Defective - Jacob Black {1}

Chapter 41: Remorseful Minds

"Fuck! Can you please pay attention to the road!" Tori screamed at me as we drove through the woods between Forks and the Cullen house.

"Can you calm down?" I asked, mimicking her tone. "It was just a pot hole." I explained to her and she scoffed. "And I am watching the road!" Typical of us to argue when we try and purposely spend time together.

The Cullens had finally contacted me, two weeks after the battle, inviting Catori and I to dinner. According to Alice, Esme and the rest of the family wanted to meet Catori and Alice wanted to explain some wedding stuff to us. Catori was semi-excited about the prospects of wedding planning but I wasn't bothered in the slightest.

Alice knew this of course, but just because I disliked Bella at the moment it didn't mean I couldn't be there for Edward... her words, not mine. Besides, she promised Bella wouldn't be there, it only appeased my hostility slightly.

This would be Tori's first time meeting the Cullens properly — other than Edward — and she was nervous. I didn't think she was scared, just worried about the fact that they were vampires after hearing the tribe legends the other day.

We pulled up to the Cullens' driveway, the trees still concealing the house as we drove along the short but winding road. "Are you sure its okay for me to come with you?" Tori asked, the nerves shaking her voice ever so subtly as she spoke. Her eyes were searching through the trees quickly trying to find the house.

"Esme invited both of us. You're my family so you're theirs as well." I told her as we rounded the last bend that exposed the house. "There's the house."

Her head shot to the side to look out of her window, the glass walls of the front of the house shinning in the late afternoon sunshine. "It's huge!" She exclaimed, her face practically pressed against the glass as she tried to take it all in.

I laughed at her expression as I pulled up towards the garage shutter, pulling down the visor above my head to access the button that opened the door. "No way! You have one of the special buttons."

"Yes, I have one of the special buttons!" I laughed at her excitement as the garage shutter began to lift, exposing the Cullens' lavish, shiny cars and the free parking space reserved just for me.

As I parked the car and the shutters went back down behind us and Tori turned to me. "I'm a little nervous." She admitted looking down at her hands clasped together tightly in her lap.

"There's no need to be, they'll love you, I promise." I rubbed her arm in an attempt to soothe her, before unbuckling my seat belt and climbing out the car.

Her scent hit me like a smack in the face. I could hear her heart beating quickly from the floor above, she was nervous and she was right to be. Alice had lied to me. They had done this on purpose.

"Alice, I swear to god I am going to kill you." I seethed under my breath, so low and fast that Tori wouldn't have been able to hear.

I went round to the back of the car, grabbing Tori's overnight bag from the trunk as she climbed out the car and shut the door. "So where is everyone?" She asked as she looked at the cars in awe before turning to me.

"They'll be around." I mumbled angrily, Catori looked confused at my obvious change in mood. "Bella's here too." I motioned for her to follow me towards the only door in the garage which opened out onto the front entryway just in front of the stairs.

"How can you tell?" She asked as I held the door open for her, letting her walk past me. She looked up admiring the high ceilings and modern simplistic decor.

"I can smell her." I grimaced and Tori wrinkled her nose up. "And hear her heart."

"Creepy."

"Anyway, you've seen the garage, down that hallway is the our special office where we handle all our illegal stuff, there's also our business office where all our business dealings are handled, that's like all the investment stuff." I explained to Tori as I pointed down the hallway. To be fair I had never been in those rooms myself. My identity would never have to be changed whilst we were here and Carlisle handled my investments, only small dealings but it meant I didn't have to get a part time job for now so yay for me.