Bree P.O.V

It was getting dark outside when Edward and Carlisle came back from wherever they were. They both had worried looks on their faces, although I thought most of it was concern.

"How is he?" Esme asked quietly.

"I had to re-break some bones and he's burning through the morphine quickly, but he'll be okay. I'd left Bella there with him when I found Edward waiting at the line." Carlisle sank onto the couch next to Esme. They didn't touch or anything, but you could see the love.

I was confused. Who were they talking about? Burning through the morphine?

Edward, who was still by the door, answered my thoughts.

"Jacob. He's Bella's best friend, and he got injured during the fight. He's not human, but he's not like us either. We'll explain later."

Okay, I was less confused, but more confused at the same time. I decided to let it go for now.

"Bree was just going to tell us her story." Rosalie informed them from her place next to Emmett on the stairs.

"Sit down, Edward!" Alice urged him, gesturing to the sofa I was sitting on. Her and Jasper were leaning on the back of it, waiting for me to start. Edward sat down on the opposite end from me and smiled.

"Go ahead Bree. In your own time."

I took a deep breath. Relax, I told myself. They won't judge you. All of a sudden, it was important that these people understood how much I wanted to change. How sad the thought of the people I killed made me. Ready or not, here I go, I thought to myself.

Rosalie P.O.V

"I can't remember much of my human life. I just get the feeling that even though it wasn't that great, it wasn't really that bad either. I was just drifting along every day."

I listened intently as the girl talked. Something in this child called to me and I had no idea what it was. I didn't show it, but I was insanely curious about her.

"When Riley changed me, I was so scared. It hurt. So, so much. I thought I was going to die, I thought Riley was some crazy guy, who'd just killed me. But then I woke up, and I thought it was the best thing that had ever happened to me. I didn't think about my family or what they'd think, I just knew that I was better. I could see better, I could hear better, I could move so fast and I was so strong. I felt weird, drinking peoples' blood at first, but then Riley changed my mind. He told us all that by just taking the dregs, the lowest sort of people, we wouldn't really be taking much from the world. And I just listened to him." Her face showed shock. Like she couldn't believe she'd thought that about human beings. Even if it was true.

"It's okay, Bree," Jasper said, unexpectedly. "A lot of vampires think like that. The important thing is what you're doing now."

She smiled at him. "Okay. Well, life was dangerous, even in our group. We had to be careful not to anger the strong ones, or they'd tear us apart. Riley always got angry when that happened, 'coz he had to find new ones. I used to just hunt and read. I'd hide behind Fred, because no one wanted to go near him. He just kinda... repulsed you. But I think it was intentional, like, he had powers like you guys. Fred was kinda my friend. He wanted to help me escape."

I wondered what it was like, living with people who would probably kill you if you made a mistake, or said the wrong thing. I was suddenly glad I had my family. I didn't always appreciate them, but I knew if I didn't have them, life wouldn't be very good for me right now.

Bree was going on. "I had another friend, Diego." She looked sad. "Riley had told us the stories were true, vampires burnt up in the sun, but Diego and I discovered the truth about how we sparkle. We couldn't understand why Riley would lie to us, but we decided to find out more before we asked him about it. We knew it would be dangerous, so we pretended we had nothing t do with each other, but we met when we were out hunting. We followed Riley once, and he was visiting her. Victoria. They were kissing. And then those guys in the black cloaks came and threatened them. I didn't know what to do! Diego and Riley were pretty tight, so he said he would ask Riley what was going on. I waited for him at the house, but he never came back. Riley told me he'd sent Diego on a mission thing and he'd meet us at the fight. But he wasn't there."

I felt so sorry for Bree. She looked so crushed. Maybe she loved him... I would ask, but I didn't really want to upset her more right now. I wasn't usually the most tactful person, but I just couldn't do it.

So I just said, "I'm sorry Bree. But maybe he's still out there somewhere." Trying to comfort her.

But she shook her head. "I don't think so. Riley came home strange that night, and he was saying stuff about ripping people limb from limb and making you watch and help. I get the feeling he was talking about Diego."

I glanced at Edward, thinking 'Is it bad?' I knew Bree hadn't really forgotten the exact words Riley said. Vampires didn't forget anything, I thought, slightly bitter. Just another good thing about this solitary, dormant life.

Edward nodded at me. That must hurt. Hearing exactly how your closest friend died... That would be terrible.

I became determined. I would help Bree, and I would help her to be happy again. I had something to do - that didn't involve only myself. I wasn't doing this for me. And it felt good, even though I hadn't even started. If I felt this way now, well I looked forward to completing my mission.