So let's get on with Chapter Fifteen: The Cullens
What Happens?
Bella wakes up to find that Edward is still in her room. He's also arranged for Bella to meet the family. This means we get to meet Esme for the first time, as well as have a brief encounter with Alice and Jasper. Then Edward plays the piano and gives Bella a tour of the house. And we get some info about Carlisle's origins. It's a busy chapter.
Thoughts as I read:
We've already learnt quite a bit about the vampire family in the last few chapters. I'm hoping that this chapter shows them in their natural habitat. Also it doesn't look too long. This makes me happy because it shouldn't take too long to get through. The long chapters usually mean a lot of Bella and Edward talking, and a lot of me feeling puzzled.
Oh look. This chapter begins with Bella waking up. That's original.
"Your hair looks like a haystack… but I like it."
That's so romantic. Bella ignores this comment because she's just thrilled to find that Edward stayed all night. This could take some explaining to her father over breakfast. Bella doesn't care though, she thought that him stopping the night might have been a dream:
"You're not that creative," he scoffed.
Really, Bella, you're not. And also, someone needs to slap Edward. He's just full of compliments this morning!
It turns out that Charlie has already left. He also unhooked Bella's truck's battery cables before bed to keep her from sneaking out. That's… weird. What is it with the men in this book?
Edward also reveals that he didn't stay for the full night. He did go home to change so that the neighbours didn't think he spent the night. Even though he did. Do Bella and Charlie actually have any neighbours? I'm not sure any have been mentioned. When he was around, Edward noticed Bella was talking in her sleep. She told him she loved him, which she now confirms now that she's conscious:
"You are my life now," he answered simply.
I find that kind of a strange thing to say in response to being told someone loves you. Plus coming from someone as weird and creepy as Edward, it just seems even stranger.
Hehe:
"Breakfast time," he said eventually, casually – to prove, I'm sure, that he remembered all my human frailties.
So I clutched my throat with both hands and stared at him with wide eyes. Shock crossed his face.
This is kind of funny. Thought Edward doesn't agree. He also refers to Bella as 'the human' which screams 'pet' more than 'lover'. Bella's playing word games as well, referring to her breakfast as her 'hunt'. I was almost expecting her to fall over or injure herself while she got it.
Edward decides that now would be a good time to meet the family which freaks Bella out a little. Correction. Not freaked out. Concerned that they won't like her. I'm guessing it'll be a 50/50 split with half the vampires liking her and half not. It's also obvious that Alice foresaw Bella's visit but Edward doesn't say that much about it because he gets weird. As usual. I wonder how much stuff they do just because Alice saw it happening. Before Bella can dwell too much on Edward's being weird (again), Edward tells her he doesn't like the look of her breakfast. It's probably not furry enough for him.
Edward then goes on to suggest that Bella introduce him to her dad. I feel almost as though he's trying a new tactic to scare her off. He also 'demands' to know whether or not she'll tell Charlie about them after she hesitates. I'm not sure if I like the use of the d-word there, Edward. Just ask nicely, Mood Swing Boy!
We follow this up with a discussion of whether or not Edward is Bella's boyfriend or something else. She makes him feel sad because she mentions them being together forever. Obviously his forever is a lot longer than hers.
It was hard to decide what to wear. I doubted there were any etiquette books detailing how to dress when your vampire sweetheart takes you home to meet his vampire family.
Until these books were published, that is.
Having seen the Fifty Shades of Grey film I can see how it was inspired by this book. Edward is all obsessed with Bella and makes her faint. He turned her on so much she fainted! That's just crazy. Correction. He made her forget to breathe. Her forever is definitely going to be a lot shorter than his at this rate!
Edward drives the truck to some house in the middle of a remote forest. It's a very nice looking house. Carlisle and Esme obviously knew that they were on their way because they're waiting for them. We're told that Esme looks like an old movie star. Perhaps she was at some point. It's weird because everyone is very friendly and nice.
Next up is Alice, who Bella likes and seems to like Bella back. She's all friendly and welcoming, if a little bit weird when she comments on Bella's nice smell. Meanwhile, Jasper is awkward but polite. There's no sign of Rosalie and Emmett, presumably because they don't like Bella or they like her too much (so inviting her for lunch might mean a little bit more than a shared meal around the table).
There's a piano in the room and we learn that Edward plays. I guess this is why Christian Grey plays too. Edward doesn't just play. He plays well. And he writes music. There's one for his adoptive mum and one for Bella. How romantic.
The others leave, allowing Edward to fill Bella in on Rosalie and Emmett. Rosalie finds it hard having outside knowing the truth about them and Emmett thinks Edward is crazy. Neither of them seemed that keen to hang out with Bella. Oh, and Rosalie wants to not be a vampire. That must make life awkward for her.
Edward's also got news from Carlisle. Apparently Alice has seen more vampires coming soon and Edward thinks that this might put Bella in danger. Before we can dwell on this for too long, Bella starts to shed a tear at the beautiful music he is playing. So he wipes it away. Then tastes it. That's weird, but I'm getting used to all the Edweird now.
Bella gets a tour of the house. I'm sort of surprised to learn that Rosalie and Emmett share a room. I suppose if they're a couple there's nothing wrong with that. Other surprising stuff in the house includes a cross hanging on the wall. It's Carlisle's and dates from the 1630s. Carlisle is three-hundred and sixty-two though he doesn't seem to be sure of the exact date he was born.
And so we get a history lesson about Carlisle's history. His dad was a preacher who led witch hunts. Carlisle successfully found a group of vampires but when he led the attack on them, he was attacked himself which led to him becoming a vampire as well.
So we end things with Edward realising that Bella has a whole bunch more questions and so leads her on. Presumably to his bedroom.
Which is where the chapter ends.
And how am I feeling about this chapter? Well, Edward is still weird and creepy. Edweird is a pretty good description of him and I'm sort of getting used to all the weird now. I'm not sure if he's getting less weird, or if I'm just getting immune to the weirdness. I do sort of like the fact that the vampires have a nice house which goes against the typical vampire stereotypes. It sounds like a nice place.
Not very many questions raised by this chapter because we're mainly just getting answers at the moment:
- Why are all the men in this book a little bit weird?
- Do Bella and Charlie have any neighbours?
- How many times do the Cullens do something purely because Alice saw it happening in one of her visions?
- Why did Edward taste Bella's tear?
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