Michelle lazily watched the trees outside the car window, she could vaguely hear her brothers arguing with their mother about seeing some of their relatives whom the older trio dislike immensely. The only reason they got into the car was because their great-grandfather, Edward Jackson Rosewood, was beginning to reach his end.

With a sigh, Michelle eagerly waited for them to reach the Rosewood Mansion so that she may finally be free of the constant nagging and groaning that were needlessly vocalized by her older siblings. She wasn't to fond of her great-aunts and some of her older cousins herself but, at least she was a bit more tolerable of their presence compared to them.

“You know,” Michelle sighed, “I'm not convinced that you three are actually men. You're far more annoying than teen girls, can't you unclench for a minute.”

The rude comment earned outraged gasps from her brothers and a stifled snicker from their mother. However, they were unable to retort as they were now within sight of the mansion and the rule here is to always be presentable, even if they're still in the car.

“Looks like we're early.” their mother commented as she parked their small, black Chevy Malibu. “Only the Bells and Goldwell are here right now.”

“Isn't Nana coming?” Michelle's third brother, Nicholas, asked curiously, “She shouldn't be trusted to drive herself.”

“Gloria brought her.” their mother shrugged a bit before getting out of the vehicle, she turned toward them and sternly pointed her finger at them. “Now, behave.”

The four adult children silently obeyed their mother's demand, there was no one in their entire family who could frighten them more than the woman who gave them life. Also, there was no need to cause a show for the little ones. It was so heavily pounded into their heads that appearances were everything and the slightest flaw would be dealt with accordingly. It was something Michelle had done her best to ignore; she knew people made quick and inaccurate judgments all the time, so why make it worse by lying to them?

She also was never scolded for acting out, Grandfather Edward and Grandmother Lysandra always favored her over all the other children. She never understood why, she was a nuisance according to many of her family members and she was certainly never a perfect little angel like some of the other girls. As she was often told, she was just one of many who don't respect the social values of the world.

As they unpacked the car, a well-known couple approached them from the mansion's large doors. The couple was the family's lawyer and realtor, James William Church and his wife, Jacklyn Church (formerly known by her maiden name, Lacy). The couple had worked for the family for many years, dating back to when James' grandfather first help build the Rosewood Mansion. They were greatly respected and no one dared to lash out at them.

“Welcome home, Miss. Michelle Nicole.” James kindly greeted the older Michelle with a brilliant smile. “Let me help with some of those bags.”

Michelle's mother shook her head, “I've got three big boys to take care of it, especially since they haven't stopped fighting with me since this morning.” She leaned toward her oldest son, Richard.

Catching the underlining meaning of that sentence, he nodded in understanding. “We'll take care of everything mom, you two go see Grandfather Edward.”

The older Michelle returned the nod and grabbed the younger Michelle's arm, “Let's go.”

~

The other Rosewood children were in the bedroom talking to the sick old man and Michelle preferred to wait until they left. So, until then, she chose to wait in her great-grandfather's office while absently listening to the arguing in the other room. She didn't have the patience to deal with the fighting, she quite possibly never will.

Michelle gazed upon the elders' office, still painted with dark colors of bluish-green, still draped with mahogany tinted curtains, still carrying the scent of wood and old papers. She always found the room to be comfortable and relaxing, she could recall many times where she would hide in here and just laze around on the couches.

“Michelle.” the younger girl turned her head and saw her great-grandmother hobble toward her. It always amazed her that Lysandra still could walk perfectly straight and not hunched like many other elderly citizens. “We've been waiting for you, did you have a nice trip?”

Michelle smiled at the elder and nodded, “Of course, Grandmother Lysandra.”

Lysandra's smile fell slightly, “Why don't you call me Mama anymore? You use to call me that when you were a wee babe.”

Michelle blushed a bit, but answered truthfully, “Because Aunt Gloria and Aunt Carmen said I had to.”

The elder let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose, “Their delusional respect, those girls wouldn't understand true respect even if it stood before them.”

Michelle giggled at the comment, everyone knew that Edward and Lysandra were very much against the whole presentation and social behavior thing all the children were hung up on. Yes, they have their own values and beliefs, but they believed that flaws and mistakes were what made a person a human being.

“Never mind any of that.” Lysandra added, “Edward wants to see you.”

With a grin, the younger girl eagerly followed her great-grandmother to the bedroom next door. Just like they favored her, she favored them above most of her relatives. The only ones that she also adored were her baby cousins and older cousin Felicia.

“There's my little babe!” The old man gave Michelle a toothy grin, “Every time I see you, you get bigger and bigger.”

Michelle rushed over to her great-grandfather and hugged him tightly, “I missed you, Grandfather Edward.” When she released him, she took a seat in a love chair with Lysandra.

“My little babe, your hair's getting longer.” he noted, “It'll be as long as Lysandra's at this rate.”

Michelle gathered some of her reddish brown hair, Edward and Lysandra were always fascinated with her hair and very particular about how it was cut or styled. “Did it? I never noticed.”

“You should let me comb it like I use to when you were little.” Edward smiled, “What about you school, you'll be graduating this year, right?”

Michelle brightened up and nodded excitedly, “Yup! I already applied for a college nearby mom so that I wouldn't be stressing for an apartment.”

Edward agreed with Michelle's logic, “Very good, I'm glad you're choosing to pursue more education.”

“What will you be studying in?” Lysandra asked curiously, “Surely you already know.”

Michelle blushed, she couldn't say that she wanted to study in creative writing. She didn't want to be discouraged again, reminded that she needed a real job to get by in the world. She had to hear it from her grandmother Emilia and she rather not ever hear it again.

“U-Uh” she began to stutter, trying to think of a way to worm out of this awkward situation. “I-I..”

Just then, a knock was heard from the door, saving Michelle in just a nick of time. It opened a bit and James poked his head in, a sheepish smile on his face. “Forgive me, but Vincent Lovell wishes to see you.”

Michelle gasped and nearly jumped out of her seat, “Vincent's here!?”

Edward and Lysandra laughed and gave James permission to allow Vincent into the room. When the door opened again, a tall, dark hair man stood there with a goofy grin on his clean face. Almost immediately upon seeing him, Michelle jumped onto him and hugged the life out of him.

“Vincent!” She laughed, “I missed you!”

The older man laughed at held onto Michelle, “Missed you too, Chelle.” When the two finally released each other, Vincent gave his attention to the elderly couple. “Forgive me, my parents were unable to come as my grandmother's will is causing a rift at the moment.”

Edward nodded in understanding, “Don't worry, it's wonderful enough that you managed to come.”

Lysandra agreed, “How long do you plan to stay?”

Vincent shrugged, chuckling slightly. “I was told to stay as long as necessary and I'm in no hurry to return home.”

Michelle happily tugged at his arm, “Thank goodness, someone can suffer with me!”

“I figured you would say that.” Vincent let out a laugh, “I can't wait to reconnect with you, we haven't seen each other in forever.”

Edward waved his hand toward the duo, “Then go around the mansion, I'll summon you both for tea later.”

The two perked up and nodded, “Yes sir.” Michelle grabbed Vincent's arm and dragged him out to the hallway.

“Slow down, Chelle.” Vincent laughed, pulling Michelle back. “We got, at least, two hours to talk before tea.”

Michelle stopped, “Sorry, I just really wanna talk with you. Like you said, we've not seen each other since I entered middle school.”

Vincent nodded his head and patted her back, “We'll be here for a while, no need to rush.”

Michelle smiled and agreed with that, even if Edward's health was failing, it wasn't going down at an alarming rate. “Fine. So, how have you been?”

“Fair,” Vincent sighed, “with my grandmother's death, I don't suppose it could be better.”

“I'm sorry about that, by the way.” Michelle said as they walked the corridors, “When did she go?”

“A week ago.” He answered, “The only problem is that her will wasn't completely finished, many of my family members are trying to steal some of her belongings that weren't named to them.”

“Jeez, talk about greedy rich people.” Michelle laughed, “I'm surprised though, your grandmother was just as particular as Grandfather and Grandmother. I would have thought that she had her will all written out.”

Vincent nodded, “I would have too. But, let's change the subject, what about you?”

“Me?” Michelle asked, she never felt she had anything worth talking about in her life. “Er..Well, I getting ready to graduate.”

“So soon?!” Vincent gasped, “Good god! How old are you right now?”

“Eighteen.” Michelle gave a nervous laugh, “Did you forget? I'm five years younger than you.”

“Yes I did!” he gasped, “The baby's all grown up!”

“Ugh!” Michelle rolled her eyes and swatted his arm, “Don't say that! I had to hear it from my brothers when I turned eighteen.”

Vincent hooted another laugh, “I can believe that! So, what are your plans? Going to college?”

“Yup!” Michelle perked, “It's a community college, but a college nonetheless!”

Vincent smiled, enjoying the sparkle in her eyes. “I'm sure you'll love it. Anything else that's new?”

Michelle thought about it, but shook her head, “For me? Nope. But, have you heard about the new baby?”

“Oh yes, little Colebee. Heard that no one likes the baby daddy.”

“That's an understatement.” Michelle laughed, “He's a creep! He's still married and he won't divorce his wife!”

“You're kidding!” Vincent exclaimed, “The hell was Veronica thinking? She just has a thing for married men, doesn't she?”

Michelle nodded and sighed, “I seriously don't understand her and I feel terrible for Colebee.”

“Colebee? What wrong with Colebee?”

“Gloria's made it very clear that she doesn't really care about her,” Michelle explained, “Joaquin is her only priority.” She waited for Vincent to reply but, she got nothing.

Vincent was silent for a minute, trying to process what Michelle had said. He, then, gave his reply, “They're lashing out at each other using the kids.”

Michelle nodded, “My thinking too. That's why I feel sad for Colebee.”

Vincent shook his head, “I swear, your family gets worse by the day.”

Michelle gave him a small smile and made a noise of agreement, “At least someone agrees with me.” Just then, they heard sounds of feet and angry mutterings.

“Sounds like Gloria..”

“We better hide,” Michelle looked around nervously, “she doesn't sound happy at all!”

Vincent grabbed Michelle wrist and tossed her into a closest that was, luckily, right next to them. “In here, don't make a sound.”

Michelle and Vincent closed the door, leaning against it so that they could listen in on her mumblings.

It was hard to hear her, but they could tell that she was in Colebee's nursery. “Stupid bear, it's so hideous.” was really the only thing they could make out. The two waited until her foot steps were distant and almost inaudible before finally getting out.

“Bear?” Vincent repeated, “Did Colebee have a bear?”

Michelle nodded and hurried to the nursery, “I've seen it before, its old and worn, but Colebee loves it.”

The duo made it to the nursery and found that the little baby girl was sitting on the floor, searching for her beloved teddy bear. They could see that she was getting ready to start crying and that wasn't something two wished to see or hear.

“Come here Colebee.” Michelle cooed, picking up the babe. “Shush, it'll be okay.”

Colebee whimpered and whined a bit, but she eventually calmed down. When she did, Michelle placed her back onto the ground and gave her a new toy to play with.

“She won't be quiet about this for long.” Vincent reminded Michelle, “Eventually, she'll go looking for it again.”

“I know...” Michelle sighed, “If only I could go get her a new one, there's no way I can get the old one back.”

Vincent pulled Michelle out of the nursery and began to lead her back to Edward and Lysandra's office, it was probably best to spend the remainder of their time there. “C'mon, we'll think of something. Let's not tell anyone about this right now, though. It's gonna put us in the middle of their war.”

Michelle silently agreed with him, she just wished that there was something she could do for the little girl.

2: Chapter II

Michelle sipped on her chamomile tea, trying her absolute hardest to ignore the unease in her gut. She wanted to do something for poor Colebee, anything, but there was really nothing she could do.

“Michelle,” Michelle jumped as Lysandra called her name, “are you alright?”

Michelle nodded her head rather quickly, “I'm fine Gran-”

“Enough with this Grandfather and Grandmother nonsense!” Edward exclaimed, he was tired of hearing the names from their baby. “Gloria and Carmen do not need to be poking their noses into other people's business.”

Michelle bit the inside of her lip and nodded. “Alright Papa.” While she was thrilled on having permission to call them by the nicknames she gave them years ago, she was terrified of what the others might say.

“Much better.” Edward smiled, he was about to speak again when Jacklyn entered the room.

“Pardon the intrusion,” she apologized, “but Carlos and Sophia have arrived and Thomas and Christine are almost here.”

“Ah!” Lysandra smiled, “We'll see them in a moment, just let us clean up.”

Jacklyn left without a word, intending on informing the new arrivals of the message.

“A shame to end this so early.” Lysandra sighed, “It can't be helped though.”

“I'm sure we can do this another time.” Vincent assured the couple,“For now, I think I'd like to go for a walk. Care to join me, Michelle?”

Michelle laughed and took hold of his hand. “Sure, I got nothing better to do.” She turned toward her great-grandparents and waved slightly. “I'll see you guys at dinner.”

The couple chuckled and waved them off after they cleaned up the tea set. Vincent took Michelle to the back of the mansion, where none of the adults really go. From here, they could see the city that laid beneath the hillside.

“Hey Chelle?” Vincent asked hesitantly, he knew this was a dumb idea but, he felt that it was worth a shot. “Why don't we go down there? To the city?”

Michelle took a second to register what he said, “B-But, we're not allowed! If anyone found out, we'd be screwed!”

Vincent shrugged, “And? Since when did you really care about what anyone thought? Plus, didn't you want to replace Colebee's bear?”

“O-Of course!” Michelle agreed hesitantly, “Won't they notice though? Her bear was so ragged and worn, a new bear would arouse suspicion...”

“Colebee would be happy.” Vincent argued back, “Don't you want her to be happy?”

Michelle sighed and gave in to Vincent, “Fine, but we got to be as quick as possible.”

Vincent grinned, grabbing Michelle's arm so that he could drag her down to the city below. “You won't regret this!”

Michelle rolled her eyes at that, “You said that when you convinced me to climb that rotting tree a few years ago.”

“I couldn't have known that it was going to break.” Vincent defended himself and added, “And like any of your ideas are any better, mine are far more memorable!”

“Whatever makes you feel special.” Michelle giggled.

~

“Okay, you drag me all the way down here and you don't even know where the toy store is?!” Michelle barked as she stomped on Vincent's foot, “Seriously!?”

“Ow!” Vincent lifted up his foot and cradled it at an odd angle, “It's not my fault that the store decided to relocate!”

“I told you to find one of those maps!” Michelle shot back, “But no, the princess knows everything!

“Aw, come on!” Vincent groaned, “You gotta bring that up!”

Michelle ignored Vincent and looked around for any sort of marker, she really shouldn't give so much trust in Vincent's ideas. How many times had he gotten her in trouble or put her through mild danger? Their adventures may be memorable but, so were the punishments they received later.

While they were busy arguing, the duo hadn't notice that someone was standing behind them. “Excuse me?”

Michelle and Vincent turned around and saw a pretty blonde woman, about the same age as Michelle. She was dressed in a waitress uniform and her long hair was tied into a ponytail.

“Forgive me for eavesdropping but, you two are looking for the toy store, right?” She asked nervously.

Michelle nodded sheepishly, “Y-Yeah, I need to buy a new bear for my baby cousin.”

The woman smiled brightly, “I can take you, I need to buy a toy for my little brother.”

Both Vincent and Michelle let out a relieved sigh and graciously took the woman's offer. “We'd be so grateful!”

The woman clapped her hands together with a brilliant smile, “Great, it's just this way. C'mon.”

The duo happily followed the woman, neither of them could have wished for better luck as she took them to the brightly lit store. When they entered, the whole place smell of sugar and plastic.

“It's huge!” Michelle smiled as she took in the scene, “Where might the stuffed bears be?”

The woman grabbed Michelle's arm and took her to where all the stuffed animals happily sat. The selection was impressive and the animals looked so crisp and clean.

“The expensive ones are on the second floor,” the woman explained, pointing at the staircase behind them. “These ones are always on a bargain price.”

Michelle squealed a bit, “Yay! I hadn't thought to bring much money with me when we came here.” Truth be told, she never went shopping often so she only carried enough money buy herself some snacks if she felt like it. The most she had ever carried with her was forty dollars, about a little over half of what she currently had in her pocket.

After spending a minute gazing at the toys, Michelle picked a yellow bear with a pink bow tie around its neck. The woman they were with had taken to a brown rabbit with a felt carrot sewn onto its paw.

“They're so cute!” Michelle said as she put the two toys next to each other, “I think Colebee will love her bear!”

“Colebee?” the woman asked, “Is that your cousin's name, it's adorable.”

Michelle nodded, “It is and she's a little sweetie too.”

Vincent laughed at the girls, “By the way, this is so dumb to realize but, we never caught you name?”

“It's Elsa,” she blushed, “Elsa Walker.”

“Elsa?” Michelle repeated the name and grinned, “Your name is so cute!”

Elsa's blush deepened, “Thank you, I don't believe I received your names either.”

“I'm Michelle Kathryn!” Michelle chirped, “Not exactly my favorite name.”

Elsa cocked her head to one side and asked, “Why did add in your middle name?”

Michelle sheepish scratched her arm as she explained how she was named after her mother and, therefore, often had to introduce herself using her first and middle name to avoid confusion. It didn't exactly help since no one ever thought to identify them by their middle names instead of their first.

“And your friend?” Elsa asked.

“My name is Vincent.” he put on a charming smile, to which earned his a sharp nudge in the ribs. “Ow! What was that for?”

“You little whore!” Michelle hissed, “It may have been years since we last saw each other but, your little worm hasn't grown up during that time.”

Elsa couldn't help but laugh as Vincent surely took offense to Michelle's observation. However, before he could think of a rude comeback to say, Michelle quickly reminded him of an old saying that her mother often told them both.

“I know! God gave you a brain and a penis and only enough blood to function one at a time.” Michelle grinned evilly.

Vincent turned away and let out a frustrated sigh, “I really hate it when you bring that reference up.”

Michelle merely grinned like an innocent little angel, still quite pleased that she could infuriate Vincent just like she use to all those years ago.

“You two must be close if you're talking to each other like that.” Elsa noted, “If you want. You can come with me and meet my brother. Unless you're in a hurry...”

“We'd love to!” Michelle grabbed Vincent's arm, “Lead the way!”

As Elsa turned and began to show them the way to her apartment, Vincent leaned toward Michelle. “What happened to a quick trip?”

Michelle glared at Vincent, “Says the dork who took me to an abandoned shop. We won't be for long, so shush.”

~

When they arrived at the apartment complex, Michelle and Vincent were surprised to find that it was close to where they came from when they came down. Of course, they weren't gonna spill those beans yet. Their last names were classified just in case someone had a bone to pick with them.

“Sorry if it's messy.” Elsa apologized, kicking aside a small tricycle that was by the door. “Eric's a messy kid.”

“No problem!” Michelle and Vincent smiled, they may not be use to messy, but it wasn't unwelcomed.

Elsa led them to the small living room, where an old woman and a small boy sat on the floor. They were in a heated battle of gold fish and it appeared that the boy wasn't winning.

“No fair!” the little boy whined, “Why won't you let me win?!”

The older woman laughed and caught sight of Elsa, “Elsa, you're home.”

The little boy gasped and whirled around, “Momma!”

Elsa immediately gasped and tried to shush the boy, much to the child and elder's confusion. When Michelle and Vincent poked their heads into the room, however, the older woman tried to cover what Eric had said. She tried hard to come up with excuses and neither Michelle nor Vincent were convinced. In fact, Michelle felt that she caught on to what was really going on.

“Elsa...” Michelle asked softly, nothing her mother was saying really added up and only served to prove Michelle's guess. “you're actually a teen mom?”

Elsa's back visibly stiffened, but Vincent was quick to add, “I don't see how that's bad for you, you've proven from our little trip that you're a great mother.”

“It's...complicated...” Elsa sighed, she knew there was absolutely no way she could worm her way out of this. “Well, you know now. I guess I can introduce you to my family properly.”

Elsa introduced her son, Eric Walker, and her mother, Diana Walker, to the duo. Diana suggested that they talk over some tea after Michelle and Vincent promised to never tell anyone about the actual relation between Elsa and Eric.

“I don't understand,” Michelle said softly to Elsa, who was still uncomfortable. “why do you need hide the fact that Eric's your son?”

Elsa turned away a bit, “Well, my parents are divorced and my dad is obsessed with gaining custody of me.”

“Custody?” Vincent repeated, “Why?”

“Franklin was a man of appearances.” Diana interjected for Elsa, “He also always wanted a daughter and Elsa's the only girl he's ever had.”

“If he knew about Eric, he might actually win in court case.” Elsa finished, “And he won't just take me, he'll take Eric.”

“But for that, you'd have to be under eighteen right?” Vincent asked, “How old were you when you had him?”

“I was sixteen and I won't be eighteen for another month.”

Michelle tilted her head a bit, “So, what were you guys gonna do when you hit eighteen? Still say he's your brother?”

Elsa nodded, “Eric is well aware that I'm his mother and that we're saying he's my brother in public.”

Michelle and Vincent exchanged looks and the two decided that it wasn't anything bad for the boy. In fact, judging by the measures Elsa and Diana were taking, it was probably for the best that they do this. It kind of reminded the two of Michelle's own lack of a father. The only difference was that Michelle had no idea what happened between her parents, her family worked hard to make sure that the man was never spoken of.

“Don't worry about us, Elsa.” Michelle assured the young blonde, “We're not giving you away for anything.”

Vincent agreed with Michelle, “It's not like we need to even be spreading your business around anyways.”

Elsa relaxed a bit, “Thanks, it'll mean a lot.”

After talking for a bit longer, Elsa eventually relaxed completely and she and Michelle were quick to develop a shy friendship. Eric also started to become comfortable with Michelle and Vincent, he was afraid to talk to them at first, now he was chattering with Michelle. He even was sad when the duo announced that they had to head home once they realized that it was getting late.

“Will you come back?” Eric asked, clinging ti Michelle's leg.

“Of course!” Michelle smiled, combing her fingers through his yellow locks. “It'll be a while before we can visit again though.”

Eric squeezed her leg when she said that, not liking the idea of waiting for them to come back. However, Elsa and Diana managed to convince the small boy that Michelle and Vincent needed to go and Michelle promised to come back as soon as possible.

“You spoil kids too much.” Vincent teased as they made their way back to the mansion.

“What makes you say that?” Michelle asked, pouting slightly.

Vincent chuckled at the look she was giving, “Because, you give kids all of your attention. You sat there talking to Eric and completely shut the rest of us out.”

Michelle crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at Vincent. “That's so not spoiling! Spoiling a kid means giving them everything they want without allowing them to earn it!”

“Whatever!” Vincent laughed and pinched Michelle's side.

“Jerk!” Michelle tried to punch his arm but, he managed to move out of her way. Michelle attempted to chase after Vincent, swinging the bag that held the new toy at him. The one thing she hated most about Vincent was that he was a fast runner. Even as children, he always outran her.

Unfortunately for them, their fun was cut short as James stood in their path. He had an incredibly stern look on his face, his arms crossed over his chest, and a foot tapping on the ground rhythmically.

Both Vincent and Michelle were uncertain on what to say or do, they were in serious trouble and doing anything would end up making things worse. All they could do was put their heads down, cautiously peeking up to see if James would move or if his wife would join him.

“To the office.” James instructed them, his tone hard and emotionless. “Now.”

They nodded their heads and they hurried past him, “Yes sir.”

Neither said a word as they made their way to the office, neither really dared to be honest. They knew that it was either Edward Or Lysandra who noticed their disappearance and that wasn't all that bad compared to Michelle's great-aunts and grandmother. Didn't mean that they weren't going to be punished, just not as severely. What scared them was that neither were overly fond of getting scolded by the elders. It would always be long, they weren't allowed to break their postures and they couldn't argue back or that would add more time onto the scolding.

When they entered the room, they sighed in relief as they found it to be empty. At least they could compose themselves without having eyes on them.

“Do you two have any idea of what trouble you caused?” James' voice broke the silence, causing Michelle and Vincent to jump a bit. “Something horrible could have happened to you two and no one would have known!”

Michelle resisted against whining, she had forgotten that James could be quite terrifying when upset. She also had to bite her lip to keep from arguing, she wanted to explain everything and yet, she knew it wouldn't make things better.

“We spent hours looking for you two,” He added, “where were you?”

“I-In the city below.” Michelle answered hesitantly, trying her hardest to not cower behind Vincent.

“And what business did you have down there?” Lysandra asked, walking into the room, “Last I checked, you were told by Carmen to never go down there.”

“Um..” Michelle didn't want to get Gloria in trouble and, at the same time, she didn't want to be in trouble. “I..I wanted to buy Colebee a new bear.”

Lysandra stared at Michelle in confusion, “A new bear? What for?”

Michelle fidgeted with her thumbs and replied, “Before tea, Vincent and I heard Gloria down the hall, mumbling in an angry way. We hid and, when she passed our hiding spot, we heard her say something about a bear.”

“We went into Colebee's nursery and found that her favorite bear was gone.” Vincent finished for Michelle.

Michelle reached into the plastic bag they had and pulled out the yellow bear. She held it out to the two adults, so that they could see it. “She looked so sad without it. I just wanted her to be happy again.”

Lysandra and James stared at bear and then at Michelle, they couldn't be that mad at her when she was only trying to help.

“From now on,” Lysandra sighed, “you two have to inform us of when you decide to go off like that again.”

“Huh?” Michelle and Vincent gave each other confused glances, they were prepared for a tongue lashing and here they were, getting off the hook.

“If I or Edward are unavailable, then tell James or Jacklyn.” Lysandra instructed them, “It's late, go give Colebee her toy and head straight to bed.”

They both eagerly nodded and head out to the nursery, saying thanks to whatever god that decided to have mercy on them.

“Weren't we just lucky.” Vincent whispered, the two had to quietly tiptoe through the halls as everyone was already in bed or getting ready for bed.

Michelle nodded until her stomach started to grumble. “No kidding, too bad we never got to eat though.”

Vincent pinched Michelle's cheek, earning a slap on the hand. “Don't worry, I'll sneak us some food later.”

“What do you mean I'm a horrible mother!?” Michelle and Vincent stilled, afraid that someone might come out to see what the commotion was about. When they were certain that they were safe, they slowly approached the room where the shouting came from.

“You can't do anything right!” They heard Gloria shout back, “You always go after these married men, you just can't stand to be alone!”

“What would you know!?” Veronica shot back, “You're such a workaholic and overachiever!”

“You're a pushover!” Gloria barked, “You promised that Colebee's name was going to be named Elizabeth and then Clark happily informs me that her name is Colebee Elizabeth!”

“Her name is still Elizabeth!”

“Just like Joaquin is actually Robert Joaquin!” Gloria snarled, “You conform to others just to be accepted! You can't do anything for yourself or your kids!”

Michelle covered her mouth to keep from gasping out loud. “Joaquin is actually Robert? Since when?!” she whispered in shock.

“Apparently since birth!” Vincent quietly replied back, “Never mind that, let's just give Colebee her bear.”

Luckily for them, the nursery was only a few doors down from where Gloria and Veronica were fighting. When they entered the room, Colebee looked up at them. It was obvious that she wasn't planning on sleeping without her bear.

“I'm sorry Colebee.” Michelle cooed to the babe, “I hope you'll like this one just as much.”

Colebee took the bear and analyzed it for a moment before settling down with it. Michelle tucked her in and the duo silently made their way out. They were quick to make their way to their rooms, forgetting that they were hungry, and bid each other good night.

“I don't get why they're like this.” Michelle sighed, “No one gets along anymore, if they ever did.”

Vincent hummed in agreement, “You know, I remember being in the hospital room when you were born. No one was exactly all that happy.”

“What do you mean?”

Vincent shrugged, “It was tense…? I don't know how to describe it.”

“Where they mad at my mom?”

Vincent shook his head, “I think it had to do with the fact that you were given the name Rosewood.”

“What?” Michelle gave a snort, “What are you talking about, I've seen all of my official papers and they have only Montalvo.”

Vincent shook his head again, “No, it's hyphenated. I would know, I was right there when the nurse signed the paper.”

“No one uses the Rosewood name anymore.” Michelle reasoned, “I can't have it.”

“The Rosewood Lady asked if they could hyphenate it and, last I checked, your official birth certificate is kept in the office.” Vincent explained, “Either way, we both need sleep.”

“Yeah, we do.” Michelle sighed, she far too unnerved to sleep though. “Night Vincent.”

“See you in the morning Chelle.”

3: Capter III

Even though she spent much of the night tossing and turning, Michelle wasn't all that tired the following morning. It did take her a bit longer to fully wake up, but overall, she was feeling pretty fair.

“Morning.” Vincent hooted as he watched Michelle comb her long, tangled hair. “Take it that you didn't sleep that great.”

Michelle didn't grace him with a response, she was far too busy trying to untangle her hair. Eventually, Michelle angrily tossed her hairbrush into the air, “That's it! I'm hacking off all of my hair!”

Vincent crippled to the floor, holding his sides while he laughed. It wasn't the first time, and most certainly not the last, he heard her say that. He knew that she didn't mean it, only once had her hair been hacked off and it irritated her that everyone thought that she and her older brother, Nicholas, were twins. It also irritated her that some people confused her for a boy.

“Here,” Vincent chuckled, finally calming down from his little fit of laughter. “let me help.”

Vincent picked up the discarded brush and started to gently comb the ends of her hair, gradually clearing the tangles. When he finished, her hair was fluffy and wavy without those dastardly knots.

“Thanks..” Michelle sighed, “So, anything new for today?”

Vincent nodded, “Felicia is here, I just saw her a moment ago.”

Michelle smiled a bit, Felicia and Michelle were one of the very few who still got along within the family. Despite their age difference, they were fairly close and the two kept contact even when Felicia was overseas.

“Where is she now?” Michelle asked, “At breakfast?”

“No. She said she was going to wait for you at the stairs.” Vincent grinned, hoisting Michelle out of her chair. “Let's not keep her waiting.”

The two, after Michelle put on her shoes, made their way to the staircase where the sickly yet lovely Felicia waited. Felicia was born a sickly girl, her disease was never spoken of by anyone so Michelle had no idea of what exactly ailed the older girl. From rumors, she heard that it was supposedly called Pompe and that it was traced back from Felicia's father. She also heard that Felicia had other problems but, it was all kept under wraps. Even Felicia herself never spoke about her health.

“Michelle.” the wheel-chair bound girl smiled brightly, “It's been so long since we actually saw each other face to face.”

Michelle gave her cousin a slight lopsided smile, “Yup, and you managed to get yourself a British accent a bit.”

Felicia blushed, “Well, that kinda tends to happen when I visit a new foreign land.”

Vincent agreed, “It does, it's only normal.”

“Oh!” Felicia started rummaging through the pocket of her sundress and pulled out a pretty little jeweled necklace. “I almost forgot.”

It was very simple, it only had a small jewel on it, but it was still very pretty to Michelle. “That's for me?”

Felicia nodded, “I know that you don't like owning overly fancy jewelery. Plus, it has your birthstone.”

Michelle took the necklace and inspected the small stone, it was an aquamarine stone, a genuine one. “Aw! See? This is why I love you, you put an effort into your gifts.”

Felicia giggled, “As I've been told. How has your project been going?”

Vincent turned toward Michelle, “Project? What project?”

“U-Uh...” Michelle hesitantly stuttered, “I-It's nothing really….”

Felicia giggled again and explained to Vincent how Michelle had a talent for telling stories. She informed him that becoming an author was looked down upon by Emilia, Michelle's grandmother, so Michelle had only shared this talent with Felicia.

“Michelle emails me her work and I read it and edit it for her.” Felicia stated as Vincent helped her get onto her stair assistance. “She's a bit afraid to share her work outside of our small little duo.”

“That's not fair..” Vincent whined slightly, “You have to show me sometime, please?”

Michelle, who had her head down the entire time, shook her head, “I-I can't...”

“Phooey!” Vincent pouted, “You're no fun.”

Felicia, sensing Michelle's unease, made an attempt at changing the subject. “Oh, Michelle? How's Colebee?”

“Huh?” Michelle was caught off guard with the question, making her slightly unable to respond at the moment.

“Well,” Felicia nibbled on her thumb nail a bit, “I just heard that Clark and Veronica are having trouble. Specifically, I heard that Clark is still married and is refusing to divorce his wife. I also heard that they all live in the same neighborhood.”

“Oh yeah, that.” Michelle mumbled softly.

“Wait, they all live in the same neighborhood?!” Vincent gasped, “Can't you guys just be civilized and reasonable for a fucking minute?!”

“Language!” Felicia smacked Vincent's arm. “We do not speak with such vulgar-”

“Shit!” Michelle cursed, her ankle had gave out on a step and she stumbled a bit. “God dammit.”

“Michelle!” Felicia scolded, “What was I just saying!?”

Michelle pouted slightly, rolling something around in her head. “Was that suggesting that I was listening? Cause that's usually what I'm not doing...just saying.”

Felicia groaned and mumbled something about how a lady shouldn't swear. Michelle, use to hearing that at this point in her life, only rolled her eyes and continued with the other two toward the dining room.

“Can't say that I haven't heard this before.” Michelle stated as they approached the doors, “Pretty sure it won't be the last either.”

Vincent bit his lip, in an attempt to not laugh at the girls. Very rarely did these two have arguments, it was very much a worthwhile experience when they did.

“Either way,” Felicia huffed, “let's discuss Veronica's lack of balance later. I can't stand to hear another argument between them.”

“Ditto.” Michelle smiled sweetly, “I'll be far too busy eating anyways.”

~

“Well!” Carmen screeched, forcing everyone to cover their ears. “Perhaps if you were a better mother, your daughter wouldn't be a disgraceful broad!”

Michelle poked at the eggs on her plate, she had managed to devour the sausages before Gloria and Carmen started their hour long battle over parenting. The fight was sparked by Michelle's grandmother, Emilia, who asked about Gloria's handle on Veronica's poor decisions.

Elizabeth, Felicia's mother and oldest daughter of Edward and Lysandra, managed to remedy the situation to the best of her ability. It took awhile, what with Carmen's persistence and shrilling voice making it difficult, but they eventually ceased their argument. However, as punishment for the disruption and unnecessary conflict, Edward demand that all adults leave without finishing their meals.

“Well, this blows!” Michelle groaned, her arms were stretching above her head. “At least I managed to eat the sausages.”

Vincent chuckled, “You and food.”

“You and women.” Michelle shot back, “We're even.”

“Fair enough.” Vincent held up his hands, he often used the gesture to signal his defeat. “By the way, that whole Clark thing...how bad is it really?”

Michelle's shoulders tensed a bit, “How bad? Pretty bad, especially between Gloria and Colebee.”

“What you mean?”

Michelle let out a sorrowful sigh, “Gloria once told my mother that she...she doesn't care about Colebee.”

Vincent was taken back by that, “W-Wait, what?” he didn't understand, he knew that it was always possible for family to dislike and hate a child but, that didn't mean it made sense to him.

“I guess there was just too much disappointment and angry towards Veronica,” Michelle explained softly, “some of it got passed on to poor Colebee.”

“What about you?”

Michelle was taken back by the sudden and seemingly unrelated question, “What do you mean?”

“Do you hate Colebee?”

Michelle shook her head, “I love all my baby cousins, even if I can't see them all the time. They're my family and I wouldn't wish anything bad upon them.”

“What about Veronica? How do you feel about her choices?”

“What do you think?” Michelle asked, “I don't understand why she has to be this way? She's being selfish and I get the feeling that she's refusing to acknowledge it.”

“She probably is.” Vincent agreed, “People who act like her are aware of what they are doing and refuse to see it that way.”

Michelle just let out a sigh, she always wanted to understand her family despite how confusing it was. At the same time, no matter how much time she spent thinking about everything, she never could grasp their thinking.

“Why don't we go see Elsa.” Vincent suggested, he could see that Michelle was slipping into depressing thoughts and he knew that Elsa could bring up her spirits.

“Elsa? Are you sure?” Michelle questioned, “I mean, we might be needed here.”

“I highly doubt it.” Vincent took Michelle's arm and began to drag away, “Let's go tell Lysandra, I'd like to not in trouble this time.”

Michelle giggled and relaxed, she did want to see Elsa and Eric again. They would help her momentarily forget about all the drama within the Rosewood family.

“Ah!” Lysandra gasped as she saw Vincent and Michelle rushing into the office. At the moment, she was busy organizing some papers while James and Jacklyn work on funeral arrangements in the library with Edward. “Michelle, Vincent. What's with all your hurrying about?”

“We just wanted to tell you that we're going back to the city for a few hours.” Michelle told the elder kindly, “Like we promised to do.”

Lysandra smiled and nodded, “Very well. Just be sure to be home before seven o'clock.”

“Seven?” Michelle confusingly asked.

“Yes,” Lysandra stood and headed toward the filing cabinet, “Edward wishes to have dinner with you Michelle.”

“Oh!” Michelle's expression brightened, she hasn't had dinner with just Edward in so long. The last time she could recall was when she was thirteen. “Okay, we'll keep an eye on the time! Bye Mama.”

Michelle and Vincent quickly dashed out of the mansion, they didn't want anyone spotting them and certain not on of the children. Joaquin was their biggest concern. For some reason never fully understood, Michelle and Joaquin bonded the most out of everyone and he was always protective of her. If he saw her now, he would ask her a million questions and they wouldn't be able to go because he wasn't exactly great at keeping secrets.

“We made it.” Michelle said as they got of the mansion's field of view, “We'll be safe from here on out.”

“Yup!” Vincent grinned, “So, you've never told me anything about school past that you're a senior.”

“Oh? Well, what do you wanna hear?”

Vincent thought about that, “Got any hot friends?”

“Nicholas beat you to that Vincent.” Michelle laughed, “He and my ex-best friend tried that already, failed miserably.”

“Ha!” Vincent chortled, “Nicholas can't step me up. What happened?”

“The typical Romeo and Juliet story; they were supposedly in love, the rest of us were bitter and narrow-minded, and we separated the love birds from their destiny.” Michelle explained dramatically.

Vincent laughed, “Could ya tell me without all the sarcasm?”

Michelle laughed and gave Vincent a small push, “Sorry, proper English is my fourth language and I'm still learning.”

Vincent shook his head, “Excuses.”

As they continued downward, Michelle caught a faint whimper to her right. It was hard to heard the noise but, she had barely caught it and she immediately was concerned.

“Vincent,” She whispered over her shoulder, “I think there's a hurt animal over here.”

“Really Michelle?” Vincent groaned, “Last time we helped an animal, I got bit by it.”

“That was cause you irritated it's wounds.” she snapped, “Come on, I know it'll nag at you if we leave it to suffer.”

Vincent pouted but, followed Michelle toward the whimpering animal. They ended up finding a small black dog that was tied to a tree with a leather leash, it was so frightened and scruffy that they knew he had been there for a bit.

“You poor doggie.” Michelle spoke softly, hoping that she didn't accidentally scare the poor dog. “Who would do this to an animal?”

“Evidently, who owned this guy.” Vincent said, pulling his pocket knife. “Here, keep him busy and I'll cut him out.”

“Okay.” Michelle reached out to the dog, “Hey there, I'm not gonna hurt you.”

The dog eyed her with great distrust and growled slightly. When she backed away a bit, he timidly walked toward her to smell out her scent. He still didn't trust her, however, he did lick one of her fingers hesitantly.

“There!” Vincent's sudden vocalization of his achievement frightened the poor dog, “He's free.”

The dog, out of sheer reflex, took off like a speeding bullet. He hadn't really acknowledged that he wasn't tied down anymore, he just wanted to get away.

“The poor baby.” Michelle sighed, “I hate it when people abuse animals, they have feelings too.”

“If people can't see that with themselves, what makes you think they can toward animals.” Vincent reminded Michelle, “Let's go, we came down to see Elsa remember?”

Michelle nodded, “Yeah, let's go.”

~

It didn't take them long to find Elsa, she was hurrying around looking for some coupon she lost. After Michelle and Vincent decided on buying the groceries that the blonde was suppose to get with that coupon, they all went to Elsa's house for lunch.

“I hope you guys don't mind that my boyfriend is here.” Elsa said as they reached her apartment, “He wasn't here last time because he had to work late.”

The duo smiled and nodded, “It's cool, we don't mind.”

“By the way,” Michelle asked innocently, “is he Eric's father?”

Elsa nodded, “He's only a three years older than me but, he's a great father.”

They entered the apartment with the sound of Eric squealing and a deeper voice laughing with him.

“I'm home!” Elsa called into the house, “And I brought two familiar faces!”

Eric rushed to greet his mother, talking a storm about how he and his father were playing with his toy planes. He didn't notice Michelle or Vincent until his father asked who they were.

“Michie!” Eric gasped, “You came back!”

“I said I would.” She smiled as she crouched down to hug the small boy. “You seem to be having a great time.”

Eric began happily rambling to her about his morning with his father, Vincent felt the need to praise Michelle for being able to keep up with everything Eric said.

“Michelle, you say?” the three heard Eric's father say to Elsa, “The girl you met last night?”

Elsa nodded, “Yes, I helped her find the toy store.”

The man smiled at Michelle and Vincent, “My name's Carter Grey, nice to meet you Michelle and Vincent.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Vincent held out his hand for Carter to shake.

“I'm going to the kitchen to help my mom make lunch, care to help?” Elsa asked Vincent, “I'm sure with you two here, she'll want to make a lot.”

Vincent laughed, “I'm not one for kitchen duty, you'll have to tell me what to do.”

“Michie, let's play!” Eric demanded, tugging at her shirt, “Let's play!”

Michelle giggled a bit, “Okay, have fun in the kitchen.”

“Oh, I will.” With that said, Vincent and Elsa went to help Diana while Michelle and Carter sat in the living with Eric.

Carter and Michelle kept Eric entertained by giving him his toy cars as they discussed how Carter met Elsa. Carter told Michelle that he worked at the local auto body shop in place of his father, who turned into a raging alcoholic after his wife left them a few years back. Carter was given his father's job after the owners realized what was going on and Carter often has to work late, not that he minded.

“Diana could only afford half of her repair payment,” Carter explained, “so the boss decided to have her make meals for his employees who work late.”

“Was Elsa the one who delivered it?”

Carter nodded, “She was a few minutes late and most of the guys were too busy in the back with this pickup, I saw her running into the office and, somehow, I started seeing her everyday.”

He explained further that the shop wasn't too far from the high school and that Elsa's route to school crossed in front of the shop. During one of Elsa's last trips to the shop, he decided to talk to her and they started dating a few weeks later.

“Eventually, I just ended up living here.” Carter concluded, “I go back to make sure my old man has booze and that he's still kicking but, I lived here.”

“Why'd your mom leave?” Michelle asked innocently, “If you don't mind me asking.”

Carter shrugged, “Ain't got a clue, I heard that it was to marry some other guy though.”

“That's messed up.” Michelle said, “And your dad? What's his idea?”

“I think he felt she found someone else too.” Carter didn't seem to care about why his mother left, all that mattered to him was that she left.

“Huh..” Michelle hummed, “Your dad doesn't notice that you're not there?”

Carter shook his head, “He just sits in front of the television rambling to himself.”

“Ah.”

“Lunch is ready.” Vincent poked his head into the room.

“Okay.” Carter stood up and hoisted Eric over his shoulder, “Let's go, you little rascal.”

Eric didn't mind much, he just squealed and happily squirmed on his father's shoulder. “I'm flying!”

Michelle giggled and took a seat next to Vincent, in front of her was a plain hamburger on wheat buns. “Ooh! I love burgers!”

The group chuckled at Michelle's over joyous reaction to the meal, she didn't care though. It had been some time since she last ate a burger and she wanted to savor the moment. Unfortunately for her, the moment be awkward when Diana asked for Michelle's last name as she an Elsa could not recall if she had given them her name. Michelle, not fully realizing what she was just asked, blurted out that her last name was Rosewood-Montalvo.

“You're a Rosewood!?” Elsa gasped, “What on earth is a Rosewood doing down here?”

Michelle gave Elsa a perplexed look, “Didn't think we were known quite like that...”

Vincent nudged her arm, “Michelle isn't like the other Rosewoods, we had to sneak down here to avoid trouble.”

Carter nodded, “I'd imagine, I heard stories about the Rosewood Lord and Lady being very kind people. Their children, not so much.”

“Wait..” Michelle turned toward Carter and asked, “You heard about my great-grandparents?”

Carter nodded, “They were fairly well-known back in the 1940s, at the very least.”

Elsa gasped, “That's right! Carter bought me a book that was written by the Lady!”

“What?” Michelle sounded so sad, she felt absolutely horrible that she knew nothing of her family. Strangers knew the Rosewoods better than she did.

Elsa got up and quickly went to the back of the apartment. When she returned, she had a small hardcover book in her hands. “They're fairytale-like short stories, you can borrow it if you want.”

Michelle smiled and happily took the book, “Thanks Elsa.” While she was still internally shocked about the fact that Lysandra was an author, Michelle was beyond eager to learn about her great-grandmother's previous career.