"Will you please give me my underwear?" I asked her.

"Why don't you come and get them?" She answered back.

Even though Annabelle had literally been all up in my "business" a couple of minutes ago, I was acting extremely bashful for some strange reason. I had my cover wrapped around my waist and I refused to drop it in order to get my underwear.

"How can you be shy after what we just did?" She asked me.

"I've never been touched like that before." I was staring at the floor and my face was as red as a beet. She walked toward me, picked the book up off of the floor and stood by the edge of the bed. She dropped the book on the bed, loosened the cover that was around my waist and pulled my underwear up my legs.

"See, that wasn't so bad." She said.

She kissed me and I completely forgot what I was going to say next. I put my shorts back on and reached for my shirt. I just noticed that the song we were listening to on my computer went off a long time ago. I got up from my bed and went to my desk to select another song. Liz Phair's Extraordinary was on my mind so I typed it in and clicked on the first video.

"What kind of music do you like?" I asked her.

She started listing the names of people I didn't know and listening to her talk about her past made me wonder how she got turned. I waited until she was done talking to ask her the next question.

"How did you get turned? I mean, I know how you got turned but what lead up to it?"

Annabelle sat down on my bed. I exited out of Youtube, closed my computer and sat down next to her.

"I was born in Chicago in 1901. I turned seventeen in 1918 and my parents were in a hurry to marry me off to the highest bidder. My parents thought of my marriage of inconvenience as a merger, a way to cozy up to another powerful family and expand their wealth. They knew I was in love with someone else and they threatened to cut me off if I didn't marry Harry Stanton."

"Who was she?" I asked her.

"Harry's younger sister, Elizabeth Stanton. My parents were so shocked when they caught Elizabeth and me kissing in my room. They banned her from the house and I didn't see her until after the wedding. Shortly after the honeymoon, I got pregnant. It was a girl and I named her Marie. A couple of months passed and I got pregnant again. I had a miscarriage and Harry rushed me to the hospital. I died of blood loss. I remember hearing Harry telling the doctor to save me so his son could live. I knew right then and there that Marie and I had about as much value as a copper coin in his eyes. Carlisle was a doctor at the hospital and he turned me. I watched from the shadows as my daughter went from being a little girl, spoiled by my parents, to a beautiful young woman. She got married and had three kids. I watched them grow up but I lost track of them a long time ago." I had no idea that Annabelle had been a mother. It made me think about Renee and the way I'd been treating her. She tried her best to make me feel at home and I'd been rude to her ever since I got here. I promised myself I would be nicer to my mother the next time I saw her.

Annabelle drove me home from school using Roberto for once instead of her shiny silver Volvo, hinting that she was going to stay the night. I was overjoyed because she hadn't stepped foot in my bedroom in three days. I assumed she used that time to recover from being in such close proximity of my intoxicating blood. She parked in the drive way and walked around the front of the car to open the door for me. We walked to the front door and I used my key to open it. The second I sat down on the couch my stomach growled and I remembered that I didn't eat lunch because I was too busy talking to Annabelle. I reached down and unzipped my backpack.

"I feel like I should apologize for distracting you from your lunch." She said

"You don't have to apologize. It's not your fault that you dazzle people."
Although I knew she couldn't read my mind, I could still tell that she knew I was second guessing myself.

"Anyone would be more than happy to be with you. I'm just that lucky one you choose."
She touched my face ever so slightly as if I were a fragile porcelain doll she was afraid she'd break if she applied more pressure. She was so gentle with me that I often forget that she could easily hurt me if she ever lost control.

"Can I ask you something?" I said.

She nodded her head in approval and lowered her hands from my face.

"Before I knew who you were, were you ever in that tree outside my window or did I imagine that?"

She looked away as if she was embarrassed. "After I saw you at the mall I couldn't stop thinking about you. You were impossible to read and that intrigued me."I should've been afraid but instead I was flattered she felt the same way I did before she even knew me.

"So basically you watched me sleep. Why?"

"You're interesting when you sleep, you talk." I knew I talked in my sleep. My father teased me about it. I hadn't thought it was something I had to worry about here, though.

"Don't worry I didn't hear anything embarrassing. I know you miss your father and you worry about him. You're homesick but you're starting to like it here."

"I wonder why that is?"

I leaned forward and kissed her, hoping my mother didn't unexpectedly walk through the front door. She slipped her hand under my shirt and reached around my back to unhook my bra. My stomach growled again and I laughed before I removed myself from Annabelle and reached for my food. We spent the rest of the day watching TV and talking. She sat with me with me while I was taking my bath.

"How much of your human life do you remember?" I asked her.

"I don't really remember much of my human life. I can somewhat recall bits and pieces of my childhood like birthdays and spending the holidays with my relatives."

"What was it like when you got turned?"

"Have you ever gotten a really bad burn, It feels like that all over your body. The pain is excruciating and you don't think you're going to make it but then you wake up and you're a walking time bomb that could go off any second. I watched my friends and family grow old and die while I stayed the same."

"You would've been fine with dying?"

"Maybe before we meet, but now I can't imagine life with out you." I let the water out and stood up so I could get out of the tub. Annabelle held my towel open and I stepped into her arms. I dried myself off, got dressed and fell asleep in Annabelle's arms. I woke up the next day expecting her to be gone but she was still here. She was sitting at my desk looking flawless as always.

"You changed your clothes." I pointed out.

"Of course, we wouldn't want the neighbors to talk." I was pretty sure that was meant to make me feel bad about not telling my mother about us. I got out of bed, brushed my teeth and ran a comb through my hair. Annabelle followed me downstairs and pulled my chair out when I went to sit down.

"What do you want to eat for breakfast?" She asked me. I looked around the kitchen and decided on Fruit Loops. She handed me the box, a bowl with a spoon in it and went into the refrigerator for the milk. She set it down on the table and I reached for it. I was pouring the milk into the bowl when Annabelle told me she wanted me to meet her family. I made a huge mess when the milk overflowed. I turned the carton right side up and got up to get a towel. She followed me upstairs and waited until I got a towel out of the cabinet before she said anything.

"What do you think?" She asked me. I wasn't sure what to think. The first time Annabelle drove me to school the Cullen's weren't exactly thrilled to see us together so I was hesitant to voluntarily go to their place of residency. "What If they don't like me?"

Annabelle laughed. "So you're worried, not because you'll be in a house full of vampires, but because they won't approve you." Actually hearing it being said out loud made me realize how ridiculous it sounded.

"You have nothing to worry about. They are going to love having a human over for dinner."

I was standing in my room trying to figure out what to wear. I wanted to make a good first impression but I didn't want to be overdressed so I decided to wear my everyday clothes. I walked downstairs, Annabelle got up from the couch and we walked out the door. I'd never been to the Cullen's house before but it didn't shock me that they lived so far away from other people. When we got there she parked in the driveway and walked around the front of the car to open my door. I was in awe the second I stepped through the front door. It was nothing like I expected, everything was so light and open. The furniture was classy and old fashioned and matched the decorations perfectly. Annabelle noticed the look on my face.

"What did you expect? Coffins, dungeons and moats." She asked me.

"No, but I didn't expect all this."

"This is the one place we don't have to hide."

We were halfway up the stairs when I smelled the food. "I told them not to do this." She said.

I could hear them talking and when we got to the top of stairs they immediately stopped what they were doing.

"Bella, we're making Italiano for you." Esme said.

"This is my mother Esme and my father Carlisle." Annabelle told me.
Esme and Carlisle appeared to be in their early thirty's but I was one of the few people who knew better than that.

"I hope you're hungry." Esme said.

"Actually, I already ate." I told her.

Rosalie shattered the glass bowl she was holding in her hands. "Perfect." She angrily said.

"I know you don't eat..." I started to say.

"Of course, that's very considerate of you." Esme replied.

"Just ignore Rosalie, I do." Annabelle said.

"Yeah let's just pretend that this isn't dangerous for all of us."

While I agreed that Rosalie had a good point I didn't know where her attitude was coming from.

"I would never tell anybody anything." I assured her.

Rosalie continued her angry rant. "The whole family could be implicated if this ends badly."

"Badly as in I would become the meal."

Carlisle and Emmett started to laugh but Rosalie's glare made them stop. Alice came in through the dining room window with Jasper not far behind her. She introduced herself and hugged me. "Oh, you do smell good." She said after she let me go. Annabelle had this look on her face like she would rather be anywhere else but here.

"It's OK. Bella and I are going to be best friends." Jasper was watching me like a lion stalking its prey. "Jasper's our newest vegetarian. It's just a little difficult for him." Carlisle informed me. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Jasper said. "It's OK, you won't hurt her." Alice tried to coax him into taking one step closer. Every one except for Alice realized that wasn't a good idea. Annabelle offered to take me on a tour of the house and I gladly accepted. We were walking up another set of stairs when I saw a portrait of the Cullen's on the wall. They were all dressed extravagantly and there was someone I didn't recognize standing next to Annabelle.

"Who is that?" I asked her.

"That's my older brother Edward. A couple of months after I died he was dying of influenza and Carlisle turned him. He had a hard time adjusting and went to live by himself in Alaska."

She pointed out where everyone else's rooms were and when we got to hers she stopped in front of the door. She reached for the doorknob and pushed the door open. The room was perfectly organized. On one wall there were shelves with lots of books and CD's. One of the closet doors was ajar and I could see how enormous it was by the crazy amount of clothes she had. There was a door less bathroom next to the closet. An antique dresser sat in the corner and on top of it there was a television and a radio. A chaise lounge sat on top of an oriental rug and sunlight was streaming in from the window on the far side of the room.

"Where's the bed?" I asked her.

"I don't need a bed. I don't sleep." She replied.

"You don't ever sleep?" I asked.

"I haven't slept in one hundred and thirteen years."

We were sitting on the chaise lounge and talking.

"When a person gets turned where exactly does the special talent they develop come from?" I asked her.

"Carlisle has this theory that everyone has a special gift and when they get turned that special gift gets amplified." She replied.

"What's Edward's special talent?" I asked.

"It's the same as mine because we were so much alike when we were human." She answered back.

"I don't mean to pry but were there other girls after Elizabeth?" I knew the question sounded ridiculous but I couldn't help but feel jealousy toward any of the other girls she could have possibly been with before me.

"Elizabeth and I were never actually intimate so technically you're the first girl I've been with."

We spent the rest of the day talking and she drove me home when it got dark. I was hanging out with Tabitha and Rae at the local diner when I saw someone I never expected to see staring at me from across the road. I'd only ever seen him in the portrait at the Cullen's house but I definitely knew who he was. It was Annabelle's older brother Edward. I tried to ignore him but he was so captivatingly beautiful I couldn't take my eyes off him. I wasn't attracted to him but at the same time I wanted to run my fingers through his reddish brown hair. Rae noticed that I wasn't paying attention to the conversation.

"Who are you staring at?" She asked me. I said something about a deer and Tabitha turned around to see what had captured my attention. I looked back at the spot where I first saw him and he was gone.

There were a couple of seconds between class and I was getting a book out of my locker. "Has anyone else noticed that Annabelle looks at you like you're something to eat?" My face was bright red at the thought of anyone hearing what Rae just said and I was hiding it by pretending to look for something else in my locker. Tabitha started to giggle. "I didn't mean it like that!" She shouted. Annabelle and I had been together for quite some time and I still hadn't told my mother about us, much to the chagrin of my friends. It was lunchtime and Tabitha was dangling volume 15 of You and Me=We in front of my face with the promise that I could read it if I told my mother about Annabelle.

"Can't I just hide it until I go to college and move out?" I whined.

"Fine, do whatever you want but you will never truly be happy until you tell your mom the truth." Tabitha was absolutely right but I wasn't sure how my mother would react to the news. I continued to see him every where I looked and it was more annoying than it was eerie. He never tried to talk to me. He only stared like a creepy stalker.

"Have you heard from your brother recently?" I asked Annabelle. It was lunchtime and I had another silent run in with Edward this morning when I got to school. She told me she hadn't and that made me think. Where was he staying if he wasn't in contact with his family?

It was Saturday, one of my mother's rare days off and we were watching random 80's TV shows when there was a knock on the door. I got up to answer it and Edward was standing there.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered so my mom wouldn't hear me.

"I wanted to see you." He was looking at me the same way Annabelle does but it didn't have the same effect.

"Who's at the door?" My mom asked from the couch.

"It's nobody." I said.

He raised his voice so that it could be heard over the television. "I know it's late but I wanted to meet my sister's friend."

Renee got up from the couch to see who I was talking to. I tried to shut the door but he put his foot in the doorway. The second my mom saw him she self consciously ran her fingers through her hair in an effort to smooth it out. He smiled and extended his hand.

"You must be Bella's sister." He said oozing charm.

My mom actually giggled and blushed. "Not with these wrinkles. I'm Bella's mother Renee." He feigned surprise and asked if he could come in. My mother stepped aside and he entered the house. Edward pulled two chairs out for me and my mother. He sat down only after he pushed our chairs in.

"So what brings you here at this hour?" Renee asked him.

"I would've come earlier but I was busy. I'm Annabelle's older brother Edward."

"Carlisle never mentioned you before."

"I've been living in Alaska, I just returned last week."

I needed to talk to him but he was obviously busy explaining himself to my mother. I knew he couldn't hear my thoughts so there was no other way to communicate with him. The conversation between them ended and my mom went back to watching TV. We waited until she was fully immersed in the TV show to start talking.

"What are you really doing here?" I asked him.

"I already told you, I wanted to see you."

"Why?"

"I wanted to see why my sister is so fond of you." He reached across the table to touch my hand and when I pulled away he quickly grasped mine with his icy fingers. I realized that he wanted me for himself and there was no way I was going to let that happen. I tried to pull my hand out of his python like grip but he wouldn't let go. "I wish I knew what you were thinking right now." He said.

"If you don't let go of me I am going to cry wolf..." He let go of my hand and got out of his chair. He walked all the way around the table, moved the hair from the back of my neck and knelt down to kiss me on that same spot. He said goodbye to my mother and left. In that moment I felt a mixture of anger and fear spreading all through my whole body. I sat down on the couch and my mom started talking about him.

"He's such a nice boy. I wouldn't mind if you started dating him."

"I'm not really interested." I told her.

"He's cute. Maybe if he was a couple years older..."She kept babbling on and on about him and it was starting to get annoying. I remembered what Tabitha told me and decided to tell my mom the truth.

"Mom I have something to tell you. Annabelle and I are more than friends. We've been together for almost two months."

Renee turned the volume down on the TV and turned to look at me. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I didn't know how you would react."

"You are my daughter and I will always love you no matter what." We continued to talk until she fell asleep in front of the television.

It was Monday and there were a couple of minutes before school started.

"I finally told my mother about us." I said to my friends.

"Are you just saying that so I'll give you the book?" Tabitha asked me.

"I didn't do it for the book. I did it because I wanted my mother to know the real me."

"What did she say when you told her." Rae asked me.

"She's happy that I won't be a teen mom but she's kind of sad I probably won't give her grandchildren."

It was lunchtime and Annabelle had just told me that Edward was back at home. Luckily for me I had my face completely covered by volume 15 of You and Me=We so she couldn't possibly see the look of disgust on my face.

"Who's Edward?" Tabitha asked her.

"He's my older brother." She said.