5
"Are you nervous?" I asked, pulling my knees up in front of me as I watched my husband getting ready for his first day at the new medical co-op.
"Terrified," he admitted, turning away from the mirror and holding up two ties. "Which one?"
"Hmm," I hummed, climbing off the bed and walking over to him, taking both of them from him. The first was a deep blue, which would bring out his eyes, and the other was a dark red, which would look amazing on him. "Blue."
And then wrapping the tie around the back of his neck, I began to tie it for him.
"Your dad teach you how to tie a tie?" he asked.
I shook my head. "My mom did. Dad couldn't tie one if his life depended on it, so Mom always had to do it for him. When I was ten, she got sick. A bad case of the flu. Well, Charlie had to testify for a case he'd busted open, and he needed to look nice. Renee was too sick to do it herself, so she told me step by step how to do it. Took us a few tried, but I finally managed it." I placed my hands on his chest. "You're going to have a great day."
"It's just so hard starting new, you know? People around here don't know me, know the kind of doctor I am. It's a lot of pressure," he murmured, sliding his hands onto my hips and tugging me against his body. "Plus, I'm going to miss you."
I smiled. "I'll miss you, too."
"Are you sure you can handle the boys on your own?" he asked.
"Yep," I chirped. "Alice is picking us up in two hours, and we're going to head over to the campus and get registered for our classes, and then, if all goes well, I thought I might pick up some dinner from Sasha's. We really need to buy some actual appliances so that we don't have to eat take out every night."
"We can go look this weekend," he said. "You really think it's a good idea to take the boys to the campus with you?" he asked with a grimace.
"No," I laughed. "But Esme's working, and Jasper's got a meeting with the head of the English department. Edward's working with you, and Peter's back in L.A. for the week, and Emmett and Rose aren't here yet. There's nobody for them to stay with, and, well, to be honest, I need to keep them close," I admitted, feeling my cheeks flush with my embarrassment. While he'd been convinced that the banging noise I'd heard the night before were from the trashcans falling over, I wasn't. To be honest, until Gabriel Varner was locked up, I wouldn't feel safe.
"Isabella," Carlisle said, bringing his hand up to my face.
"Oh, sorry," I murmured. "The boys and I will be fine."
"If you say so," he groused, turning back and facing the mirror. "Guess I should go."
"You're going to make a difference here, Carlisle."
"I hope so," he whispered before turning to face me again. He cupped my face between his hands and pressed his lips down onto mine. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
I walked Carlisle out onto the porch and watched as he climbed into his car and drove off. My eyes flittered in every direction, needing to be sure that nobody was watching us before I walked back inside and into my bedroom.
After a quick shower, I walked into the kitchen and started some coffee. The boys came stumbling into the room a few minutes later, looking as tired as I felt. Tyler climbed into my lap and laid his head on my chest.
"You okay, honey?" I asked.
He shook his head. "I'm tired."
"Me, too," Michael grumbled and sat on the other side of the small wooden table we'd managed to find. "And hungry."
"As soon as Alice gets here, we can go get some breakfast. Did you have trouble sleeping?" I asked.
Michael said, "Yes," while Tyler simply nodded.
"It's too quiet," Michael added.
"Yeah," Tyler agreed, bringing his hand up and toying with the necklace hanging around my neck.
"Hmm, maybe we need to get you a radio or something to help with the noise," I suggested as someone knocked on the front door. Sliding Tyler off my lap, I walked out of the kitchen, through the living room, and pulled open the door, finding an extremely cheerful Alice leaning against the doorjamb. In her hands was a box of donuts. "I thought you'd be another half hour," I told her, gesturing for her to come in.
"Well," she started, "I knew you wouldn't be able to make the boys breakfast, so I thought I'd stop and get some donuts."
"Donuts!" Tyler screamed, rushing out of the kitchen and yanking the box out of Alice's hands and running back into the kitchen.
Alice and I laughed.
"Guess he likes donuts," Alice snickered.
"Kid loves anything with sugar," I scoffed and led her into the kitchen. The boys were sitting at the table with a donut in each hand and frosting all over their faces. "Um, dudes, did you forget something?"
Michael and Tyler looked at each other before shaking their heads.
"How about plates? Or napkins? Or even a thank you to Alice for bringing the donuts you're stuffing into your mouths?" I asked.
Michael and Tyler, without missing a beat, turned to Alice and said, "Fank Ou, Awuss."
She laughed. "You're welcome."
I shook my head as I grabbed four paper plates, the roll of paper towels, and put them on the table. Then, I opened the box and select a nice looking maple donut for myself, before looking back at Alice. "Cherry?"
"You know it, girl," she giggled, sliding into the chair next to Michael and accepting the plate from me. Michael leaned toward her, causing Alice to shift her body away from him. "This one's mine, little man."
"I know," Michael laughed, but scooted closer to her.
"Mmhmm," Alice hummed, before picking her donut up and taking a bit. "Damn, that's good."
Clearing my throat, I tilted my head toward the boys before I sat down.
"Oh, sorry," she muttered.
"Yeah, yeah," I laughed.
—TW—
An hour later, Alice and I were standing in the admissions office at UC Berkeley, behind roughly a couple hundred other people. The boys were beginning to get restless, and were fidgeting as they stood between the two of us. Plus, with so many people in a fairly small area, everyone's body heat had made the room extremely overheated, which didn't make me, or the boys, happy.
"Stop pushing me!" Michael exclaimed, placing his hands on Tyler's shoulders and shoving him backward.
Tyler fell onto the floor, and started crying—quite loudly, which of course drew the attention of everyone around us. "Momma!" he waited, putting his arms up.
Sighing, I lifted him off the ground and turned to Michael. "Don't push him down."
"I didn't!" he whined, stomping his foot.
"Dude, I just saw you push him," I argued.
"Did not," he mumbled under his breath. I rolled my eyes and looked over at Alice, who gave me a look that clearly said the kid was crazy. ,
"This is going to take forever," Alice said, leaning around the people standing before us. When she looked back at me, she sighed. "Why don't I take them outside, let them run around for a little bit? Then, when I come back, hopefully, the line will be shorter."
"Are you sure?" I asked. "Maybe you should stay here, and I'll take them out?"
"No," she insisted. "Honestly, I need to get the fuck out of here."
The woman standing in front of us, turned and glared at her, not that it phased her. Alice ignored her and placed her hand on Michael's shoulder, while gesturing for me to put Tyler down. "We'll be fine."
"Okay, if you're sure," I groused, setting Tyler on his feet. Looking from her to him and his brother, I pointed a finger at them. "Be good. Stay where you can see her, and if she tells me that you're being brats, then you will spend the rest of the night in your room."
"Yes, ma'am," they said together.
Alice gave me a smile before she turned and led through out of the office. I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check my text messages, but before I could, the person standing behind me cleared their throat, pulling my attention to them. At over six-foot, the dark haired man smiled, his eyes crinkling around the corners. He had broad shoulders, tan skin, and was dressed in a pair of board shorts with large white flowers on them, a white, sleeveless shirt, and a pair of orange flip-flops.
"Kind of nuts in here, isn't it?" he asked, smiling. I nodded, and turned my attention back to my phone, but once again, he cleared his throat, causing me to look at him. "I'm Seth."
"Bella," I said, before turning to my phone again.
"I'm a freshman," he said. "How about you?"
I sighed, and nodded. "Me, too."
"I don't know about you," he started, "but I'm feeling very overwhelmed."
"Yeah, it's a lot to take in," I said.
He smiled wider. "Sounded like your little brothers were feeling it, too."
"Brothers?" I asked, frowning.
"Yeah, the two boys with you," he said.
My mouth opened in shock. "They aren't my brothers; they're my sons."
His eyes widened. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just assumed."
"It's okay," I told him before looking at my phone, finding that I had a text message from Carlisle and Emmett, the latters including a picture of him and Rose standing next to his jeep and holding a sign that said 'Destination: San Francisco.'
"Friends or family?" Seth asked, and I clutched my phone to my chest as I looked back at him. "Sorry, I'm nosy."
"Yes, you are," I agreed. "And friends, not that you need to know."
"I've offended you, haven't I?" he grimaced.
"No," I said. "Just don't like people peeking over my shoulder. Kind of a thing with me."
"You're right, I'm sorry," he said. "I'm just . . ." He shook his head. "I feel a bit out of place here."
"Me, too," I laughed. "You're not from San Francisco?"
"No," Seth said, quickly. "Ohio, actually."
"Wow, you're a long way from home."
"Not really," he disagreed. "Don't really have a home there."
I frowned.
"My parents, they're . . ." He trailed off, like the words inside his head physically hurt him. "Well, it doesn't matter. I'm here now."
"But it's hard to start new, isn't it?" I asked, and he nodded. "I'm from Washington. State, I mean. And, um, my husband and I are trying to get settled, and it hasn't been easy."
"How long have you been married?" Seth asked.
I smiled. "Just over a week."
He looked at me, then back toward the door that Alice had ushered the boys through, and I laughed. "Technically, they're my step-sons, but in my heart, they're mine."
"Ah, I see." He nodded, gesturing for me to move forward, which I did. "Well, congratulations. Must be nice to have someone to love."
"It is," I admitted. "So you don't have a girlfriend? Or a boyfriend?"
"I'm straight, thank you very much," Seth laughed. "But no, I don't have anyone special. Haven't met that perfect girl yet."
"You will," I said, as we slowly moved forward.
"You think?" he asked, and I nodded. "What makes you think so?"
"I don't know." I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess I'm an old romantic at heart. Believe in love at first site, even if it takes a while before we realize what we're feeling is love. Guess that sounds kind of silly, huh?"
"No," he said. "Reminds me of something my gram used to say. She is . . . was the sweetest old lady. And, um, she'd always say that around the next sunset was a fresh start, and if we believed, anything was possible."
"I like that," I murmured. "You two were close?"
Seth nodded. "She raised me from the time I was four years old."
"Sounds like you were lucky," I said.
"I was," he agreed, and there was something in his tone that told me he didn't feel as lucky anymore, but before I could say anything else, he tilted his head past me, and when I looked over, I saw that I was next and the lady behind the counter was gesturing toward me.
"Oh, thanks," I murmured, as I walked over to her. "Hi, I need to register for classes."
"I need some ID, sweetheart," she said, smacking the gum in her mouth.
Pulling my wallet out of my purse, I fumbled as I pulled it out from the plastic holder. "I just got married, so my name is different. I haven't had a chance to change it yet."
I was just about to hand the lady my driver's license, when the door to the admissions office was thrown open. We all looked back, and I felt my heart clench in my chest when I saw Alice and Michael, but no Tyler. Alice's eyes found mine, and the sorrow and grief filling them had me struggling to stay upward.
"I can't . . . I can't find Tyler," she cried.