OMG!! I am sooo sorry for taking so long! There were angry teachers, and angry parents, my birthday, and being grounded. In short, it was a tough couple of weeks. Sorry.

WARNING: This chapter contains rape, but nothing graphic.

There was a moment of dead silence. Bella frowned. "Please be reasonable. I just admitted I'm a ghost, and you think I'm going to tell your secret?"

She had hit the nail on the head. That's what all of us were thinking. But she was right.

Emmett cleared his throat. "Aren't you...well, scared of us?" He asked, curiously.

Bella gave a bitter laugh. "I'm already dead. What do I have to be frightened of?" Pity welled up inside me as I stared at her.

The poor child. The unexpectedly compassionate thought came from Rosalie, which shocked me. But then I thought of Rosalie's past. It should not be so surprising, that she felt Bella's pain. Just as she had had her life snatched away from her, Rose's had been, too. I would never have thought she could feel this way, not Rosalie, so cold and vain. I had a new level of understanding for my sister.

Bella spoke quietly. "There is one more thing. I would like to apologize for how I behaved before. It was inexcusable." Her speech was very formal and controlled, but I sensed an undercurrent in what she said, something I couldn't understand.

Esme wrapped one arm around Bella, and gave her a tight hug. "Of course it's not, dear. I just wanted to ask..why?"

Bella gave a rueful smile. "I resented you, for moving in to the house that I viewed as mine. For making me change.. Don't worry; I'm over it." She smiled.

Alice stood, and touched Bella's arm. "Don't worry. We understand," Esme said gently.

"I know, Esme. Thank you. Thank you all, so much. For listening. For trusting me. I'm so grateful, more than I could ever say." She was breathing deeply, and her voice was filled with emotion. She shook her head, and gave a tired smile. "Just..thank you."

For a moment, no one could speak. Then Alice kissed Bella on the cheek. "Thank you, too, Bella, for sharing your story. Jasper and I have to go now, but I want to talk to you soon. We're going to be great friends. I don't need to see the future to know that."

Bella smiled down at her. "I'm looking forward to it." Soon the others left to pursue their own various forms of entertainment. I sank on to the piano bench. The conversation had left me feeling very old. I didn't even have the strength to lift my hands and play. Instead, I stared dumbly at the keys.

At the back of my mind, I heard a soft, ethereal wisp of a tune. It was so fragile and insubstantial I had to listen carefully to hear it. Slowly, the melancholy tune filled my thoughts. I began to play.

I let my fingers take over automatically. The haunting melody was beautiful. As I tinkered with the piece, I became aware of a conversation taking place upstairs. I submerged myself in Rosalie's thoughts.

I hate them. All of them. Royce and his friends, as well as James Rochester. I was lucky. I have Emmett, at least, and a family. But he condemned her to this horrible, lonely half-life. How can she stand it?

I turn to look at her. She Is sitting on my bed, staring out the window. She is beautiful, for a human. I remember brushing my little sisters' hair, when I was human. I wish that I hadn't been so proud and vain. I wish I had taken the time to know them.

I speak now. "Bella, I wanted to apologize to you. I can't say how sorry I am for how I treated you"

She gives me a sad smile. "I deserved it, Rosalie. I shouldn't have been baiting you."

I hesitate, then plunge on. "But it's more than that. I wanted to tell you, that I can understand. About James." His name leaves a bad taste in my mouth. "I can understand better than most." A deep breath. "Bella, I'm going to tell you how I became what I am."

"A vampire?"

"No, a haughty bitch." Bella laughs out loud, looking surprised. Her laugh is a pleasant sound, warm and sweet. "But yes, this story is also about how I became a vampire."

Bella turns, and looks at me gravely. "Go on, Rose."

"When I was human, I was the daughter of a wealthy banker. Because of my beauty, I was the favored one, my parents' pride and joy. And they planned to use me, as they did everything else, to increase their wealth and status." I can't help the disgust that is filling my voice. I would never forget my parents' role in the destruction of my life.

"I soon attracted the attentions of the son of the owner of the bank my father worked. His name was Royce King." I shiver as I recall the thrill that went through me when I had realized who the young man that had stared at me in the bank was. People stared so often, I never thought about it much.

"Soon he began to court me. I was thrilled, of course. Royce was exactly the kind of husband I had dreamed of, my Prince Charming come to whisk me away to his castle and make me his queen." How foolish and ignorant I was.

"But my dreams were ripped away from me in one cruel, brutal moment."I hate them, I hate them, I hate them.

"It was a few days before my wedding. I was walking home from my friend, Vera's, house. She had just had a son, a beautiful baby boy." It is nearly too painful to go on at this point. My voice shrinks to a whisper.

"That was all I wanted, really. To have children. Yes, I wanted to be wealthy, and go to parties, and wear fancy gowns. But what I wanted most, even then, was to have children. Strong, handsome sons, and little golden-haired girls. In my eyes, motherhood was the greatest achievement I could ever reach."

"Jealousy was a new feeling for me. I had always gotten what I wanted. My parents were rich enough to ensure that. But soon, I told myself, I shall be Mrs. Rosalie King. I will live in the Kings' mansion with my husband. He will inherit the bank when his father dies, and then we shall be very rich, indeed. I will have children of my own, and I will pity poor Vera, when I am living so well-off with my new husband, and my fair-haired children."

"It was late, and chilly. All of a sudden, everything looked frightening. There were ax murderers hiding down every corner and alley. I considered going back to Vera's and calling my father or Royce to take me home. But I was grown up, soon to be a married woman. Not a silly little girl frightened of the dark. I forced myself to plunge on."

My voice was empty of all emotion as I continued. I recited the words dully, trying to keep myself detached and fend off the terrible memories that had not been fully erased during the transformation. "A few minutes later, I heard laughter on the next corner. I looked up, and was relieved when I saw my fiancée and a few of his friends. He would escort me home safely."

I turned to stare straight into Bella's eyes. "If I had not been such an empty headed child, I would have run away, far away, from Royce and his friends, back to the safety of Vera's house. I could see that the men were intoxicated, though I didn't see how much, at first. I went up to them, and greeted Royce."

"There was a man from Georgia there, come to visit with Royce. I was shocked when Royce said to him,' What did I tell you John, isn't she lovelier than all your Georgia peaches?' I hated the way they looked at my body. It was not the way people normally stared, for I was used to that, so much that I never noticed anymore. No, this staring made my insides go cold."

"Then John said, 'It's hard to tell, she's all covered up' and with dawning horror, I realized just what I was going on. But by then, it was too late to run, though I tried anyway. I only got a few yards away when Royce grabbed my arm, and yanked my jacket off, throwing me to the ground in the process. 'Show him what you look like, Rose!' he yelled."

Bella's eyes were wide and her mouth was trembling. "I can't tell you how many times I screamed that night. It seemed as though it would never end. All I wanted was to die, there and then." My memories came rushing back, blurred, as they were seen from weak eyes, and heard through weak ears.

My piercing scream rising above the rough laughter of Royce and his friends, above the awful pounding in my ears. My head, hitting the cement with an ugly crack. My blood, running in rivulets down my face, and soaking my hair. And the horrible pain that was like being split in two.

Dry sobs wracked my body, and I bury my face in my hands. Then I feel Bella's arms around me, and she cries with me…..

I pulled out of Rose's thoughts feeling sick. I was ashamed of myself for eavesdropping. That conversation had been for Bella's ears alone. My hands have frozen on the piano. I stare at the keys, and hate myself.

But I do find myself hoping. Bella seems to be having a positive effect on us all. Maybe with her help, Rose can become a better, happier, person. Maybe she can learn to become less egocentric, and more attuned to the feelings of others. I believe that now she will have a brighter future.

I turned to stare out the window at the dawn.

This chapter took a long time to write. Please, as a late birthday gift, review! Merry Christmas, and happy New Year! I'll try to write soon.