Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Twilight

Samantha POV

The girl in the room wrapped her arms around me, and even though I didn't know her, she was with Sam; she must be safe. I leaned into her, not crying, but not ready to speak at the moment. After awhile though, I regained my confidence.

"Who are you?" I asked her quietly.

"Emily," she said into my hair. I still hadn't looked at her face, but kept my eyes closed, wanting make sure I wouldn't cry again. "I'm Sam's fiancé. We're getting married in two months, at a beautiful place a couple miles way. The chapel is small and perfect for us. I was thinking my colors could be silver and blue. The bridesmaids' dresses would be a silver color, and the decorations different types of blues, but all coordinated." I could tell she was trying to distract me, and it was working. "And, the church has huge windows covering most of the walls, so hopefully it will snow and we could have a beautiful winter wonderland during the wedding. I might have to put you in as one of the bridesmaids if you decide to stay, being Sam's sister and all."

I willed myself to sit up and open my eyes. "I think that would be wonderful." I was distracted from her kind eyes by three long scars down her face.

"I was mauled by a bear," She sighed, noticing my expression. "I get that all the time; don't worry, it doesn't bother me. Just don't say anything about it around Sam, because he's sensitive about it."

"I won't," I promised, then smiled sadly. "I've got some of my own." I pulled up my shirt to show her the two scars that ran from right below my bra line, to my belly button. "I was in a similar situation, except the animal that attacked me was my father, not a bear."

She looked shocked at my scars, and then glanced back up at me. "Would you mind telling me what happened?"

"Well, my father got really drunk, and he started to beat me," I informed her quietly. "And then he literally picked me up and threw me against the mirror on the back of my door. The mirror shattered, and fell onto me, slicing through my shirt and into my skin. He took me to the hospital, claiming that I had been sleepwalking when I ran into the mirror. The nurses looked suspicious, but when told them it was true, they went with it."

"How long ago did it happen?" Emily asked me. Suddenly though, she shook her head slightly as her eyes left my face. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't be prying like this."

"It's okay." I said. "If I'm gonna be living with you, you might as well know. And, it was on my fourteenth birthday."

"And when was that?" she continued to ask questions, but it didn't feel like she was prying. It was like she actually cared, a foreign thing to me.

"November 9th of last year," I told her. It was only two weeks away. I would be fifteen.

"Well, we must do something for your birthday, and soon!" she smiled brightly. I smiled back at her, but my mind wandered off a little. She could only keep me distracted for so long. I felt her warm hand on my chin, pulling me to face her like a child. "Listen, Samantha. I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong. Sam will never lay one hand on you, I can guarantee that. Also, no one will lay a hand on Sam. Do you trust me?"

For some reason, I did trust this sweet and kind person I barely knew. "Yes, Emily, I do. I trust you completely."

And with that, she stood up, offering me her hand. "Time to eat!"

I smiled, taking the hand to help me up. I glanced in the mirror on the way out and said, "Ugh, gimme a second in the bathroom, I gotta clean up real quick."

She laughed, but let me do as I asked. I slipped on a different pair of jeans and the only nice thing I owned, a light brown sweater. The ones I'd gone to sleep in were drenched in sweat. I brushed my hair and applied a little bit of make up to take the focus off of my red and puffy eyes. As I cleaned up, I could hear a lot of loud voices in the kitchen, and wondered what was going on.

When I decided that I was presentable, and all my bruises were covered, I stepped out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. Emily stood at the counter while three other girls helped her do whatever they were doing and it looked like cooking. Then I was aware of the eight extremely large men that were in the kitchen, either sitting or standing. They were all wearing cut off shorts, and no shirts, which made me very uncomfortable. They had been all talking and laughing in the kitchen, until I walked in. That made them go silent, as they all stared at me. Emily turned quickly around at the silence.

"Hi, dear," she said. "Sorry about these buffoons, they showed up unexpectedly, and unwelcome, but I love them too much to deny the food they requested."

"It's okay," I said quietly. "Do the buffoons have names?"

One guy laughed. He grinned, holding out his hand. "Yeah, I'm Jacob Black."

"Nice to meet you." I shied away from his offered hand.

"Hmm," The guy I recognized as Paul from earlier crossed his arms. "You dress just like Rachel."

One of the girls at the counter turned around and looked at me, as I looked at her. We both had curly hair, green eyes, and I giggled when I saw Paul was right. She had on jeans and the same sweater. "Did you get it at—

"Wal-Mart? Yeah, I love my cheap clothes."

I smiled awkwardly. SO yes, maybe the nicest thing I owned was something from Wal-Mart.

She offered a hand. "Hi, I'm Rachel Black. Buffoon number one is my younger brother, and buffoon number two is my boyfriend." She walked towards me and gave me a brief hug. I didn't flinch away from her like I did the all the guys, because a woman had never mistreated me. Even at the orphanage, my caretaker was nurturing and never had a harsh word for anyone.

"I'm Kim," chirped a girl with brown eyes and a petite figure. She was dressed fashionably in skinny jeans, flats, and a tight brown top.

"And I'm Leah," a girl with a short bob hairstyle said. I noticed she too was wearing cut offs, and just a tank top. I wanted to tell her it was winter, just to make sure she remembered, but bit my tongue and let everyone introduce themselves.

"I'm Jared," offered one boy who was looking fondly at Kim as he spoke. He seemed to reluctantly pull his eyes away from her before turning to me and motioning the other guys. "This is Seth, Embry, Quil, Brady, and Colin."

Something weird happened when I locked eyes with the boy named Colin. His expression changed from interested, to glued to me. I stared at him and almost drowned in his dark blue eyes. There was an odd sensation running through me, and I also felt the need to be near him. I didn't know what it was, just that it was very unusual. I will admit I liked the heated and bubbly feeling I got when I looked at him.

"Hey, Samantha," he blushed.

"Hi, Colin," I said shyly. Then I looked at everyone else. "It's nice to meet you all."

Emily came over to me and gently tugged my arm so that I came to her. "Sam said he would be right back—he had to go check something—but he wants you outside so he can talk with you about some stuff, okay?"

"Can I eat?" I tried to ignore the rumbling in my stomach, but I had skipped lunch to keep cleaning. I needed to eat.

"Of course," Emily answered. She grabbed a to-go box from the microwave and handed it to me, along with a plastic fork. "Colin, why don't you wait outside with her?"

Colin looked more than eager to accompany me, and I blushed deeply as I followed him outside. We sat in the chairs on the porch in silence. I ate my food and focused on how good it tasted, rather than the intent look of Colin's odd blue eyes.

What's your favorite color?" Collin asked randomly.

"Umm…" I stuttered, then on a whim, "Sapphire. Yours?"

"Emerald," He automatically said. It was getting dark, but I could still see him blush.

"Your favorite soda?" we asked at the same time. "Root Beer." This was also said at the same time. That got us laughing, and I smiled at how easy it was to talk to him, but also how odd it was that we seemed to speak at the same time.

"Movie?" I asked him.

"Ocean's Thirteen." He said. "You?"

"Lord of the Rings trilogy," I told him. "I can't decide on which one is my favorite."

"Return of the King, definitely," he replied.

"Nice choice," I approved, and we sat in silence again. He stared out at the ocean that was in view, and I took the opportunity to stare at him more intently. He was the smallest of them all in there, but still huge and gorgeous. His eyes weren't wise like Jacob's, but happy and care free, but, they did have a bit of knowledge in them. His face was happy, and peaceful. His torso was…wow. I mean, wow. Every muscle was defined and sculpted perfectly. His abs looked rock hard and I bet they felt that way too….oh my god, stop it, Samantha! I was fourteen years old and already fantasizing about touching his abs. Although, how could I help it?

Is this when my hormones start kicking in?

"How old are you?" Colin asked. I tilted my head, but answered.

"I'll be fifteen on November 9th," I said. "And you?"

"I turned fifteen in April," he informed me. I almost sighed in relief. He wasn't that much older than me. At his inquiring look, I took a moment to gaze at him again. He really was gorgeous, especially now that the sun was completely down, and the moonlight could have literally danced off of his skin. Colin was breathtaking.

Until I shifted my body and my loose sweater slid off my shoulder, revealing a yellow-purple bruise in the shape of a hand that he happened to see. He began to shake, very violently, and I was reminded of Paul the night before or Sam less than an hour ago. I was a little scared. I found the courage, however, to walk up to him and place a hand on his cheek in hopes of calming him down.

Who was I?—because this behavior was not normal for me.

Colin stopped shaking and looked up at me as if he was in pain. His hand caressed my shoulder lightly, and he didn't put any weight on the bruise. I let out a sharp breath when he took the fabric of my sleeve beneath his hand. When he stopped nervously, I nodded telling him to continue. He seemed to understand, and tugged the sleeve of my sweater up so that it pushed up my arm completely to reveal my bruises. The boy in front of me took a deep breath as he examined them. I reached up and turned on the porch light that I'd found earlier so he could see them more clearly.

"Samantha…." he croaked, sounding so pained I almost felt it. "Who did this to you? Who would do this to your perfect skin?"

"My father," I whispered, not being able to make any more volume. "That's why I'm here. My father abused me, and then dropped me off here so he didn't have to deal with me."

"I can't believe this," he was now whispering along with me. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," I told him. "It's my father's."

"But I'm still sorry," he replied. I noticed he was holding my hand, which sent shivers up my spine, but not the cold kind, especially because his hand was so hot. The heat radiating off of him felt nice in the October air.

He took my jacket sleeve and slipped it back on my arm, also fixing the jacket so it was straight. He stood up with me, keeping my hand in his. I smiled shyly as he kissed my cheek.

"I should go inside," he looked down. "Sam's here."

I looked over and sure enough, standing with his eyebrows raised at us, was Sam. How long had he been there? Collin gave my hand a small squeeze before going inside. I turned to Sam who was looking at me sadly.

"Did you see that?" I asked.

"You don't know him," Sam said. "Yet you confess to him you were abused just two days ago." His tone wasn't angry, nor happy, just confused and he looked as if he were pondering something.

"I know that he's fifteen turning sixteen next April, his favorite soda is Root Beer, and his favorite movie is Ocean's Thirteen." I said. "So I know something about him."

Sam chuckled. "Touché. But, I wanted to talk more about Dad with you. Judging by the bruises on your arm, it was nothing new. Anything else I should know about?"

"My scars," I said. "On my stomach and below my ear."

"How did you get them?" he asked.

"Dad threw me against my mirror in my room, and the glass broke, cutting me," I told him, lifting up my shirt. Because it was chilly outside, I didn't show all of the scar, but a little bit of them.

"They're bigger, but it's too cold outside to show their entire length." I explained.

"And below your ear?" he continued. I pulled back my hair, showing him the little heart shaped scar that was here. I hadn't shown Emily this one. "Where did you get it?"

"When Dad pushed me down the stairs, I hit a little wooden table, and the pieces broke. Some of it cut me."

He nodded. "I still can't help but think this is partially my fault."

"Sam, Dad is the asshole that did this, not you," I said fiercely. "None of this is your fault."

Sam sat down and rubbed his face with his hands. "I still can't shake the feeling though. If I'd come sooner-"

"You didn't know I existed." I told him. "How were you supposed to help?"

He sighed. "I have no idea."

"Well, you can't change the past," I said, sitting down next to him and putting my head on his shoulder. "What's done is done. The only thing that matters is that we've found each other, and I know you'll protect me."

"So..." he chuckled. "You're permanently staying here, and not leaving at all?"

"Where else am I going to go?" I asked him, smiling to myself. "But, if we're going to start this testing on the guardianship thing, you have to be honest with me."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I'm not stupid!" I rolled my eyes. "You and eight other dudes are hugely muscled, looking like you're on steroids. You and Colin have extremely hot skin. You shake really hard when you're angry and run if into the forest. Something isn't right here."

"You're a smart cookie," he grumbled and I giggled.

"So I've been told. But don't distract me. What's the little secret?"

"Let's go inside so Jake can tell the stories. He must have inherited it from his dad, because he has a great ability to tell stories." Sam stood and I followed suit as my older brother sighed heavily. "I'd hoped to wait, but I have a feeling you won't let it go."

We walked into the house, where everyone was already in the living room. Kim was cuddled up at Jared's side, Rachel on Paul's lap. Emily immediately intertwined her fingers with Sam's, and they took a seat. The only space left was between the end of the couch, and Colin. Blushing at this, I squeezed myself in the space, finding it impeccably difficult to not cuddle up to Colin. I fought the temptation though, and settled with my legs curled up so I was touching him just enough to make it seem like it was an accident. I felt a small spark and jumped lightly at the current that continued to pass through us.

I didn't try and stop it. I barely scooted myself closer, hoping no one would realized it.

"So, story time, huh?" Jake asked. Sam nodded. "Sam, what if we scare her off on her first night?"

"If she us anything like my mom, she can handle it," he said confidently. Jake glanced at me warily, so I smiled encouragingly and the stories began.