Chapter Three
Family
Alice

Mine and Edward's strange little relationship progressed very quickly over the next few days. We both acted as if we had known each other our entire lives. The school was a mad house of gossip and rumors, the Cullens arrival had stirred everyone up into a frenzy. All of the girls wanted the Cullen boys, and all of the boys wanted Rosalie, and it made every single girl in our school insanely jealous that Edward Cullen only had eyes for me.

He asked me to sit with him at lunch Tuesday, causing the cafeteria to stare in shock at us the entire lunch period, gossiping and spreading lies around like wildfire.

Wednesday before school, as I got out of my van, Edward met me and walked with me to my first period class. He had touched my cheek lovingly before turning and heading off towards his class quickly, causing everyone in my class to nearly faint.

Thursday he had placed his hand on my back as he walked me to and from classes, a small but powerful symbol to the student body that I was under his protection.

"Do you want to go somewhere tomorrow?" Edward asked me suddenly Friday after school as he opened my car door for me.

"Like, on a date?" I asked.

"Yeah, yeah, like a date." He nodded, obliviously nervous.

"Of course, sounds fun." I giggled.

"Really? Great!" He laughed from relief. "I'll pick you up around eleven then?" He asked.

"See you then." I giggled, fastening my seat belt and he shut my car door, rushing off to his own car smiling widely.

Since Cynthia was going to her friends house for the weekend, I drove straight home so I could get started on dinner.

Mark insisted that we keep my mother's tradition of 'family dinners' alive, which meant that I cooked dinner every night and sat at the table to eat with Cynthia while Mark ate in front of the television and Jessica ate in her bedroom while looking over beauty blogs.

Since Cynthia wasn't going to be home, that meant that I would sit at the dinning room table alone, surrounded by empty chairs, left to wallow in the misery of my broken family.

"Wow, you got a little too dark there Alice." I quietly reprimanded myself, shaking my head, as I put the chicken breast in the oven to bake.

I was just finishing up the mashed potatoes when I heard a car door slam outside and I took a deep breath, already knowing what happens next.

"Mary Alice Brandon!" Mark yelled the minuet he stepped foot in the house.

"I'm in the kitchen." I responded calmly and he stomped his way through the house and flung open the swinging kitchen door.

"Do you have a date tomorrow?" He asked angrily.

"Yes." I responded, whipping butter into the potatoes.

"With Doctor Cullen's son?!" He yelled, enraged I was refusing to fight back.

"Yes." I nodded.

"Are you stupid or something?" Mark screamed.

"Edward is a very nice boy and he asked me out tomorrow, I said yes." I responded, looking him directly in the eyes.

"Did you not even stop to think about what this could mean for this family?! You dating one of the best surgeon in the country's son?" He roared.

"I don't see what you mean." I shook my head, picking up the bowl of potatoes and heading into the dinning room to set it on the table, Mark following close at my heels.

"If you so much as say one weird thing to them, Doctor Cullen will have you sent to a psych ward!" He yelled.

"So what if he does?" I screamed back at Mark, my patience finally wearing thin. "What do you care? You'd be glad to be rid of me! I'm the only one who knows your dirty little secret!"

Mark slapped me across my face, sending me crashing into the floor, spitting blood as my lip busted painfully

"You're insane, a freak, and a crazy girl who doesn't know what she's talking about! Whatever you think happened you're wrong and if I have to tell you to shut your mouth and behave like a good quiet daughter one more time...well, let's just say that that's the last time you'll misbehave." He growled and stalked out of the room, leaving me shaking breathlessly on the dinning room floor.