"Ansel, dinner!" I called. Jack walked in the front door a second later. He somehow always managed to get back from the big house just in time for dinner.

"What smells so good?" he called. I heard him hang his jacket on the banister, and then walk into the main room. His arms were around my waist a second later. He kissed my neck.

"Spaghetti," I answered, even though he could clearly see it.

"Mom, Dad... eww," said Ansel as he walked into the room. At seventeen years old, he was growing like a weed. He had the pale skin that I had while I was human, but his dad's jet black hair. He glared at us, his ice blue eyes shining. He hated it when we showed even the slightest amount of affection towards each other. He said it gave him "bad mental pictures" which really just made Jack and I want to embarrass him more.

Jack grinned against my neck. "What, Ansel? Does this gross you out?" He spun me around and planted a nice juicy kiss on my lips.

"Oh my God, quit," he said, covering his eyes. He grabbed a plate and heaped a giant mound of noodles on top, then drowned the entire thing in sauce. He sat down in one of the stools at the island and dug in.

Jack did the same, and I was content to sit there and watch. As gross as food was to me, I always thought it was so funny to watch how the both of them devoured it. Jack and I knew that Ansel was going to become a werewolf soon, so I didn't really find anything strange with the insane amount of food he ate.

When he was finished, Ansel leaned back and put his hands behind his head. "Great dinner, Mom. For someone who doesn't eat, you really can cook." Once he was old enough to keep a secret, he knew almost everything about his vampire and werewolf relatives. I learned for my own experience... wondering why your parents never ate was enough to drive a kid insane.

"What else am I supposed to do while you lazy heads sleep all day?" I laughed.

Ansel smiled. "Weirdo."

"Ahem, you're the weirdo. You and your dad, anyway," I laughed, hopping onto the counter next to him. "The majority of your family doesn't sleep."

"Hey, hey, hey! I am not a part of this, thank you very much," said Jack, pushing his plate away.

"Don't sweat it, Dad. Everyone knows that you and I can beat Mom and Emmett any day of the week," said Ansel, waving his hand. "We totally beat them at Rock Band just yesterday."

"I'm calling him," I said, grabbing the phone.

"Hey!" yelled Emmett. The speaker on the phone crackled.

I laughed. "Come over. I believe Ansel has just challenged us."

"That little punk. What are we playing?" he asked. He was getting more and more excited by the second.

"Rock Band," I answered.

He didn't even answer. The line went dead.

I grinned. "He'll be over in a minute."

Ansel looked at Jack. "They actually think they can beat us," he laughed incredulously.

"They don't know any better, Ansel. I mean... Emmett's on their team, after all," said Jack in a stage-whisper.

"If you are implying that I am unintelligent, I may just have to rip your appendages off, good sir," said Emmett, strutting into the room. It really was handy that they lived less than a mile away. Commuting really did take less than a minute.

Ansel, who was taking a sip of his soda, promptly spit it all over the counter. "That. Was. The. Best," coughed Ansel.

I sighed and wiped the counter off with a paper towel. "Way to go, Unc. Make my baby choke," I muttered.

"Mom, I'm not a baby," said Ansel.

"Come on, baby, time to kick your butt," I said, running up the stairs. I loved irritating Ansel... it was one of my favorite things about being a parent.

When we played Rock Band, I'd be on the guitar, and Emmett would be on the drums. When the others played, Jack was on the guitar, and Ansel was on the drums. We'd compete to see who could get a higher score on expert. The only reason they had won the day before was because Emmett broke the drums.

"I swear, Emmett... if you break those drums, I'm going to be so irritated," I said, grabbing the guitar.

Emmett grinned. "I can't help it," he admitted sheepishly.

When the song ended, Emmett and I had gotten a hundred percent... like always. When Jack and Ansel played, Ansel missed on note.

"Ha!" yelled Emmett, dancing in front of the screen. Ansel threw the drum sticks at him.

"At least I didn't break them!" he exclaimed. He and Emmett got into a heated argument about whether or not breaking the game should be negative points in the massive competition that was our lives.

While they fought, Jack walked over to me quietly. "Good job, babe," he said. I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"I'm the best," I murmured.

"Damn straight," he said. He closed the short distance between us.

It only lasted a second before Ansel cried, "Gross! Will you guys stop it? As your son, I think I have the right to tell you that what your doing makes passersby sick."

Emmett laughed. "That's nothing. One time I came over to pick up some diapers for you, and it was the first time they would let you out of their sight for like three weeks. I walked in on them while they were having cheer up se-"

"Emmett, what the hell kind of thing is that to talk about?" I asked. I wasn't worried about the sex, I was worried that he would tell Ansel about his sister. Ansel had no idea he had a twin sister...

Jack and I had decided a long time ago that we wouldn't tell Ansel until we had to. It was too painful to talk about. When Allegra was lost, the situation was absolutely hopeless. Jack and I didn't want Ansel to grow up without parents, which is what would have happened if we had gone in to get her.

The room that was made for her was repainted white, and it didn't have a single piece of furniture in it. Ansel always asked what the room was for, and we told him we didn't know. We told him it was an extra room, and when we got an idea for something to put in there, we'd do it. The truth was, we would never put anything in there. All of Allegra's old baby clothes were up in the attic, sealed tight. Her toys were kept at the big house. We took away all the reminders of her.

"Mom, it's fine," said Ansel. "I know what a dirty mind Emmett has... it probably never even happened." It sounded like he was reassuring himself as much as he was me.

I shook my head and swept out of the room. I heard Jack tell Emmett that it was probably best if he left. Ansel said he was going to go work on homework. I was sitting on our bed, my head in my hands, when Jack came in. He sat next to me.

"Are you alright, Axelle?" he asked quietly.

"We just left her! We left her there!" I exclaimed.

"We had to. Ansel wouldn't have parents if we went back there. You know that," he said. He rubbed soothing circles on my back..

"Maybe they didn't... kill her," I whispered. "Maybe they just took her."

"Maybe," mused Jack. I knew he doubted it. I did too...

**

The dark, stone walls that I had grown so accustomed to over the years spun dangerously as I sat up. The pain was almost completely gone.

"Are you okay?" asked Demetri, his hand on my forehead. He was always overly concerned about my comfort, my safety.

I closed my eyes and nodded. "I... I think so."

"Oh, thank God," he sighed.

I smiled. I was finally one of them.

He smiled, too. I'd remember his next words for the rest of my life. "Welcome to the Volturi, Allegra."

Oh my God... that's the end. THE END!! AHHHHH!! I feel like I'm going to cry xD

You should just know that the next, AND LAST story will be up soon... :D

And TECHNICALLY, I still have ten minutes until it's 2009... so here's your HAPPY NEW YEAR present from me.

Review... I'll be the best New Years gift you can give me :)