Chapter 2
A/N: Hey there! I'm so glad to see you again, and I apologize for making you wait. It's quite a challenge—though really rewarding—to get the right vibe for this story. I also think it needs some longer chapters, which means more waiting time. I'm sorry for being one of those annoying writers who doesn't update as often as we'd all like! I won't dive into a long list of trigger warnings for this story, as that could take forever. Just a heads-up that it touches on some more mature and tough themes. I'll make sure to give you a shout if anything particularly graphic comes up, but I don't plan on writing such scenes. If there's anything specific you're concerned about, feel free to send me a message, and I'll let you know if it's something you need to worry about :) I promise I don't bite ;) Now, on with the show…
I rushed into the kitchen to see probably the most beautiful girl I had ever laid eyes on. Pale, glowing skin stretched over a slender, tall frame. Thick, blonde hair crawled in beautiful waves down her back. Big, mysterious eyes and pouty lips took up most of the space on her face. I had to take a breath and pinch myself to ensure that this was real, and such beauty actually roamed the earth.
The body matching the face turned to fully face me from her perch on at the kitchen island. Her eyes narrowed, and she swept out the room saying nothing more than a muttered:
"Hello."
The girl must have been Rosalie – or Rose, as she seemed to often be referred to – the owner of the granola pots. She seemed annoyed. Well, she had a right to, judging by the fact that I had stolen what I had been told was one of her favourite foods. But I didn't get the impression it was just that. No, this was something more. Something deep seated, like she held a long-time grudge against me, like I represented everything she resented in the world.
Shit. I'm spiralling. Of course that wasn't the case! I'd never met this girl before, her having some aggressive vendetta against me was completely ludicrous!
Then why does it feel like she does?
Shut up internal monologue!
It suddenly came to my attention that amongst my musings, my eyes had fallen shut. I snapped them back open, and met the curious stare of Esme, who stood by the fridge, studying me intently. Great, now she thought I was a freak – that was, if she didn't already think that. She quickly seemed to realise that staring at the weirdo was not socially acceptable, and she smiled, jumped to open the fridge, and began speaking.
"So, Bella, what do you fancy making?" She asked, appearing to be rearranging the contents of the full fridge.
I already had my answer prepared.
"Would pasta be okay?" I already knew it would be. Pasta was already okay in every other house I'd been in, unless we had already eaten it a few days that week. It was cheap, quick, easy to make, and didn't fuck with my sensory issues. Unless it came with sides – which most adults had been too lazy for – there was no fear of foods that weren't allowed to touch ending up touching.
"Perfect! Do you fancy a pasta bake, or just plain pasta?" I shrugged. I didn't mind. I wasn't keen on pasta bakes, but it didn't make my skin crawl, so I could put up with it.
"Let's make a pasta bake then." She smiled, and began pulling out ingredients whilst I stood around awkwardly.
"Why don't you start chopping the veggies for roasting, whilst I finish getting everything else out?" I nodded, and moved over to the packet of peppers, grabbing one and throwing it under a stream of tap water, before slicing it thinly with a knife.
"Do you like cooking, Bella?" Esme asked, after a few long moments. She had begun preparing the vegetables as well. I shrugged.
"I guess so." Cooking had always been a bit of a necessary skill for me. When living with my mum, if I wanted to eat, I needed to cook. When I was younger, the foster parents tended to do the cooking, but occasionally I'd get the crappy/lazy/overworked adult who I needed to pick up the slack for. When I entered my teenage years, cooking generally became expected by the foster family. I didn't really mind. Most of the time.
Esme smiled.
"I've always loved cooking, well, to put it more accurately, I've always loved tasty food, and cooking has always been the easiest way to make delicious food appear!"
Together, we worked quickly and efficiently, Esme chatting away, me keeping my answers short but polite, until the vegetables were thrust into a heated oven.
"I think I can manage the pasta by myself when it needs to be put on, why don't you go relax in the lounge, sweetie?" I nodded, and made my way from the kitchen into the living room. Part of me hoped that some of my new foster siblings wouldn't be there, I most definitely didn't want to see them, after all. But the logical part of me hoped they would be, so that I could get the rest of the introductions out of the way.
My musings were put to a stop upon the sight of the eager one – Alice – and who I presumed must have been Jasper. He had sandy curly hair, what appeared to be a muscular body within his clothes, and a charming smile. Alice and Jasper were sat on one of the sofas, heads close together, with her legs lounging over his, sheets of paper – presumably some sort of homework – surrounding them.
"Hello." I said, after a moment when they still hadn't noticed my entrance.
"Bella!" Alice leaped up from her seat, her arms extended as she rushed towards me. She then thought better of it, and she abruptly stopped and dropped her arms to her side, looking awkward. The boy cleared his throat, taking pity on the sheer uncomfortableness my entrance seemed to have introduced to the room. I often had this effect on people.
"Come sit back down, Alice." Jasper laughed. "Why don't you take a seat too, Bella, and then Alice can introduce us all?" Alice bounced back to the sofa, and I took a seat in one of the armchairs.
"This is Jasper, Bella. Jasper, this is Bella." Already, the tension in the room seemed to have somehow dissipated. Maybe it was just the strangely chaotic energy of the girl.
"Nice to meet you, Bella. Alice has been talking about you all day, she hasn't been able to sit still, she's been so excited. Although, she can never sit still anyway, even when she isn't excited!" He laughed, and Alice swatted his arm with her hand. I cringed, but kept my discomfort quiet. Please don't let it be one of those houses.
"I hope moving here hasn't been too horrible so far. Where were you living before here?" Jasper asked.
"About an hour from Seattle." I said, putting on my best smiling face.
"We went to Seattle last year, didn't we, Jazzy! I really liked it. So many more shops than Forks. I wished I lived in a big city."
"I mean, it was nice, but a bit too busy for me though. And there are only so many shops a guy can go in before he starts regretting leaving the house." Jasper laughed, as Alice slapped him again. It seemed playful, but I knew all too well how playfulness could go.
"I liked Seattle. Definitely one of my favourite cities." It was true. I really did like Seattle. It was big and busy enough that no one batted an eye at someone new leaving there. And there were so many libraries! I had a lot of friends there too, even some old friends from when me and Mom had first lived in Seattle when I was a little kid.
"Have you travelled around a lot then? I mean, since you said it was one of your favourites, you must have seen quite a few."
"Renee moved around a lot."
"Who's Renee?"
"My Mom." There was an awkward pause. I'd forgotten that calling your mother by their first name was not the norm.
"Oh, so you lived with your Mom then?" I nodded in response to Alice's question.
"Yep."
"When did you stop living with her?" Now that was a tricky question. Why did people have to be so damn nosy?
"I think maybe that could be a question for later, Alice. Why don't you go grab a snack for us all? A cookie or something?" Jasper interrupted. Alice shot him a confused look, before going into the kitchen.
"Sorry about that. Alice doesn't really understand boundaries." He laughed and shot me an apologetic look.
"She's just so innocent, you know? Just wants to be close friends. She doesn't always see that not everyone's life is that simple. It all comes from a good place though. She's one of the kindest people I know." He smiled, and I nodded, before Alice came back in, holding a box of cookies.
"Here you go, Bella. Take your pick." Alice beamed, handing the box to me after she had grabbed one for her and Jasper. I grimaced as I picked up the one that looked like it would be the least messy, and nibbled on it, avoiding my lips touching it.
I hated eating food with my hands.
The feeling it created was indescribable, so uncomfortable it was almost painful. And don't get me started on the feeling of the greasy sugar and crumbs coating the cookies depositing on my fingertips. Ugh.
"Are you okay, Bella?" Jasper asked, a curious, concerned expression on his face. Damn it. Seriously, how was I not a master in masking discomfort by now? The whole moving family's thing must have made my poker face slip.
"I'm good." Once again, the best, most convincing smile I could muster graced my face, my cheeks puffing out from the force at which I turned up the corners of my mouth. He nodded in response, as we finished our cookies, listening to Alice babble about one of her classes around her snack.
"Hey, why haven't I got a cookie?" A big, booming voice moved through the room. It was unfamiliar, and I startled a bit. I whipped my head round to match the voice to a face. A childish, cheeky grin underneath short, curly hair was right in my eyeline. This man was huge. In fact, huge didn't do him justice: colossal, elephantine, gargantuan. None of the words I picked from the section of my brain that stored information garnered from English class fit how truly large he was. It was scary. Like, really scary.
Its okay, Bella. It's okay.
"Yo, who's the chick, Jazz?"
"This is Bella, you dumbass. Remember? Bella. B-E-L-L-A. Bella who is now living with us?" Alice said, rolling her eyes.
"Chill it, Al, I get the point! Hey Bella." He said, grinning at me and moving to grab a cookie. Huh. He didn't seem to want any more engagement from me. Well that was a nice change!
"Where's my Rosie? ROSE! WHERE ARE YOU?" He boomed, leaving the room, food in hand, as I felt my brain swirl from the volume. That was one weird dude.
"So now you've met Emmett. I don't think he ever grew up." Jasper said, and they both laughed at that.
"I know he looks a bit intimidating, but he's the sweetest guy, though. Seriously annoying, mind you." Alice said, rolling her eyes again.
"I got that impression." I laughed. I hadn't, but they didn't need to know that.
"Dinner's ready!" Esme popped her head into the room, and smiled. Beckoning us through to the dining room.
I waited for Alice and Jasper to walk out first, and I followed them, taking a seat at the long table, which had already been set. Carlisle walked in a moment after Esme had left to grab the pasta.
"Hello." He smiled. "Has everyone had a nice day?" He questioned, and Alice burst into a story about how a girl at school had gotten detention for flicking a pencil at a teacher. Edward, the slightly bizarre (but so far nice enough) boy entered the room, staring at the cell phone he held in his hand.
"No cell phones at the table, Edward." Carlisle said, his voice stern. Edward's head flicked up, and he slid the cell into the pocket of his jeans.
"I was just telling Dad about Jessica getting detention, Edward. She totally deserved it, didn't she?"
"Yeah, I didn't believe that accident bullshit." He snorted.
"Language, Edward!" Esme said, popping the steaming pot of pasta in the centre of the table.
"Sorry, Mom." He said, and I saw him roll his eyes to Jasper as his mother turned her back, and Jasper chuckled.
"What about your day, Jasper?"
"It was good. I think I aced that history test."
"How could you not, Jazz? You spent an eternity studying for it." Edward said.
"Yeah, and he's just really good at history anyway." Alice smiled. "Do you like history, Bella? Maybe we could all study together sometime?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"You guess you like history, or you guess we could study together?" Edward asked, his eyes squinting at me. I knew that look. He was trying to figure me out. Understand the new kid.
"Both?" I said, I meant to sound surer than that, but it came out as a bit of a question.
Edward chuckled.
"Where are Emmett and Rose? What's taking them so long?" Esme asked, as she started spooning pasta onto her plate.
The three children started giggling, and Carlisle raised his eyebrow.
"I don't think you really want the answer to that question, Mom." Alice said, and I felt a burst of curiosity. Before I could think, the question came out:
"Why?" I asked, and Edward and Alice started laughing harder. Jasper seemed to regain control of himself though.
"Em and Rose are together." Jasper explained, simply. I felt my mouth flip into a slight frown.
"Like, together, together?"
"Yep." Edward said, behind his laughter. I just nodded my head.
"Aren't you remotely concerned that a brother and sister are dating?" Jasper asked, his face showing confusion.
I shrugged. I'd know a couple of kids like that before. I'd even shared a room with two siblings who were fucking a few placements back. Nights weren't fun.
"They aren't actually related. Biologically speaking. Me and Rose are adopted."
"Oh, okay. That makes more sense." Throughout the conversation, gradually, everyone had spooned the meal onto their plates, and Edward, who sat at the head of the table, passed me the spoon, and I put a spoonful on my plate, before placing the utensil back in the pan.
"You can have more than that, sweetie." Esme said. She smiled, but her eyes looked concerned. I grabbed the spoon again, and scooped some more on my plate. Everyone seemed to be watching me.
"When are you going to start school, Bella?" Alice burst into the silence.
"Erm. . ." Had I been told this yet? Shit, I couldn't remember.
"Is next Monday okay with you, Bella?" I nodded, before freezing.
"Wait, I'm supposed to be seeing Renee on Monday. Will you pull me out to see her during lunch?"
Esme and Carlisle swapped a strange look.
"Erm, why don't we talk about that later, sweetie." Esme said, her voice and body language apologetic. That was weird. What would she have to be sorry about? Why would me mentioning seeing Renee make her sorry?
Oh.
"She cancelled." I said. It wasn't a statement. I knew the answer.
"I'm so sorry, Bella." Esme said, nodding.
I shrugged.
"Its fine." There was a pause in the room, whilst we ate our pasta. Silent apart from the scrapping of forks and the dim chewing of the food.
"Why do you call you Mom by her first name?"
"Alice!" Carlisle and Esme shouted at the same time, and I cringed slightly at the noise. Ow.
"No, its fine. She's allowed to ask." I said, and everyone turned to stare at me.
"All the other adults always called her by her first name, and I've spent more time living with them rather than her. So, I just got used to hearing her referred to as Renee."
"Oh, okay. I guess that makes sense. Thank you for sharing with me, Bella." Alice smiled. I smiled back. It was normal for her to be curious. Especially if she had had a very storybook-esque life, like Jasper had suggested.
Rosalie and Emmett walked into the room, hand in hand, her whispering something to him.
"Thanks for finally joining us." Carlisle said, his eyebrows raised in a chiding manner.
"Yeah, guys, what kept you so long?" Edward asked, trying to keep a straight face, his lips quirking as he tried to fight a smile.
"We were reading this really good book, and we couldn't put it down." Emmett teased.
"Well we all know that can't be true. Since when can you read Emmett? I don't buy it." Edward laughed.
"Leave your brother be, Edward." Esme said, rolling her eyes. Rosalie scowled and Emmett laughed.
I decided to reach out an olive branch to Rosalie. She didn't seem to like me, and although they obviously hadn't been reading, maybe Emmett using it as an excuse was deemed reasonable because Rosalie actually did like reading. I mean, it was unlikely. But maybe.
"What book were you reading, Rosalie?" Her head snapped to me, and her eyebrows weaved together in what was an odd mixture of concentration and confusion.
"Frankenstein." She said, her voice even, mimicking the emotions I saw on her face.
"Oh, I love Frankenstein. Mary Shelley is a master, isn't she? Although I could never stand her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley's works, could you? He always comes across as a bit of a dick. Do you know Frankenstein came from a competition with him, Polidori and Byron? Well, I guess you do, everyone seems to know that. I find that hilarious, that something so silly as a competition between friends could create one of the most respected works ever? Oh, sorry, I'm rambling. Once I start talking about books, I never seem to be able to stop." I blushed.
Damn it, Bella! Act normal!
Everyone stared at me, before Carlisle cleared his throat.
"Frankenstein is a great book." He smiled, and I returned a smile, thanking him for lifting me out of the infodump-induced hole I'd dug. I returned eating my pasta, and everyone else seemed to agree that looking down and stuffing their mouths with food was the best remedy for Bella-created-awkwardness.
As the portion on my plate progressively got slower, Edward interrupted the silence.
"How's the team, Em?"
"Eh, same as normal. Although, Newton's being a particular douche at the moment. Think Clapp's going to end up having words with him if he doesn't get his shit together."
"Language." Esme scowled.
"I don't see why they don't just kick him off."
"Dude, who's going to replace him? Unless you suck it up and finally turn footie mad, we're stuck with him." Emmett said, and Edward just shrugged din response.
New information alert! New information alert!
"You're on the football team?" I asked. Yeah, that's right, this isn't my first time living with new people. You grab onto any personal information you give, and make polite small talk. That way, they won't hate you. Hopefully.
"Yep! Made captain this year." He grinned.
"And he's pretty damn good at it, as well. Clapp reckons he could get a scholarship." Said Rosalie, looking proud. It was probably the first positive emotion I had seen on her face.
"Clapp?" I questioned.
"The coach." She said, her eyes cold again.
I just nodded. We finished up the meal, and once we were dismissed by the two parental figures of the family, I followed Esme into the kitchen with my plate and fork, slipping the dirty porcelain and metal into the dishwasher.
"Are you okay, Bella?" Esme said, turning to me. That concerned look returned to her face. I nodded in determination.
"Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I be." Her face turned sympathetic, and I felt myself beginning to squirm underneath her scrutiny.
"Its okay to not be okay, Bella. You've had a big day."
"I'm fine." I insisted.
"Okay, sweetie. You can talk to me about anything, though. Remember that. Do you want to stay downstairs with the rest of the family, or would you prefer to go back upstairs?"
I paused, deliberating my answer. My preferred choice was obvious. Of course, I would want to escape! But was escaping the correct decision? Would this group of people that I now called my foster family be angry at me for choosing the easy option? Would I be deemed weird, a freak, lazy, broken, cruel? None of those description were necessarily untrue, in all fairness.
"Do you mind if I go upstairs?"
"Of course not, Bella. Have fun." She smiled. I followed her out of the kitchen and turned to veer off to the stairs whilst she entered the lounge, stopping in my tracks as a light voice called my name.
"Are you not going to watch a film with us, Bella?" Alice's mouth formed a frown.
She's not happy with you. I knew it, I knew it!
"Erm, I've got some stuff I need to get done." Excuses. Excuses were the foundations of surviving this world.
"What stuff? Do you want any help? I promise I'll be good fun!"
"Err, just some emails I've got to get to. Really boring stuff. You should go watch the movie. Maybe I'll come down in a bit." I smiled, and motioned for her to re-enter the lounge.
The 'maybe I'll come down in a bit' was one of my perfected lies. I very, very rarely followed through with that one, but it got people off of my case.
"Okay, see you in a bit then." She smiled and bounced into the living room.
Phew, crisis averted.
I creeped up the stairs, hopped into the bathroom to wash my face before slipping into the bedroom.
I needed Wuthering Heights in my hands.
Now.
Crawling under the nice and heavy duvets, sneaking a look at the window to make sure I was still hidden from outsiders by the curtain, I entered the world I felt safest in, and allowed Heathcliff and Cathy to fill my every thought, my every breath, my every dream. I slipped into unconsciousness eventually, the book clutched tightly to me, us bound under the covers together.
It would be okay. I was going to be okay.
A/N: The spiel about Bysshe Shelley is a reference to the fact that I have an essay on Ozymandias that I really should have already finished. Oh well. Don't forget to do lovely things like review & follow – you'd put a smile on my face! I promise! Btw, I'm on the hunt for a beta-reader/pre-reader because I'm lazy and hate making sure I'm actually coherent. Shoot me a pm if you're interested!