Author's Note: Thank you for all the reviews and alerts! I really appreciate it. I'm on spring break this week, so hopefully there will be a lot of chapters up this week. I hope the story isn't going too fast. Please tell me if it is. One warning for this chapter, it has a lot of Alice in it.
Disclaimer: Any recognizable characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No, that is not me. Oh, I think I might have accidentally put a line in here from Twilight. I don't own it. Volturi plushies to anyone who finds it!
oOo
Mallory woke the next morning feeling confused. Where was she? Oh, that's right. She was at the Cullens' house. The previous day came rushing back to her: running away, being found by Dr. Cullen, and meeting the rest of the Cullens. As she thought about the doctor and the his golden-eyed family, she couldn't help but feel there was something odd going on. Whatever it was, she didn't know and probably would never find out. The Cullens were nice people, but wouldn't want to keep her, would they? They'd probably send her back home. After all, she was unlucky.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Mallory said.
Dr. Cullen walked in. "Good morning. How do you feel?"
"Good morning," Mallory returned. "I feel fine."
"Would you like some breakfast?" Dr. Cullen asked.
"Yes, thank you," she replied. She threw the covers off and followed the doctor downstairs. She was surprised to see everyone already up, since it was only eight o'clock.
Alice stood up and danced over to Mallory. "Good morning, Mallory. Did you have a good sleep? Dream anything? Would you want to go shopping today?"
Mallory blinked, not sure which question to answer first.
"Alice, calm down," Jasper chuckled.
Rosalie stood too. "Let her get some breakfast first." The blonde turned to the little girl. "What would you like?"
"Um…cereal?" It came out more like a question than a reply.
Rosalie took her hand and led her to the kitchen, where she got out a box of cereal and milk. She poured the cereal into the bowl, then the milk, and set it on the table. "There you go."
"Thank you," Mallory said and gobbled up her breakfast. When she was done, Alice practically dragged her back upstairs to get dressed. The black-haired vampire dove into her closet, pulled out a handful of clothes, and shoved them at Mallory.
"Here you go. I think you'll really like these. Today we can go to the mall and get you your own."
"Why?" Mallory asked.
"So you have clothes that actually fit, silly," Alice answered.
"But aren't you guys gonna send me back home?"
Alice looked at her questioningly. "Why don't you want to go back home?"
Mallory looked at the floor. "Daddy says I'm worthless and unlucky. He says he'd be happy if I wasn't around. I want him to be happy. He hasn't been happy since Mommy died."
"You go get changed, and I'll talk to Carlisle, okay?" Alice suggested.
"Okay," Mallory agreed and went to her room to change.
Alice zoomed down the stairs to the living room where the others were sitting in silence. "Well, I'm sure you guys heard that. She can't go back. She should stay here. I've already seen it."
Rosalie shook her head. "It's too dangerous."
"But you already like her," Edward said.
"Of course I do," Rosalie snapped. "But it's dangerous."
"Going back to her father is dangerous too," Esme whispered.
"I vote she stays here!" boomed Emmett.
"If she stays, we'd have to move," Jasper reminded them. "The townsfolk would know she wasn't ours."
"We were going to move anyway," Alice said.
"I don't want to move again," Rosalie whined. "I just got done with high school."
"So it's the perfect time to move," Alice put in.
"What do you think, Carlisle?" Esme asked.
Carlisle sighed. "I'd hate to send her back. But Rose is right, it's dangerous. However, if Alice has already seen it…"
"Yes!" both Alice and Emmett shouted. Rosalie rolled her eyes.
"I'll go tell her," Alice announced.
"Don't overwhelm her," Jasper called after her. "She's already confused and frightened."
Alice heard him and nodded. She stopped in front of Mallory's door. "Are you done?" she asked.
Mallory opened the door. She was wearing a pair of Alice's jean capris (which were like jeans on her) and a short-sleeved blouse.
"Aw, you're adorable!" Alice squealed. "I talked to Carlisle and he said you could stay!"
Mallory's face lit up. "Really? Oh, thank you!" She hugged Alice around the waist, then let go, embarrassed. "Sorry," she mumbled.
Alice promptly hugged her back. "For what? I love hugs!"
"Then you're welcome?"
Alice laughed. "Come on, the mall awaits!" She pulled Mallory downstairs. "We're going to the mall. Anyone want to come?"
Rosalie rolled her eyes. Edward and Emmett declined. Carlisle said he had to go to work. Esme said she had stuff to do. Jasper was the unfortunate one whom Alice dragged along despite saying he didn't want to.
"You can hold our bags!" Alice chirped.
"Oh, joy," Jasper muttered.
Mallory giggled. "Does she do this a lot?"
"You have no idea," Jasper sighed.
oOo
Once at the mall, Alice wasted no time in finding Mallory's size and pulling clothes off the rack.
"Um…Alice? I don't think I can pay for these. I have no money," Mallory tried to explain.
Alice just smiled. "I don't expect you to pay for them. I will."
"You don't need to do that…"
"Of course I do! You're staying with us now, so it's our job to take care of you. That includes clothing," Alice replied.
Mallory stared at the ground, her eyes tearing up at that. Her father never seemed to think like that. He always said she was a waste of space and never deserved that stuff. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up. It was Jasper.
"I know how you feel. But you are worth it."
"How can you be sure?" Mallory asked, uncertain despite the confidence invading her system.
"Because every child deserves love," he answered assuringly. He removed his hand from her shoulder just as Alice came back, arms full of clothes and beaming. She led Mallory to a dressing room.
"Need any help?" she asked.
"Um…I don't think so," Mallory replied.
"Alright. Call if you need anything. Jasper and I will be right out here."
Mallory closed the door and locked it, then turned to the massive pile of clothes. She tried them all on and, at Alice's request, showed them all to her. In the end, the physic insisted she get all of them. Mallory was reluctant though. It would be a lot of money. But no one argues with Alice, and she learned that.
"You'll be the cutest of all wherever you go," Alice said as they exited the mall. It was now around noon and when they arrived back at the Cullens' house, Mallory found a sandwich and a glass of milk waiting on the kitchen table.
"Thank you, Mrs. Cullen," Mallory called into the living room.
Dr. Cullen sat down across from Mallory. "Mallory, since you don't want to return to home, how would you like it if Esme and I became your guardians?"
Mallory practically choked on her sandwich. "Seriously?"
Dr. Cullen nodded, looking faintly amused.
"That'd be great! But…why?"
"Why what?" Dr. Cullen asked, now confused.
"Why would you guys want to be my guardians? You just met me," Mallory said.
Dr. Cullen sighed. "Your mother was one of my patients. First, when she was pregnant with you and again when she had cancer. I'm very sorry I couldn't save her. I know I can never make it up to her or you, but I thought perhaps I could do something in her memory. What do you say?"
He was answered by a little blonde-haired girl suddenly hugging him. "Yes! Thank you, Dr. Cullen!"
He hugged her back, chuckling. "You're very welcome."