"Hello, Bella, Charlie!" Billy Black greeted as he opened the front door for them. They stepped into the small kitchen. "How is everything going?"

"Good," Charlie mentioned.

"What about you, Bella?" Billy asked with a bright smile.

"Um, good," she mumbled. "Where's Jake?"

"I'm here," Jacob Black mumbled sleepily as he stepped into view. His enormous height and build didn't exactly help the already crowded kitchen.

"So, what's the big news you were so secretive about?" Billy asked, pulling plates down from the counter and setting them on the small dining table. Everyone sat and started to dish the homemade spaghetti onto their plates.

"My niece is coming to stay with us for a while," Charlie informed the Black family.

Jake raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware you had any other family member's, Bella."

Bella rolled her eyes, but said nothing.

"Well, that could be because we haven't really seen her for over ten years," Charlie explained. "When she was eight, my brother went to prison for armed robbery. He's still in there to this day. Then not even a year later, her mother went into a mental institute for self-harm. She's close to a vegetable now."

"So if all this happened a long time ago, why is she just now coming to live with you?" Billy asked.

"Well, since her maternal grandmother already lived in the same area that they were in, she moved in to care for her while she grew up," he sighed. "But about a year ago, Lexi became too much for the old woman to handle so I offered her a break."

"Sounds like she's had a rough life so far," Billy murmured. "Well, we'll do anything we can to help her adjust."

"I was hoping you would say that," Charlie said with a sad smile. He turned to his daughter. "Why so quiet Bells?"

Bella, who had been twirling her food around her plate and not really eating anything, looked up at her father. It was apparent that she was still realizing he'd even spoken to her. "Sorry," she said, shaking her head slightly. "I was just thinking."

Charlie nodded, completely understanding. "Bella's not quite sure how she feels about seeing her cousin for the first time in years," he informed the two confused men at the table. Billy nodded while Jacob stared at the top of Bella's inclined head.

"When does she get here?" Billy asked finally.

"Tomorrow morning."