She looked at me with warm golden eyes. "I wouldn't dream of hurting you, honey," she replied, smiling at me. Again, it wasn't a twisted or evil smile, but a gentle, loving one. Her smile dropped for a moment and she laughed harmonic laugh. "I'm sorry; I suppose "dream" is the wrong word to use since I don't sleep. But I have no intention of harming you."
"Um, okay…" I mumbled. I was confused by the fact that she wasn't going to hurt me, but for some reason I trusted her. Her eyes glowed with sincerity. I couldn't find it in my heart to not believe her. It was so…strange.
She smiled kindly at me. "My name is Esme, by the way. Esme Cullen."
"I-I'm…Bella Swan." I cannot believe I am telling her my name! It's just like the first time! Only, well, I'm not being helplessly seduced or some shit like that. Alright, so it wasn't just like the first time. This time was completely different.
"It's very nice to meet you, Bella," she said happily.
"Er, yeah, it's…nice to meet you…Esme…" I can't help the fact that I'm still nervous as hell. I mean, okay, so she isn't going to hurt me.
Then what the fuck is she gonna do with me?
"Are you hungry?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow. "I can make you something if you'd like."
Wait. What? "You can cook?" I asked, surprised.
She smiled and nodded. "Yes, actually, I trained myself by reading cookbooks and watching the Food Network. My husband Carlisle works as a doctor, so sometimes I come in and cook for his patients. It's quite fun, actually."
"W-wait? Husband?" She nodded pleasantly. "How many of you a-are there?"
"Oh, goodness me, I forgot. There are eight of us altogether. Carlisle and I live here with our six adopted children. I have three sons and three daughters; Emmett, Edward, Jasper, Rosalie, Amara and Alice."
"A-are they here?" I asked. I was becoming worried.
"No, no, they aren't here dear, don't worry," she said. "Carlisle is at work and the kids are all out doing their own things. I called Carlisle to let him know what happened and asked him to tell the kids to stay away for a while. I didn't want to frighten you further."
I stared at her as she explained, dumbfounded. Why did she care so much?
"Why?" I asked incredulously.
"Why what, dear?" she replied, confused.
"Why do you care so much about me? Why are you being so nice to me? I broke into your house, for God's sake! And…and…I mean, I know that you're a vampire! Yet here you are being friendly to me…I just…I don't understand." I may have been a little harsh, but I mean, come on, what the hell am I supposed to think?
Esme looked at me sympathetically and sighed. "My family and I don't drink human blood, Bella. We don't believe in it. We aim to be like humans, to live in peace with them. We don't believe in pointless violence either. And I, for one, am not about to turn away a lonely girl who looks like she hasn't eaten or slept in months because she broke into my house."
"Bella, I know you're scared of me. I don't know what past experiences you've had with our kind, but I assure you that I have no bad intentions towards you. If you wish to leave, I won't stop you from doing so, but I would like you to stay. You're scared and you look hurt, so I'd like my husband to look you over when he comes home. Please, dear, I want you to trust me. No one in my family will harm you."
I was speechless. I mean, seriously. Wow. Is it a bad thing that I believed every word she just said? I don't understand. She just radiates this warmth and concern that feels so real I feel as though I can't disbelieve her. When I look into her eyes, I only see love, something I've never known my whole life. I've known this woman for a short period of time, and hell, she's a vampire, but she's been more motherly to me then my mother had ever been.
"Okay," That was my answer. I didn't know what else to say, really. Esme seemed pleased regardless of my short answer.
"Would you like something to eat?" she asked. I opened my mouth to answer, but I stopped when I heard a car pull up outside. I grimaced, hoping that the others hadn't decided to come home all at once. THAT would be awkward.
Esme tsk-ed and shook her head. "I had a feeling she would be showing up soon." She then noticed my confused and startled face and smiled at me. "Don't worry, dear, it's only Alice. You'll like her. She's a sweet girl. I'll tell her to behave." Esme stood up slowly and paced herself as she walked away. I guess she did it to try and ease me, since I knew she could get to the door in seconds. I was oddly thankful for her kindness.
Rather than watch her, though, I decided to look around the house from my seat on the couch. I mean, I was curious about the kind of home vampires would be living in. I was surprised, to say the least, that their home looked fairly ordinary. No coffins, no skulls, no chains, no spikes, none of the shit I'd seen in most vampire movies.
Then again, I doubted the movies were anywhere close to being correct about vampires.
My eyes bulged when I took in the living room. A giant, plasma screen TV adorned the walls with an expensive DVD player beneath it, not to mention several game systems. The walls were decorated by paintings, pictures, masks and scrolls, several shelves here and there, some with trophies, others with miscellaneous objects that seemed to have their own story behind them. I was amazed. Everything looked so bright and stunning. It was all so foreign, yet so vaguely familiar to me. I wonder how-
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