(A/N: Thanks again to my most wonderful Beta, Shannon! Saved me from a disastrous chapter! Read and review! I live off of it! Review bring fast updates!!! )

Chapter 3: Mother-Daughter Secrecy

When I got to Emily's door, I turned my copied key that Emily had given me and tip-toed in quietly. I knew the kids would be asleep so I had to be super quiet. Emily had become something like an older sister for Lulu and me after spending some time with her. She and Sam had four children: three boys and a girl. Jacques was nine, Dylan was seven, Jalin was five, and Sarai was two; and a terrible two at that. I shook my head at the thought. Lulu and I often teased her, calling her a Sour Patch Kid. One minute she was sweet and fun, the next she was an evil spawn. Whenever we babysat her, we often had to take shifts, she was so bad. But I loved her, regardless of her sometimes demonic behavior.

Lulu and I spent countless hours at Emily's. Sam worked a lot and so did she, so most of the time we were babysitting the kids for her. Emily's was a nice getaway when we just wanted to chill out and watch a movie or something. Though we preferred blood most of the time, we always, always, stayed for Emily's dinner. She was an amazing cook, and considering we lived in house full of people who didn't eat, she was a blessing.

I grabbed a blanket and a pillow from the closet and collapsed on the couch. I knew Emily and Sam were probably upstairs asleep so I just lay there, thinking.

Man, I had a lot on my mind. But all I could think of was Alec. He wanted to visit me? All the way from Italy, Alec wanted to visit me. Why someone as beautiful as him want to see me, I had no clue, but I guessed I would find out. A more pressing issue was how was I going to keep this meeting with Aro from Edward. I wanted more than anything to call my mom, Bella, and tell her everything, but I knew it would just raise suspicion in Edward. But then again, it was possible that I just could want some mother-daughter talk.

I laid there for close to two hours before pulling out my phone and dialing her.

"Hey, Mom," I said tentatively.

"Hey, baby," she answered. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to talk. We rarely really talk, you know?" I waited a little, to see how she would respond to this.

"Well, you know we can, Sweetie. Whenever you want to." She almost sounded eager. It wasn't often that we spent time talking. You'd have never guessed that it was past one in the morning.

I pondered my next response. I didn't want to come off too strong.

"Really…?" I started hesitantly. "Well how about we talk tonight; I can't sleep."

She answered immediately. "Of course! Come on home and we can talk about whatever you like."

"Uh…" I didn't really want to come home right now, but I didn't know how to tell her that without making her worry something was seriously wrong. Like, life threatening wrong.

She seemed to understand without explanation though.

"Or we can just meet somewhere," she revised.

I smiled. "Okay, how about the meadow."

"Meet you there, hon." And she hung up.

Bella had shown me the meadow where she and Edward shared many precious memories. I thought it was beautiful and I often went there to think when I was feeling distressed. I felt comfortable there as if I was being consoled just with the knowledge that this was a special place for my parents. I didn't know exactly how to explain it, but it was like having my parents comfort me, without them actually being there.

I drowned in this pointless thought train as I drove to the edge of the forest. I could have run there, but I'm not as fast as my family and I really felt comfortable when I was behind the wheel, tapping on the gas.

I got out of the car and made my way towards the meadow where my mother was, of course, already waiting. The sight of her halfway shushed my worries. Halfway.

"Hey again." I looked down at my new sneakers; Authentic Vans, my favorite kind of shoe. From Alice, I thought idly, trying to distract myself from my fear. I was almost ready to back out of this decision to tell her.

"Hey, you. What's up? Why the sudden insomnia?" she gazed at me, taking in my timid stance. She was at my side before I could blink with her arm around my shoulder. She began walking us towards a big rock and sat us down. "What's the matter, sweetheart," she asked with a little more concern in her voice.

I sighed. "Mom, I did something today. Something that I don't want Dad to know about. Something that could have turned out really badly," I said. She looked alarmed. "But it didn't turn out badly," I rushed. I looked back down, this time at my clasped hands. "Look, I just… I need you to help me keep it from him. Just for now. Just until there's actually a reason to tell him." I chanced a look up at her. She looked confused now, but still apprehensive. "Could you do that for me, Mom?"

She raised a concerned eyebrow. "What exactly is it that you want to keep from your father?"

At this, I raised my hand to her cheek and showed the events of my night. I even showed her what happened to Jane and when Alec asked if he could visit me. She gasped, twice. And when I was finished, she looked at me long and hard. First disappointment flashed across her face, then curiosity, then anger, then concern again.

"Renesmee," she began, a doubtful tone to her voice. And I knew then she was about to tell me that Edward needed to know.

"Mom, no. I can't have Dad know right now!" I half shouted. I got up and paced away from where we were sitting. I felt like panicking. Maybe I should've just kept this to myself, figured it out on my own.

"But why, Renesmee? He might not be as angry as you think he might be," she pleaded. I knew she didn't like it when I was upset.

"Mom, that's not it," I countered. "I just need to figure things out before I have him jumping down my throat. And you know that if I tell him, I won't have a shred of privacy left. He'll invade my thoughts more so than usual and probably follow me everywhere I go!" Shit, shit, shit! I should have known this was a bad idea.

I paced some more. Bella was silent for a while, probably trying to figure out the best way to handle this. I wanted her to trust me on this. I needed her to. When she finally spoke, her voice was quiet and even.

"You do realize, that by keeping this from your father, when he does find out, he's going to be angry at the both of us, don't you?"

"Mom—"

She held up a hand, stopping me. "And that's okay. As long as nothing goes wrong."

I looked up at her, shocked. She had never kept anything from my father. I was at a loss for words. She trusted me. She continued to speak.

"And as long as you aren't hurt," she added. "I'm sure you have your reasons, and I won't question you further. I will help you. But only under one condition," she looked at me pointedly and I came back to sit beside her.

"Anything!" I said anxiously.

She placed my warm hand in her cold one. "Stay out of trouble with this boy. I've met him before. And though I trust you, I can't say the same for him. You have to promise me, Renesmee, that you will tell me the minute something is wrong."

This made me smile. "I promise, Mom. And thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me! I promise I'll tell Dad. There are just some things I've got to get straight first."

She nodded her understanding. "Of course, Dear."

I stood up, pulling her with me. "So what are we going to do?" I asked eagerly.

She smiled wickedly, walking me back to my car. "Well, let's just say, I've got a few tricks that your father isn't that aware of yet."

"Sweet," I said in awe. And we walked and talked about it all the way back, her arm still around me.

I woke up the next morning on Emily's couch to the voices Dylan and Jalin arguing over who would pour their cereal first. Argh. One thing I disliked about staying at Emily's was the early morning wake-ups. One could never sleep late here. The kids got up at the crack of dawn!

I stretched and opened my eyes to find myself eye-to-eye with Sarai. I had forgotten she had a habit of watching me sleep. Most mornings she'd tap me questioning, "'Nesmee, you sleep?"

I laughed at the reflection, swallowing down the yelp of surprise that had risen to my lips from such a… unique wake-up.

"'Morning, Sarai," I yawned, rubbing my eyes, still laughing.

"Not funny," she pouted. She didn't like when people laughed at her. It didn't matter what about, she just didn't like it. This only made me laugh more.

I got up and walked sleepily past her to the dining room, snatching the cereal box from Dylan, who was waving it over Jalin's head.

"Hey!" they cried out in unison.

"Since you two can't decide, I'll pour the cereal," I said, sitting them down. After I had them situated, I made my way upstairs. I knew Sam would already be off to work so I peeped in Emily's room. She was looking out her curtains when she heard me push the door.

"I thought I heard you come in last night," she chimed in her feminine voice. "Sam thought I was dreaming; told me to go back to sleep. Now he knows I right, considering your car is in the driveway."

I giggled. "Sorry for the late entry, Emily. I wasn't up for staying at home last night."

"Oh, you know its cool, Ren." She went back to her bed, sitting on the edge.

"Jacques must still be asleep," I observed. He was such a bum. Just like his father, Emily always said.

"You know it," she sighed. She must still be tired, herself.

"Well, I'd better get going, before the Cullens put out an APB." She laughed jadedly as I walked out.

On the ride home, I thought about the night's events. Turns out Bella can protect my thoughts as well as she protects her own. So no matter where I was, whenever I thought about that night or Aro or Alec or anything to do with it, it was unreadable- like her mind. So Edward wouldn't know a thing until I told him. This was such a relief. I hit the gas and I was home in a matter of minutes.

I breezed through the door and the house was silent. I could hear some papers being rustled in the living room, so I headed that way. It was Esme.

She looked up as soon as I entered and rushed over to me, engulfing me in tight hug. She pulled back and held me shoulder-length. "I missed you," she beamed.

I smiled at her. "But I was only gone for a night."

"A night is way too long without seeing your beautiful face. It's difficult not hearing your heartbeat or your even breathing when you're asleep," she said with a playful frown. "You know how much I hate when you spend the night out." And she did too. So naturally, I tried to stay home most nights.

I sighed. "I'm sorry," I said, equally playful. "I won't do it again for a week, that good enough?"

"I guess I'll have to take what I can get, hmm?" she huffed.

I chortled. "Where is everyone?"

"Your parents are at the cottage, Alice and Jasper are upstairs, Rose and Emmet went hunting, and Carlisle is at the hospital."

"Oh," was my reply.

"You look exhausted though, so you get up those stairs and get yourself some rest, missy."

I shook my head, still smiling. Esme always made me smile, no matter how down I was at the moment. "I love you." And then I headed up to my room. Jasper and Alice were coming down the stairs as I was going up.

"I thought I heard my niece down here," Jasper drawled. I hugged him tight.

"Hey, Jasper. Hey, Alice," I said, hugging her as well. "Where are you headed?"

"Jasper and I are going out for a ride in my Porsche." Alice chirped. "Want to join us?"

"No thanks," I declined politely. I really didn't want to be around any couples right now. To be honest, I just wanted to fall into my bed. It was Saturday, for goodness' sake! Alice and Jasper proceeded down with a farewell and I continued to my room. When my face landed on my pillow, instead of hitting soft fabric, it hit something that felt oddly like paper. Ugh. Another letter. I really needed people to get my phone number. Finding letters on my bed was getting to be annoying. However, this one was different.

I opened it and found it be from Alec. How did this even get here? Surely someone would've picked up a new scent. I discarded the thought, unconcerned.

My heart nearly leapt out of my ribcage as I unfolded it quickly, dying to know what it said.

Renesmee, I told you that I would inform you when I'd be visiting. I will come back to Washington in two weeks. But assuming you'd rather not leavea paper trail, I've enclosed my cell number. I hope you will use it soon, and we cancommunicate that way.

Truly Yours, Alec

I reread it over and over, memorizing the phone number immediately. I was interrupted by my own phone vibrating in my pocket. Jacob. I felt guilty at once.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Ness! Hey, I haven't talked to you since our hunting trip." He said, sounding a little put out.

"I'm sorry. You remember my telling you I had a prior engagement? It was pretty important. But never mind that, what are you doing?" I really didn't want him questioning me about it; then I'd have to lie.

"Oh, nothing, thinking about a certain half-vampire." I grinned. Jake always made me smile. "When will I see you again, my love?"

"After I take a nap, probably. I'm beat, babe. I stayed at Emily and Sam's last night. You know how difficult it is to actually get sleep there."

I heard him sigh on the other end. "Yeah, okay. How about we go out tonight? Whatever you want to do." I thought about it. I guess I could go for a good movie or something equally entertaining.

"Yeah, sure." I yawned into the phone and he took the hint.

"Dream about me, Ness."

"Don't count on it, loser," I deadpanned jokingly. And we shared a laugh before hanging up.

I got into some actual pajamas and stuffed the letter in my school book. I didn't know when I'd use the number or if I even should. But I know that when I finally drifted off to sleep, the only face I saw was that of Alec. And I really didn't mind.

(A/N: Jacques is the French form of Jacob and he's (Jacob) a bit of a role model for Jacques, so he's (Jacques) sort of named after Jacob, but not directly. Read and review!)