Yes, this will eventually be a Bella and Edward story, but for now, just run with it!
Chapter Nine
Bella's POV
My childhood was not normal by anyone's standards. I was raised pretty much from birth by a family of vampires. My parents looked old enough to by my siblings, but definitely not my parents, and so in public, I had to call them by their first names. To me this seemed to be offset from the low growl my Mom let loose every time I referred to her as Rose. Yea, my Mom growls. Also not normal. It's also freaking gross when you overhear a conversation between some guys in class about the deviant things they wish they could do to your Mom. Gross. She may be supermodel beautiful with long golden hair and the perfect pin-up figure but she was still my Mom. Sometimes I wished to God I was biologically her daughter, but with my luck, I would have turned out looking like Dad.
Not that Dad wasn't a good looking guy. He was massive, broad shouldered with brown curly hair. His favorite past time was wrestling with Grizzlies, or my brother Jasper. When I was little and would get upset, Dad would grind boulders to dust with his fingers. They figured out early in this calmed me down, Instead of continuing my temper tantrum, apparently I stared mouth agape for hours. Probably because even as a toddler I was conscience of the fact that even a grown ass man shouldn't be able to do that.
I loved both my parents unconditionally. They were both fiercely protective of me. But I think growing up I had quite a normal parent/child relationship with both of them. They tucked me into bed most nights, read me stories. Dad played horse with me and crawled round on his knees for hours with me on his back hitting him to go faster. I guess normally that doesn't end up with stress fractures to the toddler's hand, but generally speaking it was a normal parental activity. Plus, Gramps is a doctor, so it all worked out ok. Dad was a pretty awesome Dad actually. No one can make me laugh like he does, and no one makes me feel safer. Even now, every morning I am greeted to a giant bear hug from Dad. And he stills call me Bella Boo, my childhood nickname, even in public.
Mom and I have a really close relationship, even now. Despite having to call her Rose in public and pretend we're adopted siblings, we still have a definite Mother/Daughter Relationship in private, and in all honesty, probably in public too. Hey, these things are hard to shake. I guess we didn't partake in the general Mother/Daughter activities as I grew up. For my second birthday, Mom got me a car mat complete with luxury edition mini cars (from the firms themselves, no matchbox cars for me). For my fourth birthday, she got me my own set of tools which could rival that of any mechanic, and put me to work helping her restore a beat up old corvette. It was our project, and I freaking loved it. Even know when I want some Mom time, I drag her out to the garage. It always seems more comfortable talking with our noses on an engine, or tinkering with the underside of a car while Mom holds the whole thing off the ground with her pinky finger. Seriously.
If I wanted girly, I went to Alice. My big sister, but my best friend. I guess one of the only non-normal aspects of my relationship with Alice is the fact that she's a psychic. Other than that it's pretty standard. We go shopping. A lot. More for her benefit than mine. When I was younger I hated shopping with a passion, and playing dress up doll for Alice spun me into many a temper tantrum. I was dressed in baby Prada before they even had a kids line (custom made of course), and had a Luis Vuitton luggage set by the time I was three. But as I got older, the idea of actually looking half decent began to appeal to me more. My whole freaking family was stunning, hell, even Grandma doesn't look a day over twenty-eight, so it began to matter to me more what I wore, how I did my hair. It helped me fit in with them more, especially at junior high, where I had become known to my other class mates as the "ugly Cullen" or the "ugly duckling". When Alice overheard some kids saying that, I'm pretty sure she actually considered tearing them limb from limb. Oh yeah, she's super protective too. But Alice is my confidant. She's the one I can talk to and laugh with and just be a teenage girl around. She taught me to walk in high heels. She rocks my socks.
Her husband, yeah, my supposedly sixteen year old best friend has a husband, Jasper and I get along pretty well too. He is the quintessential older brother. Slightly protective, but not pushy about it, and generally the one to guide me out of trouble. While Edward (we'll get to my effed up relationship with him later) gives into pretty much everything I want, Jasper is the one to make me stop and take stock of what I am doing, and whether it's the right thing to do. Jazz taught me to read well before any other kid would have started. He's an absolute history buff, and between him, Gramps and Edward I ended up a year ahead at my last school. But it's thanks to Jazz that History and English are my passions.
Grams and Gramps, or Esme and Carlisle as I call them more often now, are pretty fantastic. I think they were pretty offended when I first started calling them by their first names at home, but the problem is, it's just plain weird calling them grandparents when they don't even look old enough to be my parents. Esme is an amazing cook, despite never eating herself. Mom never really got the hang of it, though she can whip up something basic, but it was Esme who made sure I was well fed over the years. Spending time with her is just really peaceful, and it feels like wherever Esme is, is home. That's been important through the years as we've moved so much. It's Esme who I turn to when I'm upset, when I need a hug. Her compassion and love inspire me, as does her patience. She's pretty much perfect.
Carlisle is awesome too. He is the one who fixed me up after every single tumble, and there were quite a few. He's the one who lectures me when I've done something wrong, but the first to congratulate me when I do something well. He has every single certificate and award I have ever received on a wall in his office. In many senses, he is like a father to me. Dad was never very good at the disciplinary stuff, so that tended to fall to Carlisle and Mom. I love Carlisle's inquisitive mind, it's something I seem to have picked up from him. Always theorizing and wanting know everything about anything. It's with Carlisle that I can have theological debates that go on for hours. He has never once treated me as anything but an equal, despite the couple of centuries he has on me, and always takes my ideas seriously. And it's Carlisle who is going to change me, but more about that later.
Edward. Ah Edward. Where to even begin? From when I could walk until the age of thirteen I slept in his room. I found it comforting to be close to him, his scent calmed when nothing else could. He's my rock. Edward would never let anything bad happen to me. However we sometimes disagree on what may be bad. Boys for example, according to Edward, are bad things which he will not let happen to me. Didn't care so much about that when I was younger, now that I'm sixteen however, it's a pain in my ass. The protective feeling however, is mutual. Whenever that bitch Tanya is within a hundred mile radius of our house, it feels like all my hairs are standing on end and I refuse to let Edward out of my sight. We don't really have a brother/sister relationship, Edward and I. Well we kind of used to, but that changed about the time I stopped sleeping in Edward's bed. Which coincided with the moment I realized that Edward was the hottest male on the planet, probably in the universe really.
The moment I discovered that I had a huge crush on the guy who had for all intents and purposes been a brother to me since I was born, was the day I decided I had to stop sleeping in his bed. Or changing in front of him. Or wearing my Snoopy pajamas in front of him. My hormones had come out in full force, and it was awkward. For me, he had no idea what had happened. But we remain best friends. I can talk to him about almost everything, and we have super similar tastes in music, movies and pretty much everything else. I made Edward pinky swear that for the first century after my change he isn't allowed to find a mate and leave me hanging as the only unmated Cullen. An impossible promise, because apparently once you meet your mate there is no going back. I told myself I made him promise because I didn't want to be lonely. Truth is, I just don't want him to be with someone else. To this day, Edward is the only person who can ever get through to me when I am having what Alice calls a 'Bella Moment', which is code for me being a stubborn, moody, hormonal bitch. I find his mere presence calming and comforting. He is my rock.
Ok, so I guess other than the slightly off family dynamic and the fact my family are vampires, it doesn't sound so weird right. I have a loving, caring family, we're more than well off, I'm well educated and I have a 'gift' as my family call it. Everything a sixteen year old girl could want or need. Except for friends. Which is why, at ten thirty on a Sunday night I am putting on a fashion show for my Mom, Alice and Esme, trying to find something appropriate to wear to my new school tomorrow, on the first day of my reinvention. But I suppose in order to understand why I need a reinvention, I have to explain my old school, and what happened with James Hunter.