It was pretty pathetic, the way I sat around waiting for Saturday evening to come. I didn't know anything about this Edward Masen. So why was I so goddamn anxious for Saturday's dinner? I couldn't answer that. But I found most of my thoughts consumed by his face. I sighed. His face. The only mental image I had of him was the one of his angry expression as he talked to his mother.

That's why you want to see him so much, Bella. You want to see him happy, that's all.

My self-reassurance didn't work.

Jacob called me Wednesday night after Sam, Emily, and I had eaten dinner. I took my cell phone into what I now considered "my" bedroom. He asked how I've been.

"Hey Bella!"

"Hey Jake. It's nice to talk to you."

"I'm glad to hear your voice. How have you been?"

"I'm fine, Jacob. It's only been…what? A whole day?" I asked sarcastically.

I could almost see him stick his tongue out at me as Jake said, "I just wanted to know."

"It was fun. Emily and I spent the day together while Sam was at work. She's really nice and I really like her. Oh, I dislocated a couple of my carpals."

I immediately heard the worry in my voice as he asked, "What happened?"

"I happened. I just tripped and fell while we were at the park."

"Oh, clumsy Bella."

"Shut up."

"So do you have anything planned this weekend?"

"Yeah, Emily and Sam are inviting the Masens and the Cullens over for dinner. Dr. Masen was the doctor who treated me this afternoon. Emily and I also saw one of his sons in the front room, talking to his mom. I haven't met any of the Cullens yet." No need to tell Jake of my borderline-scary interest in Edward…

"That sounds cool…" Jake trailed off and was silent for a few moments before he spoke again.

"Bella…they found her," he said in a whisper. I didn't need to be told who 'her' was. He continued, "She was in the woods. This old man was walking with his dog; I think it was at the edge of his property. He saw her, and called the police."

"There in Forks?"

"No, this was up north, near Lake Pleasant."

I didn't know what to say. But at least it was a case, now—one that starts with little evidence, but it's a case. And now Her family knew what had happened to her. They could hold a proper funeral.

"Thank you for telling me Jake. I have to go. I promise I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay, Bella. Goodnight. Bye."

"Bye."

I had been planning on calling Charlie after I hung up with Jacob, but I wasn't in the mood for conversation anymore.

When I went to sleep that night, I had nightmares again.

Depressed could best be used to describe the mood I was in most of Thursday. What did this mean about Him? Had He gone north? I needed answers, but for now I wasn't going to get any. Only time would tell.

To distract myself from these dark thoughts, I helped Emily around the house. She was cleaning up, making the house look nice for Saturday. Tomorrow we planned to go to the grocery store, begin the dinner, and then perhaps go downtown with Sam. He always gets off around one on Fridays, I was told. So, 'depressed' I polished the wooden tables, wiped the windows clean, dusted the surfaces of various pieces of furniture and decorations, and mopped the floors. Emily gave me the indoor jobs while she worked around outside, mowing the lawn, weeding her flowerbox flowers, sweeping the walkway and front porch, and making the lawn look nice overall. When all of that was finished and the outdoors smelled like lawn clippings while the inside of the house smelled like lemon, we sat down to actually figure out what we were going to have for dinner.

After Emily had shot down my ideas for roast turkey, smoked ham, and lasagna, I figured something out about Carlisle and Esme; they were vegetarians.

"Okay, I have another idea. Well, two, actually, if you don't like the first idea. How about we make a complete vegetarian dinner? Like…ravioli di Portobello or an asparagus frittata with sautéed green beans on the side?" I liked to cook. And those were considered vegetarian-friendly meals, right? "But if not everyone is open to a complete vegetarian dinner, why not have some meat side dishes with a meatless entrée? Oh! I have the perfect idea: spaghettini with oil and garlic, with meatballs on the side."

"I like the spaghettini; let's do that. Do you know what we need?"

"No, but I know where to find the recipe."

"Go look it up then!" Emily shooed me away with a laugh.

***

Emily and I had just returned from the grocery store. We had spaghettini, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, fresh parsley, red pepper, and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for the pasta, and white bread, milk, more cheese, more fresh parsley, ground sirloin, more garlic, and eggs for the meatballs. We were also planning to make tiramisu for dessert. I guess the running theme was Italian. It was nearing one o' clock.

"Do you really want to make anything today?" Emily asked with a reluctant expression on her face.

"Not really. Sam should be home soon anyways, right?" Emily nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Yup. What do you want to do when he gets home?"

"I'm not sure. I'd like to go to a park, or maybe just some more attractions downtown."

"Alright, we can—"The doorbell rang, cutting her off. Emily left the room to answer it.

I heard a squeal as the door was opened, followed by a hearty laugh. Would I ever have a love like that? I immediately stopped my thoughts right there. I was not some sappy little romantic girl. But it didn't stop me from wondering.

"Bella!" Emily shouted as she came back in the dining room. "Do you want to go to museums?"

"Yeah, that sounds like fun."

And off we went, first to the Chicago History Museum, and then to the Field Museum.

"That was so cool to see Sue," I was saying as we walked out of the Field Museum, home to the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex ever discovered.

"It was. I like museums," replied Emily.

"I liked the Great Fire exhibit over at Chicago History better," Sam chimed in.

When we got back home, I called Charlie.

"Hi Bella."

"Hey Dad."

"How are things going?"

"They're going great. Sam and Emily are really nice; they treat me just like family. Today we went to the Chicago History Museum and the Fields Museum. I got to see Sue!"

"Sue?"

"Yeah, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex ever discovered." I quoted the knowledge I had learned when I read the plaque.

"Sounds like you had fun."

"I did. Tomorrow we're inviting the Masens and Cullens over to have dinner with us. Which reminds me—what have you been eating?"

"I fended for myself for ten years until you came along Bella, I'll be fine for a few months," he said indignantly.

"Whatever you say, Pops."

"Tell me more about these Masens and Cullens."

"I don't really know much about them besides what Emily told me. Edward Masen Sr. is a doctor and works at the nearby hospital. His wife Elizabeth Masen is a nurse there. They have three children, Edward, Alice, and Emmett. Carlisle Cullen is a doctor also, but works in a different hospital. Esme Cullen doesn't have a job; she's always stayed at home with their kids. They're foster parents. Carlisle and Esme have raised their adopted children, Rosalie and Jasper Hale, from about the age of two."

"Wow." Charlie sounded impressed. "They sound like good people."

"I've yet to meet them."

There was a lull in conversation; we didn't have much more to talk about.

"Alright Bells, call me tomorrow when you have a chance."

"I will Dad. Bye."

"Bye."

I grew tired. It had been a long fun-filled day. So I went to sleep. I didn't expect the nightmare tonight.

But it came anyway.

"Bella...," the voice whispered.

"Bella." It grew louder.

"Bella!" It was so loud now, but not as if it was shouting. It was like the voice belonged to a set of earphones plugged into an Mp3 with the volume on high.

"Bella, you have to run! Run! He's coming!" The voice was filled with fear. Not fear for whomever the voice belonged to; it was fear for me. Whoever he was, he was coming only for me.

"I—can't. I can't run. I want to stay. I have to stay," I replied to the voice. I didn't know why; it was just this feeling that I had.

"No, Bella! You have to run! Please, just run!"

"I can't! I don't want to! Just let me stay!"

"Bella! Run! Run. Run…" the voice faded away, the volume of the imaginary Mp3 decreasing.

Then I saw the he who brought the fear. It was Him. I now understood why the owner of the voice had been telling me to run.

And thankfully, tonight, it ended there.

I never knew where I was in the nightmare. I couldn't remember if it was because it was so dark or simply because I never paid well enough attention. The nightmare brought questions: why didn't I want to run? Who did the voice belong to? Where was I supposed to run? Why couldn't I ever see the owner of the voice? I didn't know the answer to any of these questions; just like the questions that had come up when Jake told me of the news Wednesday night.

I glanced at the clock: 6:39. It was early, but late enough to get up. I got out of bed and, after brushing my teeth, went into the kitchen to fix myself a bowl of cereal to eat while I watched Saturday morning cartoons.

Sam was up only twenty minutes later; Emily was up near eight.

We didn't do much the whole day, just cleaned up a little more. Emily and I were to begin cooking at five o' clock, and dinner was set to start at seven.

"Hey Bella," she said as she walked in the living room, where I was reading, and continued, "You ready to start cooking?"

"Sure."

We made the tiramisu first.

Later, as Emily was moving the pasta from pot to bowl, Sam walked in and praised, "It smells great in here!"

It smelled like garlicky meat, with a hint of coffee lingering in the air.

Sam walked up behind Emily and wrapped his arms around her waist while saying, "I bet dinner is going to taste great tonight." He smiled at both of us.

"We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" I said, just when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it."

A good looking man was standing on the porch of the little house when I opened the door. There was an equally good looking woman next to him; the man had his arm around her waist. Coming up the walkway, away from a black Mercedes parked on the curb, were two blonde teenagers. The man had blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. The woman had curly caramel locks, hazel eyes, and a tanner skin tone than her husband.

I took a guess as to who they could be.

"Dr. and Mrs. Cullen?"

"Yes. And you must be Isabella, correct? Sam mentioned to me that he had company," the doctor answered.

"Bella, just Bella."

"Oh, my mistake. Hello Bella."

"It's fine; a lot of people call me Isabella when they first meet me. Only if a friend or relative tells them beforehand will a person usually call me Bella the first time we meet. Come inside, Dr. Cullen, Mrs. Cullen."

"Bella, any friend of the Uleys is a friend of ours," Mrs. Cullen spoke up. "Call me Esme. My husband's name is Carlisle. And here come our two kids; Bella, this is Rosalie and Jasper. Rosalie and Jasper, this is Bella. She's staying with Sam and Emily for the whole summer, I believe?" Esme said as she shot a questioning glance my way. I nodded to confirm her theory.

The boy was muscular, but leaner than Edward. Oh wow, I'm comparing other guys to him now? Nice, Bella… He was still nicely sculpted, though. The boy had curly blonde hair and blue eyes that could've been mistaken for being inherited from Carlisle. The girl was beyond pretty; I felt my self-esteem drop a few levels as I looked at her. She too had blonde hair, and it was curled perfectly into large curls that fell gracefully halfway down her back. Her eyes were a grayish silver color. She had a body that made other girls fall into eating disorders. I laughed internally as the song Next Contestant by Nickelback popped in my head as I tried to imagine Rosalie and the unknown Emmett on a date.

"Pleased to meet you, Rosalie and Jasper."

"Likewise," they said simultaneously. Cool. I guess what was lacking in eye color they made up for in their speech.

I moved out of the doorway to let the family enter the house. They walked in the dining room and I heard happy greetings being exchanged between old friends.

After a few minutes, the doorbell rang again. My heart skipped a beat. I'm pathetic. I went to answer it, since I was standing in the middle of the living room still.

I was greeted by Dr. Masen.

"Hey, Dr. Masen."

"Hello again, Bella. How's that hand doing?"

"It's fine; I haven't really needed those painkillers."

"That's good. I'd like you to meet my wife and kids." He gestured to the woman next to him. Elizabeth had straight, dark brown hair and beautiful emerald eyes. She was slim and had a warm smile on her face.

"Hello Bella," she greeted me.

"Hi Bella!" perked up a small voice. It was then that I noticed the diminutive girl half hidden behind the doctor and his wife. She quickly squeezed in between them and hugged me. Her parents had apologetic expressions on their faces.

"It's so nice to meet you." She had inky black hair that flicked out at the ends in a style between a pixie cut and a bob. With the close proximity, I noticed that she smelled like flowers. Her eyes were brown.

"We're sorry. Alice can be a little…forward," said Elizabeth as she tugged at Alice's arm. I liked her, though.

A big, brawny guy walked up the porch steps. His hair was the color of his mom's, and was shaved in a buzz cut. He had the same brown eyes as his sister Alice. This guy was big…much bigger than the other men that I'd met while in Chicago. But Emmett wasn't quite as big as creepy bodybuilders, though; if he was, I don't think I could stand him.

Dr. Masen spoke to his son as he came nearer to us, "Emmett, this is Bella."

"So you're Bella, huh?" I nodded. Obviously. He had a smirk on his face, and I mirrored it.

"My dad told me how you dislocated some bones in your wrist because you tripped." My smirk was wiped from my face. Emmett laughed when he saw that.

"It happens to everyone," I said indignantly.

"It was just a joke, don't get all hot-headed," he said as he came over and gave me a hug just like his sister had. People in Chicago were nicer than people in Forks. Well, nicer than Charlie's grumpy old co-workers.

"Is that true?" This different, amused voice shocked me. I tried to peek around Emmett as he released me. "I guess I missed that story yesterday," the voice continued. I came to a conclusion as to who the voice could belong to, and my cheeks grew hot.

"Aw, she's blushing! Look at what you did, Edward," Emmett mockingly chastised him, and then finally moved out of my way.

Edward was smiling.

My heart kicked up in pace. I heard Sam come up behind me and say, teasingly, "Aren't you going to move out of the doorway so that our guests can come in?"

I answered back, "I was getting to that," as I quickly moved aside to let the new family come inside. Emmett laughed at me again, Edward had that same crooked grin on his face, and Alice engaged me in a conversation about a new movie in theaters, Obsessed.

The Cullens were already seated as Sam, the Masens, and I walked into the dining room. Emily was walking around the table, spooning pasta onto each of the twelve plates. I wonder if this is how it is daily for the family from Cheaper by the Dozen. When she was finished, she set the bowl in the middle of the table, next to the bowl of meatballs and sauce. Sam led us in saying grace, and all that was heard for the next few moments was the clink of forks against plates and low requests of 'Can you pass the meatballs?'

"This is good," Elizabeth spoke up.

"Who's the cook?" Carlisle asked.

"Both Bella and I made it," Emily answered.

"So you cook, Bella?" I looked up to the green eyes of Edward, who just so happened to be sitting in front of me. Aren't I lucky?, I asked myself sarcastically.

"Yes. My mom had some rather interesting, rather inedible meal ideas. After a while, she finally realized that her job as head chef just wasn't working out, so she handed it over to me. Then when I moved in with my dad, I found out that he couldn't even boil water if his life depended on it, so back home I always cook for him and me." He stared at me with a look of curiosity before finally looking back down at his plate.

The plates were cleared away after everybody had finished, and the tiramisu was brought out. This time, after everyone had been served, several Mm's and Ah's of delight were heard.

"Emily, Bella, this is delicious," complimented Jasper.

"Actually, only Bella made it." What? But she had helped… I realized what she was trying to do. She was trying to get me noticed, stick some good qualities with my name so it would be easier to befriend these people.

"This confirms it. You are indeed an excellent chef, little Bella," Emmett joked.

"I'm not that little. But thanks, Emmett."

"You're welcome."

"This is very good, Bella," I heard Rosalie say.

"Bella, you're an awesome cook," Alice complimented next.

My cheeks grew hotter with each nice thing that came afterwards from Carlisle, Dr. Masen, Esme, Sam, Edward, and Elizabeth; I had never really liked attention.

"All I did was follow a recipe."

"There are a lot of good cooks out there, but I don't know, I guess you're just better than all the rest of them," Alice said.

"Thanks, Alice."

I helped Emily clear away the dishes this time, but we decided to wait until this evening or tomorrow to wash them.

The adults migrated to the living room, while the teenagers walked outside onto the front porch. Most of their eyes turned to me, filled with curiosity. Jasper was nice enough to look elsewhere, not wanting to add to my discomfort.

"What town was it that you're visiting from, Bella?" Rosalie asked me.

"Um, Forks. It's a little town on the Pacific Coast of Washington with a near constant cover of clouds and rain."

"What's it like?" she asked again.

"Small. It's pretty miserable, actually," I answered with a little smile. Rosalie smiled back. I saw Edward looking curiously at me again.

"What are your friends like?" was the next question, from Alice.

"My best friend is named Jacob Black. He's part of the Quileute tribe in La Push, a reservation near Forks."

"Wait, your best friend's an Indian?" I nodded. "That's so cool," said Alice in amazement.

"I have a friend named Angela; she's very nice. I have two other close friends: Jessica and Mike."

This mini interview continued a little while longer until the two couples of the group branched off, walking to perhaps the backyard, which was very pretty, what with Emily's garden and all.

Now it was only Edward and I on the front porch.

"Why did you move to that town, Forks?" He looked like he had been dying to ask this all night. "I mean, if you said it was miserable, why didn't—or why don't you move back with your mom now?"

It was a simple reason—out of love. Or rather, fear of losing love. I began my little story.

"My mom works at a daycare center. There was this one young girl who came in every morning and stayed at the daycare until her dad picked her up around two. That was how it had always been. Always. Every day she would come in, and every day her dad picked her up at two o' clock. But one day, this little girl's dad didn't pick her up. It wasn't until five when her mom finally came and took her home. For at least three weeks after that, the girl didn't come in at all. My mom was sad; she was a sweet girl, and she was my mom's favorite kid at the daycare center. Finally, little Anya came back. My mom was helping her complete a puzzle when Anya turns to her and says 'My dad died of a heart attack'—all fucking blunt like that, too. Needless to say, my mom was taken aback. She told me about it that day after work, and I thought 'What if Charlie died of a heart attack tomorrow? What would I do?' It was then that I realized that I didn't even really know my father. So next month, I was on a plane to Washington."

I had been angry at myself when I realized that sad fact. Here I was, seventeen years old, and I didn't even know my father!

"That was a very adult thing to do. You seem so much older than you actually are, Bella." Edward looked at me with a mix of confusion, curiosity, and wonder.

"Funny. My mom used to tell me the same thing all the time. I feel so conceited. I've been talking about myself all night. I want to know about you," I told him, which was true.

"What do you want to know?"

"Um…have you always lived in Chicago?"

"Yup, born and raised here. Next question, please." Geez, he sure handles attention with ease.

"Do you want to be a doctor, like your father?"

"Yes. I've always admired him, ever since I was a kid." I couldn't really think of any more important questions at the moment, so I turned to trivial matters.

"What's your favorite color?"

"What?"

"You heard me. What's your favorite color?"

"I don't really have one. But if I had to pick…I'd probably say blue. What's yours?"

"Green." Up until very recently, it had been purple.

I thought of a semi-important question. "When's your birthday?"

"June 20th. When's yours?"

"September 13th." Edward waited as I tried to think of another question to ask him.

Dr. Masen and Elizabeth walked out onto the porch, and Elizabeth said, "Edward, where is your brother and sister? It's late and we have to go."

"I think they're in the backyard." After Dr. Masen and Elizabeth walked away, Edward turned back to me and said, "It was nice getting to know you, Bella Swan. I hope we can hang out again; I'm sure my sister will want to." He said this with his crooked grin, which only grew as Alice came sprinting around the side of the house, up the porch steps, and over to where I was leaning against the rail.

"We have to leave. Do you want to hang out later this week?" I saw Edward give me an I-told-you-so look from over his sister's shoulder.

"Of course, Alice. I'm free from now until the end of summer." That brightened her little disappointed face. She threw her arms around me in one last hug, exclaiming, "Yay! I know we'll be great friends by the time you leave, Bella!" And with that she was off again, in the direction of the Masens' car.

"That's Alice for you." Edward sounded exasperated, but I saw the love and adoration he had for his sister in his eyes as he watched her tiny form, hardly visible in the oncoming twilight.

"I like her. So I'll see you later this week?"

"Most likely. Goodbye, Bella." He smiled before loping across the porch, down the steps, and into the darkness.

"Later, Bella!" I heard Emmett call out as I saw a large figure run past.

The Cullens left soon after them. Before leaving, Rosalie asked if Alice and I had exchanged numbers.

"Because she probably wants to hang out later this week, right?" I nodded my head.

Rosalie shook hers. "Silly girl, you need phone numbers to do that, doesn't she know?" she muttered to herself as she wrote down hers and Alice's cell phone numbers on a slip of paper. "Call us, Bella!" Rosalie said as she hurried to the car where Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper were waiting.

"Again, it was nice to meet you, Bella!" I heard Jasper say.

I felt excited for what the near future held in store.

A/N: I apologize if during that oh-so-long chapter a few things got confusing. I tend to get off track, sometimes. As always, feel free to share thoughts, opinions, critical remarks—you know, the whole nine yards.