Edward felt just a little bad as he gently forced Lettie away from the old truck. She looked like she was having more than a little fun pretending to drive the decaying thing, the imaginary images behind her eyes too slow to be a modern car (though it didn't lessen Edward's amusement), but there were only so many more hours until the morning fog let through the afternoon summer sun, and he did not want to be anywhere near town when that happened. It took a few gentle excuses, and she seemed somewhat appeased by his promise to show her a newer truck later in the day. It didn't stop her, though, from longingly looking back towards the truck as they continued down the street, the mist barely concealing it as they reached the edge of town.

Her curiosity was easily the most notable part of her personality, Edward noted. In the little time they've interacted, she's spent more than half of their sparse conversations asking questions, and the other half thinking of even more questions she dared not speak aloud, an undercurrent of worry and hesitance rushing through her every time she opened her mouth. As she sat in the truck, however, her elation at the old thing far outweighed her worry about bothering him, and the words flowed easily from their tucked-away corner in her mind.

Edward was surprised by how much that endeared her to him.

Her sadness was quickly forgotten, though, as the street became more and more packed full of life. Suburban homes changed to multi-story apartments, and eventually changed into storefronts. Wateeridge was a cute town, perfectly average in population and modernity, a wayward sort of place that had all sorts of people coming and going thanks to the freight station and the university a little less than an hour away in either direction. The old brick-style buildings couldn't support anything taller than three stories these days, which allowed the sky to light the oversized street where the streetlamps missed, with almost all the storefronts being family-owned, save for the odd chain here and there. A few people were milling about here and there, a good mix of grumbling summer employed teenagers and their matching underly caffeinated young adults. Edward nodded his greeting to a few of the early morning workers, either too tired to do more than a standard customer service head nod in return, or too enraptured by his appearance to bring him into a lengthy conversation. He skillfully crossed the street when an older group of women started loudly thinking about stopping and chatting with him once he got close enough to their cafe table, much to Lettie's confusion, though she followed easily behind without a word. She did, however, take a half step closer once they were safely on the other side, catching on to the slightly on-guard posture Edward adopted as they neared closer to downtown.

The cobbler was easy to spot, the big iron sign was probably older than most of the buildings around it, and a bright multicolored banner boasting its upcoming 75 year anniversary. It looked exactly how it did in Alice's vision, brick and mortar with a small apartment upstairs. Despite its relatively small size, he could hear the snores of at least 2 children and an adult, with someone, probably the current cobbler, bustling in the backroom of the shop below. For a fleeting moment, he allowed himself to imagine what it must be like, having what was, most likely, a family business, passing it down generation to generation, a legacy in of itself. Waking up every morning, knowing you had not only the responsibility of a family, but the honor of carrying on your family story in the most unique way possible. Calloused hands as evidence of your hard work, a loving family to cheer you on as you continued on. Smiling, tired beyond reason but proud above all, as you showed your children the exact work you did, overjoyed when one or more found happiness in it just like you did. Eventually shaking hands as the legacy got passed on to the next generation.

As quickly as the thought came, Edward rejected it, pushing it into the deepest corner of his subconscious. Instead of letting the thoughts consume him, he latched himself onto Lettie's endless stream of conciousness, growing louder and clearer the more he focused. The look on her face must have been matching the one he had only a moment ago, staring unblinkingly at the building with both recognition and confusion.

"Are you alright?" he dared to whisper, mindful of the two employees behind him unloading a delivery of produce. They barely spared him a glance, but he was too paranoid to fully tune out their thoughts as he listened for Lettie's response.

"I remember this building," she said quietly, matching his soft tone. For a moment he contemplated reminding her that only he could hear her, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a zap of her memories pushed into his mind. Though the buildings around it were different, much smaller and crude looking, the cobblers shop looked near identical, the same rusted sign swinging to and fro in what must have been a windy fall day. "My Father was well acquainted with the man, he was always too preoccupied to take care of his adornments. My understanding is that it became a hat shop many years ago."

For a fleeting moment, Lettie's mind was filled with darkness, a violent silhouette, laughing voices, a flash of light. Edward instinctively took a step forward, but as soon as the thought to reach out appeared, Lettie's mind was back to the pleasant image of she and her friends taking a stroll down this street, the air filled with the fresh scent of rain and the gentle clip-clop of horse hooves on the cobblestone pavement. Her face was relaxed back into a soft smile.

"I find myself feeling a strange sort of happiness to see it has returned to its original purpose." Lettie met Edward's eyes. It was obvious she was ignoring the worry they held. "My Father was very upset when his old friend passed. Now, his name will be remembered as long as this sign remains."

After another long gaze at the building, Lettie completely turned her back to it, giving her full attention to her companion. Her usual swaying body was rod straight, her mind making a clear wall against her desire to return her exploring eyes to the building behind her. Edward gave her a quick once over, trying to see if anything physical about her would reveal what her mind was trying to hide. If her replaying the same memory of walking down the street was for her own benefit, or because she figured out he could read minds, he wasn't sure.

Finally, he nodded his head towards the left, leading them down the cobblestone alleyway. Just from the state of the buildings Edward could tell these were some of the originals in town, most likely built when the town started truly establishing itself as such. The road was horribly uneven, more nature than man-made concrete filling the cracks between the old cobblestone, which made sense as to why there was a gate at the beginning of the alley deterring cars bigger and heavier than a mini van. There were a few old lights dotted up and down the street, a small flag adverts hanging from them for upcoming events, local attractions, and businesses nearby. Edward easily spotted the Historical Society's banner, an outdated design no doubt designed by someone with little to no experience in such a thing, and he winced a little to himself. Maybe he should tell Jasper to reach out, or Esme, volunteer their expertise and give the outdated logo a metaphorical new coat of paint…

"Oh!" Lettie suddenly exclaimed, knocking Edward out of his inner musings. She rushed forward slightly to pause in front of a brick townhome. There was a bronze plaque at the top fo the stoop that advertised it as a therapist's office, but Edward doubted that was what caught Lettie's attention, as she stopped just under the front window. "This is the house of an old friend!" After attempting to peek over the window's edge, just a little too tall to be successful, she spun on her heel, looking across the alley to a boarded up building. "My father spent many nights at this tavern! Such a shame it appears to have closed down. Oh! The Town Hall must be round this corner!"

Lettie picked up her, glancing over her shoulder every few steps to make sure Edward was keeping pace behind her. When he kept his leisure stroll, partially just to tease her, she gave him an impatient wave of her hand.

"I believe you will greatly enjoy this building. There is the loveliest park just in front, where my friends and I would take strolls on a summer's day-"

Lettie stopped abruptly, just having turned the corner, her mind instantly filled with dread. Edward quickly picked up his pace, stopping just as suddenly at her side.

The building in front of them was exactly as Alice showed him, two stories with opulent stone pillars and a corner completely covered in bright green ivy. A flag bearing the towns logo hung limply from the top of the building, and the great big oak doors were wide open despite having no one on the other side. There was a cute courtyard just in front, no doubt the centerpiece to the original town, complete with a small fountain and a few maple trees. Edward could see several other streets converging onto this area, three at least, but where he would assume more would be was instead several half burned buildings. Edward could still faintly smell the burned wood, though just from appearance alone he could tell it had been several decades since they were ablaze. The largest building, facing towards the courtyard, semed to have the worst of the damage, only a few pillars and the brick first floor surviving whatever accident occurred. Where the front door should have been instead had a small velvet rope, a podium posted right next to it advertising an immersive tour.

"I can't…I don't understand." Lettie said finally, her voice wobbling the smallest bit. "Where could it have gone?"

Edward followed closely behind her as she approached, barely paying attention to the decorated courtyard around her, her feet taking her as far as the velvet rope. Edward watched as her mind conjured what the building used to look like, a dance hall, if he was going to guess correctly, with beautifully painted ceilings, a roaring fireplace, and a stage perfect for a lively band. Her mind flashed once more with those haunting images. A flash of light, a dark silhouette, laughing voices.

"Hello there!" Both Lettie and Edward whipped around at the voice, whatever image plaguing both their minds disappearing in an instant. They were joined in the courtyard now by a single woman, a broom in her hand. Despite her rather modern appearance, gray hair pulled back into a bandana and pants straight out of the 50's, Edward took a second too long contemplating if she was anything like Lettie. However, as she lightly tripped on the uneven ground, laughing to herself lightly for her blunder, that thought was gone as soon as it came. "Are you one of the newbies to our town?"

"Yes." He gently offered one of his elbows to help her right herself. "That house out on Woodward, actually." She gave him a smile in thanks.

"Ah! I was wondering if I was ever going to see who finally decided that project was worth the effort." Such a shame the Society didn't get it before them. Who knows what they'll turn that beautiful building into. She gave him a once over, Edward barely catching the tail end of her shocked thoughts, before continuing, "You must be related to ."

Right. Though they were going to continue in Forks as Cullen, too quick of a turn around for their paperwork to change accordingly without raising suspicion, here they had plenty of time to establish a different name to this new crowd, and thus become an entirely new family. For now, he had to lie his way through this interaction so as to not raise suspicion later.

"Somewhat. She's my aunt. It's actually her family that's going to move in, but I'm here just to help out as a…fun summer project." He winced convincingly to play up the annoyed high school persona.

Lettie approached from behind, quietly circling the woman and observing her closely. Edward made sure to keep his eyes focused on the human, no matter how much he wanted to watch Lettie at work.

"Here against your will, I take it?" After a moment's pause, Edward nodded awkwardly, getting a laugh out of the older woman. She gently patted his arm sympathetically. "Well, you're not the first. Plenty of folks in this town have distant relatives come and go for the summer, give their relatives a small break and build some character while they're at it. What has she got you doing in that old house?"

"Organizing, mostly." Edward played up the weight of the box in his arms, shifting it so the things inside clinked lightly against one another. The woman winced at the sound. "Found a dusty old attic full of things, and I gotta get this box of junk-," Edward caught the way Lettie gave him a confused look at his description, to which he could only give a small look of apology, "-out of the way before my Aunt goes at it again. Said I should bring it down to the Historical Society…?"

"What a lucky encounter then. I'm Patricia Everett, though you can just call me Patty. I was just getting ready to open for the day." She gestured to her broom. "Gotta sweep the front steps, but I'm sure the others won't mind if I help you out instead of clean."

"I'd hate to be a bother-" She waved him off before he could continue.

"You are the sweetest thing, but they'd have my hide if I don't get those pretty things inside before the sun can do any damage to them. Come, I'll get those things off your hands in no time." She gestured to the front door. "First customer of the day!"

They converged at the large semi-circle desk in the main entryway, barely having enough space to set the box down amongst the numerous pamphlets and flyers that decorated its surface. Lettie was completely absorbed in the colorful pieces of paper, though Edward could tell, even without his mind reading, that she was trying her best not to look at the things he was handing over.

It was only at that moment that he realized he never asked if Lettie was alright with him taking these things away from her home, let alone donating them.

It's just like me to forget to print more of those stupid donation forms. Patty's thoughts sliced through Edward's dejection. A scrap of paper should be fine, right? Could always use it as a good excuse to have that Platt woman come in…

"Oh, by the way, you wouldn't happen to have a donation form or something like that, would you?" Edward said, using the most convincing voice he could to sound like he just remembered it. "My Aunt said I should get one for her records."

Patty looked momentarily stunned, her thoughts surprised but not suspicious at the 'coincidence', mouth forming several words but no sounds, before she decided on, "I was just looking for those, but looks like I'm all out. You wouldn't mind waiting here a blip, would you?"

"Not at all." Edward gave her a smile, just a bit too charmed to be natural, and she quickly scurried off.

"What is a 'form'?" Lettie asked as she walked away.

"I'm sorry," Edward replied as soon as Patty disappeared behind a door labeled 'Employees Only', "I didn't ask if it was alright for me to bring these here."

"...Pardon?" Lettie's genuine confusion surprised him.

"These things." He waved his hand over the box. "They're yours, aren't they?"

"Oh." Lettie sparred a single glance at the box, eyes barely focusing on it, before looking away. Patty swore under her breath as the printer made an unusual sound. "These were my Father's things."

When she didn't continue, Edward probed, "Did you want me to keep anything for you?"

"For I?"

"Yes. These are your things after all." Lettie's thoughts immediately rejected the idea that any of these things belonged to her, though these were not the words that came out of her mouth.

"Are they going somewhere else?" Edward started at that.

"Possibly?" He shrugged, glancing around. Down the hall he could see the beginning of a museum. "I don't know what they intend to do with them. Maybe add them to their collection, maybe send them far away." In the other room, Patty let out a small sound of success. Paper whooshed as it was fed through.

"Far away?"

"I imagine they would want to display these. Though they aren't all in good condition, they're a piece of history." He glanced down the hallway as the sound of rustling papers got louder. "If you need anything, I can grab it, but I need to be quick."

Lettie glanced at the box again, mouth beginning to form a rejection, when her head whipped to fully face the cardboard box.

"Trinket case!" She said suddenly, nearly launching herself at the cardboard box on the counter, her finger pointing towards the small marble box. Edward's mind filled with her imaginings of a dark, expansive room filled with wooden boxes, cobwebs, and layers of dust covering every surface. "My jewelry box! They cannot take me to a place like that!"

Edward could hear Patty's flats creak on the old floor as they approached the hallway door, no more than a few seconds away from coming into view. As quickly as he could, trying not to make a sound, he pulled the topmost items away, revealing the dark blue trinket box. He hastily ripped his sweater off, bundling the box into the fabric, before returning the other items to the pile once more, a little different than they had been but he doubted Patty would notice, and taking a casual stance against the desk, reading through one of the pamphlets, all before Lettie could return her feet back onto the floor.

"Sorry about the wait!" Patty called, shutting the door behind her. Edward returned the pamphlet back to its spot, using the opportunity to flash the trinket box to Lettie (her grateful smile would have made his heart skip a beat at its sincerity), plastering a small smile onto his face as she approached them. "That old thing is on its last legs, but Janine refuses to get a new one until this one goes kaput. Ink's a bit smudged, but it should do well enough for your Aunt's records. Now, let's see what you brought us."