Author Notes: I find myself endlessly in awe of how much response I get for this fic! It's been a real blast to write, and I'm glad that you guys have been enjoying my portrayal of Blackwater. I appreciate all of the reviews, though I haven't had much time to respond to them between preparing for finals and squeezing in writing time for this fic. So let me say a big, collective THANK YOU to all of the reviews I have not managed to respond to. Aside from that, sorry to go serious on you guys after so much careless cake fun, but I hope that you stick to the fic to see where it ends up. ;) I promise, it'll be worth it, and there's definitely still more cake to be had!

JPOV

I had been there the day that Bella had lost her mortal life. It would probably haunt me for the rest of mine.

I'd never be able to completely shake the sounds of her screams of agony, the distinct sound of bones crunching each time her demon baby flexed a finger. It'd been killing her from the inside, and I'd been nearly insane with the need to stop it, but the Cullen's had remained all but impassive to Bella's suffering.

They didn't care. They only wanted their vampire baby, their twisted miracle. This was the case with Rosalie in particular. I had hated that bitch, still hated her a little even now. She'd made sure that no one had interfered with Bella's plans to give birth, and they'd obeyed her, despite the fact that I knew I wasn't the only one on to her game. She had hoped that Bella would die, I knew. She had wanted that baby for her own to raise to complete her fucked up semblance of a family with her gorilla of a lover: Emmett.

If it had come to that, if Bella had died—really died—I would have killed them all. I would have slaughtered the Cullen's one by one without regret. It would have been easy. Maybe it would have been my release.

But Bella had survived in the way that she and Edward and the rest of the Cullen's had intended. The baby that had almost killed her had survived as well. I'd waited around long enough to know that the deed was done, that I couldn't verify murdering the leeches, and then I had left.

Sam had dealt with the Cullen's the first month after Renesmee had been born. It took me that long to cope with the idea that Bella was gone, at least enough that I could stomach seeing her for the first time as a vampire. If it'd been up to me, I would have avoided the encounter forever. I would have stayed the hell away from the vampire coven for the rest of my life, but I couldn't do that, because I was the rightful alpha, and the vampires were my business.

Not to mention, I still had a vested interest in these vampires. My heart was hurting for Bella, my soul crushed from the idea that I had lost her with finality this time, but she was still Bella. Some part of her was still Bella Swan, even if it didn't show in a blush in her cheeks or a sparkle in her brown eyes. I couldn't abandon her completely, though seeing her was torture.

It'd gotten a little easier each time until, finally, I'd felt nothing but a dulled sense of affection that could no longer be what it once had when the object of its focus had mostly disappeared. Occasionally, I'd hurt a little over the fact that I had lost her—failed her—but it was something I dealt with.

There was obviously no fixing what had been done. Bella was, for all intents and purposes, a lost cause to me. I could only accept and move on, as far as that went.

Years had passed since she'd been turned when we were teens, and she had become Bella Cullen, wife to Edward and mother of Renesmee. It was still a weird thought, but these were just facts now.

I had learned to get over the loss.

But had I learned it just so that I could get over another one?

Leah was severely pissing me off. She'd been gone two days with Abram, without so much as a text, and I was starting to wonder if maybe our entire relationship was one-sided too. I'd been confident when she'd left that she'd pine away for me, particularly when Abram was on top of her, and she had the vague feeling that his pinky was poking around near her clit only to realize it was his miniature dick.

I lifted a fist and banged on the Cullen's door.

I didn't want to be here on their front porch. I didn't want to smell the underlying odor that was the rot of vampire, but I had been sent to deliver a message on behalf of Sue Clearwater. Leah's mom was not as strong-willed or brave as her daughter, and, though she was completely human, she sensed the peculiarities of the Cullen's. She didn't like being around their nest anymore than I did, but, since I was known as the one that dealt with them, she'd sent me.

I waited, shifting from one foot to the other, and received no answer.

I lifted my fist and banged again.

"Looking for someone?"

I turned around. Nessie stood near the bottom of the porch steps. Shit, she really gave me the creeps. She looked too much like Bella, even sounded a little like her. Except for the bronze hair, she pretty much was Bella.

"Yeah—uh—where's your mom?"

"She's out. Did you need something?"

Renesmee didn't smell like the other vampires. Her scent was more human, only laced subtly with the smell of vampire. Mostly, the aroma of her blood overpowered everything else. The sound of her heart beat also dampened the effects of her father's heritage. She was almost like a normal person. She seemed to waver in and out of my sight, slipping between herself and visions of her mother.

I ached a little with how she reminded me of Bella.

"Charlie can't get a hold of her. Sue wants her—all of you—to come to Charlie's house next week. She wants to have a—uh—little party, I guess. It's Charlie's birthday."

"Are you going?"

"I—I don't know. Maybe?"

Renesmee seemed to barely touch the steps as she skipped up them. She was too close as she reached the top one. She smelled good, and her face was too much like Bella's.

And did she ever blink?

"Oh. Okay, well, I'll let her know."

"Okay. Thanks. I should go then. See you later, Nessie."

Get the fuck out of here.

I brushed her arm as I moved to go down the steps.

"I give you the creeps?"

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned back.

"What?"

There was a small pout on her mouth, puckering a line between her brows that almost looked childish. Was that surprising? If she'd aged like a normal person she'd have only been like, what, six or seven years old?

"You were thinking that I give you the creeps."

How could she know that?

"No I wasn't."

Now she frowned. "You really never pay attention to me, do you? You have no idea what I can do."

"What are you talking about?"

Renesmee folded her arms across her chest.

"You were thinking about how I give you the creeps, and about cake, and why she hasn't called you back yet, and..."

Renesmee abruptly trailed off, her face turning tomato red. I watched the blush spread across her cheeks, watched it tinge the tips of her ears. Her eyes went dark with it, as if she'd stumbled across something that had embarrassed her to see.

I stared at her warily. How had she known about cake and my lack of received calls? How had she known that I was thinking about how she gave me the creeps?

"How did you know that?"

She didn't answer for a moment, like she was trying to compose herself after whatever she'd been getting ready to say.

"I can read thoughts, and I can project mine onto other people, as long as I'm touching the person."

"What?"

Renesmee sighed. "My mom has mentioned this to you before, Jacob. In fact, it's been mentioned several times in conversation before, but you avoid everything to do with me, don't you?"

She could read minds? Like Edward? Shit, why hadn't I ever picked up on that before?

Because she was right. I avoided her on most occasions, and I'd never gotten close enough for her to touch me before. She was my persistent reminder of what I had lost when I looked at her and saw Bella and the life that she had formed with Edward.

"I don't avoid you," I lied. "You're Bella's daughter."

"And that's all I am to you," Renesmee said.

What the hell was she talking about? Why should she have been anything else to me? She was Bella's daughter. She was part vampire. It seemed only logical that I had as little to do with her as possible.

"You've lost me."

Renesmee shrugged. "The only time you think about me is when you're comparing me to her."

"Huh?"

"Forget it."

What the hell was she talking about? It was the most that Renesmee had ever said to me, and it made the least amount of sense. Why was she acting all offended? I felt like I'd forgotten my best friend's birthday or something.

Why had I allowed myself to be talked into coming over here? Everyone knew that the messenger was always the worst role to play. Now I was cornered into a conversation I didn't understand with a girl that gave me the willies and was making less sense by the second.

My cellphone chimed.

"Er—excuse me."

Renesmee didn't say anything, so I turned slightly away from her, pulled the phone from my pocket, and found that it was a message from Leah.

I'm in a hot tub.

What the fuck? She hadn't called or messaged me in two days, and that was all she had to say to me now? I scowled at the phone.

Congratulations.

"Is that her?"

The message alert beeped again.

What's up ur ass?

I glanced up at Renesmee. "Who?"

Aren't you supposed to be on a romantic getaway with dumb-shit?

"The cake girl."

I choked. "What?"

How far had Renesmee pried into my thoughts when we'd brushed shoulders?

"The girl that had icing on her. The one you--" Renesmee's brows drew together as if she was trying to understand something that made little sense to her. "The one you made love to."

Too fucking far, apparently.

"Why did you pry into my thoughts like that?" I snapped.

She shrugged. "I didn't mean to. Is that her?"

The phone had chimed again.

Cranky, aren't we? Stop being such an ass, Black. I've decided we should get over this whole thing and get back to the part where we had fun 2gether.

"What is she saying? You're making a very awful face."

I blew out a breath that hissed passed my clenched teeth. She wanted to go back to what? Fuck buddies? Damn it, I had told her that it wasn't going to work like that. She'd gone away for two days and had become delusional. I knew I shouldn't have let her leave. She'd worked herself into the idea that she didn't care about me like I knew she did. Leah was afraid of attachment.

"She just wants to be fuck buddies."

My head was throbbing as my pent up anger built. I barely even registered that I had spoken out loud.

"Fuck buddies?"

Damn it, I'd just said the F-word to a girl that was only technically six or seven years old.

"She just wants to sleep with me."

Renesmee was staring intently at me. "Isn't that what men want?"

"Usually," I admitted.

But not me.

I thumbed a message to Leah: Fuck that. If u can't give me something more, I'll get it elsewhere.

"She's seeing someone else too?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"She doesn't like commitment."

"No."

What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Jacob?

"Then you should stop cornering her."

I paused in the middle of typing my reply to Leah and looked up at Renesmee. The sun was filtering through the trees, and it glinted off of her bronze hair as she tilted her head to the side to study me. She looked like someone trying to solve a puzzle.

"What do you mean? I'm not cornering her."

That was a lie. I'd already admitted to myself several times before that I was acting like a clingy chick begging her cheating boyfriend not to leave her. My scenario was slightly different, but I was still obviously the one doing the chasing. I was making a fool out of myself.

"I saw it in your head, Jacob. Giving a girl like her ultimatums isn't going to work."

"Oh really? Then what will?"

"Pretending like you don't care."

"How do you know that?"

Renesmee rolled her eyes. "Just try it. You'll see. Now, if you'll excuse me, since your attention is already obviously consumed, I'm going to go in now. I'll let my mom know that you were here."

I didn't say anything as Renesmee strode away and disappeared into the house. I watched the door shut behind her, and wondered what the hell was wrong with the women around here.

LPOV

Find yourself a different fuck buddy. I'm done.

I gawked wordlessly at the text message on my screen. Mother fucker! Who did he think he was? Just because I didn't want to roll over and play the faithful, doting girlfriend didn't mean one damn thing. I had made it clear, from the beginning, that I wanted a casual fuck, a casual friend. I didn't want strings, and I hadn't thought that he did either.

What the hell was wrong with him? Did he have no recollection of how horribly wrong his last attempt at a relationship had went? I did, and I wasn't game to do it again. Abram was safe territory. He didn't induce all of the wild, dangerous emotions that Jacob did. There wasn't a chance that I would get burned if things ended poorly between us.

If Jacob and I got too mixed up together, both of us would be scarred.

Besides, we were supposed to hate each other. We had hated each other from day one of pack life. I was the bitch, and he was the overbearing, bossy alpha. We didn't mesh well together.

I was trying to give us both a safe out here, and he was throwing it in my face!

Yeah? Well, may the curse of a thousand smelly twats be upon the dumb fuck that sleeps with you next!

My thumb hovered over the send button, and I scowled at the screen. The comeback was a little too immature, and it wasn't getting across the rational, meaningful message I wanted to send. I tapped the backspace repeatedly, and then I settled for:

Fuck you, asshole.

I tossed my phone to the ground, and it clattered against the concrete next to the hot tub. Leaning on the lip of the tub, I sunk down into the bubbling, hot waters and pouted against the wall of the jacuzzi. One of the jets was gushing out against my downstairs, and I shifted away from it, no longer in the mood. I'd planned to work myself up with the jet and a few dirty text messages from Jake in order to be prepared for when Abram returned with our drinks. A make-out session and booze in the hot tub would have then led us back to our room where I could successfully get off for the first time since we'd been here.

Unfortunately, my idea that everything could go back to the way it had been was a foolish dream on my behalf. Jake was serious about this relationship jizz, and he wasn't going to back down. He was such an asshole.

If Sam had convinced me of anything when he'd showed up at my house a couple of days ago, it was that I no longer wanted to be in a serious, committed relationship. It was nothing but trouble, which was why I wanted to rewind to when I'd been vaguely committed to Abram and had Jake on the side. Too bad that my time away had only cemented Jake's need to commit.

It was now reaffirming my idea that Jake and I were two very different people that did not want the same things and, therefore, could not exist in a relationship together.

Too bad that my nether-region was now crying silently into the tub, and my heart felt a little blubbery too. What the hell was wrong with me? This wasn't who I was.

I was Leah fucking Clearwater, and I didn't need a damn man.

If Jake wanted to be a pussy, well, I'd learn to deal with it and move on.

I would just sorely miss his beautiful dick, his smile, and maybe even his voice.

Fuck. I had really screwed myself here.