Renewal [Emmett Cullen] (1)

[15- Cullen House]

I realized, as he drove out of the main part of town, that I had no idea where he lived. We passed over the bridge at a 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 had no idea were we where and debated on whether to ask or be patient. When he turned abruptly onto an unpaved road, I knew we were getting closer. It was unmarked, barely visible among the ferns. The forest was encroached on both sides, leaving the road ahead only discernible for a few meters as it twisted, serpent like, around the ancient trees. I could hear the river close by, hidden in the obscurity of the forest.

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 sophisticated, graceful, and probably only a couple of years old, like it belonged in a home renovation magazine. It was a charcoal color, which contrasted the dark stain of the wood. It was a large house for the area, three stories tall, rectangular and well proportioned. The windows and doors were either part of the original structure or a perfect restoration. There were no other cars in sight, probably parked in the 6 spot garage that was detached from the house further up the driveway.

"Wow," I gasped while Emmett retrieved my wheelchair. He unbuckled me and put me in the chair. I felt more comfortable in it, my safety net in the unfamiliar situation. He wheeled me up to the first set of stairs leading to the front door and carefully lifted the entire chair up, with no sign of physical discomfort. He continued carrying my chair through the door and up the first internal flight of stairs, which led to the second story, the main living area. On the landing, he gracefully put me down.

"Sorry I didn't realise we had this many stairs," he murmured.

The inside was even more surprising, less predictable, than the exterior. It was very bright, very open, and very large. This must have originally been several rooms, but the walls had been removed from most of the first floor to create one wide space.

The back, south-facing wall had been entirely replaced with glass, and, beyond the shade of the cedars, the lawn stretched bare to the wide river, just noticeable in the light of the moon.

A massive curving staircase dominated the west side of the room. The walls, the high-beamed ceiling, the wooden floors, and the thick carpets were all varying shades of white.

Waiting to greet us, standing just to the left of the door, on a raised portion of the floor by a spectacular grand piano, were Emmett's parents. I'd seen Dr. Cullen before at my doctors appointment, yet I couldn't help but be struck again by his youth, his outrageous perfection.

At his side was Esme, I assumed, the only one of the family I'd never seen before. She had the same pale, beautiful features as the rest of them. Something about her heart-shaped face, her billows of soft, caramel-colored hair, reminded me of the ingénues of the silent-movie era. She was small, slender, yet less angular, more rounded than her adoptive children. They were both dressed casually, in light colors that matched the inside of the house. They smiled in welcome, but made no move to approach us. Trying not to frighten me, I guessed. I took a deep breath in, hoping that they would make the first move.