A.N.: More about delays at the end... for now, enjoy! :)

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I was still thinking about my feelings toward the Cullen family at the end of the day, when Alice skipped lightly to my side. She had a huge smile across her face, making me immediately suspicious.

"Oh, quit that!," she grumbled at me, assessing my mood. "I just want to invite you, Chelle and your boyfriends to go hunting with us tomorrow."

I hesitated. I'd have to talk to Chelle…

"I've spoken with Chelle, and she said she'll go if you will."

"Oh, well… in that case… sure! Where are we going?"

She smiled happily.

"To Forks. Bella wants to see her father. And it's a good spot to hunt, because there's plenty of forest around the area."

I nodded, suddenly nervous.

"It'll be fun," she told me radiantly

"I'm sure it will," I mumbled

"What's the problem with you?," Alice demanded.

"Its just that… well… I've never left the state before, and…"

"You've never travelled?" she shrieked

"No…" I said, cautious, a bit scared by her sudden outburst.

Alice shook her head in disbelief.

"Well then, it's a good thing you're coming tomorrow. It's more than time you saw the world outside Arkansas state, Mandy!"

I laughed, as both of us climbed into the Volvo.

***

Saturdays usually meant staying around at home, just being. Reading, or something else to make the day pass. This Saturday, however, would be different. The sun was still rising when the Silver Volvo stopped by the drive, having Bella and Edward already in there. I climbed into the back seat, and Ruff followed me. We left then, and Bella started telling u about Forks.

"It's a really small town, nothing big or momentous. The forests around it put the city to shame, though," she said, laughing.

"How will we gat there?" I asked timidly. All of the Cullens had been to this city before; they'd met Bella there, and the way Bella talked about it, made it obvious that, even though it'd been 5 years since she'd been there, that was still her home.

"We're leaving the car in a secluded spot close by, in the next state, and from there, we'll go running," Edward told us. "Not really necessary, but Alice wanted a chance to drive her car a bit," he said, sounding amused. Bella laughed.

"Alice has a car? The BMW?"

Bella nodded. "All Cullens have a car. At least, most of us do. Alice's is a yellow, flashy Porsche, and she absolutely loves it; but she can't exactly drive it very much. It'd call too much attention. Rosalie owns the BMW, this is Edward's car, Emmett has a monstrous red Jeep, Carlisle a black Mercedes, and I have a red Ferrari. Oh, and Jasper has a motorbike," she added.

Ruff gasped, surprised, from his seat next to me.

"Those are… uhm… some expensive cars you have," I said, stunned

Bella laughed lightly.

"And, of course, Bella, you forgot my special occasion car," Edward told her

"Oh, yes, that's right!" She agreed. "Edward also owns an Austin Martin Vanquish, which he calls the special occasion car." She shrugged.

"An Austin Martin?" Ruff whispered, awed.

Edward turned to look at him. "You like cars?"

Ruff nodded solemnly. I sighed, and saw Bella roll her eyes at me.

I could see those two would get along well, then. Talking cars! Personally, I didn't get it. What was it with cars? They were far too slow for me. Running was faster, plus it was also nicer, since you could pass through places a car would never manage to pass with its bulky body armor.

When we finally got out of the car, I looked around.

We were in an open spot in the middle of a thick forest. I'd seen the trees flash past us as we came, and, when I looked back, from where we'd come, I saw the little path we'd come through. It looked like it was way too narrow for a Jeep such as Bella had described, but, as if to prove me wrong, a few minutes later, it appeared. Rosalie had a bored face, while Emmett, driving, had a huge smile. I caught a glimpse of Chelle and Larry on the back seat, looking very surprised indeed.

I laughed, exultant. There was more than one reason to why I didn't like going around in cars: I felt like I was trapped in them. Like I couldn't move. I liked to be free, like when I ran, being able to go anywhere.

Once the whole family, with the exceptions of Carlisle and Esme, who had stayed in Arkansas, to hunt around there, was assembled, we went back out through the same dirt road we'd come in. This time, running. We ran in silence, luxuriating the sensation.

After some time, I saw Bella's expression change. It became one of intense longing, and she seemed to be straying more and more to the left. I looked at Edward, trying to understand, but he was too busy talking animatedly to Ruff and Larry about cars. I sighed.

"Alice," I said, moving to stand next to her.

She looked at me, questioning.

"What's wrong with Bella?"

Alice looked over to her sister-in-law and laughed. "We're close now," was all she said to me, before turning to Edward. "Edward, you might want to stop Bella. We're close now, and she seems like she's ready to jump right into Charlie's house through the back window."

Edward looked over to his wife and smiled. He ran a bit faster, staying next to her.

"Bella, calm down. We will go to visit, I promise, but Jasper needs to hunt first."

Bella nodded, shot one more longing glance to the left, then stopped suddenly. "In that case, we shouldn't get much closer," she said.

We all slowed to a stop, too.

Edward nodded. "Mandy, Chelle, Ruff, Larry… the forest is yours. Just don't go to the left of here, which is where the town is. And please try to stay away from a place with a terrible smell. You two girls," he said, pointing at me and Chelle. "Know what it is. We would really appreciate if you didn't get too close to the werewolves."

"Okay," I said, nodding my comprehension.

***

A few hours later, we all met at a clearing with a huge white, old-fashioned mansion on the outskirts of the city.

"Who lived here?" I asked in awe, looking at the house. It was huge, and old-styled, yet perfectly symmetrical. All the windows on the three floors were perfectly identical, and the house itself was rectangular, with the front door right in the middle of the wall that faced us, with beautiful, grand-ish steps going up to it. One of the walls was all made of glass, and that side looked out over the river and the forest.

"A millionaire, apparently," Chelle answered, following my gaze.

Alice, Bella and Rose laughed. I looked at them, confused. Jasper smiled at me and Chelle before, answering.

"This was our home, five years ago."

I felt my jaw drop, and I looked back to the house. "Wow," was all I managed to whisper. That remark made the three girls laugh even more. "This is one… uh… big house you have," I stuttered.

Bella sighed. "I miss it. There's no room for the piano in Arkansas."

"Piano? You can play the piano, Bella?"

Bella looked at me, startled. "Not me," she said, smiling. "It's Edward who can. Why don't you play a bit, Edward? I've missed it."

"Yes, Edward, please," Alice begged him.

Edward rolled his eyes, but walked up the porch stairs, took a key out of his pocket, and unlocked the door. He led us in to the living-room, with me and Chelle tagging in last.

It was exactly what one expected to see: huge, spacious rooms, with expensive things. The colors were all different shades of white, designed so as not to frighten possible visitors. Right in front of the door, there was a massive staircase that came down in a gentle curve. To one side of the door, on a little elevated part of the living-room, there was a huge piano. Edward sat on the little bench, while Bella sat next to him, and the rest of us went to the white sofas, on the other side of the room, on a slightly lower level, with a glass wall that looked out to the forest, where a stream could be seen, and a huge plasma TV on a little table close to the wall of glass.

I forgot all about the beautiful view, however, when the music started. It was slow and building, but very sweet, with a slight edge to it. I saw Edward turn to wink at Bella, who had a blinding smile on her face.

"It's her Lullaby, that he composed for her, when they first met," Alice whispered to me. I nodded, to show I'd heard, and went back to listening to the melody. It was the most beautiful music I'd heard for quite awhile now; so melodic and sweet, yet with a tint of sadness and fear...

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A.N.: Thank you to all who have reviewed, and to all of you who endure my delays. =/

I'm so sorry I didn't manage to thank you all personally this time, but if I did, this chapter would've taken even longer! And since I think you've been waiting for more than long enough, so... :)

Anyway... next chapter they'll meet Charlie... now how's THAT gonna go? Huh? Srsly, good question. When you have the characters, and the plot line, the difficult thing is not to rush things too much, and to kind of just let the characters take control of the story!

Now, then... the one and only reason why I took so long to update is that, here in Brazil, it's Summer holidays, so I had two solid months; and I went to Europe to see my family, and only came back 2 days ago. Then, tomorrow, school starts again (don't ask me why my school starts on a freakin' Wednesday... they're just nuts, I guess...), and things were hell, what with unpacking, and buying my material, that only today did I manage to sit my butt on my chair and present you guys with this - though I'll pretend I didn't, because my mom'll kill me if I tell her! xD.

Anyway, R&R please, and I promise next chapter will come sooner, and (hopefully) then I'll manage to aknwoledge each of you then :)

Peace,

Mandy