Twilight Fan Fiction ❯ The Fragrance of the Perfect Lie ❯ Pale Memories ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Bella found a can of chicken noodle soup, which she left in the cupboard. Do I really have to gain Charlie’s trust over kitchen duties again? she thought as she filled a pan with oil and set it on the stove. She decided to fry fish for Charlie in the meantime, as a poor attempt to get her mind off of the party. Even though Alice had definitely been eager enough to invite her to the party, it still didn’t change the fact that Bella hadn’t the slightest clue of how to “party.” It terrified her that she didn’t even know what kind of behavior the Cullens would expect out of her.

The rest of the day had been uneventful – it was too rainy to read outside, so Bella decided to curl up in a ball on her couch and re-read Mansfield Park. When the sun had finally set, she left a bookmark in her book and glanced at the plain clock on the wall. Her heart skipped a beat as she read 5:48, and she quickly dressed into her outfit and a pair of boots. It was too late to do anything fancy with her hair, so she pinned her bangs to the side with a tiny blue bow. She left a note for Charlie explaining where she was and left in haste.

Her ride to the Cullens’ house hadn’t taken as long as she expected. The row of cars that were parked in their drive way had extended halfway to the end of the street. Loud music pounded in her ears and alerted her that the party had already begun. As Bella shuffled through their half-open door, Alice appeared in front her and a smile formed on her face.

“Hi Bella, let’s go join my siblings and see what they’re up to,” Alice laughed with a manic gleam in her eye. Bella didn’t trust Alice’s expression, but warily followed her with a patient smile. They had to worm their way through the tightly packed crowd, and eventually reached a leather couch. Jasper and Emmett looked like they were arguing about something, whilst Edward and Jessica were chatting while holding hands. Bella’s smile stiffened and she had to grit her teeth silently so she wouldn’t cry.

“Hey guys, look who showed up! Bella Swan!” Alice had to cup her hands to her mouth and yell over the deafening rock music. Edward, Jasper, Emmett, and Jessica stopped their current activities to greet Bella.

“I’m glad you could make it,” Edward gave her a quick smile that sent Bella’s heart thump unevenly.

“Hello,” Jasper gave her a polite nod.

“Welcome to the Cullens’ pad!” Emmett laughed and shook her hand roughly.

“There’s enough room for everyone, so scoot over!” Alice sat down next to Jessica and waved her hand towards Bella. Bella timidly sat down and scanned the room with a casual expression.

“So, where did you move from?” Alice asked with a burning curiosity in her tone. Bella hesitated before replying.

“Phoenix, Arizona. My mom re-married and I sent myself here, so she can travel with Phil. He has a lot of minor league baseball games to play,” For some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to lie to Alice. She figured if she was going to establish a good relationship with the Cullens again; why not tell them the truth? Atleast, the truth that she was willing to fess up to – which did not include her recent dreams.

Sympathy tugged at the edges of Alice’s smile and she continued to hold Bella’s gaze.

"Ugh, could we change the station? I know a really good station that plays hip hop." Jessica whined.

"Bella's a new guest, so I think she should choose the next station," Alice intervened. "What kind of music do you listen to?"

“Bits and pieces of different kinds of music. I really like Debussy’s music,” Bella slightly raised her voice at the last sentence, feeling self-conscious.

“You listen to Debussy?” Edward leaned over and gazed into her eyes in excitement. He suddenly bolted from the couch and tread across the room, towards the speakers. He switched the volume off and quickly strode to his piano. Bella’s heart skipped a beat as his pale fingers seemed to silently study the sleek keys.

The noisy crowd settled down once they noticed Edward on the piano bench. Their fascinated stares clearly expressed the depth of their appreciation for his piano skills. A simple tune that steadily increased into a complex composition filled the silence, and captured everyone’s attention. There was a dark beauty to the song that completely fascinated Bella – it strangely reminded her of the lullaby that dream-Edward had composed for her, except it sounded so lonely. A hard lump in her throat rose and she squinted back the tears that threatened to flow – the song was beautiful beyond description.

The song finally ended, and the crowd erupted in clapping and cheers.

“That was amazing,” Bella told Edward as he squeezed through the crowd to sit back down next to Jessica.

“Thank you. I’m always glad to meet a Debussy fan,” Edward gave her a crooked smile.

The rest of the party had gone far better than Bella expected possible. They joked around about various teachers, and she found herself relax and join the conversation in an animated manner. She lost track of time, until Alice asked her what time she needed to be home by.

“It’s almost 9:30,” Alice checked her watch. Bella’s posture froze and her eyes widened in surprise. I wrote to Charlie that I’d only be here for an hour or two!

“I’m sorry, but I really need to leave. I’ll see you guys tomorrow and thanks for the invitation!” she scrambled off of the couch and headed out the door.

“Bye Bella!” Alice yelled. “I’ll see you at lunch!”

Lunch? But the Cullens had sat at another table at lunch yesterday – what had changed to have them decide to sit with her now? Maybe it actually had something to do with Jessica. She shrugged off these over-all unimportant questions and drove back home. Through the bleak headlights of her truck, she saw the outline of Charlie with the front door open behind him. She parked her Chevy, turned the ignition off, and kept a steady pace towards the front door. A number of likely and not-so-likely excuses to give Charlie ran through her head as she came closer and closer to her house.

“You’re late,” Charlie’s worried tone revealed a hint of anger.

“I’m sorry, Dad. The party was really fun and I lost track of time,” Bella tried to explain. “I would’ve called you, but I forgot…” Charlie seemed to accept this answer and gave her a warm smile.

“There weren’t any drugs or alcohol? Any boys that caught your eye?” he joked, struggling to keep a serious face.

“Of course not, to all three questions,” she smiled. “Did you know that Edward Cullen is a talented pianist?” They both left the cold outside, and entered their cozy living room.

“No, I didn’t know that. The Cullens are popular around here, and I never have to put up with any trouble from Dr. Cullen’s kids.” Bella gave a sigh of relief at this – he obviously approved the Cullen family and Edward. Charlie sat back down on the couch and turned his attention to a basketball game on television.

“Good night!” she called over her shoulder as she was raced towards her bedroom.

“’Night,” Charlie vaguely replied.

Bella changed into her pajamas and turned on her computer. As it slowly chugged into life, she sat there and thought about her recent dreams. Even though her last dream had been frightening, she still longed to be with dream-Edward and his family. She knew that her fixations on these dreams were becoming unhealthy, but she had decided that it didn’t matter for the moment. All that mattered was to be with the Cullens and their dream counter-parts.

She turned on the internet and after getting rid of a few pop-ups, she checked her inbox. She received three e-mails from her mom and replied back to one of them. She described her immediate impression of Forks and little details about school and the party. Afterwards, she shut down her computer, turned off the lights, and snuggled into her bed.
She mentally braced herself for her upcoming dreams – she had a very strong feeling she would be meeting Edward again. As she concentrated on the soothing sounds of the rain outside, she felt herself slowly fall into her personal dream world.

Bella's expectant gaze quickly became confused once she realized she was surrounded by a chaotic pattern of undefined colors.

“Hello? Edward?” she asked, feeling very frightened.

“Bella,” Edward whispered in her ear. She jerked around and met his terrified, golden gaze. Before she could even greet him, he stood a few steps back.

“Bella, listen to me and listen well. You have to get out of Forks as soon as possible. Go back to Renee and stay with her. If you don’t…” His voice suddenly sounded strangely distant and she could only pick up a few words of the rest of his speech. “They…coming…leave…or else…now…dangerous…”

“I-I can’t hear you. Where are you going, Edward?” Bella became more and more terrified as her dream and Edward started to fade. “I don’t understand your warning!”

Her dream faded and she found herself in a dreamless, empty sleep. Streaks of cold light that filtered through the windows woke her up. She sighed in frustration and looked at her alarm clock. It was 6:30, which meant that she definitely needed to get up soon and get ready for school. A much more important matter was at hand – what was Edward trying to warn her about, and why did he want her out of Forks?