A/N: This might be the last chapter update for the week! Hopefully I'll be able to get some stuff up this weekend!

Annikasmommy: Don't be bummed! I promise things will work out for Ana! Just wait =) That's all I'm saying about that!!

Ok, this chapter ends on a sorta sad note but it's essential to the storyline.

Enjoy and please review!!!

p.s...Ch. 17 of New Beginning is up too!

3 jj

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Chapter Fourteen

Mom found us in the woods 15 minutes after she had dropped me off at the gate. In between then, I feasted on two small deer, satiating my appetite. Mom was deadly silent—so much so I didn't hear her approaching me from behind. She startled me and I scampered up the nearest tree. Dad's laughing bark was easily heard from my position perched on a branch high in the treetop.

"Oops! Sorry, sweetie! You can come down now if you want." She was sitting on a downed log—laughing under her breath along with Dad. He was nuzzling her with his snout, brushing his large head against her cheek as she affectionately stroked his furry neck and scratched behind his ears. I dropped onto the dark forest floor and ran over to my parents, tackling the both of them with a big hug.

"I love you two. So much." I kissed Mom's free cheek and the top of Dad's muzzle—a few tufts of fur were stuck to my lips. "Eww. Gross. Anyways, I'm going home…I'll let you two have some privacy." I copied Mom and scratched behind Dad's ear, "Come talk to me when you're home?" I looked into his intelligent wolf eyes and he nodded.

"Bye, sweetie."

I turned and booked it for the house—in the distance I heard Mom's shouting.

"Make sure your brothers did their homework!" My lips curved into the crooked smile I inherited from Grandpa, as I got closer to home.

****

I don't remember falling asleep. Dad nudged me awake gently around two in the morning. I was lying face down on my World Religions textbook, my hair fanned over my face. Through the wall of hair, I saw Dad's adoring and apologetic face.

"Sorry, kiddo. I wasn't trying to wake you. I just wanted to move the book."

"S'okay, Dad. I wanted to talk to you anyways."

"Yeah, I figured you would."

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't upset with me."

"No, not at all, sweetheart. You know…I'm not good with the mushy stuff but…but you know…"

"Yeah, Dad. I know. You don't need to say anything more." Spilling his manly guts wasn't something Dad was very comfortable with—even as close as we were, there were some things that would never be easy for him to express.

"Why don't you get some sleep? I'll wake you up for school in the morning." I was already nearing unconciousness as the last words left his lips—then I remembered about the game.

"Oh, Dad…I forgot…there's a football game at school on Friday. Some people I met at school wanted me to go and—"

"Does this have anything to do with the guy you were talking to in the parking lot?" I buried my face in my pillow to hide my blush—and my smile. "I'm not blind, sweetheart. You were totally crushing on that kid."

"Crushing, Dad?"

"Or whatever it is you kids say these days." The sarcasm in his voice was thick—Dad was totally up to date on the latest lingo. He just took every opportunity he could to make fun of me.

"Well, if I don't lie, and say yes, it does have something to do with that boy…can I go?"

"Sure." He closed the door behind him but quickly reopened it and leaned back into the room, "But your brothers are coming too!"

"Ugh. Fine."

****

I was hoping it would be easier getting up the next morning but it wasn't. Dad practically dragged me screaming and kicking from my bed to the bathroom.

"Shower and change. Breakfast will be ready in ten."

Today's outfit of choice was a black, blue and silver tartan skirt and black blazer. This skirt wasn't as short as yesterdays—Dad made a special trip to the tailors while we were at school and picked up a majority of my skirts before Rosie had a chance to alter them. I shoved my books into my messenger bag and hopped over the banister to get some breakfast.

"Hungry?" Mom was wide-eyed and full of energy—still flush from last night's hunt. Her skin was glowing and a faint pink tint was stained on her cheeks.

"Surprisingly, no." I was always hungry—a wolf trait I happily accepted—but after hunting, my human appetite wouldn't return for two or three days.

Dad walked into the room, kissed mom on the cheek and poured himself a cup of coffee—the stuff smelled funky, I never liked it. We were waiting on the boys to get their bags—Mom would be driving herself and me to school today.

"Ana, your Dad told me that there's a game you wanted to go to on Friday?"

"Hmm? Oh...yeah. Friday. There's a football game against St. Auggie's rival school. I asked Dad if I could go. He said I could…but I have to go with Aiden and Bryce."

"Well, we were talking and if you prefer…and I can understand if you do…" She winked at me, "Rosalie and Emmett will go with you instead. Em loves football and Rosalie loves any excuse to get out of the house and be around humans…for obvious reasons."

"Yeah, you know Blondie." Dad rolled his eyes.

She was referring to the fact that Rosie loved the attention she received from humans. She was breathtakingly beautiful and the response she got from them—especially men—boosted her already inflated ego. I loved her regardless.

"Ok! I'll talk to them after school."

"No need, kiddo. They already agreed." Dad ruffled my previously perfectly coiffed hair and walked into the living room and yelled towards my brothers' bedrooms.

"Boys! School! Now!" He came back to the kitchen, wrapped his arm around my shoulder and placed a kiss in my hair, "See you later, my lil' bloodsucker. I've got some work to do before your Mom and I leave this weekend." He grabbed they keys to his truck and walked into the garage. I looked at mom questioningly.

Aiden and Bryce rushed down the stairs and grabbed a few slices of toast and bacon each before grabbing the keys to Em's Range Rover. Mom didn't like driving my Mini Cooper--she said it was too small. Mom had Grandpa's taste in cars. For their anniversary this past year, Dad got mom an Aston Martin Vanquish—silvery blue with gleaming silver rims and dark tinted windows. It was a good thing everyone knew our family had money—it would be difficult to explain otherwise how a 15-½ -year old was driving around in such an extravagant machine for a first car.

****

"Mom, what was Dad talking about…this weekend? Where are you going?"

"To Forks—with my parents. As you know, your great-grandma Sue is sick. She doesn't have much time left with us—not as much as we thought."

"How are Seth and Leah holding up?"

"As good as can be expected. Leah says Sue's in high spirits. She's ready to leave the mortal world and join her ancestors in the afterlife."

"Poor Charlie."

"I know. He's taking it pretty hard. He isn't ready for her to go yet."

"No, I couldn't imagine that he would be. How long are you going for?"

"Dad and I will be gone just for the weekend. I won't be going to school with you on Friday. You grandparents will stay as long as they need to—until its time."

"Does that mean…are we talking days? Weeks?"

"A few weeks, at the most."

This would be the first time I've ever dealt with death. I didn't know how to feel or what to expect but at the thought of great-grandma Sue lying pale white and unmoving forever—it sent a shudder down my body and deep into my soul. What a depressing way to start the day.

****