Chapter:11
"You know, you guys look nothing alike. Like the three of you grew up on entirely different sides of the planet."
Edward's eyes met mine as he silently pulled off the barcode label from his clear plastic lighter. Jasper said, "Well, I look like my mom, and Emmett looks like our dad and Edward's mom is married to our dad, and Edward looks like her sort of, soooo yeah, none of us look anything alike. Wow, I am baked.
"I look like my father," Edward said quietly. I furrowed my brows at his words. They were soft spoken yet definitive and I sensed an innate mark of sadness.
"Oh. How long have your parents been together?" I asked, realizing too late in my stoned state that I probably should have taken the opportunity to change the subject.
"Twelve years. We were both five when they got married." Jasper replied. I was intrigued. I wanted to know about Jasper and Emmett's mother and Edward's biological father and where they were, but considering I had met them only hours prior, I thought that maybe it was too presumptuous to ask.
Some time passed and we were chatting about school and the fact that I had someone I knew in almost every one of my classes. They began talking about a stupid workout regimen, and in my fuzzy brain, I lost interest, picking up the magazine in front of Edward.
As I leafed through it, I passed an article that read, "What Type of Dog Are You?"
It was actually one of those nonsensical quizzes that were designed to match your personality with inanimate objects. Like if you were a quiet person, you resembled a chair, or some thing dim-witted like that.
"Hey, what kind of dog are you?" I directed the question to no one specific.
Jasper looked up at me and said a slightly slurred, "Scuse me?"
"What kind of dog… like if I was dog I think I might be a Pomeranian. Or a Bischon Frise."
"Oh," Jasper said, understanding. "Um, maybe a Great Dane." He said it matter of factly, closing the statement with a decisive nod.
Edward turned to him and said flatly, "You are in no way a Great Dane. More like a terrier or some shit."
"Fuck you, Dick. What kind of dog do you think you are?" Jasper spat.
"I'm not a dog at all. I'm … a mountain lion." Edward held his hands up curling his fingers like claws while he bared his teeth in a snarl. He did it with such unbridled enthusiasm that Jasper and I threw our heads back in laughter.
"I'll give you one guess what kind of dog Xanax is," Jasper said, a wry smile on his face.
Edward and I both muttered, "Chihuahua." That got the laughter started all over again. Proof that everything is much funnier when you are high.
I scolded them for making fun of Alice, which they blatantly ignored. We made small talk after that, getting to know each other and asking harmless, non-invasive questions. The conversation was mainly between Jasper and I with an occasional snicker, snort or scowl from Edward. But he did not actually verbally participate in the conversation.
While Jasper and I spoke, Edward leaned back against the wooden panels and played with his lighter, turning it back and forth while watching the fluid drain in and out of the chambers.
"So, what made you move back here, anyway?" Jasper asked. It was the one question he didn't ask me that morning. It was the one question I was hoping to avoid entirely.
"Um, someone hurt me badly and it just made life really hard, so I came here…to kind of start over." I let out a winded breath and sighed at the memory.
Good girl, Bella. You did it.
It was the most evasive explanation I could find while being entirely truthful. Edward looked up and brought his finger to his lips, like he wanted to say something, but changed his mind. I knew Jasper was itching to have me elaborate on it, but I wasn't ready to let them in on why I fled California. Not just yet. Someday.
Once the sky grew dark, and we realized that we were all parched and starving, we parted ways at the trail outside the tree house toward our respective homes. Before we left, I asked Jasper if I could give him money, but he scoffed at my offer.
I headed back home to an empty house, thankful that Charlie was working late on a case. I didn't mind being alone, and truly, it was a perfect arrangement for the teenager who didn't want to be bothered with parental interference. Not that Charlie ever interfered, but I just engaged in a debaucherous act in his yard, so it was in my best interest that he not be around.
As I finished a slice of my leftover pizza, I thought about how much fun I had today. It had been months since I'd been social with kids my own age and I hadn't realized how much I had missed the interaction. And for the first time in my life, I had actually made guy friends. Not an easy task for me, in truth. Girls were usually a cinch, but guys only seemed interested in one thing from me, and being friends was not it.
I headed upstairs to check my email and pick out the next day's outfit.
Dear God,
Thank you so much for getting me through the day without any major fail. I would greatly appreciate it if you could do that tomorrow and Friday as well. Please help all the starving kids in Africa, and look after Mom and Phil, Dad, Alice, Rose, Jasper, Emmett and Edward. Oh, and please not have let the rain have done too much damage to my new boots because I love them. Amen.
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