14. Perception
I crawled over Alice and got ready for the day. I found my clothes at the bottom of the suitcase, and I took Jacob (the dinosaur Alice got me for my birthday) upstairs.
I paused at the doorway when I heard Rosalie, Jasper, Uncle Eleazar and Mr. Platt talking in the living room.
"I don't like the doctor or his weird kids" Rosalie said, "They look scared all the time"
"They lived through an event worse than every nightmare you've ever had!" Uncle Eleazar bellowed back, "Of course they are scared"
"I don't want my daughter taking care of broken children. I want her to have children who are not damaged, and not with a guy who just graduated from medical school" Mr. Platt said in a rude tone.
I knew I should have gone back down the stairs, but I was frozen in the doorway.
"I think Deda is wrong" Jasper signed, "I don't think they are broken"
"Jazz, look at them!" Rosalie demanded, "The boy looks like Chucky and the girl looks like a pixie. They are not normal. They should not be apart of our family"
"If we shun them," Uncle Eleazar said slowly, "Esme will never speak to us again. Dad, you know she was miserable with Charles. Carlisle told me that Esme used to be covered in bruises all the time because of him"
"A husband needs to control his wife. Your sister was always bad at listening-"
"Because you never respected her! You beat her every day because she wasn't the perfect daughter you envisioned. It was even worse when Sasha was able to meet all of your unrealistic expect-"
"And she will not be allowed to run wild around the world with a doctor and two orphans who should have died-"
A sob broke through my crest, and all their eyes turned to me. I turned around and ran out the door.
I had to get out of here.
"Edward!" I heard Uncle Eleazar call
I ignored him, but he caught up to me quickly.
To my surprise, he was holding shoes and a jacket for me.
Was he letting me run away?
"What they said was not fair, but you cannot run away. Your mom would murder me if anything happened to you"
I didn't respond. He put the jacket on me, and I stepped into the boots.
"Do you want to stay out here, or go back to Mr. & Mrs. Platt's house?"
"Stay here" I replied. I could hear the sadness in my voice.
"Okay," He responded, "You know, there is a good breakfast place close by and I heard a rumour that they make vegan blueberry pancakes"
I tried not to smile, but I failed.
He started walking along the road, further away from the house, and I followed him.
"They are wrong, you know" He continued after a few minutes of silence, "You are not broken, and you're not a savage. You were not supposed to die in that horrible incident"
"Why was I supposed to survive?" I asked
My question took him by surprise.
"Are you sure you're 4? You act like you are an adult"
I shrugged. Everyone seemed to think I was an adult trapped in a child's body
"I think.. You are here to help your mom and dad. I think you will help make the world a better place. You help bind everything together"
The rumour Uncle Eleazar heard about the blueberry pancakes was right. He asked me about school, my friends, dinosaurs, and my parents.
"Is Esme happy?" He asked, as if he was afraid of the answer
"She wasn't at first. But she laughs more now. Before she always said mean things about herself, but she does it less often now. When she said anything mean to herself, Carlisle says something nice to her and then she smiles"
He smiled, "Life has not been kind to Esme, and I'm happy she seems to be happier now"
I paused, "Why does everyone hate us if we make her happy?"
He sighed, "Because people wanted her to have a normal life. They wanted her to love her ex husband and have babies that look like her"
"But why? Just because we don't look the same doesn't mean we are not normal"
Uncle Eleazar seemed to agree with this, but I could tell he had no answer for me.
"Where are the other kids going to go?" I asked him after a moment.
"I'm not sure." He answered honestly
I dropped my fork, "Do you think they are going to live with us?"
"The triplets definitely won't, but the twins want to stay in Anchorage. Mr. and Mrs. Platt don't want to raise them, so I am not sure where they will go"
I dropped my fork, "Will they stay with us?"
"Potentially" he admitted, "But your parents won't let them live with you guys unless they are friendlier to you and your sister"
I trusted what he said, but I did not want to think about the possibility of Rosalie and Jasper living with me. I liked it just being the 4 of us.
We walked back to Mr. and Mrs. Platt's house. As we walked, Uncle Eleazar pointed to a large, two story home.
"That's where we grew up," He said, "Those two little window's were where Esme and Sasha's bedrooms was. I was jealous that they got the view of the mountains-" He laughed "- But I did not have to share a bedroom, so I think we were even"
"Wow. How do your parents now live in a massive mansion?"
"They won the lottery just after I graduated high school" He looked like he was remembering something that happened a long time ago, "They changed a lot after that"
"How?"
He sighed, "They became worried about their status. They wanted us to have high paying jobs and rich partners. They were devastated when your mom became a teacher"
"They were disappointed that I married a hairdresser and they were appalled when I became a mechanic… well until they learned how much money I made.
"Sasha was an interior designer. Her husband left her when she was pregnant with the twins, so our parents let her move back home. They still tell everyone that he died instead of admitting that he did not want to raise 5 children"
We turned on the side street of Mr. and Mrs. Platts house. Esme ran over to me as soon as she saw us through the window. She picked me up and hugged me.
"I am so sorry sweetie" She blurred out,
"What did he hear?" She hissed at her brother, hoping I couldn't hear her
"I'll tell you later" Uncle Elezar murmured back.
"Let's get you two inside. You must be freezing cold"
I buried my face into her shoulder and let her run her hands through my hair as she walked towards the mansion.