Chapter 4: Dinner with the Sullens
~"The eyes are the window to the soul, if that is true then the person is as beautiful on the inside as they are on the out."~
"Well Bella, I'd like you meet my adopted children," Carlisle began as he placed his hand warmly on my elbow. "This is Edward, Randall, Emmett and Rosalie..."
I was completely frozen. And there stood Edward Masen himself. The boy I had been thinking non-stop the entire week.
My mouth felt like lead and I couldn't form a 'hello'. My tongue felt stuck as I stared at Edward. Dressed in a pair of dark washed out jeans and blue t-shirt, he looked dashing but he looked slightly...uncomfortable.
But my real reaction was when I saw Rosalie. By then my insides had also turned into lead. Rosalie was tall with long blonde hair and killer blue eyes. I didn't really care about the features.
It was just that she looked exactly like the girl from my nightmare I had days ago.
She was the same girl.
Carlisle removed his hand from my elbow and I was brought back to reality. That was when I realized that we had all been standing there without smiling or saying a word to each other.
It was evident that Edward and Rosalie were not expecting to see me here, their startled eyes clearly displayed that.
"Hello, Bella," The boy named Randall decided to break the silence.
"Hi," I gave him a small smile.
He grinned back, looking very charming. Under a shock of black hair, his greenish blue eyes glinted mischievously at me. When his lips pulled back into a smile, two very cute dimples appeared.
Emmett also offered me a wide smile. He was tall and bulky with dark brown hair and muddy brown eyes.
"Uh, we'll go the dining room, then." Dad said, clearing his throat.
I lingered back as they passed me to the dining room. I avoided their gazes and instead stared at my cell which I held in a tight grip inside my palm.
"Bella?" Mom prompted and folded her arms across her chest.
"Give me a second, I'll call Heidi and tell her." I pleaded, backing away.
"You can do that later, come on now." Something had definitely gotten into her. Maybe she thought about setting me with one of the boys? I shuddered at the possibility and followed her into the room.
Don't look at Rosalie. Don't look at Edward.
The same lines played in my mind like a continuous mantra as I reached the table. Randall got up from the chair and pulled out a chair for me.
"Here you go, my lady." He said, staring into my eyes.
"Thank you," I said, a little confused. His speech sounded a little...old to me.
I took my seat and watched as Randall pulled out the chair next to me for himself. Suddenly, Edward appeared and murmured lowly to him, his forest green eyes trained on the table. I quickly turned away and drummed my fingers on the table.
Without even looking, I knew that Edward had taken the chair next to me. Esme took the seat to the other side of me after she gave me a warm smile.
Mom served the food on the table and sat down next to dad. I looked down at the mushroom ravioli on my plate and realized that I had lost my appetite.
I wondered what my friends were doing right now, probably waiting for me or my phone call that would never come.
"Is everything okay, Bella?" Esme leaned forward, staring at me worriedly.
"Uh...yeah." I hoped that my 'yeah' conveyed the hidden message to her that I wanted to be anywhere but here, seated next to his mysterious adopted son.
"Eat, Bella," Mom shot me a look. She got the message instead.
Edward shifted next to me and his bare elbow brushed my arm, sending a wave of electricity through me. I inched slightly away and took a bite of the ravioli.
Fantastic, there was no salt.
So I reached for the salt bottle which was at the center of the table and Edward reached for it too. Both of our hands touched and the electric spark was much stronger now. Our eyes met, beautiful green eyes meeting chocolate brown eyes, and I got lost.
Delicious and mysterious secrets swirled in his eyes and I wanted to know every one of them. There was something about the way he stared at me, as if he was recalling our first encounter on Halloween day.
My cell ringtone blared unexpectedly and I looked away in astonishment. That was weird. Wonderfully weird.
"Excuse me," I said dizzily as I took my cell phone and walked out of the room. When I was a safe distance away from them, I clicked the answer button and pressed the cell to my ear.
"Are you coming or not?" Heidi's annoyed voice cut straight to the point.
It took me a few seconds to answer. "I'm really sorry, Heidi, you know how much I wanted to come. But some guests showed up and my mom doesn't want me to leave. She hopes you all understand."
"What...what are you even talking about? Bella, we went through this the whole week. We planned it a week ago! You can't bail on us." She sounded very disappointed and my stomach tangled into knots.
"I am stuck, there's no way out. If I don't listen to mom now, she would never allow me to go with you hereafter." I rubbed my head wearily.
"I cannot...believe this. Sasha is going to be pissed." The line went dead before I could bid her farewell.
I stood there for a moment, stunned out of my mind. I went back inside and did the right thing by finishing the food. My usual observing nature noticed that Carlisle and Esme barely touched the food. Mmmm...
When the adults moved to the living room to talk, I immediately ran to the backyard where I knew no one would disturb me.
Boy, was I wrong.
I was in the middle of typing a sorry-text to Sasha when I heard footsteps behind me. I was sitting on the steps so I had to look up and saw all the four. I got up and faced them.
"Is there something you need?" I asked curtly, biting my lips.
Why were they here? They all made me extremely nervous and when I was nervous, I had the tendency to do some embarrassing things which I'd rather not talk about.
Rosalie narrowed her eyes, as if she was trying hard to remember something. Edward stood in front of her, looking protective. Did he actually think that I would hurt her?
"You could atleast try to be friendly," She spat, her blue eyes cold.
"You just stole the line from my mouth." I retorted, rolling my eyes.
"Don't mind her," Randall cut in with a convincing grin. "I don't know about the others but I came here to get acquainted with you."
"Oh-kaaay..." My eyebrows shot up in suspicion.
"Can we sit then?" He looked at the large swing nearby.
"Sure," I agreed reluctantly.
The swing was large enough to accommodate five people but I wasn't sure if it could hold the weight. Maybe Edward was thinking the same thing because I saw a hint of smile when his eyes met mine for a second.
"So, Carlisle is enrolling us in Forks High, where are you studying?" Randall asked, rubbing his hands together like he was secretly smug about something.
"I am in Forks High too." I said in disbelief.
They were going to the same school as mine too? First they became my neighbors, now my classmates and what next? They'd probably end up sharing my room as roommates.
"Nice! One familiar face, check." Emmett laughed and I giggled. Rosalie narrowed her sapphire blue eyes.
"How old are you?" Edward questioned unexpectedly.
His intense gaze was trained on me and I noticed that there was a pretty long space between Rosalie and him. It made me want to smile for some stupid reason and my heartbeat increased.
"Seventeen, you?" I needed answers too from this gorgeous yet creepy boy. I still couldn't help but compare him to the soldier Edward Masen.
He opened his mouth and then closed it, looking adorably confused. Familiar creases appeared on his forehead and I was brought back to the night we met.
"We are all seventeen." Rosalie answered for him, shooting him a look before she turned to glare at me. "We'd see each other a lot then, in school, unfortunately."
"Don't worry," I replied sarcastically. "It's a big school; I don't plan on ever seeing you."
Edward's eyes widened as Rosalie visibly gritted her teeth in anger. I got up before she could further ambush me.
"Welcome to our neighborhood." I bowed mockingly before I walked away with a toss of my hair.
Two could play this game.
It was usually a part of my routine to go jogging during the night. My parents frowned upon this action of mine but they didn't stop me. After I finished tying my shoes, I set out into the night.
Near the Eternal cemetery, an ancient ruined church stood magestically. It was one of the most beautiful sights in the entire town of Forks. I preferred to go there whenever I felt like thinking over something. The church was a companion to me in many ways.
It was usually abandoned. But not tonight.
A tall lanky dark outline stood leaning against the church wall in silence. My footsteps faltered and I almost retreated back when I heard his voice.
"Hello again, Bella."
I released a sigh and moved forward. I could see him clearly, now that I was closer to him. His auburn hair was a usual mess on his head with his green eyes sparkling under a thick fringe of black eyelashes.
"Why do you always come out during the night, Bella?" Edward questioned, flustered. "I think I already warned you last time not to wander alone in the dark."
"What are you, my dad?" I couldn't control myself. "What are you doing in the dark? I always keep running into you during the night."
"I appreciate the night, the darkness of it. I could see the stars...before but now...everything is hidden." He said wistfully, glancing up at the clouded sky.
"The pollution, of course." I shrugged.
"So sudden." He remarked, staring at me curiously.
"It's not sudden, Edward. The air pollution was thick even at the time we were born." I raised my eyebrow.
"We were born," He repeated my words sarcastically. "You don't know when I was really born, Bella. You'd be running by now if you knew."
"What...do you mean?" My heartbeat quickened and I swallowed heavily.
"Nothing," Edward slapped his forehead and turned away.
He definitely meant something and I had an idea of what it might be, but I did not want to believe it.
"I assume you don't have any siblings?" He said out of blue.
"No," I answered quickly and added randomly. "Are you and Rosalie a couple?"
Edward looked at me sharply and his face came close to a glare. "I don't see how it's any of your concern."
I took a step back and hoped I had masked the hurt and shock well in that instance. "Of course, I'm sorry."
Suddenly, we heard footsteps nearby and a new figure emerged.
"Bella, sorry, got caught with my dad." Alec panted, running his hand through his hair. He paused when he saw Edward next to me.
"Alec, this is Edward my new neighbor," I introduced. "Edward, this is Alec, my close friend."
"We both usually go jogging together in the night." I said smoothly to Edward. "So you see; you were wrong when you said that I always go alone."
With that, I took Alec's hand in mine.
"Hello, Edward." Alec smiled at Edward and squeezed my hand.
But Edward wasn't looking at him. His gaze was fixed on our intertwined hands but he managed to say, "Hello,"
"Well, good night, Edward." I cast him one more glance before Alec and I jogged back to our houses.
Like I said before, two could play this game.
Twilight Breaking Dawn part 2 premiere is today and my heart jumps everytime I think about it! I can't wait! Rumor has it that Rob and Kris will kiss on the red carpet :D :D
-BellaEdwardJacobLove
