Edward's point of view( drive home from restaurant)

" You children should be absolutely ashamed of yourselves," Esme scolded angrily. She had been riding our asses since we left the restaurant.

" Come on Mom," Emmett said, " we didn't do anything to them."

She turned around to shoot us with one of the most frightening glares I had ever seen. All of us sunk deeper into the seat of Carlisle's BMW. Our mother was a very gentle woman, so the fact that she even knows how to glare was shocking. Emmett looked terrified at the show of our mother's rare anger.

" Mom," Alice tried to soothe her.

" Do not start with me, Mary Alice," she snarled, " all three of you are grounded for you rude behavior. Those poor girls have enough to deal with. They don't need your snobbish attitude making things harder."

The bitterness in her voice made us cringe. Ok, so we gave them a hard time. At school it's so entertaining to see them lose their tempers. I mean, they brought excitement to the boring high school. All of us had a favorite Swan to pick on, mine was the youngest, Bella. I loved getting a rise out of her. To my mother she was sweet and innocent, but when she was around me, innocent was the farthest thing she was. I remember one time during freshman year I insulted her, she slapped me so hard I had her handprint on my cheek for a week. As much shit as we gave them, that was the only time any of them were violent. I mean sure they had been an inch away from losing it, but another Swan showed up out of no where to calm them down.

The rest of the ride was silent. When we got home, we were sent to our rooms. Rose and Jasper were staying the night, since their parents were who knows where. I took a shower and put on a CD. I replayed tonight's events through my head. I didn't know that the Swans worked there, why would they want to work anyway? They've been working since they were fourteen, the youngest age you can work legally. But even before that they did jobs around town: mowing lawns, changing oil, babysitting, running errands. I mean sure they weren't rich like us, but things couldn't be that bad, right?

I smiled when I thought about how annoyed Bella was when I made her run back and forth. Every time she looked at me I could see the tightly concealed anger in her eyes. I would just smile smugly, I knew that if my parents weren't there she would have had a few colorful words for me. I had to admit that she was cute when she was mad, her cheeks got all flushed and her eyes would sparkle with her anger.

My smile faded when I thought about the encounter Carlisle had with Bella's sister, Mila. Mila was one nasty piece of work, girl scared the hell out of me more than once. She has a quick temper and a harsh mouth, that's why I was so disturbed at the sight of seeing her break down. I felt my eyes sting as I remembered her shoulders shaking with her sobs, visible even from our table across the room. And I felt my eyes water when I remembered Bella's heart broken face.

I froze and my eyes popped open. I was puzzled by my reaction. I had never felt anything towards Bella before, except mild amusement. Why did I feel for her now? Pity. I felt sorry for her. Yes, that was what it is. I pity the fact that she's poor.

Jasper's point of view

I stood staring at the moon through the window. I couldn't sleep, all I could do was think about what had happened at dinner. The night had started as expected. Edward doing everything possible to piss Bella off, with Rose and Em joining in. Alice and I hardly ever participated in their childish games. And I had to give Bella credit, she handled their shit very well.

I couldn't get past the image of Nali calming the two sisters down, and with two simple words. I mean I know their family was close, there was no doubt about that, but there was just something that no one had realized about them, something that I recognize. I tugged on my hair and groaned in frustration. I know I had seen the gesture before, but I couldn't for the life of me remember from where.

Throwing my hands up in momentary defeat, I walked out of my room ( well my room at the Cullen's house at least) and down to the kitchen for a glass of water. I stopped when I passed by Carlisle's office, I heard him talking on the phone.

" Are you sure you didn't find anything?" he asked desperately. I suddenly wished I had vampire hearing, so I knew what the other person was saying. " Damn it! That's not good enough! This girl deserves to know something, she deserves more than just 'we tried' ." I could hear his heavy breathing, and I can hear that he was close to tears.

I leaned in closer, pressing my whole face against the wood of the door. I heard Carlisle sigh deeply. " You don't know these kids Jim," he said hoarsely, " you don't know what they've been through. All of them work as much as possible, and they still don't know if it's enough to pay the bills. These kids are eighteen going on forty. All of them are orphans, abused by their parents or they lost their parents to traumatic events. And you know Nali's story, she admitted to me that she wished that bastard had killed her. She's not the only one, all of them have said the same thing. It's not right, Jim. I don't know how they survive." The person he was talking to said something. In response he sighed gratefully. " Thanks Jim, anything you can find would help her."

I heard him hang up the phone, and his chair squeaked when he sat back in it. And then I heard something that I have never heard from Carlisle before, I heard him cry. The sound alone brought tears to my eyes, and then the knowledge of what Carlisle had said made them pour down my face. I put my hand over my mouth to muffle the sound, and then I ran downstairs. I didn't make it past the staircase.

My head was buried in my hands when I felt someone place their hand on my shoulder. I looked up and through my tears I saw Esme's worried face. I let her help me up and walk me to the couch, where I sank in the cushions. She wrapped her arms around me and held me as I cried.

Alice's point of view

I snuck across the hallway to see Jasper, but he wasn't in his room. So I walked downstairs to see if he was in the kitchen. I paused when I heard him talking to Esme. " I overheard Carlisle on the phone, talking about the Swans," he said. His voice was hoarse, like he had been crying, the very thought made my heart ache. " You know what they've been through, don't you?"

I heard my mother sigh deeply. " Oh yes," she said sadly, " they've told me a lot. And Carlisle has shared what he knows as well."

Their conversation, and the tones in which they spoke, made me sit at the top of the stairs. I could hear them clearly enough, I just wish I could see their expressions.

" Can't we help them? I mean, at least financially," Jasper's voice shook, something that scared me.

" Oh we've tried," Esme said, with a chuckle, " but you have to understand something about them. The Swans are proud, not vain, but they would never borrow money that they couldn't pay back. They're a strong family, they rely on each other. And to be honest they don't trust anyone, they would rather lose their house than ask for help from the rich in this town. You think we don't know what you do to them at school? You think that we don't know how they are treated?" Her voice took on an acidic tone that made me wince, I can only imagine what her face looked like. " We know. Not because they told us, but because we've seen it first hand. From the Mallory and Newton children. And we want to interfere, but we don't."

" Why not?" Jasper asked.

" Because they asked us not to," she replied.

That was where their conversation ended. I walked back to my room and stared at my ceiling. So the adults knew how they were treated. And they didn't do anything, because the Swan children asked them not to. But why would they do that? Why would they endure that?

And what did Jasper mean when he said " help them financially"? I know that they had trouble, but could it really be so bad? That could explain them working themselves to death. They were just trying to make some money. I sat up, and looked around my room. I felt shameful, how much had this stuff cost my parents? How much do we waste?

I remembered the image of the Swan sisters holding each other. It was heart breaking, but it was mesmerizing as well. To see them comfort each other, to hold each other together, simply by being there. You could see their fierce protectiveness when Mila nearly jumped Rose. And you could see how they connected on a deeper level than what it seems, when Nali calmed them both down with a few soothing words. And then I realized that out of all the girls, Nali was the only one who did not cry. You could see that she felt her sister's pain, but she still did not cry.

" The glue that keeps the puzzle together," I thought.

With a sorrowful sigh I laid down and closed my eyes. And I dreamed of a place where money didn't matter.

Bella's point of view ( next morning)

I woke up when I heard rustling in the kitchen. I sat up and rubbed my eyes sleepily. My back was sore from sleeping on the ground. I had to smile at the sight before me. Eight grown teenagers spread out across the living room was an interesting picture. Tristan's head was on Danju's leg, Kira's head was on Brent's stomach, Alyssa was sleeping right by John's feet, and I was between John and the couch. When I looked up, the only one who could have possibly had a decent night's sleep was Danni, she was curled up on the corner of the couch with a book in her hand. I shook my head, the only smart one out of the bunch.

I stood up quietly and headed for the kitchen. I paused and looked up the stairs, debating if I should go check on Mila. But I shook my head and went into the kitchen. Nali was running around getting everything ready for breakfast, I could tell she had been up for a while. She had a frying pan full of eggs, a plate with bacon and sausage, and a small stack of waffles. I chuckled at the overflow of food. She spun around with a cup of pancake mix in her left hand, and the pan in her right. I laughed loudly at her bewildered face.

She glared at me and said to be quiet. " How long have you been up?" I asked her, humor still thick in my voice.

She turned back to the stove to begin making the pancakes. " Never went to sleep."

My smile faded slowly. Nali was an insomniac, has been ever since she was first adopted. She said it usually doesn't bother her, but every once in a while you can see her fatigue. " So the new medicine isn't working?" I asked her softly.

Nali hated taking pills, she's afraid of getting addicted to prescription drugs. I once asked her why she would be scared of that, she simply said that she had seen the effects before. I know it wasn't her, Nali would never do drugs, I can only assume that it was a family member.

She sighed, I could hear that she was tired. " No," she said softly, " The doctors have done all that they can do."

" You can't give up," I told her quickly.

She turned around and smiled at me comfortingly. " It's going to be ok," she told me, her eyes showing her truth, " and think of what we can do with the extra money. You girls can go shopping, or something."

" We aren't going to waste that money on clothes," Danni said from behind us. She voiced my own opinions. She was leaning against the door frame, still trying to get over the sleepiness. " How's Mila?" she asked.

" She's fine," a voice from behind Danni said. I looked over her shoulder and saw Mila, besides her slightly puffy eyes, you wouldn't know anything was wrong. She smiled tiredly.

" Hey sister," we greeted. We glanced at each other and laughed, amazed at how in tune we were.

" Nali, do you mind if me and Kai eat upstairs?"

Nali smiled and pointed to the counter near the door. On a tray was two glasses of orange juice, and plate with waffles and bacon, neither one of them liked sausage. Mila smiled brightly and blew us all a kiss before she headed back upstairs. I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders, the room seemed lighter now that we knew that she was ok.

Danni snatched a glass from the cabinet and poured herself some apple juice, I did the same. " Food's ready," Nali called. There was a moments pause before you heard loud footprints heading for the kitchen. Brent was at the front, but Alyssa was close behind him pushing him out of her way. It was hilarious to see the biggest and smallest fighting to get to the food.

When everyone was seated, Alyssa and Brent in front of each other glaring dangerously, we grabbed hands to pray. None of us were hardcore Christians, we believed, how could we not after what we had been through? And at times, when things got hard, we thanked whatever force that was behind our fates for bringing us together.

Nali was still by the stove making sure we had enough food. The rest of us were eating happily and talking. None of us reacted when we heard someone knock on the front, Nali went to answer it.

I heard her let out a startled 'oh'. " Um," she said uncertainly, " good morning ,Jasper," she said politely.

That certainly got all of our attentions. The clattering of our silverware stopped as we stared wide eyed at each other. No one, and I mean no one, from the north side ever came our way. Sure, some lawyers or doctors had to come visit clients, but no one ever came willingly. Hundreds of possibilities ran through my head as to why he was here.

" Good morning, Nali," he replied smoothly, " Carlisle sent me to speak to Mila."

That made us frown, and the boys tensed. There was no way that Carlisle would send someone else to talk to us. Nali must have thought the same, because she didn't reply for a couple of minutes. I can picture her face as expressionless as she decided on what she was going to do.

" Then please come in," she invited. There was an unusual tightness to her voice, like she was expecting something to happen. We heard her close the door softly, and held our breaths as we listened to their approaching footsteps.

Nali came in first, giving us all a warning glare to be polite. When Jasper came around the corner he gave us a shaky smile. The girls are the only ones who attempted to smile, the boys just settled for staring.

" Dude," Brent said, " are you lost?" I couldn't help but giggle, apparently neither could the rest of us. Nali went over and hit him over the head with a spatula she grabbed from the counter. He groaned. " Oh come on," he whined, " everyone was thinking it."

" Everyone had the manners not to say anything out loud," she scolded. She looked like she was embarrassed at our behavior. And it's not just because he has money, she reacts the same way when we have anyone over.

We were surprised when we heard Jasper chuckling quietly. His eyes were shining when we looked at him, as if he thoroughly enjoyed seeing our banter. He didn't seem to be uncomfortable, which was unexpected seeing as how different things were. I could have imagined it, but it seemed like he was looking at us with longing in his eyes. Maybe he wanted a family like ours, but doesn't he have everything already?

" You said Carlisle sent you?" Alyssa asked, trying to fill the silence. She was looking at him curiously, her usual bright smile seeming to light the room. He looked momentarily lost at her friendliness, he probably expected us to be hostile.

" He asked me to give Mila a message," he said. His voice was calming and subdued. He kept his eyes on the floor, afraid to look us in the eyes.

We looked at each other, trying to see if there was some hidden meaning behind this. Nali stared at Jasper, trying to find some flaw with his visit. We all looked to her, for some reason we always looked to her for decisions. I think it was because she was so level headed, and even though she wasn't the oldest, it seemed that she was the wisest. Finally she turned toward the stairs and called Mila down. She bounced down seemingly much better than yesterday, she smiled at all of us, but lost it when she saw Jasper.

" Huh," she said, " I was wondering why you guys had gotten so quiet."

There was a sudden awkward silence. " Is Kai still asleep?" Danju asked, the were really close.

" Yeah," she said, momentarily forgetting Jasper's presence, " I kept him up late last night."

" Doing what?" Brent asked suggestively.

" Brent!" We all exclaimed together. Several pieces of food were thrown his way. He laughed heartily and grinned widely while shrugging.

" Carlisle sent Jasper to give you a message," Nali told Mila, getting everyone focused.

Mila folded her arms and leaned against the counter, she nodded tightly for him to continue. He took a step forward and the boys jumped to their feet. Jasper backed away raising his hands in apology. Nali raised her hand, and the girls grabbed the arms of their boyfriends. Nali stepped forward and placed herself between Jasper and us. She gave us another glaring warning, before she encouraged Jasper to continue. He glanced at us anxiously before he began to talk.

" Carlisle says that he hasn't found anything, which he suspects you already know," Mila nodded at what he said, " but he wanted me to assure you that he's not giving up. He says that he's pulling more sources to see if they can find anything."

Mila was quiet for a few moments, her head was bowed as she thought over what he said. She breathed in deeply before looking up at him. " Do you know what he's looking for?" she asked hesitantly.

" No," he answered, there was nothing but sincerity in his voice. She stared at him for a long moment before nodding.

" Thank you Jasper," she said softly, " please give my thanks to Carlisle as well."

He nodded, and she smiled slightly before walking back upstairs. There was silence. Jasper didn't realize that Mila had done more than just thank him, she accepted him as a friend. That may not seem like a huge deal, but Mila hated the rich kids in town, it didn't matter how nice they were.

It wasn't just me who realized this, my whole family did. And the thing about us, if one accepted you then so did the rest. Again we looked at each other, not really sure how to proceed.

Tristan coughed a little awkwardly. " So," he said, " would you like some breakfast?"

Jasper looked shocked, he looked to each of our faces, making sure all of us agreed. This time we smiled at him with no hesitation. He smiled back, the widest grin I had ever seen from him. He accepted and sat down. We all took a second to adjust before we got back to eating.

And it was as if nothing had happened. We went back to joking around and laughing. It didn't take jasper very long to jump in. and suddenly he didn't matter who he was, he didn't matter that he was rich. Right here, right now, he was just another kid who needed a family. He was just a kid. He was just like us.

Well there ya go. I really want this story to do good, but if you want to express concerns please don't be afraid to tell me.

Lot's of love,

Nisa