Here is the next chapter everyone! It is the longest chapter so far, so enjoy it! I have gotten 50 reviews so I will be posting a short one-shot about how the Cullens celebrate a certain holiday. I wont tell you what it is now, but I promise it will be good. Read and review!! I got some great ones last time and I want to keep it up!

Bellabookworm9

"So, Bella, since you're only going to be in Jacksonville for so long, I thought we should do as much as possible."

"What's going on, Mom?"

Renee had been hinting like this since Edward and I walked in the door. He sat on the couch the whole time, grinning. At first, I had been intrigued. Now, I was just annoyed.

"I thought we would have a movie night! You know, eat junk food, tell lame jokes, stay up all night—that kind of thing."

"Really?" I had to give her credit. Renee really did know how to have fun. "That sounds great. What kind of movies did you get?" I didn't want Edward to be stuck watching a bunch of sappy romances while Renee and I bawled our eyes out. I almost laughed thinking of what his face would look like.

"Well, I thought all three of us could go out and get them and the junk food. I don't know what kind of stuff Edward likes."

"That sounds cool. Do you mind if we take showers first? Edward and I went to the beach and the aquarium and we never got a chance to clean up."

"Sure. You two go right ahead. I've got to check my email and do a couple of things anyway."

Edward and I went into our rooms to clean up. I climbed gratefully into the shower and rinsed the salty crust off my skin.

I was glad I hadn't gotten sunburn and slightly disappointed that it hadn't gotten even a little darker.

As I scrubbed my strawberry-scented shampoo into my head, I thought about what Alice said. The movie night was a nice surprise but it wasn't extraordinary. I had done this sort of thing with Renee all the time back in Phoenix. Maybe Alice hadn't been talking about the movie night. Oh well. I would find out sooner or later.

I finished my shower, toweled off and put on clean clothes. I dressed casually—jeans and a t-shirt—we weren't going anywhere special.

I walked out of my room and into the kitchen where Renee was on the computer.

"Hey, Mom."

"Hey Bella. Do you need to check yours?" she asked, referring to my email account.

"I don't get many emails—except from you—so no, not really."

"Are you sure? You didn't give your address to any of your school friends or anything?"

"No, Mom. Forks is so small we see each other pretty much every day as it is."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"It's okay. So what do you want to eat tonight?"

"Something—fun."

"How about tacos? Nothing's more fun than a taco."

"That sounds perfect. Will Edward eat them?"

"He said he wasn't feeling good before, so probably not."

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah. I think he'll get better by tomorrow."

"Well, that's good. Do you want to wait for him or should we just go now?"

"I think we should at least let him decide if he wants to come or not."

"Then I'll just finish this up. You can watch TV if you want."

"Okay." I didn't watch TV, but I did go sit in the living room.

I thought about Edward, but some about Renee and my new family.

I thought about how alone I had been until I moved to Forks and met the Cullens. It was astounding that I had almost no friends in Phoenix but when I moved to Forks, the tiniest town on the planet, I found the perfect ones. Friends so strong, we were like family, even though they were all constantly thirsting for my blood.

"Hey Bella" I jumped. Edward was standing right in front of me.

"Whoa. Hey Edward."

He sat down next to me and held my hand.

"Do you want to come with us? Or do you want to stay home again?"

"Your mom's not as desperate for 'girl time' anymore so I think it's safe to say that yes, I would like to come."

"Good. I didn't think I could be away from you for that long again." I smiled.

"Hey, you two." Renee said, entering the room. "Would you like to come shopping with us, Edward?"

"I think I will."

"Okay. So is everyone ready to go?"

"Let me just get my shoes." I said, walking off to my room.

I came back a few seconds later, flip-flops on my feet. Edward was smirking. I shot him a questioning look. His smirk just widened. It was insane how much he could annoy me just by doing that.

On the way to the store, Renee asked Edward a few questions about what type of movies he preferred.

"I'll watch about anything. I've even learned to appreciate romances."

"And how is that?"

"Rosalie, my sister, makes me watch them when she's fighting with Emmett."

"Emmett is her boyfriend?"

"Yes. He's also my brother."

"That's—strange." She sounded a little freaked out by the inter-family relationships.

"All of us children were adopted. Alice, Emmett and I are related and so are Rosalie and Jasper. It's all very complicated, but we've lived together so long we consider ourselves family."

"That's sweet. So how long have you lived with your adopted parents?"

"Carlisle and Esme took us in when we were very young. None of us really remember much about our biological parents, so I usually tell people I've lived with them my entire life because it's basically true."

"What did happen to your parents? I don't mean to be rude, I'm just curious."

"It's okay. I said I don't remember them well and Carlisle and Esme have been so kind to me…" he trailed off, "But my parents died in a car crash."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Carlisle and Esme are the best parents anyone could hope for."

"Okay, you two, we can talk about Edward's family any time. Right now, we need to get food."

"What do we need, Bella?" Renee asked.

"Just follow me. I'll tell you what to get." I said, walking into the store.

We went through the store, collecting things we needed. Occasionally, I would send Edward or Renee to get something.

"You seem to be very good at this." Edward said while Renee was off looking for olives.

"What? Grocery shopping?" who cared if I was good at grocery shopping? Lost of people were.

"Yes."

"Well, I've been doing it for a while."

"When did you start doing the cooking in your house?" apparently, today was the day we were learning about people's pasts.

"Sometime in middle school, I think."

"Why did you do it?"

"Renee's meals are very—experimental. You can't always eat them. She also used to work late and I sometimes went to bed hungry. At first, I just made simple things but when I got tired of macaroni and cheese, I bought a cookbook and started writing the shopping lists. By the time I was in high school, I made dinner almost every night. The first place I went when I got my license was the grocery store."

"Do you enjoy it? Taking care of your parents?"

"Most of the time. It's a lot easier with Charlie than it was with Renee. He takes responsibility for some things. Renee just sort of let me do all the work."

"That doesn't sound fair. Aren't the parents supposed to take care of the child?"

"With Renee and I, it's a sort of role reversal. She's the fun-loving kid, and I'm the adult. I don't mind though. It's just how we were made."

He nodded, probably thinking I was nuts.

Renee came back with the olives and a few other items she needed.

"I think we've got everything." I said, walking to an open register. "Do you have an idea of how many movies you want to rent, mom?" I was loading groceries onto the counter.

"I thought we'd rent about five. That way we'll have some to watch another night too."

"Does anyone have any suggestions?" I asked.

"How about a couple comedies?" Edward suggested, "I think we'd all enjoy one."

"Meet the Parents." Renee said, "That was a good one."

Edward and I had never seen it, so we agreed to get it.

By the time we reached the movie store, we had all five movies picked out.

We rented our movies, plus a few others, and returned home.

I went through the bags and put everything we needed on the counter.

"Mom, would you mind putting this stuff away? I don't know where anything goes."

"Sure, Bella. Are you going to start the food now?"

"I thought I would. Could you show me where everything is?"

Renee showed me what was in every drawer, every cupboard, and every container.

"Thanks, Mom. I think I can start now."

I had Edward chop up the tomatoes, lettuce and olives and put them in separate bowls. While Renee opened the refried beans and sour cream and put those in bowls too, I cooked up the meat and poured in the water and seasoning. While it simmered, I heated up the soft and hard tortillas.

"So what do we do now, Chef?" Edward mocked.

Renee laughed when I stuck my tongue out at him.

"You wait until the meat is done, Meathead." I said and went into my room. I changed into a new pair of sweats and a t-shirt and went back out to check the taco meat. It was done. I set up all the components and called Renee.

"Mom! Food's done!"

"Be there in a second!" she yelled back. Edward just walked out of his room in sweats and a white t-shirt.

"Are you going to eat tonight?" I asked him.

"No way." He made a face. "I think I'll stick with your excuse."

"About being sick?"

"Yes."

"Okay." I said, grabbing a plate and fixing myself a taco. "How long are we going to be here?" I couldn't believe I still hadn't asked.

"Until the end of the week. So five more days."

"Only five more days?" that was Renee.

"Well, Carlisle needs me for something. I guess Bella can stay if she wants to." He looked at me.

"Mom, I think I should go home with Edward. It's not that I don't like seeing you, I really do, it's just—"

"It's okay Bella. I understand."

"You do?"

"Yeah. Charlie definitely needs someone to cook for him."

I laughed at that and my mom and I ate our food while Edward set up the movies.

"What do you want to watch first?" he called from the other room.

"How about The Matrix? So you can have the whole night to explain it to us." I said when he walked in.

Renee and I had both seen the movie but neither of us got it. Edward had offered to explain it to us and we had accepted.

"The Matrix it is."

We followed him back into the living room with our food and sat down on the couch.

I sat in the middle, Renee on my left and Edward on my right.

"This is Emmett's favorite movie, but Rosalie wont let him watch it." He told me as he sat down. I knew why.

"The girl in the leather suit."

"Trinity." He said, nodding.

Edward explained things as the movie progressed, but when it was over, he had just confused us even more.

"I think you just made it worse, Edward." Renee said, stating the obvious.

"Maybe if you watch it again, it'll help."

So in a final attempt to understand the cursed movie, we watched it again. And again.

"I think I'm starting to understand it now." I said. It was true, but I still didn't completely get it.

"You two are completely hopeless." Edward said. "Why don't we watch a different movie? You can rent this one some other time and try to figure it out."

"Sounds good to me." I said.

I really did want to understand the movie, but it was getting a little tedious.

In the middle of Meet the Parents—I was yawning quite frequently—the phone rang.

"I wonder who that is. It's midnight." Renee said, getting up to answer the phone. "Hello? Phil? You're at the airport? Okay, I'll be there in a minute." She hung up. "I'm sorry you two, but Phil's at the airport. The ream just got in. apparently, there was some huge storm in Chicago and their game was cancelled. I have to go pick him up."

"Mom, you go get your husband." I said between yawns. "We'll just finish up this movie and go to bed."

"Don't stay up too late." Renee said on her way out the door. I rolled my eyes. I was barely awake now.

"See you in the morning, Mom." I said, focusing my attention back onto the television.

As soon as Renee was out of sight, Edward lay back on the couch, almost pushing me off.

"Hey!" I said, just as he pulled me back onto his chest. "Much better." I snuggled closer to his body.

He groaned and brushed his icy lips along my cheek and then to my lips. I had to try very hard not to attack him.

"Go to sleep." He whispered in my ear after pulling away.

"Very hard." I mumbled, my eyes already beginning to close. He chuckled and watched as my body contradicted my mind.

"Goodnight, Bella." He said, wrapping his arms around me. I didn't hear him. I was already asleep.

"Bella? Bella! It's time to wake up honey."

My eyes fluttered open.

"What time is it?" I asked. It came out more like, "Ut timesit?"

"It's nine o'clock. In the morning." Renee kept sneaking glances at something behind me. I realized that I was still on the couch. The something she was looking at was Edward. He was pretending to sleep. Why hadn't he put me in my bed? Or at least gone to sleep in his own? Did he want to get me killed?

"We fell asleep didn't we?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"I think you did."

"Sorry." I said, disentangling myself from Edward's arms. Renee had an odd look on her face.

"It's okay. Are you hungry?"

I assessed the situation. I figured Renee wanted to get me in the kitchen so she could speak to me in a normal tone about my behavior.

"A little." I said, getting up and stretching.

Renee was quieter than I expected once we reached the kitchen. I grabbed some fruit from the refrigerator and started peeling and chopping.

"Fruit salad sound okay?" I asked.

She nodded distractedly.

"You really love that boy, don't you?" she asked.

"Edward?" I didn't really need clarification, but she nodded. I sighed. "Yes, Mom, I do love him."

She nodded again.

"Do you think he loves you too?"

"I'm sure of it." I said confidently.

"Are you? Guys trick girls into thinking they're in love all the time, Bella."

"Edward's not like that, Mom."

"How can you be sure though? How do you know he's not like all of those other boys?"

I sighed. This was getting tricky.

"Mom—how did you know Phil wasn't like them? Or dad?"

"Bella, I've dated a lot more than you have. It gets easier to distinguish once you've had practice."

"I've learned through you, Mom. All those men you dated? I was right there with you. I've learned secondhand how to distinguish between a loser and a keeper."

Renee just stared at me, a million emotions playing out over her face.

"I guess you're right, Bella. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I know, Mom. I don't want to get myself hurt."

I set the finished fruit salad on the table and got some plates.

"So is Phil still sleeping?"

"Yeah. He's pretty tired, so he probably wont get up until noon."

"So why didn't he call about coming home early?"

"The phones were down in Chicago and the flight was non-stop. I guess non of his teammates have airtime on their cell phones."

"Well that's helpful."

"I know. You think with all the flying they do somebody would get air minutes."

Just then, Edward walked in, stretching.

"Good morning." He said with a fake yawn.

"Morning." I said, my cheeks flaming as I thought about my conversation with Renee earlier. I took my plate to the sink and rinsed it out before putting it in the dishwasher. It was a relief not to have to do them by hand for once.

"So do you have anything planned for today, Mom?"

"I was thinking we could go to the beach later, when Phil wakes up, but we can do whatever you want until then."

"Can I use your computer to check my email?" Edward asked.

"Sure, go ahead."

Edward walked over and found his way to his inbox. There were over fifty emails in it.

"Holy crow! Do you ever check your email?"

"Of course I do, Bella. These are from my friends in Alaska. And Alice always sends me these ridiculous chain mail things." He said, deleting several unopened emails from "shoppingfairy106". That was definitely Alice.

He checked the rest of his emails, replying to a few of them. I read as much of them as possible while he was reading them at vampire speed. The ones I caught them most of were the ones from his family. I suspected he knew what I was doing and was letting me read them, but I didn't care.

Carlisle sent one asking what we were doing and saying that he missed both of us—which I though was sweet, but that was just Carlisle.

Alice sent at least ten about a shopping trip she went on and how much Edward would love the dress she had gotten me. I would have to talk to her about that.

Jasper asked Edward for ideas for a date he wanted to take Alice on. Apparently she had a vision of them on what she called "the perfect date" and he couldn't stand to disappoint her.

Esme sent a short email wishing Edward and I would have fun and to tell Renee thank you for letting Edward stay with her. Esme was the perfect mother figure for the Cullens.

Emmett produced a slightly gory explanation of a bear he caught on a recent hunting trip and asked if he could borrow one of Edward's CD"s.

I couldn't help but notice that for every ten emails Alice had sent, there was only a short one from Rosalie. Her email address, thebeautifulbeast, was extremely fitting. Rosalie was gorgeous to the extreme and she was a vampire. Her email just said she wished Edward was having fun with his girlfriend—I could almost hear the sneer in her words—and that Emmett had already taken the CD he wanted to borrow, so there was no need to reply to his email.

When Edward was finished, I stole the mouse from him and checked my own email. There were a couple from Alice and one each from everyone except Rosalie.

"How did they get my email?" I asked Edward. I had never thought to give anyone my email.

"I gave it to them. I thought you might appreciate getting emails from them while we were here."

"Thank you." I said. I did appreciate it.

I read through the emails. Carlisle and Esme basically said the same things to me as they had to Edward. I replied to their emails, thanking them for thinking of me.

Alice said nothing about the dress she bought me, but she did talk about her shopping trip a lot. The most recent one—from this morning—asked how I like my talk with Renee. This was obviously her big surprise. I replied, telling her that I was glad my mom knew the truth—at least part of it—about Edward and I.

Emmett—thankfully—spared me the description of his hunting trip and instead told me he was missing my clumsiness already. He also told me to take lots of pictures of Edward fro something he called "Edward's Little Red Book." I would have to ask what that was about. But not right now.

"All done." I said, closing out of the window.

"Would you like to make some CD's with me?" Edward asked.

"Sure." I said then, "how?"

He chuckled, taking the mouse from me.

"Watch and learn Bella."

He logged back onto the internet and downloaded something called "Limewire."

"What's that?"

"A software program for downloading songs."

He did lots of things involving numbers and files and all amounts of confusing technical things.

"What do you want to get?" he asked, finally.

"Linkin Park." I had grown attached to the CD Phil had given to me for Christmas. Mostly because Edward also liked the band.

"Okay." He chuckled again, probably guessing why I liked them so much.

He typed in some song names and I watched as the program loaded.

"Whoa." I said. There were some pretty disgusting things that came up. Then I laughed. "Look!" I said pointing to a document titled "Blood-hugging fairy-gangsters attack mall Santa Claus"

We were both almost literally rolling on the floor laughing when Renee walked back into the room.

"What is up with you two?"

We just laughed harder. There were tears rolling down my face when I finally calmed down enough to show Renee. She started laughing hysterically. I heard a door open, and Phil appeared in the hallway.

"What is going on in here?"

"Just a little family bonding Phil." I said, and went back to laughing my head off.

Hey, it's me again (I know.) Review! That's about all I have to say. Oh and if you want to, you could tell me what your favorite line/phrase/part was. That would be helpful. Thanks again!

Bellabookworm9