Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters. I own the plot of this, though.

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Chapter 5

"In the living room, Edward," I heard a sweet voice call.

The first thing I noticed when I entered their house was the remarkably huge glass window. I stared at it with awe and marvel. It was an amazing sight, undoubtedly. Without thinking or realizing what I was doing, I walked towards it until my nose was but an inch away from the window. I put my palm on the cold glass surface and gazed at the breathtaking view. I could almost hear the river's splashes and smell the clean scent of the botanical nirvana just beyond the window. I closed my eyes and rested my forehead on the glass, imagining myself out there.

"Francesca?" Edward cautiously said breaking my reverie.
"What?" I said as my eyes opened. I turned to face him. "I'm sorry. This is just so beautiful."
"I know," he smiled. "Come on, I'll introduce you to the family."

I nodded and followed him to a door-less frame leading to another room. This room was unlike the last one. The walls were painted white and the pieces of furniture were modern in style and mostly black. I saw a woman pushing a black leather sofa to the far corner of the room. She was beautiful, even in her simple ensemble of black leggings and a pink collared shirt, she was stunning. Her hair was a light shade of brown that framed her heart-shaped face.

"Rearranging the furniture again, mom?" Edward asked with a slight chuckle.
"Of course, dear," she said without looking up as she continued pushing the sofa. "We have to go with the new trends in interior designing."
"Need a hand?"
"I thought you'd never ask."
"Where do you want it?" Edward asked as he walked over.
"The other end of the room, dear," she said as she stood in front of me with her hands on her waist.

She seemed to have seen me in her peripheral view because her head suddenly turned to my direction. She looked very much surprised, but not at all hostile. She looked back at Edward with an expression that's a mixture of shock, suspicion and amazement. Edward, meeting her gaze, smiled and stood up.

"I'm sorry," he said as he approached us. "I forgot to introduce you."
"You did," she said. "That was very rude."
"I'm sorry, mom. Well, Fracesca this is Esme, my mother. Mom, this is Francesca."
"Pleased to meet you, my dear," she said as she offered her hand to shake. I took it graciously.
"The pleasure's all mine, Mrs. Cullen."
"Oh, none of that," she laughed. "Call me Esme."
"Alright," I smiled. "Your house is wonderful, Esme."
"I'm glad you think so, dear. May I just ask something, though?" She eyed Edward speculatively.
"Sure, go ahead," I said, though by the looks of this, I could guess what she was about to ask.
"Are you Edward's girlfriend?"
"Mother!" Edward interrupted defensively. "She's just a friend."
"Yeah, we're just friends," I laughed at Edward's defensiveness. Apparently, Esme found that funny, too and soon, we were both laughing at an embarrassed Edward.
"Come on," he finally said. "You should meet Alice."

I nodded and waved good-bye at Esme. We walked back into the previous room and made our way up the spiral staircase. Once up, we walked down the hallway and knocked at the third-to-the-last door.

"Enter," a cute high-pitched voice said.

Edward opened the door and gestured that I enter a big room with pink-and-white striped walls. A small pixie-like girl had her head hanging from the bed's end and her legs were outstretched vertically. Her eyes were closed. Soft music was playing in the background and you could hear the humming of a switched-on CPU.

"What, Edward?" the girl inquired.
"Hello to you, too, Alice," he laughed. "I want to introduce my friend to you."

Her eyes snapped open in amazement. She looked at Edward and saw me standing behind him. She sat up straight and beamed at me. I smiled at her and she got up from her bed. She walked towards us without taking her eyes off me.

"Finally!" she exclaimed. "Another girl specimen around the house who isn't Rosalie!"
"Francesca," Edward started. "This is my little sister, Alice."
"Hey! I'm not that little," she protested. She beckoned to her room excitedly and said, "Come, Francesca. Stay here so we can chat."