Thank you everyone for the lovely reviews and all the favorites and follows.
This chapter we delve into what is happening at the Cullen house :)
Edward had just pulled into the driveway of the Cullen house after visiting Carlisle at the hospital with Rosalie.
Esme had asked him to deliver Carlisle some lunch because she had forgotten to pack some in his work bag, and they needed to keep up the human appearance. Rosalie had insisted on coming along because the Cullen house was always a bit feral on a weekend.
Alice had been extremely excited about a shopping adventure, and it had caused chaos around the house. She was eager to update everyone's wardrobe now they had moved to town, and so she had raided everyone's rooms and thrown the clothing everywhere. Emmett had been looking into practical jokes on the internet and had been trying them out on a slightly unwilling Jasper.
Edward could see why Rosalie wanted to escape the chaos for a small moment, even if it meant following Edward along on a simple mundane task.
"Do you think Bella's okay?" Rosalie asked him as they entered the house.
Edward looked at her for a second, as she didn't usually pay much attention to the humans around her. Her voice, and her thoughts, held a hint of concern. "I think so." He answered truthfully.
He had been around humans long enough to know there was something strange happening with Bella Swan, but he couldn't place what it was. She seemed slightly unwell - more fragile than other humans and very reserved and guarded. The most frustrating thing was that Edward could not read her mind. Alice could not see her future either, which had the little pixie in a frenzy. This had never happened before.
Esme greeted them in the front room. Rosalie moved to sit on the couch and began flicking endlessly through the TV channels. She eventually settled on a car restoration program as Edward sat with Esme.
"Is Carlisle doing okay?" She asked Edward. Of course, Carlisle would be fine, but Edward knew Esme missed him when he was doing a long shift at work.
"Yes," Edward nodded. "He was just working through outpatient appointments. Bella Swan was there."
Esme's eyes flickered with an emotion Edward couldn't read for a second and then she smiled softly. "The girl who you can't read?"
Edward nodded again, this time with an exasperated sigh. "I really wish I could read her. She is one of the most interesting humans I have ever come across."
Rosalie rolled her eyes but joined the conversation, her interest sparking slightly at the talk of the human. "She's very guarded. I've never really been interested in humans but there's something about her. I wonder why she was at the hospital."
"Carlisle won't tell us," Edward shrugged. "But I might be able to see something in his mind."
"Edward." Esme scolded with a stern voice. "You won't read Carlisle's mind to find out information about this girl. You know anything medical is personal. It isn't fair on her."
He knew Esme was right, but it would be difficult for him not to investigate his father's thoughts to see what was going on with Bella. "I'll try not to."
Esme shook her head slightly, and she seemed to want to argue more with Edward. Instead, she stood and walked over to the flowers on the window ledge. She started pruning them as she spoke. "Why don't you get to know her?"
"Get to know her?" Rosalie had turned to stare at Esme as though she had two heads. "Get to know a human? That's extremely dangerous."
Esme pursed her lips. "Perhaps, but we've never come across a situation where a gift doesn't work on a human before. There must be a reason for that. You both seem quite interested in her already, and Alice is desperate for a friend. I don't know how she's holding back the willpower to investigate the girl herself, because she's in an absolute hysteria that she can't see her future. It may make us appear more human, if we spend a little more time around them. We have a lot of self-control now."
Edward knew not to argue with his mother, and so did Rosalie, as she turned back to the TV. Edward was more than happy to get to know Bella, but it was also an unknown territory. He hadn't spent much time with humans, and he had always relied on reading their thoughts to help guide him during a conversation.
If it meant that Alice may dial down a notch though, he was more than happy to try. She was still hurrying around the third floor, raiding each room and compiling a huge shopping list.
...
It was a few hours later when Carlisle finally got home from the hospital. He came to sit with the rest of the family in the front room. Rosalie and Emmett were curled together on the love seat. Jasper was trying to keep Alice contained at the computer, where she frantically researched the best shopping places around the area. Esme was looking through an interior design magazine, and Edward was perched on the couch, not really paying much attention to the TV.
Edward instantly tried to tune into Carlisle's thoughts, but all he got was the Chinese alphabet which made him angry. Carlisle was purposely blocking his mind from Edward, and that worried him.
"How was work?" Edward asked. He wanted to ask how Bella's appointment had been and why she had been at the hospital but thought that might be too forward.
A small smile tugged at Carlisle's lips. "It was fine. The usual. Is everything okay, Edward?"
"He wants to know about Bella." Emmett said and Rosalie nudged him in the rib.
"You know I can't disclose any information about patients." Carlisle replied, sitting next to Esme and wrapping his arm around her.
Edward sighed. "I know. Mum thinks we should get to know her."
Carlisle raised an eyebrow at that. "Esme? Is that a good idea? She's a human."
Esme shrugged next to her husband, her eyes swirling with interest and care. "Yes, but their gifts don't work on her. I'm very fascinated to know why, and the fact that all the children are intrigued by her means there's something deeper there. I don't see the harm if we tread carefully. Can you just tell me one thing though – is Bella actually okay? Edward said she was at the hospital."
"It was just a routine appointment." Carlisle started. "There are some...concerns but she is fine. No one needs to worry. I've booked her in to see me again in a few weeks."
Edward was more confused by that answer, but he knew he would not be allowed to ask more questions. He tried once again to pick up anything from Carlisle's thoughts, but now he was working through a very boring journal from the 1600's.
Edward left to head to his bedroom. His plan was to use his laptop to do some research into humans so he could hopefully get to know Bella. Bella didn't fit into the typical teenage girl box he'd undoubtedly been studying and bored of for decades.
There was a strange pull towards the fragile human girl, and every time he closed his eyes, he could see her beautiful brown eyes staring at him.
