Chapter two - Brother
The taxi stopped outside the old house.
"Are you going to live here?", he asked surprised, his voice filled with contempt.
I nodded nervously.
The house was huge. There was a hole where one of the windows should be, the glass were crossed.
Edward followed me to the door as we stepped out of the yellow taxi.
I took up a key from my pocket. The house had been my grandmother's.
When I unlocked the door, the door handle fell down on the ground.
I gasped. I couldn't live here.
"You can't live here Melinda...", Edward said, but not reading my mind. I was blocking, somehow, but it worked.
"Yes. Of course I can.", I lied, and he heard it on my voice. The fear.
The house had been red, a bright red color. But now, it was almost grey.
I opened the door. It gnashed awfully.
The wooden floor was weak and ugly.
An old carpet was on the floor, and one of the steps on the big stair was broken.
"Melinda, listen to me. You can't live here. You will be facing death in each step you take. And if the house don't kill you, thieves or killers will. The lock doesn't work. Melinda. You can live at my grandparents place. I swear it's okay with them.", Edward begged.
"But Edward, I met you like a hour ago, I just can't..."
"Yes.", he smiled.
I sighed. I couldn't win this. He would just force me.
"I'm giving up.", I said.
"Without a fight?", he asked, a little bit surprised.
"You know you would win."
He laughed.
"Come on. Let's go."
"Okay...", I muttered.
We walked out of the house, and didn't lock the door, since the handle was broken.
We got into the taxi, and the driver drove through the town.
Then we got to a little, little road.
"Here it is.", Edward suddenly said.
I looked around, didn't see any house, just the trees surrounding the road.
But the taxi stopped and Edward winked to me to go out. He paid the driver and I took my bag.
Suddenly we stood alone on the road and the taxi was gone.
Edward turned and walked into the little forest. I followed.
What else could I do?
When I saw the big house, it took my breath away. It was white, huge and... beautiful.
The grass was smooth against my ankles.
I had to stop and take it all in. Here I was, in the middle of nowhere, next to a wonderful house, together with a vampire. But for me, it wasn't weird at all.
"Are you coming?", Edward asked.
He stood five feet from me, waiting.
Then I saw a car. My mouth fell open. It was parked on red, toned bricks on the left of the house.
The red color was bright, and it was a convertible. A M3, BMW.
"W-O-W!", was all that came out of my mouth at that point.
Edward smiled.
"Is this thing yours?", I asked, breathless.
He shook his head.
"Well then, who in your family owns a M3?", I asked, still breathless.
He looked a bit surprised, but answered.
"It's my sisters. She loves it."
"I can guess!", I gasped.
"Let us go inside. It's getting cold.", he smiled.
Like that would bother you..., I thought, cold, to him, not blocking.
His smile faded and he glared at me.
"What?", I asked.
He raised an eyebrow and I wondered what was wrong with him.
Edward waved at me, and we walked against the door.
When he opened it and I stepped into the room I got just as stunned as I were by the house from outside, and the car.
The walls were in a perfect shade of beige. The two sofas where in a green, beautiful color.
There was a vase of flowers on a little table. Lillys. Wonderful.
They had a huge plasma TV and a big picture off two beautiful girls over it. One of the girls was blonde and the other brown haired.
The blonde was unnaturally beautiful, and I saw she was a vampire. But that wasn't why I opened my mouth and stared at her.
Her features, so beautiful, so... her. It was her.
The other girl had short hair, and looked short next to the other.
She was also a vampire, but not as beautiful.
Edward noticed me staring, and interrupted.
"Melinda? Do you want me to show you your room?", he asked.
I nodded.
He grabbed my bag, and we walked up the stairs.
The corridor's walls were in a light, light shade of purple.
In the end there was a small, white door with a golden door handle.
We walked towards the door and Edward opened it.
"This is it.", he smiled.
"Oh..."
It was amazing.
There was light blue walls, and a huge bed.
On the bed there was a white sheet and blue pillows.
It looked soft. There was another plasma TV and a double door to a balcony.
As Edward stayed at the door, I walked to the balcony and opened the door.
The soft light from the sun caressed my face, the twilight was near.
I didn't realize that it was late until now.
The balcony was huge.
A cute little table, French design, and two similar chairs where placed on the bricks.
On the white fence there was several different patterns, flowers, stars, hearts and more.
I leaned forward, leaning on the fence, feeling the light wind on my face, struggling not to... not to just jump off the balcony, and feel the wind in my hair, and diving into the little lake not so far from the house. The cold water against my skin...
But I would never reach the lake. I would land flat on the ground, with my whole body damaged.
Edward laughed at my thoughts.
"Like I would ever let you jump!", he snickered.
I sighed and walked back into reality.
He now stood next to me on the balcony, his pale hand only an inch from mine.
"Melinda. Can't you please tell me? Who are you, and how did you know what I am?", he asked, begging.
I sighed again. He would find out anyway. I told him, and remembered.
~FLASHBACK~
The pain flooded through me as he repeated it.
"You can not see Mark any more. He's not like us. We're rich... And he's not."
My dad looked at me with disapproval in his eyes.
I gasped and slowly sat down on the little armchair in our beautiful living room.
I was used to the smooth, red fabric on the sofa and the armchairs, but someone less richer than us would feel a little uncomfortable with the interior.
But we were not the richest in town. The richest where Royce King. His son, Royce King II, had disappeared a few years before I was born.
Today was the day my sister Rosalie died, but 20 years ago.
I wondered if that was what made my parents extra angry.
We'd visited her grave. Jim and Carl, my brothers, and my parents gave her flowers.
Well, everyone knew there was no body under the layers of earth, in the big coffin.
The body was never found.
The searching for her ended after a few days. No one had hope left.
I have always lived in the shadow of my perfect, dead sister.
I was born five years after the incident.
My name was Melinda Hale. Mom always told me I looked exactly like Rosalie.
I didn't want to look like her. I wanted to look like... I don't know, but I didn't want to remind
everyone about her.
But I couldn't deny that I wanted to meet her. My big sister.
"Wh... what?", I whispered with a week voice. "But father... I love him."
"No buts!", my father said, his voice a hundred times stronger than mine.
My mom watched us, her eyes worried, but she had decided. She was on my fathers side.
My parents were cowardly scared of what the other people would think of me being with a poorer man. Well, Mark were more like a boy.
He was one year older than me, sixteen.
His eyes soft, kind and deep blue.
He cared about me, listened to me.
Mark had blond, short hair and he was one feet taller than me.
I didn't care about the fact that my family were richer.
But I couldn't argue with my father or my mother.
The break-up was terrible.
"I can't see you anymore Mark..." I tried to explain.
"What? But Mel!", he whispered.
"I'm sorry. I truly am. I love you, but you're not the one for me."
Sorrow was written all over his face.
"Melinda. We're supposed to be together. We're meant to be. I love you."
"Mark. You're not like us." I used the words my father used, so he would understand, sometime, in the future. That I didn't have a choice. That I didn't want to leave him.
But the sadness was to great.
"Melinda...", he appealed. "Don't leave me"
With a hug, I turned and walked away.
A month later, I met an amazing man.
He was seventeen, and was an opposite of Mark.
His brown eyes where friendly and firm.
I was safe with him.
His name was Richard. I called him Rick.
But one day, when Rick and was walking outside, I saw Mark standing alone a few feet from us.
He looked angry. Frustrated. Furious.
Oh no. This wasn't good at all.
Mark walked closer to us, holding something...
Rick knew who he was, I had told him.
And when Rick saw what Mark was holding in his hand he took something up from his jacket.
A dagger.
When Mark was so close he could touch, I saw it. Mark held a gun.
Mark pushed Rick and he backed a few steps. Rick let out a shout of anger.
"You can't hurt her!", Rick shouted.
"WHAT? So I'm the one planning to hurt her? You've been planning to kill her, haven't you?", Mark roared.
"ENOUGH!", I screamed. "Both of you, shut up!"
They did as I said. But only for a while.
"Rick is not planning to hurt me, and neither do you Mark. Right?"
"Of course not!", Mark almost screamed.
Rick just shook his head.
"So, both of you, lower your weapons. And why? Why are you carrying guns and daggers?", I asked.
No one answered, and they didn't lower their weapons.
But then, before I could react Rick took one step forward, his dagger pointing at Mark's heart.
And Mark's gun pointing at Rick's.
Just when they where about to kill each other, I screamed.
"NO!", and threw myself between them.
Mark's face was terrified, while Rick's was expressionless.
Everything was going in slow motion. The bullet was getting closer to my heart from one side, and the dagger from the other.
A small tear escaped from my eye as I quickly said my last words.
"Remember me... I didn't want to..."
My last words where to Mark.
I knew Rick wasn't the one for me. He was cold without a heart. Mark was right. He was planning to kill me.
Then everything became black.
~END OF FLASHBACK~
Edward gasped.
"But...", he started.
I smiled, knowing he would be confused.
"No. I'm not human.", I smiled.