Author's note: Remember when I said that this chapter would be longer? I actually meant the chapter after THIS one! Oh and on the subject of twilight vocabulary, I will not be using the whole "mate" thing and all that it implies. It just feels so...I don't know, it just makes me think of what Tom Hanks says in You've got Mail about sea lions and mingling.

There were just two weeks left of july now. This internship would wrap up in late august. On paper it seemed like there was a long time left, but to me it wasn't enough. I wondered if I could postpone the fall semester – or make do a makeup test and skip my senior year altogether. It was a possibility I had never dared to consider before. I could leave Forks forever if I wanted – I could apply early to a college in another state, then after that move to europe.

I could move to italy, and stay here forever.

A lot of things had happened since I got here – not all of them good but, the people here were different. I felt accepted, and cared for. I wouldn't have to see my father everyday. And I did not think that Aro would say no if I asked for an employment with the Volturi, eventually. My clothes that day matched my bright mood – I was wearing a pale yellow sundress of a delicate fabric, almost like silk but not quite.

I was at work when the phone at my desk suddenly rang. Without thinking, I picked it up and answered it in italian.

"This is the volturi seceterial office, how can I help you?" I asked cheerfully, not expecting a familiar voice on the other end.

"Rebecca, is that you?"

"Dr. Carlisle?" I asked, surprised. Why would he of all people be calling here?

"Yes Rebecca, it's me. Listen, are you alone right now?" he asked, sounding oddly agitated. I frowned and tried to turn away from the others at the office to make the call more private.

"No, I am at work with the others. Has something happened at home, with my father?" I almost whispered.

"Nothing like that, he is fine. Look, I am going to call you at home later tonight. It's important but I can't explain it right now. Just stay home tonight, okay?" he asked.

"Sure, I can do that."

I had almost forgotten about the strange call until the second one came later that night. I was curled up on the couch with the cat beside me, reading a book when I heard it. People rarely called the phone number to the apartment, since I had a seperate cell phone.

"Hello?" I answered tentively.

"It's Carlisle. Are you alright Rebecca? Are they...treating you well?" he asked, sounding uncertain and cautious. I had no idea why.

"Who are you talking about?" I asked, completely mystified.

"The Volturi."

"Oh, yes they are. Why are you asking me that?" I asked, and I heard him sigh sadly. He was silent for a long moment.

"I wish I could explain it without making it more complicated for you. Listen, I think you should leave italy and come back home." he said decidedly, as if he had the right. I frowned as I started pacing the floor, not liking this conversation one bit.

"You make it sound as if I'm in danger." I stated, anger at his words building up inside me.

"I think you are, Rebecca. You have no idea what sort of people they are." he continued, making me snort out loud.

"What sort of people? The high school looked over their records before I came here, just like with all the other internships, Volturi is not involved in anything illegal." I answered, which was true – they checked everyone who was going overseas for their internships to make sure that the places we were going were safe. But Carlisle was not convinced, far from it.

"I'm afraid it's worse than that. But I cannot reveal it to you – you'll have to find out yourself. Just do it fast, for your own sake." he said, sounding very serious. Then I heard the phone click as he hung up on me.

What sort of right did he have to call me up twice to basically threaten me about this? None whatsoever. Why would he and his wife come here if it was so unsafe? I shook my head at it all and dismissed him as overly paranoid. As if I would go back now.

The next day was unusually cloudy, the entire sky coated in fine white cotton. Aro had visited me during the lunch hour to say that he would be quite busy during the next couple of days, and thus unable to see me. Him being head of the company and all, it wasn't exactly surprising news. But what was surprising was my disappointment over this news.

When I wasn't with him – when I was working in the office, I would rarely think about it. I did not make plans, nor did I pick out outfits to wear with him in mind. He was, on paper, just like any other man. And I did not date much in general – I'd had a boyfriend or two in the past and I was no longer a virgin, but there was no joy in that. I dated and I fucked because that was what people expected of me. They did not see how broken I already was, or if they did they tried their best to ignore it.

One of my ex-boyfriends never commented on the fact that I used to cry during sex. Maybe he thought I was just young and scared, like every other kid in school. When I sucked him off he used to call me names too, which I never paid any attention to. I never looked forward to any of it. For me, any contact with the opposite sex was something to be endured, like a punishment. I could pretend well enough though, and I had done so for years.

If you can pretend to love someone, how do you know when you feel the real thing?

I never thought I would meet a man who could see me – and all those things I tried to hide so well. Even though I want to die when I think about it, every time Aro gives me that look – as if he has seen inside my head, every knock and cranny – it lets something out. It makes me breathe a little easier, even though its at a price.

He hides something too, this I know. He is worse at it though than me.