The Diary
Chapter 10: Bye, Bye Beautiful
Bye Bye Beautiful—Nightwish
NOW I can use that song. Okay. Cool.
As you have seen, this story isn't just about Renesmee. It's about practically everyone who was mentioned in the books. They all get involved somehow. Except for the dead ones, because they're dead.
Oh, and my Italian in this chapter? It should be correct. I went to Italy over the summer, and it was pretty awesome. Florence was my favorite area. People were actually singing. In the streets. It was way cool.
(BY THE WAY!) That obnoxious line in the previous chapter?? That was supposed to be the actual room numbers. But stupid FF kept freaking out on me and I gave up trying to alter it. I apologize for this website's stupidity.)
Anyway, read on, faithful readers!
OOO
Jake had matured a lot in the past few years. His alliance with Edward had turned into a brotherhood—at least until recently. He'd stopped thinking perverted thoughts. He wasn't so quick to annoy Blondie anymore. He tried not to refer to vampires as leeches, or even vampires. He tried to just call them the Cullens.
But his reaction right now? Well, for one thing, it was far from mature.
His breathing was coming fast, the air whooshing through clenched teeth. His face was contorted into a menacing scowl. His brothers' expressions were similar: varying levels of outrage were displayed on their faces. Determination was a close second.
"What?" Jacob demanded of the black cell phone pressed to his ear. "What the hell did you just say?"
Although, he wasn't so sure he wanted to hear it again.
Renesmee, violated.
His mind was a black hole, derived of all morals. He needed to break something. He needed someone dead. Someone had to pay.
"Edward," he breathed, squeezing his eyes shut tight. "No. No, that's not possible."
Edward's voice, barely tamed, came back over the receiver. He'd seen it. It was real. There was no alternative.
Jake's chest was suddenly too tight for air. His eyes stung. Renesmee. His Renesmee, desecrated by some stranger on the streets? Hell hath no fury like the boyfriend of an Imprint. He would see that kid writhe.
"Renesmee held her ground, after a while," murmured Edward.
"A while?" Jake repeated, glancing at Sam for some guidance. Sam had none to give. "A while, Edward? What does that mean?"
"He—" Edward took an unnecessary intake of breath. "He beat her."
"WHAT?" Jake roared, taking them all by surprise. As if the first problem wasn't already horrible enough. "Where is she?"
A long pause. Déjà vu all over again.
"We don't know. We don't have any idea."
OOO
"I need a ticket," I murmured to the woman behind the desk.
She scrutinized me over her spectacles. She was the kind of person with every single hair in place, pulled back into a hardcore bun, with her makeup perfectly arranged on her face. Her uniform was void of any disarray whatsoever. "Why, yes," she replied rudely. "It would appear so."
It took every ounce of willpower in my being not to fix her with a glare. Be polite, I told myself. It's in there somewhere. Now, I stared at her evenly. "I need one to Italy."
"Oh," she said haughtily, straightening her spine, fingernails clacking on the keyboard. "Yes, yes . . . hmm. No, that won't do . . . . The earliest I have," she announced finally, glancing back at me, "is at four thirty today."
"I'll take it."
Truth be told, I had expected a lot worse. So, I handed over my untraceable credit card, hoping that it really was untraceable, and waited.
OOO
"Firenze!" screamed a banner in the Florence airport. I knew what it meant. It was Italian for Florence. I wondered vaguely why we bothered giving cities in other languages new names. What was the point, again?
And then I was being bustled along with my disheveled curls and wrinkled clothing. I looked like a runaway. I looked tired and mentally exhausted. The lady I'd sat next to on the plane kept asking how I was in Italian, and if I needed a place to stay.
Right, like I'd endanger an innocent old woman. That was pretty high up on the "List of Things to Do" for monsters, right?
It had been a little over two days since I'd left, and already, I was miserable. I'd found myself changing—little changes, like the way my hair was pulled into a messy ponytail or the way I talked. But still, I was changing, and I wasn't sure if I liked it.
And my thoughts were changing, too. They were becoming less civilized, more animalistic. I supposed it came from my survival instinct, from the horrendous incident of last night. Or this morning. I was all screwed up with the time change.
"Senorita," a young woman said to me as we neared the baggage claim—and, for me, the exit. "Do you need money?"
She said this in her fluent tongue, and I stared at her, taken aback. Did I really look that pathetic? I'd been gone for fifty hours! I blinked at her. And then I began to realize what the problem was.
She was a scam artist.
"No, gratzi," I replied in perfect Italian. No, thank you. I hoped I'd come off as a native. I hoped she felt embarrassed. But of course not, I realized as I shot her a look over my shoulder. She'd forgotten me, already moving on to the next innocent tourist.
As I walked over to an ATM to obtain a few Euros, it occurred to me just how much of an idiot I was being. Here I was, alone, in a country I didn't know my way around, save for a map or two. I was alone. Was I just asking for another reply of last night?
I shuddered violently. No, it wouldn't happen again. It couldn't.
I pressed away my hyperventilation and extracted my money. And then I went outside to hail a cab. Or steal a car.
I just didn't know which yet.
OOO
Alice's face had gone white.
Edward, Bella, Rosalie, Emmett, and most of all, Jasper, all had their eyes fixed on her snowy face, fear etched into their expressions. Carlisle and Esme were staring at each other in resignation.
"Gone," said Alice, and chaos erupted. She blinked rapidly, faced with the ensuing panic attack of seven vampires. She glanced around worriedly. "Not Renesmee!" she corrected herself. "I could never even see her!"
The commotion came to a screeching halt.
"But it might be just as bad," Alice added tentatively. Edward's face was chiseled into a hard mask. She was afraid of what it might turn into when she dropped her bomb.
And then she did, mentally, and his mask fell away to reveal shock. Complete, petrifying shock. "No," he choked out, as if he were being strangled. Not a good sign. "No, God no. She wouldn't do that."
"But she did."
Edward groaned, his hands reaching up to his face as if he were to gauge out his very eyes. Alice frowned, watching anxiously as he fought his battle. "How much time?" he whispered.
"I'd say about six hours. If," appended Alice, "she drives slow."
"What?" demanded Bella, yanking down on Edward's wrists. "What is going on, Alice?"
Jasper, concerned as usual, bent down to his wife. "What did you see?"
"That's the problem," she replied glumly. "I didn't."
Emmett was the quickest to put the picture together. "Who disappeared?" he asked.
"The Volturi," Alice told them all gravely. "All of them. So either they got a pet werewolf, or Renesmee has decided to go have a chat."
The coven of vampires stared at her. Renesmee? Go to the Volturi? Rosalie and Bella snuck glances at Edward. Could it possibly be for the same reason? They hoped not.
Alice closed her eyes and rubbed her hands over her face. How could it have gotten so bad, so quickly? "So what are we going to do?"
It was no secret that the Volturi wouldn't take kindly to the entire coven arriving on their doorstep. Edward and Alice were forbidden from going—who was to say Aro wouldn't decide to let them stay a little longer? Bella could go, and protect her real thoughts, then Renesmee's, but Aro wanted her, too. The pack was out of the question. Emmett would start a fight. Jasper could possibly go, but Alice was worried because she wouldn't be able to see him. Rosalie and Esme didn't have any redeeming qualities for battle. That left . . .
"Carlisle."
The blonde vampire nodded at his son's voice. He understood. As much as he was still upset by his old friends' earlier betrayal, he understood that he was the only one who could go and argue for Renesmee's safe return.
"Aro will argue," Carlisle said aloud, "that it was Renesmee's choice. What will I say to this?"
Edward and Bella exchanged a look. "She's still a minor," Bella reminded them. "She doesn't have a say yet if she were human, which she is. Does this apply in the immortal world?"
"Technically, yes. She's still a child." Edward nodded thoughtfully. "Aro can't deny this."
"Can't he?" replied Alice. "He'll remember that she's supposedly eighteen now. He's not an idiot."
"Yeah, he is," mumbled Emmett. Rosalie sighed.
"All the same." Carlisle stood up, one of his hands on Esme's shoulder. "I will go and demand Renesmee to come home with us. Jasper, you're coming, too."
It was so strange to see Carlisle, his tone full of anger. He was mad, which was something they all had rarely seen etched into his face. Jasper stood, arms crossed. Alice reached out for him before remembering Renesmee's life was at risk. Her hand dropped.
"Besides," added Carlisle, grabbing his wallet from the end table and shoving it into his pocket. "He owes us."
OOO
Yes, it was a tad short. But, really, it was kind of a filler chapter. Sort of giving you the background of what's going on. Jacob, Seth, and Leah's part of the story will be in the next chapter. Renesmee . . . well, we'll see what happens. I'm debating for two possible "solutions" at the moment.
Not to be a review whore, but feedback? Any more action you'd like to see?
Jamie.