Hey Guys...

So I'm super exited to post this story here, because I've been writing and editing this for the past 3 years, and I'm really proud of the way it became.


I'm sorry that I didn't post this before now, but FanFiction was down for a couple of days and then I went on a vacation, but it's here now, and I hope you'll like it. :D


Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me, only the storyline.

3. OLD FRIEND

"Hi, Sophie." I said and hugged her fast. Even though her scent didn't burn that much.

"You have changed so much since the last time I saw you." She said. She on the other hand hadn't changed at all.

She had the same long blond hair she'd always had, and she hadn't changed much in physique either.

I didn't know how to response to that, so I just smiled at her and grabbed one of her bags. Then we started to walk towards my car.

"How can you be married? You've never have a boyfriend before, and now all of sudden you're married." She said.

"Yeah I know. But he is the most wonderful person in the whole world, so it couldn't be better." I told her.

"How old it he? Is he older or younger than you?"

Oh, he's actually frozen as a seventeen-year old, but actually he's near a hundred and ten.

"He's nineteen just like me." I told her.

She nodded. "What is his name? I forgot." She asked and looked at me.

"His name is Edward." I told her, suddenly feeling like I was being interrogated. Just probably different than a police officer would.

We stopped in front of my car and I wanted her as her mouth fell open in surprise.

She turned to me. "Is that your car?" She asked, her voice as surprised as her face.

"Yeah, it was a birthday present." I took both her bags to throw them inside.

She very carefully opened the door like she was afraid it would break.

When I was in too, she was looking at the picture I had of Edward and Renesmee. It had been taken when Renesmee was four months old – the size of a two-year-old.

"So is that Edward and your 'daughter'?" She asked me as I turned the engine on and drove out of the parking lot.

"Yeah, Renesmee."

"She looks a lot like Edward. How are they related?" She asked in confusion.

"She's his biological brother's daughter."

She nodded. "Is it okay that I call my mom, she is going to freak out, if I don't?" She talked to her mom until I drove off the highway.

When we could see the house, Sophie's mouth fell open again. "Are they rich or something?" She asked when I drove into the garage and she saw all the expensive cars.

"Yeah," I said hesitantly and opened my door. I took her bags from the boot and locked the car.

"They're here." I heard Esme say upstairs. "Jasper, hold your breath or run out the back if you don't want to be here."

We walked into the bright living room. They were all here, expect from Renesmee, who was probably sleeping by now.

They all looked up at us when we entered.

"Everyone, this is Sophie." I said and put down the bags. "And Sophie this is, Esme, Carlisle, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett and Edward." I pointed at each person and they all said hi or hello or like Emmett just nodded. Sophie looked at all of them.

Jasper rose up and went outside. No one followed him; they just sat like they hadn't noticed.

Alice and Rosalie started to talk about the next big shopping trip and Edward had gone to his feet walked to my side.

He wrapped one of his hands around my waist. "Hello." He said and smiled at her.

She smiled back. "Hi. It's nice to meet you." She said and shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you too." He told her.

His lips touched mine briefly and he disappeared back to the couch where he sat down next to Emmett.

Emmett – being his childish self – threw himself against Edward and hit him on the shoulder.

They started hitting each other playfully until they were both lying in the floor, laughing.

Rosalie laughed at them and Esme rolled her eyes.

She rose herself up from the couch and went to join us. "Hello Sophie. I'm Edward's mother, Esme." She said and shook Sophie's hand before placing it on my shoulder.

"Aren't you a little young to be his mom?" Sophie asked her.

Esme laughed at that. "Yeah probably, but I'm not his biological mother." She laughed.

By the couch Edward got free from Emmett's grip and sat on the stop of him, holding Emmett's hands tightly together to keep him from attacking again.

Esme shook her head and chuckled. "Okay girls. I actually had a question to you. Do you want to sleep inside or outside in a tent?" Esme asked.

Outside was definitely the best idea, cause then the rest of the family could do something in the house and not just stay in their room and pretending to sleep.

"It would be fun to sleep in a tent outside. Don't you think?" I asked Sophie.

She nodded fast, "Yeah, it could be great."

"Okay. I'll go down and get the tent, then." Esme said and walked down the stairs.

Alice had gone to her feet and was walking towards us. She stopped beside me and smiled at Sophie. "Hi, I'm Alice. Edward's sister. It's nice to meet you." She said.

Sophie smiled back at her. "Hi. It's nice to meet you too." She said.

"So, what are you two doing tomorrow?" Alice asked us.

I shrugged and looked at Sophie. "We haven't talked about that." I said and looked back at Alice, knowing what would come. "What do you have in mind, Alice?"

She laughed and clapped. "I thought about going to Olympia and do some shopping, what do you say about that?" she asked and crooked her eyebrows.

I looked at Sophie who smiled and nodded fast. I laughed to myself and turned to Alice. "Okay then, we are going with you." I told her.

She hugged me and ran back to Rosalie.

Esme got back with a black bag, two blue sleeping bags and two pillows. "Follow me girls." She said and walked towards the door. "Edward! Emmett!" She called.

They got up from the floor and followed us. They were acting like they were ten years old; but it was cute.

Edward came to my side and kissed my cheek once before running outside after Emmett.

Esme had found the perfect place, so Edward and Emmett started putting the tent up. It only took them about ten minutes to do what would have taken Sophie and me 40 minutes on a good day.

"I'll go get ready. So just make yourself at home." I said. Edward's smile got bigger.

"Okay, I'll get ready too. Where's the bathroom?" She asked.

I showed her and walked outside again where Edward was waiting for me.

"Do you think you can be in that tent all night?" He asked me and laughed. He wrapped his arms around me and pressed me to his chest.

I kissed his neck gently, then took his hand and started walking to the cottage. "No, I don't think I can be in that tent all night." I said a little late and leaned my head against his shoulder.

He stopped and swung me around so that I stood right in front of him. He stroked a hair away from my face and leaned down to kiss me.

"Renesmee wants to say goodnight to you. She just woke up again." He said when we pulled away.

We ran to the door and went inside.

I walked into Renesmee's room and found her awake, sitting up in her bed with her hands folded in her lab.

I went to sit next to her and lay my arms around her. "Goodnight sweetheart." I said.

She pulled away and looked into my eyes. "Goodnight momma." She said and laid her head back on the pillow.

I kissed her forehead as she closed her eyes and walked out her room and into Edward's arms.

I grunted. "What am I supposed to wear tonight? I don't want to wear any of the 'things' Alice bought for me." I said.

He laughed and smiled at me. "You can borrow one of my T-shirts, if you want?"

"I'd like that." I smiled.

He kissed me quickly before walking into our room and came back with a light blue T-shirt. "Sophie is in the tent, waiting for you. She has a lot of questions so you better prepare." He said and laughed.

I rose onto my toes to give him a kiss before I went to our bedroom.

I found a pair of sweatpants in the closet and put them on with Edward's T-shirt. Then I walked into Edward's arms and pressed myself closer to him.

"I'll be here – waiting – when she's asleep." He said in my ear. He kissed me shortly and followed me to the door.

I stretched up on my toes and gave him a quick kiss before I ran to the tent.

"Wow. Aren't you cold?" Sophie asked me when I reached her standing outside the tent.

"Not really." I said and laughed.

She laughed a bit too, probably noticing the awkward tension between us. "Why did you come from that direction?" she asked me and pointed into the trees that covered the cottage.

"Edward and I have a little cottage in there." I told her and went into the tent.

She followed me and sat down on her sleeping bag, looking at me. "They're all so sweet, and – wow – they look good." She said, very matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, they are. It was like they'd known me their whole life when I first met them." I told her. "And they're all amazing people.

"What's the blond boy's name? He just left." She said, not sounding bothered, just stating the fact.

"Oh, that's Jasper. I don't know what was with him, but he is really nice when you get to know him." I told her.

She nodded and then she put on her curious girl smile.

"So, how long have you and Edward been together, and when did you get married?" She asked me.

I laughed. "We'd been together for about two years, and it's a year and almost a month since we got married." I told her.

"That's not very long; my parents were together for like ten years before they got married." She said in a humoress voice and slid into her sleeping bag

I did the same, not wanting to put too much attention to my inhuman abilities.

Then she went back to her questions. "So, how does he kiss?" she asked me.

I laughed to myself, but only because I had never really done this kind of girly small-talk before. "It's like nothing in the world. I fainted in the beginning." I told her and laughed out loud.

She echoed in and said, "Is that good or bad?"

"That's very good." I said, still laughing.

"So Alice, she seems nice." Sophie said, her voice sparkling with excitement over tomorrows shopping trip.

"She is, but she's crazy." I told her and laughed again.

Sophie laughed too and said, "How old is she?" not that the answer would matter to her, Sophie had just always been very curious, wanting to know absolutely everything.

"She's nineteen just like us. She's just tiny." I said and wondered if Alice would be able to hear that.

I smiled. "Now we have talked enough about my family and me. How are you?" I asked her.

"Not very bad." She said and laughed quietly.

"What does that mean? Is it good or bad?" I asked her, my voice sounding half concerned, half humoress.

"I don't know. That it's mostly bad I guess." She said and looked up at me with sad eyes.

"Mostly bad? What's wrong?" I asked her.

"It's just that I brought an apartment – with some help from my dad – but his shop closed and we had no money, so I had to sell the apartment again and that seriously sucked." She said and laughed quietly. She lay her head down on her pillow and yawed again.

"I'm sorry about that." I said and lay down, my body turned against her.

"It's okay. I don't think I was ready to move out, anyway." She said and laughed. "I'm a pretty tired, can we sleep now?"

"Sure," I said and lay down on my back. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight"

I waited about an hour in the tent, just to be sure that she was sleeping. When I was I sat up and went slowly and quietly out the tent.

When out I ran back to the cottage and opened the door. "Edward?" I whispered. I knew he would hear if he was close enough. I looked around and listened, nothing else than Renesmee's breathing and her heartbeat.

I walked into Renesmee's room where I thought he would be, but he wasn't.

Renesmee lay with her arms out to each side with her hair wild around her face.

I walked out of her room again, not wanting to wake her. "Edward!" I whispered again, this time a little louder. "Where are you?"

I was just about to start worrying when he ran through the door.

I ran into his arms, burying my face in his chest. "Where were you?" I asked him.

He pulled away to look at my face. "Just outside." He told me and kissed my forehead.

I looked up at him with questioning eyes. "Why were you outside? You went hunting yesterday."

"I did, but that's not why I was out there." He told me. "The Denali clan is here, with Garrett, so we talked about a half mile away to keep him from Sophie."

"Why are they here?"

He laughed. "Why are you asking me so many questions?" He asked me. When I frowned he answered my question. "They're here because they think someone might know what they are. Garrett is trying out the vegetarian lifestyle but he relapsed and killed someone. He's sure someone saw him."

"Wait," I started. "Garrett is here, newly relapsed. Then Charlie…"

Edward interrupted me. "I promise you, nothing will happen to Charlie. We'll be watching Garrett all the time." He assured me.

He was about to kiss me when he shot back. "Bella, you need to get back to Sophie. Now!" He said fast.

We both ran out of the house. "What's going on?" I asked him in a low voice.

He stopped and turned against me. "Sophie is awake and she is wondering where you are." He told me.

He put his arms around me fast and kissed me. His lips soft against mine. He pulled away and stroked my cheek. "See you later." He said. He kissed my forehead fast and he disappeared into the main house.

I walked slowly to the tent and zipped the door open.

Inside Sophie sat up in her sleeping bag. She smiled at me when I got in and sat down too. "Where were you?" She asked me.

I lay down and exhaled. "I went to get some water." I just told her.

She nodded and yawed. "Can I have some too?" she asked me.

"Sure." I said and rose up. Unfortunately I couldn't just tell her no.

I opened the tent door again and walked out of the tent again. Would Alice have seen us go inside? Would Edward read her mind and see us coming?

Sophie followed me and closed after us. I needed to say something to her so they would hear us.

"So, do you sleep well out here?" I asked her in a loud voice I knew they would hear.

She laughed and looked at me. "Yeah, I sleep pretty well. What about you?" She asked.

"It's fine." I said and exhaled. The light in the house was on, but no one was in there.

As we entered the living room I heard a low growl. I looked against the stairs. It was dark up there, so fortunately it was only me who could see him. Garrett.

I walked into the kitchen and found a glass. "I have to go to the bathroom." I said. "You can just go back to the tent. I'll be there in no time."

"Okay." Sophie said.

I walked hastily into the living room and ran up the stairs to see Edward, Emmett, Kate and Garrett.

Edward and Emmett were holding him back in his arms and Kate stood in front of him, trying to calm him down.

"You need to be strong. You can resist it." Kate said while laying her hands on his chest and pushing him back.

He growled at her and tried to get his hands free. "She smells so good. How can you resist being with her?" Garrett said and looked at me.

"Come on, Garrett. You need to help us. Back off, or we would have to kill you." Emmett said and laughed. Kate looked at him with threatening eyes. "Okay then, we don't have to kill you."

Garrett tried to pull himself forward, but they were too strong. He growled again, this time louder.

"Bella?" I heard Sophie say downstairs.

I looked at Edward. He met my gaze and said, "Go. We can handle this. I'll see you in the morning." He promised me. I turned around and walked down the stairs again.

Sophie stood in front of the stairs, ready to go up. "What happened up there? I heard something, a growl or… I don't know." Sophie said when I stopped besides her.

"Oh, it was Alice's bird." I told her without thinking. Alice didn't have a bird. I started to walk against the door when I realized that birds didn't growl.

"Alice has a bird? Can I see it?" Sophie asked.

Great, now I needed to show her the bird that didn't exist.

"It just died. That's why it growled." I told her. I walked outside and closed the door after her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Sophie said.

While we walked to the tent I kept looking back, ready to protect her from Garrett every second. I opened the door to the tent and let her crawl inside before me.

When we were both in, and was lying in our sleeping bags, she looked at me. "How is it to have a daughter?" she asked me.

I smiled. "It's awesome" I told her.

"Really? It isn't weird somehow that she isn't your real daughter?"

I shook my head. "Not at all. On the contrary really. Keeps me from giving painful birth myself." I said and laughed.

She smiled. "It's crazy y'know. That we started out the same place and now we're in these totally different places." She said. "You're here with a husband and child. And I'm still at home, waiting to get enough money so I can go to college."

I patted her knee reassuringly. "You'll go to college." I told her and smiled.

"Thank you," she said and rested her head on her pillow. "Can we sleep again?"

"Sure,"

We smiled at each other before closing our eyes.

Again I planned on waiting an hour, but merely 20 minutes in, I heard a loud growl inside, followed by Edward shouting my name.

I hoped dearly that Sophie hadn't heard either, but she sat up at looked at me. "What the hell was that?" she asked.

"I'll go check it out." I told her and rose up. "Just stay here, okay?"

I walked out of the tent and as soon as I was outside, I ran. Until I found Edward and Emmett standing outside with Garrett between them.

Garrett was growling and trying to get free of their grips. Not succeeding.

Edward looked at me. "Sorry, he was just about to run." He told me and smiled apologetic.

I smiled back at him, and he lost focus for only a second, standing there looking at me, and Garrett broke free from them, and ran against the tent.

We all raced after him.

We found him standing still, looking at Sophie standing before him.

She had gone out of the tent, and walked straight into her darkest nightmare.

Edward and Emmett had to run in full speed to get him, even though they knew she was there.

They just grabbed him before he leaped for her. But he wasn't giving up the fight.

He was growling, and reaching for her. His red eyes staring at her like a lion looks on its pray.

Kate ran in front of her, shielding her from Garrett. "Back off. You know what will happen if you don't." she said and smiled at him, trying to make him relax.

It didn't work.

Edward looked at me. "Take her to the cottage and keep her there." He ordered me.

I ran to Sophie and grabbed her arm. "Come on," I told her and pulled her towards the cottage.

When we got inside and I had locked the door she collapsed on the floor.

She was just sitting there, catching her breath before she looked up at me. "What the hell just happened?" she asked, her voice breathless and scared.

"I have no idea." I just told her and sat down next to her. "Are you okay?"

"Okay? Is that some sort of trick question? I was just almost attacked by this weird red-eyed dude, and I have absolutely no idea why." She said. "Other than that I'm perfectly fine."

"I'm sorry. Stupid question." I said and pulled her up to sit in the couch.

She looked at me. "Who was that guy?" she asked me, and pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them.

"Garrett, he is… Rosalie and Jasper's dad. He has a mental condition, and he only visits once or twice a year." I lied. "I didn't know he was coming today. I'm so sorry."

"Their father? I understand why they were adopted then, that guy is crazy." She said.

I was about to answer her when the door to Renesmee's room opened and Renesmee stepped out.

"What's going on?" she asked and looked at me with tired eyes.

I rose up and went to kneel in front of her. "Garrett is here, but it's nothing to worry about." I told her and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry we woke you up, honey. Just go back to sleep."

She nodded and gave me a hug before walking back into her room.

When I returned to Sophie she was staring at me with a weird look on her face. "Is that Renesmee?" she asked me. "But the picture, she was like two years old in that?"

Dammit, this just kept getting better and better. Now I had to explain why Renesmee had suddenly grown very fast, or why Edward hadn't.

"She was three," I told her and expanding it to make it more realistic. We could not afford to put more attention to ourselves, after what had happened with Garrett. "She's five years old now."

"But then it's two years ago. You'd just met Edward then." She said and buried her face in her hands. "This is so weird."

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! "The picture was taken before her parents died." I told her, hoping more than anything that she would believe. "They died last year, about a month after we got married. And we got her a few weeks later."

She didn't response. She just looked lost somehow. "This is all very hard to process." She breathed. "Where can I sleep?"

"You can sleep on the couch, and I'll sleep on the floor." I told her and went to find a blanket for both of us, before lying down on the floor and waiting for her to sleep.

It took a while for her to sleep; she was just lying restlessly in the couch, tossing around from side to side.

The sun was starting to rise before she finally fell asleep.

I heard the door open very quietly and watched as Edward walked in, making no sound as he did.

I rose up and we both walked to our bedroom. "She's freaking. Renesmee woke up right after we came in here, and Sophie didn't know how to tackle that. And combined with the whole Garrett thing…" I said when we had closed the door.

Edward wrapped his arms around me. "I'm sorry, but maybe it would be better if she just went home? Things will keep getting weirder, and we will tell her lies after lies." He told me.

I nodded. "I know, I just don't know how to tell her. That will just point focus on us even more." I said and leaned my head against his chest.

He stroked my hair. "You'll figure it out." He told me reassuringly and leaned down to kiss me.

When we pulled away, I looked up at him. "Where is Garrett? Is it safe to take Sophie into the house?" I asked him quietly.

"He is up in my old room, Kate and Jasper is with him. They're making him relax, and are making sure he stays there until it's safe." He told me, and went to the closet to change his clothes.

When we both had, we quietly walked into Renesmee's room, got her dressed too, and then walked to the main house without waking Sophie.

When inside Renesmee ran into the kitchen to eat the food Alice had prepared for her.

Edward and I walked to the piano where he sat down and played my lullaby quietly.

While he played I could smell the different smells coming from the kitchen, making the house smell like a bakery.

Alice walked out of the kitchen and against us. "She'll be here in five." She told us and smiled.

"I know, she's awake now, talking to her mom." He said and sniffed the air. "Good idea about the food, Alice."

"Thanks." Alice said proudly and left again.

Edward laughed and placed his fingers on the keys once again, played the song he'd written for Renesmee this time. About half way through the song I heard the door open.

I looked up and saw Sophie.

She was walking towards us, her gaze locked on her hands, looking uncomfortable. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked when she reached me.

I stood up and walked with her outside. "What's up?" I asked her, like nothing had happened. Like I didn't know what was coming.

"What happened last night really freaked me out. Weird things just kept happening, and I can't explain any of them." She told me. "And then I thought that maybe I'm better off not knowing, and that's why I'm leaving now."

I was relived, but only because now I didn't have to nearly throw her out. "Look, I'm sorry about Garrett, I didn't know he would come." I said.

"I know, but I just can't stay here with everything going on around here." She told me and sent me a smile. "I'm sorry."

Then I noticed the packed bags on the porch. "You're leaving now?" I asked her.

"Yes, my Taxi will be here any minute." She told me. "I really am sorry that I'm leaving like this."

"It's okay. I'm sorry too." I told her and smiled a kind smile. I opened my arms to give her a hug.

She hugged me back briefly before grabbing her bags and walking inside without saying anything.

When she reached the front door Alice joined her. She looked from her to me and back again. "Are you ready to go?" she asked.

Sophie smiled. "I'm actually going home now. I – I'm homesick." Sophie just told her.

Alice smile faded and she took a step closer to Sophie to put her hand on Sophie's shoulder. "I'm sorry. It would have been nice if you stayed." Alice said and moved her hand. "But I'll see you another time, right?"

Alice's question was only to make Sophie happier, 'cause she knew just as well as I did, that we wouldn't see her again.

"Of course. See you." Sophie said and gave me a quick hug before walking out to the taxi.

I waved at her as she disappeared into the forest.