So I think I lost my mind the last two chapters and I totally forgot to thank everyone for their reviews! I'm going to list everyone here that has reviewed since I last thanked you guys. So a special thank you to juvinity, Lionnara, Soubei, bloodredeclipse, .X, x AnneCullen x, ginkgo00, Spockdatabonesa and a few unnamed guests, you guys are the best! I think that's everyone, if not, remind me!

Chapter 14

By May 1st I was ready to go back to school, I wasn't 100% yet but all of the bruising from my face had gone, my ribs and cheekbone were more or less healed up and although I was walking with a cane my leg was much better- I was much stronger. Although I was ready to be back I was also nervous. I had missed so much schooling and although I had been doing my homework and Edward had been helping me, I still was afraid that I wouldn't be able to catch up. I was also nervous about the friends that I had had minimal contact with for the past few months, worried about how they would react to me returning.

Edward and Alice picked me up in the morning and drove me to school. Although my truck had just recently been fixed, in order to corroborate the story that I was injured in a car accident, my truck was currently being stored in the Cullen's garage while it was 'fixed' again. The day actually went much better than expected- apparently there had been some crazy rumours revolving around my injuries so when I showed up in one piece a lot of people were relieved. My friends were lovely for the most part, I was even amazed that in my time away Jessica hadn't been brainwashed by Lauren who was still awful.

During gym class I obviously had to sit out, so I sat in the bleachers and worked on some homework that I had been given during biology. It was then that Edward and I began to communicate from our respective classes, Aiden would tell Edward what I was saying and Edward would write out his response which I would read through Aiden. This made both of us feel better about being away from each other after spending so much time together, even if it was only for a few hours.

I had been keeping in closer contact with Cole since he came to see me in the hospital; he was keeping me updated on everything that might have to do with me in case they were to call on me again so that there would be no surprises. Alice was always doing her best to keep close watch on the CIA; she was having trouble though since she had never met any of them. She was going off of names and pictures which wasn't a whole lot, so I was really banking on Cole coming through.

Edward had been on edge ever since, rarely letting me out of his sight and I was honestly ok with it, I didn't want to deal with this bullshit anymore. I wanted out, I wanted to be done with the CIA, done with entities and portals and torture and so many other things that no one should ever have to deal with. I just wanted the right to choose for myself what to do with my life, and if Edward and his family could help to protect me I would take all the help that I could get.

With the newest information that I had received from Cole though, I knew that the CIA was unlikely to let me go anytime soon. About 4 years ago the DPA made the first rift that I had ever heard about; it was a huge breakthrough of science. They managed to create this portal that opened up to the spirit world- Aiden's world, it was a rift in space that entities were able to freely move in and out of, and for a while they managed to keep it stable. Until, of course, it all went wrong. Inevitably they lost control and the spirits got loose wreaking havoc on the entire facility.

Dozens of people lost their lives, there was massive infrastructure damage to the building and of course the person they called to clean up their mess was 13 year old me. I was sent in alone because I was the only one with any kind of defense against the invisible murderous entities. I was the only one able to reach the control booth to shut it down and it nearly killed me in the process. Fast forward to a few months ago when I nearly died again closing a different portal in a different country.

And here we were again. A few days ago Cole had sent me a long email detailing yet another rift that the DPA had opened, launched by Nathan. I was honestly shocked, I knew that Nathan was obsessed but I thought that he had learned his lesson after so many people died last time. Years ago, Nathan's wife and daughter perished in a car accident while he and Cole were hard at work at one of their experiments. I was the first one to realize that something was wrong. I had never met his family before but their spirits found me- and Nathan- that night before the news came through.

I remembered being so confused about what was happening, who these people were and then the call came. They ended up giving me the message that they were at peace, that their passing was so quick, they felt nothing at all. Nathan had wanted me to bring them back to talk to him again, but they were long gone. Ever since then he became a man possessed, barely pausing when he hurt someone (usually me) with an experiment taken too far, always repentant with his words but completely flippant with his actions. He didn't care who he hurt, as long as he was reunited with his family again.

As far as anyone could tell, they weren't actively seeking my help so I guess the rift was still under control, but I was on edge. The nightmares had continued, every night I would relive what happened while in China. It was rare for me to wake up without something broken in my bedroom or without Edward frantically trying to wake me up. Luckily after that first day I hadn't done anything to him during one of my night terrors, it was hard enough to accept what I did even the once.

Edward had been doing his best to keep me busy during the days, taking me to his house to hang out with his family, doing homework with me, going to the movies- anything to keep my mind occupied in the hopes that I will sleep restfully. I knew he was trying and I appreciated it more than words could say but it wasn't working, I was always tired and I felt like a zombie most days. I could see the worry in his eyes every day that I barely slept or ate and I couldn't help but feel guilty for making him worry.

The months went by with no word from the DPA or CIA and I slowly began to relax. The stress along with the nightmares began to fade and I was able to heal mentally and emotionally. I slowly started to sleep more and eat more and I could see Edward worrying less as I came back to myself. School was much less of a struggle which was nice since it was finals time. I was also almost completely healed, I walked unassisted and without pain and that was really all I could ask for. I felt myself becoming happy again for the first time in months.

Much to my surprise I actually passed all of my courses with decent grades even though I spent just about as much time in school as I did out of it. Even though I did spend a lot of time out of school I was still glad to have a couple of months free from the obligations of school, I was really in need of some time away without worrying about missing something. On the first morning of summer vacation I woke up alone- Edward was out hunting- I had a rare day to myself. I started the day by checking my phone; I had a new message from Edward and Alice.

Edward's message read;

Good morning love. I will be home before you know it, if you need anything while I'm gone don't hesitate to call Alice. Be safe.

I knew he wouldn't be reading my message for a while, but none the less my response to him read;

Edward, don't be silly, I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow, have fun!

Alice's message was pretty much what I expected;

Morning Bella! The boys will be gone all day, let's have a sleepover!

I laughed and responded with;

Alice, I know that Edward put you up to this, you're both being ridiculous. I promise that I will survive the day.

After responding to the two of them I went to my computer, booted it up and went to my email inbox. I had one new email from Cole titled 'Your Mother', my heartrate immediately picked up and my hand shook as I opened the email.

Hello Bella,

I recently stumbled upon some information about your mother, I don't want to say too much in this email, even though I took every precaution, you never know who is reading this. Call me when you are able to and we'll talk.

-Cole

Information about my mother after all this time? Cole and Nathan both told me that they had no idea who my mother was or what happened to her as I was growing up. What could he have found and how could he have found it? Excitement and nerves flooded through me as I reached for my cell phone to call him and Aiden pushed my phone away gently.

Don't get too excited. He warned me; you might not get the information you are hoping for.

'I know that, but either way I need to know what happened to her Aiden.' I reached for my phone again and dialed Cole's number.

After a few rings Cole picked up;

'Hello?' he answered.

'Hey Cole it's me.'

'I'm sorry; I'm not interested at this time.' He responded cryptically.

'You're at work?' I guessed.

'Yes that's right.'

'I'll be home all day, call me when you can get away.'

'Thanks anyways, bye.' And then he hung up the phone.

If I had to guess I would say that he was in the lab with Nathan, which means that he doesn't trust Nathan with the information. Or, I thought, maybe Nathan knows, maybe he's always known. Aiden bristled, not wanting to believe that that is the case, neither of us did.

I spent the morning puttering around the house, tidying up, doing anything to keep myself busy as I waited for Cole to call me back. I decided to go outside and do some yard work, I mowed the lawn, pulled some weeds and watered the flower beds before going back inside. I was making lunch when my phone rang and I lunged for it answering it on the first ring.

'Hello?' I said sounding out of breath even though I had been standing around before it rang.

'Hey Bella, sorry about earlier, I just managed to get away now.' Cole explained.

'It's all good, so what did you find out?'

'I'm not even sure how I stumbled upon it but I found your mothers file in the computer system, you really aren't going to like it.' He sounded wary.

'Just tell me, please.' I said, bracing myself.

'Your mother's name was Norah Gray, she had supernatural abilities much like yourself, not to the same extent as far as I could tell, and she could control things telekinetically. She worked closely with the DPA before she became pregnant by a man named Jonathan Nichols who also worked for the DPA. I couldn't find much information about your birth father other than that he was also gifted although I couldn't figure out how, and that he passed away from heart failure before your birth.

'Your mother was unwed and underpaid by the DPA which put her in dire straits when it came to raising you. The DPA convinced her over the course of her pregnancy that she couldn't offer you the life that you deserved, they convinced her to give you up to them when you were born. Immediately after your birth you were taken away from your mother and from there she was taken to a psychiatric hospital for undisclosed reasons and you were sent to live with Susan and Phillip Holmes.'

I was speechless. I went from having no information about my parents to learning their names and some back story about my mother; it was devastating, but at the same time I could almost feel a weight lift off of me. I had answers for the first time in my life, even if they weren't the most ideal answers in the world. All I could think to say was 'Wow.'

'I know, it's a lot… but that's not all.' He warned.

'What else could there be?' I said warily.

'I searched for your birth record after I found all of this out, it doesn't exist which really isn't all that surprising given how you came into this world. What I did find though is a birth record for a baby boy born to your mother the same night you were born. It states that he was stillborn; he suffocated from the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck during labour. I could think of no reason why they would fake a birth record for a child that never existed.'

I was in shock. 'A twin… Aiden was my twin.' Everything started to come together. 'Together since birth, he couldn't leave me. He was as much a part of me as I was him.' I looked up at him as he looked down at me; everything finally made sense- why we were tethered together, why he was with me in the first place.

'I know this is a lot to take in Bella, but there is one more thing.'

I couldn't fathom what else he possibly had to tell me. 'What is it?'

I heard him take a deep breath, 'Your mother is still alive.'

Don't hate me! Sorry for the cliffhanger, but more reviews will make me more likely to update sooner! Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed!