How could we have let this happen to Bella? All these horrible things! Charlie, and Renee, and she slit her wrists! She was intentionally hurting herself! Just because Edward was so damn stubborn! I love my son, but if he wasn't so pigheaded, we wouldn't be in this situation, and he wouldn't be so miserable! If only we could go back in time! Alas, we can't. What's done is done, and what the hell had Edward done?

I looked at Bella's sleeping form. She looked so different! She had reddish-yellow hair!

I loved her brown hair! Though I couldn't see them through her closed lids, I could tell that her eyes would be sadder. Her skin was papery thin; she was almost the same color as her white sheets! And she was old! Older than I was, even!

As I was looking at her, Bella rolled over, mumbled something under her breath, then slowly opened her eyes. When she saw me, she gave a muffled shriek. She squinted at me in the dark and then, "Esme?" she asked incredulously. I couldn't blame her. I could hardly believe it was her either, although I hadn't changed in appearance since we had last seen each other. I nod, and smile widely at her. She smiles cautiously back, which I take for an invitation to go hug her. And I do. Hug her. I try to be careful, and gentle, since she is a human. But that could change.

She seems a little stiff, but soon Bella hugs me back. When I let go, I see that her eyes were bright with unshed tears. Despite the tears and the sad look in her eyes, Bella has a smile on her face. We stay like that for a while, Bella on the bed, me standing in front of her. We look at each other, until she looks away. "Um. Esme?" she says, still not looking at me. "Yes?" I reply. "How- how much do you know?" Bella finally looks at me, and can see in my expression that I know all of it. She sighs, and reaches her arms out towards me. How did she know?

I sat on the bed next to her and pulled her right arm in my lap. The pale skin covering her forearm, which should have been smooth, was crisscrossed with thin scars. Running my hand over it felt like reading Braille, with lines instead of bumps. I glanced up at Bella, who had her eyes closed tightly. I pulled her into another hug. She was limp in my arms. Oh, poor Bella. Life hadn't been kind to her. Neither had Edward. But that was going to change, and soon.

"We need to talk," I say seriously, because this is a serious matter. Then I remember she is an adult now! I can't talk to her like a teenager. Though, compared to how old I really was, she was quite young. But I still couldn't talk to her like a young person, like my children. "Okay," she said, "but first, I have to shower and eat." Duh, Esme! "Go ahead. I'll be right here, okay?" Bella nods, then slips through a door off the bedroom, leading into the bathroom. Moments later, I hear the water running.

I use the time she is in the shower to think of questions I can ask her without it getting too awkward. Besides, anything she can't tell me, she will most likely tell Alice, who will most likely tell me. So, keep it light. Harder than it sounds, since there isn't really anything that I would like to know that is light. The most frivolous thing I can think of is 'Is that hair color permanent?'

So that's the first question I ask her when she comes out of the bathroom wearing a light pink sweatshirt and black sweats. Bella laughs quietly. "No," she says, shaking her head. "It's already fading, see?" It does look a little browner than before she showered. I follow Bella into the kitchen, where she pours herself a bowl of cereal. She looks uncomfortable as she turns around to ask "Where did Alice go?" I don't know what was taking Alice so long to get back, anyway. "She went home to change clothes, and to tell Jasper she wasn't going to be in school." Bella's eyes widened. "How many people know? She promised that she wouldn't tell anyone!" Why didn't Bella want anyone to know? I understand her not wanting Edward to know, to an extent, but why the others?

Oh yeah! Mind-reading! Darn that was annoying! Of all the vampiric abilities, he would have to have that one!

I guess I growled or something, because Bella suddenly looked very frightened. Oh no! I smiled at her, to calm her down. She resumed eating her cereal, but she looked wary as she chewed.

"I'm back," Alice called out from the front door. She walked into the kitchen carrying several bags. Bella raised her eyebrows, and Alice shrugged. "I didn't want them anymore," she explained. "Alice, I am at least two sizes bigger than you," Bella says suspiciously. Alice rolls her eyes and sighs exasperatedly. "I bought them for you a while ago. Your size hasn't changed that much, has it?" she asks, eying Bella, who rolls her eyes in return. "Before I turn into Barbie, I have questions, remember?"

Alice places the bags on the ground, then walks into the living room, calling over her shoulder, "Finish your cereal and come in here." Bella shakes her head, dumps out the rest of her cereal, and walks into the living room. I trail after her, and sit down on the couch. Bella sits in one of the chairs, and Alice has settled another. "Okay, shoot."