A/N: Hey everyone. Will you please let me know what days are good for you when I post new chapters? I was thinking about making an update schedule. I'm not positive about it, but if it's something that would be beneficial to my readers, I'm definitely going to consider it. Just let me know under either the review section or by messaging me. Also, let me know what you think! I'd love to hear more thoughts about this story.
Edward
Bella was sound asleep in the guest room, but the rest of us were restless. We sat in the living room while commercials from the TV quietly filled our unconsciousness with advertisements. The fireplace contained a roaring fire that warmed the room and provided flickering light that danced across our skin.
The smell from the fire reminded me of when I was a kid and we would go camping as a family. In my mind, a five-year old Alice screeched and blew out a marshmallow she accidentally set on fire. "I ruined it!" she pouted. She would spend the longest time roasting her marshmallows, only emitting them from the flames when they were perfectly golden brown.
My family sat around a campfire and munched on our S'mores. Young Jasper had chocolate and marshmallow on the corners of his mouth as he said, "Dad, when are you going to tell us a ghost story?"
I joined in. "Yeah! Ghost story! Ghost story!"
Carlisle hesitated and said, "Oh, I don't know guys. Your sister is a little too young for that."
Alice crossed her arms and cried, "Am not!"
Carlisle smiled and patted Alice on the back. "If you say so," he said. Esme giggled as me, Jasper, and Alice looked up at our father eagerly. He shined a small, black flashlight on his face and began:
"One dark night, a young couple was driving down a twisted road. Actually, it wasn't too far from this campground. They were heading home from a camping trip, and they were exhausted. It was midnight and the moon was full." He paused for a moment. Even though he attempted to use a soft, creepy voice, it still sounded like what I referred to as his "doctor voice." It was slightly dry and informative, the voice he used when he was talking to patients at work. I doubted he knew he used it at around us, too.
Carlisle continued, "The car started losing its power and eventually slowed to a complete stop. The girl was mad at her boyfriend for letting them run out of gas, and he stormed out of the car to go find help. He left her alone in the middle of nowhere, waiting impatiently for him to return.
"The girl started to worry after the boy was gone for hours. The wind howled outside their car, and she heard soft pattering on the roof of the car—indicating that it was beginning to rain. She couldn't bear to think of him all alone in the bad weather, so she decided to go look for him."
Carlisle lowered his voice to a whisper and spoke slowly, "When the girl exited the car, she was surprised to see it wasn't raining. The dripping on her car was actually blood coming out of her boyfriend's decapitated head that was tied on a tree above the car."
Alice's face grew pale and her lip trembled. Jasper scoffed and said, "Oh, come on! Everyone knows that one! It's not even real! Tell us something cool, like someone really dying at the hospital! You see that all the time at work."
"That's enough, Jasper," Carlisle said.
Esme's voice startled me back to the present, back to the living room and the inevitable conversation we were about to have. She spoke in a low voice, "What did you want to talk to us about, Edward?"
Esme, Alice, and Carlisle all stared at me expectantly.
When I didn't answer, Carlisle spoke. "What is it, son?" His voice was full of concern rather than annoyance, which was relieving.
"It's not exactly easy to talk about," I said. Even though the guest room was far from the living room, I spoke in a hushed voice. I didn't want there to be even a slight possibility of Bella waking up and being able to hear us. I continued, "I mean, it's something that involves Jasper, and you all know how we are about that subject."
Alice gazed toward the fire, lost in thought. Esme and Carlisle looked at each other and turned their attention back to me. Esme whispered, "I know we don't talk about it, honey. But even though he did a horrible thing that makes me sick, he's still my son. Is that what this is about, us not acknowledging your brother?" Her eyes held a great amount of sadness as she spoke, though there were no tears.
"No, that's not what this is about," I said. Everyone was silent. The TV droned on about a tomato planter as the fire crackled and sputtered. The flames eagerly licked the wood as the coals underneath glowed orange and red.
"What's going on, Edward?" Alice asked, suddenly joining the conversation.
I sighed and began, "Look, I know we don't talk about this shit, like, at all. But there is something you need to know because it pertains to all of us. Bella is the girl that Jasper raped in Las Vegas."
Three jaws dropped to the floor in unison. It would have been comedic if it weren't for the subject matter.
Minutes passed.
Esme was the first to speak. "Is that . . . are you . . . that isn't a lie?"
"It's one hundred percent true. I guarantee it. She didn't know he was related to me until she found out my last name. It was a nightmare. I didn't know, of course, until she said something. She's been through a lot, and we owe her a lot more than a place to stay." When I spoke, Alice stared off into space with a strange look on her face. It seemed like she was pushing herself into an alternate reality, just like we all did with the mention of Jasper.
"What are the odds?" Esme asked. She was getting upset. Tears built up in her eyes. I knew she hated thinking of what her son did. We all knew she raised Jasper better than that.
"I don't know. I really don't. This whole situation is really awful." I had a hard time keeping my voice steady. My mother didn't cry often, but when she did, it hurt all of us.
"She lived in Las Vegas, then?" Carlisle asked. Alice remained detached as we all spoke.
I replied, "Yeah. The pedophile adopted her, so she moved from Vegas to here."
"Talk about an un-warm welcome." Carlisle sighed. "Her memory should come back regarding the incident with Chief Swan. If it doesn't, she will probably need to go to therapy. Amnesia from concussions doesn't last long. Repression would be likely the cause of her memory loss."
"That's what I told her," I said.
"You told her to go to therapy?" Carlisle asked me, surprised.
"No, no. I told her she might have repressed the memory." I said.
Carlisle continued, "Well, now that I'm aware of her past with Jasper, going to therapy wouldn't be a bad idea anyway. I think she could really benefit from it. We don't want to be too hasty about suggesting it, though. She's had a rough day to say the least."
"Tell me about it," I said.
I jumped when I heard Alice's tiny voice, "I'm going to bed." She spoke as if she was still detached from her body. She jumped up from the couch, but I blocked her exit.
"Please, Alice. You need to stay. We all need to face this. I know you don't want to. Trust me, I don't want to either. But listen, Bella means a lot to me. So don't hide from it right now. Please?" It was the most begging I could handle, though in the back of my mind, I knew it would be proven futile.
"There's nothing more to talk about," Alice said in a monotone voice. "Jasper raped your friend, and now she might be living with us. Every time I look at her, I'll think of him and what he did."
That set me off. I loved my little sister, but she was crossing a huge line. "Oh, that's fucking great, Al. You're thinking of yourself, as usual, but you're not seeing the whole picture. Don't you understand? Bella will think about how Jasper raped her every time she looks at any of us! She doesn't have a place to stay because the guy that adopted her is a baby fucker! So, excuse her for barging in on your precious little life where you pretend everything is fucking peachy!"
Esme's tears continued to fall down her face, Alice huffed and glared at me, and Carlisle warned me with a mere disapproving, "Edward."
I turned to Carlisle and continued my rant. "Look, I am not going to walk on eggshells anymore! We've been doing it for four years, and it does nothing but delay the pain! We need to face the pain and we need to heal. We all deserve to heal, and Bella deserves to heal. She's not going to get any better if we all pretend everything's just great!"
Carlisle lifted his finger to his mouth to hush me. He spoke evenly, "Edward, I agree with you. However, we can't go around being in constant misery and talk about Jasper nonstop either. We need a healthy balance where all of us acknowledge the assault, get past it as a group, and support each other. Let's not forget that Bella might not even choose to stay with us."
I took a few deep breaths in attempt to calm down. "Forgive me. I'm just really shaken up over this whole ordeal." I turned to Alice specifically so she knew I was mainly referring to her.
Alice's lip trembled and she embraced me in the world's biggest hug. "I'm really sorry. I wasn't thinking clearly. You know how it is with Jasper and all. I promise I will be supportive of Bella. She deserves our support."
"Thank you," I whispered, rubbing her shoulders and slowly releasing myself from her embrace.
- - - - -
Faint morning light trickled through my room window. Birds sang outside, happy to be alive. The smell of bacon trickled up to my room from the kitchen. Considering the early hour, Esme must have not slept well, either. Nightmares kept me awake, and I worried about Bella every moment I wasn't asleep. I yawned, stretched, and headed downstairs; following the smell of breakfast.
To my surprise, Esme and Bella were cooking up a storm in the kitchen. It was as if Bella didn't have a broken arm by the way she moved around the kitchen helping Esme cook.
Esme turned her attention to me and said cheerfully, "Good morning, dear!"
"Morning," I replied. Bella grinned at me as she dipped a slice of bread in raw eggs with her good arm.
"We're making bacon and french toast," Bella said shyly. It took me a minute to let the sight of Bella and my mother bonding soak in. It was completely surreal.
"You like french toast, don't you?" Esme asked as Bella handed her the egg-soaked bread to put on the stove.
"Of course. Are you sure you're well enough to cook though?" I asked, eyeing Bella.
Bella turned to me, her eyes lighting up. "Nothing could stop me from cooking. It's my passion."
Esme chuckled. "I couldn't convince her to relax. Both of us were up early, and she insisted on helping when I mentioned making breakfast." She lovingly rubbed Bella's back, and I saw Esme's maternal instincts kick in instantly. It was like Bella was one her children, and it gave me hope for the near future.
Bella
I woke up right before the sun peeked over the horizon. I wasn't sure what time it was, but I was certain it was early as hell. I noticed a flat-screen TV in the room, and there was a remote conveniently placed on my nightstand. I grabbed it with my good arm and pressed the power button.
Infomercials polluted the early morning television schedule, but I stopped on a nature show and zoned out. It showed a mother cheetah caring for her cubs. She was in charge of raising them, hunting for them and feeding them, and keeping them safe. The poor thing had a lot of responsibility, and she didn't have help from anyone. It was rare for all her cubs to make it to adulthood in such dire circumstances. My heart ached for the mother cheetah.
A beautiful black and white cat peeked its head in my room, letting out a soft mew! The darling creature jumped on my bed, curling up next to me.
"Aww, did you come to watch the cheetah show with me?" I asked, petting the cat behind its ears. It purred in response, making its whole body rumble with contentment.
A pleasant female voice startled me out of my kitty conversation. "Knock, knock!"
A woman peeked her head in my room, and she was absolutely gorgeous. She had wavy caramel-colored hair and a face so classically beautiful that it reminded me of a movie star from the forties. I felt so out of place. Even the damn cat was attractive in this family.
"Hi sweetie. I'm Edward's mother, Esme. I see you've met Zorro." She pointed to the black and white cat on my lap. His bright yellow eyes looked up at me, and they appeared to contain a black mask from the pattern on his fur. Zorro was a perfect name for him.
"Yeah, he just hopped up here a minute ago. I love kitties," I said. I had a cat when I was young, but Renee gave it away because Phil was allergic. My heart was broken for the little friend I made that had been prematurely torn from me, and I had a soft spot for cats ever since.
I mentally slapped myself, realizing Zorro distracted me from being polite to Esme. "Oh geez, where are my manners? It's really nice to meet you, Mrs. Cullen." I held out my good hand, but she took me in for a hug instead.
"You can call me Esme, dear," she said, holding the embrace for a moment before she let go. "Are you hungry? I know it's early, but since both of us are awake I figured I could whip something up."
"Actually, I'm kind of starving," I said. "But even though I'm one-armed, I insist on helping."
Esme smiled, "You should certainly rest instead, dear."
"Oh, I've gotten plenty of rest." Thanks to the amazing painkiller. "Besides, I really love cooking."
"You and I both!" Esme said, still smiling at me. "Well, let's head to the kitchen. I think Zorro will be thrilled to have an early breakfast. He gets wet food in the mornings, and he cries for it until we wake up." She gently lifted Zorro from my bed and he willingly grasped her shoulder. I followed Esme's lead to the ridiculously humongous Cullen kitchen. It was like a dream come true for a culinary nerd such as myself.
Esme lowered Zorro from her shoulder and scraped a new can of wet food in his blue dish. He gobbled it down like it was the last meal he'd ever eat, and it was pretty fucking adorable.
Esme and I made small talk while we made breakfast together. She didn't ask me anything personal, and for that I was grateful. While I was dipping the bread in eggs, Edward entered the kitchen; making my heart beat involuntarily fast. He had ridiculously messy bed head and he looked taken aback at the sight of me cooking with his mother.
Carlisle and Alice drifted into the kitchen after a few minutes, probably waking up from the sound of the sizzling bacon and conversation between Esme, Edward, and me. Alice looked exceptionally beautiful for just waking up. She wore hot pink lacey pajamas and her hair was flawless, like she had already styled it.
When breakfast was ready, Esme insisted for me to sit down while she dished up our plates. My stomach growled in anticipation, just imagining the syrupy French toast in my mouth. I couldn't remember the last time I'd eaten anything.
Esme poured me a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice and put a heaping plate of french toast and bacon right in front of me. When everyone had their plates, we all began eating. I figured I should tell them what I needed to say while they were all present.
I gulped down a bite of deliciously soggy french toast and said, "I just wanted to say that I accept the proposal given to me yesterday evening. If it's still okay with you guys, I'd like to live here."
To my surprise, four beautiful faces beamed at me.
"Of course it's okay. We'd love for you to stay here," Esme said.
"Absolutely," Carlisle added.
"It will be wonderful to have you here," Edward pitched in.
"Yes, I'm really glad you've decided to stay," Alice said.
Even though there was a fucked up past between Jasper and I, I felt at home with his family. And it felt more amazing than anything I could ever describe.
