Author's Note: Hi guys! So here's chapter three, it's a little longer than the last few chapters but I'm pleased with it. Thanks to my wonderful beta for reading, editing, reviewing and just everything she does! She's amazing so yeah, everyone should be as lucky as me to have such a wonderful beta. I also want to thank my other reviewers temporaryinsanity91 and onetreefan because reviews are what keep me going and I LOVE to hear what you guys think! Keep em coming guys! :) We're skipping some time with this one but I think you'll like it. Enjoy :)

Chapter Three

Renesmee POV

Fully waking up from a restless night of sleep was, for lack of a better word, crappy. At least when sleep fully takes you over, you wake feeling rested. When you don't sleep well and then STILL have to wake up in the morning, it's truly unfair.

"Isabella! You're gonna be late for school!"

Without lifting my head from the pillow I reached over to hit the snooze button on my alarm clock, hitting it repeatedly before I realized the blabbering was coming from downstairs. Parents, the foster kind at least, were so lovingly annoying.

"Belle." My foster mom Marnie poked her head into the room, "Get up, you! It's the first day of school!"

"5 more minutes." I groaned, putting the pillow over my head so that the sunlight would go away.

"No. Now." Marnie grabbed the blankets and pulled them off of me, "It's your senior year Belle. Put in some effort okay?"

I sighed and threw the pillow to the other side of the room, lightly, so it wouldn't go flying through the window instead of landing softly on the window seat. I was frowning, staring up at her as she held my blanket in her arms while she smiled down at me, shaking her head.

"Okay. I'm up." I groaned as I sat up, my eyes still closed.

Tossing the covers back to the end of the bed, Marnie just continued to laugh as she headed out of my room.

"Don't take too long. You need to eat breakfast before you go." She called back to me from the hallway.

I frowned, sniffing and smelling the eggs and bacon she would have waiting for me downstairs. Blech. Yes, her intentions were in the right place but the result was truly disgusting.

Once I was awake I resigned myself to really get ready for school. It's not hard to get ready quickly when you can race around the room at twice the normal speed of a human, although sometimes I wished I was a full vampire. Twice the normal speed of a human seemed trivial when I remembered how fast my father could run.

I couldn't start down that train of thought right now though. I was running late and Marnie was right. It was the first day of my senior year of high school, and this time around, Jacob had already promised I would be allowed to finish. There would be no pulling me out mid-year to whisk me off to a new school in a new town just to start all over again.

"I gotta run Marnie." I grabbed my light jean jacket from the rack by the front door and attempted to leave before she caught me to force breakfast on me.

"Not so fast young lady." For a full human she was really fast, "I knew you were running late so I packed it to go."

She handed me a small Tupperware container with the eggs and bacon inside.

"Have a good day okay?" She smiled at me, exactly the way I would have imagined my mother smiling at me on the first day of my senior year of high school, "Love you."

"Love you too." I smiled and quickly hugged her, inhaling her floral scent, "Alright, really late. Gotta go."

I was pulling out of the driveway only moments later, the tires on my BMW squealing quietly as I raced away from the house. I hoped Marnie hadn't heard the squeal, she was always worrying about me.

The sun was shining brightly and it brought a feeling of tranquility over me. For the first time in my whole life, I felt at peace. We had been in Belgrade for almost three years, the longest I had lived in one place, ever.

When we had first arrived, Jacob and I had almost turned around and left. The town was smaller than we had expected. The terrain was much flatter than any we had attempted in the past, creating almost no cover for a gigantic wolf to hide around town while he spied on me. Even though we had both entered town as humans, everyone stared at us as if they could tell we were different and we were just about to turn and leave when we saw Marnie.

She was utterly hopeless. Her hair had been piled into a high messy bun, clearly unkempt trying to masquerade as a real hairstyle. Her jeans had holes in the knees with paint splatters all over and were frayed at the bottom. The t-shirt she was wearing was probably three times too big for her and she was clumsier than anyone I had ever met.

Marnie exited the grocery store just 50 feet from where Jacob and I were standing when she tripped on the even pavement and all the bags she was carrying went tumbling from her arms. It only took a few moments for me to run across the abandoned main road to be at her side, helping her gather all the groceries from the blacktop parking lot.

"Thank you so much. I am such a klutz. That's the third time I've tripped today and it's only 10:00 AM." She had sighed and stood up, accepting the bag of groceries I had gathered for her as I handed it back to her. When she saw me her face had immediately softened, as if she recognized me, but not as someone she knew, just as someone she would want to know. "Hi, I'm Marnie. You don't look familiar. Are you new to town?"

"Um, yeah." I had smiled back at her, tucking my hands into my pockets and looking around for Jacob to fill in his part of the story, but when I looked around he was nowhere to be found.

At first I had been frantic. Where did Jacob go? What was I supposed to tell this lady without him playing his part? My story was incomplete and I had no idea how to deal with that so, I panicked.

"He was right there!" I growled, pointing at the last place I had seen him, forgetting there was a woman watching me, "What the hell! Jacob! Jacob!"

"Honey, is everything okay?" Marnie had reached out to touch my arm and I had whipped around on her, hissing, making her jump back scared.

My breathing was erratic and it took me a second to calm down. While I breathed, she had just stared at me, waiting.

"He was right there." I said calmly after a few seconds, "My… older brother. We…"

A story formulated quickly in my head and immediately I knew what Jacob had done. He had seen the opportunity and seized it, knowing I would be able to handle this.

"My older brother Jacob. We came here together, looking for our parents. They left us a few days ago in Bozeman and… And he was right there next to me and then I ran over here to help you and now he's gone too. I don't know what's happening. Why are they leaving me?"

My tears had come easily enough. All I had to do was think about my parents really being gone and they were flowing rapidly while Marnie gathered me into her arms.

"Shh." She held me while I cried and while she wasn't looking I saw Jacob walking the opposite way down the street. I could sense his smile, "It's gonna be okay sweetie. What's your name?"

"Isabella." I sniffled, wiping my tears away and taking a step back, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to freak out. I'm sure he's around here somewhere. I'll just…'

"No wait." Marnie grabbed my arm before I could turn and walk away, not that I was really planning to go anywhere, "Let me help you. What's your brother look like?"

"Um, he's tall. Like 6'5 I think and he's got longish hair." I tried to be vague enough that if anyone remembered seeing Jacob and I walk in together the description would match closely enough to corroborate my lies but not enough that seeing Jacob would spark any interest, "Big, like a football player."

"Do you have a picture with you?" She stared at the bag I was carrying.

Yes. I said in my head. "No." I said out loud, "I have my ID and my passport, my birth certificate. Some clothes, a toothbrush I think. I have some money too but, no pictures."

"Okay, well. Let's um…" I could tell Marnie was at a loss as she reached up to scratch her head, clearly puzzled and on the verge of being hopelessly frazzled. I didn't blame her. A teenager just completely breaks down in front of you claiming to have misplaced her entire family? I would have been hysterical in her shoes. "Let's go to the police station okay? We'll report your family missing."

"No." I let my lower lip quiver for effect, "No, we can't go to the police. I don't want to go to the police. We tried that in Bozeman and they all laughed at us. I don't think they believed us and I don't want to go through all that again."

Marnie's mouth fell open and for just a second I wasn't sure if she was still buying this ludicrous tale I was spinning for her.

"How old are you Isabella?" She asked quietly, "You look young."

That was a first. No one ever told me I looked "young" before. I resisted the urge to tell her I was 8.

"15."

Marnie had taken a deep breath, letting it go slowly as if she were finally grasping the situation. She chewed the inside of her lip nervously, still running her fingers through her hair, messing it up even more severely than it had already been.

"You seem like a really nice girl." She was lying, but I didn't hold that against her because her only impression of me so far had been hysterics and hissing, "How about you come home with me and we can work out a game plan together okay? We will… we'll figure out how to find your family."

"No. You don't even know me. I can't let you do that." It was always smart to resist the first outreach.

"I insist." She motioned towards her SUV, "Come on."

"Are you sure?" I questioned her as I headed slowly for the passenger seat, "This is more than I can possibly repay you for."

"It's the least I can do Bella. Oh, I'm sorry. Can I call you Bella?" She had already resorted to a nickname. Picking a nickname was a good sign for my future. Unfortunately, she had just managed to pick the one nickname I didn't want and my tear ducts overreacted.

"That's my mom's name." I cried and then sniffled, quickly fixing my error, "I mean, that's my mom's name for me. She calls me Bella."

"I'm sorry." Marnie looked mortified, "I won't…"

"I've always preferred Belle." I smiled weakly at her, "No 'a' at the end. Just Belle."

She smiled back at me and nodded.

"Okay Belle. Let's go home and we'll figure this out alright?"

I was pulled from my memories when the traffic thickened near my school. Belgrade High School. Student Body population: 802. And it seemed like all 802 students were late.

I was tempted to drive over the curb to pass the line of cars so I could get to my parking space on time. I had just angled my front end in that direction when my cell phone rang.

"Traffic sucks huh?"

My grin spread from ear to ear.

"You're watching me?" I responded, looking around for either a burly wolf or an oversized Quileute Indian.

"Of course. I'm always watching you." Jacob responded, "Beyond the parking lot, to the right, just left of the stop sign at the corner."

I looked where he directed me and I saw him waving.

"Get out of here before someone sees you." I told him, waving back.

"I just wanted to see you off to your first day of your 2nd senior year. I haven't missed a first day of school yet and I wasn't going to miss today."

If it was possible, my smile widened even further.

"Thank you Jake. It means a lot to me."

"Anytime Nessie. Have a good day. I'll see you for an after school snack right?"

"Yes." I said resolutely, "She sent me to school with eggs and bacon. I'm positively starving and it's only 8:00am."

Jacob laughed.

"Behave yourself. I'll see you later."

"Yep. Goodbye my Jacob."

"Goodbye my Nessie."

I clicked the cell phone shut and immediately my frustration with the traffic returned.

"Come on!" I yelled at the line of cars.

Luckily for me, the first day of school had a bit of leniency, since our first day started with an all school assembly. The rest of the student body was just filing into the auditorium when I made my way onto campus and let out a sigh of relief.

"Izzy!" My best friend in school jumped at me, wrapping her arms around my waist and squealing, "Can you believe we are seniors? This is so exciting!"

Erin was more than a little excitable. Give her just a tiny bit of caffeine or any type of male eye candy, and she was jumping off the walls almost literally.

"Very exciting." I replied with a sarcastic grin, "OMG!"

She rolled her eyes at me and tucked her arm through mine, leading me to the empty seats her boyfriend Russell had saved for us. She giggled and sat next to him, pulling me into the seat next to her, just in time for the principal to step on stage, officially signaling the beginning of the assembly.

"Good morning students and welcome to a brand new year at Belgrade High School, home of the mighty Panthers!" Principal McCary smiled out over all 802 of us squeezed into the room.

"Go Panthers!" The cheerleaders yelled from their seats in the front row. The jocks hooted and hollered. The geeks sighed.

"It is going to be an exciting year everyone. I can feel it in the air. This year will bring greatness to our halls! Each and every single one of you has the chance to be part of the greatness, and part of the history of Belgrade High School."

I tuned out the assembly with ease, completely aware that I would need none of this information later. It was a pep talk by the principal and nothing more. Assembly's were just the principal's way to welcome the Freshman, pump up the seniors and basically waste away the first hour of school, which was fine with me.

My thoughts went back to Marnie as I remembered the way she had looked at me this morning. Her eyes spoke to me, telling me that I was truly the light of her life. She was proud of me and proud to be a part of my life. It was exactly the same way she had looked at me the first day we had met, when she had whisked me into her home and unwittingly fallen directly into my trap.

"Okay so, let me just make sure I have this right." Marnie sat across from me in the living room of her restored historical home, "You, your parents, and your brother Jacob were in Bozeman, staying at a hotel two days ago. When you and Jacob woke up your parents were gone. No note? Nothing."

I nodded, staring down at the egg salad sandwich she had made me.

"You look like you need some food kid. Eat it." She had commanded in a motherly fashion then continued, "So you and Jacob searched Bozeman but found no trace of your parents. They had taken their luggage and left only your identification and some money with you and when you reported this to the Bozeman police they laughed at you?"

"Basically." I sighed, scrunching my nose as I forced myself to take a bite of the utterly unappetizing sandwich, "Dey shaid it shounded made up."

She giggled at the sound of my words through my full mouth.

"It's crazy but not made up." Marnie deduced, making me feel horrible for lying to her, even though I knew it was necessary, "I just can't imagine any parent leaving their children alone in a strange city like that. You said you're from North Carolina right?"

I nodded, forcing another bite of the sandwich into my mouth.

"Chawlotte." I spoke again through the food I was forcing myself to chew.

"And now, you end up in Belgrade looking for your parents when you see me being my clumsy self, stumbling in a parking lot and you come to my aid only for your brother to disappear as well. Leaving you, a 15 year old little girl, all by yourself."

Well, it's a little more complicated then that, I thought to myself but I nodded to her.

"You poor thing." Marnie groaned, "I just, I don't know what to do with you. You've lost everything in just a few days and yet here you sit, sort of eating egg salad in my living room, is the food that bad?"

I realized I must have been making horrible faces while I chewed and quickly corrected myself, shaking my head vehemently.

"It's good." I lied, "I just.. I've never really liked mayonnaise."

"Oh honey, you should have said something." She grabbed the plate from me and headed back into the kitchen giving me time to sigh with relief that the food was gone, "I'll make you peanut butter and jelly instead. Is that okay?"

No but a bottle of blood would be great, thanks. I groaned at a decibel she would have never been able to hear.

"Do you have strawberry jelly?" I had called back to her.

"It's the only kind I buy." She peeked out at me and grinned, "One second."

I needed to be careful to pretend to really like this sandwich. I had a feeling if I kept rejecting her food the companionship wouldn't last long.

When she had returned with the new sandwich I ate it quickly, being careful to look like I was enjoying every second. I choked it down in record time and she seemed satisfied, going back to her original line of questioning.

"Alright Belle, let's figure this out okay? I'm a sucker for a sad story and you, all by yourself in a world not meant to coddle an impressionable teenager, you have a very sad story. I know you don't want to go to the police but…"

"No, please no." I put on a good show, "I can't do that again."

"Okay, okay." She took a deep breath and let it go slowly, something she did often, I noticed. It must be a calming technique she used, "I'll tell you what."

I remembered thinking in that moment that she was either going to crush my plans or willingly align with them right then and there. It was the moment of truth.

"You have your birth certificate, your passport and your ID. That's more than enough identification to make a lie seem like the truth."

Uh-oh. She had seen through me.

"So we are going to lie and lie good. As far as anyone knows you are my husband's love child from North Carolina and you came searching for him but only found me because he died 8 years ago and so I have decided to let you stay and raise you because, your mom is a drug addict?"

Very impressive Marnie. Very elaborate, crazy story in a very short amount of time.

"We could try something simpler. Maybe we could just tell everyone I'm your niece from North Carolina whose parents died in a car crash?"

"Small town. Everyone knows everyone and everyone knows everyone's business. These people know my siblings. If one of them suddenly died, there would be a parade in their memory." Marnie sighed, "But, you're right. It should be simpler."

I had a lot of cover stories in my arsenal but I didn't want to make her suspicious if they came out too easily, so I let her mull it over for about 15 minutes before trying again.

"Is your husband really dead?" I asked, hoping the answer was no. With the amount of love this lady clearly had to give, she didn't deserve to have lost someone she loved.

She nodded sadly, much to my dismay. I wanted to hug her to comfort her, like she had in the grocery store parking lot for me, but her revelation only cemented my resolution to come up with the perfect story so that I could stay with her. Now we had something in common.

"Maybe I'm his god-daughter. My parents died, so rightfully he would have been my next of kin but since he's…" I hesitated to say 'dead' again as she flinched, "Since he's not around, you've decided that you'll still take care of me."

She smiled widely at me for that one. With a quick nod I knew we had come up with the story that would stick.

"Izzy." Erin bumped my arm to bring me back from my reverie, "Principal McCary is calling you. Student Body President has to address the masses remember? Get up there."

"Oh, right." I jumped up and headed for the stage, the entire school clapping for me as I made my way, "Hi everyone!"

"We love you Izzy!" A group of sophomore's screamed from the right side of the auditorium.

"I love you too." My laugh echoed through the room, "I didn't really prepare a speech for you guys today but um, for those of you who don't know me; new students? Freshman? I am Isabella Jasper, most people just call me Izzy and I'm your student body president. I just want to welcome you to a brand new year at Belgrade High School. I remember, almost three years ago, I took my first steps onto this campus as a freshman transfer from North Carolina. I was completely terrified. What if no one liked me? What if I didn't fit in? What if I failed my classes? There was so much unknown and I remember sitting down in Principal McCary's office and he looked straight into my eyes and said, "If you're gonna puke, make sure you do it in the trash can."

The entire auditorium erupted into laughter and cheered as I glanced over to the principal.

"So basically, a quick layout, there are trash cans in almost every room and lined up about every twenty feet outside." Everyone continued to laugh, "No seriously though, this is going to be an amazing year. I can feel it! And you're all a part of it so seize every moment to be the best you can be. Thank you."

I handed the microphone back to Principal McCary and headed back to my seat, the cheers still ringing in my ears.

"Thank you Izzy. Now students, you are going to quietly, and orderly, find the table in the back of the room where your name belongs in the alphabet so that you can pick up your class schedule and locker assignments then you will make sure to be in your 2nd period class at exactly 9:28 okay?"

The exodus from chairs in the room was neither quiet nor orderly as all the students made a beeline for the tables in the back of the auditorium. Everyone was desperate to get their schedule and locker assignments first because if they got that part out of the way, they would have more free time before they had to be in their next class.

"Great speech Iz." Russell complimented me, "You're so good at it. Where do you get the confidence?"

"It's not confidence Russ." I shrugged off the compliment, "It's just knowing how to command a room. If you respect yourself enough to address them all as equals, they will respect you enough to listen."

"It helps that she's beautiful, single, and the most popular girl at school." Erin added with a laugh, "I'll see you two later. My table is over there."

We all looked to the long line of S - V students and she pouted.

"I hate my last name." She mumbled and then took off.

"Come on Russ." I directed Russell to follow me towards our table where the line was shorter, but still long.

Russell's last name was Jason so whenever it was a matter of alphabetization, we were always stuck together.

"Isabella!" One of the student volunteers helping to hand out class schedules noticed Russell and I take our place in line and she waved us forward, ahead of the rest of the line, "Jasper and Jason right?"

She already had our class schedules and locker assignments out.

"No need to wait. President always goes first." She smiled widely at me and I smiled back.

"Thank you Cassie." I gladly accepted my schedule and then Russell and I headed out of the auditorium so we could go sit at our usual table in the quad.

"How's your schedule look?" Russell asked me when we sat down, dropping our backpacks to the floor beside us.

"I have AP Calculus 1st period, AP Psychology 2nd period, French III 3rd period, Honors Study Hall 4th period, AP Biology 5th period, TA for Ms. Paulson 6th period and AP Literature & Composition 7th period. Next semester the only change is French IV instead of French III. You?"

"No rest for the weary huh?" Russell was staring at me with enlarged eyes, "All AP classes?"

"If I want to go to Dartmouth in the fall, I have to make sure I take the right classes. " I didn't bother to add that I had taken almost all of those classes in my junior year at my last high school so they should be a piece of cake, "Besides, what's the point in attending school if you aren't gonna challenge yourself?"

"You're a nerd Izzy." Russell laughed, "The point to coming to school is to make it to the end, graduate and run away and I am not telling you my class schedule. You will laugh."

"I will not." I snatched it out of his hands before he could even blink. I read it aloud, "Creative Writing, Physics, Spanish II, Advanced Photography, Yearbook and Honors Study Hall. That's not bad Russ. Why did you think I would laugh?"

"Because Ms. Smarty Pants, you are in ALL AP courses while the rest of us just try to squeeze by." Erin joined us at the table rolling her eyes and handing me her schedule before I had a chance to take it by force, "And while you run off to Dartmouth, the rest of us will be going to community college, still stuck in Belgrade."

Her class list almost exactly matched Russell's and I smiled while I handed it back to her.

"I have a dream. Dartmouth is where my parents were supposed to go and then I happened. They never got their dream so I want to live it for them."

Erin and Russell both gazed at me with sympathy in their eyes. I didn't really want their sympathy because there was no way they could possibly understand, but it was the way most people looked at me when I spoke of my parents, the real ones or the made up ones.

"Don't look at me like that." I insisted, standing and grabbing my backpack so that I could escape their sympathetic eyes, "I don't need the sympathy I just need to get in to Dartmouth."

"With a class schedule like that one it'll be hard not to." Russell made a joke but the laughter didn't make it to his eyes.

I sighed and quickly hugged them both.

"I'll see you guys at lunch. I'm just gonna go for a walk while we still have some time before 2nd period."

I headed for the football field, the one place most students didn't dare to go unless there was a game being held. It was too far from the main campus and they were all scared to miss the bell to go to class. Me being me, I could still hear the bell crystal clear from my perch on the top row of bleachers.

"Hey you." Jacob sat next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, clearly sensing my mind was elsewhere.

I had heard him approaching but didn't even turn to acknowledge him. When his arm was securely around me, I leaned my head against his shoulder and sighed. He let me stay silent for a few minutes, laying my hand on his knee before he started tracing the lines of my palm with his finger.

"What's on your mind?" He asked finally.

I sighed and lifted my hand to his cheek. I showed him my last memory of my parents, their backs were to us, standing strong as they faced the Volturi head on. They were in the distance and growing farther away with every one of Jacob's enormous wolf bounds.

When my fingers left his cheek he sighed and hugged me tighter against him.

"Almost eleven years. It still seems like yesterday to me. I can still smell all those bloodsuc… vampires."

He corrected his grammar when I looked up at him despairingly.

"I just remember the tension in the air and knowing that, no matter what happened, I had to get you to safety if they weren't going to listen to reason." His voice was barely above a whisper as he ran his fingers through my auburn curls, "To protect you no matter the cost."

I didn't let the tears fall but I sniffled a little bit.

"I haven't told you yet, but…" I sat up and smiled weakly at Jacob, "I want to go to Dartmouth next fall. For college. No more repeating high school or running or moving just to keep hidden. It's been eleven years and I think that if the Volturi were going to come after me they would have done it already so I want to follow in my parents footsteps and apply to Dartmouth and then if I get accepted, I'd like to attend."

Once the words were blurted out, I waited for Jacob's reaction.

Jacob contemplated what I said for a minute. He wiped away the one tear that escaped, gently moving his index finger underneath my eye. In that moment, I desperately wished that I had my father's ability to read minds instead of the ability to share my own thoughts with others. It would have been much more helpful to be able to read Jacob's mind in that moment than to wait for him to speak.

"Jake?"

"Am I invited?" He asked hesitantly, "To go with you to Dartmouth?"

My eyes went wide and my mouth fell open. How could he have even just asked me that question with a serious face?

"Jacob, of course you're invited! You're my family! I'm not going anywhere without you ever!" I twisted the Quileute bracelet he had finally remembered he was supposed to give me on my eighth birthday. It had only been a year late, "You're my Jacob."

"You're my Nessie." He sighed, letting his forehead come to a rest against mine, his hand resting again my cheek, "As long as I'm invited then you can apply to whatever college you want."

I had a list of other things I wanted to do. Keep in touch with Marnie, Erin & Russell. Visit Belgrade during holiday's, at least while I could continue to pull off the age they would all believe me to be. And on my real 16th birthday, which would be my first birthday after graduating college if all went well, I wanted to go back to Forks.

I showed Jacob my list of demands because I was too scared to speak them. He remained quiet for another couple of minutes.

"That seems reasonable." He finally said with a sigh, "16 years is plenty of time for us to have stayed away from home. There's no reason not to go back."

I smiled, my feelings a mixture of happiness, melancholy, yearning and satisfaction. It would take another 5 years but I would get to go home to Forks and although I wouldn't push my luck now, I made a mental note to ask Jacob later if we would be able to see Charlie. Just the hope of it lit up my life.

On the main campus the warning bell for second period rang, signaling the end of our alone time. Jacob stood and then helped me to my feet as well. We walked slowly down the bleachers together and at the bottom he squeezed my hand reassuringly.

"I'm so proud of you." He said quietly, staring at the floor, "For being so strong and smart and patient. Most of all strong though. You're the most amazing 11 year old girl I know."

I laughed quietly.

"Technically I'm still 10." I corrected him, punching him playfully in his arm.

"You know what I meant."

I nodded, no other words needed. One quick press of my fingers to his cheek to tell him goodbye and then I headed for the campus. I had to half run to make sure I wasn't late, sliding into my seat at the exact moment the final bell rang.

"Good morning class." Our teacher greeted us warmly, "Welcome to AP Psychology."

My mind tuned out his words and instead focused on my bracelet. It was exactly like the one Jake had given me my first Christmas, only larger to fit my enlarged wrist. A Quileute promise ring of sorts but a promise for what? A promise to watch over me forever? A promise to always be there for me? Or was it a promise for more? I knew what Jacob would say if I asked.

"Grow up a little more. Then we'll talk." The idea of him telling me to grow up made me laugh. He who still played with his food and read comic books when he thought I wasn't looking. He who still made funny faces at me when I was down, just to cheer me up. But I would wait to ask what promise he had made me on that first Christmas, because I didn't remember a verbal promise being made. I would wait until we were back in Forks. Surely, my 16 year old self would be old enough to talk about it.

"Isabella?" The teacher tapped on my shoulder and motioned for me to sign my name to the paper in front of me on a clipboard.

"Sorry." I smiled bashfully and then straightened up in my chair as he moved around the rest of the room with the clipboard.

Focus Renesmee. I thought to myself. Dartmouth. The better you do in these classes, the sooner you can go to Dartmouth. And that was all the motivation I really needed.