Drowning
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.
Prologue
Renee peered through the misty windscreen, even with the blowers going full pelt, it kept misting up. The relentless rain mixed with fog was making it hard to see more than two foot ahead of her. She was just glad that the there wasn't much traffic on the road. It was late evening and most of the day's bustle had long passed. She hated driving in any sort of inclement weather, and this was the worst. Renee cursed as her screen fogged up again and she adjusted the blowers, the windscreen wipers battled against the driving rain, with little effect. Renee's cell went off. It was lying on the passenger seat beside her, with one quick glance she could see her husband, Charlie's, name light up. He was probably panicking about her, he knew how much she hated the long journey to Port Angeles, and she should have been back by now, but her session with the counsellor had overrun, and by the time she got out the weather had already taken a turn for the worst.
She thought back to her counselling session as she drove slowly onward. Living in such a little town meant she had to travel to see her therapist. Renee hadn't wanted to see anyone, but Charlie had insisted. He had become increasingly worried about her mental health after the death of their baby girl almost a year ago. Renee felt a tear roll down her face at the remembered pain of giving birth to a stillborn baby, all her hopes and dreams had been crushed in that one instant when the midwife and the doctor had told her and Charlie in hushed tones that their little girl had lost the fight. It had been a difficult pregnancy, twice Renee had experienced blood spotting, her blood pressure was low throughout, and this had all made her anxiety levels go through the roof. She had constantly been on edge waiting for the disaster to happen, but when she reached full term, she thought she had made it. But no….Renee took a deep breath, no, she mustn't dwell on it, not now, she had to get home. She pushed her foot harder on the accelerator, peering out into the dark night as she tried to see her way ahead.
Renee hated this stretch of the road, there were no lights and she was surrounded by dark forest on either side. The bright beams of her headlights made the trees seem threatening, as if the long branches were going to reach out and grab her from the car. She used to tell Charlie that she thought the forest was haunted, but he, a hunting man, just laughed at her. His best friend's wife, Sarah, took her more seriously. Sarah had the gift of sight and with her Native American heritage; it gave her insight into the spirit world that Charlie lacked. Renee often sought Sarah's advice when she was particularly worried. It was only after the death of their daughter that Sarah had admitted she had experienced an omen about the birth, but had kept quiet so as not to disturb Renee. Her confession had upset Charlie and for a while the two couples did not speak as Billy defended his wife's actions. But eventually their shared past won out and they were soon on good terms again, Renee needed all the emotional support she could get. Charlie was not one for showing his emotions, but Renee was, and it helped to have Sarah to open up to when she couldn't afford the high cost of seeing the therapist.
Renee was so focused on the past that she had briefly taken her attention away from the road, the bright beams of her headlights suddenly shone on something on the road ahead, it seemed to be a moving figure, it was far too small to be an adult, it looked like a toddler, a small child, but that couldn't be? Not out here, on the road, in the midst of a storm? Renee felt a cold shiver run down her back as her previous worries about the haunted forest closed around her, she slowed down and drew to a halt. Could the small child be a ghost? A child that had been run down in the past and now haunted this stretch of road? Her imagination ran wild as she stared through the foggy windscreen; the raindrops ran in rivulets down the screen, obscuring her view even more. She strained her eyes to the hilt, hoping upon hope that what she was really seeing was a wild animal and not a child abandoned in the middle of the road. But the scene didn't change and after a long pause, Renee finally plucked up enough courage to open her car door and slip out into the stormy night.
Charlie nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the sound of a car's engine pull up outside. He was on his feet immediately and running to open the front door. He let out a relieved sigh when he saw the hunched figure of his wife getting out of the car, she had her mac pulled up over her head and he watched as she opened the rear door and picked something up. He wondered what it was she had bought that seemed so heavy. Charlie ran down the steps in his bare feet, not bothered by the rain which soaked his hair and clothes. He hailed Renee and she looked up at him, still bent over the bundle she was carrying in her arms. She was trying to shield it with her coat, and he hurried over to help her. It was only when he reached her side that he heard the pitiful wail of a child.
It was a little girl, no more than eighteen months old. She was a shivering wreck. Her long, brown hair was plastered to her head, and her skin was very pale, almost translucent with the cold. She had the largest brown eyes that Charlie had ever seen. The poor thing was dressed in nothing but a thin t-shirt and jeans with red poppies on them, her little feet were bare. He watched in silent disbelief as Renee spoke soothingly to the frightened little girl, she towelled her down and gently peeled off the wet clothes so she could check for any sign of injury. Thankfully, apart from being chilled to the bone, the little girl seemed none the worse from her ordeal. Renee dressed the child in one of her old t-shirts which was like a dress on the little girl and wrapped her in a blanket. "You are so pretty my little Bella." She cooed.
Her words brought Charlie up short. Bella had been the name they had chosen for the baby who had died. He fell into the chair opposite his wife and stared at the small child whose extraordinary eyes were closing as she began to doze. Renee's face broke out into a serene smile as she looked across at her husband. "Isn't she beautiful, Charlie?"
"Yes, she is." Charlie felt anxiety begin to settle on his shoulders. He could see that Renee had already fallen in love with this pretty little girl, and it scared him. He was the police chief of Forks and it was his duty to report that a child had been abandoned on the road near the outskirts of town, but he could see by the look on Renee's face that she wasn't about to give up the child to the social services, no he knew his wife well, Renee had already adopted her as her own in her mind. "Ren, I have to report this, you do know that right?" He began hesitantly.
A territorial look crossed Renee's face. Her smile vanished and she hugged the child close to her chest, she glared at him as she stood up. "No, she is ours." She said stiffly.
"Ren, please?" Charlie begged her. "We can't keep her; somewhere out there she has parents of her own…"
"Parents, who abandoned her, left her to die in the rain and the cold." Renee hissed. "They don't deserve her. I was meant to find her, Charlie. She was meant to be ours. She even looks like us; she has your brown eyes and my pale skin." Her expression softened as she gazed with love at the sleeping child. "If anyone asks where she came from then we tell them we adopted her." She turned her luminous eyes back to her husband. "Please, please don't report this?"
Charlie felt a lump come into his throat. He could never resist Renee, and the gaping hole that was the loss of his baby girl was like lead in his chest. As soon as he set eyes on the child the same thoughts had passed through his mind, he couldn't deny it. He'd had no reports at the station about any missing children, and his wife was right, what sort of parent abandons such a lovely child in the middle of nowhere? If Renee hadn't found little Bella, then she would have been dead from hypothermia by the morning, or knocked down by a passing car and killed. Charlie gulped when he realised he had already followed his wife's lead and christened the child already.
Renee reached out to him and touched the back of his hand. "She is a gift from the god's Charlie. She was meant to come to us." Her eyes were still pleading but she could sense that she was winning the argument. "Please?"
Against all his better instincts Charlie found himself nodding; his eyes were fixated on Bella, who was waking up again. Her large brown eyes fluttered open and her perfect little mouth opened wide as she yawned. She didn't seem in the least bit distressed anymore. "Are you hungry, baby girl?" Renee murmured softly.
Little Bella made some cooing noises, her thin arms reaching up toward Renee, who took one of her hands in her own and rubbed the smooth palm of Bella's hand with her thumb. "You are so perfect, baby girl." There were tears in Renee's eyes as she spoke and Charlie felt himself becoming choked up too. He stood up and embraced his wife. Bella was cuddled between them as they both gazed down in awe at the little girl who was about to change their lives forever.
A/N-thanks for reading!