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Beta'd by melanieintn

RenPOV

I had been looking forward to this day for months. The last day of school was finally coming to an end in a few short minutes; tomorrow, Alyssa and I would be leaving for our summer long trip to Italy!

Alyssa and I were sitting in our Biology class counting the seconds until the last bell sounded; we would be free! The classroom was buzzing with the voices of our classmates talking in low tones. Mr. Jamison had told us as long as we weren't loud that we could do whatever we wanted this period.

"Oh, Ren I can hardly believe by this time Friday that we will be in Italy!" Alyssa said to me in a whisper.

"I know I can hardly wait either, I haven't seen my other family in person in a long time. I have only seen them when we talk by Skype; you will love it there, and you will love my family," I told her.

Finally the last bell rang and we sprinted out of the room and down to dad's classroom on the first floor. He was just finishing up his end of the year's duties.

"Hello there, girls," he greeted us.

"Hi, daddy; are you almost ready to go?" I asked.

"Yes, princess, almost; are you excited about something?" he asked teasingly.

"Yes, of course Daddy E; we are excited about getting home to finish getting ready for our trip," Alyssa answered.

Alyssa had basically adopted my family as her own; she had named dad, Daddy E, and mom was Mama B to her. I think mom and dad really liked it too. They never said so, but I always felt like they wished they could have had another baby or two. They never hesitated about making Alyssa feel like their own child, and I loved her like a sister. Whatever I had, she had too. Her stepmom always complained that she was spoiled; I think she was just jealous because Alyssa basically got to live better than she and her own son did.

Ever since Alyssa and I became friends as children, she spent more time at my house than her own; and if I got something, she got the same thing. We shared everything with each other just like blood sisters. We took her with us on every trip we went on. Mom and dad made her birthdays as special as they made my own. I was glad there was something else I was about to get to share with her as well, and that was the truth about myself and the family. It was happening tonight, but I didn't think this would come as a shock. Alyssa knew there was something different about us. I mean; how could she not? She had practically lived with us for ten years.

"Oh, that's right; my girls are going on their first grown up trip together," dad said.

"I think Daddy E is gonna miss us, Ren," Alyssa said.

"Of course I will, Lyssy. I always miss my girls when you're gone," he said with a smile and a wink.

Dad was finally finished and gathered his personal belongings, and then we were headed out the door. Once we got home, we all changed clothes. Dad went to spend time with mom; and Alyssa and I went to the pool for a swim. We had been swimming for a while when mom and dad came out to the pool as well.

"Well, are my girls glad to be out of school for the year?" mom asked.

"Yes!" we both answered at the same time.

"Alyssa, did your father get your passport for you yet?" mom asked her.

"He said he would pick it up today on his way home," she answered.

"Okay, good; other than that little detail, I'd say you girls are all ready to go on your trip. We will miss you both while you're gone," mom said.

"What time does your father get home today, Lyssy? The place closes at 5:00; it's 4:30, now," dad asked.

"Oh, no! He won't be able to get it; he doesn't get off work until seven tonight," she said sadly.

"Don't worry, baby girl; I'll handle it. Bella, I'm going to go get that done real fast; I'll be back in a bit, honey," dad said.

"Okay, baby; I'll get everything ready for tonight while you're gone," mom told him and gave him a peck on his lips.

Oh, I want to find that with my mate so bad someday. My dad was nothing short of every girl's Prince Charming. He loved my mom and the family so much. He would do anything for any of us. I hoped I found a mate like that.

Mom talked to Alyssa and me for a few more minutes, and then she went back inside. Alyssa and I stayed in the pool for a while longer, and then we got out and went inside when dad got back.

AlyssaPov

When Ren and I came downstairs after changing, the whole family was here. We walked into the family room to join them, and they were all staring at me with smiles on their faces. I looked over at Ren to see if she noticed them staring at me, but she was doing the same with the same weird grin on her face.

"Alright, everyone, what is going on? You are acting weirder than usual," I said, trying to be funny. I didn't get the laugh I was expecting.

"What weird things have you noticed about us, sweetheart?" Mama B asked me.

I didn't want to answer; I had noticed a lot of weird things over the years. You don't spend all your time with a family without noticing they seem to never sleep or eat. It always struck me as weird that they seemed to know what was going to happen before it did. I couldn't find the courage to admit that; they would hate me and leave.

I noticed they all gave each other a look; and Grandpa C nodded almost imperceptibly, as well as Daddy E. It seemed they were having a silent conversation. I wouldn't have noticed, if I hadn't been watching them.

"You can tell us, Lyssy; we would never hate you; and it will not make us leave," Daddy E said to me.

I stared at him for a moment; I had often wondered if he could read minds, but I just thought I was crazy.

"You are not crazy, Lyssy. You are just very perceptive. There is a very good explanation as to why it seems we never, eat, or sleep," Daddy E said.

He was staring straight into my eyes, willing me to say my theories out loud.

"You guys rarely ever eat; I also don't believe you ever sleep. Aunt Ali knows things before they happen," I whispered; I was afraid if I said it out loud that they would yell at me to leave.

"We would never yell at you to leave, baby girl," Mama B said to me; she sat beside me and drew me into a hug.

"You both can read minds; can't you?" I asked both Mama B and Daddy E.

I might as well say what was on my mind, now; they could hear it anyway.

"Yes, Lyssy, and you are right; we don't eat or sleep. What else have you noticed?" Daddy E asked.

"Well, if you can really read minds, then you should know what I have been thinking over the years. You tell me what I have noticed," I said to him, grinning cheekily. It made him chuckle.

"Alright! Let's see, you have noticed our hard cold skin, but thought we all had some kind of skin disorder. Aunt Ali does see the future, and she would see when your brother or stepmother was going to be particularly nasty to you. We would invite you over, just as you suspected. You were not imagining that time you thought you saw Uncle Em pick up the couch...," Daddy E was rambling off.

"Okay! I believe you! How can you do all this?" I asked interrupting him.

The only way he knew these things were if he saw them in my head. I had to know how they did these things and what else they could do. This fascinated me to no end. This wonderful family had made my life bearable over the years, more than that they had made it wonderful.

"We want you to know before we tell you about us that you have never been, nor will you ever be, in any danger from us," Grandpa C began.

"I have never felt any danger from any of you. This is the safest I have ever felt, being here with you guys. Please just tell me because I am not afraid," I told everyone, practically begging.

"She really isn't afraid; I feel love, curiosity, and frustration, but no fear," Uncle Jazz said, smiling at me.

Well, I guessed that meant Uncle Jazz could feel what other people felt, and Uncle Em was super strong. I wonder what everyone else could do.

"We are all super strong, Lyssy; we are super fast too because we are vampires, sweetheart," Daddy E said.

Vampires. I was in a room full of vampires. Was I scared? No. Should I be? Maybe so, but I wasn't. It was like I said; I had never felt safer than when I was with my adopted family. Was I surprised? Not really; I always knew something was up.

"Hey wait!" I began, as I thought of something. "I thought vampires didn't age! How old are you guys? When do you eat? What do you eat? I know it isn't the neighbors. Although I know Mama B probably wishes she could drain Pamela," I said, causing everyone to chuckle.

"No thank you, I don't want any part of that cougar in me!" Mama B said cringing.

"Now, let's give you the answers to your questions. We do drink blood, but it is animal blood. That is how we are able to live and work among humans. We don't age, this is stage make-up we have on. Now about our ages, do you want us to tell you, or would you like for us to go take our make-up off and put on clothes appropriate for our ages and let you see us as we truly are?" Grandma Esme said.

I thought about his for a minute; I couldn't imagine there was that much of an age difference. They looked so natural, not made up at all. I looked at Daddy E, and he just smirked at me.

"I think that I would like to see you as you are. It can't be that much of a difference, you look too natural," I told them, voicing my thoughts.

Everyone grinned at me as if saying "as you wish" and left the room.

"You have been awfully quiet during all of this, Ren. Are you okay?" I asked my best friend, my sister.

"Yes, I'm fine. Aunt Ali said you would understand, but I was still afraid you would run away and never want to see us again," she admitted to me.

"You are my sister, Ren. You and your family have always been there for me, and I could never leave you," I said, reaching over to give her a hug.

"Now, tell me about you. I know you can't be a vampire; you are aging and growing just like me. I know you are Daddy E and Mama B's child; you look too much like them not to be biological," I said, extremely curious.

"I am half vampire. Mama had me when she was still human. Since birth, I have been able to show people my thoughts, by touching their faces," Ren told me with a worried look on her face.

At first she was hesitant, but still demonstrated her talent by touching my face. I gasped, as she showed me what we had just talked about.

"That is amazing!" I said, and Ren smiled with relief.

"I told you, no running for me," I told her and gave her another hug.

"Okay, Lyssy! Are you ready? This is how we really look," Grandpa C called out from the hallway.

"I'm ready!" I told them back.

I was expecting to see a group of people in their thirties and forties, but I was completely wrong. In walked a group of teenagers! All of them dressed in extremely trendy and young clothes. Grandpa and Grandma were only slightly older, but they were still in their early to mid twenties and dressed much more conservatively. Daddy E and Mama B, can I still call them that?

"Yes, Lyssy, you can still call us that. We look young, but we are still Ren's parents and yours too, if you still want that," Daddy E told me.

"Yes, of course I still want that!" I said, crying.

Why was I crying? I just found out the people I loved and considered my family were vampires, and that didn't upset me. Let me find out that they were just a few years older than me physically, and I was a blubbering mess.

"Oh, baby, you are not a mess; this is a lot to take in. I think the change in our appearance was the last straw. Don't hold in your emotions, let it all out," Mama B said, hugging me and letting me cry on her shoulder.

I looked up to thank her when I noticed her eyes. I looked around at all of them and they all had the same golden eyes.

"Your eyes?" I asked, looking at them all.

"This is our true eye color; it is a golden color because we feed off animals. We have been wearing contacts, the color of our eyes when we were human.

"I have always thought you guys were beautiful, but I had no idea. You are beyond words. Please tell me about yourselves," I said.

They took the next couple of hours telling me their stories. Some of them, Aunt Rosie and Uncle Jazz mainly, edited theirs so they wouldn't upset me. They told me all they could; like when they were turned and how Aunt Ali and Uncle Jazz came to live with them. I think it took a lot of stress off of them by telling me their stories; it was a huge weight lifted off their shoulders. Now, they could truly be themselves around me; I felt so privileged to be trusted with this secret.

Then, they told me that we were going to be staying with Ren's Aunt and Uncle in Italy. They were vampires too, but I was just as safe there as I was here. I was told they were the rulers of the Vampire world. I have to admit that I was a little intimidated by that fact, but Ren just giggled and said they were simply Uncle Eleazar and Aunt Carmen to her. I knew anyone in her family would make me feel at home. I couldn't wait to see what new adventures awaited us in Italy.

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