Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All rights belong to Stephanie Meyer. I also disclaim any unintentional plagiarism. The only thing I do own are characters Lillianne, Shana, Shianne, Sheridan, and Alison. I'd Like to thank my friend Sam who again as usually helps me in my writing. And my lovely and gorgeous girlfriend who is very motivating and inspirational.

"I mean… damn it Bella! You can't just come out here without contacting me first!" Charlie sighed in irritation.

I frowned at the accusation that I'd done anything wrong. "Contact you? What were you expecting? A phone call? A notice of visitation?"

"Well I wasn't expecting this," he said, motioning between us.

"You and me both."

"Does your mother know you're here?"

"Does Renée know we're here? I doubt 'Mom' would have remembered that she even had daughters, if Lillianne didn't insist that we call on her birthday. That is, if she's even noticed we aren't living with her anymore." I said. He frowned, obviously not liking that answer even though he knew it was true.

"That doesn't give you the right to interfere with my life Bella, you or your sister." He said. I looked at him in surprise. Interfere with his life? I made extra effort to avoid anything to do with him, how could I interfere with his life? I didn't even want to be here now. The only reason I was, was because I hadn't realized Lillianne's plans. I curled my hands into fists as my anger built at the thought that he had the gall to think that I wanted anything to do with him.

"Oh sure Charlie, I went out of my way and wasted money on a plane ticket, just to come all the way here, waiting for this moment after all these years just to screw up your life." I said through gritted teeth. Glaring at him as he narrowed his eyes and straightened up his stand.

"What are you doing here then? Please don't tell me you're here for a money situation," he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. I rolled my eyes at the idea of coming to him of all people for money, though the thought did cross my mind for a moment.

"I REALLY wanted to see you, Charlie. Maybe join this… new family you've started." I said with a little more bitterness than I had meant.

"Bella…" he said, he was hesitant, "I just… I just don't want you interfering with what I have here…"

"Oh my god," I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my mouth. "I can't believe you actually think I want anything to do with you! I haven't seen or heard from you since Lillianne and I were seven! I'm not a child anymore, a lot of things have changed and I don't need or want you in my life. You may have a new life but you haven't changed at all..." Charlie winced at my accusation, looking down and uncrossing his arms with a sigh.

"Bella, I'm sorry… It's great to see you, it really is but you can't just come here and expect things to… well… you can't expect anything. You can't stay here." he said, giving me an exasperated sigh.

I didn't know whether to yell at him or laugh in his face. He hadn't heard a single word I'd said, or he was hearing only what he wanted. Either way, it was clear he didn't want me or Lillianne here, though in his mind I must have been begging to stay. It wasn't hard to guess that he wanted us gone so his new family wouldn't learn about his past.

'I get the feeling we're not welcome here, Bella.' my inner voice whispered, as if I needed help getting the idea.

'Yeah, yeah… you and me both,' I answered, realizing that I was talking with myself again. If Shana were here she'd have never let me hear the end of it. To be honest, the idea of having her around to taunt me wasn't a bad thought at all, after all she- I shook my head, realizing that I was getting lost in my own thoughts while Charlie was still waiting for an answer.

"We're just passing through. We're not staying…" I finally answered. He stared at me in silence for a moment before giving me a stiff nod.

"Renée's not here then?"

"Birthday calls…" I muttered, sighing heavily.

"That's more then either of you've given me," he muttered with a grunt. I blinked. Was he really going to start on this?

'Come now Bella, don't deny you never even tried to contact your human father. He didn't pretend to be there while ignoring you constantly as a child like she did, but she gets a call every year? How's that right?' my inner voice was sneering as it threw my own thoughts at me. Renée wasn't the best of mothers, but she wasn't terrible either. She was definitely the better parent when compared to Charlie, at least we knew where she was if we ever needed her. I rolled my eyes, fighting back an irritated sigh.

Charlie knew as well as anyone why I never bothered to contact him. He'd never wanted us to begin with, of course he'd never said it out loud, but it was clear looking back on things. He was always angry or yelling at us for something, and that only got worse after he found out the truth about Renée. After that, he'd rejected both the three of us, mom, Lillianne, and me. The only memories I have were of him storming out after fights, leaving Lillianne to ask when he'd be back and Renée answering; "Daddy will come back later sweetie." Those weren't exactly memories worth treasuring.

"It's about as much as you did for us." I muttered, wondering if Lillianne was having a better time than I was inside the house.

Charlie was quiet for a minute before forcing a half-hearted chuckle. "Anyway, camping huh?" he asked. I guess he had talked all he wanted to about the past. "I never pegged you for the outdoors type Bella. Your… mother…. hated the idea of camping…"

I shrugged, "Well there's a first time for everything… not that you ever bothered to learn what I was into." I said to him. He nodded, unsure of how to respond and fell silent again. The both of us stared at each other awkwardly, waiting for each other to break the silence. It got even worse when we both sighed and brought a hand up to rub the back of our necks in unison. I dropped my hand down to my side when I realized what I was doing, I didn't want anything in common with him, even if it was just a coincidence. I know he'd seen it too, judging by how he was staring at me.

"Look we can go. I never wanted to come and see you, Lillianne did but I know she never expected… this." I said, looking over to the house where it sounded like Seth was getting along with my sister.

Charlie clasped his hands together, as if he were thinking it through before he shook his head and tried to meet my gaze.

"You're already here. What kind of a father would I be if I sent you away now…?" he murmured.

I frowned as he played the part of the apologetic man. Sure, now he wanted to be any kind of father. I bet it had more to do with what kind of person his new wife and kids would think he was if he sent us away so quickly.

"Hey, Charlie! Dad and the guys are wai- oh…" a soft voice called to us. I gave an mental thanks to whoever it was for saving me from the awkwardness of trying any further conversation with the man before me. I leaned over to look past Charlie and saw a boy there, he looked like he could have been fourteen maybe fifteen, with long, glossy black hair tied back into a ponytail that draped around the nape of his neck. His skin was flawless and a silky russet color, with dark eyes that sat above his high-planed cheekbones. He wasn't cute, I'd have to say that he was, in a word, pretty. He looked back at me with a curious look in his eyes and a large grin on his childishly round face as he waited for Charlie to answer.

Charlie coughed when I flicked my eyes back on him, clearing his throat as he motioned the younger boy to come over and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "uh… right, Jacob this is Bella, she's my daughter from... another wife. And Bella, this is Jacob Black, he's the son of a very good friend of mi-"

"You're Isabella." Jacob interrupted Charlie's reluctant introduction. I arched a brow wondering how he seemed to know who I was, until he seemed to grin wider. "Seth is telling everyone, he's really excited. It's nice to meet you."

"Hi," I replied. "and it's actually Bella… I prefer Bella." Jacob nodded immediately,.

"Gotcha. So, are you… uh… hungry? I mean, well your sister said she wouldn't eat unless you did. And you both look like you could use the food…" his eyes ran up and down my body like he were scanning me. Okay… rude much? Even for a kid, I mean seriously? I was feeling a little hungry though, part of me wanted to see what they had but no, no… we were wasting time here.

"We can't stay. My sister and I are meeting up with a group of friends and they'd get upset if we were late." I lied. Jacob looked a little disappointed, but I could have sworn Charlie looked happier. Prick.

"Well, why don't you come in, say hello to everyone before you go? Maybe get a plate for the road?" he said, enthusiastic for the first time since we'd arrived. He was still playing the part of a caring father and left me no choice but to accept or look ungrateful for his false generosity. He even went so far as to wrap an arm around my shoulder and lead me toward the house.

When we were a few feet from the door I caught an odd familiar scent. It wasn't a bad smell, it actually reminded me of Sheridan somehow but I couldn't pin down what it was. It couldn't be her though. There was no chance that she'd be around here, and I felt stupid even considering it.

Charlie's house looked smaller than I remembered, at least I think it was. I looked around as I picked my way through everything, it was all so familiar: the wooden floors, faded white walls, the cracks in the peaked ceiling. Lillianne and I had lived here once, but I could still remember it. The front room was crowded with people who were gathered around a medium-sized television. I couldn't be sure, but it looked like the same one as when we lived here. The group, which was mostly guys, were roaring as they watched whatever was on the TV as I made my way around them to see the small coffee table piled with snacks and drinks spilled carelessly. It was the same table as back then, I could still remember all the times I spent drawing on it.

Seeing all the familiar things made me remember the last time we were here, the noise and the stink of sweat becoming fainter as the memories of the day we left came flooding back;

"Lillianne, sweetheart… please get away from the door." Renée's voice was clear in my mind. It had been a cool evening then, and Renée had been setting the table. I could see myself, sitting at the coffee table drawing, well doodling, as the smell of passable food filled the house. Renée had never been the best of cooks.

That morning, Charlie and her had gotten into an argument over something silly, I think it was a mess that I'd made, but it had ended with him leaving in a huff while Renée cleaned it up. She'd told me that it wasn't my fault and that, "Daddy loves you very much," but I wanted to show him that I was sorry. I'd wanted to draw something, and Lillianne did too.

It's been too long to remember what I drew, but I did remember that Lillianne had been so happy with her drawing that she spent the day waiting at the door to show Charlie as soon as he came back.

"Sweetheart please…" Renée called.

"But daddy... he'll miss my picture if I don't show it to him…" she said. She was very quiet, even back then.

"I'm sure daddy will love it sweetheart, but come and eat for mommy?" our mother said, she'd looked at me and I'd seen a flicker in her eye that I didn't understand then. A sad look of acceptance. Lillianne had to be told a few more times before she'd given up and came to eat.

They'd had fights before, but that night was the first time Charlie didn't come home. When morning came, Renée packed our bags and we left without so much as a note. Lillianne cried the entire day we spent driving. She didn't understand why we had to leave, and back then neither did I. It took years until I finally did, and by then Renée had had a string of boyfriends and I'd given up on ever having a father again.

I frowned and sighed, shaking my head as the memories faded again. It was a long time ago, maybe some things from then were still here, but everything was different now. I stepped past the table and looked towards the back of the house, where the front room eventually became the kitchen. There, with just enough room to fit both of them, I found Lillianne and Sue Clearwater working together perfectly as if they'd practiced for years. I was shocked, we hadn't been here an hour and she was actually cooking for them! Though I couldn't deny it, seeing her pitching in happily with Charlie's wife to feed everyone, while Seth was practically glued to her hip with a bright smile on his face; she looked more at home than I'd seen her in a long time.

I guess she found this kind of thing comforting. Even when we were home with everyone else, she always looked most comfortable in the kitchen or doing household things around the house with Alison. Sometimes I'd complain that she was nothing like me but I was never serious, especially when it came to her cooking. I probably loved her baked goods more than anyone.

I don't know if it was how happy she looked or maybe it was the smell from earlier, but I found myself thinking about everyone again. Alison being a housewife, Sheridan always with her video games and flirting, Shianne and her trucks, even Shana's crazy obsession with shopping that always left me exhausted when I was done chasing after her, I missed it all. The people I cared most about in the world, who I may never see again. I wanted to smack myself on the head, this wasn't the time to be thinking about that. All it did was make me depressed.

'Way to go, me,' mumbled my inner voice.

"Hey, Dad come look!" Jacob called, drawing my attention from my own musings. He came up patting me on the back hard, well, it was closer to a shove. Either way it was enough to make me stumble a little before he caught me by the arm. "Sorry Bella, I don't know my own strength sometimes," he said jokingly with a wink. I frowned a little, rubbing the back of my neck again out of habit.

Now that my sense of nostalgia was over, the size of the room and all the people crowded together was getting to me. I was starting to feel uncomfortable and nervous, when another feeling started tickling at my mind. It was that weird feeling when someone's watching you, and I couldn't decide which made me more uncomfortable: that or the claustrophobia. I looked around to find the source, and it turned out to be a girl sitting on the staircase, the same one who had hidden behind her mother when we first came. I felt myself blush as I caught sight of her, she had an exotic beauty about her. She was tall too, taller than me while she was just sitting, at least 6 feet. Her toned arms and perfect copper skin stood out against the blue tank top she wore, the only thing that got me was her glare. She had her head propped up in her palm, her hair hanging loosely around her face in a short pixie cut style. She was beautiful, second compared to Shana, but the way she kept glaring from underneath her feather-duster-like eyelashes was pretty unnerving. I mean what the hell? She acted like I'd done something to insult her.

"This is Bella? Your daughter?" I heard someone asked Charlie behind me, I blinked, not realizing that I'd started having a staring contest with the girl. The question had been asked by a calm voice, and when I turned to look I was met with a man in a wheelchair. His eyes were dark, but welcoming as he looked me up and down. "This is a pleasant surprise," he said. He extended his hand, which I awkwardly took out of politeness and shook."My name's Billy Black," he introduced himself kindly. I smiled in response. He was a well-aged, heavyset man. His skin was a shade darker than his son's and his face was deeply wrinkled, but the same black eyes stared at me, except with more wisdom behind them. Like his sons, his hair was tied in a long ponytail, but over that he wore a worn-out cowboy hat. "What brings you all the way back to Forks, Bella?" he asked as he let go of my hand. I shrugged.

"Camping apparently," I answered.

"Oh? Where? La push perhaps?"

"Uh… yeah, I met a guy today, um… maybe you know him? Mike Newton? Anyway, he said it was popular around there. I just thought we'd take a look around," I said. Billy nodded.

"Safest place to be," he murmured. Something about his eyes told me he knew something, but I couldn't tell what. "How's your mother?" he then asked. I blinked. God what was it with everyone asking about my mother? Then again, knowing her as I do now maybe I didn't want to know.

"Fine, I guess." I answered. He raised an eyebrow, ready to ask another question until I cut him off. "Hey, whose truck is that outside? The 1953... it's a Chevy right?" I asked. Billy's eyes widened with surprise and I found myself being stared at by three more people, if you included Jacob. I blushed under his wide-eyed, slack-jawed stare, and somewhere from the kitchen I heard Lillianne mutter 'car junkie' followed by soft giggles.

"You certainly know your vehicles Bella. You could really tell that just by looking at it?" Billy asked.

"It's a beautiful truck," I said with a nod. "I know someone who would die for something like that."

"Ah, you don't have to lie Bella," said Jacob as two shorter boys came up behind him, nodding their heads in agreement, "it's a piece of rusted junk and runs terrible." I had the sudden urge to slap him as he chuckled, even if he was beautiful.

"It's a good model. Sturdy… I'd kill to have a truck like that." I defended; they just didn't understand the beauty or the quality of it.

"Seriously? You lived in Phoenix didn't you? I bet there are hell of a lot of better rides out there," one of the new boys said. I glanced towards the kitchen and caught Lillianne's eye with a frown. What else had she told them if they knew we were from Phoenix? She gave me a nervous smile before turning around to stir a bowl in her arms.

I looked back at the boy as his friend joined in.

"Yeah, I mean, you ain't nothing if you don't have a ride down there, or so I hear." the second boy said, extending his hand to me. "I think introductions are in order. I'm Embry, Embry Call, and the less handsome one's called Quil Ateara. It's nice to meet you." They were each skinny and short, but Embry was taller of the two with black hair and brown eyes. The smile he gave me couldn't have seemed more genuine. The other boy, Quil, wasn't as… I guess, meaty as Embry. He had an impish grin and a buzz cut, but he was okay in the looks department despite what his friend said.

I took the offered hand and squeezed it lightly.

"I'm Bella." I said quietly. Too many people were learning who we were, and that was something we didn't need. "So, you guys… drive?" It was awkward as hell, but I needed something to steer them away from mine and Lillianne's life before they asked anymore questions.

"Nah not us, I mean Jake here should be driving any day." Quil said, he took my hand the moment Embry let go of it, shaking it with enthusiasm.

"Yeah? What d'ya drive? Is it gonna be fast?"

Jacob laughed. "It's…well it'll run…decent? I still need some parts for it though, but what about you? You don't drive?"

I felt myself shiver as I remembered the last time I'd seen my car. It'd been in the middle of the road with the entire front demolished after James had ambushed us. Now that I think about it, we'd never gone back to that area, but I doubted the car was still there. By now the wreckage had probably been scrapped by the city nearby or most likely, James had made it disappear. Which meant I'd never see my first car again, the one that Shianne had helped me pick out and maintain for years.

I sighed as I admitted for the first time that my car was probably gone for good.

"Bella?" Lillianne called, and I blinked surprise at the sound of her voice, before I blushed with embarrassment as I realized that I had been staring off into space without answering the question.

"No, I mean yes, I drive but uh… I had a accident so they had to tow my car." I answered meekly.

"Was it serious? What happened?" Charlie's voice had startled me, because I'd actually forgotten that he was still behind me. When I looked over my shoulder, I tried to answer his question, but no words came out of my mouth. Images from that day were flashing in front of my eyes, as if his question had been a trigger; Suddenly I was laughing with Lillianne as we tore down the road, the ride had been smooth because of the suspension that Shianne had helped me put in, it made it seem like we were sitting still except for the wind rushing against the windows; Then we'd crashed into James, who had come out of nowhere. There was crunching metal, and a scream, Lillianne's. I was back in that warehouse again getting backhanded through crates for James's amusement; helpless while Victoria bit into Lillianne's neck and forced blood-curdling screams out of her…

"It was a drunk driver," I heard Lillianne say beside me as the images faded and I came back to reality. She must have seen my hesitation and come over. I nodded as I looked down, realizing I was clutching my own arm as it throbbed, echoing the pain from being broken that night. "He came out of nowhere when we were on our way home, but luckily we swerved out of the way and only hit a traffic pole. There were minor injuries but we were lucky." she continued.

"Oh god, Bella… You really have to be more careful! What if your sister got injured?" Charlie huffed, shaking his head. He scowled and clenched his hands as he muttered something about me being inexperience. It was clear that he put all the blame on me. I frowned.

'Oh sure, the next time we drive into a vampire waiting to ambush us, we'll be sure to do it carefully. Why don't we tell him what really happened that night, just to see his face?' my inner voice snapped.

'No, shut up, we don't need anymore problems,' I answered back, watching as Lillianne returned to the kitchen, before I'd noticed how Charlie stared after her with a look I'd never seen on his face before. It was different than how he looked at me, like there was sorrow or regret held in his eyes, before he finally relaxed.

"Just… I don't know Bella, be careful with her…" he murmured, staring at the ground instead of me. I was speechless. If I didn't know better, it sounded like he actually cared. Maybe he just held a soft spot for Lillianne since she had Renée's eyes and reminded him of her more then I did. I nodded though.

"Yeah, don't worry it won't happen again…" I said. When Lillianne brought some plates over, I touched her shoulder. "Hey, are you ready to go?" I asked, surprised when she nodded instead of offering some kind of complaint. She looked cheerful as she said her thanks to Sue for letting her help and hung up her apron before she joined me at my side. Part of me wished we didn't have to go yet if she was that happy here, but things had gotten too awkward and we'd already stayed too long.

Seth wasn't happy with the idea of her leaving though, he followed her with a frown, still victim to her charms.

"Would you ladies like a ride perhaps?" Billy asked as he wheeled himself around Jacob. "I'm sure Jacob could drop you off wherever you need to go. Just to be safe."

I had to think about the offer.

A ride would solve the walking problem and it would get us where we needed to be sooner, but Jacob seemed like the type who would want to make sure we were safe. Which meant he'd stay around until our friends, who I'd had no idea if we'd ever see again, showed up.

"It's alright, I don't mind." I heard him say while I still weighed the choices.

"That's so sweet. Thank you, we really appreciate it." Lillianne said softly, making the decision without me. There wasn't any hesitation when she said goodbye to Charlie, Sue, Seth, and Leah; who apparently was the girl on the stairs who'd been boring holes into my back the entire time we'd been here. As Lillianne followed Jacob outside, I said my own awkward goodbyes to everyone, watching my sister as long as I could. What the hell happened to the timid girl from earlier? I was beginning to worry feeding her was a bad idea.

"You wanna give me a heads-up on what's going on?" I whispered when I joined her outside, watching as Jacob loaded our stuff into the back of his beautiful truck.

She shrugged. "We need a ride. Billy offered, and Jacob is more then happy to give us one. I would have thought it was obvious, Bella." she said.

"I can see that much, but did you ever consider he might want to meet our 'camping buddies'?" I asked. She nodded.

"Then I'll charm him after…" I wanted to argue with her, but I snapped my mouth shut when I considered it.

"Right," I murmured, "after all you're the smarter pair of us." She rolled her eyes at me.

"I just think logically…. Alison taught me that." she said with a small smile. I couldn't help the small chuckle as I leaned over and kissed the side of her head.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Charlie seems… happy doesn't he?"

"Yeah, figures it would be so easy to cut the both of us out of his life." I mumbled, happy that we were leaving. This time, she kissed me on the cheek.

"Don't think about it like that, Bella." she said softly. I couldn't believe that she would still defend him after seeing for herself that he didn't miss us at all. But that was the thing about Lillianne, she was too forgiving.

"Wanna drive, Bella?" Jacob asked from the driver's side door, having finished up while we were talking. He was grinning and my body answered before I had time to consider the offer.

"Seriously?" I asked, he tossed me the keys with a nod. I was feeling a lot more excited than I'd like to admit at the invitation.

"No accidents. Okay?" he warned jokingly. I rolled my eyes but managed a small smile to humor him as I climbed in and let the heavy door slam shut loudly. The inside of the truck was… it was big. That was the only word I could think for it. There was room for at least three, maybe four people, and there was even an old-style stereo with a turn-dial. I wished Shianne could see this, she'd be so jealous if she knew that I got to drive it.

"You and your obsession," Lillianne murmured after Jacob helped her inside and she slid in beside me while I marveled at everything.

"It's not an obsession," I defended, running my hand over the steering wheel like an excited kid."It's a hobby. And considering it might be a while before we see another truck, aren't I allowed to take this opportunity to enjoy my hobby?"

"Hobby, obsession… call it whatever you want Bella, you're still a car junkie," she teased. I could sense the smile on her lips just from hearing her tone and I wanted to keep that smile there as long as I could.

"Alright, ready when you are. Just take a left when we hit the end of the street." Jacob said as he slid in beside my sister, slamming the passenger door shut behind him. I took that as the okay to start the engine, moaning happily as it roared to life beautifully when I turned the key. Just the lovely sound of it made me want to cry, but I didn't. I may have been drooling and even bouncing in the seat though from how Lillianne shook her head, trying not to giggle at my expense.

I waited until both were buckled in before pulling out to the street, leaving Charlie's house growing smaller in the rearview mirror as we left. As Jacob instructed, I took a left at the end of the street before we stopped at several lights and took a few turns, making light conversation along the way.

Jacob lives on one of the reservations down in La Push, with his father and older sister, but she hadn't been at Charlie's. I didn't think much of it, but I guess It's just them living together since his mother passed away a couple of years ago in some kind of accident. He didn't say anymore than that though, so I turned the conversation to cars, something he took to right away.

We drove and chatted about them for a good fifteen minutes, and I learned that he and I were a lot alike. He made a hobby out of working on cars and bikes like I did, and even had my taste for the older models. After a while he'd asked me again what kind of car I used to drive, and I answered. I then told him about all the things Shianne had helped me work into it, though I didn't mention her by name, and all the work that had gone into maintaining it. When I'd asked him about his car, he'd happily told me about his 1986 Volkswagen or The Rabbit, as he called it.

"How do you know so much about cars? Did you take a class?" I asked as the truck practically crawled along the road. The more I talked to Jacob, the more I liked him. He easily could have been my type, if he weren't a boy.

"Naaahh, the schools around the reservation only have math, science and all that. Nothing about cars or bikes." he replied with a chuckle. "What about you though? You sound like you took a shop class or something."

When I nodded and explained that I actually did, he stopped and stared in surprise.

"No way," he said with a chuckle, "you mean an Auto Shop like where you paint cars and detail them, right?"

"Duh, I'm serious. I was in there with a friend and we built an engine together. Well she built most of it herself, but I helped." I argued just as he started laughing. I actually pouted as he carried on.

"I-I'm sorry. You just don't seem the type Bella." He was convinced that a pretty girl like me, his words not mine, would never want anything to do with the greasy inner workings of a car. I couldn't believe it! What did he think I was talking about when we were talking about the models? How pretty they were?

"There is a saying you know, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover." I told him, trying not to let it get to me. I felt Lillianne's fingers entwine with mine as she leaned into my side, calming me a little. I guess that all this car talk was pretty boring to her, and the scenery outside wasn't much to look at with us going so slow. I lifted her hand and kissed it gently, feeling her giggle softly.

"Junkies." she mumbled.

"You two are pretty close huh?" Jacob asked as he watched. I felt Lillianne turn and nod at him.

"My sister, and my best friend." she told him and I smiled.

Jacob nodded, staying quiet for a few minutes.

"So these friends of yours, what are they like?" He asked suddenly. I stiffened against Lillianne. I guess it was too much to hope that he'd forgotten.

"What d'ya mean?" I said, trying to keep the small sense of panic out of my voice.

"Your camping buddies? Are they girls too? Or guys…? Boyfriends maybe?" the question had come out a little too curious if you ask me, but I laughed and shook my head.

"No, no. No boys, or boyfriend for that matter. They're a couple of girls. Big on camping." I said.

"What are their names?" he pressed on. I frowned a little. I didn't really know too many people, at least who were girls, and making up random names quickly was somewhat difficult, so I decided it wouldn't do any harm if I used actual names.

"Shianne, Alison, Shana, and Sheridan." I said quietly; it's not like he'd ever meet them.

Jacob chuckled as he looked out his side of the window, "Okay now I know you're lying."

"How do you figure?"

"Alison? Shianne? They sound like a pair of mall-crazed girls, not campers." he answered. It was my turn to laugh. Of any of them, Shana was the mall-crazed one with Lillianne and Alison behind her. Shianne wouldn't consider even going to the mall unless she could see Alison try on lingerie.

"It is though. Alison loves camping, and Shianne likes being outdoors."

"And the other two?"

"Shana and Sheridan?" he nodded. "Well Shana is more the mall type you were talking about. And Sheridan, well I bet she'd move outdoors if she could." I said with a chuckle.

It was vague, but Jacob was apparently satisfied as he looked out his window again. Though all his questions were making me think back fondly to the years before we'd lived in Phoenix, the first time I'd ever gone camping with Lillianne, Alison, and Sheridan;

Sheridan and Alison had invited us all to go camping, but only Lillianne and I had accepted. Shianne had had a business trip or something and Shana hated camping, so she stayed with a friend instead. As soon as we'd gotten to the campsite, Alison had Sheridan gather wood for a fire and Lillianne and I had gone to keep her company, or keep her on track since she could get easily sidetracked.

I don't really remember much of what happened, but somewhere along the way they had started arguing, something over a girl Sheridan was supposed to meet with that weekend but had blown off to come camping. Lillianne had said how it was just like her to toy around not be serious about anything, even us, and Sheridan just teased her for being jealous. Then, as if to get on her nerves, Sheridan had picked her up and decided to strand her in one of the trees.

"This isn't funny Sheridan, please get me down!" I remember that Lillianne had cried with terrified whimpers."Sheridan!" she squealed, while Sheridan had continued climbing. Lillianne hated heights at the time, and had been really frightened as she been left on a branch. Our eldest sister had probably taken things a little too far.

"Okay, okay, come on that's enough you two." I called, but she'd waved me off.

"I can not 'ear you!" she shouted loudly. "you wish me to go 'igher?" she called back, knowing full well that I hadn't.

"Alison's gonna be mad if we don't get back soon," I called up again as I watched Sheridan lounge on a higher branch above Lillianne, her bare feet swinging lazily.

"B-Bella! Do something!" Lillianne cried. I hated heights too, but I had to do something as the older sister. And since Sheridan had decided to be difficult, I had to get her down. I'd never climbed anything before then though, so my trying had been like trying to fight nature. It'd turned out about as well as expected, since I'd only gotten halfway up before getting stuck. And I mean literally stuck, with my leg caught between two branches after slipping.

"Ce n'est pas comment on grimpe à un arbre soeur…" Sheridan had called down to me, the whole thing had been funny to her as I hung there. I had no clue what she'd said to me, but she'd probably been teasing that she'd leave me there for a while. She did finally bring the both of us down, though I think it had more to do with Lillianne being in tears than her getting bored. She had made us both swear not to tell Alison about it, but Lillianne did and Sheridan got banned from the tent that night.

The funny thing was that when I'd woken up the next morning I had found Lillianne sleeping on top of her, who'd snuck in sometime during the night. I'd taken a picture of it. The both of them looked so comfortable with their arms around each other, but I don't know where it's gone now.

I smiled lightly. I wonder if Lillianne thought about Sheridan and the others as much as I did.

"Oh hey, pull up here." Jacob said suddenly. I blinked and glanced out the window to see that he was pointing at a dirt path. I could see a beach a few miles ahead as I turned onto the road. After a mile or two we pulled onto another paved road that ran past a cliff.

"Oh wait, wait! Pull over!" Lillianne squealed, leaning over Jacob's lap and pointing out at the cliff as we passed. "What are they doing?!" she shouted as I pulled over. Before we came to a full stop she was already climbing over Jacob to get out the other side of the truck.

Confused, I looked out the windshield to where she had pointed and gasped. On the cliff we had been passing there was a group of males, three of them to be exact. From what I could see, it looked like the two bigger ones were bullying the smallest of them, shoving him back and forth between each other until he went over the cliff.

Lillianne screamed and I gasped, but Jacob only chuckled.

"Oh my god! What are they doing?!" I asked, rushing across the street to where Lillianne was.

"Relax Bella, their just cliff diving." Jacob said as he joined us. "It's a sport… it's a rush for one thing, and its insanely dangerous for another. Anyone with a brain jumps lower, and leaves the showing off to Sam and his posse." his tone sounded bitter as he said the last part.

"Someone you have a beef with?" I asked.

"Nah, just someone who gets on my nerves. He thinks he runs the place… just better to say out of his way and ignore him." He explained. I nodded, looking across the way. The two boys left were looking back at us. I know it was impossible, but I couldn't shake the feeling that they were watching us more then they were Jacob.

"So who are they?" I asked.

"The taller one is Sam Uley, he's like… the ring leader… or something I don't know. The other one is Paul Lahote and the one they threw over is Jared Cameron. Paul and Jared are pretty good friends, they used to hang around with Quil and Embry… then one day they were Sam's lackeys. They do what they want and if anyone has a problem with it then they answer to Sam."

"Sounds like an issue."

"It is, well if you live here. You don't have to worry about it though, I doubt they'll bother you."

"Good. But if they're such a problem, you should stay away from them." I told him, reaching out and taking a hold of Lilliannes hand, as she watched one of them, Paul, take a running start before flipping off the cliff, with whoops and hollers.

She frowned. "That's something she would do…" she murmured, too softly for anyone other then myself to hear.

"Come on Lilli, we really need to get to the spot…" I said.

"Right, of course…" she answered, she sounded extremely relieved now that she knew they meant to go over. I could have sworn that Sam guy was smiling at us as I led her away.

"Wanna drive?" I asked, pulling her along. She rolled her eyes.

"Of course not. I'm terrible behind the wheel. You know that." she said with a giggle. She was a straight A student, very punctual, and even more responsible than me, but behind the wheel of a car she was a disaster. Shianne had only tried to teach her once, but she'd sworn off never again after Lillianne had managed to almost flip the car over an intersection.

I chuckled. "Yeah that's right."

She looked at me with a pout. "You're not supposed to agree with me!"

"You'd have me be a liar then? And in front of Jacob?"

"Oh nonsense Bella… you're a terrible liar and you know it." she challenged. I laughed.

"You two are close indeed." Jacob commented, as I moved in to attack Lillianne with relentless tickling. I'd kept at it for a good seven, maybe ten minutes before I finally let up under the threats of never having a homemade meal from her again and being forced to sleep outside the tent tonight. I caved in and let her catch her breath before we got back on the road.

I drove with the directions that Jacob gave me, and soon we were driving along some trees. The farther in we went, the more trees there were until there was a solid wall of wood on either side of us. I'd never seen so many trees in one place before, I think they were Oak, or maybe Redwood? I wasn't sure if those even grew in Forks. Whatever they were, there were a lot of them and they were growing in pretty big. Maybe James and Victoria would be slowed down by them if they caught up to us.

I could at least hope, right?

Finally, Jacob had me pull over so that he could climb out and retrieve our stuff from the back. Lillianne followed behind him while I waited in the truck. When I killed the engine things became quieter, except for Jacob's chattering, and I could take the opportunity to take in the surrounding tranquility; I could faintly hear the birds in the distance and smell the earthly aroma of the trees and surrounding plants. It was a familiar smell, but I didn't spend more then a second to taking it in. We couldn't afford spending anymore time being idle. I waited a minute after Jacob quieted down before I reluctantly climbed out of the truck and made my way to the back.

"Hey, you ready yet?" I called.

"Just about." Lillianne answered. When I found them, she had Jacob's face between her hands, just like she'd done to Mike before. As she whispered softly to him I leaned against the truck and waited until she finished. It's strange, but I liked watching Lillianne trance people, manipulating them to say or even think what she wants. Of course she's always gentle about it, she never forces them. It's more like she leads them. Either way she's better at it than I am.

In no time she had Jacob convinced that he'd met our friends, even to the point where he actually said a cheerful goodbye to all of us, before he finally left. The look she gave me after he'd gone from our sight was nothing short of a victory smirk, and I applauded her quietly before gathering our stuff and taking her hand in my own.

Pulling her along, we started going the opposite way than Jacob had suggested. If there were people camping out here then it would be safest if we avoided them.

"You know, Jacob was very kind, we should come back one day I'm sure he would love that." Lillianne told me.

"Yeah…" I mumbled. Maybe we could come back some day, if we ever had another chance.

We didn't speak another word after that. We only focused on moving forward. There was only one way to go and that was towards more trees. We stopped several time when either of us got tired, and after and hour we'd actually passed a small stream. I wasn't sure where it lead out to, but after we'd filled our water containers, we'd decided to change course and follow it. We went up stream instead of down, I was concerned that if we had continued it down we would have come across other campers or hikers, with our luck even Jacob. God forbid that happens again.

"How far are we going?" Lillianne asked the third time we'd stop for a rest. At the time we'd been walking for a little under two hours.

"A far as we can until it starts getting dark?" I some what asked in return, just to see if she had any objections.

"We're really going to do this? Sleep in the forest…?" she questioned miserably. I nodded.

"What else are we going to do? Ask Charlie to rent us our old room? Come on Lilli, it's for the best and it's only for a couple of nights anyway."

"I hate the idea of sleeping outside…"

"And again, you didn't mind it when we went with the others."

"Exactly, we were with the others back then. Sheridan, Shianne, and Alison are scarier than anything we could have faced when they were with us, and Shana would have known if there was any danger before hand if she'd heard anyone's thoughts." She argued. She was right. Except for maybe Shana, Lillianne and I are the weakest of our family. Sheridan, Shianne, and Alison are at the top, and in that order. With the three of them around, how could we be anything but safe? But now it was just the two of us. It wasn't the first time we had been on our own, but the four years Lillianne and I spent on our own before we met Shana was far from the situation as trying to survive being hunted by vampires.

"I know, and you're right, but we only need a couple of days to think and-"

"And then what? We don't even have enough money for the bus… and don't tell me we're going to hitchhike again.."

I cringed at just the mention of hitchhiking. "No… of course not. Never again…" I'd said it so quietly I doubted that she even heard me, but one look at her face told me otherwise; a look of regret. it was probably a reflection of my own and I knew we were both thinking about the same incident.

'Things happen Bella… now is not the time to reflect on it.' whispered the voice in my head.

It was right, now wasn't time.

"Come on, lets go." I mumbled with, linking our fingers together and pulling her along like I often did. Or at least I tried to and nearly ended up falling as she stood firmly in place. When I looked over my shoulder I saw her standing with her eyes widened, looking past me.

A jolt of panic shot through me.

"What's the matter?" I asked. Looking in front of us and around, hoping that somehow James or Victoria hadn't caught up to us already.

And then I gasped. I felt my mouth fall open, and my eyebrows furrowed together. I don't know how I hadn't seen it before. It was only few yards away for gods sake!

"I didn't think there was supposed to be anyone out here…" I whispered.

"Jacob said there wouldn't be." Lillianne murmured.

I scoffed. The both of us no doubt had the same question as we stared at the structure in the distance.

Why the hell were there a house out here? And who lived in it?

Hello readers. Here we have the next chapter! Way over due I know and I'm so sorry it took so long. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please Rate and Review. Please excuse the errors I know I have most likely made. And I hope to see you soon!

Posted- 9/2/2013