Unbelievable

Chapter Two: Revelations

I was still stunned into stillness when the instructor called my name, his confusion present in full-force. "Rosalie Hale," he said slowly, glancing between myself and my – my daughter.

"Here," I responded, the word slipping between my lips automatically, my tone cold and my voice hard, inviting no question as to my relationship with Isabella. He took the hint and moved on to the rest of his list, but I paid him no attention.

All of my senses were trained on the girl sitting next to me, so I clearly heard her soft gasp at the confirmation of my identity. My muscles tightened in response to my increasingly frayed nerves. I began wondering what, if anything, she knew about me. Could she know that I was her mother?

If she truly did know, then what must she think of my appearance? By all accounts, we could almost pass for twins, if I hadn't already been nearly twenty when I was changed. Regardless, it was clear that she knew something, else she wouldn't have reacted so strongly upon hearing my name.

A shiver of longing ran down my spine. Despite the position that it would put her in, the position that it would put the rest of my family in, I wanted her to know me as her mother. I wanted her to truly be my daughter in every way, in practice as well as blood. I was still reeling from the knowledge that she hadn't died seventeen years ago, and the strength of the longing that rushed through my body was nearly enough to overwhelm my strict control and leave me kneeling at my little girl's feet.

It was all I could do to keep myself in my seat until class ended, and I was the first one out the door. In my last class of the day, I was increasingly agitated and restless, my thoughts swirling chaotically in my mind. The uncertainty of the near future unnerved me a bit, but it wasn't enough to overcome the euphoria that I felt upon being reunited with my only child. For me, it was as if she'd risen from the dead, after I'd mourned her for more than a decade.

Finally, I was released from my torment when school ended, and I rushed to the student parking lot, eager to catch a glimpse of her before she left for the day. I wasn't disappointed when she emerged not long after I reached a point where I could see all the paths leading into the lot.

The tension left my body as I observed her. She had grown into such a beautiful young woman, the absolute picture of perfection. Not only that, she carried herself with such strength, such elegance and confidence, as if she could take on the world without a second thought. It was an amazing sight. It took my breath away.

"Rose?" Emmett's voice called to me hesitantly, and I hummed quietly in response, though my eyes never left my daughter. It wasn't until she climbed into her truck – a fairly new, black F-150 – and drove away, that I turned my head to look at my mate. He was watching me curiously, as were my brother and sister, who were standing behind him.

I smiled widely at them, and their eyes all widened, causing me to laugh joyfully. "I'll explain everything to you once we get home," I promised, taking my husband's hand to pull him to my car.

He let me lead him, getting in the passenger's side without protest. His eyes followed me until I joined him in the car. "I love hearing you laugh, Rosie," he said lovingly, with a wide grin stretching his lips. "You should do it more often," he added, leaning over to kiss me on the cheek.

I looked away from the road to stare into his eyes, happiness surging through my body. "I wouldn't worry about that, Em. I have a feeling that I will be doing it a lot more often, after today," I winked at him, loving how his golden eyes sparkled as he stared back at me.

Eager as I was to get home, I couldn't help pushing my car to its limits, leaving Alice dutifully matching my speeds in her Porsche Turbo 911. It had been a gift from Jasper, canary yellow just as she'd requested. Naturally, it had shown up in our driveway the very day after she'd asked my brother to get it for her – that was why Jasper handled all of our legal connections: the man knew how to get things done fast and done right.

The only negative of having such fast cars was the fact that we rarely indulged in the speeds that they were capable of, but I was pulling out all the stops. So, it was no surprise to me that we got home in half the time that it usually took us to get there, and I didn't even bother putting my car in the garage the way that I usually did.

The moment that I shut the car off, I was out of it and running into the house. "Mom, Dad!" I called, waiting impatiently in the living room. My emotions had been building ever since fifth period, when I discovered the truth, and it felt as though I'd self-destruct if I didn't share my news as soon as possible. Thankfully, Carlisle was on vacation from the hospital for the next two weeks, so I wouldn't have to wait for him to arrive home.

Esme and Carlisle both rushed down the stairs, identical looks of shock on their faces. It was incredibly rare that I greeted them with the affectionate titles, so I could understand their shock. "Is everything alright, Rose?" Esme asked urgently, her eyes reflexively scanning me for any sign of injury.

My lips twitched into a small smile, and I shook my head negatively. "No, I'm fine, everything is fine, everything is…wonderful," I laughed delightedly, and my pseudo-parents stared in awe. "Please have a seat, all of you."

Everyone took places on the couches, Emmett on the edge of our favorite armchair. It was clear in their eyes that they couldn't take the suspense, and neither could I, to tell the truth. So, I took a deep breath and bit the bullet.

"I left something out of my story, when I told all of you about my history," I began, drawing cautiously intrigued looks from everyone. They'd heard enough of my human life to be wary about what I might reveal to them. "When I was seventeen, I got pregnant," I revealed, forced to stop and wait until my family had calmed enough for me to continue.

"My parents were furious, and they threatened to throw me out a dozen times. But they couldn't change it and they couldn't force me to have an abortion, so I carried my baby for nine months. Then, when I was eighteen, I gave birth to a six-pounds-and-seven-ounces little girl," I said softly, remembering what she'd looked like when I held her for the first time, for the last time. It was the clearest memory that I had of my human life, as clear as if I'd seen it through my immortal eyes.

The family was quiet as I went on, almost as though they were in shock. Can vampires go into shock? "I named her Isabella Violet Hale, and she was the most perfect thing I'd ever seen. I would have been afraid to hold her if it didn't feel so right, that one time…" I trailed off, pain leaking into my voice. Even knowing, now, that she is still alive, it didn't erase all of the pain that I'd carried for so long.

"One?" Esme asked me, finding her voice, her concern evident in that single syllable. She knew what it was like to lose a child. Her son, her own newborn baby, had died only a few days after his birth, due to a lung infection.

I cleared my throat needlessly, glancing at Em's glassy gaze. "The next morning, my parents told me that she'd passed away suddenly, while I was sleeping. They said that they'd already taken care of everything because it would be better for me to remember her as being alive," I said bitterly, hate making my voice sharp and icy. "I only ever held her once, but I never forgot her. I just couldn't tell you, any of you, about her, before. It hurt too much," I admitted, finding myself in both Esme's and Emmett's arms before I'd finished speaking.

"I'm so sorry, darling," the caramel-haired vampire breathed, her arms wrapped around me tightly. Emmett's hands were on my shoulders, and his lips were pressed into my hair.

The strong embrace of my mate and the soothing comfort of my mother, the woman who'd been more a mother to me than my biological mother, calmed me almost instantly. I pulled back from the two of them a bit, my elation returning as I prepared to share the next portion of my news, and Jasper gave me a puzzled frown.

"Today, you all saw that I was acting strangely," I mentioned to my siblings and Emmett. "I was upset at first because I happened to hear that the new girl's name is Isabella, and of course I thought of my daughter. Still, I was intrigued because she reacted oddly when the girls she was sitting with gave her my name. I didn't know why she seemed so stunned, but I figured it out when I went to my fifth period class. She was there, and I learned her name when the teacher took attendance."

"What was it?" Alice asked curiously, gold eyes wide, leaning forward in her seat.

"Her name is Isabella Hale," I said bluntly, and she flinched back in surprise. "I saw her today, it's her, my daughter," I added excitedly, my absurd happiness surging freely.

"Are you sure that it was her, Rosalie?" Carlisle asked incredulously, his voice respectful. He wasn't asking to make me unhappy, I could tell. He just didn't want me to get my hopes up, get too invested and then be let down.

I nodded strongly. "I'm absolutely certain. She looks just like me, almost as if she was my clone rather than my daughter. She has the same pale skin, the same features, even the same lavender-blue eyes that I had when I was human. She's seventeen years old, and she's so beautiful," I breathed out, and Carlisle's eyes softened as I spoke. Esme looked like she might explode from happiness, as she stood back by his side.

"I'm so happy for you, sister," Jasper drawled in his trademark southern accent, a wide smile on his face. "What do you plan to do, though? Will we be able to meet her?" he asked eagerly.

"I would love for you all to meet her!" I grinned, before my smile faltered the slightest bit. "I'm just not sure that it's safe for her," I admitted, biting my lip.

Em hugged me tenderly, his arms wrapped around my waist from behind, his chin resting gently on my shoulder. "What are you afraid of, Rosie?" he asked quietly, knowingly. He knew me so very well, and I loved him all the more for it.

"None of us would ever hurt her, and I know that. But we're not the ones I'm worried about. If the Volturi ever found out that she knew of our existence, they'd kill her on the spot before coming after us," I pointed out sadly, my heart aching at the thought.

Jasper was about to speak, but I held up a finger, signaling that I wasn't done yet. "Still, I'm not sure that I have a choice but to tell her, anyway. I'm almost sure that she knows I'm her mother. She recognized me today, and even though she hasn't asked any questions yet, I'm sure that she will very soon," I told them all, taking in their mixture of expressions, all of them some combination of varying degrees of happiness and distress.

My brother spoke up when it became clear that I'd finished speaking. "Well, Rose, I honestly don't think that you really have a choice in telling her," he said candidly. "You love her far too much to just let her go on without being a part of her life. Then, there's the fact that you're undoubtedly right about her asking questions. It wouldn't be impossible for her to figure things out on her own, if she put her mind to it. Besides that, none of us want to pass up this incredible opportunity to get to know the youngest member of our family," he said wisely, clearly going off of the family's feelings in the moment, and Carlisle stepped in.

"The Volturi won't be a problem, either, Rose," he assured me. "They would only consider the law broken if she remained human with knowledge of our secret."

I started to protest, but was stopped by my mother's hand on my arm. "Rose, darling, you know that you can't let her die," she said softly, instantly stopping me cold. "If she were to remain human, she would eventually die. It would be inevitable, and you know that, as her mother, you couldn't allow that to happen. You'll have to change her, your instincts won't allow anything else," Esme told me, sadness flickering in her eyes, and I released a long sigh.

I leaned back into Emmett's chest. "You're right, you're all right. I'll…I'll talk to her tomorrow after school, and if she agrees, I'll bring her to the house. I can explain things to her, and then you all can meet her," I said strongly, that same longing rising up in me.

"Come for a run with me, babe," Em requested gently, and I nodded in agreement. "We'll be back in the morning," he told the others, before we ran out the door and into the woods that surrounded the house.

We ran for miles and miles, jumping rivers and streams, playing tag in the treetops, our laughter ringing through the air. Despite the deep conversation that we'd just had with the family, this was what Emmett and I thrived on, though I'd only ever experienced it with him. Finally, though, we slowed and stopped in a small clearing, facing each other as we stood in each other's arms.

"I'm sorry that I never told you about her," I apologized, starting the conversation that we both knew was coming. He didn't respond, waiting for me to get it all out. "It was just so painful to even think about her. It never got any easier, no matter how much time has gone by. I like to think that I would have gotten up the courage to tell you about her eventually, but…" I trailed off, ashamed of my weakness.

"Hey," he said, cupping my cheek in his hand. "It's alright, Rose. I understand, and I can see how hard this is for you even now, knowing that she's alive. It's okay, really," he insisted, a small smile curving his lips up.

I pressed a kiss onto his jaw. "I love you so much, Em," I murmured, my ecstatic mood returning, evolving as my husband's touch warmed me, soothed me. "Only you," I whispered, trailing kisses down his neck before leaning back just enough that I could see his face.

His arms slid around me. "I love you, too, Rose," he chuckled, leaning in to kiss me once more. He held me for hours, and I felt so content. I was incredibly anxious to finally speak with my daughter for the first time, but I was also the calmest I'd felt since that day, seventeen years ago.

The longing throbbed in my chest, and I hummed quietly. Soon, I thought in satisfaction. I'll see her soon. For once, I couldn't wait to go to school.

To Be Continued.

A/N: Well, the second chapter is officially edited and enhanced! What do you all think? I'm much happier with this version. To all my repeat readers, those of you who read this story in its original format: What do you say? Better, yes? As for those of you reading this for the first time: Please, let me know your comments and concerns! I love to hear from my readers!

"Can vampires go into shock?" I borrowed that one from Breaking Dawn. I just couldn't resist, when it popped into my head!

As for updates, I've decided on a set schedule of 2 Weeks per chapter. That gives me plenty of time to perfect things, but if you're lucky, you'll get some surprise updates, too!

Thanks for reading everyone!

Next Update: 9/23/2014

~A Thousand Undiscovered Stars