I pushed myself further. Why had I picked Forks, Washington? Why? I should have gone to Canada like I had originally planned.

"She's slowing down!" a voice behind me yelled.

Of course I was slowing down. I was half-human. My heart was pounding practically out of my chest and my lungs were piercing me with every breath I took. Why was I even trying to run from these vampires? If they killed me, I would not have to deal with the constant fear that my father would be the one to murder me.

One wrong step had my ankle snapping with a sickening crunch and, when I fell, my hand dug into a sharp rock on the ground. Blood covered my left hand within an instant.

The tears came before I could stop them. I felt eyes on me and when I looked up I was surrounded by eight golden-eyed vampires.

"Oh my God," a tall blonde whispered. She was breathtakingly beautiful.

A gentle looking woman with caramel colored locks carefully walked up to I, a blond man with compassionate eyes right at her side. "We won't hurt you," she said softly. "We made a mistake. We thought you were trying to harm our family."

"You aren't trying to harm our family, right?" a big, burly looking one asked.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know there were others here!" I sobbed.

"Shh," the woman whispered. She sank to her knees next to me. "Don't cry, dear. What's your name?"

"Kaleigh," I mumbled.

She took the bright white scarf from her neck and before I had a chance to protest she was using it to stop the blood flow on my hand. "My name is Esme, and this is my husband Carlisle."

He bent down in front of me. "Do you mind?" He glanced at my hand and then back to my eyes.

"I can bandage it up when I get home," I said quietly. "I'll leave, I promise. Just please don't kill me."

"No one in my family will put a hand on you," Carlisle assured. He smiled at me. "I'm a doctor. I can take a look at your hand for you."

"I—." I didn't know what to say, so instead of rambling I nodded my head.

He took my hand from the woman's and looked it over. "Nothing a few stitches couldn't fix," he said.

"Carlisle, her ankle," a bronze haired man pointed out.

I realized that the other six vampires had gotten much, much closer.

"We won't hurt you," a little, pixie-like girl promised. She grinned. "I can't wait to take you shopping! Oh! Renesmee is going to love you!"

My eyes widened in shock. "You're the Cullen's," I said, a little louder than I had wanted to.

"The Volturi created her," the bronze haired man said. He looked at me with an apologetic smile. "My name is Edward."

I nodded slowly, and processed what he had said. "They didn't send me here," I said honestly. "I ran away."

Carlisle's cold hands ran over the cracked bones in my ankle. "You're going to need a cast, Kaleigh," he said. "Unless you heal quickly?"

I shook my head. "No, just a little faster than a human would." I brushed dirt off of my purple lace dress and gray leggings. "I won't linger in the area." I started to get up, but Esme pushed my shoulder down gently.

She looked at me knowingly. "Where is your family?" she asked.

"I don't have any. My mother died after giving birth to me, and Demetri didn't care for her. She was just an experiment for them." I looked down, willing the tears back. Why was I telling these people about my past? "I'm sorry. You all don't want to know about this. I'll be on my way."

She grimaced. "Come back to our home. Let Carlisle fix your ankle and hand. Then you can leave if you wish."

"I can't impose," I said, shaking my head.

She tied to scarf so it would stay tight without anyone holding it. "You look like you could use a hot meal too." She wiped away the last of my fallen tears. "Don't cry, sweetheart. Maybe you can meet Renesmee."

I vaguely remember having heard Aro and Caius talking about Renesmee.

Esme smiled at me. "I'm sure the both of you would love being able to talk to each other."

"It would be nice meeting someone like me," I admitted with a sad smile. "But I really can't—."

"Come with us, Kaleigh," she whispered. She was the embodiment of motherhood.

I took a deep breath and after I let it out I agreed.

Her eyes held a new spark now. "Do you mind if one of us carries you? Our home isn't too far, but I don't want you to hurt your ankle any more than you have."

"I guess so," I mumbled.