Thanks goes out to USNeshama and Guest for my two reviews to this story, and I hope to get much more after this chapter. I would not want Victoria and James to be after me, haha!
I'm glad that it seems that some of you like this story, and if you would, please, leave a review. That usually gives me a confidence boost so that I update a lot and much more quickly.
Missy
Nobody said anything for the first hour. We just walked. It took me a little while to realize where we walking to, but eventually it came to me. Alaska. The Cullen family had bought a house nearby to take a much-needed vacation from the realities of the human world or to relax, as if I wondered if a vampire knew how.
Renesmee skipped ahead of us once her energy was back. It had started snowing, so she was occupying herself by catching snowflakes as they fell, but until Ren leapt thirty feet in the air to catch some, her appearance had gone, more or less, unnoticed. When she landed, however, Jasper looked over at me with a grim look on his face.
"An immortal child?" he hissed, and I fought back the urge to rip apart someone I had once considered a brother. I growled and crouched down in front of her so Emmett and Jasper could not hurt her.
"Mom," Ren whispered to me, touching my arm. "It's okay. He only asked if I was, not that he thought that I was."
She was right and I knew that. Jasper had not said that. I stood back up, wrapping my arms around Renesmee, kissing her forehead. "Sorry Jasper, I'm just really protective of her."
Renesmee scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, that's an understatement. She never lets me out of her sight, anymore, not since…"
The mood shifted then as we both remembered what had caused my daughter to be the way that she was, today. We looked to one another, before my eyes went back to Emmett and Jasper. They were confused, not having full answers, here, but luckily, they knew to keep quiet, for now.
Without another word, we continued walking until we were in hearing distance of the house. I suddenly froze, having the vampire version of panic attack as flashbacks began to assault me, just as he had done. Unfortunately, that was what my brain was recalling as my breath hitched in my throat and venom pooled in my eyes. I could not go through with this. I thought I was strong enough, but I just could not face him. Not now, not this soon. I was still pretty messed up, and was working on cleaning up the mess that his ass made before he ditched me!
I only hesitated about a half a second, but that was all it took for Emmett and Jasper to restrain me, both pushing me to the ground and holding me there as I calmed down. Only I was not able to calm down, instead lashing out at those two, growling and thrashing against them.
"Bella!" I stopped all at once when Jasper sternly called my name. I looked up at him, noticing now that his eyes were black, but that was the last thing that worried me. I was like him, now, and Renesmee was barely quarter-human, so her blood would not call to any of them like mine once had. On that end, we were good.
Once Jasper had my attention, he took a deep breath in. "I don't know what happened," he continued on, looking me straight in the eyes. "But I do know how worried and afraid you are, and I can only guess who the cause of that is. However, he is not here. You don't need to worry about him, because he only calls, now, and hasn't even seen any of us since a year after we left."
I took that all in. So, that chicken shit ran away from his family, as well, huh. Figures. He was never much of a man before, so why should he be any different, now. When I focused on Jasper, again, I could tell he was pleading for my cooperation before letting me up. I sighed deeply, nodding at him, a silent vow that I would no longer run away. He smiled, standing up and helping me up, even though I could get up on my own, and we stood there for a moment.
"There you are!" a voice I did not recognize said, coming out from the woods. I growled as I saw the woman appear, and crouched down in front of Renesmee, who I felt was worried, as well. The girl looked shocked and stayed rooted to that spot while Jasper held up his hand, getting my attention.
"Bella, don't worry," Jasper said to me, and I trusted him. I stood back up just as the woman who appeared looked to Jasper, her eyebrow quirking up in amusement.
"You found her?" she asked surprised. She took off a hat that I just now noticed she had on, shaking out her hair until it fell down her back, almost as long as Renesmee's unruly hair was, only this woman's hair was a burgundy color.
As Jasper nodded to the woman and she walked to him, Renesmee pulled on my arm, getting my attention. "I want hair that color, mom!"
At that moment, three heads whipped to our direction, looking at me in utter confusion.
"Mom?" Emmett asked, crossing his arms in amusement. He let out a booming laugh at that thought, and Renesmee jumped back. I hugged her, comforting her just as the woman hit Emmett on the back of the head.
"Oww," he said, rubbing it and glaring at her. "Jeez, not you too, Avera!"
"Well, someone needs to keep you in line when Rose isn't around," the woman, Avera, said, smirking at him. "I volunteered for the position."
Jasper laughed.
I was feeling the vampire equivalent of a headache at all that was going on, but most of it I put to the back of my mind. I looked to Renesmee, smoothing back her hair, smiling sweetly at her. "Do you think you can use your gift on more than one person?"
Renesmee thought for a moment, before smiling and nodding her head. "I think I can. Do you want me to show them when I was born?"
I nodded, not wanting them to see the rest that dealt with Victoria, at least not until I figured out how to jump that hurdle. "Yes. Only that."
Everyone caught on to how I said that, but questioned nothing, as my daughter and I got closer. Renesmee looked at all three of them, but shrank closer to my side as she looked at Emmett's towering figure. "Mom," she whispered, her voice shaking. I wrapped my arm around her as I looked at Emmett's hurt face.
"I'm sorry Em," I said to my teddy bear of a big brother. "She just has a hard time trusting others." I looked into his eyes, pleading with my own eyes to just let it go, for now. He nodded, muttering about warning the others before he ran to the house.
I sighed, feeling bad for a split second before the guilt began to ebb away. I looked up at Jasper, smiling at him. "Thanks," I muttered.
"No problem," he said with a sly wink.
I laughed for the first time in five years at that, before noticing Avera again. "So…"
"Oh," Jasper said, jumping back as he realized his manners. This was also the point where his accent reverted to his southern drawl rather than the accent he had used in Forks. "I'm so sorry! How rude of me. Bella Swan, meet Avera DuVal. Avera is my mate."
Wait…hold up… As quick as my mind could process, since I knew my mate was a Cullen, I thought about what he said. If Avera was his mate, what about Alice? As if reading my mind, he looked to me, raising one perfect eyebrow, as if I knew the answer. I guess I had always known, but now I knew for sure. Alice was my mate, and I was suddenly very excited to get to her!
However, before I could, first things first. After I shook Avera's hand, I ushered Renesmee forward, keeping my arms on her shoulder as she put one hand on Jasper's face, the other on Avera's face, and took them back to the moment she was born.
It was always different for me to see things through Renesmee's eyes. The first thing that she showed was blackness, while hearing me whisper how much I loved her and how I could not wait to meet her. All of us could feel how she felt, which was guilty for hurting me, coupled with excitement that soon she would get to meet me. Then, it switched. Panic set in as she could not breathe and she was worried because she could feel my pain and hear me scream. After biting my insides in several places, she was able to free herself, crying as she hit the surface and was able to breathe again. Then, she saw me for the first time, and smiled. I could feel the love that she felt for me in that moment as she looked at my battered and mangled body, though no matter what, I smiled at her, calling her "beautiful" and declaring that her name was Renesmee Carlie, after her grandparents. As I saw myself fading away, I felt the panic rise in her, again, as she crawled up my body, towards my face. I felt her fear before she gathered her courage and bit me.
That was when Renesmee pulled away. Coming back into the present, I heard my daughter sniffling and I gathered her in my arms, hugging her close. "It's okay, baby, shh. I'm right here, sweetheart," I soothed to her, rubbing her back. I sat with her on the ground as she calmed down, soon noticing that the two of us were no longer alone. Jasper and Avera joined us, both looking shocked at what we went through, as well as proud and happy. Jasper lightly touched Renesmee's arm, rubbing it soothingly.
"Renesmee, I believe you're the bravest person that I know," he whispered to her. Ren looked up, her eyes wide in shock as she stared at him. Avera nodded her agreement as she wiped her eyes that were full of venom, and I knew that they probably wished that they could cry, just for some relief from this.
However, Renesmee just shook her head, being the humble daughter I raised. "I just wanted my mommy to always be there with me. I wasn't brave, she was."
If I could still blush, I would be. I kissed my daughter's forehead as I smoothed back her hair. "Rennie, you are brave, now and forever. You saved my life in more than one way. Without you, I would not be here. So please always remember that," I whispered to her. I heard her sniffle but felt her nodding, so I knew she believed me.
"Renesmee," Avera whispered, getting her attention when Renesmee looked at her. The woman I just met smiled at my daughter, reaching over and smoothing back her hair. Renesmee smiled back at her. "You did what most grownups couldn't, let alone a tiny infant. I know that your mother was denied being turned because of lack of control," she said, looking at me. I was glad that she knew so that I would not have to explain, but I just hoped she stopped there. Thankfully, she mentioned no more of Edward the asshole. "You turned her at only minutes old, and you did save her, which will make a whole lot of people happy. You're bringing a family back together, whether you know it or not." Renesmee looked confused, but Avera just smiled at her and winked, conspiratorially. "You'll soon see why."
Renesmee giggled and we all stood up, silently walking towards the house to face what was to come. At least now, Jasper and Avera knew that Ren was not an immortal, so that was one thing out of the way. One thing of many more to move pass towards healing. I just hope that this night went better than I dreamed it would be. Otherwise, I would not know a thing of how to be able to go on with my immortal life. After I got my revenge and raised Renesmee, what next? I just hoped that this all work out for the best, and that my mate and I could have our happily ever after.
After all the shit the two of us had been through, we certainly deserved it. I just hope my human memories had told me the truth, and that I was right about who my mate was. Otherwise, well…I would have to see.
