Dusk

#24

Bella

The muted light of yet another cloudy day eventually woke me. I lay with me arm across my face, groggy and dazed. A weight forbid me to roll over on my side, not letting more sleep come to me. Softly lips pressing onto my jaw woke me up, the previous day flooded back into my awareness.

"Good morning," the beauty next to me whispered, removing her arms from my waist.

I finally opened my eyes, seeing Rosalie looking over me, smiling softly.

"Morning," I yawned while stretching. When I was done, Rosalie kissed my forehead before placing her head back on my chest. "You stayed?" I asked, playing with a few strands of her hair.

"Of course I did," she muttered, enjoying the attention she was getting. But she frowned when I moved her hand and forced her to move. "Where are you going?"

"Bathroom." She nodded and watched as I trudged out of the room.

Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I looked at myself in the mirror. I was almost unrecognizable; eyes too bright, specks of red across my cheek bones. It was to early to be this cheerful. After I brushed my teeth, I did my best to untangled my hair. I walked back to my room when I was finished.

Rosalie was still waiting when I got back. Instead of getting back into her arms, I rolled on top of her this time, watching as she grinned when I did so.

"Is Charlie still here?" I asked, moving some hair behind her ear.

"No," she said, pulling me closer. "He left about an hour ago." Before we could kiss, Rosalie stopped us. "You know you talk in your sleep."

I groaned, slightly annoyed by the news, but nodded. "I know. Did I say anything embarrassing?"

Rosalie looked away, looking bashful herself. "You only said you loved me."

I smiled softly. "Well, I wasn't lying." When I said that, I could see her eyes become glossy as she pulled me towards her.

Rosalie didn't stop pulling me closer when she was talking. Only when our lips finally met is when she was satisfied. She removed her hands from my neck to place her cold hands on my waist. I moved my own to her face, hearing her hum against my lips.

My stomach growling stopped her hands from traveling up. Rosalie giggled softly, moving me off of her. "Hungry?"

I didn't respond because Rosalie scooped me in her arms. The area around me blurred and seconds later, we made it to the kitchen. Rosalie was sitting in the chair from last night while I was standing.

"I would make you something," she started, "but I'm not a good cook."

"I bet you aren't." I found a bowl and a box of cereal. I could feel her eyes of me as I made me a bowl. Before I sat down, I looked at Rosalie. "I would offer you something, but I don't think you would like it."

I saw her eyes check me out before smirking. "Hilarious, Bella. Just eat."

After a few minutes of eating, Rosalie said something. "There's been something I've been meaning to ask you?"

I looked up from my now empty bowl. Rosalie was looking at her fingers, looking a little nervous. "And what's that?"

"Carlisle and Esme really want to meet you," she sighed. "Well, Carlisle wants to meet you as my girlfriend, not a patient. How do you feel about meeting them today?"

I was hesitant. "Do they know? That I know about them?"

"They're all aware," she explained. "But they still want to meet you."

"Okay," I said after thinking it over. "Yeah, I'll meet them. And if you're up to it, you can finally meet Charlie."

"It's a deal then. Go get dressed, I'll wait here."

I placed my bowl in the sink, and went back up in my room. It was hard to decide what to wear. I doubted there were any etiquette books detailing how to dress when your vampire girlfriend takes you home to meet her vampire family.

I ended up in my blue button up, remembering what Rosalie said about the color and a pair a jeans. Not to classy yet not to casual. A quick glance in the mirror told me my hair was impossible, so I just threw it into a loose ponytail.

Rosalie was waiting by the stairs, smiling when she saw me. "Very beautiful," she muttered, grabbing my hand when I was within reach. I blushed softly at her words.

After kissing my forehead, Rosalie and made went to my truck. She drove us out of the main parts of town, making me realize I had no idea where she lived. We passed over the bridge at the Calawah River, the road winding northward, the houses flashing past us growing farther apart, getting bigger. And then we were past the other houses altogether, driving through misty forest. I was trying to decide whether to ask or be patient, when she abruptly onto an unpaved road. It was unmarked, barely visible among the ferns. The forest encroached on both sides, leaving the road ahead only discernible for a few meters as it twisted, serpentlike, around the ancient trees.

And then, after a few miles there was some thinning of the woods, and we were suddenly in a small meadow, or was it actually a lawn? The gloom of the forest didn't relent, though, for there were six primordial cedars that shaded an entire acre with their vast sweep of branches. The trees held their protecting shadow right up to the walls of the house that rose among them, making obsolete the deep porch that wrapped around the first story.

I don't know what I had expected, but it definitely wasn't this. The house was timeless, graceful, and probably a hundred years old. It was painted a soft, faded white, three stories tall, rectangular and well proportioned. The windows and doors were either part of the original structure or a perfect restoration. My truck was the only car in sight, I could hear the river close by, hidden in the obscurity of the forest.

"Wow."

"Like it?" She smiled.

"It...has a certain charm."

She brushed her thumb over my cheek, chuckling.

"Ready?" she asked, opening my door.

"Not even a little bit. Let's go." 

_________________________

My number neighbor hasn't texted me yet and I have never been more offended.

Bye!