10. Reunion.

Ice gripped my entire body as my brain registered the sight of Fire Eyes on the familiar white couch. As soon as he saw me, he shot right off of it. Just seeing him made my fists clench and my body shake. How dare he show his face here! I was about ready to tear his throat out when Edward and Jasper gripped my arms on both sides.

"What are you doing? Let go of me!" I snapped.

"We can't do that, Kelly," Edward said in a grim voice, "not unless you swear not to hurt him."

My eyes widened in disbelief. "Do you have any idea who that is?" I said, in a pitch that should have broken windows. "That's the guy who tore me away from my human life! He bit me! And you don't want me to hurt him?"

I had never screamed so loud in my life.

"Edward. Jasper. Maybe it would be a good idea to take her outside for some fresh air so she can…calm down." Carlisle cast me an apologetic glance, which I ignored. Instead, I fought harder to escape Edward and Jasper's grasp. I almost made it, too, if it weren't for the wave of lethargy that washed over me courtesy of Jasper.

I saw Alice's face and internally sighed in relief. At least she would take my side. She would talk some sense into the rest of the Cullens and allow me to do what I had vowed to do so many weeks ago.

But Alice wasn't talking. And she was avoiding my gaze. And she was holding the door open for us. What was she doing?

Edward was now single-handedly carrying me, running full speed in the direction of the trees. I felt uncomfortable and awkward in his arms. I tried twisting out of his grip but Jasper sedated me again. When Edward finally stopped running, I leaped out of his arms and scowled at Jasper. The lethargy left my system and the flaming anger immediately came back. I couldn't contain it any longer. It felt like a bottle of soda that someone had been shaking over and over and I was ready to blow. I let out a scream that scared even me. I lashed out at the nearest tree and sent its branches flying all over the place. That wasn't enough. I kicked at the same tree and sent it toppling over. Still not enough. For the next who-knows-how-long, I scratched and kicked and pretty much destroyed every tree within a ten foot radius. When I finally stopped, I took in all the damage I'd done. Tree branches and leaves littered the forest floor, tree stumps jutting out from the earth in ugly and unnatural ways. I was disgusted with myself.

A hand placed itself onto my shoulder and I turned to see Alice looking at me with concern. "Are you okay?"

I felt something bubbling in the pit of my stomach. Anger, hurt, betrayal.

"No," I said, "I'm not okay. What kind of question is that?" And suddenly I was yelling. "How could you do that to me, Alice? That guy RUINED my life and you're protecting him from me? I thought you were my friend!"

"Kelly! Of course I'm your friend, it's just—"

"What? It's just what? You're just a two-faced liar who can't do anything but shop?"

Alice looked like she'd just been slapped in the face. Jasper blocked her from me.

"Lay off her, will you?" he growled, which made me growl.

"Enough! Both of you!" Carlisle's (where did he come from?) voice sounded mad, which wasn't like him at all, so he must've been really upset. I took a step away from everyone and crossed my arms. I was still shaking. Carlisle turned to me, his gaze softening.

"Kelly, I think you should know more about—"

"No!" I slapped my hands over my ears. "Don't say his name. I don't want to know his name! I don't want to know anything about him."

"But Kelly—"

"SHUT UP!"

With one last frustrated shout, I sprinted away from the Cullens. Again. They must be getting sick of me running away all the time, I thought. But I kept pushing on, cutting through the tree branches that reached out to stop me.

I didn't mean to keep track of time, but somehow I knew I'd been running for four hours and forty-five minutes. While I was running I had been staring at the ground the whole time but now I looked up. I wasn't surprised to see the bright lights and skyscrapers of my beloved city. I guess, in the back of my mind this had always been my destination. Since I left, all I had wanted was to come home.

"Hi New York," I whispered miserably. The distant wail of an ambulance answered my greeting.

I wandered around aimlessly for a while, visiting all the places that had been familiar to me my entire life. First stop: school. Seeing the big brown building made my heart ache. I was only 5 months away from graduating. Now I'd never get the chance.

The school was empty but all the lights were on. This was something that had always annoyed me and my friends. Had they never heard of saving energy? I climbed over the black gates easily and made my way into the building. The lobby of the school was brightly lit, with a reception desk at the far right of the room. A security guard was at the desk, snoring peacefully. The corner of my mouth lifted slightly. That was Mr. Lockhart, the head security guard, who had been here since before I was born. I knew my practice with Alice was paying off, because even though his scent bothered me, I was able to handle it. Sort of.

I walked away before I could push my limits. And I stopped. There, so big I don't know how I didn't see it immediately, was a blown up picture of me on the lobby wall. Unlike on the news, this picture wasn't of me smiling uncomfortably for a school photo; this one was of me in Central Park. It was summer in the picture. I was sitting cross-legged on a picnic blanket in a mock-yoga pose, smiling slightly, eyes closed. I remembered that day perfectly.

"You were supposed to bring the chicken sandwiches, idiot!" Lex yelled at her brother.

"No…if I remember correctly, you said you would bring the chicken sandwiches and I would bring the potato salad."Kevin said patronizingly.

"It's okay Lex," Cammie said, looking amused, "those sandwiches weren't that great anyway."

Lex looked hurt. "I made those sandwiches!"

"Oh. Forget what I just said then."

"Guys, guys, relax…" I tried saying in a soothing voice. "Let's all just calm down, and enjoy this beautiful summer day."

I placed both my hands on my knees and joined my middle fingers with my thumbs in that way people do when they meditate. Behind my eyelids, I saw a flash of light. My eyes snapped open to the sight of Kevin's best friend Ryan (an aspiring photographer) grinning at me from behind his camera.

"That was a perfect shot!" he exclaimed.

"No, really," he said when I rolled my eyes, "the sun was like, right above you so it looks like you're bathed in sunshine."

I looked over his shoulder to see the picture and had to admit I looked kinda good.

"God, Ry, you're so cheesy," Kevin laughed through a mouthful of potato salad.

"Speaking of cheese, you didn't bring the macaroni either!" Lex started up again.

Kevin groaned. "Get off my case, woman."

I blinked. Other than the ongoing sibling rivalry between Lex and Kevin, that day really had been great. Ryan brought water guns and we had a game of water-tag, then we had a competition to see who could do the most cartwheels in a row without getting dizzy.

Under my picture, there were bouquets of flowers, teddy bears, cards, balloons, unlit candles and more pictures. Was this…a tribute? Slowly, I kneeled down to examine one of the cards. I recognized Kevin's handwriting.

Kelly was a sweet, caring funny friend. For nine years, she was like a sister to me, and now I just can't believe she's gone. I'll miss her more than she'll ever know.

Kelly, I love you. Rest in peace.

—Kevin Paulson.

Choking back a sob, I stood up and ran out of the school, not wanting to read any more. I didn't know whether to feel touched or…what. I was so confused. Was this a good thing? That they all thought I was dead? I don't know. I don't know…

I was walking along First Avenue—which was strangely deserted—when a woman called out to me.

"Hey! You're that girl…from the news!" she said, eyes wide.

"What?" I played dumb, though inside I was kicking myself for not being more careful.

"The girl…oh gosh, what's her name? Shelly something? Shelly Folker?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." I said curtly, trying to walk past, but the woman suddenly yelled over my shoulder.

"Officer! She's the girl! Shelly—"

I clamped my hand over her mouth and looked behind me. A police officer was just walking out of a donut shop. Fortunately, he had earphones on so he hadn't heard her. I gave the woman a death glare and hissed a warning in her ear to shut up before releasing my hold on her. That, however, turned out to be a mistake when she started screaming.

I panicked. The cop was looking in our direction now, frowning. He started toward us asking what was wrong.

No, no, no, go away!

I made a split second decision that was less than…civilized. I kicked him in his 'manhood' and sent him sprawling. The woman was now staring at me in horror. That was the last look she was ever going to wear because I dragged her into a dark corner and sank my teeth into her neck. Oh, how much better human blood was than animal blood! I drank in the life of the woman who was going to rat me out. Her blood was so warm and inviting—

Something in my brain snapped back in place and I shoved the woman away from me, but it was too late. She was drained. Dead.

Now it was my turn to stare in horror. What had I done? Ten feet to my right I heard a pained groan as someone got to their feet. I said a very bad four-letter word and climbed a nearby fire escape to…well, escape the policeman. He rounded the corner and stumbled when he saw the lifeless body of the woman. His eyes widened and he fumbled for his walkie-talkie. He barked some orders in it but I wasn't listening. I was too busy hating myself. What the hell did I just do? All of that time spent practicing with Alice…gone to waste. I flinched at the thought of seeing any of the Cullens again. After the way I'd yelled at Alice and Carlisle…I wouldn't be surprised if they never wanted to see me again. But I had to go back. I knew that in my heart. After all they'd done for me, I couldn't just…leave. I wasn't raised that way. I had to at least say thank you, right? I really didn't want to, but 18 years of my mom teaching me proper etiquette wouldn't let me not do it. Plus, I couldn't stay in New York. Too many people would recognize me, and who knows who else I'd kill?

Reluctantly, I got up from the fire escape and jumped off. I landed without a sound, so the cop didn't notice me at all. I ran the other way, toward the west coast. I stopped once in Pennsylvania because I caught sight of myself in a mirror on a parked car. My heart sank when I saw that my eyes had gone back to the violent red that I despised.

During the time that I had abstained from human blood, my eyes had ever so slightly changed. A colour like amber was making its way from my pupils out. But that was gone now. Now I looked just as I had when I woke up.

I felt embarrassed and ashamed when I thought about having to face the Cullens with these crimson eyes of mine. They would judge me, and Jacob would jump on this chance to throw me out. I'd broken the six-month deal. I was done for.

I spent five days in the sleepy state of Pennsylvania, drinking as much animal blood as I could hold to dilute the human blood. I must have drunk a million gallons of the stuff, but nothing happened. It was so unfair how it took so long to build up something good, and only a second to destroy it. I finally stopped stalling and ran straight to Forks, Washington.

When I reached the Cullen house, I was greeted with the sight of Alice sitting on the porch steps. When she saw me she jumped up and immediately enveloped me in her arms.

"I'm so sorry about what you had to do in New York," she whispered.

I shook my head. "No, I'm sorry about the nasty things I said to you. I didn't mean any of it, I swear!"

Alice smiled sadly at me. "I know you didn't. It was my fault. You felt hurt that I would stop you from harming Tristan."

I froze. "Who?"

Alice seemed to realize her slip-up. "Uh…Tristan. Tristan Cains. That's his name, Kelly," she said cautiously.

I concentrated on breathing in and out to control my temper.

"Oh," was all I said.

"Hey, let's go inside!" she said with exaggerated enthusiasm, trying to change the subject. "Everyone really missed you."

She took my hand and led me inside the white house. Nessie, who was sitting on Bella's lap, ran over and gave me a hug when she saw me walk through the door.

"Why did you leave?" she asked.

"I just…needed to think." I answered, sheepish.

"Well don't think again, okay?"

I laughed. "Okay."

I looked around the room to see all the Cullens seated around the living room (no Fire Eyes in sight). I waved timidly. "Hi all."

"Hey Kels!" Emmett grinned. "Don't worry, we don't hate you!"

I smiled gratefully at him before locking eyes with Carlisle. I was most worried about what he thought. I mean, I had told him to shut up! I had to apologize.

"Carlisle, I'm so sorry about—"

"Don't worry about it," he cut me off, with a reassuring wave. "I understand completely."

Suddenly I realized someone was missing. Two someones, actually.

"Jacob is in La Push," Edward answered my unasked question.

"And Jasper?" I asked.

"Hunting."

I found it weird that Jasper would go hunting alone, but decided not to push it. There was still an uncomfortable air around the room. I was still hurt about the Fire Eyes thing, and no doubt the Cullens had lost some respect for me during my little tantrum.

"Kelly, no! That's not it at all," Edward assured me. "It's just…the pack is mad at us again."

I tensed. Had the tribe somehow found out I killed another human? How could they? That happened on the other side of the country. I felt all of their eyes look into mine, and I didn't need Edward's power to know that they all noticed that my eyes had changed.

"No, we didn't tell Jacob about that. That'll be just between us."

"Then why are they mad?"

Nessie was the one who answered me. "Jake's angry that we're adding another member to our newborn motel. His words, not mine."

"Wait, he's staying? You're letting him stay?" I glared accusingly at Edward, who raised his hands defensively.

"He has nowhere else to go! And he's a vegetarian, so…"

"Well where did he stay between January 10th and now? He can damn well go back!" I was starting to yell again.

"He was with the Denali coven, but that didn't work out…" Edward ran his hand through his unruly hair, looking uncomfortable.

I felt hurt and betrayal boiling in my stomach again. I can't believe Edward was defending the one person I truly hated. Hated with all the fibers of my being. Edward looked like he was about to say something, but just then, Jasper climbed in through the window. Followed by Fire Eyes.

I hate to admit it, but the first thing that registered in my head was how breathtakingly gorgeous Fire Eyes was. He was wearing faded blue jeans and a green sweater. Under other circumstances, this would have been funny, because I was wearing blue jeans and a green t-shirt, but no one was laughing now. I noticed his eyes looked different than the last time I saw them. They were almost the same colour as the Cullens' except for a ring of campfire orangeness around the edges of his irises.

"Hello."

His voice brought me back to my senses. I narrowed my eyes and growled at him. All of my muscles were tensed, ready to attack, but before I could do anything rash, I turned around and walked with controlled steps, toward the back door. Only when I was outdoors, did I break out into a run. I stopped when I reached the woods, and sat down with my back against a tree. I was so mad I felt like pulling my hair out. I felt like breaking something. To keep from chopping down the forest, I grabbed a handful of rocks and squeezed until nothing was left of them but dust.

Okay, Kelly, I thought to myself. What are your options? One: I could run away again…no. That was out. I had already used up my share of storming-out. Two: Kill Fire Eyes like I intended to do in the first place…no. The Cullens had made it clear that he was not to be touched. And I knew that if I killed him, they would be very disappointed with me. And I didn't want that. Ugh, why did I care so much about what they thought? Suddenly my brain answered my own question. Because I loved them. I loved them like my own family.

"Kelly? May I join you?"

I looked up to find Alice standing a few feet away.

"Yeah, sure."

Alice silently made her way to the other side of the tree trunk and slid down. She had something in her hand but it was hidden from my view.

"So…" she said.

"So?"

"Anything you want to talk to me about?"

"Nope, nothing. Everything in my life has been going perfectly, actually." I replied, staring at the small pile of rock dust at my feet.

Alice raised her eyebrows at me.

I sighed. "Okay, fine. What do you want to know?"

"Just anything you feel like telling me," she shrugged.

"Well, something has been bothering me…"

"Tell me about it."

"Why does Emmett always lose at Guitar Hero when he's had more practice than me?"

Alice laughed. "That's a mystery to me too."

We stayed silent for a while after that. I continued crushing rocks, though most of my anger had dissipated, while Alice watched the sun set over the horizon. Suddenly I got the urge to talk about what I did in New York.

"That time was different than the others," I said. I didn't need to explain what I was talking about, Alice seemed to already know. "It was the first time that I consciously decided to do it. I mean sure, I decided to kill Carl too, but that was before I'd been practicing to be around human blood. And he was a pedophile anyway. Not that that excuses what I did, of course. But with that woman…I didn't even need her. Yes, she smelled delicious, and yes, I wanted her blood, but I didn't need it. Not like I needed Carl's or the businessman's. I had control but…I threw it away."

Alice nodded, not saying a word.

"Have you ever killed anybody?" I asked.

She nodded. "I've fallen off the wagon a few times. We all have. Well, except for Carlisle and Rose and Bella. But we don't judge each other because of it. We all understand what it's like to be subject to that awful thirst. You have nothing to worry about, Kelly. We have your back, always."

"Thanks, Alice."

"Oh! Almost forgot. Here," she held her hand out to me, the one with something in it. It took me a second to realize it was my sister's beanie. The beanie I was wearing on my last night as a human! I snatched it from Alice's hand and hugged it to my chest. "Alice, where did you get this?"

"Tris—uh…what do you call him? Fire Eyes? He gave it to me to give to you."

Part of me wanted to throw the hat away and stomp on it, but a bigger part made me hug it even tighter. Finally. Something from my old life to cling on to.

"Should we head back?" Alice asked me.

"I—I don't know if I'd be able to control myself," I admitted.

Alice smiled kindly at me. "I'll be by your side at all times, I promise."

Reluctantly, I got up and followed Alice back to the house. Fire Eyes was sitting on the couch again, listening to Nessie as she talked to him about how her parents met (she seemed to like telling people that story). Jacob was still nowhere in sight.

As Alice and I made our way to the dining room, I felt his eyes on me the whole time, but I avoided looking at him as all that seemed to do was spike my anger.

Edward, Bella, Carlisle and Jasper were seated at the dining table. Alice sat next to Jasper and I sat next to her.

Edward cleared his throat. "Ness just made Tris—I mean, Fire Eyes—"

"No, it's okay," I interrupted. "You can say his name. I'm not that childish…anymore."

"Okay then. Ness just made Tristan listen to her iPod so we can talk."

"So…where's he gonna stay?" I asked, though I knew the answer.

"Here," Carlisle said.

"Okay, sure. Where am I going to stay, then?"

Carlisle looked perplexed. "Here, of course. Just like you have been for the past month and a half."

"Carlisle, I can't live in the same house as him. I can't. That's just a recipe for disaster."

"She's right, Carlisle. The emotions that come off of her when she's around him, it's almost too much to bear." Jasper said. I bit my lip when I thought of all I'd put poor Jasper through.

Bella, who had been silently listening to us, spoke up. "Edward, if you don't mind, maybe she could stay at our house? If you want," she directed that last bit to me.

To be honest, I wasn't sure if I did. Every morning when Nessie came over to the main house, Edward and Bella were always a few minutes behind, and it was no secret to anyone what they were doing in those few minutes.

I coughed awkwardly.

Edward coughed awkwardly.

"Um, I don't know…" I began, but Alice interrupted me.

"She's going to say yes."

"Great!" Bella clapped her hands together, momentarily looking a lot like Esme. "I'll go tell Ness the good news. She'll be so happy."

I looked uneasily at Edward.

Oh well. As long as I'm not under the same roof as Tristan Cains, right?