I sat in the forest staring at nothing, listening for the footfalls that I would inevitably hear soon. I knew that Edward would come looking for me but I was far too stubborn to go back willingly right now. I could only hope he wouldn't be too mad when he got here.
In the meantime I should probably figure out what to tell him to get him to let me hunt humans, that part shouldn't be too difficult; he always gave me what I wanted. The hard part would be convincing him to let me raise Renesmee in that fashion. Of course he would not agree initially, he would likely vehemently disagree, but I needed him to understand-even if I myself did not fully understand why I wanted this. The best I could sum it up was that I needed to have that connection with my daughter, I didn't want us to be separated by anything, and I definitely did not want her to be raised to scorn my way of life; I desperately needed he approval. I pray Edward will understand.
Speak of the Devil.
Edward's face was a mixture of concern and fear as he pulled me form my makeshift bench. I opened my mouth to ask if he was mad but he placed a finger on my lips and said, "Later." I did not argue, I just ran home silently with him, keeping his hand the whole way there.
When we were back at the house, sitting on his-our-bed I decided now was as good a time as any. I began hesitantly, "uhm, you're not mad…are you?"
"Mad," he asked, raising his eyebrows in confusion, "what ever would I be mad about, love?"
Thank god. I couldn't stand it when he was mad, and that would make it much easier for me to sway him. "I dunno, just thought you might be."
"No, I'm not."
"Kool. Now, about my, er, diet," I began, looking down at our entwined hands, noting when his tightened almost imperceptibly with his tension. "Well, no, that decision has been made. But I have to know, does this mean we can't be together? Cuz I was thinking that I could, like, watch you hunt n stuff, and vice versa-if you want. Like, you could watch me hunt-or not, whatever you prefer. But if you do it would it would make me feel a lot better about myself, and I could be more sure of your love."
"My love?" he asked, as though he didn't know what I was even referring to. My worry increased tenfold.
"Uhm, yeah. And that too, I mean, you can still love me, right. Nothing else matters if you don't, but please please tell me you do. I don't have a problem with you being a vegetarian, it's your choice and I respect that. I realise it may seem slightly different to you but it really isn't. I can overlook your being in a constant state of denial and being unnatural, surely you can overlook the slight issue of my being, in your eyes, a sinister, compassionless monster, at least I hope you can." Here I unleashed my puppy-dog eyes on him, knowing he could not resist the heartbreaking expression.
"of course I can Bella, I love you. More than anything. My only question is that regarding our daughter, how is she to be brought up?" I wasn't quite ready to negotiate that one-I had to think of some strategy to get him to let me have my way. Besides, now that she was in my mind she seemed to fill it up-seeing her was all I could think about. Every second we were apart made her seem more like a dream, less real, her memory slipping ever farther away from me.
"Later. Please, Edward, I have to see her."
"You must be patient, love. You are brand new and you have not hunted yet, I would feel much better if you did. I know how painful it can be." Well great-now all I could think about was the pain. I knew it would be unsafe to hunt in any kind of a pubic place, that is, within 100 miles of any populated area. Luckily I had given this some thought.
"Okay, fine, I'll hunt. So here's my idea: we-or I, I guess-could wait a bit into the woods, of the trail, until a human or two comes along and then I could just, y'know. God I am so smart, right. Ya, I'm right."
"But don't you think people would find it strange for people to disappear at the opening of a path? And what if someone happened to drive by at just exactly the wrong time and saw you?" He wasn't getting it.
"Well, duh. The path has a blind turn about half a mile up. Just after that point is where I would wait, a few yards into the woods until my meal came along, unsuspecting, and then Bang. Simple." I made an extravagant hand gesture that implied "Tada" and once again awaited due praise.
"And when the humans find the bodies, what do you suppose they'll think?"
"You are so hard to please! I'll just tear them up to make it look like an animal attack, happy?"
"I guess." Always so stubborn. "Now about Renesmee…"
"No no no, first I hunt. You coming?"
"Of course, love," he said, and then he kissed me.
