14

A Boring House Tour

¨Why can't I remember anything?¨ I stuttered and closed my eyes. If I only focus on my own breathing, maybe the pain would go away somehow. So I slowly breathed in and breathed out, while I hoped it didn't attract too much attention.

¨Bella,¨ Edward worriedly whispered somewhere very close to me. He pressed his cold hand against my forehead and the temperature of it against my burning hot skin, eased away a bit of my pain. My mouth opened in sudden relief.

¨I think you have those headaches since there is now more venom in your brain than blood,¨ Carlisle explained to me.

But I didn't listen to him. I could only notice how good Edward´s hand felt. The pain slowly decreased and I still don´t know how he did it, but I was entirely grateful for it.

I opened my eyes again and saw that Edward sat on the armrest of the chair I was sitting in. He was so close to me, my mouth involuntarily dropped open and he chuckled when he saw it. Bastard.

I turned my face away from his gaze and faced Carlisle again. At least, everyone had the decency to ignore what had happened between Edward and me.

Well, nothing happened. But I was positively sure we just had a moment.

¨I get those headaches when I try to remember something. Why can't I remember anything?¨ I asked again.

Carlisle looked painful and his wife grabbed his hand. I knew the answer already before he spoke again. ¨I don´t know, Bella. I´m sorry. Some aspects of your life are a mystery to me, you must understand.¨

I forced a smile to assure him. ¨I understand.¨

We all went silent. I frowned as I tried to make sense of everything. But actually, nothing did. This was all so overwhelming, I didn't even know where to begin.

And Edward this close next to me didn't help at all.

As if she could sense my uneasiness at the moment, Alice jumped up and offered me her hand.

¨Come on, I´ll show you my room in the meantime. Only if you want to, of course. I'm sure you could use a breather.¨

I bit my lip and got up. As I did that, my shoulder softly brushed against Edward and I felt the electric tingles all the way down to my fingers. I was sure I was as red as a tomato. And it got even worse when I quickly glanced in his direction and saw he winked at me. Awkward!

Rosalie made a gagging noise, but Alice shot her an angry glare and she focussed her attention on Emmett instead, who apologetically smiled at me. This was my wake-up call, so I followed Alice without further embarrassing myself and walked out of the living room, towards a large wooden staircase.

As we quietly climbed the stairs, I remembered something. Or, I put two and two together.

¨I´m sorry you´ve lost the bet.¨

Alice stood still and raised her eyebrows at me. ¨What are you talking about?¨

¨You know, the bet you made with your brothers yesterday. You said I wasn't fine and clearly, you were right.¨ I rolled my eyes.

¨Oh, that.¨ Alice grinned. ¨Don´t worry about it. Emmett knows better than to bet against me. I never paid him.¨

I raised my eyebrows. ¨Really?¨

Alice hummed in agreement as she walked to the second door on our right and opened it. I stood still, unable to move as if I was afraid it would all magically disappear if I moved even a tiny inch.

I didn't know what I expected Alice´s room to look like, but it was definitely something like this. All the walls contained either wardrobes or sketches of newly designed clothing items. Clothes, shoes, bags, accessories, it was literally everywhere. A king-sized bed in the middle of it all was the only non-fashion item in the room, and even that was filled with piles and piles of dresses, skirts, jeans and tops.

¨Wow,¨ I breathed out. Alice´s face lit up, obviously pleased with my reaction.

¨I know right? You could say fashion is my hobby.¨

I giggled. ¨Well, that's putting it mildly.¨

She grabbed my hand and ordered me to sit on the bed. She walked over to a pile of dark blue clothes and I wondered how she organized everything. It was as if someone threw up clothes, as they were literally everywhere. If Jasper had to share this room with her, I wondered where he was allowed to put his stuff.

¨Try this on, it matches your headband.¨ Alice threw a top my way and I quickly caught it. It had roses on it and was made out of silk.

¨Over my dress?¨

She rolled her eyes and grinned. ¨That's in style now, Bella.¨

¨If you insist...¨

I threw it over my head and Alice´s face lit up. She jumped up and down.

¨It's perfect. Here, come take a look.¨ She grabbed a mirror and placed it directly in front of me.

I almost didn't recognise myself. My night in the forest had given me some dirt stains all over my dress and my body. And my hair looked like a bird had made it into their permanent home. And I probably smelled bad.

I groaned. This was why I had to receive a little make-over. I looked hideous.

But, blue suited me. I had to give her that.

Alice´s smile faded. ¨What's wrong?¨

¨Despite the obvious. That I´m a hybrid. Or no, that I´m the daughter of two hybrids. That I can't remember anything from my past. That my parents have been lying to me, basically my whole life. That I liked drinking out of a poor bird. That you guys were forbidden to talk to me for some reason. That I think I´m going mad as there is no way this could all be real.

I mean, vampires? Hybrids? Vampire hybrids? Really? How in the hell does that work? A vampire has sex with a human and they get pregnant How? Why?

And on top of all that, I ran to the forest, had to sleep on the ground and my favourite dress is now forever stained with dirt. Yuk.¨

I fought back tears as I looked down on my dress and tugged at its fabric.

¨I mean…,¨ Alice started talking and I looked up. ¨Vampires can do wonders with a washing machine.¨

A giggle escaped my lips and I involuntarily started laughing. Louder. Alice laughed with me, while she didn't really understand what was funny to me. I didn't understand that either. I just had to laugh.

Until I cried. In one swift motion, Alice wrapped her arms around me and I cried into her shoulder. She was a little bit shorter than me but still, her hug comforted me.

I didn't know how long we stood there, but my stomach started growling and my tears eventually dried up. My eyes felt puffy, red and swollen, but I was glad I let it all out.

¨If you go take a shower now, then I´ll make sure your dress is cleaned and ready when you get out. And we´ll prepare some food.¨

I was tired and could only smile at her. These were, without a doubt, the weirdest 48 hours of my life, so I could only obey.

She walked me across the hall, and I wasn't even surprised when I saw they had everything you could ever want in a bathroom, combined. The bathrobes looked so soft and comfortable, and my dress felt so heavy and itchy everywhere, I could kill to take it finally of.

I wouldn't have to, of course. Alice gave me a bathrobe to change into and left me alone to change. I gave her my dress and I hopped into the shower.

The warm water relaxed me slightly and I grabbed the nearest shampoo bottle. Finally, I could learn what that delicious scent was that every Cullen seemed to smell like.

To my disappointment, the bottle felt completely new. Damn it, scent must be a vampire thing or something. I massaged the familiar strawberry scent into my hair when I realized that this was the same shampoo brand I used at home. Must be Alice and her freaky future seeing skills or something.

I got out of the shower and someone knocked on the door. I wrapped myself into the thick bathrobe and let myself enjoy its softness for a moment.

¨Alice is making pancakes right now. She sent me to hand you your dress.¨

Oh no, she didn´t. She did not just send Edward for that. I quickly looked at the clothing items in the bathroom, assuring myself that I hadn't given her those. Then, I mentally thanked God, Allah, Buddha and everyone that would listen that I hadn't given her my underwear as well. That would be too embarrassing. I couldn't handle that.

I opened the door. Edward handed me the dress and I thanked him before I quickly closed the door again. This was utterly absurd, I had only seen him for a second and my heart did somersaults in my chest. Bizarre.

I changed and practically ran downstairs, to the kitchen. The smell of fresh pancakes made my mouth water and I realised just how hungry I really was.

Alice turned around and shoved the last pancake on a plate. She sprinkled some syrup on it and a piece of butter, which immediately melted and dripped down the sides.

¨Hey Bella, you got some drool here.¨ Emmett pointed at his mouth and started laughing.

I reddened, but with as little as I knew of him, I already knew he didn't mean any harm with that. Just a funny comeback, that's all.

¨Don´t be such a dick, Em.¨ Way too fast for the human eye to notice, Alice gave him a gentle push which made him fall from his chair.

¨Behave!¨ Esme shouted from the living room.

¨He started it,¨ Alice shouted back with the pan still in her hands, ready to attack again.

¨Oh yeah, try and catch me.¨ Emmett quickly ran outside with Alice right behind him.

Was this what siblings did all day? I giggled and grabbed the plate. I sat down and took a bite. It was so good, but looking around me, it was almost impossible to cook something bad in a kitchen that was so high tech.

I still didn't know enough, but I knew one thing for sure; the Cullens had money.

And I wondered if they left me to eat alone on purpose, to give me a moment to myself. I certainly needed it, though.

While I was eating, the soft sound of a piano grabbed my attention. Whoever was playing it, clearly had talent. I recognised a few pieces I liked and I hummed in the rhythm of them.

When I was finished eating, I followed the sound. It led me to a room on the second floor of the house. The person was now playing Debussey and he or she clearly loved playing it. The door stood open, and I quickly peeked inside.

Of course, it was Edward. I could've guessed. Stupid me, wasn´t he extraordinary well at everything I saw him doing?

The sound of his music drew me in, like a moth to a flame. I didn't know what came over me, but I walked over to him and sat down next to him on his piano bench. The bench was way too small for the both of us, but I didn't think either of us minded that.

Our shoulders touched, our knees touched, our hips touched. I was sure my skin had just erupted into flames where he touched mine. My heart hammered so loudly inside my chest, I was sure not only he but his whole family could hear me as well. Meanwhile, he didn't miss a single note.

And me? I couldn´t stop staring at him, even if I wanted to. And I didn't want to. His messy auburn hair, his ember-coloured eyes, his strong jawline, his straight nose, his full mouth. Even only inches away from my own face, I still couldn't believe he was real. He was truly mesmerizing. I bit my lip.

He stopped playing.