Five Months Later: January 3rd 5:36 a.m.
EPOV
Esme had done a fantastic job, there was no denying it. It was her gift: nurturing the abandoned, decrepit, and damned back to life. She had done it with each of us, her maternal instinct forging the very bond that held our family together. Everything she touched flourished, and this new house was not an exception. She waited on the porch, bouncing excitedly next to Carlisle as my siblings and I pulled up, the headlights of our cars reflected off of the snow and perfectly illuminated her proud smile.
This house is my favorite, Edward. Oh just wait until you see! Carlisle wrapped his arm around her waist in a half-hearted attempted to calm her, but his matching smile proved that he enjoyed her happiness.
She really is an artist. He thought fondly. I parked my Volvo in front of the house, foregoing the garage momentarily, unable to resist the excitement emanating from my parents. They had come out a week ahead of us, making sure the house was completely perfect before the family moved in. Esme threw her arms around me, as if a week had been too long, making her husband chuckle.
"You would think you haven't seen them in years," Carlisle laughed. Esme pulled away, throwing a playful glare at him, before attempting (and failing) at straightening my hair.
"I missed my family. Sue me." She huffed, threading her arm through mine. Carlisle growled playfully at her. She didn't mind being away a few hours ago. I quickly ignored the rest of his thoughts as we walked through the impressive door. "I had a replica made. The original was almost completely rotten through, but the detail on it was too good to give up on. Fortunately, I found a picture of the house in its prime and was able to even replicate the intricate stained glass feature." She bragged, petting the large cherry door fondly as she closed it behind us.
"Esme, I love the windows!" Alice's shrill voice called as they walked in from the garage. Sure enough, the entire back portion of the house was covered in floor to ceiling windows. The light of the rising sun just beginning to filter in from between the trees, filling the house in a low blue light that made the newly polished floors glisten. "It's so open!" Esme puffed up in pride and began the grand tour of our new house, going into detail all of the renovations she had done, comparing the new design to its former glory. We followed her along, each knowing that the tour was unneeded, but indulging our mother anyway as she boasted her hard work. I was only half listening, taking in characteristics of the house that she never touched.
The smell, for instance. Each house seemed to have it's own distinct scent, each as individual and specific to the house as a scent is to a creature. Over its life, the house will uptake the scents of its occupants creating a concoction of life-tears, sadness, anger, and joy- that gave the house a whole new character. This house, for instance, on the surface smelled of fresh paint, stain, and overall newness. Underneath the surface, there was a layer of dust that had resided in the abandoned house for so long, it became part of the house itself. Even further in the scape of scents, was a floral undertone. A mixture of lilac and freesia along with… something warm that I couldn't place.
We were on the third floor which only had one door nestled in between two wall-length bookcases. Your room, Esme thought toward me, bouncing on her toes again. I shot her a smile before I opened the door, revealing an enormous suite.
"This is too much, Mom." I gasped, seeing my piano tucked away in its own corner amongst walls of records and sheets of music. She waved me off happily. "Thank you, you did splendid as always." I kissed her cheek before backing out of the room.
It was a joy. Honestly, I feel like this house was meant for us. It really only need some tender love and care. And she had given it plenty of that. Even the ceiling on the third floor was newly spackled and painted a light neutral color. Only one thing stood out to me though. In the middle of the ceiling was a square that was slightly unleveled, as if something had been boarded up and then painted over.
"An attic?" I asked, curious over why she had chosen to board it up instead of turning it into a studio. She followed my gaze and shrugged.
"The whole thing was rotten, apparently. Some kids had gotten into the house and fell through the stairs. One child broke her collarbone in the fall, poor thing." She sighed. "I decided that it would be best to just keep it boarded up for now. Maybe it'll be my next project, but it's not as if we really needed an attic anyway." Suddenly, the rest of family flitted up the stairs to us, having investigated their own spaces and just as curious about the attic as I was.
"I thought this house was abandoned. Why were there kids in here?" Carlisle asked, suddenly concerned over the privacy surrounding the house. Esme sighed and grabbed his hand.
"I might as well tell you now, I'm sure you'll hear about it tomorrow." She paused for a moment. "The people of Forks are under the impression that this house is haunted. There was a terrible tragedy thirty years ago and… well apparently the teenagers of Forks High School like to try and survive the night."
"A haunted house! Cool!" Emmett exclaimed, rubbing his hands together. A whole new way to scare little humans.
"It's not as if it's really haunted though. Ghosts don't exist," Jasper rolled his eyes, shoving Emmett's shoulder. Alice cocked her head to the side, glancing up the ceiling.
"I don't know, Jazz. Vampires exist, why not ghosts?" She asked him cryptically. Her thoughts suddenly full of theories concerning vampires and ghosts. Slowly my family began to make their way back downstairs, Emmett declaring a horror movie night to break in our own survive the night. I started to follow behind, but stopped in my tracks after only three steps.
The scent of lilac and freesias suddenly grew exponentially, as if someone had shoved a bouquet directly under my nose. My gaze passed over the entrance to the attic, now directly overhead, before I shook my head and flitted downstairs.
It was all nonsense anyway.