Bella:
Gotta make the most of this
Before they cut the lights
Show me lights, don't throw it away
One week later, I'm officially moving into my new house. Over the past week my switching of schools has been sorted out, and I was driven down to Forks. It's not too far from Seattle, but far enough that I'll be away from all the bad influences in my life.
Nurse Lake arranged for me to move into a house run by the Cullen Foundation, a house set up to look after 'troubled teens'. I'm nervous about meeting the other teenagers I'll be living with, but I'm so relieved to be away from my parents.
Dad is being held in jail, without bail, until his trial. Nurse Lake said I didn't need to give evidence, but I want to, anyway. I want to go to the court and watch him get sent down, get justice for what he did to me.
As for Mum…apparently she's fled to Florida.
My driver announces we've arrived, so I thank him and get out of my car. Just as I'm about to get my luggage he picks it up, carrying it to the front door for me.
"Thanks," I mumble as I knock on the door. I take in the appearance of the house, much bigger than my old house back in Seattle.
It's four stories high, with large windows and all white. From driving through the town, I've realised how small it is, so I wonder why they decided to set up here. In the middle of nowhere, it would seem.
"Ah, hello, we were expecting your arrival. You're Isabella Swan?" A man with blond, almost white hair says, as he smiles at me after he's opened the door. I guess he's the man who runs the place.
"Um, yeah. But, uh, could you not call me Isabella?" I request, hoping to be polite.
Nurse Lake has been speaking to me most of the past week, trying to make me more polite. Apparently I swear too much.
Whatever.
"Ok, well, I'll show you to your room, then. I hope you don't mind heights, you're on the top floor," the man tells me.
"Thanks," I say, following him through the large, posh house.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I never introduced myself. I'm Carlisle Cullen, owner of the house and director of surgery at Forks Hospital," Carlisle says, smiling gently at me.
I nod in response to his words and follow him up both flights of stairs, trying to remember my way around the house for later.
"How many other teenagers are living here?" I ask Carlisle. I haven't seen any other people on our walk.
"5. We have Rosalie, Angela, Jacob, Seth and Bree. Then there are my two children, Alice and Edward. They're twins," Carlisle explains to me.
That's a lot of moody teenagers in one house.
"How do you cope?" I joke as we arrive at what will now be my room.
"My wife and I happen to love kids," Carlisle chuckles back. "And this is your room."
I walk inside slowly and take in the furnishings. There's a large wardrobe and chest of draws, both in a light brown wood. The bed is a double bed, with white duvet covers and a bedside table, in matching wood.
I feel out of place in the clean, fancy room, sure that in a few days it will look like a bombsite.
"It's amazing," I tell Carlisle as my meagre amount of belongings are placed inside the room.
"I'm glad you like it. My wife, Esme, is an interior designer, so if you want to change anything, she'd be more than happy to help," Carlisle says to me.
"No, it's fine. I like it," I assure him, quickly taking off my shoes.
"Ok, I'll leave you to unpack now. We'll be having dinner at 6 in the dining room, which is on the bottom floor. One thing we ask for is for everyone to have dinner together," Carlisle informs me.
He leaves the room, then, so I begin unpacking. I notice a desk, as well, with a computer on it.
The Cullen's must be loaded…
I finish unpacking an hour later, and then don't know what to do. I'm not sure I want to meet the others yet, though I am curious about them. I know they're teenagers, but how old? Do any of the others have babies?
Probably not…
Eventually getting bored of sitting around in the room, I decide to go exploring. It's a big house; I figure it'll kill some time.
I make my way out of my bedroom and walk down the hallway, towards the stairs. I still don't see anyone, so I carry on down the stairs until I reach the ground floor. Hearing some voices from a room, I head towards the sound.
Entering the room, almost every face turns to look at me. I consider running away, but then they'd probably think I was crazy.
"Hey. You must be the new girl, Isabella," one girl says, smiling warmly. She has short black hair and green eyes, and she's sat on the sofa playing some kind of video game.
"Um, yeah. Who are you, exactly?" I reply, stepping a little further into the room. "And, uh, could you not call me Isabella?"
"Sure. How about Bella? That's cute. And it means beautiful in Italian, did you know that? Probably, most people do. Anyway, I think it suits you. Yeah, definitely suits you," the girl rambles. I'm a little overwhelmed. "I'm Alice. Carlisle's wonderful daughter," Alice says, grinning widely at me. "This here is Jacob and Seth," Alice points out.
Jacob has short, dark brown – almost black – hair, with tanned skin. He looks up at me and smiles. Seth looks fairly similar to Jacob, only a year or two younger. Both seem friendly enough.
"Carlisle hasn't told us much about you. How old are you?" Seth asks, smiling up at me.
"I'm 16. How old are you guys?" I ask them.
"I'm 13 and my brother is 15," Seth answers, jabbing Jacob.
"And I'm 16. You'll meet my twin brother, Edward, soon," Alice replies.
I nod and take a seat on the sofa, relatively far away from Alice. Not because I'm worried, just because I don't know her very well.
"And you'll meet Angela, Rosalie and Bree," Jacob adds.
"How old are they?" I ask, hoping to find out a bit more about the other people I'll soon be living with.
"Rosalie is 17, Angela is 15 and Bree is 14," Alice answers for me.
They go back to playing their video games and I watch, wondering if I should just come out and tell them I'm pregnant. They'll find out soon enough, anyway, when I start growing a bump.
In the end I don't tell them, and soon 6 comes around. We all make our way to the dining room – Alice shows me the way – and take our seats. I watch as three more girls and a boy join the table, taking their seats.
The one girl is tall, with long, straight blonde hair and vivid blue eyes. The most noticeable feature – well, the one I notice – is that she's sporting a large bump. I'd guess she's 7 or 8 months pregnant. She's very beautiful, as is the other girl. She's shorter, though, more like me in height. She has brown hair, cut to her shoulders, and green eyes. The other girl has black hair, tied back in a ponytail, and is wearing glasses.
Lastly, I look over to the boy. His hair is all over the place in an amazing bronzy colour, with the same green eyes as Alice. He must be her twin.
I must say, however, he is undoubtedly the most attractive man I've ever seen. So much more attractive than Riley.
"Everyone, this is Bella. Bella, this is Rosalie, Angela, Bree and my twin brother Edward," Alice points out to everyone, smiling widely.
I look over to Edward and smile at him, but he just ducks his head and sits down. Well, he attempts to. He sort of falls into his seat.
We all sit in silence for a while, with everyone passing glances over at me. I can tell they're all dying to ask why I've moved here, but none of them actually says anything.
"I'm pregnant, ok?" I suddenly blurt, just as Carlisle and a woman, whom I presume is Esme, walk into the room, carrying food.
I sink down in my chair and regret my words, since now everyone is just staring at me.
"We have homemade chips!" The woman announces, easing some of the tension. "I'm Esme, by the way."
The food is served to everyone, and Esme and Carlisle take their seats around the large table. As everyone digs in my previous words are momentarily forgotten. The food is amazing. So much better than I had before, and it's nice to not have to cook anymore.
I think first impressions have gone reasonably well. Now, though, I just have to deal with school in two days.
A/N: Thoughts on the Cullen's? :D
Review please :D
Lyrics: Show Me Lights by Friendly Fires