Ebb and Flow (Twilight x Reader)

Chapter 2

The next day was significantly better. I had gotten my class schedule down, was catching up okay, and was getting to know Jessica's friends a bit more. Bella was still quiet as ever, but she didn't seem too down.

It was also significantly better because Edward wasn't there.

All morning I'd been dreading lunch, which would probably come with more glaring, but as I entered the cafeteria I saw that his four siblings of sorts were sitting together at the same table, and he was not with them.

Mike steered me, Bella, and Jessica towards his own table, and Jessica's friends soon joined us with eagerness. Throughout all of lunch, Mike had been focusing on Bella, which I thought was sweet. Maybe if Bella could distract herself with a few fun dates she wouldn't be as miserable here.

I was practically skipping when Edward hadn't shown by the end of lunch. Mike and I walked to Bio together, and as we did he talked about some sort of upcoming trip to the beach. He was quite easy to talk to, and I found myself coming out of my shell a bit. I liked Mike, he was a cool guy. We clicked pretty well.

I took advantage of the table I had to myself and used Edward's chair as a footstool.

After school Bella and I headed over to Thriftway for a grocery run. I was wrong on that part, Dad didn't have much food at home. Bella offered to be in charge of cooking for the duration of our stay, and Dad and I both happily agreed.

My homework took me the better part of the afternoon to finish, but the process was interrupted by the delicious aromas of steak and potatoes wafting from downstairs. Eagerly I made my way down to the lower level.

We ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable. None of us were bothered by the quiet. In some ways, we were well suited for living together.

"So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?" he asked as he was taking seconds.

"Yeah, everyone's pretty friendly," I replied. With one outstanding exception. "There's a guy, Mike, from Bio who's very talkative."

"That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid—nice family. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all the backpackers who come through here."

"Do you know the Cullen family?" Bella asked hesitantly, speaking for the first time during dinner.

"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man."

"They . . . the kids . . . are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school."

Dad surprised me by looking angry.

"People in this town," he muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here," he continued, getting louder. "We're lucky to have him—lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature—I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should—camping trips every other weekend. . . . Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk."

"They seemed nice enough," Bella said, trying to backpedal. "I just noticed they kept to themselves. They're all very attractive," she added.

"You should see the doctor," Charlie said, laughing. "It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around."