Leah Clearwater
"It's...horrible Leah! I just can't believe it!" she sobbed as she walked onto the porch and sat down on the swinging bench. I followed her and perched uncomfortably on the soft material. She buried her face in her palms and her back shook as she tearlessly cried. I pitied her. Sure, I wasn't perfectly human, but I could cry and all. I looked and acted normal at least.
"What happened Rosalie?" I asked, my mind coming up with possibilities of what could've gone wrong.
She lifted her gaze and stared straight ahead, into the forest, past the trees, at something I couldn't see. She swallowed, even though she didn't need to, and pushed herself off the bench and started making her way into the house again. "Jacob will tell you," she murmured as she closed the door behind her. And left me there. Alone. Like an idiot, waiting for Jacob to come and explain what the hell was going on.
Surprisingly, I didn't need to wait long. Jacob came walking over, from the other side of the front lawn in human form, eyes downcast upon his twiddling fingers. He ungracefully climbed the four porch steps and settled onto the swinging bench, instead of Rosalie. He angled his body towards me and leaned forward slightly, so that our faces were only mere inches apart. Oh for the love of all that is good and holy! I cried as the distance between us hurt me.
"What happened Jake? Rosalie said it was really bad..." I said, trying to distract my thoughts and my body.
Jacob swallowed hard and lifted his chin up and straightened his shoulders. "Carlisle and Esme were buying donated blood when Bella's water broke, so Carlisle couldn't determine what was going on in Bella's body. Apparently, her placenta had been detached for quite some time, maybe a day or two, and when the baby wanted to escape the womb... There was no placenta to protect it. We didn't know the placenta had been detached way before birth...
"But we didn't have time. Bella was dying so we just gave the baby to Rosalie and carried on with turning Bella. After Edward had successfully injected the venom in Bella's heart, and the transformation had begun, we went to Rosalie. She was panicked because the baby wasn't crying, as though it were mute, and it refused to eat, neither human food nor blood. We called Carlisle and told him what was going on but he wasn't able to tell over the phone, so we have to wait until he comes back to figure out what is going on with Reneesme..."
I snorted. His eyes met mine and I felt the usual electrifying spark between us. "They named her Reneesme? What kind of name is that?"He remained silent for a little while and his brow furrowed. Oh, I didn't mean to disagree with precious Bella's decision to ruin her daughter's life. I snorted. According to Jake, and now my brother, Bella was never wrong. It really was irritating.
"Yeah, Bella joined her mother's name, Renee, and the mom leech's name, Esme, together. I actually...kinda, like it, to a certain extent. It's strange and the baby is one of a kind, anyway, so it makes sense," he explained with a smile, as I rolled my eyes and punched him lightly on the shoulder.
"So you're waiting for Carlisle to come home then?" I confirmed as he nodded. I looked away from Jacob and spoke softly. "I met Paul in the woods..."
His eyes widened- those dark, beautiful eyes- as I mentioned Paul, therefore indirectly mentioning Sam's pack. His jaw locked and his hands balled up into tight fists. "What did he want?" he asked bitterly as his gaze floated to the front lawn. He leaned on his elbows, body tilted outwards.
"He...Sam sent him. To talk to one of us. Apparently, after we left, more wolves joined his pack and he thinks he is prepared to fight the Cullens. Sam is going to abide by the treaty. Bella was turned, Jacob, there's no denying that now..."
"Technically, she wasn't bitten. Edward injected the venom straight to her heart, so he didn't bite her. The treaty wasn't broken-"
I pursed my lips. "Why do you have to find a loop hole in the treaty to protect someone who doesn't love you anymore? Why can't you wrap your head around the fact that she doesn't love you, Jacob, she doesn't! And you just go out of your way to make sure that she is safe. You make me sick Black..."
Jacob grunted and fell back into the bench, covering his eyes with his hand as he rubbed at them ferociously. "I just can't understand how you live with your constant bitterness and how it feels to live a fucked up life just because no one loves you."
One drastic intake of breath from my part followed. Who the hell was he to talk to me like that? Oh yeah, my imprint. This was impossible. How was I supposed to knock some sense into him if I couldn't bear to see him hurt? No one said anything. I personally didn't have anything to say. Me, Leah Clearwater, has nothing to say. This is getting ridiculous. The house was still silent, apart from slight whimpers, presumably coming from Bella. I still couldn't believe that the spawn wasn't in a good condition. And suddenly... There it was. This estranged desire to see this little baby, just to see her. My motherly instincts rumbled in the background as they awakened, almost as strong as the imprint. I was compelled to go inside and see this child and I found myself standing up.
"Take me to see her, Jake," I almost pleaded. Jacob looked at me sceptically before he nodded and got off the bench. I followed him inside, bracing myself for the overdose of vampire scents. And I had reason to brace myself. My nostrils flared as soon as the mixture of smells hit me, sickly sweet, and my body started to shake, mildly at first. Jake noticed and placed a calming hand on my shoulder, urging me to calm down.
And thanks to the imprint, I did as he told me to. I told myself that there was nothing wrong, that the vampires wouldn't hurt me, and surprisingly it worked. We walked into the house but none of the vampires were in sight. I followed Jake upstairs, down a white hallway and into an open doorway.
Rosalie was bouncing slightly, her back to us and her eyes on the forest scene in front of her. Her blonde locks were swaying with each movement her body made and her arms were curled around something which she was holding to her chest.
"Reneesme..." she cooed, obviously not aware of our presence, or simply ignoring it.
"Rosalie?" Jacob called and walked over to her slowly, with me on his heels. "Rosalie?"
She turned, slowly, lifting a head of bronze curls onto her shoulder. The child wrapped her chubby hands around Rosalie's neck and pressed tightly onto her granite skin.
"Leah wanted to see her," he explained as he grabbed my forearm and pulled me before him. A smile touched her lips as she saw me, and her eyes lost all their hostility. Part of me was angry at her for treating Jacob like that, but the other part just wanted to see the kid. I didn't want to hold her. I didn't want to touch her.
Rosalie shifted Reneesme's weight onto her hip and she slowly turned her head around to face us. A small, heart shaped face framed with long bronze hair. Skin a pearly colour, with cheeks the colour of roses. Eyes...closed. And swollen. The eyes were bulging, an off set to her otherwise perfect face. She was smiling, showing off a set of fully grown baby teeth. She sure didn't look like a new born baby. As I backed away a few steps, Reneesme surprised me by reaching her tiny hands out towards me. Rosalie was as surprised as I was, but she beckoned me forward and lifted Reneesme off her hip and held her in mid air.
I slipped my hands under her armpits and brought her to my chest. Reneesme fit exactly into me and rested her head on my shoulder. She placed her hand against my neck and my mind was suddenly flooded with colourful pictures and a question.
Who are you? She was asking me.
"I'm Leah. Leah Clearwater. I'm Jacob's...friend."
Thank you. I'm Reneesme, but I think you already know. Do you know my Momma? And Aunt Rosalie?
"Yes, I do. Aunt Rosalie is also my friend. She's very beautiful, you know, the prettiest girl you'll ever see...but maybe, by time, you'll take her place. Your Momma is going to be pretty too. Like your dad and all your aunts and uncles and grandparents."
Aunt Rosalie is a vampire right? All of them are... And Momma's going to be one soon?
"Yes, yes she is."She nodded and pulled her hand away. Her colourful thoughts disappeared but I enjoyed her little form curled happily into mine. I had never felt so at ease with my motherly side before. Reneesme loved me, I could tell, even though she didn't know me at all. She was… warm. And I was so used to being warmer than most other people that Reneesme was something new to me. She truly was one of a kind, as Jacob had put it before.
I heard her breathe in my smell before pressing her hand again against my neck.
You smell like Jacob, she commented and I nodded. She showed me that imagined my smell to go with trees and forests, like the one she could smell from her room. My mind was filled with different hues of green and brown as Reneesme tried to conjure up an image of a forest. And she came extremely close, before she gave up. Can I go to Jacob now?
"Of course," I said as I turned to Jacob and handed her to him. Jacob held her comfortably and I smiled as I imagined him cradling our child in his arms. I brushed those thoughts aside and I looked at the scene in front of, mainly just Jake and Reneesme. So beautiful together. I saw something common in Rosalie and Jake's expressions. Sadness. The type of sadness I had seen on Rosalie's face when she had greeted me at the door.
I couldn't grasp the concept that the girl was blind. Her eyes were swollen shut and she couldn't see a thing and yet... She was happy. Probably because she didn't know what she was missing. Poor thing. I pitied her. She would never see the world and the beautiful people with which she lived.
"Where's Edward?" I asked suddenly. Rosalie looked to the door immediately. I followed her gaze and saw Edward leaning against the door frame, eyes locked on his daughter. The sadness was there again, but Edward's sadness was laced with pride and happiness.
"Here," he said softly. Reneesme's head snapped up and she looked in the direction of her father. She reached for him as he stepped forward and reached for her. He lowered his head to hers when she was in his arms and kissed her swollen eye lids softly. I smiled and felt that I had to leave Edward and Reneesme alone, in their privacy. I didn't want to intrude on such a personal moment. I walked out of the room, down the stairs and into the hall, stopping in front of the door.
I turned around and saw Jacob and Rosalie descend the stairs too. My heart melted when I saw Jacob, but I was accustomed to it and I tried my best to regain my composure, something which I was usually very fond of, but nowadays seemed to be slipping from my fingertips. As Jacob reached the hallway, he didn't give me any time. He grabbed my hand and led me out of the house. I was too thrilled about the physical contact going on between us to care about anything else.
We walked deep into the forest, in silence, dodging trees and bushes to find a spot. I didn't mind how long it took for us to get somewhere, as long as it meant having to touch him all the way. I could see the muscles in his back move as he walked steadily, those in his hands and legs too. Jacob, Jacob, Jacob...
We reached a relatively small clearing- a small patch devoid of bushes or trees, just short, muddy grass. Jake sat down and I sat beside him. He was worried about something- I could tell because his brows were furrowed and his dark eyes were narrowed into tiny slits.
"Did you see her eyes?" he asked out of the blue.
"Yeah, I did. I really felt sorry for her...she's just so young, and to be unable to see is a curse..."
"I know. What's worrying me is from where she got the disease."
"It's a disease? I thought she was just blind-"
"No. It's a disease. Carlisle confirmed it on the phone but he has to see Reneesme to know exactly what it is. Blind people do not have swollen eyes. Rosalie has to clean her eyes every couple of hours because the disease is some sort of infection, Edward's conclusion, not mine, which causes the eyes to produce pus. I've seen her do it and Reneesme isn't too happy about it. She starts to plead with her to stop because it hurts her."
"Poor thing," I mumbled softly. He nodded and closed his eyes. I watched him for a few seconds, but they felt like hours as Jacob remained with his eyes closed. As long as he didn't catch me staring… I didn't want him to know that I had imprinted on him. It would probably just freak him out and he would never talk to me again. He would also fire me from being his Beta. Which would automatically send me back to Sam's pack, and quite frankly, I didn't want to go back there.
"So you don't know who you're going to fight with then?" he asked, out of the blue.
I was caught off guard and I stuttered with a response. How did he know that I was going to have trouble with the probable upcoming war? "Wha-" I began, but then it hit me. "Seth." That kid was the worst tattle tale ever. He couldn't keep a secret, and the only secret he had managed to keep was the wolf thing, and only because his life depended on it. You couldn't have a personal, private conversation with Seth without the whole pack knowing the next time he phases.
"Yeah, the kid told me about your problem. It's not that big a deal though, you can side with whom ever you want… it doesn't matter to me, though it'd be a relief to take a break from my annoying Beta for a while," he said with a smirk. I pushed him roughly and laughed as he fell on his side. We both burst into fits of laughter as Jacob's cheek smashed to the ground.
I hadn't laughed like that in a really long time, and it was good to just laugh it out. In truth, I strongly disagreed with Jacob's words. It was a big deal for me, choosing sides, because it meant that all the hurt and pain would come tumbling down on me. I couldn't side against Jacob. I couldn't. It was physically, mentally and emotionally impossible for me to do so.
"So, have you made your decision? Or do I have to flatter you some more?" he asked with a wink.
Oh. My. God. Not the wink! Not the fucking wink!
Every part of me was burning when my eyes had greedily swallowed up Jake's wink. My fingertips wanted to reach out and rip his shirt off of him, because of all days, today he had decided to wear a shirt. My lips wanted to attack his, my legs wanted to tangle up with his long ones… every part of me and found a match in him.
I didn't move. Not one bloody inch. Nothing. Nada. I was forcing myself to not think about him in that way, to savour some of the dignity left in me. The little bit left. The tiny speck of dignity…
"I'll… think about it. Just please… don't provoke Sam into getting into a fight. I would prefer it if we don't fight."
Jacob was looking at me with his mouth stretched into a tiny 'o' shape as I told him that I didn't want to fight. Yes, it confused me too. All these new emotions were mixing up my character. Damn the imprint, damn my motherly instincts. I wasn't feared anymore. No longer the bitchy Leah… Just Leah. Plain, boring Leah. Yeah, no way was I going to be able to keep this attitude up.
I fingered the grass on which we were sitting, raking my fingers through it just to feel it's soft, fresh texture. I felt a hand on my forehead and I lifted my gaze to look into Jacob's mock-concerned eyes.
"You okay Leah?" he asked, feeling my temperature.
I reluctantly pushed his hand away. "I run a permanent temperature of one hundred and eight degrees. You can't determine if I'm sick just by feeling my temperature, idiot."
Jacob beamed at me. "There you are Leah. Man, everyone's changing around here…"
I rolled my eyes. If only you knew my story Jacob Black, you'd realise how much I'm changing for you… I was greatly considering telling Jacob about the imprint, it seemed like a good idea now, with all this awkwardness between us, and it might ease the confusion by just a bit…
No. Everything will just get even worse. Believe me. Jacob won't understand about the imprint thing and run off, then you'll be heart broken and you'll do something completely reckless to avoid the confusion you would've caused.
The rational part of my brain was talking now, showing me a very possible outcome. Okay, not now. But he will know sometime. I mentally nodded, dreading such a day. I tugged my hair out of my eyes, scanning the forest as I did so. I couldn't believe how many things had changed in only a matter of days. All my emotions, my strengths, my vows, everything. I had become friends with a vampire. Or, as close to friends as we could get, but whatever. I had held a hybrid child in my arms and watched her thoughts in my mind. I had walked into the Cullen household out of my own will….
Unbelievable.
I sighed and heard Jacob rustle a few leaves as he moved. I looked up and saw him staring straight ahead, focusing on the path we had taken to come here. I watched his nostrils flare as he breathed in, then out, shoulders starting to shake.
"Carlisle is here," he whispered softly, so that I could just barely hear it. He straightened his back and looked down at me. "Come, we have to go."
And we were off, racing the wind, treading on the same path. I was more than curious now, as to what was up with Reneesme. I was concerned. Maybe just a little bit. I could see the opening that would open up to the Cullens' front lawn. I was pushing my limit now, equalling my pace to Jacob's, which was extremely hard work, when you thought about it.
We burst out of the forest and ran towards the house, leaping over the four porch steps and almost breaking the door down in our haste. We stopped as we were inside, calming ourselves down. Emmett, the beefy, cocky vampire greeted us from the living room, but we didn't take any notice of him. We followed the new scents the vampires had left, Carlisle and Esme's scents, up to Reneesme's room, where Rosalie was carrying her to another room, at the other end of the hallway. Reneesme smelt us and smiled as they entered a room filled with medical supplies.
The room was separated in two by a white screen and I could smell Edward on the other side, and a vague scent of Bella. Oh, Bella's being turned in there… Carlisle was sterilizing something over at the sink, and as he turned around to face us, I could see that his marble skin was etched with worry.
Reneesme smelt her grandfather's scent, something new to her small nose, and lifted her head off of Rosalie's shoulder to look at him.
He gasped as his eyes landed on her face, and I didn't need to hear any medical explanation to know that something was very, very wrong.
