Fostering Challenges

Bella has had it hard, mostly because she likes it that way. No one gets too close to her and she lives in her own little world. Will becoming a foster child to the Cullen family change her for the better or just shatter her more completely? AU

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight; it is the property of Stephenie Meyer. The original characters and plot are mine. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Italicized means Bella's thoughts and those she can hear

Italicized bold means Edward can hear it also (wont be bolded unless Edward hears it!)

Chapter one

The long awaited arrival

BPOV

"Could you at least not freak them out in the first second you enter their home? I mean really Bella that is a bit juvenile don't you think Miss I know everything and have the academic power to prove it!" Anna exclaimed as we got closer to foster family 47, a record breaker cross country I believe. I continued to stare out the window contemplating what I would do to make these people hate me. Maybe I'd climb a tree looks like there's enough of them here.

Perhaps that is not the worst suggestion. Alastor voice whispered through my mind, for a moment I had forgotten them. I sighed as I thought of all of the people I carried with me, literally carried. I could see and hear them though in small spaces they did me a favour and didn't appear, it kind of bothered me to have invisible people stand in front of a car and talk to me while it moved go figure.

What climbing a tree? I asked him in our odd form of thought talking, don't ask me how it works I don't have a clue it just does. Not to mention that I look far less crazy talking in my head rather than allowed. I was just thankful that I could screen my thoughts and that he didn't hear everything going on in my head.

Surprisingly no, her suggestion of playing nice I realize you like your space from normal people but is this insanity really quite necessary? He stated sarcastically, he had a point but I don't think that letting people in only to be hated by them or thought to be crazy was a good idea. I mean foster parents want nice and easy children without the fuss of them being small and needed right? So why would they want to care for someone like me. I mean I might be schizophrenic after all and no one likes the idea of a strange crazy person living with them unguarded.

It is for the best, I don't want to get hurt by people that I don't know or care about. I just want to be left alone really. But since the system has decided I am too young to live alone house jumping is the only option left that I can deal with. How about you guys leave and let me be normal and then I'll meet some new people and be nice. It was an old argument but I had my wounds and I just wanted to heal by myself and be normal. Is it too much to ask for? Normality, I am plain on the outside but I have too many people in my head to ever be normal on the inside.

I let my thoughts drift to the people Anna was driving me to live with, they already had five kids. They were all older than me, odd but not unheard of cause some three I think were foster kids and the other two were related to the mom. I was going to be a Cullen, great. I mean seriously they must have a thing for forced labor to want so many teenaged kids. Anna had said that Esme, I think, couldn't have kids but really wanting yet another teen instead of a baby was kinda weird. Oh well I get to be kid number six I guess.

"Earth to Bella!" Anna sighed as I came back to the real world. I looked at her asking what silently. Oh yeah to make things even more interesting I don't talk much. Anna will get a few statement every once in a while but I don't like the idea of getting too close to her. Not with her being near constantly in my life. She might figure out that I am nuts, or at least delusional.

"Come on honey there's no reason to be nervous, or angry." She said trying to get a calmer facial expression from me. Apparently my anger at Alastor was showing I just hate to be thought of badly by people and so I hide. Not the healthiest but for me the best solution to a no win life. I looked at Anna she was really nice and I hated that I hurt her by not talking and forcing families to send me back but really it was for the best.

She read something in my face that made her sad; sometimes it was nice to have an open face but not now. Her frown hurt me, "Bella love stop feeling so guilty. I know you really don't like the idea of living with people you don't know. But honestly these are good people, a little odd but good." She said while her eyes moved back and forth from me to the road. I nodded and turned to look out the window and contemplated being nice to the Cullen family for the umpteenth time.

It wouldn't kill you to listen to her Alastor stated before he left me to my thoughts. Anna said they were odd, I wonder how odd. Carlisle Cullen was a doctor in the small town of Forks, his wife did some historical restorations every once in a while and they had five teenaged kids. Two were my age, Alice and Edward I believe, and the other three were the same age, Rosalie and Jasper were twins and then Emmet. It looked like the wanted and even number of boys and girls, maybe they were making a pop band. Gah. Not likely but still.

****

Anna missed the turn off for the Cullen home three times! It was hilarious but I knew that it was frustrating her to no end so I said nothing about spotting it the second two times we passed. It would do nothing but make her angrier at herself.

Once we had turned into the apparently long drive to the Cullen house I looked around me stunned at the beauty of the green and so very alive forest that would soon surround my new home. I had decided to play nice but that only meant not forcing them to fear for their safety or hate me. My speaking was probably not going to be happening well not likely, and the self isolating is just a part of who I am really.

Finally a house came into view and my mouth fell open as I gaped at the overwhelming beauty and size of the Cullen home. They had to come from money; I mean doctor yes but five teenagers' kinda kills the pay on that. I was expecting a not run down but used house not a three story house that was about a hundred years old and looked like it had been redone and perfectly at that. Dang.

"Beautiful, isn't it? I had the same look on my face when I first saw it too, though you may want to rearrange your face tough guy." Anna joked, I looked at her laughing. Yeah I guess I do look at any home they place me in as though it's a rat-hole but come on who in their right mind could think that about this place. My laughter had put a smile back on Anna face, wiping away her frustration; it was nice to be the cause of a smile instead of a grimace.

Stopping right at the front of the house I stared at it and wondered if the people I was about to meet would match this house. If so I guess we might get along but if not then I was screwed.

"Esme! Carlisle! It's lovely to see you two again after so long!" Anna called; I turned to look at them as I got out of the car. They were young, really young, like late twenties at most. They had such old names I expected an old married couple in their late fifties. She was beautiful, classic and elegant the fact that she screamed maternal love just made her unreal, like meeting a fairy tale princess. Her caramel hair just reached her shoulders, her pale skin only made her eyes pop even more the amber orbs held excitement and joy. Carlisle was compose and regal but they shared that unbelievably gorgeous smile. His blond hair nearly as pale as his skin and the same amber eyes gazed out benevolent and kind.

These two were to be my foster parents, wow hopefully the whole family wasn't this beautiful or I was going to be the sore one out. At least we would match in the pale department but that would be it. I finally stopped staring in their direction and went to get my bags, it was another of my quarks no eye contact. It was a good thing I had a perfect memory or else people would all look the same to me. Trying to pull myself into a coherent and not freaked person was hard, I had my bags as I felt someone beside me.

"I can take those." He said as I stared out in front of me, how had he gotten so close to me? I heard a low hiss as I turned to look in the direction of the voice.

He's a vampire Bella. The whole family is. Alastor's voice filled me as the words hit home. Fear like nothing I felt before filled me. I wanted to scream and run away but I controlled myself barely before the instinct took hold. I do not believe they intend you harm. It is unusual, their eyes are not red, and they live within the human society. I will look into it further. I felt Alastor leave my side as he said these words; I tried to continue my turn. I nodded and tried to smile though it was obviously more of a grimace. Alastor would not leave me if they were going to... eat me. I chanted this as I moved towards the house.

"Bella, this is Esme and Carlisle Cullen and Edward who has your bags." Anna introduced, for the benefit of none it was her way to being conversations between me and them. I never spoke but she tried each time. I nodded and tried to slow my heart, I was going to be living in the same house as vampires. Nice. I would fit in here... well more then they did at least.

"It is lovely to meet you Bella!" The melodic voice that obviously belonged to Esme welcomed, it was calming and helped me slow my heart. A soft smile graced my face as I bobbed my head; my eyes were glued to the ground so the fear would not return. How had I not noticed that they looked like Alastor? It was so obvious now. I was analyzing everything as I walked up the steps to enter the house, it was much to public to adopt a child then eat them. So what was the point of having me here? I was pondering this when I walked into Anna's back.

"Oops!" I mumbled as I took a step back to steady myself. Suddenly I felt a lot more eyes on me; I guess no one expected me to speak. I could feel Anna beaming at me, it was nice but my mind was already doing somersaults and so I couldn't smile at Anna. I blushed but that was about the only response I couldn't control stupid blush!

"Why don't you sit and we can talk and get to know each other?"A male said, the voice was strong and kind so I assumed that it was Carlisle. I would have to gaze at something other then the floor in order to find out. Anna took my hand knowing there was no way I was going to look at anything but the floor. She directed me to a seat which I gladly took and stared at my hands. Deciding that Alastor would be laughing at me for being so nervous I finally lifted my head and gazed out at my new home. It was very open and light, with a vast wall of glass looking out into the forest. My heart finally managed to get to a some what normal rhythm as I looked out.

"I don't think you'll be hearing much more from Bella. She really isn't much of a talker." Anna replied still overjoyed that anything came out of my mouth. I rolled my eyes at her understatement on how little I spoke. I could tell that they were studying me as I responded to Anna. "But she's such an open book that her face tells you what she's thinking anyway." I blushed purple as Anna said that, oh the horror. I hate to be such an open book but it has made silence so much easier. My head bowed as I tried to get rid of the blush. I heard a few soft chuckles and knew that they understood completely what I thought. Dang.

From what I can tell they do not consume human blood. I jump at Alastor's comment; he just had to walk up behind me like that. My blush went even deeper, well that is just plain mean.

Could you not scare the wits out of me! I knew that I had the attention of everyone in the room, but I could feel eyes on me that were much more intrigued. I raised my head and found that it was Edward's gaze that had increased interest. Great now I have an intrigued vampire, peachy. He seemed to not like my thought, he wanted me to stay here with his family? I really took in Edward's appearance then, he had coppery brown hair that looked like it had been styled into disarray like a boy band singer... bad thought! Bad thought! he was lean but i bet he had more muscle then he appeared to have.

My apologies. Alastor chuckled slightly before continuing I believe that you are not in danger from these vampires. They seem to thirst for you but have no intentions of harming you or any human. But be warned Edward is a telepath, Alice seems to be able to see glimpses of the future and there is something also extra about Jasper but I am not sure. Alastor finished his review of the family. So they were nice vampire's that weren't going to eat me. But why bring a human into the vampire world it is extremely dangerous. It was the thought of Esme's joy that told me that the wished to raise a child and I was the one offered.

So... I'm staying? I questioned, as once again Edward's gaze intensified this time though he seemed amused. Well I was asking if i was going to be living with a family of vampire's that is kinda funny. Oh he could hear all my conversation with Alastor. Oops. It is rather rude to intrude into another person's mental conversations you know? I waited for him to reply in some way. He made no such move. Hmmm. Alastor was watching Edward while we spoke.

He does not seem to hear me. But when you speak to me he hears. I am not sure if he can hear your personal thoughts though. It is quite intriguing actually. I wonder if he would be able to hear your thoughts if you did not have us. I rolled my eyes at that, its not like that would ever change, the people I carry were never going to leave me. I thought of their faces and could hear them conversing down by the river on the Cullen land. I was thankful that they had given me some more space while trying to figure out what was going on. They were good people; thankfully, they were my family, which was why I liked to self isolate and enjoy their company. I mean how many people have a 649 year old vampire, a geneticist, a painter and a philosopher running around their head. And were sane, I was pretty sure about that so, I was probably the only one ever.

Edward never reacted to my thoughts so I deemed it safe as long as I didn't project he wouldn't know about the others, they were safe. I'm a little overprotective of them, as the die with me so well who wouldn't do their best to keep them safe? I was brought back to reality by a madly waving Alastor which was amusing but then that's why he did it.

"... it seems as though we have forgotten to introduce everyone. This is Alice and Jasper, and Rosalie and Emmet." Esme said smiling she was talking to me and not to Anna as most people do when they figure out I won't reply. The four that had just entered the room took their seats. It was nice to be included; I nodded to each of the ones introduced with a small smile on my lips.

"It is really nice to meet you! I have always wanted another sister!" Exclaimed Alice as she bounced in place, she seemed to have a lot of energy. Then again she looked like a pixy with her short hair sticking out in spikes all around her face. I had to admit her energy was infectious, though Edward and some of her siblings shook their heads' at her antics. I smiled at her though my eyes took in everyone in the room. Jasper was much taller then the pixy he sat beside with curly darker blond hair, I could make out the scars that marked his skin thanks to Alastor's borrowed vision. He was still very handsome with the scars, I pondered what it was, what gift he had. Rosalie looked like a goddess come to mortal form, blond flowing locks and perfect facial structure. It was easy to easy she had always been beautiful being a vampire only enhanced it. Emmet was next to her holding her hand, hmmm... they seemed to be mates, and Jasper and Alice were probably also mates. That left Edward as the odd one out, that must suck. Emmet was big, very big but he looked like a knight next to a princess, and there was something softer in his eyes.

More time had passed then I was aware and Anna was being to look like it was time for her to leave. I titled my head to her and nodded, it was time for her to go she had a long drive and didn't need to do it in the dark. She smiled at me and then got up from the seat next to me.

"It's time for me to get going. I hope that this works out for everyone." Anna stated it was a common line from her but I felt that it might be possible for me to stay in this unusual house and to not feel the need to protect every one of my secrets. She leaned down and I hugged her gently, she kissed the top of my head and turned to leave. "Have a good night and I'll see you in a few weeks!" she said and left the room, I made no move to follow her. Instead I got up and went to the wall of windows and stared into the late afternoon. It was a beautiful home filled with beautiful people, but still I did not know if they were going to be able to deal with me or I them.

"You've had a long day. I hope we are going to get along, and that you'll call this place home." Said Esme as she approached me from behind, trying not to frighten me by being directly behind me with no notice. I turned to her and smiled softly, only time would tell if we could work out, but I would enjoy her company. I had never had a mother and she seemed to embody everything that I longed for. We stood in silence looking out at the day, I felt no discomfort in this silence it was natural and light. I knew that even if I hated everything else I adored Esme already.