Chapter 8

"Love will tear us apart" (edited/extended version 2023)

Edward's POV

I opened the front door and stepped inside. I could hear voices coming from the living room. The dinner with Bella and her father had been interesting, even though I'd had a hard time forcing down the food and a quite unpleasant experience trying to force it back up again once I'd left. I still couldn't quite get my head around how I had ever enjoyed food, or how humans seemed to enjoy it so much. Most of it smelled disgusting.

I'd enjoyed watching Bella interact with her father, although on many occasions she seemed to be the parent rather than Chief Swan. The way she gave him instructions to bring out plates and cutlery as he'd started to unpack the food, opting for eating it straight out of the box. The way she even took out napkins and folded them when Charlie was about to dig into the food. It was amusing to watch her take control of the household, with Charlie looking out of place most of the time. The conversation that had followed the meal had also been very pleasant. I sensed that Charlie had always had a good eye to the Cullens and even though I hadn't known exactly what to expect I'd been grateful to avoid interrogative and curious questions. Charlie probably believed he had the Cullens all figured out and I wasn't about to let him think otherwise.

"Welcome home, sweetie! Why don't you come join us?" Esme called from the living room.

I entered the room and found my family all gathered. Alice and Jasper sat closely together on the couch and Rosalie and Emmett were engaged in a game of chess. Carlisle sat in his chair going through some papers and Esme sat in hers, a book in her lap.

"Did you have a good time at Bella's?" Esme asked, her voice filled with love and yet a hint of curiosity.

"Yeah, did you have a good time?" Emmett said, emphasizing the word good as he shot me a big, meaningful smile. I laughed and sat down on the couch.

"Yeah, it was nice, I like her. And her dad was there too."

"Her dad too? You sick puppy!" Emmett said and burst into laughter. I laughed too, and so did the rest of them. Except for Jasper and Alice, who seemed to be lost in their own world.

"Yeah, her dad too. You can't even imagine what he can do with his gun…" I began saying, still laughing.

"Okay, that's enough", Carlisle said laughing, raising his hands, "Stop, or I won't be able to ever look Charlie into the eyes again, never mind go fishing with him again."

"Okay, okay", I said laughing," But to be honest, it was great. I felt like a normal teenager for the first time in ages. We talked, we had some snacks, we just hung out."

"Don't worry, you'll get more where that came from as soon as Jasper is gone", Alice suddenly snapped, looking fiercely at me.

"Alice, please…" Esme started, but Jasper interrupted her.

"It's fine, really", he said ,'' Alice, honey. This has to be done and I don't mind. I'm sorry that I'll be far away from you all and I will miss having this, but it's for the best. And I think I'll be a bit more relaxed when I'm not surrounded by humans all the time. You know, not walking around in an area that smells like dinner 24/7." He laughed, but it wasn't a happy laugh. They were all quiet, all suddenly at a loss of words.

"Hey, we're gonna come and visit you. Often!" Emmet said, trying to comfort Jasper, "We're gonna build the sickest snow fort ever and we're gonna chase polar bears."

"And we're gonna have an even more epic snowball war than we had the Christmas of '86", I added, smiling at Jasper.

Jasper laughed, a bit more cheery now.

"Really? You're gonna be able to top that? Even the local newspaper wrote about that one. But I have faith in you guys, and I do hope you'll come visit me often."

"Of course we will", I said and went over to Jasper to give him a big hug, feeling how his eyes were beginning to water.

Jasper stood up and we locked arms in a big hug.

"I love you, you know. That hasn't changed and isn't going to change. We're still brothers", I whispered into Jasper's ear and I could feel Jasper's chin nodding against his shoulder.

"I know", he said firmly.

"Hey guys, stop it. This is too much of a Hallmark moment. You're gonna make us all cry", Emmett said and joined their hug, leaving us both breathless with his big bearlike arms.

"I'm gonna miss you so much when I leave tomorrow", Jasper said, his voice strained ," But I'm going to come back, sooner than you think, and I'm going to contribute to this family instead of being a burden. I just have to sort myself out first. But I promise you all, I can and I will."

When we were done with our Brady bunch moment I headed up to my room to enjoy some peace and quiet. But it didn't take long before Emmet came barging in without knocking. He seldom did though.

"So I hear that we're doing a double date on Saturday - you, me, Rose and your human? I must admit, this is something new for us, but I'm here for it!" he said teasingly, well aware of the fact that I got annoyed every time he joked about my interest in Bella.

"If you even mention the word date on Saturday, so help me God…" I growled and threw a pillow at him. It struck him straight in the head with a loud thump.

However, Emmet seemed unfazed by the assault and proceeded to throw the pillow back at me with even more force. It struck the headboard of my bed, causing the wood to splinter at its left side.

"Oops!" Emmet exclaimed, chuckling and then carried on. "Come on, Edward. You've got to stop being such a flake. If you're interested in the girl, why don't you just ask her out? What's the worst thing that could happen?"

I glared at him. Him spending decades and decades with Rose had probably caused him to forget what it was like having a crush on someone and how vulnerable and insecure it made you feel.

"Things would get awkward, okay?" I barked at him.

"Would or could?" he replied swiftly.

I just glared at him and sighed. This fucking family and their constant need to be in everybody's business.

"Are you done now?" I asked him and gestured at the door.

"Don't be such a grouch all the time, Eddie. Anyhow, I'm looking forward to getting to know Bella better. I'm sure she'll make a great addition to our family", Emmet said, booming with laughter.

"You will be casual on Saturday, or else, Emmet!" I snapped at him and threw another pillow at him, which he quickly dodged.

"Oh, he will be if he knows what's good for him", Rose said, suddenly standing in the doorway, glaring in Emmet's direction.

Emmet instantly lost his courage at the sight of Rose. He knew as well as anyone that Rose wasn't playing games.

"Emmet's right though. You need to man up, or else you will get stuck in the friendzone", she went on, staring firmly at me.

"Why is everyone so obsessed with the thought of me possibly crushing on this girl?" I muttered irritatedly, sounding like a small child.

Rose stared at me, cocking one eyebrow.

"Possibly", she scoffed, "Yeah, I wonder why anyone in this family would get the impression that you're hung up on Bella."

I glared at her, not able to find a good comeback to what she'd just said. Because it was true. Seeing as I'd ignored pretty much every attempt of contact with the rest of the student body at Forks High of course my sudden friendship with Bella would be interpreted as something out of the ordinary.

"Let's go, Emmet. You've had your fun now", Rose said and gestured at the door.

Emmet shot me a wide grin, but obeyed and left.

"Stop denying yourself a bit of fun for once, Edward. What's the worst thing that could happen?" Rose said, staring at me inquisitive.

I just sighed dejectedly at her, not having the energy to describe all the horrible scenarios I'd been picturing. After all, this family was insane.