Chapter 4

BPOV

I was cleaning up from breakfast when I heard my phone ring. I looked at the caller ID. It was Alice. “Hi Alice. How are you this morning?”

“Hi Bella, I’m fine. I was calling to see what time you wanted to go today? If you don’t mind, my sister Rosalie would like to go also.”

“Sure Alice. That would be great. I’d love to meet her also,” I said. “Tell me where you live and I’ll come pick you both up.”

I heard someone laughing in the background when she said, “That’s okay. Our home is out of town and it’s easy to miss the drive if you don’t know to look for it, especially in this rain. I just got my car from storage so I need to drive it. It’ll be easier for us to pick you up.”

I gave Alice my address and she told me she’d be here in an hour. I left a note on the table for Charlie telling him where I went and ran upstairs to get ready. After I got out of the shower and brushed my teeth, I dressed comfortably in a navy top with jeans and boots. I brushed my hair out and left it down. I heard a horn honk out front so grabbed my bag and went down.

After I locked the front door, I turned and missed the step off the porch and almost fell on my face, I stopped so quickly with my mouth hanging open. Alice and her sister were in my driveway sitting in a yellow Porsche waiting for me. “Hi, Alice. Wow, I love your car!” Rosalie got out of the passenger side and pulled the seat up for me to climb in the back.

“Thanks, Bella,” Alice smiled. “This is my sister, Rosalie. Rosalie, this is Bella.”

“Hi Rosalie, it’s nice to meet you.”

She turned to me and gave me an appraising look before smiling. “Hi, Bella. Likewise.”

Alice distracted me by asking, “Well, where to?”

“Why don’t we go to Port Angeles first since it’s a bit of a drive and I can show you the hangouts on the way?

Rosalie turned and sniffed the air in front of me. “I like your perfume Bella. What’s it called?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Just soap. I don’t wear perfume.”

“None?” Alice asked.

“Nope. It’s all me.” I answered. “Why, do I stink?” I tucked my head to sniff myself. I didn’t think I stunk. I just took a shower this morning.

Alice and Rosalie exchanged a look between them.

“No, you’re fine,” Rosalie said staring at Alice. She turned to give me a reassuring smile before turning back to look out the front window.

The silence following became more than a little awkward as we drove out of town. I quietly pointed out several teen hangouts, wishing now I could find a way to politely have them drop me off and just go back home. I decided they obviously didn’t like me and we wouldn’t be friends after all. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. I didn’t know why I wanted to cry. It’s not like I was losing a close friend or anything. I’d just thought maybe…

I braced myself as Alice suddenly swung the car into the nearest parking lot and stopped her car. I guess I was getting out after all. I cleared my throat.

“It’s okay, Alice. You can let me out here and I’ll just pay you for the shirt.” I scooted forward in the seat waiting for Rosalie to let me out of the car.

“Oh no!” Alice exclaimed as she turned to me. “Please, forgive us if we made you uncomfortable. I promise we didn’t mean anything bad. Rosalie and I really do want to be your friend, if you’ll let us.” She turned to Rosalie for confirmation.

“Don’t we?”

Rosalie reached back and squeezed my hand. I was surprised; her hand was cold like Alice’s hand last night. “Bella, I’m sorry if I was rude. Trust me we do want to be friends.”

I smiled timidly in return. “I’d really like that too.”

Alice beamed brightly at me. “I promise we’re going to be as close as sisters. You’ll see.”

Rosalie seemed to sigh in relief as Alice pulled back out onto the road. She glanced at Alice who mumbled something along the lines of something being too close.
Rosalie turned to me and smiled, “So tell us about yourself.”

“There’s not much to tell. I’m pretty boring really. I’ve lived in Forks most my life with my dad, Charlie. My dad is the chief of police. My mom lives in Florida with her new husband, Phil. He plays minor league baseball. I’m vertically challenged. I can trip over air on a flat surface,” I laughed.

Alice & Rosalie laughed at that last comment. “Come on you can’t be that bad.”
I laughed back at them, “Wanna bet? You should see my chart at the hospital. I’m on a first name basis with most of the ER staff. I think I’m even on the hospital’s Christmas card list.”

Alice looked back in the rearview mirror at me, “Well if you’re really that bad, you’ll probably end up being treated by our dad, Carlisle Cullen at some point. He’s the new doctor at the hospital.”

“Well, I’m sure I’ll meet him then,” I replied.

We were pulling into the mall parking lot by this time. We got out and walked inside. I turned to them. “Well where do you want to start? Remember I owe you a new shirt Alice.”

Alice and Rosalie suggested we just start at one end and work across the mall. I thought they meant window shop. I had no idea they meant go into every store and shop.

Alice wouldn’t let me buy her a new shirt, but did agree to let me buy a new CD later when I went to the bookstore. When I saw the price tags on what she was buying I was secretly relieved. Her shirt would have cost me almost a month’s pay from my part-time job.

I did pick up a couple of new shirts and some shorts for myself. Alice kept trying to get me to try things on, but I really don’t care about fashion as long as it’s comfortable and I don’t look homeless.

We’d been in the mall for a few hours and I was getting hungry. They didn’t look like they would be ready to stop anytime soon. My stomach was starting to growl a little. I knew it was going to get embarrassing soon.

Alice turned to me, “Bella, why don’t we head to the food court. I’m ready to sit down for a while. How ‘bout you?”

I swear it was like she read my mind. “That sounds good. I am a little hungry.”

We found two tables together so we could have a place to put all their bags plus my two and sit down. I bought a slice of pizza and bottled water. Alice and Rosalie said they weren’t that hungry so they just got an order of curly fries to split and a couple of cokes.

As I took a drink I said laughing, “So you know my life story. Tell me about your family.”

As I said this, three of the most gorgeous guys walked up to our table. They looked like they just stepped out of a magazine ad. I recognized them from the dance as Alice and Rosalie’s brothers. They came over and pulled up chairs to sit down around us. The big one leaned into Rosalie and kissed her cheek, “Hey girls.” The blonde guy did the same to Alice. I raised my eyebrows at that. The other one sat down next to me. We were squeezed in pretty tight since it was a small table.
Alice smiled at the blonde next to her and said, “Bella, these are my brothers. This fine man here is Jasper.”

“Hi, Bella nice to meet you,” Jasper said.

She extended her hand toward the big guy next to Rosalie, “That’s Emmett and next to you is Edward.”

Emmett jumped up from the table and ran over pulling me up out of my seat to hug me.

“Hey, Bella! I’m sooo glad to meet you. You have no idea.” He was laughing.

“Emmett,” I squeaked “I can’t breathe!”

I could have sworn I heard a growl coming from Edward. “Emmett let her go,” Edward frowned. “Now!”

I looked at Edward in shock at his attitude. He certainly wasn’t very friendly. I sat down hard in my seat and blew out my breath. My chest hurt from Emmett’s bear hug. Alice jumped up from her seat and pulled Edward away from the table just as he took a deep breath and was turning toward me.

“Edward, I need your help getting something,” she said quickly.

Edward whipped his head back to stare at me. His eyes seemed to darken and he was resisting Alice’s pull. Jasper cleared his throat and stood jogging around the table toward Alice and Edward. “I’ll help also.” His tone was a little scary.
I turned in confusion back to Emmett and Rosalie.

Emmett sat back down by Rosalie. He shrugged “Sorry, Bella. My bad. I forget how breakable you can be.” Rosalie smacked him on the back of the head and told him to hush.

“Um, is he okay?” I asked, meaning Edward’s behavior.

Emmett shrugged, “Oh yeah. Edward’s fine, just a little intense sometimes. You’ll get used to his behavior. I think you just took him by surprise.”

“Surprise? Me? What do you mean?” I asked.

Emmett got a goofy grin on his face. “He thinks you’re H-A-W-T, hawt.”

I blushed in embarrassment just as Jasper, Alice and Edward sat back down. Edward slid into the seat beside me and put one arm around the back of my chair and took my hand in his other. He brought my hand to his lips and kissed the back of it while staring intently into my eyes.

“Hi Bella, it’s an honor to meet you.”

His voice was like dark chocolate; smooth, rich, deep, silky. There just wasn’t a single word to describe the way it washed over me. I stared, looking into his eyes. They looked like gold shining back at me. I had the weirdest feeling in my chest. I wasn’t sure what to make of it but it was making me nervous. I broke away from his gaze to look down at the table and grabbed my water blushing. “It’s nice to meet you also,” I whispered.

Jasper leaned his head into Alice’s shoulder and seemed to be trying to smother a laugh by clearing his throat. Edward tensed up all of a sudden. Jasper jumped like someone kicked him under the table.

Edward frowned at Jasper and then turned to me. “So, how’s the shopping going?” He looked past me at all the bags on the next table. He seemed to be unhappy surveying the stack and the store logos displayed on the outside of the bags.

Alice piped up, “Well, Edward, Rosalie and I are going to have to work on Bella. It turns out she hates shopping. She only purchased two bags worth, a couple of shirts and shorts. The rest are ours.”

I don’t know why she felt the need to explain my purchases to Edward. However, it did seem to clear his frown for whatever reason.

I noticed Emmett was kissing on Rosalie’s neck. This was getting a little creepy. I really wasn’t sure what to make of their family any longer. I was starting to rethink getting any deeper into a friendship with them. This just wasn’t right. I mean, gross!

Jasper looked at Alice. “Maybe we should explain our family dynamic to Bella before she gets completely weirded out, guys. I think she’s fixing to make a run for it.”

Alice looked at me in horror. “Oh my God, Bella! I didn’t even think about what you must be thinking of us. We’re all adopted. Jasper and Rosalie are brother and sister. Edward and Emmett are my brothers. Carlisle and Esme, that’s our mother, adopted us when we were younger. We just all kind of fell for each other.”

I felt so much relief at that. It was like a sense of calm just washed over me and I no longer cared. “Oh, that’s good to know. I was starting to wonder. I’m glad you all have someone.”

“Well, all of us except Edward here.” Alice seemed to be implying something with that statement.

Rosalie spoke up, “So Bella, any hot guys around town?”

Everyone seemed really interested in what I was going to say next. It was making me uneasy. I just don’t know what they are waiting for. “Well there are a few. Alice met them last night at the dance. There’s Eric Yorkie, Tyler Crowley and Mike Newton to name a few. They’re all good friends and on the football team at school. You’ll have to go to the games when school starts up.”

“Well, are you dating any of them?” she persisted.

“Not really. Lauren has had a crush on Tyler since junior high. You’ll probably run into her at some point this summer or when school starts. She’s very territorial about Tyler even though he doesn’t give her the time of day, so none of the girls will date him. Trust me, she is someone you do not want to cross. She can make your life a living hell. Believe me, I know,” I laughed.

“Eric, I’ve known him forever. After watching him eat pill bugs on the playground as a kid, it just ruins any idea for letting him get that mouth anywhere near me.” I laughed at the memory that brought up.

Everyone was laughing at that.

Rosalie persisted, “And what about, what did you say his name was? Mike?”

“Well, like I was telling Alice last night. Mike has had a crush on me since the end of freshman year and has been asking me out ever since. I do like him. He’s cute and sweet and funny, but can also make you want to rip your hair out in frustration sometimes. I’m thinking of maybe, finally giving in this year and see if it goes anywhere.”

Everyone seemed to be in thought when I finished. I noticed Edward’s hand was gripping the edge of the table a little tightly.

I thought about Mike and why I wanted to give dating him a shot. He was everything I said he was; he was really cute, sweet, funny, nicely built, annoying, full of his own self-importance, arrogant, a snob… Why did I want to date him? He really is kind of a jerk now that I think about it. Suddenly I wasn’t so sure dating Mike would be such a good idea after all.

I shook myself from my musings to realize everyone was staring at me. I blushed and quickly took another drink of my water, mumbling an apology to the table in general. I don’t know what I was apologizing for, but whatever. I felt a gentle pull on my hair and realized Edward still had his arm on the back of my chair and was playing with my hair. I looked at him from out of the corner of my eye trying unsuccessfully to be discreet. He was staring at me. He smiled the most dazzling crooked smile at me and continued to play with my hair.

“Hello again,” he said.

“Hi,” I answered shyly. I felt my heart flutter. Edward really was gorgeous. He was even better looking than Mike and I’d always thought Mike was the cutest guy in Forks. Of course, Edward didn’t live here before now. I got lost in eyes again. My fingers itched to run through his hair. I looked down quickly, stopping for just a brief moment to stare at his lips and wonder what it would feel like to be kissed by him. Would he be as good of a kisser as Mike? He looked like someone who would definitely know what he was doing.

“Bella,” Alice interrupted my daydreams, “didn’t you say you wanted to go to the bookstore while we were here?”

I shook off the feeling and looked up at her. “Yeah, I did.” I glanced at my watch.

“I’m not sure I have time though today. I’m supposed to call Mike to catch a movie
tonight.” I swear I kept hearing growling coming from somewhere.

“I’m sure we have plenty of time, Bella. We’re already here so why don’t we head over. There’s a magazine I want that I couldn’t find in Forks and I really, really want to get it.” She pouted at me, “Please?”

I laughed at that. “Sure, why not. Mike and I can go to a movie another time. I’m sure he and the guys are so wrapped up in video games he won’t even notice.”
Rosalie said she wasn’t interested in the bookstore so she and Emmett were just going to take the bags and head home in Alice’s car. Edward said he’d give the rest of us a ride home in his.

We all said goodbye to them. I told Edward we’d have to drive to the bookstore since it’s a couple of miles from the mall. I went to grab my bags, but realized Emmett must have grabbed them also when they left. Oh well I’ll need to remember to pick them up on the way home then.

We walked out to where Edward had parked. It had stopped raining, but was still cloudy. Edward opened the passenger door for me and I got in.

“Thanks, Edward,” I said.

He smiled the most amazing crooked smile at me. I swear I couldn’t think a single thought if my life depended on it. He really is by far the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. He beats Mike, hands down.

He got in as Alice and Jasper got in the back. I pointed out a couple of nice dress shops that were on the way to the bookstore that Alice and Rosalie might like coming back to one day.

“That’s usually where everyone shops for more formal dresses. We have a couple of dances at school during the year, including prom.”

We arrived at the bookstore and Edward opened the car door for me to get out. As we walked up to the store he opened the door for me again. He really was a gentleman. He just didn’t seem to talk much.

Alice and Jasper headed to the magazines. Edward looked down at me. “So what section did you want to look in, Bella?”

“I really like the classics. I need a new copy of Romeo and Juliet,” I said. “My copy has finally fallen apart. I also want to get Pride and Prejudice.”

“I like the classics as well. However, I will never understand Romeo and Juliet. You do know they die in the end, don’t you?” He rolled his eyes at me.

I looked up at him and put my hands on my hips. “Yes, obviously, I know they die. I did say I need a new copy,” I scowled. How dare he question my taste in books? What’s it to him anyway? I swear he doesn’t say much but when he does it’s annoying.
Jasper and Alice showed up at that moment. I felt a little more relaxed all of a sudden and my annoyance with Edward was fading.

“So Bella, did you find what you were looking for?” Alice asked, frowning at Edward.
“No, not yet. Your brother was just explaining my lack of taste in books.” I glared at him again.

“I’m sorry. Honestly, I didn’t mean anything by it, Bella. Please don’t be mad.” He smiled that crooked smile again and stared intently into my eyes. How does he do that? Just as I decide I really don’t like him, he dazzles me.

“Its fine, Edward.” I pulled another copy of Romeo and Juliet off the shelf and handed it to him. “This is how you can make it up to me.” I grinned at him. “You’re going to read it with me and then we’ll discuss the book together. Deal?”

I swear I didn’t think his smile could get anymore brilliant. “Deal.”

Alice looked like she was having a problem keeping her feet on the ground. She looked like she wanted to start jumping up and down. I wonder if there was too much caffeine in her drink at lunch. Not that I ever saw her actually drink any of it.
I picked up a couple of other books to read and the CD that Alice wanted and we walked to the register to pay. I set my stuff down to get out my wallet when Edward snatched them up handing them to the cashier. “Edward, give me my books.”

“Nope. I’m buying. It’s the least I can do for upsetting you earlier,” he said, handing his credit card to the cashier.

The cashier was looking at me, not paying any attention to Edward. He was tall with brown curly hair and blue eyes. He was kind of cute, but nowhere near as cute as Edward. He looked a few years older than me. “Hey, beautiful. I’m Josh. Do you live around here?”

Where was that growling coming from? I was starting to think I was going nuts. “Hi,” I answered, blushing. I was really embarrassed with Edward, Alice and Jasper standing there. “No, I live over in Forks.”

Edward stuck his credit card in the guy’s face. “Excuse me! Do you mind taking care of this or do I need to call the manager?”

Josh turned back to Edward rolling his eyes. “Whatever, dude. Is she yours?” He smirked.

Ok, now I was pissed. I don’t belong to anyone, least of all Edward. Edward looked like he wanted to rip the guy apart. I raised my eyebrow at Josh. I opened my mouth to let him have it when Alice pulled me away.

“Come on, Bella. Let’s wait outside. Here, Jasper,” she said handing him her magazines as she pulled me out the door.

We went and stood on the sidewalk. I was looking in the window as Edward finished paying. I saw him say something to Josh and Josh’s eyes got big and he put his hands up to Edward. I watched as Edward turned to walk outside, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“What was that about?” I asked looking back at Josh who was making a point of not looking at me.

“Nothing,” Edward growled at me “just teaching him some manners. Let’s go okay?” He moved his hand to the small of my back and steered me toward the car.

I felt Edward’s thumb brush the bare skin on my lower back under my shirt hem. His hand was so cool and I was starting to get a tingly feeling in my stomach. Usually I wouldn’t allow something like this with someone I barely know but I had to admit, I really liked it.

I heard Alice giggle behind me as she hugged Jasper.

Edward opened the car door for me to get in and handed me my bag. Everyone got in and he steered us back towards Forks. I remembered my bags went home with Emmett & Rosalie. I’d need to be sure and let him know I needed to pick them up, but he was frowning again so I didn’t want to ask right now. Maybe later if he relaxed a little.