Bella! Come on!" called my 'sister' from downstairs.
Emalie (known as Em by me and our other two sisters) was so impatient. My slender fingers finished fastening my long, curly brown hair back in a ponytail and I tripped lightly downstairs. "Took you long enough, short stuff." said Emalie teasingly.
I rolled my eyes at the tall brunette girl. "Where's Elizabeth?"
The petite girl came down the stairs at that moment. "Right here, sister dearest!" she said, grinning.
I threw an elbow in her direction, which she neatly side-stepped. Elizabeth smirked. "Too slow!" she cried jovially.
"What took you so long, Elizabeth?" I asked the cheery girl.
"I thought we cleared this up. It's Liz," she said, flicking a bit of chesnut hair behind her ear.
"Fine then. Liz, what took you so long?" I said, slightly impatiently.
"That's for me to know and you to never find out." Liz said cheekily.
I glowered at Liz as Luxe came in from the backyard, her strange violet eyes bright. "The gang's all here. Time to go," said Em brightly.
We had eaten breakfast before changing or whatever Luxe does in the backyard. 'What does she do back there?' I wondered.
We each grabbed our binders and keys and said a temporary goodbye as we got into our cars. I skidded down the gravel driveway and out onto the main road. At my rate of speed, I was at the school in five minutes-which was about ten minutes faster than anyone driving the speed limit. I sat on the hood of my car for about a minute until the other three pulled in. Once they were out of their cars, we said our goodbyes and headed to our separate classes. Time seemed to blur by and, finally, it was lunch time. I headed down the hall with an unusual foreboding feeling, which was erased as I saw Em, Liz, and Luxe laughing and joking near the entrance. "Bells! Get over here!" Luxe called.
"What, Luxe?" I asked after I was standing by them.
"Tell Liz that cafeteria food sucks and that the only reason we eat it is because we need to eat!" Luxe said to me.
"Hey, I don't know jack squat so don't ask me." Em said as I shot her a look. "These insane girls were talking about this when I came from Advanced French."
I sighed. "This is between you and Liz, Luxe. I'm not getting into this, nor am I letting Em."
Then, I headed into the cafeteria with Emalie. I heard Liz and Luxe follow us, still bickering about cafeteria food. We went through the line and sat at our usual table. Liz and Luxe continued yammering, so Em and I began talking. It was just random stuff; mostly 50-year-old gossip. Suddenly, a voice broke into our conversation. "Bella?"
The voice was soprano and lilting, something I would recognize anywhere. Alice Cullen. I stiffened and Em said, "Crap."
Alice was one of the reasons why I would not forgive the Cullens. She was supposed to be my best friend-my sister!-yet she left me just like the lot of them.
I stood and walked out of the cafeteria. Once I was outside, I headed to my car and sat on the hood. It wasn't long before I noticed little white flakes falling from the sky. The moment they dropped onto my skin, they evaporated without a trace. I laid back against my windshield and closed my eyes. "Bella." That same trilling voice said.
"Alice, leave me alone." I said without opening my eyes.
"Bella, please talk to me." Alice said quietly.
"I just did and I still am. Go away." I growled angrily.
"Bella, I didn't want to leave you. But he's just so stubborn." Her voice was hurt.
"But you didn't have to listen to him. None of your family had to." I said coldly.
"Bella... Please." Her voice was pleading.
"Leave me alone, Alice."
There was a quiet sob and then nearly silent footsteps as Alice walked back to the school. I lay there for a long while, thinking of things that had happened a century before. I had been happy then, but stupid. Why would any of them want to stay with me, much less him? I sighed and stood up after I felt calmer. Then, I headed back into the cafeteria and sat back at the table. "Why'd you run from the vampire chick?" That came from Liz.
"I don't want to talk about it." I ground out.
"This is need-to-know, Bells," Liz prodded.
"Bella, please?" Em pleaded gently.
"No. It hurts to talk about it," I managed.
"We will find out, Bells," vowed Luxe.
"But not from me," I growled.
Then, the bell rang to go to our next period and I nearly sprinted out of the cafeteria. I slowed as I neared my Biology classroom and sighed as I saw the door come in view. I then entered the room and saw someone that I thought I would never see again after that evening in the woods. He was someone I both hated and loved. He was someone that I had loved more than my own life and who I thought returned those feelings.
Edward Cullen.