—Now, where is Padrone? Jasper is skeptical of how accurate the information will be, but they are in the dark right now; any help is highly appreciated.

—I might have an idea of where he is. I worked with him, so I know his habits.

—Meaning? Edward is reading his thoughts to make sure he doesn't lie.

— He has the most labs in this country, so after you guys destroyed the main base in Rome, he legged it here for sure. David knows he can't hold information from them, but it's all he has to keep his head attached to his neck. —I think I can find which one he's in now but, I need some information.

—Like? Jasper asks.

—He will take revenge on you, so he must gather more vampires. Cinque leaves a trail when she fishes for him. You need to find it. It will be a place where vampires disappear; isolated and small towns are your best chance of finding her. I can tell you where he is once you catch her trail. David is not that sure they can do it, but if they can track Cinque, he can accurately direct them to the scientist.

—And how do I that? Jasper raises an eyebrow.

—That's on you. I never had to search for her before. She would come to us.

—Fine. We start your… training tomorrow. Jasper says, walking away.

—I need some blood. David is about at his limit right now, and he might not be able to control himself through the night without something.

—I'll bring it to you. You can't hunt today. Carlisle believes it's better to give everyone the night off to calm down.

—Thank you. They leave David for now, with Quil and Embry standing by the door, watching his movements.

—Any ideas on how we find Cinque? Edward asks Jasper. He heard about her from him before, so he knows how dangerous she can be.

—Vampires live like they don't exist, Edward. They leave no trails. This is going to be a nightmare.

Seth opens the observatory door, startling me.

—He's inside the house. He says, getting inside.

—I saw. What did he say? I can barely contain my curiosity now.

—He told Jasper how to find that vampire.

—That's all he said?

—Yes. Jasper is looking into it, but he said it wouldn't be easy.

His words send me inside my thoughts again. Did David notice I remembered him? Did Edward hear any of my thoughts? Can I even get time alone to talk to him without having to say, in front of everyone, about all the times I had to torture him to heal me?

—What? Seth looks somewhat angry again. I have no idea what's the problem, but I need to rest.

—Nothing. I'm tired.

—You've been off since this started. Acting like you're worried about that guy.

—Well, you've been weird too. I'm annoyed now, and the lack of sleep doesn't help. I can tell he's about to scream again, and I just had it with him disagreeing with me on purpose the whole day and walking behind me like I couldn't take a step without his permission.

—Me?!

—See? You can't talk to me without getting angry.

—I'm not angry! You're taking sides with that vampire for no reason!

—I'm not! I just said to give him a chance.

—He threw you off a tree!

—I tripped!

The room falls into silence, and I need to walk away from him, or I'll say something I'll regret. —I'll go to my room.

Running past him, I go straight to my bed, jumping on top of it. What am I doing?

It's not Seth's fault I can't talk to David. I don't even know what questions I want to make first.

Something is poking me on the back, and I reach to grab a piece of paper under my body; a birthday card from Seth. Now I feel even worst for screaming.

In hopes of calming down a bit, I wash up and change into my pajamas. I shouldn't be on edge like this, but I can't help. I just want to put David inside Carlisle's study, ask him everything and be able to keep certain things to myself. Why is that so difficult?

I fall asleep on my frustration, and maybe that's why I'm seeing this nightmare.

I'm lying down in a hospital bed, and Padrone is on top of me, touching metal instruments and looking busy. I can't focus on his face, but I know it's him. It's always him.

I can hear the beeping going up quickly, and my body won't move. I don't sense the pain, but I know I'm dying. The fear in my gut lets me know something is wrong and that I need to heal.

He looks up to someone next to me, moving his lips quickly. I can feel a hand on mine and muffled grunts as the beeping gets slower and slower until it's normal again. The light is bright in my eyes, and the drugs in my system keep me from thinking straight, but I recognize David's eyes in my dream. The realization wakes me up right away. I'm sweating, and my breathing is heavy when I sit up on the bed, shaking. Eve's clock reads four in the morning. I'm not sleeping after this.

After seeing that man in my dreams, I could never go back to sleep anyway, but today, I go back to the observatory room instead of sitting under the window. I don't turn on the lights so they won't notice me, but I clearly see Seth and Emmett in front of the storage room door, watching David.

Seeing him inside that place, just a few meters away from me, but unable to go there and ask him is torture. His face lingers in my mind as I imagine him sitting there with his bright red eyes shining under the dim lights over his deep dark skin.

He didn't appear threatening to me anymore since he wasn't hanging me from a tree, so I'm also questioning what kind of person he is. His accent is undoubtedly Britsh, and I'm lived around England before with my parents. Where is he from exactly? I've never met another vampire when I was traveling, and I know it's because my parents kept them away, and different from the Cullens, David seems to have been living alone. I wonder how he does it, how he walks around alone, without a place to go back to.

I wish to know him more but above it, all this vampire knows the answers to all the questions haunting me since we left Italy. I might get scared and ask him to not tell me the details but I have to know. I can't go another year pretending Padrone and Mirania are not out there, threatening us with their next move.

—Why are you up? Esme is behind me, looking outside.

—I couldn't sleep. It's not a lie but also not the whole truth.

—You want to talk to him, don't you? As usual, she knows exactly what's in my mind.

I stay in silence, feeling like a child caught in a lie.

—And you don't want anyone to listen. She's better than Edward.

Again, I stay in silence.

—I just can't understand. Why in the world would you want to do that?; Don't you trust us?

—I do! I do; it's just… I don't know what he'll say. There are things I am not sure I wish to share. I trust each of them with my life, but I don't want them to know how much pain the torture caused me. I don't want them pitting me and treating me even more like a child than they do now.

—It won't be easy. Seth will flip out. I'm not fond of the idea of staying inside a room alone with a vampire while pressuring him for answers too, but that's just how far I'll go to finish this.

—He did that a lot yesterday. I did too, but only because he wouldn't stop pushing me.

—Yes, I heard. Well… everyone did. I have no comment to her words, only embarrassment.

—He's just worried, you know. We all were.

—You didn't scream.

—I'm vastly older than him.

—He didn't use to scream.

She stares at me for a second before starting laughing.

—What? I seem to have missed the joke.

—Nothing… Nothing. She stops laughing, but the smile is still there as we look outside to the morning coming from behind the gray clouds. Esme tells me to change and come down for breakfast, so that's what I do. I catch a glimpse of Jasper meeting Edward by the front door, probably on their way to talk to David again.

—We need more to go on here. Jasper spent the night trying to narrow down the search, but it wasn't easy, as predicted.

—I told you. Find a place where vampires disappeared from. David is tired and hungry, and Jasper's questions sound like a hammer in his head. Was a vampire supposed to have a headache? But again, a vampire should drink human blood, not a rabbit's.

—Vampires don't leave a trail, David. You know that. Jasper can feel the impatience in him, but he needs more than that. Edward is there too, making sure not to miss anything.

—It'll be an isolated city where people disappear a lot from. Cinque doesn't hop around collecting them; she goes to places with a considerable concentration of vampires and casts a bait to catch as many as possible. David tries to explain the best he can how Cinque works; although he was never out with her, he heard the rumors about her hunting style.

—He means we need to go to those places and look for ourselves. Edward says, collecting David's thoughts out of his tired mind.

—Yes. That should be the best way. Look at it yourselves.

Jasper gives him a distrustful look. It sounds like he wants to send them away so he can go after Renesmee more easily.

David notices his eyes. —Look, I'm not trying to cheat you, mate. I want to help, believe me, I also don't like Padrone, but if you can't tell me where Cinque is collecting samples, I can't locate him.

—What do we do? Edward also doesn't like the idea of having to get out of their territory and leave David behind so close to Bella and Renesmee.

Jasper simply walks away, and Edward follows him, giving the room to Carlisle.

—So, how are you feeling?

—Not so good. I'm anxious, and I can tell my body is trying to convince me this is wrong. My levels are all over the place; I can feel it. David knew his body well, and he also learned a lot about a vampire's anatomy from Padrone. Assessing his current state wasn't that hard.

—You a bit of a scientist, huh? Carlisle finds his speech a bit too technical for an amateur.

—I was. Now… I'm not.

—How long did you last without human blood?

—Five days, maybe? I fed on a deer, but… wasn't enough.

—Have you ever not lost control?

—Yes. Yesterday actually. When I saw E67 in the woods.

—E67?

—Sorry, I mean Anne. We didn't use to have names for experiments. The successful ones got a number like Cinque, the others well… didn't.

Carlisle can only imagine how much Seth would punch him for calling her that, and Esme would probably help him —Don't call her that in front of the others.

—I understand.

—Now, in my experience, to control your impulses, you must keep consistency; that's why you should be isolated for a while here. You can feed more frequently instead of trying to resist for too long, but you must avoid going back to human blood at all costs in the beginning, or you'll probably go on a rampage.

—I see. How do I avoid losing control?

—You find the reason you must stop drinking human blood and hold on to that. Engrave it in your heart, and never forget to look at it every day.

After getting ready, I spy outside my window again and see David, Edward, Jasper, and Carlisle walking to the forest, so I run downstairs.

—Where are they going? I ask Alice at the front door, also observing them.

—They'll take him for his first hunt. I can tell she's looking at Jasper, scanning for what will happen.

Seth walks inside, and I avoid his eyes. He's looking angry again.

—This is useless. He knows nothing. He keeps telling Jasper to do all the work and find a place vampires disappear from.

—But he said that's almost impossible. Esme walks over to us, arms crossed, looking outside.

—So how can we find him? If Jasper says it's impossible, we might be in trouble.

—Million-dollar question right there. Emmett says from the sofa with Rosalie right next to him like usual.

This was a mistake. I'm starting to regret agreeing to this. He might help me, but this is pointless if he can't help us find that man. I was doing this for Renesmee because fixing what I did always came first. I should've thought about this better before rushing to bring him in. I need time to think.

I walk towards the door, but Seth blocks my way.

—Where are you going?

—To take a walk. I say, avoiding his eyes. I can't fight with him again.

—No, you're not. I ignore his words and look at Esme; she'll be reasonable.

—Sorry, Anne. It's better to stay inside. Or maybe not.

—But Carlisle, Edward, AND Jasper are with him. He's not blinking without Edward reading his mind or Jasper knowing his intentions.

—Why are you insisting? I ignore Seth again and talk to Esme.

—Esme… Please?

—I… She hesitates for a second, and that's enough for Seth to start screaming again.

—She already said no. I finally look up, making the same angry expression as him.

—Will you STOP screaming?

—Will you STOP being unreasonable?

—This is getting good. I can hear Emmett's whispers, but I'm too angry to stop now.

—I'm unreasonable? You said you wanted to kill someone!

—He deserved it!

—You don't know that! He has no idea if David is really a bad person or not.

—So what? You want to make friends because he apologized once? Just let him inside the house like nothing happened?

—I'm not saying that! Will you just listen?

—All I hear is you ignoring what happened. He almost killed you!

—I tripped!

—We should get popcorn. Emmett whispers again.

—You don't eat popcorn, dumbass. Now Alice joins him, and I can't stay here anymore.

—Forget it! I storm out into the garden, the anger boiling inside me.

—Wait! I hear his voice behind me, but I don't turn around. It feels like I will never cool off.

—I'll take care of this. Esme is walking behind me now, but I can't stop. If I stand still, the anger might burn me alive.

Why won't he listen?! I want to find what he knows, not making freaking friends! I know he's dangerous; I'm not stupid or naive enough to just let it go! But I NEED to know what happened to me and where Mirania is! And where that man is, and how I can make sure he'll never come back again, but they all keep hiding stuff from me!

—Anne! Stop!

Esme shouts, but I don't stop until I reach a tree I can kick with all I got.

—He's being a stubborn little… argh! I'm out of breath quickly after a few kicks.

—You're not a ray of sunshine today either, you know.

—He won't stop screaming, that's why! I'm pacing around now, angry out of my mind.

—You're screaming too. Her words make me stop. She's right like usual, so I take a deep breath, trying to calm down.

—Taking the risk to be yelled at, too, I have to agree with Seth.

—What? Why? Why in God's name would she agree with all he said?

—You won't say why you are so nervous and on edge, so I also thought you were… interested in that guy a little too much.

—He's got the information we need.

—I know, but is that all?

I stay in silence again. She knows there is more. She's trying to prove a point.

—See? That silence could mean anything, including that you don't understand how dangerously close to death you were.

—But I do… I really do. And that's true. I never had the intention to forgive David or anything like that at this point, but I don't want him to be judged by a mistake he made. It's enough to have me in that position.

—So, can we agree that it's irrational to ask to be understood without explaining our reasons?

—…Yes. Why is she always right?

—Good. Now, let's move on to the apologies.

—Only if he says sorry first.

—You're apology is not conditioned to his. If you are sorry, just speak from the heart without expecting to hear it back.

—But… She's asking me to bow my head down!

—It's not giving in; it's being the bigger person.

—Fine. Again, why is she always right?

—Good. Let's go inside. I follow her inside the house, unable to remove the anger from my face. —Thank God we don't have neighbors, or our reputation would be ruined. Her joke breaks my angry face in two, and I laugh, feeling a little better. Esme was the only one who could change my mood like that.

—Sorry for all the screaming. I say to Alice and Emmett by the door.

—I almost forgot what teen drama felt like, and I don't miss it. Alice seems amused by our fight, and I guess we did look like teenagers fighting at high school for them, although I'm over fifty now.

—Where is he? Esme and I look for Seth, but he's nowhere to be seen.

—Out, cooling off. I had to pat him in the back after the beautiful hole he dug for himself. Emmett is also laughing at me, but I wish Seth didn't leave without saying anything. He never does that. He must be furious.

—Is everything all right, Esme? Carlisle is coming back with Jasper but no Edward. Maybe he went back home to Bella and Renesmee. David is right behind them, with his head down.

—And it just gets better. Emmett is delighted by this. I thought he liked sports, not drama.

—We are fine. Aren't we? Esme's looking at me, pushing me to answer.

—Yes. I want to move the topic away from me as fast as possible. David is still looking down, and he seems a bit embarrassed in my eyes.

—How did it go? Esme asks, picking my interest.

—Well… it could've been better. David shies away even more at Jasper's words.

—We are taking a step at a time. Carlisle says, keeping a positive tone.

—You… like the house? It's a stupid question, but these are the first words I'm exchanging with him since it all happened.

—It's ok. He says. His red eyes bring my nightmare back to memory.

—Good. If you need anything, you can ask… right? Esme is looking at me suspiciously, and the others appear to believe something is wrong with my head.

—I'm good. He says. I step forward, grabbing the chance to make a few "neutral" questions. I won't have a chance to talk alone with him for a while, so I try to make him talk about the things I don't mind sharing.

—You said you knew me. How do you know me?

—I told you. I worked for Padrone. He seems defensive, but I'll keep asking as long as he answers.

—You said I looked different.

—When I left, you looked different. I guess he really changed your appearance to look like that baby. I don't look back at Esme, but I know she reacted to that. One more step forward. Was he there from the beginning?

—How did he know where to find my parents? They didn't stay in houses before I was born. A few more discrete steps forward. I want to show him I'm not afraid.

—I'm… not sure. He's hesitant.

—Don't lie to her. Jasper says, making him flinch. I need him to feel comfortable enough to speak, but Jasper doing that won't help.

—I'm not. I have very little knowledge of how the chooses the targets, but… I think someone feeds him information.

—Who? Who is the person that sold my parents out to Padrone?

—I have no idea. Jasper only looks at him, appearing not to sense a lie in his words. One more step. I can do this; I can make him talk.

—Please, I need to know.

—I don't know, all right?! He gets angry out of the blue, startling Esme and me. She comes forward, pulling me behind her.

—Go inside, Anne.

—But…

—Now. I give up for now and go inside to my room. There will be another chance when I can talk to him like this. As long as Jasper doesn't make him scared that he'll lose his head, I can persuade him to answer my questions.

The stress made my muscles sore. It's been a long time since I felt this pressure on my neck. He has to know it. He was there inside the experiment in my dream. If he doesn't know, then who does? I closed my eyes for what felt like a second but woke up several hours later.

I jump out of bed, ready to run outside, when I meet Seth, right in front of my door, probably wondering if he should knock. His big brown puppy eyes look as regretful as I feel.