YOURS ( edward cullen ! )

prologue

Natalie enjoyed road trips, especially in the winter - and especially when it was just her and mom.

Unfortunately, this was a family road trip and the car was full to the brim with all the Ashford's and their belongings.

It was always entertaining to watch the rain drops race each other and bet on which one would reach the end of the window first. Strangely, grandma always won, which made the ride more exasperating than usual.

Her little brother threw a tantrum every time and dad was the only to blame for it, after all, he never missed an opportunity to deliver his infamous line "Ashford's were born to be winners" and his son took it LITERALLY because that was a justifiable opportunity to act like a spoiled brat when faced with defeat.

If looks could kill, dad would most definitely not be breathing because mom would give him the "lethal judgy eyes" when Eliot kicked the front seat, making his older sister hit her scraped knees on the glove compartment, who never failed to open up, except when they really needed it too. Not even the Hulk would be able to open that small compartment, but Nat's injured knees never failed to do so.

Eliot would wait patiently like a preying cat, for the moment his sister bounced back, just so he could seek comfort in the mothers' arms, crying because she pulled is soft blond curls. Mom would hug him back, looking knowingly at her oldest, both silently agreeing that nothing good would come of punishing Eli in the car.

The five-year-old would get louder and increasingly annoyed at how the world was unfair, and that Nat was never EVER grounded - even when she didn't eat the mashed potatoes, THE POTATOES!

Food allergies were a concept that we refused to believe in and there was no convincing him otherwise, especially a lethal allergy to something as delicious as potatoes, a vegetable that he would GLADLY eat at breakfast, lunch and dinner if given the opportunity.

Dad's work always required the family to move around, and that big house in the Forks woods was calling to him, all the way from Oregon.

Derek Ashford renovated old houses and flipped them for a fortune, but this one, this one was a keeper.

Located in the center of the forest and surrounded by trees, that was the dream of a man tired of the big cities and of investors desperate for more money because it doesn't matter how rich you are, you never have too little money.

Grandma loved the idea of sitting in the porch and netting her grandsons sweaters for a lifetime, mom could not resist at the thought of building a library with books filled with obscenities dad did not approve of, Eliot begged for a swing with a tire - big enough for him and his to-be-made friends that would come with the new city and school- and Nat... well, she just wanted the attic for herself, away from all the crazy, with a big window where she could watch the moon and count the stars till she fell asleep.

The 8-hour trip was hell, and so was the first night.

Laying inside a sleeping bag and attempting to rest was not as fun as in the movies and neither were the bright golden lights, watching her from the trees, like two molten novas that fell from the heavens.