17. Leaving

12 Years Later

"I got offered a position in Washington, and Esme and I talked about it and we think we should move"

"No!" Rosalie hissed, "I'm not moving again. It's my last year of high school"

"There are better post secondary schools in Washington" Esme reminded her

"I'm not leaving Emmett" She insisted.

I sighed. Everything in her life was about her quarterback boyfriend. Emmett was a good guy and everything, but what did she expect to happen in the future? She wanted to be a mechanine and run her own business, and Emmett wanted to play in the NFL. Emmett would probably have to move all the time, and it would be too hard for Rose to have to move a business.

Jasper did not seem as stubbornly against this. He had just broken up with his girlfriend though and was already whining about having to see her next year.

Alice looked at me and shrugged. She had a few friends here, but she was not going to fight with our parents about moving.

I really couldn't care less where we lived. I didn't have friends. And I was getting sick and tired of the cold winters summers with no nighttime.

"He could come to see us for Thanksgiving and other holidays," Esme said softly. I could tell the choice was already made and we were leaving. Nothing any of us said would change their minds because they knew it was the right choice for all of us in the long run.

As much as I loved my parents, I wish they would do things for themselves. Carlisle could work in any big city and make more money than he could in any small town. For whatever reason they were both convinced that we needed to live in a small town.

"I also found a position teaching kindergarten there," Esme continued, "And we found a cute little house with 5 bedrooms"

"So we could all have our own rooms?" Jasper said, glancing between Alice and I

"Well we were thinking of having a spare room and having two of you sharing a room"

"Jazz and I are not sharing a room again. He snores and he wakes up so early…."

Carlisle looked at Alice and myself, "Are you two still okay with sharing a room?"

We both nodded. We had shared a room since I was 3 and we were used to each other's habits.

"It's settled then" Esme said excitedly, "Carlisle starts in two weeks"

"Two weeks!?" Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, and I said all in unison.

"You would be able to start school on time and we would have some time to get settled if we left tomorrow"

"Tomorrow!?" We said in unison again

"We have nothing packed!" Alice shouted

"I have friends to say goodbye to" Rosalie glared at Esme

"I need to help Vanessa find another piano teacher!" I said,

"Yeah, and I am helping Coach V with junior football tryouts"

"I know, I know" Carlisle huffed, "I know you all have other obligations, but we can figure it out"

We woke up early the next morning. Esme told Vanessa's mom about our move a few weeks ago at their book club, so she already had a piano teacher lined up. Her mom got me a Juilliard hoodie online as a goodbye gift.

Emmett came over at 4 am to say goodbye to Rosalie. They were staring into each other's eyes like they were soulmates

"Ew. Get a room" I murmured as I walked passed them

"Shut up Edward" She said through her teeth.

I climbed into the driver's seat of the minivan, hoping nobody would kick me out. I had never driven on a highway before.

I was 16, Alice was 17, and the twins were 18. Alice and I will be starting our junior year, while Rose and Jazz would be seniors. I thought they were a lot older than us when I first met them, but it turns out they were both just super tall. I was the only one out of the 4 of us who was under 6 feet tall. I also looked the youngest, no matter how much I tried to work out and how much I hoped that my freckles would one day vanish.

Carlisle slid into the passenger seat and made me promise to listen to his driving instructions. I was only allowed to drive until we hit the Canadian border, which I was okay with.

We got most of our clothing to fit into the car, as well as some belongings. Aunty Carmen was going to ship us the rest of the stuff in a few weeks.

Bye bye Eeyore Tanya texted me, Have fun trying to find someone else to deal with you

I smiled. Tanya and I somehow grew close throughout our childhood. Even though she was 4 years older than me, she was the closest thing I had to a friend besides Alice.

Don't miss me too much I texted back, Have fun trying to find someone to take care of you when you get hung over after a college party

"Stop flirting with your girlfriend and let's go!" Rosalie said

"What?" I said taken off guard

"She has had a crush on you since she you were 14" She said in a teasing tone

"Rose…" Alice whispered

"What?" I repeated, dumbfounded, "She's my cousin. That's disgusting"

"Ha! Pay up" Jasper said, "Told you he would never go for her"

"You're all playing some sick joke, right?" Esme said. She was obviously as disturbed as me.

"I wish we were making it up" Alice sighed, "We were not suppose to tell any of you"

"Ewwwwwwww" I said, forcing myself to accept this disgusting attraction "Ali, how didn't you tell me!?"

"Cause I knew nothing good would come out of you knowing. She wasn't going to do anything about it. She knew how messed up it was"

We drove in silence the rest of the way. I reconsidered every insignificant interaction I had with Tanya. Helping her pick out her prom dress, going to the movies with her and Alice, texting her all night when her first girlfriend broke up with her.

Arg. I cannot believe she was into me that way. Not only was she my cousin, but she was 4 years older than me. She had dated at least 50 people and she had had sex with at least half of them. Yuck. I cannot believe she thought of me like that.

I could feel my phone continuing to buzz, but I had no intentions of talking to her anytime soon. She had no right to think of me that way. I could see Rosalie smiling as she looked at her phone, and I knew she told Tanya that I knew.

Carlisle could tell I was deep in thought and he made me switch with him about 20 minutes from the border.

"I'll let you have full control over the music for the rest of the drive" he offered. I took that deal, knowing I wasn't going to get anything better.

We played the license plate game as we drove through the Yukon, as well as talked about the new tiny town we were moving to. It was called Forks, and it apparently rained a lot. The new house has a big garage Rosalie could work in, and they had a few sports teams. Alice was disappointed they did not have a textiles class, but she was relieved they had a photography class.

"Oh Edward, according to their site they have jazz band, strings, choir, and concert band" Esme blurted out,

"Yeah but they probably don't have openings for piano players, and I'm not that good of a flute player to get into a concert"

"They'll definitely let you be in strings though. They always need cello players"

I shrugged, but I knew she was right. I could probably get into choir too.

We stopped in Prince George for the night, and Alice and I went for a short run around the hotel.

"This will be good, I think" Alice insisted

"Why? How?" I asked, but I knew better than to not trust her. Alice was almost always right with this kind of stuff.

"I think… We will be happier. I think it will be good for all of us" She insisted.

Weran most of the way in silence, occasionally talking about the beautiful landscape that surrounded the city. We did not have to fill time with chatter like most people; we were always on the same page, and we always understood each other. Even though we were not biological siblings, I felt that the universe somehow knew we were each other's best friend.

We left again early in the morning. Esme wanted us to get to our new home by tonight, and the line up at the border going back into the states was long according to the radio.

We played bad pop music in the car and sang with all the songs.

"If you become a stuck up music nerd at Julliard I am not being your… Rosalie anymore" Rose joked.

"Don't worry," I insisted, "I'll always need to be reminded that I am a better singer than someone" She laughed

Rosalie and I never had an easy relationship. We fought all the time, and we never understood each other. Jasper was the same, but we had at least been more civil. It was weird to call them by sister and brother, but it was even harder to explain to people how we were actually related.

We finally drove back into America as the sun was setting. We continued to drive, despite our hunger. My phone continued to vibrate, and I continued to ignore it.

Finally we passed the "Welcome to Forks" sign, but we drove back out of town along the highway.

"Um… where are we going?" Jasper eventually asked,

"You'll see" Esme answered the excitement radiating off of her.

We finally turned onto a little side street. It had been at least 10 minutes since we had seen another house.

But then we saw it. A small break in the trees and a cottage. It was all wooden, and the colours were the same as the surrounding forest.

Carlisle parked the car in the detached garage.

The inside was the same, and it was furnished. The living room was surprisingly modern, and the kitchen was full of modern appliances. There was a beautiful grand piano beside the front door.

Alice and my room looked almost the same as it had before. We still had bunk beds, and we each had a small desk and a dresser. We began to put our clothes away and make our beds. Our bedroom definitely had the best view.

When we were finished, we all migrated towards the kitchen. All that was in the kitchen was cereal, and we somehow forgot to pack bowls. We passed around the box of cheerios, all laughing and giggling at how ridiculous our 1 am dinner looked like.