From Yours Truly, Edie

Chapter Two: A Surprise Halloween Visitor

Hello Bill,

I'm Edythe Rosemary Mullen, and I'll be 8 on October 29. I have a little sister and her name is Melanie. I have a brother too but I haven't seen him since he was a baby. My favourite colour is orange. I hate school too. Math is the worst thing ever and I wish it would just go away. My bus driver smells like glue. My Mom says I can send you a picture of me but you have to send one of you also. Are you really in a band? That's so cool! What is Tom like? Is he older than you or is he younger? What is your favourite thing to do? I like reading and playing outside with Melanie. Do they have Halloween where you live? Halloween is my favourite holiday even more than Christmas. All the other girls dress up like princesses but I dress up like a vampire. I wish I was a vampire.

From yours truly,

Edie

P.S. - I hate being called Edythe. So call me Edie, or else.

P.P.S. - When is your birthday?

Halloween 1999

"I found a house for us to live in." Leslie told her daughters during breakfast. "You each get your own room."

"Yay! I call the big one!" Edie chirped, earning a glare from Jim, her grandmother's mean husband. She glared right back at him.

"And your father wants to take you out trick-or-treating. D'you want to go with him?"

"But Jordan was supposed to come with us! And then stay for the night!" Edie pushed her plate of chocolate chip pancakes away in protest.

"I talked it over with her parents, you father too. She still can. So what do you say? Would you like to go with him?" Leslie looked from Melanie to Edie.

"Okay." Both girls sighed in unison.

"Good. Now go put your costumes on so I can do your makeup. Before you miss the bus for the third time this week."

Edie was really excited to see her father. They had never really been close; he in fact scared her most of the time. She wondered what Bill's father was like - was he fun? Nice? Scary, or mean and grouchy all the time? Did he have a beard, like hers did?

Her next thoughts involved the new house. She didn't really want her own room, as she had discovered a fear of the dark. That and she'd grown used to talking to Melanie until they both fell asleep.

"Edie?" Melanie said as she pulled on her Snow White dress. "I don't want my own room."

"How 'bout we try having our own rooms and if we don't like it, we can share one?" Edie suggested, to which Melanie reluctantly agreed. The two finished getting ready and as soon as Leslie finished applying eye makeup on Edie, they grabbed their school bags and ran out the door just in time to catch the yellow school bus.

Hank picked the three girls up at school. After buying them Happy Meals and cookies, they walked around the mall, collecting candy from cashiers. Edie saw her mother in the food court sitting with a man she'd never met before, but kept it to herself, as she knew it would upset her sister. And Melanie was so happy. Edie loved seeing her smile, the way her eyes lit up. She'd do anything to make Mel smile.

"Edythe! Are you even payin' attention? Hold your friends hand!" Hank snapped. "If you get lost, your mother will kill me."

"I'd love to see that." Edie muttered, taking Jordan's hand in hers. "When are we gonna get more candy?"

"Soon as we leave. Let's go!" Hank led them to his car, where Melanie sat in the front.

To Edie, the rest of the night passed in a blur and didn't feel real. Long after Jordan and Melanie fell asleep, she slipped out of her sleeping bag (as the three of them were camping out on the floor) and crept quietly down the stairs, making her way to her mother's room. Noticing the bedroom light was on, she pressed her ear to the door and heard her mother talking to someone.

"No, I don't want them to know just yet, especially Edie."

"It's been three weeks, babe. It ain't gonna kill them. Besides, I wanna meet the rugrats." A man said, as if trying to convince her of something. "What could go wrong? Everything will be fine."

"Alright. Maybe..."

Edie ran back to bed before she was caught eavesdropping and lay in her sleeping bag with a hundred questions on her mind.

Who was the man? Was it the same one she'd seen earlier, in the mall food court? Why did he want to meet her and Melanie, and what was he doing in her mother's room? What if he married her mother? She didn't want a new father. She didn't really want the one she had now, to be honest. The only person she needed was her sister, because without Melanie, she was no one, lost.

"Jordan!" Edie shook her friend awake. "Jordan!"

"Scott, get outta my room." Jordan rubbed her eyes, groaning, and peeked at Edie. "You're not Scott."

"I have to tell you something. And you have to promise you won't say anything to anyone." Edie whispered.

"Cross my heart and hope to die." Jordan swore, stretching as she sat cross-legged.

Edie checked to make sure Melanie was still sleeping before saying anything. "Today when we were in the mall I saw my Mom eating with some strange man. I've never seen him before in my life! And a couple minutes ago I went downstairs and heard her talking to a man in her room. And I think it was the man from the mall."

"What were they talking about?"

"He wants to meet Melanie and me. But my Mom told him she doesn't want us to know about him yet, whatever that means. I just want to know why he was in my Mom's room."

"Maybe they're 'special friends.' My brother Ray has a special friend and she sneaks in through his window at night sometimes. They kiss and hug and cuddle." Explained Jordan. "She had to pee on a stick once because she thought she was gonna have a baby. And the stick said she wasn't."

"That's gross! Why would anyone want to pee on a stick. ...I hope my Mom doesn't have to pee on a stick. That man better not be her special friend because you're only supposed to kiss boys and share a bed with one when you're married. I'm gonna be so mad at her." Edie frowned. She finally fell asleep, now that she had told someone what had been bothering her. Or, one of the things that was bothering her.

What she didn't know though was that Melanie had heard everything.

/-/

Dear Edie,

Happy birthday! What happened to your brother? I like orange too. Orange and blue look nice together. I taped a photo on the back of this letter. I'm on the left and the one on the right is Tom. Tom is loud and funny. All the girls like him. He is ten minutes older than me. My favourite thing to do is making music with Tom. I like reading Anne Rice books. My favourites are Interview With A Vampire and Queen Of The Damned. Halloween isn't very popular in Germany but Christmas is. I wish everyone did Halloween here. I want to be a vampire too. Do you play any sports? I don't. I'm not very good at sports. I hate spiders so much. What kind of music do you like? I like David Bowie, Nena, Green Day, Placebo, and Depeche Mode. Tom likes HipHop. Ick.

Yes, I will call you Edie, don't murder me please! Ha Ha that was a joke!

My birthday is September 1.

Your friend,

Bill :)

P.S. - we found a bassist and a drummer last night when we were having a performance. Their names are Georg and Gustav. They are older than me and Tom. They are really cool and very fun.

XsX

I can't wait to post some of the later chapters I've been working on. This is probably going to be one of my favourite fanfics I've ever written. Besides the first one I've ever done (found it the other day and it's really bad and doesn't make sense but it holds a strangely special place in my cold dead heart) that is.

Wonder what will happen with Edie, Melanie, and Leslie... hmmmmm....