― ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝔽𝕚𝕧𝕖 ―

   Jasper Whitlock closed his eyes as he took an unneeded breath, his marble-like body leaning against the banister which led from the front room into the Cullen's living room. Alice gently rubbed her mate's shoulder seeing that he was overwhelmed with all the different emotions flying around their very much full home.

   The fact that Jacob Black was also here adding in his own emotions did nothing to help Jasper. Jacob Black visited every other weekend from Forks to see Renesmee and ― not that he would ever admit to it ― the rest of the Cullen's as well. Currently, the ten-person family was located in the large living room of their tremendous residence.

   With the three new additions ― Bella, Jacob, and Renesmee ― to their family, Esme and Carlisle wanted to shake things up a bit. After spending nine years in Forks, the Cullen's were forced to leave because the townsfolk had begun to notice the fact that none of them ever physically changed. Not a single member of the family wanted to move as Forks had become their favorite place to live, but once Carlisle's boss had spoken to him about being in his mid-forties and looking not a day over twenty-four they knew it was time to go.

   In order to try and uplift everyone's spirits, Esme and Carlisle chose a place on the map that they had never lived. Astoria, Oregon was alike to Forks in most aspects, though it was larger, and the Cullen's had never lived there. Plus, it was close enough that Jacob could easily drive down often.

   Esme had a blast designing the newest Cullen house along with Rosalie, Alice, Bella, and Renesmee. The family always lived in large houses, but their river-side forest manor in Astoria had to be the biggest most extravagant home they had resided in yet.

   Though at first, the Cullen's missed Forks, they soon adapted to Astoria and began enjoying living there almost as much as Forks. The animals were over-populated giving them a variety of snacks, and for once, the people of the small city didn't judge the Cullen's. Yes, they all were slightly intimidated by their graceful beauty, but none of them were the usual amount of nosiness and suspicious glances.

   All the Cullen's had to admit that this was a nice change, but they also realized a lot of it had to do with Billie Myers and her foster daughters. The people of the small city were too busy gossiping about chain-smoker Billie Myers and her screwed up foster children to even have time to think anything negative about the Cullen's.

   Although lately, all the Cullen's had noticed that the gossiping was at an all-time high with Bille Myers because of her newest addition. All the Cullen's, especially Esme, thought the amount of crude judgment the poor little girl who had barely moved here was already receiving was ridiculous.

   It didn't take long for word to spread about Billie Myer's newest foster child; Clara Casterson, being in and out of seven different homes at only nine-years-old. Many had even taken it upon themselves to warn their children about staying away from a troublemaker such as her.

   The Cullen clan highly doubted the child was a troublemaker. When the seven vampire 'children' first saw Clara, each and every one of them immediately felt a protective pull towards her. Edward took note that her mind was harder to read than most, but he was able to get through when he focused enough.

   Carlisle Cullen's first and only time seeing the little girl was when she was used as a distraction so her other siblings could steal painkillers for Billie Myers. Carlisle was the only one in the hospital to realize that Billie Myers put her foster children up to steal her drugs, and he thought that was an atrocious act for her to commit.

   To taint innocent children to do something like that was simply vile. And Esme agreed with him. Carlisle; however, was never able to do anything about it because he didn't want the children getting in trouble, and so, he was forced to just stand by and watch.

   But when Carlisle saw little Clara Casterson, the oddest of things happened. It was a feeling similar to when he decided to change his first son; Edward Cullen, it was fatherly sort of emotion, more powerful than anything he'd ever experienced.

   Emmett had joked, claiming that Carlisle went all 'Papa bear' for Clara. Astoundingly, Carlisle actually agreed to Emmett's joke, explaining that even though he had never actually held a conversation with the girl, he ― alike to the rest of his family ― was already extremely protective of her, possibly even more than his children.

   Esme was the only one who had not yet seen the little girl her family was going insane about, something she was more than irritated about. She wanted to feel this same sort of motherly nature and protectiveness her husband was claiming to feel.

   However, all the Cullen's were worried about the girl's safety as her current home was with drug addict Billie Myers. Not to mention the sixteen-year-old prostitute vaper; Kora Nash, who was also residing in the same house. Yes, the Cullen family was extremely worried for a child living in that sort of an environment.

   Alice was the only one who didn't seem as worried as the rest of the Cullen's. The second Alice had laid eyes on the girl, she was bombarded with a vision that seemed to take place in the distant but near future; she suspected a few months out, a year at most.

   It was nothing particular, simply Carlisle and Esme sitting in a little ice cream parlor, an emotion of such joy that hadn't been that vivid in a very long time resting in their gaze. Both of them were fondly watching Clara Casterson who at that moment seemed happier than she has ever been. Clara looked a bit older, but it was so minimally that only a vampire would ever be able to notice it.

   She was cheerfully babbling about how Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie took her to a trampoline park where Emmett kept daring her to do different tricks, Jasper helped her win at dodgeball, and Rosalie was on the sidelines screaming at Emmett to stop Clara from hurting herself. Though Carlisle and Esme looked worried at that part, they both seemed very content watching the young girl lick her ice cream.

   Esme ― despite not needing to eat ― stole a lick of Clara's ice cream just so the little girl would go into a fit of laughter. Carlisle would do the same a second later, causing Clara to once more laugh.

   It was a vision that made Alice smile to herself when thinking about it, she had no doubts that Clara would soon be joining their family as Carlisle and Esme's newest daughter. Edward read Alice's mind, a grin splitting across his face at what he saw.

   Both Alice and Edward were happy that their adopted parents would soon get to raise a little child like they always wanted. All of their adopted children may have been forever stuck in their teens, but they were more than capable of taking care of themselves. Edward and Bella even had a child of their own.

   Alice and Edward had yet to share this vision with the rest of the family, deciding to tell them at the family meeting. Alice breathed out at Jasper's pained state, Edward and Jasper had the hardest time at the family meetings as of late.

   The family had gotten so big that it began to strain both their powers, Edward usually getting a headache from all their thoughts, and Jasper unable to handle everyone's heightened emotions at once.

   "Kora Nash is going to get Clara killed with her reckless driving." Bella piped up, all the other siblings making noises of agreements.

   "Yeah, and I swear I saw Kora starting to vape when they left," Nessie added, Jacob backing her with a nod.

   If Kora wanted to vape, that was her business. However, when she was doing it with a child in the car, that changed the situation entirely. No child should be exposed to smoking of any kind.

   Before another round of conversation could begin, Alice danced her way to the middle of the room, the hardwood ground making no noise against her flowy motions. "I feel as the family seer I should inform you all of my most recent vision..." Alice stopped her speech, allowing a dramatic silence to overtake the room.

   Emmett who leaning on the back of the couch next to Rosalie threw his hands up in exasperation. "Well, get on with it then!" Esme shushed her son with a roll of her eyes, Carlisle sitting next to Esme on the couch with an arm wrapped around her waist.

   Deciding she had left everyone waiting long enough, she opened her mouth. "Clara is going to be a part of our family. I saw it, I'm pretty sure it's Carlisle and Esme who adopt her." Edward snickered at Alice's blunt words, all the Cullen siblings immediately going into an upheaval of words.

   "What!"

   "You're going to damn that poor little girl to the life of a monster!"

   "Sweet, I can teach her the best ways to attack bears."

   "Finally, someone else who will eat food."

   "What if I accidentally eat her?"

   Everyone turned to Jasper with huge eyes at his words. A few years ago, Jasper was the most delicate to human blood, but after years with Renesmee and being around the pack, his control had gotten formidably better. All the Cullen's resistance toward human blood had got better, they were barely affected by it at all.

   Seeing the looks, Jasper flashed a sudden smile. "Kidding." They all let out a relieved breath, Rosalie quickly taking the floor by looking at Carlisle.

   "Carlisle, I want to help the girl too. But if you and Esme adopt her, it puts her life at risk. Not to mention that if the Volturi find out they are no doubt going to throw a fit." Rosalie made a strong point.

   Many factors were not in favor of Carlisle and Esme taking the little girl under their wing. But at the same time, Carlisle for the first time in a long while wanted to be selfish. He wanted Clara Casterson as his daughter, as his little girl. He knew Esme would feel the same way as him; hell, she already was and she hadn't even met Clara yet.

   "Well, what if we just don't tell her about the whole vampire thing." Renesmee suggested, Bella's mind reeling when she remembered what they all saw just a few hours prior.

   "Hold on..." Bella's voice cut across, curiosity apparent within causing all the Cullen's to look at her. "Are we sure she's even human? We all saw what happened with the window." The Cullen siblings, Renesmee, and Jacob went quiet at that, Alice beginning to search the future as best she could.

   Alice was able to pull a few random scenes of herself and Clara shopping, Rosalie teaching Clara about cars, and Renesmee, Bella, and Edward all going ice skating with her. But nothing more than that, nothing to suggest the little girl was anything but human.

   That didn't make sense though, even earlier Alice was able to see Kora Nash breaking the window an hour before it actually happened. However, her vision didn't show Clara snapping her wrist causing the window to shatter. Nothing about the strange little girl was adding up. Something was always missing in visions Alice had about her, almost a sort of blockade surrounding Clara purposely keeping Alice's sight away from it.

   Edward was having a similar issue. He was able to read her mind only some of the time, but it seemed whenever she thought about a certain memory or something in particular about herself, her mind suddenly snapped off. Like a radio losing its signal.

   Carlisle and Esme shared a look at the glances their adopted children were sending each other. Something had happened earlier at school and their kids hadn't exactly been up for shedding light on whatever went down.

   "What happened?" Carlisle's voice was soft but authoritative, he wouldn't have his children hiding things involving a matter this delicate from him and Esme.

   Edward was the one who took charge, looking at both his adoptive parents as he spoke. "We're not really sure..." He started looking confused himself. "Kora made a scene by dropping out, she threw a rock at the principal's window. Then, Clara subtly flicked her wrist and suddenly the rest of the glass shattered." Carlisle looked intrigued at his sons' words, Esme placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

   "Well, all our gifts spawn from traits in our human lives, right? What if this is something like that, maybe Clara's gifted like Bella or Alice were when they were human?" Jasper advised, Carlisle, looking thoughtful at his words.

   That was a plausible suggestion.

   Jacob who had been relatively silent decided to speak up. "When I get back to La Push, I can dig up some old legends on gifted humans." He suggested, Esme, looking to him appreciatively.

   "That would be great, thank you, Jacob." Jacob nodded to Esme, Carlisle sending him a grateful smile as well.

   "I'll try and find any medical records on her. Perhaps her history will bring some light on this-"

   "And maybe..." Esme cut off Carlisle with an eager tone, her husband turning to her with an eyebrow raised in amusement. "Maybe, you can get in contact with her social worker about adoption?" Carlisle chuckled, nodding while kissing Esme's head.

   Rosalie scoffed, shaking her head. "That doesn't even make sense, we're going to risk this little girl's life? She'll notice how cold we are, how we don't eat, and the fact that we need to go hunting." Again, Rosalie made a valid point.

   If they adopted Clara, she'd pick up on certain unnatural characteristics right away. But then again, if Clara really had shattered that window with just a thought, then perhaps she wasn't as human as she came onto be?

   "I say we put it to a vote," Alice spoke after a moment of silence. "Those in favor of adopting her and those who aren't." Rosalie narrowed her eyes at her sister, crossing her arms.

   "Obviously, there's no point in that. We already know ― thanks to your visions ― Clara becomes a part of this family at some point. I say we vote on whether or not we tell her what we are." Slowly, everyone nodded in agreement, Carlisle clearing his throat.

   "Okay then, those in favor of telling her?" Bella, Renesmee, Jacob, and Alice all rose their hands. "Those in favor of not?" Every other person rose their hand, making the score.

   "Well, looks like we do not tell her." Alice rolled her eyes sensing little Clara would figure it out sooner than everyone thought.

   However, everyone had their own reason for their vote. Rosalie, Emmett, Edward, and Jasper didn't want to tell her for the sheer fact of wanting to at least try to give the little girl as normal of a life as possible. Bella, Renesmee, and Jacob, on the other hand, felt as if Clara deserved to know. Carlisle and Esme didn't want to tell her for the simple fact of not wanting the chance of scaring the little girl, they wanted her to trust them as parents.

   "Hold on, aren't we all going to the Water Day ceremony tomorrow night?" Emmett questioned, Carlisle nodding.

   Every year Astoria held a 'keep the Columbia River clean' charity event. It was made to bring in donations in order help keep the beloved river that Astoria was placed upon clean, it was also the first time the Cullen's would be attending it. As a respected surgeon, Carlisle and his family were expected to make an appearance.

   It was a more formal event than most, and many of Astoria's citizens would show up. Possibly even Billie Myers and her foster daughters.

   Esme's eyes lit up, her mind catching onto what Emmett was proposing. "Billie Myers will probably be there, right?" Carlisle had doubts, but he also knew there was a possibility.

   "Maybe, but I'm not so sure," Carlisle admitted, Alice only leaping excitedly.

   "Well, that settles it then. Tomorrow if we see Clara there, why don't we try speaking with her? Carlisle and Esme can get closer to her."

   And so, it was settled. The entire Cullen family and Jacob were meant to go and meet Clara Casterson tomorrow night.

***
CLARA'S POV
***

   There was one thing that I could not wrap my head around. Billie could care less that Kora dropped out of school, actually, she was happy. Billie was happy that her sixteen-year-old foster daughter no longer had the responsibility of school distracting her from her work. And by work, I meant Kora's live porn feed that she does.

   "I made an extra eighty dollars just from not having to do homework last night." Lauren and I sat in the back of Billie's car ― which was just a bit bigger than Kora's ― watching Billie and Kora interact in disbelief.

   "Good, good." Billie's driving was a lot smoother than Kora's, all the windows rolled down so the smoke from Billie's cigarette and Kora's Juul could exit.

   Apparently, we had something called a Water Day ceremony to attend later today. Lauren explained that they went the year before last year, and other than the crude stares they received, it was fun. We would be attending the ceremony with Billie's redneck booty call, a man whom I had not had the pleasure of meeting.

   However, Lauren told me I didn't want to meet him as apparently he was the male version of Billie. Not necessarily rude, but he did have a smoking and alcohol issue.

   Currently, we were on our way to Pier 11, a mall located on the bay of the Columbia River and a short fifteen-minute drive from our house. The green blurs of the forest gradually changed to the scenery of the river, enormous enough that it could easily be mistaken for the ocean.

   Assuming that this would be one of the only times Billie bought us clothing, I intended to take full advantage of it. Shoes that actually fit was my top priority. Sooner rather than later, Billie was pulling into a parallel parking spot right on the bay.

   "Okay," She was holding her cigar by her lips as she shifted through cash, turning to Kora. "I'm giving you three hundred and fifty, it should be enough for you all to get some appropriate clothes. You all have two hours, meet back here at three." Billie handed Kora the cash, Kora flashing a smile as she immediately got out the car.

   Lauren and I scrambled after her, both of us knowing she would use it all on herself if we weren't with her. Sashaying down the sandy boardwalk, Kora admired all the nice shops, Lauren scoffing.

   "Are you serious, we only have two hours to get all of the clothes." Lauren and Kora quickly got into a heated debate earning looks from all the people who passed by.

   Crossing my arms, I ignored them. Instead, my attention was diverted to across the street. My eyebrows scrunched in disgust at all the couples either kissing, holding hands, or taking soppy selfies.

   The pier was aesthetically pleasing with little beachy shops, animal pay rides, and even a small carnival located at the edge of the dock. The perfect tourist trap.

   My eyes ran over the scene, disdain toward the false happiness stirring within me. Gazing at a small shop, I caught sight of a bus stop sitting ideally just in front of it. Only two people were there, one woman sitting on the bench rocking a child in her arms, and a man standing right in front of the bench.

   I furrowed my brows at the extremely strange aura the man was giving off, it wasn't at all like the Cullen's. In fact, it was almost like mine in a sense, except heavier. The feeling of balance and serenity leaked from his cocoa colored skin, skin that a was few shades darker than mine.

   Curiously, the man was not dressed as most who would be taking a stroll down the pier would. No, he was dressed far too fancy. An expensive looking dark suit adorned his body nicely, a pair of leather loafers covering his feet. He was tall, just above six feet with a youthful glow around him. Probably in his mid-twenties.

   His hair was twisted back in cornrows, a fedora on top of his head. The feeling I got from him was bizarre, it was recognition, I swear I knew this man from somewhere but I couldn't place my finger on it. Something about him screamed to my memories, and I quickly flipped back as far as I could remember. There was no possibility I knew a man dressed as nice as him, it was simply impossible.

   My body jumped when the male suddenly looked to me, our gaze clashing alike to a symphony of trumpets. His eyes were the same shade of brown as my own, and ever so slowly his lips turned up into a smirk. Everything about his face was so familiar, and yet I could not place where I had seen him.

   Irritation bubbled within, this man was practically screaming at me to recognize him. As if sensing my confused annoyance, he tipped his hat in greeting. However, when he looked back up, his eyes were a completely different color. My heart skipped a beat at the startling color of his eyes. They were no longer the same shade of brown; no, they were a completely unnatural color. Even more bizarre than the Cullen's golden irises.

   Staring at me was a pair of violent glowing lavender eyes. The color popped out against his cocoa skin, seeming to draw me in. My mouth fell agape when he suddenly dropped his right eyelid in a wink before vanishing on the spot. The familiar male quite literally vanished into thin air, and no one other than me seemed to notice.

   My head rapidly spun left and right trying to find someone who noticed him. But alas, no one did. The salty breeze picked up, flowing through the tight twisty curls of my hair, myself frozen in disbelief. That was not possible at all.

   But then again, anything seemed to be possible as of late. And I was not sure whether it was a good or bad thing.

   "C'mon shortie," My attention was caught by Kora rolling her eyes holding open the door to a store called Forever 21. "We have shopping to do."

   With one last glance toward the spot I saw the male at, I spun around, walking inside.