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1. New Beginnings
Bella's POV
As I laid in Edward's arms watching the sky slowly lighten, I thought about the last six and a half years of my new life. Every precious moment I had spent with Renesmee, every touch I shared with Edward, these thoughts always brought me happiness.
Renesmee's accelerated growth meant that some detail of my perfect baby changed every day. This did not worry me like it used to, I now know that once she is fully-grown she will stop growing and aging. I take great comfort from this knowledge, but I'm also worried as she is already nearly fully-grown and will be an adult a lot sooner than I would have liked.
I was shocked when exactly two weeks ago my daughter's natural teenage instincts kicked in. Edward and I had just informed her that it was time to start over somewhere new. Nessie was not happy at all and it took Edward ten minutes to calm her down, even with Jasper's help. It was heartbreaking to have to do it, but we had stayed in Forks much longer than we should have.
Nessie had never been able to socialise outside of our home with two exceptions: visiting Charlie and going to La Push. I hated keeping Nessie away from people who were not in on the secret; she deserved better than that. I wanted her to be able to make friends and do things normal teenagers do. I was hopeful that our new life would mean that she would finally be able to do those things.
Saying goodbye to Charlie was very difficult but I had known that I would have to do it at some point. We probably would have left sooner but I wanted Charlie to know his granddaughter and I think he was grateful for that. Charlie and Sue got married early last year so it made it a little bit easier to leave knowing they had each other.
We decided to move to Astoria, Oregon. It is exactly 124.45 miles away from Forks, so the weather is pretty much the same and the forests are very full of wildlife.
We bought a huge wooden lodge located right in the middle of the forest. It was beautiful and very spacious, very much like the big white house we left behind.
I turned to see Edward staring at me; he was so beautiful and perfect. I could have laid there forever, enjoying him forever. Then it suddenly dawned on me what we had to do, making my wish impossible. It was the day we were due to start school, something I had not been looking forward to.
I groaned to myself and Edward took my face in his hands.
"What's wrong?" he asked; concern the most prominent expression on his perfect face.
"I just realised what we have to do today," I mumbled, not wanting Edward to know how scared I really was.
I had always had very good control when it came to my thirst but I had never been around a large number of humans before and it petrified me that I would be testing my control on children.
"Don't worry love I'm sure you'll be great, you're just as strong as the rest of us."
This was not very comforting. I knew how hard it was for Jasper and I knew how quick things could change. I bit my lip and Edward stroked my face.
"I'll be right by your side - I won't let anything happen. I know you can do this."
That did comfort me somewhat. Knowing Edward would be with me made everything that much easier.
He kissed me softly on the lips and I had to remind myself that it was time to get up and get ready for the day ahead.
"I don't want to go," whined Nessie.
This is going to be more difficult than I thought. I knew Nessie was not happy about going to school and I did not blame her. She was already very intelligent and school was bound to be boring for her but we had to try to fit in.
"Come on Nessie, we need to try. You never know - you might like it" I encouraged.
"I won't like it. Why can't I work in the store with Jake?"
I should have seen this one coming. When we moved here, it was obvious that Jake looked too old to go to school so Edward bought him a store with a workshop in the back where Jake could make and sell his wooden figurines. Jake was very grateful to have something to do while we would all be at school. Nessie had spent every day there with him since we moved here. She had already tried to talk Edward into letting her work at the store. Edward was strong and denied her even though it killed him not to give her what she wanted.
"Nessie, your father has already explained why you can't work in the store," I reminded her.
"This is so unfair," she complained as she walked out the front door.
Edward, Nessie and I traveled to school in Edward's Volvo. Rose, Emmett, Alice and Jasper went in Emmett's Jeep.
The journey would usually take about 25 minutes, but with Edward's driving we were at Astoria High School in just 7 minutes.
We parked in the parking lot in front of the first building; looking to the left, I could see the football field. Upon entering the building it was clear this school was very proud of their football team. There was a huge glass cabinet against the east wall full of trophies and team photos.
Immediately in front of us was a huge desk full of wire baskets and stacks of paper. Behind the desk sat a tall woman with short dark hair. She was dressed smartly in a blue blouse and black pencil skirt. Attached to her blouse was a name badge identifying her as Mrs. Jenson.
"Good morning, how can I help you?" she asked in a cheerful voice.
"I'm Edward Cullen and this is the rest of my family: Alice Cullen, Emmett Cullen, Renesmee Cullen, Rosalie Hale, Jasper Hale and this is Bella Swan," Edward informed her gesturing to all of us in turn.
Mrs. Jenson was shocked when she took in our obvious beauty and the size of Emmett. Something she thought made Edward smile and her heart rate accelerated. She shook her head and started going through a stack of papers on her desk.
"I have your schedules right here. We were expecting you."
She handed each of us our schedule and a map of the school. I had a quick look at the map and was surprised at the size of the school. There was an Eastside and a Westside. The Eastside housed the visual arts, performing arts, technology and computer classes. The Westside housed English, mathematics, science and foreign language classes.
We thanked Mrs. Jenson and left for our first classes. Edward, Alice and I were acting as Juniors. I was surprised to find out that all our classes were together.
I wondered if Carlisle had made this a stipulation when he phoned to register us.
Emmett, Rose and Jasper were acting as Seniors. Rose had made this a stipulation as she refused to go to school for more than a year.
Nessie was acting as a Sophomore. I was not very happy when Edward suggested this, as I did not want her to be on her own. Edward managed to talk me around by saying Nessie would be more likely to make friends if she was not with us all the time. I could not argue with that. Our family could be very intimidating and humans tended to keep a safe distance.
I gave Nessie a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Do you know where you're going sweetie?" I asked.
I hated the thought of leaving her on her own. She could have gotten lost.
"Yes mom, stop worrying"
"Alright, well I hope you have a good day. We'll see you at lunch."
"Whatever mom, see you later" she grumbled as she headed towards the Westside building.
I turned to Edward, "Do you think she'll be alright?" I said, trying to hide the panic in my voice.
"She'll be fine Love, stop worrying. I'll know if there's anything to worry about."
That was true; Edward's mind reading could be very useful sometimes but also very annoying. Although Edward cannot read my mind unless I let him, he can still read my facial expressions through other peoples' thoughts.
Alice said goodbye to Jasper and then skipped to my side. Emmett, Rose and Jasper headed off to their first class.
"Bella, you're not seriously worried about Nessie are you?" Alice asked.
"Well yes I am actually. It's the first time she's been around a lot of humans and none of us are there to support her" I replied, annoyed.
Am I the only one who is taking this seriously? This is a big step for Nessie and I should be with her.
"Calm down Bella. Nessie is going to be fine." Edward said, as he took my face in his hands. He bent down slowly and kissed me softly on the lips and I forgot my worries immediately.
Renesmee's POV
What am I doing? I cannot believe I let them talk me into coming to school. I have no idea what I am doing or what to expect. I hope they like me and I hope my throat won't burn too much, that is the last thing I need.
As I approached my first hour French class, I took a deep breath then opened the door.
The classroom was small; the tables were in rows facing the front where a man stood next to a small desk. He was tall with dark hair; he was wearing a white shirt with a name badge identifying him as Mr. Green.
I approached the desk and introduced myself and to my embarrassment he made me introduce myself to the whole class in French. I felt my face flush but was also relieved that I was already fluent in French. All the students stared as if they had never heard anyone speak French before. This confused me. Did I say something wrong?
Mr. Green was speechless. He just pointed to an empty space at the back of the class. I walked quickly to my seat, trying to ignore all the faces watching me.
I sat next to a pretty girl with long, blonde, curly hair.
"Hi, I'm Brooke. I'm sorry but I didn't quite get your name," she admitted.
"Don't worry it is quite unusual. I'm Renesmee, but everyone calls me Nessie," I informed her.
"Your French is very good. I wish I could speak it as well as you. I'm terrible," she confessed.
"Thank you. My dad used to tutor me at home. I'm sure you're not that bad - I could help you if you like"
"Would you? That's really nice of you, thanks."
"No problem" I replied with a smile.
I really like this girl. She seems so sweet. Maybe today will not be so bad after all.
I was surprised at how easy it was to talk to her. I could sense people looking at us while we spoke but I tried to ignore them.
I spent most of the hour helping Brooke with her pronunciation. She had improved considerably by the end of class.
"Thank you so much for your help Nessie. No one has ever explained it like that before"
"No problem, it was fun." And it really was, to my surprise. I had thought school was going to be boring, considering there was not much I did not already know.
"What's your next class?" Brooke asked with a hopeful expression.
I had to check my schedule. "Biology, in room 6."
"That's my next class. Do you want to be my lab partner? My partner left a few weeks ago, so I've been working on my own," she explained.
"Sure."
We walked to our next class and to my relief the teacher did not make me introduce myself to everyone.
This room looked different from the last. Three long benches stretched the length of the room.
I followed Brooke to our bench and we took our seats. Brooke sat on my left and to my right sat two boys. One was tall and skinny with light brown hair, which was cropped short. The second boy was also tall, but stockier. He had black spiky hair that looked like it was glued in place. Brooke introduced me to the two boys. The first one's name was Lee and the second one was named Scott.
The teacher, Mr. Webb, started talking about today's lab. I was not really listening so I was shocked when my throat suddenly started to burn fiercely. The smell of human blood was so strong it was as if someone had cut himself right in front of me. My head started to spin and I was finding it difficult to control my thirst. Just then there was a knock at the door; it was Alice.
"Excuse me sir but Renesmee needs to see the Principal," she explained.
Why would I need to see the Principal? Just then, I understood why my throat was burning and why Alice had come to get me. On the desk was a heart which was covered in blood - human blood.
I got up quickly and ran to the door, slamming it behind me.
"I'm so sorry Nessie; I came as quickly as I saw what was happening. Are you ok?"
I could not answer; I knew this was a bad idea. How was Alice supposed to warn me when she could only see a few minutes into my future? That could have gone really badly. I could have exposed all of us. Before I could control myself, I started to cry.
"Oh Nessie it's ok. Please don't cry; we'll figure something out. I'm so sorry" Alice tried to soothe me. She held me close and stroked my hair; I needed to get some fresh air. I pulled away from her and took her hand as we walked out to the picnic area near the cafeteria.
As we sat down mom and dad showed up. They both looked really upset and concerned.
"Oh Nessie, are you alright sweetheart?" Mom asked pulling me to my feet and wrapping her arms around me. I felt better at once; I hated to see mom upset. I placed my hand on her cheek, I'm fine, don't worry.
"How can I not worry, you must have been in so much pain." If she could cry, I think she would have been close to tears.
"Really mom, I'm ok. I was more shocked than anything else," I explained trying to calm her down.
Dad wrapped one arm around mom and the other around me. "Come on, let's go home. I think we've had enough excitement for one day," he said. He turned to Alice, "Go back to class, we'll see you later." Alice nodded and headed back to class.
Bella's POV
I was glad to be home; all three of us were cuddled up on the sofa.
"I don't understand what happened. How could Alice not see what was planned for Nessie's class?" I asked, confused.
"Alice had already checked and thought it was fine. Mr. Webb changed his mind at the last minute and with Nessie already in the class, Alice didn't see until he had brought the heart out." Edward explained and we all cringed.
"We are so sorry Nessie; maybe school wasn't such a good idea." Edward admitted.
"It's alright dad, no harm was done."
Nessie was so brave. I did not think I would have been able to control myself if that happened to me. I could see she was trying to shrug it off as nothing just to stop us from worrying, but I couldn't help but worry.
I could not believe we put her through that; she had been through so much in her short life. I really thought school would be good for her but I was wrong. I could not let her go through anything like that again but I couldn't guarantee it; not when it was so difficult for Alice to see her future.
"So what happens now then?" Nessie asked.
Edward and I exchanged a glance. I pushed my shield away from me, Maybe working with Jake is not such a bad idea - and she would be safe there.
Edward sighed and I could see he agreed with me, but Edward was worried about Jake and Nessie spending so much time together. Nessie was nearly fully-grown and we knew Jake's feelings towards her would soon be changing.
"Well I suppose there's only one alternative left" Edward said grudgingly.
"I can work with Jake?" Nessie cried, unable to control her excitement.
"Yes you can work with Jake, but I don't want you wasting your time there and stopping Jake from working."
"Oh thank you Daddy. I promise I won't get in his way."
Nessie was so excited she was bouncing in her seat.
Jacob's POV
I am so bored; I hope Nessie is having a better day at school. I wish I were with her. I feel so empty when she is not with me.
I had spent most of the morning arranging and re-arranging my figurines on the shelves. I had not had one customer all day and felt starved of conversation. I really appreciated Edward buying this store for me. I thought it would be fun but I did not realise it would be this boring.
I remember moaning to Bella back home about how there was always someone in my head and not having any time to myself. I wish that were the case now. I would give anything just to have someone to talk with.
Just then the bell above the door rang, informing me that someone had entered the store. I got up quickly, walked to the front of the store and was surprised to see Nessie standing there.
"Nessie, what are you doing here?"
"Oh sorry, I thought you would be happy to see me. I'll go if you want," Nessie said, disappointed.
"No, no - of course I'm happy; just surprised. I thought you were at school."
I walked over to her and gave her a hug, spinning her around in the process. Nessie laughed and I set her on her feet again.
"I was at school but there was an incident, so mom and dad agreed that I could work with you."
"Wow that's great; I could use the company. I've been going out of my head all morning. What happened at school though? Are you alright?"
"Yes I'm fine Jake. Let's just say it's not a good idea for me to be at school when there is human blood flowing."
"What? What happened? You didn't lose it, did you?" I could not control my panic.
"No, of course not Jake; calm down. Alice managed to get me out of class before anything happened. It really freaked mom and dad out though, so here I am."
Wow, that is a relief; it would have killed her if she had lost it. I am so glad she is alright.
"So what do you want me to do first?" Nessie asked.
"Um to be honest there isn't anything to do," I admitted, "How do you feel about going across the street and getting us something to eat and a movie to watch?"
"Jake you know I don't like human food but I'm definitely up for watching a movie," she replied with a smile.
"You pick the film then and I'll eat whatever you get," I laughed
Nessie turned and walked out of the store. I went in the back to tidy up so we had room to sit and watch the movie.
Nessie returned a few minutes later with six bags of chips, a bottle of Coke and The Fast and the Furious. That girl definitely knew how to pick a great movie. Nessie was just as into cars as me; nothing like Bella. We often went out driving together. Nessie loved to drive fast, but as she did not have a license yet we had to be careful.
Nessie put the movie in the machine, came and sat next to me on the small sofa that I had managed to squeeze into my workshop.
Nessie was watching the movie so intensely that she was leaning forward, completely unaware. I found myself watching her; watching her expressions, the way she twisted her hair in her fingers and the way she bit her lip when she was nervous. She is so beautiful.
I felt my heart beat faster as a new image appeared in my head. One of me kissing Nessie and holding her in my arms, feeling her warm soft body under my hands. I jumped, nearly knocking Nessie off the sofa.
Where did that come from? I have never thought of Nessie like that before.
"Jake what is it?" Nessie asked
"Oh, sorry. I just remembered there's something I've got to do"
"Is it anything I can help with?"
"No, actually would you mind watching the store for me for a bit? I won't be long" I needed to get out to try to sort my head out.
"Sure."
"Thanks Nessie" and without thinking I gave her a kiss on the cheek before walking out.
What is wrong with me? Why am I thinking of Nessie like this now? She is the same girl she has always been, she has not changed much in the last couple of weeks, but I obviously have.
I could not help it. The same image came back to me again and it sent my pulse racing. I felt alive, more alive than I had felt in my whole life, and yet I still felt sad. Sad because she may not want me, sad because I didn't know how to tell her how I felt and sad because I didn't know how to react around her anymore.
Nessie and I had always had a close relationship. There had never been an awkward moment between us. It had always been easy and comfortable to be around each other.
Knowing my feelings towards her had gotten stronger really complicated things. How does she feel about me? Would I scare her off if I told her how I feel? I did not have the answer to those questions so I decided it would be best to go back and try to act as if nothing had happened.
Renesmee's POV
I wonder why Jake left in such a hurry. It is not like him to forget to do something. Maybe he just wanted to get more food; I have never seen anyone eat as much as Jake. It is a good thing none of us really eat human food, otherwise there would never be any food left and we would all starve.
I heard the bell above the door so I pressed the pause button and went to see if I could help. It was just Jake.
"Hey Jake, you just missed a great race" I informed him.
"That's ok, I've seen the movie before."
Oh, maybe I should have gotten something else. "Did you want to continue watching, or is there something else you want to do?" I asked, a bit miffed by the expression on his face.
"No let's finish watching it."
We went and sat on the sofa again. Jake seemed really quiet and I started to feel sleepy. I rested my head on his shoulder and he froze.
"Sorry, you don't mind do you?" I asked, confused. Jake had never reacted to me like that before.
"No, of course not" he said as he wrapped his arm around me. He still felt a bit tense but I was not going to worry. It felt so nice cuddling up to Jake. I loved his woodsy, musky scent; it was the most significant sent to me. I could not remember a day in my life where Jake was not with me. He was my best friend. He was always there for me and I knew I could trust him completely with anything.
I was not really paying much attention to the movie, I was thinking about how life was in Forks. Lying in Jake's arms reminded me of the nights we spent at La Push, listening to all the Quileute's stories up on the mountains. I could almost remember the scent of the bonfire and the banter between the wolves. I miss Jake's brothers; they were always nice to me, although I could not say the same for Leah. Jake must miss them too. Even though he can still speak to them every day when he's in his wolf form, he has not seen them since we moved.
I remember the day we spent down by the river. I was not happy because that was the day mom and dad told me we were leaving. Jake was so lovely, he just let me rant until I got it all out of my system. He never once told me to stop being a spoiled brat. He just listened. When I had finished moaning he suggested going for a swim and we had so much fun, splashing around like little kids.
"Nessie, are you awake?" Jake asked softly.
I lifted my head and was surprised the movie had finished. Did I fall asleep?
Jake stroked my hair and I sighed in contentment. Suddenly he put his hand under my chin to lift my face to his. I looked into his deep black eyes and felt heat rise in my body. My heart started to beat faster than usual and I felt a sudden urge to touch his face and kiss his soft full lips. Without thinking about it, I lent closer as if a magnet was pulling me towards him. Our lips touched and my breath came in gasps. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself closer to him. I was pleased when he responded by weaving his hands through my hair and deepening the kiss.
Jake pulled away too soon. I had not had enough - I wanted more.
He looked into my eyes, I saw the excitement in his, and I could not help the smile that spread across my face. His answering smile was beautiful. I was speechless. What just happened?
"Sorry, I shouldn't have done that" Jake said, breathless.
"Why are you apologising? I was the one who attacked you," I admitted.
"True, but even so, I shouldn't have kissed you back like that."
This confused me. "Why did you then?" I asked, embarrassed. I looked down and Jake pulled my face up again.
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean it like that. You have no idea how much I wanted to kiss you. Are you sure this is what you want Nessie? I want to be with you more than anything else in the world, but if you're not ready I understand. I'll wait. I'll wait forever for you Nessie."
I didn't know what to say. Where had this come from? Did I want this? Am I ready? I don't know. It's all happened so quickly.
"I don't know Jake, I haven't really thought about it. I don't know why I kissed you; I just know that I wanted to." I admitted shyly
"It's alright Nessie, I understand." He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. I sighed and rested my head against his shoulder.
"So what now?" I asked.
"That is entirely up to you Nessie. I told you I want to be with you. The choice is yours."
Ok so Jake is giving me a choice. Now all I need to do is decide what I want. Easier said than done.