Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to SM. No infringement intended. Anything original is mine, though. Rated M for future chapters.
This is an AU/AH story. My first fanfic in the Twilight world.
CHAPTER TEN
Emmett and Rosalie lived in an adorable Craftsman style house on a huge lot on the corner of South and Cherry, not far from the Cullen's property. It had a sweet white picket fence and ornamental redbud trees in the front yard. It was the perfect house to raise a family in, which Bella knew that both of her new friends looked forward to one day.
It was Saturday and the McCarty's were hosting an evening barbecue for the extended family. Emmett's parents, Jackson and Anna, would be there along with all the Cullen's, Jasper and Bella. From the on the fly family history lesson that Alice and Rosalie had given Bella, she knew that Esme and Anna were sisters and Carlisle and Jackson were best friends. They had all grown up together and double dated as teenagers. In fact, according to Alice, they still had a long standing date night set up every third Sunday of the month.
Bella found it endearing at how close the Cullen/McCarty clan was. She had never known the kind of strong family ties that these people had with each other and she felt such longing wanting to be a part of that.
The family barbecue would be a pot luck of sorts and Bella was thrilled to be able to pitch in and help. The men would be taking over the "manly" grilling duties while Esme spent that morning baking a massive peach cobbler. Alice and Edward brought out their ice cream maker and she had laughed at the sight of the brother and sister lounging in the kitchen sharing a pitcher of margaritas while the ice cream maker did its thing. Anna would be bringing the macaroni and cheese and cornbread while Rosalie was making sweet potato salad, baked beans and deviled eggs. Bella pitched in and made pecan pie bars, kale and spinach sautéed with bacon and a giant round thermos of strawberry lemonade.
Bella rode over to the barbecue with Edward, who offered the use of his truck to haul all of the food. It was a win/win for her, not only because she loved talking with Edward, but she got the chance to ogle him in his black board shorts and tight Tool tee shirt without the others teasing her for being so obvious. In her defense, she wasn't the only one ogling. Bella had chosen to wear the sleeveless green sundress that day in hopes of getting more of Edward's not so subtle glances in her direction. She was pleased that it worked quite well.
When they reached the McCarty's house, Bella was going to help carry the food in but was shooed off by the men. She stood with Alice and Rosalie in amusement as Carlisle, Edward, Emmett and Jasper tried to prove their strength by carrying in the most items in one trip, while Esme supervised.
"While they're being cavemen, let me show you our humble abode," Rosalie offered, leading the way into the house.
Bella loved the McCarty home from the start. She walked into a great room with beautiful dark hardwood floors that ran the entire length of the lower level. The walls were a comforting sage green with cream trim and the kitchen rocked green and cream subway tiles. Bella fell in love with the old fashioned white cabinetry, concrete countertops and stainless steel appliances. The living area had a huge comfortable looking grey sectional that faced a huge flat screen TV over a beautiful fireplace made of river rock, while the dining area was dominated by a huge 12 seater pecan wood dining table. Off a small hallway was a full bathroom done in white subway tiles and a guest room.
Upstairs, the same hardwood floors and mellow color scheme followed, and Bella was impressed with the other two bedrooms, a Jack and Jill bathroom, and a large master suite.
"You have a beautiful home, Rosalie," Bella praised, taking in the family photos hanging in the hallway. "It's so relaxing here."
"Thank you," Rosalie beamed in pride.
Bella paused at a large family photo that was surrounded by dozens of smaller ones. She chuckled at a much younger Edward and Alice, who were sitting on a pristine white sofa in their Sunday finest, beside an uncomfortable looking Emmett who looked quite unhappy in his suit and tie. Carlisle and Esme were standing behind the sofa with another beautiful couple who Bella guessed was Emmett's parents. But sitting next to Emmett, in a blue lace knee length dress, was a small girl with a riot of dark curls and dark eyes. She looked prim and proper, sitting in the formal setting, but Bella could read the mischief in the girl's face. Looking at the other smaller photos, the mystery girl was in quite a few of them, varying in age from toddler up to her teens. Formal photos of the group in prom attire and casual photos from picnics and school functions covered the wall.
Bella had to do a double take on a few of the photos. When the girl had straightened her hair, she looked remarkably like Bella. While the girl's hair was a lighter brown and her eyes had a hint of hazel swimming in the brown, Bella could almost pretend that she was in the pictures with everybody else.
"Who is this?" She couldn't help but ask.
Rosalie smiled sadly. "That was Emmett's older sister, Natasha. She died about ten years ago."
Bella swallowed hard, staring at the photos again. She expected to feel sadness for her friend's loss, but was stunned by just how much grief she felt at the thought of that lively girl in the photos being gone forever. She absentmindedly rubbed her hand over her chest as she stared at the different pictures.
Rosalie and Alice stood on either side of her, all of them staring at the large center frame. Bella desperately wanted to know if the resemblance was there or only in her head but she bit her tongue. Was this why they were so nice to her? Because she reminded them of a long lost loved one? Was the resemblance enough that it would make Emmett's parent's uncomfortable?
Bella felt an arm snake around her waist and Alice leaned up towards her ear.
"Don't worry, Bella," she murmured, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "There is some resemblance between you and Nat, but not enough to cause any confusion or sadness."
Loud voices downstairs announced the arrival of Jackson and Anna McCarty and Bella blinked, looking away from the wall of pictures. She was suddenly apprehensive at the idea of going downstairs and desperately wanted to make her escape, but her friends seemed to read her mind, because they each took one of her hands and led her down the stairs between them.
Jackson McCarty was a large bear of a man just like his son. His dark hair was turning silver at the temples, but his clear blue eyes were full of youth and happiness. Anna McCarty was a little taller than Bella and shared Esme's beautiful caramel colored hair, green eyes and youthful features. The family resemblance was uncanny.
Jackson looked over and caught sight of the three women. His eyes lit up as they landed on his daughter in law. "Rosebud! Where's my hug, young lady?"
Rosalie chuckled, walking over to give her in laws a hug. "Sorry Jack, I didn't want to get caught between you and Em. Last time I broke a nail."
Jackson's laugh was loud and infectious and everybody joined in. The room filled with people as everybody greeted the newcomers and Bella stepped back slightly, trying to figure out how to blend into the wall. Her plan to become invisible was thwarted, though, as Edward appeared suddenly at her side, the sexy cocky grin on his face.
"Are you becoming one with the drywall?" He teased. Bella smiled slightly, glancing at the others from the corner of her eye.
"Possibly," she admitted. His smile dimmed slightly, replaced by concern and he was about question her sudden nerves when Emmett announced her presence.
"And this pretty little lady is Bella Swan," his loud voice boomed jovially and Bella looked away from Edward, to face the small crowd. Her stomach clenched in anxiety as the McCarty's took her in.
Jackson just smiled brightly, walking straight to her and pulling her into a huge hug, lifting her off her feet. "I've heard so much about you, Bella Swan. It's great to finally meet you."
Bella chuckled, hugging him back. "Thank you, Mr. McCarty. It's good to meet you too."
"Just Jack and Anna, darling," Anna said kindly, wrapping her arms around Bella the moment her husband set her back on her feet. "We're so glad you're here. Emmett told us you gave him and Edward quite a scare the other day. Thank God you're okay!"
Anna's hug was just as motherly as Esme's and Bella couldn't help but hug her back. Her heart felt heavy at the same time, though, just knowing that the lovely woman treating her so kindly had suffered such a devastating loss. "I owe everything to the both of them. To all of them, really. Everybody has been so amazing to me."
"Well I can't argue with my Amazingness," Emmett boasted, standing up straight and proud. Rosalie slapped his arm, rolling her eyes before heading towards the kitchen. "Well Mr. Amazing, I think it's high time you start funneling all that amazing into your grilling duties. We've got a kitchen full of food waiting to be eaten."
At the mention of food, Emmett was gone in a flash, barely managing to grab a platter of raw meat from the counter before tearing out the back door.
"Shall we head to the manly grilling station, gentlemen?" Carlisle joked, leading Jasper and Jack outside.
"Bella made some strawberry lemonade that would be fantastic in a blender with some tequila," Alice announced, grinning over at Bella. "I say we make a few pitchers of margaritas and get this party started."
Anna chuckled, wrapping an arm around Alice and leading her towards the kitchen. "You look like you've started the party early, young lady."
Esme and Rosalie followed and Bella was about to when Edward reached out to stop her with a hand on her arm. "Stay back with me for a minute?"
Bella nodded, not stopping him from turning her to face him fully. His beautiful eyes held a little bit of concern as he reached out to brush a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
"What's the matter? You looked so nervous a few minutes ago. Were you worried about meeting my aunt and uncle?"
Bella shrugged, looking down at her feet. "Maybe a little."
"May I ask why?"
She sighed, glancing behind her to make sure they were out of earshot. "When Rosalie gave me the tour, I saw the pictures upstairs."
Confusion was replaced with understanding on Edward's face and a flash of sadness played in his eyes. "Natasha?"
Bella nodded. "Rosalie told me she passed away and I look a little bit like she did. I was worried that it would upset Jack and Anna to see me."
Edward gave her a sad little smile. "There are elements of you that resemble Nat in a way; your small stature and dark hair and eyes, for instance. But not so much that we would look at you and think of her."
Bella felt a tiny bit of relief at his words. She had to admit, Jack and Anna did not show any kind of discomfort at their introductions, and nobody else made her feel like she was some sad replacement for a lost loved one.
Edward's sad smile morphed into mischief right before her eyes. "I have to admit, I'm glad the resemblance isn't too great. I'd hate to feel guilty every time I stared at your ass."
Bella choked out a laugh, smacking his arm playfully. "You perv! What would Esme say?"
Edward's eyes twinkled as he slung his arm over her shoulders. "She would say that I wasn't too old to be turned over her knee, so we're not gonna tell her."
"Why Edward Cullen," Bella whispered scandalously. "Are you suggesting that we keep a secret from your Mama?"
"I will never outgrow Southern Mom Guilt," he joked, leading her towards the kitchen. "Stick around and you'll learn this first hand."
*.*.*
Bella had never seen so much food in one place in her entire life.
The countertops and the island in the kitchen were covered with desserts, side dishes and salads. A large picnic table in the backyard was covered with platters of grilled meats. There was a cooler full of bottled beer, a cooler full of soda, Bella's big thermos of strawberry lemonade, and a pitcher of the margaritas that Alice made from the lemonade. They all sat on the patio at a massive twelve seater table that Emmett and Jack had made together out of weatherproofed cherry wood.
Bella's sides hurt from laughing so hard. All throughout dinner, she heard every possible embarrassing story that the parents had about their children. From Alice backing into a parked car in Drivers Ed and failing her first driving test to Edward trying to impress a girl in his middle school class with his athletic prowess, only to end up slipping in a pile of dog poop in front of the girl. Even though Rose's parents were living in Florida, the Cullen's and the McCarty's had plenty of embarrassing moments of hers to bring up. Poor Rose was red faced and groaning in humiliation when Carlisle teased her about being so nervous drawing blood for the first time in nursing school that she kept dropping the needles and having to open up new sterile ones.
Emmett by far had the most embarrassing moments, but the burly teddy bear seemed to puff his chest out in pride at each story. The only story that caused his ears to turn pink was one from Edward, where a high school Emmett had run out of the boy's locker room naked as a jaybird and screaming like a girl because he saw a spider in the showers.
Jack and Anna seemed to find Bella fascinating when Emmett and Alice started bringing up her road trip. After Emmett had demolished his second slab of ribs and third burger, he had run off into the house only to return with his laptop, pulling up Bella's Facebook page to show the pictures and videos to his parents. Bella groaned when she heard the familiar strains of "I Can't Help Falling in Love" from the speakers while everybody else laughed and cheered.
"Where were you headed when you got caught up here?" Anna asked, taking a sip from her newly refilled margarita glass.
"Gatlinburg," Bella answered. "I had a reservation for a week at a cabin there. I was getting pretty sick of driving by that point and just wanted to be lazy for a little bit."
"That is a pretty long stretch of road, even with the stops you made," Jack said, barely taking his eyes off the laptop screen where he was smiling over the photos. "Looks like you made a lot of friends along the way."
Bella smiled. "I did. I was lucky to have met such great people at my stops. Being able to keep in touch with them has been amazing."
"We've been fighting for custody online with them," Alice piped up, grinning over at Bella. "They're underestimating the Cullen/McCarty/Whitlock determination in this situation. We won't stop until Bella stays here for good."
Emmett and Edward whooped in agreement and Bella chuckled.
"Nobody would dare to call you anything but determined, Alice Cullen," she said, smiling back at her friend.
"So what were your plans for after Gatlinburg?" Anna inquired.
"I was starting to consider finding a place to stay for a while," Bella admitted. "Maybe stop somewhere in Florida and rent an apartment. See if I could find a place that felt like it could be home for me."
"Why Florida?" Emmett asked, leaning back dangerously far in his seat to grab another beer from the cooler nearby.
Bella shrugged, swirling the melting ice around the bottom of her nearly empty glass. "After I graduated, I received an inheritance from my parents and the lawyer had given me a letter from my father. Dad wanted me to see the country before I settled down, and suggested I ride the teacups at Disney and swim in an ocean that I didn't need a wetsuit in. I wanted to make it down there and do those things before stopping the trip for any extended amount of time. Of course, then the accident happened and my plans were put on hold for a while."
Alice leaned forward, closer to Bella. "I haven't been to Disney in years. Maybe we could all take a vacation down there this summer? Disney's no fun without friends and family."
Emmett squealed like a kid in a candy store and actually bounced in his seat. "Yes! And we can hit up Universal Studios afterwards and then lounge at the beach somewhere! Family vacay!"
Alice chuckled, waving her arm towards Emmett. "Em's right. That way, you can do the things your dad wanted you to do, we'll all get a family vacation, and then you can come back here with us where you belong."
Bella felt her heart flutter as she looked around the table at everybody. They were all grinning at her and nodding in agreement at Alice's suggestion. When she met Edward's stare, she couldn't keep her teeth from sinking into her lower lip. The hope and excitement was clear as day in his beautiful eyes.
"Are you all sure?" Bella asked, forcing herself to look away from Edward to make eye contact with everybody around the table. "If I stay, I'll need help finding an apartment. I'll need to find a job, because I'd drive myself insane doing nothing all day. Preferably something close to where I rent until I get over this silly driving phobia."
"There is nothing silly about your fear, Bella," Carlisle spoke up firmly. "You were in a terrifying situation while driving and nobody expects you to jump behind the wheel right away."
"And you are more than welcome to remain with us, dear," Esme offered, her eyes sparkling in excitement. "We have plenty of room and it's been a joy having you here."
Bella smiled at Esme, reaching out to squeeze the woman's hand. "I appreciate that so much, Esme, but I think I need to find a place of my own. I've never lived by myself before and I think it would be good for me."
Esme patted her hand reassuringly. "That's fine, but I expect you at our home for dinner at least once a week, young lady. And if you need anything at all, you pick up your phone and call any one of us."
Bella's heart soared. She was ecstatic to see how excited her friends were at her decision to stay. And the anxiety of leaving them all behind, leaving Edward behind, melted away like ice cream on a sunny day.
"Then I guess I'm staying."
The collective cheer made her laugh.
*.*.*
Bella leaned back in the passenger seat of Edward's truck and let out a happy, exhausted sigh.
It was almost midnight and the barbecue/celebration party had finally come to an end. The parents had left earlier that evening, not wanting to be up all night when they planned to get up early for church the next morning. Everybody else had remained, lounging in the backyard and going over the available local rentals and job opportunities for Bella's consideration.
Since Chapel Crossing was such a small town, there really wasn't a lot to choose from apartment or job wise. The diner was hiring for a waitress for the 6am to 1pm shift and the salon was looking for a new nail technician, which Bella ruled out right away from lack of experience. She would inquire about the waitress job on Monday, though.
As for apartments, there was one small complex at the north end of town, but they didn't know if there were any available for rent. There were a few small houses though that she could look into.
Edward looked over at her from behind the wheel, his smile a permanent fixture on his face ever since she said she would stay. Bella grinned back at him.
"I'm so glad you're staying," he said for the tenth time, reaching out to squeeze her hand. She squeezed back automatically.
"So am I."
Her heart fluttered when he didn't pull his hand back, instead laying their clasped hands on the armrest between them. His thumb absently stroked hers slowly as he focused on the road ahead.
"Do you think Jacob will be upset if you stay here instead of going back to him and Sam?"
"I think he'll be a little sad that I'm not there, but he'll be happy that I'm here and not by myself in Florida. He trusts you and your family." Bella answered honestly, grinning over the call she knew she would be making to her best friend very soon. "Plus, he'll be happy that I'm not staying with the Denali's. He's still annoyed with them at the bungee jumping idea."
Edward laughed. "So taking you skydiving is out if I want to stay on his good side?"
Bella snorted. "He has no room to talk. He was the one who talked me into cliff jumping the first time. If my adrenaline fueled activities are anybody's fault, they're his."
It wasn't five minutes before Edward pulled into the Cullen's driveway. He shut off the engine but didn't move to get out of the truck. He remained still, his hand still holding Bella's between them.
"It will be strange to be here and not see you every day," he admitted softly.
Bella felt her face heat up pleasantly. "You'll still see me, though. It's a small town and I'll still come over. You might get sick of me."
"Impossible." Edward grinned over at her. They were silent for a few minutes, neither one of them in a rush to go inside. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"
"You can ask me anything," she murmured honestly. She had no secrets from him.
He was quiet for another minute before speaking again. "You said after you lost your parents, that you went to live with Jake?" When she answered in the affirmative, he continued. "From what Jake said, he's a little younger than you. What happened to his parents? Was there anybody there to take care of you two?"
Bella wrinkled her nose at the thought of Billy Black. She hoped that he was miserable and alone in his little house on the reservation. "Jake's mother died when we were kids. His father, Billy, was driving and there was an accident. She was killed instantly and Billy was paralyzed from the waist down." She paused, wondering how much she should tell Edward and decided to let him in on everything. There was no need to keep anything quiet. "When Mom and Dad died, Billy was named my guardian."
"Is he still alive?" Edward wondered aloud. "You never speak of him."
"I assume he's alive," Bella shrugged, not really caring either way. "Billy was a controlling, alcoholic piece of shit. He was nasty and abusive and a lousy thief."
Edward's hand tightened around hers and he swallowed audibly. "Did he hurt you?"
"He mainly focused his anger at Jake," Bella answered, closing her eyes at the memories of her former life. "He yelled a lot, threw things at him. Made us both feel like we were worthless. I wanted to run away but Jake was afraid to leave Billy alone, even after everything. At the time, I thought I only had a tiny bit of money in savings from the sale of my parent's house, and we didn't have a lot to run away with."
The cab of the truck was silent for a moment and when Edward spoke again, his voice was tight. "He mainly focused his anger at Jake? So he did hurt you."
Bella sighed, looking down at their clasped hands. "He had decided that me and Jake would get married and live in the house with him after I graduated. Jake would work and I would stay at home barefoot and pregnant and taking care of his worthless ass. When he first 'informed' me of his decision, I laughed out loud. It was absurd and I thought he had to be drunk or joking." She paused, rubbing her free hand over her eyes tiredly. "He threw his remote at me; hit me in the face with it. That was the first time that Jake tried to stand up to him."
Bella was startled by the angry growl that came from the man beside her. "That son of a bitch. I could break his neck for that."
She squeezed his hand tightly, reassuring him. "I'm fine, Edward. That's in the past now. I found out about my inheritance the day after I graduated and we finally had the means to leave it all behind us. We got Sam and left and we didn't look back."
"Did he not know that his son was gay and in love with Sam? Why would he try to force your hands into getting married?" Bella could tell that Edward was struggling with Billy's behavior. She couldn't blame him. He had grown up surrounded by love and support; there wasn't anything he could do to warrant his parents or his family to push him into a life of unhappiness. The entire idea was foreign to him.
"Billy didn't know about Jake and Sam; he would have killed him if it came out that his only son was gay." Bella said quietly. It still broke her heart to think of how her dear friend had suffered for so long, keeping his true self buried behind fear and shame. For everything that had happened since the inheritance, she was mostly grateful that he was able to break away and now was living a life where he didn't have to pretend to be someone else. "And if he had known, Billy wouldn't have changed his plans to make his son happy. If we were married and living under Billy's roof, he could control us for the rest of his life. He would get money from Jake working and I would be taking care of him, cleaning and cooking and bringing home his damn beer. Not to mention, he knew about my inheritance all along," her voice turned rough as anger swept through her. "He kept it from me, thinking he could get his hands on it without me ever finding out. I had no idea about it until a friend told me after my graduation. She knew what was going on and put her foot down."
Edward's breathing became more harsh with each word she spoke, until he pulled his hand away from hers, gripping the steering wheel in front of him with crushing force. Bella watched in silence as he leaned forward, resting his forehead on the wheel.
"Did he try to stop you from leaving?" His voice was harsh and raspy with anger and she fought the urge to reach out and touch him.
"No. Sue gave me the lawyer's information and her husband took Billy for an overnight fishing trip the next morning. We were gone by the time he got back." She finally smiled, remembering Jenks telling her about Billy's angry call after they left Washington. "He came home to find an empty house, our cell phones by his remote and a nice little note telling him to fuck off."
She was relieved to see the corner of Edward's mouth tip up slightly at that last revelation. He still looked furious, but he was trying to control his anger and heavy breathing.
The cab of the truck was silent for a few long minutes before Edward sighed, his head falling back against the seat. He glanced to the right, meeting Bella's eyes. Her heart clenched at his expression and she would give just about anything to take that haunted look from his face. Without a word, he reached out and took her hand in his, squeezing again before laying them clasped on the armrest once more.
"I'm so sorry for what you and Jacob went through," he said sadly. "I have the worst urge to get Emmett and Jasper and take a trip out to Washington just to get face to face with this bastard. Put the fear of God into him."
Bella smiled back sadly. "It's in the past, Edward. We got away, Jake and Sam are together and happy and I found my own happy and made a big extended family in the process. Billy Black is not worth the energy it takes to even think of him."
Edward brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it softly. "You're amazing, Bella; strong, smart and such a loving soul. We are incredibly blessed to have you here with us."
Bella blushed furiously, not knowing how to respond to such a statement. Instead, she looked down and closed her eyes. Whispered a soft 'thank you'. And when she felt the warm brush of his lips on her forehead, her heart fluttered.
*.*.*
A/N: I apologize for the delay with this chapter. Writer's block is a bitch, but she's currently pinned to the floor with my foot on her head.