Life Goes On

by Moti1981

around 8 years after BD...what happens when Nessie finds out she actually feels more than friendship towards Jacob, but he's acting as if she's not important to him, bringing many changes to Nessie's life and those around her

I do not own Twilight

AN: this is the first story I publish here, I hope everyone likes it. Please leave reviews, I'll try to answer as many as I can.

Thank you and enjoy!

Life goes on

Nessie

Mmhhmm it tasted good. But you don't want to know what I was drinking. It's kind of tough being as different as I was. Being a "hybrid" as some said. You see I lived in a family where nothing aged, ever. Everything was always the same, young, beautiful, strong. For a few years I was the only one growing up in my family. Everyone else stayed the same. Exactly the same. That's what happened when everyone in your family was a vampire.

I was 7 years old, but I was about to graduate from high school. It was the first year that I had actually attended a real school ever. I was sort of home tutored. We kind of had to do it this way to make it seem normal. How else were we going to explain to everyone why I grew up so amazingly fast? Also, why my parents and I seemed to be the same age? They had supposedly graduated a year ahead of me. And now it was my turn.

"Hey Nessie did you finish your breakfast already? I swear it kid you're even thirstier than me." Emmet said.

"Yes, it was deliciously warm and tasty. " I said giving him a big hug.

"Best one of the pack." Emmet said winking.

"Hey I helped too. Don't I get a hug?" Dad said.

"Stop being so jealous Edward. She hugs you and kisses you all the time." Emmet said.

"Well, she kind of is my baby."

"Oh daddy, you know I'm not a baby anymore." I said smiling as I hugged him.

"I know, I know. It's still so hard to see you so grown up."

"Where is mom?"I mentally asked by touching his face. Oh yes, I could communicate without speaking.

"She's buying something with Alice. She'll be here any minute now."

"Were you talking about us?" Alice said walking in with my mother.

"Nessie was asking for Bella." Emmet said.

"Well here I am sweetheart." Bella said coming to daddy and me. Then she hugged us.

"Missed you both so much." She said.

"Jeez you were only gone for a couple of hours Bella." Emmet said rolling his eyes.

"Sometimes that's all it takes to miss the ones you love son." Carlisle said arriving.

So the conversation turned into what it was every night. Emmet teasing my parents, Alice talking about her shopping, Rosalie teasing Alice, and Carlisle, Esme and Jasper just laughing joining in the conversation at different points. Then my phone rang.

"Oh hi Jacob." I said standing up and walking to the terrace.

"Hey Nessie how's it going?" he said.

"Fine, fine. Just studying for finals. How about you?"

"Well I'm kind of very busy down here. Lots of work to do."

"Really? It seems like I haven't seen you in forever. I miss having you around."

"I miss you too Nessie. Listen I gotta go now. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Ok ok. Have a good night then."

"You too kid. Say hello to Bella and Edward for me."

"I will."

"Bye." He said and hung up.

I was kind of confused by that call. That wasn't Jacob at all. Well, it sounded like Jacob, but something was different. Oh by the way, Jacob was sort of my boyfriend. Well he wasn't literally my boyfriend, but he was supposed to be my life partner or something like that. And also, he was a werewolf. But aside from this, he had always been mom's best friend and a very very big part of my life.

I wasn't feeling like going back and joining the others in their little gathering. Dad was sure going to know what I was thinking as he always did, and I didn't want that. I wanted some time alone. So I slipped up to my room without anyone noticing. But mom saw me.

"I'll be right back." She said to dad.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nessie."

"Should I go with you?"

"No, let me see what it is." She said smiling and kissed him.

"Ok. But you'll tell me afterwards."

"I will." She said and went to look for me.

I was looking out the window when I felt her behind me. I turned around and hugged her.

"Oh Nessie what is it? I can see that something's wrong." She said hugging me. I touched her face.

"Jacob? What happened? What did he say? Did something happen to Charlie?" Mom said looking into my eyes, getting all worried about her father.

"No mom. Charlie's fine. Relax. It's just that something didn't sound right with Jacob."

"What did he say?"

"It's not what he said. It's the way he sounded. So cold."

"That doesn't sound like him all right. And less if he was talking to you. He loves you very much honey."

"I know mom. But he was so brief and weird. I'm really worried about him. Can you please call him and see if he's ok? Call Billy or something?" I pleaded.

"Sure Nessie. I'll call him right now." She said just when dad came in.

"Is everything ok?"he asked looking from mom's face to mine.

"Yes Edward. Please let me use your phone. I need to call Jacob." Mom said.

"Sure." Dad said not taking his eyes away from me.

"Why are you worried about him Nessie?" he asked me.

"Daddy you promised not to read my thoughts anymore." I said turning towards the window.

"I'm sorry. But you're my daughter Nessie. I can't help worrying about you." He said hugging me.

"Bella?" Jacob said answering the phone.

"Hey Jake. How's it going?" mom said.

"I'm ok. Why are you calling? Did something happen? Is everyone ok?"

"We're all fine Jacob. Is everyone ok down there?"

"Sure. Charlie's fine, he said to say hello the other day. And Billy and everyone here at La Push, we're all ok. Why?"

"Oh nothing, just wanted to hear from you. It's been a while since we last saw you."

"I know. I've been planning on visiting but it's just that I've got so much work here. Being an alpha is a tough job. I hadn't really imagined."

"We understand. I hope we see you for Nessie's graduation, though."

"Oh right. When is it again?"

"In two weeks." Mom said frowning.

"Sure. I'll be there front row."

"Ok. Say hello to everyone. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

Mom didn't say anything after that call, but I knew her too well. She also thought something was weird about Jacob.

I didn't have time to keep thinking about him, not with graduation so close by. I had to go with mom to school one day to sign some papers before the ceremony. It was really funny when we were together in public because we'd have to act as if we were sisters instead of mother and daughter, since mom didn't look one day over 18.

"Hey if it isn't the Cullen sisters." The school's principal Mr. Thomas said.

"Good morning Mr. Thomas. It's nice to see you again." Mom said.

"Nice to see you too Bella. And now here you are, accompanying your younger sister in her final days of school." He said.

"You're right about that. So, what do I have to sign?"

After that, we were walking through the halls when we bumped into Kyle Jennings. He was a very good looking guy that went to school with me.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Cullen sisters. Looking good girls." He said smiling at us.

"We always look good Kyle." Mom said smiling back.

"Bella, please." I said rolling my eyes.

"Your sister's right Nessie. You know she is."

"Too bad she's already married." Dad said showing up and putting his arm around mom's waist. They were very possessive around each other.

"Yeah, you're a lucky guy Cullen. Always said you were. Well, but the younger one's single, right?" Kyle said putting his arm around me.

"Please Kyle." I said moving away.

"It's time for us to leave. If you'll excuse us please. Come on Nessie." Dad said taking my hand as we walked away.

"I'll call you later Nessie!" Kyle said as we left.

Mom and dad laughed all the way back home, but I didn't. Sometimes I wished things were different. That I could tell everyone that these were my parents and not my sister and her husband. I didn't like calling mom Bella in front of everyone else.

"You didn't seem to mind this before Nessie." Dad said.

"I know dad. But I'm older now and I see things from a different perspective." I said.

"I can understand you completely honey. It happened to me too. Edward can tell you about it." Mom said smiling.

"Oh please. Not that again." Dad said.

"What's going on?" Alice asked once we stepped into the house.

"Bella's remembering her human days and feeling sorry for herself. Again." Dad said.

"Ok, I won't say another word on the subject. Just relax Edward. Come on Nessie." Mom said taking my hand and leading me away.

Dad stood there looking after us. No one said a word. It wasn't usual for him and mom to argue. They were always inseparable and completely immerse in one another.

"Well, that's a first." Rosalie said.

"Shut up Rose." Dad said.

"What happened son?" Carlisle asked.

"Yeah, what made perfect Bella mad at you?" Emmet asked.

"I saw this was going to happen. That you would be upset." Alice said.

"Ok. Everyone just calm down." Jasper said.

"And she takes Nessie with her. As if it's automatic that the child will take her side." Rosalie said.

"That's her baby. Of course she'll take her with her." Esme said.

"Will everyone please stop talking? Nothing happened." Dad said.

"That didn't seem like nothing to me." Emmet said.

"You know how Bella feels about her human life Edward. You should've been more sensitive." Alice said.

"Dad?" I said coming back downstairs.

"Yes Nessie?" he said coming to me.

"Would you go to mom? She's feeling miserable for talking to you that way. But she won't come downstairs. She's too embarrassed. "I said smiling.

I hadn't even finished talking when dad had already disappeared up the stairs. Then we heard them both laughing. I smiled. Carlisle put his arm around me. I hugged him back.

"I love you grandpa." I said.

" Hahahahaha." Emmet laughed.

"Well, technically he is my grandpa, Uncle Emmet." I said to him.

"Yeah, that's true." Carlisle said and kissed my forehead.

Just before going to sleep, I began to think about Jacob once more. We hadn't spoken in two whole days, which was new. But that night I dreamt of Kyle. Don't ask me why though. I woke up a little bit confused. I had dreamt that Kyle had kissed me and I had actually liked it. So it was weird when I met him in school. He was talking to some friends, but he spotted me and came towards me.

"Good morning Nessie." He said smiling at me.

"Hi Kyle. How's everything going?" I said smiling back at him.

"Everything's better now. Hey did you study for calculus already?"

"Not so much. I'm kind of not good at it."

"Want me to help you? We can test each other. It would be like team studying."

"That sounds good. After class then?"

"Oh but we can't go to my house. My sister's having her friends over. We wouldn't be able to concentrate at all."

"Then we'll go to my place." I said before I could stop myself.

"Really? Ok, that's cool." He said just as the bell rang.

I didn't have time to think of what I had done. Inviting a human to a vampire's house? Before I could notice, classes ended and now it was time to go study with Kyle. He chatted all the way to the house about his basketball team. I could hardly keep up with the conversation. I was relieved to see that no one was home when we got there. Kyle was surprised with the size of the house.

"Wow. It's amazing." He said as we stepped inside.

"Yeah. It's a beautiful house." I said walking towards the dining room.

"Ok, let's study." He said taking out his books.

" Thanks for helping me Kyle." I said smiling at him.

" For you, anything Nessie." He said taking my hand.

Not far from there, the rest of my family was just returning home from a hunting trip. They were all chatting and laughing when suddenly dad stopped running and stood very still. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate as much as he could.

"What is it Edward?" Carlisle asked him.

"Shh. I'm trying to concentrate." He said.

"Ohh." Mom said gasping, "Nessie!" She started running towards the house.

"Bella wait. I'm trying to find out who is with her. Slow down." Dad said running after her. But it was useless. No one would stop mom from getting to me.

They stopped just outside the front door. Dad made the silence sign and then whispered, "definitely human."

"But who is it?" mom asked.

"I don't know." Dad said. He tried to read my thoughts but I was just thinking numbers. Then he saw something that made him go still. Then he got angry and tensed.

"What Edward?" mom asked.

"Oh no he won't" dad said pushing the door open.

Kyle had my hand in his and he was leaning over me, very closely while I read from a book. He jumped up when he heard the door bang open and saw my whole family walk in. Dad had a murderous look on his face. Mom was just too surprised to say anything.

"Nessie." She whispered.

"Cullen, hello. Dr. Cullen, everyone." Kyle said nervously.

"What are you doing here?" dad asked angrily.

"We were just studying calculus. We have a final tomorrow." He said.

"Calm down son." Carlisle said putting a hand on dad's shoulder.

"I won't calm down. He was about to kiss her." Dad said.

"Oh." Mom said coming to me and holding my hand.

"Really Edward, what gave you that idea?" I said.

"Will you deny it then Kyle?" dad asked him.

"No I won't deny it." Kyle said.

"Oh Kyle. You shouldn't have said that." I said.

"Kyle, I think it would be better if you go home now." Carlisle said.

"Yes Kyle. I'll talk to you tomorrow." I said.

"Ok. I still don't understand why Cullen gets so mad. But ok, I'll better talk to you tomorrow with no one interrupting." Kyle said, took his things and walked out.

Dad hadn't still moved one inch when suddenly he turned to look at me.

"Edward, please." Mom said.

"Renesmee Carlie Cullen, what the hell were you thinking!" he yelled at me. I turned and hugged mom, burying my face in her neck.

"Turn around and look at me young lady." Dad said walking towards me. He grabbed my arm and made me turn around.

"Edward you're hurting her. Let her go." Mom pleaded.

"I'm sorry daddy. We were just studying." I said looking at him with tears in my eyes.

"Oh baby." He said and hugged me. I hugged him tightly.

"You know I can't bear to see you cry. Shh it's ok. I'm sorry I got so angry. Just reading his thoughts made me want to kill him."

"I'm just not good at calculus and he said he'd help me. I know I can't bring people over. I'm sorry." I said.

"It's ok honey. Don't cry anymore." Mom said giving dad an angry look.

"I'm sorry Bella, I didn't mean to lose control that way." Dad said.

"Just remember she's your daughter Edward before you treat her this way ever again." Mom said.

"I know. Everyone, I'm really sorry." Dad said.

So my house was off limits. Kyle and I had to stay at school after class to be able to study. But it was all great because I got an A on my calculus test and I was now ready for graduation. Kyle and I had become really good friends in those days. He had stopped trying to kiss me and I was more at ease with him. We started spending a lot of time together. Dad wasn't too happy about that. He would always go pick me up wherever I was or he would send Emmet.

I talked to Jacob once more before my graduation. I was really excited about it and also about seeing him. I really missed him and he promised he would be there front row to clap for me. I couldn't wait. On the day of graduation I was really nervous. Alice had bought me a really nice dress and mom fixed my hair. I looked and felt really beautiful.

"You remind me of the day of my graduation. I was so nervous of falling down." Mom said.

"Last year?" I asked.

"No, I mean, my real graduation." She said winking at me.

"Oh, I see."

"That was 7 years ago. It feels like yesterday."

"Do you miss it mom? Being human?"

"No honey, I miss Charlie and Renee mostly. Not the rest."

"I miss Charlie too. It's been too long since we saw him. And Renne, well, I hope I get to meet her some day."

"Yeah I know. But Jacob's coming. That will be nice."

"I can't wait to see him. He said he would arrive directly at the ceremony."

"Yes, I can't wait to see him too. It's been a while."

I was completely and inexplicably nervous as we drove towards school for the graduation ceremony. I didn't know what to expect. It was all really new to me. Al though I had gone through my parents pretended graduation the year before. As always, the arrival of my family caused a lot of staring. I mean, I could understand them. A whole bunch of gorgeous looking young couples arriving in really fancy cars was something worth watching. Mom, Alice and Rosalie smiled at everyone. Dad, Emmet and Jasper just walked without looking at anyone. And Esme and Carlisle just walked behind them, stopping from time to time to say hello to someone they knew. I just walked behind them all trying not to look at anyone.

And then I saw Kyle. He smiled and walked right to me. Everyone else stopped walking and looked at him.

"Hey Nessie, you ready for all this?" he asked coming to my side.

"Not really." I said smiling nervously.

"Good evening Kyle." Dad said glaring at him.

"Oh, hello Cullen. Didn't see you there." Kyle said and then turned back to look at me.

"So as I was saying…" Kyle said.

"Oh Kyle," I said when I saw dad's dark eyes.

"Edward please. Just relax." Mom said.

"Come on Kyle. I think it's time for us to get ready for the ceremony." I said taking his hand and walking away from there.

The music began to sound and we all started walking too slowly towards our assigned seats. Before it was my turn to sit I turned to look at my parents, they smiled at me. I smiled back and then I noticed the empty chair beside mom. I looked back at mom before turning around and sitting down. I wasn't smiling any more. The rest of the ceremony was a complete blur in my mind. I still can't remember it clearly. I just recall hearing my name being called and receiving my diploma. I could hear my family's cheering and clapping in the background. When it was all over, I felt my parents' arms around me. I just couldn't say a word. Even Kyle hugged me and gave me a short kiss. I didn't seem to notice.

Esme had made a special "meal" just for me. Everyone was talking excitedly about the whole event. Carlisle smiled proudly at me and I tried to smile back. But I just couldn't get Jacob out of my mind.

"Stop thinking about him Nessie." Dad said.

"I can't. He promised me." I said with tears in my eyes.

"Oh Nessie he doesn't deserve it. I swear next time I see him…"Rosalie said.

"May I be excused please?" I said looking at mom.

"You sure? We all want to share this evening with you kid." Emmet said.

"Yeah, stay Nessie. We're all so proud of you." Jasper said.

"Let her go. Can't you all see she's not feeling ok?" Alice said touching my hand.

"He's an inconsiderate idiot. You shouldn't think about him ever again. As far as I'm concerned he's not part of this family. I personally don't want to see him around us anymore. He…"dad was saying.

"Stop daddy! Everyone just stop! I'm the one feeling miserable on my graduation day! Everyone just stop talking about him! It's not some stranger, it's Jacob! My Jacob!" I yelled and ran to my room.

"Edward stay. Let me go talk to her. I'm sorry everyone." Mom said and went after me.

"Wow. He must really mean something to her." Jasper said.

"Of course he does son. They're meant to be together." Carlisle said.

"Oh come on!" dad said and walked outside.

"Carlisle, you know how sensitive Edward is on that subject." Esme said.

"I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry. I better go talk to him."

"No, let me do it." Alice said and walked after dad.

Mom had hugged me for a long time while I just said nothing. I touched her face and I knew all she could see were images of Jacob. I fell asleep in her arms without noticing. I always felt so comfortable there, ever since I was a baby. I didn't mind the cold at all. I was sleeping when dad walked in and sat down beside mom. He put his arms around us and then stayed that way for many hours watching me sleep like they used to when I was a little girl.

I woke up a few hours later alone on my bed. I got up and dialed Kyle's number. He answered immediately. I had made up my mind. I was going to find Jacob and I needed some help.

"Hey Nessie what's up?" Kyle said.

"Hi Kyle, I'm fine thank you. How did your day go?"

"Oh you know, ok I guess. A lot of hugs and kisses and pats on the back." He said laughing.

"Yeah I know. Kyle listen, we're good friends right?"

"Of course we are. Why do you ask?"

"I need to ask you a favor."

"You know I would do anything for you Nessie."

"Thank you. Do you have time and money? I need you to go somewhere with me."

"Say it. I'm yours."

Next morning I said goodbye to my family. They were all going on a hunting trip. I said I wasn't feeling too good so they let me stay home and promised to bring some "souvenir" back to me. I hugged mom and dad tightly before they left. I felt I wasn't sure when I would see them again.

I was pacing the floor impatiently when I heard Kyle's car coming in the driveway. I ran outside and into his car. I kissed him lightly on the cheek while he smiled at me.

"So, ready for our adventure?" he said.

"Oh yeah." I said smiling.

We got to the airport really fast. There was not so much traffic since it was Sunday. We had just taken a duffel bag so there wasn't any luggage to check in. We just went right to the respective gate. I was really nervous. It was the first time I was travelling anywhere without my parents. Kyle held my hand while we got on the plane and during the whole flight. It was really scary. I was so relieved when we landed.

"So are you really sure about looking for this Jacob guy? I mean, we could just have fun here, the two of us." Kyle said.

"Kyle, please. Come on, let's go find Charlie." I said smiling. I was home, at last.

It was raining as usual. I was really excited about seeing Charlie. We arrived at his house at about 5:00 pm and I was sure he was taking a nap. He took some minutes to answer the door. He stared at me with wide opened eyes. I smiled at him and then hugged him.

"Oh Charlie it's so good to see you! It's been too long!" I said hugging him tightly.

"Bella?" he asked looking into my eyes.

"No Charlie, guess again."

"No way, it couldn't be. Renesmee?"

"Yes Charlie it's me." I said smiling at him.

"Wow, I mean, you're so grown up. Last time I saw you you were a little girl."

"I know. I'm sorry I didn't come before to see you. But here I am. Oh by the way, this is my friend Kyle. Kyle meet Charlie."

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir. Nessie talks a lot about you. Honestly, I imagined you would be older."

"Tell me about it." Charlie said.

"So how's everything going?" I asked Charlie.

"Oh OK I guess. Are Bella and Edward with you?" he asked.

"No, they're coming over at the end of the week. I just came on ahead with Kyle."

"So come on in. You must be really tired."

"Thanks." Kyle said.

"Charlie, have you heard about Jacob?" I asked him.

"He's fine I guess. I saw him last weekend at Billy's. We had lunch together. He has tons of work from what I could hear."

"I see. Hey Charlie is it ok if I rest a bit in Bella's room? Kyle can take the couch. We're kind of exhausted after such a long flight." I said.

"Of course Nessie. Go ahead. I'll make us some coffee for when you wake up." He said and kissed my forehead.

I loved mom's room. It smelled so good and looking at all her things. It was like reliving her memories, her human memories. It hadn't been so long ago. While I was taking a bath, Charlie made a call to a number that had been given to him strictly for emergency circumstances.

My parents were in the middle of a run with the rest of my family when suddenly mom stopped short. She grabbed dad's hand tightly and closed her eyes. Carlisle and Esme came back to where they were standing.

"What is it?" Carlisle asked.

"I don't know." Dad said.

"Bella honey? What's wrong?" Esme asked.

"My leg's buzzing." Mom said still with her eyes closed.

"What do you mean? Your cell phone?" Esme asked.

"No, not my cell phone. The other phone." Mom said and looked at Edward.

"Charlie." Edward said.

"I can't answer it. What if something's happened to him? Edward I wouldn't be able to deal with it." She said.

"Give it to me. I'll answer it." Dad said.

"No, let me talk to him son." Carlisle said and mom gave him the phone.

"Hello? Hi Charlie it's Carlisle." He said.

"What is it?" mom asked.

"No, Bella and Edward are here with me. Ok, I'll put her through." He said passing the phone to mom.

"Dad? Dad what is it? Are you ok?" mom asked.

"I'm fine Bells. I just wanted to ask you when are you getting here? You see, Nessie said you guys would be coming around the end of the week and I just wanted to be sure, since you didn't tell me or anything."

"She told you that? No dad, I'll talk to her when we get home and then I'll call you back."

"Bella, Nessie's here with me. She's taking a bath right now."

"What! No dad that can't be true, she stayed home."

"If she stayed home, then who's this very pretty girl with your eyes and bronze curls, right about your same age, that looks like your twin sister? She arrived about an hour ago with a friend, Kyle I believe." Charlie said.

When mom heard Kyle's name she knew what Charlie was saying was true. She dropped the phone and just started running back home.

"Bella! Bella what happened come back!" dad said and started running after her.

"Charlie it's Carlisle again. What did you tell Bella?" Carlisle said picking the phone up from the ground.

"Well I just told her that Nessie arrived here at my house about an hour ago. Why? Is something wrong?"

"Yeah but don't worry. I'm sure Bella will tell you everything once she gets there."

"So she is coming after all."

"Oh yes Charlie, we all are." Carlisle said before he hung up.

"Nessie! Nessie!" mom started yelling when she got home. It was now about 7:30pm. Mom went up to my room and searched everywhere in the house.

"She's not here Bella." Dad said meeting mom at the living room.

"I know. I just wanted to be completely sure my worst nightmare hadn't come true." Mom said hugging dad.

"Nothing will happen to her Bella. We'll find her." Dad said.

"She went back to Forks." Mom said and dad went rigid.

"She went to find Jacob, didn't she? That's why Charlie called."

"Yes, she showed up there and he just wasn't expecting her so he called to check up with me."

"When I find Jacob, I swear to you Bella I'll…I'll just…"

"She's all alone there Edward. She's alone there without protection. They'll find her, they'll find her and then my life will be over, 'cause I'll kill them and then everything will end."

"No, she will be all right. Come on, let's go get our baby." He said taking mom's hand.

"At least she's with Kyle." mom said smiling.

"Ok, now I'm definitely killing Jacob. My baby's out there all alone with this guy that wants to jump on her any chance he gets." Dad said glaring.

"That's my Edward." Mom said and kissed him.

I came out of my shower, got dressed and came downstairs to the living room. Charlie and Kyle were watching a football game.

"So, ready to go Kyle?" I said.

"Aren't you going to have something to eat first Nessie? Your friend here already ate." Charlie said standing up.

"No thanks Charlie. I'm not really hungry, a little bit thirsty, but I can handle it." I said smiling at him.

"Ok, let's go." Kyle said taking my hand as we walked out.

"So, where is it that we're going?" he asked.

"We're going to La Push. That's where Jacob lives."

"Oh right. Jacob." Kyle said rolling his eyes.

"Kyle, you promised."

"I know, I know. Ok, lead the way." He said smiling back at me.

It was a rather chilly night. Or at least it felt that way as we walked trough La Push. I wasn't really sure where I would find Jacob, but it seemed I wasn't going to have to look that long. We were about to pass by the gas station when we heard some loud laughter coming from the store. And there he was. Quil and Embry were with him, as well as some unknown girls. He had his arm around one of these girls and was smiling at her. I felt something change inside me right that instant. There he was, looking as gorgeous as ever, with someone else. He hadn't gone to my graduation, one of the most important events of my life, because he was supposedly working too much. A lot of work this was.

"Nessie jeez you're freezing cold. " Kyle said touching my arm.

"I'm ok Kyle, don't worry." I said walking towards the store.

Kyle opened the door for me and I walked in and stood there, blocking the exit.

"Good evening everyone." I said startling them.

"Well hello there babe. What can we do for you?" Embry said smiling at me. I turned my head and glared at him.

"Whoa relax." He said taking a step back.

"Oh my God, look at her eyes." One of the girls said. I turned to look at Jacob.

"Jake what's wrong? Why are you shaking?" The girl that was with him said.

"Nothing." He muttered.

"Jacob?" Quil asked.

"It's ok guys. He's just surprised to see me. Aren't you Jacob? I can see all the hard work you've been doing." I said glaring at him.

"Nessie, are you ok?" Kyle asked from behind me.

"Nessie! Oh God look at you!" Quil said smiling.

"Who is she Jake?" the girl asked again.

"Shut up! You just shut up! I need to talk to Jacob without you butting in every five seconds." I yelled at her.

"Hey! Who do you think you are? You…you…" the girl said.

"Umm…Karen…you don't wanna make her angry." Embry said.

"Nessie, this is not the way…" Jacob said.

"Oh, and what is the way, pray tell me." I said.

"Jake man, remember her family." Quil said.

"Should I call Sam?" Embry asked.

"No, there's no need. I'll be on my way in a minute. I just wanted to tell you Jacob Black that you're not the person I thought you were. You're not my friend anymore. From now on stay away from me and from my family. You promised Jake, you broke your promise and you broke my heart. Let's go Kyle." I said and walked out, not before I was sure he saw the tears. Outside, I started running. Kyle was just behind me.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Jacob said.

"Ok there's no need to panic. Girls, night's over. Quil will take you all home, won't you Quil?" Embry said.

"Sure, come on girls." He said.

"Are you ok Jake?" Karen asked.

"Yes, please go with Quil." He said.

"So, you know what this means, don't you?" Embry said.

"Yes I know. Please let me think for a while before you call Sam ok?" he said.

"Ok fine. Come on, I'll buy you a drink." Embry said.

Meanwhile, my parents arrived at Forks. Mom had decided not even to stop at Charlie's before going to look for me. They headed straight to La Push. When they arrived, they saw a small gathering of people so they hid themselves up on some trees. Jacob and Sam were gathered with their pack in front of the same store where I had been before.

"So Jake, what happened?" Sam asked.

"Nessie showed up." He said.

"Nessie? You mean Renesmee Cullen came here? To La Push and you didn't tell me Jake? I would've loved to see her." Seth said.

"It wasn't at all like that Seth. I…I…she was just so angry. I've never seen her that way before. Her eyes turned so dark…" Jacob said.

"What did you do Jacob?"

"I had promised to go to her graduation, but I didn't."

"Come on Jake, there's gotta be more than that."

"He was with Karen tonight." Embry said.

"Oh I see. You've been spending a lot of time with Karen haven't you Jake?"

"Yeah, she's a nice girl. We have a lot in common. She understands all the hard work I have and…and…"

"And what? She's older, more experienced?" Mom said walking towards where Jacob was standing.

"Bella." Sam said blocking the path towards Jacob. Quil, Embry and Jared stood next to Sam.

"Hello guys, nice to see you again. I need to speak with Jake, if you don't mind." Mom said trying to walk around them.

"I think you can talk to him right here, he'll hear you." Sam said putting his hand around mom's arm.

"Touch my wife again and Jacob's dead." Dad said surprising everyone from behind Jacob.

"Edward." Jacob said looking at him.

"No, I'm not here to kill you, just yet. But don't tempt me." Dad said looking straight at him.

"So all this hard work you were having, her name's Karen is it? I never expected something like this from you Jake. Not you. I trusted you with the most precious thing in my life, my own baby, and you just didn't care." Mom said getting to him.

"That's not true Bells, you know that's not true." Jacob said.

"Don't give me anymore excuses, where is she?" mom asked.

"I don't know. She ran away." He said.

"You let her leave, on her own?" dad said.

"No, she was with a friend."

"A human friend. A lot he'll do to protect her. That's the same as throwing her out on her own. How could you be so selfish Jacob?" mom said.

"Please Bells, she didn't give me any time to react. It all happened so fast." Jacob said.

There was a loud noise and then some young guys came running toward the store. They were just wearing jeans, no shirts.

"Jacob! Sam!" One of them yelled.

"What is it Peter? We're kind of in the middle of something here." Sam said.

"I've got an important message to deliver, it's from Leah. She's patrolling tonight and she just yelled, trespassing alert! Vampires in La Push!" he said.

"Well, that's a little late don't you think? We've been here for a while." dad said smiling.

"Oh, she didn't mean you Edward, she meant us." Emmet said showing up with Rosalie, Alice and Jasper. Everyone stepped in front of Jacob and Sam to protect them.

"Oh come on, you know that won't stop us." Rosalie said.

"Rose, please. There's no need to get hostile. We're just here for Bella and Edward." Alice said.

"And Nessie." Jasper added.

"Is she ok Bella?" Emmet asked.

"Well guys, we actually don't know, do we Jacob?" mom said.

"I'm sorry Bells, please, please forgive me." He said.

"You lost her! I knew we couldn't trust you!" Rosalie said angrily.

"I didn't lost her. She ran off." Jacob said.

"Where are Carlisle and Esme?" Dad asked.

"They went to get the cars and then to Charlie's house." Jasper said.

"So, then I guess there's nothing else for us to do here. Let's go look for Nessie. If she's with Kyle then they must still be in the woods somewhere." Emmet said.

"Alice, do you see her?" Dad asked.

"I'm sorry. You know I can't see Nessie clearly, but let's get going and I'll try to focus on her." She said.

"Yeah, let's go." Mom said and started walking away. Jacob followed her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Rosalie asked noticing Jacob.

"I'm going with you." He said.

"In your dreams." She said and looked at mom.

"No Jacob, you're not coming with us. We don't want you to come. Just stay here, it seems it's where you want to be anyway. We won't cause any trouble for you, I promise. Just tell Sam and everyone else we're sorry to have broken the treaty but it was an emergency. It won't happen again. We won't ever bother you again. Goodbye Jake." Mom said and ran away.

Meanwhile I had stopped running and sat by a familiar stream. The tears were blinding me and I couldn't see a bit. I think I had been there for about twenty minutes when I heard Kyle sitting next to me. He put his arm around me.

"Are you ok?" he asked me.

"No, but I'll be, I think." I said.

"Nessie, how on earth could you run so fast?" he asked me.

"Oh, I love running, it's just practice." I said standing up.

"Ok, if you say so. Where are we going now?"

"I think we're pretty close to my old house. Let's see if I remember the way." I said taking his hand.

My family arrived at Charlie's in a couple of minutes. Mom didn't even knock; she just pushed the door open and went in.

"Dad! Dad" she yelled.

"In here Bells." Charlie said from the living room. Carlisle and Esme were with him. Mom took one look at Carlisle and knew the answer.

"She's not here." Dad said taking mom's hand.

"I know."

"Oh Bells. I'm so sorry. I should've known something was wrong." Charlie said hugging mom.

"It's not your fault dad. It's mine. I did know she was upset and I left her all alone at home." Mom said.

"No Bella, it's my fault." Alice said.

"How come is it your fault Alice?" jasper asked her.

"I may not see Nessie clearly, but I sure can see Kyle. I should've paid more attention to him." Alice said.

"In that case, we're all at fault here. We should've all been paying Nessie more attention. We all knew she was upset about Jacob." Esme said.

"Yes, you're completely right honey. We are her family." Carlisle said.

"No guys, Nessie's not a little girl anymore and she made this decision without consulting us. It's obvious she didn't want us to stop her." Dad said.

"But now we gotta find her." Rosalie said.

"Yeah, let's go. What are we waiting for?" Emmet said.

"Could she be very far?" jasper asked.

"I don't think so. She doesn't know this area that much. She was very young when we left." Dad said.

"Yeah, and you barely left the house back then." Charlie said.

"I know where they are." Mom said smiling.

"And you're right Bella. Kyle's about to sit at the piano and play a song for Nessie." Alice said smiling.

I woke up when I heard Kyle playing the piano. It was such a lovely tune. I came down the stairs and smiled at him. He stopped playing when he saw me.

"That was beautiful Kyle. I had no idea you could play the piano." I said coming to him.

"My grandma taught me when I was a kid. But I don't play much."

"Well you should play. You're very talented. Just like my dad."

"I didn't know Dr. Cullen played the piano." He said looking at me curiously.

"Kyle, I want to thank you for being such a good friend to me. Really, I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come with me. So thank you." I said and hugged him.

"Anything for you Nessie. You know that." He hugged me back. I sensed something was about to change in a few minutes. The tree leaves were moving too fast and it wasn't that windy.

"Kyle, please promise me that whatever you hear or see in the next few hours---well try not to freak out ok? And just remember I'm still me, your friend. I just don't want to pretend anymore. Will you promise me that?"

"I don't understand what you're saying, but yes, I promise."

Right that instant, all my family arrived. Charlie included. They had all driven back out of consideration for Charlie.

"Nessie!" mom yelled and ran to me. She ran her natural way, not the human way. I saw Kyle's eyes open widely.

"Are you ok honey?" she asked me looking at my eyes. I felt Dad's arms around me then.

"Oh daddy I'm so so sorry. Please forgive me." I said as tears escaped me eyes.

"Don't cry sweetie, everything's ok." Mom said stroking my hair.

"We're here baby. Everything's fine now." Dad said as he kissed the top of my head.

"Charlie, I'm sorry for lying to you. Everyone, I shouldn't have put you through this. It wasn't even worth it." I said cleaning my face.

"We're your family silly, we love you." Alice said.

"I know. I love you all too. And I promise I'll never do anything so stupid again. Ever." I said and smiled at everyone.

They all came to hug me and kiss me. I felt so happy having my family there to comfort me. We were all laughing in no time. Even Charlie, who always kept his distance, joined in. Suddenly dad stopped.

"What did you just say Charlie?" dad asked.

"Nothing son." He said.

"Yeah, something about hello?"

"That was me. And I didn't say it out loud." Kyle said. Every head turned his way then. Emmet and Jasper jumped in front of us all and hissed at Kyle. Of course this made him jump back behind a chair, not that that would do him any good.

"Oh Kyle. I'm sorry, I forgot all about you." I said walking forward.

"You just called Cullen daddy? Did I hear you correctly?" he asked me.

"Yes, I did." I said.

"Why? I mean, there's no possible way that could be true."

"Remember how I told you I didn't want to pretend anymore? Well, this is what I was referring to. Edward and Bella are not my sister and brother in law. They're actually my parents. "

"Nessie…maybe you shouldn't…" Carlisle said.

"No Carlisle I'm sorry, but this is too hard for me. " I said.

"We all do it honey, pretend." Rosalie said.

"No you don't. You guys are really brothers and sisters, and you're together, you don't have to pretend about that. But I do. These are my parents, my mom and dad. I can't just ignore that and behave towards them differently. It's too hard for me." I said with tears in my eyes.

"Nessie…oh honey you know we love you so much, it doesn't matter if we act differently in public. You're our baby, our little girl." Mom said.

"And that will never change, but I understand what you're saying. It happened kind of the same way for me, with your mom I mean. I wanted so much to tell her the truth, but I was afraid once I did she would hate me or be scared of me and never want to see me again. And I was afraid for my family too. But we've had to pretend to be something we're not for so long, that maybe we forgot this is all too new for you." Dad said.

"Ok, again, hello? I'm right here. Can someone please explain what Cullen's talking about?" Kyle said coming from behind the chair.

"Umm…I would keep my distance if I were you Kyle. You don't wanna get any of them angry." Charlie said.

I went and sat down by Kyle while my parents and the rest of my family had gone outside to discuss this new situation. I wanted to tell Kyle everything, but my parents thought differently. I still didn't know what they were planning on telling him. I mean, he had seen mom's speed and how were they going to explain the fact that they didn't age. Kyle kept looking at me weirdly.

"Stop looking at me that way." I said to him.

"Sorry, can't help it." He said and looked away.

"It's still me. Nothing's changed."

"You can't actually expect me to believe that Nessie, I mean, something weird's going on here." He said standing up.

"No Kyle, we're not aliens." Dad said coming back in, followed by the rest of them.

"How…did…you?"

"Oh, yeah, I can read minds." Dad said and looked at Carlisle.

"Ok, what else? If you're not aliens, then what is it? You all got super powers or what?"

"More or less." Emmet said.

"It's ok Edward, you can tell him, he has decided to keep being Nessie's friend no matter what we tell him." Alice said.

"Ok, now that was weird. Nessie please say something and please say it fast. I can't take this suspense anymore. It's driving me crazy." Kyle said standing up.

"I agree with Kyle. Let's get this over with. Dad, if you still wanna keep things the way you know them, would you mind stepping out for a minute?" mom said to Charlie.

"Oh, well, I think after all this time and giving the fact that you guys don't bother to pretend anymore around me, I kind of figured out many things on my own. I would like to stay if it is ok with you honey." Charlie said.

"It's totally fine dad." Mom said smiling at him.

"It would actually be nice to share this with you Charlie. You are as much a part of this family as any of us." Esme said.

"And you are totally going to be ok with it too." Alice said.

Charlie smiled at mom and sat down on my other side. Now I felt nervous. How would they react? Charlie knew too much already, I mean, just giving the fact that he had accepted that I was Bella's daughter when she had only been pregnant for a month, and also that now we looked like sisters instead of mother and daughter. But Kyle? This was all completely new to him. And he was just a kid, not a grown man like Charlie. So I stood up.

"Where are you going?" Kyle asked me.

"I don't wanna be sitting in the middle there. It makes me nervous." I said and went to stand beside mom. She put her arm around me and kissed my cheek.

"She really is your mom, isn't she?" Kyle asked me.

"Yes, she's the best mom ever!" I said.

"I knew that sweetie, where else can you find a mom as cool as me?" mom said and winked.

"Bella please." Dad said rolling his eyes.

"Ok, here's the deal Kyle. I'm really proud of my family, it doesn't matter what you or anyone thinks. I have the best family on Earth. First, we don't age. The only one aging and that was just until last year, was me. This you can ask Charlie, he knows." I said.

"Is that true?" Kyle asked Charlie.

"I'm afraid so. They all look exactly the same as they did when I first met them. Except Bella and Nessie. Well, actually Bella stopped changing just about the time when she and Edward got married. That was about 8 years ago." Charlie said.

"Ok let me get this straight. You don't age, Cullen can read minds, Alice can guess what will happen, Bella can move extremely fast, are you guys even human?" Kyle asked.

"Actually, we used to be, but we're not anymore." Carlisle said.

"And the fast thing, we're all fast, it's not just Bella." Rosalie said.

"And don't forget amazingly strong." Emmet said smiling.

"So what are you? Mutants or something?" he asked.

"Try vampires." Emmet said.

"Emmet!" Dad and Carlisle said.

"Sorry, but weren't you getting to that eventually?" he said laughing.

"I don't think this is funny son." Carlisle said.

"Jeez ok, I'm sorry Kyle for blurting it out like that." Emmet said rolling his eyes.

My eyes hadn't left Kyle's throughout the whole conversation. He was staring at us with his mouth hanging open. He hadn't reacted yet to what Emmet had said. He just stayed there, sitting down, staring at all of us. But then Charlie spoke.

"What did you just say Emmet?" he said angrily and we all turned to look at him.

"I said we're…" Emmet said.

"I heard you, I just don't…I trusted you Carlisle. And this is what you turned my daughter into? A monster?" he said glaring at Carlisle.

"Charlie I…" Carlisle said.

"Dad, you have it all wrong. Carlisle didn't do anything. It was my choice." Mom said walking towards Charlie.

"Don't touch me. Stay away from me. Are you even my daughter anymore?" he said stepping back.

"Dad please don't say that." Mom said with anguish in her eyes. She turned to look at dad and I just couldn't contain my tears any longer when I saw her face.

"Alice, you said he would be ok with it." Dad said hugging mom.

"I'm sorry, he had decided to accept everything." Alice said.

"I guess he just changed his mind at the last second." Jasper said.

"It's not working Jaz. I can still feel his anger." Dad said to Jasper, who was trying to calm everyone.

"Charlie, my friend, we have never been monsters. On the contrary, we have always tried to blend in and share everything with humans." Carlisle said.

"No, I can't accept this, I'm sorry. And you, if you loved Bella the way you said, wouldn't you want the best for her? Do you think this…this life, if it's even what it is, is what she deserved? You are the worst one of all." He said to dad.

"I tried my best Charlie, I really did." Dad said.

"Dad, it's still me. My love for you hasn't changed." Mom said pleading.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can believe that." Charlie said starting to walk away.

I couldn't let this end this way. Mom was devastated. This had gone all wrong.

"No, no! This is not happening!" I yelled and everyone stopped.

"Nessie, baby…" dad said.

"No daddy, someone has to say something or do something. This is Charlie, it's not some stranger." I said crying.

"We know that honey." Rosalie said.

"Charlie don't leave. Please. You're my grandfather. You're one of the persons I love the most in the world. How can you not see how mom's suffering by your rejection? They've never done any harm to anyone. They're always trying to protect you. And what about me? Don't you love me even a little? I know everyone sees me as a big girl, but please remember I've only been in this world for a little more than seven years and seven year olds are supposed to feel secure and loved. Jacob doesn't love me anymore and now you're leaving us too. I just can't handle it." I said and ran to hug Charlie.

At first he didn't move. He just stood there, like a frozen statue. I touched his face with one of my hands and showed him images of my first Christmas at his house in Forks, and of other times when mom and I were smiling at him and hugging him. Gradually I felt him move and then he was hugging me too.

"Oh Nessie sweetie I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything I said. Of course I love you. You're the most beautiful granddaughter in the world. Please Nessie, please forgive me." He said stroking my hair.

"I love you too Charlie." I said and kissed him.

"I'm sorry everyone." He said.

"It's ok Charlie, we know it's not an easy thing to hear." Carlisle said.

"Bella…I"

"Daddy." Mom said and hugged him.

"This is all my fault Charlie. I'm really sorry for ruining Bella's life." Dad said.

"That's not true Edward and you know it. I chose this; I chose to become one of you." Mom said.

"Actually, Nessie chose for you. If Edward hadn't turned you, you would be dead by now." Alice said.

"That's true you know." Dad said.

"yeah, thanks Nessie." Mom said smiling at me.

"You're welcome mom. But can I please ask you all for a favor? Don't call me Nessie anymore. From now on, it's Renesmee ok?" I said.

"You got it kid." Emmet said and they all nodded.

I was sitting on the couch beside Chalie, mom was on his other side and he was hugging us both, when I remembered Kyle.

"Oh my God!" I said and jumped up.

"He's outside Ne…honey. But let me go talk to him ok?" dad said.

"Will you be nice to him daddy?"

"I'll try." He said and winked at me.

"Mind if I sit with you?" dad asked him.

"Maybe." Kyle said moving away a little bit.

"It's ok, we won't hurt you, it would make Renesmee sad."

"She's really your daughter then?"

"Yes, she is."

"And you can read minds?"

"Yes, I can."

"No wonder you wanted to kill me that day." Kyle said smiling.

"Oh, please don't make me remember that. That's my baby girl in there."

"Sorry. Wow, vampires. I thought vampires didn't actually exist."

"Well, we do."

"But then, is Ne…Renesmee a vampire too? I mean, now thinking about it, she looks a bit different than you guys."

"You got that right. She's half human. Bella was still human when she got pregnant, it was just after Renesmee was born that I turned her. I had to, or she would've died. I wanted for her to stay human more time, but in the end, there was only one way out. And no, I didn't suck out her blood."

"Sorry, vampire movies."

"Yeah, they don't do us any good. Very bad publicity. So, are you going to be ok with this Kyle? I mean, can we trust you to keep Renesmee's and our secret safe?"

"I guess so. I really care about Renesmee, and maybe this way I can be a better friend to her or something."

"Thank you Kyle. I think I just started to like you, which is a lot." Dad said shaking Kyle's hand.

"Jeez you're so cold." Kyle said pulling his hand away.

"You'll get used to it." Dad said and chuckled.

I could hear dad and Kyle talking outside and at least there wasn't any screaming or anything. I knew mom and I could very well stay all night sitting down there with Charlie, but he couldn't. So, he kissed both of us and stood up.

"Where are you going dad?" mom asked him.

"It's almost dawn, I'm kind of tired. Aren't you guys tired?" he said.

"Actually Charlie, I am. I'm going to go sleep a little bit. Will you wake me up later mom?" I said.

"Sure honey, go get some rest." Mom said.

"How about you Bella?" Charlie asked.

"We don't sleep dad. Ever." Mom said smiling.

"I see. So, will you pass by the house before you leave?"

"Of course we will. And dad, thanks again, for understanding." Mom said and hugged him.

"See you later Bells." He said and left.

I couldn't sleep one bit. I kept reliving the moment when I saw Jacob with that other girl. I just didn't understand. If we were supposed to be soul mates or something, how could he like some other girl? And also I felt weird because I hadn't realized up until now how much I cared about Jacob and how much I truly loved him. And it wasn't the same type of love as it had been before. I wanted him with me; he was mine and no one else's. That's why I was so mad at him and so hurt by his actions. He had acted like I wasn't important to him at all. Like I was just some girl he could toss out whenever he felt like it. I just couldn't understand what had happened. What had I done for him to stop liking me? What was wrong with me?

"I swear I could just kill him right now for making her feel this way." Dad said downstairs.

"What's wrong Edward?" Rosalie asked.

"She thinks something's wrong with her and that that's why Jacob doesn't like her anymore." Dad said.

"My poor baby girl. I don't understand. Carlisle, do you know if it is possible for a werewolf to des-imprint or something like that?" mom asked.

"I honestly don't know Bella, but something must be going on with Jacob. I assure you he would be the last person to hurt Renesmee intentionally." Carlisle said.

"I thought so too. But look at what he's done. I hadn't seen Renesmee so scared before, not even when the Volturri were threatening us or at any other moment." Mom said.

"That's true. This is something different." Alice said.

They were still discussing about Jacob when suddenly dad stood up abruptly, and growled at the window.

"Oh no you're not." He said and walked outside, signaling Jasper and Emmet to go with him. I heard the commotion and went to see what was going on. It was morning already. Kyle was still sleeping so my family was not keeping any restrain at all. They were moving around like crazy.

"Let me get out there!" mom was saying.

"Let Edward handle this Bella, it's for the best. Believe me." Alice said keeping a hold on mom.

"What is going on? Mom, are you ok?" I asked.

"She's fine Renesmee, Alice is just trying to keep her from going outside. It would only make things worse. Not that I wouldn't love to go there and bite his head off myself." Rosalie said.

"Jacob's here." I said stating the obvious.

"Yes, and your father's outside with him." Mom said.

"Great. Mom, I don't wanna see him. Can you go and tell him that? Please." I said walking back upstairs.

"You heard her Alice, let me go." Mom said finally breaking loose from Alice's hold.

Outside, Jacob was in his human form, trying to get into the house to see me. But of course, my dad and Jasper and Emmet weren't letting him.

"I said NO Jacob, what part of that don't you understand?" dad said.

"Please Edward, I need her to understand. Let me talk to her." Jacob said.

"You heard Edward the first time Jacob, please leave. We don't want you here." Mom said arriving.

"Bells, I really need you to listen to me. Just this once. I'm really sorry about everything. I need to tell Nessie that. Please let me see her Bells, for old time's sake." He said pleading with his eyes.

"Renesmee found out you were here and she specifically asked me to tell you that she doesn't want to see you. So, please leave now Jake, before you really make us angry. I don't want to hurt you, it would make Billy really sad." Mom said and walked back into the house.

"You heard Bella, leave Jacob. You're not upsetting my baby any more than you already have." Dad said.

"Ok, I'll go. Just…I'M SORRT NESSIE!" he yelled at the house and then he turned around and went running into the woods, where I'm sure he phased.

I had heard him from upstairs and tears escaped my eyes. It just hurt too much to hear his voice. I risked looking out the window, and got a glimpse of his retreating back. It was for the best. If he preferred to be with his own kind that left me out of the picture. So I decided that it wasn't going to upset me anymore. I went to where Kyle was sleeping and shook him.

"Hey Kyle, wake up." I said to him. He shifted and turned around to the other side.

"I mean it Kyle. It's time to get up."

"Come on Nessie…it's too early." He mumbled.

"Ok, then I'll go get my dad, no better, uncles Emmet and Jasper. I'm sure they'll have a more efficient way of making you get up." I said and giggled just at the thought.

"Uncles Em…" he said opening his eyes and then he kind of grasped the idea and jumped up. That had me laughing so hard it brought exactly the right person up to see what was going on.

"What is it? What's so funny kid?" Emmet said coming into the room. I could hear dad laughing downstairs. Kyle jumped behind me, wide eyed.

"Oh nothing Emmet, just that I might have needed your help in getting Kyle ready to go. But I think everything's ok now." I said winking at him.

"You sure kid? I would love to give you a hand." He said smiling and making a teasing growl.

"I'm already up Nessie, for real. Come on, let's get downstairs and help Cullen with whatever…" Kyle said taking my hand and walking by Emmet rather fast. That got Emmet into hysterics and then the whole house seemed to be laughing too. Good, 'cause I needed the laughter. It was soothing.

So we got to the airport and into our respective flight. I sat beside Kyle with mom and dad seated across from us and the rest of my family around us somewhere. I glanced at my parents. They were completely immersed in one another. It was so comforting to see how much they loved each other; I knew they would gladly give their lives protecting each other and our family. I hoped one day I could feel the same way towards someone. I thought it was going to be this way with Jacob, but now I wasn't so sure.

"Hey Renesmee, so let me get this straight, you'll be attending college with me now? Is that the plan?" Kyle asked, bringing me back from my reverie.

"Yeah, that's what I was supposed to do now anyway. My parents want me to have as much a normal life as possible, so college is what comes after high school."

"And what about them? What are they going to do now?"

"Oh, when dad said college's next, he meant for all of us."

"All of you? You mean…"

"Well not all of us really, Carlisle will continue with his current job, as will Esme and Emmet and I guess Rose will continue designing her clothes and accessories line at home with Alice's help. But Alice will be attending classes with Jaz and my parents. I mean, they're the much younger looking and well, it's also a good way to keep an eye out just in case." I said.

"I see. Well, it would be kind of fun actually."

"What do you mean?"

"To see people react to the Cullen's the same way we did in school. I remembered the first day you guys arrived. Quite a distraction I tell you." He said smiling. Dad chuckled, probably reading Kyle's mind.

We arrived at our house, which was located at a small town in north-eastern Canada. I was happy to be sleeping in my own bed again. The next couple of weeks went by really fast. We were all very busy arranging everything for our college entrance. Mom was really excited about it, since she hadn't be able to attend college ever before. She had already registered into the classes she wished to attend; of course dad would be in those same classes with her. I tried to be in as much classes as I could with Kyle. To be honest, I was terrified of being alone in the big campus. And I loved the way daddy was so overprotective of me, and in a similar way, Kyle was acting the same way too. How I wished I could feel something more than friendship towards him, but that was clearly not the case. As much as I wanted, I couldn't get Jacob out of my head. It was too hard.

And so our first day of college arrived. I was extremely nervous as I climbed down from dad's car. Mom squeezed my hand and Alice winked at me. Kyle was waiting by the building entrance, a big smile on his face. He was clearly enjoying the moment. As we started walking towards the main building, people around us stopped whatever they were doing to stare at us. I know I wasn't the one people were actually staring at, that would be my parents and Alice and Jasper, but it definitely made me feel awkward. I looked at mom and dad and they just looked so cool and relaxed, like they were the most popular kids at campus. Alice and Jasper just stared right ahead and smiled at each other, not taking any notice in the people around them. I envied them all.

"So Kyle, glad to see you're enjoying the show?" dad said when we got to him.

"Oh yeah, you have no idea." He said.

"Just promise to help Renesmee in whatever she needs. Please." Mom said to him.

"I promise Bella."

"Don't worry; I see a clear day for all of us." Alice said smiling at me.

"You always do honey." Jasper said giving her a small kiss.

"Renesmee, anything you need, you know how to get our attention baby." Dad said and hugged me.

"Umm Edward, don't need to make this even more embarrassing. You're all treating me like I'm a 5 year old. Let's go Kyle. Don't wanna be late for class. Love you all." I said and walked away, tugging Kyle behind me. I could feel their smiles boring into my back.

My first couple of classes went on ok. I actually had my third class with Jasper and Alice and it was kind of fun watching Alice guess everything the teacher was going to ask us next. Jaz and I just smiled the whole time and let her have her fun. By the end of the class the teacher was very frustrated. It had us all laughing later.

"Hey baby, how's your first day going?" dad asked me when we all met for "lunch".

"It's pretty great actually. I'm enjoying all my classes." I said as we sat down.

"Oh Edward college's awesome!" mom said when she arrived.

"You really think so?" he asked as he gave her a small hello kiss.

"Of course! Now I think I should've listened to you more carefully back when we were making all those deals." She said winking at him.

"You see, I was right. Ha!" he said smiling at her.

"You're always right Edward, we know that. But yeah, college's kind of fun." Jasper said.

"Bella, there's nothing you could've done, deal or no deal. Remember, Renesmee chose for you." Alice said.

"I know. But I still think it's wonderful we're finally able to do this. Come on honey, let's get you some food." Mom said taking my hand.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Kyle asked coming to sit with us.

"Fine Kyle. You want to eat something before we have to go back to class?" I said.

"No thanks, we're actually going to be late for English lit if we don't hurry up you know." He said.

"Ok come on, let's go. See you later guys." I yelled as I walked away with Kyle.

We were sitting at the classroom waiting for our teacher or professor, as they liked to be called, when this young guy in his twenties walked in and put his bag on the professor's desk. Was he like the tutor or assistant or something? He looked too young to be our teacher. But it turned out I was wrong, he was our professor. He had blond hair, blue eyes and the kindest smile I had ever seen.

"Good afternoon everyone, I'm Mr. Newton, your English lit professor. Welcome to my class. Before we begin, I know I'm quite younger than you expected, but it's my second year as a teacher here, and to be honest, this is the best job ever. I love English literature and I'm pretty sure by the end of the course you'll be loving it too." He said. Kyle and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes.

"So, as I like to put a name to all your faces, just for that, I promise I don't check attendance or anything, I just like to know who I'm speaking with, please tell me your names, ages and hometowns. Let's begin with you, in the back." He said pointing at Kyle.

"Ok, my name's Kyle Jennings, I'm 18 and completely local." He said smiling.

"Welcome to my class Kyle." Mr. Newton said.

"I'm Renesmee Cullen, I'm 18 and local too." I said and winked at Kyle.

"Cullen?" Mr. Newton asked.

"Yes, that's my name." I said.

"Interesting. Hadn't heard that name in a while. You kind of remind me of someone actually." Mr. Newton said and got me frowning. He then continued with the rest of the class and I forgot about his comment.

Kyle and I were walking away after class was over, when we heard Mr. Newton calling us. We turned around and saw him coming to us, his blue eyes smiling.

"Wait guys, hey I just kept thinking about your name back there, and I wanted to ask you if you are by any chance related to Isabella Swan? Or I guess she's Isabella Cullen now." He asked me. I was speechless for a minute. He knew mom?

"Yes, she's my sister." I said.

"Sister?" he asked making a weird face.

"Cousin actually. They're just so close you'd think they were really sisters." Kyle said not meeting my eyes. I didn't know what else to say.

"Oh that's wonderful. I went to school with her back in Forks and with Cullen too. Didn't see it coming, her and Cullen I mean. She was just so quiet and reserved and then suddenly she's with him and they're getting married. It was all rather fast, if you ask me. Never understood it. But, anyway, please tell her Mike Newton said hi. I hope she remembers me. See you in class." He said and with that he left.

I was completely speechless. I didn't say another word to Kyle while we walked to where dad was waiting for me at the car. I had asked him not to say anything to my parents, I wanted to do that. I knew this would change things once more and I really didn't want anything to change right now. So I was trying desperately to block my thoughts, even though I knew that would make dad more curious, but I wanted to at least get home before I told them.

So supper time arrived, that's when everyone sat at the big dining room table and talked about each other's day, while I ate some food and drank a bit of mountain lion, it's a tradition that started with them wanting to keep me company. I was avoiding dad's eyes completely.

"Ok, I'm done. Thanks for the company." I said getting up.

"Oh come on baby, you're driving me nuts! What is it that you are so fervently blocking from me?" dad said.

"Nothing daddy, everything's fine." I said blushing.

"Ha! There you go bro. Beautiful trait you inherited from your mom Renesmee, but it kind of gives you away."Emmet said.

"Why are you lying honey?" Rose asked me.

"Sweetie, you know you can tell us anything. What's going on?" mom asked.

"I just don't want anything to change. I like college, and I love the idea if having you there with me too." I said sitting down again and covering my face with my hands.

"Oh. I see." Dad said getting all tense.

"What is it Edward?" Jasper asked.

"I can't see anything clearly, just that…oh Edward must we?" Alice said pouting.

"Stop it! Someone please tell me what is going on." Mom said.

"Go ahead Renesmee, tell your mother who you met today." Dad said suppressing a growl.

"Edward what…who?" mom asked.

"It's my English lit teacher mom. He knows you." I said.

"What do you mean? Is he from around here?"

"Try another town Bella." Dad said.

"From Forks? Is that it?"

"From high school." I said looking straight at her.

"What? But, high school, that was a long time ago, I…was…human." Mom said wincing.

"Exactly." Dad said.

"Who is it? Maybe it's just someone who went at the same time we did, maybe it's no one important." Alice said.

"He specifically asked if I knew Isabella Swan or Isabella Cullen 'cause I looked a lot like her. And also, he said something about never understanding how mom ended up with dad. He said something about her and Cullen rushing to get married or something like that." I said.

"Oh no. It's Mike isn't it?" mom asked me.

"Yeah, he said to tell you Mike Newton said hi and that he hoped you remembered him." I said and dad growled.

"The Newton kid? No way. Watch out Edward, your rivals are showing up! But wait, Mike Newton's and English Literature professor? Hahahahaha. " Emmet said laughing.

"Not funny Emm. Don't you see what this means?" Rosalie said.

"If Mike sees us in campus, he'll notice something's out of place. We can't be students there if we supposedly graduated with him from high school. It just doesn't add up." Mom said whining.

"So this means we can't go back to class?" jasper asked.

"We have to think this through. I don't like the idea of Renesmee attending classes without any of you there." Carlisle said.

"Me either. But it's too risky." Dad said.

"What did you answer him honey? When he asked you about me?" mom asked.

"Well, I started saying you were my sister, but I guess Kyle picked up that he knew you so he said we were cousins instead." I said.

"I'll have to thank Kyle for that." Dad said.

"So what do we do now?" jasper asked Alice.

"I can't see it very clearly. A minute ago it seemed that we weren't returning to class, but now it's shifting. Edward?" she said.

"I'm still thinking. Come on Bella I'm thirsty. We'll talk to you all when we get back. Renesmee please try to get some sleep. We'll talk in the morning." Dad said taking mom's hand.

"Ok, have a nice hunt. Mom, please let me know when you get back." I said kissing them both.

"I will honey. Now rest." She said and they left. I knew they were going to decide what to do now. I hated when this stuff happened. Sometimes I just wished we were a normal family.

I couldn't sleep very well that night. I kept dreaming that Jacob and I ran away and got married at Vegas by a guy in an Elvis costume. We were just so happy, laughing and dancing. But then suddenly Jacob started fading and I was left all alone in a big empty room with no exit. That is when I woke up screaming.

"Baby are you ok?" dad said running to me and hugging me tightly.

"Nightmare daddy. I'm fine now." I said as I showed him what my dream had been about.

"You shouldn't be having any nightmares at all. I'm sorry for all this."

"It's not your fault daddy. I just…do you really have to stop going to classes now? What did you decide last night?"

"Come on, let's get downstairs." He said taking my hand.

It turns out my parents along with the rest of the family, had talked for hours trying to decide what was the best course of action. They had finally agreed on a simple plan, which Emmet suggested. They would keep everything as it was right now, and if they met Mike or anything, they would just say they were on a graduate program to get their masters degree or something like that. I hugged Emmet and thank him for his brilliant idea. This meant that I wouldn't be alone at college.

"Oh, but what about your appearances? I mean, he does look older than you and you're supposedly the same age." I said in the car when we were driving to class.

"Umm…special skin treatment?" jasper suggested.

"By our gifted doctor dad." Mom said smiling.

"Not a bad idea, and yours will totally work too Edward." Alice said.

"What is Alice talking about daddy?"

"Nothing honey. There comes Kyle now. See you later baby. Come on Bella." Dad said.

"Bye sweetie." Mom said and they all walked away.

"What was that all about?" Kyle asked me.

"Nothing, they're just acting weird that's all."

"Oh, as usual then." He said smiling.

"Not funny." I said and started walking ahead of him.

The morning went by in a blur. And then it was time for English lit. I sat at the back as usual with Kyle, but I could notice Mr. Newton or Mike, glancing at me from time to time. I felt really uncomfortable just sitting there as if nothing was going on. I just had the feeling something was about to happen and I wasn't wrong. After class, I was coming out of the room with Kyle, Mike was just I front of us, when he stopped short, making Kyle and I stumble into him. He was staring at some guy across the hall. It took me a second to realize it was my father.

"Cullen." Mike said finally blinking.

"Mike." Dad said.

"Umm…I'll see you later Renesmee." Kyle said and walked away.

"Edward hi. What are you doing here?" I said as I went to stand beside him, he put his arm around me.

"Just wanted to say hello to an old friend. How are you doing Mike? Heard you're a teacher now." Dad said still looking straight at Mike.

"Yes, I've been a teacher here for two years now. You…look…" Mike said.

"Will you come with me for a minute?" dad said to him.

"Edward…what…" I said but he pulled me with him towards the exit. I then heard Mike's slow steps behind us. What was dad going to do?

As we stepped out of the building, I saw mom, Alice and Jasper standing around a small clearing a few feet away. So they were confronting him together.

"Guys, look who's come to say hi." Dad said to them and turned to Mike.

"Mike, how nice to see you again." Mom said smiling at him.

"Bella? Is it really you?" Mike asked.

"Of course it's me Mike. And you remember Alice and Jasper." Mom said.

"Hello Mike." They said to him.

"You look … like… you look like them now. What happened to you Bella? You kind of disappeared." He said still looking only at mom.

"Well, you do remember Bella and I got married, don't you Mike?" dad said.

"Yes, I remember. But, we never saw you again. Any of you."

"We left town for a few years. You know, went to college and stuff." Jasper said.

"I see. But Bella, you've changed so much." He said frowning.

"The advantages of having a very gifted doctor in the family." Mom said smiling.

"Well, you do look beautiful. More than before." Mike said taking a few steps towards mom.

"Yes, she's very beautiful." Dad said putting an arm around her.

"Ok, so I guess you'll see each other around campus. My cousins are taking a graduate program here." I said.

"Oh really? That's nice. Haven't gotten around to doing mine. I guess I'll work for a couple of years more and then get studying again." Mike said.

"Yeah, see you around then Mike." Dad said.

"Sure. See you in class Renesmee." He said and walked, or almost ran, away back to the building.

Everyone started laughing around me. They all found the Mike situation funny, but I didn't. I was the one who had to go to his class and see his tormented face whenever he looked at me. It was just so not fair. I started to retreat slowly, but mom saw me and stopped laughing. I shook my head and turned around so they wouldn't see my face. Dad knew what I was thinking though, so it really didn't matter if I wasn't speaking out loud.

And it happened just as I imagined. At class, I'd catch Mike looking at me with a scared expression on his face, it made me so angry. I loved English lit and now just going to class was tormenting for me. Kyle would try to tease me about it, but he stopped when he realized it wouldn't change anything. So, I wasn't talking that much at home either. I avoided being around my dad by myself, so I went along with Alice and Rosalie shopping and to the mall and stuff whenever they wanted to. Dad just chuckled every time I said I wanted to join them. I didn't care he knew what was going on with me, it still made me mad.

Classes continued in almost the same pattern. I would hang around with Kyle mostly, while my parents, Alice and Jasper were obviously the center of all the staring around campus. Whenever Alice and mom were alone, guys would dare to get a bit closer to them. It was kind of funny to see Jasper's and dad's faces when they caught mom and Alice flirting. But they did this unconsciously; they couldn't be guilty for being so beautiful. I was coming out of the building one morning when I caught a reddish-brown blur in the woods. I ran, but when I got there I couldn't see anything unusual, except for green all around me. But then I recognized the scent. That familiar unmistakable scent.

"Jacob? Are you here?" I asked looking around me.

"Renesmee what are you doing here?" Jasper asked from behind me.

"Oh Jaz, you scared me." I said jumping around.

"Sorry, please answer my question."

"Nothing, just thought I saw someone." I said not looking at him.

"I see. Why are you so nervous and anxious? Who did you think you saw?" he asked putting his hand on my shoulder.

"You can trust me honey, you know that." He said smiling at me.

"Ok, I think it was Jacob. His scent, it's still here."

"Yes, I can feel it too. So, where is he?"

"Don't know. Please don't tell dad. He would get so angry."

"And we can't tell Rose either. She would surely come hunting for him." Jasper said and laughed.

"Alice won't guess what we're hiding will she?"

"No, not unless we decide to do something about it. Which we will not. So you've got nothing to worry about. But, promise me you'll tell me if you see him again. And don't come wandering into the woods alone Renesmee, you know that's not safe." He said putting his arm around my shoulders and leading me back towards school.

"I know. I'm sorry." I said and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Everything changed the day Julie arrived. She was this new student at Mike's class. She had shoulder-length black hair and such sparkling blue eyes. Kyle was immediately drawn to her, but she was kind of shy. She barely talked in class at all.

"Hi, I'm Renesmee Cullen, nice to meet you." I said at the end of class.

"I'm Julie Valclaire." She said smiling.

"C'mon, introduce me." Kyle whispered to me.

"Oh, this is my friend Kyle. Kyle, meet Julie." I said smiling at him.

"So, how's your day going so far Julie? You can totally hang out with us, right Renesmee?" Kyle said.

"Sure, come on Julie. Let's get something to eat." I said as we walked together.

I was so happy to have a new friend. Kyle and I started spending a lot of time with Julie. We studied together, went to the mall, listened to music and whenever Kyle wasn't around, Julie would talk to me about boys. I was so amazed by everything she knew. She seemed so mature and older than me. I was such a child compared to her. She had already had 2 boyfriends, had recently broken up with the last one.

Around home, Alice was in a happy mood because she saw me a lot happier too, which also made my parents happy. Jasper hadn't said one single word to Alice about Jacob. I had told Julie some of my story with him and she had just sighed and said she thought maybe he wasn't the right guy for me, but that it was totally my decision to make. I had felt his scent again a couple more times, but he was nowhere to be found. That's why I decided to call Charlie.

"Umm, Carlisle can I ask you a favor?" I said coming into his office and sitting on his desk.

"Sure honey, anything you want." He said smiling at me.

"Would you please call Charlie? I haven't heard from him in a while."

"You want to talk to your grandfather? Honey Bella or Edward could call him for you if you ask them to." He said patting my head.

"I know, but I don't want to call him in front of mom and dad. Please?"

"Ok, you know I can't say no to you sweetie." He said as he dialed Charlie's number.

"Thanks grandpa!" I said smiling at him.

"Hey Charlie, it's Carlisle. How are you doing? Oh that's great. Yeah, everything's fine here. Just wanted to say hello. Of course your girls miss you, I have Renesmee here with me. I'll put her on." He said handing me the phone.

"Hi Charlie! How are you doing?"

"Hey honey, I'm ok, same old, same old." He said.

"That's good to hear. How's everyone down there? Sue? Billy? Tha pack?" I asked making a short glance in Carlisle's way.

"They're all great. You want to know about Jake, right?"

"Yes, please."

"Billy said he went away on an expedition a few days ago, but that he should be back shortly. He seemed to be doing ok."

"I see. Thanks grandpa. I love you."

"I love you to sweet heart. Tell your mother I love her as well."

"I will. Thanks."

"Anytime kid. Bye."

"Well, that was interesting." Carlisle said.

"Thanks for letting me do this Carlisle. I needed it. Can you try not to think about it, though? I sort of don't want dad to find out."

"Don't worry honey; he won't guess even a tiny bit. I know how much Jacob means to you." He said and I hugged him. I just had such a wonderful family.

Things drastically changed a week later. I came out of my History class to find Julie waiting for me there. She looked so serious and strange, it scared me. She asked me to take a walk with her. She had something important to tell me. We started to walk into the woods. I knew I had promised Jasper I wouldn't go there by myself again, but I didn't see any harm in it if Julie was with me. Boy was I wrong about that. Julie suddenly stopped walking and turned to face me.

"What are we doing here Julie?" I asked looking all around us. The trees looked so dark and scary.

"Just wait a minute and you'll see." She said smiling at me in an odd way.

"Wait for what?"

"For this." She said and then I heard mom.

"Renesmee honey, what happened? What are you doing here? I got your note." She said hugging me.

"Mom I have no idea what you're talking about. I didn't send you any note." I said looking at her scared eyes.

"What's going on then? I don't understand. If you didn't send me this note telling me to come meet you urgently, who did?" she asked.

"Oh, that was me." Julie said and we both turned to her. I had forgotten all about her. Mom hadn't even noticed her there. Suddenly mom pushed me behind her and growled at Julie.

"Bella what are you doing? This is my friend Julie." I said trying to walk around her; I would explain to Julie why I had called my cousin mom afterwards. But then mom pushed me roughly back again.

"She's not your friend Renesmee. She will never be your friend." Mom said still crouching and hissing in front of me.

"It's nice to see you again too Bella." Julie said smiling.

"You know her? How?" I asked.

"Oh yes, I know your mother. We go way back." She said taking a step toward us.

"Julie, how can you know she's my mother? I don't understand anything."

"She's not Julie. That's not her name." mom said through clenched teeth.

"Bella's right." Julie said and slowly took her black hair off. It was just a wig. She then let her real hair down and closed her eyes. When she opened them, there was no blue left in them. I found myself staring back at a pair of crimson red eyes, familiar eyes. A distant memory flashed through my eyes. All my family and tons of friends standing before the Volturi's complete guard with Aro, Alec and Jane right up front.

"Jane." I whispered.

She smiled wickedly at me and I cringed back.

"What do you want from us?" mom asked her.

"I know you've got your shield all over you daughter so don't worry, I won't hurt her."

"What do you want? Answer me!" mom yelled.

"I'm on a special mission assigned by Aro himself. You know what he wants, what he's always wanted."

"Yes, but that won't happen. I won't allow it." Mom said pushing me back a little more.

"And what are you going to do about it? Please tell me."

"I know Aro could settle for something else he also wants. Take me instead." She said.

"No! Mom what are you saying? You can't go with her. It's the Volturi. Mommy please don't do this." I said as tears escaped my eyes.

"It's the only way honey. I won't let your dad and Alice sacrifice themselves. They're a very fundamental part of our family."

"And you're not? Mommy don't leave me please." I said and hugged her tightly.

"I think Aro would love to have you join our family Bella." Jane said winking at me.

"But you leave my daughter alone. I'll go, she stays." Mom said firmly.

"Ok, but not here. I'll leave her alone when I'm sure you won't change your mind." Jane said.

We were about to start walking when we heard a voice behind us.

"What's going on here? Renesmee, we're going to be late for class. Where is Julie?" Kyle said.

"Oh Kyle get away from here! Now!" I said to him.

"Why? What's wrong?" he asked coming near me.

"It would be best for you to leave Kyle. Renesmee won't be going to class today." Mom said pushing him away.

"You heard them, now leave human!" Jane yelled and grabbed his arm.

"Who are you? Let me go!" Kyle said trying to shake himself free from Jane.

"Oh, you used to believe I was so pretty. Never liked you though." Jane said to him as he continued to struggle. "I see you'll make this difficult for me. Sorry to have to do this." She said as she sank her teeth on his shoulder.

"NO!" both mom and I yelled at the same time. I tried to run to Kyle, but mom grabbed me and hugged me tightly.

"There's nothing we can do now honey. It's too late." Mom said as I cried for my dearest friend.

"Come on you two, let's go." Jane said pushing us forward.

As we walked away, all I could hear were Kyle screams of pure agony. I couldn't believe this was actually happening. Julie was my friend. How could she do this? Then I remembered Julie didn't exist. Jane had only tried to get as close to us as she could. No wonder she never let my family see her. I was the only one stupid enough to believe her every word and not notice her scent or anything. How could I have been so blind? Then I thought about daddy and started crying harder.

Meanwhile, Mike heard Kyle's screams and went to see what was going on. He found Kyle on the ground twitching and shaking. He tried to calm him down and actually got his phone out to call 911, but Kyle stopped him. He only was able to whisper two words to Mike: "Cullens…please." Mike tried to carry him as good as he could, but ended up dragging him to his car. He had no idea where the Cullens lived.

At the same time, dad arrived home from a hunting trip with Jasper, Carlisle and Emmet. It had been a guy's night out. They were laughing and joking around; totally oblivious to what was going on with mom and me.

"I'm happy to see you enjoyed yourselves." Esme said kissing and welcoming all of them.

"Oh we totally did." Emmet said laughing loudly.

"I imagine you got the biggest bear baby?" Rosalie asked Emmet giving him a very wet kiss.

"Ah come on!" Jasper said and threw them a cushion from the sofa.

"So, was the bear a challenge at all Edward?" Alice said grinning.

"You already know Alice, piece of cake." Dad said.

"I saw it would be easy." She said dancing around the room until she finally got to Jasper and he put his arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, where's Bella?" dad asked looking around the room.

"Oh, she got a note from Renesmee asking her to meet her at school." Esme said.

"Is she all right?" Carlisle asked.

"I guess, Bella wouldn't say." Esme said.

"Alice? Can you see anything?" dad asked her.

"No, sorry Edward. Renesmee's all fussy today, extremely fussy." She said massaging her temples.

"It's ok honey, try to relax." Jasper said kissing Alice's head.

"Oh no!" Alice suddenly said grabbing Jasper's arm tightly.

"What? What is it?" everyone asked at once.

"I can't see any of you!" she yelled.

"That's not possible." Carlisle shook his head.

"The house too, everything just disappeared." She said resting her head on Jasper's chest.

"And we're about to find out the reason why. Jacob's outside." Dad said almost at the same time that the front door burst open loudly. A huge reddish-brown wolf stormed in dragging a yelling vampire by the shoulder. Everyone jumped back into a crouching position.

The wolf continued to growl at the vampire who was now cornered at the end of the room. He had a hand pressed on his shoulder; blood was oozing out of the bite wound.

"Tell him to move away! Now!" the vampire yelled.

"And why should we do that…Alec?" Emmet said.

"Come on man…he's going to bite me again!" Alec yelled covering his face with his arms as Jacob moved closer to him.

"Jacob step back. Let us talk to him." Dad said and Jacob just turned his head towards dad. "I know you want to kill him, and honestly I wouldn't stop you if it wasn't important."

"Jacob, please tell us where you found him." Carlisle asked.

"He says he found him hiding in the woods checking out the house, following us around, trying to get some pictures of the surroundings." Dad said.

"What do you want here?" Emmet said to Alec.

Everyone froze and turned to the door as a soft knock was heard. Then all heads turned to dad with questioning eyes.

"It's a familiar voice, he's just saying: Oh please let this be the place or he'll bleed all over." Dad said but Carlisle was already at the door.

"Dr. Cullen! Oh thank God you're here." Mike said from the door.

"Mr. Newton, hello. What can we do for you today?"

"This is one of my students. I found him in the woods outside the school. He's bleeding. I haven't been able to stop it. He asked me to bring him here." Mike said at the same time Kyle looked up.

"Bring him inside Mike!" dad yelled from the living room.

"Edward what are you doing?" Rosalie said.

"That's Renesmee's friend. She would never forgive us if we don't help him." Dad said as Kyle was being lowered onto the sofa. Carlisle began to examine him. Mike took one look around and slowly walked away. He was too scared to even say goodbye.

"What's wrong with him?" Jasper asked.

"It's the venom. He'll be ok, eventually." Carlisle said.

"Oh no, poor Kyle." Esme said covering her face.

"Kyle, what happened? Who did this to you?" dad asked him.

"Julie…she's…she's…vampire…" Kyle managed to say.

"What!" they all seemed to say at the same time, getting closer to Kyle.

"Bella…Ness…" he whispered before passing out.

"No! Wake up Kyle!" dad said shaking him.

"It's no use son; he won't wake up for a while." Carlisle said.

"So she did it." Alec said smiling. Jacob turned to growl at him again. And then dad saw everything.

"Jane took them? Jane dared to threaten the life of my wife and daughter? She wants to die then? I swear I'll kill her!" dad said putting his hands around Alec's throat.

It took both Emmet and Jasper to pull dad away from Alec. He was just so angry and wouldn't listen to a word of what everyone was trying to tell him. Finally, Carlisle got him to pay attention to him.

"What is it Edward? Tell us." He said looking at dad tenderly.

"Aro wants Alice and me. He sent Jane to get close to Renesmee so that she could find the way to get near us. And Alec was just spying on us to let Jane know when to strike or if there would be any problems. They had a pretty good plan worked out." Dad said suppressing a growl.

"I bet you weren't counting on any of our 'friends' being here. Were you Alec?" Emmet asked him, as Jacob moved closer to him.

"Please get him away from me!" Alec yelled once more.

"What if we don't want to?" Rosalie said.

"If anything happens to me, you'll never see Bella or that hybrid ever again! Jane will kill them!" he yelled.

"Don't you ever call my daughter a hybrid again!" dad said getting closer to Alec.

"Edward…Bella…" Alice said making them all turn to look at her. Jasper ran to her side and put an arm around her.

"What do you see Alice?" he asked her.

"Bella's alone…with Aro, in Volterra. That's all I can see for now." Alice said resting her head on Jasper's shoulder.

"Ok, so let's go." Emmet said.

They all started talking about the plan to follow, while at the same time keeping an eye on Alec, since Jacob had mysteriously disappeared. An hour later they had chained Alec to some steel pipes and had put on their coats, when Jacob walked in. He was in human form, and was followed by Leah and Seth, in wolf forms.

"I'm going with you. And you better not say one word Blondie, I'm in no mood." Jacob said looking at dad and then at Rosalie.

"Are you sure?" dad asked him.

"Yes, this is Bella and Nessie…of course I'm coming. Leah and Seth will stay here and help keep an eye on this leech." Jake said, Leah and Seth growled at Alec who got himself as far into the corner as possible.

"Ok, so let's go. Everyone ready?" Emmet said.

"Wait." Carlisle said and everyone stopped.

"Do you think it is the best option? It scares me." Alice said looking at both Carlisle and Esme.

"Someone has to stay with him." Esme said squeezing Alice's hand.

"You're staying. Both of you." Dad said.

"Yes son, we are. I don't think it's safe to leave Alec alone with Leah and Seth. And also, there's Kyle to consider. We can't just let him wake up to his new life with no one here to guide him through his first choices. I believe you all are able to go to the volturi and make things work on your own. We believe in you. Our children." Carlisle said taking Esme's hand in his and smiling at her.

"We'll miss you. Please take care of yourselves." Rosalie said hugging Esme.

"Go on now. Bella and Nessie need you." Esme said smiling.

Meanwhile, mom, Jane and I arrived at the airport in Florence. I had never been to Florence before and I was so sad I wouldn't get to enjoy the city along with my family, as we had done in so many other places. This time it was completely different. We started walking across the airport when suddenly Jane stopped.

"Ok, so I guess this is where Renesmee has to stay. Unless you want her to come with us Bella." Jane said smiling wickedly.

"No, it's fine. Honey, listen to me." Mom started saying, making me look at her.

"No mom, I'm going with you." I said as my lip started trembling.

"Sweetheart, you have to let me do this alone. Edward will need you. Now more than ever. This is the only way you'll be safe." She said and hugged me. I clung to her tightly. I didn't wanna let go.

"Please mommy. I love you." I said as tears streamed down my face.

"Just remember one thing please, and make your father believe it too. I love you and your dad with all my heart. I fell in love with you both while my heart was still beating and that's something no one will take away from me ever. You're the most important parts of my life. Everything I do honey, I do it for you both. Just remember that please." She said kissing my tears away.

"Ok, enough with the goodbyes. Let's go. Now." Jane said pulling mom away from me.

"No! Mommy please don't leave me! Please come back!" I yelled and yelled but they were already gone. I found an empty bench outside a small magazine shop and just laid down there. I curled up my legs and hugged myself tightly. Tears just continued to flow from my eyes. It seemed I wasn't capable of stopping them.

I don't know for how long I stayed there. It seemed it had been hours or even days, I wasn't sure. Suddenly I felt a pair of strong arms lifting me from the bench. I felt his scent, the most wonderful scent ever. I put my head against his chest and held tightly to his neck. He held me tightly but not too much, he didn't want to hurt me. I put one of my hands on his face as I thought of mom leaving. That was the only thing I could think of at the moment. Mom was gone.

"Edward! I found her!" Jacob suddenly yelled. I heard a gust of wind and then felt a pair of cold hands touching me, examining me everywhere.

"Is she all right?" dad asked Jacob.

"I think she is. She won't speak though. It's like she's in a trance or something."

"She looks so pale. Oh poor baby." Rosalie said and I felt her caressing my head.

"Renesmee, baby are you ok? Talk to me baby please." Dad said taking my hand in his, while he traced his fingers along my face. I started to feel his hand in mine. I looked up to him and saw the pain in his eyes. That brought it all back to me and I saw dad grimace with what he saw in my head.

"Oh daddy." I said as he pulled me into his arms. I started crying again. I touched his face and there was just mom. I hugged him tightly and just cried and cried.

"I know baby, I know. Hush now, don't cry. I'll bring her back to you, I promise." He said rocking me.

"We're all here Renesmee. We're here with you honey. And we'll bring Bella back." Alice said.

"Yes we will. We'll do whatever it takes to bring her back. We'll be a complete family again." Jasper said.

"Yeah, no one messes with my little sister and gets away with it." Emmet said.

"Nothing will happen to Bella Nessie, we'll make sure of that. Besides, your mom's a tough girl, she can handle it." Jacob said. I realized now he was there. My Jake, he had come for me, for mom. I looked up and saw him, standing next to Rosalie. That was a strange picture, it made me smile.

"Jacob? You're here?" I asked turning around to look at him.

"Of course I'm here Nessie. You and Bella are the most important persons in my life. I couldn't just stay back and do nothing." He said getting close to me. "You know that, don't you?" he said taking my hands in his. I then noticed dad give him a slight nod. Slowly Jake came a bit closer and put his arms around me. At first I couldn't move. He hugged me a bit tighter and I started to give in. I put my arms around him and just started crying again. What was it with these tears? Would they never stop?

"Shh Nessie, it's ok, everything's going to be ok. I won't let anybody hurt you." Jake whispered to me.

"Oh Jake." Was the only thing I was able to say.

We checked into a hotel and dad walked me directly to the bed. As soon as I lay my head on the pillow and closed my eyes, I drifted into a peaceful sleep. I heard some far away murmurs and movement, but nothing was clear. I just slept.

Bella

It had been too easy, convincing Aro to take me instead of Edward and Alice. Jane had told Aro everything she had found out about us while pretending to be Julie. That's when I learned the Alec was spying on us. It made me scared for my family, not knowing what he was up to. Aro had willingly accepted me into his so called family. I made a deal with him, I would stay and provide my shield services whenever they were needed, but I wouldn't feed on any humans so I was permitted to go hunting nearby. I had to wear that hideous, creepy, and horrible cloak too. Whenever I was alone, I couldn't help but think if Edward had found Renesmee. It had been so hard to walk away from her, knowing she would be staying there all alone. I trusted Alice would see me and guess she wasn't with me anymore. I hoped for that.

So it was a regular morning with the Volturi. I was standing behind some other guard members, when the big double doors to the hall were suddenly pushed open. Every head turned to look at the 5 golden-eyed vampires who walked in. Everyone turned to look, except for me. I had felt their scent and if I wanted things to work out, I had to avoid looking at them as much as I could. I could not allow myself to look at Edward. I bowed my head down. I was thankful to be wearing that ugly cloak right now, since the hood covered my face completely.

"My young Cullen friends. How nice for you to visit." Aro said smiling, walking a bit forward.

"Where is she Aro?" Edward said glaring at him.

"I hope this time you will stay longer so that we can enjoy your company better." He said pretending no to listen to Edward.

"WHERE IS BELLA!" Edward said again.

"Edward, this is not the way." Jasper whispered to him.

"The hell it isn't. He's got my wife here and I want her back. Now let her go!"

"I'm sorry our encounters seem to always be under complicated circumstances. I so wished you would think differently of us young Edward." Aro said shaking his head.

"Well, I'm afraid that will be impossible if you continue to hurt my family over and over again." Edward said hissing.

"I'm not hurting you my friend. That's never my intention."

"Ok that's enough. I'm here to take my wife home; I didn't come to ask your permission."

"But maybe you should ask her then. Bella, will you come closer please?" Aro said.

The row of guard members I had in front of me cleared the way so that I could get closer to Aro. I then lifted my hood and looked at Aro. I smiled. I heard Alice and Jasper gasp and Rose hiss as they saw me. No sound came from Edward. Suddenly Emmet started laughing. His booming laughter echoed all around the big room.

"Oh this is the best joke ever! Come on little sis, that cloak looks hideous on you. Nice one though, I'll give you that." He said still laughing. Rose whispered something to him then and he quieted down.

"Bella…"Alice whispered and made me look at her.

The expression on her face was of total shock. I had to make her see what my plans were. I stared at her intently, nothing reflecting in my face though. It was easier staring at Alice than at Edward.

"Bella dear, our young friend here has something to ask you." Aro said gesturing towards Edward.

"Let's go home Bella." Edward said in an angry tone, extending his hand towards me.

"I am home." I said without even glimpsing at him.

"What?!" Rosalie yelled.

"That's not funny sis, not funny at all." Emmet said.

"Bella, what are you saying? You can't mean that." Jasper said.

"I mean every word." I answered them. I turned to look at Alice. Her eyes had gone blank and she was just staring at nothing in particular. This meant that she must be seeing something. I hoped it was what I wanted her to see. She suddenly turned to look at Edward. He hadn't said a word or made a sound since I had spoken. It seems I had taken him completely by surprise. I knew he would've never expected me to say the words I had said. He wasn't breathing at all. I could feel that.

"You see my friends; Bella wants to stay with our family. And she's very welcomed." Aro said smiling.

"How can you do this? We're your family! You're Edward's wife! I knew there was a reason I didn't like you from the beginning. Is this how you pay us for everything we've done for you? Some sister you are. And what about your daughter? What about Renesmee? Don't you care about her anymore?" Rosalie yelled at me. No, don't talk about Renesmee. Please. I thought. It would be too hard to keep on pretending if they didn't leave. I had to make them leave.

"She will be ok with her father. It was fun being part of your family, but I think there's a bigger mission for me here with the Volturi, so I think I'll stay. I like it here." I said and smiled at Aro. I had to make them, specifically Edward, believe that I was happy to stay.

"You don't deserve to carry the Cullen name." Rosalie said hissing at me.

"Enough Rosalie!" Edward suddenly yelled, turning around to face her. Emmet grabbed Rose's arm before she could get any closer to Edward.

"Please everyone, this is taking us nowhere. Calm down." Jasper said putting a hand on Edward's shoulder.

"Bro, I think we should just go." Emmet said so sadly.

"Bella look at me." Edward said but I didn't move. I could feel every single pair of eyes looking at me.

"BELLA LOOK AT ME DAMN IT!" he yelled this time, making me focus on him. The anger I saw on his face and the pain in his eyes…I almost ran to him.

"What do you want Edward? It was fun while it lasted, but now I've got to move on to bigger things." I said flatly.

"This isn't you speaking love; I know you don't mean a word of that." He said cautiously.

"I mean every word. I want you to leave and don't come back. Go to your daughter, I have a new family now. I don't love you anymore." I said and turned around to walk back to my place. I could feel his pain emanating from every part of his body, but I didn't stop walking.

"It's over Edward, let's go." Jasper said putting an arm around Alice's waist as he walked away.

"Come on bro, there's nothing more we can say." Emmet said and grabbed Edward, making him walk away with him. Rosalie followed not without giving me a hateful look before.

"May I be excused master?" I asked Aro after the doors had closed.

"Certainly child." He said and I ran to some other dark place. I was gasping and shaking, even though I didn't need any air to breathe. What had I done? It was too late to undo it now. Oh please Alice, please help me. I thought.

Nessie

I woke up all alone in a big wide white bed. I sat up and rubbed my eyes as I used to do when I was little. I was so completely rested. How much time had I slept? And where was everybody? I remembered dad kissing me goodbye and…Oh! I gasped. Mom. Was mom back? I opened the door and walked out into the small receiving are outside the bedroom. There was a huge TV screen and a couch, where Jacob was snoring loudly. I walked slowly closer to him. He looked so peaceful and beautiful. Oh how I had missed him. I stretched my hand and slowly traced the tip of my fingers along his hair. I then sighed and turned around towards the room. I had taken two steps into the room, when Jacob grabbed my arm and made me turn around.

He was looking at me with so much longing in his eyes, I couldn't look away. He touched my face, my hair, and my lips. He got closer to me and then he kissed me. It was our first kiss. He was so sweet and gentle, as if he was afraid to scare me. I touched his face and kissed him back. He started kissing me more urgently and I did the same. Then we were both gasping for air. He hugged me tightly.

"I've missed you so so much Nessie." He said kissing the top of my head.

"I've missed you too Jake."

"I'm sorry for everything. Please, please forgive me." He said looking straight into my eyes.

"There's nothing to forgive. You're here. That's all I need." I smiled at him.

"I love you." He kissed me again.

"And I love you." I hugged him and kissed his neck.

We sat back on the couch. He had his arms wrapped all around me. I think we kind of dozed off again, 'cause suddenly there they were.

"Isn't this a nice picture?" Emmet said making us jump up.

"You're back!" I said and hugged Emmet and Rose.

"Emmet, let me go through." Jasper said dragging a pale, expressionless Alice into the room.

"What's wrong with Alice?" Jacob asked.

"Dad?" I said trying to look behind all of them towards the door.

"I'm here baby." He said walking in. I took one look at his face and knew something was really really wrong. Something had happened to mom.

"Where's Bella?" Jake asked looking at dad.

"She didn't…she…" dad was having a hard time speaking. That wasn't good.

"She wouldn't come with us." Rose finally said.

"What?!" both Jake and I said.

"What do you mean? Did something happen to her?" Jake asked.

"Daddy?" I said going to him. He opened his arms for me.

"Thanks a lot Rosalie." He said glaring at her.

"Sorry, but there's not an easy way to say it Edward. She was going to find out anyway." Rose said taking Emmet's hand and going to stand by the window.

"She decided to stay with the Volturi. She wouldn't come back with us honey, I'm so sorry." Dad said hugging me tightly.

"And you let her? Come on man, she's just being her usual stubborn self! You had to make her come with you. What was so difficult about that? I knew I should've gone with you." Jacob said shaking his head.

"Yeah, go and try that in a room full of mean vampires to see how it goes." Jasper said glaring at Jacob.

"I wasn't going to make her do something against her will. She was determined to stay." Dad said stroking my head. I hadn't realized I had begun to cry.

"Damn it Bella!" Jacob said slamming his hand down on the table.

"Edward, please try again. I'm worried about her." Jasper said kissing Alice's hand.

"I'm sorry Jaz. All I see is a white haze. It's like she's in a room full of smoke." Dad said looking sadly at Alice.

"What's wrong with Alice?" I asked getting closer to her.

"She hasn't said a word ever since we left the Volturi. She's been like this, quiet and staring into a distance. She's in shock. I don't know." Jasper said kissing her head.

"Alice? Alice are you ok?" I asked taking her hands in mine.

She turned to look at me and then she smiled. She touched my face and then turned around and buried her face on Jasper's shoulder. He hugged her tightly and started whispering in her ear. I left them alone then. I went to Jacob who opened his arms for me. I couldn't look at dad. He was in so much pain right now, it broke my heart. I knew this would be a big blow for the family. Esme would be devastated and Carlisle, and Charlie. And what about me? Did my mother not love me anymore? I then remembered what she had said to me before leaving with Jane. Did I dare hope? I couldn't tell dad though, it would be worse if nothing came out of it.

We returned home that night. There was no point in staying there. Mom was not going to change her mind. I didn't say much on the whole flight home. I had decided to believe I was in a nightmare and I was going to wake up soon. I had to wake up soon, for daddy, for me. We didn't have to say anything to Carlisle or Esme when we got home. Esme took one look at our faces and ran to hug daddy and me. Carlisle helped Jasper with Alice, while asking him for a full report of what had happened with the Volturi. He was as shocked as we all had been. Esme just kept stroking my head and saying everything was going to be all right. She said Charlie had called a couple of times and that she had tried to make the best excuses, but that he hadn't believed her. So dad had to call him and tell him we had been on a short trip, were back now, but that Bella had gone hunting and would be back soon. We just didn't know how "soon" that would be.

Suddenly, there was a whooshing sound and a new voice in the room.

"Oh, you're all back."

Emmet, Jasper and dad jumped into a crouching position in front of us all. They were growling at the new comer harshly, making us all jump into a defensive position behind them, trying to figure out what the threat was. Well, almost all of us, Alice hadn't even flinched at the uproar.

"Relax sons; this is a friend to us all. He means us no harm." Carlisle said walking to the front.

"Oh, I see. Well, I had completely forgotten about you Kyle. I'm so sorry." Dad said relaxing his position at once.

"Kyle?!" Rose and I said at the same time.

"Hmph." Jacob grunted, pulling me a bit behind him.

"It's ok Jake, it's just Kyle." I said trying to get past him.

"No, Nessie, he's right. I'm only a few days old and well, your scent is very tempting for me right now." He said staying at the door.

"I see you don't want to hurt her Kyle. I thank you for that." Dad said.

"She's my friend. That hasn't changed. At least I hope that hasn't changed." He said looking at me.

"Of course not Kyle. I'm just so sorry this had to happen to you. It's not that I don't like vampires, but for you, it wasn't supposed to be this way." I said feeling new tears in my eyes.

"I know Nessie, but it wasn't your fault, so forget about it." He said winking at me.

"Kyle and I talked things over, and well, he has already seen how we live and agrees he would like to become a vegetarian, but…" Carlisle said.

"But Carlisle explained to me why I feel so tempted by human blood. I'm a newborn and there's an adjustment period I need to overcome and I can't put you at risk Nessie, I just can't do that. I would die before I hurt you, or Charlie, or anyone at school." Kyle said.

"That's why you have decided to go to the Denalis." Dad stated.

"Yes. Hopefully I can get to see you all soon." Kyle said smiling at all of us.

"I talked to Tanya already and she's more than happy to receive Nessie's friend. She agrees with me this is a very difficult time for Kyle, being a newborn and all. Not an easy phase. There's only been one single vampire to our knowledge that didn't need any adjustment time, but she had prepared herself so much for it that it wasn't at all necessary to…" Carlisle stopped talking as soon as he realized what he had said. Tears were streaming down my face and dad was glaring angrily at him.

"Please forgive me son, my words were not ill intentioned but they were not appropriate at all. I should've been more careful. I'm sorry Nessie." He said to us.

"I just miss her so much." I said and ran to hug Carlisle. I was crying hysterically now. Loud sobs came out of me and I couldn't make them stop. I could hear Jacob asking dad what he should do, but no one said a word. It was then that I felt dad pick me up in his arms and carry me to my room. I fell asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.

The next few days were all a blurry to me. I wasn't eating that much, or sleeping. I just kept seeing mom's face in my dreams and I woke up sweating. Dad was there every time to hug me and make it all right. But it was never all right. Where was my mother? Why didn't she come back to us? To her family? I asked all these things to Jacob one afternoon. I rested my hand on his face while all these questions where in my mind. He just hugged me tighter and shook his head. He was as hurt by mom's actions as I was. To him, it meant his best friend had turned her back on their friendship.

I had stopped counting days after I convinced myself mom wasn't coming back. It was just so awful. Mike Newton came by our house one day asking for Kyle and me. Dad had to tell him Kyle had gone to treat his disease to another city's hospital and that I would be returning to class shortly. Everything was all right. I don't think he believed it all, but he didn't ask any more questions. Through all this time, I was barely aware that Alec was still in the house. He was kept chained at the far end of the room. He almost didn't speak or ask for anything. Carlisle would feed him some blood, just to protect me I guess. No one spoke to him either. I honestly didn't understand why they still kept him there. That wasn't going to make mom come back. It was useless.

"Don't think that way Nessie. Don't give up on your mother." Dad said catching my train of thought.

"Mom told me before she left with Jane that she loved us. That she had fallen in love with both of us when her heart was still beating and that everything she did, she did for us. I was hoping all that meant something daddy, but I guess they were just words." I said not looking at him.

"I understand how you feel baby, believe me I do. Where's Jacob?"

"He had to go meet with Sam for a little while. He said he'd be back soon."

Esme, Carlisle, Rose and Emmet had all gone hunting. Dad said he wasn't in the mood, but he really wanted to stay with me. Seth and Leah were guarding Alec and he didn't want to leave them alone either.

"Hello son, we're back. How are things here?" Carlisle said when they returned. They brought some mountain lion blood for dad and me.

"The same." I said while Esme kissed my forehead.

"No, she's not back yet Rose. I haven't seen her since yesterday actually." Dad said.

"Alice and Jasper are not here? But they left last night." Esme said touching Carlisle's arm.

"I'm worried about her too Carlisle, but she hasn't allowed me into her head since we got back from Italy. I know she's doing it intentionally." Dad said starting to growl.

"But what can she be hiding from you Edward? From us?" Rosalie asked at the same time that Seth and Leah jumped up and started howling.

"What? What is it?" I asked them.

"No, that…doesn't make any sense at all Seth. Are you sure?" dad asked him.

"What Edward? Spill it." Emmet said.

"They just read into Embry's and Quil's minds. They're running through the woods, but they're very far away right now. And they're not alone. Jacob's with them, in human form, and…and Alice and Jasper too!" dad yelled standing up.

"WHAT?!" we all yelled back.

"That doesn't make any sense? Why would they be with them?"

"Where are they going?"

"Where are they exactly?"

"What else can you see?"

"What are we waiting for? Let's go find them." This was Emmet.

"Yes, let's go Em. Carlisle, Rose come with us. We'll try to follow their scent, see if we can guess where they're headed." Dad said kissing the top of my head as he dashed out through the door with them.

"Oh God." Esme whispered and hugged me.

"Do you think it has to do with mom?" I whispered back at her. Seth whimpered, Leah growled.

"I don't know honey, I just don't know." She said resting her cheek on the top of my head.

They returned a few hours later. No sign of them. They were definitely gone. I cried myself to sleep. Dad hugged me the whole time. Rose and Esme where there too to comfort me. All I could think was, Not Jacob too. Could it get any worse?

Bella

Time passed so slowly when you had barely anyone to talk to. The rest of the guard members didn't even acknowledged I was a part of them now. But I knew what the date was. This nightmare would end soon, or so I hoped. It wasn't so hard convincing Aro and Jane to come see me hunt. They had always been very curious as to how I managed to kill a big animal without tearing one single piece of my clothes or always look so perfectly clean afterwards. It gave me the perfect excuse to lure them away from the castle, away from the rest of them. Aro had insisted on going without Renata, he was among family, after all.

I just so hoped that Alice had understood everything. I couldn't take another day surrounded by those horrible, murderous vampires. So, we walked into a small clearing on our way back to the castle when I felt them. I had no idea how she was going to manage the whole thing, but she had brought Jasper, of course, and the wolves? I saw then she had covered every angle completely. Now it was up to me to play my part.

I jumped into a crouch and hissed loudly. Aro and Jane both turned around to stare at me.

"What is the matter young Bella?" Aro asked not in the least shaken by my reaction.

"Alice." I hissed once more.

"Alice is here?" he asked smiling and searching for her everywhere.

"Where is she Bella? Why is she here?" Jane asked glaring.

"Talking about me?" Alice said gracefully dancing into the clearing and coming to a stop right in front of Aro. I had never been happier to hear her beautiful voice. It almost made me smile.

"Alice, my dear Alice. How nice of you to visit us." Aro said offering her his hand. She took two small steps back and shook her head.

"No, sorry Aro, not this time. I'm here to take Bella home." She said looking at me.

"Why can't you get it through that thick head of yours, I AM HOME!" I said.

"Don't make me do it Alice. Leave." Jane said glaring at her.

"Oh, I'm afraid that isn't an option." She said and that's when Jasper appeared behind me and got me in a tight lock between his arms. I started to struggle with his force, trying to free myself. At the same time I made sure my shield covered him completely. I knew Jane would try her powers on Alice, so I had to leave her out of it for now. Aro had to believe everything.

"Tell him to let her go." Jane said to Alice.

"No, I won't." Alice said. "Bella belongs with us."

"She made a choice." Aro said looking angrily at Alice for the first time ever.

That's when Jane decided to use her little power on Alice. One second she was glaring back at Aro, and the next she was twisting on the ground, little whimpers coming from her mouth. I felt Jasper's arms loosen up for just a second, before he locked me tightly again. Everything happened so fast then. I saw a blur of fur come rushing into the scene and two sets of paws threw Jane to the ground, letting Alice off from her stare. Another wolf was growling fiercely at Aro, making him move back a few steps. Jacob. I immediately extended my shield to Alice and Jake. Embry and Quil had already ripped off both of Jane's arms. She screamed and yelled and tried to run, but two huge werewolves were too much for even her. Aro was speechless. He couldn't stop looking from Jane to Alice and back. He realized we were all alone here; no one would come to our help.

"Ok, take her. I won't stand in your way." He said.

"Of course. But you understand that we can't let Jane hurt us again. What she did almost destroyed our family, and that's the most important things for us. We're not a coven Aro, we don't seek power or land or wealth. We're the Cullens, a big, happy family. So I'm sorry, but Jane will not be a threat to us anymore."

"You have my word." Aro said.

"Forgive me, but I don't believe you." She said while at the same time lighting up a fire. I hadn't noticed the dried leaves and branches covering the clearing. Pretty useful. Suddenly she jumped on top of what was left of Jane and ripped her head off. I was honestly stunned. Never in my whole existence would I have thought her capable of that. She was utterly awesome. I felt Jasper smiling at her. Aro couldn't believe his eyes. The wolves started picking up all the pieces and throwing them into the fire. I needed to act.

"Let me go Jasper! You killed her! How could you kill Jane?" I yelled.

"Don't make this any more difficult Bella. You're coming with us, whether you like it or not." He said and started dragging me away. The wolves all turned to Aro now.

"Aro, I request from this day on you forget we exist. Just keep on running your little army, forming your perfect guard, having your own little perfect family if you want. Just leave us alone. We won't try to take anything away from you. We don't want anything you have. We just want to be together and happy. Swear it. Swear you won't come after us and we'll leave you in peace. You know I'll be able to see it if you decide something, so there's no way to trick me."

"Fine Alice, you win. Carlisle can have his perfect little family back together." He said through gritted teeth.

"Carlisle doesn't know I'm here. This was my decision. I know Bella doesn't see it now, but she's a mother and a wife. She'll agree with me eventually."

"No I won't. Master, don't let them take me please. Help me." I said. Jacob growled at me and started pushing me back with his head, helping Jasper no doubt.

"I don't hold any grudges at you my dear. Just leave now and let me return to my home." He almost pleaded.

"As you wish." Alice said and suddenly we were running through the woods away from Volterra. We kept on going until we were at the airport in Florence. All the time my shield was protectively around all of us. Jacob, Embry and Quil phased into their human forms just outside the airport. Jacob kept looking at me angrily. He didn't say one single word during the whole trip back. I had to keep acting my part, there was still one more scene to play and I knew Jake wasn't that much of an actor, so he had to be kept out of the loop. By Jasper's attitude I knew he had no idea either. Alice was the best sister ever. I wanted to hug her so badly, but I had to satisfy my need with getting a tiny wink from her when no one was looking. I secretly winked back.

Nessie

The attitude around the house was stressful to the point that the silence was making me crazy. I went to sit by Emmet who was watching a football game with the volume very low, but at least it was something. He put his arm around me and sighed.

"Still nothing?" dad asked Seth again. He had been asking them to search for Jacob every five minutes. There had been nothing new to report, every time.

Almost two hours had passed when suddenly Seth and Leah jumped up.

"What? What?" dad asked them as they both started growling and moving around.

"Embry and Quil? Are you sure? Oh, Jacob's coming in human form."

"Where were they?" I asked him.

"Carlisle!" dad suddenly yelled.

"I'm right here son. What's going on?"

"It's Alice…she's about to arrive…she's got Bella." Dad said moving all around the room making some more space.

"Oh daddy really?" I asked hugging Esme and Rose.

"Yes Nessie, but …" and that's when they burst into the house. Alice skipped into the center of the room, while Jasper and Jacob came behind her, dragging mom with them. She was twisting and hissing so loudly that I jumped back a bit. She was so scary to look at. Alec jumped up from his corner and growled at the newcomers.

"Let me go Jasper! I don't want to be here and you very well know it Alice. You wanted me to say it in front of everyone, ok, I said it, now let me go back to my master!" mom yelled. I knew everyone was as stunned and hurt as I was. I felt the tears in my eyes and couldn't stop them from spilling. What had happened to my mother? Where was she? Certainly it wasn't this crazy eyed angry looking vampire.

Jacob nodded to Embry and Quil who where behind him. They nudged Seth and Leah and between the four of them, they started dragging Alec away from the house.

"What are you doing? Stop them Carlisle!" Alec yelled but no one moved.

"Let me know when it is done." Jacob said to them before they disappeared.

"You're keeping me here against my will. You'll have to lock me up then if you intend on me staying." Mom said angrily once more.

"Oh for the love of God Bella! Stop being such an idiot! This is your family, not your enemies. You're a Cullen, a wife and a mother. And this type of behavior is totally outrageous. You're making me so mad you wouldn't believe. I've been pretty pissed off at you before, but this time I'm going to drag you back to Forks and make Charlie ground you for the rest of his life. I don't care if you're legally an adult or if you're a married woman! You're acting line a 5 year old. Stubborn and immature. Don't make me involve the parents in this." Jacob said glaring directly back at mom. At the same time a loud howling was heard. Mom stopped moving.

"You're right Jake." She said in a low whisper, glancing at Alice.

"Huh?" Jake kept staring at mom.

"It's really over Bella." Alice said nodding at her and the she smiled.

"Oh." Mom said and just relaxed her position all of a sudden.

"Let her go Jaz, it's perfectly safe. Relax your shield also Bella, he's not coming back." Alice said smiling at everyone. Jasper stepped back away from mom who stumbled a bit forward and looked up at Alice.

"We did it?"

"Yes Bella, we did it. There's nothing to worry about anymore." She said taking mom's hands in hers.

"Oh Alice we did it!" mom said and then there it was. Her beautiful, gorgeous smile. I watched in awe as she and Alice started jumping up and down laughing and giggling like two school girls. My mom was back. She was really there. I could feel her. I got around Esme and Rose who had been holding me near and without giving it much thought I ran to her. I almost knocked her down, taking her by surprise for just a second, before her arms wrapped around me.

"Mom, you're back!" I cried hugging her tightly.

"Oh Nessie, oh my baby. I've missed you so much. Of course I'm here. I never left." She kissed my head, my eyes, my tears.

"Mommy, mommy." Was all I could say.

"I love you sweetie, I love you Renesmee," she said over and over.

Dad started laughing. Alice had let him see everything, the whole plan right from the beginning. Every head turned his way.

"Have you gone mad Edward? There's nothing funny here." Jasper said.

"Oh yes there is. I just have such a clever sister and a very intelligent wife it seems." He said smiling at both.

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you Jaz, you too Jacob. But we needed every reaction to be authentic." Alice said.

"You're trying to say that it was all pretend? The Volturi, Bella, everything?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"Sorry Jake, but you've never been a good liar. Everyone can see right through you." Mom said.

"Bella had her shield over us the whole time, well, except for the part where Jane had to attack me. It didn't hurt that much though." Alice said winking.

"Jane attacked you?" Carlisle asked.

"Carlisle, we know how set against you are about killing other vampires, but Jane is dead. It was the only way Aro would let me go. I'm really sorry." Mom said still kissing my head.

"You killed Jane? Man, why do I always miss all the fun?" Emmet said before he roared with laughter.

"This family's completely crazy. Honestly." Jacob said going to sit on the couch.

"We got Aro to swear he would leave us in peace from now on." Mom said smiling.

"Alec must be on a plane right now believing that we won't have an easy life with Bella, news that would give Aro some satisfaction." Alice said.

"Bella, that was so brave of you." Esme said.

"Not the best method I would've chosen, but very effective and intelligent." Carlisle said smiling.

"Oh Bella, please forgive me for what I said back at the castle. If there's anyone more worthy to carry the Cullen name, it is you." Rose said and put her arms around mom and me.

"I love you too Rose." Mom said.

"And you…oh how we missed you, you little witch! Don't ever do that to us again." Rose said hugging Alice.

"Thank you Alice, I have no words to thank you for helping bring my Bella back. I just…" dad started to say. Suddenly I felt mom's arms leave me and saw her ran to dad. They hugged so tightly and at the same time so tenderly that it was so romantic to watch. It brought new tears to my eyes. I went to sit beside Jacob who put his arms around me.

"I'm sorry Edward, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you." Mom whispered to dad.

"Hush love, everything's ok."

"I love you more than my life."

"I love you more than anything too. Don't ever put me through that again. Please, for our daughter's sake." He said smiling at her. He kissed her then so passionately that we all felt that it was better to leave them alone. Jake carried me up to my room. I had dozed off a bit without even noticing. I was just so exhausted. I had pretty dreams that night. I felt completely and blissfully happy.

So everything seemed to have gotten back to normal. Well, almost everything. Kyle was still a newborn vampire living with the Denali Coven now, and I had been allowed to return to class. My family was happy and complete, I honestly couldn't ask for more. Mom, dad, Alice and Jasper had returned to class too, though they weren't as attentive to school matters as I was. I knew they were just doing it for me, since Kyle wasn't around anymore to keep me company. I got home with my parents one day from school to find out Jacob pacing around the living room impatiently while waiting for all of us to arrive.

"Finally." He said coming to us and hugging me tightly. "I was starting to believe you were never going to get home." He looked at all of us.

"What's going on? Why do you have that look on your face?" I asked him touching his frown with my fingers.

"Edward, could you please call the rest of the family? I have something important to tell all of you." He said looking away from me. Dad did as Jake asked, while at the same time eyeing me cautiously. He had a strange look in his face. Once everyone was assembled in the room, Jake started talking.

"Ok, you all know that despite my nature and well, all the enemy stuff, I've come to think of all of you…and yes, that includes you too blondie," he smiled and Rose smirked, "as my family too. I know it's mainly in part because of Nessie and Bella, but I have truly gotten to know you all and I'm very happy to be part of your family. I thank you deeply, for accepting me into it."

"You are most welcomed Jacob." Carlisle said.

"Thank you Carlisle. But…I have to leave now." He said and looked at dad. He was avoiding my eyes on purpose I could see. I knew how my face must've looked at that precise moment. I had my mouth open as if in protest to what Jake was saying, but mom's hand was on my shoulder preventing me from speaking my thoughts. He was leaving? Again? No, it was more than that. He was leaving me, again? I felt tears in my eyes, but I fought to keep them from spilling.

"Sam needs me back home. I have neglected my Alpha duties for some time now, not that I regret spending time with all of you, but I feel I can't stay away much longer." Jake continued saying.

"Has anything happened that we should be aware of Jake?" mom asked him with a pained expression on her face. Reaching out to take his hand.

"No Bells, everything's all right. I…I just have to go. It's time." He said squeezing her hand.

"What…what about me?" I whispered unable to raise my voice any higher, afraid the tears would start.

"You know I love you Nessie. With all my heart." He said finally turning my way and taking both my hands into his.

"Then don't go." I said, this time allowing the tears to come.

"Please don't cry Nessie. I can't bear to see you cry." He said and embraced me.

"Do you really have to leave Jacob?" Esme asked touching Jake's shoulder.

"Yes, I do. But there's something I have to do first." He said moving away from me and looking at dad, who was standing behind me.

"What's wrong Edward? I'm getting this extreme sorrow from you." Jasper asked surprising us all.

"Must you do this right now Jacob? It's too soon." Dad said putting his arm around mom's shoulders.

"You know it's meant to happen Edward." He said to him.

"But…she's my little girl, my baby. I can't lose her this soon." Dad said and suddenly I found myself in his arms.

"Daddy? What's wrong?" I asked.

"Awesome! Of course I'll arrange everything Nessie. I'm an expert at weddings; you can ask your parents." Alice beamed at me.

"Oh!" mom gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. She then turned to look at Jacob who nodded, and she then turned to dad and just smiled.

"You want to marry Nessie? But she's just a child!" Rose said glaring at Jake.

"She's the same age Bella was when she got married, isn't she?" Jake said.

"No, she's not. Bella lived 18 complete human years before marrying Edward, Nessie hasn't." Rose continued glaring.

"Babe, I think you actually don't have a say in this. It's Nessie's decision and Edward's and Bella's business." Emmet said putting an arm around Rose's waist and moving her away from Jake.

"So, Nessie, what do you say?" Jake asked me.

"Jake, I think you haven't really asked her yet." Mom said smiling at me.

"Right. Umm…Nessie…no let me do this right, Renesmee Cullen, would you marry me?" Jake asked taking a ring out of his pocket and putting it on my finger. I was too stunned to talk. Ever since Alice had said the word 'wedding' I had been completely speechless. What did this mean? Would I have to leave my family and move in with Jacob? How could I ever be away from my parents and from Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jaz, Em and Rose? This had been the only home I'd known in my entire life. The only place I felt secure and where I could be myself.

"That doesn't have to change baby, not if you don't want it to. We will always be with you." Dad said reassuringly.

"I'm not asking you to come away with me Nessie, not right now. I'm just trying to show you that this time it will be different. I'm not disappearing. I love you more than my life." He said getting closer to me.

"Say something please." He pleaded. I turned to look at my parents. Dad had his arms wrapped around mom who was smiling widely at me.

"I would love to be your wife Jake." I said and smiled at him.

"Oh God thank you." He said and hugged me and kissed me and hugged me again. Everyone started laughing around me, making me giggle. I was engaged. I couldn't believe it.

I just felt like I was walking on clouds. Every dream I had, everything just reminded me that I was a happily engaged woman. I giggled all the time now. It was really starting to bug Rose and dad, but I couldn't help it. Dad was still a bit weird about the whole thing. I would catch him staring at me with a wistful look and he'd then turn away and pretend to be doing something else. I talked to mom about it, but she only said he would be ok and that I shouldn't worry about it. But I didn't like seeing dad this way.

Jacob had already left for La Push. We talked every day like a hundred times, but I still missed him so much. Talking to him wasn't enough, I wanted to see him, kiss him, and feel his arms around when he hugged me. I noticed dad staring at me again and I decided to go and sit on his lap. He put his arms around me and smelled my hair. I touched his face and showed him an image of me a few years younger, giggling while he danced with me. I had my feet on top of his and we were waltzing. Rose was playing the piano and mom was filming us. It was one of my happiest memories.

"Oh baby, I'm going to miss you so much when you leave us." He said hugging me tightly. "Thank you for showing me that. It is one of my happiest memories too."

"I love you daddy. I always will." I said and kissed his neck.

Mom came to sit with us and dad put one of his arms around her shoulders, as he kept the other one around me. Carlisle came and sat across from us. There was a serious expression on his face, but his eyes were smiling.

"What is it Carlisle? If you're going to so effectively I might add, block me out of your head, then you need to say it." Dad said straitening up a bit.

"Ok, but I need Esme and your brothers and sisters here too." He said not raising his voice at all. Nonetheless, everyone else was suddenly standing behind him. It still amazed me.

"We're all here now." Esme said touching Carlisle's shoulder.

"Nessie, I know that you are not happy being apart from Jacob. And given the fact that you are now engaged to him, it is not fair either. I've already discussed this with Esme, and we feel you should go to La Push, to Jacob." He said taking Esme's hand in his.

"What are you saying?" I asked not being sure I understood him at all. I felt dad move and he was suddenly standing very close to Carslile. He was glaring at him and his hands turned into fists.

"Son, please let me finish before you say anything." Carlisle said, not moving an inch from where he was sitting, even though dad was like towering over him.

"Edward, love, come sit with me." Mom said touching his arm. Dad reluctantly came to sit back between mom and me.

"As I was saying, Esme and I feel that Rensemee should go to La Push, but we also feel that we, and when I say we I mean all of us, wouldn't be able to be apart from her and what goes on in her life."

"Ok, I know I'm not the smartest one of us all, but what on earth are you talking about Carlisle?" Emmet asked.

"What I'm saying son, is that we think it would be appropriate if we all go with her."

"With Nessie?" Rose asked.

"To La Push?" mom asked.

"Back to Forks?" Emmet asked.

"Yes to all of your questions. But we wouldn't be going back to Forks actually. Back home yes, but not Forks."

"It's too soon to go back to Forks." Dad said.

"Yes, it is. But our house is not located in Forks and we don't need to go into Forks to get to La Push." Esme said smiling.

"What is going on Carlisle? Now I'm worried too." Jasper said coming closer to where we were sitting.

"I actually think it's great. It will work out just fine Carlisle. I can see it will." Alice said smiling brightly.

"You accepted a job offer in La Push? What about the treaty?" dad said suddenly standing up.

"In La Push? What about Alice? You know she can't see anything with the wolves around. We would be all blind over there!" Jasper said almost at the same time.

"Edward! Jasper! Relax please. Sit down and listen to your father." Esme said glaring at both of them. It was the first time ever that I had seen Esme mad at someone. I had never seen her raise her voice at my dad before. She looked like a real vampire when she did. I couldn't help smiling at her. It was funny seeing dad sit back as if he was a little kid.

"Ok, so let me see if I got this right. You accepted a job offer in La Push, which means it must be at the Hospital there, right?" I said to Carlisle.

"Right."

"So we can all move back home and I get to be with Jacob and you all get to be really close to me, and I could see Charlie all the time too! Oh Carlisle thank you. Thank you so much. I love you." I said running to him and throwing my arms around him.

"Don't worry about me Jaz, surprisingly, I have been seeing around the wolves for some time now. It won't be as bad as it was before." Alice said putting an arm around Jasper's waist and kissing him lightly on his neck. Then she giggled.

I still couldn't believe we were going back home. We had decided to keep it a surprise for Jacob and Charlie, but I couldn't stop smiling widely every time I talked to Jake now. My family was very busy packing up all our stuff, while I continued going to classes. I was going to transfer to Port Angeles Community College once we moved, so I had to raise my grades up a bit. I wanted so much for everything to work out ok, that I began to Ace all my classes. Mom smiled at me and dad just grunted. He told me he wished I would be doing so good for me and not just because we were moving. I just giggled; I was becoming an expert at that.

The day arrived when we all got on a plane. I was still scared of flying, so I sat between mom and dad and held their hands. They both looked at me as if I was like crazy or something. I understood what they were thinking, I mean, I was half vampire – half human, I shouldn't be scared of such a silly thing as flying. There were really more scary and creepy things out in the world. I rested my head on mom's shoulder and before I knew it, I was sleeping peacefully.

When we got home, Esme, Rosalie, Emmet and Jasper stayed to help with all the unpacking and cleaning of the house. Carlisle, Alice, mom, dad and me, went to La Push to surprise Jake and Charlie. It was Sunday, so Charlie was most likely to be at Billy's house. We took two cars, since Alice insisted on driving her Porsche and mom wanted to take her Ferrari also. I could feel all the staring the two cars were causing once we got to La Push. Everyone just stopped whatever they were doing to stare at the cars. Red and yellow blurs on the road, Alice and mom drove very fast. We got to Billy's house in a flash. As soon as we climbed down from the cars, four wolves came running from the woods and stood in front of us. They had curious looks in their eyes. After all, the Cullens had never violated the treaty before, at least not uninvited.

"Hi Quil, Embry, Seth, Leah. Nice to see you all again." I said smiling at them.

"It's ok guys, there's nothing to worry about. We're here on a social visit." Dad said smiling at them too.

"Can you guys call Sam? Tell him we're here." Carlisle said making us look towards him.

"Sam knows about this?" mom asked him.

"Yes, he's the one who suggested it actually." Suddenly the door to Billy's house opened slightly, and I got a glimpse of Jake's eyes.

"Jake!" I yelled and started running to him. He saw me and for a second he just stood there. I guess I did surprise him.

"Nessie? Nessie you're here!" he said as he caught me in his arms and spanned me around.

"Oh I'm so happy to see you! Surprised you didn't we?" I said giggling.

"You certainly did. Hey dad! Charlie! Get out here! You're never going to believe this!" he yelled back to the house.

"What's all these noise son?" Billy asked rolling out in his wheelchair with Charlie right behind him.

"Hi dad." Mom said running to Charlie.

"Bella! Oh honey it's so nice to see you. It's been too long." He said hugging her tightly.

"Ok, can someone please explain what's going on? What are you guys all doing here?" Jacob asked not letting me go.

"We're moving back. We're all moving back!" Alice smiled at all of them.

"Back? To Forks? But it's too soon. People still remember you here. And no offense, but you look like kids." Jake said looking from dad to Carlisle to mom and back to dad.

"Calm down Jacob, I'm sure Alice is not being serious." Charlie said.

"Oh no Charlie, I'm dead serious."

"I bet Sam has an explanation for this. Does he even know you're here?" Jake said looking at Leah.

"Umm…Jake, actually it was Sam's idea, and I agreed with him. As did the rest of the elders." Billy said and all heads, including the wolves, turned to him. Carlisle walked to stand beside Billy, and smiled at us.

It turns out, they had planned everything. Billy, Sam and Carlisle had gotten together, I'm still trying to figure out when exactly that happened, and arranged everything so that we could all be together in the end. I just couldn't believe they had been so awesomely amazing. I really had a wonderful family.

Life continued along just fine. Carlisle was really happy with his job at La Push's General Hospital and I was happy with my classes and with Jake. Everyone else was busy with the wedding arrangements. Alice was trying to put together this huge production, so she requested the help of my entire family. Well, she didn't really request them to help, she like glared at them and got angry at them if they refused to help. Even dad was helping out just to keep Alice out of his way. "You know Alice." He would say to me.

I was walking out of the convenience store one morning, on my way back home, when I bumped into some woman. She dropped the map she was holding in her hands, so I picked it up for her. Then our eyes locked. I heard her gasp. I smiled. This was a face I had seen many times over in my life on mom's and Charlie's pictures. There was so much of her in mom too.

"Can I help you with anything?" I asked her after my initial shock.

"Oh sure. You just remind me of my daughter so much. I haven't seen her in a while." She said with pained look in her eyes.

"Are you looking for her?"

"No, actually, I'm looking for Billy Black's house. I thought I could remember the way to it, but it seems I don't. I was never any good at directions. Some of my ex-husband's neighbors said I could maybe find him there."

"I know where Billy's house is, but there's no one there right now. I'm Nessie, by the way. It's really nice to finally meet you Renee." I said smiling at her.

"Have we met before? Are you related to Charlie in any way?" she asked confused.

"Yes, I am related to Charlie. But sadly no, we haven't met before. If you want, I can take you to Charlie and Bella."

"Bella's here? My little girl's here? Please Nessie, please take me to them." She said hugging me. I hugged her back. I had just met my grandmother for the first time.

We got into her car and drove away. She told me all about her husband Phil and what a happy life they had together. But she also said she missed my mother terribly. I knew mom missed her too. I knew it killed her no to be able to tell her own mother everything that went on in her life. After seeing how Charlie had reacted when he found out what mom had been turned into, I couldn't blame her. When we got home, I could sense the house was very quiet. That only meant that my family had gone hunting. We sat on the couch to wait for them. Renee found a picture of mom and Edward on their wedding day and just looked at it.

"This was the last day I saw her. She looked like an angel. My baby girl got married so young, but I was really happy for her. The love she and Edward showed that day still takes my breath away." She said setting the picture down.

"It hasn't changed. When they look into each other's eyes, it makes me so happy. They're true soul mates. Just like Jake and I." I said smiling.

"You just look so much like her. Your eyes, your lips, if it weren't for your bronze curls…bronze just like…" she looked up at me. I smiled brightly at her.

"I'm so happy to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you."

"You're a Cullen right?"

"Yes, yes I am. I'm getting married next week so I guess my name will change, but I will always be a Cullen."

"Nessie is a rare name. It's beautiful though." She said touching my face.

"Actually, it's just a nickname I was given as a baby. My name is Renesmee Carlie Cullen." Her hand froze on my face. I looked at her and saw the tears in her eyes. I smiled and just hugged her. I felt her arms go around me and then heard her tiny sobs.

Suddenly there was a lot of noise around us. It seemed my family was back.

Bella

"Nessie baby are you here?" Edward called from the door.

"In here! I have a surprise guest with me." she said standing up. There was someone sitting on the couch, her back to us. It was a scent I didn't recognize, 100% human. I felt Edward stiffen beside me.

"Nessie, what did you do?" he asked her.

"She didn't do anything Edward. I saw this was going to happen." Alice said walking ahead of us and putting an arm around Nessie.

"Then why didn't you warn us?" Edward glared at Alice. I didn't understand anything. Who was this woman?

"Because I think it's a good thing. It is time. She's part of this family too." Alice said winking at the woman sitting on the couch.

"Thank you Alice. At least one of you thinks that way." The woman said standing up and turning around. I would've recognized that voice anywhere.

"Mom!" I gasped covering my mouth with my hands. "Nessie how did you…why did you…No this is not right." I turned around and buried my face on Edward's chest. He put his arms around me. I couldn't let mom see me like this. I had changed so much. She would surely freak out. I couldn't take another rejection like the one Charlie had.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize…" Nessie whispered, but Renee put her hand on her shoulder.

"It's not your fault honey, you did nothing wrong." Renne said smiling at my daughter.

Jake and Charlie walked in at that moment. They just stood there, frozen, looking at Renee.

"Renee, hey, when did you arrive? I would've gone to the airport to pick you up." Charlie said walking to her.

"You stay right there Charlie Swan, I'll deal with you later. Right now I want to hear straight from my daughter's own lips, what is it that I did that was so horrible for her to shoot me out of her life?" mom said with so much pain in her voice. I had been so wrapped up in my life and my own issues that I had totally neglected my own mother. What kind of a daughter was I? I was a mother myself now too.

"Oh no Renee, you have it all wrong. It was not like that at all." Charlie said.

"I'm warning you Charlie." Mom said to dad.

"She just wanted to protect you." Edward said, while I started to try to free myself from his arms.

"Isabella Marie Cullen! You turn around now young lady and answer me! I'm your mother and I deserve your respect. You made me a grandmother and didn't even bother to let me know!" she said. That's when I turned around. I just looked at Nessie and back at mom.

"How did you…figure that out?" I asked mom.

"Well, I'm not blind you know, she has your eyes and Edward's coloring, but it was her name that really gave it away. You named her after Esme and me, what was I supposed to think?" mom said walking closer to me.

"I was afraid you wouldn't understand. I'm not the same person anymore; I'm not even a person mom." I said getting closer to Renee.

"You're my baby girl, my daughter. I don't care about anything else." She said taking my hands.

"Dad didn't take it so good." I said glancing at him and smiling.

"That's because your father's still learning how to be a dad." Renee said smiling.

"Hey, I resent that." Charlie said with a smile on his face.

"I'm really sorry mom." I said.

"It's ok baby, I'm here now and don't even think I'm going away." mom said and hugged me. She kissed me on the nose, the cheeks, and the top of my head. I had missed my mother. I then felt Nessie's arms around us. Tears were streaming down my baby's face, but she was smiling.

"So I guess you finally met your grandmother, huh Nessie?" I said smiling at her.

"Yes mom, I finally did." She smiled back at me and then at Renee.

"Great! Now all the guests are complete!" Alice beamed at me.

Nessie

So everything was almost ready for my wedding.