I woke up the next morning around six and stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about my sister.

That hour and a half I'd spent with Bella the past night was probably the most surreal of my life so far, despite the fact that it had seemed so normal.

We had stayed in the living room for a while, just talking. Bella wanted me to tell her about Renee as soon as possible, and after the blackmailing I'd just done, I didn't mind sharing. I trusted that she would remember her end of the bargain and talk to her family about letting me in on the secret.

Jacob and Edward had both returned to the room within five minutes of my deal with Bella, which made me think that neither of them had gone very far. I didn't mind their presence, and no one told them to leave.

Then I'd told Bella some stories about my mom, like the time I nearly missed a piano recital because she "lost" her keys on the kitchen table, or the crazy vacation that our family took in the Rocky Mountains when I was nine. Bella had listened to these stories with some kind of obsessed attention. Her eyes never left my face as I described things to her, and she'd seemed happier every time I told her something new.

She'd asked me a little about myself, and I had told her. I loved old music and shoes, I was practically addicted to cappuccino, and I had wanted a dog since the time I was four, but never got one. I would have asked her the same kind of questions, but it seemed stupid to do so. Although she looked like a teenager, she was really in her thirties. I was also afraid I'd get another one of those "We can't tell you on pain of death," answers. I was getting quite sick of those.

I also made sure to keep away from any "controversial" topics, such as where the Cullen family had been for the last couple of decades, or why Bella looked so different from how she should look. I would save those for the time that they decided to reveal their secret. If they didn't tell me, I'd find another way to get answers.

I probably could have talked to her for hours, except that I only got through one and a half when my eyelids started to droop. As much as I wanted to trade stories, my internal clock was still mostly on Florida time. Everyone in the room seemed to notice the first time I yawned.

"Sorry," I had said, "but I should probably go to sleep soon, or risk passing out on the couch here."

Bella had simply smiled at me and told me she understood, and that we could talk some more tomorrow, if I wanted.

"What? You guys aren't going to mysteriously vanish before tomorrow morning?" I'd asked, only half teasing.

"Nope," Bella said smiling. "No disappearing acts."

Satisfied with this answer, I'd gone upstairs, slipped into my pajamas, and fell asleep as soon as I was in bed.

Nessie was still asleep. I didn't blame her. If I wasn't so wired about finding my sister and all, I would have slept until eleven, or noon.

I showered and dressed quickly, and slipped downstairs. The house was quiet, but not in that early-morning way. Actually, it seemed empty, as though the people were not present, instead of just not awake.

Just as I reached the foot of the stairs, I heard the front door open. It was Jacob, letting himself in.

"You're up pretty early," I teased him, wondering how much time he actually spent in this house.

"And you're not?" he countered, grinning at me. He wore cutoff jeans and a t-shirt that showed off his muscles.

"Hey, in my defense, I'm used to a different time zone, and I just met the sister I never knew last night. How long do you think you'd be able to sleep?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, true. How are you holding up, then?"

"Pretty well," I said, sitting down in one of the living room chairs, while Jake sprawled out on the couch. "The curiosity is eating me alive," I added jokingly.

Jacob didn't seem to find this funny. "You'd probably be better off just leaving it alone, Sienna," he said.

I heaved an exasperated sigh. "Not you, too! Is this your idea of a game? 'Let's see how fast we can drive Sienna Dwyer crazy!'"

Jake grinned easily. "Hey, enough sarcasm! Remember, Ness and I helped you! Most of the Cullens didn't even want you to know that your sister was here! At least you get the privilege of knowing her."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, you did help me. So, why won't you help me now? You're going to introduce me to my sister, and then tell me I can never know about who she is?"

"Again, it's probably not something you want to know."

And to think I'd really believed that Jake was a good guy. Not that he wasn't nice, of course, but I had hoped he'd be on my side of this argument.

"How would you know what I want? And really, what could be so bad about them that it will put me in danger just knowing about it? I mean, c'mon! You're treating this like something out of a horror movie! There has to be a limit to how bad this can be!"

Jake raised an eyebrow. "You'd be surprised."

"It doesn't seem like such a bad thing, either," I continued, ignoring him. "I mean, Bella hasn't gotten older, apparently. She's half the age she should be. Everyone in the family is drop-dead gorgeous, which is definitely not a bad thing. And they're all so…graceful. Especially Alice; her walk looks like she's dancing!"

"Why, thank you!" said a clear, chiming voice from the staircase. Alice Cullen was coming quickly down the stairs, grinning at us. I just could not get over these people.

She approached us, still smiling. "It's going to be sunny later today. You should take advantage of the situation. Nessie's still sleeping, right?" Although it was a question, I had a feeling she already knew.

"Yeah, she's zonked," Jake replied. "It's summer, right? No one cares if she sleeps in. We were all up pretty late last night." He had that look in his eye, the one I noticed he got whenever he was with Nessie, or talking about her, or thinking about her. Honestly, it seemed a little crazy to me how obsessed he was with her, but also very sweet.

Alice flashed a bright smile, and light glinted off of her perfectly white teeth. It was unnaturally beautiful…and also a little frightening.

"Well, I have somewhere to be. I'll talk to both of you later?" Again, she'd asked the question with this odd sureness, as though she already knew the answer.

I nodded, while Jacob shoved his hands in his pockets and rolled his eyes at her. She laughed her tinkling, bell-chime laugh and slipped gracefully out the front door.

Jacob spoke before I could. "I guess that means we're all supposed to go and do something today. Let's go wake Ness."

I frowned. "Quit trying to avoid the topic."

"Listen to me. If you want my opinion, then here it is. Sure, on the surface, it seems like great stuff they have. You'd think everyone would want to be them. I love Nessie, which you've probably noticed already, and nothing would keep me away from her. The Cullens are good people, too. But, personally, I'd never want to be what…well, be in their position. If you knew, you'd agree with me."

I would have been annoyed with that last assumption, but the way he'd spoken had distracted me. 'To be what...well, be in their position.' I was certain that he'd been about to say what they are.

What were the Cullens?

"You know that if one of you isn't going to tell me what's going on, I'll find out for myself."

"Good luck with that," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Now, let's go wake Nessie up and get breakfast. I'm starving."

I followed Jake up the stairs, rolling my eyes when I was sure he couldn't see. I was going to find out what they were hiding from me, no matter how long it took.

And, the way I was planning things, it wasn't going to take too long.


Okay, I'm really sorry, first off. It's taken me an indecently long time to update, between horrible bouts of writers block, a busy schedule, and-most recently-a computer virus that would not allow me access to the Internet. So, thanks for sticking with me through all of that junk.

I have been really inspired by my most recent reviewers to get this chapter finished, so whoo hoo for them! All of you, really. You guys are awesome. So is my Beta, Zara, for fixing my messed-up tenses.

I know there's not much plot here that you don't already know, but I promise the next chapter will have something interesting and new. However, I don't know when I will be posting aforementioned chapter. I am continuing, of course, but it may take a while, so please be patient while I gather my thoughts and make sure my prose is decent, m'kay? Thanks a bunch, and don't forget to review!