Rosalie POV

The summer months came with more opportunities to skip school, and this whole week looked set to be a blinder. Or at least, for Forks. It was still pretty cold, but the skies were cloudless with the sun out in as full a force as it could be in the Pacific Northwest. Normally when we skipped school, I'd do something with Emmett, but this time I was dying to spend time with Bree. This feeling confused me a little, I wasn't quite sure why I'd taken such a liking to her, but I was almost jealous of the amount of time Esme got to spend with her while the rest of us were stuck retaking high school for the umpteenth time.

I wasn't sure what we could do together, but the boys had decided to go for an extended hunting trip, Carlisle was still at work, and Esme and Alice were absorbed in some discussion about fashion and interior design. I didn't mind those topics, but I didn't have the same passion as them, and so often their conversations shot straight over my head. I slowly wandered up the stairs towards Bree's room.

"Hey kid!" I called as I reached her open door. Bree looked up from her usual perch, and set down the book she was reading with a smile. "Fancy a game of something?"

"Sure!" she grinned, hopping down from the window seat and crossing the room to join me. "What did you have in mind?"

I thought through the options. Sports? Board game? I sucked at most board games, though that was probably more Bree's thing than sports.

"Well, Jasper and Edward between them own basically every board game known to man, or if you want something more active, we could play basketball or something? We can't do baseball unless there's a thunderstorm because of the noise."

"Seems a shame to be sat inside on such a nice day." Bree mused. "Basketball sounds fun. I was never any good at sports at school, but I guess that might have changed now…"

"Sure, we've got a hoop out back, we just need to grab the balls from the garage." I said as I turned towards the door, Bree at my side. I flung my arm round her shoulders as we walked down the stairs, and she interlocked her fingers with mine with a smile, and a surprise warmth filled my heart. I loved having a new little sister. I didn't expect to, but Bree was so young and small and kind, and you just couldn't help but love her.

The game of basketball was surprisingly even. What Bree lacked in height (and at 5'1, she was severely lacking) she made up for in sheer energy and newborn strength and speed. It didn't take long for it to turn into a full contact game involving dirty tactics as we both got more and more competitive. It wasn't until I twisted Bree's arm behind her back to restrain her when she tried to get the ball off me that I realised how bad an idea that was. It was like a switch had been flipped and suddenly the air felt cold. Bree froze in fear, and I let go instantly, but she didn't move. I moved so I was facing her and crouched down to her level.

"I am so sorry Bree." I whispered. How could I have been so stupid? "It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you. I would never hurt you." I wanted to reach out to her and give her a hug, but I was worried that would only scare her more. I was also concerned; she hadn't moved an inch, still frozen in fear.

"Bree? Honey? Can you even hear me?" I asked, getting more worried by the second. How badly had I hurt her? I reached out and put my hand on her shoulder; I couldn't stop myself. She jumped slightly at the contact, but didn't shy away. I slowly pulled her towards me into a gentle hug and sank to the floor from my crouch, my arms wrapped around her tiny body, and whispering a stream of consolations into her ear. She clung to me tightly, her breaths ragged and her body shaking as tears started pouring down her cheeks.

We stayed that way for several minutes, but the tight embrace didn't seem to be calming her down. I panicked; I wasn't good at this kind of thing. Nobody ever came to me for consolation. Why did this have to happen when there was literally nobody else around to help? I pulled away from put my hands on her shoulders, holding her at arm's length.

"Bree? You need to try and calm down hon." I instructed gently. "I know you're scared, but it's not gonna get any better like this. Look at me." I said, and she obediently raised her panicked eyes to mine. "Try to take a deep breath in and hold it, like this." I demonstrated, and she tried to copy, in a much less successful manner. We held our breath for a minute or so, and then I made a show of letting mine all the way out, and Bree copied. We did this a couple more times and eventually Bree seemed to calm down a bit. She crumpled slightly, looking dejected, and I wrapped her in a hug again. Eventually her tears slowed. I reached over with my thumb and gently wiped away the remnants around her eyes.

"Wanna go sit in a tree?" I asked, and Bree looked at me, confused. "It's what I do when I need a bit of space or air. I find a nice tall tree and sit in one of the highest branches." Bree considered this for a moment, her head tilted to one side, then nodded. She didn't look like she had the energy to move, so I threw her onto my back and darted up the nearest tree. It wasn't tall enough or far enough away from the house for my liking, so I used it as a vantage point to pick a treetop course to a better tree, flinging myself from one to another until we were about 100m from the house in an enormous tree. I pulled Bree off my back and I settled myself leaning against the trunk, with Bree tucked under my arm and leaning on my chest.

"Bree I am so sorry. I never should have done that. I didn't realise how stupid an idea that was until I did it, of course that was going to give you flashbacks, especially this soon after…" I trailed off, not wanting to say the words to end the sentence properly. I looked down at her, and she opened her mouth, but I interrupted, guessing her words. "Please don't apologise – you have nothing to be sorry for. You reacted in what was the only rational and expectable way for your situation. It's not your fault, it's mine." Bree shut her mouth again, stumped. She nestled further into my embrace, and I felt relieved. Clearly she wasn't going to hold this against me.

"Can I ask you something?" Bree said suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence and shifting slightly to look up at me.

"Of course you can. Anything you want!" I replied warmly.

"You- you seemed to know what was wrong then before I even fully registered it. And before… on the first day, when I was talking about my past, you seemed… angry?" She paused, but I didn't interrupt. Bree took a deep breath, as though building up the courage to ask the question I knew was coming. "Why? Why is that? Is it because…." She trailed off. "Did something happen to you too?" she breathed, almost inaudibly.

"Something- something similar, yes." I looked down at her. Were we really going to do this now? It wasn't that I found talking about my past particularly painful, not like Esme. But I didn't want to scare this poor child any further with the horrific story of the end of my human life. Oh hell, might as well. She did ask. And maybe it would help. She doesn't talk about her experiences much, and maybe us being open about ours will help her.

"In my human life, I was engaged to a very eligible bachelor, Royce King. He was the picture-perfect man; rich, beautiful, wanted to marry me. We didn't have the perfect romance, but it was a good life. Then, one evening, I was walking home from visiting a friend, and I bumped into Royce and a group of his mates, drunk on a street corner. Royce was… acting up to be the 'big man' in front of his mates. He was pretty vulgar, and I tried to push him off, but his mates egged him on, and before I knew it-" I glanced down at Bree and found she looked horrified. I stalled. She was just a kid. She shouldn't hear this.

"I can spare you the details. It was bad, I was… assaulted…., beaten for good measure, and then left for dead on the street corner. Carlisle found me – he smelled all the blood – and changed me to save my life. I was angry at first, I didn't want this life and could only think of everything I lost that day. And I wanted revenge, which I got; they're all dead now. And things got better when I found Emmett."

I didn't know what else to say. Bree sat very still, still absolutely horrified by what I'd said. A stray tear had begun rolling down her cheek. I'd gone too far. She wasn't ready to hear that. Oh, why could I do nothing right?! First I freak her out by accidentally attacking her, and then traumatise her with the story of my past. What a tit! Suddenly, she nestled further into my side, burying her face. I wrapped my arms round her more tightly, and looked out across the treetops.

"Did revenge help?" Bree asked quietly, a few minutes later. I pondered this.

"Yes and no. I was angry, no, furious, with Royce and his friends for what they'd done, and it was the kind of fury that only violence could solve. But after I'd killed them all, it wasn't the closure I'd dreamed of. It helped, I'm sure, but it didn't take the pain away fully. Esme's empathy and Emmett showing me what true love is like has probably helped more." I mused.

"Have you ever regretted killing them?" Bree asked. "Like, feeling they got off lightly?"

I chuckled darkly. "They did not get off lightly. I was quite dramatic, and by the time it was Royce's turn – I saved him 'til last – he had been in a state of utter terror and paranoia for weeks. I don't regret it." I turned to look at the small, gentle girl in my arms, staring thoughtfully. She'd never enjoyed hunting humans or the violence of her first few months of immortal life. She hadn't even wanted to fight us in the clearing.

"I'm not sure that murder would help you in the same way though." I breathed. "I don't think it's your style – you're gentle and peaceful and kind. You've never enjoyed hunting or hurting others. I don't think you'd be able to do it even if you tried, and if you did manage, I think the guilt from killing him would cause you even more pain." I said, gently.

"You're probably right." She mumbled. "I can't even imagine being in the same room as him. I don't think I could go near him without being terrified. I can't even play basketball or paint walls or do other normal things without having flashbacks." She shivered. "Why am I so useless?" she groaned quietly.

I pulled her away so I could look her full in the face. "You are not useless. You're recovering from a horrible traumatic experience, and you're doing so well. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise." I instructed warmly, almost angry she could see herself like that.