Chapter 11

BPOV

Mmm…this feels great. I was pressing against this hard yet comfortable thing next to me. It was holding me tight and stroking my hair. I don't know who this is, but they smell good and they should keep doing what they're doing. I hummed contently and pressed my head further. The person gasped and froze, pausing mid-stroke. No, don't stop. Keep going!

"No." I mumbled. The person shook with laughter. What's so funny? I find no humor here. The person's hand took their hand from my hair and cupped my cheek instead. Now, that's great. I smiled, but I tried to hide it. I don't want to wake up just yet. The person commenced rubbing my cheek and then I heard a voice.

"Bella? Hey, I know you're awake." I know that voice all too well. I haven't heard it much, but I could identify it anywhere, anytime. I slowly opened my eyes to the dull sun. There was barely any light shining. The sun likes to slack off, I guess. I looked up to see Edward propped up on his elbow gazing down at me with amusement. I could wake up like this everyday. His golden eyes weren't as bright. Huh, weird. They were brighter the first time I saw him.

I let it pass and recalled the past events. I told them, didn't I? I, of course, broke down afterwards. I should really stop crying. It's getting annoying and I can't imagine how Edward must feel.

"I'm sorry", I said groggily. Edward's whole face changed from amusement to confusion. He raised an eyebrow at me, totally befuddled.

"I cried again. I told you guys my story yesterday, right?" I rubbed my eyes and slowly got into a sitting position. I took a quick peek at Edward's sad expression.

"Yes, you did. I overheard you talking to Carlisle and you started crying", he reported sadly, bringing himself up to sit upright. "Did that really happen, Bella? What you said?"

I nodded my head, yes. He sighed, almost sounding angry. His hand mussed up his hair as his hand passed through it. "May I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"Wh-why did you…put up with it?" He struggled for the right words. "You could have done something. You don't deserve that kind of… treatment, Bella" Edward's sounding caring again. That is just so confusing. He was so reserved yesterday and now here he his lying next to me, having a conversation with me.

"I was…scared. I didn't know what to do." I looked at him, clearly. He was looking at me with this concerned and puzzled face. He sighed, frustrated, and ran a hair through his hair once again. Edward pinched the bridge and nodded his head. He had no response.

"Edward?" Wow, I love saying his name.

"Yes?" Edward answered. He searched my eyes for some clue of my question.

"Why did you help me when I was crying?" Edward was taken aback by my question, apparently. He passed a hand through his hand, an action that meant he was frustrated or troubled, I now knew. He's done it three times in the past two minutes. His hair went into a more disarray than before. It was still gorgeous.

"You were crying, Bella. It was obvious that you needed some comfort. And, anyway, I already told you, the day we found you. I care about you."

Edward crawled off the couch and stood upright on the floor. I watched him walk to the other side of the bed. He walked so majestically. Every motion was smooth and graceful. I don't even have a quarter of his elegance. No, I don't contain any elegance. I'm just a wobbling, constantly tumbling klutz.

"Bella?" Edward's voice interrupted my little observations. I blinked my eyes repeatedly and saw Edward's hand reaching toward me.

"Come on. I bet you're hungry." Edward gave me a smile, but in no way did it reach his eyes. He's still definitely upset. I reached out and grasped his stone-like hand. He gently pulled me out of bed and set me on the floor. We walked hand-in-hand downstairs. We reached the kitchen, but no one was there.

"Where is everyone?", I asked Edward.

"My brothers and sisters are at school, Esme went grocery shopping and Carlisle is at work. Oh, and Esme took Furbie with her. She wanted to go to get some stuff for her." I heard Edward say from the refrigerator. So we are all alone. I just know I'm going to embarrass myself.

"Why are you staying?" I questioned. Edward's head revealed itself from the fridge and he went to the stove carrying ingredients for breakfast. He set them all down and looked at me, leaning forward on his elbows.

"Well, I didn't want to wake you getting out of bed and someone has to keep you from hurting yourself. Esme is probably going to do other sorts of shopping and she's not going to be home any time soon." Edward answered with a crooked grin. "So what do you want to eat, Bella? We have waffles, toast, egg, fruit, pancakes…umm."

"I'll have waffles and egg. Let me help." I walked around the table to the stove. I opened the bag of waffles and placed it in the toaster. Edward's eyes were on me as I turned around and walked to his side. "What?" Was I too bold?

"Oh, nothing." Edward bent down and got a small pan from the cupboard. He set it down once he got it and turned on the stove. "Do you want fruit?"

"Sure." I replied. He opened the strawberries and grapes. "I'll cut these and you cook the egg." He ordered. I nodded my head and slipped some butter into the pan. It sizzled and I spread it round the pan. I cracked the egg and let it plop into the skillet. It immediately crackled at contact with the hot object. I threw the shell into the garbage and retrieved a spatula from a hanger to flip the egg. Soon enough it was done and I placed it on the plate that Edward got. All the fruit were there and the waffle was steaming at the side.

"Aren't you going to eat, Edward?" I almost forgot about his food. How inconsiderate of me.

"No, it's okay. I'm not hungry." Edward replied quickly. Does no one eat in this family? I looked at him doubtfully, but I sat down at the table and began eating anyway. Edward followed and sat down across me. I grew more and more self-conscience as he kept studying me.

"So… what are we doing today, Edward?" I had to break the silence with something. I mean, the only sound before my voice was the clanging of utensils and my loud chewing.

"What do you want to do? We could watch a movie or play Wii, or something."

"A movie sounds great!" I devoured the food and washed the dishes while Edward dried and put the away.

"How about we take a shower first?" Edward asked. I nodded and both of us went upstairs. I went to my room and he went to his. I got my towel and went to the bathroom on the second floor. I crossed the hallway and took a shower. Once I got out, I noticed that I forgot to bring my clothes. That's great. I guess I'll just have to get back to the room. I wrapped the towel around me and opened the door slowly, looking both ways for Edward. I don't want him to see me like this. I walked quickly; I don't want to risk the chance of tripping and falling by jogging. Speed walking his safe for me. I was halfway down the hallway when Edward appeared at the foot of the second staircase.

I froze mid-step and he did too. We just stood there, unmoving, staring at each other. Shocked, Edward shut his eyes and turned away.

"Sorry!" he managed to say, completely tense. He ran extremely fast down the other staircase and went out of view. I stood there staring where I last saw him, blushing madly. I shook my head and got inside the guest room. So that was my first embarrassing moment of the day. I dressed myself and reluctantly went downstairs.

I reached the first floor and searched for Edward.

I finally found him in some room with a large couch, a Wii, shelves full of movies and a huge TV. I walked toward the shelves of movies. I gaped at the variety of movies and the quality of everything else. Their richness doesn't cease to surprise me.

"So what do you want to watch?" Edward asked from behind me. I jumped and turned around to see Edward smiling down at me. He was standing really close to me, but I pushed the thought aside. Answer the question!

"I can pick?" It's his house; he should pick the movie.

"Sure. You're the guest." He chuckled at my shocked expression. I looked back at the DVDs and closed my eyes. I moved my arm from right to left and stopped randomly. I touched the movie and said, "This one."

"This one? Okay then. Come on." He placed his hand on my back and led me to the couch. I sat down while he took the movie and slid it into the DVD player. He got the remote and sat down beside me. He pressed a button and the menu of "Quarantine" came up. My eyes widened at my choice. I'm such a scaredy-cat when it comes to horror movies.

"Are you sure you want to watch this, Bella?" Edward asked, concerned. I nodded my head. I cleared my throat.

"Yeah", I squeaked and Edward pressed play.

-----------------------~O~------------------------

I grabbed Edward's shirt and dug half of my face into his chest. Gosh, this is so freaking scary! I was pressed against Edward and he had a hand on my back rubbing soothing circles. I would jump every ten seconds and squeal. I'm going to get nightmares.

"AAAAHHH!" the lady in the movie screamed as the rabid freaks chased her. I let a soft scream and Edward immediately murmured soothing words in my ear. "It's okay. It's not real." That's what Edward would say along with similar phrases.

I squealed one last time as the final scene came to an end. I was still clinging onto Edward as if my life depended on it. He chuckled lightly.

"Scared, Bella?" he laughed mockingly. I glared at him, but he just smiled lightly and got up to put the DVD in its case. I got up and stretched, hearing cracks.

"No, not in the least." I joked with a small laugh. Edward gave me his crooked smile. The front door opened and footsteps came in. It must be the other Cullens. It's 2:30 already? Time flies. Both of us walked to the main entrance of the house and saw them. The only one not here was Dr.C- Carlisle.

They saw us walking near them and they locked theirs eyes on me. I saw, once again, my cat, or Furbie, resting atop Emmett's shoulder. Emmett wasn't smiling thought. Do they know? Did Carlisle tell them? Some of them gave me small sympathetic smiles and Rosalie wasn't even glaring at me. Yeah, they know.

"So, you guys know, right?" I asked them. There were murmurs of 'yeah' and nods.

"Yeah, Carlisle told us last night." Alice said, her usual happiness not present. I nodded and then Esme walked in carrying bags of groceries.

"Hi Bella", she greeted with a soft smile. I returned the smile, "Hi Esme, do you need help with those?"

"Oh, you can help if you want to." She answered, knowing that I was going to help anyway. She walked into the kitchen and I was going to follow, when Rosalie said something.

"Bella, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For treating you the way I did. I didn't know and you didn't deserve it."

"Oh, it's okay." And at that I walked into the kitchen to I help Esme put the groceries away. She already had the bags from the car and was already putting them away. There were around ten bags and she carried them all in one trip. She's strong, I guess. Esme fixed a little meal as lunch. It was perfect, as usual. Even though it's 'usual', I never get tired of it. I could eat her cooking for the rest of my life. I went upstairs afterwards to the guest room and just gazed through the window. I've been doing this a lot lately.

I wasn't really thinking. Or maybe I was. But it wasn't about Edward! Really! Fine, it was. I just can't get him out of my head. It's not like I mind though. He's so perfect and nice. What's not to like? But, he would never like any like me. I'm not good enough for him, or anyone for that matter. I'm just a weird, broken little girl with no acknowledgeable skills and not pretty in any way.

Knock-knock.

"Come in." I answered. Emmett came in, smiling widely at me. My cat was lying on his broad shoulder. You know, I might as well call her Furbie. She's got a name; I should use it.

"Hey, Bella! You wanna play Wii?", he asked me, his eyes hopeful. He was holding up a control, offering it to me. He's asking me? To play with him? Wait, he wants me to play with him? My shock was slowly fading away as my answer formed inside my head.

"Um, sure. Sure." I got up and followed him down to that room I went to earlier today. Emmett inserted some game into the Wii and gave me a remote with a weird steering wheel. What I do with this?

I observed Emmett put his remote in the slot and I did the same. Mario Kart came up on screen. He pressed a file and then the two-player mode. I copied the buttons Emmett pressed for the characters.

"Uh, Emmett?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you… play?"

"You just hold this button to go, this one to throw stuff that you get, and use the steering wheel to steer." I nodded, telling him I understood.

I'm going to lose anyway. Emmett chose a race and the countdown started.

"I'm going to go easy on ya, Bells." He chuckled. Bing! The cars sped forward, thank God, mine included. I sped through all of the curves and Emmett did too. This it so much fun! I love this game already.

I crossed the finish line and I got FIRST! Cool, first time, first place. Maybe it's just beginners' luck. Emmett looked at me incredulously.

"Rematch and I'm not gonna go easy this time", he declared. I smiled back at him, ready for the next race. He picked a harder one this time.

Still, I won. Emmett kept asking for a rematch and no matter what I'd win. Edward and Jasper came to watch and soon joined us. We raced against each other, throwing bombs and putting in obstacles for the others to fall into. Even with Jasper and Edward playing, I would still win. Here's something I'm good at!

"Damn, Bella. You're really good." Alice complemented. I snapped my head to look behind me. She scared the crap out of me! I didn't even hear her come in.

"And she's the first to beat Emmett." Jasper added.

"It was beginners' luck." Emmett grumbled, grumpy that he had lost.

"Emmett, she has beaten you fifty times, both races and battles. I don't think she's a beginner after that." Edward countered. Emmett's frown deepened and his brow furrowed further. Everyone laughed at his childish actions.

Then, we heard the door swing open and footsteps on the caramel wood floor. It was Carlisle. It's around eight, so that must be when his shift ends, obviously.

"Kids? Esme? Meeting, please." He announced loud enough for everyone to hear.

Emmett turned the game off and took all of the remotes to put them in the drawer. He turned the TV off and went out of the room. The rest of them followed. Edward offered his hand to me with a small smile. I gave him a questioning gaze, but he just nodded his head out of the room. I guess I'm invited to the meeting. I grabbed his hand and he swiftly pulled me up. The small smile went into a beautiful crooked one. I returned the smile, like I had a choice. It was almost automatic.

Edward twirled me around and guided me with a hand on the small of my back. I could walk like this with his hand on my back anytime. We eventually reached a room with a large, smooth mahogany table. The family members were already sitting, all of their eyes on me. Am I in trouble? What did I do wrong?

I nervously took the last seat available after Edward sat down. Thank God, I was next to him. It'd be kind of awkward it I wasn't. Carlisle was sitting on the opposite end of the large table, Esme on his right and Emmett on his left. Rosalie was next to Emmett and Jasper after Esme. Alice was between me and Jasper and Edward was between me and Rosalie.

"Good evening, Bella." Carlisle greeted.

"Good evening." I replied.

"How are you doing?" Small talk, huh? Hopefully, it's leading somewhere.

"I'm fine."

"How's life here? Any trouble at all?" he asked with some hand gestures.

"Everything's fine. I'm enjoying myself fine. I'll be out of here in no time." I answered. I don't want to leave, but it's not my place to say. It is their house and they won't want me to stay. I broke into it, so why would they want me to? I noticed Edward's stiff figure and his eyes studying me. There was some hope in his eyes and that same odd feeling that I saw earlier.

"Bella, we had a meeting similar to this one last night, after you told us why you ran away. We discussed a certain subject and, after much deliberation, we came to a decision." Carlisle paused and peered from person to person.

I did the same, attempting to find some clue of what Carlisle was talking about. I couldn't catch anything and, boy, was it frustrating. I couldn't take it; Carlisle still hadn't spoken. He was confirming with everyone, through the eyes. He finally turned his gaze towards me and held eye contact. I waited, completely anxious. Edward, I could see at the corner of my eye, keeping his stare on me. He appeared anxious, same as me.

"Bella", Carlisle began. I leaned a tad forward, my eyes wide. Then he said:

"Bella, would you like to become part of the Cullens?"

I gaped at him, unbelieving. "Excuse me?"

"Bella, we would like to adopt you."

YaY! I finally updated. I know it has been FOREVER and I'm way off schedule. I had to write another story for school, I have to read a book for Spanish (but I haven't started and it's due next week XD =S), study for a health test, and study for an etymology quiz. And some relatives came over during the weekend and it'd be rude to ignore them and stuff. So....yeah.. Life is completely merciless, and to think that there's worse yet to come...ugh. You know? LoLz! I know I have more to say, but I forgot so forget it.

Anyways, there's some stuff happening in this chapter. There's Bella and Edward bonding and Bella and family bonding. There's Rosalie apologizing for her crappy behavior and that question: "..would you like to become part of the Cullens?" I know I would, but they aren't asking me. Teehee =P. So next chapter is coming up in a week or two, hopefully.
Ok, everyone, little thing left that you know I say:

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