I don't own Nor do I make profit off of Twilight. All rights belong to it's author Stephanie Meyer.
I hope none of you mind that this is out a little early, I've just been recieving some really good feed back and comments here and over on Archiveofourown that I've just felt kinda inspired. I don't know much about a schedule, but as I said I'll be posting here and on Archiveofourown and once I catch up I'll be moving over there permanently unless this site gets it *&% together. Also I don't know what kind of car Esme drives, the book nor any where on the internet had any answers so I just kinda picked a nice car i could see here in.
Reviews:
Ooshnish-Hey girl hey! My Christmas?! Well lets not talk about it lol, theres always next year! Anyway I really hope you had a HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2024 be better than 2023! Anyway I just wanted to thank you for sticking with me this last year even though my posting has been here and there, honestly it sounds silly but reviews like your really keep me going and wanting to write more! I also wanted to thank you for sticking with Mare this last year, it's really been a journey of healing and I relaized its taking quit a while, but I promise you in these next few chapters your going to see how far we've come. I honestly really like slow-burn therefor I take my time with things like romance and healing lol, but WE'RE THERE! THANK YOU FOR ALL THE LOVE ON THE LAST CHAPTER AND I HOPE THIS ONE IS EVEN BETTER! As of right npow I have a few chapters written and ready to go, so posting will hopefully remain a weekly even. I've even put it on my New Years Resolution as I'm finding the more I post and the more feedback I get the better of a writer I become and my own personal works are beginning to get better, so this is becoming very important to me! Of course I have to thank you for pushing me and leaving reviews when you can! it honestly makes me soo happy I can't express it in just this paragraph here! In short terms Thank you my friend!
EllieCast4-HEYYYYY! OMG I am so sorry for the emotions I inflicted upon you over your delicious pasta lunch! I take full responsibility and insist you have a new plate! I'm really trying to emotionally heal Mare in these next few chapters so their might be a bit more emotions/love/cuddling so if those are a bit much please take care of yourself! Thank you sooo much for leaving a review, I can't tell you how happy I was! I'm pretty sure everyone at work knew as I unconsciously squelled when I read it. These reviews really do make my day and I can't thank you enough for leaving one! Thank you so much and please ENJOY YOU NEXT PLATE OF PASTA! Emotion free! lol
Guest-HEY! Thank you so much for the sweet review! it really makes my day and honestly I find myself smiling after reading them! THANK YOU!
Cullen123-HEY YOU! AWWW SHUCKS! Thank you lol! Your review was much toooooo kind, but i really appreciate it, I couldn't help but smile and do a little dance when I saw your review. I'm always down on my writing so reviews like your make me feel just a wee bit better and that's honestly all i need to get through the day! Once again, Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and leave a review, it really makes my day!
The Grocery Store
I wake to sunlight and groan. I remember closing the curtains last night..in fact, I swear I did. I've grown to enjoy the glow of the fireplace, the crackling luring me to sleep and waking me softly in the morning. With the curtains closed in the morning the whole feeling of the room is safe and warm, therefore I'm a hundred percent sure I closed them last night. The bed dips and a cold hand grazes the top of my head. I pull the blankets away slightly only to find Esme sitting on the bed across from me.
"I'm sorry sweetheart, but it's almost 11 O'clock." I pull the covers off completely and yawn,
"Really?" She nods, placing her hand on my cheek, "I'm not sick." I reassure her. She smiles gently and pulls her hand away.
"I wish I could let you sleep longer, but I'm afraid you won't sleep tonight if I do." I yawn again and nod,
"Thanks, the bed's just so comfy." I pat the plush comforter I know she picked and placed on the bed only yesterday morning while I was at school.
"I'm glad," I watch as she turns reaching for something on the left side table. I sleep on the right so whatever she's reaching for she must have brought with her. "I wanted to show you these." She holds up a few different pamphlets,
"What are they?" I ask, she holds them out, slowly I reach for them.
"Pizzerias that will be open tomorrow, all within a 30-mile radius," Sure enough theres five different pizzeria menus in my hand, "I thought it would be nice if you looked through them and picked which one you wanted. Edward volunteered to pick it up tomorrow." Tanya and I talked for a while last night and theres one conversation that's playing in my mind right now. Slowly I bring the menus down, and take a breath.
"Actually, is it too late to have a big Thanksgiving dinner?" Esme tilts her head, the soft smile sliding off her face.
"I thought you wanted to keep your Thanksgiving meal the same as it always is." I shrug, the silk pillows under my back glide with my movements.
"You can have pizza anytime, Thanksgiving's only one day. Besides I've always wanted one." Not a lie, I have but neither my mother nor I cooked. Slowly the smile returns to Esme's face,
"Are you sure?" I keep my smile cool,
"Ya, as long as you don't mind."
"Of course I don't." She turns away, her brows furrowing in thought, "In that case, I just have to go to the store, I don't have much. Would you like to come?" I nod,
"Can I?" Esme's hand caresses my cheek again.
"Of course sweetheart. I'll let you wake and get ready, how does an hour sound." She stands and I give her a confident smile,
"Good." She quickly retreats and I can tell she's making a list in her head of everything to get. She doesn't close the door behind her and not even a minute later both Edward and Tanya poke their head in.
"Good job." Tanya encourages,
"Proud of you." Edward joins in. I'm a bit uncomfortable at their praise and find my eyes switching back and forth between them.
"Did you spend the night together?" Edward reaches forward and slams the door shut.
…
I should have known it was going to be crowded, but for whatever reason it never crossed my mind. I've never really gone grocery shopping. Mom did, and it was always an in-and-out event, but just like everything Esme is different. She has a list and she insists we go down every single aisle and if I even so much as look at something or show interest she picks it up and places it in the cart.
Even when I tell her I don't want the 8 dollar yogurts that come in a glass jar, Esme just ignores me. She does however keep asking me what I like, since I've never gone grocery shopping with her, Esme just picks up whatever she thinks I'll like, but now she won't stop asking...it's nice. I'm honestly finding theirs a lot of stuff I didn't know about,
"Mare, I was thinking of making burgers Friday, what kind of mustard do you like?" Esme snaps me out of my thoughts, I turn towards her while keeping my hand on the cart, I haven't let go since we got in here.
"Ummmmm, the yellow kind I guess." Is there more than one kind of mustard? I guess there is because Esme holds three different kinds in her hand, after a second she places all three in the cart and we continue to move down the aisle.
"This is fun." She smiles, using her pen to cross something off her list. When her eyes meet mine, I smile back and nod,
"Did you and your mother shop like this?" I shake my head stopping when we come to the salad dressings section... there are so many, I can't help but reach for a bottle of spicy ranch. No way they make this?!
"No, she kinda just did it on her own," Esme's hand plucks the bottle from my hand and places it in the cart, dammit.
"Sometimes it's easier when you're on you're own." She means it well, but honestly, it's because my mother only really knew three aisles. Frozen, produce, and booze and you really shouldn't take your kid down that last aisle.
"Are the others staying with us till Friday or are they staying all weekend?" I change the subject, and Esme stops to grab a nice bottle of expensive olive oil.
"They'll leave Monday morning." She smiles crossing another item off the list. I look into the cart, so far Esme has picked up a Butterball turkey, a 10-pound sack of potatoes, three cans of green beans and cream of mushroom soup. Two gallons of milk, two loaves of bread, macaroni noodles, frozen rolls, at least 10 different condiments, half the produce aisle, a bunch of small pots of yogurt, a pack of water, a jug of orange juice and about twenty different types of cheese. Honestly, I've never seen a cart this full before. I resist the urge to say something about it, instead, I just repeat the four phrases Tanya and I came up with last night,
They can afford this
They want to do it
It's okay to feel the way I do
Learning to accept these things takes time
I feel a hand run down the back of my head and down my hair, I turn to Esme a worried look on her face,
"Are you alright sweetheart, you seem spacey." I give her my most confident smile and shake my head,
"I'm okay,"
"Are you sure?"
"You worry too much, I'm fi-" The shattering of glass and a scream catches both of us off guard, and quickly we both turn to where the noise is coming from. Down the aisle about five feet away a thin man dressed in clothes 2 sizes too big for him stands over a broken bottle of vinegar, the scent quickly engulfs the whole aisle.
The man looks tense, his long blonde hair pulled into a messy ponytail, he's pale, and when he turns to look around I catch the glint of metal piercings on his eyebrow, nose, and lip. He's breathing heavily almost angrily and then I see it, the blood covering his hand. I turn to Esme, she stands still, her back rigid and her fists grip the cart so tightly I'm afraid she'll break it. Carefully I push the cart back forcing her to take slow steps down the aisle, her golden eyes stay on the guy behind me, while mine stay on her. Everyone's attention is still on the mess and the man. When we get to the end, I carefully reach forward to grab Esme's purse and pull out her wallet.
"Esme?" When she doesn't look at me I step closer and whisper her name a bit harsher,
"Esme," This time she looks over, "Go to the car." I hold her purse out, but she doesn't immediately take it, "I'll pay for this and meet you out there." She swallows, looking down at my hands and then back to my face. I give her the kindest smile I can, "Everything's okay."
I can tell she's holding her breath and clenching her jaw. She's fully fed, but blood is blood, and while I don't understand how she feels, I understand that it's tempting as hell and after another second she reaches forward grabs her purse with one hand and caresses my cheek with the other, and then quickly turns to walk away.
I wait till I can't see her retreating form and then turn to look down the aisle again, this time there's someone with him, a girl with long dark hair and a pink cardigan. She grabs his arm and pulls him closer to her, by his movements it seems he's either a bit out of it or just really tired. The girl tugs him closer before taking a quick look around to see who's watching and that's when I see it...Tandy. With quick movements, I get out of the aisle and head to the front wasting no time. The cart squeaks a bit but I don't care, I don't want her to see me but more importantly, I don't want to see what's gonna happen, because Emmett's words ring in my head,
"Ya, her brother's a drug addict, they had to send him to Seattle to a rehab center, he came back a few weeks ago and everything's been pretty silent, but theirs a rumor he's using again."
My heart hurts because as much as I dislike Tandy...I know how she's feeling right now. Embarrassed, tired, defeated. We don't get to pick our family, and we don't get to pick their problems, but we do love them...flaws and everything. I find an empty register and steer the cart over to it before quickly emptying its contents. The cashier smiles and me and even though I don't feel like it now I smile back.
She makes quick work, scanning each item and bagging it. I try to make myself small and look around, I start to feel better when eyes catch mine. Tandy's holding her brother's hand above his head and steering the both of them out the exit when our eyes meet. Tandy's brows shoot up and her blue eyes widen and for once theirs a look on her face I haven't seen before...she's scared.
"213.67" The cashier states pulling my attention to her. I look around before remembering I have Esme's wallet and quickly pull out the first card I see.
"Sorry," The card is heavy and made of metal, using her card should feel wrong, but I'm so focused on Tandy who's dragging her "probably" strung-out brother out of the store, to care.
"Little young," The cashier remarks, "You're parent's here?" The cashier tests the weight of the card before sliding it into the machine. She pulls it back and looks at the name, "Esme Cull.." She trails off,
"She's in the car." I hold my hand out, "She wasn't feeling well." The cashier whose name tag reads Megan looks back and forth from me and to the card,
"Have a Happy Thanksgiving." She says carefully before handing it over,
"You too." She placed all the bags in the cart and carefully I head to the exit, lucky for me it seemed Tandy bolted because she was not in the parking lot. I find Esme's BMW in the back and roll the cart over, Esme's sitting in the driver's seat but quickly gets out when she sees me. Her face is a mixture of worry and sadness,
"Mare," her voice almost breaks, and with it so does my already fragile heart. "I'm...I'm"
"Esme," I stop her, "It's okay." She doesn't say anything, instead we stare at each other for a moment longer, and even though I've tried both in the store and out of it to reassure her, she doesn't look any less upset. After a second more she walks to the back of the car and opens the trunk. We transfer the groceries in silence and then she grabs the cart to take it back,
"Please get in the car." I nod heading to the front and slide in slowly. Esme's back in a second and quickly she backs out of the parking lot and speeds off quickly.