Chapter Six: Family

I was nervous to say the least.

I didn't know why. I was actually quite comfortable around Alice and Edward, but I wasn't used to a "family" environment. I didn't know how to act anymore. I did once when I was younger, but that was a long time ago. Things had changed immensely since then. I was no longer that girl.

And I wanted to look nice too. For once, I wanted to impress people. I really liked Alice and Edward, and I didn't want their parents to think less of me. So I went through my closet and pulled out my rarely used knit dress along with the black leggings. I let my hair down and let it tumble around my shoulders in its natural curls. After that, I put on some eyeliner and a little bit of clear lip gloss. I smiled into the mirror. Good enough.

As I was slipping on my shoes-just a pair of converses-I was surprised when the door opened. Charlie was home.

"Hey dad." I said, trying to smile at him.

"Shhhh. Do you have to yell?" He said in a whisper. Hungover. Of course.

"Sorry." I said quietly. "Uhh…I'm going to eat dinner at a friend's house. I'll be back later."

"Fine, it'll be nice and quiet without your chatter." He said gruffly as he flopped down on the couch.

I felt my eyes start watering as I looked down to check the time. 1:59. I only had a minute to suck it up, so I let a few tears fall before I demanded myself to get it under control. I couldn't let them see me like this. I just wanted to have a somewhat decent night.

I wiped the tears from my eyes as I heard a honk outside.

"Whoever that is, tell them to knock it the hell off!" Charlie yelled.

"Sorry dad." I said quietly. "I'm leaving. Love you."

"Yeah, whatever. Just be quiet."

I texted Alice, telling her I would be out in a moment. I ran into the kitchen really quick, getting a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin out of the cupboard. I brought it to where Charlie was laying and put it on the end table. Charlie peeked one eye out at me, squinting as he did so. He looked down at the stuff and grabbed it from me, not uttering a single thing. Dejected, I finally did leave the house.

I put on a happy face as I hopped into Alice's car. She smiled widely as I got in.

"Hi Bella!" She said happily. "I'm so so so happy you agreed to come today! My mom and dad are going to love you!"

I smiled as genuinely as I could. "I hope so."

"Don't you worry about it. I can already see that Esme will love you. They're both going to be happy enough to put a face to the name. I've told them a lot about you." She paused for a moment. "So has Edward."

I couldn't help that my heart leaped a little bit when she said that. He talked about me? At home? With his parents? "Good things, I hope?"

She laughed. "There are only good things to tell."

I rolled my eyes and laughed slightly.

The rest of the car ride was filled with Alice chattering and me filling in things occasionally when she left enough time for me to. She started down a curvy road that went over a small stream. I could see a clearing up ahead.

When we finally made it to the clearing, my breath caught in my throat. Their house was absolutely breath taking. It was huge and white. It looked like one of those mansions you would see in an old movie. I couldn't believe that they lived here…I couldn't believe a house like this even existed in Forks. I'd never been out this way.

Alice led me to the front door and opened it quickly, stepping inside. I followed right behind her and was even more stunned by the inside. It was very classy but modern. But most of all, it felt homey. Despite how beautiful everything was, you could tell it was lived in.

"Alice? Is that you?" I heard a feminine voice call.

"Yeah, mom! I've got Bella with me." Alice said back.

I watched as a beautiful woman approached us from what I assumed was the kitchen. She had hair down to her shoulders that was the same color as Edward's. Her eyes were a blue as blue as the sky and very warm.

"Hello, Bella. I'm Esme, Alice and Edward's mom. I've heard so much about you." She said with a warm smile. She extended her hand which I shook.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Cullen. Thank you for letting me join you for dinner." I said, smiling.

"Oh please, sweetie, call me Esme. And it's no trouble at all." She smiled again and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Now how about you two go set the table for me?" Esme asked, throwing her arms around each of our shoulders and heading towards the kitchen. "Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes."

"Ok, mom." Alice said. Alice handed me the silverware while she grabbed the plates. She then led me into a beautiful dining room with a glass table with black chairs surrounding it. I smiled at Alice as we set the table.

"Goodness, Alice, your house is beautiful."

She smiled. "Thanks. Esme designed it." She said proudly.

My eyes widened. "For real? That's incredible."

Alice nodded and looked like she was going to say something, but then she stopped. "Yeah, she did a great job."

I nodded. "That's an understatement."

It was quiet for a moment as we continued setting the table.

"What is this? My daughter is actually doing something? What a surprise."

I jumped slightly at the voice and turned around to see what the handsomest grown man I had ever seen. He was tall, pale and had blonde hair that was tamed into fashionable disarray.

"Oh, hush up, dad. I do plenty." Alice said with a pout.

"Keep telling yourself that." He teased back. He then looked at me, and I saw where Edward got his green eyes from. "And I assume this is the famous Bella?"

Alice nodded and smiled at me. "Yup. Bella, this is my dad Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Dad, this is my new friend Bella Swan."

Dr. Cullen walked over to me with a friendly smile on his face. "Nice to meet you Bella." He said as he shook my hand. "I've heard so much about you."

I smiled. "It's nice to meet you too, Dr. Cullen."

Just as Esme did, he smiled and said, "Please, call me Carlisle."

I smiled. "Okay, Carlisle."

He laughed. "So what, did they put you to work already?" He asked, nodding at the silverware in my hand.

Esme walked in then, carrying some kind of food in her hand. "Yes, we did. A little hard labor never hurt anyone." She said with a wink in my direction. "Welcome home, honey." Esme leaned up and kissed her husband on the cheek.

He smiled at her and took the bowl of food from her hands, setting it on top of a placemat Alice had put on the table.

As Esme and Carlisle took care of bringing in the rest of the food, Alice and I took our spots around the table.

"Edward!" I heard Carlisle call.

"Yeah?" He answered.

"Dinner is ready!"

"Ok! Coming!"

Carlisle walked into the dining room and smiled at me as he sat down at the head of the table. A few seconds later, Edward walked in.

"Hi, Bella!" He said with a smile. As usual, he looked breathtaking in his light blue dress shirt and his casual blue jeans. His hair was damp and darker than usual, showing that he just got out of the shower. He sat down in the chair across from me.

"Hi, Edward." I said softly, smiling shyly.

Alice smiled over at me. "By the way, Bella. I meant to tell you that you look amazing today. I really like that dress."

I blushed. "Thanks, Alice."

Esme walked in with the last of the meal and set it in the center. As all the bowls were un-lidded, I almost passed out by how wonderful everything looked and smelled. It had been so long since I had a home cooked meal that I hadn't cooked, and Esme's meal looked delicious. It consisted of ham that was perfectly cooked with pineapple on top, mashed potatoes that she had mashed herself, steamed vegetables, and apple sauce that she had apparently made herself.

"Shall we pray? Carlisle, would you say grace?" Esme asked.

"Of course."

Everyone around the table held hands, which required me to hold hands with Alice and Carlisle. He said a very nice grace, even thanking the Lord for my presence at the table. When he did so, he squeezed my hand gently. It felt nice being wanted and welcome.

After grace was said, we all dug in. During dinner, the conversation was nice and casual. It was nothing stressful, leaving me to enjoy what was turning out to be a lovely evening. Carlisle and Esme told me stories of Edward and Alice as younger kids, telling me all the embarrassing things they had done. And I couldn't help but laugh, and for once, it almost felt genuine.

After dinner, we all moved out to the living room where Esme served us dessert. It was a chocolate mousse type of thing. I wasn't sure exactly what it was, but it was delicious. At one point, I watched with wonder as Alice leaned her head on Esme's shoulder and, without thought it seemed, Esme reached up and stroked her daughters head lovingly. I couldn't help but wonder if my mother would be like that. If she would stroke my head when I leaned my head on her shoulder because I was tired. And then I felt such an intense longing for someone to hold me, that it almost scared me. I had accepted the fact that Renee wasn't coming back, but that didn't mean I was over the fact that I had no mother.

Sometimes I even wished that somehow, Charlie would meet a wonderful woman somewhere and that she would change him back into the Charlie I knew as a young girl, and then I could be happy again with a mother and a father. I knew it was farfetched and that the chances of my drunken father ever meeting someone was slim to none, but I couldn't help but wish.

"So, Bella. Where is your father tonight?" Carlisle asked curiously.

I shrugged, trying to play it off. "He just came back from some kind of convention or meeting in Port Angeles. He didn't feel too well when he got back, so he's at home resting." I lied flawlessly.

Carlisle nodded while Esme looked concerned. "Is he at these things a lot?" She asked.

I smiled a fake smile. "He goes to these a few times a month, but he also goes up fishing during the weekends with his friend Billy in La Push. He loves fishing." I said with a forced laugh.

Esme smiled. "Well if you ever want some company when he's away, we have a guest bedroom that you would be more than welcome to use."

"Thank you so much, Esme, but I wouldn't want to in-"

I was cut off when I heard a booming voice yell "Guess who's home!" from the foyer.

Esme lit up while Carlisle laughed.

"I haven't a clue." Edward said sarcastically.

Suddenly, there was a huge man in the doorway to the living room. He had brown hair which slightly resembled Edwards but minus the red. He was very muscular and quite intimidating.

"Heeeeeeere's Emmett!" He made a big scene with jazz hands. I smiled despite myself.

"What are you doing here, honey?" Esme asked as she went over to Emmett and gave him a big hug.

"I felt like coming home for the weekend." He said with a shrug. "Rose and Jasper are heading down here soon, too."

"Jasper's coming too?" Alice asked, jumping up.

"Shit! I wasn't supposed to mention that." Emmett said as he hugged Alice.

"Language, Emmett." Esme scolded with a smile on her face.

"Sorry, mom." Then Emmett seemed to notice the random person sitting in his house. "And who is this lovely young lady?" He asked as he walked closer to me.

Edward smiled as he patted his brothers back. "This is our new friend Bella. We met her at school on our first day."

Emmett smiled and held his hand out to me. "Nice to meet ya Bells. Can I call you that?" He asked as I shook his hand.

Again, I couldn't help but smile as I looked at him. I giggled as I said "Sure. And it's nice to meet you too."

He smiled at me and then walked over to his dad. "Padre! How's life?" He asked.

Carlisle hugged Emmett. "It's good, son. How are you doing? Are you behaving yourself?"

Emmett nodded. "As much as I can."

Carlisle laughed. "That's all I ask."

"Hello? Emmett?" We heard from the foyer.

I turned around and saw the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen in my entire life walk into the room along with an incredibly good looking blonde man.

"Jasper!" Alice yelled as she flung herself at him. He hugged her close and kissed her forehead.

"Hey there, darlin'." He said with a slight southern accent that made him more endearing.

The woman who I assumed was Rosalie walked over to Emmett and grabbed his hand squeezing it. Alice dragged Jasper farther into the room. He and Edward fist bumped once they were close enough.

"Well are you going to introduce us to your friend?" Rosalie asked, smiling at me.

Alice piped up. "This is my new friend Bella Swan. Bella, this is my boyfriend Jasper Hale and Emmett's girlfriend Rosalie Hale. And I'm sure you figured out by now that Jasper and Rosalie are siblings."

I smiled. "It's nice to meet you both."

Jasper smiled. "I've already heard so much about you, Bella. It feels like I already know you."

I smiled at him, not really sure what to say. I wasn't used to being surrounded by this much…attention.

Emmett threw his arm around my shoulder. "Yeah, Bells here and I go way back."

I blushed slightly as Rosalie laughed and rolled her eyes.

"On his behalf, Bella, I apologize." Rosalie said.

I smiled. "It's okay. No need to apologize."

I looked over at the clock that was hanging on the wall in the room and saw that it was 6 o'clock already. I wasn't sure how much longer I was allowed to stay, so I had planned to ask Alice when I got her alone for a minute. This evening had been so wonderful so far, I was afraid to see it end.

But it had to end. And Charlie decided to help it along.

My phone vibrated, and I looked down at it, cringing when I saw that it was Charlie.

"Excuse me for a moment. It's my father."

"Of course, sweetie." Esme said with a smile as she gathered up dessert dishes.

I walked out of the room quickly and went out the front door.

"Hello?"

"Isabella? It's your father." Ugh, I was so sick of that standard greeting.

"Hi dad. What's up?"

He coughed. "Where the hell are you?"

I sighed. "I told you when you got home. I went to my friend's house for dinner."

He grunted. "Well what am I supposed to do for dinner then?"

"I left you some food in the fridge. Just put it in the microwave for three minutes and it should be ready to eat."

"I want you to be home before seven, do you understand? You should have asked me first."

In the background, I distinctly heard the sound of him cracking open a can of beer. I suppressed the sob I felt coming up.

"Okay. I'll leave here soon."

"Good." He said, and then he hung up.

I had to calm myself down before I went back inside that house. I didn't want them to see me like this. I couldn't stand their pity. I knew that they would all eventually know about my mother ditching me, but no one knew about my father yet. And I wanted to keep it that way. I didn't want any more pity then I was already getting.

After a minute, I calmed myself down and walked back into the house. I could hear all the Cullen's in the living room along with the Hale's laughing at something Emmett had just said. I wished I could have a family like that. One that actually cared.

I walked back into the living room and stood in the doorway for a moment, admiring the scene that was set ahead of me.

"Have a seat, Bells!" Emmett said suddenly. "We don't bite."

I smiled at him. I didn't know if he could see it was a sad smile. "Actually, I just came into say that my dad wants me home, so I've got to go. Thank you so much for having me. And it was lovely meeting you all." I tried to smile more genuinely.

"It was lovely meeting you too!" Esme said. "Please, come back soon."

I smiled at her, not making any promises.

"Do you need a ride?" Alice asked.

"Uhh, no, it's fine. It's not that far of a walk." I said, backing up slowly.

"Nonsense!" Carlisle said, looking over at Edward. "Edward, give Bella a ride home."

"It's really okay, I don't want to-"

"You are not imposing." Edward said with a smile as he got up. "It's not a problem at all. I love driving."

I sighed. "Ok, thanks."

I waved once more at everyone as I followed Edward out the door. He led me to his shiny Volvo and opened the door for me again. I smiled to myself as I slid in.

After Edward got the car going and started heading down the serpent like driveway, I spoke.

"You have a great family, Edward. You're very blessed."

He smiled. "Thank you. I knew they would love you."

I smiled. "They are truly wonderful. Your mom is incredible."

I don't know why I suddenly felt the urge to tell him everything, but I wanted to. I wanted to tell him about my mother, about how she just up and left one day. I wanted to tell him about my alcoholic father and how I'm the only adult around in my household.

I don't know why I wanted to, but I just knew that I did. So I got the guts up and decided it was time to tell him about my mother.

"It makes me wonder if my mom would have been that incredible."

Edward didn't say anything for a moment. He just looked at me out of the corner of his eye. Then he leaned forward and turned the radio off, which had been playing quietly since we got in the car.

"What do you mean?" He asked quietly, though he didn't sound surprised.

I sighed. "My mother, Renee…well she left me and my father when I was a young girl. I was only in fifth grade. I just remember walking inside the house one day after school to see my dad sitting on the couch clutching a note. I asked him what was wrong, but he didn't say anything. He just put the note down on the coffee table, stood up, patted me on the head, and then walked into the kitchen. I grabbed the note, wondering what it said. And the words on it broke my heart." My voice started to falter, so I took a deep breath. "It said 'I can't do this anymore. I need my own life. I've met someone else. Keep the kid. I don't want to be a mother.'

"That note completely broke my heart. My mommy didn't want me. So to this day, part of me blames myself for her leaving. I don't know what I did, but I must have done something."

I stopped talking and looked over at Edward's face. We were pulling into my driveway by this point. He parked the car and then looked over at me.

There was no pity on his face as he spoke. "I am so sorry. That was a cruel thing for your mother to do."

I looked at him for a moment and knew there was something wrong. There was no shock on his face when I told him, as there had been on everyone else's faces when they found out.

"You knew." I accused.

He nodded. "Yes. I found out right before you walked into the diner this morning."

I was surprised that I felt no hostility towards him for knowing. I didn't care at this point who told him or why he didn't tell me that he knew sooner. All I was registering at this point was that he knew, and he didn't act any differently. He didn't show me any pity.

"Thank you." I said quietly.

This time, he looked shocked. "For what?"

I smiled. "For not acting any different and for not showing me pity. That's the last thing I want."

He smiled at me and in a sweet gesture, he reached out and grabbed my hand, giving it a squeeze. I was shocked by the electric like shock that passed through me. He felt it too. His eyes widened slightly and he looked up at me, smiling slightly.

"Huh." He mused.

I blushed. "Thank you for inviting me to dinner. I had a lovely time."

He squeezed my hand once more and then let go. "You're welcome. I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

I nodded. "Sounds good. Bye."

I got out of the car quickly then, remembering the real world that was waiting outside Edward's car. I knew Charlie was waiting inside the door, and my stomach turned at the thought of what was waiting for me.

I carefully put my key in the lock and unlocked the door. I opened it quietly in case Charlie was still sensitive to the noise. I peeked around the corner and saw him eating his dinner at the kitchen table while reading the newspaper. And, as per usual, there was an open beer bottle right next to his plate.

"I'm home, Dad." I said quietly.

He jumped slightly and turned around. "Good. Next time ask before you go out."

"Yes sir." I replied.

He got up slowly, grabbing his beer. "I'm going to go watch the rest of the game. Clean this up for me."

I sighed as I watched him walk past me without even glancing at me and walk into the living room. He turned the TV up, as if to tell me silently not to bother saying anything because he wouldn't listen. I sighed and walked into the kitchen, putting his dishes in the sink and letting them soak in the water. I cleaned up a few other small messes around the room that he had made and then walked out of the kitchen.

"I'm going to bed, dad. Goodnight."

He just looked over at me and then back at the table, taking a big swig of his beer.

As I started up the stairs, I lost my footing and came tumbling down from halfway up.

I yelped on the way down, landing on my back hard. Tears filled my eyes as I winced.

"Bella?" I heard Charlie say. He walked over to me quickly and began helping me up. "Are you okay?" he asked.

I looked up at him and for the moment, he was my dad. The dad that made me the sick island all those years ago. The dad that wasn't a drunk. A dad that acted like he loved me. His eyes were the same pure color blue they had been all those years ago.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm good." I said quietly.

He let go of me once I regained my balance. "Well, be more careful." He said gruffly. He then walked back over to the couch and took another swig of his beer. Drunken Charlie was back.

But at least now I knew that there was hope for Charlie. He was still in there somewhere. I just needed to figure out how to reach him again.