Another update? So soon? IKR? I figured I shouldn't keep you guys waiting after that depressing chapter, so here I am. This chapter was really fun to write, you will understand why when you read. There were so many heart breaking moments in the previous chapters, I think this was much needed.
For the last chapter I received a total of 11 reviews when I have 131 people on my alert list, so I am guessing that most of you have left my story. That makes me sad but I understand :)
Thanks to all others who are still hanging on to this fic. Lots of hugs and kisses to magmom2, SabluvsLogan, ZooeyD, Twilight Mother, reyes139, GGG888,Mrs., RKsoulmates913-Khills,ann ly, twipat and rpattz granny for the awesome reviews of Chapter 16. You guys had so much to write, some of you came up with such great theories that my hand was itching to send a reply. But I didn't because I knew I wouldn't able to shut up without giving away too much information…haha. I also want to clear some things about Edward/Chelsea relationship but I am thinking instead of putting it here, I would much rather post it in a discussion thread where everyone can discuss it freely.
Does anyone of you have any idea?
This A/N is getting long..so I will leave you guys to read now. Meet me downstairs: D
Btw you guys really thought it was going be Alice and Rosalie? reyes139 you are right, Bella would have actually kicked their asses if that was the case :p
Chapter 17
The caramel haired women beamed enthusiastically as she looked past the running scenery from the car window. She had listened to her daughter rant about Forks so much about the greenery and the wetness that the change didn't seem new to her at all. But hearing and looking was totally different things. It has been years since she had traveled any place outside Phoenix, or any colder places whatsoever, so the weather of Forks was a refreshing change. She knew she liked the place already.
She turned to her husband, who was staring back at her with crinkling eyes. He could clearly see she was happy, it was written all over her face. It made him happy too. He followed the GPS system and took a U turn venturing into a more residential area of Forks.
"I can't believe we are doing this." she gushed suddenly.
"All thanks to you sweetheart." He smiled. "I don't think I could have ever come up with such a crazy idea"
"Mr. Cullen did you just call me crazy?" She narrowed her eyes at him. The man laughed and then pulled her hand to kiss the upside of her palm.
"I love you anyway" Always charming, she thought.
"And I love you for taking your time out from the hospital to do this with me" Esme said sincerely.
"Of course I would do it. She is our daughter"
"Do you think she will be surprised?"
"I think she will, unless she mistakes us as burglars knocking on her door at 5 in the morning" He chuckled and steered the wheel left and soon the car was parked right in front of a small rusty red brick house. The house was not something extravagant just a one-storied building with white windows and doors. There were small lavender bushes adorning round the building, which made him remember their house in Phoenix. He smiled knowing that it was definitely one of his daughter's deeds to be close to her original home.
"Honey do you think this is the right house?" Esme asked as she eyed a Black Vanquish parked by the road alongside Bella's Red Audi.
"Yeah I think so"
"That must be Alice or Rosalie's car then" Esme voiced, but just then the front door of the house opened and a man stepped out of it with untidy hair. He looked worn out; upon closer inspection one could easily notice his haggard steps as he walked towards the Vanquish. For a second, he stopped and tilted his head to look at the rented car sitting not far from the place, his forehead crinkled in confusion but then he shrugged and was out of the place in a blink.
"That didn't just happen, did it?" Carlisle asked calmly. Esme bit her lip and then looked at Carlisle amusingly.
"What didn't happen?"
"I didn't just see a man coming out of my daughter's house looking like that at 5 am in the morning" Carlisle hissed.
"Now now honey I don't think this is the right time to discuss about our daughter's sex life. But looking at his condition, at least I can say she is quite active" she snickered.
"Esme!"
"Oh Carlisle, you are such a darling sometimes. Bella is an adult now, she can do whatever she wants to, she understands-"
"Do you think she remembers the birds and bees speech or do we need to revisit it again?" Carlisle asked concerned.
"That would be mortifying!" Esme laughed.
"But-"
"Seriously Carlisle?" Esme couldn't stop laughing but he wasn't amused.
"Okay okay I will remind her about safety issues" Esme winked. "Now stop being such a daddy and let's go surprise her" she clapped her hands in glee.
However, before they could even ring the door bell the door burst open, surprising them instead.
"Edward!"
"SURPRISE!"
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"Ah so that handsome young man is Edward?" Esme inquired.
"Mom? Dad?" Bella asked surprised. Her eyes went behind their faces to the Vanquish which was supposed to be parked beside her car, but it was no longer there. She felt dejected. When she had opened the door, she had thought for a second that Edward was back, that he couldn't go, and he was back to whisk her for her feet and tell her that he loved her.
"…I knew it…I knew you would be surprised…I am so happy to see you my little baby" Esme kissed Bella's forehead soundly and then pulled her into the warmth of her arms. That brought her attention back to the present and she finally remembered that her parents were here. She held Esme tightly and breathed her motherly smell in. Tears flooded her cheeks because in that moment she realized how much she had missed her mother, how she has missed her warmth and love and her unknowing way of making things right.
"Bella why are you crying?" Esme asked as she stroked her hair lovingly.
Bella opened her eyes through her misty tears and looked at Carlisle over Esme's shoulder. She extended her other arm to him and then she was hugging both of them together.
"I missed you guys so much" Bella smiled through tears.
"Of course you did" Esme cried with her too.
Carlisle held on to the two precious women in his world, and realized a tear had too slipped away from him. He quickly wiped it away and then chuckled.
"Look at you two being emotionally dramatic..."
Esme pushed on his chest playfully and then turned to Bella to wipe the tears from her face and Bella did the same.
"Come inside please" Bella smiled and let them inside her house.
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"Where's Alice?" Esme asked the first thing when she saw the other empty room in the house.
"Uh." Bella realized that in all this mess she had never told Esme about what transpired between Rosalie, Alice and her. Hell they didn't know anything about Edward either.
"We fought and she left" If things were as easy as it sounds Bella thought.
"But you guys were best friends?" Carlisle asked.
"Friends fight all the time, I am sure she will patch up soon" Esme replied. Bella didn't have the heart to tell her that it has been more than a month, and the soon wasn't coming any sooner.
"You remember Aunt Pierce? She and I were attached to the hip since the teens. We did everything together; we understood each other so well that we thought we would never have to fight. But we did fight one day…it was so crazy..." Esme laughed. "It was like a match between two raging bulls. I remember pulling her braided hair in anger and she calling me with mean names."
"We didn't talk for a long time, but eventually we both apologized. And look now, she comes every Saturday to our house, and we are still best friends and we still fight and think of that day and laugh" Esme finished.
"You didn't tell me you were so feisty back then" Carlisle asked with a mischievous smile on his face.
"What are you suggesting Mr. Cullen" Esme quirked.
Bella laughed aloud. "Okay enough you two"
They all shared a hearty laugh.
"This is such a wonderful place" Esme gushed as Bella gave them a tour around.
"Indeed" Carlisle said as he looked at the line of photographs from Phoenix and a couple more with Rosalie and Alice.
"I know. All thanks to Paul, if he didn't tell me about this place then I would have been stuck forever at the rented house in the middle of the forest"
"He is a nice guy" Esme approved.
"Speaking of Paul...how is he? And how are things going on with Sue?" Carlisle asked as he took a seat beside Esme in the couch.
The last time Bella had seen Paul, he was in Forks General Hospital with a bruised face and talking about red head kids. One thought led to another and soon she was thinking about Edward once again. Bella sighed.
"Paul's great but Sue is still holding a grudge against me" Bella said dejectedly.
"Bella dear I know you want to make amends to her, but it isn't your place to do so. This isn't really your fault. She can't get past what Renee had done, I am sure she is not angry with you."
"Esme's right. You shouldn't suffer for what Renee had done. She was a liar, she stole from her parents and cousins, and had affairs with people who were dangerous, she didn't once think about her family, she didn't even think about you." Carlisle said discontentedly.
"Bella you are nothing like her. You have a career, you are successful, you love us and make us proud…you are nothing like her baby girl." Esme consoled Bella.
"I don't know what's right or wrong anymore. I don't know where I stand" Bella cried again.
"Carlisle…look what happened to our daughter" Esme moped.
"You can't stay here anymore Bella. You are coming back with us" Carlisle announced.
"What? NOOO!" Bella sat up and wiped her tears off furiously.
"This place is not good for your health. Come back with us, you need a break from all these" Carlisle insisted. "I only approved of your decision to come here because I thought this will help you get your answers, because I thought this would make you happy Bella. But you are not happy, I can see it."
"I am fine...I am…really…see" she tried to smile but Carlisle wasn't taking any of it.
"I am not going anywhere...Mom, Dad please..." she begged to Esme.
"Okayy...okay but I have one condition." Esme finally interrupted, already melting from Bella's persistence.
"Esme!" Carlisle called sternly.
"What condition?"
"You will let us take care of you"
"If you don't leave now, I am afraid we would have to call the police and throw you out" The bartender threatened the drunk and clearly wasted blonde man lying on the table. Yes on the table! He had a week worth of beard on his face and was wearing a tainted shirt that smelled like pig. He clearly hadn't showered for days. He was staring at the ceiling of the club with his legs dangling over the edge and rambling nonsense. When the bartender spoke, he turned his head to look at him and then laughed cynically.
"Do you knowww whooo I am?" He slurred and then smiled lazily.
"Yes. You are Jasper Whitlock"
"Hmm..anddd my faaather is the riccchest-"
"motherfucker in Chicago and can buy this entire club with just a wave of his hand" The bartender completed his sentence.
"Howw do you knoww?" Jasper asked amazed, he was suddenly seeing five bartenders with same face upside down in front of him.
"You have said that for the eleventh time. Now get up and leave"
"Le-leavee whheerr?"
The bartender gripped his shoulder and then pushed him off the table.
"That's enough. You had your fair share of fun today, now leave" He dragged him out of the club by his arm and then pushed him into the sidewalk. Jasper lost his momentum and fell face forward on the road.
"OW! that hurrt dudeeee" He flinched and then rolled on his backside to face him.
"You don't know whoo I am..mm Jasperrr Whitlockk..my fatherr iss the richest motherrfuckrr inn Chicago...he cann buyy" Before he could complete, the bartender closed the door on his face.
"Bastarrdd can'tt even lett me havee my fuckin drink"
"What the hell? Jasper?" A tall man stopped in front of him. Jasper looked at his shiny Armani shoes just in time for him to crouch down and have a look at him. The man looked familiar; he had distressed lines on his forehead and was wearing an angry scowl. Jasper rubbed his eyes frantically; he swore he could see five Edwards looking down on him too.
"Edwarddd man" Jasper smiled a big smile and then snorted.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Edward asked angrily. "Don't tell me sidewalks have become your new favorite bedding place"
Jasper ignored him and stretched his hands above his head as a yawn escaped him.
"Jesus!" Edward exclaimed frustrated and then pulled Jasper by his arm.
"C'mon you need to go home"
"I don't want to go home" Jasper glowered.
"Don't be a kid...you reek like a pig. How long have you been drinking?" He strapped Jasper on the passenger seat of his car and then made his way to the other side.
"Seriously Jasper what were you thinking? Lying in the sidewalk? Have you gone crazy?"
" I saidd I dun wanna go homeee" Jasper said angrily when he saw Edward driving through the familiar roads to his house.
Edward ignored him. "Dr Caius informed me that you haven't showed your face in the hospital since last Monday. If Charlotte ever sees you like this she is going to be so upset…you know that, don't you? I know you don't care...but for once…for once in life can't you be responsible Jasper?"
"Don'tt go all bigg brotherrr and shitt on me" Jasper gave him a dark eye.
Edward rolled his eyes.
"Go home, take a shower and sleep, and when you don't feel like shit, go and apologize Dr Caius before he throws you out of the hospital."
" I don'tt wanna go home"
"Why? Why you don't want to go home?" Edward snapped.
Jasper didn't speak.
Edward waited for him to speak but he didn't say a word again. He just sat there look like a douche. Suddenly something clicked on his head.
"Is someone there?" Edward asked curiously.
Jasper stiffened.
" Aha...so someone is there.."
"Shut up"
"Now this is something new to me…Jasper is scared of someone" Edward forced.
"YESS I AM FUCKING SCARED OF HER..I AM SCARED BECAUSE SHE HAUNTS ME..SHE CANT LET ME LIVE IN MYY FUCKING HOUSEE…EVERY FUCKING PLACE REMINDS ME OF HER..I HATE HER..I FUCKING HATE HER" Jasper shouted.
He then groaned and rested his head on the dashboard. "I am scared of how I feel…..why do I even feel? " He asked Edward.
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"Maybe because you care" Edward said wistfully.
Jasper stared at him for a long time and then finally clenched his hands and willed to get out of the car.
"Thanks for the drop" He said quietly without turning to Edward and then slowly walked towards his house.
"Dad do you need anything?" Bella asked as she watched Carlisle steering the pan with a wooden spatula.
"Nope, I have got it" he smiled.
Bella sighed. "I feel stupid hanging around the kitchen with no work to do"
"Go to your mom then" he suggested.
"Are you serious about not letting me do anything?"
"Yes that's the plan" He said as he swiftly tossed the fried egg in the pan.
"Great!" Bella exclaimed and then left the kitchen frustrated.
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"I shouldn't have called off for today" Bella whined to Esme who was being hideous and was conspicuously writing something in a piece of paper.
"Are you upset we are here?" Esme said nonchalantly, still writing something in that paper.
"You know what I am talking about Mom. First you tell me to call in sick and then you tell dad not to let me help in the kitchen, and now you are writing something in that piece of paper and not even letting me see it"
Esme laughed "We are taking care of you honey"
Bella sat beside Esme and rested her head on her shoulder pretending to not look at the paper yet trying to get a peak.
"No peaking Bella" Esme teased.
Bella huffed but then something caught her attention. Esme was holding Bella's cell phone on her left hand and furiously tapping something on it.
"Mom what are you-" Bella reached for her phone just when Esme pressed on a button and grinned at her evilly.
Bella took the moment to snatch the piece of paper from her other hand.
LIST
Alice Brandon. Check.
Rosalie Hale. Check.
Emmet McCarthy. Check.
Paul Jeffery. Check.
Edward Masen. Check
"Mom? What is this?" Bella asked warily.
"That honey is the checklist of all the people who will be dining with us tomorrow."
"What?" Bella looked at her horrified.
She looked at her phone which was still in Esme's hand.
"I text-ed all of them to come tomorrow. It's high time I meet your boyfriend" Esme beamed.
Oh God I think I am going to have a heart attack Bella thought.
How do you like Carlisle and Esme? Aren't they absolutely adorable?
What's up with drunken Jasper?
And lastly do you think Edward is going to show up for dinner at the Cullen's?
Next chapter is going to be a riot…poor Bella she is really going to have a heart attack now. I can't wait to read what you guys have to say about this chapter, so please review.
Love,
selfishkiss