Chapter 1

EPOV

I sighed, leaning my head back. My skull made contact with the wall behind me with a quiet thunk, and I closed my green eyes. Life just wasn't fair, was it? Especially to my poor brother…

"What are we going to do, Carlisle?"

"I…I don't know, Esme…I honestly don't."

The quiet voices of my parents drifted from the room on the other side of the wall. I could just barely make out their voices.

"We need to hire another set of girls."

"Tell me, Esme, where can we find a group of the three that we need? It took us weeks to find the last batch!"

I closed my eyes tighter, trying to will my Ipod to charge faster. My father was getting frustrated, which meant that soon my brothers would be able to hear it downstairs, which is exactly what Jasper did not need.

"I don't know!" Esme snapped at him. I flinched at the tone. I'm sure my father didn't back down, though.

"How are we going to do it again? It's so difficult to find a group of all female employees! Especially in this part of the country."

"Then maybe we should move. I'll just drop everything, you can leave the hospital, we'll take the boys and we'll go!"

I heard Esme stomping out of the room, and heard the door to my father's study slam shut next door, then listened as her footsteps stomped angrily down the hallway, the sounds slowly fading as she went down the stairs.

"Real smooth," I grumbled as I stood again from my couch, shaking my head as I crossed over to the bed.

"Shut it, son, or you'll be next."

I rolled my eyes as my father growled at me. I heard stomping footsteps in the study and then the quiet creak of my father's office chair as he slumped down in it.

"I messed up again…" he groaned loud enough for me to hear through the thin wall between us.

"No shit."

"Edward, honestly…how mad is she?"

"Ask Jasper, not me!" I called as I reached down, picking up the Ipod into my hands. I cradled it, as though I could will my energy into it so it would come to life sooner. I turned at hearing the doorknob of my room hitting the wall to see Carlisle leaning against it, his arms crossed over his chest. He had a saddened expression on his face.

"What?" I groaned, flopping myself down onto my bed. I looked over at him and he sighed, stepping further into the room to sit on the edge of my bed.

"Esme's mad at me now. I can tell."

"Yeah, actually. She's pissed, to be quite honest," I said, looking over at my Ipod. It was still charging. "You're frustrated. We all are. Don't take it so hard…"

"How can I not?" Carlisle questioned me as my green gaze went back to him. "How can I not take it so hard when…when…that happened to Jasper?"

I shook my head. If the doctor of us all couldn't come out and say the words, then who among us could? "I don't know, Dad," I told him honestly. "First of all, you could check for online listings and in the paper for the services we're looking for."

Carlisle sighed. "I have to be at the hospital in a couple of hours…"

"So?" I snapped, giving him a pointed look out the corner of my eye. He made it sound like he had absolutely no time.

"So, what?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Go get the freaking paper off the porch and search with the time you have!" I snapped at him. His widened eyes watched me in slight shock at my slight outburst at him. "If you find something, then I'll call them if you don't have time!"

Carlisle swallowed, and nodded. "Okay," he said as he stood, nodding again to himself.

"Thank you," I whispered as he headed for the door.

"For what?" He turned to face me, looking confused.

"For finally listening," I said, and let out a happy grunt at seeing the 'charge complete' screen on my Ipod. I snatched it into my hand as my other hand found my earbuds, unplugged the Ipod from the wall, and began to listen to it in an instant.

The thoughts in my head that all seemed to run together began to slowly dissolve with the music, and I smiled in pleasure. I rolled over onto my stomach, humming slightly against the pillows. Maybe now I could get some sleep, without hearing everyone else getting stressed…

"Edward!"

I jumped awake as I felt the hand on my shoulder, shaking me out of my sleep. A half of my music was missing, so I knew that someone had pulled out one of my earbuds.

I grumbled, pushing myself up onto my elbows so that I could see who was bothering me.

"What?" I moaned out.

"Look, I found something."

My father's tone was urgent as he stuffed a newspaper under my nose, pointing at a column. I eyed it for a moment before nodding in approval.

"Good for you," I mumbled, beginning to lie back down.

"But wait! You said you'd call them, and I have to go to work now, Edward."

"How long was I sleeping…?" I grumbled, reaching up to rub at my eyes with a yawn. I sat up, my legs tucking beneath me slightly from habit.

"A little more than an hour and a half," Carlisle told me, handing me the paper. "You know what to do, right?"

"Yes, Dad," I said, rolling my eyes. "Go to work so you're not late."

"Thanks, son."

"No problem."

I watched as the blond doctor retreated quickly for the door. "And Dad?" I said after him.

"Yeah, son?" He barely slowed.

"Buy Mom something on your way back."

"Sure thing. Will do."

And with that, I heard him bounding down the stairs quickly so he wasn't late to the hospital.

With a heavy sigh, I reached into my pocket for my phone. Grumbling as I looked at the number again on the paper, I dialed it, my eyes scanning the requirements.

A maid, gardener/chef and an interior designer made up the trio, which had been named the 'Twisted Maids.' I grimaced at the name. Not exactly my idea of a name that I would what I would want in a service. I shrugged it off, though. I wouldn't need to worry about it. Not now, anyway. Carlisle would.

I scanned the rest of the requirements. Food, lodging, a bit of extra pay, and half a day off a week, and they were glad to stay and work.

As I hit the send button on my phone, I couldn't exactly say no to my father now, especially after I was the one to suggest this whole idea to him. Besides, it would cheer up Esme, especially after how mad she had gotten earlier.

"Hello! The Twisted Maids, I'm Alice, how can I help you?"

I jumped as a girl's high pitched voice suddenly began speaking on the other end of the line.

"Alice, who is it?" I heard someone yell in the background.

"Not now, I'm on the phone!" the voice hissed back.

"Uhm, yes. I have a job for you."

"Oh, lovely! That was rather quick. I only put the ad in the paper two days ago; I wasn't expecting a call for work so soon! Looks like we won't even have to unload the truck before we go, we can just go and move right in! Oh, now I have to go tell Rosie and Bells, and get all of the things we have ready and – "

"Alice!"

I blinked at hearing the words all come out in a rush, and then again at hearing the single word by the second person cut off her prattle.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Could I have your name and address, please?"

"Uhm…uh…" I had to find my voice before I continued. "I'm Edward. I'm actually calling for my father, Carlisle Cullen," I told her, and gave her the address, as well as directions to get to the home.

"All right! Would it be all right if we came through tonight to get settled in?"

Tonight? That was rather quick, wasn't it?

"Well, sure, I guess, but – "

"Okay! See you in a few hours! Thank you! Bu-bye!"

The other end of the line suddenly went dead and I blinked, pulling it away from my ear to stare at the screen as it went from the call screen back to the main menu.

What had I just done? Hired three women to help around the house or invited three lunatics for a stay?

I groaned, flopping back on my bed. I really didn't want to find out…

BPOV

I gawked as I sat in the front seat by Alice, who drove up to the house.

"W-we're supposed to be working…h-here?" I stuttered out. I gulped.

"Yes, Bells," she told me in her gentle trill of a voice, her butterscotch eyes looking over at me. "It'll all be fine, Bells, I promise you."

"But…but…" I whimpered. It was so big…I was afraid of it. And not only because of its size. I could smell humans. My throat burned slightly.

"Bells, it'll be fine, I promise you," Alice whispered as her car came to a stop. She put the car in park, and leaned across the median of the seat and pulled my head over towards her by placing a hand on the back of my neck, and gently kissed my forehead. "I won't let anything happen to you, and I won't let you go out of control on them. It'll be fine, I can tell."

I swallowed again. I hated new places, and both Rose and Alice knew this. I especially hated new places with humans. Why humans? Why did Rose and Alice have to torture me like it was some sort of sick game? It wasn't…not for me, anyway. It was like waving a chocolate bar in front of a child, then eating it yourself; it just wasn't fair.

"Bells, we're not trying to make you uncomfortable," Alice whispered as she got out of the car at human speed, which was horrifyingly slow, and I followed her example to begin grabbing a small bag from the back of the car before moving to the trunk. Rose was behind us in the moving truck, telling the driver were to go. I could just barely hear its loud engine turning off from the paved road and onto the long gravel drive through the trees a couple miles away.

"Sure seems like it," I grumbled as I began to get out a couple of my bags.

"Bella, if you don't cut it out, I swear to God, I'll – " Alice snapped at me. I flinched away from her at the harsh tone and her eyes softened. "Oh, Bells, I'm sorry…I-I…"

"Don't…stop," I whispered, my darkened orange gaze down, my brown hair now falling in a shade between the two of us so I couldn't see her and she couldn't see me. "It's fine."

Before Alice could even say anything else, I headed for the door. I set down a few of the bags I had by the door, closing my eyes for a moment to gather my bearings. I breathed in deep, taking in all of the scents around me, and let my finger press the doorbell.

I heard the traditional chimes of the doorbell ringing within the depths of the many rooms of the home. My ears allowed me to pick up the sounds of a stereo, as well as a video game that was still going. Bounding footsteps were heard on the stairs, and I took a step back, but Alice was already behind me, a hand on my back to make sure I didn't run back and try to hotwire her car. I'm pretty sure I could if I wanted to, either that or get Rose to do it for me…

The door suddenly flung open, and I stared wide eyed up at the bulky young man that stood in the doorway now, a wide grin on his face. He looked like a personal body guard with the build that he had, his arms muscular and chest tight. He wore a loose shirt, though, which prevented me from seeing if he had abs or not.

He looked like a serious weightlifter, with a full head of curly brown hair and blue eyes. His scent was bittersweet, and I watched him quietly.

His eyes looked over the two of us, and I could tell just by the look on his face that he thought we were beautiful. A bit pale, maybe, but stunningly beautiful. That's what they all thought, though, when they saw the three of us. It was nothing new.

"Hello, ladies! I guess you three are the Twisted Maids. Please, come in! My mother will be with you in a moment, she's in the middle of something."

His voice was gentle, which threw me for a loop after I had been expecting a deep, booming voice. I blinked, and Alice pushed me forward. I glared at her before I began to move in through the open door, leaving my bags just outside the front door and to the side.

"Do you need help with your stuff?"

"Probably," I heard Alice answer. I was still marveling at how…how big he was. Yes, I was stronger than him, but he was still so big compared to Alice and I…

"Oh, and by the way, I'm Emmett. You are…?"

"I'm Alice," Alice told him, dancing over to his side to give him a kiss of greeting on either side of his face. "And that's Isabella," she pointed to me, causing me to grimace as she used my whole name, "and that's Rosalie," she pointed to Rose, who was just coming inside the door.

Emmett nodded to each of us in turn, though when Alice pointed to Rose, his gaze lingered on her, and he looked as though he were in a daze. I looked back at Rose to see that she hadn't even realized he was watching, her own butterscotch gaze going out the window and towards the garden, studying it momentarily. Typical Rose.

"So," Alice's high pitched voice tore Emmett out of his stupor and his gaze swiveled back over to her, "this is a nice home you have."

Emmett nodded. "Yeah, Mom likes to keep it up nice and tidy," he said, beaming with pride at the thought of his mother, apparently. I smiled ever so slightly, shifting my stony features somewhat. He was nice. Maybe I could grow to like this human…this one human.

"How many people live here?" Alice asked, crossing over to look at a portrait, her hands clasped behind her back. I smiled at how much she looked like a child as she stood in such a way, leaning forward to take in the detail of the painting. She looked like a little girl in a museum who'd been told not to touch anything.

"Five, actually. My mom and dad, as well as my two younger brothers," Emmett answered. My eyes went back to his face as he spoke, watching as it fell slightly from its prideful mask, eyes going to the ground. Something was bothering him, but I let it go, turning to look at the pictures on the wall.

"That's of all of us," Emmett said, his voice once more filled with energy as he bounded over to us, pointing at the portrait that Alice was looking at. Before I had a chance to lean in to get a better look at the painting, I heard footsteps on the stairs and I smelled the woman before I saw her.

I turned to the stairwell, watching the human that was coming down it, brown hair falling loosely around her shoulders. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans and an old shirt. I could tell what her hobby was just by seeing little paint spatters over her hands as she rubbed them furiously on her pants to try and wipe them away. I smiled at her welcoming look, her gentle honey eyes flicking between Alice, Rose and I. Okay…maybe two humans.

Just two.

"You must be our new maids," the woman said with a smile at the three of us, and Alice nodded.

"Yes, ma'am," Alice said, smiling widely. I could tell she liked the woman already. I don't know why, I would just rather bite her. The burn in my throat increased aggravatingly at her scent. I could even imagine doing it right now…

I looked up as I heard an almost silent hiss, and I lifted my gaze to see Alice glaring heavily at me. I sighed, rolling my eyes. Stupid visions…

"I'm Alice," she continued before she looked away from me. "And that's Isabella, and that's Rosalie."

She pointed to each of us in turn again and we nodded.

"I see," the woman smiled. "I'm Esme, and I'm sure you've already met my son, Emmett."

Alice nodded.

"He speaks well of you," Rose said, speaking for the first time since we'd arrived at the house.

"He does now, does he?" Esme said, turning to look at her son, who was smiling like an idiot as he looked at Rose.

"Yes," Rose replied, smiling at the woman, but not looking at Emmett. He didn't seem to care, though, as he watched her. He just looked grateful to be in the same room as her.

"Well, then, I'll show you to your rooms so you can move right in, shall I?" Esme asked, and Alice smiled.

"That sounds nice," she told Esme, and the woman began to lead us up the stairs.

"Emmett, why don't you start unloading their things from the truck?" Esme called behind her.

"Uh…sure, Mom," Emmett said, sounding put out as he stopped halfway up the second step to turn around and begin heading for the truck. With his smell gone, I relaxed slightly, but the burn in my throat didn't cease as we went up the stairs. I nearly tripped a few times, but as Alice said before, I'm indestructible as I am, so falling wouldn't harm me. Stupid clumsiness, it was supposed to go away with the change, but of course not, it just had to stay…

I sighed as we went up the stairs to the second floor, following the woman down the hallway. I caught the scents of three others. All males, I could tell. One was very strong, and it led to the door on the right that we just passed.

"These will be your rooms," Esme said as she stopped, and pointed to three rooms, two on one side of the hallway, and a third on the other side.

"Uhm…all three?" Rose asked, her brow creasing slightly.

"Yes, is that a problem?" Esme asked, tilting her head to the side. Both Alice and Rose turned to look at me. I just shrugged.

"It's fine with me, guys," I said, and they eyed me for a moment before I shrugged again and they looked back to Esme.

"All right, then," Esme said. "Emmett will help you three bring your things up. I need to go wash up so that I can make dinner."

"Oh no, don't worry about that, Mrs. Cullen," Rose said with a smile. "I'll fix it, if you show me where the kitchen is."

"Oh, you're a darling," Esme said as she took Rose by the arm, beginning to lead her down the hallway again gently to go back down to the first floor. After they were gone, Alice turned to look at me.

"Are you sure you'll be okay in a room by yourself, Bells?" she asked me, her eyes lit with slight concern.

I sighed, shrugging. "I guess. If it gets bad or if I need to be with either of you I can just cross the hall and stay with you in your room."

Alice nodded. "All right, if you're sure," she said, and I nodded. "Okay, then, let's go help Emmett unpack the truck."

I rolled my eyes. "It's not as if there's a lot of stuff to get, Alice," I said, but followed behind her anyway. She was going so slow, but I know that it couldn't be helped in a home full of humans. I grumbled, pushing her a bit faster down the stairs. "Go faster, this is annoying."

"Geez, I'm taking you hunting tonight," she said, turning to look at me over her shoulder as we went down the stairs. "You're cranky when you're thirsty."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes again, settling on a glare at the small pixie below me. When we reached the bottom, Alice turned to me, placing a hand on my cheek to make me look at her. "Besides, your eyes are going black. You need to feed."

I sighed, relenting. "Fine." I closed my eyes, and Alice leaned forward to rest her forehead on mine for a moment. She pulled away slightly before she kissed it. "Come on."

I opened my eyes, nodding as I began to walk along behind her, my head down slightly.

"How many men? I can't…exactly distinguish all of the scents," I breathed, but I knew that Alice heard me.

"Four," she replied, and she turned to see my expression fighting between stoic and fearful. "It'll be fine, Bells."

I sighed slightly, swallowing. I didn't exactly like being here. I didn't even see why we had to do this…why we had to act human. There were always places we could go, like Alaska to Denali, or we could go to Italy, even…but Alice and Rose had already explained that we would be here forever, and that we had time…had time to continue on our own way before choosing another.

I had my head down still as I made it to the truck, where Emmett was just turning around, a few boxes balancing in his arms.

"Hey," his voice caught my attention, making me look up and into his blue eyes, "why so sad looking? You're face is too beautiful for you to be moping around." He smiled genuinely at me before he turned, beginning to walk back towards the house after Rose, who had passed me along the way here.

The truck driver was in the back, handing us boxes so we didn't have to climb up in there too. "Just a few more after these, Miss," he told Alice after I'd gotten my boxes with ease, and Alice nodded.

"Thanks," she said, smiling at him. He was in a daze as the two of us turned to go back into the house, going back up to the third floor. I stopped my breathing temporarily as I felt the thirst become angry in my throat, venom pooling in my mouth as I smelled the humans there. I swallowed the venom hurriedly, trying to ignore the thirst in my throat.

"You really are thirsty, aren't you?" Alice asked me as we set down the boxes in one of the three rooms, and I nodded. "Bells, your eyes are coal…"

I nodded silently, not speaking. "As soon as I can, I'll bring you out hunting," she told me, and I nodded. "Just try not to breathe…it helps."

I nodded, my lips pursed together as I tried not to breathe, like she told me to.

"There you go," Alice told me, and stood up on her tip toes again to give me another kiss on the forehead. "Just another hour, and we'll be able to escape."

Just one more hour…

God, I didn't even know if I could make it that long…