Disclaimer:

This world and most of the characters belong to Stephanie Meyers. My main character Cricket, is inspired by Tara Bray Smith's character Nix from her novel Betwixt.

Drop a review if you've read this far into the story...Why not?

"Grandpa!" The little girl shrieked.

"There she is!" The older man, Charlie called warmly. "I swear Ness, it's like I'm watching you grow by the minute!" He chuckled bending down to give her a hug. He looked over Nessie's shoulder at Bella, who was smiling her hello, with a disapproving look on his face. "She's too thin, Bella, don't you ever feed her?"

Bella laughed. "She eats just fine dad, better than Jacob in fact. And you've seen how Jake eats…"

Charlie cringed in what I could tell was faux horror.

I pressed myself up against the wall and prayed to suddenly turn invisible. It's not like I don't respect police and what they do, its just someone like me has more than enough reason to be wary of them. Charlie seemed nice enough, but still…

While Charlie chattered at his granddaughter Jacob's eyes landed on me. Surprised flash in his eyes as he spotted me sticking to the wall like a leech, but then he gave me a friendly smile. I tried to return it but even I knew it wasn't convincing so I flicked my gaze to my feet.

"Who are you?" He asked curiously and I forced my eyes off of my feet to meet his. I couldn't force myself to answer. At his question Charlie had stood up and located me. He frowned at me and I flinched in spite of myself. His expression softened and he smiled too. Still I said nothing.

"Charlie, Jacob --" Edward began but Emmett cut him off.

"This is Cricket, the homeless girl Nahuel brought home." Emmett laughed obnoxiously. "Apparently, he has a thing for strays."

"Homeless?" Charlie repeated the word like he was confused.

"I prefer the term lovable vagrant." I answered shooting a glare at Emmett.

As I looked at Emmett I got the sudden urge to laugh as I figured out who he reminded me of. Lenny from Of Mice and Men. Physically an adult, but mentally a child. A retarded giant who kills bunnies and puppies and women by accident. I bet he likes ketchup… in the book, Lenny liked ketchup.

Edward was chuckling again. I glanced at him. So he thought Emmett's comment was funny, did he? I guess that makes him George. He does seem to frown a lot. I wonder how long until Edward shoots Emmett in the head… Maybe Charlie will lend him his side arm…

Edward stopped laughing and frowned.

"What are you smiling about?" Emmett asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing," I lied.

"Well, its nice to meet you Cricket," Charlie said although I doubted he was telling the truth. Normal society dictates it is rarely nice to meet a vagrant even one who considers herself lovable.

Lighting flashed followed by a crack of thunder so loud the cloud that produced it might as well have been in the room with us.

This strange family settled into the sitting room and into conversation. Charlie and Emmett and Jasper talking baseball, while Carlisle and Edward discussed work… Apparently Carlisle was doctor, which I suppose explained a few things. Esme and Bella were talking about the weather while Jacob played on the floor with Nessie. I manage to get left out of all conversations which was fine with me. I sat down on the floor near the recliner that Charlie had settled into. since the seats were all taken by now, and pretended to watch whatever was on the TV.

"You're not really wearing that are you?" Alice's voice interrupted the other conversations.

It took me a second to realize she was talking to me.

"Yeah…?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Short sleeves over long sleeves? With cargo pants? Its just so… emo." She said the word like it was a swear. I laughed at her.

"Leave her alone Alice," Nahuel said reappearing from where ever he had slipped off to.

Alice frowned and sat down with a huff on Jasper's lap.

Nahuel managed to make sitting down cross legged into one smooth eerily sinuous motion and again I pushed away suspicions of what was going on with this peculiar family. It didn't matter. It was none of my business. He shimmied over next to me and smiled a friendly smile. I smiled back but it wasn't as genuine as his. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't make myself forget what he'd done and I couldn't stop myself from wondering why and how he'd done it. I didn't like the way he was now staring at me, either. The intensity of his gaze was unnerving. It was like his eyes were willing mine to stay locked on his which they did. I couldn't move my eyes from him no matter how uncomfortable he was making me.

"Can I ask you a question?" Nahuel asked his voice dropping a little to make it clear he was just talking to me.

"I guess," I said warily, "but I might not answer."

"Fair enough…" He hesitated and then asked, "How long have you been… living like this?"

"Hmm… about four years now…" I answered.

He looked shocked and a little horrified at the thought. "You've been living on the streets for four years?"

"Uh-huh," I said it as nonchalantly as I could, noting with amusement how perturbed my living situation was making him.

"But why?" He asked.

"Sometimes running is better than waiting." I gave him my very best "don't go there," look.

He still looked troubled but he took the hint.

I laughed at him. "Really, Nahuel, its not as bad as you think. I'm well fed, clothed, hygienic, and thanks to the growing number of free clinics I'm up-to-date on all my shots. I sleep with a roof over my head and I can scrounge up part-time jobs wherever I go so its not like I'm completely devoid of funds. I just don't stay in one place long enough to bother getting a permanent residence…" I trailed off a little confused. He isn't my problem and I'm not his problem so why was I explaining this to him? Was it because he seemed genuinely curious or because he seemed so genuinely concerned. And for that matter… Why did he care? Why did I care that he cared?

"Why don't you stay in one place?" He asked.

"I just don't like to wait around is all," I told him again, which wasn't a lie.

"Wait for what?" He asked.

Death. "I don't like to talk about it."

Again he took the hint and I was thankful for that. I wasn't embarrassed about the way I lived my life, if he really wanted detail I'd give him some, but there are some subjects that are really party killers. I can imagine that conversation.

"So why are you on the run?" Nahuel asks.

"I see dead people." I answer.

"Oh cool! Like the Sixth Sense?" He enthuses.

"Oh no, nothing like that. Specifically I see people who are going to be dead."

"Huh?"

"Oh yeah, people start to glow like nightlights just before they kick the bucket. I see their lights… it's a useless talent because you don't have the information of how a person dies…"

"I'm not sure I understand…"

"Like this girl I met in a squat in Atlanta… She started to glow fuzzy at first then brighter… A couple months later she was brutally strangled in an alley for her purse…"

"Umm…. Would you excuse me for a moment?…."

I heard someone suck in a sharp breath and I turned to locate the culprit. Edward was staring at me leaning forward slightly. Why do you keep staring? I waned to scream. Have I got "twisted freak" tattooed in small print on my forehead? Carlisle reclaimed Edwards attention but I could tell the guy was still watching me out of the corner of his creepy golden eyes. Seriously… besides cats and hawks who has gold eyes?

Why the hell does he keep staring at me? Something clicked in my brain in that instant, something as impossible as a girl who can see death. Edward laughing and frowning for no reason. There was a reason. He could read minds.

That's it isn't it? I asked silently. You can read minds.

He nodded without actually looking at me but I knew he was giving me my answer. Shit. Shit, shit, shit… My cover was blown all because I had to wind up in a house with people freakier than me. I'm not sure I didn't prefer being raped by the unwelcoming committee.

"Part-time jobs?" Nahuel asked curiously, attempting to re-capture my attention.

"Oh, I've done a little bit of everything." I explained absently. "Dog walking, fast food… Once I got a job as a street mascot, that sucked. The costume was hot as hell. Mom-and-pop stores are the best because they don't usually do background checks... it's the places that want your Social that are… problematic. I even worked at a chop shop once."

I kept my eyes on Edward as I rattled off a list. Carlisle finally figured something was up. He was glancing between me and Edward. Nahuel was either blissfully ignorant of the tension growing between me and Edward, or he wanted to dissipate it by acting like everything was normal. Everything was not normal.

"A chop shop?" Nahuel asked.

His confusion at the term pulled me away from my glaring contest. I was surprised. I could tell he'd never heard the term before. Then I remembered he came from Brazil. Maybe they didn't have chop shops in Brazil.

"It's a garage, working with cars, you know?" I explained.

"Oh! You're a mechanic?"

I giggled. "Actually, Nahuel, the most I know about cars is how to boost them…" I smiled at the memory of that. It was an adrenaline rich job. Stupid, dangerous, illegal, but a nice rush.

A flash of movement caught my eye. I looked up and over and Charlie was looking at me with a frown. I forgot I was sitting next to a cop. I smiled innocently up at him.

"Not that I would ever boost a car, officer. It's immoral, taking something that doesn't belong to you, not to mention illegal. I mean, what kind of monster would do such a thing?"

Charlie's lips twitched ever so slightly and he returned his attention back to Emmett. I breathed a sigh of relief. Good thing I didn't mention the time I was the corner lookout for a drug dealer.

Before Nahuel could ask anything else of me the power went out. I twitched in surprise and my hand leapt to his. I squeezed his hand and then shocked at myself for the sudden physical contact I jerked my hand away. The storm clouds had blotted out the sun so completely that the room was lit a dusky purple. My eyes took a few minutes to adjust. I located Nahuel's face first, he was looking at me already, and then I counted heads.

"Power's out," Rosalie stated the obvious from the stairs.

I guess she's not too blonde to be observant.

"I'll go find some candles." Bella stated helpfully, breezing out of the room.

But I only half heard Bella. I was redoing my head count in a horrified disbelief. My attention was caught on the fact that in the darkness, not one, not two, but three people had started to glow.

The blonde man, Jasper.

The giant kid playing with the little girl, Jacob.

"It's gonna be a bad one," Charlie stated. "Weatherman says it'll be here for a couple of days before it clears up."

Yeah. Charlie was glowing too.

I heard someone hiss, "No." I didn't need to look this time, to know who said that.

"Charlie," Esme spoke up next. "Maybe you should wait it out here, instead of trying to drive home in this. And you too Jacob. And Cricket. We've got plenty of food and plenty of room."

Yeah, like I'm staying here. No way in hell. Seattle. Should have stayed there. Going back. Fuck the rain. First chance I get I'm gone.

Edward walked over and towered over me. I looked up defiantly into his strained expression. His eyes flicked around the room. He had now earned everybody's full attention. I knew he was debating on how to threaten me without drawing the wrong kind of attention to himself.

"Cricket, I know you are in a hurry, but you will stay. You have no place better to go so there really is no need to rush." I narrowed my eyes at him. "There is no sense in getting hurt." And there it was.

You think you can keep me here? I asked silently, incredulously, acknowledging his veiled threat. Nice try, but you don't scare me, and if you put a hand on me I'll call 911. I threw a very pointed look at Charlie who was watching with interest.

I played my part. "Are you kidding? Going out in this weather? Wouldn't dream of it."

He sat down next to Nahuel. Keeping an eye on me no doubt. He'd have to do better than that.

I became very aware of the tension going through the room right now. They were different not stupid. His family knew something was wrong. I wonder if he had the balls to tell them himself that they had to start making funerary arrangements or if he was planning on forcing me to do it. Didn't matter either way. I wouldn't be here to watch them figure it out.

Bella walked back in with candles and began lighting them.

"It took me a moment to find them," she laughed, "we haven't needed them before."

With that the tension broke and conversation resumed. Well most of the tension. I looked back at Edward. Nahuel was glaring angrily at him. His lips moved but now sound came out that I could hear. Edward mouthed something back to Nahuel who very clearly didn't like what was being mouthed. I shivered and concentrated on staring at the carpet.