started. Dad was already sleeping on the couch and Mom was rarely home. We never ate as a family anymore, it was always just me and Alice. Mom didn't cook anymore because she was always out of the house so the two of us had to make do with the microwavable stuff we had. Our parents still talked to us though, even if we could sense the tension in their voices. But, sometimes, the silence was just too much to bear. I couldn't spend all my time with my sister, especially when she was talking about boys and shopping. Of course, she couldn't spend time with me too when I was in the mood for manly stuff. Before, I always had my dad for that, even if he was too busy at the hospital. And Alice had Mom. Now, all we had was each other.

Sometimes, I selfishly wished that I had an older brother to talk to. Not that I didn't like talking to Alice. It was just that, I was the older brother in that situation. And, I needed a big brother too. One that can talk to me about all this chaos, like I do to Alice. Someone who'd tell me it was going to be alright and that Mom and Dad will see light one day. But, I had no one.

Earlier today, I almost blurted out the whole situation to Bella. I knew I can trust her, but I was ashamed. See, my parents were very well-known in Forks. Everyone said that they were such a happy couple, with no problems whatsoever. They had the jobs, the money, and the intelligent kids. They couldn't be more perfect. Boy were they so wrong. They didn't know how my parents acted right now, when they weren't in public. They don't know how much furniture has been damaged ever since their arguments started. And, people don't know that their kids are suffering. Of course they didn't. All they knew was that my parents were perfect and gifted people who didn't have any hangovers. I knew that Bella would be greatly influenced by her father, Police Chief Swan, who was a big "fan" of my parents. I knew that she looked at my family as a perfect one, too.

And, that was why I am ashamed. I am ashamed of how people may perceive our family when they find out about the fighting. How can I tell them that all our riches our just garbage when the two main foundations of the family are in a wreck? They'd say, well at least your happy with everything you have. But, that wasn't it. Richness is nothing if the people you love are suffering. It means nothing, even if people use it to bribe you into doing something. It wasn't equal to the love our parents give us. Or used to give us. We were human beings too. And, human beings have the right to cry and fall down once in a while, right?

I pulled my earbuds away from my ear and realized that the house had grown silent again. I went out of my room and peeked into my sister's. She was asleep already. How could she sleep through all that fighting? I closed her door again and went downstairs to get something to drink. My parents were nowhere to be seen. I had to admit it, I was actually thankful they weren't anywhere near me. It saves me from enduring the mixture of miserable and angry looks on their faces. As I passed by the living room, I stepped on cracked glass. I looked down and saw that my shoe was on top of a picture frame. I picked up the picture that had escaped from the frame. Brushing the glass off, I looked at the photograph. I remembered the picture vividly. It was taken a year ago, at First Beach. It was during our parents' anniversary and someone was kind enough to snap us a family picture. The four of us were playfully smiling holding each other close. I couldn't take it anymore. I put the picture in my pocket and vowed to avoid looking at it again. Let it get lost in the laundry.

I hope you see the similarity between the song and Edward's thoughts. Tell me what you think. And, i really try to make my chapters longer and I hope I'm improving.

Don't forget to review! :))

PS: Do you think the song "Family Portrait" by Pink fits the problem of the Cullen family? It's the chapter title and in my opinion, I think it fits well too. Tell me what you think.