Renewal [Emmett Cullen] (1)

[14- Invitation]

I was right. I mean, I knew I had to be right, but hearing it out loud, knowing I wasn't going crazy, it felt like an enormous weight was lifted off my shoulders.

Mom got home from shopping soon after. I wheeled over to her office, she was at her desk, her eyes glued to her computer screen. She was the CEO of a publishing company and aside from administration tasks, she often helped design book covers and edited the content of the books, look for continuity errors, plot holes and areas in the writing that didn't make sense. She loved what she did, it made her happier than any other job she had in the past. I could tell she was heart broken when I found computers and programming more interesting than reading and writing stories.

"Hey mom, can I go over to someone's house after dinner?" She rotated her swivel chair aggressively to face me, her eyes wide with curiosity. Since the accident, I was usually the 'stay at home, eat, and watch movies' type.

"Who is this mysterious person?" she questioned.

"Emmett. You haven't met him but he came over on Saturday. He invited me over to watch the basketball game," I lied smoothly. Telling my mother than he was actually inviting me over to introduce me to his family because I figured out that they could drain a human body of its blood in less than a minute seemed stupid to say the least.

"Of course! Is he coming over to pick you up or am I dropping you off?"

"He's coming, but don't worry, he knows I'm in a wheelchair!" I winked.

"Of course. Dinner is at 6:30."

"Thanks mom!" I whizzed through my homework for the day, finishing it in only 45 minutes. My outfit was my next priority. As a former athlete, most of my week was spent training or playing games or competing so I had a limited range of non athletic clothing to choose from, the wheelchair only made it more difficult. In the end I decided on plain black jeans, a grey t shirt, knit sweater and a bulky navy coat, pairing the outfit with white converse. I considered wearing something fancier, maybe even a sheer black top but there's was no point when everyone else looked a thousand times better.

"You look great honey," my mom commented as she helped me get on my jeans. Winter was coming to an end but it was still freezing outside, especially at night.

Immediately after dinner I texted Emmett. 10 minutes later, I saw glowing white headlights peer through the curtain, followed by three quick raps on the front door.

Emmett was wearing skinny jeans which extenuated his rippling hamstrings. He was wearing a 3/4 navy shirt, I couldn't help but notice how the fabric hugged his broad shoulders and muscular arms. A loose letterman was dropped across his arm, a Harvard 'H' embroidered in red hid beneath the folds of plush fabric. It wouldn't have surprised me if he had attended the prestigious school.

"Ok mom we're leaving," I said rolled out the door. I followed him down the driveway and he stopped in front of his cherry red jeep, its wheels towering over me. He opened the passenger door and swiftly lifted me up, firmly latching the off- roading harness.

"Is this really necessary?" I commented as he collapsed my wheelchair and put it in the back seat. He chuckled and started the car. The sun was just about to set, its rays slowly becoming less evident as we headed to the forest. From what Emmett had told me, his house was on the outskirts of town, 10 minutes drive. The drive was pleasant, he was a good driver, much faster than mom but still safe.

"Is this your car?"

"Yeah, it was a gift from Edward. Maybe we can go off-roading someday." I was in disbelief. What 17 year old gives his brother a car? Not just any car, a Jeep Wrangler.