Bella's POV

I came early, hoping that I'd be able to see Skye at least once in person. She'd been avoiding me ever since she'd come to live with the Cullens and I was worried. Alice reassured me that she was just embarrassed, which only really confused me more.

So I got into my tank and Skye so lovingly called it, and drove to the Cullens. I wasn't surprised to see Esme sitting outside on the swing, something she'd recently attached to an ancient tree. When she heard my truck approaching, which was probably ten minutes ago knowing this engine, she'd been staring out at the driveway.

I parked and hastily got out, trying to avoid falling flat on my face from the mud that now stained the foot-rail. Esme was at my side in an instant, smiling warmly if not in amusement at me. She opened her arms for me, "Bella."

"Esme." I replied with a laugh, accepting her embrace cheerfully. When we hugged she gave me an extra little squeeze, patting my back and pressing a soft kiss to my hair. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you for asking. And yourself?" Her golden eyes were like honey today, she'd recently hunted.

"I'm alright, a little tired but okay." I answered with a weak smile. No need to tell her that it was because of her son that I hadn't slept at all last night. Dragging me out to the meadow was a fantastic idea, it was the part that came then that had kept me awake all night, haunting my dreams.

"I can see." Esme replied quietly, and she gently touched the shadows that were forming under my eyes. Her hand floated up to tousle my hair in a very motherly gesture and she admonished me gently, "If you keep on getting sleepless nights, one of these days we'll start to believe you've really become one of us."

"Do I look that bad?" I asked hastily if not fearfully, I didn't want Edward seeing what reaction he had on me after a simply kiss like last night. Well, if I could call it simple. And if Skye saw me like this, she'd send me back home to rest.

"I was joking Bella, but if you're worried about the circles talk to Alice, she can help you out with hiding them though Edward will know regardless." Esme advised, tousling my hair lovingly once more and hugging me again."Alice is inside, probably waiting for you."

"And Skye and Justin?"

Esme's smile broadened, I could see she was quite glad to have two more people in her house. I had to smile along with her. It was probably very odd for Skye to have a maternal figure, she'd never had one before. Justin probably was just weirded out to be peacefully coexisting with the Cullens. It'd be good for both of them. "Skye is sleeping to the best of my knowledge, Justin is probably with her... They're both very sweet."

"Justin's sweet?" The words slid out before I could bite them back, I was surprised. Skye sweet, that I could see, she was a naturally warm person, she just acted cold. I didn't know Justin well enough to judge.

"Yes, very polite and formal around myself and Carlisle, almost like Edward... His language however isn't as polished, Emmett loves him." Esme replied, sounding faintly disapproving. It was all she needed, another boy in the house. That thought made me snicker, of course Emmett would love him. "You should see how he acts around Skye, Bella, it reminds me so much of yourself and Edward. He's very sweet."

I hoped that was true when I saw them now. Esme led me inside, keeping up a warm conversation to distract my thoughts from Edward's whereabouts. He hadn't stayed the night, telling me he had some business to attain to, and that it was a surprise. I hoped it was a damn good one.

I travelled upstairs by myself, and that was when I heard the commotion. Laughter? I peeked around the corner. Skye zipped out of her room, a broad smile lighting up her creamy features, wearing white shorts and crimson tanktop. Suddenly a pair of white strong arms captured her around the waist, and then she was swirling around.

She laughed happily, and then an unfamiliar chuckle joined in. I hid behind the wall, watching their play. Justin had wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling into her neck to make her giggle, and it was working. She laughed out loud again, squirming away but he wouldn't let her go. I noticed with a start his eyes were black still.

I remembered our conversations beforehand, how she'd explain his mood swings. How they related to his drinking habits. I nearly smiled to myself. Something had changed between them, something good. They looked more casual now, more at ease with themselves. I smiled to myself.

I watched them for a few moments, happy to see them acting like what they were, a happy teenage couple, free from worry. He must have scented me before, but he was ignoring me. It was Skye who shrugged out of his arms when she saw me, a sheepish smile spreading across her lips. "Hi."

"Hey." I laughed, amused. She was embarrassed about being caught with him? That was amusing. "How are you?"

"Fine." She answered without missing a beat, though she did glance over at Justin. He was leaning on the wall again, casually watching us. I noticed how his eyes would flicker more often to Skye than me, and it made me smile. "And you?"

"I'm good, I came to check up on you." I answered, my smile fading. Justin glanced at her, and she glanced at him. After a long moment he left, and she sighed, good mood suddenly ruined. "How are you really?"

She sighed again, hand caressing the bruises that shone out against her pale skin. She'd gone to school but hid her condition under high collars or she just wore her coat all day and kept her hair down. She finally muttered, "I've had better times."

I raised my eyebrows. Plenty of questions were running around in my head, not all of them were nice. Most of them concerned the Volturi. I wanted her to be entirely straight with me, no more run-arounds. But how could I say that to her? Why had Aro took the time to come here himself and threaten her?

She read the confusion in my face, her intuition flickering in those brilliant grey eyes of hers. She growled a curse or two, and then asked me flatly, "Ask whatever you want, I can't promise you entirely that I'm going to be straight with you. Some things are... Complicated..."

"Give me anything."

Skye's POV

My mind spun and my stomach lurched uneasily. Answers? Was I entirely committed to telling her every little detail? I sighed. Yes. She was my friend. She saved my life. I had no choice. I looked at her, studying every small thing in her face. Her mahogany eyes were narrowed just a little, mostly wide with curiosity and confusion, lips puckered in thought.

"Why didn't the Volturi kill you when they found out about you?"

The words cut through me like a blade, and I flinched as if she'd stabbed me. Why that one? The painful memories were already resurfacing, and the pain came again, each moment a live shock to my brain. I tried to put the lid back on, to cover the hole that was my chest from prying eyes, but the pain came to my face regardless. There was no hiding from Bella.

Then she wasn't alone, Edward was at her side. My eyes widened in horror. No. No, no, no! Anything but the mind reader! But it was too late, he was staring at me, staring into my head, reading my memories as they played out in my mind. I closed my eyes tightly and let the pain wash over me like molten rock. There was no escape this time.

I stood by the wall, a mask of indifference on my face as I looked around the stone cave. The group stood around me, hoods lowered and their black eyes smoldering with thirst. It was a pity I couldn't supply for all of them but I'd be at it for hours. I folded my shivering hands under my arms, preventing anyone from seeing them.

The door opened, revealing two adults, both who had bags over their heads and chains linking their arms. That was a bit much, it wasn't like they could struggle to freedom, not with this particular group. I watched with no emotion as they were shoved inside by Felix, both falling to the ground, almost forced into bowing in front of the three main heads of the Volturi.

Aro breathed in their scent hungrily, and his black eyes only grew darker and darker as the moment passed. He stared at me for the longest moment, and when he spoke it was no longer that polite purr. "I cannot see why you are doing this... But we will accept your offer regardless."

A sardonic smile quirked my lips. Thirst. It was their own strength and one weakness. And I'd used it to my advantage. Working hard to keep my face expressionless, I watched as the hoods were torn off, showing the doomed humans to their deaths.

The woman looked around, clearly in a panic. Her piggy grey eyes looked around, seeking escape, but she found none. Her blond hair was limp and unkempt, the colour faded and pale from her many years of alcohol abuse, even her skin seemed sunken. Then she saw me.

Her gaze was quickly joined by the grey haired man beside her, his wide green eyes glared into mine, I could feel the hatred burning from them. His skin was the same as hers, with yellowing around the eyes and fingers. I wondered if he'd drunk and smoked enough to taint his blood with the flavour.

"Christine." The woman rasped out from her pale lips, her voice sour with whiskey. "Christine, what are you doing?!"

I didn't speak, I knew if I did I'd betray myself. I wouldn't care. I wouldn't look away.

"Christine, we're your parents! What are you doing!?"

My eyes narrowed as anger flooded up in my chest, paralysing my rationality and the little child who still existed in me. I glared at them, my face twisting into a scowl of pure hatred. "You're not my parents. I don't know you."

That seemed to be enough for the three, who pounced onto the two. I didn't look away, watching with cold indifference as they lowered their heads to feed. I was thankful to have my view of their faces blocked, but I could hear their screams. They moved quickly, and I was grateful for that. It only took moments before they'd sated their thirst. They elegantly moved away, leaving the bloodless corpses where they lay, faces forever fixed in a terrified grimace, eyes forever fixed on my face.

The memory was too much, I was backed against the wall with a closed throat, struggling to breathe. Edward was staring at me with wide golden eyes, comprehension dawning on his white face. He knew now. Shock crossed his perfect features for a moment, confusion... And then disgust. I would have winced away, but I deserved it.

"You... You sold your own flesh and blood to the Volturi?" His voice whipped out at me, each word cutting ever so deeper into my already scarred heart. I was bleeding again. He took a threatening step forward, disgust mixing with fury. I was the monster this time. His voice shook with rage, "You sold your parents to the volturi to convince them to let you live for a little bit longer?! How can you look at yourself in the mirror knowing your own family is dead because you sold them out to monsters?!"

"I can't." I whispered raggedly, closing my eyes. I forever saw their faces etched into my memory, the terrified expressions that would always be their last. I had done that. No amount of hatred I'd ever felt for them should have made it end like that. No one deserved to die like that. My fault. All my fault.

Bella was gaping at me, not understanding what Edward had seen. She knew I wasn't going to give an answer, she turned to Edward instead. "Edward, what did you... What was she thinking of...?"

"A memory, a damn vivid one at that!" Edward nearly roared, and I couldn't find it in me to back away, even if I could. I was effectively backed into the wall, I had nowhere to run. But I didn't want to. He advanced on me again, growling threateningly. "You told Aro that you would give him something of yours to reassure your loyalty to your cause. You gave his guards the street address, and they brought the humans back to Italy."

He was reading my memories as I thought them over, for Bella's sake. I relived each moment so Edward could explain my actions to her. It was better than trying to force the words out myself.

"They brought them back... They asked for you to help them and you just denied what they were to you. You watched them die and did nothing! You killed your own family!" Edward roared at me, the thoughts he found in my head were only fuelling to his anger.

"Yes, I sold them to the Volturi." The words were harsh as they passed my lips, my voice was raw with pain but sharp with anger. "And it was damn hard to convince the vampires to take the deal but it proved I was willing to do what I had to!"

"You coward, you handed them over knowing it'd make them spare your life!" Edward roared back at me, reading the thought. "You sold them to save your own hide!"

Bella stared at me with horrified eyes, understanding dawning in her face. I forgot to be worried about Edward's anger, my gaze focussed on my old friend. She stared me for the longest time, and then whispered shakily, "Did you really...?"

"Yes." I answered flatly, knowing if I lied Edward would probably just kill me and the last emotions I'd feel were guilt for lying. Better to go for a truth that leaves you dead on the inside. I muttered darkly, "I bet you can understand why I did it."

Bella cringed at the thought, but I knew she was remembering what I was. The bruises, the cuts, the night I'd ran away from home... Edward was still reading my mind, and he watched the scene in my head. Shock dawned on his features again, staring at me. Then disgust. His eyes focussed on me again, wide with disbelief.

I smiled ruefully at him in apology. "Sorry you had to see that. But it leaves a mark on you if you understand my meaning." He said nothing, just stared at me as though he was trying to make sense of what I'd been put through. I finally mumbled, "And you call yourselves monsters."

That snapped him out of his trance, he made to reply, but it fell short in his throat. He couldn't speak. I wondered absently if he was trying to find the right words or he was just too disgusted with me to want to say anything.

"Disgusted with you?" He answered my unspoken question swiftly, golden eyes burning intensely into mine. "Reading that thought certainly gave me some... Insight to your actions. I won't say I condone the behaviour but it gives me some understanding regardless."

Understanding. A hell lot of good that will do me. It wouldn't bring the people back from the dead.

"Feeling guilty lets me see that you didn't do it sheerly out of malice." Edward added, and this time both Bella dn I gazed at him in surprise. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't scowling either. "Whatever hatred you felt for them wasn't strong enough to overpower your sense of morality. That's a good thing."

And it left me scarred for life, how was that good exactly?

"It proves you're still more human that you give yourself credit for." Edward answered my thought again, and I watched Bella turn her head from him to me again as we continued this little mental conversation.

"That's why I'd rather be one of you."

"Be careful what you wish for."

Skye's POV

He hadn't told anyone of my dirty little secret, and for that I was immensely grateful. But he made me tell them all myself, and the gratitude quickly disappeared. When I spoke to Carlisle he gave me an unfathomable look, as though he had no idea what I meant. He quickly apologized for behaving like that, and then allowed me to explain myself. At the end of the explanation, he simply said making mistakes was a part of living.

Jasper wasn't as hard, he listened intently to my story and then swept me up into a blanket of serenity as soon as the guilt started. To add to that, he explained himself to me to settle the score. I learned about his past, the horror of a vampire war in the south and the woman named Maria who had led him. I was shockingly reminded of the covens up in the north.

Emmett was a strange thing, he listened to me, then told me offhandedly that if he'd known me back then he'd have done it himself without a second thought. Shocked as I was, I couldn't stop myself from hugging the bear and telling him thanks. He laughed, gave me a soft punch to the shoulder that probably was going to bruise for weeks, and sent me off.

Rosalie I said nothing to, I hoped Carlisle would do it for me, and he had. Esme was... Difficult. She'd been torn between different emotions, obviously struggling with her fierce maternal instincts and her human ones. Finally she just sank to a sitting position on the couch and asked me weakly to explain myself one more time. I did as she asked, and finally when I had finished, she tugged me into her arms and held me there. For some reason, it wasn't as awkward as I'd thought it would be. It was almost... Comfortable.

She was a mother. I could admit that much to myself. Despite the fact that her one and only child had died, she was still everything I had imagined a real mother would be. The warmth in her eyes and her voice made up for the icy cold of her skin, and the size of her silent heart made up for the lack of a beat. I could imagine how her son would have been if he'd lived, it made me ache. This woman, this loving, warm, kind-hearted, woman didn't deserve that.

Alice was the easiest, she'd seen me coming from a mile away and saw the conversation play out. She knew the truth before I had to speak. I wondered if she'd known all along but she just didn't really care. It didn't matter. She opened the door before I could knock, invited me in to her bedroom. The colour was gone now, the clothes put away. I finally could see the gentle tone of her walls.

She gestured to the ivory couch and I sat there without a word. It was easy to have a conversation with Alice, she knew everything you were going to say. So really, I didn't have to speak at all. It was almost a relief.

She didn't say anything at first, as still as stone. And then she snuggled into my arm, sighing against my shoulder. Her musical voice was flat when she spoke. "I can't say that I understand you, even spending as much time as I have like I am, I don't get all humans." She gestured to herself, to her being a vampire when she spoke. I winced a little. I wasn't common even for my species.

"But you..." She looked at me, fixing the full force of her butterscotch eyes on me. "You're the most confusing one of your species I've ever met." She shook her head, sadly, and then sighed softly. "But I can understand you, reading what you wanted to tell me... I made sense of it all. Though it was strange... I understood. And I don't find you disgusting at all."

I winced and blushed at the same time. Why did I still love her like a sibling despite the fact that she was the most annoying thing I'd ever met on the planet?

"At least you didn't act out of selfish impulse to just kill them, you had a good enough motive." Alice said offhandedly, trying to make me feel better. Motive... Was that supposed to be a good thing or was I just confused? But I took it in stride anyway. "Look, what I'm trying to say is, the lot of us, we've all done horrible things... And because you had the courage to admit it to us... Means that we can accept you as one of us. You're part of the family."

AN

I've got nothing to say this time, eheh. Just review please and tell me your thoughts.

Evie