68
"Edward, come on," I yelled from the living room. "We are going to be late for our flight."
"Calm down, Bella," he said, rushing into the living room with his last suitcase. "I'm ready. We have plenty of time."
"No, we don't," I whined. "I told you to pack yesterday."
"I know," he sighed. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine. Let's just go," I mumbled.
Edward and I made our way out the front door to where Carlisle and Esme were waiting for us with amused expressions on their faces. They must have heard me yelling at Edward again. I just rolled my eyes as we threw the last of his luggage into the trunk and climbed into the backseat of the car. Carlisle and Esme just chuckled as they climbed into the car. They pulled out of the drive way and we headed off to the airport. I turned and saw Emmett, Rose, Jasper, and Alice following us.
It had been a week since we had graduated high school. A week of packing up our belongings and putting them in storage. A week of spending as much time as we could with Garrett, Kate, Ben, Angela, Lauren, Tyler, Mike, and Jessica. I wasn't sure when we would see any of them again. Edward and I were getting ready to go to LA and start recording my new CD before our summer tour started. But first, we were heading to Chicago. I was finally going to meet Tricia and her family.
"Ok, we need to hurry or we are going to miss our flight," said Esme as we pulled up in front of the airport.
"Told you," I muttered to Edward.
"Whatever," he grumbled.
We climbed out of the car and grabbed our multitude of luggage. The eight of us ran inside and checked in for our flight to Chicago, ran through the security checkpoints after checking our luggage, and barely made it to the gate before they closed the doors for good. We took our seats and buckled our seatbelts as the plane rolled out onto the runway.
"I told you we would make it," chuckled Edward, grabbing my hand as our flight took off.
"Let's just hope our luggage makes it," I smirked as he kissed my hand.
"It will. Have some faith," he smirked back.
"You know, Edward," said Emmett from the seat behind us. "You are the slowest person I have ever met. Why didn't you have everything packed already?"
"Well," smirked Edward as he turned and faced Emmett. "I would have done it yesterday but Bella kept distracting me."
"How?" asked Emmett, while Rose, Jasper, and Alice all rolled their eyes. They knew how. I could tell.
"Um, by showing me her assets," explained Edward with a wink.
"Edward," I hissed as my face turned red. Carlisle and Esme both grimaced as they looked at us from the seats on the other side of Edward.
"Oh, man, that's just wrong," griped Emmett.
"You asked," snickered Edward as everyone else just groaned. He turned and looked at me. I was just staring at him with my mouth wide open. "What?"
"I thought Emmett had no filter," I said. "But he has nothing on you."
"Excuse me?" I turned and saw a young girl, maybe fifteen or sixteen years old, standing next to me. She had curly dark red hair and bright blue eyes. She was looking at me with a big smile on her face. "I don't mean to interrupt but are you Isabella Cullen?"
"Yes, I am," I said with a smile. Her eyes widen and she stifled a squeal.
"Oh my god, I am such a huge fan of yours," she gushed.
"You are?" I gasped. She nodded her head frantically as a few of the other passengers looked around at us. I could hear them start whispering. "Wow. That is so cool."
"If it's not too big of a hassle, can I…can I have you autograph?" She begged. My mouth fell open as I looked over at my family. They were all smiling and laughing softly.
"You want my autograph?" I asked in amazement.
"Yeah," she squealed. "I love your song. I can't wait to hear more of your stuff."
"Wow," I squealed. "Ok, I'll sign something for you."
"Oh my god, thank you," she squealed. She dug a piece of paper out of her purse. She looked up at me and frowned. "I don't have a pen."
"Use mine, Isabella," said Carlisle. I turned and mouthed 'thank you' to him as I took the pen. He just winked at me. I turned back to the girl, who was smiling again.
"Ok, what's your name?" I asked, eagerly.
"Oh, um, Kaylin," she said, excitedly.
"That's such a pretty name," I said. I took the paper from her and quickly wrote a little note and signed it. "Here you go."
"Oh my god, thank you so much, Mrs. Cullen," she gushed.
"Please, call me Isabella," I said. "Thank you. I'm glad you like the song."
She squealed as she turned and went back over to her seat. A few other people came over and asked for autographs after she left. My face felt like it was going to split open with how much I was smiling. I couldn't believe all these people wanted my autograph. After several minutes the flight attendants came through and asked everyone to take their seats. I turned back to my family and sighed. That was just so cool.
Our flight landed in Chicago a few hours later. We made our way off the plane and headed down to the baggage area. Edward smirked as he pulled our luggage off the conveyer belt. Cocky ass bastard, I thought to myself. I rolled my eyes and followed the rest of them out of the airport and into the rental car that Carlisle had arranged for. How the eight of us fit into one car with all our luggage was beyond me but we did. Since it was already late, we headed straight to the airport for the night. I couldn't wait to meet Tricia tomorrow.
By the next morning, I was so excited about meeting her that I couldn't keep still, much to Edward's annoyance and pleasure.
"Bella, if you don't stop bouncing, I am going to be forced to attack you and then you will have to wait even longer to meet Tricia," chuckled Edward, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. He had just gotten down getting dressed. I had been ready for almost an hour.
"I can't help it, Edward," I squealed. "I am so excited about finally meeting her."
"I know you are. I am too but you keep making your boobs bounce. It's very distracting," he teased, grabbing my breasts in his hands.
"God, you are such a pervert," I chuckle as he pulled me down on the bed and started kissing my neck.
"Come on, Baby," he murmured, pushing my shirt up, "I can be really quick."
"Prove it," I smirked.
Twenty minutes later, Edward and I stepped off the elevator and found the rest of our family waiting for us with annoyed looks on their faces. Edward looked smug and I am pretty sure my face was the color of lobsters.
"It's about damn time," grumbled Emmett.
"Calm down, Em," I scoffed. "We're ready now."
"Um, Bella," smirked Carlisle. I looked over at him. "You're shirt is on backwards…again."
"Shit," I muttered as I took off for the restrooms. I could hear him and Esme laughing as the others groaned. I ran into the restroom and quickly fixed my shirt. I slowly made my way back out to the others. I could hear them all snickering under their breath. "Not one word. Any of you. Let's go."
They all just laughed again as we made our way out to the rental car. We climbed in and headed off to the Tricia's house. Denise and I had agreed not to tell Tricia about us coming. I wanted to surprise her. I knew she was still struggling a lot with her recovery, even though she was doing an amazing job.
Twenty minutes later, Carlisle pulled the car up in front of their house. They all smiled with me as we climbed out. Edward wrapped his arm around my waist and as we went up to the front door. I rang the door bell. A few minutes later, a tall, beautiful woman with light reddish brown hair and blue eyes opened the door with a smile.
"Bella?" she asked.
"I'm Bella. You're Denise?" I asked.
"Yes," she said, throwing her arms around me. "It's a pleasure to meet you finally."
"You too," I whispered through my tears. She pulled away and I noticed she had tears in her eyes too.
"Well, come on in," she said, stepping back.
We stepped in and she shut the door behind her. She led us into the living room where a tall, blond man was standing with two boys who looked just like him. I knew this must be Martin, Ashton, and Jack. They all looked a little nervous. Jack pulled away from his father and came over and wrapped his arms around my waist.
"I'm Jack," he said. "It's about time you got here."
"Hello, Jack," I said, kneeling down in front of him. "I'm Bella. I am so glad I am finally here."
"I'm Ashton," said the other little boy as he gave me the once over. I heard Edward gasp softly. "Who are they?"
"This is my husband, Edward," I said, standing up. Ashton scowled. "My big brother, Emmett. He looks scary but he's just a big kid. This is his wife, Rose. This is Jasper and his wife, Alice. These are Edward's parents, Carlisle and Esme. It's nice to finally meet you, Ashton. I've heard so much about you."
"You too, Bella," he said. He looked over at Emmett. "You play video games."
"Depends on what you got," said Emmett, cocking an eyebrow at him.
"Dude, I have it all," scoffed Ashton. I saw Martin and Denise smile.
"Show me," said Emmett.
"Ok," said Ashton. "But the wife can't come into my room. It's a no chick zone."
"Works for me," said Emmett. He and Ashton headed down the hallway while we all chuckled.
"Have I just been replaced by a ten year old boy?" asked Rose.
"Quite possibly," chuckled Martin. He stepped up to me and held out his hand. "I'm Martin. It's great to finally meet you, Bella."
"You too," I said, ignoring his hand and hugging him. He chuckled and hugged me back. I pulled back. "Sorry, we're huggers."
"It's ok," chuckled Martin.
"Well, Tricia is up in her room," said Denise. "First door on the left."
"Thank you," I said.
I smiled at my family before I went over to the stairs and slowly made my way up. I was suddenly so nervous. I wasn't sure why but I was. I stopped outside the first door on the left and took a deep breath. I knocked on the door and it fell open slowly. I leaned against the doorframe and looked inside. Tricia was sitting in front of her desk, pecking on the keys on her laptop.
"I said to leave me alone," she snapped.
"Is that anyway to talk to your big sister?" I asked. She froze for a moment before she turned and looked at me. She had a black scarf on her bald head. I could see the dark circles under her eyes that I used to have from a lack of sleep. "I hope that's your novel you are working on."
"Bella?" she whispered as a tear slipped down her face.
"Hey, Tricia," I said as my tears slipped out of my eyes. She stood up and I stepped up to her and pulled her into my arms. I could feel her body shaking with her sobs. Mine was too. "It's ok, Tricia. I know."
"I can't believe you are really here," she cried, pulling away from me. She smiled and her entire face lit up. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you, of course," I scoffed.
"Let's sit down," she said. She held onto me as she stumbled over to her bed. "Sorry, I'm still working on getting my legs to move with me."
"It's ok," I said as we sat down on her bed. "So how are you doing?"
"I'm pretty crappy," she said. "I'm finally done with chemo, which is great, but we have to go in next week and have another round of test done to make sure the tumor hasn't started to grow back or anything. I'm really scared that it has. I don't know if I can do all of this again, you know?"
"I do know," I said. "Every time we have to do tests to see if the cancers back, I get so scared. I just hate it but we have to do them."
"Me too," said Tricia. "Have my brothers met you yet?"
"Yes," I chuckled. "Jack attached himself to my waist and Ashton gave me the once over."
"Sounds like them," laughed Tricia. "I'm surprised they let you come up here at all."
"Well, I might have cheated a little," I smirked.
"How?" she asked.
"I brought Edward, Emmett, Jasper, Rose, Alice, Carlisle, and Esme with me," I said. "Ashton already lured Emmett into his room to play video games and if I had to guess, Jack has Edward and Jasper playing with Lego's or something. Esme, Alice and Rose are probably distracting your mom while Carlisle is keeping your dad busy."
"Did you plan it that way?" asked Tricia.
"No," I scoffed. She cocked her eye at me. "Ok, maybe."
"Wow, you really are smart," she chuckled as she fell back against her pillows.
"I know," I laughed. I laid down on the bed next to her. "So was that your novel you were writing?"
"Yes," she said. "It's going really slow but at least it gives me something other than the cancer to think about, you know?"
"I do," I said. "I can't wait to read it."
"It probably won't be any good," said Tricia.
"I'm sure it will be," I said. "But it doesn't matter anyway. This is just one more thing you can cross off your list."
"I know," she said. She looked over and smiled at me. "It's not like being called the next big thing in the music business."
"I am not," I scoffed.
"You so are," chuckled Tricia. "All of the boys in my class at school are totally in love with you. The girls are all cutting their hair short like yours so they can look like you. Thank God schools out so I don't have to watch it anymore."
"God, that is so stupid," I said, shaking my head. "What I would give to have long hair again."
"What I would give to have hair again," sighed Tricia. "I do like yours, though."
"Thanks," I said. "I'm thinking of adding some purple to it when it gets longer."
"That would be so cool," she gasped. "You have to send me pictures of it."
"Even better, when you grow your hair back, we'll do it together," I said. "Then we can be like real sisters."
"Deal," smirked Tricia.
"Tricia, lunch is ready," said Denise. We looked over and saw her standing in the doorway, smiling at the two of us.
"Ok, Mom," said Tricia. "We'll be right down."
Denise just smiled as she turned and left. Tricia rolled her eyes as we climbed off the bed. I handed her the crutches that were leaning against her desk. She mumbled a thank you as she took them from me. I ignored it. I knew she was embarrassed about looking weak. I understood that nothing I said right now would make her feel better. I followed her as she made her way down the stairs and into the dining room where everyone was sitting. I pulled Edward out of his seat and over to Tricia.
"Tricia, I would like you to meet my Edward," I beamed. "Edward, this is Tricia."
"It's nice to finally meet you, Tricia," said Edward, hugging her. She turned bright red as she hugged him back.
"You too, Edward," she mumbled softly. Edward pulled back and leaned down and kissed her check.
"You look beautiful," he whispered just loud enough for me and her to hear. "Bella and I are so proud of our little sister."
"Thank you," she whispered as a tear slipped down her face. I smiled at Edward as he gently wiped her tear off her face.
"Tricia, this is Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, Carlisle, and Esme," I said, pointing out each of them to her. "Guys, this is our little sister, Tricia."
"If Tricia is your sister, does that mean me and Ashton get to be your brothers?" asked Jack.
"Of course it does, little man," scoffed Emmett. I smiled at him. "We definitely need us a couple little bros."
"Awesome," shouted Jack.
We all laughed and sat down at the table. Denise had gone all out and made us a feast with pot roast with all the trimmings, green beans, fruit salad, a tossed salad and key lime pie for desert. I noticed that none of the others made a big deal about Tricia not eating a lot. It was so hard to get your appetite back after going through chemo.
After lunch, Alice and Rose insisted that they give Tricia a make-over. The look of terror on her face was a little funny. I promised her she would be ok so she let them make her over. I was fixing to follow them back upstairs to get started when Denise stopped me.
"Can I talk with you for a minute?" she asked. I turned back to Tricia, Rose, and Alice.
"I'll be right up," I said.
"Ok," said Tricia, looking between me and Denise before she turned and headed upstairs.
Alice and Rose smiled as they followed Tricia up to her room. I followed Denise down the hallway to her bedroom. She shut the door behind her and sat down on the bed, motioning for me to join her. I went over and sat down next to her. She reached out and grabbed my hand.
"Denise, is everything ok?" I asked.
"Yes," she said through her tears. "I just wanted to thank you so much for today. This is the first time in months that I've seen a small part of my daughter back. She was really needing you, Bella. She hasn't smiled or laughed like this in so long."
"You're welcome, I guess," I said. "I'm just trying to give her back what she gave me."
"What gave you?" asked Denise.
"When I went into the hospital to start the conditioning phase, I wasn't doing it for me. I was doing it for Edward. I had given up hope that I would survive. Doing the transplant was the only way I could hold on to Edward. The only reason I could even think about doing it was because I had him but he couldn't be there all the time, Denise. So when I started talking with Tricia, I found someone who was there when Edward couldn't be. When I couldn't sleep in the middle of the night, I would get on my laptop and reads her blogs or send her a message. She didn't try to tell me that I was wrong for feeling like there was no hope. She didn't tell me that I was crazy when I ranted about how much it hurt, cause it hurt a lot. So in return I tried to be there for her. I know that it's been so hard for all of you, I really do. I love Tricia. She is my little sister. I can't thank you enough for sharing her with me," I explained through my tears.
"No, Bella, thank you for sharing yourself with us," cried Denise. "Your messages were the only thing that got Martin and I through the last few months. We are so thankful for your friendship. We consider you, Edward, and the others as a part of our family."
"That means a lot to me, Denise," I cried softly. "Cause I can't ever have too much family."
"Me either," she whispered. "You had better go save Tricia from Rose and Alice."
"I will," I chuckled. "Thank you again for letting us."
"You are always welcome here, Bella," she whispered as she hugged me. "Always."
I hugged her back before I went upstairs and joined Alice, Rose, and Tricia. They had Tricia sitting on her bed as they did her make-up. She had a huge smile on her face as they gossiped about what movie start they were in love with, who was cute, and who was totally overrated. I smiled and went over and joined my sisters on the bed.
All too soon it was time for us to go back to the hotel. Edward kept his arm around my waist as Tricia, Jack, Ashton, Martin, and Denise hugged the rest of our family. Jack came over and stood in front of me.
"Bella, are you ever going to come back?" he asked, looking up at me.
"Of course I am," I said, kneeling in front of him. "I have to come check on my little brother, don't I?"
"Am I really your brother?" he asked.
"Of course you are," I said, hugging him. "You take care of our family for us, ok?"
"Ok, Bella," he whispered. I pulled back and stood up as Ashton came over and stood in front of me.
"So like maybe I can come see one of your shows or something," he muttered. I smiled.
"So like maybe if I come through here I'll like get you a backstage pass or something," I chuckled. Ashton smiled as he looked up at me.
"That would be really cool," he said. He motioned to Edward. "When you get tired of him, I'll be here, babe."
"Ashton," snapped Tricia. "Stop it."
"Ashton, do you and I need to talk about not hitting on my woman?" chuckled Edward.
"Edward, do you and I need to talk about you not hurting her or having to answer to me?" smirked Ashton.
"Dude, I knew I liked you," chuckled Emmett, bumping fist with Ashton. I shared a look with Tricia. Like peas in a pod.
"I'll make you a deal, Ashton," said Edward. "I promise not to hurt her if you promise to take care of Tricia for us. She needs you right now."
"I promise," said Ashton. He and Edward bumped fists before he turned and ran down the hall to his room.
"Sorry about him" chuckled Martin as he came over and hugged me. "Thank you for everything, Bella. You have no idea how much you mean to this family."
"Almost as much as you all mean to me, Martin," I whispered. He pulled away and nodded as he turned to Edward.
"I'm just going to say ditto to what Ashton said about hurting her," he said, shaking Edward's hand. I could hear our family snickering under their breaths.
"I promise not to hurt her, sir," said Edward.
I rolled my eyes and hugged Denise. We didn't need to say anything. We had already shared our hearts with each other. I pulled away and stepped over to where Tricia was standing. I heard the others step outside onto the porch with Denise and Martin, giving me and Tricia a moment alone.
"Bella, thank you for coming today," she whispered. She had tears swimming in her eyes.
"I had the best day, Tricia. Best day that I've had in a long time," I whispered. "Maybe I'll come back in the fall sometimes. Surprise all those kids at school or something."
"That would be so cool," she chuckled. "Promise that we stay in contact."
"I promise," I said. "You have my cell number, my email address. I'm still on Caringbridge. I have your cell phone number. You are stuck with me, Tricia. Besides, I'm going to need someone to talk to when it's time for those tests again."
"I love you, Bella," she whispered. "You're the best sister ever."
"I love you, too, Tricia," I cried, hugging her. "I am so lucky to get you as a sister. If you need me, I'm on the first flight out. Anytime, ok?"
"Ok," she whispered.
I hugged her again before we stepped out on to the porch. She hugged Edward. He whispered something into her ear that made her giggle and turn red. I smiled at them. He was a good brother to her.
The eight of us climbed into the car. I turned and looked out the window as Carlisle pulled away from the house. I saw Denise and Martin wrap their arms around Tricia as she cried. They would be just fine. They had each other. They would be just fine as long as they held onto each other. I turned back and laid my head on Edward's shoulder. So would we, even when we were hundreds of miles apart.