The world seemed to stop for a moment after I said that. Bella looked shocked, Edward and Alice shared a look- neither of them seemed surprised.

Jasper was watching Alice's and Edwards interaction; I wonder if she can read minds to.

I opened my mouth to ask but Alice interrupted before I had a chance to speak.

"No I can't read minds."

Then how the heck did she know what I was going to ask. My face must have betrayed my confusion as she elaborated.

"I can see the future," she paused, "well mostly, if someone makes a decision then changes their mind, their future will change."

"I saw two options for your future once Carlisle fixed your hand." She gave me a stern look at that, I flushed at her disapproval. "You picked the right one of course." She continued.

"What options?" Bella asked, Edward didn't look happy with her question. I swallowed at that, unsure how to explain my thoughts to her. There were so many layers to it all. I couldn't explain one thing without explaining everything.

I could feel myself beginning to panic as I tried to control my spiralling thoughts.

A wave of calm passed over me. The thoughts were still there; I just wasn't worried. I couldn't feel anything else if I tried. My eyes felt heavy, it had been so long since I had slept well. Now I felt so tranquil I could just drift off…

"Maybe ease of a bit, Jasper." I heard Edward say before the calm eased off a bit. The anxiety was still gone, but I no longer felt ready to pass out.

"What-" I began to ask before Alice cut me off again.

"Jaspers an empath- don't worry about it." She said it so nonchalantly that it took me a moment to process what she said.

An empath? Huh. That explained the warm fuzzy feelings. I should probably be bothered that he was controlling my emotions, but honestly it was a welcomed break.

"What options?" Bella repeated, looking from me to Alice then round at Edward.

I paused, even calm-headed me had no idea how to have this conversation. I threw a desperate look at Edward.

Just tell her, please?

"Ellie was either going to ask for help controlling her… gift. Or she was going to-" He paused, probably trying to find a way to sugar coated. "or she was considering removing herself from the situation to protect others from harm."

"Remove herself?" Bella repeated, clearly confused. "You don't mean…" She trailed of looking at me in horror. "Promise me you won't do that." She half pleaded, half demanded.

"Hey, I asked for help, didn't I?" I tried to joke, her glare suggested the attempt at humour was not appreciated. "Okay, I'm sorry. I promise."

"I really think we can help you control your gift, but first you're going to have to give us more information." Edward started before being interrupted by my stomach growling.

I blushed, I hadn't eaten since lunch and most of it didn't stay down.

"Perhaps you should eat first."

Esme was an amazing cook. All too quickly Bella and I had finished eating and we were back in the sitting room, but this time the rest of the Cullen's had joined us.

They needed to know more about my gift in order to help me control it. It was a reasonable request, but it still filled me with dread.

"So I guess it all started when I was seven or eight…"

They listened silently as I explained the first time I had made fire, back when my mother was dating Mick. I skipped over the violence, instead saying he was just shouting a lot.

"and I've been able to create fire ever since. At first it only happened when I was angry or scared. Using it would make me super tired, and I use to get these really bad headaches."

The first few years of having my gift were a bit crazy. It took me a while to learn any level of control, and even heating my hands would cause a migraine.

"I can now make fire without being angry, but I can barely stop it when I am." I finished off. I'd never told anyone the full details. My mother knew parts of it, but shehated it, even mentioning it made her angry and uncomfortable.

"And that's what happened today?" Carlisle asked. He and the others had been quiet throughout my explanation, letting me jumble out my words.

"Yeah, pretty much." I said shifting in my seat. "Jacobs actions toward Bella made me mad, and I struggled not to lose control." That explanation felt good, not a lie, but also not laying out all my feelings bare.

"When was the last time you fully lost control?" he queried, "by that I mean, when did you last create fire without meaning to?"

"I caused a house fire. It's why I moved here." I said shortly, I didn't want to talk about Ollie.

"Do you know what triggered it?"

"I was… arguing with my boyfriend." Lie. "And I was angry, the anger got too much." Lie. "The house caught alight and he died." Kinda true.

I remembered what happened with perfect clarity. I relive it almost every night. Ollie on top of me, grabbing at me, suffocating me with his weight. I remember the terror, the pain, the pressure building up inside me.

"You weren't angry, you were scared." Jasper said suddenly.

"No I wasn't. We argued and I was angry." I insisted, my heart thudding in my chest. They were all watching me, looking confused.

"I can feel what you're feeling." He reminded me.

"Maybe I'm just scared remembering it." I argued, grasping at straws. They didn't understand, they didn't know how kind Ollie could be. I wasn't some victim; he wasn't trying to hurt me.

You know that's not true. A small voice in the back of my mind said.

"He was hurting you." Edward said suddenly, "That's what you've been remembering, what your nightmares have been about."

"You're don't know what you're talking about." I said through clenched teeth.

"He was trying to rap-"

"Shut up!" I snapped before he could say that word.

He seemed to remember then that there were other people in the room. His mouth snapped shut.

I stared at a spot on the wall avoiding looking at anyone. I could feel all the Cullen's staring at me. Bella looked upset.

"Maybe we should take a break." Carlisle said eventually. "I think we'll be able to help you, Ellie." He stood up, "It will get easier."

One by one they filtered out the room. Esme followed behind Carlisle, giving my shoulder a comforting squeeze as she passed.

"It's gonna be okay, kid." Emmett said as he passed me. His arm twitched as if he was going to touch me, but changed his mind at the last moment.

"I'm going to get some fresh air." I announced, standing abruptly. Alice flicked out of site, returning with a pair of sneakers for me.

"Thanks." I murmured, pulling them on before walking back outside.

The fresh air helped to clear my head. It had dropped in temperature a bit since we arrived, and the wind had picked up a bit. The cold helped, it was harsh enough to make me feel something.

I stayed outside until the cold became too much. When I walked back into the house the sitting room was empty. I could hear Bella voice coming from the back of the ground floor which I assumed was where the kitchen was.

Bella sat next to Edward on a bar stool, a cup of hot chocolate sat on the counter in front of her.

Esme was fiddling with what looked like a very expensive coffee maker.

"Just in time," Esme said, turning to face me. "Do you like hot chocolate? It'll help warm you up." She frowned, noticing me chattering teeth. "We should have gotten you a jacket."

"It's not that cold, just a bit chilly." I reassured her, "A hot chocolate would be great though, thanks."

"It's no problem at all my dear." She said, placing a mug in front of me. Esme was like a mix between a mother and a grandma, or at least how I imagined mothers and grandmas should be.

Looking out the window I noticed the sun was beginning to set. I sighed, we'd have to leave soon. And leaving meant facing Charlie.

Today had been emotionally draining enough without another tough conversation.

Bella followed eyes, looking out the window. "We'll have to leave soon." She said, voicing my thoughts. "Charlie will start to worry otherwise."

"I know." I sighed. "Finish our drinks then head out?"

We sipped silently, my drink warming me up slowly. Esme sat down, chatting to Bella about her plans for college and how school was going.

I zoned out, thinking instead about what Charlie would say. Would he be angry? Disappointed? Hopefully he'd be 100% on my side, somehow I doubted it though.

Just as I was taking the last few sips of my drink Carlisle walked in.

"If Charlie permits it, I think it would be good for you to come back tomorrow so we can start looking to ways to manage your gift." He said looking thoughtful. "I've done little reading but there's really not much on this topic."

I deflated a little at that. It would be nice if the solution was obvious and easily done.

"I'll keep looking," Carlisle reassured me. "I already have some ideas on how to start…" He trailed off. "We can discuss it in more detail tomorrow if that's okay?"

"That would good." I said grateful. I just wanted to put his behind me and hearing that he thought it was possible made me more optimistic than I'd been in months. "Thanks."

Edward looked at the large clock on the wall. "We should head off if you want to get back before curfew." He warned.

"Just one more thing." I looked up at Carlisle, curious to what he had to say. "Accidents happen, and sometimes, when we're scared or someone's hurting us, the body defends itself." He gave me a meaningful look.

My lips formed a hard line. I didn't want to talk about it.

He gave me smile that looked just a little sad. "Take care of yourself." He looked at Bella, "that goes for both of you." A teasing smile played on his lips.

Bella huffed at that.

We reached the house far too quickly for my liking. Edward could have dragged out the drive a bit, instead he drove at his usual terrifying speed.

I followed grudgingly behind Bella as she walked into the house. The TV stopped playing once we walked down the hall and Charlie came out of the sitting room.

"Ellie, can you go wait for me in the lounge. I just need to have a word with Bella." He sounded a little uncomfortable, but his tone gave no room for argument.

Bella smiled at me encouragingly as I did as Charlie said wordlessly. I wasn't sure what he wanted to talk to Bella about, presumably it was about what happened today though.

I tried and failed to relax as I waited for Charlie. My leg bounced up and down and I tried to distract myself with thoughts of how I'd decorate my room when the walls were finished. It felt like a lifetime ago when I was painting, but it had only been hours.

I didn't take long for Charlie to finish up his chat with Bella. He came in the room and collapsed into the arm chair across from me, rubbing his hand down his face.

"I'm not very good at this sort of stuff." He said sounding weary. "There's a few things I have to say."

I waited for him to continue, he seemed to take a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing.

"Firstly, if you're upset, you can't just run off. If you need space you can have it, but I need to know where you are. Understand?"

I guess that's fair, although someone worrying about where I was is a new concept to me. He waited for me to nod before continuing.

"It's not okay for you to hit people. I know it was a unique situation, but that wasn't self-defence. You let your emotions dictate your actions and that's not okay."

If only he knew. I thought slightly bitterly.

"I know, and I'm sorry." I muttered. If there was one thing I knew, it was the dangers of that sort of behaviour.

"Good, I'm not gonna ground you this time; but consider this a warning." He said sternly, I nodded again and he paused before continuing in a softer, less authoritative tone. "I've spoken to Bella already, but I've thought a lot about what you said." He frowned, "I'm sorry."

"What Jacob did, well, it seemed harmless." His brow furrowed. I don't think I've ever seen my father look so troubled. "I spoke to Jacob about it, told him that what he didn't wasn't okay. I think he really understood. He was pretty upset with himself when he left."

"He knows he owes Bella an apology. I made it clear to him that if anything like it happens again, it'll be me he'll answer to." He continued.

"Lastly, well- I want you to know you can talk to me. If something's happened, maybe in the past…"

"I'm fine dad, honest." My heart was thudding as I struggled to keep my face neutral. "It's nothing like that, I just overreacted." Glancing up at the clock on the wall I noted that it was starting to get late. "I should go get ready for bed now."

"Okay, kid, Sleep well." I took that as permission to leave and quickly dashed up the stairs.

That was… unexpected.

Charlie apologised. To me and to Bella. He heard me, heard what I said and reacted because of it. I don't think anyone's ever done that before.

A wave of relief rolled over me. As awful as the day had been, the conversation with Charlie probably couldn't have gone better.

If I pretended Ollie didn't exist, everything in my life was beginning to feel manageable. Like I was finally regaining control of it all.

Hopefully tomorrow I could start working on making my gift my own. I could barely imagine what it would be like to not constantly worry about exploding fire every time I got scared or mad.

For the first time in a long time, I was actually hopeful for the future.


I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Leave me a review to let me know what you thought, I love hearing your feedback :)

There will probably be another couple of weeks wait before the next chapter but I'll get it up ASAP.