Darkness Will Come to Light [1]

XXV. The Cullen Family

Jasper made himself scarce. Mel figured he was the one to keep to himself the most, followed by his twin sister, Rosalie.

While Jasper hid elsewhere, Rosalie often stayed around and watched from behind the scenes. Mel didn't know how to start a conversation with the blonde beauty, so their interactions were few and far in between.

Emmett, well... Emmett was a five-year-old boy trapped in the body of a football player. He was boisterous, loud, and amusing. He wasn't scary like Mel had thought at first; he was truly a big teddy bear. He lifted her spirits with his childish antics.

When Carlisle wasn't at Forks Hospital for work, Mel could always find him in his large study. She liked his wall-to-wall bookshelves full of historical and modern books on everything from medicinal practices to the Italian Renaissance to African folklores.

Though she liked his office, she did not enjoy meeting with him to discuss herself every night before bed. Carlisle was trying to get to know her, but half the time, Mel didn't even know herself, and more so, she hated talking about herself and her problems. He started the anxiety-ridden girl on antidepressant medicine to stabilize the unbalanced chemicals in her brain.

Alice was as persistent and rambunctious as a buzzing bee. Mel swore that girl had eyes in the back of her spiky-haired head; she saw everything. Alice was the fashionista that Mel never had the confidence to be. Melaina would rather hide in the comfy-ness of band tees, than wear a tight-fitted shirt that enhanced her curves.

Esme was calm and elegant, so Mel often spent time in her foster mother's presence. Sometimes Esme would paint pictures on canvas while Mel sketched charcoal drawings in her book of emotions that could not be put into words. Mel liked those days that they sat in comfortable silence as they did their art. The atmosphere gave Mel a sense of peace that she barely felt anymore.

~*~

By the time her freshman year was coming to an end, Melaina was officially the newest foster daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Cullen.

Her new life was a 180-degree contrast to her life with Jeremy. There were rules that he never cared enough to enforce, like "no locked doors" and "three meals a day," and she was "not to be in the kitchen without supervision."

That last rule grinded her gears more than the rest; the kitchen had been her sanctuary away from the four walls of her bedroom. She could bake to her heart's content. But now she could only walk into the premise with someone standing guard. It kind of killed the mood, and she didn't feel like baking with an audience.

~*~

Mel burned a hole through the floor as she paced back and forth anxiously. Of course, Jasper somehow knew what she was doing and began to pound on the door of her bathroom. He wiggled the handle, but she had locked it. "Open the door, Mel."

"I'm peeing," Mel snapped. "Am I not allowed to pee alone?"

Mel turned towards the granite sink and slammed her fists against the mirror in a sudden wave of frustration. Why did her foster family insist on hovering so much? It drove Mel up the wall. She felt like she couldn't breathe sometimes. Her fingers throbbed, but the glass remained intact. Shatterproof glass, really? She growled in annoyance.

"Mel, you have two minutes to open the door."

She really, really wanted to break something. Picking up the ceramic soap dispenser, she chucked it into the shower. It broke into several pieces as it collided with the wall, which was satisfying, but the feeling didn't last long.

"Melaina!"

She tried to get her hands on something else breakable, but the door crashed down before she could shatter a bottle of perfume on the shelf. Her hands were suddenly in a vice grip.

Mel realized then that she was breathing heavily and shaking like a dryer on the spin cycle. And crying. Tears ran down her face and dripped onto her and Jasper's connected hands.

His cool hands felt like soothing Aloe Vera against her burning skin.

She let out a sob and collapsed her weight against Jasper. Her foster brother held Mel's body to his chest until Alice came upstairs to take over. "Shh, Mel. Come on." She hoisted her sister onto her feet. Jasper cleared a path through the broken wood of Mel's old door, so the two girls could pass into the bedroom.

Alice took care of Mel like a porcelain doll. She knew that her foster sister still struggled. Alice had seen Mel exploding from anxiety at some point during the week, so she was ready to do damage control at any moment.

Melaina wanted to be left alone, but she ended up crying herself to sleep in Alice's stone arms.

Jasper stood in the doorway and watched Alice gently tuck Mel under her covers. He felt his wife's protectiveness and adoration for the girl. He couldn't help but smile as she brushed Mel's hair off her tear-stained face and kissed her forehead.

"What is she feeling?" Alice asked softly. She stood and walked over to Jasper. He shifted his focus from Alice to Mel.

"Guilt, mostly. Her emotions have been all over the place."

Alice frowned.

"She's still adjusting, love." Jasper pulled her out of Mel's bedroom and closed the door behind them. "Give it time."

All of the Cullens were still in the process of adjusting. Jasper struggled most of all with his bloodlust, but Mel's fluctuating emotions often masked the scent of her blood. Once he realized that he could control himself around her, Jasper didn't have to avoid his human sister like the plague.