The Man She Never Knew

Chapter Three: Meet the Cullen Clan

By the time we left the little diner, it took about twenty minutes to get to Carlisle's house. I wasn't really in the mood to talk anymore to Edward. Though I was able to recover quickly from Edwards's statement about Charlie, I was still confused. Charlie had never treated me with love and respect. He wasn't abusive or anything like that, he just treated me like I didn't exist. I know that I really had no right to complain, with children out there that parents did drugs, drank heavily, and beat the hell out of them, but I always thought that all children had the right to be loved.

I guess it was because I looked so much like my mother that he just couldn't stand it. I always felt as though he didn't want me there, but he never sent me to Renee and I knew that I would never ask to go. My father though he made me feel unloved, I had loved until the day he had died. I was there, at his side the night he was called to leave this world, and the last thing he had ever said to me wasn't asking for forgiveness, or to tell me that he loved me even though he was a rotten parent, it was to ask me to do him a favor.

~ Three Years Ago ~

I sat there staring at my father, dying before my eyes. Tears were streaming down my cheeks wishing that he would look at me. I knew it was asking a lot, but somewhere deep within my heart I guess the little girl that desperately needed her father was shining through, and I just wanted him to look at me and see me as his daughter, not the board that lived within his home for the last twenty-two years.

"Dad…" I said softly touching his hand. "Please, just look at me." My father never turned his head. "Charlie!" I exclaimed. "I'm your daughter, your own flesh and blood, and I am the only one that gives a damn whether you live or die. The least you can do is look at me just once!" I was sobbing openly. Why couldn't he just look at me, and see the pain that he was putting me through. Why couldn't he see that all I wanted, all I had ever wanted was for him to love me, and tell me that I was a good daughter just once, that he was proud of me? I didn't understand it, I wanted to, but I couldn't.

Charlie started coughing uncontrollably and my heart leapt knowing that the end was near. "Charlie, please, just this once, look at me, I mean really look at me. I'm your daughter, your flesh and blood, and you can't even tell me that you're proud of me, that you love me. What's so bad about me that you can't even see the person that I have become that you can't love me! I have done everything for you, perfect grades, didn't get into trouble, never drank, tried drugs, all I ever wanted was an 'I'm proud of you' or 'Good job on that test' Jesus, I would have even been ecstatic for just a thank you! All you have done, really ever done is treated me as your ward or maid and had as little to do with me as possible. Was I that terrible a daughter that you can't even stomach looking at me?" still the man said nothing, as if I wasn't even there in the room with him. "Damn it Father! Will you at least acknowledge my presence here!?" I screamed at him.

Finally, after it felt as though none of my words were heard, he looked at me. I mean really looked at me. I stood there with shock within my eyes waiting for him to say something. Finally he did. "Isabella, I want you to do something for me." There was a long pause as I stood there waiting to hear what it was that he wanted. "I want you to go and see…" he had stopped talking as another wave of coughing came. "Carlisle Cullen. He'll know who you… who you are… Carlisle Cullen, remember that name." I looked at him shocked. "Now get out of here." And with that Charlie went through another coughing fit, and then right there within moments, his eyes met mine, and he let out his breath, never taking another.

I stood there for a few minutes, staring at him laying there with no life left in his body, and allowed the last of my tears for the man that I grew up with to fall from my eyes. I promised myself then and there that I would never again allow myself to cry for this man, that he was not worth my tears ever again, and with a final goodbye to my father, I walked out of the room and allowed the doctor in to pronounce him dead.

~ Present Time ~

As we pulled up to this beautiful Victorian styled home, I tried to pull myself out of my memories of Charlie, and brace myself for this. I had only spoken to Carlisle on the phone, and the one memory I had of him was from childhood, so I didn't trust that he had still looked the same. I knew from conversations that he and I had that his wife's name was Esme, and they had three children. Emmet, who was the oldest, then Edward, the middle child, and their youngest was Alice. Alice was home for Christmas Vacation from college, this was her last year that she would have to attend.

Emmet had finished college seven years ago with a business degree, and owned his own auto-repair shop that he and his wife, Rosalie owned and operated. He had turned the small business into a high quality repair shop and though it was a little pricey, Carlisle assured me that his work was guaranteed and well worth it.

What I knew about Edward seemed to be much more than the others. He was classified as a gifted child at the age of three, child prodigy on the piano, and genius by second grade. He finished college at the age of sixteen, went to medical school and finished at the age of twenty where he was given a job right away and by the time he turned twenty-four he was promoted to chief of staff when his father stepped down. I knew without being told that Edward was his father's favorite, and though I didn't know him well, I could see why that was.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding when Edward parked his car and shut off the engine. He was looking at me strangely. I looked at him and sighed. "Are you going to get out of the car?" he asked me with a smile on his face.

I laughed, I couldn't help it. "That would be the smart thing to do, now wouldn't it."

Edward laughed and opened his door, stepped out and walked over to my side of the car. I still hadn't gotten out, and to be honest I was starting to question my sanity on why I finally decided to come here. When Charlie said that I needed to see Carlisle, I didn't want to do what he asked. He never gave me the one thing I had always wanted, why should I give him his dying wish? As I was debating this, Edward opened my door. "Come on Bella, time to enter the horrifying house of Cullen. I promise they won't be horrible, well, the most horrifying person in there hasn't arrived yet, but she's due in tonight. Beware of Alice, the woman will take you shopping within three days of you being here, and the only thing you are going to be able to think about once the two of you are done, is that you are going to want to soak your feet and cry in pain."

"Shopping can't be that bad." I said laughing.

Edward eyed me with worry. "Oh you'll see." He laughed. "I still suffer from nightmares of Alice and shopping. I'll make sure to stop by after your trip to make sure that you made it through."

I couldn't stop laughing at him. "No offence Edward, but you do realize that you are a guy, and most guys don't like shopping." We started walking towards the front door. As we started climbing the steps onto the front porch, the front door opened and a girl with black spiky hair with great fashion sense came flying through the door and launched herself into Edwards' arms, knocking him down the stairs where he landed on his back.

"Edward!" she exclaimed happily. "Where the hell have you been? Mom and Dad said that you were supposed to be here like an hour ago!" I was laughing so hard at the predicament that Edward found himself in that I didn't see the four others that entered onto the porch.

Edward pointed at me. "Bella was hungry, so we stopped by the diner near work and ate."

The girl that attacked Edward looked at me with a huge smile. "You're Charlie's daughter?" she asked.

I stared at her for a moment liking her already. "Yes, you must be Alice. I'm Bella Swan." I said walking over to her and extending my hand to help her off of her brother. "I've heard you're terrifying when it comes to shopping trips, so naturally I'm sure that's because Edward is a guy and doesn't know anything about a woman when it comes to a bargain."

Alice took my hand and smiled. "Are you a kindred spirit?" she asked me.

I laughed. "I don't mind shopping when I have the time. Part of the reason I came to Chicago, I hear they have some great shopping malls. I need some serious shopping therapy."

"We'll have to set up a shopping date in the next few days." She stated.

"As soon as I'm settled, we'll set it up." I agreed smiling.

"Oh dear god, we're in trouble." I heard a man say behind me. I turned and noticed four people standing on the porch. The older gentlemen walked down the stairs towards me.

He was taller than Edward by a few inches, with blonde hair with tinges of gray. He was attractive for an older man, and I could see that he had a boyish sort of quality to him. I instantly felt at ease near him. "Hello Isabella, it's nice to finally see you all grown up. I think the last and only time I ever saw you was when you were seven or eight."

"Six Carlisle." I stated. "It's nice to meet you as well, and I just want to thank you for inviting me into your home for the holidays."

""I'm just glad you finally accepted our invitation. I have waited a long time to meet you. Charlie always spoke highly of you."

I stared at him in disbelief. The topic of Charlie made me uncomfortable, and before I could make a comment about it, Edward came to my rescue. "Umm, Dad, how about you introduce Bella to the rest of the family?"

Carlisle and Edward shared a look between each other and Carlisle nodded. "My apologies Bella." He said with a calming smile. "Come meet the family."

We climbed the stairs and stood in front of the three others. Two women and a man stood there smiling at me. The older woman was beautiful, and I instantly saw where Edward got his looks from. She had beautiful brown hair that flowed down to the middle of her back, with bright caramel eyes, and a warming smile. The blonde woman had the look of a classic nineteen thirties model, long slender legs that reached to her nose, ice blue eyes that looked as if she had a secret that no one was allowed to know, but a warm smile on her face, and then the other man that had his arm wrapped around the blonde was a giant of a man with dark brown hair cut short, he reminded me of a giant bear, but not in a dangerous way. Before Carlisle was able to introduce me to them I took the lead. I turned towards the older woman. "Hello you must be Esme; it's a pleasure to meet you. Hello, you must be Rosalie, and you're Emmet. It is wonderful to meet you all, I'm Bella."

Emmet walked over to me and picked me up in a bear hug. "It's nice to meet you too! When Charlie would visit in the summers he would tell us about the crazy antics that you would do. Tripping down the stairs, blubbering the school play, when you fell in front of the whole school at your high school graduation, oh and the time"

"Emmet!" Edward exclaimed.

Emmet looked at him not understanding. "Well you were there you know." He said laughing.

"Yeah…" I said softly. How did they know all of this information about me? Charlie never said anything to me, and yet this family knew more about me then I knew of them.

"Why don't we go in and have some coffee. I'm sure you would like to rest and get settled before dinner." Esme said sweetly, and I couldn't help but smile.

"That would be nice, thank you." I said. I turned around to head back to Edwards car to get my bags when I saw that he already had them and was carrying them up towards the house for me. "Thank you, but you didn't have to get them I would have gotten them."

"I don't mind, really Bella." He said, and we walked into the house.