Hello!

Here is the next chapter! I hope I'll be able to update more during the next couple of days, we'll see!

"Rose?" They heard being called from the hallway.

Maddie took a step back and immediately Rose held a hand up to calm her before answering, "Yes, Alice?"

"Are you two done in there? I want to show Maddie her new room!" Alice chirped excitedly, still her usual bubbly self.

Rosalie turned back to face Maddie. "It's just Alice. It's okay if she comes in, isn't it?"

And Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

So Rosalie opened the door to reveal a bouncing Alice.

"Hello!" She danced into the room, then looked the newborn up and down and her smile faltered a little bit. She turned to Rose and asked with a frown, "I thought you had chosen a yellow blouse for her?"

"She doesn't like that colour, so she doesn't have to wear it."

That didn't make any sense to Alice. She had chosen that shirt, so Maddie indeed had to wear it. Who was Rose to tell her otherwise?

But then she gazed at the girl, her head tilted to the side, and asked, "Why don't you like yellow? It's pretty."

Rose decided to change the topic before Maddie would start explaining again. "What did you say about a new room, Alice?"

"Oh, right." Alice beamed at the young girl. "Your room is now right next to Rose and Emmett's. It's bigger than the other one and the closet is bigger, too."

Maddie looked confused so she took her eyes off Alice and looked at Rose instead, waiting for her to tell her if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Rose smiled. "That's wonderful news, don't you think?"

"Come, come, come! I want to show it to you!" Alice urged.

"Go ahead," Rose gave Maddie a nod, indicating to her that she should follow Alice.

So they left the bathroom and walked down the hall until they reached the last door on the left.

Alice opened the door wide and called, "Tadaa!"

Maddie looked inside.

"What do you think? Do you like it?" the pixie asked in a rush.

"Let her take a look first, Alice," her blonde sister chided.

"Come on, go inside," Alice said and took a step to the side so Maddie could enter.

Maddie noticed that the room had a window, so she could at least leave in case they would lock her in or something. She still didn't know these people so God knows why they were keeping her here and what they were planning on doing with her.

The room was indeed bigger than the last one. The bed was the same, so they had probably carried it in here. Now there was a desk, too. It was of a dark brown colour, just like the dresser, the bedside table, the bookshelf and the vanity. Why would she ever need a vanity?

She detected a TV and a stereo, a little collection of DVDs and CDs lay next to them.

The single bookshelf in the corner was filled with books. They obviously wanted to keep her busy... or distracted...

"You have to see the closet! It's a walk-in closet and I have chosen a wardrobe for you. I hope you like pink." Well, Alice didn't really hope she would like the colour, because she had chosen the clothes for her to wear, not for her to like.

Maddie took a few steps towards Alice to see what she was talking about. And indeed: this closet, which was almost as big as this room by the way, was filled with clothes.

How could they possibly have so many spare clothes lying around? In her size?!

"They are new," she commented.

Alice snorted. "Of course they are. Do I look like I go shopping in thrift shops?" And then she rolled her eyes to show the girl how ludicrous the mere thought of her going there was.

"So they are your clothes?"

"I've just told you they are yours!" she replied indignantly.

Okay, Alice was bonkers, that much was clear.

But Maddie had trouble understanding. "Why do you give me a room? And why a bigger one?"

"Well, we thought you might like to be closer to Rose. And bigger is always better, so this room was perfect. And the wall isn't cracked, by the way, which makes it a little more cosy, too," Alice told her, trying to make the thought of staying in this room more tempting for the girl.

Maddie distorted her mouth. She hadn't wanted to break the wall, it just happened. But she would do it again without hesitating if that guy would come near her again. Fucker.

"It's okay, things like that happen. I have pushed Jasper into a wall once, too... even though that had been on a different occasion and for a completely different reason...," she replied thoughtfully.

"All right! What do you think? Are you okay with this room?" Rosalie said hastily, not wishing for Alice to explain further.

"Why am I here?" Maddie asked the two of them. The confusion she had felt for the last couple of hours had made her forget to ask the most basic question: Why was she here?

"This is your new room," Alice said, making it sound as if Maddie was a tad bit stupid. She had just explained it to her, hadn't she?

"Why the fuck am I here?! With you? What do you want from me?"

"I thought you might ask that," Alice remarked... but that was all she said.

Maddie's jaw dropped.

Was this supposed to be the answer to her question?! Was this crazy girl making fun of her?!

"Maddie, stay calm, she'll explain to you now. Right, Alice?" Rosalie said before Maddie would explode.

Rose herself certainly didn't want to be the one explaining the why and how. They all had weaseled themselves out of telling her when she had still been human, but now they should finally build up the courage to let her know - it couldn't go on like this.

"It's a little early for that, Rose," Alice said apologetically.

"Are you shitting me?!" Maddie yelled.

"Shush," Rosalie said to her, then turned to Alice. "What are you waiting for? You owe her an explanation."

Alice looked reluctant, but then sighed. "Fine. When you were going through the change, did you hear Rose tell you that I happen to have visions?"

Maddie just stared at her, fuming.

"Is it really that absurd to you? Look what you have turned into."

Okay, maybe it wasn't that weird for someone to actually have visions, but what she had turned into was nothing she could have influenced. It had been done to her. That just infuriated her further.

"I had visions about you. Being injured, half dead. I got more over time and that way we knew where to find you," Alice explained guardedly, already having taken a step back.

"SO ALL OF THIS IS YOUR FAULT?!" Maddie roared, crouching a little. Her eyes were blazing with hate and rage.

That was when Jasper entered, rushing in front of Alice to shield her in case Maddie would charge. He had noticed her increasing irritation, and then her sudden rage.

He was already in his fighting stance when Maddie started growling viciously, her teeth bared. But he did not growl back, but just ordered, "Calm yourself."

Maddie frowned at what was happening. Her blind fury was vanishing, and instead she felt... vulnerable and lonely. It was like her whole world was breaking apart, it ripped at her heart and she cringed at the intensity of emotional distress that was surging through her.

The look in her eyes changed from wild and angry to pained. She took a step back and averted her eyes.

Rose stood there, watching, and she was far from happy to say the least.

She understood that Jasper had to alter her emotions so she wouldn't harm his mate, but that change was a bit drastic. The poor girl looked sad and devastated, and Rose was sure that she was about to cry.

So she walked slowly towards Maddie as to not startle her and whispered her name.

Maddie took another step back and bit her lip to keep herself from crying. It took everything she had in her to not break out into tears in front of these strangers.

"Get out," Rosalie snapped at Alice and Jasper.

They hesitated for a second, but then complied.

The moment the door closed, Rosalie turned back to Maddie, addressing her once more.

"It is a lot to take in, isn't it?" she asked in a soft, sympathetic voice.

The young newborn turned away from her, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as if that way she was trying to hold herself together.

They just stood there for some time, until Maddie whispered, "Why me?"

Rosalie had no answer for that, so all she could tell her was, "I don't know."

"That's all you have to say?!" Maddie queried while whipping around and wiping at her eyes. They were filled with venom, and it stung a little.

"Look, Alice cannot influence what she sees. It just happens."

She looked baffled. "Is that supposed to make me feel better? It just happens?"

"Please, let us sit down and talk about it. We could sit on your bed," Rosalie suggested.

"That isn't my bed and this isn't my room," she growled. "I don't belong here."

"Maddie -"

"Just let me go!" she shouted before the sobs started. "I wanna go..."

Rose couldn't help herself then. She closed the distance between them in two quick strides and wrapped her arms around the girl, who went rigid as she did so.

Maddie didn't know what to do. She didn't want to be touched, it was too much, too personal, she couldn't take it.

But it kinda felt good, too. Like there was someone who cared and wanted to make her feel better. It was as if she didn't need to carry the burden alone.

And so she wept.

She wept for her Mom and her little baby brother. She wept over the unfairness of it all, her pain and the heavy forlornness she felt right then.

"Jasper, that was harsh," Edward remarked when Alice and Jasper entered the living room after having left the girl's new room.

Jasper glanced at him, then uttered, "I had to do something, she was about to attack Alice."

Edward let out a long moan at that answer. "She's just a child. You are making her fall apart up there."

"Rosalie will take care of it," Alice chimed in. She had seen it, after all. That was why she wasn't willing at first to tell her about why she was here, because she had seen her flip. She wouldn't like her much now. But the good news was that Rose was handling the situation just like she had seen her do. She had been right, it was better to let the girl know now and thereby motivate her to bond with Rosalie instead of leaving her in the dark for even longer.

"You cannot make Rose take care of everything, it isn't right," Edward countered.

Alice blinked at him in confusion. "But she wants to, you know she does."

"Yes, but it is trying for her, too," he told his family. Rosalie was more than willing to help the girl with her confusion and anger, she wanted to help her feel at home here. But it wasn't easy for his blonde sister to see the girl suffer.

"What can we do about it? I don't think she would let anyone of us be near her," Esme remarked.

"Could you at least make her feel a little better now, Jasper? Stop punishing her," Emmett demanded. He had overheard Maddie yell at Alice, then had descended the stairs when he had heard the poor child crying heartbreakingly. He didn't want her to be sad, and he knew how it hurt Rosalie to see her that way.

"I have to lift the sadness gradually, otherwise it would make everything worse. The mood swings are not to be taken lightly."

"Why did you have to make her so forlorn in the first place? Just take the anger from her," Emmett ground out. He liked Maddie, she was fun and as her big brother it was his job to protect her.

"That wouldn't have been enough. It is better to replace an emotion instead of just taking it away," Jasper explained.

Emmett was adamant. "Replace it with happiness!"

"Happiness," Jasper commented dryly.

"Yes!"

"Look, I have to take something that is already there and then increase it. There isn't even the tiniest spark of happiness in her, so how am I supposed to do that?"

Emmett swallowed heavily at hearing that. No happiness? But children were supposed to be happy, weren't they?

"How is she feeling now, Jasper?" Carlisle asked him. He certainly did not like the turn this had taken. It probably was hard enough for Maddie to be here, to have woken from the pain mere hours ago - she didn't need to have fake mood swings on top of that.

"Better."

"Edward?" Carlisle addressed Edward now - he would know.

Edward looked reluctant to answer. He contemplated not answering, because - even though it would be helpful for the whole family to know more about the girl - he was invading her privacy by telling them everything. But Esme was blaming herself for the girl's suffering and felt completely helpless, so he needed to calm her.

"She is getting better. Rosalie is doing the right thing."

Carlisle frowned. "What is she doing?"

"She hugged her," Edward shrugged his shoulders.

Jasper's head shot up at hearing this. "She what?!" Was she out of her mind? It was incredibly dangerous to be that close to a newborn, let alone hug them! The girl's face would be too close to Rose's throat and she could kill his sister in a matter of seconds!

"Come on, she wouldn't harm Rose," Emmett threw in.

Jasper was astonished at his brother. His mate was in danger, and he did not seem to care at all. What an idiot! He would never allow his wife to be alone in a room with a newborn, because he knew how dangerous they could be! But Emmett obviously did not have any experience with newborns. "How can you have that much faith in her already?"

"She is just a girl, Jasper. And Alice has seen it, haven't you, Alice?"

"That's right," Alice smiled.

"It's all right," Rosalie cooed while rubbing Maddie's back. It felt odd to comfort somebody who she didn't know that well, and she didn't really know what exactly the little one was crying about, even though she did have an idea. She never got close to people who weren't her family and it had been like that for many, many years. But Maddie was family now, wasn't she?

To Maddie it felt awkward to have somebody who cared, even though that person shouldn't care.

When she got calmer, she pulled away and blinked her eyes a couple of times because they stung.

Sniffling, she then wiped at them before looking down at her hands and asking in disgust, "What is that stuff?!" It didn't feel like tears, this fluid was much thicker, maybe even a little bit sticky. It was gross.

"It's venom," Rose answered.

"It's everywhere?" she sounded shocked.

"Yes."

And then Maddie saw the big blotches on Rose's blouse. The once white silk was now discoloured and it made her gasp, knowing that it had been her venom that had caused the damage.

"Uh-oh. I really didn't mean to, I don't know why I...," she sputtered, but stopped when Rose held up a hand to silence her.

"It's just a shirt, don't worry," Rosalie replied softly. Her blouse was ruined now, there was no way to wash the stains the venom had left out again. But she had more than enough pretty clothes in her closet. And her concern was the little girl in front of her and not some meaningless piece of clothing.

"There are clothes in this closet," Maddie offered meekly and pointed over her shoulder at the door of the big walk-in closet.

Rose laughed. "Thank you, but mine is just next door. And please forget about this shirt as it was of no value to me."

Maddie wasn't convinced. "It looks expensive."

"That doesn't mean anything," she told her, before bending down a little so they would be on the same eye level. "Tell me, do you feel a little better now?"

"I don't know. I'm not sad anymore," Maddie replied and sniffled once more.

"That is good! I'm glad," Rose looked relieved.

Clearing her throat, the girl then said, "But I still don't wanna be here."

"Nevertheless this is the best place to be."

"Yeah, I died here, then I was burning for days and now I am some freaky alien thingy with icky stuff coming out of my blood-red eyes." Maddie commented and her voice held no humour.

"You are not dead -"

"- just different, I know," she scoffed in response.

"Maddie, when I promise you that I will keep anyone you don't want to see away from you, will you stay for a couple of days?" Rosalie tried. She had proven to her that she could trust her promises, hadn't she? And if she didn't want to stay because of certain people in this house, then she could easily change that, couldn't she?

She hesitated and gave Rose a scrutinising look. "Why are you being nice to me? It doesn't make sense."

"Is it so weird to you? Why wouldn't I be nice to you?"

"Because I'm a bad person," she said and made it sound as though it was a known fact.

"I don't believe that."

"You don't know me," she countered.

"Then give me a chance to get to know you, and then I'll tell you wether or not you are a bad person," Rosalie offered, and after a moment of silence added, "Don't leave, just try it for a couple of days. You have seen how strong you are now. With that strength, nothing can happen to you. And you'll have me as your guard dog."

She was right, Maddie realised. Having sent someone flying through the air and crashing into a wall, and having killed two animals without any additional weapons was proof of her strength. Plus she actually didn't know where to go. And Rosalie seemed like someone who wouldn't lie.

So Maddie nodded her head.

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