DISCLAIMER: Twilight does not belong to me. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer like The Host does too. I just like to change it up a little, turn things the way I want them and maybe, just maybe, get some people to like the story that I can create.

Chapter Four

Ah, The Agony of Approval

Peter had rushed me off to get changed before his wife got home from her shopping trip, which was supposed to take her mind off of 'this horrible incident'. My blood-soaked shirt wouldn't go down too well with Charlotte so he feared she would take a limb or a few fingers away from him for a few days. Supposedly, that wouldn't be the first time. Vincent had been taken outside because when Garrett had asked to take him hunting, he had refused. His words were something along the lines of 'its murder and I would rather not do that'. So Garrett being Garrett, he asked if the boy would rather feed off of animals. To that, he agreed. Even though I hated him being anything like them, I wouldn't go against his wishes because I wasn't his parents. He had his own choices to make in life, even if Vincent was only young and didn't have much knowledge. Somehow, he knew what he wanted.

Pulling out the clothes that Charlotte insisted she just had to buy, I tried to choose out of the entire collection. Quickly, without a second thought, I threw the dresses and skirts in a pile, knowing that they wouldn't be worn… Ever? I wasn't a girly girl and my dislike for things that were too dressy got worse with each new style that came out. Next, I put any stylish or designer t-shirts into that pile. Then went the shorts, three-quarter lengths, cardigans and anything that showed just a little too much skin for my liking. That left me with jeans, t-shirts with quotes on them, thick, cotton joggies (my lazy clothes!) and a few hoodies. My choice of clothes seemed simple enough. It was comfortable and cheep. Easy.

At a gentle human pace, I pulled my chosen clothes on, trying not to rip them like many other pieces of fabric, before running a brush through my hair. I skipped the whole looking-at-myself-in-the-mirror thing and strode out of my room, down the stairs until I found Peter, who was scrubbing at the floor still. Mutters left his mouth until I skidded to a halt in front of him, a chuckle leaving my mouth loudly. His head snapped up, a scowl marring his features that only worsened when he saw my grin.

"You should be doin' this, midget, 'cos its not ma mess", Peter growled, sounding a tiny bit peeved. "I have never cleaned a floor in my life!"

Muffling my laughs with my hand, I moved away from him just as he went to hit my shin. His crimson eyes narrowed before a large mocking smile planted itself on his lips. Peter went back to scrubbing with tough movements but he wasn't using too much strength to destroy the flooring, luckily. Sometimes I thought why would Charlotte love him? But every time I saw the two of them interacting with each other, I would remember how fate had a weird way of knowing which two people was a real match. Once or twice, it could be wrong but that was a very rare occurrence… Yet, it hurt the people involved in that relationship, the one that wouldn't truly work out.

"Char will be back in about an hour 'cos that's when the shows close, thankfully", he snorted with humour. "My bank account will be dead by the end of tonight".

I watched in absolute astonishment as Peter leapt to his feet, grabbed my wrist before yanking me towards the back door with fast strides. My ears were being filled by a quiet purring noise that seemed to be travelling from somewhere, maybe five miles off? Pulling myself and Peter to a halt, I shushed him quickly as soon as his mouth opened up to let words loose and I focused my attention on the faraway noise. It was like Garrett's truck but quieter, almost softer. The rumble was still there. A car? There wasn't a problem with the journey, from what I could hear, like Garrett's truck had had. Its wheels rolled a lot more smoothly along the ground, though, so by the sound of things, it wasn't Garrett's truck.

Confusion shadowed my face but Peter seemed to be ignoring me. His eyes had a distant look, as if he were seeing something far off in the distance. It reminded me of- No! It was completely new to me. No one I heard ever met was like Peter. He was unique in his little ways. That's why he was the way he was. He was nothing like her. He was truly weird in an utterly wonderful way.

"Bella, I need you to go into the barn", his voice was stern, not to be questioned. "I need you to stay in there until I come back out and get you, understand? Even if you hear something you don't like, do not come out".

Nodding, I shook off his grip on my arm before full out sprinting to the barn, where I quietly closed the door behind me. The horses didn't even startle at my sudden appearance, they just continued to munch on the hay that had been stuffed in the nests that hung on their stable doors. My feet took me to the ladder, where I climbed up to the overhead storage level, and my silence was slowly becoming louder with each second that went by.

That purring sound was creeping closer until I was sure that it was at the edge of the forest, just a few metres away from the house. Crawling over to the wooden panelled walls, I peeked through only to see splinters blocking my view. With a sigh of annoyance, I smirked when my pinkie finger squeezed through the thin gap, sliding down and snapping each sliver of wood with ease before I could look through again. This time, however, I saw a large, black Jeep rolling steadily over the sand-covered road. There was an almost silent conversation going on within the car, many different voices slipping in their opinion before another calmer voice interrupted.

"We're just going to check out what they are lying about", the voice said. "Then, if everything is fine and they want us to leave, we will. If things turn out differently, I think we could sort out the problem by ourselves".

It was familiar, that voice, but I couldn't place it in a memory or put it to a face. My mind reeled wildly as I played the tone and accent repeatedly through my brain, trying to get a recognisable name or image as an answer. As my mind went over it all, I watched the car halt before the doors were swung open in four swift movements. A slight breeze blew the scents that had leaked out the car in my directions, bringing familiar aromas that had being less intense in my human life.

There was no way that they were here. They just couldn't be here where I was. I was safe and happy, finally after so many traumas. He had been one of them, that bronze-haired guy stepping out of the Jeep had turned my life into a disaster with one, weak moment. Edward-I'm-An-Idiot-Cullen. That man and his fake family had made sure that my entire being was killed, in some type of way. Now, I was just a stone, cold eighteen year old who didn't have any true family. In a way, I was alone. In many more ways, I was actually dead. Or dying.

"Smell that?" A pixie-like girl asked, sniffing the air, "It's like B-"

"Shut up, Alice!" Edward yelled, his threat ending with a quiet growl. "She is gone".

The rest of them, except Esme and Carlisle, stood awkwardly, shifting their feet before heading towards the front door. Alice shuffled her feet, muttering a few words under her breath, before dancing her way up the porch steps and over to the door, where Peter stood with a worried frown on his face. He was worried, I knew, but the real reason would stay a secret from that family for as long as possible.

"No phone call, no time for me to make apple pie", he joked. "Why? I just got a new recipe! Dang it all to hell, now I can't try my skills out on people who turn up on my doorstep unannounced".

Even though I could not see it, I could tell that Carlisle was giving Peter a guilty smile as Esme pulled him into a 'motherly' hug. Peter's eyes drifted in the direction of the barn but his attention was taken back when Jasper, surprisingly, yanked him into a 'man hug' or whatever men called it to make it sound less feminine. That brought a grin on to his face when an arm wrapped around Jasper's shoulders, his hand thumping his back, while the other was clasped together with his friend's. That kind of shocked me a little. Was Jasper the guy that Charlotte had said was like a brother to Peter? The one she didn't like all that much? Well, that made sense. Jasper's freaky power of reading emotions was a little creepy that could embarrass or annoy people who knew about it. For the normal humans, they just got laughed at for feeling jealous or envious over the Cullen's good looks and easy-to-like personalities.

It was then that I heard the recognisable laughter of a little boy who wasn't even supposed to exist. And I knew things were going to get a lot worse.

OOO

I watched in pure horror as the four Cullen men crouched in the direction of the giggling sound, looks of fierce protectiveness crossing their pale features. My hands clamped over my mouth when a skipping child came into my line of sight with Garrett hopping around him, both of them chuckling and joking around like the world was a safe place. But for Vincent, it wasn't safe. For the Cullen clan, it wasn't safe either. Both of these sides were against each other. And how could a small child win against trained adults?

"Uncle Pete! Uncle Pete!" Vincent sang joyfully, turning around only to freeze when he saw the defensive vampires ready to attack.

His face fell, the cheerful look exchanging with an expression of terror. Vincent's child-like appearance didn't suit the sadness that morphed his features into, what I could imagine to be, the sky on a grey, stormy night. Grief and fearful. Garrett gripped his shoulders, pulling him behind his body for protection as he fell into a crouch too. Peter was pushing his way through the Cullen's wall-like stance until he was able to face them, hands in the air as if he were surrendering.

"You have to understand, please", Peter told them. "This child isn't like the ones you have heard of, or the ones you experienced, Carlisle. Vincent is controlled, especially for a newborn and an immortal child. He's different".

Garret took up the conversation then, "We tested it earlier today. His control is really astounding. I brought in a bleeding man and the child did not touch him. Actually, only a few hours ago, he decided to keep an animal only diet and he only reached age five days before he was turned".

That seemed to shock them. They dropped their stances but still kept a wary eye on the boy. Edward, though, kept his posture tense and ready to pounce at any type of threat. Shoulders squared, arms spread, face hardened. He was had to be a weird type of soldier or something. Had Vincent really only turned five? Garrett must have asked during the hunting trip.

"How do you know that you can trust the…brat?" My ex questioned, casting a glare towards Vincent. "Obviously, his sire could have trained him to stay away from human blood? What if this is a plan to get to you?"

My anger was bubbling. How dare he? How dare he! All of my instincts were telling me to protect the tiny boy who was quivering from fear then. His hands were tangled in his curly hair, yanking and pulling in frustration as Edward rattled on about how he could be a 'spy' of some sorts. What type of films was that guy watching now? Crime? His imagination was really something else.

"Eddie, seriously, what?" Garrett spluttered, "He's a kid. Nothing more, nothing less. You want to meet his sire? She'll be out here in five… four… three…"

I leapt from the upper level of the barn, landing softly on the ground and bolted out of the barn, leaving the horses to eat their hay in peace. When I was out in the light, my skin sparkled dimly as the sun shone through the clouds for a second before it disappeared once again. Multiple gasps sounded from up ahead but I didn't let it bother me. If they wanted to act surprised and shocked at my appearance, they could. It really didn't matter. All of their reactions would be different:

Carlisle would act concerned in a fatherly way.

Esme would be overcrowding.

Alice would be all hugs and talking about fashion disasters.

Jasper would be all haunted.

Rosalie, well, she'd be bitchy as usual.

Emmett would probably make a joke and try to lighten the mood.

And Edward… I didn't know how he would react.

As soon as I was beside Garrett, Vincent was scurrying towards me before practically crawling up my side until his arms could wrap around my neck. His head hid in the crook of my neck as shivering sobs wracked through his little body, making my frozen heart crush and tighten. Garrett threw his arm over my shoulder, pulling me into his side before rubbing Vincent's back comfortingly.

"I believe you know Isabella Swan, Vincent's sire", Peter mumbled, trying to sound a bit positive about the situation. "Edward, I think, changed her not so long ago?"

The family's facial expressions were mixed. As I had thought Carlisle, Esme, Jasper and Rosalie looked ready to either hug, stay back or yell and scold for my 'mistakes'. Alice was hopping excitedly from each foot, a huge grin showing her happiness (that was probably fake) at seeing me again. Edward looked shocked, to put it simply. His face had fallen from its furious appearance and his shoulders were sagging. Emmett's reaction wasn't what I expected. For the first time ever in my presence, Emmett looked serious. With a tight lipped smile and calculating eyes, I wasn't sure if that look suited him or not. Actually, it was frightening to think what could have been going through his mind at that moment.

"Bella?" Edward whispered, taking a step closer to me.

"Don't even bother", I said coldly, hiking Vincent higher up on my hip. "I don't want to hear anything you have to say".

"But-"

Anger boiling.

"No! I'm telling you to shut up, please".

Still boiling.

"Bella, you-"

Nearly boiling over.

"Edward, I'll give you a chance to close that annoying gob of yours now before I tear it from your face", my tone was icy. "Think wisely".

He did think and came to the right decision, so my rage slowly decreased as he began stepping back with a slight pout on his lips. No one over age ten should pout, ever. It didn't look right on anyone older than ten, unless that person was unnaturally cute, which Edward was not. See Alice, who looked partially like a child anyway, could pout all she wanted and get away with it. Edward couldn't. Vincent was cute enough to pout every minute of the day.

"Bella, my daughter", Carlisle smiled gently.

Shaking my head, I let out a humourless chuckle, "I only have one father and he believes me to be dead. Last time I heard, which was a day before my change, Charlie was going to propose to Sue Clearwater but that might have changed. You know how depression can change people, right, Carlisle?"

He looked miserable when my words hit him.

"Don't be too harsh on Carlisle, Bella, dear. He was only helping our son", Esme slipped in front of her husband, placing a hand on his chest. "We only wanted what was best for our family".

"Oh, yeah? And he just called me his daughter. Isn't a daughter usually part of the family? What about what was best for me? Your supposed 'daughter'? Changing me then leaving me alone to kill three hikers before I finally came to my senses and ran? That's what was best for me, you say? How lovely!"

In my frustration, my fingers flexed, clenching and unclenching tightly in Vincent's jumper as those truthful words escaped my mouth. This was me telling them how I felt. They were full of lies, that may have seemed little at the time but they continued to build up until those little lies became a stack of lies. Throughout my entire life, I had been faced with obstacles. Some of them were less challenging than others but they all led to the same end. Someone hurting me. Whether it was my mother and her free spirit nature. Or my father and his miniscule shows of emotion. Or the Cullen's leaving me to face my new life by myself. I was always getting hurt by someone.

"Isa, calm down, hun", Garrett mumbled, squeezing me further into his side. "Vincent doesn't need you to lose your temper now".

Vincent's hands moved from his hair to my face, pushing me to face him by pulling at my cheeks. There was the dimpled smile. It soothed the beast within me, sedating the anger that it fed off of. Slowly, a slight curve of my lips appeared and I took a deep, unneeded breath.

"I'm sorry for my outburst", I muttered, "but it is how I feel so, really, I shouldn't even apologise for it".

With that said; I shrugged out of Garrett's hold and pushed by Esme and Carlisle, Alice and Edward, Jasper and Rosalie until I came to Emmett. His face was still serious but I tried not to focus on that too much. The way that his gold eyes read peered into my own like he could see my soul and could understand it completely. All of the grief and anger, the pain. Everything. But, instead of worrying about that, I nodded in greeting before beginning to go by him until I felt his steel-like arm clamp around my waist.

"I need to ask the kid a question", he raised a brow, running a hand nervously through his dark, curly hair. "Vincent, you got a surname?"

The child nodded against my neck, "I do, yeah. Ma daddy was a doctor, Dr McCarty, I think?"

Emmett nodded like he had expected this all along while I stood there, stunned into silence. He was Vincent McCarty… If I remember correctly, Edward had told me the story that went with each family member. Emmett's story had been one of pure idiocy and brutality. Emmett McCarty had been attacked by a bear after stupidly thinking he could take it down by himself. Emmett Cullen had been created when Rosalie found him and ran him back to Carlisle to be changed. So the surname was a match.

The appearance was definitely a huge match. They both had black, curly hair. I believe when Emmett was human he had had blue eyes and so did Vincent. The dimples were identical. To me, Emmett and Vincent were a mirror image of each other, only if Emmett was younger or Vincent older. But they still had the same features.

"So, kid, I think you're my great-great nephew", he chuckled, messing Vincent's curls. "Your granddaddy was my little brother's son, Vincent Senior".

"Really?" The boy in my arms queried.

Emmett smiled a slightly sad smile, "Yeah, my lil' bro is your daddy's granddad".

OOO

See how sometimes everyone is silent for an extremely long time? And everything becomes seriously awkward? Well, that's what happened as soon as everyone was sat down in the living room, twiddling their thumbs nervously. Vincent was curled into my side, his hand gripping my own whenever he felt someone's eyes focus on his tiny form. My arm was tightly wound around him, protecting him from all of the other threats within the room. On the other side of Vincent sat Emmett, surprisingly. He was glaring off into space, emotions flashing across his face with an amazing amount of speed. Across from him was Rosalie, who looked ready to kill me then steal Vincent to make him her own son. But I was staking a claim, as a sire Vincent was my responsibility. I would be the one watching him for the rest of eternity. That was my job from now on.

"Bella", Alice skipped in front of me, "I would like to apologise for my family's leaving you and their reactions towards the… towards Vincent. I completely understand that you need time to forgive me but it will happen, I know you see".

"Yeah, she knows", Peter mimicked her skips before swallowing loudly, "but, Bella, I will know the truth when it actually happens. Her 'future-flashes' aren't always to be trusted".

I watched as the pixie's face turned cold, "I saw Bella as a vampire and I was correct".

The man, who I saw as a brother, chuckled, "Yeah and from what Jasper informed me after that little mishap, you also saw her with Eddie boy. So answer me this, Malice, why isn't my sister with that now?"

Everyone in the room, the Cullens and my new family, froze at hearing that. Where had Peter gotten 'Malice' from? Thinking back to when Charlotte had stated her dislike for Jasper, I instantly knew where that nickname as from. Charlotte Whitlock, that horrid woman. Alice was stock-still, her face morphed into a look of complete shock as her arms hung limply by her sides. A little bit behind her stood Jasper, who looked really confused. Carlisle and Esme were watching the argument with looks that I would imagine a referee would wear while watching a sports match. Edward's face was scrunched up in puzzlement. Rosalie didn't look bothered. Emmett and Garrett were holding in their laughter. And, well, I was trying not to jump up and cheer Peter on.

"Excuse me, Peter, but that's my nickname for the little pixie", Charlotte's voice drifted in from the porch, where I could hear her slipping off her shoes. "And I would like to call her it, thank you very much".

He sniggered, "Of course, dear wife of mine".

In walked Charlotte, her hair pinned away from her face and many shopping bags in hand. She dropped them to hand Peter his bank card and I watched as he held it to his chest, shushing it as if it was a crying child. His card was probably going down Death Drive.

"Ah, the Cullens, what a… pleasure, I suppose", her voice was snippy, almost as if she wanted the conversation over with as soon as possible. "Why are you here so early, may I ask?"

Esme leapt to her feet then, arms open in preparation for a hug but Charlotte was already sitting by my feet, playing with a loose thread in my jeans. That caused the Cullen Mother Duck's face to slip into a frown. Ha, Cullen Mother Duck! That was a good one, even if I do say so myself.

"We came to visit Jasper's extended family", she said, sitting stiffly beside her husband who wrapped an arm around her slim shoulders.

"But I am sure my husband made it clear that we didn't want any visitors for at least another week", Charlotte smirked. "Was there a reason that made you want to snoop into our lives?"

"We were worried about you", Jasper rubbed his temples, "and we have every right to be".

Charlotte's expression went from smug to scary, "We are adults, Mr Whitlock-Cullen-Hale! Peter isn't a little boy who needs checking up on and even if he was, I am his wife and mate so I am the one that will protect him from everything out there".

Then there was the return of the awkward silence. It swept in, stealing all of our voices as each pair of eyes swivelled around the room, looking for something to look at that wasn't another person. My own orbs were fixated on Vincent's pale hand wrapped around mine, squeezing in a rhythm that went with his unneeded breaths, which were slow and precise. His eyes were closed as he tried to block out the arguing going on around him. It was cute, of course, but all I could feel was worry for his life. He was only a child and always would be. Mind and body were going to freeze in the state of a kid. And worried me. A lot.

"He's so young", Emmett suddenly whispered, running a large hand through his own dark curls. "Too young to be brought into this world".

Feeling like he was blaming me, I turned my narrowed eyes on to him, "Would you rather he died in a house full of junkies? Are you not happy to meet someone from your family's line? 'Cos if so, Emmett, tell me and I will see if I can go back in time and just put him out of his misery. It would be best for you, obviously".

Shock showed on his strong features when his eyes found mine. It was like a conversation had just passed between us. Emmett seemed to be telling me that that wasn't the way he had meant it and I knew that was probably the case. Yet, I couldn't help but feel as if something was missing from somewhere. But I didn't know what.

And that bugged the hell out of me…

Well, another chapter up and another feeling of accomplishment has filled me to the brim. I'd like to, once again, thank all of you out there who have been reading my stories (not only You Promised My Forever but We Were Marked, With You Forever and Proving Myself Worthy) because it really does give me more confidence.

Today, actually, some friends of mine found out I have started writing Fanfiction and they sounded quite proud of me. It sounds stupid but I aim for approval, not only from my family and friends but from anyone who reads my writing. So if you can review, please do. Thanks!