Rosalie watches trees pass by outside the window of her Uber as the car heads up a long winding driveway. She almost thinks they've made a wrong turn, but then she sees the large, two-story house looming at the top of the hill.
Carlisle and Esme's home is stunning. It's painted a faded-white and has an impressive landscape of azaleas and hydrangeas surrounding it. An incredibly large willow tree sways just out front.
While hidden from the streets below, they have an incredible view of Lake Washington. The breeze from the water feels nice in the late-October sun.
She walks up the steps to the door and knocks twice. While she waits for an answer, she straightens out her knit wrap top and fluffs her golden curls in the reflection of one of the front windows.
The door opens and Esme's smiling face pops out. "Rosalie, hi! Thanks for coming!"
"Thanks for having me." She hands her the bottle of wine she brought, and she's immediately swept up into a hug.
Rosalie has never really been a hugger, but she'd feel like a bitch coming into a house this nice and not hugging Esme. She's the one person in the city she knows who isn't professionally obligated to see her daily. Someone who she wouldn't mind being friends with.
"You can leave your shoes and jacket in the foyer," Esme motions to the nearby coat rack. "You're the first one here, but the others should arrive shortly."
"Your house is gorgeous," Rosalie compliments. The interior is equally as beautiful as the exterior.
The decor is clean and modern, and it could easily serve as a show home for Better Homes & Gardens. Airy windows extend up the vaulted ceiling and frame views of the water and garden. A fireplace breaks up the wall leading into the kitchen and dining area. A grand piano sits tastefully in the corner.
"Thank you! Oh, I'm so glad. We don't have guests over that often, so I don't get to hear that much!" Esme beams as she leads her into the kitchen.
Rosalie takes a seat at the white marble counter island. The pasta arm on the double gas stove catches her eye immediately. There's no doubt this is the nicest home she's ever seen in person. Nice houses have things like pasta arms.
"Did you do anything interesting earlier today?" Esme asks as she fills a large pot with water and resumes cooking. She appears to be making spaghetti from scratch with a noodle press.
Before Rosalie has a chance to answer, the front door opens and they're bombarded by the sound of several people chattering away.
She turns to see the new arrivals and freezes when the very tall, very buff, very smiley Emmett is standing there beside the gremlin-y, redheaded delivery dork she met the other day.
She wonders what the fuck she did to warrant this turn of events.
"Rosalie!" Emmett booms, waving both arms excitedly. He hops into the kitchen with the support of his crutches. "Was that you who texted me the other night?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," she lies.
She was in fact the one who texted him, and she regretted it immediately after realizing how stupid she was being.
He probably lavishes just as much attention onto every other woman he meets. It's his personality. He gets away with it because he has that perfect smile and that perfect body.
"I don't know who else it could have been." He laughs, showing off his dimples. "Well, I left them a voicemail for you."
She listened to it a half dozen times, so she's well aware of the message in question. "Hm. I didn't get it."
"You sure? Because I remember asking to see you again, and here you are."
"God, you're stupid." She rolls her eyes. "If I knew you'd be here, I would have canceled."
He throws his head back in laughter at her scathing retort.
"You know each other?" Esme asks amusedly. "I thought you'd only met Edward."
Carlisle appears in the kitchen, having come in from somewhere else in the house when he heard the others arriving. "She was the one who found Emmett when he had the hiking accident," he explains.
"I didn't realize you lived together," Rosalie says to Carlisle with more than a hint of accusation in her tone. "You acted like you didn't know him."
"It's because he's embarrassed by me." Emmett laughs again lightheartedly. "I'm in there a lot."
Carlisle shrugs and smiles.
Rosalie notices another person hiding behind Edward. A pale girl with limp brown hair who she's never met. She's a lot shorter than Rosalie, and the plaid flannel shirt and jeans she's wearing do nothing to flatter her.
"And you're Bella! Hi!" Esme greets the pale girl with a welcoming smile. "I hope you like Italian because I'm making pasta."
"Where's Alice?" Edward asks abruptly, not bothering to greet anyone. He's as brusque as Emmett is boisterous.
The front door opens and shuts once more, and it seems his question is answered.
"Hello, everyone! Hi, Bella!" An impossibly small, thin girl with short, black hair and lavender eyeshadow flits into the kitchen carrying baguettes. She sets them on the counter and—after giving Bella an air kiss that makes her flush a vibrant shade of pink—extends a hand to Rosalie. Her long, blue, sparkling nails are filed into pointed stilettos. "I'm Alice."
"Rosalie." She shakes her hand and sees Jasper standing in the doorway a few feet away, looking sleep-deprived and hungover, as usual.
There's no way. This dinner party can't be real.
She wonders how two perfectly mature, well-off, young professionals like Carlisle and Esme are surrounded by people like Edward, Emmett, and her brother.
That has to be it. That's their one flaw. They have horrible taste in friends.
Rosalie wonders what that says about her, though.
She makes a mental note to ask Esme about Emmett later, preferably when there's more privacy.
"Jazzy!" Emmett roars, pulling Jasper into a haphazard fist-bump-hug and knocking a crutch over onto the floor with a clang.
"That's Jasper," Alice whispers to Esme.
Esme, looking over at the two, nods as she throws a bunch of pasta into the boiling pot of water on the stove.
In contrast to Esme's very practical outfit of a dark navy sweater and jeans, Alice is wearing light purple cropped trousers and a busy, square-neck blouse with multi-colored flowers embroidered all over it along with chunky, gold earrings and bracelets.
Rosalie shoots her brother a curious glance. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"Yeah, hey," he says casually, earning a curious look from the tiny, overdressed one named Alice. "Alice, this is my sister. The one who lived in New York."
"Hi!" Alice says again.
"I work with Carlisle. I'm an intern nurse on his team," Rosalie says, glancing down at her own squared-off, subtly French-tipped nails. She needs to get a fill soon.
"Ooh! I didn't know you were a nurse!" Alice turns back to her with doubled enthusiasm. "You're super pretty!"
"Thanks." Rosalie tries to smile at her bubbly greeting, but it comes out as more of a grimace.
She wonders if this is who her brother's been hanging out with lately and how he met her. Alice looks like she shops exclusively at designer boutiques and Jasper...well, he's Jasper.
Whatever. Maybe she has an Adderall addiction.
...
"Alice, could you pass the salad, please," Carlisle requests.
Alice grabs the large bowl in front of her and hands it to Rosalie so that it can continue its journey around the table to the other side.
"This is so good," Bella compliments shyly, and a chorus of nods and mumbled sounds of approval fill the room.
"I'm so glad!" Esme gives a proud smile. She hasn't cooked for a large group in a while, so she's on cloud nine.
Emmett clears his throat loudly, gaining the attention of the entire table. "So I'd like to announce that I'm going to be evicted and homeless as of November."
Alice takes a long sip of her sparkling citrus water, unsurprised from already having heard the news. She sees Rosalie give him an incredulous look, while Carlisle continues plating pieces of lettuce and tomatoes silently with raised brows.
"What do you mean you're being evicted?" Esme asks worriedly.
"I need to find a new job, and also I spent too much money going out." Emmett smiles hopefully. "And I'm really lucky to have friends who care about me who will let me move back in with them. For free."
Edward chokes back a laugh.
"Yay, Emmett's moving back in," Alice cheers half-heartedly to help break the tension. She doesn't want to oversell the enthusiasm when it's clearly a strained topic.
"We can talk more about this after dinner," Carlisle says, pouring another glass of wine.
"Okay, but I'd like a house vote if you're going to say no. Alice and Eddy get me two points here."
"I don't know, I'll have to find a new second closet if you take your room back," Alice teases.
Truthfully, she likes it when he's around the house. It livens things up.
"Nah, I'll just sleep with the Balenciagas. It's chill."
"I don't think there's any space left for you, Em," Edward says. "She's out of control."
Alice feels her brows pull together slightly. "I am not!"
It's her money and she can spend it however she likes. Sure, she's buying a bit more than usual lately, but she's allowed to treat herself now and then. She finds retail therapy to be very emotionally fulfilling after a stressful week.
There are so many cute things out there that she wants and needs.
"Let's all go around the table and say one thing we're looking forward to," Carlisle suggests. "I'm glad Esme and I have a three-day weekend coming up so we can take a trip out to the San Juan Islands."
"I'd rather die. Can we not do this?" Edward sighs.
Emmett laughs. "I already told you guys mine."
"Oh, I'm sure we're all looking forward to that," Esme says with a nod. "I'm personally looking forward to a home renovation I'll be starting next week in North Seattle. I'll be designing an outdoor entertainment area with a really cool jungle gym for the kids."
Alice sees the smallest glimpse of a vision drifts into focus. A few seconds of Edward and Emmett carrying wet moving boxes and setting them down in the foyer. The premonition is much clearer than what she saw last week, which at the time was only their shoes.
Bella's eyes go wide when she realizes it's her turn to speak. "We're, um, starting a new novel in class. It's Persuasion by Jane Austen. It's...a really...good book..."
Edward looks annoyed that they're still going around the table sharing their plans. "I'm looking forward to seeing how Em talks himself out of trouble this time," he answers.
Emmett roars with laughter despite being the butt of the joke. Any humor is good humor to him.
Alice looks over at Jasper beside her. It's his turn next. He hasn't said much at all the entire night, but she's sure he's going to like her friends as much as she does. She has a really good feeling about it.
It's obvious he hasn't been paying attention because when he notices everyone looking at him, he looks at her.
He must not have one.
There are so many good things coming up, it's hard for Alice to quickly choose something for herself.
Fall break is in a couple of weeks, she's going to become friends with Bella soon, two of her favorite designers are announcing a collaboration together, she's being accepted to her summer program in Paris on Monday, her limited-edition Tamagochi will arrive from Tokyo next weekend...
"I'm looking forward to Halloween!" Alice announces. "My costume's almost finished!"
Rosalie goes next. "Esme helped me find a new apartment, so I'll be moving out next month."
"You're moving out?" Jasper asks. He apparently didn't know yet.
Rosalie downs the rest of her glass of wine. "Mhm."
"I'll help you move! My cast will be off by then," Emmett immediately offers. He's desperate to get Rosalie's attention, but it's unclear whether she's going to give him the time of day.
Alice turns in her seat so she's facing Jasper again. He's staring at his glass of water.
"Are you having fun?" She nudges him with her elbow playfully, grinning until he smiles back.
"Of course," he replies. "Sorry if I seem like I'm not."
Something's different, but she's not sure what. He seems off.
"Did you end up going to office hours?" she tries.
He nods. "I'm retaking a test next week and I have some extra papers to write."
"That's great!" She has a feeling there's more to the problem but doesn't want to press. "Did you want something to drink besides water?"
Jasper looks between the bottle of wine sitting on the table and her. He shakes his head. "I'm good, thanks."
...
Edward sits at the piano and moves through a few chords, effortlessly filling the living room with music.
"Are you going to play me something?" Bella asks as she sits beside him on the bench. She watches intently as his hands move over the keys.
He swiftly maneuvers through a progression, playing one of his older pieces he's performed dozens of times at recitals.
"Oh, wow." She leans her head against his shoulder, making him very aware of his own breathing. "I didn't realize how well you play."
"This is Esme's favorite composition of mine."
"You wrote it?"
He nods with a small smile, still not quite comfortable with how close she is.
She must not realize the effect she has on him. If he didn't have the piano to distract them both, he wouldn't be able to speak.
Bella sits up and chews her lip, eyes focused down at her lap.
"What's wrong?" he asks. He suddenly misses the feeling of her against his arm.
"I feel very...inadequate."
That can't be.
Someone as flawless as Bella shouldn't feel anything less than brilliant. She's blind to her own greatness.
He tries to think of a way to show her. He shifts melodies, drifting into something more soft and meandering. "Here, I'm still working on this one...You inspired it."
He worked on the piece every night for the past week and still struggled to properly convey his feelings.
He looks over and sees her blushing bright red.
Laughter comes from the dining area not far away, interrupting their moment. He rolls his eyes in annoyance.
It's a mystery why Esme would invite Rosalie into their home. She's a self-absorbed witch.
He isn't sure about Alice's choice of guests either. Jasper seems unsavory. Edward doesn't trust him.
"Come on, I'll give you a tour of the house," he says, standing up and pulling Bella along with him. He motions to a hallway on the opposite side of the living room as the kitchen. "Emmett's room and the library are down that way."
He walks with her toward the stairs, taking the steps slowly so he doesn't pull her off-balance. "We have Carlisle's office along with his and Esme's room on the left. Alice's room on the right. That's a linen closet and a bathroom..."
Bella nods.
Edward stops outside the door at the end of the hall. "And last but not least, my room."
"Do I get to see?" she asks, chewing her lip some more.
He hasn't had a girl in his room before—not one that matters, anyway. He opens the door uncertainly. "Sure."
Bella follows him in, studying the shelves of books, CDs, and records lining the walls. "There's a lot to look at..."
"Yeah, I suppose there is."
"No bed?" She stops in the middle of the room and cocks her head to the side. "Do you not sleep?"
"Oh." He goes to the sliding wall across the room and pushes the wooden panel aside, revealing the alcove where his bed, closet, and connecting ensuite bathroom are. "Yeah, it's just hidden."
"That's so cool! Your room's huge," Bella says, wandering into the newly open area and looking out the window. "The view's not bad either. It's a lot nicer than mine, that's for sure."
"I can thank Esme for that. She has a great eye when it comes to houses." Edward sits down on the chaise lounge in the corner.
Bella inspects a collection of Polaroids propped up on a shelf near his first edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray. They're photos of Emmett, Alice, and him in Santorini last summer.
"So Alice moved in just before you all started college?" she prompts.
"Before she and I did. Emmett was already a freshman. She showed up at the house one day when I was still going to high school. When I got back home that day, all of my stuff was sitting out in the hall. She liked the lighting in my room better." He laughs. "She didn't have anything with her except for a prepaid phone and a backpack with a change of clothes. I thought she was a runaway at first, but no one ever came looking for her."
"And they just let her move in like that?" Bella's skeptical. "A total stranger?"
"She knew us, though. Alice...well, she sees things that will happen—future events—and she said she saw herself living in the house with all of us."
"She's...a psychic?"
"Yeah. Like I've said before, she's weird." He shrugs. "She used to help Esme with work errands a lot, and she needed an assistant at the time, so the timing worked out well. Now she does more of her own thing, but she's always going to be part of the family."
"What about Emmett?"
"I've been friends with Emmett since my sophomore year of high school. He's always been pretty reckless, but he used to end up in the ER a lot for sports mishaps. He saw me eating in the cafeteria a few times when I was at the hospital visiting my mother and started talking to me."
"When you were visiting your mother?"
"Yeah. She was...severely ill for about a year before she passed. She lived there full time toward the end."
"I'm sorry." Bella comes to sit down beside him on the lounge, her expression sympathetic.
"You were asking about Emmett, though," Edward says, changing the subject. "He's kind of a problem child, as you can imagine, so he bounced around quite a few different families growing up. Carlisle offered to let him move in after graduation because Em's foster mom kicked him out at the end of the school year."
"Do Carlisle and Esme just like a lot of people around?"
"Kind of. I'd say more than anything, Carlisle probably sees himself in us. He was raised by a single-parent father, and his mother died in childbirth, so he has a soft spot for those who lack parental support. He was lucky enough to have good grades and mentors in school that got him where he is today, but not everyone has that," Edward explains. "Without him, I don't think I'd still be here."
"Well, I'm glad you are." Bella rests her hand on his and leans into his chest. "You're...dazzling."
"Dazzling?" he asks with a strained laugh. Her fingers trace up his arms with aimless movements. Everywhere she touches feels like electricity running through his veins.
She bites her lower lip, pulling the delicate, rosy skin across her teeth yet again. Her habit of unknowingly drawing attention to her mouth by biting makes something stir inside him.
Sitting with her alone in his room is drastically different than sitting with her in a classroom, outside in the meadow, or even in his car. His mouth feels dry and the room feels unbearably warm.
He hasn't felt this way before. They'd kissed once, so he wonders if she wants to again.
"Mhm. I'm quite enthralled," she murmurs.
It's happening. He can do this. He's done it before.
"I feel the same way," he says just as she becomes too close to resist. He tilts her chin up with one hand and presses his lips against hers. "You're so captivating and unlike anyone else I've ever met..."
"You're being too kind." She pulls away with a bashful smile before going in to kiss him again.
...
Alice looks out the windows to the yard and watches the sun slowly sinking in the sky.
Carlisle and Emmett are still in the kitchen, doing dishes and discussing Emmett's upcoming move back home.
Jasper's sitting on the sofa between her and Rosalie, who's in the middle of discussing the pros and cons of sourdough with Esme.
Alice is known for her successful social events. She's never thrown a gathering of any kind before that could be called boring by anyone in attendance, save for Edward when he was in one of his moods.
She's puzzled by Jasper's relatively silent and distant demeanor.
She racks her brain and tries to think of something fun everyone can do together.
Last time everyone tried to play Monopoly, the game went on for three days, so that was out of the question. Jenga always leads to fights. Cards Against Humanity might not be everyone's cup of tea.
"Do you like baseball?" Alice asks Jasper abruptly.
He nods. "I used to play varsity in high school."
"Perfect!" Alice leaps up from the couch. "Esme, let's play baseball!"
"It seems like it's going to rain," Esme replies, glancing out the window. "And it's going to get dark out soon, isn't it?"
"It'll be okay. Just a quick game," Alice suggests. "Carlisle! Emmett! Baseball?"
"Yeaaaaah, girl!" Emmett calls back from the kitchen loudly.
Alice looks to Jasper expectantly, a wave of newfound enthusiasm rising inside of her as her plans start to become more tangible. "Let's go see if Edward and Bella want to play too."
She hops up the stairs and makes a beeline straight for his bedroom.
"Can we come in?" She knocks.
She can hear talking and laughter coming from the other side of the door.
"Go ahead," Edward's voice calls out.
Inside, the couple is cozied up together on the chaise lounge. They would look comfortable if Bella weren't so obviously beet red and flustered over being caught sitting in Edward's lap.
"We're here to steal Bella from you," Alice says with a mischievous grin, taking a seat on the floor. "You've monopolized her for too long."
"I'm going to have to pass on that," Edward rejects playfully, pulling Bella tighter against him. She's blushing so hard she looks like she's going to faint.
Jasper hangs back in the entryway, "We're here to see if you wanted to play baseball."
Edward, still uncharacteristically cheerful, raises a brow and looks out the window behind him. "It looks gross outside."
"It's not like it's a very far walk to the yard," Alice says. She hopes she won't have to pull a guilt trip just to get a game going.
"Do you want to?" Edward asks Bella.
"Sure, I guess," Bella says reluctantly. "I'm don't know that I'd be much of an asset..."
"Then it's settled!" Alice jumps up and twirls out of the room. Jasper follows close behind her as they head back downstairs.
The others are already in the yard marking bases in the grass without them. As soon as Edward and Bella make their way outside, the group splits off into teams.
"I guess I'm stuck catching. I don't think I'll be making any home runs until my leg is out of this cast," Emmett says disappointedly. "Unless..."
Carlisle shakes his head. "I'm not cutting it off early so you can break it again."
"Damn. It was worth a shot."
Carlisle picks the aluminum bat up from the grass and tosses it to Jasper before heading outfield with Esme and Bella.
Jasper catches it and flips the bat around deftly in his hands. The movement comes naturally like he's done it a thousand times before.
"Batter up!" Emmett calls out.
Jasper goes over to stand on the makeshift home place. He gives her a grin that can only be described as cocky. She laughs, glad that he's enjoying himself.
From the center of the field, Alice pitches him a ball and he hits it with expert precision, running through to second base.
Rosalie bunts the ball when it's her turn, getting herself to first base and Jasper to third.
"Edweirdo, you're up next!" Emmett taunts.
Edward gets into position, bat ready, but when Alice throws him the ball he doesn't even swing.
"Earth to Eddy!" Emmett shouts. "Are you even trying?"
Something's wrong.
Edward's scowling and staring off into the distance. Alice tries to follow his gaze, curious what he's looking at.
Behind her, in the dim glow of twilight, she can just barely make out something moving in the trees bordering their property.
A twig snaps and the figure runs off, making a ruckus as they go.
"Someone was out there." Edward takes a step forward. "Watching us."
"What?" Esme moves away to the trees, toward the bright illumination of the house. "What do you mean? Why would someone be watching?"
"I don't know, but they were."
"We should all go inside, it's getting dark anyway," Carlisle says, waving them in.
Dread crawls up Alice's spine.
Whoever it is, she gets the feeling that they're the same person she's been having visions of for the past month.
