Chapter One: Reunited

Running is my pain reliever. What else can I do? I have no one. Ever since my best friend left me, I've run. I've hid from my problems. I live in and out of hotels.

I write daily in my precious royal blue diary. I look back to the first page. This contains a letter written by the best friend that left me.

D, Merry Christmas! I didn't know what to get you. So, instead, I made you this diary. I hope you like it!

-J

I've used it ever since. Sometimes – which sometimes tends to be often – all I write is the date and a few words or maybe just "Hi" or "Hello." Today I happened to be in the small town of Forks, Washington. I've heard about a large coven – no, that isn't the right word for it – a large… family lives here.

It wasn't long before a large house – mansion – appeared before me. A group of seven vampires emerged from the home, but I could sense an eighth somewhere. Soon the patriarch approached me, the others not too far behind him.

"Hello," the patriarch began, "I'm Carlisle Cullen and this is my family." He gestured towards the six behind him. "This is my wife Esme. The couple to my left is Edward and his wife, Bella." Carlisle directed toward a bronze haired man and a female with wavy brown hair. "Over to the right of Esme are Emmett and his wife, Rosalie." Rosalie, a blonde, smiled and Emmett, a huge curly brown haired man, waved like a goofball.

A small, pixie-like girl with spiky black hair ran up to me. "Hi! I'm Alice. We're going to get along just fine!" I stared at the pixie that I was towering over. My height of five foot eight inches was abnormal for the time I was raised in.

"Our other son is lurking somewhere. So, you'll meet him soon enough, Miss…" Carlisle said.

"Oh, I'm Dahlia. Dahlia Bradford."

Edward looked at me. "Where do you come from?"

I sighed. "It's a long story. I was born in Houston, Texas around the year 1843. My mother raised me primarily, since my father died of Typhoid in 1849. I had only but a single friend, but I never really cared." Alice was staring at me wide eyed but smiling. "Soon the year 1856 came. My mother, Celeste, and her good friend, Amelia, were preparing Christmas dinner. Amelia's husband had passed away in 1852." I stopped, knowing there was someone approaching. "I received a small doll, a prayer book, and most importantly, my royal blue diary."

"Didn't Jazz mention something similar to that?" Bella mentioned.

"Jazz?" I questioned. The rest of the Cullens stared at me.

"Yes, my other son, Jasper. He was originally Jasper Whitlock, now he goes by Jasper Hale," Esme said. My jaw dropped. "Do you know him, dear?"

I nodded. "Yes I do. Jasper and I were best friends. His mother is Amelia."

"Did I hear my name?" A tall, lean, blonde man came outside from the house. "Dahlia? Is that you?" The curly, wild, blonde hair from distant memories told me that it was he.

"Well, I'll be," I muttered. "If I'm seeing Jasper Whitlock it is."

The Cullens stared confused, but Emmett was resisting the impulse to laugh. Rosalie slapped him.

"Okay, so let's go inside. I'm sure we will all be a bit more comfortable inside," Carlisle said.

We were all inside and Esme asked what happened next. Jasper had heard the last bit. He explained a little bit more.

"The next bit is going to be difficult to explain, so I'll just read what I wrote for that day," I stated flipping pages in my diary. I landed on the tear stained page. I began reciting the journal entry, "June 14, 1860. I feel so depressed at the moment that it is almost unbearable. Today, Jasper announced that he would be fighting for the Confederacy." I paused, sighed and took a deep – and unneeded – breath. "I tried to change his mind. I told him things like how much his mother would miss him and how he is too young." Bella, Esme, Rosalie, and Alice appeared sympathetic. Emmett didn't care either way, but seemed bored. Carlisle and Edward had no expression, but Jasper had the most emotion. He looked heart broken. "Nothing I tried worked, so Jasper is going off to fight. Today was probably the last day I will see Jasper Whitlock alive and he broke my heart. Signed, Dahlia E. Bradford."

Alice gave me a hug. Jasper just put his head in his hands. "Leah, I never knew how much it had hurt you. If I would have known, I would have stayed."

Carlisle asked about my change. "Well, the change began on…" I flipped to the page that had the only skip between days. "May 13, 1863. It is the only date that would make sense." Jasper was going to question why, but I decided to continue. "I have written every, single, day since December 25, 1856, aside from the missing dates between May 13 and May 17 of 1863. A woman named Lucy changed me. Then a woman named Maria let me go Scott free. She said, 'Don't worry, your little empath of a friend will be just fine.' I left after that and have never once returned to Texas."

"Maria… Lucy…" Jasper said. "I'll never forget those women. They literally tortured so many souls. I did too." I looked for Jasper's best and worst memory. The day he left me was his worst but I had looked earlier and the best memory had changed. Now it was the moment we were reunited. Before, it had been the day he had met Alice and joined the Cullens.