Violetta

I tried to keep my breathing even all night so Esme would at least think I was sleeping. I was facing away from the door in case she came in, and Mason had his arm around me. He was sound asleep, but I had been awake all night with silent tears streaming from my eyes. I had hoped that Esme wouldn't come in and check on me. Luckily, she didn't.

I got up early and silently. I slid out from underneath Mason's arm and went into the bathroom. I knew Esme would know that I was awake the moment I closed the door or turned the water on. I decided to do it anyway. If I could clean myself up enough, then she would think I just woke early after sleeping. I got my makeup bag out and did as much as I could to take the redness away, and cover the bags underneath my eyes. My eyes themselves were tinged with red because I was so tired.

I decided against the eye makeup. Eye shadow, eyeliner and mascara would just make the redness stand out more. After I finished trying to cover it all up, which worked better than I had thought, I heard the door to the small motel room open. I exited the bathroom quietly and walked to the bedroom door. I opened it silently and looked out. Esme had just gotten back. To my relief, she wasn't here to hear the water run or anything. I could go back to bed and pretend I was still asleep.

"What are you doing?" Mason asked sleepily. Damn it, she would have heard that. "Why were you putting make up on?"

"Shh." I hissed.

"What?"

"Go back to sleep."

"Are you leaving?"

"No, I'm not going anywhere."

He sat up and stared at me. His perfectly toned torso was bare.

"Violetta, what's going on? It's 5 in the morning; you never get up this early."

"I couldn't sleep, okay?" I asked as quietly as I could. I was hoping Esme was blocking us out.

Mason turned the lamp on and stared at me for a second, "You didn't sleep at all, did you?"

"Is it really that noticeable?"

"Oh, you were trying to cover it up with makeup." He concluded, "Well, you're eyes are too red to be missed, honey."

I heard Esme in the kitchen, probably making us breakfast, but I wasn't hungry at all. I felt a little sick, actually.

"Can you please just, try and cover it up with me? If she asks, just agree with me when I say I slept and that they are just irritated?"

"That doesn't sound very convincing…"

"Mason, please?"

"She can hear us, Vi. She knows exactly what is happening right now."

"I'm hoping she isn't listening."

"I am." I heard her call.

"Shit." I breathed to myself.

"Told you." Mason said quietly. He stood up and walked into the bathroom. The shower started running a second later.

"Vi?" Esme called.

I walked out of the room hesitantly. She stared at me for a second, "You needed to sleep, sweetheart."

I was tempted to tell her that I did, but it would be no use after she was listening to Mason and I.

"I couldn't." I replied.

"You've been crying…" She said as she studied my eyes.

I gave up and sighed, sitting down at the small dining table. "I can't help but think that every single negative thing that has happened since I've been here is entirely my fault. It's like I have literally ruined all of your lives."

She sat across from me, "Violetta, okay, some things have been a result of us finding out something…personal about you. But the reason we left was not because of you, the reason for them all screaming at each other and breaking a few things, was not because of you."

"If I hadn't said anything to Carmen, none of this would have happened."

"It would have been worse, because you would be gone. There is no way Carlisle would have been able to help you after a few minutes of all of those pills in your system. We wouldn't even have known it happened before we noticed the odd silence."

"Urgh, why do I have to be so messed up?" I asked myself, putting my head in my hands.

"You're not 'messed up', you're just ill."

"Maybe Carlisle was right; maybe I should have just agreed to talk to Jasper and left it at that. This wouldn't have happened if I just agreed."

"Carlisle was right, you should talk to someone, but he approached it wrong. He shouldn't have threatened you with anything, and he should have just talked to you about why he wanted you to and how you could benefit from it." Esme said, "It was very unfair on you for him to do that. You should decide when you want to talk to someone; you just need to feel comfortable in doing so."

"I feel comfortable with talking to Jasper, there is just a lot about my past that none of you know, and it would be revealed if I talked."

"Would you like to talk about some of it?" Esme asked.

I thought for a few seconds before taking a deep breathe, "Delanna."

"Delanna?" She repeated as a question.

"When was the last time you came across the Volturi? Before they came to us the other week?"

"It has been a few years. Aro came down to see us, and to see how Renesmee was maturing."

"Was there anyone with him?"

"Demetri and Alec."

I nodded, "When they came to confront you over Renesmee, when they thought she was an immortal child, did you see any young girl with them? Apart from Jane? Dark hair, dark eyes, looks very Italian."

"No, I don't think so. I didn't really look at their witnesses too hard though, I just glanced through them to see if I knew anyone."

"Well, see. My mother knew she was going to die during my birth. Carlisle didn't even know she was pregnant until the very same day she gave birth. She had asked someone to tell him the moment she died, because she didn't want to see him again. As soon as she was in labour, she called Aro. She told him the father, and told him I would be a hybrid, and told him not to let me go to Carlisle.
"When Carlisle got there, it was me, just me, all alone beside my dead mother. Little did he know that I was a twin. Delanna is my twin sister, she looks nothing like me. I look like Carlisle, she looks like my mother. Aro took her, and left me for either Carlisle, or for death, whichever came first. She is loyal to the Volturi, a part of their guard, but she isn't gifted. I think she's there more for show than anything else, she is very beautiful. We met when they kept me there for information, and then to teach me. She said she would help me get away, but she couldn't, because that would be betraying her family. She told me that I was welcome to join their coven, but I declined, and Jane stepped in again. She knows that Carlisle is her father, and she despises him more than I had, or more than Caius does."

"Why didn't you ever tell us? Carlisle should know…"

"If Carlisle knows, then Carlisle will go to Italy to see her. On their turf, and her unfathomable hatred, I don't think he would be leaving."

Esme nodded in understanding.

Mason walked out and sat down with us, dropping his head onto his arm on the table.

"Tired?" Esme asked.

He nodded.

"I know the feeling." I said as I kissed his head.

"Breakfast?" Esme asked.

"I'm not hungry." I said.

"Neither." Mason said with a muffled voice.

"Well, do we want to hang around here or do we want to hit the road?"

"The road!" Mason shot up in excitement. I smiled at him. "What?"

"Nothing, you're just cute." I said. Esme smiled, but her face dropped a little. I assumed she was thinking about Carlisle.

"Do you want to go home?" I asked her.

"No." She said, "Carlisle hasn't grown up."

"Have they called again?"

Esme nodded, "Alice called last night to let me know that she and Emmett left. They went to stay in Canada for a while until things calmed down. Rosalie and Jasper haven't stopped arguing, as well as Edward and Bella. Tanya and Carlisle have been on and off. Kate and Garrett got themselves out of it, but they occasionally jump in to defend Tanya. Eleazar and Carmen have retreated upstairs and have gone hunting twice already."

'What about Ness, Jake, Seth and Leah?"

"Retreated to the reservation." She said.

My phone rang, "Speaking of them." I handed it to Esme. It was Carlisle, again.

She answered it, "Grown up yet?" She answered with no greeting.

"Esme this is ridiculous."

"That wasn't an answer."

"You obviously haven't grown up either."

"Was that supposed to be an insult? Because it didn't offend me."

"Esme, please just come home and we can work this out. Where is Violetta?"

"Sitting in front of me."

"Can you please put her on?"

"Do you want to talk to him?" She asked me. I shook my head. "No Carlisle, she doesn't want to talk to you."

"Speaker then, please?"

"No Carlisle. We have to go. We have a road to hit."

"Wait, Esme? I don't know where Edward is."

"What do you mean?" Panic flashed across her eyes.

"He left last night, and I have no idea where he went. He never came back and he won't pick up his phone. Bella has been completely silent the whole time, and hating herself because it was her fault he left, apparently. Personally, I think it was Rosalie."

"Do not blame my children for anything, Carlisle." She snapped. I could hear the whole conversation, but I couldn't hear anything in the background without putting all my concentration into it. I heard bickering, still.

"Just, let me know if you hear from him, please?"

"Sure. Bye." She hung up and gave me my phone back.

"You know he can track that right? It'll only be so long before he realises and starts following us." Mason said.

"He won't catch up." I said.

A knock on the door startled me. Esme walked over and unlocked it. Edward stood on the other side. "I didn't know what to do."

"How did you find us?"

"I called around to lots of places in this direction. I got lucky with the 5th."

She stepped away and motioned for him to come in.

"Everything at home is chaos. Alice and Emmett left, Carlisle and Rosalie are both a wreck, but that hasn't stopped either of them from yelling. I'll admit, I was yelling a lot too, but I stopped this morning when I realised it was better to talk about it instead of yell. Apparently, no one else was on the same page."

"Vi, can you please text Carlisle and tell him that Edward is with us?" Esme asked. I nodded and found his contact.

"Don't tell him that. I'm not taking sides anymore."

"Edward, no matter what happens; we're always going to be worried about you or anyone else. He should know that you are safe."

"I am a mature vampire…"

"You're still his son."

"He's following you, you know?"

"From my phone?" I asked.

He nodded, "He checks it every few minutes. He said the moment you get too far away, he is going to call and demand you turn around. He was going to leave last night and come here, since you weren't moving, but Rosalie stopped him with another attitude filled comment, followed by an argument."

I groaned and dropped my head. I stood up and walked to the small couch on the room and slid my jacket on.

"Where are you going?" Mason asked.

"Home. I'm so over this."

"He isn't going to stand down." Edward said.

"I know. I'll just agree to the whole Jasper thing and I will let him win."

"That's not fair on you." Esme said.

"Life isn't fair."

"Are you sure you want to go back? He won't let us go again." Esme said.

"You don't have to go back if you don't want." I said to her.

"I'm going wherever you're going. I may as well drive you."

I stared for a second to study her eyes for any sign of a sacrifice.

"She likes it at home, Vi." Edward nodded.

Esme stood up and went into the bedroom. She grabbed my makeup bag which happened to be near my bedroom door when we were leaving the house, hence why I grabbed it, and she came back out.

"Okay, ready?" She asked Mason.

He nodded.

"We can go on a road trip another time." I smiled at him.

He smiled and rolled his eyes before walking to the door. He opened it for us. Edward waited for him to walk through before locking the door and closing it.

Esme went down to give the key back while we got in the car. I let Edward take the front.

We drove back at a steady illegal pace. Esme stopped just outside the driveway when we finally reached it.

Mason looked at her questioningly.

"Violetta, when we actually get to the house, I want you and Mason to go to the reservation for a little while okay?"

"Why?" I asked.

She looked at Edward and he looked at her sympathetically, "These things normally go down well with Esme and the others, but Carlisle is always the hardest for her to reason with, despite their impossible connection. It almost always has yelling, and takes a while for it to calm down. To be honest, we normally all leave when it happens; because it's a lot to take in…It's really hard to see it happen between your parents." Edward explained.

"Okay." I nodded. Sure, I wanted to be there to stand behind Esme, but I also never want to see that happening. If the others have to leave, it must get pretty ugly.

Mason nodded and Esme started driving again, pulling into the driveway a minute later.