Recap:
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a velvety voice told me and it did not belong to Alice. I turned around slowly and just about fainted at the sight before me.
It was Edward Masen, apparently in the flesh, standing in my bedroom.
Needless to say, I gasped loudly, my hand flying up to my chest. I wondered if I was hallucinating, but quickly ruled that out because I felt just fine – but there was definitely a man standing in my room, one who was supposed to be dead.
He was grinning at me, probably from my reaction, but he made no other move and did not speak again. Well, looks like I'm going to have to say something – though now that he was standing in front of me I found it extremely hard to talk – not just because of the dead-guy thing, but more, embarrassingly, because there was an extremely hot guy in my room – those same piercing green eyes having an alluring effect on me…I was at a loss for words, so when I did manage to come up with a sentence, I stuttered like a child.
"E-excuse me?" The man gave a soft, velvety chuckle. "Wh-what's so funny?" I asked defiantly, crossing my arms. Though it was an attempt to look tough, it didn't quite come across correctly because I was still hunched over and withdrawn.
"You are," the man said, grinning. "I said I wouldn't move that portrait if I were you," he continued, his face becoming more severe. I felt myself take a step back.
"Why?" I asked, glad to be rid of the stutter – now I was less afraid and more curious – the shock of seeing him was wearing off as he continued to remain where he was – he could have been a shadow. He merely shook his head and turned, folding himself back into the dark recesses of the room. I stood still for a moment, waiting for something to happen, but when nothing did, I took a hesitant step into the room. Nothing. So I went further, looking around, but he was no longer present.
"Great! Just drop by any time you feel like it and then disappear without any explanations! You big coward!" My words came more from frustration and fear than from truthfulness, but I was only made more defiant when I heard his soft chuckle echo throughout the room. Without anything else to look at in terms of direction I simply turned to look at his portrait.
"If you're still here, I would kindly ask you to leave this room – I'm trying to sleep and I would like my privacy! I promise I won't move the darn picture!" I waited, and after a short minute I took the silence as compliance. I huffed and turned back to my sleeping bag, sinking down and pulling the covers tightly around my frame.
Even though there was no other noise I still couldn't get to sleep – just the thought of him possibly lurking somewhere, watching me, made me fearful of closing my eyes.
I had been prepared to admit the house haunted, in fact I was aware of some of the strangeness of it – but still, to have my beliefs confirmed was slightly unnerving – and unexpected. I hadn't thought that a full corporeal ghost would appear in my room and speak to me! Still, though some would take this event as incentive to hightail it out of there, I was determined to stand my ground. It had been apparent by the realtor's reluctance to sell me the house that this ghost had been used to getting his way up to this point – there probably were countless other buyers who had been laughed, windswept, and scared out of the house but I was decidedly not going to let that happen to me. I liked the house – it suited me for strange, but comforting reasons, and I wasn't about to give it up because some spoiled brat-of-a-ghost was not into sharing.
With those thoughts in mind, I decided that I didn't care if he was still in the room, I was going to get the sleep I deserved. I had one clear thought before I drifted off to sleep, though: I decided that tomorrow I would find out more about Edward Masen and his life. If I was going to share this house with a would-be ghost, I was going to know as much as I could about him. I would tell Alice that I needed to go into town and let her go wander wherever she wished while I'd talk to some of the locals. According to the realtor, Edward hadn't died that long ago. Surely there were still some people around that knew him or at least knew about him. And they were going to tell me everything they knew.
***
"I'll meet you back here in an hour, alright?"
"Sure thing, Bella. Oh – and what size shoe are you again?" I rolled my eyes and watched as Alice made her way to one of the only clothes stores in all of Forks. I knew she had plans to buy more clothes for me – or at least, buy materials to make more clothes for me. Once a fashion designer, always a fashion designer.
I had awoken this morning with a suspicion that I was being watched. I jumped out of my sleeping bag only to be tangled in the blankets which led to an embarrassing fall resulting in me bruising my butt. My suspicions were confirmed, however, when that same velvety chuckle echoed throughout the room. I had quickly gotten up and glared at the portrait before stalking out of the room to change in another part of the house.
Alice had jumped at my idea of going into town – she was particularly happy that it had been my idea.
"Oh Bella! It's so nice to see that you're taking an initiative!" she had exclaimed. I had merely shaken my head at her enthusiasm.
My plan for today was two-pronged. I was going to find out more about Edward Masen – that was the central plan. The lesser plan was to find a job, which I sorely needed if I was to keep living at Edward's house.
I made my way quickly down the main street, my eyes scanning the various shops and pizza parlors. Deciding to start at the end and work my way back, I quickly stepped into a tiny little shoppe full of knitting needles, yarn, and sewing kits. An older woman with gold-rimmed glasses propped at the end of her nose was perched on a wooden stool behind a glass counter displaying hundreds of buttons. She looked up at the tinkling of the bell that was stirred when I had opened the door.
"Why hello there," she greeted me with her granny voice – it was oddly comforting, like she had been waiting for me to arrive and was so glad I was there. I began to feel a bit homesick, but quickly shrugged that off and focused on the task at hand.
"Hi," I replied, making my way towards the counter.
"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked, setting down her knitting.
"Uh yes, actually…I just moved here and –"
"Oh yes, you bought the Masen mansion, didn't you?" she interrupted, her voice sounding a bit more suspicious now. She eyed me as if I were a bomb waiting to go off.
"Y-yes, I did…Actually, I was wondering if you knew Edward Masen?" She jumped and nearly fell off the stool. I started forward to help her but she waved me away.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean –"
"No, no, dear, it's quite alright…Yes, I did know that young man…" She was now refusing to look at me.
"Oh, well, I was wondering if you could tell me a little about him…The realtor said he built that house. I just want to know a little more about him as a person," I explained. The woman's eyes flashed to mine before looking away again quickly.
"Well, dear, I'm not sure you really want to know about that unfortunate gentleman…You see…he was quite the loner, that one…Very smart, though, skipped several grades…He was a doctor, among other things…He designed and built the house and he lived there alone…Never married…died alone…Or, well…He committed suicide." She whispered the last sentence, looking stricken. I felt my eyes widen. That mysterious, green-eyed beauty took his own life? I could barely believe it.
"R-really?" I gasped.
"Oh yes, he did indeed. They found his body in the bedroom – the windows were bordered up and the gas had been turned on…"
"Oh my goodness!" I found it rather shocking that Edward could possibly have wanted to kill himself…He seemed much to stuck up and spoiled to have killed himself…The woman, however, didn't seem to think much of him. She turned her nose up in distain. I was slightly ticked off at her judgments but I tamped down my annoyance in order to keep the info flowing.
"Did he have any family?" I asked and the woman laughed – scornfully, I might add.
"If he did, he sure didn't care enough to let the visit – They probably didn't even know where he was living. He came here when he was only 18, and died not five years after. He was highly snooty, highly self-absorbed, and he died alone – That is all I know," she finished, picking up her knitting and making it through another row.
"Oh, well…thank you for…enlightening me…I'll be going, then." She didn't make a sign that she cared or had anything else to say, so I simply turned and left the shoppe. Thinking back on it now, it was rather musty in there and she was rather more on the creepy side as grandmothers go.
I continued my journey down the block but got no new information. All anyone every knew about Edward was that he preferred seclusion and had no interest in making friends with anyone – and that he was pretty much a genius. It made feeling sorry for him slightly difficult, considering he was so stuck up and had the knowledge to be aware of his own superiority and took pleasure in it.
Sighing, I entered the last shop on the street – the one lone bookstore in all of Forks. It was sparse, that's for sure, I decided as I looked around. There were a few bookshelves here and there, the walls lined with shelves, and one tiny looking counter. When I entered, an older looking man appeared round one of the bookshelves.
"Good morning!" he greeted cheerily, approaching the small counter and placing down a stack of books. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Uh…" I thought about asking him if he knew anything, but quickly decided against it. It didn't matter – I'd gotten enough information already. It was time for plan number two. "No, no really…That is unless you by any chance happen to need an unqualified assistant who has absolutely no retail experience and is desperate to find a job soon before her taxes arrive in the mail," I babbled, not expecting anything to come of it. The man looked at me kindly and I wondered if he understood anything I'd said.
"Oh, why, I do happen to be in need of a shelver…an assistant, if you will…Does that sound like it would be suitable?" he asked, smiling.
"Um…yeah…If that job doesn't require any skills as I mentioned before," I added, still staving off the rising hope in my chest.
"Absolutely none," he replied genially.
"When can I start?" I asked enthusiastically and he chuckled.
"Good. My name's Charlie, by the way, and you can start whenever you're ready. The job pays well enough, we open at eight a.m. and close at five. Does that sound alright?"
"Yes, I'll be here at 8:00 tomorrow! I'm Bella." I offered my hand. He shook it enthusiastically.
"Welcome aboard, Bella. I'll see you tomorrow and we'll get you started." I felt a wave of relief wash over me. After leaving the shop, I felt like all my problems were solved…all except for the haunted house thing, but I was still happy.
When I arrived at the meeting place, Alice was already there, accompanied by the blonde man from last night and a pile of shopping bags. She was talking animatedly with the man and he seemed genuinely interested, although much calmer. Alice jumped with excitement when she spotted me.
"Bella! Bella, hey, remember Jasper? We met him last night! He and I ran into each other on the street and he's been keeping me company. Jasper, this is Bella, remember?"
"It's nice to meet you again, Bella," Jasper greeted me, his voice even and smooth. I was amazed at the strength of his nerves – he'd been around Alice for a while now and he was still steady. It was impressive.
"So, Bella, did you get a job?" Alice asked. I smiled. "Oh yay Bella! I'm so happy for you!" she squealed and quickly pulled me into a bone-crunching hug. For such a small person, she was incredibly strong.
"Congratulations, Bella," Jasper told me quietly. I smiled and thanked him.
"So, are we ready to head back?" I asked but Alice seemed like she had other plans.
"Actually, Bella, Jasper and I have dinner plans. I'll meet you back at the house later, okay?" I merely shrugged, not surprised. Leave it to Alice to get a date with hardly any effort. I was just glad that I'd have some alone time at the house. Maybe now I could coax the ghost out and set down some ground rules.
So with a quick goodbye to Alice, I got in my truck and headed home, anticipation rolling in my stomach.