A/N: See!? I told you it wouldn't take me long to update! This chapter has been successfully written and posted 2 hours after the last, and I'm very proud. Please enjoy!

Ten.

The room was completely silent, but at the same time, it was like my mind was being ravaged by a hurricane of voices. There was not a quiet mind in room 1313 at the moment, despite how no one dared to say a word.

My daughter's friends were as worried as the family she could not remember. Their minds were quite useful to me, as they speculated where she might have run off to. She must have gone to the library, Melissa, our tour guide, hoped mentally, trying to repress the truth from herself, which was that Renesmee, or V, to each of her friends was really up to no good. Ben and Amy, seemed to be more honest with themselves, which made me wish they weren't. Ben wondered if Renesmee was off to score something to drink, while Amy idly wondered if my daughter's fake ID would still hold up.

I couldn't quite pinpoint the reason why I was so surprised that my daughter would have a fake ID. She'd had one for practically her entire life, thanks to Bella. (I shuddered when I thought her name to myself. I'd forgotten how painful that was.) After all, that was the reason why she was now being called 'Vanessa,' although, the way she'd inherited the surname 'Madison' was still beyond me.

Someone was calling my name in their thoughts. It was getting on my nerves, so I figured that it must be Alice.

Edward… Edward!., EDWARD! She mentally shouted, until I shot an annoyed glance in her direction. It's about time you paid attention. She complained, and I rolled my eyes as if to say, "Get on with it."

You need to follow her. She told me, and I narrowed my eyes. She might hurt herself. I was suddenly struck with the realization that this was an extremely real possibility. Alice must have been able to see the sadness and fear which all of a sudden enveloped my expression. Make an excuse to leave, quickly. She ordered. I can keep everyone else distracted. By "everyone else" she'd meant Melissa, Ben, and Amy, of course. We didn't want them to have any idea that I was planning on following their friend to make sure she didn't do anything stupid. I nodded to Alice, putting the plan into action.

I gasped loudly as I looked at my watch. "Is it really 5 o' clock?" I asked aloud.

The rest of my family, beside Alice, looked at me like I'd lost it, but thankfully, Alice played along. She feigned surprise as she replied to my pretense. "Yes it is," She said, "Isn't there something you had to take care of, Edward?" She asked.

"Thank you for reminding me!" I told her, quickly rushing out of the room without much of an explanation. I hurried down the stairs at vampire speed, knowing that no human would want to walk down all of those flights, so I was safe. I was surprised when the trail that my daughter's scent left hadn't led to the liquor store across the street like her friends had expected, but rather, into the academic building instead.

I traced the trail like a bloodhound, until it ended outside the door of Music Practice Room number 113. I laughed to myself. Renesmee really did have a thing for the number thirteen, like Mel had been thinking during the tour. I stood against the wall, so that I was not able to be seen from the inside of the practice room, via the small window on the door, and I listened closely.

At first she was very quiet, occasionally pressing keys on the piano, until the music hallway suddenly erupted into a flurry of sound. They were strong, sad chords, at first, before her startlingly beautiful voice broke through over them.

How cruel is the Golden rule…when the lives we lived are only golden plated?

It was such a heavy statement to be sung… and she conveyed such emotion through the music. It was almost as though Jasper was standing next to her, forcing me to feel how she felt, and channeled into the song itself.

And I knew that the lights of the city were too heavy for me…

Though I carried karats for everyone to see…
She paused briefly, as if she was composing herself, preparing herself for the next portion of the song or remembering which chords came next. I could not tell which one it was, but even the silence left a powerful effect on me, though not as powerful as the words that followed.

And I saw God cry in the reflection of my enemies

And all the lovers with no time for me.

And all of the mothers raise their babies… to stay away from me.

At that moment, the pain was unbearable for me. It was like she die-. No, I wasn't going to go into that hole once again. Impulsively, I turned the doorknob as quickly as I could, and rushed into the room, at slightly quicker than human speed. The way that I had startled her ruined the music. She stared at me, breathing shallowly, her heartbeat racing a mile a minute. I could tell that she'd been crying once again.

"You didn't mention that you played," I told her, quietly, expressing my admiration. She didn't know it, but I was so deeply proud that she'd still picked up one of my favorite pastimes, even without my guidance.

She wiped her eyes. "We just met today," She snapped, "It didn't come up."

I sat down on the opposite end of the bench, somehow knowing that she would not move away. My gut told me that she felt as much of a connection to me as I felt to her, except she did not know why. I rested my hand on her shoulder as a comforting gesture, only to cause the tears to flow once more. I pulled it away immediately as a guilty reflex.

"May I?" I asked her permission to play the piano. She glanced at me, surprised, before nodding once.

"Have at it," She murmured quietly, pushing over, so that she was seated more toward the edge of the bench. I placed myself in the middle and began to play a familiar piece… Esme's favorite song. As usual, my notes were effortless and fluid, much like life had been when my little family had been one, before the Volturi had come and cornered two thirds of it. When I had struck the last note, I looked to Renesmee, who had a bewildered expression on her face.

"I've heard that before," She blurted out, "What is that?"

If I had a heart it would have leapt for joy. "I actually wrote it," I admitted, "I wrote it for my mother," I figured that even though she was my daughter, it was still safer to stick to the script around her, given that she probably had no idea that my family's kind even existed.

Her eyes narrowed in confusion, and she bit her lip, before immediately wiping her face clean of any expression whatsoever. "Oh," She replied neutrally and politely, "It was very nice,"

I nodded once in gratitude before moving on. "How long have you played?" I asked her, out of curiosity.

"Since before I could remember," She answered quietly, "But I don't tell anyone," She added quickly, "Please don't tell anyone that I can play. It's never been something that I particularly enjoy, just something to calm my nerves."

"I won't tell," I promised solemnly, "But may I ask why you don't enjoy it?"

She sighed. "I didn't really have the best childhood," She said bluntly, grasping the scar on her neck. "One of my foster families had a piano, and I picked it up within days. I was deemed a prodigy, and paraded around like a circus animal until I turned ten, and they thought I was too old, and got rid of me." She was now staring down at her hands, looking as though she was about to cry again. "Turns out Foster kids are a lot like dogs sometimes. Everyone wants the puppies… the cute little babies. And nobody wants you when you get older. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, I guess."

I was silent, just studying her, not exactly sure what to say or think. I was mostly wondering how someone could have ever rejected a person so brilliant, so intelligent as Renesmee. I also felt extreme guilt over the fact that I wasn't there to provide her the childhood she deserved, all because of what I was.

Bothered by the silence, she spoke again. "I don't even know what makes me think that I can tell all of this to you," She told me, honestly and curtly, now looking into my eyes. "I have never told that to anyone in my entire life," She gulped, "I just… trust you, and I don't know why," She admitted, "It's stupid, I know. I'm just in a vulnerable state at the moment, if you can imagine. I typically don't speak at all and get by just fine…" She trailed off now beginning to cry once more.

I put one of my hands on each shoulder, forcing her to look at me. "Your secrets are safe with me," I told her, and she nodded before shuddering, and letting more tears flow. In all of my years of wishing that I'd find her, I never wished to find her like this.

But I'd found her. And she trusted me. And I couldn't ask for more.

A/N: This chapter is in Edward's POV. I'd give you a prize if you figured it out, but I'm a broke college student, and fresh out of brand new cars. I'll be updating soon, though not as soon as the last time because it's nearing 4AM and I need to sleep! :)