Chapter 9

"WHAT!" I shouted. I jumped from my chair so fast that it tipped over. Leah leapt to her feet and gripped the tops of my arms.
"Nessie, wait a second. Calm down. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you, but I honestly thought you knew. I figured Jake would have told you by now. I guess he has a good reason for keeping it from you. Dammit, I should have known this already. I guess I've just been so involved with my own drama, I haven't paid much attention to what's in Jake's head when we've run together. Man, he is going to be so ticked off at me. I'm so sorry…" Her voice quivered slightly.
"Stop apologizing, Leah. This isn't your fault," I said through my teeth. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone now." I stalked back into the house, slamming my bedroom door and locking it. I knew Leah wouldn't leave, but she'd at least stay outside until my parents got back.

I threw myself on my bed, seething with anger. I couldn't believe this! Jake imprinted on me! How could everyone have kept this from me? Maybe they assumed that I'd figure it out, or they were letting him decide when to tell me. Why hadn't he told me? I knew very little bit about imprinting. Jake had explained to me about Sam and Emily before we'd left Forks, because I'd wanted to know why Leah always got upset whenever they came around. He'd said it was sort of like finding your soul mate, the person you were meant to be with, and Sam had had no choice about Emily. He hadn't gone into great detail, only telling me enough so that I'd understand about Leah's situation. He'd certainly never told me that it could happen for him one day. How could he have imprinted on me without me knowing it? When had he imprinted on me? I thought back over the years of my life, how Jake had always been there, never far from me, the way he'd protected me and always made sure I was happy, giving in to my wants and demands without hesitation. Oh. Oh. How could I be so stupid? How could I have not seen this before? His jealousy over Nahuel was making more sense all the time. Jake thought I belonged to him, that I was his property, so of course he wouldn't be happy about another man showing me the slightest bit of interest. Well, I was no one's property. I belonged to no one. I was my own person, and I didn't need some overbearing, over-protective, stalking…
I heard my parents come through the front door at that moment. It dawned on me that they must have known the truth all along, and it made me furious. Why had they kept this from me? Didn't I have the right to know? I considered confronting them, but before I could do more than rise from my bed, there was a light tapping on my door.
"May we come in Nessie? We'd like to talk to you," Dad said softly.
"Nessie honey, please open the door," Mom added.
I strode stiffly to the door, flinging it open.
"What?" I demanded in a harsh tone.
"Nessie, please sit down. Leah called and told us what happened, and I think we need to talk about it." Dad led me back to my bed, sitting and pulling me down beside him. Mom sat on the floor in front of me on her knees, hands twisting in her lap.

"Well? Say whatever you need to say so I can get my homework done," I commanded, crossing my arms over my chest.
Dad wrapped an arm around my shoulders and looked at my mother. She stared back at him with an anxious expression, then drew a deep breath.
"Nessie, I can see that you're upset, but please listen to me." She leaned forward and tried to take my hands but I pulled away. I stared stubbornly at the wall over her right shoulder, refusing to meet her eyes. She sat back again and continued. "Jake imprinted on you the day you were born. It changed his whole life. He cares for you deeply, sweetheart, but he decided not to tell you about the imprinting for reasons of his own. Your father and I respect that decision. We made a promise to him that we wouldn't say anything to you, that we'd let him tell you when he felt the time was right. Leah apparently didn't know that he hadn't told you yet. She didn't mean any harm."
"So keeping a promise to Jake," I spit out his name, "is more important than telling your own daughter the truth?" I was beyond furious now.
"We didn't feel that it was our place to tell you," Dad said, rubbing my arm in a soothing manner. I jerked away from his touch. He sighed and dropped his arm. "Imprinting is a complicated thing to explain. It's very special, very personal, and never having experienced it myself, I don't think I'd be able to fully convey the significance of it."
"You should have told me." I shook my head angrily.
"Believe me Nessie, we weren't exactly thrilled about it either. When I woke up from my transformation and found out about it, I was ready to kill Jake. I would have too, if Seth hadn't jumped in front of him, " Mom said ashamedly. I remembered that day in front of the main house, my father holding me on the front porch while my mother had stalked Jake, growling at him as he backed away from her. I recalled how she'd lunged at Jake, how Seth had ended up with a broken collarbone trying to protect him. I hadn't completely understood what was going on at the time, just that my Jake had almost been hurt. I hadn't liked that. I snorted in disgust

"Why are you ok with it now?" I sneered.
"We've grown accustomed to it over the years, and, regardless of our initial feelings, we do understand. It's not as if he had any choice in the matter. It's not fair of you to be angry with him, Nessie," Dad said gently.
"Great! Here I'm thinking that he's starting to have feelings for me, and now I find out that he's obligated to have those feelings, that he's stuck with me!" I exclaimed.
"Renesmee," Dad said sternly. He only used my given name when he was impatient with me, or angry, which was a rare occurrence. "That's not the case. Jake feels certain things for you because he chooses to. I know exactly what he thinks about you and how he feels, but I don't feel comfortable explaining it to you. It would be an invasion of his privacy. You need to discuss this with him." He rose from the bed and gestured to my mother to follow him. "In the meantime, you need to calm down and get some rest. I'll send for Jacob in a little while, and your mother and I will give you some privacy so you can talk. We love you very much Nessie. Please try to remember that." He closed my door as they left. Hot tears stung my eyes, and I once again flung myself across my bed, burying my face