Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of the owner, Stephenie Meyer. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

This story contains issues of rape. If you are sensitive to these issues, please do not read any further. You have been warned.

I stood stock still, my chin tucked into my chest, my eyes clenched tight, as I fervently hoped that I was once again having one of those weird visions.

I knew I wasn't, though.

This was absolutely real. I had just been caught, red-handed, and I couldn't pretend the situation away.

"Aren't you going turn around, Bella?"

My head snapped up in surprise and fear. She knew my name. I was in so much trouble. She'd turn me in and they'd call him. Then I'd be stuck with him forever. I couldn't go back there, I'd die first. Maybe I could explain, beg or something; anything not to go back to that monster. He'd already taken over my dreams. I can't let him have everything else too.

I turned slowly, my hands twisting together stressfully, my head still down.

"Please…just let me go. I'm sorry for what I did, but I had to. I left money…can't we just forget about this and not involve the cops? Please?"

A bell-like laugh sounded, my head snapped up and I looked at her for the first time.

Only a few feet in front of me stood a woman. Or was she a girl? I couldn't tell because she was so tiny, even smaller than me.

Whatever her age, I didn't think it much mattered. It didn't change the fact that she was simply beautiful. Pale clear skin, short dark trendy hair, a blindingly white smile, impeccable clothing and bright golden eyes overwhelmed me.

I gulped, feeling like a leper as I stood in front of her, my face bruised and scarred, my clothes wrinkled and inexpensive.

She rolled her eyes at me. "I'm not going to call the cops, Bella. Don't worry so much."

I paused in confusion. She wasn't going to call the cops? This was getting strange.

"Why?" I peered at her in genuine perplexity.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why aren't I going to call the cops or why shouldn't you worry so much?"

My eyes narrowed. Was she playing with me? "Both."

She giggled and bounced a little. "Because this was supposed to happen, silly! You're going to be my best friend!"

I gapped at her, totally flabbergasted. Had I entered the twilight zone? Best friends? She didn't even know me. I could be some criminal or something and she was, what, declaring our friendship?

My face must have shown my disbelief, because she laughed at me again. "Come on, Bella. Put down that bag and have a seat. We can talk and get to know each other."

I found myself following her directions without hesitating. I dropped my bag from my shoulder and leaned it against the foyer wall before following her back into the living room. She perched on the sofa I'd slept on last night before patting the cushion beside her. I quickly sat, my eyes scanning the space, taking in all the evidence of my intrusion. Why was I not in handcuffs right now? Why did she want to be my friend? As a matter of fact…

"How did you know my name?" My eyes met hers and I watched as they danced with mirth.

She shrugged. "I just know things sometimes. But we'll get to that. So…Bella, tell me how you ended up at my family's home."

She just knows things? I stared at her for a full minute, trying to understand what her words meant, but it just made me more confused. I blew of a frustrated breath and found myself cooperating once more.

"Well…I came here, to Forks, because this is where my family used to live." I paused and she nodded in encouragement, giving me a small smile.

"I went to the cemetery, to my family's graves and I fell asleep." Her brows raised but I ignored it and kept going. "The nap must have disoriented me because after I woke up, went to leave and I got lost in the woods. It was raining and I was scared of all the animal sounds I heard around me. When I found your house, I decided I'd rather be dry and safe than wet and some bear's meal. So…I broke your window. I'm sorry."

The girl laughed again. "Oh, Bella, its alright. Those windows get broken all the time. We keep them in stock at the hardware store in town. It was a snap to get it fixed."

I shook my head. "Still, I broke into your house and I slept on your couch. I used your water and I lit one of your really nice candles. I'm not usually so presumptuous, and I'm sorry for what I did. That's why I left the money."

She laughed again. "Really, Bella, its ok. You did what you had to. It's not like you were a burglar, not that we have much to steal in here right now. I trust you. The money isn't necessary. So, where were you going just now?"

My head reeled, both from all she'd said and from how fast she said it. There was something about her that was so strange. It was almost as though she knew me somehow, but this was my first time meeting her. I would have remembered meeting someone like her before.

"Well, I didn't want to just live in a stranger's house, so I got a room at the lodge in town. I was just coming to get my things and leave some money for the damages."

She smiled. "Oh, that won't do. I can't let you waste money on that icky Lodge! You can stay here! I'll open the house back up and we can hang out and get to know each other! It'll be great!"

I stared at her in shock. Who was this girl? I remembered my earlier fantasy, where I pretended I was a college student with a really nice roommate. Now this girl was telling me that she wanted me to live in her house with her. What was her deal?

"But…you don't even know me! I don't even know you! This is crazy!"

She grinned wider and bounced in her seat a little before sticking out her small hand. "I'm Mary Alice Cullen. But please, call me Alice. Mary is soooo generic."

For some reason, despite the strangeness of the situation, I couldn't turn off my manners. I automatically shook her hand and gasped at how cold it was. Wow, she was freezing. She must have poor circulation or something. "I'm Isabella Marie Swan, but you can call me Bella. Isabella is kind of exotic and I'm so…not."

She laughed like I'd said the funniest things she'd ever heard. What was up with the people of Forks? No one thought I was funny before I came to Washington. Now, all of a sudden, I'm a comedian. "Bella, god you're modest. That's ok. It's really cute. So…will you stay? Just stay one night and if you don't feel comfortable after that, you can go stay at the Lodge. Pleeease, Bella?"

I sighed and ran a hand through my tangled hair. "Are you sure this is ok, Alice? I mean you just met me… after I broke into your house! What would your family think?"

Alice grinned wider. "Well, Esme…uh…my mom, she'd be happy you dropped by. She loves to mother people! And my Dad, Carlisle, he'd probably want to check you out, make sure you aren't sick or anything from trampling through the woods in the rain. He's a doctor, you know. As for my brothers and sisters, they'd love you I just know it! Emmett would think you're a total bad ass!"

I gapped at her in recognition of the name. Emmett. A family name? "You're family…where are they now? Are they with you?" No matter what she said, I couldn't see the rest of her family understanding my actions. If they were around, I needed to know.

She shook her head. "No. They're in different places right now. My parents are in Alaska visiting family and my brother and sister, Emmett and Rosalie are with them. My brother Edward is traveling South America and my Jasper is catching up with some friends of his in Vancouver. It'll just be us here, don't worry Bella."

I sighed in resignation. I knew I would do what she asked. I did feel comfortable with her despite having just met her. "Ok, Alice. I'll stay for one night."

She bounced up and gave me a surprisingly strong hug. "Oh, Bella! We're going to have so much fun! You'll see! Now come on, lets go cancel that room at the lodge! You can stay in one of the bedrooms here! Oh! Or…we can have a sleep over! We'll camp out on the floor with pillows and blankets and gossip all night!" She pulled me up by my sleeve and dragged me towards the kitchen as she talked. I stumbled a bit trying to keep up with her as she pulled me along, her grip threatening to tear into my threadbare hoodie.

We bypassed the island and went straight towards a door that was hidden around the corner in the kitchen. As I stepped across the threshold, I realized it led to a huge garage.

The garage was completely empty, save for a bright yellow sports car. It sat gleaming in the afternoon sunlight streaming in through the high, clearstory windows. Alice remotely unlocked the yellow machine with a beep and my gasp echoed and bounced around the immense space.

"That is your car?" My mouth hung open in astonishment as I hesitantly walked towards the obviously expensive car.

She laughed. "Yep. My brother Edward bought it for me after I won a bet. He knows I always win. Everyone knows. I don't know why they always try and bet against me." She looked genuinely perplexed about that. I smiled. I liked Alice. She was so confident, so sure of herself and so likeable. I wished I could be more like that. She probably was really popular and had tons of friends in school. If she was even in school, she seemed older than me somehow, despite her size. "How old are you, Alice?"

She motioned me towards the passenger's side door while she climbed into the drivers seat. "Well, that would all depend on perspective. To my parents, I'm a baby, to the world, I'm nineteen, but in my heart, I'm a senior citizen!" She seemed completely serious as she said this and I laughed at her.

"So in actuality, you're nineteen." I grinned at her playfully while I buckled my seat belt.

She suddenly turned to me in her seat, her face getting very serious. "What if I told you I was much older than nineteen? Would you believe me?"

I paused from snapping my belt and looked right into her eyes. They looked so old and so…inhuman, like they had seen many strange things. I didn't know what it was, but somehow I felt like Alice was trying to tell me something important. I felt like she wanted to trust me and wanted me to trust her.

And suddenly, inexplicably, I did.

"Then I believe you Alice. I think somehow I already knew. You just seem so worldly somehow. Like you've been around forever." I hesitated and she stayed quiet, sensing there was more. "And…there's something about your house. I know it sounds crazy, but I think it opened something up in me…something powerful and not quite normal. I know things I'm not supposed to know. Is that weird?"

He eyes showed her understanding. "No, its not. Trust me, if we are going to be friends, you need to get used to weird."

I laughed as she pushed the ignition button and garage door button both at the same time and sped out of the garage and down the overgrown driveway at break-neck speed. I clutched the seat on either side of me and held on tight. "Geez, Alice, you drive like you're super human!"

She giggled. "I am, silly! I am!"

As she continued to speed through the back roads of Forks, I watched her. At that moment, she did seem superhuman. The sky was overcast, but the faint light that filtered through the clouds seemed to make her skin glow. She grinned over at me and her teeth gleamed.

I smiled back at her and started to pretend again. I pretended I was just a normal girl, going on a weekend joy ride with my best friend. The weird thing is, it actually felt real this time.

She made a sudden right turn and I grabbed on to the door, trying to say put in my seat.

A sudden and strong vision assaulted me the moment I touched the expensive door panel.

I was still in the car, but something was different. I was looking at things from a slightly different angle, somehow, like I was taller or something. The scene outside the narrow windows of the car was different also. Instead of a wall of green, the scene outside showed a sea of white. Snow? I glanced towards the drivers seat and startled upon discovering that Alice was no longer in the seat. A big guy with deadly looking muscles sat behind the wheel, the upper half of his body hanging out of the small window. The car was going well over a hundred miles per hour, yet despite my panic, I couldn't move. Suddenly a voice came from inside of me. "Emmett, get back in the car and drive like a human. Alice would kill you if you totaled her car." The voice was deadly calm, with a slight southern drawl. The big guy simply laughed and pushed the car faster. Suddenly the body I was in delivered a deadly blow to the arm of the big guy and the car jerked. The guy climbed in laughing and I recognized him at once.

It was the curly haired guy. The one I had the first vision about as I touched the carving on the table. And his name was Emmett. Did he put the carving there? No, he couldn't have. It said 1958. This guy didn't look a day over twenty.

He grinned in my direction devilishly. He was quite handsome in a rugged kind of way. And he looked playful and maybe just a bit childish, but in a good way.

"You are no fun, Whitlock! That was awesome! I see now why dogs do it all the time!"

The voice came from me again. "Yeah, well do it in your own car next time. Alice just got this car and I think she loves it more than me."

Emmett looked over at me with a crestfallen face. "I can't do this in the jeep! It doesn't have a roof! That takes all the fun out of it! And Rosie won't let me do it in her car!"

The vision ended just as abruptly as it started and I gasped in confusion as I found myself back in the car. We had arrived at the lodge and Alice was looking at me in concern as we sat parked by the door.

"Bella, are you ok? It was like you blanked out for a minute."

I shook my head, certain now that something was seriously wrong with me. It wasn't the house. I was in Alice's car this time and I'd had another weird vision. Except, I didn't think they were visions anymore. Somehow, someway, they were triggered every time I touched something that belonged to a Cullen.

"Alice, do you believe in visions?"

Alice's eyes grew wide and excited. "Yes! Yes I do!"

Before she could say anything more, I jumped in. "Good, cause Alice, I swear I'm not crazy, but every since I broke into your house, I have been having these weird visions. Or memories. I don't know what they are but they are scaring me."

Alice looked at me for a long moment then nodded. "Ok, Bella. Lets get your stuff and check you out and we'll talk about it back home. I think we are going to need privacy for this conversation anyway."

I nodded and we quickly left the car and dashed into the Lodge. It only took a few minutes to explain to the night-shift desk manager that I no longer needed the room. He refunded my money and we quickly left, speeding away from the Lodge at the same speed we used to get there.

By unspoken agreement, we both stayed quiet on the drive back, me watching the wall of green that flashed by, Alice bouncing slightly to a tune in her own head. As I stared at the burred scenery, I though about that last vision. It brought up so many questions, I was getting a headache just thinking about them. It was a relief, though, to have something else to think about other that my dire circumstances. Soon we were pulling into the huge garage and Alice was shutting off the engine.

"Lets talk in the living room." I nodded and followed her through the kitchen. She hit a wall switch and soft light flooded the living space, making it more inviting. I could easily see just how nice the house really was with the lights on.

I sat beside her on the couch, looking around with new eyes. "When did the electricity get turned on?"

She smiled. "I put in the order a few days ago. Unfortunately, they were only able to get it on for this evening; so sorry you had to spend the night in the dark. The water was turned on right away, though! I should begin receiving my mail here tomorrow, thank god. I'm expecting the July Vogue any day now!"

I stared at her in confusion again. A few days ago? She ordered the water and electricity turned back on days before I even got to Forks? That had to be a coincidence, right?

She interrupted my thoughts, her face turning serious. "Now, tell me about the visions."

I started by questioning her. "Alice…how does your brother Emmett look? Is he a big guy? Muscles everywhere? Does he have curly, dark hair and golden eyes like you?"

Alice smiled and bounced happily. "Yes, Bella! You described him perfectly! He's so happy and fun-loving all the time! And competitive!"

I sat back, flabbergasted. I really saw him. The visions were real. "Alice, I think these visions are memories. I touched the carving on the table leg last night and saw his face reflected in the glass coffee table. I thought I was going crazy, but it happened twice more upstairs, then again in the car. This is so freaky!" I was in disbelief that something like this was happening to me. What was wrong with me?

"Nothing is wrong with you Bella. I promise you."

I didn't know I had even spoken that last part aloud. Had I spoken aloud? I was pretty sure I hadn't. Alice smiled.

"Bella, you didn't say it out loud. I just jumped the gun a bit when I answered you. I do that sometimes. It's hard seeing the future. Soooo not good for your social life."

I gapped at her. "Your…psychic?"

She smiled. "Yes. I don't care much for labels though. I mean I see the future, but its not absolute or anything. People change their mind all the time. Of course I see it when they do but still, I'm not all seeing or anything. But I do see a lot. I saw you as soon as you decided to come to Forks. And you don't change your mind when you make it up, do you? The vision was so clear! I was able to pinpoint your arrival down to the day! I was hoping I would arrive to greet you but I was in Vancouver with Jasper and I just couldn't pass up shopping on Robson Street before leaving. And I'm glad I did stay! I found some great things for you!"

I interrupted her, my mind spinning. "Alice…Alice wait, back up a minute! You can see the future?"

She nodded, a happy grin on her face.

"And you saw me coming? You knew I would eventually end up in your house?"

She nodded again bouncing. "And I saw that we'd be best friends! I'm so excited! I've never had a best friend before! I don't even know how it works!"

I smiled at her indulgently. "I'd say you're doing just fine so far. Better than fine, actually. You had the water and electricity cut on for me before you even met me."

Alice beamed and I cleared my throat. "So, if you can see the future, what is happening to me? I mean, I'm not seeing the future or anything, but I am seeing things that aren't normal."

Alice looked thoughtful. "Well, tell me exactly what you saw and maybe we can figure it out."

I told her about the carving and the cross and the visions I saw when I touched them. She listened wide-eyed as I relayed the vision I got in the car, as we were driving to the lodge. I hesitated before relaying the vision I had in the room on the third floor. I don't know why I was so hesitant to tell her. Maybe because the guy in the vision seemed to be in a private moment, something not meant to be shared.

"What, Bella? What else?"

I shrugged. "Its nothing…its just, I had another one too. It was stronger than the others." She nodded to encourage me and I took a deep breath. "Well, I was in the room on the third floor, the one with the black sofa. I wasn't trying to be a snoop or anything; I just wanted to see the house. Well, I liked that room the best. It was so peaceful, you know? Anyway, I found an old Van Morrison record between the sofa cushions and when I pulled it out, I had another vision."

I looked down at my hands, not wanting her to see how this vision affected me. "There was this guy, and he was listening to the record on an old player while staring out of the glass wall. He just looked so…lonely. Elegant, handsome, but heartbreakingly lonely. I even felt his loneliness, if that makes any sense."

Alice looked at me and nodded. "I think you were having a vision of my brother…Edward. That sounds like him. He loves all kinds of music. He's always been that way, though. Sad, morose. I've only seen him smile a handful of times. I think he feels like a fifth wheel sometimes."

I thought about that. "Fifth wheel? Why would he feel like that?"

Alice shrugged. "We were all adopted. Carlisle and Esme took us all in and made us a family. As a result, there is no blood relation between us, so Jasper and I are together and Emmett and Rosalie are a couple. Edward is kind of the odd man out. Its why he prefers to spend so much time off on his own."

I nodded, understanding the situation so much better. How hard must it be to live in a family where everyone was a couple? Still, his sadness seemed to go deeper than that. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something else was bothering him.

I decided to think about it more at a later date. Right now, I needed answers. "So what does it all mean, Alice? What am I seeing if it's not the future?"

She looked thoughtful. "I can't be sure, but it looks like you're seeing the past or something. Tell me, when you see the visions, how are you looking at them?"

I answered immediately. "Its like I'm seeing it from someone else's eyes, like from a first person point of view. In the car, it was like someone was speaking from inside of me. Like I took his place or something."

She stood and started pacing. "You're seeing memories, I think. And they are generated by touch, like you're picking up on some impression made on an object or something."

My eyes widened. "Do you really think that's what it is?"

She stopped pacing and turned to look me in the eye, her face suddenly determined. "There's only one way to find out."

I watched as she ran over to the mantel and grabbed and expensive looking bag. She retrieved a slim cellular phone from its depths and carefully sat it on the glass coffee table in front of me. I stared at it in trepidation, a funny feeling in my gut. She nodded towards it in encouragement.

"Go ahead, Bella. Touch it. If this thing works the way I think it works, you'll get plenty of memories from my phone. I never go anywhere without it."

I hesitated before grabbing the phone from the table.

Nothing happened.

We looked at each other in disappointment for a second and my shoulders slumped as I reached to place the phone back on the table. Just as I was about to sit it down, it rang, the sound extremely loud in the empty house. I hurriedly stabbed at the button on the side, trying to silence it.

And that's when it happened.

I saw flashes of brown and green. They passed me by so fast that I could barely register anything. Then they stopped suddenly, and I was standing in the clearing of a forest. A tinkling laugh escaped from inside of me as my eyes adjusted and focused on a sight too incredible to be believed.

A blond woman was standing next to a tall tree to my left, her arms crossed under her impressive cleavage. A blank look covered her face, but her eyes sparkled as they focused on the middle of the clearing, where a large bear was roaring in anger. The bear turned my way and my eyes widened in recognition. Emmett was crouched down, squaring off with the bear, the grin of his face wide and delighted. The bear swiped at him twice and both times he moved away, so quickly I couldn't even see it. The blonde sighed and dropped her arms. "Emmett! Stop playing with your food! I'm ready to go home!" Emmett smiled and lunged at the bear, his mouth going for its throat.

I clenched my eyes tight against the grizzly vision and when I opened them, the phone was in Alice's hand and she was looking at me with an expectant look on her face.

I took a deep breath, not believing what I saw but knowing it was not a lie.

"Alice …What are you?"