Hey guys, its Glitter! So I'm pretty happy. 'Pretty' because my sister was just in a car accident. Now, the reviews you guys left me, blew me out of the water, by the third day, 18. I LOVE YOU GUYS. The first batch, I started crying. Yeah, I'm a bit of a softy. The second, I smiled. The third, I laughed. Hard. You guys really want an update, for all my stories. So right now, this and Three's a Family will be updated. Not hundred percent sure on AIDS.
So right now, I'm loading all my back up files onto this computer and getting some half chapters back. I have the next chapter of Three's a Family ready and it will be VERY long. Working on others too.
Breaking Dawn has started shooting! Kristen Stewart in a bikini! Boo-ya!
Yes, I'm a Krisbian. Follow my Twitter and you will really get it… /bitch4kstew
So, on to the chapter. I know you guys are glad to have your babe back ;)
Okay, meet me at the bottom.
From the kitchen I heard the front door open and my stomach flip-flopped in response. The female voice was gently aged with an evident smile.
"I'm home!"
Was that Mrs. Cullen? My heart beat pumped faster, rushing blood to my face before it vanished and I felt pale. Had I not been in the company of three little girls, I probably would have dashed upstairs or outside. I even got a mental visual of hiding myself in a closet. Should I go downstairs to find Edward or Carlisle? Do I stay here and meet her on my own? Or do I just take a deep breath and realize I'm aloud to be here?
What would she think of me?
I never worried about what Carlisle thought of me, even from the beginning, because the introductions went smoothly. I didn't exactly doubt this being rough but it was the terms it was based on. The reason I was here at the Cullen residence wasn't similar to having a sick child. The female voice continued to shout "hello's" with clearly no avail. There were sounds of plastic rustling and footsteps. Hells? High heels? I knew my plan to hid in the closet was a fail when Emma started replying to the voice.
The click-clock got closer until a woman rounded the corner. She instantly reminded me of Eva Longoria, minus the intense eyebrows and eyes. She was so pretty. Her shiny caramel hair hung down in waves and by the vibrancy, I'd say she dyed it regularly. She wore gray speckle leggings with a gray and white wrap sweater. Stylish too. Beautiful and stylish. As much as I'd always hated Jessica she had always been very pretty, though she did not even measure up to this woman.
I felt…jealous.
"Oh, hello there," she said, clearly shocked. She slowly set the bags down on the counter, her eyes never leaving us clustered around the table. "I'm Mrs. Cullen, are you a friend of Alice's?"
After a second I finally found my voice. "Um, no, I'm a friend of…Edward's," I replied hesitantly.
Mrs. Cullen's eyebrows raised in surprise again, and I felt my face flush. "Are you Isabella Swan?" she asked. The smile hit her green eyes first before slowly spreading to her mouth. A lot like Alice… My mouth agape all I could do was nod. "Oh my God, where's Edward?"
Replica of Alice, my mind screamed. I mutely pointed to the door that lead downstairs.
"Oh, okay, thank you," she said quickly, clearly trying to keep her excitement down and politeness up. "Please make yourself at home, and I'll be right back." Mrs. Cullen walked quickly back the way she came, with a big smile still on her face. So. Embarrassed.
I continued feeding and watching the girls while going over ways to seem more natural, like maybe some simple physical actions. Brush Melly's hair from her face. Lean casually against the counter or table; casual not challenging. Talk smooth, not too loud, not too quiet. Kepp the conversation running smoothly, but don't seem too know-it-all. Don't—
A nearby door opened, and I whirled around with an erratic heart.
"You're flushed," Edward said amusedly, closing the door behind him. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm gre—"
"Edward!"
"Okay…" I trailed off, glancing away from Mrs. Cullen. Sure she was nice and all, but something about her made me really nervous. I guess I didn't like being around adults that were brilliant enough to judge or analyze character.
While Edward talked with his mom, I finished with the girls, and cleaned they're faces with baby wipes before clearing the table. I tried to take as much time as possible, all the while tuning out the other conversation, as I didn't know what to do next. I didn't want to jeopardize what Mrs. Cullen already thought of me by butting in and demanding attention. Plus, that just wasn't me. I stopped ignoring them when I heard my name.
"Mom, this is Bella. Bella, this is my mom, Esme."
Mrs. Cullen ruffled her son's hair. "We've already met, silly. I just spoke with the infamous Bella Swan a few minutes ago."
"Oh," Edward muttered. "Well then."
"However," Mrs. Cullen added, glancing at Edward than me, to the girls, "I have not met these little ones."
Edward grinned, listing off name while gesturing around. Melly jumped off the chair and clutched to my leg, though the twins were oblivious. "They're just slightly shy," he added while Esme stepped forward. "Hey Mom, Dad needs to talk to you downstairs, 'sap."
I met his eyes and he gave me a quick smile and wink.
"'Sap?" his mother asked, confused, stopping her approach to look at her son like he was crazy.
"As soon as possible."
"You forgot the 'a', son," she sighed, patting him on the head.
"Nah, you just didn't hear it."
Holding in my laugh I grinned at Edward's goofiness, marvelling at the difference between my Edward and their Edward. My Edward seemed ancient: knowing what to do, when to do it, following what was said, overly helpful, flawless. The Edward there, at the Cullens', was silly (sillier than he usually is with the girls), sweet, protective, a typical teenage boy. I wondered if he played one up or it was the result of different surrounding, different situations.
Esme left us alone in the kitchen to tend to her husband downstairs. When the door shut I turned to Edward. "Alice is just like her," I said.
He laughed. "I know, it's creepy," he agreed. "So listen, we're gonna go get your stuff from your house and bring it over here, and set you guys up somewhere. You good with that?"
I tapped my fingers against my thigh. "I only have to get their toys from the house; I already packed most of their clothes when we came here. Where are we staying?" I asked slowly. He'd said "somewhere" which could easily imply that they didn't quite have room.
There was a second before he said, "What kind of sleeping set up do you guys need? Like do you all need to sleep in the same room or…what?"
I picked up Melly, who had still been clutching my leg, and put her on my hip. "Well the twins, they can sleep by themselves, but Melly…she'll sleep with me. If that's all right," I added quickly.
"Oh yeah, I'm sure it'll be fine and we can figure something out," he agreed, his words just as quick as mine. Maybe we were both nervous. "Do you want to go get your stuff now or wait?" Yes, this was definitely turning awkward. I glanced pointed to Emma and Sophie who were pounding on the table happily and making loud noises. "Alice and Mom would love to babysit," Edward suggested, smiling widely, "and Melly can come with us if you want."
Putting aside my little apprehension of Alice's less-the-gentle ways, I found her to request her time for babysitting, only to find her more than willing. When we returned to the kitchen, Edward was holding Emma and Mrs. Cullen had Sophie, and they were both talking. She reassured me that they would be fine with the twins and if they needed anything they would call Edward's phone or text him. I tried to act nonchalant to this all but Sophie was leaning toward me and reaching for me, which made me feel guilty for stepping away with Melly in my arms. I'd become so in tune with her cries and to go to them to stop them, and now I was walking away from them.
After giving her a quick kiss and prying my hair from her hand in her attempt to keep me near, I waved and started for the door with Edward. Behind us Sophie's cries got louder.
"Why did we leave them?" Melly asked, her eyebrows pulling together.
"Because we're going to go home and grab some toys," I told her. "We're gonna come right back, okay?"
She hyper nodded, smiling slightly. "'Kay. I need to get Claire, Belly," she said quietly.
I buckled her into the nearest car seat and buckling one side up, giving Edward a firm warn of driving safely. "I know, I'll make sure you have her," I reassured her as she took her thumb in her mouth, leaning against the side of the seat as she nodded to my statement.
"Who's Claire?
"Oh, her purple teddy bear," I said. "She can't sleep without it."
He nodded without anything to say. I smiled slightly at his profile. It felt so weird to actually like like someone – I felt like my priorities became jumbled; who need attention first? The girls always came first without a doubt, but now I started to wonder what Edward expected of me, if he wanted to hang out interrupted or just wanted attention from me. I didn't want to bring this up though, at least not so soon. Things were hardly even official.
When we got to the house, I let us in and went straight to work after setting Melly up with the TV. As I was kneeling on the floor and collecting toys into a cardboard box, something hit me that I should have noticed earlier. "Edward, have you gotten any text messages?" I asked quickly.
He gave me a look like I was crazy. "What are talking about?" he asked.
"No, from Cailtyn, when I gave her my number…" I trailed off. Obviously, that was a flat-out no. I sighed. "I guess not then."
"I'm sorry, Bella," he apologized quietly as he tossed a colourful caterpillar in the box.
I sighed again. "Edward, I don't even know what to do. I'm not myself anymore," I said slowly. "I don't know how to get my sister back, I don't know if I should just call 911 or if that's wrong. There's no one to tell me what to do either!" The only reason I hadn't done anything yet was because I didn't know what to do.
"We'll get her back soon, I promise."
I looked up at him and frowned. "But that doesn't mean anything; she could dead for all we know."
Bella, don't be such a downer. I would never do anything to Caitlyn!
A lot of you were wondering why they haven't done anything about Caitlyn, but let's be realistic here: a neglected, abused teenager living with three little girls isn't going to run for the phone and jeopardize her future and her sisters' future. That's the way I see it.
So the reviews from the previous chapter…we were at 27, 3 from 410! That's amazing you guys! I cried so much because of your wonderful smiles and words.
Review again for another chapter. We were so close to 30 reviews last chapter/prompting AN – can I get the same number this time around? Let me hear it!
-xx Glitter
P.S. I have a new story, The Crossroads, up. It's on Chapter 1 and so different from this one. I love it, the chapter was fun to write and I can't wait to write more! So go read and review!