Chapter 4

"Esme? I'm home," Edward Masen called to his mother as he entered their rundown apartment in New York. He put down his things on the kitchen table, got a glass of water and a bottle of medication, and went to his mother's bedroom.

"Mom," he crooned to the sick woman lying in bed, "it's six o'clock. Time for your meds."

Esme Masen sat up slowly and looked at her son. He was holding two pills in his outstretched hands, with water, ready for her to take. He was such a dear. Not many parents could boast that they had a son who dropped what he was doing every six hours just so he could check on them and make sure they were taking their medicine.

She took her pain medicine readily and gulped down the water.

"Thank you, dear. So how was your day?" she asked. Edward smiled- or, no, he put on the ghost of the beautiful grin he'd had a year ago. Even when she was in pain, his mother was still focused on his wellbeing.

"My day was fine, Esme. I went to work at the grocery, and I went to my afternoon class. Today was my last class. Do you realize I'll be graduating in two weeks? I can't believe it!"

Esme chuckled weakly. "Neither can I! Time has flown by so quickly!"

"It really has," Edward agreed, trying to push away the saddening thoughts of his father that were associated with the passage of time. He knew his mother was doing the same. "Now, you need your rest. Go to sleep! I'll check on you later."

He left the room. Esme watched him go and sighed. The boy had life hard these days. She was thankful that her son was so strong, and that he loved and cared for her so much. She needed him to stay strong for her, because she couldn't do it alone… life was hard on her, too.

Edward made himself a cup of tea and sank down into an old armchair in the living room, close to his mother's bedroom. He sighed and took a sip.

He'd lied to his mother. His day hadn't been fine. It had been horrible. He'd almost gotten fired from his job as a cashier at the grocery because of a woman and her melons… trust me, it's not as bad as it sounds, but you really do NOT want to go into that story. Anyway, if he hadn't been able to solve the situation and avoid getting fired, he would have been in a terrible predicament. And things were already bad enough as it was.

The Masens had never been rich, even when Edward's dad was alive. They'd always lived in that rundown apartment , but they were happy and okay with their poor status. They didn't care what people thought.

Edward's father, Edward Sr., had been a professional actor for the stage. He'd never acquired many jobs, but what he did get was enough to sustain his family.

He'd met Esme on a vacation to Florida. She'd been a rich society girl there, but they fell in love. Her parents, however, were dead set against him because he was poor. So she eloped with him.

She left everything behind to move to New York with him. They married at City Hall and soon after had Edward. The boy was the spitting image of his father: unusual bronze hair, emerald coloured eyes, absolutely gorgeous, even as a child.

Anyway, while Edward Sr. worked onstage, Esme worked as a maid to augment their earnings. As Edward got older, he worked summer jobs, but his parents never took the money he offered them. They insisted he keep his money, so he saved up to buy musical instruments- he'd been born with a love of music. He eventually saved enough to buy a second-hand acoustic guitar and a second-hand keyboard. The good thing about the keyboard was that he could plug earplugs into it and play even when everyone was asleep.

Edward loved music with an unbelievable fervour, and his parents saw that he was talented, so they tried to get him into a college to specialize in the arts. No school would take him on full scholarship, and the ones that offered partial scholarships asked them to pay far more than they could afford. So, Edward ended up at community college. He never minded it, though, because he was doing what he loved- making music.

They'd been a happy family, even with a poor financial status. But the year before, a tragedy struck that left Esme and Edward in a horrible position.

Edward Sr. had been killed in a car accident. It tore at them inside to know that they'd both lost the man they loved the most. It wasn't just emotionally troubling, but it hurt their already small bank account. There was only enough money to last them about 8 months, a year if they budgeted carefully.

This meant that Edward had to get a job, since they could not live off Esme's money from being a maid alone. Since Edward was still in college, he got a part time job at the local supermarket. Surprisingly, the pay was decent.

But, another tragedy struck just four months before. Just when they'd gotten used to Edward Sr. being gone, Esme fell ill. She was on bed rest, meaning that Edward's earnings were their only source of income. Esme seemed to think this was enough,

Edward begged to differ. He pushed himself in college, knowing that with this degree in the arts, he could get a proper job that paid substantially well. They'd always been fine with their poor status, but Edward couldn't bear it now. He was worried by it. He needed healthcare for his sick mother, and he couldn't afford it. It was frustrating.

Edward finished his cup of tea and checked on his mother. She seemed to be asleep. He wanted to stay close to her. She was the only person left on earth that he cared for, and if he lost her, his heart would never mend.

He went to his room and brought his keyboard to Esme's. He set it up close to her and plugged in his headphones so he wouldn't disturb her. He looked at her sleeping form and began to play her favourite song, a composition he'd written for her in happier times, and for want of a better title, called 'Esme's Favourite.'

Unknown to Edward, Esme had been feigning rest. She was trying to relax to get rid of the pain. When she saw Edward over his keyboard, she smiled affectionately, though it was a weak smile.

"Edward, pull out the headphones, I want to hear."

"Sorry, Mom, did I wake you?" He complied with her request.

"No, I wasn't even asleep. Just play, dear, it'll help me to relax." She smiled as Edward obeyed and began to play her favourite song.

As he played, she watched him, and felt guilty. Everything he was going through was making him grow up fast. He may not have realized it, but she noticed that he hadn't been truly happy since before his father died. His smile and laughter never reached his eyes anymore, which was a shame.

When Edward Sr. was alive, he used to say to Esme in joke, "Darlin', we've spawned one damn good-looking little thing!" He was right… Edward was extremely easy on the eyes. He used to be constantly harassed by admirers ( both girls and boys) asking for dates. He'd always said no, though, because no one really intrigued him. Anyway, this all happened before the death.

Esme noticed that since the death, Edward hadn't been asked out much. She knew it was because while people admired him, they hesitated to approach him because they could sense his sorrow. Esme felt guilty for taking away his happiness by making him worry about her and her illness.

She admired her son, though. He had a courage and a strength that she could only pray for. To have lost your father and have your mother fall ill while in a poor financial position could never be easy on one so young- for Edward was only 24. She knew that if she were put in his position, she could never have borne it as well as he did.

Lost in her thoughts and lulled to sleep by her boy, Esme Masen fell into a peaceful slumber, that was not feigned this time. Despite her worrisome thoughts, her son's presence seemed to calm her.

And Edward got a peaceful sleep for once, too, knowing that his mother was alright for the moment.

The next morning, when he woke up, he recalled an odd dream. He'd been on a beach at sunset, but he only dimly acknowledged the beautiful settings. His focus was on a beautiful girl, who seemed to be just as captivated by him as he was by her.

They sat facing each other, and he was aware that he was playing You and Me by Lifehouse to the beauty. He realized how fitting the song was, since he really couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her long heavenly mahogany hair and chocolate coloured eyes held him. There was some energy in the air between them.

As he finished the song, on impulse, he kissed her forehead. It was something that he'd seen his father do to his mother many times. In that kiss, he felt overwhelming adoration, love, happiness… and hope. Somehow, she'd given him hope.

And at that point, the most random thing happened. Penguins appeared out of nowhere and attacked him, shouting:

"YOU ARE NOT A SUITABLE BOY!!!"

He woke up here, feeling utterly confused. Penguins? What the hell? had been his first thoughts.

Soon his thoughts turned to the girl. Who was she? Was she even real? How could she make him feel that way? Why did he feel love in that kiss, when he didn't even know her? COULD she be real? Oh, he hoped she was…

He dreamed about the girl the next night, too, except this dream did not contain violent penguins. It was relatively normal. They were dancing and he was singing She Bangs by Ricky Martin to her. She was laughing. Oh, her laugh…

It was light, and happy, like a gentle wind that left fire in its wake… for her laughter set Edward's heart ablaze. He was staring into her eyes like a blind man seeing the Sun. An apt description, though, to him, her beauty was far more brilliant than the Sun, Moon and all the stars combined.

She was about to kiss him… Her lips were barely a centimetre away from his. He was anticipating the soft feeling of her lips, and then as they were about to touch- she vanished into thin air! He was left they disappointed, and woke up totally confused once again.

Who was this dream girl? The feeling she evoked seemed too real to just be something his imagination conjured up…

The week passed without another dream. He spent the week working and taking care of Esme. It seemed that those two dreams would be the last he ever had of her, since he had not had anymore. It was shockingly sad… and he was brought out of his sadness the next Sunday night.

The night brought another dream of mystery girl. It wasn't exciting, they'd just laid in each other's arms in a meadow. But still, Edward was glad he dreamt of her again, though he couldn't comprehend why. The little dose of dream girl left him relaxed and content for the day ahead.

Anyway, the next day ( Monday July 2nd) came with the realization that Edward needed new dress pants for his graduation.

"When on a budget, shop TJ Maxx," Esme told him, sounding like an advertisement. He laughed, but, indeed, he went to TJ Maxx with a budget of - dollars to find some decent pants.

As he entered the store, he felt an odd flutter of anticipation in his stomach. He didn't know what it was, but he felt slightly more cheerful than usual.

He found the section with men's dress pants and began his search. An hour later, he still hadn't found a pair. He was somewhat frustrated. Suddenly, a rather hyper tiny person carrying a huge load of dresses bumped into him, causing him to fall into a rack of pants, which in turn fell over as well.

"Oops, sorry!" the bundle of energy called in a feminine voice over her shoulder. He couldn't even see her face and he marvelled at how she could actually see where she was going.

"M'okay!" he called back. The little thing hadn't even stopped. She continued to wherever she was going with all those dresses.

Edward pulled himself up and sighed as he began to clean up the mess he'd made with the clothes. He knew he could have left it to the store clerks, but his mother raised him with manners, and manners say you clean up your OWN mess!

As he was putting the pants on the rack, he came across a pair that seemed perfect for him. Decent-looking, his size, and a quick check on the tag told him it was four dollars under budget. He decided to try them on.

He walked into the dressing room and put them on. They fit perfectly, so he decided to buy them. He took them off to put on his own pants when he heard an annoyed, yet shockingly beautiful female voice.

"Mary Alice Brandon, how dare you try to put me in something this slutty?!"

A red dress was flung over his dressing room door and landed on Edward's surprised head. He shocked himself by chuckling. He hadn't laughed like that in a year! His smile reached his eyes for once!

"Um, miss, this is the men's dressing room…" he trailed off with a hint of amusement in his voice.

That girl's voice was mesmerizing. It was the voice of an angel, albeit an annoyed one. There was something familiar about it, though. He'd heard it before but he wasn't sure where. At any rate, that voice made him smile like he hadn't in so long.

"Oh… I'm sorry, sir," the angel stuttered. Edward laughed again. "Could you pass that dress back to me? I have a pixie to go scold."

Figuring that the pixie was this "Mary Alice Brandon" person, he complied with the angel's request. As he held the dress over the door, he felt soft feminine fingers brush against his. Not to be cliché, but in that moment of contact, he honestly felt a jolt of electricity pass between them. He was frozen with his fingers touching hers, not wanting to lose that good feeling spark. It felt like he'd been there for months, but could have only been seconds. He wondered if she felt it too.

She was the one who broke contact, and he was rudely recalled to reality.

"Ahem." She cleared her throat. "Well… sorry, again, sir…" He heard her footsteps rushing away.

Who was this girl? Edward realized that throughout the encounter, he'd had a real smile on his face. He also realized he hadn't gotten the girl's name.

"Wait," he cried out, hoping he wasn't too late. He made to open the door and look out to see if the girl was still there, but he realized he wasn't wearing any pants.

"Jeez!" he exclaimed in exasperation as he threw on his pants. He yanked open the door. He looked around, and then banged his head on the door.

"Idiot, idiot, idiot!" he groaned. He had been too late. There was no girl holding a red dress that he could see. He had no idea who she was now. Not her name, not even what she looked like. It was ridiculous how amazing he'd felt touching her fingers, and how lost her voice made him, but he… he was such an idiot! If her voice and a simple touch alone could make him crazy, this girl might have been special, but he, the bamseescratch that he was, let her get away!

"Wherefore art thou, mystery girl?" he muttered to himself. He dejectedly got his pants from the dressing room and paid for them. As he was about to leave the store, he glanced around again to see if anyone looked like she could be his girl.

To his misfortune, none of the girls in the store looked special to him. There was a tall, gorgeous blonde standing close to the women's dressing room, and a strikingly beautiful, yet much shorter black haired girl next to her, but they were merely pretty. He didn't think either of them were his girl… they didn't look special. Sighing, he walked out of TJ Maxx. Despite his frustration, for some odd reason he was happy. He didn't understand it, but he figured it must have something to do with that girl.

After leaving the store, Edward took the bus back to the apartment to check on his mother to make sure she took her medicine. Esme noticed that today, when Edward smiled at her, it wasn't the fake smile that he'd been using for the last year. It was a real smile, echoed in his eyes and even in his voice. Wisely, she chose not to question the change. She just smiled along with her son, joyful to see him happy.

After he checked on her, her went to the community college. They were having graduation rehearsals for Wednesday. Edward knew that his mother could not attend his graduation because of her sickness, and he regretted that. But he accepted the fact and gotten over it a long time ago, as had Esme.

At rehearsal, Edward was still inexplicably cheerful. His soon-to-be former classmates noticed it, but didn't know what to attribute it to. But they all found that with his radiant smile, today he looked devastatingly handsome. Even a good number of the boys admired him.

He'd always been good-looking, just no one had really bothered to waste time in admiration of him since he always seemed to be depressed and averse to interaction with others. The fact that he was smiling with real emotion pushed his "hotness" over the edge today. He went from "unapproachable" to "unbelievably gorgeous…"

That day for the first time in so long, Edward was asked out. Four girls and a guy asked him on dates. He was shocked, flattered and a little freaked out by the attention. Of course, he said no to them all. He wasn't really interested in any of them. He was oblivious as to why he was suddenly getting all this attention, though.

When he went home, he told Esme about his day.

"Ma, the weirdest thing happened today! I got asked out by four girls… and a guy! That part was the freakiest. I didn't even know Aro was gay… But, Mom, I haven't been asked out in close to a year! I wonder what's changed all of a sudden…"

Esme laughed at him and teased him about Aro, but in her head was thinking the same thing. What really has changed all of a sudden? I wonder what's brought this honest-to-God happiness to him? But, let me not pick this apart. I shouldn't question the miracle. I'll just be glad for it.

That night, Esme once again fell asleep to her boy playing the keyboard. After she fell asleep, Edward plugged in his headphones and thought about the girl from TJ Maxx.

Suddenly, he remembered another mystery girl. The dream girl! The feelings she gave him seemed to be the same as the ones the girl evoked today in the store. Could they be the same person? If they were, would he ever get a chance to meet her again? He didn't know, he just knew that she was like the eye of a storm for him. She gave him peace and hope in a messed up world full of hardships. He hoped with all his might that she was real, that he would get the chance to meet her again.

Thinking about his mystery girl, inspiration coursed through him, and he put his fingers on the keys. He let his emotions course through him. And so, the musician began to compose.

At that exact moment, in a totally different part of town, Isabella Swan was sitting on her bed, cross-legged with her laptop balanced on her knees. She was thinking of her mystery guy. She felt a buzz of contentment and inspiration, and let her feelings take over. It felt like her writer's block had been dispelled as she opened a blank document.

She put her fingers on the keys. Her emotions were pouring through her fingertips. And so, the author began to write.