Sorrows The Seas of My Heart

Chapter Four: Superstitions

"Uh - Alice?" I asked, as she wound her way swiftly through the crowded room.

"Yes?" She replied without stopping.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea." This put her off. Alice turned back to look at me and pulled me off to the side.

"What are you talking about, Bella? You haven't even met my brother yet."

"I'm not sure your brother, er, would want to talk to me." I told her, but all she did was snicker.

"Bella, please, why would you even think that?" She smiled.

"Well, um, I don't really know, it's just - …," I didn't stop talking.

Babbling wasn't going to help me, but I couldn't actually find the words to back up my statement. Why did I think it wasn't a good idea? I wasn't even sure if Edward had really been looking at me. My vision wasn't great; he could've been looking above me, or at Jessica, who sat beside me on the bleachers earlier. Or at a fly, irritatingly whizzing by him. Was I just being conceited?

But what if it wasn't just my ego. What if he really had been looking at me? Or, more realistically, glaring me down. I wouldn't want to think I angered him since I had done nothing wrong. I hadn't even met him! I was so deep in thought that I didn't even know what I was saying to Alice. Was I even making sense? I was right - babbling wasn't going to help me.

"… and I just have this strange feeling that he's not going to like me like you all do, well, hopefully you do, but if you don't, it's really okay, since I'm probably boring, like right now, for example." The never-ending chatter finally stopped. Alice sighed in relief. My cheeks were burning a hundred degrees, and her face was absolutely priceless. She was laughing at me; so, I scowled back.

"I'm sorry, Bella, but I didn't get any of that." I think she muttered, "Who would?" Even through her laughing frenzy, her voice was extraordinarily musical. "Oh, come on, silly. He won't bite." Alice giggled, as if enjoying some humorous inside joke.

I sighed, giving up. I wouldn't be able to stop her now. A bulldozer wouldn't be able to stop her now. My foolish babbling had brought on with this; I should really, really learn to keep my mouth shut.

Alice found him, of course, near the long table of food. He was with Jasper, who we had followed but lost along the way. And Emmett, who I last saw after the bumping incident. And Rosalie, who was the only Cullen, besides Edward, who I hadn't had a chance to personally meet yet.

"Bella Swan, we meet again." Emmett joked; I smiled at him in return. The smile faded, unfortunately, when I looked at Rosalie. Who was glowering. At Isabella Swan. Me. Vehemently. Furiously. Fervently. Viciously.

I gulped.

I couldn't find my voice. I only responded to Emmett with a nod, and he chuckled. With a sigh, I watched Rosalie unfix her gaze from me and scowl at Emmett. And he chuckled again, of course, then wrapped his arms around her. Another couple in the Cullen family, I presumed.

Alice, standing next to me, no doubt saw the coldness in Rosalie's eyes when she looked at me, but Alice made nothing of it. Instead she turned to her brother, with animation and spirit in her golden eyes.

"Edward, meet Isabella Swan. Chief Swan's daughter. She only stays here for the summer and …" Oh, God. Alice was going to tell him my life story - of course, only the things I'd told her. Unless she expanded the story … and added more adjectives … and verbs … and emotion…and punchlines; then, this would turn out to be a very long story. Maybe Alice and I should take classes on How To Shut Your Trap 101. She stopped though, her babbling close to beating my record.

Something happened in the second between Alice's end to the story and when Edward Cullen finally spoke to me for the first time. With a quick motion, I saw him lock eyes with Alice, only for a quick millisecond. I couldn't be - I wasn't - sure if it even happened. If it did, though, it probably wasn't meant for me to see. However, I saw it but made nothing of it. Why should I? It's not against the law to look your sister in the eye. I smirked at myself, idiotically. And they heard.

"Good evening, Bella." Edward had said, as he hesitantly turned to look at me. His expression was no longer a cold glare or a furious frown. No, none of that. His face was emotionless, but in his deep dark golden eyes, I saw that he was more than reluctant to be speaking with me. But he was speaking, even so, and his godlike beauty blew my mind once again. My admiration for him ended as quickly as a rocket taking off to space for Edward Cullen said, "Excuse me." and left. And I knew it was because of me that he didn't stick around.

I was humiliated, not embarrassed, but extremely, undoubtedly humiliated. Although Edward had only said five words, his attitude towards me, face-to face, confirmed my earlier assumptions.

Yes, it was me that Edward Cullen had been looking at earlier, not Jessica Stanley, or the empty seat beside me, or the annoying fly circling the air around him. And yes, Edward Cullen wasn't just looking at me at that same moment. He was furiously glaring - probably killing me in his mind.

Alice looked down - ashamed - only for me, though.

"Alice, this is very rude, I know, but it's been a very long day, and well, I gotta go." I said, as I choked back the tears forming in my eyes for, no doubt, the stupidest reason in the world. "I'll see you," I muttered as I walked by her.

"Wait, Bella!" Alice called, but she didn't try to come after me, thankfully. I thought I heard Rosalie snicker. I was right.

I heard somewhere, from some wise person, that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Somehow, someway, I did something horrible to Edward and Rosalie. Something so strong that the very first time I look at them - they scowl at me. But what does it matter, right? Twenty-seven more days in Forks (alien planet), and I'll be back in Phoenix. (civilization)

I craned my neck to find Charlie. He didn't make it so hard, since he was sitting on the bleachers, appearing almost as tired as I feigned to be. He saw me walk towards him and gave me a small smile.

"You ready to leave, already?"

"Pretty much," I mumbled.

"'Kay. Just gimme a minute to say bye. You can wait in the car if you like." He handed me the keys to the cop car and stalked off. I sighed. I had a plan. I was going to exit the building, then yell "Thank You" to the sky. Thank God that this damn day was over. Of course, this was hardly civilized, so I'd probably just end up doing it in hushed tones.

As I walked towards the exit, I saw Dr. Cullen and Esme talking to Mrs. Stanley and a man who I assumed to be Mr. Stanley. The Cullen kids were with them, too. Minus one. Take a wild guess which one it was. You probably won't be wrong.

I groaned internally and quickened my pace towards the parking lot. The air was chilly even for a June day. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around myself and shuddered. There was a strange feel to the darkness tonight. Like, something was going to happen soon, although it couldn't be told when. The strange event could happen tonight. Or tomorrow. Or next week. But definitely sometime soon.

I reached the cruiser and rushed to get inside. I wiped my eyes clean of any stray tears.

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When we arrived home, I immediately went to my room - ready for a night's sleep. I took my bag of toiletries to the bathroom and took a refreshing, hot shower. I was too lazy to dry my hair, so I brushed it and went back into my room.

Through the window, I could see the full moon. It was light and shining brightly in contrast to the dark night sky. Sitting on the bed, I wrapped my arms around my knees and rested my chin on them. I continued to watch the night.

The dark was full of possibilities. Anything could be out there right now; I couldn't be sure. Maybe it was just the ambiance of the night, but I was feeling very superstitious, especially after the earlier events.

A vision of the Cullens was in my mind - exceptionally beautiful and flawless, with their extremely pale skin and golden eyes. I remember my conversations with each of them. How their attitudes all differed from one another. How they all looked exactly the same yet totally unalike. How Carlisle and Esme and three of their children were extremely kind. Yet in contrast, how Edward and Rosalie were the most beautiful in appearance, yet the most unattractive in their attitudes. I've done nothing to them, yet they treated me insignificantly.

Eventually my thoughts led to sleep. My mind was exhausted, and I didn't know how I could've woken up again, but I did. I felt extremely cold, even with a blanket covering my body. It was still dark out, not even dusk, but something felt oddly strange.

I sat up, trying to think. Had my window been open when I fell asleep?

I couldn't remember at all. I closed it so the cold air wouldn't come in. I took out a my CD player and case. After choosing a certain CD I've never heard before, I put it in the player and pressed play. The band was different from music I've heard on the radio. Maybe they were still underground. I remembered that it was Phil who gave me this CD, for my fourteenth birthday, when he and my mom were just friends. Friends and nothing more.

I didn't fall asleep as quickly this time and the sleep didn't last as long as the first.

A cock's crow didn't wake me up like you see in the movies or TV. Instead, it was a buzzing alarm clock which I didn't even remember I set. It read 10:09.

Already?, I thought. Charlie was probably long gone now since he hadn't said anything about taking a day off today; I was right. He was nowhere to be found.

My room was unbelievably warmer than it was when I woke up during the middle of the night. The window was closed, just the way I left it before I went back to bed. Maybe I did leave it open before sleeping, I thought to myself. Forks was driving me insane.

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A/N: A million thank-yous to everyone who commented! Honestly, I had the best time writing this chapter, I don't know why, even if it wasn't as long as the last one. And also, thanks to everyone who added this story on their alerts & favorites and some people who added me on their favorite authors list. It's really overwhelming! I hands-down love you all. How was everyone's Thanksgiving, huh:D Yummy, turkey.