20 years old – Forks, Washington

The Cullens had returned to their residence in Forks, Washington after many years. It was a beautiful home tucked into a vibrant green forest. The weather was usually rainy, or at the very least, cloudy. Sunny days were few and far between. And the variety of animals that lived in the forests around them made it perfect.

Even Lily thought so and she wasn't a vampire. But she did love the rain. And she loved to explore the forests around the house. They'd moved mid-summer, but it was now fall and time for the first day of school. Lily was thoroughly entertained as she watched her siblings prepare. She'd continued taking online courses and already had one degree in linguistics and was working on another in art history.

"We need to go," Alice announced. "We're going to be late."

Lily followed them to the door, waving as they walked away to get in their cars. "Have fun in high school. Choose hugs, not drugs. Pay attention in class. Make good choices. Bye, I love you." She continued until they were at the end of the drive, knowing they could still hear her.

She chuckled as she shut the door. Turning, she found Esme watching her with crossed arms and an arched brow. "Did you have fun?"

Lily laughed and gestured to the door with her thumb. "Oh, yeah. That was hilarious."

Esme smiled and shook her head. "Get some work done. They finished the studio last night, by the way."

That had her bouncing on her feet in excitement. Most of her exercise came from training or running with her siblings, but she had discovered a love for dance when she and John lived in San Francisco. She'd maintained it after moving in with the Cullens. Upon their relocation to Forks, Carlisle and Esme made the decision to build her a small studio outside of the house. That way she could practice to her heart's content and her music wouldn't bother their vampy hearing. She couldn't wait to see it now that it was finished.

"Not so fast," Esme said, stopping her as she turned to open the front door. "School first."

Lily's shoulders slumped as she shut the door. "Fine," she grumbled and trudged up the stairs. Esme laughed, rubbing a hand over her back as she passed. At least she was only taking two classes at the moment.

She finished her work just before lunchtime and tapped her foot against the floor while she ate. Her gaze darted up to find Esme watching her with an amused expression. "I feel like I should wait for everyone to get home. I mean, they all worked on it."

"That's up to you, sweetie. Though they did say there was no need to wait on them. They know you're excited."

She'd barely finished speaking before Lily was on her feet. "Thanks, mom," she practically squealed as she wrapped the other woman in a hug and kissed her cheek.

Esme laughed. "I'll take care of your plate. Go on."

Lily changed her clothes before grabbing her mp3 player and heading outside to the studio. She hadn't seen it since early in its construction as everyone had wanted the final product to be a surprise. It was only a short walk to the small building and Lily gasped as it came into sight. It was all stone, gleaming wood, and glass. She let herself in with the key Esme had given her. One long wall was nothing but windows looking over the forest while the wall opposite was mirrored down the entire length, a barre running in front.

The vaulted ceiling showed exposed beams. In one corner was a relaxation area with beanbags, a chair and lots of brilliant fabrics. There was even a small fridge with a pitcher of water inside, glasses stacked on top. They'd thought of everything. Best of all was when she plugged her player into the provided dock and pulled up her dancing playlist and the sound flooded from every corner of the studio. It was perfect.

And then she danced. For the entire afternoon, she'd dance then take a break before dancing some more. She only realized how long it had been when she finished a dance and heard applause. She turned in surprise to find her entire family standing inside the entrance watching her. She hurried over and stopped the music so she could talk to them.

"I guess you like it, huh?" Carlisle asked.

"It is absolutely perfect," Lily said. "Thank you all so much. I'd hug you, but I'm kind of sweaty."

"I don't care," Alice exclaimed before bouncing over and giving her a hug. The others soon joined in a group hug. Group hugs were the best.

Lily opened her eyes and saw Emmett hovering by the door, arms crossed over his chest. Extricating herself from the others, she headed toward him with her arms open. "Give me a hug, Emmy."

He wrinkled his nose. "No. You're sweaty. You said so yourself."

"But Emmy." She pouted and he shook his head before taking off out the door. She followed after him, catching up as he stuck to human speed, and jumping on his back. "Emmy!"

He carried her back to the house as the others followed behind laughing. Once they got back, she hopped off and Rose handed her the mp3 player and her keys. "We locked up for you."

"Thank you," Lily said as she headed up the stairs. "I'm going to take a shower and sleep for a bit."

Liliana had the worst sleep habits. Living with vampires that never slept would do that to you. She slept when she got tired whether that was ten in the morning or ten at night. Another advantage of online classes was that she could do the work whenever. So, she took a shower and crawled into bed at four in the afternoon.

It only took minutes for her to fall into a deep sleep and begin to dream. She was walking through a beautiful garden filled with all kinds of flowers. The sun warmed her skin as she trailed her fingers across the tops of the blossoms. A light breeze blew surrounding her with the scents of a hundred different flowers. Closing her eyes, she tipped her head back to enjoy the sunshine.

Liliana.

The whisper caught her attention and her eyes snapped open. The world around her began to blur, go fuzzy. Panic chased away happiness as she looked around trying to figure out what was going on.

Liliana.

She spun on her heel, her eyes falling on three blurry figures in the distance. She squinted her eyes trying to get a better view but she could see discern nothing about them save the three pairs of glowing red eyes staring back at her.

Lily woke with a start. A glance at the clock showed she'd surprisingly been asleep for hours. She laid back down and studied the ceiling above her as she wondered where the dream had come from. It left her feeling odd. Peaceful and happy but also anxious, worried. She didn't even know where to begin with that particular mix of emotions. And frankly, she wasn't sure she wanted to examine it too closely. It was a pleasant change. Usually when she dreamed of red eyes it ended with someone screaming.

***

Two months. Every time she slept Lily dreamed about those red eyes for the past two months. The surroundings were always different but the eyes remained. And try as she might, she hadn't been able to see any more detail in the three figures. The dreams shouldn't be a problem. They were much preferred to the ones she used to have after all, but she always woke following one. The longest stretch of sleep she'd had in the last two months was four hours. She was tired.

There was something else to these dreams, she just knew it. They were trying to tell her something. And there was only one person she knew that could help her figure it out. It was time for her siblings to be home and Lily was waiting for them by the stairs. She started bouncing a bit as she heard their chatter and she greeted them as they came into the room. As soon as Alice appeared, Lily grabbed her hand and dragged her back toward the door. "We'll be back," she announced.

"You drive," Lily declared as she stopped by Alice's car. "I'll talk."

"Okay," Alice said, sounding a little worried. This wasn't usual behavior for Lily at all. "Are we going somewhere particular?"

Lily shook her head as she got into the car and put on her seatbelt. "Nope. Just drive."

"Got it," the pixie said with a smile as she pulled out onto the road. When she'd been driving for a bit and Lily was still silent, she spoke up again. "What's going on, Lils?"

So, Lily started to talk. About the dreams and the red eyes that brought comfort instead of fear. About her worries and her hopes and how she just really wanted to get a full night's sleep. "It's not a memory, Alice. It's something else."

"How often are you having these dreams, Lily?"

"Every time I sleep. And other than the location, they don't change much."

"Well, sister, I know you well enough that you chose me to tell this to for a reason. So, what is it?" Alice smiled at the other girl as she drifted around a corner. The others' driving didn't even faze Lily anymore. Though she would always be astounded that they didn't have a million speeding tickets.

"I want your permission to take down the block and see if my decision to do that leads you to get any visions." Lily twisted her hands together in her lap. She felt guilty to be asking.

Alice didn't say anything as she pulled into a parking lot at an empty playground. She parked the car then turned slightly in her seat to look at her favorite human. "You don't have to ask, Lily. Ever."

Lily smiled and took one of Alice's hands in her own. "Yes, I do. You guys never say it, but I know you appreciate having someone in your life that doesn't affect you. You, Edward and Jasper. I'm a safe place, a break. Besides, I would never leave you to suddenly start having visions of me without warning you."

"Well then I appreciate the warning and you have my permission, though I'm not certain the decision to let me see will be enough." She squeezed Lily's hand.

The young woman grinned. "Oh, I'm making lots of other decisions. I'm just not sharing them. Are you ready?" Lily asked when she realized Alice was staring at her expectantly.

Alice nodded quickly with a big smile.

Lily dropped the block that kept her choices from being seen. Almost immediately, Alice froze as a vision flooded her brain. As soon as she snapped out of it, Alice turned and put the car in gear to pull out of the parking lot.

The hope Lily had been feeling was replaced with fear as the pixie didn't say a word. "Alice?"

"Call Carlisle. Tell him to get home immediately and to get everyone else out of the house."

Lily didn't think she'd ever heard Alice so tense. She called Carlisle and gave him Alice's instructions. When she finished, she gripped the phone in her lap. "You're scaring me, Alice."

"Me, too," the blonde said. "Do me a favor and put that block back up for now."