Just so everything's clear, I HAVE already posted this story, but I edited a lot of the scenes. And, I know, this has absolutely nothing to do with the great love story of Edward and Bella, but it has ideas that are based off the work of Stephenie Meyer—whom I give full credit and take none for those ideas. Try to get past the depressing beginning because it gets better. (This is the story BEFORE No Hope.) Sorry for spelling and possibly grammar ones.

I sat down on the hard, uncomfortable spring mattress and groaned. How had things turned out so bad? Why was I in an asylum? There was nothing, nothing wrong with me; well, except for the fact that I'd killed someone-- it was an accident. I never wanted him to die, and despite how hard I try to forget it, it always comes back to haunt me. The terrifying memory shadows my every move. The rain, the blood, the regret, and him…

Ryan. His very name made me cringe. It was the one time that I went over-board with my temper, and it would be the only time. But the things he had said, the things that he had done. The rage had been overpowering.

Eight years. Eight long, miserable years I had endured the irritation of his existence. He'd beaten me in so many ways, tearing me apart from the inside, and now, I'm starting to think that it was my parents' fault. They were the ones who'd abandoned me, left me to suffer. But, there was one person who'd understood me. There was one person who'd ever cared for me: my one and only friend, Andrew.

Andrew had lived at the orphanage, too. Sometimes he would stand up for me and tell Ryan to "back off", but Andrew couldn't even compare to Ryan when it came to strength; Ryan would simply push him to the ground. But, Andrew was compassionate, and sometimes I wished that we could have been something more than friends.

I tensed. What was happening right now, at the orphanage? Was Andrew okay? What if Ryan's old friends decided to get revenge? How could I have been so stupid, why hadn't I seen this before? What if Andrew was… was... dead?

Tears started to blur my vision. I quickly wiped them away with my hand and cursed silently. Tears were a sign of weakness; there was no way that I was going to be seen as weak, or even pathetic.

No, Amelia, it's okay to cry; you're not weak. Any other person would have given up on life by now. Andrew's words rang inside my head like a doorbell. My memory had pulled out a fairly good imitation of his voice, causing the traitor tears to return. This time, I let them fall as I listened to my imaginary Andrew.

"Time for your meds," One of the nurses knocked on the barred door after what seemed like hours.

"I'm coming," I sniffed, and crawled off the bed in no hurry. My sock covered feet were protected from the ice cold floor as I dragged myself to the door. She handed me the pills and a cup of water that was no doubt contaminated. I popped them in my mouth and dutifully swallowed them down with the infectious liquid.

I handed her the empty cup. "Are you alright, dear?" She asked, not able to compose her curiosity.

I stood in shock for a few seconds-- most nurses never really inquired about my condition. "Yeah, sure." I finally muttered, walked back to my bed.

"Well, okay then." Her heels clicked against the floor as she shuffled her way down the hall.

I fell face forward onto the bed and I sighed with my body spread across the wool blanket. Unlike most days, I was willing to take my pills. Most of the time they'd have to physically force them into my mouth, but tonight, I was grateful for the distraction. That was probably what alerted the nurse.

My eyes started to droop shut; I was so too tired to fight them-- the crying had taken its toll on my energy-- so I slowly drifted off to sleep.

I awoke to the sound of a loud blaring noise bouncing off the hard floor and brick walls. Immediately recognizing the sound as a security breach, I groaned and repositioned myself under the blankets-- some crazy kid had actually managed to get free.

Then, suddenly, there was a creaking noise that was alarmingly close-- it was the familiar, everyday sound of one of the barred doors opening.

My eyes fluttered open, scanning through the darkness, searching for whoever had come in. I couldn't see anyone from the position I was in, so I sat up.

A tall, dark figure stood in the doorway with his hands balled into fists. It was hard to see him clearly in the contrast of light behind him and the darkness of my room, but I thought I saw him smiling.
My heart sputtered hyper-actively in fear, and my breathing became uneven.

Abruptly, the strange man was standing by my bedside. I stared at him completely motionless.

A clamor of deep voices and running feet started to get louder and louder from down the hall. There was not a doubt in my mind that said it wasn't the lazy security guards. Ha! No surprise then, that this man had got in easily, but I wondered: why would someone want to break into a mental asylum?

The man twisted his face to glare in the direction of the voices, and I gasped. His face was remarkably beautiful; it belonged on a magazine cover.

"Xavier," He held out his pale hand before I could examine him more. I stared at it, debating whether not to tell him my name. The obvious answer was no. This man was, apparently, an idiot.

But yet, not strong enough to resist the smolder of his eyes, I reached out to shake his hand. "Amelia." I said, then gasped again as I reflexively tried to jerk my hand away, but he yanked me out from under the covers-- his hand had been ice cold, and rock hard.

I let out a small squeal before Xavier had me propped onto his back; everything after that was a complete blur. Objects flew past me at frightening speeds, after awhile I started to feel dizzy, and soon enough, I had fainted.

"… I still think it's wrong. Don't you think she'll be even a tiny bit mad at us? I mean, we did leave her." said a soft voice.

"It's a possibility, but, I'm hoping she'll forgive us." A different, male one whispered.

I groaned, and shivered, but my eyes were too heavy to open.

A cold finger touched my face with the gentlest force; another one stroked my now matted hair.

"My poor baby," The gentle, soft voice murmured.

There was a loud snarl-- I flinched-- followed by a piercing scream. It was suddenly cut off by a loud snap.

"Can you please move to a more appropriate venue?" The male voice hissed.

"Mmmm…" I moaned, and tried to turn over without much success. My muscles were weak and frail, so much so that I was almost in pain.

"Amelia?" The comforting voice asked.

I had finally managed to open my eyes, but they were blinded by a brilliant light, and some kind of mush.

One of the cold hands moved from my cheek to my eyes, wiping away whatever was contributing to my blindness.

Now, I could see them.

Two people, one male, one female, were leaning over me. Their faces both extremely pale, their eyes like liquid gold, and their bodies ideal. One of them, I realized, was Xavier, the other stranger was magnificent just the same. Her dirty blond hair was cut off just below her shoulders, held by her delicate face. It looked like she wore very little make-up, but she didn't need it with her lips, or her cheekbones. It was the face of a goddess.

Now that I could examine Xavier better, I realized that he looked even better than before. His shaggy black hair gleamed in the light, along with his perfectly shaped jaw. Behind his light blue t-shirt, his muscles were visible. I couldn't even imagine how pathetic I looked next to their glory.

I began to pull my wide-eyed face up to see if there was anything else worth committing to memory. As I did, the extraordinary strangers backed away cautiously with their jaws clenched, and I started to examine my surroundings.

I was laying on a huge king sized bed. (The pale skinned people were standing beside it.) Two large windows sat on either side of it, and thick red curtains with a gold trim blocked the, as I assumed, glorious view. A mahogany dresser was positioned against the opposite wall, and under it, a lavish rug. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, lighting the majestic room. There was also a white wooden door to the right of the bed, and a golden couch to the left- a coffee table in front of it. The bedroom walls were lined with a faded white paint. The floor was a polished brown wood. I gaped at its perfection.

Xavier glided around the bed to put his arm around the woman. I continued to gape, but this time, at his grace. It was, astonishingly, extremely feline.

They both broke into hushed laughter as I continued to stare.

"What?" I said automatically. They stopped laughing.

"Nothing," The woman said in her soft voice. "It's just that we're overjoyed to see you again, daughter." She beamed.

Xavier grinned at me. "Welcome home."

I shook my head ferociously. This couldn't be happening…

That was it! It wasn't really happening, this was just a dream. Hmmm, if this was a dream, it was also a very good one. (Now a days, I usually didn't get very pleasant dreams, so I might as well take advantage this and play along.)

"Oh, happy day! I'm so glad to see you again, as well!" I exclaimed.

The woman's eyebrows pull together.

Xavier snickered. So, he caught onto my charade, didn't he? I scowled at him.

"Wait, are you serious?" He stopped laughing

"Yes, I guess, but this is just a dream after all." I said, jumping off the bed.

They rearranged their features- now they were both glaring at me.

"This is not a dream, Amelia. We're really here." The woman smiled.

"Yeah, right." My voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"We're telling to truth. Do you want me to prove it to you?" Xavier snapped.

"Go ahead." I crossed my arms impatiently.

He pulled away from the woman and was suddenly be my side. Xavier took a tiny strand of my hair and ripped it from my head.

"Ouch!" I yelped.

"See? If you were in a dream you would have woken up. As far as I know, you can't feel pain in dreams." He placed my now dead hair in my hand.

"Huh?" I whispered, staring at the strand of hair. Tears started to swell up in my eyes. I quickly wiped them away.

"You're sad?" My "mother's" soft voice rang with fear.

Fire burned in my chest. "No, I'm not sad! I'm mad! How dare you leave me to waste away for eighteen years and expect me to forgive you! It's too late to raise me now--I'm all grown up! If I hadn't been in an asylum, I would be at college! Do you know how much that I've been through: what others have put me through?" I was sobbing now.

"What the hell is going on in here?" A new, male voice growled.

Xavier and the woman formed a wall between me and the new stranger.

"Out!" The woman hissed.

"Why should I? What's that smell, where's it-," His voice lowered.

"OUT!" Xavier snapped his teeth together.

"Fine." The man grumbled slamming the door.

They turned around to face me again.

"My turn—what the hell was that? Who was that? Are we the only ones here? Do you have any kids that you didn't just decide to get rid-," Xavier's hand slapped onto my mouth, stopping me from saying anymore.

My eyes narrowed and I tried to pull his hands off my mouth, but I couldn't break his iron grasp.

"This conversation is no longer private--Sicilia?" He looked at her and she nodded, disappearing.

Xavier lifted his hand.

"Why would it matter if this conversation was private or not? What's there to hide? Why won't you answer my questions? Damn it, Xavier, I demand-," He covered my mouth again. This time I struggled even more, screaming against his hand. Then, noticing the peculiar scent that came off Xavier's skin, I stopped wriggling. The extraordinary smell relaxed me. It wasn't cologne, but something different that I couldn't quite place my finger on.

"That's better. Now, when I take my hand away, I want you to be quiet." He warned.

I rolled my eyes but nodded. He took his hand away and I pressed my lips together to keep my anger from pouring out again. My hands balled into fists until my nails were digging into my palm. Xavier chuckled and motioned for me to follow him as he walked smoothly out of the bedroom. The white door led out onto the landing of two circular stair cases that wound their way up the side of the first floor walls. The floor was still oak, but the walls were a royal blue. The railing was polished oak, the same as the flooring, but the columns holding up the railing were white. To my left was a long hallway with many other doors, the end of it turned, and another staircase followed it. To my right was another hallway, but at the end of it, there were heavy, white silk curtains blocking something that was too big to be a window… glass doors?

Below the landing was a huge entry way with giant wooden doors. A piano and a few chairs sat adjacent to the door on the far left, where as another huge window with the same silk curtains hung between the door and the piano. Another big window sat on the right, followed by an arch. The arch led into a checkered floored kitchen. A magnificent chandelier hung above the entry way. Industrial like lights lined all the hallways.

Amazement replaced my anger. "Is your whole house like this?"

"Pretty much." Xavier answered, leading me down the stairs. His jaw was still clenched and he never got too close to me. I ran my hand along the wooden railing, almost slipping because the floor was waxed so well. My socks barely made a sound as I shuffled along.

Suddenly conscious of my appearance I smoothed out my white t-shirt and pulled up my navy blue pajama shorts before Xavier sat me down in one of the chairs next to the piano. I crossed my legs and leaned against the back cushion.

"Stay." He commanded in a serious tone, and then glided into the kitchen.

A murmur of voices came from the kitchen in a matter of seconds. They were too low for me to hear. Sometimes they got higher, but never loud enough.

"What?!" A high-pitched female voice screamed, and soon after, a woman appeared in the archway. She glared at me with her jaw clenched, (just like everyone else I'd seen today, not that I'd seen many of them) and a second later, Sicilia had her hand on her shoulder, and the girl calmed. She looked like a girl my age, but prettier. She had strawberry-blond hair that ran down to her waist, and her clothing hinted designer origin. She made me take a huge hit on my self-esteem just being in the same room. Her eyes and skin were just the same as everyone else I had met today. Her face was also remarkably beautiful. She could definitely compare to Sicilia.

"Now, now, Danielle, I'm sure you'll get along fine." Sicilia soothed in her melodic voice.

"That's not what I'm worried about! What if they come and destroy us, just because we're housing a human?" She whined, or sang- her voice was high. I was confused when she called me human, I knew I was, but her words made me think that she wasn't.

Sicilia whispered in her ear something that made her perk up and smile at me.

"Yeah," A new male voice said sarcastically from the kitchen. "They'll only chop off our heads and burn us." Then, he entered the room. He was extremely handsome. The boy had tousled dark chocolate brown hair, and more pale skin. (Causing me to quickly glance down at my slightly tanned legs to see if they had changed, but they hadn't.) His clothing didn't hint off as designer origin- it was just like Xavier's clothing: jeans, a navy blue t-shirt instead of a light blue one, and tennis shoes. And, also like Xavier, his muscular frame was visible through the t-shirt. Then, his eyes became locked on me, and his jaw tightened. What was with these people?

Oddly enough, my cheeks flushed red as he continued to stare-- scanning my body. Ugh, I looked awful. I was still in my asylum pajamas and Danielle had on designer clothing. How pitiful.

I took another quick glance at the boy. His lips now twitched as if he was holding back a smile-- a completely different expression.

"You're so optimistic, Nathan." Danielle said slyly, he rolled his eyes and muttered something back at her.

"What's that supposed to mean? That I'm stupid?" She snorted, her voice dropping at the end, realizing what she had said. Nathan broke into a roar of laughter and I couldn't help but chuckle.

Then another boy walked into the room. He was the same, once again, but slightly more muscular than Xavier and the evil boy. He looked absolutely lethal, but extremely open and friendly. Another girl followed him; her long, black wavy hair was perfect. She had high cheek bones, an absolutely perfect body, and yet, more designer clothing. I was going to die of humiliation.

"So, this is the source of all the trouble." The black haired girl hissed.

"Mind yourself, Rachelle, or you'll find yourself dead! In fact, you're lucky you aren't already." Sicilia came out of her total and complete serenity and began to seethe with anger towards the girl.

"Have you forgotten, dear Sicilia, that technically, I cannot die?" Rachelle toyed with Sicilia's emotions, and I became confused once again. How could she not die? Wasn't she just like everyone else here? Unless, she's immortal or something… I laughed on the inside at my own little joke.

"No, I have not, but I suggest that you behave. I let you stay here, for one, because I feel sorry for you. Second, you wouldn't last one day all on your own-- the Covenant would have you in two seconds flat. So, if you choose not to obey me, I will destroy you or let the Covenant do it for me." Sicilia packed venom into each syllable, making it clear she was not one to mess with.

"Shut up, you vile little menace. You're no match for me!" Rachelle growled, sending a shiver down my spine. My heart almost stopped in pure, cold-blooded fear. She leaned towards Sicilia, almost like she was ready to pounce.

"Just let it go," Danielle hissed at them.

"Yeah, sorry then, Rachelle." Sicilia growled half-heartedly.

"Whatever." Rachelle glided outside in graceful perfection. She slammed the door behind her. I was surprised that the door didn't break, and that I hadn't gone deaf.

"Wow, you two have some serious issues. Sicilia… tisk, tisk… gotta work on that temper." The handsome boy with the chocolate brown hair scolded playfully.

"At least I can control it longer than you, Nathaniel." Sicilia sneered.

Everyone but Nathaniel and I laughed. He scowled at her, unable to think of a better comeback. I watched as his expression changed as they began to whisper again. It was like he could hear what they were saying.

I looked down at my sock-covered feet. Everything was so carefree around here, except for the tension that came between Rachelle and Sicilia. It probably would have been awesome to live here my whole life… no Ryan (I cringed)… no orphanage… no asylum… no Andrew- what was I thinking! There couldn't be a world without him. I wondered: what was Andrew doing right now?

I entwined my fingers, playing with my thumbs. The tears came back again and I looked up at the ceiling to keep them from pouring out. I closed my eyes to help the process.

A cold hand was one my shoulder just before I had almost fallen asleep. Looking over the back of the chair, Xavier stood over me. He was smiling warmly, but cautiously.

A male voice too low for me to make out came from behind Xavier.

"I honestly don't know." He rubbed my shoulder. I yawned.

"Oh, okay then, get to bed sweetie." He patted my shoulder and disappeared along with the others. That was good; I really didn't need any one of them watching me as I was bound to trip and fall on my way up the stairs. I slowly got up, trying not to slip on the floor again. My arms were held out to my side, trying to balance myself as I wobbled a few feet.

"Oh!" I had gotten too confident and walked faster, but I fell and landed on my back-side, feet sweeping out from under me.

I jumped up, almost falling again, and stumbled up the stairs—running.

When I walked into the room, I skipped over to the bed and fell onto the covers. I crawled up to the gold pillows, threw them off, and climbed under the heavy, warm blankets; then, fell asleep as soon as my head had hit the pillow.

"Let me go you little twit!" Rachelle hissed, waking me up, and I quickly decided, to play opossum as I listened to what ever was going on in my room.

"Leave her alone, sis'- she hasn't done anything to you, and you don't need another reason for Sicilia to hate you." It was Nathan-- gorgeous Nathan-- who was defending me.

"Oh, shut up, Nathaniel Riley." She cackled, and he snarled a gruesome sound. It didn't even sound human.

"'Oh, shut up, Rachelle Lee.'" He mimicked dryly. Their voices were so close I could actually hear them.

There was a long, unexpected silence.

"Hmmm…" Rachelle murmured mischievously. "Very interesting…" There was a silent click as the door shut.

I sighed and wrapped my arms around my stomach as it growled. I flipped over, opened my eyes, and stared at the ceiling. I tried going back to bed, but I couldn't. I just wasn't tired enough, and, I was starving. My last meal had been yesterday at the asylum… Wow, had it only been yesterday that I was there?

I shoved the covers off me, not letting myself think too hard again. I took my socks off before I stepped onto the slick floor, but quickly reversed to put my socks back on— it was freezing when you weren't under the safety of the blankets.

I coughed and slumped out the doorway.

The lights weren't on, but the sun shone through the tiny openings in the silk curtains. It was s new day-- that was good. I sighed heavily in relief. Now I could find out more about my new life, and spend time with my odd, new family. They were fun to be around, and from the experience I had just moments ago, I could tell that everyone was related to each other. (Nathan had called Rachelle "sis'".)But, they were, slightly odd.

I started walking down the hall to my right towards the glass doors. I was getting better at walking on the smooth surface. My balance skills were increasing.

When I got to the window I pulled back the curtains, and got blinded by sunlight. My eyes adjusted slowly until I was gazing upon a beautiful forest, and a lake. The sun reflected off the lake and a few boats sped past. A flock of birds flew overhead with snowcapped mountains in the distance.

"Amelia!" Xavier growled from behind me. I turned around, my eyes searching for him in the darkness.

"Shut the damn curtains!" He snarled.

"Why, it's beautiful day. You have a great view." I complimented.

"Just shut the curtains, hurry!" He urged, but I was too late. Danielle came into the hallway from a different room, directly into the sunlight. Her skin was suddenly like a million tiny crystals. It shimmered brilliantly. I stood motionless, completely memorized by the scene before me.

Xavier cursed and pushed Danielle into another room. His skin began to sparkle when he came out of the darkness too.

"Oops." Danielle giggled from the other room.

Xavier stormed past me and pulled the curtains shut-- he glared straight into my eyes. "I guess now I'm going to have to explain everything to you and answer a million more of your questions."

I finally blinked. "How could I not have questions? I just saw glowing people!"

Xavier groaned.

"Okay then, don't tell me, but I'll have you know, I will find out sooner or later." I warned and stomped away as dramatically as I could.

"Amelia! You're being unnecessarily difficult!" Xavier called.

I yanked the door to my bedroom open.

"Hey," An ice cold hand grabbed my elbow. I turned to see the beautiful boy just inches away from me. My heart almost stopped. "I'll tell you, that way it'll be sooner."

"I'm listening."

"Do you believe in vampires?" He let go of my arm.

"No."

"Well," Nathan said smugly. "You might want to start."

"Ha, Ha." I took a step forward, but Nathan was suddenly in front of me- smiling devilishly with razor-sharp teeth.

Paranoia crept up my spine.

"It's not Halloween yet, so you can put those away." I held onto my fearless ego even though I was scared half to death.

He continued to smile, then, abruptly, Nathan was leaning over my neck. He sucked in a huge breath of air.

"Nice try." I squeaked. He chuckled.

"I'm serious, though. Why do you think all of us have the same eye color? The same pale skin? And I'm sure you wondered why Xavier and Danielle shone in the sunlight." Nathan's cool breath fanned across my skin as he put one marble hand on my neck—inhaling once more. The cold sent adrenaline pumping through me, and strange electricity that made me want to caress his face. The urge was so strong it took all I had just to ignore it. So, I stood in complete shock….Nathan was breathing in the smell of my neck- either he was trying to scare me or he was about to scarf me down his mouth whole, like a snake. But, vampires didn't do that…

Nathan popped up and leaned against the doorway casually as Sicilia appeared. She eyed him.

"I hope you weren't planning to have my daughter for an early morning snack." There was a nervous edge to her voice.

"No ma'am."

"Leave us." Xavier commanded, coming into view. Nathan disappeared in a flash.

"What was going on over here?" Sicilia asked, skeptical.

"Nothing, really." I lied.

"Amelia, c'mon." Xavier sounded like a real parent, for a vampire and all. (I was surprised with myself that I was taking everything so coolly. I had just found out my parents were vampires and hadn't fainted--yet.)

I gave them the silent treatment.

Sicilia began stare at me with a sheepish expression, then pursed her lips.

Xavier seemed intent concentrating on something. He looked distracted.

"So, are you frightened?" Sicilia murmured.

"No."

"Really?" Her voice rang like bell in disbelief.

A sudden wave on lethargy swept over me, and I felt my consciousness fading. "I'm tired," I declared.

"Sleep then." Xavier mumbled and walked away gracefully.

"Yes, I forgot humans need much sleep." Sicilia said softly. "Sleep well, my baby." She disappeared.

I smirked, shut the door, and crawled slowly up the bed and under the heavy blankets. Then I blew out a huge gust of air, flopped back, and dozed off.

When I woke up there was no light coming from the windows. Ah, night, finally.

"Amelia, guess what Danielle and I did why you were asleep?" Sicilia sang, dancing in with great timing.

"What?" I asked passively.

"We got you some new clothes!" She exclaimed. "Here, I want you to try them on. You're going to look so beautiful!" She shoved a bunch of clothing onto the couch.

"Oh, thanks." I said sarcastically.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." She scolded. "We'll be waiting out here. Please come and model for us!"

"Fine." I was total pushover. But, the truth was, I needed some different clothes.

The first thing I picked out was a blue tie-front baby shirt, and black skinny jeans. I slipped everything on and walked out with a sullen expression.

"Ohhh! You look wonderful! I love the simplicity!" Sicilia rushed over to me. "Turn."

I glared at her, but spun unwillingly.

"Nice." Not Nathan but the other boy commented.

"Doesn't she look so much better?" Danielle beamed.

"Wonderful. I just love getting such great compliments. You all are so kind." I slumped back into the room to try on more hideous 'clothing'. Most of the stuff that was left was more revealing than I was used to. The only thing that I liked was a black "drop-waist shirt dress" with slight ruffle detail on the bottom. I told Sicilia that all I wanted was jeans and a few t-shirts, and maybe a few hoodies, but, unfortunately, they forced me to keep the things that fit. (Even though I'd never wear them.)

They gave me a few 4 inch high heels. I could walk in them, but I had no desire to look that way, and to be taller than Xavier. How had this become fashion?

At the end of the three hour torture session, I was wearing a pair of faded black jeans, and maroon sweater with a hood layered over a white turtle neck. I refused to wear the high heels- again- and instead wore a pair of Converses that were only supposed to be for "emergencies". The outfit was nice—I liked it, but I wasn't going to give in and let them win.

"Ridiculous," I muttered walking down the stairs.

"I would think that my daughter would at least show a little interest in her appearance. I for one, am deeply ashamed. Most humans tend to enjoy things like shopping." Sicilia scoffed.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be the daughter you wanted me to be." I pretended to cry.

"You'd better be sorry. You're glad I don't make you wear that dress. I don't know what's wrong with you. That dress was adorable!" She complained.

"Face it, Sicilia, Amelia is mental." Danielle snickered.

"Is that you, Amelia? Wow, that's an improvement." Xavier laughed, kissing Sicilia on the cheek when we were at the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh enough already! Jeez, you guys, I don't see anything wrong with jeans and a t-shirt. Plus, it wasn't my fault I just happened to be wearing my pajamas when Xavier got me from the asylum." I whined.

"That reminds me, why were you at an asylum anyway?" Danielle asked, barely interested.

"I killed someone." I said under my breath. Now was not the time I wanted to discuss this matter.

"You… killed someone!" Sicilia screeched. "Why?!"

"Hey, do you think I don't regret killing him? To let you know, I do, and, it was an accident." I defended myself because Danielle's mouth had dropped open and Sicilia and Xavier were fuming.

"That's no excuse." Xavier's voice was deep and threatening, a true father.

"You would agree with me if you knew what he had put me and Andrew through." Andrew's name slipped out. My hand immediately slapped over my mouth.

"Who's Andrew?" Sicilia asked.

"No one… the boy's name was Ryan. He beat me behind Ms. Abshire's back—the orphanage owner-- and always teased me. It was relentless, and he always made me feel like I was 'a little useless insect'. And…" I gulped, stopping myself. There was no need to mention the fact that he was a sick, perverted asshole.

"Oh, sweetie!" Sicilia's hands flew over her mouth. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

Danielle whispered in the boy's ear, her lips moving so rapidly I wasn't sure that they were moving at all.

"Mom, I'm okay, I promise, it was nothing." I chuckled at her reaction. It wasn't a big deal. I felt immune to the memories now, and I definitely didn't need anyone to pity me. "Is that why, you killed Ryan, I mean?" Danielle said.

"That's part of it," I stopped laughing. "I have a horrible but somewhat controlled temper, and, well I'd had enough of him and so I just let all of my anger out if one blow… or maybe two, or three…" The tears started coming back. I was going to have to build a tolerance for these things, but I wasn't crying for Ryan. I knew who I was crying for, but I dare not think of the name. Why did everything thing I do remind me of him?

Nathan entered the room smugly.

"What?" Sicilia asked before I could.

"Her past." His head cocked in my direction.

Sicilia and Xavier stared at me, like they were expecting more.

I was about to say something snobby, but my stomach growled. My cheeks flushed a brilliant red.

"To the kitchen with you- Danielle, David, will you cook something for her? I don't trust Sicilia anymore." Xavier shot a glance at Sicilia, she grinned innocently.

Danielle grabbed my hand and skipped into the kitchen. David followed.

The kitchen was beautiful. There were glass doors with no curtains covered them. It was just the view of the forest and its spooky loom. There was a long oak table with eight chairs and an island bar. The counters were white with marble tops. The fridge was silver and there was an espresso, a microwave, and a trash compactor. The stove was black, and flat. Small circles marked where the pans were supposed to go and an oven below it. Small white cabinets hung above all the counters. There was also a huge white pantry that stretched from the floor to the top of the other cabinets. That was probably where the food was kept besides the fridge.

I headed over to one of the black and silver barstools. The kitchen was more retro than the other parts of the house, but then I saw a large hearth with a cauldron in it.

"Did you renovate this place?" I asked David.

"Yes, it was in a horrible state. It would have crumbled to the ground in a few years if we hadn't-,"

"But Sicilia and I wanted to keep the fireplace. It gives this place much needed charm." Danielle interrupted. "So, what do you want to eat? I can make anything, unlike someone I know!"

"Be quiet you!" Sicilia called from the entryway.

David chuckled and grabbed Danielle's waist from behind and laid his head on her shoulders.

"Um, what do you have?" I asked, slightly distracted.

"You want steak and potatoes or lobster thermodor? Or do you just want macaroni and cheese? A sandwich? Chicken? Cheese enchiladas…" She rattled on names of different dishes and some plates that she had concocted herself, ones that were unknown to me.

"Danielle, are you going to give her time to make her choice or are you going to keep talking?" David smirked.

"Oh, I was going to, I just wanted to give her a few choices." She verified.

"Yeah, only a few choices." He kissed her cheek.

Danielle started to say her comeback, but I spoke when I had the chance. This was likely to go on forever… the way they argued was just like the way Andrew and I used to talk to each other… "I'll just have macaroni and cheese. I'm not that hungry." I lied. "And water."

"Okay." She said, disappointed, kissed David on the lips, and broke away from him heading towards the cabinet.

"Damn it!" She hissed. "Rachelle!"

"Yes?" Rachelle walked in from the glass doors; I flinched at the threatening edge of her voice.

"You forgot to stock up." She pointed a perfect finger to the cupboard.

"Oops, I guess I forgot." She said in her evil voice.

"Go get it now. I've just reminded you." Danielle spat.

"What if I don't feel like it?"

Danielle was suddenly inches from her face. "Go get it Rachelle." Danielle growled.

"Okay, fine." Rachelle disappeared.

"Wow, Danielle, you're so evil." David chuckled and Danielle joined in.

"Thank you."

I laid my head against the counter and closed my eyes for a few minutes.

"Here's your food, Danielle." Rachelle's voice was high and excited, more or less, ravenous.

Then I smelt the unmistakable smell of blood. My stomach began to churn as I slowly lifted my head to see where it was coming from.

Rachelle's face was covered in blood and she held a headless human body in her hands. I covered my mouth- my eyes bulged. It was a disturbing sight. Blood dripped to the floor from the lifeless corpse. I jumped out of the stool and ran out of the room -screaming- just before Danielle roared in anger. The sound almost busted my eardrums. As I ran into the entryway, Nathaniel was leaning against the west wall with Sicilia and Xavier cornering him.

I ran past them to a door that sat to the left of the chairs, to my luck, it was a bathroom. I slammed the door and leaned over the toilet just incase I was going to puke.

There was a small series of unintelligible snarls that sounded like they were actual words before real ones were spoken.

"What the hell is this?!" Xavier yelled. "Why would you do something like this?!"

"Danielle wanted me to go get food!" Rachelle whined.

"You knew what I meant!" Danielle accused.

"Rachelle, I have no desire to murder my own daughter, and she did not need to see such a thing!" Sicilia screeched.

"You all are over-reacting! What's so special about her anyway? Why did you suddenly decide to bring her back?" Rachelle had a great point. I waited for the answer.

"That's none of your business!" Xavier hissed.

Someone knocked on the door, and opened it. Nathaniel poked his head in. I kicked the door, hoping to smash his head in it.

"Nice try." He snickered.

"Ahhh!" I screamed, extremely sick of this place.

"What?" He asked, truly shocked by my reaction. I kicked the door again and he shut it quietly.