Hello All! Here's chapter 9! I've had the song Visions of Gideon by Sufjan Stevens on repeat the whole time writing this, not going to say how many times the repeat button was pressed, but yeah...it was a lot! Hope you enjoy!- Liona

I opened my eyes, but I could barely move, and my vision focused on a ceiling fan spinning above me. Where am I? I can't remember anything.

I slowly started to listen to everything around me, and I could hear 4 separate heart beats. 4 people? Could 2 of them be, Nelly and Michel? I got part of my answer as I heard my mate's voice.

"Wesley, isn't their anything else you can do?" Michel's tone was soft, but he also sounded worried.

"He's fully healed, but it will take time for his strength to return." I've never heard that voice before, but there was something about it I liked.

"They're both going to be ok, Michel." Another unfamiliar voice, but his tone reminded me of my Dad.

"I wish he was here." I mumbled allowed without thinking.

I quickly heard footsteps running towards me, and I was suddenly surrounded by Michel's scent and the warmth of his embrace. I forced myself to move, and hugged him tightly. Michel pulled away, and we stared at each other for a moment before he held my head up and kissed me deeply. I pulled him closer to me, I'm so happy to see him.

Suddenly images of Michel covered in blood and Nelly unconscious started to enter my mind. I quickly pulled Michel away, as I let all the memories return at once. I remembered the three of us driving, and then I went unconscious. I had woken up to the three of us being attacked by a vampire named, Vernon and two others. I remember Vernon trying to kill me and Nelly, and then I pushed Nelly away. I can remember the shattering sound of Vernon's head as Michel stomped it to pieces, and I was happy that he was going to be able to save Nelly. Wait. He didn't go to her, he came to me, and forced me to drink his blood. Then..

I suddenly felt my heart race, and a growl escape my throat. I lunged at Michel and tackled him to the ground. He seemed stunned, and I held his shoulders down.

"Why did you do it?!" I screamed at him. I clenched my teeth, and felt another growl escape my throat.

"EJ!" I looked up just as 2 men entered the room, both had blue eyes and light brown hair, but I knew instantly they were hybrids.

"Leave!" I shouted, I don't care who they are, they aren't stopping me from finding out why Michel did what he did!

I looked back down at Michel, and felt tears start to pour down my face and onto his, "Why?" I choked. "Why did you save me and not her?"

"EJ, Nelly is ok! She's in the other room!" The shorter of the two yelled. I looked up at the other hybrids.

"She's in the other room?" Nelly is ok? "What happened? The last thing I remember was her screaming?" I looked down at Michel and released his shoulders. Michel slowly sat up and held me in his lap.

"EJ...Nelly lost a lot of blood, and her organs were too damaged. Michel had to turn her." The taller of the two said in a low tone.

I could feel Michel cringe as the other hybrid spoke.

I looked up at the two strangers, "Nelly.. Nelly is turning into a vampire?"

"Yes." The taller said.

"But.. why is she so quiet?" I could hear a 4th heart beat, but it was so steady. "Even when my Mother was turning with the aid of morphine her heart rate was frantic the whole time."

"I'm using my powers on her." The shorter of the two came over and knelt down next to me and Michel. "My name is Leonardo Reeves, but you can call me Leo, and he's Wesley Reeves." Leo pointed at the other hybrid.

"It's very nice to meet you, EJ. We're Michel's older brothers." Wesley smiled at me in a way that reminded me of Carlisle.

"Nice to meet you too." I said softly. I turned my attention to Leo. "What did you mean when you said you were using your powers?"

"Wes and I have a talents just like you and Michel. Wes can heal injuries, that's how he was able to help you, and I can alter the way a person is thinking. I can refocus their minds on other thoughts or memories. Nelly hasn't even realized she's in any pain since we got here, and she's been able to sleep threw almost all of it." Leo explained things very calmly, but I still felt sick at the thought of Nelly being forced to change. "She's almost ready to wake up."

I felt my heart skip, "How long have I been out?" I turned from Leo, and pulled away from Michel so I could look at him.

Michel looked up at his brothers and then back to me, "It's been almost 3 days."

"What?!" I can't believe this! Why did all of this have to happen? Was there anything I could have done? I quickly thought threw everything that happened that morning, and every detail I could remember after Vernon first attacked us. One important detail stuck out.

I pulled myself off of Michel and tried to stand. I started to stumble and Michel caught me, but I shoved him away. I sat back down on the bed, and I couldn't stop glaring at my boyfriend who looked close to tears. "How could you?"

"EJ, because your a hybrid, Michel was able to give you blood to help keep your injuries from getting any worse. Nelly wouldn't have lasted in the time it took Leo and I to get here. Michel saved you and then had to turn Nelly to-"

"I'm talking about before!" I shouted. I took a deep breath to try and calm myself down. "I'm talking about the fact that you had a choice, Michel. That bastard Vernon gave you the choice between Nelly or me, so why didn't you choose to save her? Why didn't you let him kill me instead?" I continued to glare at Michel until he finally answered.

"EJ, I can't believe you're asking that. I wasn't going to choose between the two of you, I couldn't possibly live with myself if I did that. I would have rather he killed me." Michel wasn't angry, but he seemed very frustrated.

"Nelly thinking the way she did is what saved us, I remember that very clearly. If Nelly hadn't managed to distract Vernon he would have killed her!"

"He was trying to kill you too, EJ!" Michel yelled.

"I don't give a fuck about myself!"

"Well I do, and so does Nelly! She was trying to save you too!"

"EJ, none of this matters now. The 3 of you are safe." Wesley tried to calm us both down, but I just want to be angry right now.

"But we almost weren't, and it's all my fault!" I bit my lip until almost bleeding. "Vernon said he was able to attack us because of my shield. It's because of my powers that Michel wasn't able to see Vernon coming." I held my head in my hands. "It's my fault all of this happened, and I'm angry at Michel for making Nelly pay the price for something I did!" I felt tears fall down my face again.

Michel tried to comfort me, but I ran from his hold and into the corner of the room. Michel looked hurt by my actions, but I'm so angry with him for not picking Nelly over me.

"Don't fucking touch me." I spoke in a whispered tone, but Michel looked like I just stabbed him in the heart. I can't be around him right now. I ran out of the room and out of the house we were in.

I haven't ran this fast in so long, but it feels like second nature just watching the world flash by. I kept running until I came across a huge lake. I stopped and caught my breath as I just stared out at the water.

I closed my eyes and tried to think of nothing but the silence around me, but the silence was soon disrupted by a heartbeat. I knew it wasn't Michel, I turned around and saw Wesley walking over to me with his hands up.

"I promise I'm not here to fight." He smiled at me, and I felt comforted by how much he really did remind me of Carlisle.

"Please, just go." I turned back to the water and sat down next to the edge.

Wesley walked over and sat down next to me. "You know, Michel talks about you a lot?"

"What?" Why is he brining something like that up?

"He's told me so much about you I feel like I know you very well already. I know you are a smart and caring individual, you have strong morals, and you have a lot of love and loyalty for those you care about."

I didn't know what to say to that.

"Michel also told me about your shield, that it's similar to your Mother's, but you can't control yours like she can."

"What's your point?" I never looked away from the water.

"My point, EJ, is that you had no control over what Vernon was planning on doing."

I glared as I thought about Wesley's words. "But if I hadn't been there Michel would have seen him."

"Only by a few seconds." Wesley countered.

"Those few seconds could have helped Nelly remain human."

"She's not dead is she?"

"No. But she can never go back to the life she had before, and Michel knows that." I felt my anger bubble over, "He had the choice, Wesley! Michel had the choice to save her, but he didn't, and its not..."

"Not what?"

"It's not Michel who's to blame." I held my shoulders, and tried to calm myself down. "No matter what way I look at it I can't help but feel like things would have turned out better if I wasn't there. That's how it always is with me. All I do is cause problems, and make people worry about me wherever I go." I held my face in my hands and tried to stop myself from sobbing.

"EJ, that couldn't be further from the truth. You are an amazing person, and that's why it is so easy to care about you." Wesley put his hand on my shoulder, I thought about moving away, but decided against it.

"I left my family because I had convinced myself that they would be better off without me, and then I realized months later that in trying to make them not have to worry about me anymore I did the opposite. I ended up running away from my own stupid emotional issues, and involved Michel and Nelly, and Michel cares about me so much." I let out a small sob. "It shouldn't have been a second thought on who he should've chosen to save. Why did he have to try and save both of us?"

Wesley stayed quiet for a moment, and then took a deep breath, "EJ, has Michel ever mentioned anyone named, Sophia?"

I tried to think back, "No, but...Vernon mentioned that name. Who is she?"

"Sophia was... Sophia was our baby sister." For the first time in our conversation Wesley's tone had changed, and it sounded like he was heartbroken.

"Michel never mentioned a sister. He just said he had 4 brothers." How could he not have told me he had a sister?

"Infuses on had. It's just Michel, Leo, and myself now."

What? That must be why Michel got so upset when I asked about them? "I brought up the subject of your other brothers before, but Michel didn't react well to it." Is this what Michel had wanted to tell me? "Can I ask what happened?" Michel wanted to tell me himself, but I have to know if it will help me understand why he did what he did.

Wesley took a deep breath, and after a moment started speaking. "Richard, our father, was one to partake in territorial battles. Those battles also involved turning humans into newborn vampires to make armies."

"My Uncle Jasper used to lead armies like that, not by choice though." I could always tell when Jasper mentioned that time of his existence that those memories were filled with pain and regret.

"A lot of poor souls never had much choice in the matter. Over a century ago, Richard learned that it was possible for a male vampire to have a child with a human women, and sought to create a new kind of army. The first was my eldest brother, Victor, and then a few years later my brother Johnathan. Neither of them had any powers, Richard didn't either, but after Leo was born Richard started seeking mates that would be capable of giving his children talents to help aid in his war. Leo has the power to control a person's thoughts, and can basically control them like a puppet if he chose. Richard thought he was the most useful out of his other sons. My talents didn't serve much purpose other than making sure my brothers could keep fighting no matter how injured they got. Michel was forced to fight not long after he was born, his ability to see his opponent's moves just before meant he never once lost a fight."

"That's horrible." I can't believe their father could be so cruel.

"It gets worse." Wesley clenched his fists. "Sophia was our first and only sister, but just because she was female didn't mean she got any sort of special treatment. She never inherited any talents that made her seem useful to Richard, so he forced her to train and fight twice as hard as he had the rest of us. The five of us loved Sophia more than anything, but Michel especially cared for her, and did everything he could to protect her."

I noticed Wesley's eyes start to tear up a little. I couldn't bring myself to say anything, but after a moment he continued.

"Physically Sophia was 12, but she was only 3 in human years, and no matter how hard she tried she wasn't no where near as skilled in fighting as what Richard expected of her. One day, Richard ordered Victor and Johnathan to lead the next battle, and ordered them to take Sophia with them. We all wanted to know why, but none of us had the courage to go against our Father's wishes. Sophia was scared, but she was so determined to prove herself she went into battle without a second thought. It wasn't until right after the battle should have started that Michel saw Sophia being killed by several newborns. Michel tried to run and save her, but Richard stopped him. By the time Leo and I knew what was going on, Michel said Sophia was gone, and that Victor and Johnathan had also died trying to protect her."

"Your father knew she would die, didn't he?" I couldn't stop myself from crying for the loss of my mate's siblings.

"Yes. Leo questioned Richard, and he said he didn't intend to louse Victor or John, but they weren't of any use to him anyway. He said he could just make more of us, and that's when we all lost it. The 3 of us tore him to shreds, and set him on fire piece by piece. We don't have one single regret other than not being able to make him suffer longer. He wasn't our father, he was just the monster that spawned us. After Richard was dead the 3 of us tried to find what was left of our siblings to give them a proper burial, but there was nothing left. Michel still blames himself to this day for their deaths, and Sophia's especially."

"Why?" I choked out. "It wasn't his fault, it wasn't any of yours."

"He feels Sophia was his responsibility, and that her death is his fault because he wasn't there to protect her. He had wanted to defy Richard and go with the 3 of them, but he decided not to, and he feels if he had chose a different path he could have saved them."

"That's why he couldn't choose between me or Nelly. He didn't want to feel like it was his fault that one of us died when he was there." I wiped the tears from my face, but they kept pouring.

"Yes. Vernon was Richard's first and most loyal soldier, he knew better than anyone how to hurt us. I can guarantee you that even if you hadn't stepped into Michel's life, Vernon would have still planned to attack him, and possibly Nelly, anyway. Honestly, I think you being there is what gave the 3 of you an advantage."

"How so?"

"If you hadn't been there, Vernon would have just killed Nelly without a word about it, but having you there gave opportunity that couldn't have existed without you. Michel said you were the one who stopped Vernon after Nelly distracted him. Do you think there could have been a good outcome if Nelly had been alone in that moment?"

I tried to process everything Wesley had just said. If I hadn't been there than Vernon still would have attacked Michel sooner or later, and when he did, if Nelly had been involved, she wouldn't have even had a chance. Michel loves both Nelly and me so much, and she and I know that. The 3 of us have become closer than I ever thought I could be with anyone, and I was so lucky to have them both in my life.

"Thank you for telling me all that, Wesley, and for talking some since into me." I dried my eyes, I want to get back to Michel and tell him how sorry I am for what I said.

"Don't mention it. You're my little brother now too, so Leo and I will always be here for you just like we are for, Michel." Wesley leaned forward and hugged me, I hugged him back, and I honestly did feel a lot better.

"Wes! EJ!" We turned to see Leo running towards us. "It's time." Was all he said, but those 2 words were holding so much. Wesley and I ran as fast as we could towards Leo, and the 3 of us made our way back to the cabin.

I followed Wesley and Leo into the room Nelly had been in the last 3 days. Michel stood over Nelly, but when I entered his eyes were locked on me. I couldn't stop myself from feeling so guilty for hurting him the way I did. I ran and hugged him as tight as I could without hurting him. He instantly hugged me back, and I just wish I could take back what I had said.

"Michel, I want to talk to you after all this, but first please just know I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I nuzzled my face into his shoulder and tried to calm myself down. He ran his hand threw my hair and kissed the top of my head.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Fawn."

I looked up at him and we were both smiling and teary eyed. He gave me a quick kiss before we turned our attention to, Nelly.

Nelly was lying perfectly still in her bed, she looked like herself and completely different at the same time.

"It will be ok. " Leo tried to reassure us.

After what seemed like an eternity, Nelly's breathing started to slow down, and we all listened as her heart took its last beat.

We all stood and readied ourselves, newborn vampires can't usually control their blood lust, and since everyone here had a heartbeat we were all in danger.

I watched as Nelly's once brown eyes fluttered open to reveal bright crimson orbs that quickly looked in our direction. Nelly sat up, her eyes never leaving Michel or me.

"Michel? EJ?" Her voice was now very melodic, but she still sounded like our, Nelly. She turned her eyes from us and started looking around the room. All the windows were shut, and the curtains drawn. The way Nelly was starring at everything made her seem like a child. "Where are we?"

"We're at the cabin." Michel answered.

"The cabin?" Nelly looked at us for a moment, and then her sweet smile turned into a look of confusion. "We were on our way here, the 3 of us, and I was driving." Nelly moved her hand along her shoulder, and held her throat. "There was a man in the road. I hit the breaks, but I hit him." Nelly's eyes widened. "I thought I hit him, but... then he pulled me out of my seat, and...I think he bit me?"

"It's ok now, Nelly." I turned from her to Michel. "We're all ok."

"You weren't!" Nelly stood, and in a second she was in front of me. Michel tightened his hold on me as Nelly looked the two of us up and down. "EJ, I saw that man hurt you, I remember hearing your ribs break. How are you ok? How did...I just get here that fast?" Nelly looked from us to the bed about 3 times.

"Nelly, there are a lot of things we need to discuss with you." Michel sounded very calm, but I could tell by his heart rate he was incredibly nervous.

"Who are they?" Nelly pointed to Wesley and Leo, who were standing behind us looking ready for a battle.

"This is Wesley and Leo. They are my older brothers." Michel introduced the two, and they stepped foreword.

"Wes and Leo." Nelly mumbled. Nelly smiled at the two, "I've heard so much about you, it's so nice to finally have faces to all of Michel's stories." Nelly still seemed like her normal sweet self.

"We can say the same for you. Michel talks very highly of you." Wesley said.

Nelly continued to look the 4 of us up and down. "So, are you going to tell me any time soon about what happened, or why you're all looking at me like I'm going to eat you?"

I looked up at Michel, I wasn't sure which one of us should speak, but I quickly decided, "Nel, what's the very last thing you remember?"

Nelly looked down at the ground and bit her lower lip, "I remember the two of us, EJ and me, on the ground. I remember red eyes, and then I couldn't breath, and...Did I stab someone?" Nelly started moving her hands over her pockets to try and find her knife, and froze. Nelly held her hands on her hips, and then slowly moved her fingers upward to her chest, and her eyes widened as she looked down. She was dressed in her favorite jeans and blue t-shirt, but her shirt was now a size too small. She held her hands up out to look at her arms, and then started running her fingers threw her hair. Nelly's dark brown hair used to be strait and shoulder length, but was now lighter and curled slightly. Nelly looked around the room, and walked over to the closet.

"Nelly." Michel let go of me, and walked in front of her. "Nelly, listen. You are not the same as you used to be, you look...different now, and it may be a bit of a shock."

"Michel. Did you bite me too?" Nelly held out her porcelain white wrist to Michel, there was no longer any trace of a bite or wounds on her skin, but Nelly held her wrist out like it was still dripping with blood.

Michel gulped, his eyes never leaving hers. "Yes."

"Why?" Nelly didn't sound angry, but I know she was expecting a quick answer.

"I had to." Michel's voice was very faint now.

I walked forward and stood by Michel, "Nelly, Michel had to do what he did, so you and I could live." I kept my eyes on Nelly, but I grabbed Michel's hand.

Nelly looked down at our hands, "Live. So I wasn't just dreaming all of that stuff, was I?" She walked closer to us, but we didn't move, "What exactly did you do to me? I need to know."

Without hesitation I grabbed my best friend's hand, and I walked her over to the closet. I opened the door, and saw myself in a full length mirror, and then I opened the door all the way. I turned to Nelly, and saw her now red eyes widen as she looked at her new self for the first time. She put one hand to the glass, and held the other to her eyes.

"Nelly, do you remember how I used to bring up vampires all the time in school?" Michel asked.

"Yeah, but..." Nelly turned around, and ran in front of Michel. I watched Leo and Wesley from the corner of my eye, and noticed how nervous they seemed. "Michel, what are you trying to say?"

Michel looked at me for a moment, and then took hold of Nelly's hands in his, "Nelly, your a vampire now."

Nelly looked at Michel for a very long time before she spoke, "Well, that explains...a lot. So, your a vampire too then?"

"I'm half. I was born half human, and half vampire."

"So was I." I put my hand on her shoulder.

"We, all 4 of us, were born to human mothers and vampire fathers." Wesley explained.

Nelly put her hand over mine, "So..that's...wow. I'm sorry that's really all I can say. Just wow." Nelly may be a vampire now, but she still had her same beautiful smile. Nelly turned to me, but then she grabbed her throat, "Oh, why does that.."

"She needs blood." Leo walked into the living room, and grabbed a black pack just like the one Michel always carries blood in.

"Wait! That's not going to be the best thing for her right now. Let me teach her how to hunt, and see how she does with that." I don't want Nelly to have to drink human blood when I'm sure I can help her.

"You mean animal blood?" Wesley asked.

"Yes."

Nelly held both her hands to her throat.

"Well whatever your going to do, let's hurry." Leo put the blood back.

I grabbed Nelly's hand, "Come on, we can talk more after."

Nelly smiled at me, and I walked her outside.

Michel, Wes and Leo, all joined Nelly and me as we ran threw the sunny forest. The brothers were all curious about how vampires were able to live on a diet of only animal blood, and seemed shocked when I explained that after some time Nelly's now crimson eyes would turn golden like other vegetarian vampires.

Once we had all caught several deer we went back to the cabin. Nelly asked to speak with Michel and me alone.

"So, your both half vampire and human, huh? And I just magically got to meet both of you in the course of my short human life?" Nelly asked while sticking her hand into a stream of sunlight and watched it sparkle.

"Yup, oh and I'm not actually 19, I'm 16." I admitted.

"And I'm 30." Michel added.

"16? No wonder your such a light weight!" Nelly laughed, "Oh fuck. I just realized I can't have alcohol anymore. Eh, all well." Nelly seemed to embrace her new vampire status, which overjoyed Michel and me. "Guess that makes Michel a pedo!" She laughed.

"Hey!" Michel shouted and held me tightly.

"Vampires don't really care about age, Nelly. My Dad was 109 when he got with my mom, and my sister Nessie's mate, Jacob is older than Michel." I held my lover's arms and leaned back into his hold.

"Wow. Wait is that where half your name comes from?" Nelly gasped.

"Yup, my mom named me after my dad and her best friend, but the name had already stuck before Jake imprinted on my sister at birth." The realization of just how creepy that whole scenario was is so much worse when I say it out loud.

"That must have been a fun thing to explain to your parents." Nelly joked.

"It was actually pretty hilarious. I can still remember my Mom grabbing Jacob, and throwing him outside."

"Wait, you remember things from right after you were born?" Nelly looked at us like we were on fire.

"We can remember things from the womb, Nel. We never said everything about being a hybrid was fun." Michel rested his chin on the top of my head, and I tightened my hold on him.

"Wooow." Nelly walked a little closer to us. We had explained how we were just being cautious before, and she was doing really well, especially for her first day. "Well, I want to go ahead and thank you both. You saved me, and I'm sure it wasn't easy. I love you both, and I'm so lucky to have you two."

"You saved us first, Nel. We love you so much, and we're so glad you're ok." I really am so happy that Nelly still loves us, and that she's ok with the fact she's a vampire now.

Michel and I looked at each other and decided to take a leap of faith. We slowly walked to Nelly and embraced her in a loose hug. She happily hugged back, and the three of us just stood there as the sun shown on us.

"You know I didn't think the 3 of us could get any gayer, and now we SPARKEL!" Nelly yelled and started running threw the woods.

Michel and I sighed, but we enjoyed watching our best friend run around like a squirrel on red bull.

While Nelly ran threw the trees I decided to take a moment to address something with my mate.

"Michel?"

"Yes, Fawn?"

"Wesley told me about Richard, and your brothers, and Sophia."

Michel's expression turned into one of sorrow at the mention of his siblings. "He did?"

"Yes. Are you upset that he told me? "

"No, it's a good thing you know. I shouldn't have kept it from you."

"No, I understand why you did. I also understand why it was impossible for you to choose between Nelly and me, and I'm sorry for what I said to you, and also for how I acted."

"EJ, you have nothing to apologize for. Nelly is my best friend, but EJ you are the love of my life. Are you really just now able to understand that?"

"I'm a bit naïve, remember?" I couldn't help smiling at being called the love of his life. "I was also blaming myself, because I thought that you and Nelly would have been better off if I had never intruded on your lives." I admitted.

"EJ, how could you ever think that?"

"Because that was also how I was able to convince myself to leave my family. I thought that they would be better off not having me around, and not having to worry about me, so I decided to leave without any warning or explanation. I really did think I was doing what was best for everyone." I clenched my fists, and looked up at him. "Michel, I don't believe that anymore either, and I'm not even sure if I ever really did. I think I really just wanted to experience the world for myself, and I was either too scarred or too selfish to admit the truth to the people who mattered most to me."

"EJ." Michel put his hand up to my cheek. "There is nothing selfish about you. Everyone needs a chance to try and grow as a person, and for some of us it takes doing something pretty extreme to try and accomplish that. I also don't think anyone who knows you would think their lives would be better without you." Michel grabbed the back of my head and pulled me into a deep kiss.

After a moment I broke away, "Michel, there's one other thing I need to tell you. I don't want you to keep blaming yourself for something that wasn't your fault. If your relationship with Sophia was anything like mine and Ness', I know she would want you to be happy."

Michel stayed quiet for a long moment. I leaned my head on his shoulder, It's just my way of telling him I'm here for him.

Michel held me close, and tangled his hand in my hair, "EJ, if you swear to me that you won't ever have another regret about coming into my life, then I can promise to try and forgive myself, deal?"

"Deal." I answered without hesitation.

Michel tilted my head upward and kissed me again. We didn't part until we were both about to run out of air. As I caught my breath Michel held my face between his hands, "Edward Jacob Cullen, I love you more than you will ever be able to imagine." He kissed me again, and I felt just pure love and joy that at one point in my life I thought was impossible.

"AW! You guys do realize I can hear everything now, right?" Nelly sat on top of a tree branch with her legs swinging back and forth.

Michel and I just stared up at her and rolled our eyes.

"Does that mean your not going to keep barging in on us anymore?" Michel sounded very hopeful.

"No, it just means your going to have to be quieter than mice while fucking from now on!" She laughed.

I stared up at Michel, "So we're really stuck with her forever, huh?"

"Hey!" Nelly jumped and landed right in front of us, "Get ready for a long eternity boys, because your stuck with Nelly 2.0 till the end of time!" She got on her tiptoes and kissed us both on the cheek.

"We love you too, Nelly." I said.

"You better!" She shouted before disappearing into the trees again.

Michel held me close again, "You know when things calm down a little, I think you should contact your family?"

I clenched my teeth, and kept my eyes on Nelly, "I've thought about it, more than once. I keep making excuses not to, but..."

"My Fawn, I'm certain they must be worried and wanting to know where you are. I promise I'll be right by your side the whole time."

"I know, thank you." I leaned back into Michel's embrace, and I couldn't help but think of everyone back home. I thought about how much I love each one of them, and how much I've missed them. I felt a rush of both worry and joy as I thought about seeing my family again, and if I'm being honest with myself, I'm also very excited to be going home.

Chapter 10 will be out soon!- Liona :)