The next morning, I wake to Angela's obnoxious alarm.

Sleep heavy in my throat, I groan, "Why on earth are you awake at five in the morning?"

She's already out of bed and discarding her pajamas. "It's time for my run. You're coming too."

I'm not even awake enough to throw her an annoyed glare. I'm about to fall back asleep when the comforter is suddenly tugged off of me and the cold air hits my exposed skin. "What the hell?!"

She tosses it to the floor and throws an old pair of leggings toward me. "Get up. We're going."

Curling up, I snuggle further into my pillow. "I hate you."

I feel the bed dip behind me and Angela leans over to kiss my cheek. She's still pissed with Edward and hopes this will keep me distracted. "You love me. C'mon, come with me."

Knowing that arguing with her is futile, I sit up. "Fine. I'm going to complain the entire time."

"I didn't expect anything less," she says as she moves toward the bathroom.

After dressing and brushing our teeth, the two of us tiptoe down the steps and past my father who sleeps on the couch. He had given my mother his bedroom last night.

Outside, the sky has the smallest amount of light. It has a dark navy blue towards the east, however the stars are still visible toward the west side.

"Okay." I lazily tie my hair back into a messy bun. "Which way do we go?"

Angela shrugs and bends down to stretch her legs. "Let's wing it."

I follow her down the driveway and we make a right to go farther into our little development. She starts slowly to keep my pace and I'm grateful.

"I was thinking," she starts as we round our first corner. "Maybe we should ditch today."

"What?" I'm annoyed that I'm already beginning to pant.

"It's Friday! And we never got a chance to celebrate your birthday yesterday. I think it'll be fun."

"What if we get caught?"

Angela laughs. "Who would catch us?"

"It's not a good idea," I say in between my breathing. "Anything could happen."

"B, we never ditch. Nobody would even bat an eye. C'mon, let's do it!"

"What is there to even do?"

Smiling, she says, "Well, what do you want to do?"

I stop running and Angela slows after realizing I'm lagging behind. After looking at me questioningly, I say, "No one's ever asked me that before."

Angela closes the distance between us and interlocks our fingers. "Bella's birthday, take two. Where to?" When I hesitate, she interrupts, "What's the first thing that comes to your mind?"

"The park."

She shrugs. "Okay, the park it is. Let's finish our route and then we'll shower and head out."

Angela only makes me do one lap around the neighborhood before we go back to the house. I'm sweaty despite the chilly air and completely spent. Angela is laughing at me when we reach the driveway.

This is absolutely unacceptable. No way am I allowing this. She must be completely out of her mind!

I hold my hand out to stop Angela from going any further. "Wait."

She looks at me curiously. "What is it?"

"It's Charlie." I shake my head and wonder if we should just turn around. "He's awake and he's mad."

"Why?" She crosses her arms. "Can you hear him?"

I nod. "Yeah, he's freaking out about something, but I don't know what it is. Maybe we should just go."

"Wouldn't you rather know?"

"Hell no," I respond.

Angela grabs my hand and pulls me toward the house. "You need to start confronting your problems head on. I'll be with you the whole time."

I'm preparing for the worst when we walk inside and Charlie is there, pacing in the kitchen with a very exhausted-looking Renee. When they hear us enter, they turn to look and Renee jumps up to keep Charlie in the kitchen, but he moves around her and marches to meet us in the living room.

"What in God's name is this?!" He slams the Driver's Guide down on the small table that sits by the door.

"Charlie." Renee is behind him now, her hand on his shoulder. "Let's be calm."

Ignoring her, he goes on. "You may have forgotten your epilepsy, but your mother and I certainly haven't!"

"Charlie!" Renee is upset, but she knows there's no stopping him when he's like this. I look away from her gaze and grip onto Angela's hand tighter.

"If you think I'm going to let you throw yourself into these insane situations—"

"Whoa, whoa!" I can't help but to cut him off. "It's just for my permit. You said you've seen my progress and that you'd give me more freedom."

"That was before you almost died, Bella. Again. How many near-misses do you need to have before you can finally get this through your head?" He's angry, but I remind myself that the root of his anger is actually fear. "You think you can do whatever you want now, but you need to think about these things, Bella!" He grips my shoulder fiercely and I hear a gasp escape my lips as his emotions take over me. It's impossible to stop the words that follow.

"Last I checked, it was you who was driving that night, not me!" My heart is suddenly hammering in my throat. I can hear the blinds jostling in the window next me and I have to ball my shaky hands into fists to stop them from moving. "You've spent years keeping me trapped here! Don't watch too much TV, Bella. Don't eat too many carbs. Don't have any fun! Jesus, Dad, I can hardly sit on the toilet without you hovering over my shoulder."

Charlie steps back and his eyes glass over with hurt. I know that if I were myself right now, I would apologize, but at this very moment I'm too busy trying not to destroy the living room. "And I blame myself for that every damn day. You have no right—"

"Actually," I interrupt, "I have every right. It's my body, my life and my decision. I'm seventeen years old! I know how to take care of myself."

"That is so unfair, Bella." It's Renee. She's standing next to Charlie with her arms crossed. "Your father's done a lot these past few years to make sure you were safe."

Scoffing, I turn my attention to my mother. "You've got a lot of nerve. How can you take his side?! You're never here! You don't have any idea what it's been like. You left! Remember?"

Renee reaches out to touch me, but I shy away from her. "Oh, Bella, please."

Charlie, his hand still on my shoulder, gives me a one stern shake to get my attention. "Young lady, if this is your idea of proving you're ready to drive, you're doing one hell of a job!"

"I sure fucking hope so!" I throw my hands up. "I haven't had any slip ups in almost a year! Why are you punishing me for it?"

"I watched you crack your head on the pavement." Charlie lets go but his anger is still fresh in my veins. "I watched you die that night."

"Exactly," I sneer. "I died. EMTs brought me back. Did you think everything was going to be the same? Did you think it'd be some...Christmas miracle?"

"What the hell are you even going on about?"

Renee passes Charlie and quickly grabs my arm. My anger is replaced by panic and I find myself breathless. I try to take my arm back but she only holds tighter. "Let go of me!"

"We need to talk. Alone." Charlie's red hot rage and Renee's fluttering anxiety are clashing together within me and I feel dizzy.

I hear Angela say something about waiting in the car and Charlie is sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. I let my mother drag me up the stairs and into my room. When she closes the door, she finally releases me.

"Bella, you can't tell him." Her words leave me speechless. "He's not ready."

My mind is racing and my mouth can't seem to keep up with my thoughts. "What are you...I-I don't know what you mean."

Huffing a sigh, she frantically shoves her hand into her overgrown bangs. "Sweet pea, I can only imagine how you're feeling right now. But, we don't have much time. Charlie's at his wit's end and he will—"

"Then make time!" I'm pacing now, going back and forth between playing ignorant and spilling everything. "You're scaring me, Mom. What is going on?"

Renee takes another breath, and this time it seems to help. Her breathing slows a bit and she's taken a more patient stance even if her thoughts say she is anything but. "I know."

My eyes wide, I motion for her to elaborate. "That's not enough. You know what? That I'm crazy?"

Shaking her head, she sits on my bed. "Sit down, Bella. We need to talk."

Throwing myself down on the bed next to her, I mumbled, "That's why I'm here, but you're not saying anything." When she gives me an exasperated look, I give up and ask, "How long have you known?"

"A while."

My finger traces the flower pattern on the comforter. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

Shrugging, she says, "I was afraid if I did, it would feel like I was bum rushing you. I was hoping that eventually, you'd feel comfortable enough to come talk to me."

Rolling my eyes, I clench my teeth and wonder if the anger I feel now is leftover from Charlie's influence. "So you're saying I've spent a year hating myself for what I am and you couldn't be bothered to even drop a hint. Seriously?"

She sighs and rubs her forehead. "Well, when you put it like that…"

"Mom, just quit the theatrics and be real. Tell me what it is. What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you, Bella! You're special."

Groaning, I nearly shout, "That doesn't mean anything to me! What is it and why can't I tell Charlie?"

"Grandma Swan," she finally blurts out.

Exhaling, I swallow down more annoyance. "Okay, we're getting somewhere. What about Grandma?"

"She was like you." When I raise my brow, she goes on. "She had incredible intuition. She could read palms and tea leaves."

Chuckling humorlessly, I say, "Jesus, are you about to tell me she was a ghost whisperer or something?"

"Stop that, Bella. You sound like your father." She scoffs and internally, I can hear her wish Charlie didn't have such primitive thinking. "I never raised you to be so prejudiced."

The more I listen to what's in her head, the more I'm able to piece things together. "You bought her those tarot cards, didn't you?"

The corners of Renee's lips turn upward slowly into a small grin. Her expression looks the same as when she watched me graduate from middle school. "I did. You have an amazing talent, Bella."

"I beg to differ."

Disregarding my comment, she continues. "When I was pregnant with you, it was like all my senses were heightened." She reaches out to tuck some of my hair behind my ear. With her touch, I see her sitting with my grandmother downstairs in the kitchen. An empty cup of tea sits in front of her and Grandma Swan has her fragile hand on top of her tiny baby bump. "Too much of anything made me sick. The rain, the sun, smells—just to name a few. I remember a particularly nasty argument, your father and I had. It was over nothing, really. But it ended in the both of us yelling at each other. Charlie's gotten really heated, when I get this horrible migraine. And you want to know the strangest part?"

"What?"

"With that headache, came explosions of color. Reds, and blues and purples, all over. I couldn't see straight. Grandma Swan told me I was seeing auras. I was reading them from everyone in the room. Their emotions." She grabs my hand before I can pull away. "When I touch you, what do you feel?"

"Everything." I am not ready for her contact. I'm still reeling from our argument downstairs. It all just feels like white noise. I take my hand back with a deep breath. "I feel like I'm not myself when others touch me. It's too much."

"It was the same for me," she says. "When you were born, I wanted your grandmother to be more involved in your upbringing. But Charlie had his own idea of his mother's ability. He never understood it, so he feared it. And when you were diagnosed with epilepsy…" she closes her eyes and shakes her head slightly. "I thought that maybe Grandma was wrong."

I lay down on my bed and shut my eyes, suddenly too tired to do anything. "So, what? Grandma was psychic?" I still hate that word.

Renee leans back on her elbows to look at me. "Grandma was Grandma. The same way that you are you. You're just Bella."

"How do I make it go away?"

"Sweetheart." She sits up straight and urges me to do the same. "This is who you are. You need to learn to embrace it. Love it."

"Except, if you actually believed this was something people could learn to accept, you wouldn't ask me to hide it from Charlie!"

"Your father just needs more time. He didn't take it very well the first time. Why do you think we never saw much of Grandma?"

Rising to my feet, I say, "I know why. It's because he thought she was a lunatic and he'll end up doing the same thing with me. He'll want nothing to do with me."

She is silent after that. She is right. She is absolutely right. You need to protect her. Don't let this happen again, Renee.

There is cold and hard rock that forms in my stomach and I fight the urge to gag. I've always had anxiety about telling Charlie the truth. It gave me comfort to know that his disownership was the worst case scenario. Now that I know that the worst case is what I'm going to get, I feel sick.

"Come back home."

Renee pulls me out of my thoughts and I have to take an extra second for the words to register in my head. "Home?"

"Back to Phoenix. Phil and I miss you so much, and you won't have to worry about Charlie. You'll have us."

"This is my home. My friends are here. I have a life here."

"The life you have here is a lie!" She stands from the bed and I have to step back to remind her not to touch me. "You won't have to hide in Arizona. You can be you."

"And what about everyone else? My teachers, the students? You think everything will be hunky-dory just because you're a free spirit?"

"I'm not saying it will be easy," she nearly whispers. "I only want to help you."

"Yeah, well you've done enough." I spin on my heels and reach for the door.

"Promise me you'll think it over," Renee calls before I walk out. "You don't have to make a decision now."

When she's finished, I take the stairs two at a time. Though, it's not fast enough to escape Charlie.

"Where do you think you're going?" He rises from the couch, but I don't stop. I escape out the front door as he follows me out to the driveway. "We're not finished, Bella!"

Ignoring his calls, I dive into the passenger seat of Angela's Honda. "Drive!"

Angela fumbles as she tries to get her key in the ignition. "What happened?"

"Just get us the hell out of here. I'll explain on the way."