Woot got this one out fast! For some reason I was just in the writing frame of mind. Always a good thing. Thank you for those who comment and for those that add my story to their favorites! You guys are great! Hugs to you all! And I'm handing out virtual cupcakes to all those that comment! My friends are all picking Teams; Team Chase or Team Dante? Haha anyway hope you enjoy.

Remember the cupcakes! ;)

Scooterly

Eight

Confessions

"I came to live with Keith and Maria after my last home . . . passed me off again."

"What happened?"

I skirted my eyes away and self-consciously bit my lip again. I took a deep breath.

"I'm not sure if you understand the foster system or not, but it's . . . hard. Every family is different, and not all of them necessarily give it their all. There comes a time in everyone's youth when we start losing trust, when we don't love as easily. Why should we anyway? I mean . . . its foster care. We're just going to go to someone else in the end anyway." I stopped, hearing the bitterness in my voice and took a deep breath. "Sorry. Anyway . . . there are a "special" group of us that, after a while, are suddenly deemed . . . unadoptable. My last home was like the last straw and I knew that I was going to be stuck in a group home until I turned eighteen. I was classified as a troubled teen, an untamable force. They gave up on me and . . . well, slowly, I gave up on them. I told them I didn't care if I was classified as "unadoptable." So . . ."

"Oh my God . . ."

"What?" I stopped, confused at the disgust in his voice.

"They really do that? Classify you as unadoptable?"

I shrugged, not wanting to really talk about. "Some of us ask for it."

When he was quiet again, I continued. "Anyway, my last foster father thought I was sneaking out at night, because he said he heard me speaking to other people and walking around the house. One night, he even said he caught me at it and that we had a long discussion where I continued to defy him, call him names, and curse in front of him which I honestly don't remember anything about. However, the social worker was more likely to believe his sop story of how he tried so hard . . . and she told me she wished I would quit lying, that it would give me a better chance at getting a home. That was when she told me about the service's decision to change my status. I was a problem child, I guess, even though nothing I ever was accused was my fault. It was like these families just wanted to be rid of me . . . even though they had other foster kids that they dealt with just fine. I tried to not let it affect me; when you go through so many homes like I have, you kind of grow immune to "bad news." But this was like . . . this like telling me I'm not good enough. That I'm just another face in the crowd that doesn't even belong there. It was a kick in the face and I actually cried that night . . . I guess I never thought it would happen to me. I've always had another house to go to, another family. The group homes were okay but . . . I just felt like a dog in a shelter, the one no one wants to pick. The other unadoptables said it too; eighteen was our only freedom. Once we turned eighteen, we were able to go out on our own."

I stopped short, feeling my breath starting to catch. I had tried to not to think much about Keith and Maria; I had tried to not to remember that they had been murdered and that the people that had done it were still out there, possibly looking for me.

"So what happened at the group home?" Chase prompted quietly.

"I wasn't there very long, actually." I said quietly, my skin prickling at the tenderness in his voice. "My name was left up on the search list a little later than it should have been. It still said I was 15 and looking for a new place to call home, people to call "Mom and Dad" and that I liked animals and reading and that I might have some social issues, especially in large, competitive families. A couple found me, contacted Social Services and they had a talk. They were informed that I had been marked off as unadoptable but they wouldn't hear of it. In the end, if I agreed, they wanted to try and give me a home and Social Services agreed to let them. I didn't want to, at first. I really didn't. I already knew how the story would end. But looking around the home, I saw a lot of us that had siblings – I had always been jealous of those that had siblings. At least they had somebody, you know? Or those that were waiting to be adopted by distant relatives that they knew they could depend on. I had nobody.

"So, I gave in. When introductions went through and I met Keith and Maria Samson for the first time, it was like I could already sense how different they were. It didn't mean anything though; I had been too hardened already. I wasn't going to be any different and I think they could see that. As soon as they got to bring me home with them, things already started out on the wrong foot. My attitude got the best of me – I started telling them that this was hopeless, that they didn't want me. Maria, though, was so soft spoken and hardly got upset at all. Keith didn't say a word; just lugged my few items up to the room they had set up for me and they prepared dinner. I wish now, looking back, I hadn't been so mean to them that first night. They took in stride so easily, accepted as it came, but still didn't give me my way. In time, I grew more at ease around them. My best memory of them is when Maria woke me up one morning, knowing that I would be angry that it was five in the morning but she told me that a new foal had been born and asked if I wanted to go see.

"Without complaint, I got up and dressed, pulling on a pair of boots that had been a "welcome home" gift and followed her out to where Keith was. The foal was already starting to stand. We talked, out there in the cold of the morning, for the longest time and he showed me all the horses as he left the mother to tend to her newborn. He told me he took in horses that no one else wanted, most of them were mustangs that hadn't been able to be tamed and couldn't be sold. All of them were gentle to me; it was hard to believe that these had been some of the mustangs he told me about. The stories about them were horrible. But he said that every life deserved a chance, and that's why he rescued them. He told me he could see their soul if you looked deep enough into their eyes and you just had to understand that it had been turned inside out. You need to understand them and the language they spoke. He offered to let me ride one of his gentlest ones. At the time I was too afraid, but I told him I wanted to eventually.

"Little did I know that that was his own way of taming me. He took me with him whenever he got a new horse, showed me how to study them and learn when they were afraid or angry or content. He said that when they were angry or seeming to want to bite or kick you was when they were most afraid . . . kind of like me, I guess. That was when I realized that he got it – he understood me. And so did Maria – she was like the mother I had always wished for. The days got easier after that. They didn't seem to have a problem with me like the other families had and for once, I felt myself starting to trust again, maybe even love them. When they asked if I wanted to be a Samson permanently, I think I hugged them both so hard I cracked a rib!" I smirked a little here and stopped. I was stating to tremble a little, like I usually did when I talked about my past, and this being so recent just made it even touchier. "But I think Social Services was even more shocked; they didn't know what to think of one of their problem children suddenly wanting to be adopted. It was supposed to be the happiest day of my life.

"But I guess I should have guessed that it would end tragic, like the rest of my attempts at a home did." I ended the sentence with a trembling sigh.

I had to pull myself together. I didn't want to cry in front of him, but Keith and Maria's death was still trying to registering in my brain. I had forced myself not to think about it, tried to forget them and forget what happened. But part of me realized that I couldn't remain like this; that I would eventually have to face up to it. I just didn't want to. And how was I supposed to explain the people that came out of my closet? I was not going to go into the boogie man scenario with him right now . . .

"And then you were kidnapped." He concluded.

I nodded silently, my throat tightening.

"Well, we can still find them!" he said a little half heartedly. "You wont be put into foster care . . . I mean, I'm sure they'll be happy to see you again! I'm just surprised we haven't heard anything about your kidnapping . . . Brie?"

I was sitting in rigid silence as he spoke, halfway expecting his words. I didn't know if I could share that one last detail with him . . . I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, tasting blood where my teeth must have to cut my lip.

"They're dead, Chase." I said quietly. "They were both murdered in front of my eyes. And then I was kidnapped. And the only thing I remember after being knocked out was waking up in the snow, bound and gagged."

He didn't say anything for a long time. His silence made me feel alone and I found I was unable to say anything as well. I came back to reality when I felt a tear rolling defiantly down my cheek. This did nothing but make me angry with myself.

"Chase?" I said in a quavering voice.

"Yeah?" he said. His voice was quieter than mine; I don't think he knew what to say.

"Have you heard . . . anything? About a couple murdered down in Southern California? Or about the investigation of the car wreck?"

"No." he replied, his hand gripping my shoulder. "But I'll let you know if I hear anything."

I nodded. I already figured it would be impossible for any leads to be found here. Something in my senses told me that trying to follow two minions of the boogie man wouldn't exactly be easy, but I wasn't about to explain that to Chase. I had at least hoped that I would hear something about Keith and Maria. I was only slightly surprised that there hadn't been a missing person's thing screened on the news for me.

"Brie?" Chase said, standing up.

"Yeah?" I, responded softly, following him.

"I know this sounds really stupid and unhelpful . . . but I'm sorry."

He pulled me into a hug and I couldn't help the sob that surged out. My body felt weak like it usually did when I let my emotions out and I could only rest my head against him. His arms held me tight and I felt him rest his cheek on the top of my head. With a stuttering sigh, I tried to get a grip on myself, even as my tears continued to drench his shirt.

"I'm so sorry . . ." I heard him whisper.

* * *

I don't know how long we stayed in that cave, but in the end, it almost felt good to have someone there that knew, it felt good to have that rock to lean on. I had been pretty independent most of my life. Now, walking out into the open salty air, my eyes stung and I tried to put forward my best "strong girl" face again. I didn't like revealing myself to people; it made me feel vulnerable. But Chase was right about the cave; there was something comforting about it, about the way the colors and the animals bounced off the dark walls. I wasn't afraid of the darkness in there, it was different. It was safe. Chase kept his arm around my shoulders and my heavy head drooped against his side as we walked along the beach. It surprised me how much better I felt with him there.

"I have horses where I live," he said as we walked along, slowly, taking in the last few rays of the day. "Some of our favorites that we were able to take with us from our ranch in Montana. You should come to my house sometime, we can go riding."

"I'm not very good." I said tonelessly.

"That's alright, I can teach you. Our horses are really gentle."

I smiled up at him and he smiled back.

The day was already drifting to a close and felt rather guilty; it had been my friends from school that had invited me, and here I had spent most of my time with Chase. I wondered what they would say. I still walked barefoot; my socks and shoes still cold and wet. Chase didn't mind however and continued to carry them for me. I slowed as we neared the campsite where the others must have returned and I stopped. Chase looked at me oddly as I stepped out from under his arm.

"Do I look alright?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Do I look like I've been crying?" I didn't want to answer any questions, not after what had happened already.

"Oh," he faltered for a moment, moving my hair out of my eyes and wiping a thumb underneath my eyelids. "A little red, but you did fall into a bunch of saltwater . . ."

I smiled and he pulled back with a grin.

"Ready to rejoin them all? I think I smell hotdogs."

My stomach grumbled and I laughed a little bit and nodded.

"Yeah. I think so."

"And by the way . . ." he made a side glance at me. "You look more than alright. You look beautiful. In a frizzly-hair, salt water in the eye, wet and cold kind of way."

Regardless of the small blush to my cheeks, I punched his shoulder and laughed.

"Amateur."

"Gotta give a guy props for trying!"

Suddenly very nervous, I started to bolt ahead of him and looked over my shoulder to yell, "Beat ya to the group!"

He yelled out a defiant "Hey!" before chasing after me and together, we sprinted down the beach. I didn't care about the cold or anything now; it felt good to run, to let everything go in the quick race of my heart beat. I no longer felt nervous just . . . free.

When we came close to camp, Chase quit letting me feel like I was faster than him and caught up with me in three strides, grabbed me around the middle and spun me, laughing loudly as a yelped in surprise and pounded on his shoulder, demanding to be put down. When he dropped me to my feet, the Quileute boys and the posse were all staring at us, most with huge grins.

"And where have you two been?" Jacob said, his voice ringing with laughter.

"Uh . . ." Chase suddenly seem unable to speak.

I avoided Jake's eyes and I found myself suddenly stared down by the posse. Mariah looked smug, Kim and Jenn looked appalled, and Kirby . . . was practically digging her nails into her open mouth with excitement.

"What?" I said suspiciously. "Did Dante randomly show up or something?"

"Whose Dante?" Chase whispered down in my ear. I pushed him away.

"Well for one," Mariah was the first one to speak, the only one that could seem to break this mesmerized trance they were all in. "You got several texts from Alice . . ."

Those simple words automatically set off. I jumped as Jenn started in, waving a turquoise Samsung in the air.

"And then she called like ten times and Jasper called like twenty and then . . . then . . ."

"Dr. . . .Cullen . . ." Kim said slowly, as if it were either a very bad or very good thing. I felt my legs turn to jelly.

"You dropped your phone!" was all Kirby could say in her extreme excitement.

I stared at them for a long time before punctually replying, "Oh."

"Oh? Oh?" Kim said, standing up.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Jenn's voice was nearing that of a pathetic whine. "Oh my God do you know how big this is?"

"Um . . . no?" I confessed.

They all gazed at me, open mouthed.

I gave a nervous laugh and looked at Jacob for help. He smirked and shook his head.

"Alright guys," he said, snatching the phone from Jenn's shaking hands and handing it back to me. "Secret's out. Yes, Brie's staying with the Cullen's but there is no say whether or not it is final yet so don't get on her case for not telling you, alright? She's had a tough time. She may stay with them, she may not. Don't pressure her."

They were on me like flies to honey.

"So your friends with Alice?"

"Have you met Bella?"

"Did you know they're all married?"

"Don't you think Carlisle's sort of hot?"

"Did Rosalie give you any beauty tips?"

"Can I meet Emmett?"

"Can I meet Edward?"

"Can I meet Jasper?"

"Can we have a slumber party?"

I looked into their wildly crazy eyes and took a step back into Chase, who I could tell was trying to hold back his tense laughter. The other Quileute boys didn't even hesitate to start laughing.

"Guys? Uh . . . no offense but I've got to keep this on the low side of things so if you could, you know, say nothing about this during school . . . "

"No problem!"

"Are we still going to have a slumber party?"

"Uhm . . . I'll . . . maybe . . . ask . . . . but it probably wont be right away . . ." I stammered, smiling at their antics. Oh they were so strange sometimes . . . "Just don't say a word . . ."

"We wont!" Mariah promised dramatically. "I do wish Dante had come though . . ."

The other three sighed in dramatic unison.

I rolled my eyes when the phone rang again. The ID said I was Jasper and I flipped it open, turning around so I wasn't looking at my friends. I didn't need to see their knowing faces right now.

"Hey Jazz," I said.

"Brie . . ." he heaved a sigh of relief over the phone. "Why didn't you answer before?"

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"No . . . we were just checking up on you."

"Okay . . ." I said. With thirty calls? Whatever . . . "Well, I'm fine. I just dropped my phone before I went walking along the beach. I'm okay."

"Who were you walking with?"

"Chase." I said evenly.

"Oh . . ." I heard Alice squeal in the background and Jasper laughed lightly. "Well, Carlisle is having us pick you up soon. I'm sure Alice has questions for you."

"Great." I muttered.

"Talk to you later, Brie." He said; I could tell he was smiling.

"Yeah, see ya, Jazz."

I flipped it shut and saw the puppy dog eyes behind me of the posse. I shook my head and laughed.

"You guys are so hopeless."

* * *

After Alice sent me a text saying she was close, I started to head towards the place where she said she would meet me. I said good bye to everyone, promising the posse that I would see what I could do about the sleep over. I gave Seth a quick hug and had my hair ruffled my Jake before I struck out up the cliff side where the sandy trail turned to pavement. I stopped halfway up when Chase called out to me.

I turned to see him running up to me and he handed me my shoes and socks. His lopsided smile made me grin wider.

"So . . . uh . . . Dante . . ."

"I promise I'll explain some other time." I said with a laugh. "Why do you care so much anyway?"

"Just . . . wondering . . ."

I laughed and turned to go when he turned me around again.

"Hey . . . so, about that horse riding thing . . . You're going to join me sometime right?"

I smiled. "Yeah, of course. I like hanging out with you, Chase."

"Really?" his face lit up and then he cleared his throat. "I mean, yeah, I like hanging out with you too, Brie. See you soon, right?"

"Right." I said.

I gave him another big hug and then turned and trudged up the trail again, waving behind me.

When I reached Alice's car, I jumped into the passenger's side, automatically relieved from the blaring heater. It was like she knew I would be freezing . . . After greeting me enthusiastically she examined me up and down and turned her head to the side, a curious smile on her lips.

"Did you have fun?"

"Yes. . ."

"And how was time with Chase . . ."

The way she said it made me smile awkwardly, laugh and blush all at the same time. "Alice!"

She laughed as she put the car into gear. "You two would make a great couple."

"Alice!"

She giggled again and sighed, relaxing against the seat of her Porsche, black feathery hair framing her face. She turned to look at me and her expression changed slightly. I didn't say anything until she looked forward again and then I shifted in my seat.

"You look like you've been crying . . ." she said, turning onto the road that led the way home.

"I fell into the ocean." I said, trying to ignore the knot in my stomach, forcing out a laugh. "It was Chase's fault. He'll pay."

She gave a half grin and nodded. "Oh I'm sure he will . . ."

The rest of the ride home, I explained to her the wonders of pixie stix, teens, and what happens when you leave a hot dog in the fire too long. I told her that Chase and I had wandered off on our own (but I didn't tell her what we talked about) and that he wanted me to come see him. Hardly surprising, she found this news really exciting and the car sped up as she giggled. I held on for dear life, laughing with her.

It wasn't until we got home that I realized I still had Chase's jacket.

I hardly felt any sympathy for him.