Bree POV

I wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but Rosalie had got a call, and we needed to go home. Shame, I was enjoying our hiking/swimming trip. I loved swimming, and now that I could go indefinitely without breathing and couldn't get cold or shrivel up like a prune, I'm not sure there were many things that could get me back out of the open water. But perhaps an emergency phone call from home was one of them, I decided, slightly disgruntled.

We ran the miles back to the house with ease, arriving dripping wet mere minutes after the call. I looked at the gleaming hallway in front of me, unsure on how to enter the house without making the floor all wet and dirty. Luckily, apparently Rosalie had thought ahead, and tipped me into a side room where I found a towel and a change of clothes. I scrubbed myself dry and put on the sweatpants and top laid out for me as Rosalie did the same, and then stepped into the main house, my damp hair hanging loose round my shoulders.

Carlisle and Esme were sat on the sofa, looking worried and sad. Confusion and panic ran through me. What had happened? The others weren't here – was that a good or bad sign? Rosalie appeared next to me, and I glanced up at her face. She looked as confused as I felt. That reassured me slightly. Esme gestured to the sofa next to her, and I strode across the room to join them, Rosalie half a pace behind me. Nobody spoke.

"What's wrong?" I asked, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence. Esme looked at me, pity in her eyes, as Carlisle spoke.

"Bree, there was an item on the news earlier. The remains of a woman have been found in Nevada." I wondered uncomfortably where this was going. I didn't say anything, and Carlisle continued, hesitantly.

"The police have identified the body. It's your mother. They've arrested your father on suspicion of murder, and when they couldn't find any trace of you ever having lived here, they've announced that you are presumed dead also. There's currently a wide search going on in Idaho for your body." I sat there, frozen, unable to believe what I was hearing. Dad had been arrested? Mum was dead? People thought I was dead?

I was vaguely aware of arms round my body as I sat, frozen. My mother was dead. I barely remembered her, given the last time I saw her, I was 4 years old. I remembered being angry at her for leaving me with dad. It was shortly after she left that dad started hurting me, and I remember being angry that mum didn't care enough to come and rescue me.

I realised I was sobbing, venom tears streaming down my face. How could I have blamed my mum? She must have loved me. She hadn't left me with dad, dad had killed her. Oh my god, dad had killed her. I could hear voices around me, but I couldn't distinguish the words. I didn't care what they were saying. I just wanted my mum. I was so sorry for the years I'd spent cursing her for leaving me, and just wished I could see her one more time.

An old memory came to the surface of one of dad's beatings that was so bad he actually allowed me to go to the hospital. I remembered feeling like I was going to die, and in that moment, I had questioned what had happened to mum. A tiny part of me somewhere knew that she hadn't just left. I'd known, deep down, that dad's violence hadn't started with me.

I sobbed harder, pained wails escaping my mouth as the venom tears continued to fall, and buried my face into the chest of whoever it was hugging me. Hands rubbed comforting circles on my back as I clung tightly to the vampire next to me, my tears soaking into their shirt. Eventually, my sobs slowed, and I pulled away to see 3 concerned and heartbroken faces. I realised it had been Esme who'd been hugging me, her arm still lightly round my shoulders.

"I'm so sorry Bree. I- I don't know what to say." Carlisle stuttered, and then fell into silence.

"At least the prick is getting the punishment he deserves." I found myself growling, before the words had even fully processed in my brain. "He deserves to be punished for what he did to us. I'm glad he's been found out." Now I was over my initial shock, I was mad. I was so angry.

"He lied to me for years! For 12 YEARS he kept telling me that even my own mother didn't love me, and that's why she left. He told me I deserved to be punished because it was my fault she was gone, when all along, HE'D KILLED HER!" I was yelling now. I was so angry. I'd never felt rage in my life, but right now, I could understand how Rosalie had killed the men who attacked her. Then, as quickly as it started, the rage passed and I slumped further into the sofa.

"I believed him. For 12 years, I believed him. I've always believed him. I believed it was my fault." I whispered, venom tears pooling in my eyes again.

"Bree, it was never your fault." Carlisle said gently. He was crouching on the floor so his eyes were level with mine. He reached out his hand and laid it on top of mine. "Nothing that happened to you or your mother was your fault. The only person at fault was the man who hurt you both. Please believe that. You cannot blame yourself for any of this." His voice was earnest, and full of care. I looked into his eyes and saw only compassion there. I wanted to believe him. I willed myself to believe him.

I laid my head on Esme's shoulder, somehow exhausted from the emotions running through me. I didn't know vampires could get tired. Actually, I was pretty sure we couldn't… eh, either way, it felt nice to relax my body slightly. I felt Rosalie shuffle up closer to me on the sofa, her hands squeezing my arm as Esme's arm wrapped round my waist. I felt as though I could stay like this forever.

My mother might be dead, and my father might be a total prick, but I had a new family now, and I had no doubt about their love for me. I realised that for this first time in my life, I actually felt loved and cared for. A small smile spread across my face as I nestled into Esme and Rosalie's embrace.