Hello Sister, Goodbye Life
Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight saga. All recognisable characters, content or locations belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Warning: Language. Adult themes.
Author's Note: Thanks for your reviews! Hope you enjoy this chapter - Edward's arrival, even if it's minor... enjoy!
Chapter Four
Come Clean
Let the rain fall down and wake my dreams
Let it wash away my sanity
'Cause I wanna feel the thunder, I wanna scream
Let the rain fall down I'm coming clean
Come Clean - Hilary Duff
Bella Swan
The rain slowed down about an hour after I arrived at the daycare centre, but I couldn't bring myself to drive in the rain with Madeleine in the car. It had been raining the night Renee and Charlie were hit by the lorry and even though it was unlikely, I didn't want to take any chances. So I sat, my sister asleep, once again, on my chest as I stared with a frown out the sliding glass doors at the drizzling rain.
I should move to Phoenix. It rains as much there as it doesn't here.
"Want a coffee?"
I looked up to see Alice – the volunteer and my client – looking at me, question in her eyes, "Tea? Water? We've got some juice boxes if you want some..."
I shook my head, "No thanks, Mrs Whitlock."
Alice rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, that makes me feel old. Just call me Alice."
I nodded, telling her I'd do so before turning my attention back to the rain outside. Puddles were forming and I really didn't like puddles. Especially not in heels and with an exciteable one year old.
Scowling slightly, I looked away when someone entered the sliding doors. This is, of course, until Alice began screeching like a banshee, waking up a now frightened Madeleine in the process. "Edward Anthony Cullen! It's about time you got here! What took you so long! I told you I had plans with Jasper tonight and you said you would babysit and pick up the kids at three thirty. It's ten past four. Wait until I tell mom!"
The guy, Edward, rolled his eyes, ruffling his hair. "Sorry, Alice, there was an emergency at the hospital and they wanted me in the OR. Acute appendicitis. You know, that thing that hurt so bad that you were practically crippled until you had your appendix taken out?" Guilt tripping. Ouch.
Maddie was beginning to cry from the shouting and I began to rock her back and forth, shushing her and beginning to hum Puff the Magical fucking Dragon again.
A little girl, around three, shouted across the room and began running towards Alice and her brother. "Daddy!"
He reached out for her and she lept into his arms. "Eva," he grinned, "Look at you all covered in paint!"
I looked away, the paternal act bringing back memories of a different time and place, where I was a little girl and my daddy was the light of my life. I held Maddie closer to me as she began to cry for her own daddy and, for the first time since they died, I cried with her.
"I'm sorry, Maddie," I whispered, "I'm sorry. Daddy can't come, I'm sorry." A sob escaped my lips, even though I was trying valiantly not to cry in front of Maddie. She screamed and I held her closer to me. Tears poured down both our cheeks and Madeleine was squirming to get out of my arms but I held tighter until she finally gave up, crying into my chest. I stared up at the ceiling, trying – and mostly failing – to regain my composure. Tears still poured from my eyes and my breathing was still uneven as I rubbed up and down Maddie's back with one hand, the other patting her bum, hoping the pattern would lull her back to sleep. It didn't. She actually cried herself to sleep, around the same time the rain finally stopped. With my sister a deadweight in my arms and the diaper bag on my shoulder, I somehow managed to make my way to the audi, dump the bag in the trunk and put Maddie in her car seat.
As I got back out of the back seat, I met the eyes of someone with green eyes and, examining his face, I realised it was that Edward guy, Alice's brother or something. I smiled softly and turned away, sliding into the car and starting the engine.
The house was empty when I got home: Maria had left and Rosalie was out getting wasted with her workmates. Bitch.
Dumping my briefcase and bag on the kitchen counter with the diaper bag, I carried Maddie upstairs and tucked her in, removing her little white shoes and dropping them into her closet.
Back in the kitchen, I moved my bag and briefcase into the study and began cleaning out the diaper bag.
When there was no more things to do, I made myself some dinner and camped out in front of the TV. The new season of NCIS had started on Monday night and I hadn't watched the episode yet. The rain had started again, this time with thunder and lightning, so I switched on the baby monitor and pulled a torch out of the cabinet under the fridge, placing it in the crease between the seat cushions, my phone on the side table on top of my laptop.
It kind of reminded me of the movie When A Stranger Calls and I found myself scrambling up into Maddie's room, briefcase, laptop, torch and phone in hand. I was such a tool. Either way, I had majority of the lights in the house on, Maddie's bedroom door was locked, as was her window and I was tucked safely in a corner away from the door, though insight of it, as well as the window and Maddie.
Opening my briefcase to try get my mind of stupid horror movies, I began planning defences for Jessica Stanley's court appearance, as well as catching up on some extra paperwork. When all my work was done, I opened my laptop, only to find that the internet had cut out. Damn.
Pursing my lips, I tapped my fingers on my leg, thinking of something to do. I was bored, there was no internet, I was too chicken shit to go grab a book and I had finished all my work. Deciding to play solitaire on my computer, I opened up the game and successfully managed to keep my mind occupied a solid five minutes and twenty seven seconds. Impressive.
It was nearing nine o'clock when a particularly loud clap of thunder woke Madeleine so I pulled her into my arms and held her.
I woke up again with my sister asleep against my chest. What the hell was the point of having a crib if she wasn't going to sleep in it? It was nearing six in the morning so, tucking her back into bed, I gathered my stuff and, stretching out the crick in my neck, I made my way downstairs into the study. Whereas the office at the firm, this was filled with a whole lot of personal decorations. Photos littered the wall amongst framed drawings and a paintet portrait of the family home Charlie grew up in. The walls were painted a coffee brown, the floors wood panelled and the study furniture mahogany. The window facing the side of Charlie's desk overlooked the backyard and the little kids playground he'd set up when I was four.
I wondered if Renee and Charlie had any idea what they were doing when they had me. They were eighteen, after all, and fresh out of high school and, no matter how many family planning classes they went through, I went through, it didn't prepare me for the real thing. Family Planning just ended up being a joke to my friends: who can make the doll cry the most before the "mom" gets sick of it. Needless to say, we all were failures as parents.
Rosalie came in, looking like the devil himself beat the shit out of her, with Maddie on her hip. The little girl held her hands out for me and I held her, still looking around the study and remembering.
"Remember Family Planning junior year of high school?"
Rosalie snorted. "Yes. I wish I'd actually paid attention now." She ran a hand through her hair and cringed. "I need soda and then a shower. Do we have soda?"
"There should be some," I replied, giving Maddie her pacifier when she started sucking her thumb. Sitting in Charlie's swivel chair, I began to spin slowly and then fast when madeleine started to giggle excitedly, clutching onto my shirt.
As I was making breakfast for Rosalie and I, the intercom buzzed.
"Who is it?"
"Isabella, this is Esme Cullen..."
"Oh! Hi, come right through," I interrupted her, pressing the button to open the front gates. Three minutes later, the doorbell rang and Rosalie answerred it. I wondered what Esme thought of her – the first time they met, Rosalie was drinking and now Rosalie looked like someone ran her over with a minivan.
"Hi Mrs Cullen, Bella's in the kitchen with maddie," Rosalie said, leading the way into the kitchen. Maddie was munching away on the cereal that I was feeding her between sips of my coffee.
"Hi Mrs Cullen, is there anything I can do for you?"
"As you are aware," she began, "I am the manager of Renee's design company now that she's passed away." I nodded: I did know that. "I was just hoping that you and I could go through some paperwork that needs to be filled out. I understand that you are busy with your father's offices and your sister, but if I could take a moment of your time, it would be greatly appreciated."
"Sure."
Rosalie took Maddie's spoon from my hands and hip checked me out of the way. Giving her an irritated look over my shoulder, I led Mrs Cullen into the formal dining room where we sat across from each other. Once the papers were signed and discussed, Esme and I had began to talk of new designs that she had come up with and, for the moment, it felt like I was with my own mother again, talking of the same thing.
"What do you think of stenciled patterns down a small strip of wall in a plain white bathroom?" Yes, definitely like a conversation I'd have with my own mother. "My daughter, Alice, she's just had a baby and hardly has time for much anymore, what with Noah and volunteering and babysitting Edward's – one of my sons – children."
"Alice Whitlock?"
She furrowed her brows, nodding. "You know her?"
I laughed. "She volunteers at maddie's daycare and is a client of mine."
"Small world, I say," she mused, smiling impishly. I nodded in agreement - it was a small world. "So have you met Edward? His children are at the daycare, Evangeline and Anthony."
"I haven't spoken to him, but I saw him yesterday," I replied truthfully, "But Alice was lecturing him."
Esme tutted disapprovingly at that. "I tell her all the time not to do that. Does she listen? No."
"Mom used to tell me not to bite my lip," I confessed, "And, to this day, I stil do it when I'm agitated. Soon you'll have no lip," I mimicked with a fond smile.
"Did you get along with her?"
"I got along with both my parents. I passed out when Billy told me what happened."
"Billy?"
"Family attorney and dad's, ah, my, business partner."
She nodded and we fell into a comfortable silence, both thinking of the same people. "She was a good friend of mine," she paused, "We'd spend most of our lunches together, chatting of anything and everything. Lovely woman, your mother."
Esme left after lunch, telling me that it was good to see me again and promising that she'll pass my hellos to Alice and her husband. When she was out of sight, I click shut the front door and headed into the living room where Rosalie was reading The Little Red Riding Hood to madeleine. Maddie reached out a pudgy hand, pointing to Little Red Riding Hood. "At's little wed widing hood!" She exclaimed.
"That's right, Maddie, can you see the big bad wolf?"
Maddie shook her head and Rosalie returned to reading, me watching them with a soft smile on my face.
Author's Note: Well that's that. Chapter four! Hope you enjoyed - and yes, Esme is nosy and interfering and the cliched mother.