Paloma was speechless. 

There were thousands of thoughts running through her mind and she couldn't vocalize one. Because really what was there for her to say?

There was no explanation to give. No lie that was reasonable enough. Not when Emiliano had seen so clearly. She couldn't even look back to check on Edward to even get an idea of what he was thinking. Edward had to know as well as she did that it was all over. That after weeks of secrets and hiding, that small world that they had built between them was ruined. It was all out in the open and now they would have to deal with the consequences. 

Suddenly Emiliano was crossing the room and even then Paloma was frozen in place until Emiliano suddenly pushed Edward back. Edward only took a couple of steps back his expression blank, but he didn't react to her brothers aggression. Paloma was almost sure that if Emiliano would have wanted to start a fight that Edward wouldn't fight back.

He wouldn't fight back for her. 

But Emiliano couldn't hurt one of the Cullens. There was a treaty in place, and although it was clear that Emiliano wanted nothing more than to kill Edward there was still a treaty that needed to be respected. 

"If I ever get near her again I'll kill you!" Emiliano yelled as he grabbed Paloma's hand and pulled her out of the room. She was only able to get one last glimpse of Edward who looked back at her in concern. He couldn't intervene and he knew it. 

Paloma didn't protest as she let her brother practically dragged her through the hallway. Luckily nobody was around to even question the furious look on his face or the way his hand was so tightly wrapped around Paloma's wrist. Although it was painful Paloma said nothing as they stopped in front of his truck. 

Without a second though Paloma opened the car door and climbed inside not wanting to risk saying or doing anything that would get her brother to be any more upset at her than he already was. Not only that but she was also a little afraid of him, not that she thought he would hurt  in any way. It was a fear of losing her brother forever.

It wasn't until he parked the truck in the driveway that Paloma gathered the courage to speak. "Liano..." 

"Don't you dare say anything." Emiliano snapped still choosing to not look in her direction as he pushed the care door open. 

"Liano please don't." Paloma found herself begging as she fought against her brother panicking at the thought of what her dad would say. Suddenly the truck felt like a safe space as she pulled on her brothers arm not wanting to go inside. She didn't even know what she could possibly say that would convince Emiliano not to say anything.  "Don't tell dad."

Emiliano froze as he took some time to really look at her since the music room. But it was like he was looking at someone that he didn't even recognize, and the hurt in his eyes shattered her. He didn't have to say a word for Paloma to know that Emiliano was never going to forgive her. 

He still said nothing as he reached out for her arm again and finally pulled her out of the truck. The fear felt paralyzing as she simply let him pull her inside the house. Emiliano slammed the door to the hose so hard that the picture frames hanging on the wall shook. And Paloma couldn't help but flinch at the sound of footsteps rushing towards them from the family room. 

"What is going on?" Their father asked as he looked between them curiously. 

Luciana also looked between Emiliano and Paloma undoubtedly confused and concerned. Paloma was on the verge of tears and Emiliano looked like he was seconds away from murdering her. "What happened?"

"Tell them." Emiliano ordered as he pushed her father inside the house, it wasn't a forceful push but it was enough to move her a couple steps forward. 

Paloma opened her mouth but the words seemed to get stuck in her throat and all she could do was shake her head. The truth was that she really was afraid of the way they would react, and she knew that they would never understand her. 

"I found Paloma with Edward Cullen." Her brother stated and from the strain in his voice it sounded like he also wanted to cry. The Emiliano that had shoved her face into a cake only a couple of days ago was gone. 

Her father's reaction wasn't immediate, he only seemed confused as his focus remained on Emiliano. Almost like he was afraid to look at Paloma. "What do you mean by, with him?"   

Emiliano didn't say anything, but her didn't have too. His silence said it all, and Paloma could see the realization of what Emiliano was implying on Luciana and her father's faces. Their confusion quickly twisting into something between disgust and anger. They looked truly horrified and Paloma didn't even want to imagine what they were thinking or how they had interpreted Luciano's silence. 

"What were you thinking?" Luciana asked just as their father stepped forward towards Paloma. Luciana made an attempt to stop him but she simply brushed her off.  "Dad..."

He forcefully grabbed Paloma by the shoulders as he shook her. Almost like he expected that it would force her to come to her senses. The furious look in his eyes was more frightening that the one she had seen in Emiliano's eyes. "He's a vampire! We kill things like him!"

"I love him!" Paloma yelled and she didn't even have time to process the words before her felt her father's hand striking her across the face. It happened so quickly and she was so unprepared that she fell to the floor from the force of the slap. Her father had never hit her before and she never thought him capable of it. 

"Your mother was killed by a vampire!"

Suddenly it was like they were all frozen in place, the silence that followed was haunting as the words hung in the air. Luciana and Emiliano were shocked, not at the words themselves but the fact that their father had spoken them at all. Slowly it dawned on Paloma that they already knew, that this was just another secret that they had kept from her. Another secret after they had promised to be honest. 

But this time Paloma felt too numb to be angry at them as she stayed on the floor looking at her father in shock, processing what he had just admitted to her. That Camila Ibarra had been killed by a vampire. Paloma could feel the tears running down her cheeks realizing why her families hatred for vampires ran so deep. But that didn't change the way that she felt about Edward, because he and the rest of the Cullen's didn't hurt people. 

She couldn't blame them for looking at her like she had betrayed them. In many ways she had. They had told her to stay away and she didn't listen. Paloma willingly got involved with someone that they viewed as the enemy. 

"Come on." Luciana ordered as she stepped forward and grabbed Paloma by the arm. 

Paloma did a she was told as she got back on her feet, and again she found herself being pulled into their father's office. She didn't know what to expect from Luciana. Her sister looked equally as furious but she couldn't possible be as harsh as their father or Emiliano had been. Paloma could only hope that Luciano would attempt to be a little more understanding or forgiving. 

"For how long?" Luciana questioned as she closed the door to the office. At least she wasn't going to let Paloma get completely amused, but from her tone it was clear that their conversation was not going to be pleasant. 

Looking at her sister Paloma knew that it didn't matter what answer she gave, it was going to be the wrong one no matter what. "Winter formal."

That might have been the night that they first kissed, and it might have been the answer to her question but it wasn't entirely they truth. Winter formal may have been the first time they might have admitted any kind of feelings towards each other, but they had slipped into something more long before then before even realizing. That connection that they felt almost felt instant from the moment he had almost run her over in the parking lot. 

"That was the night that they told you about vampires." Luciana replied realizing that even after learning that he was a vampire it hadn't mattered to Paloma. Or maybe she was surprised that it had been months already and they had never suspected a thing. "He's a vampire Paloma! He's not human! There's no future with it."

"I know that!" Paloma said raising her voice, tired of being talked down like a child. She was aware of how reckless and stupid she was being. That it was insane to be involved with a vampire. Before she had wanted to believe that if her family had told her earlier about vampires or about her mother that she would have never gotten involved with Edward. That maybe she was have hated vampires the way that they did if only they had been honest with her. But she didn't believe that it was the case anymore. She had no doubt that even if she had known everything she would have still been involved with Edward. "I know that there's no future with him!"

From the look on Luciana's face it was clear that she didn't understand. That she couldn't make sense to what Paloma was saying. "Then why?"

"I told you why." Paloma replied realizing that she had meant what she said. She was in love with Edward even with the knowledge that there was no future for them. Even knowing what he was she didn't care and it wasn't like she had much of a choice in the matter. From the beginning she had felt an undeniable pull towards him, and even if it was just a fleeting emotion it didn't matter. She was in love with him now. "I couldn't help it."

Luciana shook her head as she began to pace across the room, like she fully couldn't wrap her mind around it. If Paloma was being honest she couldn't wrap her mind around it either, everything had happened so fast. She still needed to process what happened to her mother, but at the moment it wasn't what needed her attention. 

"You're leaving tomorrow morning to California." Luciana stated as she came to a stop in front of Paloma. She wondered if Luciana had spoken to Emiliano and their father about leaving Forks, but from her sister's words it was clear that they were staying and Paloma was leaving. "You're going to stay with Tia Elena."

Paloma knew that this was just to keep her away from Edward. It no longer had to do with the vampire army that was coming to Forks. Luciana didn't leave any room for discussions she walked towards the office door, and Paloma didn't really have it in her to try to argue. If they wanted to send her away she would do what they wanted, she didn't want them to hate her anymore than they probably already did. 

"You're never going to forgive me are you?"

Luciana looked at her with a heavy disappointment that Paloma had never seen and it broke her heart. Growing up all she had wanted to do was be like Luciana, to earn her older sister's approval. Even in the moments she resented Luciana for being so perfect all Paloma wanted to make Luciana proud. 

Now she had lost her sister's respect entirely. 

Maybe Luciana's silence was worse than her yelling, because when she stepped out of the office without another word Paloma felt herself begin to cry again. And she was overcome with the feeling that she needed to explain herself in some way but when she ran reached for the door she realized that it was locked.

Luciana had locked her in like a prisoner in her own home. Paloma couldn't help but wonder if it was worth it? She had always been rebellious in someway, always challenging her family. They always let her get away with everything without consequence. But maybe she had gone too far this time. 

But this wasn't like all the other times. She had wanted Edward, not as an act of rebellion or a challenge. What she had with Edward felt real. Initially she had been drawn to him out of curiosity, but it had developed into something she hadn't expected. Now she didn't know if she would ever see Edward again. 

By tomorrow morning she would be out of Forks. What she had always wanted but now it was for the worst possible reason. She would leave knowing that her entire family hated her and that she was going to be entirely alone. 

A/N: Only two more chapters to go until the end of Act 2! I am so excited for these last two chapters as they are everything that the story has been leading up too. If you have any predictions make sure to comment. I love reading predictions.