A/N: (Thursday) Finished the first volume of Wuthering Heights today. Yay. Went to the doctor, spray on tan, among other things. Special Olympics tomorrow. Total boredom. Yeah, here's Vegas. Review, or Sweeney Todd will become your new bff. Yeah, fer serious.
I tried my best to stay away from gambling; I was never very lucky. Bella and I shopped, surprisingly, while Edward and Alice, the pros, gambled on Alice's monthly shopping fund. Carlisle, Cole and Jasper had natural luck, and so they went off to another casino down the street. Esme joined Bella and I inside a local shopping mall.
"I've been here once before," Bella commented while walking, arms linked with mine, toward the escalators. "Alice took me shopping here after my last trip to Phoenix."
Esme shot her an apologetic look. "I'll never forget that. We were all so worried about you. You silly, stubborn little girl."
"But now that doesn't matter; I have every right to be silly and stubborn," Bella gloated, referring to her immortality and impenetrability. We all laughed.
"We should probably get back to the parking garage; they'll be ready to leave soon," I hinted, my arms loaded to the max with bags.
"Yes, and we do have to get back on schedule," Esme agreed. "Ayden, is there room in your car for the bags?" she asked, walking toward the doors closest to the casinos.
"Yeah, you guys can go ahead. I'm gonna go get everyone. I'll see ya in a few." I parted with my mother and sister, heading south down the crowded street. After several stares and whistles, I strolled into the casino, where Alice sat at a blackjack table, surely racking up uncountable amounts.
"Alice, I hate to interrupt, but we have places to be," I whispered, so low and fast that the surrounding humans couldn't hear.
She smiled up at me and stood from the table, leading me to the slot machines where she suspected Edward to be. We walked over the tacky green carpet to the area where old women killed each other to play. Edward was nowhere to be found in the first row, so we circled over to the second. Again, no such luck. This time, however, we noticed several of the women were standing and walking to the third row; we followed.
Rounding the corner may have been the best or worst decision us Cullen sisters ever made. Before us stood Edward—yelling at a wrinkled woman with a white afro. It didn't take too long to pick up on the gist of the argument: Edward had been at a slot machine, stood up, and had his 'lucky spot' taken by granny over there. And neither was too thrilled about it.
"I was sitting there first! I only took like…two steps away from the freaking machine! It's mine, wrinkles!"
"Le gasp!" All the elderly women gasped and looked at Edward's opponent as if she were their leader. After glaring at a still-livid Edward, she glanced around the room, smiling devilishly.
"GET HIM!" she bellowed, stepping out of the way of the brawl. Quicker than I would've thought, Edward was being bludgeoned by out-of-style handbags and sunhats. The ladies squealed like banchees as the beatings continued. Shockingly, no security was called on the women; in fact, most of the casino crowded around to watch. Soon, only Edward's arm could be seen, grasping at air, but it too was slowly submerged underneath tic tacs and dirty tissues.
After watching, mesmerized, for a few moments, Alice and I intervened. We exchanged a quick, knowing glance, and then marched swiftly forward to pull our brother out of harm's way. The hoards of women made a circle nearly eight feet across; therefore, our destination was not easily reached. Most of the grandmas ignored our presence and rescue attempt; one, however, had the nerve to smack me in the face with her ugly, brown, bag that was, no doubt, purchased at a flea market. I glared at the hag momentarily, contemplating a counter attack; I settled for a cat fight.
"Oh, no you didn't, you golden girl! It's on!" I pulled her hair as hard as I could without hurting her seriously.
Once she was on the ground, being trampled by orthopedic sneakers, I crawled forward, on hands and knees, to rescue my dear brother and friend. After being stepped on six times, I found a white hand, clawing at the floor, reaching out to me. I pulled his hand, using all my strength; the old women finally surrendered him.
We ran as fast as humanly possible, literally, out of the casino and into the streets. Everyone was impatiently waiting when we found our family in the garage. Jasper, Cole, and Bella ran up to us, each hugging their respective mates.
"What took you guys so long? We were worried sick!" Bella scolded, holding Edward close to her.
"That…is a long story, one that I wish to discuss never again." Edward's voice faltered on the last word, and he trembled.
"Well then, I guess we'll be leaving?" Carlisle asked, turning toward the truck. We all responded by going to our vehicles. "I'll take that as a yes," he muttered, starting the moving van.
Vegas was gone before I could even remember why we were getting away; Edward saw to it that he was in front, pulling us away from the cursed city as quickly as he could manage.
"Alice, that was, by far, the worst idea you've ever had," Edward commented, passing into Utah.
The states flew by me in a blur as we continued on our journey—Colorado, Kansas, and then it seemed we crossed straight into Maryland. In Connecticut, I rolled my windows down and let the gentle late-summer breeze fill my car. I turned the radio on, drowning out the argument taking place between Jazz and Bella behind me.
Nobody on the
road
Nobody on the beach
I feel it in the air
The summer's
out of reach
Empty lake, empty streets
The sun goes down
alone
I'm drivin' by your house
Though I know you're not at
home
I sang along carelessly, hardly paying attention to life itself. I felt so carefree in that moment in time; I was but a bird flying free over a clear blue sky.
I never will forget
those nights
I wonder if it was a dream
Remember how you made
me crazy?
Remember how I made you scream
Now I don't understand
what happened to our love
But babe, when I get you back
I'm
gonna show you what I'm made of
Of course, Cole crept into my mind during the second verse. Just imagining him made a smile tug at my lips, even when we fought. The boy never ceased to amaze me. He would do something every day to make me love and admire him more and more.
I was broken from my reverie by the site of the 'Welcome to Rhode Island' sign before me. Everyone was stopping, and so I followed suit by pulling off to the side of the road. My sisters were standing around the sign, Jazz taking pictures of them. I soon joined them. We made many crazy poses with our family and ended up using an entire memory card on silly pictures.
"Hey, baby, I've missed you," Cole murmured as we walked back to the car. He snaked his arms around my waist from behind me and held me where I was.
"I've missed you, too," I returned, standing on the tips of my toes to kiss him, my perfect Greek God. "Come on, we've only got a few minutes left to drive, ok?"
He walked me to the car, hand in hand, and opened the door when we approached. He closed the door once I was in, and walked back to his new car. The line of cars started simultaneously, and we were on the road again. After half an hour, Edward made an abrupt turn into the trees—our new driveway. The trees made an arch that ran up the driveway for nearly a quarter mile. Once out of the forest cover, we pulled into the center of a lawn the size of a small meadow, a house sitting atop the small hill.
I could tell it was a restoration done by Esme. The exterior was painted olive green and brown—perfectly complementing. The three-story home had an endless amount of windows, allowing much natural light into the house; it was obviously a late 19th century home.
We all jumped out of our cars, anxious to see the inside. Esme beat us there.
"Now, remember," she started, "Alice and I worked very hard on this while we were planning the wedding. Be nice."
We all nodded hurriedly, and she opened the door for us. The foyer and front hall were very bright. Yellow carpet lay over the stairs; the walls were white. The fireplace on the right side of the hall was somehow already lit. Esme led us into the family room—a spacious room with three windows showing the front lawn. A family portrait we'd had made in Rochester hung over the fireplace. Two couches and three chairs were arranged randomly around a coffee table. I began to wonder how many fireplaces were in our new house.
The kitchen had an old charm, yet it was filled with modern appliances. The cabinets were yellow, brightening the room to a point of Wizard of Oz-like proportions. The white countertops were shiny and spotless of any stain. Two large wooden doors, courtesy of Esme, opened up to see the dining room. A crystal chandelier hung over a table holding ten places for sitting—just enough for our family. A china cabinet stood in the corner adjacent to that of the doors. A golden-framed mirror hung on the other wall.
Next came the second floor. I was pleasantly surprised to see Romanesque windows randomly placed to show the river behind our house and the back yard. On the second floor landing, I could see five doors—all leading to bedrooms, four of which, I soon learned, held personal bathrooms.
"Ok," Alice started, walking to the front of the group, "Carlisle and Esme are the first room on the left, and then me and Jazz, and Rose and Emmett will be at the end. Bella and Edward have the first room on the right, and Ayden and Cole get the last one. All the rooms except Rose's have a personal bathroom."
We all nodded in understanding. She smiled, and then led Jasper to their room. I took Cole's hand and walked to our room at the very end of the decorative hall, filled with pictures of our family throughout the years. I reached for the door carefully, nervous to see the new room.
The door opened up to a white room, trimmed in navy blue. The full-sized bed sat against the farthest wall, donning navy blue sheets. The room was very open and spacious, allowing much room for all our things. What I loved most about the bedroom, though, was the nearly wall-length window that showed a perfect view of the clear river winding just past our lawn. Cole and I exchanged a warm smile, and then walked slowly to the bed, where we lay for hours, enjoying our fresh start as a married couple.
A/N: (Saturday) I've been super busy this week, and I'm sorry this didn't get out sooner. But I've dedicated the morning to writing the majority of this, so I hope you like it. After all the things I've pushed back and ignored to write this, I expect no less than like…15 reviews on it. Lol. So please, get to that. If you want, I can post pictures of the house I used as inspiration for the home in Rhode Island.