Chapter 3

While we were in Rochester and I was attending school there was a girl two grades ahead of me and I started as a sophomore, she was a senior. Her name was Rosalie Hale. She was the most beautiful human that I have ever seen. All the boys wanted her attention and the girls either strived to look like her or were extremely jealous of her. That was the same way they all were with me until they all realized that I was the weird girl. Rosalie was extremely jealous of me at first, though I don't know why, I thought her beauty as a human was far better than mine as a vampire, but then when she realized that I never returned any of the attention I received her jealousy died down into barely anything, though it was still there.

I had heard through the grape vine that Rosalie had been engaged to be married after she was out of school and in all honesty I was happy for her. Rosalie deserved to be happy, especially after what my presence did to her in school. From what I had seen from afar and what I was hearing Rosalie and her fiancé, Royce, really seemed to be in love. That is until a week before the wedding, Carlisle found her in a gutter along the road bleeding to death. He brought her home and changed her, feeling that it was unfair for her to die at such a young age after being beaten and left to die. When I came home to her screaming in our house I lost it, I fought with Carlisle. I don't really know why I did fight with him about it, but I did, I still blame it on being stuck a teenager. I had stayed in the house but I avoided Carlisle at all costs for the remainder of her change and even awhile afterwards, and it killed me to do so, we had been together for so long and I really did think of him as a father.

When Rosalie awoke as a vampire she was not in a good mood at all. She was furious at Carlisle for changing her and turning her into a monster. She did take to our diet rather well though and she did stay with us though we all knew she wasn't too happy. Esme loved having someone else in the family that she could take care of. We had moved after her change was complete to Appalachia. After Rosalie knew that she was in full control she went after Royce's friends who all helped him beat her to death, then she went after him. She killed them all plush two body guards who were protecting Royce, all without spilling blood. If it wasn't for the fact that killing people disturbed me so much I would have been somewhat impressed.

After she completed her revenge she came back and Carlisle and Esme took her back with open arms, so long as she promised to control herself in the future. She did.

It was time to actually talk to her. She came to me first with the holier than thou attitude that annoyed me to no end. "Bella, why were you so against Carlisle saving me? What is your problem with me?" She asked me.

"You have always acted better than everyone. Yes you are beautiful beyond belief but that doesn't mean that everyone has to love you Rosalie. I have read your thoughts and let me tell you, I wish I haven't. You are so self centered that it is sickening, if I could I would throw up." I said, more like yelled at her.

"My beauty was the only thing I had going for me. My parents boasted about it all the time. I was, and still am jealous of your beauty. Now I know why you were more beautiful then I was and I am sorry I thought the things I did towards you, especially now that I know you can read minds and read the thoughts I had. I am sorry about that Bella, it was the jealousy, I didn't personally hate you. Please forgive me." She said in a rush showing that she felt shame. Then she asked, "Why did you treat everyone like they were beneath you though?"

"I do forgive you but so you know you were always more beautiful than I am, but you are even more so now that you are a vampire. I was always a plain Jane compared to you, I couldn't understand why you were jealous of me. I acted the way that I did because I didn't want to get close to anyone, now that you know what I am and you are one too you should understand. We have to move around a lot and lose contact with people so our secret is kept." I said looking down to the floor.

Rosalie shocked me by pulling me into a hug, "Thank you Bella but please don't lie to me." She breathed.

I hugged her back after my little shock, "I am not lying. I wish I could show you that, hopefully after time you will learn just how true my words are." I said pulling away from her.

Rosalie got up and went up to her room. Esme came into the family room which was where I was when Rosalie came to confront me. Esme looked so happy, she was smiling so big that I thought her face was going to break. She also looked like she would be crying too, that is how happy she was. "I am so happy that you two are on speaking terms now." She said sitting down next to me on the couch, where Rosalie had just been.

"Esme, mom, please calm down, your face might break." I said with a laugh and Esme joined in. "I don't think Rosalie and I are at the stage of being sisters yet. That might take a couple years but we can work on it." I said looking as earnest as I could. I did want to get onto the level of being sisters. I knew we were a family, I just wanted us to get to the point that we really felt and act like one.

"I know you two aren't the best of friends and this doesn't make you sisters right off the bat but I am happy that you two are going to work on it. You are both going to try and accept the other and that is all that Carlisle and I can ask of you." She said.

"I will try because I want you and Carlisle to be happy." I told her as I looked down and then back up to her.

"Bella, you are too caring for your own good, you know that. You always try for everybody else's happiness first before you do anything to make yourself happy." She said as she moved some hair behind my ear so she could see my face better.

"I am happy seeing those I care about happy. Heck, if I could make Rosalie happy I would but I don't know how to do that. Hopefully I will someday figure that out." I said trying to look away from her but she wouldn't allow it.

Esme studied my face. She didn't say anything for a couple minutes but her thoughts were about how she hoped that I would find my mate soon so I could be as happy as she was with Carlisle. "Well I am sure you will figure it out dear." She said with a sad smile before getting up and leaving me to my reading.

I really didn't read, I waited impatiently for Carlisle to return from work. I didn't even let him get in the house, I went out and met him in the garage. We were one of the few families around to have a car, we all hated it though because it went so slow but we dealt with it. He looked surprised by my sudden appearance at his side as he got out of the car. Before he could say anything I said, "Carlisle will you go on a quick hunt with me?"

"Uh, sure I can. Let me just tell Esme and then we can go." He said. He went inside to tell Esme and I went out to the back yard and waited, impatiently again, for him to come out so we could go.

When I finally heard Carlisle walk out the back door I took off into the woods, I didn't want to talk within hearing range of the house. When I knew that we were far enough away I stopped dead in my tracks. Carlisle ran past me and then walked back to where I had stopped.

"So Bella, what is this about? Your eyes are still golden so I know you don't really need to hunt, is there something you wish to talk to me about?" He asked me when he reached me.

"Yes, I want to talk to you about Rosalie." I said.

"What about Rosalie?" He asked cautiously.

"She confronted me today about my reaction she over heard about you changing her, and about how I was to her in school. We had a short conversation. We aren't best friends or anything but we are working on it." I told him.

"That is great. I am glad you are. I feel bad that I put you through this." He said.

"I really can't argue with you about changing her, I understand you were only trying to save her life." I said in a sigh. Rosalie was a pain and annoying as all get out, someone who I really did not want to deal with forever unless there was a change in her attitude but I did understand how he felt. "But how could you let her kill all those men though, and so dramatically with Royce." I said, my voice getting louder as my anger rose.

"I looked the other way because I felt like she was owed her justice. You know what they did to her, they only got what they should have just not in the proper way." He said in a sigh this time. It really did bother him that she killed all those men just like it bothered me.

"You know if the other Volturi were to find out about her killing spree and her not even drinking them dry she, along with the rest of us, could be killed. They already think we are nuts for not drinking the blood of humans, they are going to judge us harder. We shouldn't have allowed it, they were of no risk to our existence." I hate talking down to Carlisle but I didn't like her killing them or the fact that she put us all at risk. Who knows if I would be allowed to live even though I am a ruler, after all Aro did kill his own sister.

"I don't think anything bad will come from this. Can we please try to move on?" He asked me in all sincerity.

"Fine, but I will never forget this." I said, turning towards the house.

"Do you want to hunt so we actually do what we said we were coming out here for?" He asked me before I took off.

"Yes, I guess that is a good idea." I said turning back to him and then running past him.

We hunted, each taking down a small dear. Then we went back to the house. Carlisle and Esme went to their room so I went back out into the woods. There is only so long that you can sit in a house and read. I found a clearing and laid down looking into the sky, watching the clouds move. Rosalie ran passed me and then came back and looked down at me. "What are you doing?" She asked me.

"Watching the clouds. What are you doing?" I asked her.

"I was going to go hunting. I know you just went with Carlisle but would you like to come along for the run with me? I am going to head towards the mountains, at least a hundred mile run. We can talk, you can tell me your story since you already know mine." She said.

"Ok." I agreed. It was as good a time as any to start trying to get along.

Rosalie put her hand out to help me up and even though I didn't need it I took it. It was a human habit that we needed to keep and use around humans. We all keep up the human act even at home out of habit anymore.

"You know Rosalie, I was changed against my will too, but I think your situation at the time of the change was a little better." I said as we started off.

"How so Bella?" She asked sounding truly interested.

"I was taken out of a dinner party I was attending with my mother and father. I was healthy as a horse. At least your human life was at an end, granted it wasn't the best way to end and you should have had a long life, but you were essentially dead when you were changed."

"Wow." Was all she said.

I continued my story, well as much as I told Esme. "When I woke up I was in Volterra. Apparently a few of the Volturi guard found me after I was bitten, the vampire that bit me left me in an alley. They were on their way back from a mission so they took me back with them. I was taught about what I had become by the Volturi who are the rulers of our kind so I know firsthand. I was there for over a hundred years before Carlisle showed up shortly after his change. When he decided to leave he asked if I wanted to join him since we had gotten so close, I did so and it was a long time before Esme came into the picture. Then you came, and as much as I know you would have preferred to die, I think you will learn how to accept this life and hopefully you can be happy. We are a family Rosalie and I do accept that, I know that we will have that bond one day." I told her. I wanted her to know about the Volturi since I know Carlisle hadn't told her about them, well us, yet.

"What do the Volturi do?" She asked. Just like I was hoping she would.

"Well they sit around a lot. They have their humans brought into them. Aro, Marcus, and Caius are the three brothers that are the leaders. Aro acts as the spokes person, he can read someone's every thought that they ever had with the touch of his hand, unless you are a mental shield that is. Marcus sees all the bounds that someone has and who they are bound to. Caius doesn't have a gift but he is an interesting vampire, he seems so hateful and is always eager for battle, war, or having someone killed. They protect our kind and secret but if you were to reveal yourself to a human in anyway and they found out you, along with the human and any other vampire who did not stop you will be killed." I said as I looked at her.

Rosalie took in a quick, sharp breath. "You don't think they will come after me, or any of us do you?" She asked me looking nervous.

"I don't think so since you didn't leave any witnesses. We have to be extra careful though because we live very differently from the rest of our kind, they already think that we are crazy for our choice in diet." I said.

"I really hope they don't. I could care less about myself but I never meant to put the three of you in danger. I never meant to do that, I didn't even think about that." She said looking scared.

"Rosalie, we should be perfectly fine, all four of us." I said with a reassuring smile even though there was a part of me that was nervous. I would protect them, even her, if the Volturi came after her or us. My fire power gave us a great advantage. No one, besides Carlisle, in our family knew about that gift of mine.

"If you really think so. And just so you know I do believe that we are a family. You are my sister, we will get a long, it just might take a while to fully get there. Although I do believe that we have made a great step in our relationship." She said with a brilliant smile.

"You know, I think you are right." I said returning her smile. I felt like we were closer, knowing each other's back round really helped. I think Rosalie could relate with me more now that she knew that I too was changed against my will and that mine may have even been a worse circumstance.

From then on out Rosalie and I got along better. We were still rocky at times but what set of sisters doesn't have little tiffs and fights? Once a month we would do the same hunting trip that first got us to understand each other. We would talk about the students or teachers in the school that we were attending. Sometimes we would talk about what we thought the future would be like. The one time Rosalie broached a subject that she was nervous to talk to me about.

"Bella, can I ask you something?" She asked, her voice soft and hesitant.

"Of course Rosalie, what is it?" I said slowing down since we were near our normal hunting area.

"Um, I was thinking about Carlisle and Esme. How they are mates and all. You are far older than Carlisle, does it bother you at all that he found his mate before you did?" She asked me. She stopped completely and when I turned around she was looking at me in a way I can't even really describe.

"Would I like to find my mate, yes. Does it bother me that Carlisle found his and is happy, no. Carlisle is a dear friend of mine, I really do view him as a father. I just wanted him to be happy and he now is that he has found Esme. I wished more for him to find his mate than I did to find my own. I am content with my life now and if I just so happen to run into my mate then all the better." I said. Rosalie just looked at me in awe. "What?"

"How can you be that selfless? Do you ever want anything for yourself?" She asked me.

"I do think of myself but I would much rather see and make those that I care about happy. There are people in this world that only think about themselves , there are people that do an equal share for themselves and others, and then there are the ones that only focus on others. I am one of the people who only really focuses on others, I can't help it that is just how I am." I said with a shrug of my shoulders.

"I wish I could be like that sometimes. I am one who mostly focuses on myself, which you already knew. But I do try to protect family, and now we are family so if anything were to happen I would protect you, Carlisle, and Esme." Rosalie said. Just the thought of something happening to any of us made her lip curl back and a growl rumble through her chest.

"Rosalie, please calm down. I really don't think anything is going to happen to us, we live our lives in a way to have little to no conflict with other people. Come on, let's hunt so we can get back to the house before the weekend is over so we don't miss school." I said. As annoying as repeating school all the time is I like interacting in the human world if you will, as often as possible.

"Yeah, ok. I am rather thirsty." She said gaining control.

"You can take out that little bit of anger and frustration that you just had out on your prey. I'll meet you here when we are done." I said to her. She nodded and took off.

We ran in silence until we did reach our hunting area.