Disclaimer: All the lovely characters in this story belong to Stephanie Myers. I am borrowing them for my entertainment, and of course yours.
"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Emmett announced as soon as I was within earshot. A giant grin graced his face, and I'm sure my grin mimicked his. It seemed like it was the first time I'd looked at him in four years even though we Skype once a week. Then again Skype isn't the same as seeing someone face to face.
"Oh, look what the dog threw up," I responded in my best catty voice. I set down my suitcases as Emmett wrapped me in a hug. I didn't realize how much I missed this dingy one stoplight town until I realized I was coming home. That's the moment I realized Washington would always be my home. I felt Emmett's arms lift around me and tighten around me until I couldn't breath anymore. I tapped his back three times.
Emmett took the hint dropping me back on the ground as he picked up my suitcases. He slung his free hand lazily around my shoulders with a stupid grin on his face as we walked out of the airport. Four hours and we would be in the town I once called home. We would be home.
"Charlie should be home in a week or so," Emmett announced breaking the silence as we got in his monstrous jeep. He didn't bother to hide the annoyance in his voice, and part of me wondered how Emmett could still be upset with Charlie. He was finally moving on, finally getting over this hump. He was finally Charlie again. Shouldn't that be enough?
"When do I get to meet Rosalie?" The last thing I wanted to do was fight with Emmett. Talking about Charlie always lead to one of two things: A fight, or Emmett rolling his eyes every single second of the night. I changed the subject to one of the only reasons I'd decided to come home.
When Emmett finally decided to tell me he had a girlfriend I decided it was time for me to come home. Not because Emmett had just any girlfriend, but because he'd decided to tell me about this one. The thing about Emmett is he's had tons of girlfriends over the years, and he's only ever introduced me to two of them. One of those two was because I walked in on them having sex. The other one was because he was in love and thought it was the girl he was going to spend the rest of his life with. Emmett's motto is that the family doesn't get introduced until it's serious.
"Tonight if you want to meet everyone all at once,' he offered nonchalantly. He pulled onto the freeway putting more focus on the road than he was on the conversation. I'm not sure he just offered to introduce me to his girlfriend.
"Everyone?" I ask curious as to how many people we were talking about here. "Is there like a cult of Rosalie's?" Emmett let out a loud laugh.
"She come's from a big family." The odds that Emmett would introduce us later – without me having to beg – was slim to none. Like I said before he doesn't mix girlfriends with family unless he plans on making them family one day. He's a private person, and if he's going to introduce us I'd rather it be now and not four months down the road. I just wished that it was a small dinner with just the three of us – okay maybe four because I cannot handle all that mooshy gooshy crap couples do.
"Looks like I'm meeting everyone tonight then." There was no arguing about this one. "Should I wear something more formal?" I looked down at what I was wearing for the first time all day. I was sporting a pair of sneakers, dark blue skinny jeans, and a baggy old band tee-shirt that had more than a few holes in it.
"You can wear whatever you want. There isn't a dress code." Emmett glanced down at what I was wearing. "The girls usually wear some kind of dress though." I shook my head as Emmett turned up the music killing any chance of small talk. Another thing about Emmett, he didn't like to talk much. Sure, we talked every day for four years over the phone, but our conversations rarely went over thirty minutes. On the rare occasion they went over it was because I was doing all the talking.
Four hours later we pulled up to his apartment complex in Forks, Washington. This is the little one-stoplight town I would be calling home. I was determined to find a decent paying job in the small little town and make a home here. This was my place.
"Bedroom is mine. Stay on the couch as long as you need, you can use the coat closet to hang your clothes. If you value your life you will put the lid back on the toothpaste when you're done with it," he threatened opening the door his small little apartment coming to life. "There is a place for everything. Please do not mess everything up." Emmett had a slight case of OCD.
Actually, looking at his pristine apartment I would say it's not so slight anymore. There wasn't a speck of dust in sight, there wasn't a single thing out of place, the movies were arranged in alphabetical order, and I noticed everything in the kitchen was color coated. Emmett ran his fingers through his hair when I looked back up at him.
"We leave for dinner in an hour. We'll be home around nine. Dinners start early and run late because everyone there likes the family time they have together." I shook my head walking into the bathroom. I was in major need of a shower first of all, second of all, I needed to look at least somewhat presentable.
Forty-five minutes later I was finally ready. It took me thirty minutes to shower, since I was wearing a dress I needed to shave. It took me another five minutes to even find a dress in my suitcase. I settled for the black mini-dress that ended right above my thigh and had an open back. This was my "night out" dress, but I wasn't about to spend another ten minutes looking for a different one. Emmett wasn't going to approve of my choice, because in all honesty it was slightly slutty. It took me thirty minutes to flat iron my hair, and another ten minutes to put make up on. I was shocked Emmett wasn't pounding down the door. Usually he's very punctual.
"Change right now," Emmett demands as soon as I walked out of the bathroom. He didn't even really look at the dress, he just looked at where it ended.
"I'm 22 Em," I said simply slipping on a pair of black heels I managed to dig out of the suitcase. "I like this dress. I am wearing this dress. Get over it." He glared at me, but didn't dare tell me to change again. Emmett could disapprove of my decisions all he wanted. He, however, had no control over what I actually did. "Where do they live?" Emmett opened the passenger door of the jeep for me as I climbed inside the monstrous thing.
"Just outside Forks, we'll be there in about fifteen minutes. It's time for the rundown," he said turning over the engine and starting the drive. "Carlisle and Esme are her patents. Carlisle is a doctor at the local clinic. Esme use to be a stay at home mom until the kids grew up. Now she's a painter and a therapist. She shrinks people. Alice is her sister; I think you two will get along great. Jasper is Alice's boyfriend/fiancée. They're engaged; it's a long engagement apparently. Edward is her brother; he's pretty laid back but keeps more to himself. He takes a while to get used to. Rosalie is kind of a bitch at first, at least to most people." He wasn't joking when he said they had a big family.
"Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper, Edward, Rosalie," I repeated wondering how the hell I was going to keep everyone's name straight. I kept repeating the names to myself until we hit a dirt road, and I saw the mansion-sized house. I looked over to Emmett before looking back at the mansion. "Well, they're obviously rich." A chuckle escaped Emmett's lip. "Stuck up rich?" I questioned hopping out of the jeep.
"Not at all." He paused at the door. "Bella, don't make me regret introducing you," he said suddenly very serious. That's when I knew that this wasn't a joke to him. He was serious about Rosalie, and he wanted us to get along. He wanted me to love her as much as he did because otherwise he knew it wouldn't work.
"I'll play nice." Emmett shook his head knocking on the door.
"Shit… What are you doing? No, I said over here… Come in!" I heard a girl yelling. Emmett opened the door placing his hand on the small of my back leading me through the mansion. "Alice come on, just reach a little higher," I could hear her basically pleading. "Where is good for nothing, freakishly tall Edward when you need him!" She yelled when we finally came into view of the scene. It was something straight out of a movie. A not so silent laugh escaped my lips.
"What on earth are you doing?" Emmett questioned tilting his head. The black haired pixie like girl who was standing on the blonds back glanced at us before going back to what she was doing.
"Trying to get the wine," she answered before giving a loud sigh. "Carlisle put it out of reach, because Tanya's coming to dinner tonight. Boozy can't have any alcohol, but he forgot that we – the over 21's without a substance abuse history – can't reach it. We want a glass of wine before dinner," she rambled looking me up and down.
"Emmett make yourself useful," the blond said making a smile come over Emmett's lips.
"Nah, this is entertaining." Emmett leaned against the wall. The black haired girl looked to me hoping off Rosalie's back.
"You're taller than me, do you think you could reach that bottle of wine?" She pointed to the row of alcohol that was sitting up there. I shook my head leaning down to take off my heels.
"Don't fall, the last thing we need is an unconscious Bella." Emmett wasn't joking. Falling was one of my specialties. I think Emmett was still shocked that I could even walk in heels. He'd be utterly shocked if he knew I could run in them as well.
"Shut up, Em," I said hearing the front door open. "Crap, they put this up a lot higher than Charlie ever did," I said standing on my tippy toes. Before Emmett hit his growth spurt we use to have to do this all the time. In all cases it was always team work to get any kind of alcohol when we were young rebellious teenagers. Charlie and Renee put it up, and also put a lock on it. "Almost…" I hear the loud footsteps enter the room. "Got it!" I announced grabbing the bottle of wine.
"Need some help down?" A man said offering me his hand. I looked at the man slightly stunned at how obviously gorgeous he was. He was taller than Emmett, had tousled bronze hair, and these green eyes that seemed to be looking into my soul. He was the kind of man every girl did a double take of. "You are?" He questioned as soon as I placed my hand on his and jumped off Rosalie's back.
"Everyone, this is my baby sister, Bella." Emmett announced slinging his arm over my shoulders.
"Hardly a baby anymore. Unless you want me to start calling you an old nickname again I suggest you keep the word 'baby' out of your introductions," I threatened making him shake his head.
"Let me reword that, this is my sister, Bella. Bella, this is Rosalie," he said moving over to the blonde haired girl whose back I had been standing on and giving her a quick kiss on the lips. "Alice," he pointed to the pixie like girl. "Jasper," he pointed to the man who had his arm around the pixie girls waist. "and Edward," he motioned to the man in front of me.
"Hi," I said more to the man in front of me than to anyone else.
"Where did you get that dress?" Alice questioned circling me like I was her prey. It made me feel slightly uncomfortable. "It's just so… cute," she was eyeing the dress like it was the only thing she could focus on. I was racking my brain trying to remember where I'd picked it up but I just couldn't remember.
"I think it was a gift. My roommate shopped at all these little thrift shops and always brought stuff home for me," I explained. I think she was the reason I'd acquired as many dresses as I did.
"Emmett talk about you all the time," Rosalie announced giving a slight smile. "Bella this, Bella that… I feel like we already know each other." I gave a small blush shifting my weight uncomfortably. The fact was that Emmett talked quite a lot about Rosalie to me. I knew exactly what she was talking about when she said that it felt like she already knew me, because I felt as if I already knew her.
I think it was safe to say so far I liked her.
A/N: I thought the girls could use a memorable intoduction. Besides it brought a bit of humor to the chapter. Next Chapter is... the dinner. What do you think will happen?
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