Hey everyone! Sorry it took me so long to update. I still don't have my laptop back yet. The cord should be coming in tomorrow morning, YAY! Thank you for all the amazing reviews! All of you are simply the best. Keep the great reviews coming and I'll keep the chapters coming ;)

I woke up early because I was excited to go pick up Claire and Alyssa at the airport. The cleaners were coming anyway to stock up the kitchen and clean the house. My dad doesn't like my mom and I home when they are around. I have yet to figure out why, but when the cleaners came we always took a trip back into the US. We mainly went shopping or mom and dad took me out to a nice restaurant for lunch or dinner. This time my dad arranged for the cleaners to come while we were going to the airport.

The past week I have been avoiding the beach, mainly Gavin, but I made the beach off limits for myself. No one seemed to mind but my mom. All week she's been telling me that I have to go down and talk to Gavin, tell him how I feel. That's a conversation I want to avoid at all costs.

I dressed quickly, brushed my teeth, and grabbed a pop tart.

"That's all you're eating?" My mom asked when I walked out of the kitchen.

"Yes." I said with my mouth full.

"We'll stop and get lunch before we come back home." She said as she followed me back into my room. We were able to stay out during the day since it was overcast in LA today.

I swallowed. "Ok!" I dropped to my knees to try and find my other sandal.

"Here." My mom sniffed once and walked over to my dresser. I stood up as I watched her bend down to pick up my missing sandal. I wish I inherited the keen sense of smell and hearing like my parents. I do have a pretty good sense of smell, but not good enough to find my missing accessories.

"I knew I kept you around for a reason." I laughed.

"Oh yeah?" My mom reached for me as I tried running passed her. She tickled my sides and my legs gave out. She held my weight easily as she continued to tickle me.

"Ok, ok! I take it back." I said through hysterics.

"Good." She chuckled.

When we got to the boat, my dad got in first and took my mom's hand as she stepped in. She obviously didn't need the help, but my dad still liked to keep up the façade that she needed help with stuff like that. I never heard my mom argue.

"Come on Ness." Jacob took my hand and picked me up. I reached for my dad at the same time he reached for me. Once I was inside the boat I walked over to sit with my mom.

"Come on Edward!" Jacob wined. He must have been asking my dad something in his mind because my mom and I both exchanged confused looks.

"No." My dad answered sternly.

"Why can't I drive?"

"I'm not letting a dog drive a speedboat with my wife and child onboard."

"I'm not going to do anything stupid!" Jacob huffed.

My dad ignored him as he turned the boat on and sped away. It felt like my stomach was pressed against my spine the way my dad took off. I fought to keep my hair out of my face at the same time my mom's arms held me in my seat as we bounced in the waves. I decided to play it up and tease Jacob. I pushed my mom's arms off of me and stood up to walk towards my dad. He knew what I was about to do because he was grinning widely.

"Dad, can I drive?" I asked as I looked at Jacob through the corner of my eye.

"Sure honey." My dad stepped back and I grabbed the wheel. His hands lingered above mine, ready to grab the wheel if he needed to.

"What the hell is that about?!" Jacob yelled.

"I can't help that she can drive better than you." My dad laughed.

"Spoiled rotten." Jacob said under his breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Your point?" I asked sarcastically.

"My point is your parents give you anything and everything you want. Whatever happened to working for what you want?"

"The Cullen's don't work that way Jacob." My dad laughed.

We pulled into the harbor and as always got stares from the onlookers that were walking the docks. "Have you ever seen a boat like that?" One guy said to his friend.

"No, it's got to be the fastest boat on the market right now. That had to have cost a pretty penny." The other guy answered.

"I wonder where they just came from." Another guy said as he joined the other onlookers.

We got off the boat, and headed down the dock.

"Ness, stay close." My dad said as Jacob took my hand.

"I got her." He told my dad.

My dad put his arm around my mom's waist as they walked in front of us.

"You think that big guy is the kid's bodyguard?" I looked behind me as I watched the small group of people talking and starring at us.

"He must be. You have to have some sort of protection when you own a boat like that, and did you see the rocks the woman was wearing on her finger and her wrist? Hubby must be into something big."

Jacob tugged at my arm. "Stop starring, and walk forward."

"Sorry, I think it's funny to hear what people have to say about us. It's something different every time we come here." I said as we stopped at the end of the dock.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, always a pleasure to see you. Shopping today?" Mr. Bixler, as always smiled politely. He always looked a little nervous around my dad, but made sure he always had a smile plastered on his face. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, just like he always did when he saw my dad coming towards him.

"Not today, we're picking up my daughter's friends from the airport." My dad answered him.

"Oh, my yes. Miss Cullen, how are you this morning?" Mr. Bixler leaned over to look passed my parents. His eyes met mine for only a second, and then he looked back at my dad.

"Fine thank you." I answered politely.

"We should be back around 4." My dad said as he slipped money into his hand. I was not supposed to know about this exchange, but my dad always handed him money to keep a close eye on the boat whenever we were here.

My dad heard my thought because he turned slightly in my direction and smiled.

I giggled.

"Oh, almost forgot." Mr. Bixler said nervously. He reached over grabbing a lollipop that he always gave me. "Have a nice day." He smiled at me. My dad reached for my candy for me and I took it happily.

"Thank you Mr. Bixler!" I waved to him as we walked away.

"Ready?" Jacob asked as he squeezed my hand slightly.

"Yup!" I cheered. I skipped alongside him as we walked towards our rental car.

"What are we getting this time?" My mom asked curiously.

"Hummer!" My dad said eagerly as he pointed to a very large black monster. The windows were tinted as black as the paint of the car.

"That?" My mom gasped.

"Is awesome!" I added. I let go of Jacob's hand and ran over to it.

"Of course you'd say that." I heard my mom mumble as I pushed through her and my dad.

Jacob snorted and shook his head. "You sure know how to outdo everything don't you. We're just picking up Claire, Quil and Alyssa. You act as if you're escorting the president around town."

My dad shook his head as he opened the passenger door for my mom. "My cargo is more important." He disagreed, and leaned towards my mom to kiss her. Then he took my hand and opened the back door to help me in. He kissed my cheek after he buckled me in. "Much more important." He sighed and shut my door.

"I have never seen anyone go out of their way to protect the identity of his family the way you do." Jacob said when he got in the backseat next to me.

"You never know who's out there. Always have to be safe, Jacob."

Jacob looked around him and chuckled. "Not this safe." He mumbled to himself.

My dad ignored him.

"Cool! Dad, the TV's are in the seats!" I moved to the edge of the seat to poke around with the TV on the back of my mom's headrest. "I wish I knew, I would have brought some DVD's." I sighed. The ride to the airport was 3 hours, and that was with my dad driving. The traffic here was horrible.

"Look behind you my dear." My dad glanced over his shoulder flashing me a smile. I spun around and leaned over the back of the seat. "I made sure they had all of your favorites put in here."

"You're the best!" I squealed. I reached over and grabbed the first DVD I could reach. I put it on and was content for the rest of the ride.

Once we were at the airport I walked between my parents. When we were here I didn't hold their hand. I was getting too old for people to think I was with my parents. They looked more like my brother and sister. So my dad allowed me to walk without holding their hands, but I still had to walk between them. Although I knew it killed my dad that neither of them had a hold on me, my dad's hand rested on my lower back. He led me through the crowd this way. I didn't care there was no point in arguing with my dad when it came to keeping me safe.

"When is the flight coming in?" I asked, bouncing impatiently.

"10 minutes." My mom answered as she read the arrivals on the screen. We walked over to baggage claim. Jacob and I chased each other around the belt until they announced the arrival of the flight.

"Ness!" Both Claire and Alyssa yelled. Quil was holding both their hands as they struggled for him to let go. When he did the 3 of us ran to each other.

"Your hair got so long!" Alyssa pointed out as she reached for my hair.

"I love your outfits!" I stepped back to see Alyssa's yellow and black plaid skirt and matching shirt. Claire had on the same thing but hers was purple and black.

"Aunt Alice bought it for us as a going away present. She got you one in pink!" Alyssa said as she held up the shopping bag.

I took it from her and turned towards my mom. "Can I go change please?" I begged.

"As soon as we get their luggage." My mom said, and looked passed me. "Where's my favorite niece?"

"Hi, Aunt Bella!" Alyssa said as she ran over to her.

She leaned down to hug Alyssa, then stood straight to look at Claire.

"Claire, sweetie, you're getting too big." My mom said as she kissed the top of her head. "Thanks for coming with them, Quil." My dad said as he shook his hand.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, a 2 hour flight full of 'Oh my God what bathing suit are you going to wear? I have my blue bikini…' and then there was, 'I brought all my nail polish so we can do each other's nails.'" Quil did his best high pitched girly voice and we all laughed.

Quil and Jacob carried the luggage as we walked back to the Hummer.

"My mom would love this car!" Alyssa gasped as she walked around the car.

"Probably." My dad agreed.

Quil and Jacob lounged in the back with the luggage as Claire, Alyssa and I sat in the backseat.

My mom turned in her seat to look at Quil. "Quil, I'm surprised Seth didn't come along."

He laughed. "Rosalie wasn't letting him anywhere near the plane. He's ok with it though. Leah has him doing some extra patrolling with Jacob and me gone."

My mom nodded and sat forward in her seat.

"Where do you ladies want to eat lunch?" My dad looked over his shoulder as we came to a stop at a red light.

The three of us were giggling about our matching outfits.

"Can we eat on the pier? My mom says they have great seafood there." Claire asked.

"NO!" I yelled, too loud. Everyone in the car turned to look at me.

Jacob burst out laughing.

"Oh, I forgot! Sorry Ness." Claire looked back at the screen on the back of my dad's headrest.

"It's ok." I sighed.

We settled for a fancy Italian restaurant instead. Claire, Alyssa, Quil and Jacob gasped as we walked through the front door. I've been here many times before so it was nothing new.

"Are those pillars real gold?" Jacob whispered to my dad.

He nodded once before the hostess looked up at us.

"Good afternoon, sir. How many?" She asked as she eyed my dad quickly. I looked down to see my mom tighten her grip on his hand and moved closer to him.

I made gagging noises. Claire and Alyssa snickered at me and my dad reached behind him with his free hand and nudged me lightly. That made the 3 of us laugh harder.

"3 kids and 2 adult menus please." My dad answered softly.

I didn't eat off the kid menu anymore, but I loved to do the puzzles on them.

I watched her mouth as she counted the number of people in our group. When it was just my parents and I, they ordered food and I got something small so I could pick at what they ordered. This way we avoided weird looks from our server. The hostess seemed confused, but reached for the desired menus. We followed her into the middle of the restaurant, but as always, my dad stopped her.

"We would like something over in the back corner. I happen to know for a fact that you always have booths open back there." My dad let go of my mom's hand for a brief second as he reached into his wallet and placed money in the young girl's hand.

"S-Sure." She stammered and led us to the back of the restaurant.

"Girl's, you can sit alone if you would like." My dad pointed to the booth directly across from where the hostess put the menus down. He looked at the awe struck hostess. "Will that be a problem?"

"N-No sir." She stuttered and took the three kids menus and sat them in the booth that Claire, Alyssa and I had settled into.

"What will it be girls?" My dad asked when he saw the waitress walking towards us.

We gave my dad our orders and as soon as the waitress came up to us he told her what we wanted. "Quil, Jacob? What will it be?"

"I don't know…" Quil said as he looked over the menu.

"Don't worry about it. Order what you want."

Quil looked up at my dad quickly and smirked.

My dad nodded.

Jacob and Quil babbled on for 2 whole minutes as they ordered their appetizers and their entrees. They both snuck glanced up at my dad waiting for him to stop them. He was distracted by my mom, so they pretty much ordered everything on the first 2 pages.

"Will that be all?" The waitress asked, impatiently.

"Edward." Jacob hissed and kicked my dad under the table.

He look away from my mom and growled. "What?" He snapped.

"Do we want anything else?" Jacob asked him.

My dad looked at me, "You girls all set?"

"Can I get a salad before my ravioli?" I asked him.

"Anything you want." He gave my salad order to the waitress and leaned forward to ask if Claire and Alyssa wanted one too.

After the waitress walked away I heard a loud thud and Jacob grunt. "That hurt!" He hissed though his teeth as he rubbed his shin.

"Don't kick me again." My dad warned.

"Well if you weren't making googly eyes over there you would have heard the waitress."

"I can make you pay for your 6 course meal that you just ordered." My dad cautioned.

"Shutting up now." Jacob said quickly. He slid off the seat and sat next to me. "What are you lovely ladies doing?"

"Playing tic tac toe." I answered him.

"Cool, I play winner." Jacob said as he watched Clair and me.

"I'll play Lyss." Quil waited while Jacob and I got out of the booth so he could sit in at the wall across from Alyssa. I was squished between Quil and Jacob. We played until our salads arrived and Quil and Jacob's first round of appetizers.