The trees blurred from my sped. My muscles burned. The bite marks all over my body were agonisingly painful, but I still ran. If I didn't I would die, or worse, be brought back to my father. Seeing Victor was the last thing I ever wanted. Tears streamed down my cheeks, every breath burning my throat. I was so tired, so weak. I needed a place to rest. My vision was darkening. It felt as if I was falling into a black abyss. The ringing in my ears prevented me from being able to hear if anyone was following. I could only run, feel myself through the forest. It occurred to me that I wasn't even running straight. I was even more lost than I was before. I slammed into something hard, knocking it over. It took me a second to realize that I was lying on top of a vampire, who I had knocked onto the ground. I barely glanced at his face before I threw myself off of him and backed myself up against a tree, leaving as much space between us as possible. A warning growl slipped past my bloody lips and I glared at him, hoping that he was not in the mood for a fight. I watched him as he got to his feet and finally looked at me. The annoyance in his eyes quickly turned to worry. I knew immediately what he was seeing. A bloody girl looking like she had just escaped a fight with her life. I half expected him to attack me right then, me being easy prey. But he just stood there.

I watched him cautiously, taking him in. My blood had gotten over his jacket and jeans and even his face. His wild, curly blonde hair fell in front of his golden brown eyes and I could tell he had just hunted. He was strong. That was easy enough to tell. His eyes narrowed but it didn't hide the confusion I saw in them. Suddenly his face softened and I didn't feel threatened anymore. I felt safe. He wouldn't hurt me. Subconsciously I found myself taking a step forward. There was something so comforting and familiar about him. I took another step to him, loving how relaxed he made me.

Pain seized my entire body and I collapsed onto the ground. The mystery man didn't hesitate as he rushed to my side. I was shaking fiercely. I finally looked down to see my injuries. They were worse than I thought. My body was completely soaked in crimson. My skin was torn open in a number of places.

"It's going to be okay," He said gently, lifting my head on to his lap. I barely noticed him pulling out a cell phone. Seconds later he was talking to someone on the other end of the line. "Carlisle, we have a problem." Those were the last words I heard before sweet unconsciousness consumed me.

I was only half awake when I heard the sounds of worried voices from the next room. I was too tired to even open my eyes so I just listened. The first I recognized as the man who had helped me. I didn't know why I was able to pick up on his voice so quickly.

"We don't even know who she is." He said sharply. He sounded annoyed again. I could tell that he didn't even want to discuss this. It made me wonder why he had saved my life in the first place. Most vampires would have just killed me. At least the ones I knew. Why was I even still alive?

"She's hurt, Jasper. She needs our help." A soft, female voice said. Jasper, who obviously was the one who had saved me, sighed heavily. Suddenly I could feel someone's eyes on me. My body stiffened. "She's awake." The same voice said simply. Soon her eyes were joined by many others. How did she know I was awake? Pressure was put on my arm and I knew immediately that it was someone's hand.

Opening my eyes was harder than I thought it would be, but when I did, I was staring up at Jasper's face, along with a small brunette. My heart jumped, my nails digging into the bed underneath me.

"It's okay," Another voice said, belonging to neither Jasper nor the small brunette. Slowly I looked in the direction of the voice and my breath caught in my throat. I was staring at a man, not too much older than Jasper. His eyes were gently; his light blonde hair was neatly brushed back and out of his eyes. He smiled his already familiar smile. I sat up in one swift motion while ignoring the pain that seized my entire body. My eyes never left his. "You're safe now." He told simply and a rush of comfort rushed over me. I knew he was telling me the truth. He was the man who had offered me his hand in my dream. It didn't take long before the older brunette stood beside him, just like she did in the dream. Behind them, I noticed the rest of their family.

"Where am I?" I asked finally. My voice was rough and barely audible. The blonde man stepped forward and kneeled beside my bed.

"Our home in Forks," He said just as quietly as I did as if he didn't want to anger me. "I'm Carlisle and this is my family." I just stared at him, unsure what to think. Reality seemed distorted. I had to fight back the urge to reach out and touch him, just to make sure he was real and not just a dream.

"Carlisle," I whispered to myself, afraid that if I spoke any louder I would wake myself up. His name rolled off the tongue. It was so natural to be near him, someone I could trust, a natural ally.

"Yes, and this is Esme." He said gesturing to the sweet brunette woman standing next to him. "Edward and Bella," He continued, glancing quickly to the bronze haired boy and dark haired girl I had seen with the child. Speaking of which, where was she? If the rest were real, shouldn't she be here as well? My thoughts were interrupted by a confused glare by the bronze haired boy named Edward. His eyes were focused on me as if he were reading my mind.

The realization shook me. In my dream it had seemed as if he had been reading my mind. If the dream version of him could do it, why couldn't he? My dream seemed to be spot on about everything else so far. Carlisle alone was enough proof of that. It became clear to me that I had to be careful about my thoughts around him.

"Rosalie and Emmett," Carlisle gestured to two more of the vampires that were behind them. Emmett was an extremely muscular brunette with hair that was only about two inches away from a buzz cut. He had his arm around an impossibly beautiful blonde girl which I guessed was Rosalie. She would have been even more gorgeous looking, if that was even possible, but her face was carved into what seemed like a permanent scowl. She was obviously not pleased by my unexpected appearance.

"And finally this is Alice and Jasper." He said throwing a smile at the two vampires who had been directly next to me a second ago. Now they were both on the other side of the room, Jasper standing protectively in front of Alice. I nodded once at Jasper, really looking at him for the first time. Scars of bite marks covered his neck and jaw and I had to stop myself from flinching back. Clearly he was not a stranger to my world.

"What's your name, honey?" Esme asked me and I tore my eyes from Edward. Her wavy chestnut hair framed her angelic face. Her voice reminded was so soft and gentle and caring. It had a motherly worry tone that surprised me. Then again, everything about this family surprised me. It was so different. I hesitated for only a second, glancing once at Carlisle as a reminder that I could trust them, and then turned back to Esme. I took a shaky breath even though I already felt calm enough.

"Roxanne," I said finally. "Roxanne MacKay."

"Well, Roxanne, you were in pretty bad shape when Jasper found you." Carlisle commented as he raised his hand to my face and quickly examined it. I looked down and saw that the bite marks were almost healed. I was no longer bleeding, which was good, but I knew I would have some scars after this. Not that I didn't have tons already.

"I know. I'm glad I ran into you. Literally," I tried to smile again at Jasper. "Sorry about that, by the way." I added after a beat. I was surprised when I saw his lips twitch upward. Finally I let myself lay back down. I was still exhausted but I had to stay awake. I wasn't out of the woods just yet.

"You need sleep." Edward spoke suddenly, contradicting my thoughts. I gave him a weak smile and shrugged. "You're tired." He told me. It wasn't a question but I wasn't about to let him tell me what to do.

"I'm fine." I said while trying to make my voice strong. It was obvious he didn't believe me. "Thank you," I told them.

"No, Edward is right. It is best that you sleep." Carlisle said firmly. Esme closed the already short distance between and stroked my hair lovingly. I couldn't help but flinch from her touch. I instantly regretted my decision as she started to pull back her hand. She still smiled at me as if I hadn't hurt her at all. I sighed heavily.

"Maybe you're right." I answered them and let my body relax. I had to make sure my mind was clear of any thoughts while Edward was in the room. He must have noticed because his eyebrow raised but didn't say anything. I closed my eyes. Even though I loved how safe I felt here, I knew I couldn't stay. It was ridiculous to think otherwise and as soon as the last person closed the door my eyes opened again. For a few seconds I was perfectly still. I could hear their voices coming from downstairs, arguing what they should do with me. Silently I got off the bed and found myself walking to the closed door. I pressed my body against it and listened to their muffled voices.

"This is crazy!" Someone whispered harshly. I smiled bitterly. They had no idea how crazy things could get if I stayed here.

"Rose, she needs our help. We don't even know what attacked her." A sweet voice responded calmly. It was Alice, the cute girl standing next to Jasper. My smile faded quickly. That was all the convincing I needed to get out of here. They could just as easily become attached to me as I already felt to them. If that happened, who knows what my enemies would do to them to get to me. Or what they wouldn't do to protect me.

"It isn't our job." Rosalie countered easily. I prayed that she could convince the others to forget about me. Maybe she wasn't the only one who felt that way. Hopefully Jasper would be on her side as well.

I was about to step away from the door and leave when something stopped me. Through the arguing I could hear the distinct sound of a heartbeat. Why hadn't I heard that before? The steady sound pulsed through me, completely in synch with my own. Then I realized that I was hearing two coming from downstairs. Another half vampire child, or was it something else? I doubted a human would be here.

With questions swirling around my mind, I pushed myself away from the door and finally made my way to the window. The night wind slapped my face, playing with my golden blonde hair. I inhaled once. The smell was intoxicating. I didn't realize I had jumped from the window until I was on the ground. The soft grass brushed up against my legs. Looking one last time back at the Cullen's house, I ran into the dark forest.