"Merry Christmas, Bella!"
Alice threw her arms around me and hugged me tight. I hugged back and heard her gasp for air, even though she needed none.
"Alright, alright!" she panted, twisting away. "None of that, Newborn. Get inside, everyone's here!"
Edward took my arm, smiling as Reneesme ran after Alice, eager to see the rest of the Cullens. Or… Maybe it wasn't the Cullens she was so eager to see.
Sure enough, when we got inside, it was clear who she was so happy to be with. After being greeted (no more hugs) from Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper, my eyes were drawn to Jake and Reneesme.
As soon as Jake saw me staring at Reneesme bouncing up and down in his lap, he stood up abruptly and headed towards me, Reneesme clinging to his hand and giggling.
"Merry Christmas, Bella," he said, smiling. I could hear his heart beating faster than normal. It wasn't a secret that Jake still wasn't completely comfortable around vampires, and it showed as I looked into his eyes. Alice soon broke us apart.
"Presents!" she sang, gesturing towards the pile on the piano. Edward pulled me onto his lap as the rest of the Cullens sat down on chairs and Jake lobbed Reneesme onto the couch and then pulled her on top of him as he lay there. I tore my eyes away and looked towards Alice on the ground at the piano.
"You guys know that you shouldn't have gotten me anything," I scolded as I looked around at my family. None of them showed the barest sign of remorse. Jake smirked at my disapproval before wrinkling his nose in disgust.
"Ugh, it smells horrible in here," he complained. Reneesme pinched his nose shut and he let out a shriek.
Alice chucked a present at me and I caught it easily. Hey, there were definite perks to this vampire thing.
"That one's from Carlisle and Esme," she explained eagerly as I opened the wrapping paper. Inside laid a delicate silver necklace with a dark stone dangling on the bottom.
"Thank you so much!" I gushed to Carlisle and Esme, who were both smiling. "I hope it didn't cost too much."
Jake's snort was nasal and muffled by Reneesme's fingers. The both burst into silent laughter.
Alice rolled her eyes and tossed another one at me. "That's from Emmett," she told me. "Experiencing any dêga vu?"
I opened the wrapping paper to reveal an empty car radio box.
"Hah!" I exclaimed, throwing it at Emmett. He laughed and snatched it out of the air.
"Well, seeing as you destroyed your last one…"
"That was his fault!" I cried, grinning and jerking a thumb towards Edward. I felt his arms tighten around me momentarily, but then he was laughing too.
"And it's a good thing," he added, "because it saved Emmett from having to try and be creative this year, and we all know how that might have turned out."
Esme hurriedly called off the furniture fight, and Alice handed me a present. "This one is mine," she said, watching my face as I unwrapped the tiny gift. "You do still need it, you know."
I chuckled as I held up the thousand-dollar gift card, and then threw it at her. "Alice, you demon! You spent a thousand dollars on me? How could you?"
She smiled and wagged it in front of my face. "I would have gotten you a car, but Edward convinced me that you love your ancient grandfather of a truck too much."
"We could always make a trade," Edward suggested softly behind me. I grabbed the card back and sighed heavily.
Alice picked up another present and handed it carefully to me. "This one is from Rosalie and Jasper," she announced. I took one look at the huge, jar-shaped gift and turned to stare suspiciously at them. Jasper gave a weak smile, his hand over his nose, and Rosalie winked.
"It's technically for all of us," she admitted, before hurriedly plugging her nose as well. I looked around and saw that all of the Cullens had their noses covered, but they were all definitely grinning behind their hands.
I got an odd feeling about the present that was only intensified when I ripped the paper off and saw the blood-red liquid inside the glass jar.
Animal blood, I realized, and I smiled, exasperated, at the Cullens. Jake was watching warily from the couch, Reneesme's hands both over her own nose now, copying the Cullens.
"You didn't have to," I began, but Carlisle held up a hand. He was the only Cullen with his nose unplugged. My stomach lurched.
"Open the lid, Bella," he told me gently, before shooting Edward a look.
Frowning slightly, I grabbed the lid and pulled it off. The effect was immediate.
Carlisle ran forward to catch the jar as it fell from my lap as I lurched forward. One of Edward's arms wrapped around my waist securely as I lunged for the jar as it fell. The rest of the Cullens pressed their noses and mouths shut and leaned away.
"Bella, Bella. Calm down." Edward's soft voice was in my ear, his cold hand stroking my hair. I felt Reneesme's little hand touching my face, and a cascade of happy memories flowed through my mind, dulling my senses. I leaned back against Edward and focused on not breathing until I heard Carlisle by my side.
"It's alright, now. You can relax."
I sat up and saw that the Cullens were stifling laughter.
"Well," Rosalie chortled. "That was good."
I peered over at her and noticed that she held a video camera in her hand. I groaned and buried my face in my hands.
"Bella?" Edward asked close to my ear. "Are you alright now?"
"Guys…" I looked up at them all. "That wasn't funny!"
"Uh, yeah it was," Emmett retorted. "Come on, Bella, it was a prank. Merry Christmas kind of thing, you know?"
"It was not funny."
We all turned to look at Jake, whose face was tight and pale.
"That is the most disgusting thing I have ever witnessed in my life." He turned to Carlisle. "I thought you said you didn't drink human blood! What is this?" Edward made to get up, but I kept him down. Jake pressed his palms into his face and stood there for a moment before looking back at Carlisle. "How did you get that?" he asked weakly.
"From the hospital," Carlisle replied quietly. "I told them that Emmett cut himself badly and needed blood."
"So you stole it."
A low hiss began in Edward's chest, but Carlisle glanced sharply at him. Jake growled and stalked towards the door. He turned as he opened the door.
"Merry Christmas, Bella," he muttered. "Bye, Nessie."
Then he was gone, leaving silence in his wake. Reneesme's face was even paler than usual, and her eyes were wet with tears as she stared at the door.