Acknowledgement: Cuenta for bringing this chapter to life.



The Cullens had an odd little habit due to Renesmee's taste for both human food and blood. Every evening they would gather in the dining room and sit down for dinner. During that time they would talk about the day's events while Renesmee ate one of Bella's meals.

"Family dinner?" Vanessa asked with a snort. "Whose brilliant idea was that?"

Rosalie shook her head and gave her friend a friendly shove. She had invited Vanessa to 'eat' with the family. The scoff had been expected, but both Rosalie and May wanted her to be there.

"It was Bella's…"

"Of course," Vanessa muttered.

"But both Nessie –'May,'" Vanessa interjected- "and I want you to join us," Rosalie explained before breaking into a sinister smirk. "Not to mention you could piss off Edward."

A similar cruel smirk came across Vanessa's lips and she thought about it for a minute. She did enjoy the other Cullens' company, with the exception of Edward, not to mention the opportunities to annoy him would be endless.

"Alright," Vanessa said finally. "I'll eat with the dysfunctional Brady Bunch. For you and the kid, of course."

Rosalie smiled and wrapped her arms around the taller blonde. "Try not to cause too much trouble."

"Oh you should talk Rosalie," Vanessa shot back as they walked down the staircase. "I see the glares you give to Bella."

Rosalie looked off to the side coyly. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Vanessa stopped then; before they could reach the middle of the staircase, she pulled Rosalie up gently. "What did she do to you?" she asked.

Rosalie took a quick glace around the hallway before folding her arms and leaning against the wall. "Bella Swan did nothing to me," she admitted. "My dislike for her stems from the fact that she had everything I wanted, gave it up for Edward and yet still she still gets everything."

The malice in Rosalie's voice was clear in the way her mouth curled into a dark frown. Everything included Bella's human family, which Rosalie didn't even get to say goodbye to, something she had always regretted. Renesmee, who was the one thing Rosalie wanted most in the world, a child of her own. Then of course there was Edward Cullen.

Rosalie was a terrible grudge holder, even when she claimed to be over things they would linger in her mind for ages. Edward's rejection of her was a stab at Rosalie's pride. Even with her deep love for Emmett, it didn't take away the fact that someone didn't want her, despite the fact that she didn't even want Edward.

Which is why I was never able to tell her about him and me, Vanessa thought before sighing. "Don't worry Rosalie. She may have that, but you are twice the woman she is. You've just been stuck in this god forsaken place for so long that you don't remember," she reassured her friend. "As a matter of fact maybe when this is all over you should come back to Italy with me."

"What?" Rosalie asked. "Go stay with you and the Volturi?"

"Yeah," Vanessa said. "Why not? You leave here every so often anyway and you have never even really liked Forks. "

"I know, but I just don't know if I want to leave Renesmee. She needs someone to look after her that isn't a puppy."

Laughing at the derogatory term for Jacob the two went down to the dinning room to join the rest of the family.


The food was laid across the table; more like an exhibit than a meal. Each food group was lumped together in a neat orderly way.

Vanessa raised an eyebrow as she looked at the giant roasted chicken that laid in the center. It, like all the rest of the food, was going to go to waste eventually. Grabbing a knife and fork, Vanessa took a leg of chicken, a few vegetables and pasta. Sighing Vanessa took a bite of the chicken, which, much to her disdain, was dry.

Awkward was the only way to describe what dinner felt like, at that point.

Even with Esme's request at the beginning that everyone would be cordial to each other, the air had a layer of tension that even Jasper couldn't soothe.

Edward avoided speaking to Vanessa like the plague and Bella followed suit, if only to appease her husband. Alice and Jasper, who were trying to stay neutral, spoke only when addressed.

Emmett and Rosalie spoke with Vanessa and she could see the glares that Edward shot over at them. Between this and the dry chicken Bella made for this sorry excuse for a dinner, it was starting to make Vanessa lose her mind.

"Are you going to glare at anyone who attempts to speak with me?" she asked Edward dropping the knife and fork on the plate.

Edward scoffed and looked down at his plate, which was filled, but of course, untouched. "I have no idea what you are talking about. You're always so paranoid. Imagining things that didn't really happen isn't healthy."

Vanessa's hands clenched into tight fists underneath the table as she caught his sly remark. "I'm not paranoid if I have proof."

Bella watched the scene beside Edward and slowly her mind started to click as she remembered a conversation she had with Esme earlier:


"Why do Edward and Vanessa hate each other?" Bella asked as she put the chicken in the oven to bake. "I have not seen Edward so angry. Not even when Jacob was infatuated with me."

Esme sighed and started putting the plates on the table. "I don't know," she said. "It is so hard for me to understand because they were so close before."

"They used to be close?"

"Oh yes, they were very close before. They would always go out apple picking, bike riding, and all types of things during the night time. Edward hated going out in the day back then," Esme told Bella. "Then one day things changed and Vanessa got distant. She didn't want to even hear Edward's name, if she did she would start crying. Then a few weeks after Alice joined us she left."

As Bella digested this information she started to think of what could have happened. Maybe Vanessa might have fallen in love with Edward? After all it was not that hard to do. She could have taken that friendship and seen it as something more. Rejection built up bitterness and could change the way you feel about people.

Had it changed their friendship?


Hearing Edward and Vanessa arguing about imagining things that were not there made everything just click in Bella's mind. Edward had rejected Vanessa all those years ago and her grudge against him for it caused the hate between them. It was so simple.

"If you want to believe something strongly enough you can invent your own proof," Edward replied smartly.

"Why invent something that is obvious?" Vanessa snapped back viciously.

The intensity was growing and Bella could see that Jasper was contemplating whether or not to make the stop now or wait. Seeing her husband's anger made Bella's own temper start to rise.

Everything had been fine, before this Volturi woman came here and decided to turn everything topsy turvy.

I will not allow her to destroy my home.

"Vanessa!" Bella said sharply, causing everyone to face her. "I don't care if Edward rejected you in the past it's time for you to move on. We allowed you into our house and if you are just going to create problems you can leave!"

For a moment, silence lingered in the air. Vanessa pushed her seat back and stood up slowly. Rosalie tried to grab her arm, but Vanessa pulled away sharply. Seeing this, Jasper attempted to use his powers, but Alice touched his hand and shook her head.

"Don't get involved," she whispered. "Not this time."

"What did you say?" Vanessa asked Bella. Her eyes were narrowed and there was this vicious look on her face as if she was trying so hard not to just jump of the table and choke the life out of her.

Bella got up on her end of the table and stood her ground. "I said that just because Edward rejected you…"

"Okay stop right there!" Vanessa said banging her fist on the table in an attempt not to strike the brunette. Edward was up now and his arms around Bella protectively.

"Don't lay a finger on my wife or I…"

"Did you tell her that bullshit?" Vanessa asked Edward pointing an accusing finger at him.

"No I didn't," he said. "I don't know where she got that idea from."

"Isn't it true?" Bella asked Edward looking up at him.

"No it is not true you stupid twat!" Vanessa screamed, her accent coming out in her moment of rage. "So I would suggest you get your facts together before you start talking about things your simpleton mind can not comprehend.

"Secondly, this is not your bloody house. It's Carlisle's and just because you were the only one willing to have sex with his son doesn't make it yours!"

With that Vanessa slammed the chair into the table and stormed off to the staircase, leaving everyone at the table dumbstruck with silence. Before she could go up the stairs on she went back into the room.

"By the way, little Miss Rachel Ray, there is something called gravy. Please look it up because your chicken is drier than the bloody desert."


As Rosalie watched her friend leave the dinning room because of Bella's stupid comments, she couldn't help but laugh. "You cause nothing but trouble," she chuckled.

"It's not my fault," Bella said. "She is the one with the temper!"

"Oh yes," Rosalie said. "It's because of her temper. Not the fact that you keep sticking your nose into a situation where it is clearly not wanted."

"Edward is my husband and I will not allow him to be harassed by some jealous…"

"My God you are more conceded than I am," Rosalie laughed shaking her head. "What makes you think for one moment that Vanessa is jealous of anything you have? Not everyone wants your life Bella."

"Rosalie, please," Esme said trying to salvage the dinner. "Can't we just let this go for now?"

Biting down her lip hard Rosalie looked down at the plate of food and shoved it away. "No we can't let this go, because contrary to popular belief I have opinions about things other than myself. I'm tired of them being ignored because Edward is the favorite one."

"We don't ignore your opinions Rosalie," Carlisle said trying to appease his eldest daughter. "Vanessa can stay here as long as he keeps her temper in check. Edward, you need to learn some self-control as well. You can't get angry every time something doesn't go your way. Now Alice, any stock news?"

With that the conversation started up again and relief entered the dining room. However in the mist of it all, one person ate silently, in unspoken sorrow.


"I can not wait until I am done training this girl," Vanessa groaned as she flipped through the pages of her book. Not even 1984 could detach her from the frustration she felt.

Bella's comment pissed her off because it made her seem like a jealous ex-girlfriend with a vendetta.

Vanessa turned a page with a scoff. "She's got that whole situation in reverse."

The creaking of a door was heard and Vanessa looked up to see Renesmee standing in the doorway. The brown eyed girl had tear filled eyes that caused Vanessa to close her book and beckon the girl inside.

"What's wrong May?" she asked softly moving over so the girl could sit down.

Renesmee sat down on the bed and looked down ashamed as if she had done something wrong. "It's all my fault," she whispered.

"What is?"

"The fighting," she said. "If you didn't have to train me then you and daddy wouldn't be together fighting. It's happening because I'm not good enough."

The young vampire's face became tearful. She covered her face and buried herself into Vanessa's arms.

Vanessa was taken aback from the sudden emotional explosion and slowly wrapped her arms around the girl. She reminded him of her Edward. Whenever he would feel sorrowful he would run into her arms for comfort, crying for hours in her embrace.

"Shh, shh, Renesmee," Vanessa said. "You're just feeling like all kids do when adults argue in front of them. They will always find ways to make the situation their fault. Trust me this isn't because of you being not good enough. Edward and I were bound to find each other and butt heads again."

"B-b-but you said that I'm not special."

"So what? Not everyone is special. Besides, it's my opinion versus everyone else who has ever met you. Not to mention I'm very hard to impress."

The sobbing didn't stop, but it got softer and Vanessa ran her hand up and down Renesmee's back. Seeing this girl like this made her see just how emotionally childlike she was.

True, she was a fast learner and was growing up at a faster rate, but emotionally, she was still very much five-years-old.

"Nessa, how did you die?" she asked.

Vanessa looked down at the girl. "That is a very morbid question."

Renesmee laughed and wiped her eyes slowly. "I know, but I'm just curious. After all I know how everyone else in my family died."

"Well," Vanessa said leaning back on her bed. "It's a very long story."

"We are vampires. We have forever."

With a smile Vanessa told Renesmee about how she ran out into the snowstorm to escape her father's ternary and almost froze to death. She paused every once in awhile to answer Renesmee's questions. Then she told her about how Neith gave her shelter and took care of her during the storm.

"Neith sounds like an amazing person," Renesmee said, her tears long gone.

"She is amazing," Vanessa told her young pupil.

"So what happened next?"

"Well everything changed on the third day…"


A/N: Thus ends this chapter. I was originally going to just have it be another flashback, but I wanted to drag out the suspense a little longer. Hope you all enjoyed and a cookie goes out to the person who can guess the connection between 1984 and my story before the next update. ^^