The days went by slow for the Cullen Clan. Everyone tried not to be depressed, but the time slowly wore everyone down. Days passed and Bella would find herself staring off into the woods surrounding the cottage, waiting for him to appear out of nowhere. She looked for the slightest rustle of leaves, or listened for the snap of a broken branch on the forest floor. The longer she waited and nothing out of the ordinary happened, she continued with what she was doing before she was distracted. Sometimes she held Little EJ in her arms and sang him lullabies that she and Edward had written together. She tried to busy herself by taking care of her baby, but since he was getting bigger, he didn't need much help. He could walk on his own, and although he was still too small to go hunting by himself, he could take down the young of the forest animals with ease. Bella would follow him and observe from a distance, noticing the young vampires quick and graceful movements. All that did though was remind her of her husband causing her to miss him more. It was on one of these hunting trips that Bella noticed something different. Little EJ had run ahead of her to the little creek that the herds were spotted most of the time, and she could have sworn she saw a glimmer in the distant meadow. She stopped in her tracks and stared at the area in which she thought she saw the shine. Minutes passed and nothing appeared. Little EJ walked back to his mother.
"Momma…are you ok?" he asked her while pulling on her sleeve.
"I'm fine, dear." She said looking down on her son, whose cheeks were stained from the meal he just ate. "Shall we get going?"
"You're not going to hunt?" EJ asked curiously looking up at his mother with wondering eyes.
"Not all that hungry." She said taking his hand and turning in the direction of the cottage.
When they reached sight of the cottage, they noticed the front door was slightly ajar. Bella pulled EJ behind her and signaled for him to be quiet. She sniffed the air and when she didn't find any unfamiliar scent, she called him over next to her. They walked cautiously towards the door. The closer they got, the louder the beating got. Little EJ ran into the doorway and into his sister's arms. Bella sighed in relief.
"Hey Sissy! Where's Jake?" She heard Little EJ say from the opened door.
"He's at home. He's been running around all day. Did you guys just get back from hunting?" Renesmee asked.
"Yeah, but Mommy didn't. She wasn't hungry." EJ said informingly.
Renesmee put her little brother down to go play with his toys and went to hug her mother who was closing the door behind her.
"Hey Mom!" Renesmee said happily. "You look out of it Mom."
"Just a little tired. Getting real worried about your father." Bella said warily.
"He's still not back? I figured he be home by now. Have you heard anything?" Renesmee asked concerned while walking her mother to the dining room table. She rummaged through the cabinets looking for something to munch on.
"No. He hasn't contacted anyone." Bella said putting her face in her hands.
"Don't worry mom, he's a big boy and he knows how to take care of himself." Renesmee said confidently and sat down in a chair opposite her mother, with a bag of Doritos in her lap.
"I know, but we don't know what were up against, and having your father here eases everyone's fears." Bella said now staring at her first born stuffing her face with the cheesy mess coming from the bag in front of her.
"What?" Renesemee asked looking behind her to make sure that the concerned look on her mother's face was meant for her.
"Are you and Jake ok?" Bella asked her, trying to get her mind on other things.
"Yeah, we are just great. He's been really helpful around the house and with me lately. He knows how I'm missing Dad." She said between fists full of chips.
"Are you feeling well honey?" Bella asked her concerned.
"I'm just really hungry for people food. It's really strange because I haven't been hunting for about three weeks." Renesmee informed her mother.
Bella looked at her daughter and smiled.
"You guys have been doing it haven't you?" Bella said mischievously. Renesmee's eyes opened really big.
"NO! How can you say something like that?!?" she said guiltily. She tossed the empty bag of chips on the table and faced sideways avoiding her mother's eyes.
"Renesmee Cullen! How dare you lie to your mother's face?" Bella said laughingly.
"Mom, please don't tell Daddy. He'll kill me! It's bad enough trying to hide our thoughts but if he were to know…"Renesmee said pleadingly.
"I won't. He'll know just by looking at you!" Bella said in laughter.
They sat in the kitchen talking for a few more hours before they decided to head in to the living room to watch movies. Bella was happy that her daughter was here to keep her mind from worrying over Edward. But no matter what Bella did, the glimmer in the meadow was still on her mind. What was it? She decided she wouldn't worry Renesmee about it and she'll go to Esmee and Carlisle's in the morning. They should know what it was. She enjoyed the rest of her night with her children and even put Renesmee to sleep on the couch.