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Chapter Three

The landlord smirked as he ran the hand that just held mine through his mess of what he considered hair. "Ah, Renee didn't mention she had a daughter."

Of course she didn't. Why should she mention she has a daughter? It's not like she spent eighteen hours giving birth to me.

"Well. She does," I said a little too defensively.

"I believe you." He chuckled, still glancing over my shoulder. "If she's not here, can I just drop this off with you?"

Eying the folder in his hands, I nodded. "That works."

"It's just a copy of the lease. Oh, and here's the key to the neighborhood pool." Handing me a plastic card from his pocket, he said, "It's actually pretty nice. There's a hot tub, too."

"Awesome. I love hot...tubbin'," I replied awkwardly, giving him an I have no idea what the fuck I just said face. Cause really? Hot tubbin'?

To my surprise, he ignored my last comment and my odd facial expression. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. Or maybe he was partially deaf. And blind. That would be a little upsetting. But he didn't have a hearing aid, and he wasn't wearing those shades blind people sometimes wear, so-

Cutting off my rude inner monologue, Edward asked, "Where did you two move from? I don't think Renee ever mentioned it."

I knew he was just trying to be polite, because that's what people do. They become curious when you're the shiny, new toy. They ask questions; they annoyingly prod.

But this was the part I hated the most; the lying. It was best to not divulge too much information, to not get too invested. Since he claimed Renee hadn't mentioned anything, I knew it was safe to lie. Talk us up a bit. Make us appear normal.

"We just moved from...Portland," I said quietly, wondering why I didn't just lie to him. That'd be much easier.

When he didn't respond, I scolded myself for speaking so softly since he may or may not be partially deaf. So, I said it again, but ten times louder. "Portland!"

"Whoa. I heard you the first time." He laughed. "Portland, huh?" His eyebrows raised in understanding. As if it made sense for anyone to move from Portland to Forks. "What brought you two to Forks?"

Well, you see...Renee decided to stop paying rent, so we left before we were kicked out of our apartment. You'd think her job braiding hemp hammocks would be enough to pay for rent, but nope. You'd be wrong.

"My dad lives in Port Angeles. Renee claimed she wanted to live closer to him, for my sake," I said easily. It wasn't actually the truth, but it wasn't a lie, either.

Charlie did actually live in Port Angeles, and I had always wanted to live closer to him. Not that it mattered to Renee if I saw my father or not. Relationships weren't a big deal to her. Neither was marriage. Or me, apparently, since she failed to mention my existence to the man standing in front of me.

"Really? Renee should have said something. I have a friend who's a realtor; she has a few houses on the market in Port A."

"They're divorced," I admitted for no reason whatsoever. "I think the further away, the better."

Edward winced for a split second. "I'm sorry. That must be tough."

I shrugged. "You don't have to feel sorry for me. They got divorced when I was three. I've had more than a little time to adjust."

His phone beeped once, then twice. "I'm sorry, I..." He glanced down at the annoying device. "I'm actually late for work. Maybe I'll see you again?"

"Uh, yeah. Probably, like, the first of each month?"

"Right, right." He shook his head as he smiled. "I just meant since you're new to town, maybe I could show you around or something."

"What's to show?" I scoffed. Then realized I was probably being incredibly rude. "But, yeah. Maybe." Which, of course, meant absolutely not.

No.

"You're twenty-one, right? There's a place in town that has amazing margaritas."

"Twenty-two, actually. And I find it hard to believe that a restaurant in the state of Washington has amazing margaritas."

Edward pulled his keys out of his pocket and said, "I wouldn't lie about something like that. I'm actually going to a happy hour tomorrow with some friends. You're welcome to join us."

I shook my head. "That's...nice of you. But, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not? You're not a fan of margaritas? Tequila makes your clothes fall off?"

"No."

"Not a fan of meeting new people?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, I just-"

"You think I'm coming on to you? I'm not, I swear. I have a girlfriend." He raised his hands and took a small step back.

"Uh..." I frowned.

"Oh, wait." He visibly relaxed as he said, "You're a lesbian, aren't you?"

"What? No!"

"It's okay. My friends and I are very open minded. You can still come out with us."

I tapped my foot. "You realize you're very ridiculous, right?"

Edward smiled slowly and said, "Yes. I also realize that I am now very late for work. I'll be dropping by tomorrow around three to meet with the alarm company. You have until then to make up your mind."

As if it would take me that long to make up my mind about Edward Cullen.

A/N: He's not deaf. Or blind. And she's not a lesbian. Even if she were, I'm pretty sure after meeting him she'd change her mind, don't you think? Maybe?