Chapter 11: Birth

I slipped out of Paul's bed and made my way out of his apartment after getting dressed. I made it down the hall and outside before I slumped against the wall of the building in a little alcove type thing. I felt like a complete fool. How could I have let that happen? How could I have let anything happen between us? I felt idiotic. I felt like I had let down my species. I felt like I had turned my back on them. I knew that both Edward and Jacob had said that I wasn't turning my back on them, but it felt like I was.

There was no way Paul would be convinced to leave Sam's side. Our opinions were so conflicting on this matter that it felt like it wouldn't be resolved with a few sweet words and having sex. I felt ashamed and disgusted with myself. This was a little person's life at stake.

"Harley?" I heard him call. I pressed myself harder against the wall of the building, hiding in the shadows. I didn't want him to know that I was still here. "Come on, Harley, I know you're still around here somewhere. Talk to me, please."

He was close to me now. A lot closer. I could smell him. I stopped breathing and I didn't dare make a sound. He had come around the side of building now, and I could feel his presence. I could feel him getting closer to me, but I could tell that he didn't know where I was yet. I heard him take a few more steps toward the alcove, and then he was in plain sight. I pressed myself further against the wall partially to stop myself from walking up to him and talking to him, and partially to keep him from seeing me.

He ran a hand through his hair and exhaled deeply. His shoulders slumped forward, and I could tell he felt defeated. I wanted so badly to let him know it'd be okay, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't bring myself to leave the safety of the alcove. Earlier with him, everything had felt so right. I didn't want to ruin what we had just shared by getting into an inevitable argument with him. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, but I ignored it. I was sure Paul would've heard it, but surprisingly he didn't. He abruptly turned around and stalked back into his apartment. From the slump of his shoulders, I could tell he was hurt, but deep down, I knew he understood why I had left. I was sure of it.

Regardless, to say I felt bad as a huge understatement. I felt awful about standing there, so close yet so far from him. I could have reached out and touched him. I could have assured him that everything would be okay.

But, I couldn't guarantee that everything would be okay. How could I be sure that everything between us would turn out alright? How could I lie to him like that? That would probably hurt more than ignoring him had. Lying to his face would have been harder for me to do than hiding from him. At least hiding from him wouldn't make his face light up at the prospect of hope like lying to him would.

Again, I felt my phone ring in my pocket, and I realized I hadn't even left the alcove yet. I fished my phone out of my pocket to see that Alice was calling. My stomach did a little flip. This could not be good.

"Alice?"

"Come home, the baby is being born," Alice said urgently.

"I'll be right there." I hung up on her and bolted to the Cullen house. I raced past where the wolves normally slept, and felt a jolt of surprise at seeing only Seth and Leah there. My stomach flipped again as the realization dawned on me that Jacob was already inside.

Shit.

It was only a matter of time before the other wolves showed up. Word of Bella having the baby was sure to reach the other wolves somehow. I went inside expecting to see the house a mess, but it everything was fine. Everything was perfectly in place. I made my way upstairs to the bedrooms, and it was oddly silent. This wasn't a good sign. I followed my nose. I could smell blood–Bella's blood to be exact. The scent of her blood and the strong smell of vampire venom led me to a room at the end of the hall. I pushed the door open slowly, and immediately I wanted to run screaming. The smell of Bella's blood hit me hard. She was lying on the bed, which was covered with blood. Edward was sitting beside her, grasping her hand with his head bowed.

I slowly walked towards him, trying to make a bit of noise as I walked to alert him of my presence. Of course, he probably heard my thoughts the minute I entered the room. I knew that he knew I was here, but I was going to wait for him to speak.

After a few minutes of silence, he asked in a broken voice, "Is she dead?"

The question caught me off guard. "What?"

"Your power–your connection to the dead–you would know if she was dead, right?"

"Y-yes…I would," I said quietly.

"Is she?" His voice was quiet. There was a strain in his voice that wasn't normal for him. He was terrified of losing her.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, concentrating on Bella. I called her spirit to me. Come to me Bella, speak to me, if your spirit is roaming this realm, communicate with me.

I opened my eyes, expecting to see Bella's ghostly figure, but I didn't. There was no spirit here. I smiled softly. "She isn't dead."

He turned to look at me, and the pure joy in his face made me heart squeeze.

"Thank you, Harley."

"Is she…?" I trailed off.

He nodded. "I injected the venom into her. I just…I wasn't sure if…"

I held up a hand. "I understand."

He let go of Bella's hand, and stood up. I gave him a surprised look, and he explained, "She's going to be out for three days. I'm sure we can all use a little break. Come meet my daughter."

"What's her name?" I asked as Edward led me downstairs.

"Renesmee," Jacob said, since we had reached the bottom of the stairs.

I noticed Edward stiffen immediately, and I took in the scene in front of me. Rosalie was cradling Renesmee in her arms on the couch, and Jacob was sitting close to them. Obviously not too close, considering Rosalie and Jacob didn't get along at all, but the fact that he was sitting that close surprised me. I looked at Edward to see that he looked angry, and that was when I noticed how lovingly Jacob was looking at Renesmee.

He met Edward's eyes nervously. "I didn't mean for it to happen."

Jacob had just imprinted on Renesmee!