Prologue

Jacob Black lay quietly at the edge of the forest. He knew no one would dare pass close
enough to the wooded area to see him, but should they, he would have sensed them
before they saw him and disappeared. He was merely a lone wolf who had been lying
quietly beneath the brush. Today, the 10th day of September, his thoughts were clouded,
remembering…
Jacob watched Bella and Renesmee from the corner of his eye as Bella carefully
slipped her daughter from around her neck and moved her into her arms.
“You remember what I told you?” She had whispered and tears had welled up in
Renesmee’s young eyes as she nodded.
“I love you,” Renesmee whispered.
Edward was watching them too, his topaz eyes wide.
“I love you, too,” Bella said, “More than my own life.”
Mother and daughter embraced, a kiss to her daughter’s forehead before she stretched
to whisper into Jacob’s ear.
“Wait until they are totally distracted, then run with her. Get as far from this place as
you possibly can. When you’ve gone as far as you can on foot, she has what you need
to get you in the air.”
How could one day change your life so immeasurably? Jacob remembered the events as
if they had occurred yesterday instead of almost 8 years before.
“You’re the only one we could ever trust her with,” Bella murmured to him. “If you
didn’t love her so much, I could never bear this. I know you can protect her, Jacob.”
Jacob whined and dipped his head to nudge Bella’s shoulder, hoping she would
understand what he couldn’t communicate verbally.
“I know,” she whispered. “I love you too, Jake. You’ll always be my best man.”
Jacob let one solitary tear roll into his fur before Edward leaned his head to Jacob‘s
shoulder as well. Renesmee was already in place, holding to him tightly.
“Goodbye, Jacob, my brother… my son.”
Jacob’s wolf senses picked up the sound of the small sedan he listened for everyday
stopping in front of the house he was watching in suburban wonderland. A quarter mile
away, it would take his charge only a few minutes to reach the spot where he was lying.
She was fast. Like her father.
“Is there no hope, then?” Carlisle whispered. There was no fear in his voice. Just
determination and acceptance. Jacob sat poised, ready for the moment when he would
have to turn and run with the small girl on his back.
“There is absolutely hope,” Bella responded. “I only know my own fate.”
Edward and Bella held hands. He knew that he was included in her words as there was
no question that when she spoke of fate, she spoke of both their fates. Each one of
them was just one half of a whole, fates intertwined.
She was in his eyesight quickly and if he could have smiled as a wolf, he would have.
The sight of her never ceased to amaze him. Her long auburn curls cascading to her waist,
blowing in the wind as she ran. The chocolate brown eyes she had inherited from her
mother, sparkling in the sunlight. Her alabaster skin glowed and her cheeks were even
rosier than usual as she finally came to stop, standing right in front of Jacob.
He though to himself that had he not imprinted on her when she was just a few minutes
old, he would have still loved this girl with all his heart. To him, she was perfect in every
way.
“Hello my Jacob.” Renesmee, the 8 year old who looked eighteen, stared down at the
wolf she loved so much and threw her arms around his furry neck in a warm embrace.
“Get ready,” Bella whispered, not only to Jacob, but to the others who stood around
her, prepared for the battle. “It’s starting.”
Chapter One
Renesmee POV
I can say with 100% certainty that my life is a life of uncertainty, as ironic as that may be.
I have been many people. Vanessa Wolfe. Carlie Doyle. Renee Pate.
I have lived with many families. Isaac and Carla Cunningham. Scott and Davina Parker.
Paul and Wendy Newton.
I have had many friends. Nina James. Bobby Noon. Margaret Cassidy. Veronica
Marcessi. Oliver Keegan.
I have lived in 9 cities in 5 countries, some stays were longer than others.
Despite all outwardly appearances, I am 8 years old.
I am Renesmee Carlie Cullen. Only daughter of Edward and Bella Cullen. Half-human,
half-vampire. Granddaughter of Charlie Swan and Renee Dwyer on my mother’s side and
Carlisle and Esme Cullen on my father’s side.
I am best friend’s with a werewolf named Jacob Black.
“How was your day sweetheart?”
My foster mother interrupted my random thoughts at dinner, which almost always
centered around finding a way to dispose of this mush she called food. It lay tauntingly
on my dinner plate but I couldn’t make it obvious I wasn’t going to eat it without
questions arising.
“Fine.” I replied with a shrug, idly shifting my peas from one side of the plate to the
other, “I got an A on my physics exam.”
“That’s fabulous.” She grinned, looking up at my foster father Gary for his reaction too,
“The better you do in physics the more likely you’ll get that scholarship to UCLA like
you want.”
“That’s not what she wants Brenda. That’s what you want.” Gary smiled and reached out
to squeeze my hand which rested on the dinner table, “USC is just as good and they have
a better pre-med program anyway.”
I didn’t need to say a word for them to begin bickering over the selection of colleges I
could choose from. Brenda preferred UCLA because that was where she had obtained her
physical therapy degree. Gary preferred USC because that was where he had played
football. I didn’t have the heart to tell them I wouldn’t be attending either colleges. Not
yet.
Even though I am only 8 years old, I look, act, and think as if I am 18. I was no longer
growing so as far as I could tell, I would always be 18. Just like my mother. No more
aging. No dying. Immortal… at least as far as we knew.
Immortality both intrigued and scared me. I wished with all my heart that my parents, the
ones whose genes had created me, not the ones who continued to discuss my trivial
college career path, were still around. If they had been, they could have answered
questions, soothed me, explained immortality to me. As it stood, I had no more idea what
to expect of immortality then I did of the wind. Which way would it blow the next time I
stepped outside my front door? I had no idea.
“Can I be excused?” I blurted out, immediately halting their discussion.
Brenda’s wide blue eyes met my chocolate brown ones with confusion. One single piece
of her straight blonde hair had fallen across them but she made no moves to remove it
from her line of sight. Gary was staring at her with his hazel orbs, a look of perplexity
etched in his furrowed brows. He ran his fingers absentmindedly through the small patch
of deep black hair he had left and nodded.
Without another word I grabbed my plate from the table and headed for the kitchen,
swiftly releasing the contents of my dinner into the trash can, dropping the plate into the
sink and then running upstairs to the confines of my bedroom before any questions could
be asked. With my enhanced hearing I could hear them whisper downstairs, wondering
what had suddenly gotten into me and whether one of them should come to check on me.
As hard as they tried, they were not my family, and they never could be. I wish they
would just understand that.
“Hey.”
I jumped three feet into the air when the baritone voice whispered to me in the still
darkness of my bedroom. I was prepared to quite literally kill whoever happened to be
waiting for me there but when I switched on the lights I was relieved. It was just Jacob.
“Do not scare me like that!” I hissed at him, eyeing the way he lounged lazily on my bed,
flipping languidly through the book I had left on my bedside table, “I could have killed
you!”
“You could have tried.” He grinned at me, that lopsided grin which echoed his
personality perfectly, “Fat lot of good enhanced senses do you if you can’t even sense a
werewolf hanging out in your bedroom. What if I had been the one come to kill you?”
“You could have tried.” I threw his words back at him hastily and then sighed, “What are
you doing stalking me anyway? I thought we agreed that it was too dangerous for you to
hang out in here while Brenda and Gary are awake.”
“I’m making an exception for your Birthday.” Jacob tossed the book back onto my
nightstand and stood up from the bed.
Jacob Black never ceased to amaze me. His height and mass always overwhelmed a room
but more than that, his musky aroma invigorated my senses. I was indeed amazed, now
that I thought about it, that I hadn’t recognized the scent before I had even opened my
bedroom door. With him standing near me, it was hard to breathe and it wasn’t because I
didn’t like the way he smelled, it was because I liked it almost too much.
“Oh please, let’s not start that again. I already told you this afternoon while we were
hunting that I wanted no presents, no celebration, no…”
“I didn’t get to argue with you about it then but I can now and I say that I don’t care what
you say. You get a present. Just one, because I’m the only one who knows today is your
real birthday, but one present.” Jacob took one large stride and he was by my side,
reaching out for my hand.
My breath hitched, like it always did when he touched me. He gently lifted my hand to
his face, closing his eyes but not pressing my fingertips to his face. He would wait for my
okay. He wouldn’t make me tell him my thoughts unless I wanted to.
“Will you tell me about your day?” Jacob asked hesitantly when I didn’t automatically let
my hand rest against his cheek. He peeked between his eyelashes and flashed me another
devastating smile.
Luckily I could control what I told him about or else he would have gotten nothing but
flashes about himself as I let my fingers lightly graze the skin of his cheek,
communicating the events of my day through pictures which transmitted directly into his
head.
“Thank you.” Jacob opened his eyes slowly to stare directly down into my eyes as he
guided my hand away from his face but didn’t let go, “You know I love hunting with you
in the afternoons but it’s just not the same unless we can be face to face, like this.”
I wasn’t sure when our dynamic had changed to this. Jacob was the one constant in my
life. He had been there for me from the very beginning. He was my best friend and my
protector. He was the one person in the world who knew my true identity and yet,
sometime in the past year, and I couldn’t pin point exactly when, he seemed to be adding
a new role to the list of things he was to me. I wouldn’t go so far to say boyfriend, it
definitely wasn’t that… yet. I could only say it was electric, magnetic, and all very new
to me.
“So a present?” I half squeaked, half spoke.
“A present.” Jacob brought my wrist up and held it in one of his gigantic hands while
using his other to search through the pockets of his cargo shorts, “Hold on. It’s here
somewhere.”
After a few minutes of digging around with one hand he finally got frustrated and
released the hand he had been holding up, turning in circles trying to reach the pocket
with both hands and being unsuccessful. I giggled, holding back the full belly laughs I
wanted to release.
“You know, I understand when you’re chasing your tail as a dog but this? This is too
good.”
Jacob stopped, his eyes flickering to mine as he glared at me. I was still smiling. I knew
he wouldn’t take my joke seriously.
“You’re lucky you’re parents are still awake. I would tickle you to death.” He threatened.
“They’re not my parents.” I retorted quickly and all trace of laughter escaped from the
room.
Jacob’s eyes met mine sorrowfully. I knew he hadn’t meant anything by the remark but
my defenses flew up anyway. No one would ever replace the void my parents death had
left in my steadily beating heart. Jacob of all people understood that.
My hand locked itself around the locket my mother had given me on my first Christmas.
The tears sprang into my eyes and before I knew what was happening Jacob had gathered
me into his arms, holding me tight.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.” Jacob whispered quietly in my ear, “Please forgive me
Nessie. I’m so sorry.”
“Vanessa!” Brenda called out from the hallway.
“Quick.” I hissed urgently, “Get out, get out.”
Jacob took a running leap at the open window, diving out of it without a second thought.
I would trust he had landed safely. I didn’t have time to go check on him. I wiped away
the tears that had been threatening to spill over and quickly glanced at my reflection in
my wardrobe mirror. It would have to do.
Knock, knock.
The quiet rap on my bedroom door gave me enough time to whisk myself into my desk
chair on the other side of the room before the door cracked open. The chair was still
spinning in circles, a smile on my face as I stared up at the ceiling, as if nothing in the
world delighted me more than making myself dizzy by spinning in a chair.
“Hey sweetheart.”
I looked up at Brenda and she grinned at me.
“Just thought I would come check on you. You left dinner so abruptly, I just wanted to
make sure nothing serious was wrong.”
I shook my head, once again the tears threatening to spill over as even the thought of
what was really on my mind came back to me. My hand went to my locket again.
“I’ve just got a lot on my mind.” I finally spoke when my emotions were at least partially
under control, “College acceptances are starting to come in. Homework. Graduation.
Finals.”
None of the four were actually on my mind.
“Well I’m so sorry honey, we didn’t mean to upset you. You know Gary and I will be
happy with whatever college you choose. We have our preferences but don’t worry about
disappointing us okay? From the moment you showed up on our doorstep you have never
ever been a disappointment and we don’t foresee that ever happening.”
She took the liberty to sit down on my bed and watch me as I contemplated how to
answer her. The easiest answer was to thank her and tell her that I was worried about
disappointing them and how I now felt so much better about it. I wanted to tell her that I
wasn’t going to college and see how much disappointment washed over her face despite
her pronouncement that she would not be disappointed in me, but that would hurt her and
Gary too much. No, I couldn’t disappoint them. I liked them but then again, I had also
liked the other foster parents who had come before them. In the end, none of them really
mattered.
“Brenda, it’s just… I know that you and Gary have all these plans for me and I appreciate
it. I really do.” I tried to formulate the nicest possible way of telling her that she wasn’t
my mother and therefore had no right to have any plan for me at all, “It’s just that I’m 18
now and I appreciate that you guys were willing to let me stay until I graduated even
though technically I am no longer a ward of the state but I just don’t… I…”
My stuttering combined with the emotion that was still in my words from before must
have struck a chord. Brenda started to cry and she immediately moved to my side to
embrace me tightly.
“You’re worried that when you go to college you won’t have a place to come home to.
That Gary and I won’t be your family anymore just because you’re 18.” It wasn’t a
question. She stated it as if that must be the reason I was upset and who was I to argue? I
couldn’t tell her the real reason behind my emotion.
“Yeah.” It didn’t take much to bring the tears back and I let myself sob lightly while
Brenda hugged me, “You guys have just been so great. I don’t want to lose you but I
know that I’m not your responsibility anymore.”
“No sweetie, you will always be our responsibility. It doesn’t matter to Gary and I that
you’re 18, or that you’re graduating. This past year since you moved in with us… it’s like
you’re the daughter we’ve been waiting for. We’ve had so many foster kids in and out of
the house but you… You’re special. And of course, it’s your choice but Vanessa…”
I held back my laugh and smile that this woman who considered me her daughter didn’t
even know my real name. It wasn’t funny really. I shouldn’t be laughing in my mind. My
emotions were all over the place tonight. Stupid birthday. Stupid Jake. I would blame
him.
“Gary and I would like to officially adopt you.”
The room went dark. Not just because it felt like my world could legitimately spin out of
control from just that one simple sentence but because the room LITERALLY went dark.
Downstairs, Gary began to call out to us.
“Brenda! Vanessa! It looks like the power went out. Just stay where you are and I’ll go
check the breaker box!”
“I’ll go grab a flashlight.” Brenda squeezed my knee and as my eyes adjusted to the dark
I could see her smile as she stood and headed out into the hallway.
“Nessie!” Jacob hissed quietly and I turned quickly to see him perched on my window
sill, “Get your stuff. We’re out of here now.”
“Jake?” Suddenly my mind was going in a million different directions. Erased were the
worries of what I would tell Brenda when she wanted to know if they could adopt me and
in the place of that one worry were ten others.
Had someone come for me? The moment Jacob and I had been preparing for since we ran
away so many years ago? Was it the Volturi? Was it worse? Was there anything worse?
Why had the lights gone out? Why were we leaving in such haste? What would be next
on our journey and where was my MP3 player?
I watched him scramble around my room, quickly gathering clothes and the necessities
into the emergency bag I always had packed under my bed. I grabbed the few things I
wanted to keep from the life I had built with Brenda and Gary, tossing them into the bag
as well. Jake zipped it closed and reached out for my hand, racing towards the window.
Our feet landed silently and soundly on the ground outside the window just as the lights
of the house flickered back on. I could hear Brenda return to my room.
“Vanessa?” The panic etched into her voice clearly, “Vanessa where are you?”
Her voice faded into the background as we ran straight for the woods. There would be no
looking back. There would be no hesitation. There would, once again, be only Jacob and
Renesmee.
Chapter Two
Jacob POV
The sun was shining brightly through a tiny sliver created in the gap of the curtains. I
groaned at the small motel room I had rented the night before, and squinted against the
sunlight, willing it to go away so I wouldn’t have to face the day. I didn’t want to move,
in this room I had everything I needed.
Renesmee lay curled up innocently at my side, clutching my hand like a lifeline to her
cheek, her even breathing a sign she was still peacefully sleeping. She murmured in her
sleep sometimes, like Bella used to. I could watch her sleep forever.
“Momma…” Renesmee sighed and turned to her other side, still clutching my hand to her
cheek, still peacefully asleep.
In her sleep was the only time she seemed like she may really still be a child. She was
smarter than anyone I had ever known, except for maybe Edward, but I would have never
admitted that to him. She looked 18, acted 18, but when she slept she was still a little girl,
riding between my furry shoulder blades, looking behind us with tears in her eyes as she
tried to keep her parents in her sight for as long as possible. She just wanted her mom.
I looked around, trying to locate a clock so I would know what time it was. The red
numbers glared back at me angrily from the bedside table. 2:00 PM.
We had missed check out time which meant we would have to pay for another night,
whether we were staying here or not. I had no intention to stay here; we had to keep
moving. We had to find her a new home. I couldn’t believe I had overreacted so
ridiculously last night.
I had known from the beginning - once the plan to place her in capable foster homes to be
raised had formed - eventually one of the families would fall in love with her and want to
adopt her on a more permanent basis, but nothing had prepared me for it to actually
happen. I had panicked. A quick flip of all the breakers was almost too easy. A quiet dark
escape from the people who threatened to actually take Nessie from me.
Beside me she stirred, stretching and turning again, this time her eyes fluttered open to
stare up into mine. She smiled and reached up, letting her hand rest lightly against my
cheek. The images that fell across my vision were of happier times. The days when she
had been so young, and so innocent. When we would spend hours on end hunting with
Bella in the woods surrounding the Cullen family home in Forks, a simpler time.
“Is that what you were just dreaming about?” I asked her when she pulled her hand away,
the vision removed.
She nodded and sighed.
“I miss them so much.” She whispered, only barely audible.
“Me too.” I admitted, pulling her protectively to my side, holding her there for a few
moments of silence.
“So last night…” She pulled away and looked back into my eyes, “We ran for hours only
to end up in this hotel? Do we have a plan? Do we have any idea what we were running
from?”
I hadn’t explained much last night and I winced as I realized I was going to have to
actually explain my slight overreaction from the night before. She probably thought that
someone wanted to kill her, or worse. I could see it in her eyes; She was scared but she
hadn’t asked any questions. She trusted me resolutely, so she ran when I told her to, and
she slept in trashy hotels when I asked.
“We were running from…” I tried to find a way to phrase my words so that they didn’t
come out so much like I was being selfish, “To be honest Nessie, we were just running. I
heard Brenda ask if they could adopt you and I panicked. I was too scared you would say
yes.”
For a second she just stared at me in shock and then, just when I thought she was going to
kill me or at the very least hit me for being so stupid, she started to laugh. Giggled would
have been a more accurate word. It started slow and quiet then grew as she lay on her
back and let the sound resonate through the room.
“You whisked me away from there because you actually thought that I would allow them
to adopt me?” She looked at me like it was the most ridiculous idea she had ever heard,
“Jacob… my Jacob.”
She didn’t continue with words that were audible. She placed her hand on my cheek
again and this time the vision was less memory and more pieces placed together. The
faces of Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Bella, Edward… me. They were
all there, smiling.
“That is my family.” She whispered, letting the image linger a bit longer, “Even if you’re
the only one left, that’s all I need. No one can ever replace my true family.”
I had known before that my overreaction was stupid but it was still nice to hear her
reassure me. Bella and Edward had trusted me to take care of her and after 8 years, I
certainly couldn’t lose her now.
We lay there, silently, for what seemed like hours. Realistically it was only a few minutes
and I knew I was going to have to get up soon and formulate our next game plan. I hated
that part- figuring out who we would be, where we would go, and who she would live
with.
“I’m gonna go take a shower.” I forced myself from the comfort of the bed with much
effort, “Don’t leave this room okay?”
“Of course not.” She agreed easily, sitting herself up, “I’m just gonna see if we can get an
Internet hook up in here, okay?”
I nodded and watched her for a second as she pulled out her laptop from the bag we had
quickly packed. She knew the drill. We had done this many times before; she would be
starting the research.
The hot steam of the shower washed over my aching muscles providing momentary
relief. We had run over 50 miles the night before and although I spent most of my days as
a wolf, the long distance running always caught up to me.
“So what’s the verdict kid?” I towel dried my hair, heading back into the main part of the
hotel room, fully dressed and ready to face the impending planning session.
Instead of finding Renesmee huddled over her computer researching, she was smiling at
me while she jumped up and down on the bed. I raised an eyebrow at her warily.
“I. Have. A. Brilliant. Idea.” She said confidently, jumping up and down after each word,
“Let’s. Go. Home.”
“Excuse me?”
“Come jump on the bed. I never realized how fun this is.” Renesmee beckoned for me to
join her, “Come on.”
“I’m pretty sure that bed is barely withstanding a hybrid like you jumping on it, let alone
adding a werewolf.” I laughed at her, watching her eyes sparkle as she continued to jump,
“Now what was that you mentioned about home? Where exactly is home going to be this
time?”
I sat down at the little table where she had set her laptop and focused on the screen,
blinking a few times. The lush green forest, constant cloud cover and dreary beauty of the
picture on the screen made my eyes widen. I would know that landscape anywhere. I
didn’t need the screen to show it to me. I could close my eyes and it was engrained into
my brain.
“You’re kidding right?” I glanced over just as Renesmee bounced for the last time,
landing on her butt so she could slide off the bed to come stand next to me.
“Not kidding. I’m tired of running. Let’s go home.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and waited, clearly expecting a reaction.
“Forks, Nessie? You’re brilliant plan is Forks?”
The website she had pulled up showed our small home town in it’s glory. It showed the
most beautiful, the most homey, the most appealing parts of the town. It made me yearn
to go there, as I was sure it did for the tourists the website was set up for.
“We can’t go to Forks. You know that.” I shut the laptop resolutely and Renesmee’s arms
fell to her side as she glared at me, “Don’t look at me like that. You KNOW we can’t go
back there.”
“Why not?” She pouted and she was ,with each passing second, acting more and more
her age, “Jake, I don’t want to go live with another foster family! You’re my family
remember? We can get our own place and we can see Charlie, and Sue! I remember
Charlie and Sue so clearly. I want to see them! Don’t you wanna see your dad? Seth?
Leah?”
“Seth and Leah are dead Renesmee.” I snapped at her, my jaw clenching. As much as it
hurt for anyone to bring up her parents, didn’t she know it would hurt just as much for
her to bring up my pack? “They died the same day your parents did. Do you remember
that? They were there!”
Her lower lip trembled and she looked like she was going to cry. I knew that I should
hold back but the sight of Forks on the computer screen had set me off. I was trembling
too, in a much different way.
“Jake…” Renesmee reached out to place her hand on my arm gently, “I’m sorry.”
I shook away her arm, too enraged, and stormed from the motel room without a second
thought. I walked for almost a mile, making sure to stay where plenty of people were
around in case I got the urge to phase, their presence would keep me in check. It wasn’t
until I walked past an old bookstore, catching a glance at the tribal books in the display
window that it really hit me again.
All these years we had been running, and I had never truly dealt with losing so much in
such a short time. Staring at a Quileute legends book, the face of a wolf staring back at
me, I lost it. Tears streamed down my face and without regard for who was around me, I
turned and raced back to the motel room where I had left Nessie.
“Nessie?” I threw the door open, almost expecting her to have left after I had been so
horrible to her.
Her glistening eyes looked up from the computer screen to me expectantly. Her lower lip
still trembled.
“Belgrade, Montana.” She said softly, “It’s small, in the Rocky Mountains. I’m pretty
sure I can find a family and since it’s in the mountains I’m sure there’s plenty of places
you can hide out. The high school looks good so…”
“Nessie.” I went to her side and placed my hand against her cheek, cradling her entire
head just there in my head, “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s my fault.” She nuzzled my hand with her nose, reminding me again of what life had
been like in the pack, tears threatening to take over again, “I won’t bring up Forks again
okay? I just… It was stupid and I’m sorry. Belgrade, Montana okay?”
It was times like these when I wished I had the power she had to just touch her face and
show her how sorry I was. How sorry I would always be for not being able to take her
back to Forks. Bella had wanted that and after 8 years, it was probably safe, but I just
couldn’t handle it. Renesmee had nothing to be sorry for.
“Go take a shower while I look at this okay?” I lifted her from the chair gently and pulled
her into my arms, embracing her firmly, “And don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault.”
She nodded against my chest, clinging to me and I could feel a few silent tears soaking
their way through my shirt.
I watched her grab some clothes from her bag and head for the bathroom, her head still
hanging low. The moving was always the hard part but for some reason, this time just
seemed different.
Belgrade, Montana seemed promising. Small town in the Gallatin Valley. Fishing, hiking,
skiing, camping… There was a bigger city, Bozeman, not too far away where I would be
able to live. Close enough that running back and forth every day wasn’t an issue. I would
blend in Bozeman as just another citizen. No one would question why I was there.
Anonymity. For me, that was the key.
Nessie had found a good one. It would take us a few days travel to arrive there from
where we were now in Northern Nevada but that wasn’t too bad. We could have flown if
we wanted to, to make it shorter, but I never liked taking that risk. Records of us traveling
together were never a good thing, just in case.
I could still remember the day that we had left Forks. The snow had stuck for the first
time that season, as Alice had foreseen, and that was the day the Volturi had arrived.
After some negotiation’s, it had become clear to Bella that it wasn’t going to end
peacefully, as we had all so desperately hoped for. So she and Edward had said their
goodbyes, slipped Renesmee onto my shoulders and when the Volturi and their guard
were sufficiently distracted, I had run as fast as I could. Away. As far away as I could get.
We had run East and then North, headed to Canada. In the beginning I had no idea if we
would even make it. Judging by the sounds of my pack’s thoughts as we ran, I didn’t
think we would get far. Without being there, I could hear the brutality and I couldn’t turn
it off. The torture of hearing each member of my pack die, one by one, almost made it too
much to bear. We were in the outskirts of Mt. Vernon when my thoughts turned abruptly
to silence. I thought for sure then that meant someone would be coming after us.
It wasn’t until we had almost reached the Canadian border that I remembered the
backpack. Deep in the forest, I had slipped Renesmee from my shoulders, phased to my
human form and together, she and I discovered what Bella had packed for us.
Renesmee had studied the identification I handed her carefully. I could see she was
reading it, comprehending what must be done without me even having to explain. She
had placed her tiny hand on my cheek and with one quick vision, that of her picture on
the passport with the name Vanessa Wolfe, I knew Bella’s plan was going to work. I was
going to keep Nessie safe forever.
With the money Bella had packed for us, our new identification, and a note that said
simply Rio De Janeiro, Vanessa and Jacob Wolfe had crossed safely into Canada and
immediately boarded a plane on it’s way to South America.
Renesmee brought me back from my memories as she stood over me, playfully shaking
some of the water from her ringlets in my direction. She smiled at me tentatively when I
laughed, wiping the water from my face.
“Belgrade.” I confirmed our next destination and she nodded, not a single trace of doubt
or disappointment in her eyes, “Start picking out your new identity.”
She fell onto the bed, letting the towel she had been using to dry her hair fall to the floor.
She pulled the emergency bag towards her and sighed. The small lock box emerged in her
hands and she flipped it open, the stack of passports, ID cards, Driver’s Licenses and
various forms of ID were almost overflowing.
She flipped through them idly, making three separate piles. On closer inspection I found
that one pile was for me, one was clearly for the ID that no longer worked for her more
grown exterior, and the other was her possibilities.
She held up “Renee Clark” and placed it next to her face, smiling at me as she was in the
passport photo. She waited for my okay.
“No. We used Renee Clark too recently. That one was right before Gary and Brenda
right?”
Renesmee frowned and nodded, discarding Renee Clark. She held up the next and smiled
again, mimicking the photo.
“Vanessa Brown… since you were just a Vanessa who is probably currently listed as a
missing persons for the state of California, I would say let’s shy away from Vanessa.”
She frowned again and tossed it, along with several others she fished out of the
possibility pile, to the side, “Sorry Nessie. I know Vanessa’s your favorite.”
I knew that if she couldn’t use her real name she always preferred Vanessa because it was
what Bella had first chosen for her alternate identity.
There were three more choices. Carlie Doyle. Esme Porter and my personal favorite,
Isabella-Rose Jasper.
“You know which one I’m gonna pick.” I told her and she rolled her eyes.
She hated being Isabella, because when people automatically nicknamed her Bella, she
cried. It was hard to explain tears over a nickname.
“It’s the most logical one. Passport and driver’s permit say 15 so you’ll be able to get
your license again soon plus it’s the least used. It’s safer.”
She held her hand to my face and I saw the image of her from the last time she had been
Isabella, crying when a kid at school had asked if they could call her Bella.
“You’re stronger now.” I assured her, “Come on. You know I’m right.”
She sighed and nodded, packing away the rest of her identification, including the driver’s
license she pulled from her wallet, replacing it with the new state of North Carolina
driver’s permit. She sifted through my pile of possibilities when hers had been chosen
and smiled when she held up the one she had picked.
“The state of North Carolina presents Jacob Lonewolf.” I laughed as I read it aloud, “I
can’t believe anyone buys this bull shit.”
Her eyes went wide and once again she placed her hand to my face this time showing me
a sign that we had once seen in Virginia Beach, VA which showed a bunch of random
characters meant to be cuss words crossed out to illustrate “no cussing.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I rolled my eyes at her, “Hey, what’s with the silent treatment? I thought
we moved past this non verbal communication stage.”
She shrugged and moved off the bed, effectively ending our conversation. I figured this
had to do with me blowing up before but I didn’t push it. There were still a lot of things
to figure out for our move.
After the sun had set, and our plans had been finalized, Renesmee and I lay silently on
the bed, both of us staring at the ceiling. Her hand found mine and our fingers naturally
intertwined. I chuckled a little, wondering what Edward would have said if he had seen
us then. I didn’t really need to wonder. I knew what he would have said.
“Hands off.” To which I would have retorted that he was going to have to give in
eventually and he would answer, “Not for at least another 150 years.”
I could sense the change in dynamic occurring between Renesmee and I. It had been
happening slowly, for the past year or so. Just subtle changes. She blushed when I
complimented her. She stuttered over her words sometimes. She hesitated to show me her
some of her thoughts. There was a shift happening, but it wasn’t quite there. She was still
so young in so many ways.
“Jake?” Her eyes were fluttering closed when she turned towards me slowly, “Will you
tell me a story?”
I smiled, remembering those first few weeks after I left when we would lay in the woods
at night, staring up at the stars, and she would ask for a bedtime story.
“What would you like to hear?” Glad for her to break the vow of silence she had taken
for the afternoon.
“Will you tell me about my parents?”
This was one she requested often.
“Of course.” I pulled her close to my chest, wrapping her in my arms protectively, “Once
upon a time, in the small town of Forks, a very clumsy 17 year old girl named Isabella
Swan came to live with her dad, Charlie…”
I continued through the whole story to the end, despite my absolute certainty that Nessie
hadn’t heard more than a few sentences before she had drifted to sleep.
“And so, together, though their immortality had failed, they would continue to exist as
Edward and Bella. Two halves of a whole.”
Chapter Three
Renesmee POV
Fully waking up from a restless night of sleep was, for lack of a better word, crappy. At
least when sleep fully takes you over, you wake feeling rested. When you don’t sleep
well and then STILL have to wake up in the morning, it’s truly unfair.
“Isabella! You’re gonna be late for school!”
Without lifting my head from the pillow I reached over to hit the snooze button on my
alarm clock, hitting it repeatedly before I realized the blabbering was coming from
downstairs. Parents, the foster kind at least, were so lovingly annoying.
“Belle.” My foster mom Marnie poked her head into the room, “Get up, you! It’s the first
day of school!”
“5 more minutes.” I groaned, putting the pillow over my head so that the sunlight would
go away.
“No. Now.” Marnie grabbed the blankets and pulled them off of me, “It’s your senior
year Belle. Put in some effort okay?”
I sighed and threw the pillow to the other side of the room, lightly, so it wouldn’t go
flying through the window instead of landing softly on the window seat. I was frowning,
staring up at her as she held my blanket in her arms while she smiled down at me,
shaking her head.
“Okay. I’m up.” I groaned as I sat up, my eyes still closed.
Tossing the covers back to the end of the bed, Marnie just continued to laugh as she
headed out of my room.
“Don’t take too long. You need to eat breakfast before you go.” She called back to me
from the hallway.
I frowned, sniffing and smelling the eggs and bacon she would have waiting for me
downstairs. Blech. Yes, her intentions were in the right place but the result was truly
disgusting.
Once I was awake I resigned myself to really get ready for school. It’s not hard to get
ready quickly when you can race around the room at twice the normal speed of a human,
although sometimes I wished I was a full vampire. Twice the normal speed of a human
seemed trivial when I remembered how fast my father could run.
I couldn’t start down that train of thought right now though. I was running late and
Marnie was right. It was the first day of my senior year of high school, and this time
around, Jacob had already promised I would be allowed to finish. There would be no
pulling me out mid-year to whisk me off to a new school in a new town just to start all
over again.
“I gotta run Marnie.” I grabbed my light jean jacket from the rack by the front door and
attempted to leave before she caught me to force breakfast on me.
“Not so fast young lady.” For a full human she was really fast, “I knew you were running
late so I packed it to go.”
She handed me a small Tupperware container with the eggs and bacon inside.
“Have a good day okay?” She smiled at me, exactly the way I would have imagined my
mother smiling at me on the first day of my senior year of high school, “Love you.”
“Love you too.” I smiled and quickly hugged her, inhaling her floral scent, “Alright,
really late. Gotta go.”
I was pulling out of the driveway only moments later, the tires on my BMW squealing
quietly as I raced away from the house. I hoped Marnie hadn’t heard the squeal, she was
always worrying about me.
The sun was shining brightly and it brought a feeling of tranquility over me. For the first
time in my whole life, I felt at peace. We had been in Belgrade for almost three years, the
longest I had lived in one place, ever.
When we had first arrived, Jacob and I had almost turned around and left. The town was
smaller than we had expected. The terrain was much flatter than any we had attempted in
the past, creating almost no cover for a gigantic wolf to hide around town while he spied
on me. Even though we had both entered town as humans, everyone stared at us as if they
could tell we were different and we were just about to turn and leave when we saw
Marnie.
She was utterly hopeless. Her hair had been piled into a high messy bun, clearly unkempt
trying to masquerade as a real hairstyle. Her jeans had holes in the knees with paint
splatters all over and were frayed at the bottom. The t-shirt she was wearing was probably
three times too big for her and she was clumsier than anyone I had ever met.
Marnie exited the grocery store just 50 feet from where Jacob and I were standing when
she tripped on the even pavement and all the bags she was carrying went tumbling from
her arms. It only took a few moments for me to run across the abandoned main road to be
at her side, helping her gather all the groceries from the blacktop parking lot.
“Thank you so much. I am such a klutz. That’s the third time I’ve tripped today and it’s
only 10:00 AM.” She had sighed and stood up, accepting the bag of groceries I had
gathered for her as I handed it back to her. When she saw me her face had immediately
softened, as if she recognized me, but not as someone she knew, just as someone she
would want to know. “Hi, I’m Marnie. You don’t look familiar. Are you new to town?”
“Um, yeah.” I had smiled back at her, tucking my hands into my pockets and looking
around for Jacob to fill in his part of the story, but when I looked around he was nowhere
to be found.
At first I had been frantic. Where did Jacob go? What was I supposed to tell this lady
without him playing his part? My story was incomplete and I had no idea how to deal
with that so, I panicked.
“He was right there!” I growled, pointing at the last place I had seen him, forgetting there
was a woman watching me, “What the hell! Jacob! Jacob!”
“Honey, is everything okay?” Marnie had reached out to touch my arm and I had
whipped around on her, hissing, making her jump back scared.
My breathing was erratic and it took me a second to calm down. While I breathed, she
had just stared at me, waiting.
“He was right there.” I said calmly after a few seconds, “My… older brother. We…”
A story formulated quickly in my head and immediately I knew what Jacob had done. He
had seen the opportunity and seized it, knowing I would be able to handle this.
“My older brother Jacob. We came here together, looking for our parents. They left us a
few days ago in Bozeman and… And he was right there next to me and then I ran over
here to help you and now he’s gone too. I don’t know what’s happening. Why are they
leaving me?”
My tears had come easily enough. All I had to do was think about my parents really being
gone and they were flowing rapidly while Marnie gathered me into her arms.
“Shh.” She held me while I cried and while she wasn’t looking I saw Jacob walking the
opposite way down the street. I could sense his smile, “It’s gonna be okay sweetie.
What’s your name?”
“Isabella.” I sniffled, wiping my tears away and taking a step back, “I’m sorry. I didn’t
mean to freak out. I’m sure he’s around here somewhere. I’ll just…’
“No wait.” Marnie grabbed my arm before I could turn and walk away, not that I was
really planning to go anywhere, “Let me help you. What’s your brother look like?”
“Um, he’s tall. Like 6’5 I think and he’s got longish hair.” I tried to be vague enough that
if anyone remembered seeing Jacob and I walk in together the description would match
closely enough to corroborate my lies but not enough that seeing Jacob would spark any
interest, “Big, like a football player.”
“Do you have a picture with you?” She stared at the bag I was carrying.
Yes. I said in my head. “No.” I said out loud, “I have my ID and my passport, my birth
certificate. Some clothes, a toothbrush I think. I have some money too but, no pictures.”
“Okay, well. Let’s um…” I could tell Marnie was at a loss as she reached up to scratch
her head, clearly puzzled and on the verge of being hopelessly frazzled. I didn’t blame
her. A teenager just completely breaks down in front of you claiming to have misplaced
her entire family? I would have been hysterical in her shoes. “Let’s go to the police
station okay? We’ll report your family missing.”
“No.” I let my lower lip quiver for effect, “No, we can’t go to the police. I don’t want to
go to the police. We tried that in Bozeman and they all laughed at us. I don’t think they
believed us and I don’t want to go through all that again.”
Marnie’s mouth fell open and for just a second I wasn’t sure if she was still buying this
ludicrous tale I was spinning for her.
“How old are you Isabella?” She asked quietly, “You look young.”
That was a first. No one ever told me I looked “young” before. I resisted the urge to tell
her I was 8.
“15.”
Marnie had taken a deep breath, letting it go slowly as if she were finally grasping the
situation. She chewed the inside of her lip nervously, still running her fingers through her
hair, messing it up even more severely than it had already been.
“You seem like a really nice girl.” She was lying, but I didn’t hold that against her
because her only impression of me so far had been hysterics and hissing, “How about you
come home with me and we can work out a game plan together okay? We will… we’ll
figure out how to find your family.”
“No. You don’t even know me. I can’t let you do that.” It was always smart to resist the
first outreach.
“I insist.” She motioned towards her SUV, “Come on.”
“Are you sure?” I questioned her as I headed slowly for the passenger seat, “This is more
than I can possibly repay you for.”
“It’s the least I can do Bella. Oh, I’m sorry. Can I call you Bella?” She had already
resorted to a nickname. Picking a nickname was a good sign for my future.
Unfortunately, she had just managed to pick the one nickname I didn’t want and my tear
ducts overreacted.
“That’s my mom’s name.” I cried and then sniffled, quickly fixing my error, “I mean,
that’s my mom’s name for me. She calls me Bella.”
“I’m sorry.” Marnie looked mortified, “I won’t…”
“I’ve always preferred Belle.” I smiled weakly at her, “No ‘a’ at the end. Just Belle.”
She smiled back at me and nodded.
“Okay Belle. Let’s go home and we’ll figure this out alright?”
I was pulled from my memories when the traffic thickened near my school. Belgrade
High School. Student Body population: 802. And it seemed like all 802 students were
late.
I was tempted to drive over the curb to pass the line of cars so I could get to my parking
space on time. I had just angled my front end in that direction when my cell phone rang.
“Traffic sucks huh?”
My grin spread from ear to ear.
“You’re watching me?” I responded, looking around for either a burly wolf or an
oversized Quileute Indian.
“Of course. I’m always watching you.” Jacob responded, “Beyond the parking lot, to the
right, just left of the stop sign at the corner.”
I looked where he directed me and I saw him waving.
“Get out of here before someone sees you.” I told him, waving back.
“I just wanted to see you off to your first day of your 2nd senior year. I haven’t missed a
first day of school yet and I wasn’t going to miss today.”
If it was possible, my smile widened even further.
“Thank you Jake. It means a lot to me.”
“Anytime Nessie. Have a good day. I’ll see you for an after school snack right?”
“Yes.” I said resolutely, “She sent me to school with eggs and bacon. I’m positively
starving and it’s only 8:00am.”
Jacob laughed.
“Behave yourself. I’ll see you later.”
“Yep. Goodbye my Jacob.”
“Goodbye my Nessie.”
I clicked the cell phone shut and immediately my frustration with the traffic returned.
“Come on!” I yelled at the line of cars.
Luckily for me, the first day of school had a bit of leniency, since our first day started
with an all school assembly. The rest of the student body was just filing into the
auditorium when I made my way onto campus and let out a sigh of relief.
“Izzy!” My best friend in school jumped at me, wrapping her arms around my waist and
squealing, “Can you believe we are seniors? This is so exciting!”
Erin was more than a little excitable. Give her just a tiny bit of caffeine or any type of
male eye candy, and she was jumping off the walls almost literally.
“Very exciting.” I replied with a sarcastic grin, “OMG!”
She rolled her eyes at me and tucked her arm through mine, leading me to the empty seats
her boyfriend Russell had saved for us. She giggled and sat next to him, pulling me into
the seat next to her, just in time for the principal to step on stage, officially signaling the
beginning of the assembly.
“Good morning students and welcome to a brand new year at Belgrade High School,
home of the mighty Panthers!” Principal McCary smiled out over all 802 of us squeezed
into the room.
“Go Panthers!” The cheerleaders yelled from their seats in the front row. The jocks
hooted and hollered. The geeks sighed.
“It is going to be an exciting year everyone. I can feel it in the air. This year will bring
greatness to our halls! Each and every single one of you has the chance to be part of the
greatness, and part of the history of Belgrade High School.”
I tuned out the assembly with ease, completely aware that I would need none of this
information later. It was a pep talk by the principal and nothing more. Assembly’s were
just the principal’s way to welcome the Freshman, pump up the seniors and basically
waste away the first hour of school, which was fine with me.
My thoughts went back to Marnie as I remembered the way she had looked at me this
morning. Her eyes spoke to me, telling me that I was truly the light of her life. She was
proud of me and proud to be a part of my life. It was exactly the same way she had
looked at me the first day we had met, when she had whisked me into her home and
unwittingly fallen directly into my trap.
“Okay so, let me just make sure I have this right.” Marnie sat across from me in the living
room of her restored historical home, “You, your parents, and your brother Jacob were in
Bozeman, staying at a hotel two days ago. When you and Jacob woke up your parents
were gone. No note? Nothing.”
I nodded, staring down at the egg salad sandwich she had made me.
“You look like you need some food kid. Eat it.” She had commanded in a motherly
fashion then continued, “So you and Jacob searched Bozeman but found no trace of your
parents. They had taken their luggage and left only your identification and some money
with you and when you reported this to the Bozeman police they laughed at you?”
“Basically.” I sighed, scrunching my nose as I forced myself to take a bite of the utterly
unappetizing sandwich, “Dey shaid it shounded made up.”
She giggled at the sound of my words through my full mouth.
“It’s crazy but not made up.” Marnie deduced, making me feel horrible for lying to her,
even though I knew it was necessary, “I just can’t imagine any parent leaving their
children alone in a strange city like that. You said you’re from North Carolina right?”
I nodded, forcing another bite of the sandwich into my mouth.
“Chawlotte.” I spoke again through the food I was forcing myself to chew.
“And now, you end up in Belgrade looking for your parents when you see me being my
clumsy self, stumbling in a parking lot and you come to my aid only for your brother to
disappear as well. Leaving you, a 15 year old little girl, all by yourself.”
Well, it’s a little more complicated then that, I thought to myself but I nodded to her.
“You poor thing.” Marnie groaned, “I just, I don’t know what to do with you. You’ve lost
everything in just a few days and yet here you sit, sort of eating egg salad in my living
room, is the food that bad?”
I realized I must have been making horrible faces while I chewed and quickly corrected
myself, shaking my head vehemently.
“It’s good.” I lied, “I just.. I’ve never really liked mayonnaise.”
“Oh honey, you should have said something.” She grabbed the plate from me and headed
back into the kitchen giving me time to sigh with relief that the food was gone, “I’ll make
you peanut butter and jelly instead. Is that okay?”
No but a bottle of blood would be great, thanks. I groaned at a decibel she would have
never been able to hear.
“Do you have strawberry jelly?” I had called back to her.
“It’s the only kind I buy.” She peeked out at me and grinned, “One second.”
I needed to be careful to pretend to really like this sandwich. I had a feeling if I kept
rejecting her food the companionship wouldn’t last long.
When she had returned with the new sandwich I ate it quickly, being careful to look like I
was enjoying every second. I choked it down in record time and she seemed satisfied,
going back to her original line of questioning.
“Alright Belle, let’s figure this out okay? I’m a sucker for a sad story and you, all by
yourself in a world not meant to coddle an impressionable teenager, you have a very sad
story. I know you don’t want to go to the police but…”
“No, please no.” I put on a good show, “I can’t do that again.”
“Okay, okay.” She took a deep breath and let it go slowly, something she did often, I
noticed. It must be a calming technique she used, “I’ll tell you what.”
I remembered thinking in that moment that she was either going to crush my plans or
willingly align with them right then and there. It was the moment of truth.
“You have your birth certificate, your passport and your ID. That’s more than enough
identification to make a lie seem like the truth.”
Uh-oh. She had seen through me.
“So we are going to lie and lie good. As far as anyone knows you are my husband’s love
child from North Carolina and you came searching for him but only found me because he
died 8 years ago and so I have decided to let you stay and raise you because, your mom is
a drug addict?”
Very impressive Marnie. Very elaborate, crazy story in a very short amount of time.
“We could try something simpler. Maybe we could just tell everyone I’m your niece from
North Carolina whose parents died in a car crash?”
“Small town. Everyone knows everyone and everyone knows everyone’s business. These
people know my siblings. If one of them suddenly died, there would be a parade in their
memory.” Marnie sighed, “But, you’re right. It should be simpler.”
I had a lot of cover stories in my arsenal but I didn’t want to make her suspicious if they
came out too easily, so I let her mull it over for about 15 minutes before trying again.
“Is your husband really dead?” I asked, hoping the answer was no. With the amount of
love this lady clearly had to give, she didn’t deserve to have lost someone she loved.
She nodded sadly, much to my dismay. I wanted to hug her to comfort her, like she had
in the grocery store parking lot for me, but her revelation only cemented my resolution to
come up with the perfect story so that I could stay with her. Now we had something in
common.
“Maybe I’m his god-daughter. My parents died, so rightfully he would have been my
next of kin but since he’s…” I hesitated to say ’dead’ again as she flinched, “Since he’s
not around, you’ve decided that you’ll still take care of me.”
She smiled widely at me for that one. With a quick nod I knew we had come up with the
story that would stick.
“Izzy.” Erin bumped my arm to bring me back from my reverie, “Principal McCary is
calling you. Student Body President has to address the masses remember? Get up there.”
“Oh, right.” I jumped up and headed for the stage, the entire school clapping for me as I
made my way, “Hi everyone!”
“We love you Izzy!” A group of sophomore’s screamed from the right side of the
auditorium.
“I love you too.” My laugh echoed through the room, “I didn’t really prepare a speech for
you guys today but um, for those of you who don’t know me; new students? Freshman? I
am Isabella Jasper, most people just call me Izzy and I’m your student body president. I
just want to welcome you to a brand new year at Belgrade High School. I remember,
almost three years ago, I took my first steps onto this campus as a freshman transfer from
North Carolina. I was completely terrified. What if no one liked me? What if I didn’t fit
in? What if I failed my classes? There was so much unknown and I remember sitting
down in Principal McCary’s office and he looked straight into my eyes and said, “If
you’re gonna puke, make sure you do it in the trash can.”
The entire auditorium erupted into laughter and cheered as I glanced over to the principal.
“So basically, a quick layout, there are trash cans in almost every room and lined up
about every twenty feet outside.” Everyone continued to laugh, “No seriously though,
this is going to be an amazing year. I can feel it! And you’re all a part of it so seize every
moment to be the best you can be. Thank you.”
I handed the microphone back to Principal McCary and headed back to my seat, the
cheers still ringing in my ears.
“Thank you Izzy. Now students, you are going to quietly, and orderly, find the table in
the back of the room where your name belongs in the alphabet so that you can pick up
your class schedule and locker assignments then you will make sure to be in your 2nd
period class at exactly 9:28 okay?”
The exodus from chairs in the room was neither quiet nor orderly as all the students made
a beeline for the tables in the back of the auditorium. Everyone was desperate to get their
schedule and locker assignments first because if they got that part out of the way, they
would have more free time before they had to be in their next class.
“Great speech Iz.” Russell complimented me, “You’re so good at it. Where do you get
the confidence?”
“It’s not confidence Russ.” I shrugged off the compliment, “It’s just knowing how to
command a room. If you respect yourself enough to address them all as equals, they will
respect you enough to listen.”
“It helps that she’s beautiful, single, and the most popular girl at school.” Erin added with
a laugh, “I’ll see you two later. My table is over there.”
We all looked to the long line of S - V students and she pouted.
“I hate my last name.” She mumbled and then took off.
“Come on Russ.” I directed Russell to follow me towards our table where the line was
shorter, but still long.
Russell’s last name was Jason so whenever it was a matter of alphabetization, we were
always stuck together.
“Isabella!” One of the student volunteers helping to hand out class schedules noticed
Russell and I take our place in line and she waved us forward, ahead of the rest of the
line, “Jasper and Jason right?”
She already had our class schedules and locker assignments out.
“No need to wait. President always goes first.” She smiled widely at me and I smiled
back.
“Thank you Cassie.” I gladly accepted my schedule and then Russell and I headed out of
the auditorium so we could go sit at our usual table in the quad.
“How’s your schedule look?” Russell asked me when we sat down, dropping our
backpacks to the floor beside us.
“I have AP Calculus 1st period, AP Psychology 2nd period, French III 3rd period,
Honors Study Hall 4th period, AP Biology 5th period, TA for Ms. Paulson 6th period and
AP Literature & Composition 7th period. Next semester the only change is French IV
instead of French III. You?”
“No rest for the weary huh?” Russell was staring at me with enlarged eyes, “All AP
classes?”
“If I want to go to Dartmouth in the fall, I have to make sure I take the right classes. “ I
didn’t bother to add that I had taken almost all of those classes in my junior year at my
last high school so they should be a piece of cake, “Besides, what’s the point in attending
school if you aren’t gonna challenge yourself?”
“You’re a nerd Izzy.” Russell laughed, “The point to coming to school is to make it to the
end, graduate and run away and I am not telling you my class schedule. You will laugh.”
“I will not.” I snatched it out of his hands before he could even blink. I read it aloud,
“Creative Writing, Physics, Spanish II, Advanced Photography, Yearbook and Honors
Study Hall. That’s not bad Russ. Why did you think I would laugh?”
“Because Ms. Smarty Pants, you are in ALL AP courses while the rest of us just try to
squeeze by.” Erin joined us at the table rolling her eyes and handing me her schedule
before I had a chance to take it by force, “And while you run off to Dartmouth, the rest of
us will be going to community college, still stuck in Belgrade.”
Her class list almost exactly matched Russell’s and I smiled while I handed it back to her.
“I have a dream. Dartmouth is where my parents were supposed to go and then I
happened. They never got their dream so I want to live it for them.”
Erin and Russell both gazed at me with sympathy in their eyes. I didn’t really want their
sympathy because there was no way they could possibly understand, but it was the way
most people looked at me when I spoke of my parents, the real ones or the made up ones.
“Don’t look at me like that.” I insisted, standing and grabbing my backpack so that I
could escape their sympathetic eyes, “I don’t need the sympathy I just need to get in to
Dartmouth.”
“With a class schedule like that one it’ll be hard not to.” Russell made a joke but the
laughter didn’t make it to his eyes.
I sighed and quickly hugged them both.
“I’ll see you guys at lunch. I’m just gonna go for a walk while we still have some time
before 2nd period.”
I headed for the football field, the one place most students didn’t dare to go unless there
was a game being held. It was too far from the main campus and they were all scared to
miss the bell to go to class. Me being me, I could still hear the bell crystal clear from my
perch on the top row of bleachers.
“Hey you.” Jacob sat next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, clearly
sensing my mind was elsewhere.
I had heard him approaching but didn’t even turn to acknowledge him. When his arm was
securely around me, I leaned my head against his shoulder and sighed. He let me stay
silent for a few minutes, laying my hand on his knee before he started tracing the lines of
my palm with his finger.
“What’s on your mind?” He asked finally.
I sighed and lifted my hand to his cheek. I showed him my last memory of my parents,
their backs were to us, standing strong as they faced the Volturi head on. They were in
the distance and growing farther away with every one of Jacob’s enormous wolf bounds.
When my fingers left his cheek he sighed and hugged me tighter against him.
“Almost eleven years. It still seems like yesterday to me. I can still smell all those
bloodsuc… vampires.”
He corrected his grammar when I looked up at him despairingly.
“I just remember the tension in the air and knowing that, no matter what happened, I had
to get you to safety if they weren’t going to listen to reason.” His voice was barely above
a whisper as he ran his fingers through my auburn curls, “To protect you no matter the
cost.”
I didn’t let the tears fall but I sniffled a little bit.
“I haven’t told you yet, but…” I sat up and smiled weakly at Jacob, “I want to go to
Dartmouth next fall. For college. No more repeating high school or running or moving
just to keep hidden. It’s been eleven years and I think that if the Volturi were going to
come after me they would have done it already so I want to follow in my parents
footsteps and apply to Dartmouth and then if I get accepted, I’d like to attend.”
Once the words were blurted out, I waited for Jacob’s reaction.
Jacob contemplated what I said for a minute. He wiped away the one tear that escaped,
gently moving his index finger underneath my eye. In that moment, I desperately wished
that I had my father’s ability to read minds instead of the ability to share my own
thoughts with others. It would have been much more helpful to be able to read Jacob’s
mind in that moment than to wait for him to speak.
“Jake?”
“Am I invited?” He asked hesitantly, “To go with you to Dartmouth?”
My eyes went wide and my mouth fell open. How could he have even just asked me that
question with a serious face?
“Jacob, of course you’re invited! You’re my family! I’m not going anywhere without you
ever!” I twisted the Quileute bracelet he had finally remembered he was supposed to give
me on my eighth birthday. It had only been a year late, “You’re my Jacob.”
“You’re my Nessie.” He sighed, letting his forehead come to a rest against mine, his hand
resting again my cheek, “As long as I’m invited then you can apply to whatever college
you want.”
I had a list of other things I wanted to do. Keep in touch with Marnie, Erin & Russell.
Visit Belgrade during holiday’s, at least while I could continue to pull off the age they
would all believe me to be. And on my real 16th birthday, which would be my first
birthday after graduating college if all went well, I wanted to go back to Forks.
I showed Jacob my list of demands because I was too scared to speak them. He remained
quiet for another couple of minutes.
“That seems reasonable.” He finally said with a sigh, “16 years is plenty of time for us to
have stayed away from home. There’s no reason not to go back.”
I smiled, my feelings a mixture of happiness, melancholy, yearning and satisfaction. It
would take another 5 years but I would get to go home to Forks and although I wouldn’t
push my luck now, I made a mental note to ask Jacob later if we would be able to see
Charlie. Just the hope of it lit up my life.
On the main campus the warning bell for second period rang, signaling the end of our
alone time. Jacob stood and then helped me to my feet as well. We walked slowly down
the bleachers together and at the bottom he squeezed my hand reassuringly.
“I’m so proud of you.” He said quietly, staring at the floor, “For being so strong and
smart and patient. Most of all strong though. You’re the most amazing 11 year old girl I
know.”
I laughed quietly.
“Technically I’m still 10.” I corrected him, punching him playfully in his arm.
“You know what I meant.”
I nodded, no other words needed. One quick press of my fingers to his cheek to tell him
goodbye and then I headed for the campus. I had to half run to make sure I wasn’t late,
sliding into my seat at the exact moment the final bell rang.
“Good morning class.” Our teacher greeted us warmly, “Welcome to AP Psychology.”
My mind tuned out his words and instead focused on my bracelet. It was exactly like the
one Jake had given me my first Christmas, only larger to fit my enlarged wrist. A
Quileute promise ring of sorts but a promise for what? A promise to watch over me
forever? A promise to always be there for me? Or was it a promise for more? I knew
what Jacob would say if I asked.
“Grow up a little more. Then we’ll talk.” The idea of him telling me to grow up made me
laugh. He who still played with his food and read comic books when he thought I wasn’t
looking. He who still made funny faces at me when I was down, just to cheer me up. But
I would wait to ask what promise he had made me on that first Christmas, because I
didn’t remember a verbal promise being made. I would wait until we were back in Forks.
Surely, my 16 year old self would be old enough to talk about it.
“Isabella?” The teacher tapped on my shoulder and motioned for me to sign my name to
the paper in front of me on a clipboard.
“Sorry.” I smiled bashfully and then straightened up in my chair as he moved around the
rest of the room with the clipboard.
Focus Renesmee. I thought to myself. Dartmouth. The better you do in these classes, the
sooner you can go to Dartmouth. And that was all the motivation I really needed.
Chapter Four
Jacob POV
Snow covered the field and fell around us. Despite the cold, Renesmee and I were laying
in the middle of an open field just outside of Belgrade. I wasn’t cold. My temperature ran
high and Nessie’s just a few degrees below mine, so I doubted she was cold either. To
anyone watching us though, we would look insane.
We had gotten comfortable in Belgrade, probably too comfortable I would realize if I
forced myself to think about it. I didn’t hide as much from being seen in human form. I
phased only enough to keep the aging process from beginning again. I didn’t watch
Renesmee as much as I should. She had friends and Marnie and she was happy. We had
already been here three years, and we had been on the run for 11. Nothing had ever
happened to warrant continued paranoia, so, we had gotten comfortable; comfortable
enough to lie out in the open, in the snow, lazily, without worrying about the prying eyes
of others.
“I think I’m going to become a doctor.” Renesmee announced, “That way I can have
access to blood without needing to kill animals. I prefer human blood anyway and no one
has to die for me to drink it.”
“You’re gross.” I cringed at the way she spoke of blood, “We hunt everyday together and
sometimes I forget you’re part bloodsucker. Then you have to remind me.”
She giggled happily, patting her stomach to indicate she was nice and full. I laughed back
at her.
“So I was thinking…” She started her next sentence.
“That’s always dangerous.” I teased her.
“Shut up!” She reached over and smacked me, hard enough for me to feel it but not hard
enough to hurt, “I’m being serious. I was thinking that maybe- and don’t freak out until
you’ve heard the whole plan,-but maybe you could meet Marnie so that I don’t have to
keep your existence a secret anymore.”
Silence fell over us. She was waiting for me to react, either by screaming at her how
stupid that would be or agreeing to her plan. Definitely, too comfortable.
“And we would pull that off how exactly?” I didn’t want to just tell her no. She had
wanted me to hear the whole plan so I would.
“Well,” Renesmee moved to lay next to me, laying on her stomach as she stared at me,
her big brown eyes wide with excitement, “I can explain to her that I lied to her when I
came into town, which I think she secretly knows anyway, but I’ll explain without giving
her details. I can tell her, well, it’s easier if I just show you. Do you mind?”
I guided her hand to my cheek and she smiled, letting the images flow from her fingertips
as they took over my senses. A lifetime of these picture shows and I would probably still
never get over the way the movies came to life in my head.
The images involved her, the way she envisioned the conversation with Marnie. She
would tell her foster mother that she had lied to her the first day they met and that while I,
Jacob, actually did exist, I was not her brother and I had not left her. She would tell
Marnie that I was her protector, and had been since she was a baby. She would tell her
that I was the most important person in her life and that Marnie was the second most
important person in her life and she felt that it was time for the two most important
people in her life to meet, officially. In her head, Marnie took all this in stride and Nessie
envisioned the three of us sitting down to a meal together, happily, as if we were all a
family.
Reluctantly, she removed her hand from my face and waited for me to say something.
“I think that,” I didn’t want to crush her hopes, but it seemed incredibly naïve to think
Marnie would react peacefully to being lied to for three years, “I like being the most
important person in your life.“
Renesmee sighed and groaned at the same time. Her head fell to the ground, hard as a
rock and I cringed, even though I knew it didn’t hurt her.
“Nessie, it’s not that I don’t WANT to try it but I just think she’s not going to buy that
I’ve been taking care of you since you were a baby when I look barely a few years older
than you do and…”
“Well, we can just tell her not to worry about that.” Renesmee shrugged, interrupting the
rest of my concerns. “I think she’ll understand without asking for an explanation Jake.
She’s really cool and I think she can handle this. I mean, I know we can’t tell her the
whole truth but a cleaned up version of the truth should be fine.”
“I don’t know Nessie.” I sighed in frustration.
She moved to lay her head on my chest and I groaned. She knew that if she kept physical
contact with me I would have a harder time saying no. She shouldn’t have known that but
somehow she did. I couldn’t resist running my fingers through her curls. Her eyes closed
and she leaned into my hand.
“Please Jake. I’m so tired of hiding you. I want my friends to know you and Marnie to
know you and I want you to be able to go to my graduation and,” She took a deep breath
and then looked up into my eyes, “And I want you to be my prom date.”
It was my eyes that went wide now. I opened my mouth to speak then closed it again,
unsure of what to say. The cocky version of me would have had some smooth comeback
about how she wanted me and how I would think about it, but the cocky version of me
had long ago died. This girl had me wrapped around her little finger. I was putty in her
magical hands and while sometimes I thought she was still oblivious to my feelings for
her, some days, like now when she was staring at me with such reckless abandon, I felt
like maybe she was starting to understand and possibly reciprocate those feelings. My
stomach, which usually never failed me, suddenly got a bad case of butterflies, a
thousand tiny wings fluttering at the same time.
“Prom?” I raised an eyebrow at her and she grinned bashfully, her blush heightening just
like Bella’s used to.
“I know, I know.” she sighed, “It’s stupid and ridiculous. Just some crazy tradition for
stupid teenagers to carry out as if no one in the world has anything better to do then get
dressed up and dance the night away. But, I’m half way through senior year and everyone
else is starting to talk about these things and Russell and Erin were talking about it and
they want me to go but I always feel like a third wheel with them, and I thought about
saying yes to one of the boys who have asked me, but honestly? Do you see me ever
actually going out with one of those kids?”
I didn’t WANT to ever see her going out with one of those kids but the thought actually
made me chuckle. The way she called them kids as if she wasn’t actually 7 years younger
than most of them.
“So I just thought…” Her rambling continued and she shrugged, wrinkling her nose in
frustration, “It’s stupid right? I don’t have to go to prom. Never mind.”
Renesmee went to stand up then but I quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her back
down, forcing her to stay laying next to me. She placed her chin on her balled up fists and
stared at me. I couldn’t decipher the look in her eyes. It wasn’t something I had ever seen
before. It was a mixture of expectations, disappointment and nervousness all rolled into
one.
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t go with you.” I said slowly, calculating my words very carefully,
“But you know, me going to prom with you would just bring up a whole other round of
speculations.”
“I don’t care what anyone speculates.” Renesmee shrugged off the worries of the world,
“In half a year, you and I will be leaving for Dartmouth and when we do, the only
opinions in the world I will still care about are yours and Marnie’s which is why I really
want to introduce you to her and just make her understand. I want her to see that you are
the one constant in my whole life. The one person I couldn’t live without.”
I wasn’t used to these sorts of proclamations, especially not from Renesmee. She very
rarely spoke her mind. If I was going to see the inner workings of her mind, I would
usually have to get her to show me. She had never been this vocal about anything, let
alone her feelings for me. “Feelings.“ I laughed inwardly. I needed to be careful what
connotation I applied to that word. Her “feelings” were certainly more that of a younger
sister towards her older brother and nothing more. She was still too young for them to be
anything more. But somehow, I wasn’t sure if I was reassuring myself of that fact for her
sake or mine.
I nodded slowly. I could see in Renesmee’s eyes she wasn’t sure what the nod meant so I
nodded more swiftly, sitting up just as she did.
“I will meet Marnie and hopefully she can wrap her mind around whatever we tell her.” I
paused, taking a deep breath just as the wind passed Nessie’s intoxicating scent beneath
my nose, “If she buys it, I will go to the prom with you.”
She didn’t speak, she just pounced on me, tackling me back to the ground as she hugged
me tight. The full length of her body was pressed against mine, and despite how tiny she
was compared to me, I couldn’t help but notice how perfectly she fit there. Damn imprint.
At least when I was in love with Bella I had KNOWN she was never going to want me
back. This not knowing if, or when, it would be appropriate to let my feelings for
Renesmee through was real torture.
“Okay.” Renesmee pulled away from me and stood up, a smile plastered on her face,
“I’m going to go home and talk to Marnie. I will call you to let you know how she
reacts.”
“No way.” I objected immediately, springing to my feet to stand next to her, “I’m going
with you. What if she freaks?”
“Fine.” Renesmee shrugged, “Let’s go. What are you waiting for?”
Her acquiescence surprised me. She usually put up a much bigger fight when I was
challenging whether she could take care of herself or not. Of course, I knew that at this
point she was more than capable of taking care of herself against ALMOST anything, and
certainly with Marnie, but it still didn’t change that I wanted to be there to oversee the
situation.
“Alright, come on.”
Renesmee led the way to her shiny black BMW and slid into the driver’s seat, me as the
passenger. This car always amazed me and I had teased Nessie about it for a while.
Poking fun at her that she was the only girl who could find a “foster” parent who would
buy her a BMW for her “16th” birthday.
“So what’s the plan?” Renesmee asked as we sped into town.
“Don’t ask me. This is your idea.” I countered, crossing my arms over my chest, “You’re
the girl with the big plans.”
“Jake!” She squealed, “You can’t just leave me to figure it out on my own! Help me.”
Her lips fell into a slight pout and she turned to me with silently pleading eyes. I knew I
wasn’t going to be able to resist her before she had even looked at me but I also knew I
had no idea what to do in this situation. I had never formally met any of her foster
families and even the idea of it now sort of scared me, not that I would ever admit that to
her.
“The way I see it, we can approach it one of two ways.” I took a deep breath, “One, I
walk into the house with you and then we together explain as much of the truth as we can
to Marnie or you go in, explain it while I listen from your bedroom and we see if she’s
even open to meeting me at all.”
I watched Renesmee mull over both ideas in her head. If I had dared to ask her to give me
one of her hands while she was driving I would have made her show me what her
thoughts were. I tended to be impatient when it came to knowing what Renesmee was
thinking.
“Both ideas have merit.” Renesmee finally said, “On one hand I’d like to have you by my
side while I explain to Marnie that I’ve been lying for three years but on the other hand, it
might overwhelm her for a 6’7 male to walk into the house with her 18 year old foster
daughter to make an announcement.”
I completely agreed. Neither plan was perfect but we were going to have to pick one, and
fast, because we were just a few minutes from her house now. I wanted to let Renesmee
make the choice though I had a favorite idea in my head. It was her foster mother and her
life we were potentially affecting here. Even though whatever affected Renesmee
affected me too, it wasn’t my decision to tell Marnie about me. It had to be up to her on
how to handle it.
“Let’s do it together.” Renesmee finally said as we rounded the corner onto her street,
“Just come in with me and we’ll face Marnie together okay? We can get through
anything together, and with you by my side, I have twice as much courage.”
The car came to a halt in the driveway and Renesmee turned to me, taking a deep breath.
When she was looking at me, her eyes searching my face, I didn’t know what she was
trying to find, but she must’ve found it because she smiled and placed her hand on my
cheek. No images flashed through my mind this time and I realized she was simply
touching me as an affectionate gesture.
“Come on.” She said quietly, almost reluctantly, as she opened the car door, “We can do
this.”
We walked together to the front door of the house, Renesmee reaching out to hold my
hand tightly. She used her free hand to grab the handle of the door and turn the knob
slowly until it clicked and the door swung open. The foyer inside was brightly lit from
the skylight above as we stepped inside. I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was
holding; I had never seen the downstairs of this house, only Renesmee’s bedroom, and it
suddenly dawned on me that the BMW was not the only nice thing Marnie owned.
Everything I saw was beautiful and clearly expensive, from the beautiful artwork on the
walls to the intricately woven rugs on the hardwood floors. It was like stepping back into
the Cullen’s house in Forks. I was wholly aware of the fact that I didn’t belong in these
surroundings.
“Marnie!” Renesmee called out, looking around to see where her foster mother would
appear from, “Where are you?”
“Studio!” Marnie called back from somewhere in the house.
Renesmee sighed and released her grip on my hand.
“Stay here. I can’t take you in her studio so I’ll go get her and be right back.”
She was just moving to walk away from me and into a different part of the house when
Marnie’s voice carried again through the house.
“I’ll be right there. Don’t come back here.”
Renesmee stopped in her tracks and then took a few steps back, placing her hand back in
mine again. She looked up at me and smiled nervously which prompted me to do the only
thing I could think of to calm her nerves. I pulled her into my arms, hugging her tight,
and kissing the top of her head lightly.
“It’ll be fine.” I told her, although I had no way of knowing that for sure. This was
territory we’d never covered before. The only thing I could compare the feeling to was
that of a boyfriend meeting his girlfriend’s parents for the first time, only Renesmee
wasn’t my girlfriend, Marnie wasn’t her real mother, and I had never actually had a
girlfriend, so maybe this wasn’t the same at all.
At the other end of the hallway in front of us, Marnie suddenly appeared; looking much
like the first day we had seen her. Her hair was mussed, paint covered all her clothing
that was oversized and well worn. She was a sloppy mess in contrast to the surroundings
of her immaculate home.
“Hey Marnie.” Renesmee waved weakly, a slight waver in her voice as she squeezed my
hand again, “Um, I brought someone for you to meet.”
“I see that.” Marnie laughed nervously as she approached us, wiping her hands all across
her sweatshirt, apparently trying to clean off all the paint, “I wish you would have called
me. I would have cleaned up a bit.”
“Your home is beautiful.” I assured her and then realized she was probably talking about
her personal appearance more than she was the house and I felt a little stupid, “You’re a
painter?”
“I do a lot of different types of art.” Marnie replied, looking me over, clearly sizing me
up as she came to stand in front of Renesmee and I, extending her hand to me, “Marnie
Lucas.”
“Jacob.” I didn’t add my last name because I was honestly not sure what my ID stated at
that moment.
As soon as I had stated my name Marnie’s eyes went wide, her hand dropped to her side,
and she was quickly looking back and forth between Renesmee and I. The question was
written in her eyes but she didn’t speak it. The only Jacob she knew existed was Nessie’s
brother who had abandoned his sister three years earlier. I could tell that she was hoping I
was not one in the same, she didn’t believe I could be the same person. Renesmee and I
look nothing alike.
“Can we all go sit in the living room?” Renesmee asked hesitantly, motioning towards a
room to our right, “We can get comfortable and then I’ll explain everything Marnie.”
Marnie was still letting her eyes dart back and forth between Nessie and I but she nodded
her agreement to go sit down and the three of us headed together into the next room. My
hand was still interlocked with Nessie’s and I had no intentions of letting go, so we sat
together on one couch facing Marnie sitting on the other. It was exactly the type of scene
I would have envisioned for the boyfriend meets parents scene in a movie. We were only
missing her father wielding a firearm, standing menacingly to the side of the room
somewhere. I resisted the urge to smile as I envisioned Edward in that role.
There was an uncomfortable silence settling into the room as we all just sat and stared at
each other. I was waiting for Renesmee to start her explanation but she seemed to be
stuck, her mouth opening to speak then closing without a word escaping. If it wouldn’t
have looked weird to Marnie, I would have taken Nessie’s hand and let her show me
what she was thinking so I could communicate for her, but that would have been harder
to explain so I waited.
“Can I just ask one question while we’re all just sitting here formulating thoughts?”
Marnie finally broke the silence and her eyes zeroed in on the hands still locked together
between Renesmee and I, “You’re not her brother are you?”
“No.” I said with absolute honesty, “I am not her brother, but I am the guy she told you
was her brother, if that makes sense.”
Marnie nodded.
“Yeah, it makes sense but I’m not really understanding. I’m assuming there is some sort
of explanation to be had here? Isabella?”
Renesmee cringed visibly when Marnie used her full alias. I knew from the way it was
said that Marnie very rarely used the full moniker. It indicated that Renesmee was
already in trouble with her foster mother.
“It’s okay, but you have to start explaining.” I whispered as I hugged Nessie to my side,
Marnie’s watchful eyes on us the whole time, “Right now her imagination is going wild
and if you don’t tell her what she needs to know she’s just gonna get more upset.”
Renesmee gulped and nodded, straightening again to face Marnie. She removed her hand
from mine and instead folded her own two hands in her lap and took a deep breath.
“There’s no way to really sugar coat this Marnie.” Renesmee finally began to talk; “I’ve
been lying to you since the moment I met you, obviously, since here sits Jacob, clearly
not my brother. Just please let me try to get the whole explanation out before you ask
questions okay?”
I admired Marnie’s patience. She folded her own hands in her lap and sat back against the
couch, nodding her agreement that she would listen first and ask questions second.
Renesmee took another deep breath and then began again.
“The whole story about my parents disappearing and my brother and I coming to
Belgrade to look for them; that was a lie. My parents didn’t disappear, they were
murdered. My whole family was and so was Jake’s. My mom, she knew that they weren’t
going to make it so she entrusted me to Jake and we’ve been running ever since. Running
because the same people who killed my family could still be out there, looking to kill me
too.”
Marnie had sat forward again, her eye’s boring into the two of us. There were tears
brimming but she had promised not to say a word until the explanation was complete, so
Renesmee continued.
“Jacob is my best friend. He’s more family than he is just a friend so it was fairly easy for
me to lie and say he was my brother but the point is, he’s not. He’s been taking care of
me for as long as I can remember and part of taking care of me is making sure that I have
a nice family to stay with in whatever town we choose to settle down in; because my life,
from the day I was born, has been in danger. He never left town when I moved in with
you. This is how it works wherever we go. We find a family, lie a little bit, I move in
with them and he watches over me from a distance until it’s time for us to move on. No
one other than me ever knows he exists. Until now anyway.” Renesmee paused, “I’ve
decided that, you, as the second most important person in my life, deserve to know about
him. The thing is Marnie, you’re the closest thing to a real mom I’ve had since my
parents died and you’re also the only family I’ve lived with for more than a year at a
time. You’re wonderful and you do such a great job taking care of me and so does Jake
and so I want you to know each other. There are going to be things we can’t explain.
We’ll try but some things, we just can’t. We’ve been on the run a long time and we’ve
never encountered the danger directly so we don’t feel like there’s any imminent threat
really anymore but at the same time, we don’t want to do anything to put you in danger
should things become serious again so, if we can’t answer a question, you’ll understand
right?”
There was still silence from Marnie. Maybe she wasn’t going to take this all in stride like
Renesmee hoped. The tears still threatened to spill over. She was wringing her hands
together, her leg bouncing nervously as she bowed her head and let it hang in the air.
Renesmee looked up at me, fear evident in her eyes, but all I could do was shrug. I had no
idea what to say to make anything better.
“Marnie, say something please?” Renesmee pleaded.
“I don’t know what to say Belle.” Marnie didn’t look up but she held up one finger in the
air, “Just give me a minute.”
The silence engulfed us all for literally a minute, then Marnie looked up, her emotions
seeming to be under control a little better.
“I knew you lied to me about your parents. I’m not stupid and what 15-year-old girl
doesn’t want to go to the police to find her family when she’s lost? But I also knew that
whatever was going on, you needed somewhere to stay. It was evident from that first
second I met you that you needed me so I pretended to buy every word of your story and
that was fine for me for the past three years. I didn’t need to question it.”
I had the distinct feeling there was a “but” coming up.
“But what HAVEN’T you lied to me about Belle? Jacob isn’t your brother. Your parents
didn’t run away. Your life is in danger. My life could be in danger. How is this guy, who
looks barely older than you do, the person who has been taking care of you for so many
years? How long have you been on the run? Who is after you and if you know who is
after you, and it’s the same person who killed your families, why not go to the police?
How many times have you moved? Why less than a year with each one? Why me? Why
Belgrade?”
That was a lot of questions to answer. I suddenly found myself wishing I could read
minds like Edward had been able to. It would have made answering these questions a lot
easier, especially because Renesmee and I would have to make sure we were on exactly
the same page so that we didn’t say too much.
“My Grandpa Charlie used to say things were always on a need to know basis with my
family. If he didn’t need to know we didn’t need to tell him.” Renesmee laughed but I
cringed as Marnie’s eyes went wider.
“You knew your grandparents too? Where are they? Why aren’t you with them? Were
they murdered too and what kind of sick bastard would murder an entire family like that?
What reason could there possibly be for that kind of massacre?”
“I think the point she was trying to make was that some of the answers to your questions
are more than you need to know.” I stepped in, finally speaking up. “Like she said earlier,
there are going to be things we cannot explain to you for your own good, but we’ll try
okay? Just let us take it one question at a time.”
Marnie was still looking at me like she was trying to figure me out. The look in her eyes
left me no closer to knowing how she felt about me. It was a mixture of confusion, anger,
pain and curiosity.
“Why me? Why Belgrade?” Marnie repeated, looking back to Renesmee.
“Um, we chose Belgrade because it’s in a fairly rural area with plenty of woods, forest,
and animals… those things are kind of important when we are choosing a place to live for
any period of time.”
“Why?” Marnie frowned.
“I can’t tell you that.” Renesmee sighed, seemingly defeated already.
“Okay.” Marnie took a deep breath as if she was trying not to be irritated that we were
already withholding information from her, “So why me?”
“We had no plan of choosing you actually.” I spoke this time, “We were walking into
town, and probably would have left because it was apparent that we weren’t going to be
accepted easily here, but then you walked out of that grocery store, dropped everything
you had just bought and Nes…”
I trailed off when I realized I had almost used Renesmee’s real name. My nervousness
with the entire situation was apparently going to be a hindrance.
“You’re name isn’t really Isabella is it?” Marnie turned to look at Renesmee again.
Renesmee looked up at me then back at Marnie, shaking her head dejectedly.
“Isabella was my mom’s name.” She said quietly, “Obviously, since we’re running and
trying not to be found, we couldn’t use my real name so, it changes from town to town. I
don’t like using Isabella because it reminds me too much of my mom but I was out of
options.”
“When we first met, I asked if I could call you Bella and you said…”
“That was my mom’s name.” Renesmee filled in the memory, “Then I corrected quickly
to “That was my mom’s name for me” and you bought it.”
“And you can’t tell me your real name right?” Marnie questioned.
Renesmee looked at me, as if I had all the right answers. I was at just as much of a loss as
she was, but if she was looking to me for guidance, I would try to do the right thing. It
would not be a good idea for Marnie to know her real name so I shook my head no.
“That’s okay.” Marnie sighed, “Jacob, you were saying?”
“Um,” I tried to remember where I was with my story, “Oh, so you dropped everything
and then before I could think she ran over to help you and the perfect opportunity had
presented itself without any plan at all. So I walked away, watching but staying out of
sight because I knew she would figure out a way to get you to take her home. She’s super
smart this one.”
Renesmee blushed but smiled.
“You’re a lot like Bella was.” I told Marnie, watching Renesmee from the corner of my
eye to gauge her reaction, “Super clumsy. I swear she risked her life everyday just
stepping outside of her house. She was beautiful but she didn’t think so, one of those
people who considered themselves absolutely ordinary in every way and yet she was
absolutely not ordinary in any way.”
I saw Renesmee wipe away a tear and instinctively I pulled her to my side. Marnie smiled
at the interaction and wiped away a tear of her own.
“So really, I chose you instead of you choosing me.” Marnie laughed quietly.
“Basically.” Renesmee agreed.
“So… your mother and your father were killed. Who else?” Marnie asked cautiously,
“Your family too Jacob?”
“Well, yeah, sort of.” I tried not to think about it too much because it made me as
emotional as Renesmee and I didn’t like her seeing me like that, “Bella and Edward,
Edward’s parents, his four brothers and sisters… my brothers and sister, there were a lot
of them. They were all special, in ways that we can never explain and it was a massacre,
or at least we assume it was. Bella ordered us away before the fight really began. Last
thing we saw was all of them facing off with those who were there to fight back.”
“So it was like a battle?” Marnie frowned, clearly not understanding, “That makes no
sense. Why? When? Where?”
“It was over me.” Renesmee said quietly, “Just like they were all special, I’m special too
but I am… one of very few of my type. At the time we thought I was one of a kind, and
those who were there to kill my family, they thought I was one of a kind and the fact that
I was an unknown in their world scared them. Their first reaction was to kill what they
didn’t understand and of course, our families were not going to allow that. So they fought
to keep me alive and lost their lives in the process.”
“Your type?” Marnie was frowning even deeper now, “I don’t understand. Please just
explain a little bit better. I swear to you, your secret is safe with me, whatever it is but
I’m in the dark here. Every explanation just brings up twenty more questions.”
“You’ll be in danger if I tell you.” Renesmee sounded very sorry that she just couldn’t be
honest with Marnie, “I want to tell you Marnie. I trust you but I can’t put you in danger
too. If something did happen to you, like it happened to my family before, I could never
forgive myself.”
Marnie growled exasperatedly, throwing her hands up in the air. She looked toward the
ceiling for a minute, carefully composing herself before turning back to us.
“If you left before the “battle” started, how do you know they died?”
There was no way that I could explain the loss of the voices in my head proving that there
was no family left. If I told her I could hear my pack’s thoughts, that would bring about
another round of unwanted questioning that I couldn’t answer.
“If they weren’t dead, they would have found me by now.” Renesmee said simply, “My
parents adored me, especially my mother. The pregnancy alone almost killed my mother
and so it was a miracle that we both survived it. When a miracle happens, you don’t let it
go very easily. If she was alive, she would be looking for me, and as long as we’ve been
running, she would have found me. I have no doubt.”
“But you conceal your identity specifically so that people can’t find you right?”
The line of questioning lead my thoughts in another direction. She did have a point.
Neither of us had ever actively gone looking to see if our families were really dead but
then again, Nessie was right. Bella would have never let 11 years pass without finding
her daughter. If nothing else, I was positive that my pack, Edward, and Bella were dead.
Maybe the other Cullens could be alive, but not Edward and Bella.
“It’s more than just identity. Like we said, they’re special.” I finally answered Marnie,
“That’s all we can say.”
Marnie didn’t look convinced but she accepted my answer with a curt nod.
“So this Grandpa Charlie you mentioned, he was the grandfather who died? What about
your mother’s parents?”
“My Grandpa Charlie is my mother’s dad and as far as I know, he’s still alive. He lives in
Washington and I never met my Grandma Renee but last I heard she was living in Florida
with her husband Phil. I’m honestly not even sure she knows I exist.”
“None of this makes sense Belle.” Marnie groaned loudly again, “I want to be
understanding but it doesn’t make sense. How long have you been running? Jacob, how
old are you? How are you her protector when you can’t be but a few years older than
her?”
“Age is one thing that isn’t going to add up here.” Renesmee said simply, “Time and age
work a little differently for Jacob and I then you might comprehend.”
“Try me.” Marnie stared deeply into Renesmee’s eyes and then mine, “Be totally honest
about this ONE thing.”
“I’m 11.” Renesmee said completely seriously, “We’ve been running my whole life. I
was about 3 months old when we left but I aged at a very rapid speed until I was about 7,
and then the aging stopped and I have looked like this ever since.”
Marnie’s eyes narrowed and she looked back and forth from Renesmee to me again. She
shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, shrugging.
“Fine, if you don’t want to be honest with me than I can’t force you.”
“That’s the truth!” Renesmee explained, “The whole truth! I’m not lying!”
“People age Belle. No one just stops aging, especially at 7 years old and you look and act
18 so how could you possibly be 11? It’s not possible and I’m not that stupid. I don’t
blame you for thinking I am because I’ve bought the rest of it from day one, but come
on!”
“She’s telling the truth. And it’s probably more information than you should have but I
don’t blame her for wanting to give you the complete truth on at least one thing.” I sighed
and looked over at Renesmee, her eyes brimming with tears again, “She aged very
rapidly for the first seven years of her life. Bella was only pregnant for a month, that’s
how fast she was aging even in the womb. It has to do with her genetic makeup or so her
grandfather explained to me once. When she was born we all thought she was one of a
kind. We had never heard of anyone as special as this little girl but after she and I ran
away, we headed to South America where we found that there are others, not a lot, but
others who are the same. And they all, like her, stop aging at about 7, but appear at that
point to look as if they are about 17 or 18. Their minds, likewise, age at the same rate
their body does. By three months old she was running, jumping, talking, and reading.
She’s very advanced. I wasn’t joking that she’s super smart.”
“How is that possible?” Marnie was gawking at the two of us.
These half-truths were starting to frustrate me. We had already told Marnie too much so
what was stopping us from telling her everything at this point. I wasn’t sure Renesmee
would agree with me, but maybe we should just be honest with Marnie. She hadn’t
freaked out so far and she had more than enough to freak out about.
“Let’s just tell her everything.” I whispered to Renesmee as urgently and privately as
possible.
“We can’t Jake. It’s too dangerous.” Renesmee whispered back, casting a quick glance
towards Marnie, “What if…”
“What if what? She already knows too much. She’s already in danger and besides, you
said it yourself, we aren’t running anymore because it doesn’t feel like there’s any
imminent threats anymore.”
“What if she freaks out?” Renesmee was getting choked up, ready to cry again, “I don’t
want to leave. I just wanted you to meet her. I never wanted to put any of us in danger.”
I nodded, wiping away her tears, letting her know that I understood that she never had
any intention of the conversation going to this length. She just didn’t want to hide me
anymore and if I was honest, I was tired of hiding too.
“Can I have a say in this?” Marnie interrupted, peering over at the two of us whispering
hurriedly to each other.
Renesmee and I looked at each other and then over to Marnie. I nodded slowly and
Marnie sighed.
“Tell me everything. I won’t freak out and even if I do, I’m not throwing you out Belle. I
love you too much for that. You’re a part of my family now and in fact, I will be very
upset if you just disappear on me so there will be none of that okay? Just tell me. I want
to know now. No more half truths. Just be honest.”
Silence overwhelmed all of us. I had already resigned myself to sharing the truth with
Marnie. Something about her just inspired complete trust and I was ready to tell her
everything, but ultimately, it would be Renesmee’s choice. It was her decision if she
wanted Marnie to know the truth about her. After all, she was the half vampire, not me.
“Nessie.” I nudged Renesmee from her thoughtful trance, “What do you say? You gonna
tell her?”
Renesmee’s lower lip quivered. She didn’t know what to do and for a second I thought
this was too much for her. Maybe I was giving her too much responsibility, one of those
rare moments when I should have actually treated her as the 11 year old she really was.
She turned slowly to look over at Marnie and took a deep breath, steadying herself before
she spoke. Her head dipped slightly as she glanced down at her hand, still clutched in
mine but when she looked up again, there was confidence in her eyes. She had made a
decision.
“The thing is Marnie,” Renesmee smiled slightly as the words flowed from her lips, “My
real name is Renesmee Carlie Cullen. I am the only daughter of Edward and Bella
Cullen. I am half-human, half-vampire and I am best friend’s with a werewolf named
Jacob Black.”
Chapter Five
Renesmee POV
School was officially out for Christmas break. Two whole weeks where I could just be
me, with no pretenses and no lies. It was the first time I had ever actually looked forward
to Christmas break but then again, it was also the first time since I was a baby when I
really felt like I had a family.
“Who is that gorgeous man standing next to your car?” Erin breathed as she wrapped her
arm around me, the parking lot growing more and more crowded around us as the rest of
the students escaped, “Wow.”
Jacob’s long locks blew freely in the wind from where he stood, leaning casually against
the driver’s side door of my car. Despite the snow on the ground, he looked comfortable
in his jean cutoff shorts and black tank top, his arms crossed as he grinned in my
direction.
“That would be Jacob.” I smiled back at him, never loosing eye contact despite the
hyperventilating girl at my side, “I’ll call you later okay Erin?”
“Wait, you have to introduce me.” She squealed, refusing to let go of me as I tried to
walk away, “You told me your friend from North Carolina had moved in with you but
you didn’t say he was that beautiful.”
I rolled my eyes and looked over at her. She was pouting, her puppy dog eyes pleading
with me to introduce her to Jacob and so I gave in, guiding her towards my car alongside
me.
Over the past month, since Jacob and I had revealed all our secrets to Marnie, a plan had
been devised. We would let the word around town spread that my best friend from North
Carolina would be moving in with Marnie and I, gradually introducing Jacob into the
community. The month of planning, talking, and devising had allowed Marnie to come to
terms with the truth. I was half vampire. Jake was a werewolf. Any other human being
would have kicked us both out on our butts. Marnie was handling everything
wonderfully.
At first, she didn‘t believe us, which was to be expected. In fact, I would consider that a
normal reaction to that kind of news, but since she didn’t believe us we had to prove it.
She had screamed ridiculously when I had first touched her face to show her what I
wanted to communicate but that scream didn’t even come close to rivaling the one she
emitted when Jacob came downstairs after phasing into a wolf.
Thankfully the screaming hadn’t lasted long and then she began to relax.
“Hey Jake.” I called out to Jacob as Erin and I made our final approach, “I have someone
for you to meet.”
Erin was shaking nervously next to me, an action I was sure Jacob could see. He shifted
his smile to her smoothly as soon as we were within arm's reach and he reached out to
shake her hand.
“You must be Erin.” Jacob’s deep voice sounded different when it was directed at
someone other than me, “It’s nice to finally meet you. Belle’s told me a lot about you.”
His eyes flickered to me and then back at Erin. It was still weird for him to use my fake
name.
“Really? Cause she hasn’t told me anything about you.” Erin shot me daggers with her
eyes and then turned sweetly back to Jacob, “It’s cool that you moved here though. Now
that we have a school break we can all hang out more, right Izzy?”
“Uh, sure.” I shrugged and when Erin turned to glare at me again Jacob let a short laugh
escape, quickly bottling it away before she looked back at him, “You, Russ, Jake and me.
We can totally hang out.”
“It’ll be like double dating.” Erin giggled happily.
My eyes went wide as I saw Jacob’s eyes do the same. He looked to me and I stared back
at him but neither of us said a word. Awkward silence ensued.
“Speak of the devil.” Erin waved Russell over to the car excitedly, “Russ, this is Izzy’s
friend Jacob. The one who just moved here from North Carolina.”
“Oh hey man, nice to meet you.” Russell and Jacob shook hands quickly and then the
silence fell around us for a minute again.
“We gotta run. Marnie’s making some weird stew type thing for us.” Jacob finally spoke
up, “I think we’re free tomorrow though so you figure out where we’re going on that
double date okay Erin?”
Erin’s eyes lit up and she nodded excitedly while Jacob opened my driver’s side door and
waited for me to get in. I looked up at him as I moved to get inside and he winked at me.
As soon as the door was closed behind me I frowned in confusion. Winking? Dating?
This was all new territory for me.
I turned on the car and rolled down the window so I could hear what Erin, Russell and
Jacob were still talking about.
“… and they’re really good so I’ll find out when they’re playing and we should all take a
road trip there.” Erin laughed happily, “Bye Izzy. I’ll call you tonight.”
“K.” I smiled at her and watched Jacob come around to the passenger side of the car.
When he wasn’t looking Erin gave me two thumbs up, giggled and then turned and ran
off through the parking lot with Russell. Russell shook his head and laughed in my
direction before they were gone.
When Jacob was securely in the car, I pulled out of the parking lot carefully and headed
towards our house. It was still funny to even think “our house” because I wasn’t used to
Jacob actually living with me. Again, new territory.
“Are you excited for Christmas break?” Jake asked as we drove along, the radio playing
quietly in the background.
I glanced over at him and smiled, nodding simply. When I didn’t expand my answer past
the nod, his expression changed to something a bit more thoughtful. I again wished that I
had my father’s ability to read thoughts because I would have killed to know what he was
thinking. Twice he opened his mouth to say something then closed it without a word.
“What?” I questioned him, “You’re staring at me weird. What are you thinking?”
“Nothing.” He lied, his grin spreading widely across his face, “It’s nothing. How was
your day at school?”
I didn’t believe that he was thinking about “nothing” but I didn’t push the subject. Instead
I focused on driving and relaying the details of my completely nondescript school day.
The only thing even remotely exciting about my day had been the end, when I had found
him standing next to my car.
“So what’s with the surprise anyway? You never meet me at school to ride home with
me. What makes today special?” I asked, stealing another quick glance in his direction.
Jacob shrugged and ran his fingers through his hair, which I had to admit was quite
appealing. It had gotten very long for the first time since we’d been on the run and I was
surprised to see him wearing it down, loose and free.
“I thought it might be time to meet your friends. Marnie suggested it actually. She said
that since you are gonna be on Christmas break, you’d want to hang out with your friends
a bit and since I’m living with you now, I would maybe want to hang out with you guys
too.” Jacob looked over at me, a small smile in place, “Worked like a charm. Now we’re
double dating.”
My heart seemed to race every time he said “dating.” It was a ridiculous reaction that I
would have to work on controlling pronto.
“To be double dating we would have to be dating first Jake.” I countered him, “You and I
were not dating last time I checked.”
“I’m going to prom with you as your date.” Jacob neutralized my argument quickly,
“There is the word date in there correct?”
Apparently my heart also liked the sound of “date.”
“Yeah, but…”
“Nope. Simple as that. We’re dating.” He grinned at me and for a second I forgot I was
driving.
I couldn’t tear my gaze from that lopsided smile.
“Eyes on the road Nessie.” He gently used his index finger to point my face back towards
the road in front of me.
With my heart beating the way it was, my chest threatened to restrict my airflow and
hyperventilation was a definite possibility. I had begun to think of Jake in less of a big
brother way and more romantically lately, but I definitely didn’t see him looking at me
the same way. This was the same guy who had been there for me since birth. He was
THERE the day I was born. How could he ever think of me as anything other than a kid?
“So when is this prom anyway? I’ve been so worried about settling in with Marnie and
making sure she really is okay with everything that I forgot to ask.”
“Um, it’s in April I think. I’m not sure the exact date.” As Student Body President I was
automatically on the prom social committee so I knew that I should know the date of the
prom, but the erratic heartbeat was impeding on airflow which meant my brain wasn’t
functioning properly either. I was definitely going to have to work on getting my heart
under control.
“So that gives us a few months then.” Jacob nodded thoughtfully which caused a frown to
etch its way onto my face.
A few months for what, I wondered silently.
We pulled into the driveway of our home just a few seconds later and I turned off the car
with a quick click of the ignition. Neither of us made the first move to get out of the car,
instead we sat in silence, turning to look each other in the eyes but never speaking.
“I hate not knowing what you’re thinking. It makes me wish I had your dad’s ability.”
Jacob said after a few quiet moments.
“I was thinking the same thing.” I replied with a smile, “We better get inside. I can smell
Marnie’s cooking from here and if we don’t go eat it, she’s gonna get impatient.”
“You would think, now that she knows you’re half vampire and you don’t like human
food, she would let you stop eating it.” Jacob mused, “Doesn’t it seem like she’s just
more intent now to find something you’ll like?”
“Unfortunately.” I sighed and then laughed, “Maybe she will eventually just figure out
how to make blood soup. Then I can humor her and eat it with crackers.”
Jacob laughed loudly as we both opened our car doors and stepped outside. I reached for
my backpack but Jacob had already retrieved it, carrying it for me inside.
“I wonder what’s on the menu today.” I sniffed the air and frowned, “I was totally
kidding about blood soup, but it smells very bloody.”
We both stopped at the front door cautiously. Jacob turned to me and we both sniffed at
the same time this time. Without saying a word I knew what scent he was trying to detect
and he knew the same of me; human or animal blood?
My sigh of relief echoed his as we turned the door knob and walked into the house.
Animal. Marnie in the kitchen, butchered steaks and various forms of meat on the
counters confirmed it. If it had been a human blood smell, it would have been an entirely
different scene.
“Hey Marnie. Whatcha cookin?” I smiled at her when she jumped and spun towards
Jacob and I standing in the kitchen doorway, well, me standing in the kitchen doorway.
Jacob was too big to really fit.
“You’re too quiet! Make some noise when you walk!” Marnie clutched her heart and
worked to steady her breathing.
“Sorry.” Jacob and I both apologized at the same time.
“It’s a mythical creature thing.” I shrugged, “We’re terribly agile by nature.”
“Yeah, the exact opposite of me.” Marnie frowned but I knew she wasn’t really upset,
“How was school?”
“It was fine.” I headed into the kitchen, eyeing all the bloody cuts of meat covering the
counters. It took all my restraint not to pick one up and suck on it. That probably would
have grossed Marnie out a bit, “You still didn’t tell me what you’re cooking.”
“It’s stew. I put beef, pork, and veal in there. Normally when you make stew you cook
the meat first while everything else simmers then you add the meat to it and let it
combine but I figured, if I put the meat in the stew raw and simmer it with the rest of the
ingredients, as it cooks the blood will combine with the flavors of the stew and it’ll
probably still be pretty raw so there’s a better chance you’ll like it.” Marnie smiled as if
she had just created a cure for cancer, “Of course, I made a pot of normal stew for Jake
and I.”
“Thank you.” Jake heaved a sigh of relief as he ducked into the kitchen, “I was starting to
get sick at the idea of eating that.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to the idea of Marnie’s stew. It smelled good, but that could be
tainted by the smell of all the raw meat on the counters around me. I had a pretty good
feeling that the normal ingredients were still going to ruin the stew for me but I had to try
it. I would hurt Marnie’s feelings if I didn’t.
“So when’s it gonna be ready?” I asked with as much enthusiasm as I could muster, “I’m
really thirsty, err, hungry and all this bloody meat on the counters is kind of killing me.”
“Come on you.” Jacob picked me up before I had a chance to react, tossing me over his
shoulder so he could carry me like a sack of potatoes, “Out of the kitchen so you don’t
scare Marnie and she’ll let us know when the food is ready.”
I was yelling for him to put me down while Marnie laughed happily, watching us leave
the kitchen. If I was honest with myself, I didn’t really want him to put me down, even
with all the blood rushing to my head, it was nice when Jacob was holding me. I
screamed happily when he tossed me onto the couch with ease. The laughing stopped
when a large crack echoed in the room, both mine and Jacob’s eyes went wide, and then
the couch collapsed. Oops.
“Did you just break my couch?” Marnie called out exasperatedly from the kitchen.
Jacob and I stifled the laughter that was threatening to break loose while I managed a
small “yes” in answer to Marnie’s question.
Her loud exaggerated sigh broke the flood gates and once the giggling started, we
couldn’t stop. Jake fell down on the broken couch next to me and we just laughed heartily
until Marnie was standing over us, as menacing as she could possibly be, which wasn’t
menacing at all really.
“This is the fourth piece of furniture you two have broken in a month!” Marnie
complained, “Seriously, I’m gonna just get rid of everything in this house because
apparently they don’t make werewolf and vampire proof furniture!”
We continued to giggle but I was trying really hard not to snicker. Jake’s face strained
with his effort but the laughter continued.
“Ugh!” Marnie rolled her eyes and walked away, back to the kitchen, which only pulled
another round of breathless rasping from Jake and I.
“We’re gonna have to go get her new furniture for Christmas.” Jacob managed to finally
breath long enough to speak, “I hadn’t gotten her anything anyway.”
“Me either.” I was still grinning but the laughter was dying down, “Let’s go shop now.
I’m sure by the time we get back the food will be ready.”
“If you can call what she’s making you food.” Jacob made a gagging motion with his
finger so I responded with a couch pillow to his face.
The surprised expression on Jacob’s face was enough to start my hysterics all over again,
until suddenly a pillow was smashed in my face. It very quickly turned into an all out
pillow fight as Jake and I ran around the house, screaming, and trying unsuccessfully not
to break anything else while we tossed and slammed each other with pillows.
“What else are you breaking?” Marnie yelled when another loud smash echoed from
where Jake had just thrown a pillow at me, missed, causing the pillow to fly over my
head and crash against a bookshelf which had buckled under the missile strength of
Jake’s attack.
“Um… a bookcase!” I called back, shaking my head at Jake, smiling while I chastised
him silently.
“That’s it! I’m taking all your presents back to the store and buying myself furniture
instead. You two are ridiculous!” Marnie growled, never leaving the kitchen. I assumed
she was scared about how everything would look if she ventured into the rest of the
house.
“No!” I bounded past Jake and into the kitchen, smiling widely, “We’ll clean it all up and
get you werewolf and vampire proof furniture. We promise.”
Marnie raised her eyebrows at me and shrugged, a slight smile playing across her face.
“You better.”
“How long until the food is ready?” I sniffed the air and had to admit the stew was
smelling better and better every second.
“Probably another hour.”
“Okay, we’ll be back.” I hugged Marnie quickly and then ran back out of the kitchen with
speed that was sure to have left Marnie still slightly shocked, “Jake!”
He surprised me by jumping out from behind a wall when I entered the room and I
screamed loudly, reflexively reaching out and punching him in the stomach. He groaned,
clutching his abdomen but laughing.
“You didn’t have to punch me. God, why do your punches have to actually hurt?”
“Cause I’m awesome, don’t scare me like that!” I ran my sentences into one and frowned,
“Did I really hurt you?”
“I just wasn’t expecting it.” Jacob took a deep breath, “I’m okay though. You’re not
supposed to get scared anyway. You’re supposed to be able to sense when there’s danger
nearby remember?”
I nodded, suddenly remembering all the time we had spent making sure I was always on
my toes when I was younger. I had let my training kind of fall to the wayside now that we
lived here. It always felt so safe that I hadn’t thought about needing to be careful
anymore.
“Well one, you’re not really dangerous, you just surprised me, and two, I just wasn’t
paying attention but I’ll make sure I do from now on okay?”
The mood had turned serious and I had a feeling Jake hadn’t meant for the turn of
atmosphere. He smiled and pulled me over to him, hugging me against his chest.
“I just want to keep you safe.” He whispered loud enough so that only I would have been
able to hear him, “Now, what were you coming to find me for?”
“Shopping.” I looked up at him with a wide grin, “Werewolf and vampire proof furniture.
We’re on a mission.”
“Technically you’re only half-vampire.” Jake pointed out as I grabbed him by the hand
and tugged him towards the front door.
“Whatever.”
It was only an hour later when Jake and I returned home, a fruitful shopping trip behind
us. We had brought home with us as much as we could fit in the car and lied to Marnie,
telling her we would keep looking but that it was all we could find at the time. Truthfully,
we had found new furniture for the entire downstairs of the house but it wouldn’t be
delivered until Christmas Eve, just in time to surprise Marnie. She seemed disappointed
but she tried to hide it so that she could serve dinner instead.
The table was set for the three of us to eat dinner together. Marnie used a ladle to serve
me a bowl of my stew and then a separate ladle to serve herself and Jacob. They were
both staring at me, waiting for me to take a bite before they did.
With a deep breath I slowly dipped my spoon into the bowl and brought the first taste of
the stew to my lips, slurping the juice slowly and then eating the chunk of fairly raw
meat. I analyzed the taste carefully and while it wasn’t as horrendous as Marnie’s food
usually was, it wasn’t horrible either. I could do without having to eat the meat just to get
the blood from it but overall, the effect wasn’t bad.
“It’s almost good Marnie.” I smiled at her when she breathed a sigh of relief, “The soup
part is better than the chunky stuff. It’s like blood hyped up on seasonings.”
“Gross.” Jacob wrinkled his nose in disgust, “Slurp your blood soup without the
description okay?”
Marnie laughed at the two of us and then turned her attention to her own bowl of soup.
We all ate relatively quietly, the only noise surrounding us was the slurping of soup as
Jacob wolfed down three large bowls in the time it took Marnie and I to eat one. As I got
to the bottom of my bowl, I realized the stew really was quite tasty, so it thrilled Marnie
when I served myself seconds.
“I cannot believe she’s eating real food.” Jacob sighed, watching me in disbelief, “Or
almost real food anyway. Technically it’s edible right?”
“Yeah, it’s completely edible. It’s probably not seasoned correctly for normal people to
eat it but it’s edible.” Marnie was still staring at me, “Wow. I’m impressed with myself.”
“It’s just food people. You’ve seen me eat before.” I rolled my eyes at both of them but
they continued to watch me cautiously, as if I was going to suddenly change my mind
about the food and start complaining about how gross it was.
“This is different.” Jacob commented.
“Yeah, you’re not making faces that show how much you hate it.” Marnie added.
“Whatever.” I scoffed, pushing the bowl away even though I wanted to keep eating, “I
can’t eat with you two watching me like that.”
Their eyes turned away and I caught each of them giggling towards their own bowls,
eyeing me carefully while I pulled the bowl back towards me, scooping another mouthful
up. I caught Jake’s massive grin but didn’t call him on it. Technically they were right.
This was the first time I had eaten partially human food and liked it.
The phone rang while we were eating and Marnie stood to grab it on the second ring. The
rule at the dinner table was that she was the only one allowed to pick up the phone, which
seemed very unfair to me, but since I rarely received phone calls anyway, I never really
bothered to argue.
“Hi Erin.” Marnie smiled into the telephone receiver.
Jake and I exchanged a smile as well. Leave it to Erin to call when we had already told
her we were busy for the night.
“Okay, hold on.” Marnie put Erin on hold and rejoined us at the dinner table.
I was standing up to grab the phone when Marnie interrupted.
“She doesn’t want to talk to you.” Marnie said simply, “She’s calling for Jake.”
Jacob laughed loudly, wiping the soup off his face and then standing, ruffling my hair as
he passed.
“Your friends already like me better than you.” He teased and then picked up the phone,
“Hello?”
I refused to listen to his side of the conversation, choosing to pout instead. Not that I
really cared if Erin was calling for me or not but the question was, why was she calling
for Jake? And why did it matter that she was calling for Jake? There was a stir of some
emotion I didn’t recognize building in my stomach, working it’s way through my veins. It
wasn’t anger or fear. I definitely wasn’t happiness. It almost made me sick to my
stomach.
“Hey Marnie, Erin would like to know if Belle and I can go out tonight? There’s this
band playing in Missoula she wants us to go see with her and Russell.”
“Missoula?” Marnie questioned, her eyebrows raised high, “That’s like 3 hours away.”
“We don’t have school tomorrow.” Suddenly the sickness in my stomach was gone, that
weird emotion never truly identified, and I was hoping for Marnie to say yes to this.
Knowing that Erin had called to invite BOTH of us out made me feel a lot better.
“I know but…” Marnie seemed hesitant.
“Marnie, honestly, what’s gonna happen to us?” I whispered so there was no chance Erin
could hear me, “No one is going to win over Jake and I. Half-vampire? Werewolf?
Remember? It’s completely safe.”
Marnie was debating with herself, I could see it through her eyes. On one hand, she knew
that we would be safe because of what we were but on her other hand, she was fighting
the protective motherly instincts that were so strongly embedded into her. Letting your
teenage “daughter” out any night to drive three hours to a strange city with just friends to
see a band was not a normal mom’s idea of a smart choice.
“When would you be home?” Marnie asked, turning to Jacob who was grinning
amusedly.
“Tomorrow.” Jacob answered honestly, still letting Erin hold while we waited, “We’ll get
a hotel room tonight after the concert, that way none of us are too tired to drive back.”
“A hotel room Jacob?” Marnie’s eyes just about fell out of her skull, “Tell Erin you’ll
call her back.”
“Erin,” Jacob was laughing, “I’ll call you back.”
When the phone was safely on the cradle, Jacob returned to the dining room table and the
two of us waited for Marnie to speak.
“Look, I understand that the two of you don’t need me to parent you. Jacob, you’re
definitely old enough to not have to ask permission to go out although I thank you for
putting up the show anyway and Belle… Renesmee.” She still struggled with calling me
by my real name sometimes, “Jake’s been looking after you for your whole life so I trust
that if he says you can go, you can go. So you don’t really need my permission, but it
doesn’t change the fact that everything in me screams that letting two teenagers -which
you both are to the public eye- go to Missoula with no parental supervision for an
overnight trip would be very irresponsible! Especially knowing that you are going with
two REAL teenagers- the human kind- who are probably going to want to do
irresponsible things like, I don’t know, have sex. I don’t want to know if either of you are
having sex with each other or otherwise, please don’t tell me.”
“Marnie!” The words themselves shocked my innocent ears. Even Jacob’s eyebrows rose
in surprise.
“I’m just saying!” Marnie sighed, glancing over at me, “It’s nice of you both to pretend
like you need my permission. Go if you want to.”
It was quiet around the table for a minute before Jacob began to chuckle.
“You worry way too much Marnie.” Jacob stood and rounded the side of the table,
uncharacteristically offering Marnie a hug before he headed for the phone, “And don’t
worry, we’re not having sex. With each other or otherwise.”
I could feel my blush heighten as I let my head fall down onto my arms in front of me.
Embarrassment was not an emotion I was particularly fond of.
“What’s Erin’s number?” Jacob called out to me as he held the phone in his hand.
I recited the number without picking my head up from the table and listened to him tell
Erin that we could go. He told her we’d pick her and Russell up in an hour and to make
sure their parents knew they weren’t coming home tonight. I wondered if their parents
were going to allow that but when he hung up a few seconds later, I assumed there was
no problem.
“You better go get ready.” Jacob said, touching his hand to my elbow as he passed, “You
done eating?”
I looked up at him, the mortification had to have still been etched on my face. He grinned
and winked, too fast for Marnie to have noticed. Just like it had earlier, my heart sped to
twice the normal rate. I pressed my hand to my chest as if I was willing it to stay in one
piece and not let my thumping heart escape. Such a weird feeling to be so dazed and
affected by Jacob’s simple words or actions. It had never been like this before.
“You sure it’s okay Marnie?” I turned to her, double checking just to be nice.
She sighed and nodded, waving me away from the table.
“Go on. Go get ready.”
It didn’t take long to pack my overnight bag and slip into something that would be
appropriately sexy and yet casual for a concert in Missoula. I ended up sticking with
jeans, a deep blue collared button up with black vest over it. Casual, comfortable and if I
admitted it to myself, completely hot.
“Okay, I’m ready.” I joined Jacob and Marnie downstairs only a few minutes after I had
run upstairs, my bag slung over my shoulder, “When do we leave?”
Both of them were silent staring at me as if they had seen a ghost.
“What?” I looked myself over quickly, “Is there something wrong? I thought I put clothes
on but are they illusions?”
“No. No.” Jacob was the first to talk, taking a step towards me, his goofy smile taking
over his features, “You look great. Let’s get out of here.”
The drive to Erin’s house was short enough that the silence didn’t unnerve me. I was still
feeling a little shocked from my erratic heartbeat so words probably wouldn’t have been
the best idea anyway.
“Erin!” As was customary with my human best friend, I went inside the house without
knocking or waiting for someone to let me in. Jacob followed, but hesitantly, as if he was
afraid that his presence might not be welcome.
“Isabella!” Erin’s mom appeared at the top of the staircase and smiled widely at Jacob
and I in the foyer, “And this must be Jacob, you’re friend from North Carolina.”
“Yep.” I smiled back at her and turned to look at Jacob, who was still standing
awkwardly next to me, “Jake this is Erin’s mom Olivia, but most people call her Liv. Liv
this is Jake.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Jacob shook her hand politely but Liv wasn’t going to settle for a
handshake. She was what we liked to call “a hugger.”
Her quick embrace caught Jake off guard and his eyes darted to me in panic. I laughed
but did nothing, as Liv was already pulling away and standing back, smiling at us both.
“So, Missoula for the night? Erin says a band is playing. She told me the name, but it’s
not like I remember these things right?”
Liv was infectious. I loved being around her because she was so enthusiastic about life.
She was one of those perfect soccer moms you see on TV, who always have snack ready
when their kids come home from school and they attend every single school play or
recital or whatever school activity their child is participating in, always unconditionally
supportive no matter what.
“Yeah. I don’t know what band it is either but she invited us so we’re going. It should be
fun. We haven’t done anything like this before.”
“Well usually, we wouldn’t be so crazy as to send three,” Liv eyed Jacob for a second
before finishing her sentence, “or four teenagers to another city three hours away by
themselves for an overnight trip.”
“I’m 19.” Jacob lied to her as he could sense she wanted to know how old he was. He
looked like he was probably 24 or 25 but for cover purposes, we had lowered his age so
he was just old enough to not be in high school anymore but not so old that it was weird
for him to be friends with people who were in high school.
“Still a teenager then.” Liv winked at him, “So, you’ll all behave yourselves right? It took
a lot of effort on my end to convince Bradley that the four of you weren’t up to no good
on this trip.”
Bradley was Erin’s dad. He must have heard his name because he came out from his
downstairs office then, his wire rimmed glasses still resolutely in place over his eyes,
despite the fact that I knew he only needed them for reading.
“Izzy.” He hugged me with a smile and eyed Jacob warily, “You’re gonna take care of
Erin tonight right? Make sure she doesn’t get in trouble?”
“Of course.” I replied quickly, “That’s my job, everyday it gets harder but I’m always up
for the challenge.”
“I heard that!” Erin called from upstairs, “I’ll just take like two more minutes okay?”
“Take your time!” Jacob called back to her, “We’re not in a hurry.”
“Oh, Bradley this is Jacob. Jacob, this is Erin’s dad Bradley.” I introduced the two who
had not yet met and they shook hands. Bradley was still sizing Jacob up, obviously trying
to get a feel for this gigantic man sized “teenager” in his living room. It was always funny
to see the way adults reacted to Jacob. Every reaction was different.
“Just moved here from North Carolina right?” Bradley asked Jacob, “What part?”
“Charlotte.” Jacob told the fabricated story easily, “Parents said I could either go to
college or they’d give me the money they had saved for my college fund and I could
spend it however I wanted and well, I’m 19 so you can guess which path sounded better
to me.”
Jacob laughed lightly.
“I deferred my acceptance to Dartmouth for a year, invested a little bit of the money and
made a pretty good return on it so now I’m set pretty much for life and decided I would
move out here with my best friend until she was ready for college and then we could go
together. Now we just have to wait to see if she got into Dartmouth.”
“Did you apply Early Decision?” Bradley directed this question to me, “You should find
out soon if you did right?”
I nodded happily.
“Yeah, they said they start mailing out the notifications in mid-December so we should
receive it any day now.”
Honestly, I had been thinking about it every single day, just waiting for the letter to show
up in the mail. Dartmouth was my dream school. The only college I had ever truly
wanted to attend. If I didn’t get in, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.
The doorbell rang before we could continue the conversation and Liv headed off to
answer it.
“It’s just Russell!” Erin yelled from upstairs as she appeared at the top of the steps,
“Okay, I’m finally ready.”
Where I had packed just one small overnight bag, Erin was carrying a bag that looked
like it held enough stuff for a weeklong vacation. It was enormous enough that she
looked like she might topple down the stairs just trying to carry it.
Jacob bounded up the stairs two at a time to grab the bag so Erin wasn’t in mortal danger
just trying to come downstairs. She grinned at him thankfully and they had joined us back
in the foyer just as Russell and Liv were joining us as well.
“Now the gang’s all here.” Liv laughed happily, “Better get going before it gets too dark.
I don’t like the idea of you guys driving at night. People are more dangerous at night.”
I resisted the urge to tell Liv that people in general were the same amount of dangerous at
night as they were during the day, just that night provided cover for the danger. She
might change her mind about letting us go if I told her that.
“Hey Russ, what’s up?” I hugged Russell to start the newest round of greetings then
immediately followed those greetings with goodbyes to Liv and Bradley before we all
headed out to my car and piled in.
Jacob insisted on driving.
“Do you even know how to drive a car?” I questioned him before letting him take the car
out of park, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drive. Seriously, I’m not sure about this.
This car is very special to me.”
“Shut up and put your seatbelt on.” Jacob retorted, looking over at me with a raised
eyebrow, daring me to challenge him, “I’m a better driver than you.”
“Doubt it.” I mumbled, glancing back at Erin and Russell who were laughing quietly in
the back, “Whatever you say Jake. Whatever you say.”
“Here Izzy. Plug this in. We are going to listen to my mix of songs from my mp3 player.
You’ll like it.”
I took the cord Erin asked me to plug in and plugged it into the car. The music came
through the speakers loud and clear, bass, melody and lyrics swirled together perfectly. I
closed my eyes, letting the music take over my senses and before I knew it, we had
arrived in Missoula. I woke up just in time to see the hotel come into view and Jacob
swing the car effortlessly into the nearest parking spot. Erin was practically jumping out
of her seat with excitement.
“Wake up sleeping beauty.” Jacob brushed a few stray curls from my face and smiled,
“Come on. We’re gonna check into the hotel and then head over to the concert.”
I nodded slowly, stretching the sleep from my limbs and then opened the car door and
stepped out. Erin was shivering in the cold but to me, the clear cold night was perfect.
Just a light dusting of snow had fallen on the ground and it crunched quietly as we
walked towards the check-in desk.
“Hi. We have two rooms reserved under Jacob Lonewolf.” Jacob glanced over at me
when he told the concierge his name and I resisted the urge to laugh.
“Everyone here over 18?” The concierge eyed our group warily.
Russell and Erin had moved to sit together on a sofa nearby, Erin on his lap wrapped in
his arms for warmth. I moved to the counter next to Jacob.
“Yep.” Jacob replied easily, “Do you need ID for all of us?”
The concierge eyed us again but shook his head.
“No, just your ID and credit card for incidentals.”
Jacob handed those over and while the concierge moved to check us in, Jake turned to
smile at me.
“You have a good nap?”
I nodded. That feeling of partial sleep hadn’t worn off completely and I was wary to
actually speak. In these times I usually communicated with Jacob by placing my hand to
his face and showing him what I wanted to say. I was halfway there when I realized the
company we were holding and thought better of it. I didn’t want it to look out of the
ordinary.
“Still half asleep.” I mumbled.
He pulled me against his chest and held me there, letting his fingers run up and down my
back lightly. If the concierge hadn’t returned then, I probably could have fallen back
asleep standing right there.
“Okay, here are your room keys. Two for each room. Checkout is by noon tomorrow.
You’re in rooms 210 and 212.” The concierge showed us on a map where the rooms were
located and then sent us on our way.
“Here.” Jacob handed keys to each of us, “You guys go check out the rooms. I’ll get the
luggage.”
“That’s a lot to carry, Jake.” Erin argued, although I knew Jake could have handled the
bags by himself, “Russ will help you.”
Russell agreed and followed Jake to the car while Erin and I headed for the elevators.
“I’m so excited.” Erin giggled as we waited, “I’ve never had a whole night alone with
Russ. I mean, we’ve… you know, but not where we can just fall asleep together
afterwards and cuddle. Neither of us has to get home before curfew…”
I could feel myself blushing.
“Sorry. I’m probably making you nervous.” Erin led the way into the elevator and she
grinned as the doors closed behind us, “I know you’re a virgin. Are you giving it up to
Jake tonight?”
“Erin!” I gasped, shocked at her words.
“Sorry.” Erin held up her hands in retreat, “Don’t yell at me. I was just asking.”
“It’s not like that with Jake and I. We’re friends.”
“Okay.” Erin sighed, “I mean I just met him today but I’ve seen the way he looks at you.
He wants to be more than friends. He adores you.”
“Erin…” Her words started my heart thumping again and I fidgeted with the room key in
my hand. “It’s really not like that.”
“If that’s what you need to tell yourself.” Erin laughed and playfully kicked me in the
butt as the elevator doors opened and she ran out of them, down the hall towards our
rooms.
I chased after her happily, playfulness replacing my nervous feeling. We reached our
rooms and each slid our keys into the door. Mine opened but hers didn’t and we both
frowned.
“Why doesn’t it work?” She looked the key over and then back at the door, trying it
again.
“Let me see.” I let my room door close again took her key from her, trying it again on the
door for room 210. After another rejected attempt, I looked at the key and then sighed,
“Erin, we both have keys for room 212. That’s why yours isn’t working for 210.”
“Oh.” Erin frowned and took her room key back, “Jake must have given me the wrong
key.”
“Nope. Gave you the right one.” Jacob and Russell appeared out of nowhere, all the
luggage in tow, “Girls in 212. Boys in 210. I promised several parental units I would take
care of you guys tonight, and I plan on keeping my promise.”
Erin’s mouth fell open in surprise.
“But Jake…”
“Open the door please.” Jacob ignored Erin and motioned for me to open the door to our
room.
I laughed and obeyed, opening the door so that Jacob could go inside and drop off our
luggage. He set Erin’s luggage on one of the queen sized beds and mine on the other,
keeping his bag slung over his shoulder comfortably.
I watched Jacob glance to the door where Erin was having a quiet but heated discussion
with Russell. I laughed, listening to every word.
“Talk to him. You’re a guy. He’s a guy. He’ll listen to you and let us switch rooms.” Erin
was hissing under her breath.
“Erin, Jake’s just doing what he told our parents he would do and keeping us safe. We
just met him…”
“He wants to sleep with Izzy and you know it. Just appeal to his masculine side. She’ll
put out. I know she will.”
Jacob cleared his throat loudly, clearly having heard every word of the conversation also.
He shook his head in my direction then headed for the door again.
“Meet us downstairs in ten minutes okay?”
I nodded and then with a click, Erin was left inside the room with me, her mouth still
hanging open and Russell was whisked next door to the room with Jake.
“This is so not fair.” Erin pouted, “I’m 18. Russell is 18. You’re 18. Jake’s 19. There is
no reason why we can’t sleep where we want to sleep.”
“Except that Jake is paying for the rooms and therefore it’s his decision.” I fell onto the
bed Jacob had designated as mine, unzipping my bag and looking for my toothbrush,
“Don’t pout Erin. We’re here to have fun. At least we’re here! Let’s just go out to this
concert and have a good time okay?”
“Whatever.” Erin pulled her bag open and grabbed an outfit that was sitting on the top of
the pile. She didn’t say another word as she disappeared into the bathroom, slamming the
door behind her.
I giggled again as I finally located my toothbrush and headed to the sink to brush my
teeth. I had just finished and set the toothbrush on the sink when there was a knock on the
door.
“Yes?” I opened the door and found Jake standing there, grinning.
“Erin in the bathroom?” He asked quietly.
I nodded, glancing back to make sure she was still in there.
“So is Russ. Listen, I’m totally okay with them sharing a room if they want to but I didn’t
want it to seem presumptuous on my part. I mean, you heard what she said when she
thought we couldn’t hear her. She thinks that I want you like, really want you and it’s not
like you, and I haven’t shared a room before besides when we were on the run - but I
didn’t want you to feel like you had to share a room with me tonight and I’m rambling.”
Jacob took a breath and let his lopsided grin take over his features, “You think I’m crazy
don’t you?”
“No.” I let my hand rest on his cheek and replayed the conversation that had taken place
in the elevator.
He let it play and then sighed, placing his hand over mine and bringing it down to rest
over his heart.
“I’m having a really hard time reminding myself that you’re technically only 11 years
old.” Jacob looked directly in my eyes and for the first time I could see the emotion, more
than friends yet less than lovers, smoldering there.
My heart rate tripled and I gulped loudly.
“I’m not 11 Jake.” I said quietly. If he had been anyone else, he wouldn’t have heard the
words, “Emotionally, physically, and in every way that counts, I’m just as old as you.”
“Not quite.” He grinned again, “But definitely close.”
“Izzy, can you?” Erin’s question faltered as she came out of the bathroom and found Jake
and I practically embraced in the doorway. Her eyebrows rose and she smiled, “Sure you
don’t wanna switch rooms Jake?”
“No.” Jake released my hand and took a step backwards, “See you downstairs in a
minute.”
He was gone before I could object and I was left staring at the empty hallway. I sighed
and let the door shut, turning to look at Erin instead.
“Sorry.” She apologized, “Didn’t mean to scare him off.”
“Not your fault.” I smiled at her, “Did you need me for something?”
“Zip me?” She turned and I saw that the zipper for her red mini dress was undone in the
back.
I went to her and zipped the dress up so her outfit was complete. She twirled and I
smiled. She was the picture of perfection. The dress hugged her curves, she was perfectly
tanned despite it being the middle of winter, and her stiletto heels complimented both the
outfit and her fit legs.
“You look fabulous.” I told her honestly, “I feel completely under dressed.”
“You’re not gonna change?” She frowned at what I thought had been a completely
acceptable outfit, “Please tell me you brought one appropriate dress for the evening?”
I grimaced and the answer must have been obvious to her.
“Great and I have no time to make you presentable. Strip. We have to do this quickly.”
I didn’t think about it. It was clear that I was going to have to just follow her direction as
she wasn’t going to give me a choice and given the new developments between Jacob and
I, I almost wanted to be dressed up.
“Luckily I brought options, we’re about the same size and you have amazing hair
otherwise this situation would be impossible. Here. Try this.” She tossed a floral printed
dress my direction and without even trying it, I tossed it back.
“I don’t do floral. Next.”
She groaned and tried again, tossing a black chiffon dress at me. It was sleeveless, short,
and had a deep v-neck. I was pretty sure it was going to look ridiculous on me but it was
better than the floral dress so I slipped it over my head and cleared my throat so Erin
would turn to look.
If her eyes hadn’t been deeply embedded into her face, I was positive they would have
fallen to the floor. Her mouth fell open and she began to nod, slowly at first and then with
more enthusiasm.
“Wow.” Was all she said, zipping up her bag which I assumed meant she liked what I
already had on, “Shoes, do you even know how to wear heels?”
“No, but I learn quick.” I kicked my shoes to the other side of the room excitedly and she
tossed me a pair of silver heels that were quite possibly even higher than hers.
“Put those on and then go to the mirror.”
I slipped the shoes onto my feet, buckling the strap at the ankle and then admiring them
for a minute on my feet. The rhinestones sparkled marvelously and I was brought back to
my younger days, when my mother would give me shiny toys to play with. I had always
liked things that sparkled.
“Mirror Izzy. We have like 2 minutes.” Erin pulled me to the mirror and like I had
promised, I learned to walk in the heels quickly. I only tripped once and then it came
easily to me, “I hate you for having flawless skin.”
“Shut up.” I rolled my eyes.
“No foundation, no blush needed. Close your eyes.” I obeyed and she went to work, “We
will just apply a quick coat of eyeliner and mascara, some light eye shadow and then,
voila!”
She was very quick with the makeup and when I opened my eyes again it was as if
someone other than me was in the mirror.
“Lip gloss.” She handed me a clear tube of lip gloss which I applied and then I was in
absolute shock.
“Wow Erin. You really know how to transform a girl.”
“I have practice.” She grinned, “Come on. We gotta get downstairs. Jake and Russ are
gonna be waiting.”
She grabbed her clutch and stuffed my ID in with hers, realizing that I did not have an
acceptable purse and she hadn’t brought an extra one. For the night, we would just share.
“I still love your locket.” Erin reached up and fingered the locket I wore all the time, “It
goes perfect with everything.”
“That’s good ‘cause I wouldn’t ever take it off.” I clutched it tightly as we entered the
elevator, “It’s the last thing my mother ever gave me.”
Erin squeezed me reassuringly.
“Don’t cry. It will mess up your makeup.”
I was laughing as we exited the elevator where we found Jacob and Russell waiting for
us. The work that Erin had done on me must have been even better than I thought because
the moment we appeared, both of the boys mouths fell open.
“Wow Izzy, you clean up nicely.” Russell commented first.
“She looks great right?” Erin grinned as she went to his side, looking me over again, “I’m
awesome.”
I laughed nervously, eyeing Jacob who still hadn’t said a word. He was still staring and
his mouth was still open which I took as a good sign but hopefully the shock would wear
off soon. If he didn’t snap out of it I was gonna have to try to learn how to drive in
stilettos and I wasn’t sure how well that was gonna go.
“Say something.” I whispered, my lips barely moving. Erin and Russell wouldn’t know
that I had said anything but the words reached Jacob.
His head twitched ever so slightly and that grin that I loved so much stretched across his
face.
“You look amazing.”
Jacob reached his hand out for mine and after that, there was not a single moment during
the night when he wasn’t touching me in some way. He tucked my arm into his to lead
me to the car, held my hand during the drive, led me through the crowded bar with his
hand at the small of my back, and even wrapped his arms around me while we listened to
the band. It was an amazing night and it cemented the feelings I had been trying to push
away for awhile. No longer would it just be Jake and Nessie, protector and friend. Our
relationship was changing.
“Here.” The four of us lingered by the car as the parking lot emptied around us. Jacob
reached into his pocket and handed Erin his hotel room key, “Give me yours.”
Erin squealed happily, reaching into her bag and digging out her key to give to Jacob.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Jacob smiled at her but then looked at me and his smile widened,
“Let’s get out of here.”
He held my hand again on the way back to the hotel but this time I was nervous. Like he
had said earlier, it wasn’t like we hadn’t shared a room before, but it seemed changed
now. This time it wasn’t just sharing a room or even a bed. Even if we didn’t have sex-
which I didn’t think would happen because Jacob was too cautious a person to jump
straight to that when we hadn’t even had a real conversation about what we were
becoming yet - sleeping in the same room was different now. It felt altered.
When we had reached our rooms, Jacob and Erin switched luggage and then Erin
disappeared with Russell, leaving Jacob and I in our own room. I sat down on my bed,
crossing my legs and biting my lower lip, afraid to meet his gaze. I could sense him
fidgeting at the doorway. He hadn’t moved a step closer to me.
“This is weird.” He finally broke the silence, “Feels different right?”
“I was thinking that in the car.” I nodded, still not meeting his gaze, “Changed.
Something between us has changed.”
I heard him take three large steps and then he was in front of me. He kneeled and his face
became level with mine. I could no longer resist looking up into his eyes.
“You are so beautiful.” He exhaled slowly, his finger resting under my chin so I couldn’t
look away again.
I didn’t know how to respond. Thank you didn’t seem like enough. Not saying anything
seemed rude.
“I’m the same as I’ve been for the past four years.” I replied with a teasing smile.
“Four years of torture.” Jacob groaned, “I constantly walk this very thin line of being
your protector, your friend, your brother or slipping to the other side where you were
made just to be mine.”
My eyes widened.
“I’m not trying to scare you.” Jacob caressed my face gently with his rough fingers,
“Have I ever told you about imprinting?”
I frowned. Imprinting? That sounded weird and ominous.
“In Quileute legend, the wolves find their mates through a thing called imprinting,
sometimes. It’s supposed to be rare but it kind of happens a lot that I’ve seen.” Jacob was
sort of stuttering over his words but I just continued to listen, “Anyway, imprinting is…
geez, how did I ever explain this to Bella?”
“My mom knew about this?” My frown deepened, “Jake, you’re killing me. What is it?”
“It’s like love at first sight but more powerful than that.” Jacob blurted out, “It’s the
deepest, most powerful emotion I’ve ever felt in my life. It’s a constant pull to be where
the object of your imprint is, and to be with them, in whatever capacity they want you to
be. It’s why your parents trusted you to me instead of having a vampire run with you.”
Now I was truly confused. Was he trying to tell me…?
“You imprinted on me?”
Jacob reached out and idly played with the bracelet he had given me so long ago. The
Quileute promise ring.
“So the promise is what exactly?” I understood what he was trying to say without him
saying a word, “That you’ll take care of me forever? That you'll love me?”
“Both. Everything.” Jacob smiled weakly, “I am whatever you want me to be. That’s why
it’s been so hard Nessie. You’ve been fluctuating for years with your emotions. You’ve
been able to sense that our relationship is changing and you’ve wanted it, just like I have,
but I’ve been fighting it because of your age. I’m still trying to fight it but every instinct
in my body screams to give you anything you want and right now, you want me.”
I did want him but I hadn’t said anything. How did he know?
“I can’t read your mind like your dad could. I can’t alter emotions the way Jasper could
but I am irrevocably tied to your emotions in a way that allows me to always know what
you’re feeling because on a sensory level, I’m supposed to give that to you. I’m supposed
to give you what you want.”
“So quit fighting it.” I moved forward and wove my arms around Jacob’s neck. It was all
suddenly so clear to me, “Quit fighting it and give me what I want.”
Jacob was very careful not to move his body. Our lips were mere centimeters apart as he
let his hands rest next to me on the bed. His breathing was calm and calculated. He didn’t
blink at all, just stared deep into my eyes.
“I’m not 11 Jake. I am 18 in every way that counts. Please?”
I didn’t have time to think. His lips crashed down onto mine, passion oozing from them
as his tongue flickered forward, asking for admittance to my mouth. I granted him entry
and tangled my hands into his hair, deepening the kiss even more. He was still holding
back, his arms still stubbornly rooted to the bed next to me, rigid with their struggle.
Although this was my first kiss, it seemed to come naturally and I did everything I could
think of to prolong the moment. Nothing I did worked though and eventually Jake pulled
away.
We were both breathless and I watched him lean backwards, sinking to the floor but
never losing eye contact with me. He smiled weakly.
“We’re gonna have to do that again sometime.” He said quietly.
“Now works for me.” I responded, but I didn’t move, somehow sensing that if I had he
would have moved away.
“No, we can’t.” Jacob took another deep breath and let it out slowly, “If I kiss you again
now I won’t stop.”
“I don’t want…”
“Shh.” Jacob was back in front of me in a split second, his finger on my lips to silence
me, “Don’t say it. If you tell me what you want, I don’t think I’ll be able to resist.”
“But.” Jacob’s lips covered mine this time and all thoughts of what I was going to say
were erased. This kiss was soft, sweet, still passionate but in a different way. It ended
way too quickly.
“Grab your pajamas, go in the bathroom and change okay?” Jacob instructed, “Please?
For me?”
I sighed and resigned, nodding to give him his way.
“Thank you.” He placed a quick kiss against my forehead and then stood, turning away
and leaning against the nearest wall. I could hear him trying to even out his breathing and
his heartbeat. If I listened closely enough I could hear that his heart was beating three
times faster than it should have been, just like mine.
I quickly found my pajamas in my bag and headed for the bathroom, one last wistful
glance towards Jacob. He was still leaning against the wall, his back to me.
My mind went into overdrive the second the bathroom door closed behind me. Had that
really just happened? Jacob Black, my best friend, kissed me? He loved me? Imprinting?
I was so confused and yet everything was crystal clear. It was like I had known all along
that Jacob was it for me and now that we had kissed, it all made sense. My world made
sense.
When I emerged from the bathroom Jacob was already in bed, snuggled under the covers
in what was supposed to have been Erin’s bed for the night. He eyed me cautiously and
pointed to the other bed.
“Seriously?” I raised my eyebrow at him, understanding his silent message, “After that
kiss you’re gonna make me sleep in a separate bed?”
“After that kiss, I should be begging Erin to switch rooms with me again. I am never
going to be able to resist you anymore.”
“Kind of the point.” I mumbled, climbing into my bed and turning to face him. I wasn’t
sure where all of this newfound confidence had come from but Jacob smiled at me.
“One kiss and you’re suddenly ready to jump me, huh?”
“I’m not gonna jump you Jake. I’m just saying that we have slept in the same bed before,
and it was completely innocent then and although it might be a little less innocent now
we could still sleep in the same bed and not go crazy. Don’t you think?”
“Maybe you but not me.” Jacob exhaled loudly.
“You have better self control than that. Come on. Let’s just try it.” I pulled back my
comforter and motioned him over to me, “Cuddle with me.”
His eyes narrowed.
“I never should have told you that I instinctively do whatever you want.”
“I admit, that’s a nice card to hold.” I smiled and patted the bed next to me, “Come on
boy. Be a good puppy.”
Jacob’s mouth fell open and I laughed loudly. He threw his covers back and was in my
bed next to me before I could even realize he was only wearing a tattered old pair of
sweats. I curled up against his smooth chest and he wrapped one arm around my waist,
cementing me to his side.
“See, it‘s not so bad is it?”
Jacob sighed, kissing the top of my head and reaching over to turn out the light.
“It’s not bad at all.” He replied, “Now go to sleep.”
“Okay.” I turned to look up at him, “Jake?”
“Yes?” He stared back at me.
“Will you tell me a story?”
He laughed.
“What story do you want to hear?”
“Umm…” It wouldn’t be long before I fell asleep but it was always nice falling asleep to
his voice, “Tell me about my parents.”
“You always want to hear that story.”
“Yep.” Consciousness was already fading. I doubted I would even hear the first line with
the way his breathing was soothing me.
“Once upon a time, in the small town of Forks…”
That night, I dreamt of Jacob kissing me. It was the best dream I had ever had.
Chapter Six
Jacob POV
Someone was watching me. I could sense her and I could smell her and before I even
opened my eyes I knew she was smiling.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my eyes still closed.
“Watching you sleep.” Renesmee responded.
I felt her moving and then her body curled up next to mine as her head came to rest
against my chest and she took a deep breath.
“You smell amazing.” She whispered.
“Like ‘yum, my next meal’ amazing or like ‘wow, you showered today’ amazing?”
Renesmee laughed, the chuckle shaking her body and ringing warmheartedly in my ears.
“Like ‘today is Christmas Day and all I want is to lay here in your arms forever’
amazing.”
My heart skipped a beat and my eyes popped open to find her staring directly at me, a
smile playing on her luscious, cherry red, full, very kissable lips. My mind immediately
wandered back to the night we had spent in the hotel just a week ago and that one mind-
blowing kiss we had shared. I was about to claim a repeat performance when I realized
what I was about to do. It took every ounce of self-control I possessed to very slowly
move away from her and out of bed.
“Where are you going?” Renesmee sat up in the bed, crossing her arms over her chest
and pouting.
I couldn’t make myself speak to answer her. My self control would slip if I opened my
mouth to talk. Instead, I reached out my hand to her, silently asking her to join me.
“Jake?” Renesmee took my hand and followed but she was clearly confused as she
whispered to me, “Where are we going?”
I pulled her with me down the stairs to the colorful Christmas tree in the living room. The
sun hadn’t yet risen and the only light in the room were the twinkling lights from the tree
which made Renesmee seem almost as sparkly as a full vampire. She was staring up at
me inquisitively.
“Sit down.” I whispered, wanting to make sure we didn’t wake Marnie just yet, “You’re
gonna open your first present.”
“Really?” Her eyes lit up and she grinned excitedly, “K, I’ll sit.”
She sat down on the floor near the tree and waited patiently while I dug out the oblong
package I had wrapped just a few days before. It was buried beneath the avalanche of
presents which Marnie had added to the pile overnight.
“Here you go.” I sat down across from Renesmee and handed her the package, “When
you open it, you can’t scream though cause you’ll wake up Marnie. Quiet okay?”
A mischievous grin spread across her features and she nodded, her fingers poised to rip
the colorful wrapping paper away.
“Okay. Go for it.”
Faster than the words were even out of my mouth Nessie had torn the paper away and
was left with a large white envelope in her hands. The envelope was addressed to her and
had clearly been mailed to her recently, showing the wear and tear of traveling the United
States in the care of the U.S. Postal Service. In the upper left hand corner, printed in
green, were the logo and name for Dartmouth College.
Renesmee’s mouth fell open. She didn’t speak but her eyes rose from the envelope to
connect with my eyes and I could see the unshed tears sparkling. Her hand rose to my
face and I saw her silent question. Was this her acceptance to Dartmouth?
“Open it.” I said quietly, “I didn’t open it but I imagine they don’t send big, thick white
envelopes to those who didn’t get in.”
Her smile began to grow and, as if the envelope would crumble in her hands, she very
carefully and slowly eased the seal open and pulled out the enclosed paperwork.
“Dear Isabella,
Congratulations! It is with great pleasure that I inform you of your admission to
Dartmouth College. You were selected from an accomplished and academically talented
group of applicants who applied under the Early Decision Plan. You and your classmates
are truly outstanding in your achievements, your diversity of interests, and your potential.
The faculty and staff join me in welcoming you to Dartmouth. This is a particularly
exciting time at the College; the opportunity for personal involvement in all facets of
your education here is significant. The College continues to be distinguished by the
commitment of its faculty to combine excellence in teaching with exceptional scholarship
and research. New major initiatives undertaken in the last few years, including a
reaffirmation of the commitment to a diverse student body, an expansion of the financial
aid program, and a major revitalization of student residential life, will each enhance
Dartmouth’s national leadership in liberal arts education.
I hope this early acceptance to Dartmouth will enable you to pursue the rest of your
secondary school experience without the additional demands of the college admissions
process. It is our expectation that you will remain fully engaged in your studies and other
pursuits for the remainder of your secondary school career. As you know, under the early
decision agreement you are required to withdraw applications at all other colleges and
refrain from initiating any new ones. Please confirm your decision to enroll by submitting
the form that is enclosed with your paper notification.
Again, congratulations on your acceptance. Please let me know if we can be of any help
to you between now and next September. You can expect to receive information
pertaining to the first year from the First-Year Office in February and then again in May.
We look forward to welcoming you in the fall and working with you during the exciting
four years ahead.
Sincerely,
Maria Laskaris
Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid”
“You’re in.” I whispered, too quiet for Marnie to have ever heard. Even my own eyes
were watering up now, “Nessie, you did it.”
Her tears were falling evenly now and she was clearly at a loss for words. Her hands
shook and her lips quivered. She looked up at me and smiled.
“I’m going to Dartmouth.”
“You’re going to Dartmouth.” I repeated, smiling back at her, “Congratulations.”
She didn’t raise her hand or speak the words but just staring into her tear filled eyes, I
knew exactly what she was thinking. Her thoughts were with Edward and Bella and the
life they should have had at Dartmouth, the life she should have had with them. Her
dreams were coming true and yet, they were incomplete. She did not have her parents to
rejoice with her.
“Nessie, they’d be so proud of you.” I moved to sit behind her, pulling her against my
chest which allowed her to rest her head on my shoulder, “Your parents loved you so
much and they would be so proud that you’ve worked so hard at this dream. You’ve
worked to accomplish their dream.”
Her hand rose and came to rest on my cheek, showing me a vivid memory of happier
times. Times she had spent with Edward and Bella, before the death and destruction came
looming around us all. Times when they had read to her and taken her hunting and the
times when they had just held her, instilling their love for her deep into her memory
banks.
“I miss them Jake.” She whispered, letting her hand fall to her side, “I want them to be
here. To know that I got into Dartmouth on an Early Decision application. To tell me how
proud they are. I’m tired of remembering them and knowing how much they loved me
but not being able to experience it first hand. All I have are memories and I feel like that
just isn’t doing it justice anymore. Their love for each other and for me is going to get
lost.”
“Aww Nessie…” I held her tight and kissed the top of her head, “As long as you have
memories Ness, it will never get lost. You’ll always remember them and so will I.
They’re gone but they’ll never be forgotten and they are with you now. They always are.”
She sniffled, burying her head further into my shoulder.
“You’ll never leave me right Jake?”
“Never Nessie.” I promised her, “I’m always here for you.”
A throat clearing from nearby interrupted our conversation and both Renesmee and I
turned to see Marnie standing on the staircase, smiling over at us curiously.
“Am I interrupting?” She asked quietly.
“No.” I lied, straightening up and moving from behind Renesmee to stand up, “I um, I
just gave her the Dartmouth package and we were right. It was an acceptance. She’s in.”
“Eek!” Marnie squealed loudly and launched herself into Renesmee’s arms, “Honey, I’m
so proud of you!”
“Thanks.” Renesmee hugged Marnie back with appropriate force, “It’s mostly thanks to
you that I got in. I mean, if I hadn’t been able to stay with you for this long, if we
couldn’t be honest with you and be ourselves here, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to go.
I’d have to be starting over again so, thank you for loving me and for loving Jake and
being awesome.”
“Well I couldn’t love you both so much if you weren’t awesome yourselves so, thank you
for being great kids or well,” Marnie laughed, “For being great other worldly creatures.”
All three of us laughed, Renesmee wiping away the last of her tears. I could see she was
forcing herself to block out the sad thoughts of her parents and focus on the day ahead of
us instead.
“So now that you’re up, let’s open the rest of the presents huh?” Renesmee headed for the
tree and grabbed a box, “Jake, this one’s for you.”
It took a good twenty minutes just for Nessie to sort through all the presents, creating
three stacks, one for each of us to open. When all the stacks were organized we each
began the process of opening each package.
“Um, this is a beautiful picture of a chair but…” Marnie held up the box which contained
a picture of a reclining arm chair, “Thank you I guess?”
Renesmee laughed loudly.
“The picture isn’t your present Marnie. The chair is silly. Look on the back of the
picture.”
Marnie pulled the picture from the box and turned it over.
“Marnie,
We promised you vampire and werewolf proof furniture and well, this was as close as we
could get. We promise not to wrestle in the house anymore so we don’t break anything
else. Around noon on Christmas Day, your brand new furniture will be arriving. Merry
Christmas.
Love, Nessie aka Belle & Jake.”
“Do you like it?” Renesmee asked quietly, waiting for a reaction from Marnie, “It was
supposed to be delivered yesterday but the delivery men were running late so they agreed
to deliver it today instead. So we found a picture of the chair from the living room set and
wrapped that for you.”
“I love it.” Marnie grinned widely, “Thank you so much you two. I can’t wait to see it for
real.”
After at least twenty more minutes of opening presents, mostly clothes and practical
items we could actually use from Marnie, we were finally all down to our last present.
The small box sitting in front of me was carefully wrapped with a bow and a tag that said
it was from both Nessie and Marnie. I was intrigued.
“Open it.” Renesmee was grinning from ear to ear as she and Marnie both watched me
intently.
To torture them both I slowly undid the bow and removed it from around the square box,
then delicately undid the wrapping paper, sliding the white box from inside and smiling
at them both as they groaned.
“Sometime this decade Jake.” Renesmee complained.
I removed the lid from the box and inside was a key, clearly decorated with silver wings
and the name Aston Martin stamped across them. My mouth fell open.
“Is this real?”
Both Marnie and Renesmee nodded excitedly. Renesmee was grinning from ear to ear.
“It was really hard to hide it from you but we did it. It’s in the driveway now.”
Together, Renesmee and I ran to the front door and out to the driveway. The sun was just
rising and its rays glinted off the silver paint of the new car. MY new car. It was going to
take awhile to admit that the beautiful, sleek, sophisticated car in front of me was actually
mine.
“You guys seriously bought me a V12 Vantage? It’s really mine?”
“It’s really yours.” Marnie joined us in the driveway and put one arm around each of us,
“Well, of course you’ll probably have to drive Renesmee around everywhere because she
loves this car too.”
“I really do.” Renesmee laughed and smiled over at me,
“I will drive you anywhere.” I promised her, “All the way to Dartmouth.”
“What am I gonna do when you two go off to New Hampshire? I’m so used to having
you around now!” Marnie sighed and laid her head on top of Renesmee’s head.
“Don’t start that now.” Renesmee whined, “Then you’re gonna make me cry again and I
hate crying.”
“Let’s take the car for a drive.” I interrupted them before either of them could begin to
cry, knowing that was the logical next step to their conversation and wanting to avoid it,
“Nessie?”
“I’m in. Where are we going?” Renesmee jogged to the passenger side and smiled,
waiting for me to unlock the doors.
“Don’t know yet. Marnie?” I waited to see if Marnie wanted to go but she waved us off.
“You two go. I’m gonna get breakfast started.” The grin she flashed us didn’t reach her
eyes and I could tell it was beginning, the sadness of knowing that Renesmee and I were
going to leave and there was nothing she could do now to stop us.
“We’ll be back shortly.” I called out to her, unlocking the doors so that Renesmee could
slide into the car.
“Take your time.” Marnie raised her hand in a wave, like she was already saying goodbye
for the last time, “See you when you get back.”
Marnie had been really good for Renesmee and I. She treated us very well and so it upset
me to see her so sad, especially because the two of us leaving for Dartmouth was nothing
in the realm of goodbyes. I wasn’t about to remind her that she was aging while we were
not and eventually, we would never be able to come back to this place and she would die
while we lived on. No, I wouldn’t remind her of that because that made me sad. I didn’t
want to imagine what it would make Marnie feel.
“I love this car.” Renesmee interrupted my thoughts as we pulled off of the street we
lived on and out onto the open road, “Doesn’t it feel like we could just get in this car and
drive forever? Like we never have to stop, just keep driving until there’s nothing we
haven’t seen.”
“Yeah.” I could tell that my response should have been a little more enthusiastic but my
mind was still preoccupied. The lack of enthusiasm didn’t go unnoticed.
“What’s wrong?” Renesmee questioned me, turning in her seat to look at me.
“Nothing.” I quickly denied, not wanting her to worry about Marnie like I now was, “It’s
nothing Nessie. I just can’t believe you guys got me this car, that’s all. I’m amazed.”
I could see in her eyes that she didn’t believe me, but she didn’t press the matter either
and turned her eyes back to the road.
“It’s an amazing car and I knew you would love it.” Renesmee replied but her enthusiasm
was no longer as potent either.
“Hey, don’t do that.” I let one of my hands slide off the steering wheel and found her
hand, resting on the edge of her seat. I clutched her hand inside mine, “Seriously, I was
just thinking about Marnie and feeling bad about leaving her here alone. That’s all. Don’t
let it get to you.”
“We could take her to Dartmouth with us.” Renesmee suggested, a little of the light in her
eyes returning, “I know most kids would hate having a parental figure around for college
but I wouldn’t mind having her there.”
“We could do that.” I agreed, unsure if I should really unleash the force of my worries
onto her, “But what about after Dartmouth? When she’s four years older and we’re still
the same? What about when we go back to Forks? Do we take her with us there too and if
we did, can we really expect her to just keep moving her life over and over like we’ll
have to do for the rest of our lives because Nessie, this doesn’t change anything. You’re
not going to get any older and if I have my way, I won’t either and so we won’t be able to
stay in one place for very long ever. It’s Dartmouth this time but then we enroll you in
high school again and maybe next time it’s Harvard.”
“Wow.” Renesmee interrupted my rant, “Where did all your pessimism come from?
Weren’t you just rejoicing with me an hour ago about getting into Dartmouth and now
it’s just what I’m doing for the next four years? Now it’s just the next step? I don’t get it
Jake.”
I knew exactly where the pessimism was coming from but I wasn’t going to tell her. This
was exactly what I didn’t want to do today. I didn’t want to burden her with my worries. I
didn’t want to tell her that I had seen the sadness in Marnies’ eyes and it reminded me
just exactly why we shouldn’t be getting attached to people. People would always come
and go from our lives. Attachments made leaving them much harder.
“I’m sorry.” I squeezed her hand, still nestled inside mine, “I didn’t mean to be so
pessimistic. I’m just worried, that’s all. Worried about how Marnie will handle us
leaving.”
She was quiet after that and I knew the wheels had begun to turn in her head. I had set in
motion a train of thought that might be quite dangerous. She was now either going to try
to figure out how to keep Marnie happy, which seemed impossible to me, or figure out
how to break Marnie’s heart with the least amount of pain, which would inevitably fail
and just bring her more pain.
When I pulled the car back into the driveway in front of the house, it no longer seemed
like a happy Christmas Day. Both Renesmee and I were lost in thought, all traces of the
carefree spirits we had woken up with gone. The Aston Martin paled in comparison with
the worries for our future.
“We’ll have to make a clean break.” Renesmee whispered before I could open the car
door to exit, “When we leave for Dartmouth, she’ll need to understand that we’re not
coming back.”
“We could probably squeeze in a few years of visits Nessie. We don’t have to break off
contact when we leave.”
Renesmee shook her head, the tears already glistening in her eyes.
“The longer we prolong our presence in her life, the more pain it’s going to cause her
when we stop coming around.”
“Ness, it’s going to be painful for her no matter what. Don’t you want to give her as
much happiness as we can for as long as we can? She deserves that much. She’s been
great to us.”
Her head shook violently back and forth. She swung the car open, exited, and slammed it
shut before I could stop her. I had only enough time to grab her before she sprinted into
the house and pull her back to me, cementing her body against my chest.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” Renesmee whispered, her eyes moving to look
up at me from under her long lashes.
“I don’t either.” I whispered back, not releasing her, “But we have to go inside now and
be happy today, for Marnie’s sake. And then we have to be happy for the next several
months so that by the time we leave for New Hampshire, we will have a plan and no
matter what we do, at least Marnie will have had good memories of us. Okay?”
“I don’t know if I can just go in there and be happy Jake. Now that I realize we have to
leave her?” The tears begun to glisten again and suddenly I knew exactly what I needed
to do.
I needed to make her forget about her worries. Distract her with happier thoughts.
Without a word or warning, I dipped my head and brought my lips down on hers. There
was no force needed as she instantly reacted, bringing her arms up around my neck,
pulling herself closer to me. My worries instantly vanished, her soft body pressed against
mine. Her full lips moving in time with me, deepening the kiss and filling it with passion.
I could feel this plan working all too well.
I had to force myself to pull away first, coming up for air and setting her back down on
the pavement. I had no idea how she had ended up off the pavement, her legs wrapped
around my torso, in the first place. Apparently kisses like that erased my memory and my
self control all at once.
“Okay, I think I can be happy now.” Renesmee nodded slowly, a blush rising in her
cheeks, “That was, um, wow.”
“Yeah.” I managed to let one word slip but my mind couldn’t form coherent thought past
that. The way she felt was still at the forefront of my thoughts and it took all my control
not to pull her back to me and repeat the process.
Her grin was widening.
“Come on you. Let’s go inside.”
She grabbed my hand and led me inside the house, the smell of eggs and bacon
immediately hitting us as we opened the door. I took several deep breaths to try to clear
my head, focus on food rather than the incredibly tasty girl walking in front of me.
“Marnie, we’re back!” Renesmee called out, “What are you cooking?”
“Nothing for you.” Marnie met us in the hallway outside the kitchen with a glass of what
appeared to be blood, “Here. Don’t ask me where or how I got that but I thought you
would like it. Everyone deserves to have their favorite meal on Christmas just please
drink it somewhere where I can’t see you, okay?”
Renesmee dropped my hand to hold the glass with two hands, raising it to her nose and
taking in the scent.
“Seriously? How did you manage to get me an entire glass of human blood?” Renesmee
was absolutely thrilled.
“I told you not to ask.” Marnie laughed and waved her away, “You disgust me. Get out of
here. Jake, you and I get to eat eggs, bacon, pancakes and/or waffles and an assortment of
fresh fruit, muffins, toast. Sound good?”
“Sounds perfect.” I moved past her into the kitchen so that I could take in the scent of the
food even deeper, as Renesmee had with the blood. I refused to even try to guess where
Marnie had gotten that blood from so I pushed the thought away and focused on the
spread in front of me, “This looks amazing Marnie. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She grinned at me and then flipped the pancakes as she continued to
cook, “I just want you guys to have a great Christmas. It’s the first for the three of us
together and I wanted to make sure it was perfect.”
I smiled back at her. She really was a great person. She cared about both Renesmee and I,
probably more than we deserved. She was the mother that neither Renesmee or I had ever
really had, since mine had also died when I was young. My heart ached again thinking
about having to leave her for good in the not so distant future. I immediately pushed that
to the back of my mind and abandoned my train of thought. She wanted a perfect
Christmas so I would concentrate on making sure she got that, first and foremost.
And it was a perfect Christmas. After breakfast we all went our separate ways to shower
and dress for the day. We were just deciding how to proceed with the day when the
delivery men showed with all of the furniture we had purchased for Marnie. She cried for
an hour because she loved it so much.
In the afternoon, Erin and Russ’ families all joined us at our house, starting an impromptu
potluck by bringing their dinners to our house so we could all be together. Erin’s family
was more traditional with turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. Russ’s family erred to
the non-traditional side, bringing lasagna, homemade breadsticks and an entire Italian
feast. By the time dinner was over, everyone, except for Renesmee who did her best to
fake eating a little of everything, was stuffed.
It was just getting dark outside as all of us were gathered in the living room laughing,
telling stories and having a good time. Renesmee watched me from across the room,
where she sat perched on the edge of the couch next to Erin who was busy telling a very
animated story about the Christmas her dog had eaten the entire meal her mother had
prepared. My eyes locked with Renesmee’s and she motioned very slightly with her head,
so slightly no one else would have seen it, for me to follow her to the front door.
Everyone was so engrossed in Erin’s tale that they didn’t seem to take notice when
Renesmee and I slipped away.
The first words out of her mouth as soon as we were outside were “thank you.”
“For what?” I responded, smiling down at her as we both watched the sunset in the
distance.
“For being amazing and for distracting me earlier so that I wasn’t focused on the negative
things all day.” She raised one eyebrow, “Yes, I knew you were just trying to distract me
with that kiss but it worked and I am definitely not complaining.”
At that, we both laughed.
“It’s been a great Christmas.” Renesmee wound her fingers through mine and leaned
against my side with a sigh, “And I don’t want to go back to thinking about negative
things or the goodbyes we face in the future, but I did just want to let you know that,
while it will be hard to say goodbye to Marnie and Erin and Russ and to the people that
we meet in the future who we will inevitably have to leave, as long as you and I are
together, it’s gonna be worth it you know? I can live through goodbyes with everyone
else, but I can’t ever lose you Jake. That would be too much to take, on top of everything
else.”
I knew exactly what she meant and I felt the same way. I could lose everything else in the
world as long as I still had her. She was my world.
“You’ll never lose me Nessie.” I promised, “I’m with you always.”
She snuggled closer to my side and I could feel her smiling without even looking at her.
“Merry Christmas Jake.” She whispered, the sun disappearing over the horizon.
“Merry Christmas Nessie.”
Chapter Seven
Renesmee POV
After Christmas, time flew by in a blur. January first, then February followed by March
and before I knew it April was staring me in the face and with it, prom.
I was beginning to think that asking Jacob to prom had been a bad idea. Attending prom
at all was a bad idea. It loomed ominously for some reason as if the world might end in
that one night. I had no real reason to believe that it would, as far as I knew the things
that could end the world were no closer to me than they had been a few months ago and
yet, as the days passed the feeling of dread grew in the pit of my stomach.
“I changed my mind.” I tossed a multi-hued satin gown across the dressing room where it
landed resolutely on the floor, “I’m not going to prom.”
“You are going to prom so stop being ridiculous.” Erin sighed, waiting just outside the
dressing room door, “Put on the next dress so I can see it. We are going to find one today.
I can feel it.”
“Having any luck?” One of the sales girls at the boutique we were currently in
approached Erin who groaned.
“She’s pickier than anyone I’ve ever known to be honest. I doubt anything is going to be
as perfect as she wants it to be.”
“It’s not about the dress.” I called out to them both as I pulled the next gown over my
torso, immediately deciding that it was all wrong for me and slipping it back off, “I just
have a bad feeling about this whole prom thing.”
“Just nerves.” The sales girl said unhelpfully, “Girls come in here all the time with that
feeling. You have a date?”
“Yes.” I narrowed my eyes at my reflection in the mirror, “My best friend in the entire
world and quite possibly the only person I will ever love. I’ve known him forever.”
I could here the sales girl get the look which would have said “naïve, stupid girl” but she
had no idea. Jake and I were meant to be together and prom would be our first official
outing as a sort of couple and not a single dress was right for that kind of date. I mean, we
hadn’t discussed anything but we had been kissing a lot and that had to mean something.
Prom wasn’t just another “friends hanging out” event.
“Isabella, put on a dress and get out here please.” Erin never used my full name. She must
be serious.
I rolled my eyes but grabbed the next dress from it’s hanger and slipped it on. It was
black with large white polka dots, a black corset cinched under my bust and crisscrossing
straps across my back. I hated it immediately but Erin wanted to see something so I
opened the door and stepped forward.
“That’s beautiful.” The sales girl commented first, smiling at me for my reaction.
I glared at her.
“It looks like polka dots threw up on me. The corset is uncomfortable and the straps
impractical. I hate it.” I turned to look at Erin, daring her to object but she just shrugged.
“Next.” She sighed.
I tried on and declined the next 10 dresses handed to me. They came into the dressing
room and exited the dressing room faster than the sales girl could even pull them off the
rack. It was, of course, the very last dress of the very last group of dresses she could offer
me when I finally found something that was promising.
The ruby red halter gown fit every curve of my body. The choker style neckband was
intricately beaded into the back of the gown, creating a band of beads vertically down my
spine and then horizontally across the small of my back, connecting there with the satin
fabric of the dress. Matching beading went across the front of the dress at my waistline
and from there the floor length fabric flowed effortlessly.
When I stepped out from the dressing room, everyone in the boutique stopped breathing.
“Wow Izzy.” Erin finally exhaled and spoke again, “That dress is…”
“Perfect.” The sales girl finished Erin’s sentence.
“I don’t know about perfect but it has potential.” I actually liked it a lot more than I
wanted to let on. I turned to look in the full length mirror again. The deep red of the dress
set off my alabaster skin nicely. My vampire glow seemed to make the dress sparkle even
more, “Can we get rid of the train? I think it’s too much fabric.”
“Yeah of course.”
After a few more minor alteration suggestions the sales girl grinned.
“So this is the one?”
I nodded.
“This is the one.”
“Finally!” Erin sighed loudly, falling into the nearest chair dramatically, “I thought we’d
never find your dress!”
“You and me both.” I rolled my eyes at her and disappeared back into the dressing room,
slipping out of the dress and back into my regular clothes.
When I reappeared I handed the dress to the sales girl and then after several minutes of
finalizing alterations and payment, Erin and I left the store. She was grinning from ear to
ear. Despite the dress being found, I was still unsure of this whole thing.
“Would you at least try to be happy?” Erin groaned, “You found the most beautiful
perfect dress ever. You have the most amazing gorgeous date ever. You are young and
hot and so melodramatic. What is your issue?”
“I don’t know Erin.” I smiled over at her weakly when she hooked her arm through mine
as we walked down the street, “There’s just something off about this whole experience.
Maybe it’s just that it marks the beginning of the end for us you know? First prom, then
the rest of the senior activities followed by graduation and then we all split up and go to
different colleges and life as we know it ends.”
“But college life begins!” Erin exclaimed happily, “You are so pessimistic. We’re gonna
love college and it’s not like we will never see each other. We’ll come home for holidays.
You can come visit me and Russ, we’ll come visit you and Jake. Sweetie, this is not the
end. It’s the beginning.”
I couldn’t explain to her that it wouldn’t be like that. Yes, I was looking forward to
Dartmouth but it had hit me at Christmas that after Dartmouth there would be more of the
same. More moving, more school, more beginnings and more ends but always a never-
ending cycle of sameness. I wasn’t getting any older. Immortal. Always continuing but
never changing.
“Alright, that’s it.” Erin suddenly yanked me to our right and in through the open door of
the ice cream shop without warning, “You are in desperate need of a triple scoop
chocolate caramel ice cream overload because you have got to snap out of this. We still
have shoes and accessories to shop for and I am not hanging out with you if you’re gonna
be down all day. Ice cream cures everything and you will be happy do you understand
me?”
Ice cream certainly wasn’t going to do it but I smiled anyway and nodded.
“See? Happy.” I stated through my fake smile, “No ice cream needed.”
“Ice cream needed.” Erin didn’t look impressed as she turned to the guy behind the
counter, “Two waffle cones both with a triple scoop. One scoop triple chocolate, one
scoop dulce de leche, one scoop peanut butter.”
None of that sounded appetizing but there was no way of getting out of it now. Erin was
not going to take no for an answer and by the way the guy behind the counter was staring
at her, my guess was that our cones were going to be absolutely overflowing with melty,
chocolate caramel peanut buttery ickyness. Sometimes I wished to be normal so I could
enjoy this stuff, but then I looked at the calories on a scoop of this stuff and remembered
how obsessive normal girls got about their bodies and smiled because I did not have to
worry about that. I wasn’t even sure I was able to gain weight if I tried actually. It was
kind of nice.
“Don’t you go to Belgrade High?” Erin decided to flirt as our already melting cones
made their way over the counter.
“Yeah. We have economics together.” He replied with a cheesy grin.
“Oh cool, so you know her boyfriend Russell then too. He’s in that class.” I interrupted,
grabbing my cone from Erin’s hand and licking the ice cream, trying not to make a face
at the coolness of it against my tongue.
The glare Erin shot me was priceless and this time I grinned for real.
“Thanks for the ice cream Erin. I’m gonna wait outside.”
I laughed at my own antics as I stood outside the ice cream shop, leaning against the
window and watching the rest of the town function around me. Despite the bad taste it
left in my mouth, and the weird texture of the melting liquid, the ice cream was actually
making me feel better. The day was suddenly brighter. My outlook on prom and life in
general was just a little bit sunnier. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. After all, an eternity
with Jacob wasn’t so bad. As long as I had him, I could handle it, even if I had to say
goodbye to a million other people. I just had to keep reminding myself of that one
positive point on the horizon.
“You are so not funny.” Erin exclaimed as she joined me on the sidewalk, “Seriously, it
wasn’t like I was going to make out with the guy. You HAD to mention Russell?”
“The guy was ogling you Erin.” I laughed as we headed down the sidewalk again, now
with gigantic ice cream cones in our hands, “His eyes never left your chest and it doesn’t
matter if you were going to make out with him or not. Russell would thank me.”
“I definitely would.” Russell suddenly made an appearance behind us, throwing his arms
over both our shoulders, “What would I thank you for?”
“Shutting down the advances of the guy serving us ice cream. He was staring at Erin’s
boobs like they would be good in an ice cream cone so I kindly reminded him that she
has a boyfriend.”
“Ah yes, I do thank you.” Russell playfully kissed my cheek and then fell back a couple
steps and moved to Erin’s other side, “So, how is shopping going today? Did you finally
find your dress Iz?”
“I did. It just has a few alterations to go through and it will be ready for me to pick up
next Tuesday. Until then we still have to find shoes and accessories and…”
“And something sexy for you to wear under that dress so that when Jake takes you out of
it he’ll be knocked to his knees.” Erin giggled.
My cheeks blushed ridiculously red and Russell began to laugh.
“That’s so wrong Erin.” Russell commented for me, “You shouldn’t embarrass her like
that. You know she’s not ready to have sex with Jacob.”
“Yes she is.” Erin argued, “She just doesn’t know it yet and I know Jake wants it. I’ve
seen the way he looks at her.”
“Stop it.” I commanded, “That is so horrible. We will not discuss my sex life or lack of it.
Seriously.”
I hated when she got like this. Her mind focused on sex and all of a sudden that was what
we were talking about for the rest of the day. The right positions for my first time. What I
should wear. The correct way to put on a condom. Things we could do if we weren’t
really ready for the actual sex but still wanted to be intimate.
It was even worse when Russell was around because then I had to have the constant
reminder that she was doing these things with him. Not that Russell was ugly but he
definitely was not who I wanted to imagine naked.
“Whatever.” Erin surprisingly let the subject go easily, “Speaking of Jake. Where is he
today?”
“He is helping Marnie around the house today. Fixing things. Cleaning the gutters.
Mowing the lawn. Stupid stuff.” I shrugged, “Normal boring things.”
“We should rescue him. Let’s go to the movies tonight. Russ, you in?” Erin turned to her
boyfriend and he nodded easily, “Izzy?”
If the movies would keep me in this better, upbeat, non-pessimistic mood, I was in. I
shrugged and nodded as Russell had, pulling out my cell phone to call Jake.
“Jacob’s castle, what’s your hassle?” Jacob answered easily on the second ring.
I grinned.
“Erin wants us to go to the movies with her and Russ tonight. You in?” I knew he knew
who it was so there was no need to tell him.
“That depends. What are we watching?”
“If Erin has her way, and we all know she will, it will be some stupid sappy romantic
comedy that will make us want to claw our eyes out.”
“Okay.” Jacob laughed, “I’m in. Where are you?”
“We are walking downtown towards Olivia’s Boutique. We found my dress and ordered
the alterations for it then stopped at the ice cream shop. We got ice cream and then
Russell joined us randomly and now we’re walking.”
“You’re eating ice cream?” I could hear Jacob’s lopsided grin.
“Shut up. Erin forced me.” I replied and Erin frowned at me, not understanding.
“Okay, well call me when you know what time the movie is and I’ll meet you there
okay?”
“Okay and Jake?”
“Yes?”
“My dress is red so make sure to coordinate accordingly.”
His resounding laugh echoed loudly so I was sure that Russell and Erin heard it too. They
both giggled a little.
“Yes ma’am.” Jacob said happily, “See you later.”
“See you later.”
The rest of the shopping trip went effortlessly and it was around 8:00PM when we finally
met Jacob at the movies. Erin did get her way and we watched the newest Kate Hudson
mindless romantic comedy. It was fine except for when I could see Erin and Russell
making out from the corner of my eye. It wouldn’t have been so bad except coupled with
my super hearing, which made amplified their noise, and the making out on screen, I was
surrounded.
With a sigh I raised my hand to Jacob’s cheek and silently showed him my disgust. He
laughed quietly and then pulled my hand down, cradling it in his own. His free hand
reached over me and turned my head to look at him before he leaned over and captured
my lips. His fingers caressed the back of my neck as our lips moved effortlessly together.
Alright, I could admit this making out thing wasn’t so bad.
“Go Izzy. Go Izzy.” Erin quietly cheered, ruining the moment.
With a groan I pulled away from Jacob and straightened in my chair, turning to glare at
my human best friend. Leave it to Erin to kill the mood despite the fact that I had quietly
let her shove her tongue down Russell’s throat for the past half hour without a single
interruption.
She giggled and went back to watching the movie. I rolled my eyes and leaned my head
against Jake’s shoulder.
At the end of the movie I was still irritated with Erin for ruining my moment so we said
goodbye quickly and then I followed Jacob to his car. It was pretty silent on the car ride
home as I was lost in my thoughts.
I shouldn’t have been so irritated with Erin for interrupting a kiss. It wasn’t like the kiss
was going to lead to anything else, especially in the movie theater. Of course, even if we
had been at home the kiss wouldn’t have led to anything else. Jacob claimed I had this
power over him to get what I wanted because he had imprinted on me but I was
beginning to think that was a lie. It seemed the longer we continued to kiss, the less I got
what I wanted.
Maybe that was what was bugging me. More than prom. More than shopping. More than
Erin’s stupid interruptions and antics. Maybe I was just being impatient. For a girl with
eternity stretched ahead of her, time seemed to move impossibly fast and yet annoyingly
slow all at the same time. I wanted Jacob and I to take our relationship to the next level
now. He seemed to have other ideas.
“What are you thinking about?” Jacob interrupted my thoughts as we rounded the corner
onto our street.
“Prom.” It wasn’t a complete lie. Prom had very vaguely been part of my thoughts.
“Are you excited?” He asked.
“No.” This time I was 100% honest, “I have this ominous feeling about it. Like
something bad is going to happen.”
Jacob’s eyebrows rose.
“Maybe we shouldn’t go.”
My heart stopped. Did he not want to go with me? Was that why he was suggesting we
forgo the prom? Was there a way to un-imprint? Maybe he was no longer freakishly
connected to me in his wolfy way.
“Stop that.” Jacob reached over and smoothed my wrinkled forehead and answered my
unspoken worries, “It’s not that I don’t want to go with you. I’m just saying, if you feel
like it’s going to be bad maybe we should stick with that feeling. We’ve always trusted
our instincts and I would hate to go against them this time and something go wrong.”
Oh. That made sense. Trusting my instincts. He trusted me to want to trust my instincts. It
wasn’t that he had changed his mind about going with me. Now I felt stupid.
“No, I want to go Jake. High school feels real this time and I want to complete it the right
way. I just… I’m worrying about nothing. Even the sales girl at the dress shop said the
same thing. All girls get nervous before their first prom. These are just natural jitters.”
Jacob didn’t look convinced.
“Okay, if you say so.”
Once inside we almost immediately went to bed. I had school the next day and Jacob had
been busy lately making plans for our upcoming residence at Dartmouth. This was part of
the time moving impossibly fast worry I had. Dartmouth was just four months away. I
wasn’t sure I was ready but I couldn’t voice that worry to anyone else. Everyone else was
just excited that I had gotten in and that I had gotten my dream. Worry about actually
attending now would seem silly.
As usual, the next few weeks raced by. Jake continued plans for our move. I continued to
attend school. My dress was finished and I was able to pick it up and subsequently try it
on multiple times, always by myself, always critiquing it hopelessly, always with the
same uncertainty. Jacob had his tux. Marnie had bought a new camera. We were prepared
for the day but that didn’t change a thing. When the day actually arrived, I didn’t feel
ready. The ominous feeling loomed over me and as minutes ticked by, I became more
and more anxious.
“You look amazing.” Marnie assured me as she placed the final bobby pin in my
carefully sculpted curls.
“Thanks.” I took a deep breath to steady myself. As Marnie took a deep breath I was able
to look at myself in the full length mirror and I sighed. I did look amazing. My curls were
perfectly sculpted with just a few pinned back at the top of my head. My dress clung to
every curve and flowed effortlessly in all the right places. Three inch heels dyed to
perfectly match my dress would make me slightly taller, albeit not even close to Jacob’s
6’7.
Everything was perfect so why was I still so anxious?
“Come on. Jake’s waiting downstairs. You are going to be late.” Marnie stood at my
bedroom door, grinning at me and beckoning me forward, “Hurry up slowpoke.”
I grabbed my clutch from my desk and took the few steps to the door, then the few steps
down the hallway and stopped at the top of the stairs. Never had the staircase seemed so
steep before. The banister seemed long, as if the staircase went on forever. My eyes
trailed the length of it until finally I found what I was looking for. Jacob.
He stood at the bottom of the stairs, exactly as if this scene was drafted from a movie. His
long hair was pulled into a perfect ponytail tied at the base of his neck. His black tux was
perfectly tailored to fit his gigantic frame, the silky black tie tucked expertly into his
buttoned jacket as he held one single red rose in his hand. When our eyes connected,
gliding down the stairs towards him seemed like the most effortless motion I could have
exerted. I was by his side in an instant.
“Wow.” Jacob’s mouth formed an O as he took in my appearance, “You are easily the
most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes on.”
“That’s impossible.” I replied, pretending to straighten his tie so that I could hide my
blush, “You looked in the mirror today right?”
Jacob laughed loudly and placed his finger under my chin so I was looking in his eyes
again.
“Yes, I did look in the mirror and again, YOU are easily the most beautiful creature I
have ever laid eyes on.”
I grinned widely and blushed brighter. There didn’t seem to be words that I could form in
response.
“Pictures.” Marnie insisted, joining us at the base of the stairs, camera in hand as she
shooed us towards her studio in the back of the house “Come on now. You promised I
could have these.”
Marnie was the best at any form of art she tried so it was only natural for us to agree to
allow her to photograph us on prom night. The pictures would be fabulous no doubt but
when we had agreed, we didn’t realize she was going to go to such extreme measures.
The art studio, which took up the entire back half of the downstairs level of the house,
was normally an utter disaster zone. Paints, canvas, papier-mâché, clay, brushes and all
sorts of art supplies strewn in every corner. But, it seemed there was indeed a real room
underneath all the mess because she had cleaned it up for this photo shoot. Lights had
been set up. Numerous sets created. What appeared to be real trees growing from large
clay pots had appeared from nowhere as well as balloons and streamers and glittering
fairy lights. The photo shoot alone was going to take us all night from the looks of it.
“Don’t ogle my sets like that.” Marnie snapped at me before I could comment, “It won’t
take long. Just a few pictures and then you two can go, I promise.”
“Me? Ogle? Never.” I laughed and pulled Jacob to the first set Marnie motioned to,
where we were surrounded with trees, both of us standing there, unsure what to do.
“Pose.” Marnie instructed, “Put your arms around her or something Jake. Look happy.”
Photographer yes but art director, apparently no. Marnie had no constructive instructions
to give us as we blindly posed among her sets. It was easy enough though, once we got
into it, because when Jacob and I really connected, it was like everything else no longer
existed. Our eyes met and it didn’t matter that we were being photographed. If Marnie
could convey that in the image then she was sure to have gotten at least a few good shots.
“Okay.” Marnie grinned widely when she was done, “Now you can go.”
“Really? Are you sure?” I questioned her sarcastically.
“Get out of here smart ass.” She swatted Jacob and I back down the hallway towards the
front door, “Have fun and be safe. Don’t get into too much trouble.”
“We’ll be fine Marnie.” Jacob assured her as he opened the front door for me to step out
into the cool spring night, “Don’t wait up. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
I heard Marnie sigh, as if she really was watching her baby girl go off to prom and she
couldn’t stand the idea of her daughter growing up. The sigh was what did it. Tears
welled up in my eyes and Jacob closed the door behind us.
“We can’t leave her here Jake.” I insisted, turning to him immediately.
“What?” Jacob frowned at me and back towards the house, “It’s prom Nessie. I don’t
think she really wants to go…”
“No.” I interrupted him, wiping at the tears threatening to ruin my makeup, “When we
leave for Dartmouth. We can’t leave her here. I won’t do it.”
Jacob sighed but his was filled with frustration and sadness.
“I don’t want to do it any more than you do Ness but we can’t really take her with us. We
talked about this already.”
“Yeah, at Christmas, but we have a few months still left and I think we should come up
with a better plan. We cannot just leave her here Jacob. She’ll be sad and she’ll miss us
and honestly, I’ll miss her too and I know you will so come on! Help me think of a new
plan!”
Jacob groaned.
“Tonight is not the night for this.” He said calmly, but I could tell this conversation was
upsetting him.
“Prom is just one night.” I reached forward and gently laid my hand against his cheek,
showing him the vision I perceived of Marnie, lost and alone in this house with us gone
away for good, “She will miss us for the rest of her life.”
The ominous feeling I had felt for months now was finally receding and I realized it was
always about Marnie. I didn’t want to leave her here. It felt too final, for us and for her. I
would not just leave her here, alone.
“Okay, okay.” Jacob grabbed my wrist, forcefully but with enough care not to hurt me,
pulling my hand away from his face, “Can we just not talk about this tonight please?
We’re gonna be late.”
“Late doesn’t matter Jake. It’s just prom. I don’t want to leave her.”
Jacob sighed, loudly. My wrist was still secure in his hand and his eyes fell from my face
to our hands. He released my wrist but quickly entwined our fingers, lifting them to his
lips and placing a light kiss on each of my knuckles.
“We’re gonna figure something out Ness. I promise. We won’t leave her.”
His reassurance was enough to ease the panic I felt. He never made a promise he
wouldn’t keep and I trusted him not to start breaking promises now.
“Let’s go to prom.” He said quietly, “And talk about this later?”
I smiled and nodded, allowing him to guide me to his Aston Martin so that we could head
off to the school. The ride itself was very quiet, both of us encompassed in our own
thoughts. I could practically hear the wheels in his head turning and that was hard to do
since my own wheels were working overtime. Luckily, school wasn’t far and so we
didn’t have too much time to think before we had arrived and parked the car so we could
head into the gymnasium.
“Hey Izzy!”
Students I was sure I had never actually met waived to me as Jake and I made our way
inside and I politely waved back. One of the surreal parts of being Student Body
President was that everyone knew me so I always felt like I was being watched.
Not very surprising tonight though was that all eyes were not on me at all but rather the
stunning man at my side, his arm very securely wrapped around my waist as we weaved
through my fellow students.
“Everyone’s staring at you.” I whispered very quietly so no one around us could hear.
“I doubt they even see me. They’re all staring at you.” Jacob whispered back, glancing
down at me with a quick wink and smile.
I rolled my eyes and laughed loudly as we reached the table where Erin and Russell were
already sitting.
“Izzy, you look amazing!” Erin squealed, rushing to my side, “Oh my God, seriously. I’m
speechless. This dress looks even more fantastic now then the day you bought it and look
at your shoes. They‘re perfectly dyed to match. Ugh, and your skin is so perfect.”
“Funny how when she’s speechless she just keeps talking huh?” Russell teased her, “You
do look amazing though Iz. Jake, you better make sure you hold onto her tight tonight.
There’s about 100 guys here hoping to whisk her away from you.”
“I’d like to see them try.” I laughed harder, looking up at Jacob who grinned back at me,
“Dance with me Jake?”
“My pleasure.”
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to hang out with Erin and Russell but the moment we had met
them at the table and Erin was gushing over me, the panic had returned. We’d be leaving
them in a few months too and that, unlike Marnie, I could do nothing about. There was no
way to keep Erin and Russell in my life and that saddened me. It was easier to forget my
panicky state when I was securely wrapped in Jacob’s arms, dancing amidst the other
couples on the floor.
We didn’t talk because there wasn’t much to say. I didn’t want to be lost in my own
thoughts either so I focused on listening to what the kids around us were saying. If I
really concentrated I could hear the words of almost every person in the room,
individually and at the same time which was a very surreal feeling.
Most of the students in the room were gossiping. Who was going to have sex tonight,
who would be prom king and queen, who spiked the punch, if the chaperones would
catch the person who spiked the punch and the normal musings of teenage boys and girls
at prom. I smiled at how carefree they all were.
“What are you smiling about?” Jacob asked, tilting my head up so he could look into my
eyes.
“I’m eavesdropping on everyone in the room. It’s quite interesting.” I replied.
He laughed.
“I was doing the same thing.”
I laughed with him.
We probably would have continued to laugh carelessly but then we both heard it. No one
else in the room would have noticed anything at all. There would be no possible way for
them to hear what we heard. To smell what we were now smelling. To everyone else in
the room the only thing that would have looked out of place is that both Jacob and I had
stopped swaying to the music.
“You heard it too.” My voice was so low that it couldn’t even be described as a whisper,
“You smell it?”
Jacob nodded slowly and scanned the room inconspicuously, as if he were just looking
from someone he knew in the crowd.
“Vampire.” Even with super hearing I barely heard the word he uttered and then we were
in action.
Jacob grabbed my hand and pulled me from the dance floor. We were headed out the
back door before I could even look around to find Erin and Russell. Jacob pulled me into
the nearest unlocked classroom and abruptly sat me down in the nearest chair.
“Stay here.” He commanded. It wasn’t a request. His eyes stared directly into my soul as
he waited for my confirmation that I wouldn’t move.
“No way.” I shook my head no, “I’m not letting you go out there alone and I’m not
leaving Erin and Russell unprotected in the main building with all those other kids. If
there’s a vampire here there’s only two possible reasons. One, they are looking for me or
two, they’re hungry. Neither is good for all the humans in the gym.”
“Stay here Renesmee. I’m serious. I will take care of this but I have to act now and if I’m
distracted thinking you’re gonna try to be a hero I could get hurt. You HAVE to stay
here. Got it?”
“But Jake.”
“Right here in this chair Ness. I’m not kidding.”
He was gone before I could protest any more. The door slammed shut behind his
retreating form and it was only a split second longer before I disobeyed his order. I was
out of my seat and rushing out the door, hoping that Jacob wouldn’t be too mad at me for
not listening.
My mind was racing as I tried to walk normally back to the gym. There were students and
teachers and chaperones milling about the campus and I didn’t want to draw attention,
although that was kind of stupid considering the kind of attention a gigantic wolf was
going to draw. I was positive Jacob had already fazed to his animal form.
Who was the vampire who would so stupidly wander onto a high school campus during
prom? Why were they here? Were they after me or did they just happen to stumble across
the wrong place at the wrong time?
“I know you.” The voice sounded loud to me and although the words could have been
spoken to anyone outside somehow I knew they were directed at me.
Instinctively I turned in the direction they had come from and I saw her. An impossibly
beautiful, incredibly pale tall blonde vampire standing more than 50 yards away. I could
see her and I knew immediately what she was but from this distance, even my enhanced
vision couldn’t make out her details.
“Excuse me?” I dared to whisper back, knowing she would hear me.
“I know you.” She was at my side in an instant, her vampire speed incredible even to me,
“But it can’t really be you can it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I gulped quietly, not afraid but yet extremely
nervous. I hadn’t been around vampires since I was a baby and never without my family
or Jacob by my side.
“But it must be.” She continued to muse, cocking her head to the side to take me in
completely, “You’re not scared of me. You know exactly what I am yet you’re not afraid.
You’re heart beats, blood courses through your veins but you smell different. You‘re not
fully human.”
She sniffed me and I instinctively took a deep breath at the same time.
“It’s impossible.” She took a step back from me and narrowed her eyes, “You’re
supposed to be dead.”
Those words caught my attention. My eyes narrowed and I dared to look directly into her
blood red irises.
“Who are you?” I demanded.
“My name is Bonnie.” Her eyes softened and she moved forward again, coming even
closer to me but this time in a completely inquisitive manner, “You wouldn’t know me.
We’ve never met and yet, I know you. You’re Renesmee Cullen.”
The wind whipped around us and brought the strong scent of Jacob with it. The panic
from earlier set in with a vengeance. This vampire knew me and I needed to know how
but if Jacob saw her standing near me he wouldn’t hesitate for a second.
“Jacob.” I looked around, hoping to see him before he saw her, “Jacob, don’t kill her. If
you can hear me, don’t kill her.”
Bonnie’s blonde hair flew in the wind around us and she hissed, her lips curling around
her teeth as she crouched into a fighting stance. I still couldn’t see Jacob but I had a
feeling even if I could, it would have been too late.
It all happened in an instant. Jacob sprang from nowhere and within a fraction of a
second he and Bonnie had raced off into the wilderness and my chance was gone. I knew
he would catch her and she wouldn’t survive the night and that meant I would never
know how she knew me or why she thought I was supposed to be dead. My answers had
just run off into the darkness.
“Izzy, what are you doing out here?” Erin was standing at the edge of the gymnasium
building, beckoning to me, “Where’s Jake?”
I stared off into the woods where Jacob and the blonde vampire named Bonnie had
disappeared. A wistful sigh escaped my lips but I already knew nothing would make a
difference. All I could do now was make sure Erin didn’t think something was up.
“Sorry Erin.” I headed over to join her and we linked arms to walk back inside together,
“Jake and I came out to get some fresh air and he realized he forgot something at home so
he was gonna run back and get it really quick.”
“Oh.” Erin smiled, “Well come inside weirdo. You don’t know what crazy people are
lurking outside in the darkness.”
She had no idea how right she was. With one last glance towards the woods, I headed
back inside with Erin.
So much for a normal prom.
Chapter Eight
Jacob POV
“You’re kidding me right?” I slammed the front door of the house as Renesmee and I
stormed inside, the suit jacket of my tuxedo immediately thrown across the room as I
turned to face the very argumentative girl standing directly behind me, “I gave you one
task. ONE! Stay in one spot and that was all you had to do and you couldn’t do it and
then when I find you face to face with a vampire I’m supposed to listen to you when you
say not to kill her?”
“Jacob, she knew me. She knew Renesmee Cullen. Not Isabella Jasper but Renesmee
Cullen!” Renesmee yelled back at me, not budging an inch despite me towering over her
in what would usually be a menacing stance for me, “You didn’t even give her a chance
to explain.”
“All the more reason to kill her Renesmee. She knew you! She could have been after you.
She was probably sent to kill you. Have you forgotten when we were running for our
lives? Have you forgotten WHY we were running for our lives for so long?”
“What’s going on?” Marnie stood at the top of the staircase, rubbing her eyes sleepily and
yawning, “Why are you guys arguing?”
We both paused. Renesmee and I had been arguing from almost the second we left prom
to this very moment but we both knew that it was a risk to tell Marnie the real reason. Up
until this point, knowing our secret hadn’t put Marnie in any real danger. Now, she very
well could be and I wasn’t sure how much she should know.
“Well? You woke me up. Now you better explain.” Marnie descended the stairs and
stood near us, waiting for an answer.
Renesmee put her hand to my cheek and made it clear she didn’t want Marnie to know
the truth. It would worry her too much.
“Sorry we woke you up Marnie.” I apologized calmly, “We were just arguing about
normal relationship stuff. Some girl hit on me at prom and it upset Nessie and I didn’t
think she had any reason to be jealous so I made a joke about it and, it was stupid. We
shouldn’t have been so careless as to be yelling when we came home.”
Marnie narrowed her eyes at me.
“Is that the truth or is that what she told you to say with her little vision?” Marnie eyed
Renesmee carefully, watching her hand where it had fallen back to her side, “I
specifically heard something about running for your lives. What’s really going on guys?
Did something happen? Should I be worried?”
Renesmee lifted her hand and Marnie snapped.
“Don’t even think about it young lady. Raise that hand to his face and I will find a way to
cut it off.” She threatened, “Now tell me the truth, one of you, before I really start to
worry.”
Renesmee looked up at me woefully, shaking her head, making it 100% clear that she
wasn’t going to tell Marnie the truth and she didn’t want me to either.
My instincts always said to do what Renesmee wanted. Going against them was
physically and emotionally painful. It was why it was so frustrating to me that she was
arguing with me over going after that vampire tonight. Didn’t she know I wanted to do
what she wanted? I wanted to listen when she asked me not to kill the vampire. The
problem was that I had gotten good at controlling my insatiable desire to give Renesmee
what she wanted. I was good at not giving her what she wanted when it was better for her
if I didn’t. I hated being good at going against her wishes which is why I hated myself
when I turned to Marnie and started talking.
“There was a vampire at prom.”
“There was a what?” Marnie’s mouth fell open, “A real vampire?”
I nodded and risked a glance at Renesmee. I could feel the anger rolling off of her
towards me. If she wasn’t mad enough at me for attacking what she considered to be a
harmless vampire, she was certainly livid now.
“The real human bloodsucking type, yeah.” I confirmed Marnie’s fear and subsequently
caught her when she almost fainted.
I carried Marnie into the living room and placed her gently onto the couch. Renesmee
was pacing, still without a word. I watched them both. Marnie sitting on the couch,
ghostly pale and unmoving while Renesmee was a frenzy of silent movement.
“Somebody other than me say something please?” I pleaded with them both.
“Why was there a vampire at prom?” Marnie asked immediately, gulping back her
inherent fear.
“I think she was there for Nessie. She knew Nessie.”
“You don’t know she was there for me!” Renesmee exploded finally, “She knew who I
was but she didn’t in the least seem interested in killing me! She said I was supposed to
be dead already, as if she was curious how I was alive. You could have given her the
chance to explain!”
“Yes, let’s just let the curious vampire explain herself before she tries to kill you!” I
yelled back, losing a bit of my temper before reigning it back in with a controlled breath,
“I was not going to give her the chance to try to kill you or anyone else at that school for
that matter.”
“We don’t know why she was here. We don’t know what she was after. We don’t know
anything about her Jacob and maybe, just maybe, if you had given her 2 seconds before
you chased her off into the woods we would at least know SOMETHING!” Renesmee
threw her hands up and threw her head back as she screamed, “You are so frustrating
sometimes!”
“Let’s not be too loud okay? We do have neighbors.” Marnie reminded us.
For a second, the way Renesmee glared at Marnie, I wasn’t sure if I was going to need to
protect another human from vampire fangs tonight. Her eyes flashed and then the anger
subsided and she went back to pacing, muttering only a quick “sorry Marnie” before
going back to her previous silence.
“So, okay.” Marnie took a deep breath, some of the color coming back into her cheeks
now, “There was a vampire at prom. She knew Renesmee but you don’t know how or
why. You chased her into the woods and did what with her? Killed her?”
This was the most frustrating question of all that had been asked of me so far. I had
chased that blonde blood sucker halfway to Canada. I had every intention of killing her
but the pain of going against Renesmee’s wishes, and being farther and farther away from
her as I ran, had been too much. I was so good at going against her wishes almost every
single day, never giving her what she really wanted… me. I was so practiced at it but this
time, it hurt more and more as I chased the bloodsucker and eventually it became too
much. I had to turn back and let her get away so I could go back to Renesmee.
“No. I didn’t kill her.” I sighed, “I chased her and eventually just let her go. I never
caught up to her.”
Renesmee stopped pacing.
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” She asked calmly.
“Because it doesn’t matter.” I replied just as calmly, “I mean, it does matter but not in the
way you want it to. I didn’t kill her Ness. You know what that means right?”
Our eyes connected and I could see her thinking. Had this been a few years earlier there
wouldn’t have been a second of hesitation. A vampire anywhere near us and we wouldn’t
have even bothered to come back to this house. We would have been out of town faster
than anyone would have been able to miss us. But things were different now and it was
taking Renesmee time to even remember what the protocol for a situation like this was.
The pain that flashed across her face when she finally realized what I was talking about
almost broke my heart.
“No.” She argued immediately, “No, I won’t do it Jacob. I will NOT leave.”
“Leave?” Marnie began to panic just as quickly as Renesmee began to argue, “No, why
would you leave?”
“There was a vampire at the school. A real vampire and I did not kill it. I let it get away.
She could have a whole army of vampires being rounded up this second to come back
here. We have no idea what she’s going to do next. We can’t take the chance of staying
here.” I explained to both of them, “Be reasonable please and think about this.”
“I’m not leaving Jacob. She was not here for me and I highly doubt that she’s going to
come back to the place where she was almost killed by a werewolf!” Renesmee
countered, “I graduate in less than two months! Then we leave for Dartmouth. I’m not
leaving NOW. That would be stupid.”
“No, staying would be stupid.” I groaned, “Nessie, I don’t like this anymore than you do
but I cannot let you stay here when there is a vampire out there who knows who you are
and where you are. Your parents asked me to protect you and I have to do that. I can’t let
them down.”
Her lip quivered when I mentioned Edward and Bella. Marnie was shaking her head no,
back and forth as if she couldn’t believe what I was saying.
“I’m sorry.” I wanted to cry just looking at the heartbreak in both of their eyes, “I’m
really sorry but this is what has to be done. We have to leave and we have to leave
tonight.”
“Jake please.” Her anger had subsided to tears and Renesmee was now crying, “Please
don’t make me do this. I’m going to Dartmouth in the fall. If we leave now, I can’t go
because I don’t graduate. What about Erin and Russell? What about Marnie? You
promised we wouldn’t leave her Jake. You promised.”
My resolve was crumbling with every tear that fell from her eyes. I hated to do this to
her. I really, really hated to do this to her but I had to do it. I had to protect her. This was
where I was in constant conflict. Give her what she wants or protect her? Give in and risk
her life or fight it and save her?
“We can’t take Marnie with us Nessie.”
I heard Marnie start to sob and Renesmee’s cries grew louder. This was really going to
kill me to have to do this.
“We can’t take Marnie. I’m sorry. I don’t even know where we’re going to go yet or who
we’re going to be. We have no papers for her. She has a life here and if we take her,” I
turned to Marnie and cringed as I continued to speak, “She’s gonna slow us down. We
travel faster without her.”
“But what if Bonnie comes back? What if she does come back like you said? This house
smells like us. She’ll come here. She’ll find Marnie. We can’t leave her here.”
Marnie looked up at me with fear and pain in her eyes.
“Renesmee’s right. You need to move. You don’t have to leave town but you’ll need to
get into a different house. You can’t take anything from this house with you. Start over.”
I watched Marnie’s heart break a little more in front of my eyes, “I’m sorry Marnie. I
have to protect her.”
“I understand.” Marnie said through her sobs, “Go. I understand.”
“No.” Renesmee objected, “No, Marnie. Come with us. You can. We’ll go in the Aston,
Jake. She’s not a liability if we’re traveling in a car. We can take her with us. We do not
have to leave her.”
“Renesmee!” It was too much for me to take. I couldn’t handle the pleading and begging.
She wanted this more than anything else in the world right now and I wanted to give it to
her. I was moments from giving in and that was not the right thing to do, “If there’s
anything you want to take with you, put it in a bag so we can leave. You know how this
works.”
“Jacob please.” Renesmee cried once more but I couldn’t look at her.
I turned away and waited until I had heard her footsteps retreat all the way up the stairs
before turning around again.
“I’m sorry Marnie.” I repeated my apology to the woman who had really become a
mother to both me and Renesmee, “This is killing me to do this to you and to her and to
myself. This is the last thing in the world I want to do right now.”
“I know.” Marnie had controlled her sobs and recomposed herself, “You’re doing what
you have to do to protect her and you.”
“And you.” I reminded her.
She nodded.
“I love you two.” Marnie choked back the tears that threatened to reappear, “If it’s ever
safe to come back, you will right?”
“Absolutely.” I promised without a second thought.
It wasn’t really in my nature to hug anyone other than Renesmee but in this moment it
felt right. I pulled Marnie against my chest and crushed her there, holding onto her tight.
Tears threatened to spill from my own eyes and I had to force them back. I had to be the
strong one here. I couldn’t lose it in front of them.
“Okay.” Marnie took a deep breath and a step back, looking up at me, “I can take
NOTHING from here? No clothes? No art? Nothing?”
“As little as possible. Nothing would be better but most of your art supplies and things
have never been touched by Nessie and I so that might be okay.” I explained.
Marnie nodded and then both our gazes turned to the stairs where Renesmee stood,
dejected and clearly upset, but without tears. She carried one small bag and tried to hide
her quivering lower lip from me.
“I’m ready.” She mumbled.
“Okay.” I glanced back at Marnie and then decided against hugging her again before I ran
up the stairs to gather my own things.
There wasn’t much I needed to take with me; some clean clothes, our stash of passports,
licenses and legal records and the cash I had hidden for times exactly like these. I had
packed it all up in one bag and was just flipping off the light when I realized there was a
manila envelope on my dresser that I had never seen before.
I set my bag back on the bed and lifted up the envelope. My name was scrawled on the
top in Marnie’s handwriting. I opened it slowly and then pulled out the contents. The
glossy pages emerged easily and this time I couldn’t hold back the tears. Silently, all
alone in my room, I cried as I flipped through the pictures Marnie had taken just hours
earlier before Renesmee and I had left for prom. There was a note included.
“Jacob, give these to Nessie when you two have a special moment alone. They’re
gorgeous because you guys are gorgeous. No matter what the future holds, you can look
at these pictures and remember that the couple you see is truly and 100% in love, even if
they don’t realize it yet. It’s an honor to be a part of your lives. Love, Marnie.”
I hated leaving her here. I hated leaving at all. Stupid, idiotic blood sucking vampire!
Why did she have to show up and ruin everything? The fairytale was finally coming
together and she just waltzes in and it’s done. Start over. One end and a new beginning.
I would gladly trade the new beginning for a “to be continued.”
I debated for just a second, contemplating whether I could take these pictures with us.
They would certainly make moving on harder but they were beautiful. I couldn’t give
them up. I stashed them in my bag and ran downstairs.
“Alright, let’s go.” I grabbed Renesmee’s hand but she quickly ripped it from my grasp,
eyeing me with pure hatred, “Renesmee.”
“Don’t talk to me. I’m going because my parents would want me to listen to you but
don’t think for a second that I will ever forgive you for this Jacob. I hate you.”
She stomped out of the house without so much as a backward glance. Marnie had
disappeared so I couldn’t even say goodbye. That was probably for the best since
goodbye’s always made things harder. Instinctively, this should have been the right
decision but why did it feel so wrong?
“Goodbye.” I whispered to the emptiness and then followed Renesmee out the front door.
New beginning, here we come.
Four years later…
The sun was beating down extremely hot. Even the cover of trees wasn’t keeping it’s
incessant rays from penetrating my fur as I laid very calm and still looking over the
Chanhassen High School campus.
This thick grouping of trees, thick enough to hide a gigantic wolf but close enough to the
school for me to see and hear everything that occurred during the day, had become very
comfortable for me. It was well worn from me spending almost every day of the past four
years curled up here but more than that, it was the only place I could just lay and watch
her. The closest I could get to her. My Renesmee.
“Sarah Ann Murdoch. Dennis Paul Murphy.” The principal was reading names out over
the loudspeaker and from my perch I could see all the seniors marching across the stage
one by one, “Jessica Isabella Nabila.”
Renesmee would be called soon. I could see her fidgeting in her seat, just a few rows of
students before she would take her place in line. She was breathtaking, as always. Her
auburn curls cascaded down her back from underneath her graduation cap. The navy blue
gown she wore covered all but the smallest hints of her glowing skin. I wished she knew I
was here. I wanted her to know I was watching but then again, she probably wouldn’t
have been too happy with that. She had made it perfectly clear she no longer wanted
anything to do with me.
“Okay, I have my new identity. We’ve picked a city. I’ll find a family. We’re done.”
I watched Renesmee shuffle the papers in her hands over and over. She was nervous but
every time I reached out to reassure her she took a step away from me.
“Is there anything else I need to know?” She asked.
“I love you.”
For a split second the Renesmee I knew was present in her chocolate eyes. Those eyes
sparkled and the hint of a smile flitted across her face and then it was all gone again,
replaced with pain and sorrow and what I feared was hatred, all directed at me.
“Stay away from me Jacob. I know you have to be around because you’re my guardian
and that’s what my parents told you to do. Watch over me. Make sure I’m okay. Protect
me and all that nonsense but I don’t want to see you, talk to you, or know where you are
at anytime. Do we have an understanding?”
“Nessie.”
“Do you understand me Jake? We are finished. I am gonna live in this stupid town
you’ve picked. I’ll do everything I am supposed to. I will work my ass off for another four
years to try AGAIN to get into Dartmouth and then I will go to Dartmouth and I will live
my life and you can watch, you’ll have to, I know, but I don’t wanna know about it. Keep
your distance.”
“Carlie Jean Swan.” My ears perked up immediately and I lifted my head as I watched
her walk across the stage.
She was as graceful and elegant as she always had been. She smiled and waved at her
friends and the adoptive parents she had lived with for the past four years. She stopped
for a picture, shook the principal’s hand and accepted her high school diploma. Her eye’s
never even wavered in my direction. The small glimmer of hope I had been holding onto
vanished. She didn’t care if I was here to watch her graduate high school. She really
wanted nothing to do with me.
When the ceremony was over I watched the students and their families get in their cars
and drive away, towards the celebrations they were sure to be having on such a
momentous day. I raced through the cover of trees, around Hazeltine Lake and managed
to reach the house Renesmee called home before she and her “family” did.
Located on the edge of the lake, just off of the Hazeltine National Golf Club in
Chanhassen, Minnesota, their home was massive and gorgeous and very conveniently
surrounded by woods. I took my usual station in the depths of the trees and listened for
them to arrive.
From previous eavesdropping sessions, I knew they would come straight home after the
graduation. The party of the century was set to be held in their backyard gardens that
evening and there was still a lot of decorating and preparing to be done. The party
planner and caterers would be arriving in about an hour and after that there wouldn’t be a
single inch of their entire estate which wouldn’t be occupied until the wee hours of
tomorrow morning.
I had a small window of opportunity here so I had to be poised to take it as soon as I had
the chance.
“Carlie, we’re so proud of you honey.” Mrs. Julian hugged Renesmee as the family
stepped out of their Mercedes SUV.
“Thank you.” Renesmee replied, closing the door of the car behind her, “I’m just glad it’s
over. High School seems like it’s lasted for 8 years instead of 4.”
I knew she would want to laugh at her own private joke but no one was there to know
why she would be laughing, so she didn’t. Mr. & Mrs. Julian along with their biological
children Brandon and Olivia, and of course Renesmee headed into the house.
I could hear the heels from the women’s shoes clicking against the marble in their foyer. I
recognized the smaller, lighter steps of Olivia headed up the stairs to her bedroom. I
heard Mr. Julian head for his study, where he would no doubt spend the next 5 hours
making business calls. Brandon headed for his bedroom and Mrs. Julian towards the
kitchen.
I had to listen extra hard, worried that I had missed the sound of Renesmee’s retreat but
then I heard it. She was going exactly where I thought she would go after such an
important day. She was headed for the gazebo at the edge of the lake, just a few feet from
where I was currently hiding and I would get my one chance to talk to her. A chance I
had been waiting to take for 4 years.
It was exactly 129 steps from the back door of the main house to the gazebo. I counted
them as she took them, listening carefully. Trying to gauge as much of my surroundings
as I possibly could before revealing myself to her. I needed to make sure it was safe. I
needed to make sure the family wouldn’t see me. I needed to make sure I wouldn’t startle
her so she wouldn’t scream. Most of all, I needed to listen to her.
Her heartbeat was normal. Fast for a human but normal for Renesmee, like the flapping
of hummingbird’s wings. Her breathing was normal, always calm and collected. She
wasn’t rushing so she wasn’t in a hurry. Everything about her seemed relaxed which I
could only hope would work in my favor.
Renesmee reached the gazebo and I could see her lean against the rails, looking out over
the still waters in front of her. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, taking in the
peaceful surroundings. She smiled.
I emerged from the woods slowly and took two tentative steps in her direction. She saw
me the moment I stepped out from my hiding spot and whipped around to face me
without a moment’s hesitation. Those chocolate brown eyes widened and her lips parted,
mouth falling open in surprise. I took one more step forward, trying to convey to her from
my wolf form that I meant no harm. Our eyes connected and I waited. All I needed was
one word, one gesture, anything that meant she wanted me to come further. That she was
willing to see me.
I waited, but she didn’t move.
Without being able to talk, all I could do was whimper softly, hoping to convey to her
somehow that I just wanted to talk. The sound must have did it because her head snapped
up and her mouth snapped closed. She sighed and then stepped out of the gazebo and
took a few steps in my direction.
“Jacob.”
My name from her lips sounded like angels music. When she was close enough to me, I
nudged her with my nose and did my best to give her a wolf grin, hoping she would
understand the emotion that I was happy to see her. To be near her. For her to speak to
me. Had it been four years earlier, I would have had no doubt she would understand what
I was trying to say. Now, with the way she was staring at me inquisitively, I wasn’t sure.
I had no way of telling her to stay where she was standing but I needed to be able to talk
to her, so I turned and walked back to the woods quickly, hoping to be able to phase, get
dressed and return before she disappeared.
I smiled when I returned and she hadn’t moved an inch.
“Nessie.” I was inches away from her, close enough to touch. I reached out to brush my
fingers across her cheek but was quickly rebuffed, my hand slapped away with lightning
fast precision.
“Don’t touch me.” Her eyes were still blank, holding no emotion at all, but the message
was received. She was still very angry with me, “What are you doing here Jacob?”
“It’s your graduation day. I couldn’t miss it Ness. It’s an important day for you.”
“Yeah, so was this day four years ago but I didn’t get to see graduation day four years
ago did I?” She closed her eyes as the last word left her lips, a sigh escaping as she took a
deep breath, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I did, but I didn’t. Damn, this is hard.”
She didn’t open her eyes but the conflict raging in her head could be read across her
entire face. She was angry but I had a feeling she missed me too.
“It’s okay Nessie. I know you’re still mad at me.”
“I’m not.” She interrupted me before I could continue, opening her eyes slowly, “I’m not
still mad. You surprised me today but I’m not mad. I lashed out because of the surprise
that’s all.”
“Okay, not mad but also not happy to see me.” I cringed waiting for her to agree. I could
see she wasn’t happy to see me but it would hurt more if she actually said it.
“I’m indifferent.” She mumbled, “Honestly, it’s been so long since I saw you that I
thought maybe you gave up on me and left.”
“I could never do that.” I assured her.
Renesmee nodded.
“The imprinting thing. You can never be too far because it would be physically painful. I
know.”
I started to try to explain that it wasn’t the imprinting that kept me near her as much as it
was how much I loved her. I wanted her to know that it wasn’t an obligation I felt to stick
around but rather a want. If I hadn’t wanted to be around her I would have found a way to
deal with the physical pain. But she didn’t let me explain.
“You need to go. The caterers are gonna be here soon and the family is nearby. I don’t
want them to see you and freak out. I have a party to get ready for.”
“Please Renesmee, I just want one minute with you. It’s been so long…”
“Carlie!” A voice called from the main house and instinctively I backed up towards the
trees, “Carlie!”
“I’m coming!” Renesmee yelled back as she glanced up to the house and then back to
me, “I have to go Jake. Do you know where the Landscape Arboretum is in Chaska?”
Her question surprised me. The gardens in the next town over were quite beautiful and
during the summer, a very popular place to visit. I knew where it was but why was she
asking?
“Yes.”
“Meet me there okay? Tomorrow morning. 5am.” Renesmee looked backwards towards
the house and I saw her. “I really have to go Jake. Tomorrow morning okay?”
“Okay, I’ll be there.” I agreed.
I saw a faint smile cross her lips and then it was gone. She glanced towards me, still
indifferent and then turned and ran back to the house. I really didn’t know what had just
happened or if it was a good thing, but it seemed like a step in the right direction.
I returned to the woods there by the gazebo and phased back to my animal form. With a
huff I resigned myself to lay here patiently because no matter how much I was looking
forward to finding out what the next day would hold, it wouldn’t come any faster. The
minutes and hours would tick by at the same speed they always did and only tomorrow
would know what tomorrow would bring.
Chapter Nine
Renesmee POV
The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is over 1,000 acres of property, gardens,
woodlands, prairies and so much more. I visited here often, as it reminded me of the
times I used to spend in and surrounded by nature as I grew up with Jacob.
Despite the immensity of the property, I knew that Jacob would find me where I waited
for him. He would know exactly where I was and when I got there and he would show up
shortly after I did. He wouldn’t let me down. Despite everything, I knew that much for
sure.
I took a seat outside of Berens Cabin, the last remaining structure of the original
Arboretum. It was in the woods, slightly secluded so that we wouldn’t be detected. 5 am
was much earlier than the 8am opening time. Technically, we were trespassing.
Jacob slid onto the seat next to me without making a single noise, yet I had known he was
there before he had appeared. His presence was not something that could be overlooked.
My mind was very attuned to his energy, despite the four year absence of it.
“Hi.” He whispered after a few moments of silence.
“Hi.” I replied, glancing over at him from underneath my lashes, “You’re early.”
“So are you.” He smiled, playfully nudging me with his shoulder, “I followed you after
you left your house but I figured I’d let you pick where you wanted to meet me before I
revealed myself.”
I nodded slowly. Things were so uncomfortable with us now. Weird to think just four
years earlier we had been nearly inseparable. I was different now. We were different
now. Life, in general, was just different now.
“Do you do that a lot? Follow me around?” I asked, still avoiding making direct eye
contact with him.
“All the time.” He admitted, “It’s hard for me, if I don’t know where you are. Impossible
really.”
“Right, that imprinting stuff.”
“It’s not just that Nessie, it’s more. I want to be near you. I want to be your best friend
again. I love you.”
I felt him reaching for my hand so I moved it before the contact could be made. The last
thing I wanted was for him to touch me right now. It was too weird. Too much. Too
familiar and he was a stranger to me now.
“Sorry.” He mumbled, pulling back his hand when mine moved away.
I let the apology linger in the air without a response. It wasn’t okay so I couldn’t say it
was. Nothing was okay between Jacob and I. It was hard enough just sitting here next to
him let alone to have him touch me.
“So I start Dartmouth in the fall.” I spoke after a few minutes of awkward silence, “You
probably already knew that since you follow me around.”
“I did know but, I’m glad you told me.” Jacob looked over at me and I could feel him
smiling, “Makes it feel more official.”
A sarcastic laugh slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it. Jacob’s smile fell.
“Sorry, it’s just,” I sighed, “It felt pretty official four years ago and then now here we are.
Official is funny to me. The one thing I can count on in life is that nothing is certain.
Nothing is official until it actually happens.”
The awkward silence fell over us again. The tension filled all the space between us and
around us and I could almost taste it. It was thick and smothering, like clouds of smoke.
“So I was thinking…” Jacob broke the silence.
“Uh oh.” I tried to joke but it fell flat and received only a blank look from Jacob, “Sorry,
go ahead. You were thinking?”
“Well, I promised you almost 5 years ago that on your 16th birthday, I would take you
back to Forks. And I know that your birthday is a few months away still but I was hoping
that maybe you would agree to taking the trip early. We could leave anytime and go and
make it like a summer adventure maybe? Something for us to do together before you go
off to Dartmouth in the fall? One last hurrah?”
My eyes finally connected with his and I could see the hope he had for me to answer yes
to his proposition. My heart fluttered underneath his gaze, the same way it used to when
he kissed me. That felt like so long ago but he still affected me. I didn’t want to admit it
but my heart would always belong to Jacob Black. If only my heart hadn’t shattered into
a million pieces four years ago there may have still been a chance for us. That wasn’t
what I needed to focus on though. He was asking me to go to Forks with him. One last
hurrah? That made it sound like eternity wasn’t stretched out before us like it always had
been.
“The last hurrah huh?” I let half a smile flit across my lips, “Last makes it sound awfully
permanent. I’ll only be in college for four years Jake. Then I get to start this whole high
school thing over in a new city again. This is life remember? Eternity for the immortal.
High school, college, rinse and repeat.”
Jacob laughed, a real echoing laugh but it trailed off into sadness.
“Well, I just figured that you would want to go to Dartmouth without me. You don’t
really need me around anymore and you’ve done a good job of taking care of yourself for
the past four years. I didn’t think I was invited to be a part of your life anymore and I just
wanted to make sure to at least keep this one promise to you before we went our separate
ways.”
The pieces of my heart that I had managed to mend over the past four years shattered all
over again and my breath rushed away from me. It felt like I had just been stabbed,
although I had no idea what that would actually feel like, this emotional wound felt
incredibly physical. Jacob didn’t even want to watch over me now. He wanted absolutely
nothing to do with me. He was going to leave me alone, for real.
“Nessie, are you okay?” Jacob was frowning at me.
I realized that I had backed to the furthest corner of the old wooden porch, as far away
from him as I could get within the fairly confined space. I hadn’t even known when I did
it. I couldn’t catch my breath and the searing pain in my chest would not dissipate. Was I
okay? No, not at all.
“Renesmee.” Jacob took a tentative step towards me, his arm outstretched and a look of
confusion etched over his features, “Nessie?”
“You… alone… me…” I couldn’t form a sentence, “No. No.”
“Nessie. Calm down. What’s wrong?” Jacob stepped closer again, still more than an
arm’s length away, “What is it? Did I do something wrong? You were fine one second
and now you’re not breathing. Renesmee, breathe.”
I collapsed to the floor and immediately Jacob sprung to my side, pulling me into his
arms and rocking me back and forth. It would be a stretch to say I was hyperventilating. I
wasn’t breathing at all. I couldn’t force myself to take in any oxygen. The pain was
spreading and taking over and in moments, I knew I would pass out from it all. This
couldn’t be happening. He wasn’t serious about leaving me.
“Nessie, please breathe honey. Please.” Jacob smoothed my hair and kissed my forehead,
rocking me, trying to help, “I don’t know how to fix this. I don’t know what’s wrong.
Please breathe. Please tell me what’s wrong.”
All at once I was able to take a deep breath and as oxygen filled my lungs again, the
blistering pain ebbed. My muscles relaxed and my whole body went limp in Jacob’s
arms. My eyes closed but I was conscious. Breathing returned to normal slowly and
Jacob was quiet. It was a full minute before either of us spoke.
“Don’t leave me.” I whispered.
“What?” I knew Jacob would have heard me clearly at the sound level I had used to
speak but he was asking me to repeat myself anyway.
“Don’t leave me.” I opened my eyes slowly, finding his eyes connected directly with
mine as he held me in his arms, “You can’t leave me alone.”
“I don’t want to.” He said simply. His eyebrows were knitted together as if he were
searching my face for something more, “I never want to be away from you ever, I just
thought that you didn’t want me around anymore.”
“I was mad Jake. I was hurt and angry but I’ve always known you were there. Even when
I tried to convince myself otherwise, deep down for the past four years I’ve known every
second that you were nearby. Please don’t leave me.”
My tears began to fall before I could stop them. Our embrace changed and he cradled me
in his arms, holding me tight. He still rocked me in a soothing motion as if I were a baby
who needed to be consoled. To him I probably still was a baby.
“I’ll never leave you Ness. As long as you want me here, I’m here. I’m so sorry. I never
meant to upset you.”
His words were mumbled against my cheek and then he kissed my cheek softly.
“I’m so sorry.” He repeated.
It took awhile for me to regain my composure. There was so much to think about and so
much I never wanted to think about again. Jacob held me and we were both quiet while
the atmosphere settled around us. I stopped crying and he watched me, carefully, as if one
wrong look may send me into hysteria again.
“Sorry I freaked out.” I whispered after the long silence, “I never exactly prepared myself
for the day you would tell me you were gonna go away permanently.”
A quick panic threatened to settle again at the idea but I choked it back and took a deep
breath then smiled.
“Obviously I can’t really handle that idea.”
“I won’t leave.” Jacob assured me, “I promise.”
I cocked my head to the side and nodded slowly, biting the inside of my lower lip
nervously.
“Therein lies the problem.” I said quietly, “Your promises don’t mean much anymore.
You broke so many in just one night, I don’t know if I trust you anymore.”
Jacob frowned sadly but he nodded in acceptance of my statement.
“I can understand that. I broke a lot of promises the night I took you away from Marnie
and I can’t make up for that but that is why I do not want to break any more promises. I
promised you I would take you to Forks and I want to keep that promise.”
We stared into each others eyes for a moment. I could see nothing but sincerity and love
in his eyes as he stared at me. It was exactly how he used to stare at me every single day.
His gaze made me feel safe and wanted. I had a feeling if I stared into his eyes long
enough my shattered heart may begin to heal.
“Then let’s do it.” I reached up tentatively and placed my hand on Jacob’s cheek,
showing him my last memory of my Grandpa Charlie and the things I remembered and
missed from Forks, “Let’s leave today.”
Jacob grinned, his impish wolfy grin as he leaned his head heavier against my palm.
“I missed your weird visions.” He laughed.
“I missed your smile.” I admitted.
His head snapped to attention and he focused on my eyes again. My statement had caught
him off guard. Hell, it had caught me off guard but it was the truth. There was a lot about
Jacob I had missed over the past few years. It was just going to take awhile to admit to
myself and to him all of those things.
I could see before he made any minute movement that he was going to try to kiss me. He
was staring at me, his arms were still around me, the moment probably seemed right to
him but, no matter how much I missed him, I could not go there with him again.
“Don’t.” I stood up and walked away from Jacob before he could tilt his head in my
direction, “Whatever you were about to do you can’t do it. Just don’t okay?”
He was up and following me through the woods behind the cabin before I could even take
ten steps.
“Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you again.” Jacob grabbed my arm and spun me
around to face him before we could go any farther, “I’m sorry. Don’t run away.”
A small smile broke out across my face.
“Like I could really out run you anyway.” I laughed.
He grinned and pulled me to his chest for a really tight hug.
“I’m so glad you’re talking to me again Nessie. I know we have a long way to go to get
back to where we used to be, if we can ever get there again but I love having you as part
of my life and I don‘t ever want to lose this again.”
I hugged him back cautiously, letting my face rest against him. I wanted to say it but
knew it was too soon. I love you Jake. The words did not leave my mouth.
The hug turned uncomfortable after a little bit and I pulled away, stuffing my hands in
my pockets as I rocked back and forth on my heels. I stared up at him and waited to see
who was going to speak first.
“So when do we leave for Forks? If you give me an hour I can have my stuff together and
I’ll meet you back here, at the front entrance to take off. Is that good?”
“Um, don’t you need to let the family know that you’re leaving? Come up with a good
story? If you just disappear that might throw up a red flag for Dartmouth.” Jacob
countered my suggestion.
“I can handle the family.” I raised my eyebrow at him, “That won’t take long. Trust me.
Just meet me back here in an hour okay? Front entrance.”
“Okay.” Jacob agreed with a cocky smile, “If you say so.”
“I say so.” I smiled back at him and then took off in the opposite direction, pausing when
I was 100 yards away to turn back and look at him. He was standing in the exact same
spot, watching me and grinning.
I couldn’t help the swell of happiness that flooded my senses as I turned around again and
ran towards the place I currently called home. It wasn’t the same and it probably never
would be, but I felt oddly complete knowing that Jacob would again be a part of my life.
He would be by my side instead of watching from the shadows. We could again be a
team.
“Where have you been so early this morning?” Nancy, my foster mother, asked as she
caught me sneaking in the front door.
I didn’t miss a beat so my answer came out naturally and believably.
“Early morning jog. Wanted to clear my head.” I smiled at her and she smiled back, not a
hint of doubt in her eyes, “Um, is Paul awake? I had something I wanted to talk to you
guys about.”
“Yeah, he’s in his study.” Nancy cocked her head to the side inquisitively, “Should we be
worried?”
“No. It’s not bad.” I grinned, a true honest grin rather than the forced ones I had been
giving Nancy for four years.
She led me to Paul’s study and knocked quietly on the door, waiting for him to call us
inside. Once we had stepped inside Nancy closed the door lightly behind us and then took
a seat in a nearby chair.
“Carlie has something she would like to talk to us about.” Nancy said to Paul and he
looked at me with the same inquisitive look she had just moments earlier, “Don’t worry.
She says it’s nothing bad.”
I took a seat in a chair that was at once facing both Nancy and Paul and inhaled deeply. I
had to make sure that this came out believable so they wouldn’t question me leaving.
“Since it’s my first summer as a high school graduate and the last summer I’ll have
before college, I want to take a road trip. Just get out of town and travel a bit before I get
to Dartmouth and have to really buckle down. What do you think?” Better to just get
straight to the point then try to ease them into this concept.
“That sounds like a great idea honey.” Nancy exclaimed, glancing over to Paul who
didn’t react quite as enthusiastically, “Doesn’t that sound great Paul? A real life
experience.”
“Who’s going with you?” Paul asked me before answering Nancy.
“No one. Just me. I want to think and reflect and have some alone time.” I smiled, hoping
that would warm him up to the idea.
“A road trip by yourself?” Now Nancy didn’t sound so enthusiastic, “I don’t know about
that sweetheart. It can be dangerous out there. I thought you would at least be taking a
friend or two with you. I’m sure Jeanine or that really sweet Lincoln girl, what’s her
name? Sarah? Sasha?”
“Samantha.” I recalled the name of one of the girls who traveled in the social circle I
claimed to be a part of, “And I’m sure Jeanine or Samantha would love to go but I really
wanna do this alone. It’s a time of reflection. I’m not doing it to party before college and
no offense to Jeanine or Samantha or any of the other kids from my class, but they’re all
a bit wild. I’m not really into that stuff. It was fine for high school but this is something I
really want to do to grow into an adult as I head into college.”
The three of us sat in silence for a moment. Paul studied me carefully, as he did
sometimes. Whenever he looked at me like this I wondered if he saw me for what I really
was, a fifteen year old half-vampire liar. Nancy watched Paul, waiting for her cue,
whether they as a unit would be saying yes or no to this plan.
“This is something you really want?” Paul asked.
I nodded enthusiastically.
“Okay.” He nodded back and sighed, “I was going to wait until you were leaving for
Dartmouth to give this to you but if you want to go on a road trip it might be better to
give it to you now.”
Paul opened the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a small package and small
envelope. He handed them to Nancy and nodded my direction so she would walk them
over to me.
“You don’t have to give me anything Paul.” I took the package and envelope from Nancy
but didn’t open them, “Really, just your blessing for taking this trip is enough.”
“I know I don’t have to give you anything, but it’s from both of us and it’s something we
wanted to do for you so just open it.”
Paul and Nancy were both watching me, smiling and waiting for me to make my move. I
started with the envelope since I figured it was a card of some sort. I was wrong. It was a
check.
“This is $50,000.” My mouth fell open, “I can’t accept $50,000 from you guys. That’s
insane.”
“It’s part of a college trust fund we set up for you when you moved in with us.” Nancy
explained, “The other part of it will be going to pay for your tuition to Dartmouth but we
wanted to give this to you to do with as you please. A bit to get you started on your new
adult life.”
I was speechless. Not that $50,000 was a lot of money to me. Jacob and I had managed
very well on the insane amount of money my mother had stashed into my bag when she
had placed me in his care. Really, I would never have to worry about money and I knew
that but no one had ever just given me $50,000 before. It was the gesture more than the
amount.
“There’s another part to the present.” Nancy urged me on past my shock, “Open the box.”
The small gift wrapped box seemed insignificant now compared to the check in my hand.
I couldn’t imagine what could possibly be inside that could measure up to $50,000. Then
again, the Julian’s had an immeasurable amount of money and influence in this town. For
all I knew there was a key to the city in this tiny box.
I almost laughed when I finally opened the package. There was a key inside but it
certainly wasn’t to the city. It was to a car.
“I didn’t know you wanted to go on a road trip when we picked it out or we would have
picked out something with a little better gas mileage, but we were looking more at safety
when we chose that one.” Paul was smiling from ear to ear, clearly happy to be able to
give these gifts to me, “It’s an Audi Q7. Top of the line.”
“You guys, this is amazing. Are you sure about this?” I gazed at the car key and the
check in my hands and then switched my stare to the two proud parents in front of me, “I
don’t deserve this.”
“You deserve it.” Nancy rushed to me and pulled me from my chair for a tight hug,
“You’re going to Dartmouth. You’re an amazing kid and we’re so lucky to have you in
our lives. We want you to have everything you’ve dreamed of. We love you like you’re
our own daughter.”
I hugged her back and shot Paul a smile from over Nancy’s shoulder. I mouthed a thank
you to him, knowing an open and overt show of affection was definitely more Nancy’s
style than Paul’s.
“Thank you so much.” Nancy released me from her grasp and I took a deep breath, “So,
I’m planning on leaving for the road trip today. Now actually, I was just gonna run
upstairs and pack. Is that gonna be okay?”
“Whatever you want.” Paul spoke up before Nancy could object and insist on a huge
family meal before my departure, “The car is parked in the guest house garage. Just
please make sure to say bye to Brandon and Olivia before you head out. They’d be sort of
crushed if you left without a goodbye.”
“Of course.” I grinned one more time at both of them and then ran from the room,
jumping for joy.
For the first time in four years I was truly happy, at least for a moment. Life was
definitely looking up. I had $50,000, a brand new car and Jacob. I had my best friend
back, even if he was a long way from being my best friend again, he was at least back
and actively a part of my life. I had cause for smiling.
I was back in front of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum exactly one hour from the
time I had parted ways with Jacob. It was still very early and well before business hours,
but Jacob sat patiently on the bench in the front garden, waiting and clearly deep in
thought.
“Hey wolf man!” I called out the driver’s side window of my metallic black new Audi,
“Hop in yeah?”
Jacob looked up at me and a grin spread across his face as he grabbed a single duffle bag
from beside the bench and jogged across the street towards me. He tossed his duffle bag
into the back seat and the easily slid into the passenger seat, the leather squeaking
underneath him.
We shared a genuine smile and then I cocked my head to the side and nodded to my GPS
on the front console.
“So, where to?”