1. Father Figure

I woke up to the sound of a thunderstorm roaring outside. It made me jump a little in bed, making my eyes snap open. Rain was pitter-pattering on my window, which happened to be the entire backside of my room. I blinked a few times while letting out a dramatic long yawn. I turned on my right side to check the clock on the nightstand. It read 9:07 in the morning, a good time to wake up on a Saturday. After staring at the alarm clock for a few moments I decided to get out of bed. I walked slowly to the bathroom, feeling groggy. I grabbed my purple hairband that was near a bottle of unused raseberry lotion. I pulled back my hair with the old hairband and began to scrub my face. My pale face. My skin matched my mother's back when she was human.

It was raining cats and dogs out there when I finished in the bathroom. It was also still thundering. Emmett was probably thrilled. Whenever a bad storm hit he would insist upon a game of baseball. I usually would tag along with my family. I can never tell what's happening. It's all so quick. It's insane. Esme comintates for me, though.

I walked down the stairs, trying my best not to trip. I fall down occasionally. Alright, I fall down a lot. I can get really clumsy . It's so embarrassing, especially if you live in a house full of graceful vampires.

I was alone until I walked into the kitchen. My father was sitting on a bar stool reading what looked to be a newspaper. He looked up, his dangerous dark eyes gazing into my green ones. He smiled crookedly.

"Good morning, Cecilia," he said softly while getting off of the stool. "I hope you slept well."

He held out open arms which I gladly flew into. Well, not exactly flew, more like carefully walked into. He was thirsty, I could tell by his eyes. I knew I should cut this greeting short.

"You should go get some breakfast, you know," I said playfully, letting go of him. He cocked an eyebrow. "You look like you're dying of hunger."

"I was about to leave, actually," Father said in his velvet voice.

"Why didn't you go hunting last night with the others?" I asked. "Are they back yet?"

"I wasn't going to leave you alone here at night. They got a late start, they'll be home evenually."

I skipped to the fridge, grabbing a carton of orange juice. I unscrewed the cap and took a long sip. Father rose one eyebrow again, surprised by my action.

"What are you doing?" he asked me. He seemed to be a little disgusted."That is a bit absurd, don't you think?"

"It's my juice."

"What if, let's say, I wish to partake on drinking some orange flavored citrus juice later today? Wouldn't I be disappointed to find out that somebody's lips had touched the opening of the carton?"

I could tell that he was trying to keep a straight face. The corners of his lips twiched as he looked at me with a staid expression. I was going to break his reign of seriousness.

"Then you'd be the one being 'a bit absurd.' Vampires drink blood, not juice," I answered, placing the carton on top of the marble counter. He broke his straight face, his lips curling up into a faint smile. He even chuckled.

"I suppose you're correct," Father admitted.

I stuck my tongue out at him like a five year old, I picked this up from Alice. He gave a shrug.

"You should really go, Dad," I said after taking another swig of juice. "You've been waiting long enough, nearly two and a half weeks, you deserve a good drink."

He smiled for a moment at my last statement, looking down to the ground.

"You wouldn't mind?" he asked in a small voice.

"No, I'm a big girl. I think I can handle being alone for a few hours." He hated leaving me alone without anyone in the house.

He had this strange visage on his face, he looked almost morose. Dad lifted his head up to meet my gaze. He shook his head and smiled a little. It didn't reach he's eyes, though.

"They're coming...Emmett is planning on-"

"Gotcha!"

I was suddenly being grabbed by someone behind me. Before I knew it I was being spun around in fast circles. I let out a loud girl-ish scream. My head started to become dizzy and I felt nausea churning in my stomach. I shut my eyes tight. God, I hated when this would happen. I started to kick and punch the arms that were holding me. Unexpectedly, the spinning stopped, but I didn't stop fighting. I didn't open my eyes either.

"Alright, alright, you made your point, Cee," said Emmett, who sounded amused by my actions.

"Let-go-of-me!" I whined loudly, still fighting him.

"Hold still first."

"You're just trying to trick me!"

"No, I'm not going to, I promise. I swear to the good Lord above or send me straight to Hell." He boomed with laughter at that. If I could I would have rolled my eyes.

"Not you too, Emmett."

Gingerly, I opened my eyes while he brought me back onto the ground .Emmett was still enjoying his joke as I stood in hs guarded arms. I heard Father hiss at him in the background. Dad didn't believe that vampires had souls. He thought that if vampires were to die that they would go automatically to Hell, not having a chance of going to Heaven. My mother thought opposite, as did the rest of the family. I didn't agree with my father, though I would never tell him that.

"How's the head?" asked Emmett after he recovered from laughing.

"It's getting there," I said, my vision becoming clearer.

"What's for breakfast?"

"Uhh...grizzly, of course."

He let out another booming laugh while setting me free from his grasps. I wobbled a bit and nearly crashed onto the hard tile floor. Father caught me in his arms before I was halfway to ground. His jaw was clenched as he held me in his stone arms.

"Careful now," he said, his voice sounding annoyed. He took offense of Emmett's joke.

Gently, he placed me on one of the bar stools, keeping me steady. All of the spinning then stopped in the room, my nausea becoming weaker in my stomach.

"Are you the only one back home, Emmett?" I asked, trying to break the sudden silence.

"So far. Your mom and Alice are lagging behind, but they'll be here soon," he answered. "Jasper, Rosalie, and Esme are still hunting. Carlisle left for the hospital a while ago."

"Ah."

My vision was then completely back and the nausea was gone. I jumped off the stool with caution. Father still looked angry. Emmett took my seat, giving him a small smile. He then moved his lips quickly, saying something to Dad. I hated it when my family would do this. I had no idea what they were saying. They would do this all the time back when I was little, not wanting me to hear what they were talking about. Dad held his hand up, shaking his head. He said something back while folding his arms, his face looking a bit brighter.

"I wish you all wouldn't do that," I snapped for the thousandth time. "I can't understand what you're saying."

"That's the point," said Emmett with slight hint of annoyance. I rolled my eyes. He clapped Father on the back and walked out of the kitchen, leaving us alone.

"I think I should go now, my appetite is driving me mad," Father said abruptly. He ran over to me in less than a second, carefully hugging me. I hugged him back, nestling my head against his front. He pulled back, giving me a look of regret. I smiled lovingly, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. He smiled his crooked smile at me

"Try not to fall while I'm gone," he said softly.

"That'll be a challenge." I grinned at him. "Go catch a mountain lion for me."

Father flashed his brilliant white teeth and let out a growl, causing me to jump back a few inches. It always caught me off guard whenever he would do that. He laughed with a look of enjoyment on his face, his eyes still as black as night.

"With pleasure."