More Than My Own Life (Twilight Fanfiction)

Esme

I sat in the middle of my new bed, taking in the room. It was... Weird.

The walls were a light pink with a purple swirl going down the middle. There was a picture of a butterfly on the bright yellow flower hanging over a huge bed. The bed was made up of all white pillows and sheets, with a sparkly canopy over it. The only thing in the room that I actually liked was the wooden dresser and desk. Even the bedside table was unattractive. It was a deep purple decorated with pink hearts. I had been raised in the foster system, going through guestrooms, barely put together makeshift rooms, and the rooms of children who had grown up and moved out of their parents house... But this room is decorated heavily with what appeared to be and almost princess theme. This looked like a toddler's room.

I sighed and open the closet door. It was painted white... Which was okay in my opinion. I open the closet to hang up my clothes... And there was no room.

My jaw dropped. Hanging in the closet where countless numbers of shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, and jackets. Oh no. I wasn't supposed to use this closet, someone else's stuff was in here. I heard someone approaching the room. I shut the closet door and lunged for the bed, grabbing up the only book I own, which was To Kill a Mockingbird. I had no idea what it was about.

There was a knock on my door and I frowned. What was I supposed to do? Living in an orphanage, I had never had someone knock on the door. I hesitated, waiting for whoever was there to walk in.

Then, a voice on the other side of the door. "Renesmee, honey, can I come in?" I relaxed slightly. It was just Esme. She seemed to be the least dangerous out of the entire family. But... She was also the biggest threat. She was the one who I might get attached too, and I couldn't let that happen. That only ever led to hurt.

"Yes" I said quietly. It wasn't a question, obviously. If I said no, she would come in anyway. At least I had a door. Some of my foster homes had trusted me so little that they had just taken my door off.

Esme walked into my room and smiled, closing the door behind her. I scooted up farther on the bed and she sat on the other end. She smiled at me. "Hi, sweetie. You doing okay?" I nodded and put down the book, pretending that I've been reading and not looking around the room. "You know, you can change anything you want. The wall color, the bed..."

I looked at her in surprise. No one had ever offered me that. I mean, that kind of remodeling cost a lot of money... Money that people were not willing to spend on a temporary child. I just shook my head. "No thanks. I won't be here too long so -" I winced. I hadn't meant to say that out loud. I sighed and looked down, waiting for her to confirm what I had said.

I jumped when I felt her cold hand touch mine . My hand twitched as I fought my instincts to pull it back. When I didn't react, Esme wrapped her other hand around mine and squeezed gently. Startled by her kind action, I looked up, completely forgetting my rule of never making eye contact.

She smiled at me almost... Lovingly? She looked at me the way I had seen parents smile at their children. She looked at me as if I were family, as if she really cared about me. I just stared at her face in shock.

No one had ever looked at me like that before.

Coming back to myself I looked down. Don't trust anyone. It's not real, it's not real. She's a great actress, though.

"We're not taking you back to that orphanage, Renesmee. We won't, honey. I promise." Promises mean nothing to me. Too many have been broken. I won't believe it, I cant... I cant.

She seemed to realize that I wasn't buying it. She sighed and pulled me up by my hand. I let her guide me back to the closet. "Have you seen your new clothes?" I looked from her to the closet, confused. Those were not mine. They couldn't be. They were all new, with the price tags still attached. She nudged me forward gently. "They are for you."