POV Bella

Finding out that Victoria was going to create an army just to kill me was hard, but when Cynthia told me that she planned to use Bree that hurt. Bree was going to be manipulated and turned, Victoria was going to use her. When she finished Bree told me her story. I tightened my hold on her. "the past doesn't matter anymore. You are my sister now. I'm glad she saved you" I whispered to her. She smiled up at me with tears running down her face. I have never had a little sister, but I can already tell Cynthia and I are going to be very protective of her.

I looked towards Cynthia "so, what happens now?"

She smiled at us. "Now we live our lives, Bree and I are going to be joining you in school. We will be seniors like you." She thought for a moment "there are shifters near here that we should meet to at least show that we are not a threat" her eyes lit up "Irina will come to meet you guys next week. I think her coven is coming as well."

When I asked about their backstory, she told me their names are Bree Johnson and Cynthia Johnson. they are stepsisters. That their mother just died. And that because Cynthia was eighteen they got to stay together and out of the system. She looked at Bree and informed her that she already submitted the documents and that they started on Monday.

Bree looked up at her "what happens after we graduate?"

Cynthia grinned at that "whatever you guys want. We could stay here for a couple more years. We could go and explore the world around us. It is up to you guys but all of us have to agree on what to do." She looked at me "We might want to stay here for a year or two so Bella can be with her dad a little bit more." She looked back at Bree "she unlike us was lucky in that department. Charlie her father seems like a nice man."

I smiled at the thought of him "thank you, he is a great dad." I looked at Bree. I don't think she believes a good dad could exist. "He loves me a lot even though we don't talk about it. I know he does. Charlie respects my privacy more than Renee, my mom, ever did. I think the thing I love the most about him is how we can have comfortable moments of silence together without it being awkward. He is very protective over me."

There was a pause in the conversation when we all heard a car driving towards us. Cynthia laughed when our stomachs growled. "the pizzas are here" she informed looking at us "why don't you go and get some plates, cups, and napkins while I get them." She asked before exiting the room.

Bree and I went to get everything. When we got back she was putting the pizzas down. We ate in silence but it wasn't uncomfortable. Once we finished we all cleaned up and put away the leftovers. Instead of going back to the dining room Cynthia leads us to the living room where we all sat on the couch.

"what did you mean that unlike you I had luck in that department?" I asked after we got comfortable

Cynthia looked at Bree like she was giving her all the support she needed and said "how about you tell her first then I will tell you both about my past"

Bree looked at me and told me everything. It was heartbreaking to know what her father was like. I now understood her hesitation when it came to Charlie. When she finished, I pulled her into me and let her cry. Cynthia stood up "I will be right back" she left the room while I did my best to soothed Bree.

It didn't take Bree long to calm. Before I could call out to Cynthia she came back with a glass of water and two framed photographs. She handed the glass to Bree and put the photographs on the coffee table in front of us "these are two of the four things I have of my human life"

In one there was a family of four in the other a family of three. She pointed to the first "this was my family growing up" she took a deep breath as if to steady herself "my father Edgar may he rot in hell" she signaled the man he was the tallest one there. Though the picture was in black and white you could tell he had dark hair and eyes. "my mother Lillian may she rest in peace" then the woman next to him she was shorter than the man but had darker hair and lighter eyes. She had a baby in her arms. "my sister Mary only god knows where she is" She had her mothers hair color but her fathers' eyes and looked to be maybe seven at the time it was taken. "and me" she pointed to the baby in the woman's arms.

"This was taken shortly after I was born in 1910" Bree andIi gasped at that but she ignored our surprise. "By looking at it we seem like a happy family which I thought we were. But that was a lie that I didn't unravel until I turned 15. That was when I sneaked into my sisters' room and found her journal. In it, she wrote about what really happened to her and my mother. Before that, I believed that my mother had died in an accident and that Mary left because she didn't want to live with my stepmother anymore."

"You see our father and that woman were cruel to Mary and ignored me from the moment they married. She was our aunt Anne, my mother's younger sister. My father fell in love with her after he had married my mother. Back then getting a divorce was not something people did so he started planning on ways to kill my mother. When I was 8 he succeeded. He married Anne 6 months later."

"Within weeks that woman made Mary's life unbearable, so I believed them when they told me she left." She let out a humorless chuckle "At the time I was furious that she left me with them. That rage is what made me not go into her room I ignored it every time I passed it to go to mine. If only I knew that they had her institutionalized. If I had not let my anger rule me, I would have found out sooner."

"I grabbed that journal the locket she left me and this picture from her room and ran to mine. When I reached my room, I packed a bag and left that same night. I was lucky that I bumped into Mrs. Johnson on her night walk. She was a widow that didn't have children. She only had a brother and his family. She took me in as if I was her own daughter."

She grabbed the second picture "that is how I met my husband George" she pointed to the man that had his arm around her in the picture. His hair and eyes looked lighter than hers. "he went to visit his aunt and found me with her. He was fascinated by me and asked his aunt for permission to court me. I did not love him but at that time things like a woman's opinions were not really valued. We were married when I was 16 and he was 20. He was a good man I just didn't love him."

"By 17 I had my daughter Lillian Marie, I named her after my mother and sister." I saw a tear roll down her cheek "she was barely a year old when I was attacked while taking a walk in the woods by our house."

"that was when I was turned. When I woke up, I was in a jungle no longer wearing my dress but leather that hardly covered anything. there were three red-eyed amazon women looking at me. They gave me the book my maker left and told me that I was going to stay with them until I was ready for this supernatural world of ours."

"I returned ten years later to see my daughter. George had remarried to a lovely woman that gave him a son. Together they raised my daughter. I didn't feel like I had a right to just reappear after so much time, so I didn't let anyone see me. On one of their outings, I went into their house. I found my things from when I lived there in the attic. I grabbed these photographs, the locket and two journals my sisters and mine. I was going to take them both, but I left mine for my daughter. So, she could know about me. I put it in her room before I left."

I didn't really know what to say but when I was about to open my mouth the sound of trucks came to our ears. Cynthia smiled at me and said "don't worry about my past it is something I am at peace with. Let's take a break and setup Bree's room." She turned to Bree "I believe that they are delivering your stuff for your room"