Jasper, Emmett, and I had just finished playing the video game when my phone rang.
"Edward," I answered.
"Hi Eleanor, are you doing anything right now?"
"No, I just smashed Jazz and Em in my game. What's up?" Emmett scoffed and attempted to elbow me in the side, which I swiftly dodged.
"I'm with Bella and she was wondering if you could come over."
"Why?" There was a brief pause on his side.
"She wants to explain in person."
"Sure, I'll come over straight away."
Reluctantly, I took Emmett's Jeep instead of the Lambo; it was too flamboyant to drive around Forks.
I parked on the curb next to the Volvo and knocked on the front door. Charlie opened it promptly.
"Hello Mr. Swan. We haven't met before. I'm Eleanor Whitlock," I said, holding my hand out. He shook it, flinching ever so slightly as he touched my cold hand.
"Right, one of Dr. Cullen's kids. Please, come in." It felt weird to be freely welcomed into the house after I spent a significant portion of last week protecting him from Victoria.
The end of a football game was playing on the TV in the living room. Perfect, this is how I would win him over.
"2014 Seahawks vs Raiders. Marshawn Lynch scored the first half touchdown and Russell Wilson had one of his worst passing games to date."
"Wow! How did you know that?" Charlie said with a smile.
"I'm good with games."
"Do you play?"
"I prefer to watch. And school takes up most of my time," I lied.
"Any plans for college?" He asked inquisitively.
"I'll got several offers but I'm going to defer for a year to travel." This one wasn't entirely a lie, Emmett and I were going to South America in May but we didn't bother applying to any schools. It wasn't like we were in a rush.
"Wow, good for you kid."
"Well, I don't want to keep Bella waiting. It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Swan."
"No, the pleasure was all mine. You're very welcome to come over and watch the game anytime. And call me Charlie." His eyes twinkled as the corners of his mouth turned up.
"Thank you. I'll be sure to take you up on that!" I smiled at him once more and followed Bella's scent upstairs to her room. Bella was lying on the bed, a bulky cast on her right leg. I could tell her breaths were shallow, probably the broken ribs. I thought the guilt had faded but I felt unimaginable responsibility for her condition. That was on me and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.
Edward stood up when I entered.
"I'll give you two some privacy. Call me later," he whispered before gently kissing Bella's forehead and leaping out the window. I took his seat facing her bed.
"Eleanor, I wanted to thank you in person for protecting my dad. I deeply appreciate what you did, it made everything easier knowing Charlie was safe," she said. Woah, that was definitely not what I thought she wanted to tell me. Part of me thought she wanted an explanation for what happened, but I didn't have one. There was no excuse for my failure to monitor Victoria's movements.
"It's no problem. I only wish I could have done more," I admitted truthfully.
There was a long, drawn out pause as neither one of us knew what to say next.
"Well, I know you, is there anything you want to know about me?" I asked in a desperate attempt to ease the awkward tension.
"Actually, how much do you know about me?" Bella asked.
"More than you think," I said impulsively. Crap! Definitely should not have said that. That was way creepier that I expected.
She raised an eyebrow. Should I tell her about the hacking? I mean, if she was in a long term relationship with Edward, which is what I wanted, I suppose it would be prudent to let her know now rather than find out later.
"I hacked you. Well your information. Online." My whole body tensed for her response. I was going to elaborate but it was probably best to let her come to her own conclusions.
"That's actually kind of cool," she whispered.
I breathed a sigh of relief, "That's not what I thought you'd say," I admitted.
"Really? Why?"
"Well, my family is the only one who knows and they fully support it. You have to understand," I explained, "for us to coexist with humans, we need to have this kind of information."
"How did you start?"
I chuckled, "I must have been about twelve when my mom signed me up for a coding class after school. She thought I needed more friends that weren't from basketball or track or whatever sport I was doing at the time. The class taught super basic stuff but I actually really enjoyed it so I taught myself more at home. And then I got bored writing code so I tried hacking."
Bella stared at me for a second, I wasn't sure if it was in fear or awe. I hoped for the latter.
I continued, "And over a long time, my hacking developed into this. It's what happens when you spend your free time on a computer because you don't have a lot of friends growing up. Books were your friends, computers were mine." We laughed in unison.
"Is there anything you want to know about me?" I offered.
"Were you named after someone?" She asked. I don't think I've ever been asked that.
"Well, my parents both looked up to Eleanor Roosevelt so they named me Eleanor Rose. And my last name before it became Whitlock was Parks, which is coincidentally a nod to Rosa Parks," I explained.
"Born to make a difference like they did," Bella commented thoughtfully.
I shrugged. I always thought of my name as a burden. How was I ever expected to live up to my revolutionary namesakes?
"How did you meet Emmett?"
"After my accident, my parents moved us to Oakridge in Oregon for a fresh start. The Cullens happen be living there at the time. Emmett and I were in the same chemistry class and we became friends." I smiled at the memory.
"No offence, but sometimes I find Emmett to be a little-"
"Intimating?" She nodded sheepishly.
I laughed at her fair assessment, "I did too but that's all on the outside. He's ..." I tried to search for the right word. "Childish."
"Do you have any other hobbies besides coding?" Bella asked.
"Sports mostly, languages, whatever holds my attention."
"Languages?"
"I find the processing of discovering a new language and the culture and history that comes with it fascinating. But apart from reading an instruction manual for a Japanese gaming console, I haven't really used it in any practical situations."
"You mentioned track and basketball, did you ever compete on a wheelchair team?"
"No, but I did actually consider it. Before I moved to Oakridge in Oregon, I lived in San Francisco and there were teams. But I could never bring myself to tryout. Being in a wheelchair took away all the things I was good at. I thought playing sports would just cement that I would never be as good as I was before so why even bother."
There was another uncomfortable silence.
"I think that's enough about me, let's talk about you," I said. Bella proceeded to tell me about herself, the kind of stuff I couldn't dig up online. It turns out that though we had wildly different interests, our personalities were quite similar.
After we spent a couple hours chatting, I called Edward.
"We are finished."
"I'll be there in a minute."
Edward leapt into the window from outside, that was my cue to leave.
"I'll see you guys soon," I said before excusing myself.
To be honest, before meeting her, I didn't know if we would get along. On the outside, we're just so different. I mean, she can't walk on a flat surface without finding something to trip on. And I, well I've got national titles in track and soccer. But surprisingly, we've got quite a few similarities; love for our family, stubbornness. I'm excited to spend more time with her.