A/N: Hello! From now on, the posting schedule for the chapters will slow down. In the author's note yesterday, I mentioned I was going to start posting every other week, but after thinking it over again, I decided to change it to publishing a chapter once a week. However, the next chapter will come on the 11th of March, after which I will start posting chapters every Monday

Chapter 9: Therapy

Bree blinked. She touched her neck, still able to imagine the feel of the cracks made by Jasper. Their spider web-like lines flashed into her mind as she remembered them. The southern boy had almost killed her. The incident had happened three days ago, which marked three days of hiding in her room and being too scared to step out. Three days of avoiding the yellow-eyes.

She sat on her soft bed, not bothering to move. She was glad she had been left alone for the past few days. She felt safer.

Her gaze scanned the window located on the left side of her. It reached all the way from the floor to the ceiling. Its grey frames sank into the white wall, looking trapped. Like it had been forced on it and not let go. She related to it. She wanted to leave the environment she was in as much as it seemed to want. They were both stuck, not let free by their captors.

The girl tilted her head, closing her eyelids carefully. Her body fell against the bed's mattress, feeling how the cushion sucked her in. She wanted to cocoon herself inside of it, but it wasn't tragically possible, so she did the next best thing and wrapped the blanket over her body.

She breathed heavily inside of it, not caring if her oxygen had ended. She didn't need it to survive, so why would it matter if her brain didn't get it? It was useless. Only creatures with a heartbeat needed it, which proved how weak all of them were. She was happy that she was not locked in it, dependent on the substance in the air.

Warmness gathered around her as the fuggy oxygen floated around her. The blanket heated the small hole she sat inside. Feeling the air become harder to breathe in, she stopped moving her lungs altogether.

Her brown hair occasionally brushed the cover as she thought about everything that had happened so far. It had been a lot. In a span of five days, she had fled from the clearing, lived in a lake, been captured, interrogated, met the shapeshifters, and almost died three times. If her brain hadn't been an advanced vampire brain but instead a dull human one, she would have probably gone crazy. She didn't get how some of the mammals stayed sane with their small brains.

A door's creak made the sixteen-year-old teen jump. Her hands punched the blanket frantically to the ground, her eyes spotting the blond leader. He stared at her quietly, trying to calm her down with a friendly smile.

"I apologise that I came inside so unannounced, but I thought thou would enjoy what I'm about to give you," he greeted.

The newborn widened her crimson eyes, dumbfounded. Thou ? Could vampires have a stroke? Did she hear what the man said correctly? Or was there something wrong with the blond vampire? She frowned. What on earth did thou mean? Was she supposed to know, and if yes, was she a loser for not understanding him? Would she have to go to school again? Was the word learned there? She didn't want to go to school. She had not finished it, but the idea of going to a place full of humans wasn't that appealing. Their minds worked too slowly for her liking. How did humans get anything done?

Carlisle studied her, waiting for her to invite him further in. He didn't seem to realise he had said an odd word. "Bree? May I come in?"

Bree focused back on the leader. She looked at him reluctantly, wanting him to leave her alone.

"You cannot isolate yourself from us. I understand Jasper scared you, but it is not healthy for you to sit still in this room all alone." The man's face dropped as he spoke.

The teen kept staring at him. Her face unreadable, she spoke. "I'm not scared of him."

She wasn't telling the truth, but no one needed to know that. She was more than content to pretend that everything was fine. That she wasn't terrified to face the southern vampire—shuddering inside at the thought of seeing him again.

The blond leader didn't look convinced. He stood still silently for a minute before sighing. "I did not come to argue with you. I wished to at least provide you with something to do." A soft smile appeared on his lips as he added. "You mentioned you enjoyed reading geography books, so I brought you a few from my library. I reckon you'd like them."

The young girl was momentarily stunned. Her head tilted, surprise apparent on her face. She had not expected him to offer her his books. What would he benefit from the gesture? She didn't get why he would have decided to waste his own precious time picking books for her to read. The idea made alarm bells ring in her head. He most likely wanted something from her. She needed to be careful. Accepting the books could lead to bad things happening to her. It could be an evil scheme to take advantage of her interests and get more vital information from her. Perhaps Alice had seen her plan to escape. She had thought about Fred when the mind reader wasn't home, so it was quite possible she had accidentally settled on the plan forming in her head. The thought of leaving Cullen's house and finding him.

"Bree? Do you wish to have the books? I'd be delighted to give them to thou." Carlisle smiled. Excitement made its way to his expression.

"Thou?" Bree repeated. She was taken out of her speculations when the word announced its existence for the second time in the conversation. What did it mean? Her crimson eyes eyed the older vampire.

The man turned momentarily embarrassed. She saw how the emotion rushed inside of him like a flood, leaving him drowning for five seconds in its depths. "I'm terribly sorry." He fixed his composure. "I might occasionally accidentally speak with my human time period's English. Especially if I get thrilled. Thou means you."

"Y-your time period's?" The teen hadn't thought about how old the yellow-eyes were during her stay with them. According to Riley, they were very ancient vampires, weak from their age. She wondered how old they were. Had they been alive when the cavemen lived? Were they cavemen? Her eyes widened. There was a good possibility that that was true. She couldn't believe how old they were.

"Yes. I was born in the 17th century." Carlisle informed her casually. He studied her, amused by her reaction. It must have looked ridiculous to him.

"S- so you aren't cavemen?" Relief spilled from her as she spoke.

Her words made all the Cullens who were present in the house burst into laughter. Their giggles travelled through the building, smacking her in the face. She had forgotten that the rest of them were able to listen to the conversation too.

Humiliation pumped inside of her, its warm, uncomfortable embrace engulfing her. Great. Now they thought she was pathetic.

Carlisle calmed down as the others kept giggling downstairs. "No. We indeed are not."

The newborn kept her lips sealed. She looked away from the man, not having enough courage to face him. Instead, her gaze went to her blanket on the floor. She felt safe looking at it; its reassuring visuals made her feel better and sealed her ears from the laughter downstairs. She wanted the duvet to shallow her again. Her temptation to wrap it back around herself grew the more she stared at it. She was just about to pick it up when the leader's voice stopped her.

"May I ask why you think that we are, uh, cavemen?"

She avoided his gaze. Her weak voice answered silently. "Riley told us you were ancient and weak."

The blond man raised his eyebrows entertained. His expression calmed down as he saw how uneasy she was. "It's quite alright. You couldn't have possibly known our ages." He comforted. "The rest of my family was born either in the 19th or early 20th centuries."

He walked properly inside the room, showing the geography books he was holding. Their black and green covers glimmered in the room's artificial light. The lamp made them appear more shiny than they actually were.

Her eyes skimmed towards them, like a magnet. She wanted to see what they were specifically about.

Carlisle put them on her bed and smiled. "There you go."

Bree's hands reached them before he had had time to finish his sentence properly. Her marble-like skin touched the book on the top of the pile. It was focusing on human geography. She itched to open it, her fingers already playing with its sharp edges, ready to open the book.

"Wait." The blond man stole her attention. "I'd like to talk about your gift before I leave you to read the books."

The teen felt a pang of betrayal as she realised why the leader had brought the books over to her. He hadn't done it out of kindness. He expected her to tell him about her frustrating, never-working gift in exchange for the books. Her instinct to not trust the yellow eyes had been right. He had an ulterior motive behind the nice gesture. She should have learned to trust her instincts already.

Her sour expression caught his amber eyes. "I can, of course, leave if you wish. I understand if you want to start reading the books. I'd imagine you've been bored for the last few days and want to do something entertaining. My shift at the hospital is going to start soon anyway. I can go there a bit early."

The newborn's crimson eyes widened. Her body stiffened. The leader worked in a hospital. Wasn't he worried about killing his patients? And most importantly, why would he willingly go take care of humans? They were so fragile. It was of no use to help them. They would eventually die anyway.

The yellow-eyed vampires were the strangest immortals she had met. They drank from animals, had a human pet, and now apparently also spent time in hospitals taking care of the ugly mammals. She didn't understand anything about their morals.

"You're a doctor?" She asked, bewildered.

"Yes. I suppose it has to sound quite odd to you." Carlisle chuckled. "You have most likely realised we are very different from others of our kind."

She nodded cautiously, wanting to know why the Cullens were so set on not hurting humans. What was so special about them? The creatures couldn't be trusted. Her curiosity outwitted her hurt, and she parted her lips. "Why? Humans are just food."

The blond vampire blinked, startled by her bluntness. "They have dreams and goals just like us. God created both of our kind and theirs to co-exist."

Bree stayed silent. She didn't really fully believe in God. She liked to regard herself as agnostic. If the mysterious almighty had been real, surely he would have ended all the suffering the world was plagued by? Or was he just plain evil? She wasn't sure if God was real or not, but she did know that if he was, he was a dick for making people suffer.

"I want to read." She said, not knowing what else to say. She didn't feel comfortable talking about the subject anymore. She wanted to move on and be alone. Get her blanket and wrap it around herself.

"Of course. Perhaps we could talk more when I come back from the hospital." Carlisle studied the girl.

She sat still for a while, eventually nodding. As the leader left her room, her gaze flew back to her new geography books. She wasn't sure whether they were for her to keep or if she would have to return them to him after reading them. She secretly hoped she could keep them, but doubted it would happen. He would probably take them away from her after getting what he wanted. It was inevitable.

The sky lit up with yellow flames as the darkness started to set in. The golden rays attempted to fight, but soon succumbed to the dark hood bending over them. Encouraged by the darkness, the stars emerged. Their sparkling light replaced the sun, finally happy to be seen.

Bree walked in the forest. Her head swept around like the fading sunlight, searching for the sleeping sun. The darkness was an odd occurrence when paired up with her supernatural vision. It made everything look so alien, but stunning at the same time. She remembered being in awe when her new eyes saw the world for the first time at night. Everything had looked so magical, yet so unbelievably beautiful.

Violet tint permanently tattered her vision when the night fell but did not hide anything from her, unlike her human eyes, which were unable to see well in the darkness. With her exquisite gaze, she was able to see all the small details of her environment, no matter how dark it was. She had come to enjoy the weird-coloured tint; it was like watching the world from one of those strange-coloured sunglasses. She still didn't fully understand why the human accessory had been made, but they had been sometimes fun to use; she had to admit it.

The newborn turned around as she heard steps behind her. She let out a frustrated snarl, not happy about the company she had been forced into. She wanted the pixie and scarred boy to leave her alone. Hadn't she suffered enough at the hands of the pale southern boy? They had been sent to babysit her and make sure she wouldn't escape.

Her annoyance grew when she stumped forward. Her boots leaving marks on the dirt, she turned to head back towards the modern-looking Cullen residence. She was done being watched. She had wanted to come and walk in the forest for a few hours, but hadn't been able to concentrate on much of anything during her stay here. She needed to get out of the greenery. She supposed she had to be stuck in her room. At least that way, no one was stalking her constantly.

She also did not need to worry about the possibility of Jasper bouncing on her and killing her inside the bedroom. She trusted him the least out of the yellow eyes, but rightfully so. He was scary.

"Bree!" Alice sighed as she heard her angry snarl.

The young teen was glad the southern vampire had stayed silent for most of the time they had strolled in the forest. She didn't want him to talk. It would remind her of his existence, and the more she thought about it, the more nervous she got. Maybe he sensed it and had decided to keep his mouth shut. She felt it was likely. He was able to feel her emotions, so if he didn't stay silent because of that, she was worried about what the boy's reasoning to do so was.

An owl cooed as the girl moved swiftly towards the familiar becoming front door. She was relieved to realise the two Cullens had started dropping from behind her. She could finally be alone and continue reading her geography books. She had read them for three hours before deciding to go to the forest.

She hoped the coven leader wasn't home yet. She wanted to read a bit more before talking with him. He seemed very keen on studying her gift. It made shivers go through her back. Why was he so interested in it? It didn't even work properly. Could some powers be permanently broken?

When she had been in Seattle's newborn army, her gift had not appeared even once. There genuinely had to be something wrong with it. She wondered if she had the courage to ask about the possibility of her gift being broken. Carlisle had to know about things like that. Maybe it wasn't the worst idea to talk to him after all. She could use the things she learned from the discussion as tools to make her stubborn invisibility work.

She hated it. Why had she gotten the most useless power to exist? She would rather not have a gift at all than have to suffer from how out of control it was. It was almost painful to attempt to use it.

Bree walked inside. She took the treacherous stairs up to upstairs, closing her eyes tightly. She had survived for a surprisingly long time. She prayed she wouldn't die on the glass plates carrying her wobbling legs. Her feet were back on the steady wooden floor in a blink. She had hurried to the second floor this time, not wanting to risk staying on the glass panels for too long.

A motor's hum started to appear from a distance. Its sounds made the brown haired newborn's head turn towards it. She was certain it had to be the leader. No one else would come to their house. Except perhaps the human pet, but to her understanding, the mind reader, Edward, had forbidden the mammal from coming over. She agreed with the boy. She didn't want the creature to come to the house. She was sure that she would attack her if that happened, and sucking blood from the yellow-eyes pet wasn't the most smartest idea. They were weirdly protective of the human girl.

A screech cut the air as the Cullens garage door opened. The shivering sound stopped, giving the car wanting to get in it a green light to enter. Its tyres went forward against the stone floor as it rolled inside.

The teen stood still, her eyes tightly on the staircase. She wanted to know if Carlisle had arrived back. Depending on it, she would either go back to her room to read or talk with him. Her wait was rewarded when, five minutes later, the patriarch of the yellow eyes appeared on the stairs. His doctor's coat flung when he came to a halt.

He raised his gaze to the girl standing on top of the stairs. "I assume you are waiting for me?"

Bree nodded. She felt a spike of nervousness in her chest. What if this all would go wrong? What if she would end up embarrassing herself? She shook the ideas out of her head, wishing that they would silence themselves. She did not want them to distract her, but she wasn't sure they would stay under the waves of her mind.

"May we then go to my office?" he asked. "Or would you rather go to your room?"

"Your office." The newborn looked at him, her cautious stance waiting for the leader to do something. She didn't want to move from her spot. She was standing higher than him, giving her an advance if he would approach her. Her instincts advised her to wait until he turned to head down towards his office.

The blond man gave her a quick smile and started heading back downstairs. She followed him slowly, making sure to gaze below her through the glass stairs. Their creepy shine caused the young girl to gulp. She needed to be brave. She couldn't let the stairs scare her any further. They were just stairs. Normal transparent stairs. There was nothing odd about them. She wasn't a bird. She'd be fine climbing them down.

Carlisle led her to his office. The room's bookshelves were flooded with books. They seemed ready to burst—vomit all the titles off the shelves. All the colourful covers were equally terrified, gripping the bookshelves, worried to fall off. She hoped to help the poor books. They were innocent, and the evil shelves were trying to choke them.

Her feet stopped taking steps as she took the office in.

"Take a seat." The older vampire smiled. He went around his table and sat down on its comfortable-seeming chair. His elbows appearing to the table's surface, he laid his pale hands against each other under his chin.

The teen took the offering and sat down in the closest seat. Her posture was rigid, waiting for him to start asking questions about her. She had been interrogated the last time she'd been here. Her memories didn't welcome the room with fondness. It only made her feel an intolerable rush to leave, but she had promised to come here. She rather wanted to discuss her power here than in her own room.

"How did your day go? Did you enjoy your time reading?" Carlisle asked casually, attempting to calm her down. He looked determined to make small talk before starting to talk about anything else. It frustrated her.

"Good…It was fun." Bree answered. She felt awkward.

The man nodded thoughtfully. He swept his amber gaze through her face. "I'm pleased to hear that. I saw you gaze at the books on my shelves. You are free to take a look at them if you wish."

The girl's muscles stiffened more. She didn't want to give the yellow-eyes even more reasons to dislike her. She could accidentally break one of the books, and if that specific one were important, she would be in trouble. She definitely wasn't going to touch them. The Cullens had to hate her at this point. She wasn't going to risk making them feel even more dislike towards her.

"You don't need to, of course." Carlisle added quickly. His face showed a glimpse of panic as he saw her posture become more stiff. The leader mused to himself for a second before narrowing his eyes. "How have you felt after finding out about your father? I'm sure it was distressing for you to find out about what he did through the TV."

The newborn's eyes drifted away from the man. Why was he talking about her father? She didn't want to think about him. Did the leader want to talk about her gift or not? If he didn't, she wanted to leave. He was trying to pry into her life, asking her dumb questions like…a therapist. She wasn't in a therapy session. He had no right to try to talk about her emotions. It was wrong and annoying. She didn't need to open up to him. Was he even a licenced therapist? She hardly doubted that.

Carlisle pressed his lips, waiting for her answer. When she stayed silent, he sighed. "Bree."

The young teen didn't open her mouth. She kept her gaze away from his, feeling too uneasy to look up. She just wanted to hide back inside her blanket and be in its darkness. Not think about anything. Feel the soft hug of the object around her.

"You cannot bottle up your emotions." The blond leader's warning tone broke the silence again. He tried to force her to talk. It was obvious now. Why had she agreed to come to the office? Learning about her gift wasn't worth the suffering she was going through at this moment. She should leave and escape to her room's safety while she still was able to. What type of torture chamber was she in?

"I understand it's hard to talk about your feelings, especially if they are painful, but it's important to let others help you deal with them. You do not need to do it all alone. I can see that you're struggling, so please, let me help you." Carlisle stood up and walked closer to her. His careful steps echoed in the nearly silent house.

Only she and the man were at the Cullen residence. She hadn't realised the fact before. She had been so engulfed in the situation happening in front of her that she had not noticed how the other yellow-eyes had slipped from the modern house. She felt dread form in the pits of her stomach. She didn't like this, not at all. Her eyes drifted to look at the leader.

It was a mistake.

As soon as her gaze found its way to him, the older vampire seemed to take it as permission to continue approaching her. His hands came gently to her shoulders as he crouched down to her level.

The girl's heart wretched. She felt a spike go through it, cutting through it unforgivably like a knife. A sob came through her lips unwillingly. She hadn't allowed it to emerge, but nevertheless, it had found its way to the outside world. She felt mortified by her cry, wanting to sink into her chair. This was not how the discussion was supposed to go. Not how she had wanted her day to move forward.

"It's alright." Carlisle's soft voice calmed her. His grip became tighter as he pulled her against his chest.

His gesture caused another sob to escape from her mouth. It shaked her body violently.

"You'll be fine. I apologise, I brought your father up," the leader's voice soothed.

His sweet scent was all over Bree. It drifted around her, making her feel strangely secure. She let her head fall against his shirt.

The older vampire hugged her tightly, keeping her still. "We do not need to talk about him if you're not ready. Perhaps we could just be silent for a while. Let you calm down a bit, hmm? In case you'd prefer to talk, we could discuss your gift like we were supposed to."

She withheld a third sob, attempting to surface. She couldn't let it come. It was embarrassing enough to have cried for the second time in the presence of the yellow-eyes. Why was she like this? She was not happy about her body's decision today.

"I- I want to talk about my gift." She managed to say. She still very much wanted to figure out why it didn't work. It puzzled her, and she did not want to stay in silence. She was afraid of the silence turning into awkwardness.

Carlisle squeezed her. "Of course."

"It's broken." She whispered.

"Nonsense. It is not broken. You simply need to learn to control it. It might take a while, but you'll get a handle on it eventually, I promise." The leader stroked her back.

"What if I won't?"

"You will. I can assure you of that. No gift is impossible to control. You have to find its trigger and figure out how it works. It seems to activate when you're in danger." He explained calmly. "How about we try to work its mechanism out together? I'm sure we'd find out how it works as a team."

The newborn nodded. She let herself stay against the pale man. She miraculously didn't feel the need to leave his embrace. To be precise, she wanted to stay in it. Not move even an inch. Being in the vampire's arms was surprisingly cosy; his marble-like skin comfortingly warm and his eyes oozing patience, she felt at peace. The books on the shelves brought the scent of paper, filling her lungs with their pleasant smell. With her mind restful, she closed her eyes to hide the sadness in them.