Apples I didn't pick upon some bough.
But I am done with apple-picking now.
- After Apple-Picking by Robert Frost

Where the Wild Apples Grow
Chapter Two: In Which She Arrives

"I think you took a wrong turn," I said.

Mom took a deep drink from her hours-old coffee. "Bella, don't you think I realized the last five times you told me? I'm trying to figure a way out of here! Just leave me alone for five freaking minutes."

"Fine," I grumbled. "You don't have to yell at me." I threw the map down on the ground and grabbed a book from my pack. An old favorite of mine got picked: Dracula. Now there was a fine specimen. I carefully read over the summary on the back – an old habit of mine – and then went to the copyright page. When I was finished with that, I went to the first chapter.

I was one sentence in before my mother abruptly pulled the car over, got out of the car, yelled really loudly, and then came back into the car and slammed the door. My heart started beating really fast in worry. My mother seemed so stressed out. I watched her face as she started up the car again, but didn't see anything except her now-usual sadness.

"Could you call Aunt Esme for me?" She handed me her phone.

I cautiously took it from her. "What do you want me to tell her?"

"Tell her we're lost in – where are we? Oh, Pikesdale and that we need directions to get back on the highway," she snapped. Her voice had an extreme amount of duh in it.

"Right." I pulled up the menu. I ignored – as best I could – the fact that my mother had not deleted my father's number in her phone book. It hurt to see it there, but I scrolled down a couple more times and clicked on Esme.

The phone picked up on the second ring. "Renee? Are you in Winston yet?"

"Hey, Aunt Esme. It's Bella, actually. We're lost. Do you know where Pikesdale is? Because that's where we are." I shifted the phone against my ear.

"Oh, hello Bella! How nice to hear from you. Yes, um, Pikesdale is just two hours away from Winston, am I correct?"

I shrugged, but then I remembered she couldn't see me. "I guess. I've never been here before."

Aunt Esme sighed. "Could you hand the phone over to your mother?"

"Yeah," I said and tapped my mother on the shoulder. "Aunt Esme wants to talk to you."

Mom sighed and grabbed the phone. "Yeah...I'm on Jill Street. You know where that is? Good. So I take a right? And then take a U turn and then…oh. Okay. Yes. Yes. Thanks so much Esme." Mom gently closed the phone and then took a right.

"So you got the directions?" I asked.

"Yes, I did. We'll be there in about an hour if we go really fast. Go ahead and read your book." She sighed and turned back onto the highway. I looked at my mother nervously, wondering if I was going to do something wrong by doing so. But she didn't comment when I picked my book back up and started to read again.

I kept glancing at Mom, still worried. I tried to concentrate on my book, but I finally just gave up and turned on the radio. Pretty notes came out on a guitar.

Mom grimaced and changed the station. She went from rap to pop and finally stopped on a country station. I cringed, mostly because I absolutely hated country music, but also because…well, I just hated it.

I sighed and turned the page.

I tuned out the horrible music blasting through the radio and eventually got lost in my book… After about an hour, Mom told me to put my book away. I blearily looked out the window. The sun was setting.

I blinked a few times and gasped. This place was beautiful. Big, dark green firs lined the tall hillsides. There were trees everywhere of every different type. I spotted a couple trees that would be just perfect for climbing. I felt my insides jump in excitement at the prospect.

"Welcome to Winston," Mom told me with great enthusiasm. "We'll be at Esme's place in about half an hour. This place hasn't changed much." She gave a wistful half-smile. I knew she was remembering Dad. My heart hurt, painfully.

I turned my attention back to the trees. They were all kinds of different colors, I noticed. Fall was coming. So was school. I winced at the thought of returning to school so soon. Everyone would know. I would be known as the girl with the dead father. Just great.

I finally just shut the dang radio off, which was giving me a headache. Mom didn't say anything. She was tense. I watched the twists and turns of the dirt roads – apparently, Winston wasn't rich enough for asphalt – with something like eagerness filling me up. I guessed it was the change of pace.

Maybe it was meeting my dad's sister. I hadn't remembered meeting her, ever, though we had talked on the phone a couple times. And of course we got the Christmas cards with updates on the family and so forth, and the e-mails we had exchanged on birthdays.

After about a half an hour, we were out in the middle of NoWheresVille. Seriously. It was hills and trees and then there was this big white country house that looked like it came out of a Good Housekeeping magazine. I jumped out of the car as soon as Mom stopped it.

I stretched and walked around to the back of the trunk. It smelled really pretty out here. I couldn't quite pin-point what it was, but then I was distracted by two people bursting out of the country house and running over towards us. I smiled at them and the first thing they did was hug me.

"Bella! Renee!" the woman who I assumed to be Aunt Esme said. She had a big smile on her face, and she had laugh lines and lots of curly brown hair. It was a lot like Dad's; I thought with a pang, except hers had highlights in it. Probably from the sun.

And I was enveloped in a big hug by this little tiny person with this spiky black hair, who was screaming, "You're here! You're here, finally! Oh my goodness! I've been waiting all day!" And so Alice arrived.

And then I was traded off to Aunt Esme, who, not unlike Alice, enveloped me in a big hug. She smelled like honey and vanilla. It was the most beautiful perfume – if that's what it was – in the entire world. I smiled into her shoulder.

She whispered in my ear, "You look a lot like your dad, you know. You have his eyes, big and brown and all-knowing. It's like he's here again. He would be so proud of you."

I swallowed back the big lump in my throat, and my nose felt runny, which told me I was about to start bawling my head off if I didn't distract myself right then. I pulled away and discreetly tried to wipe my eyes. I half-smiled at her and she brushed my hair gently back from my forehead.

Alice was chattering at my mom, who was getting our suitcases out of the back. Aunt Esme hurried over to help her. I just stood there for a second, taking in the new place where I would be staying.

The smell was incredible – in a good way – and the scenery was absolutely gorgeous. The sun was setting, so the sky had this pink tinge to it with light purple clouds. I decided that so far, I probably would like living in the country.

I started scouting out good climbing trees. I had been itching to do some climbing the entire cramped ride over. To feel free and high above the world where it felt like nothing could touch me was the thing I loved most about climbing. I missed it immensely.

"Bella! Come help out!" mom called out.

I turned around and grabbed a couple of my heavy suitcases. Alice grabbed a box of my books and she almost fell over from the weight. Instead, Esme handed her one of the smaller suitcases that was filled with all our underwear and had wheels on it. She happily rolled it back and forth a few times.

I slung one over my shoulder and the other around my neck so that it fell down my back.

"So when are the movers coming?" Esme asked.

"A couple days, I suppose," Mom said, sounding a little strained. Esme made a sad face at her, grabbed her hand and started leading her to the back of the house. Mom still carried her suitcase, I noticed, and couldn't help but wonder what she would do with it. Esme shooed over Alice to me.

I felt a little relieved, because now Aunt Esme could help take care of my mother, instead of me just doing it all on my own.

Alice smiled at me. "Well, now they're finally gone! Now it's time to have some fun, am I right?"

I shrugged and Alice sighed, turned around, and started talking and walking.

"Come on, Bella. I have to show you your room. Well, you get to choose between the room on the second floor and the one on the first floor. Me, I would pick the second floor room, because that one has the best view of the back yard. I would've moved in there if my other room wasn't so big." She twisted the knob, and the door creaked open.

She let me in first and then followed me in. I gasped, because this was probably the most beautiful house I ever saw. The winding wooden stairs were to my immediate right. The ceiling was huge and filled with light from the large windows in the living room (which I couldn't help but notice had a big screen television), where I could see tons and tons of trees, but then Alice made me take off all my suitcases before we went upstairs.

"It's easier to tour the house without all that weight," she explained as I tagged along silently up the stairs. "I'm really happy about you guys moving here. It's a nice change of pace, and now we have more people to help with the planting and such." I was confused about what that meant, but she didn't elaborate. "I can't wait for you to meet all my friends! They're really excited to meet you because I told them how nice you are and how you're dad –" That's when she cut herself off. "I mean, not that I told them about – you know what? I'll just shut up."

I didn't say anything, trying to ignore the waves of loss suddenly rising above my head. I tried to tell myself that I would just have to get over it, because this was now a fact of my life. I would now be a girl whose dad died and that would come up as a topic of conversation for years to come. It was fact.

But how could I forget something like that? How could I possibly get over this feeling of absolute loss? I would never, ever see my dad again and my mom would never see the man she was in love with again. I had better just get used to this fact really quickly.

"You're really tired, right?" Alice asked warily.

I didn't answer, just looked around my surroundings. The hallways were half wood, and half…plaster, I guessed. The doors were a nice, dark wood with old-fashioned door knobs.

"Do you want me to just show you to your room now and come get you when it's time for dinner, and then I can give you the Big Tour tomorrow?" Alice blinked worriedly at me when I didn't answer and just looked at the window at the end of the hall.

Curiously, I walked over to it, Alice following nervously behind me. My eyes widened at the sight the window framed.

It was an absolute dream. Lots and lots of trees in straight lines that looked like it went on forever. It was an even better sight than the one downstairs.

"What is that?" I whispered.

"That, my dear, is our backyard," Alice said proudly.

I looked at her in astonishment.

"It's our apple orchard. My mom and I call it our Little Apple Farm. The apples are almost ripe enough to pick, and we invite the whole town to come down and pick them. It happens every year. That's where you'll meet my boyfriend, Jasper." She got this dreamy look on her face and I looked back down at the Little Apple Farm.

Well, I guess in Pennsylvania, there were a lot of climbing trees.

Alice sighed. "Mom will explain all about that at dinner. We're obsessed with anything to do with apples, so don't be surprised by the kitchen décor. Just warning you, m'kay?" She grabbed my hand and tugged me in the opposite direction. She lead me a few doors down, turned a left, and pulled me into a room.

My mouth fell open in astonishment. There was a huge window with white lace curtains looking out over the back yard and had a gorgeous view of the hills behind it. And then I saw the nice wooden old-time dresser and I almost…well, I was going to say died, but never mind. I almost fainted. The bed was huge; it almost took up the entire room. The covers looked fluffy and nice. It was pure white.

The floors were a nice wood, like the rest of the house. I fell in love with it immediately. Sure, it wasn't the room I lived in for six years, but it was much better looking then the other one. And sure, it wasn't familiar, but it would be.

I turned to look at Alice, who was hovering in the door way.

"This is great. Thanks."

Alice smiled at me, turned, and closed the door behind her.

I heaved a sigh and jumped – literally jumped – up onto the bed and fell back. I kicked off my sneakers and scooted my whole back onto the bed. I stared up at the ceiling and traced the little cracks in the ceiling with my eyes. I felt my eyes slowly close…

The gentle creak from the door awoke me. My face was red hot, but the rest of my body was cold – an uncomfortable feeling for anyone who falls asleep above the blankets. It was completely dark in my room, except for the burgeoning light coming in from the hallway. I sat up straight and blinked sleepily at the shadow in the door way.

"Hey, Bella," Aunt Esme said quietly.

I waved. She turned on a lamp that I hadn't noticed before and shut the door softly behind her. She smiled and said, "Time for dinner. You've been sleeping for about three hours. We brought up your stuff and left it outside your room."

"That's nice of you," I said hoarsely, when it became clear she was waiting for a response.

She smiled again. "Did you have a good sleep? Do you like your room? I could also show you the room downstairs if you want."

"No, this is fine," I replied quickly. "I like it."

"Good, because your mom already got the one downstairs." She paused. "You are hungry, aren't you?"

"Starving."

"Let's go then." Aunt Esme turned around and left the door open for me. I climbed down my bed and stumbled after her blinking quickly against the bright light. I was stunned to see how dark it was outside, mostly because there were no city lights brightening up the sky.

I was freezing; this place must be absolutely glacial in winter. I wrapped my arms around myself and rubbed them so I could get some friction. I shuddered a little. I followed Aunt Esme down the stairs; the wood was cool against my feet.

I heard Mom and Alice chatting from where I was. I spotted Mom's sweatshirt on the coat hook and hurried over and put it on. It was an instant relief.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot you guys aren't used to the cold," Aunt Esme said in an apologetic tone.

I shrugged and continued following her.

She led me around a corner and the room was all apples. I'm serious. It was just like Alice said – apple wall paper, table cloth, green cabinets, and tiled floors. Basically everything was covered with apples. Geez, these people are obsessed.

It smelled like chicken and some vegetable. I noticed some chocolate chip cookies on a plate near the oven. It smelled nice and homey. Our old house smelled like dust and some weird musty clothing. This…it just smelled delicious.

"Hey sleepyhead!" Alice greeted cheerfully.

I smiled shyly and took the seat next to her, across from my mom. She smiled sadly at me. Her eyes still looked pink from when she was crying, though I didn't know when. Waves of worry crashed over me again. When would my mom get better? When would we get better? Would I have to worry about her all the time?

I started to rip my napkin to shreds when Aunt Esme put warm chicken on my plate. I smiled my thanks and started cutting in. Alice glanced at me and shook her head. I cautiously put down my knife and fork and she nodded at me. When everyone was served, Aunt Esme sat next to my mom and said grace.

"Thank you Lord for this meal. May You bless it to our bodies. And thank You for letting Renee and Bella come up to live with us. Oh, and may the harvesting go well and that Sophia doesn't break her arm again like last year. Amen."

Then we started eating. For a while, the noise was knives and forks scraping against the plates, but after a while, Alice said, "Hey, Mom. Why don't you tell Bella and Aunt Renee about the pickings on Saturday?"

"Wonderful, wonderful. Yes, well, every year at around the end of summer – right before school – we invite everyone to come to our orchard and pick apples. People can take one or two if they want; the rest will go to grocery stores and charities. But it's a real fun activity that everyone loves to do – or so I'm told by Alice's friends."

"Oh, yeah," Alice agreed. "I've been doing it since I was a kid. You did it one year too, but you were like three, so you probably don't remember."

I nodded and took another bite of my chicken.

"But my friends adore it. Oh! Right. I have to tell you all about my friends. You're going to hang out with me during school, right?"

I shrugged.

"Well, I tell you anyways. Of course, there's Jasper. He's awesome. We've been going out since I was in seventh grade and he was in eighth. Mom totally adores him." Aunt Esme nodded enthusiastically. Alice smiled. "And then there's Rosalie; she's Jasper's sister. She's in my grade and on the volleyball team too. Or, well, when we "try out" we will both be on the volleyball team. Anyway, she's going out with Emmett. And get this – he's a welder. He's a real artist. Everyone's saying he's going to get into this big art school one day."

Alice took a deep breath, and Mom and I exchanged nervous looks.

"And there's also Maria, who I really hate but I have to pretend to like her anyways." Alice gripped her fork tightly and took some deep breaths. "So, there's Maria and this other girl, Lucy. Hate her too."

Aunt Esme gave her a reproving look. I took the opportunity to take another bite of my chicken and eat some corn. I was feeling kind of disoriented from being awoken so abruptly. I felt like I was about to fall over, but Alice kept talking.

"I'm sure I'm forgetting someone…" Alice trailed off in thought.

"Edward?" Esme prompted.

"Oh, yeah, Eddie," Alice laughed. "He hates it when we call him that, but we don't care. Edward's a senior like Jazz. He doesn't really talk much at all, but when he does, he says really something really insightful. You have to meet him, though, to see what I mean."

I nodded like I was actually interested. I would just be spending as much time as I could alone anyways. Plus, I was already forgetting most of what Alice had said.

Aunt Esme talked about how we picked apples, which was kind of interesting. I was more looking forward to climbing the trees then actually picking the apples. Then she started talking about school, which Mom looked interested in, and that's when I really started paying attention.

"So, school starts next Monday. We already have you signed up and everything – we mailed your mom the forms, Bella, so don't worry about getting a parental signature or anything. We also bought you school supplies and if there is anything else you need during the school year, we'll gladly help pay for it."

"Bella, say thank you," Mom admonished, while I sat there, stunned.

"Thank you, Aunt Esme," I mumbled.

"You're welcome sweetie." She grinned.

"How do I choose my classes?" I asked quietly.

"Don't you remember? You already picked them. We sent them a couple of weeks ago."

I just nodded my head and looked down at my mostly empty plate. I didn't really remember picking my classes at all.

"May I be excused, please?" I asked quietly.

"Renee?" Aunt Esme asked.

"Sure. Go ahead." Mom moved her corn around with her fork, not even really paying attention anymore.

"Are you sure you don't want dessert? If not, we can save you some."

"Yeah, just save me a couple, please. Thanks for making them. I just really want to take a shower and get some rest," I added.

They – Aunt Esme and Alice – nodded and I left the room. I searched for a bathroom. I found out where Alice's room was, the linen closet, Aunt Esme's master bedroom, before I found out that the bathroom was across the hall from my room.

The window was open; it smelled and felt like fall in there. I pushed it down, and it made a big squeaking noise when I closed it. I shivered and turned on the hot water. Steam almost immediately began to fill the bathroom and I stripped.

The light was extra bright in here. It made my skin seem even paler then it probably was. I looked at myself in the mirror…

I was skinny. Really skinny, actually. You could see my rib bones and my hip bones and my spine. It honestly scared me about how thin I had gotten. I used to have, as Aunt Esme would probably say, meat on my bones.

Now I knew where the expression "skin and bones" came from. I was probably the epitome of it. My dad would be disappointed in me. My eyes almost filled up with tears at the thought.

It wasn't my fault, really, that I hadn't been eating. I just wasn't hungry anymore. It took a lot of effort to actually finish the dinner that Aunt Esme set out for me. My stomach felt very delicate.

I looked away from myself in disgust and stepped into the shower. Burning hot water fell on me and I hissed in pain. I turned on the cold water a little more, and that balanced it out. Now it felt pleasantly warm. There was an old bottle of shampoo which I used. There wasn't much left, but I did the best I could with what I had; the same with the soap also.

When I almost finished, I remembered that I had forgotten a towel, but when I looked out from behind the shower curtain, I saw a little cabinet filled with them. I sighed in relief. I didn't really want my first night to be me walking around buck naked.

I let the water wash over me a couple more minutes and then I turned it off. Steam filled the bathroom even more while I grabbed a fluffy white towel. I had to wrap it about three times around me it was so big. I grabbed all my clothes and carried it back to my bedroom, where the lamp was still thankfully on.

I dropped it carelessly on the floor. I would think of a laundry spot later. I went out and got my big suitcase – which was really hard to manage only wearing a towel, let me tell you – and my other small carry-on. I would leave some of the boxes out there until tomorrow.

I let my towel fall when I unzipped my suitcase and quickly grabbed some undies and an old flannel nightgown of my grandmother's. I got out my brush from my carry-on and started meticulously comb through it. It was really quiet in my room, I noticed. I went over to the window, trying to find out how to open it.

After a couple look-arounds, I found the handle to turn so it would open. Cold wind gently breezed through and I shivered hard. I closed it a bit more, just so I could hear some god-darned noise. When I finished brushing my hair, I found I was too tired to brush my teeth, even though they screamed for their nightly cleaning. I turned off the light, then turned off the hall light, stumbled over to my bed, climbed in, went under the covers, and almost immediately went to sleep.