Two:First Impressions

The vampires trailed behind him, driven by both trust and inquisitiveness. They wished to know just what had their beloved Edward swimming in such enthusiasm.

If it were feasible for me anymore, I would have fainted. Their exquisiteness weakened me. Their skin gleamed like milk glass and their amber eyes shined like gems. They were, to put it simply, too beautiful.

First in tow was a tall distinguished fellow who seemed to be in his late twenties. He had a strong jaw line, as they all did, but a long and slender nose that complimented his face so marvelously and electric blonde hair that was slicked back to hug his scalp. Except for Edward, he was the only one smiling at me. The others remained expressionless in their approach, waiting to see if I was friend or foe.

Understandable.

Behind the first man, walked a somewhat shorter woman, but she was stunning all the same. Her curves were slight but pronounced in a chocolate brown dress of velvet. She had a nutmeg hue to her long straight hair, and she followed close to the man in front of her, affectionately holding his hand in hers. His love, I gathered.

I was rather shocked by the next fellow. His mass was undeniably intimidating. He looked like a linebacker for a very successful NFL team. If that were the case, he would have been the team's trusty secret weapon. Broad shoulders, broad chest, broad everything, really, but his face was young and gentle and wondering. In spite of his vast and menacing size, he appeared to be eager at the sight of me… like a child coming up to someone who could be a new playmate. He sent a large friendly grin my way when our eyes met, and I knew that I was going to like him.

Clasping the big one's hand and sauntering after him was quite possibly the most striking woman I have ever seen. Her long golden locks fell around her shoulders like satin curtains framing a window – a window that revealed glorious scenery. This scenery… was her face. It was youthful and supple, but angular. Her expression kept indifference, but there was something behind her eyes: fury. I could tell that she wasn't very fond of the prospect of meeting me.

And treading few steps behind the blonde was a young man that could have been her twin, and most likely was. He had coiled hair – the shade of fresh honey – and a mature demeanor. The structure of his face portrayed the notion that he had seen many things in his day and knew twice as much. He did not break eye contact with me once; he was focusing.

Alongside him danced a petite young lady with tiny, yet gorgeous, features. Her short cropped hair was black as the deepest part of night; even darker than mine, and it was poking out at all angles. The style seemed erratic, but very precise at the same time. She had a small face, but it did not take away from her magnificence. When she caught me surveying her as she passed in front of me, she gave me a bright smile, as if we had met before and this was a reunion rather than an introduction. I knew very well that this was our first meet because I was damn sure I would have remembered someone so visually pleasant.

After the pretty nymph came another beauty, moving very elegantly but unsurely. She didn't lock eyes with me, but instead, she kept her gaze on Edward, who was at my side now, waiting patiently for everyone to assemble. This woman, who I took to be Edward's wife, had long hair that descended in waves, the color of a majestic maple's bark, such a rich brown it was. I admired her navy blue blouse, accented with a modest pearl necklace.

Walking slowly and carefully beside her was a little girl; she looked to be four years old at the most, but at this point… what the hell did I know about age? Her profound eyes were the color of mocha and her hair fell in long bronze ringlets. I wanted to twirl one in my finger. When our stares met, she beamed hugely and displayed her tiny white teeth. How wonderful. As she stepped closer, not removing her hand from her mother's, I heard a fast-paced thumping, almost a fluttering. I didn't make anything of it- I didn't have the time… because within only moments, I had Edward's remarkable family standing before me.

Without letting him take it upon himself to introduce me, I reached my arm up and waved, struggling to piece a coherent sentence together. "Hello," I finally said, "my name is Adeline Bird."

Edward's arm went forward, gesturing to the half-circle of vampires in front of me. He motioned to the tall man with electric blonde hair and the impressive nose who was situated on the far left, "This is my father, Carlisle," Edward's hand moved slowly down the line to Carlisle's wife, "and my mother, Esme." He continued this and I came to learn all of their names. The big one with a tender face was Emmett, and the exceptional blonde at his side was Rosalie. The man who I supposed was her twin was named Jasper, and the sweet fairy on his arm was Alice. The woman with the child had moved to Edward's side, and he introduced the two as his wife and daughter, Bella and Renesmee.

I didn't know what to say at first, so I just gawked at them.

Carlisle started to speak, but I threw my hand up and stopped him before he could get anything out.

"Please," I commenced, "let me just say something. It is an immense pleasure to meet all of you. Actually, no… that's an understatement. I am just beside myself." I ran my hand along the top of my head apprehensively. "I don't think there are enough positive words in any spoken language to adequately convey just how… wonderful it is to be in your presence." The vampires looked at me warmly and listened. "I have gone three years totally convinced that I was alone in all of this. Aside from the one who turned me, I thought I was the only one of my kind – a freak, an anomaly, a monster among men… but now I see that I am not alone, that there are others like me and there is no reason for me to feel excluded from the world any longer." Esme pressed her palm against her chest. Carlisle smiled at me, and the others did the same, except for Rosalie. She scowled. I continued regardless. "Even if our association does not extend passed this very moment, I want to thank you. Thank you so much for showing me that I've been wrong all of these years. Thank you for shining light on me when I've been trapped in this darkness. Thank you for opening my eyes."

I'm not one for dramatic monologues, but I had to get that out, and I was proud that I did because the vampires, excluding Rosalie, looked as if they reacted to it very well.

"The pleasure is ours, Ms. Bird," Carlisle insisted.

"Please, call me Adeline."

He carried on, accepting my plea, "Adeline, I am sorry that you had to go on detached from anything in your life for so long. And I – we are all glad to know we've changed it for the better, even in this simple act. We are happy to meet you."

Rosalie snarled and the sound of it alarmed me. "Speak for yourself, Carlisle," she said.

Esme leaned forward and shot a glare at the blonde, reprimanding her, "Rose," she uttered authoritatively, "don't be rude to our new friend."

"Friend? Friend?" Rosalie was clearly aggravated now, so I took a cautionary step backward. "Am I the only one who sees the threat here? How can we be sure she is as harmless as you all think she is? She is a stranger, an outsider… a young vampire." She matched my step backward with one step forward, but kept talking to the others. "Do you recall how volatile young vampires are? Or has Bella's easy period of adjustment desensitized you?"

Each of them seemed to be growing impatient with her rambling, but Rosalie persisted, "Excuse me for being a little skeptical. I know she is the first 'vegetarian' vampire we've come across in some time, but I am not at all keen on the idea of just opening our arms to her."

The reality of her words pained me something fierce, but as I was just about to turn around, grab my bag, and run for the hills, I felt a foreign pressure on my arm. I turned to my right and Edward had reached his hand forward and placed it just above my elbow, attempting to persuade me to stay. His eyes were sincere and pleading and I couldn't deny them. So I changed my mind and held my ground as Rosalie kept at it.

"Am I the only one thinking of Renesmee's welfare here?" She leaned over and pulled the little girl into a protective embrace. "We should have left her home. How could we expose her to this… three year old?" The last few words were soaked in venom, and now – even though I appreciated her fear for the little one's safety – her words were thoroughly starting to irritate me.

After a short delay, a light flickered in my head as I forced two facts together: the fluttering noise coming from Renesmee's general direction and Rosalie's defensive stance.

"Renesmee?" I croaked out. "Renesmee is human?"

I inhaled now, checking the air for a sign. She smelled sweet, but not like any human I've ever known. The scent didn't intrigue me the way a human's did, and I found this significantly perplexing.

Emmett spoke now, "Half-human, half-vampire technically."

Baffled, I let my jaw hang close to the ground. What had I gotten myself into? Everything I thought I had a grip on in this lifetime had just flown away and exploded into bigger and more complex affairs.

Just as I began to ponder how much this paranormal world was too much for me, Rosalie hissed at her husband, "Don't engage her, Emmett!"

"Sheesh, Rose, I just answered a question," he retorted, "relax!"

"Yes, Rose, please do relax," Carlisle mentioned. "There is no danger here, not even for Nessie. Do you think Edward would have agreed to bring her if he wasn't absolutely certain?"

Calmer now, but still aggressive, she posed a rather logical thought, "Is there really a way to be 'absolutely certain' anymore?"

Her doubt and her suspicion of me were reasonable, but I still wanted to do everything in my capacity to make her comfortable. I wasn't going to settle for eight out of nine votes.

"Rosalie?" I said in a small voice.

She roared, "What?"

I felt another monologue coming on.

"I understand why you're worried," I told, "and I don't blame you. I also don't expect you to let up, but I want to say anyway that Renesmee's scent, as lovely as she is, holds no appeal to me. And even if it did, I've developed enough discipline in my life as a vampire–" that word was becoming easier to say as the seconds went by "–to fight such temptation. I guess that's hard to believe because evidently vampires as young as me don't learn to restrain the thirst so soon, but I am around humans constantly. We could even take this conversation to the middle of a crowded mall or a grocery store, and I assure you that my demeanor will not change. I will not hurt Renesmee. You have my most honest vow."

"Rose," Edward interjected, "she's telling the truth." I was touched to know that he had faith in me. "She has reined her urges in very well. And who's to say she doesn't have the same outstanding self control as Bella? Maybe it's not as uncommon as we once believed."

Carlisle moved forward, not out of belligerence, but out of zeal. His eyes burned with enthrallment, "And that's incredibly fascinating, by the way. You must tell me, if not all of us, the story of how you've become so cultivated so quickly."

I felt the muscles in my face contract as my mouth assumed the shape of a giant smile. "I would like that."

Rosalie snatched Renesmee's hand in hers and declared, "Well, I'm not staying for it. Come on, Nessie, let's go back to the house."

The little girl pulled away and ran to her mother, wrapping her arms around her upper thighs, "No," she opposed, "I want to stay here with Adeline."

If I had a working heart, it would have been dancing.

Rosalie rested her hands on her waist and fought for composure, "I don't think that would be best, sweetheart. Let's go."

"No," she argued and then turned her head up to Bella, beseeching her, "Mommy, can I please stay?"

Bella then looked to Edward and spoke for the first time, "That all depends, my angel, on what your father hears in Adeline's head."

Edward nodded to Renesmee and said, "You can stay." He then brought his attention to his wife and explained, "Adeline is true, Bella. No deception, no hostility."

Distracted, I concurred, nodding stupidly and proudly, "That's right."

My brain was functioning a lot slower that day than it had in three fucking years.

"Wait, what?!" I was shouting now, staring wildly at Edward. "What did she say? 'What you hear in my head'? What does that mean?"

My hysterics did not affect my new friends. A couple of them just shook their heads gently from side to side. I shut my eyes tightly, hoping it would help me to organize the calamity within me, and if I'm not mistaken, I think I heard a giggle come from Alice's lips.

I barely heard any of the discussion, but I believe it went something like this:

"You didn't tell her?" Carlisle finally asked.

"No, I didn't," Edward replied, "I thought it would be too much for her."

Esme spoke now. "That's rational, son, but it still would have been the right thing to do. Common courtesy, my dear, common courtesy."

Rosalie had apparently decided to stay a bit longer, because I heard her say, "This should be interesting."

This is where something inside me broke, "Would someone please tell me what on God's good green earth is going on?" I opened my eyes now to see eight vampires and one hybrid child staring at me intently.

Carlisle took charge and talked with such earnestness, I almost forgot that I had no fucking idea which way was up. "Adeline, sometimes… when a human changes into a vampire, he or she gains a special and unusual skill in the process."

I didn't have trouble with that part, but before I could elaborate to them, I turned to Edward and asked, "So, you can read minds?"

He nodded guiltily, ashamed that he had kept such a valuable piece of information from me, "Yes."

I snickered as I realized just how much that made sense. Before, when I thought he was just highly observant, he was actually listening to all of the things I was thinking. He had laughed at the pictures I painted in my head of what I guessed his family looked like, and instantly, I felt embarrassed that he had seen my foolish vision. "That explains a lot," I claimed.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"No, no," I put a hand up in protest, "that's alright. The topic didn't exactly come up, you know." I turned to the group of once-mythical creatures surrounding me, "Can all of you read minds too?"

The young man with the hair that was a gentle shade of honey, who I came to know as Jasper, shook his head in response. "No," he said to me, "that's just Edward, but some of us have other skills." He looked almost smug, and it tickled my curiosity.

Edward elucidated the specifics, "Alice can see the future, and Jasper can detect, as well as manipulate, someone's emotions."

I tried to remain humorous in the severity of the current situation. I looked to Alice and said, "So you are a walking crystal ball," then turned to Jasper, "and you are a walking pharmacy."

This brought on a soft wail of laughter among the collection of vampires, and Alice sang agreeably, "That's a way to put it, yes."

"Amazing," was all I could articulate.

Carlisle went on, which stunned me because I didn't think there was more to share, "Bella has the ability to shield herself and those around her from offensive powers that can attack the mind."

"When she wills," Edward divulged, "her mind is the only one I can't read."

He seemed rather frustrated by that.

"That's excellent," I said to Bella, "Ha-ha, I bet it comes in handy quite often."

She smiled at me and her teeth glimmered in the yielding light of the impending dusk. She then placed a loving hand on top of Renesmee's head.

At that moment, the little girl's face pinched inward and she pressed, "Don't forget about me, Grandpa!"

"How could I, Renesmee?" Carlisle wondered aloud. "You just may be the most special of us all."

I knelt down to the child's level and gave her a friendly grin, "What can you do, little one?"

Swollen with pride for his daughter, Edward answered my query even though it wasn't intended for him, "She can project her thoughts right into your head."

"I don't understand."

Esme shifted her weight from one leg to the other, not out of necessity but most likely out of habit, and said, "It is rather difficult to explain without demonstrating."

"I could show you," little Renesmee stated, shining from all the attention, "but I would have to touch you."

I thought about this for a moment.

"Well, it's okay with me, petite fille, as long as it's okay with your mommy and daddy."

She then looked up to her mother imploringly and without another word, Bella scooped her up in her arms and brought her towards me. I couldn't contain my exhilaration; I think I was bouncing in my shoes – so curious of the child's skill.

I heard a breathe catch in Rosalie's throat when Bella approached me.

Jesus Christ, I thought quickly to myself as I stood upright, calm your fucking pants. It's not like I would do anything to the kid while I was completely surrounded by eight other vampires. Give me some fucking credit. I may be young, but I'm not an idiot.

A small snicker escaped from Edward, and at once I knew it was because of my inner rumination.

If I could have blushed, I had no doubt that it's what I would have done at that very second.

Bella then stood before me, Renesmee resting comfortably in her arms, as if they were specially carved just for her, and the child gazed at me, awaiting a signal of some sort.

I just nodded. The ball was then in her court.

She reached forward slowly, and I shut my eyes tightly, allowing the heat of her skin to radiate right into me. She then laid her warm and dainty hand onto my cheek, and I gasped at what I saw.

As if it had come on a screen that descended from the heavens, I saw an image of Edward in a large, brightly lit room. His hair wasn't as messy, and he was dressed in a white suit shirt, rather than a gray tee. He was grinning widely at me and then I realized we were spinning, because the background moved in a tornado-like motion around us.

I pulled away, utterly dumbfounded.

"What was that?"

"She showed you a memory, Adeline," Edward said, and I sensed the glee in his tone.

I wanted more. I wanted to see more of this child's life, her memories, her dreams, and every thought that she had to offer. So I leaned forward again, begging mutely for another dose of her mind.

She giggled, flattered by my eagerness, and I shut my eyes before she held her hand against my cheek again.

It was a different vision this time, but it was of the same subject: her father. He was seated at a grand piano, his fingers stroking against the ivory keys. He looked up at me and his face flooded with so much love that I thought my heart was going to burst – it was then that I grasped that she was showing me images from her point of view.

The scene gradually changed, bleeding into something darker now. I was outside, under the mild gleam of night stars and shelter of the high forest trees, perched on a log by the river. A few yards off to the side were Bella and Edward; they were sharing a spot on a large rock adjacent to the river bank and Bella's feet were kicking gently in the flowing water. Edward had his arm draped around her and they were sniggering together, joyously lost in a good time… in their everlasting passion.

Another picture seeped across my eyelids, replacing the previous sight, and this one in particular had me mystified.

It was a visualization of Renesmee and me together, walking side-by-side and hand-in-hand down a path in the woods. We seemed to be laughing boisterously beneath the cloud-swathed sky, skipping the day away, and taking deep pleasure in each other's company. In the vision, I lifted Renesmee in my arms and we spun with abandon and overpowering elation. The pretty twists of her hair danced freely in the breeze as she held her head back, tittering without inhibition. I saw a huge smile on my face as I twirled with her in my safe grip. We stopped revolving and then just stood there, hugging one another.

And then the sight was gone.

I opened my eyes to see the jovial face of Miss Renesmee Cullen.

"That last one…" I said to her, "what was that last one? That couldn't have been a memory."

She shook her head and her curls followed suit, "It wasn't. It's just something I want to happen."

Renesmee fidgeted in her mother's arms, and then began to slide downward as Bella loosened her hold in accord. Within a fraction of a second, la petite fille was looking up at me, grinning. Hoping.

Well, I thought, at least I know I made one friend out of all of this.

"Two," Edward marked, nudging his elbow into me playfully.

I turned to him and nodded. That was going to take some getting used to.

Two.

I saw Emmett's brow crush into itself, "Two what?"

Edward shook it off, "Nothing."

I bent at my knees and crouched in front of Renesmee so that we were at the same height, "That is a tremendous gift, ma belle fille, you have an amazing talent." I stood up and addressed the rest of the vampires, ultimately deciding to be completely honest, "All of you do. And, because you shared your skills with me, I feel relieved… I feel like this has all been made easier."

Jasper was the first to question me, "What do you mean?"

I welcomed the silence as I paused to think of my own gift.

Just as I knew he would, Edward abruptly broke out into a sharp guffaw, "Oh my!"

Alice beamed knowingly as the others rested confused.

"What?" Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper asked in unison. It pleased me to think I piqued even Rosalie.

Edward's chortles began to dwindle, "Adeline, you've been holding out on me."

"On us," Alice corrected.

Esme could not take the suspense. "What are you two talking about?"

"It seems," Edward illustrated, "that Adeline here has a power of her own, and it's rather fantastic."

Carlisle tensed in a rigorous thrill, "Really? What is it, Adeline?"

"I think it would be better to show you."

Taking a step back, I surveyed my environment as the vampires waited patiently for a manifestation of my skill. My eyes then settled on a rhododendron bush growing alone at the base of a tall tree standing at the east of us. I focused on one individual flower, the fullest of them all, and reached my hand to its direction – something I did more for effect than requirement. Almost immediately subsequent to my locked gaze, the flower shook on the tiny branch, leaves rustled, and as I planned, it broke free from the bush. I felt the vampires watch it carefully.

As I moved my hand toward the group, the flower followed, floating gingerly through the air.

The family's captivation felt foreign to me, since I had grown accustomed to this "skill" of mine. In time, it became natural to me, regular and unimpressive. I liked the feeling of vicariously taking their awe as my own.

Soon, I had the flower suspended right in front of little Renesmee, and her sight was fastened securely to it, as were everyone else's. The child then put her hand forward and clutched the flower, still staring at it. I turned my palm to face the sky, curled my fingers inward, and then I flicked them outward (for effect, of course, because really, the control was all in my mind) and at once, the flower exploded and each pink petal flew into Renesmee's face and hair. She squealed noisily in delight and then she applauded me.

Carlisle was the first to advance. He picked one of the rhododendron petals from his granddaughter's hair and held it between his cold fingers, eyeing it as if it were a rare gem. I can't tell you how much that gratified me.

I assessed each pale face in my presence. Aside from Rosalie's, which had taken on strict apathy, they all looked shocked, but totally rapt.

Emmett startled the group with his sudden roar of, "That is freakin' awesome!"

"That," Carlisle choked out, pushing aside Emmett's howl, "is unlike anything I've ever seen."

"Telekinesis," Esme added. "That is quite extraordinary."

I took the chance to apologize to Edward, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

He nudged my side again, "Hey… it didn't exactly come up, did it?"

Snickering, I nodded at him.

Jasper inched forward now, wonder written all over his expression.

"Does your power have any restrictions?" he asked me.

What does he mean by 'restrictions'?

"Like size or quantity or even distance," Edward clarified.

Oh. "Oh," I said, "no… I haven't found any restrictions yet."

"You can control more than one object at once?" Carlisle inquired.

Although I was enjoying everyone's growing curiosity, I was becoming hesitant. I was torn. I didn't want to scare them away… but I felt that I owed them honesty.

I didn't put my response into words. I decided to show them again, perhaps out of conceit rather than the desire for aggregate truth. Without making pointless use of my arms this time, I focused my concentration – still with my eyes set on Carlisle's – on several broken twigs resting at our feet, six twigs to be precise. They drifted upward, claiming different exact altitudes, but still essentially hovering at waist height. They resembled feathers in their lack of density, but instead of falling gracefully to the forest floor, they hung in the air.

I heard many breaths catch in many throats at that, but the sound of Carlisle's was much more distinct than the others. Our gazes were locked onto each others, but I still saw his lips move, "You don't have to look at the object to move it?"

I shut my eyes then, but the twigs remained, motionless in their positions.

"Astounding," Esme declared.

Then, I allowed the twigs to rise higher in the air, still with my eyes closed. And at the very millisecond I willed them to fall back to the green floor, they did, making a soft crunching sound against the dead leaves.

I opened my eyes to scan the string of transfixed vampires.

Rosalie nodded at me once and said, "That is pretty… cool."

Fuck yes, she's coming around, I thought.

Alice then proposed an interesting subject, "What's the largest thing you've ever moved?"

A building, I recollected to myself, in New York City. An old warehouse that caught fire.

The scene reappeared in my mind without my permission; a worn brick building engulfed in angry red flames, each block coming loose from the top and plummeting to smash into the pavement below, waves of destruction just rippling down to the foundation. Cement slabs turned free, beams broke, metal warped, and it was falling apart in front of my very eyes. Fire trucks and police cruisers and ambulances surrounded the perimeter. Eager rays of water flew out of the tips of several hoses, fighting the fire away, trying so very devotedly to kill it, to keep it from spreading and infecting, to keep it from annihilating the structure. I heard voices coming from the fourth floor, the fourth out of six. They were so scared, screaming wildly… but no one else heard them over the sirens and the crumbling and the water pressure. No one knew they were in there. The building was condemned after all, and it only had seconds left before it was to dismantle completely and crush the poor people inside.

I remembered the uncertainty, my insecurity in myself. I remembered trying, focusing, pulling in my gift to give it my all, my everything. I remembered, after a few attempts, the way it just stopped moving. The bricks had stopped dropping and the cement stopped collapsing. For few minutes, I had managed to sheath the building in what felt like a protective barrier, a drape, that helped it keep it shape just long enough for the three college students to rush through an emergency staircase and escape into the safety of the panic-stricken night. And just when I saw that everyone was a good distance away from the breaking warehouse, I let go of my grip on it. I let reclaim its course and destroy the tired remnants.

Edward, no doubt, had seen the recollection in my head, but before he had the chance to react, I answered Alice's question, "A train six cars long. When I was in Nevada, I found an abandoned train sitting dead on the tracks. No one was around for miles, so I experimented a little. I had it up seventy-four feet before I grew worrisome of getting caught. That's the biggest object I've lifted."

I stole a look at Edward. I would have told them about the building, but I didn't want to brag.

He nodded at me, and I knew he understood.

"Astounding," Carlisle said again. "Can you do the same to yourself?"

"Can I make myself fly, you mean?"

"Yes."

I laughed then, the ridiculousness of this conversation finally sinking in, but I replied anyway, "That's my preferred mode of transportation."

"You can fly?!" Emmett exclaimed then, astonishment overpowering his face.

I bobbed my head once in confirmation.

"That is frickin' sweet; I've gotta shake your hand."

"What?" Rosalie blurted, glaring at her lover.

"Can I shake your hand?" Emmett respectfully requested, ignoring his wife's opposition.

"Um, sure you can."

He walked forward at my consent, with his hand craned in my direction.

I grabbed it in mine once it was accessible and I twitched at the warmth. Of course his skin wouldn't feel cold to me… he and I, and the others, were the same temperature. His grip was strong but friendly, and he shook my hand as promised.

"It's a fucking treat to meet you, Adeline," he pushed out through a wide and earnest grin.

"Mind your manners." Esme chided him. "How could you swear in front of the lady?"

"It's alright," I assured her, "I can take it." I then spoke to the large fellow clutching my hand in his, reciprocating his mannerism. "It's a real fucking pleasure, Emmett."

He released his clasp and threw his head back in a throaty cackle. Then he asserted, "I like you."

"Adeline," Esme chimed. "Before we came out here, Edward explained to us that you are without a home."

"By choice," Edward included. He knew that if he didn't add those two words, I would have done it myself.

"Right," she said, "so you are, my dear, a sort of nomad?"

"I think 'drifter' has a better ring to it," I shared, lightheartedly, even though it was the truth.

"When was the last time you had a hot bath?"

Sheepishly, I revealed, "Four days ago."

Emmett chortled and took it upon himself to tease me, "So that's what that smell is."

"Good one. You should do stand-up," I retorted. Then I spoke to Esme as Emmett stood there laughing, "I had just finished hunting when Edward found me. I had planned on getting a hotel room somewhere nearby so that I could shower and do laundry." I kicked the canvas duffle bag at my feet.

"A hotel room? Oh my, we can't have that."

"No we cannot," Carlisle affirmed sternly, yet sweetly. "We would like to invite you to our home, where you can freshen up."

Beginning to protest their hospitality, I lifted my hands, palms outward, and said, "I don't think…"

"Please." Esme insisted with vivid charity in her eyes, "It's the least that we can do."

"And then after you're all cleaned up and comfortable," Carlisle continued, full of hope, "you can tell us your story."

I felt a massive smile stretch across my face, and I urged it even wider. How had I become so lucky to meet these fascinating and generous people? I must have done something right in my time on this earth.

"Okay," I accepted their offer. "Thank you very much."

And without another word, I hoisted my bag onto my shoulder and began to follow them through the thick weave of the forest, leaving my initial reservations behind.