A/N: Hi! Sorry that it took me almost a week to post... :( I kept changing ideas and everything... So yeah. I'm sorry. And also, aorry I'm posting this so late. I just finished re-reading it so I could post it. Now I'm really tired lol. And the next chapter might be short, but I'm fairly certain it will also be sweet. :) Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 21: Hunted Renesmee Cullen's POV
My chest felt heavy, like I couldn't breathe. When I could talk and actually breath normally again, I asked, "Dad, can we run?"
He sighed. "Well, we could, but I don't want to leave Charlie and the Quileutes here, even if they do have the wolves. I don't want to feel like we could've done something, but we didn't. And apparently it's us they want."
I looked down at the green grass below my feet. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But I-I'm scared, Dad. What will happen?" I asked, fright coating my voice.
For the first time in my life, my father looked scared. "I don't know, Sweetheart. No one can be sure."
I looked up at the sky. Gray clouds were floating across the sky, dominating the sun. It wasn't necessarily cold outside, but in that moment I was cold with horror. I never thought I could get cold, since I was only a few degrees cooler than Jacob, but today I was proven wrong. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to warm up. I wasn't physically cold, but my mind was afraid. Just the very thought of my family and Jacob and the Quileutes being hunted made me frigid, freezing me down to my core. I shivered involuntarily.
"Are you cold?" Edward asked me.
"Y-yeah. A little bit."
My dad took my arm and walked me inside. My mom must have seen the scared expression on my face, because she asked in a panicked voice, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'm just a little cold, that's all. I'm, uh, going to go check on Jake," I said, lying at first.
Should I tell him? I thought towards my dad.
No. Not yet, he forced into my head.
I sighed and walked through the kitchen and to the stairs. I ran up them as soon as I was out of Grandpa's sight. I entered the room Jake was still lying in and sat back down on the bed. I didn't know if it was today's events, my lack of sleep, or a combination of both, but I was exhausted. I closed my eyes, planning just on resting for a while. Jake didn't say anything, and that's probably why I fell asleep.
"Nessie, Sweetheart, wake up. It's time to go home."
I opened my still tired eyes and saw my father's liquid topaz eyes staring into mine. I turned my head the other way, looking for Jacob. I didn't see him, but I saw a digital alarm clock. The bright red letters read seven-thirty two p.m.
"He's already in the car," my dad informed me, answering where Jake was.
"Oh," I mumbled sleepily. Then my head cleared up a little. "Wait, what car? We didn't drive here."
"I know. I went out and bought a car while you were sleeping. I had to bribe the salesman to let me have the car today, and luckily your mom was with me," he told me.
"Ah," was all I said. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up. My dad stood too, and we started downstairs. When we got to the front room, I saw Grandpa Charlie sitting on the couch, a worried and scared expression on his face. His color wasn't the best; clammy and pale. I walked over to him, but he seemed to shy away from me. I stepped away from him a bit.
He exhaled. "I'm sorry, Nessie. I'm fine." He faked a smile.
I slowly advanced toward him again and gave him a short hug. "Bye, Grandpa. Love you."
"Bye, Nessie. Love you, too." He let go of me as soon as he could, and I walked back over to my dad.
When Edward and I were out of the front door, I asked him, "Does he know?"
My father sighed. "What do you mean?" he asked, trying to pretend he didn't know what I was talking about. Well, that was hard to convince someone of when they knew you could read their mind.
"You know what I'm talking about. Does he know that you and mom are vampires?" I clarified.
My father looked straight forward out to the darkening sky. "Yes."
"D-did you tell him? Who told him?" I asked, shocked. No wonder he was so scared of me.
"No. No one told him. He guessed. Apparently he's very observant..." he trailed.
"What? What about the Volturi?" I exclaimed, appalled.
He sighed again. "I thought about that. But...he guessed. And as long as we don't run into them, then it shouldn't be a problem. But...if it gets too out of control and the Volturi come to warn us, then..."
I let my imagination finish his sentence. If the Volturi come to warn us, then Charlie will have to become a vampire.
"Yes," my dad breathed.
"D-does mom know this?" I asked, dreading her wrath and sadness and shock if she didn't.
"I'll tell her tonight. You'll be asleep; you shouldn't be able to hear her 'wrath,'" he said, quoting me.
I sighed this time. "Alright."
We reached the car that my father had bought, a Mustang, and I climbed into the backseat next to Jake. My dad sat in the driver's seat.
"Hey, sleepy head," Jake greeted me, smiling.
I rolled my eyes and grinned back. "Hey. How are you feeling?"
"Better. I still have to wear the stupid brace for my shoulder, but...oh well." He shrugged with his right shoulder.
The thought of the vampires that hurt my Jacob filled my head again, making me mad. But the angry feeling I felt was taken over by fear when I thought again that we were being stalked and hunted. It made me cold again. I shivered.
"Are you cold?" Jake asked me.
"Um...a little. Yeah."
He scooted closer to me and I to him, putting his arm around my shoulder. I started to warm up immediately. All this time, I thought Jacob was warmer than any other wolf. It could be some generic thing, but I always believed that it was because Jacob was so sweet and caring. He was the most amazing person I'd ever met.
"Better?" Jake asked me.
I nodded, snuggling closer to him. His warmth was so refreshing after the frigidness I'd felt.
My dad looked upset as usual, but knew I was cold, so he didn't do anything about it. He turned on the radio to a country station. I groaned.
"Country, Dad?" I asked in disbelief. All my life, my father had never shown a preference for country music, so I was confused.
"Yes, country. My car, my music," he said, smirking. He knew Jake wasn't crazy about country, that's probably why he picked it. "Yep," he confirmed.
"Dad, that's mean," I said.
"What?" Jake asked.
"He picked the station because—" I started.
"No reason," my dad interrupted.
"That's mean too," I stated.
He just chuckled. After a while I began to doze off again. I was still barely conscious when I heard their conversation.
"So, Edward, what's going on?" Jake asked him. His arms were still around me, keeping me warm. I had a feeling that I would need his heat for the coming conversation.
Daddy sighed. "Well, I think there are some vampires after us. 'Some' as in more than ten."
"What?" Jake exclaimed in disbelief. "There were eight today, right? And they all got killed?"
"Yes. There were eight vampires today. And yes, they all got killed. I have to give you credit for remembering that, since Carlisle gave you tons of medicine. Wow, you must've been loopy. I wish I could've seen that," Dad said, chuckling.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Jake said sarcastically. I could almost hear him roll his eyes. Then his tone was serious. "What are we going to do about it?"
Edward sighed. "I don't know for sure. I suppose we'll have to fight again."
"Wow, it's like Bella all over again," Jacob said in a teasing tone.
"Hey!" Mom exclaimed.
I could feel Jake shrug. "You know it's true, Bells. You can't deny it. You were a vamp magnet."
My mom laughed at Jake's statement. "This is true, Jake."
"And don't forget smelly dog magnet, too," my dad added. My mom laughed a little more.
"Also true," she said.
Jacob changed the subject back to serious. "So, if there were eight vampires today, and they all got killed, then they must have a big army, right?" His voice was like a voice I would never associate with Jacob. It was…almost scared.
"Yeah," my dad answered, his voice mirroring Jacob's; fear.
"What if… What if we lose?" Bella asked, fright coating her voice.
"We won't," Jacob said with authority and determination. "I won't let that happen. And I won't ever let anything happen to Nessie."
My heart fluttered at his words, remembering that I was important to him.
"You know, Jacob, as much as I can't stand you sometimes, I'm glad that you're the one that will be with her. That you're the one that will protect her," Edward said with genuineness.
When Jacob spoke, I could hear the surprise from Edward's words in his voice. "Thanks, Edward."
"Oh, come on, Jacob. Don't be so surprised. I have a heart, you know. It just doesn't beat," he said jokingly.
Jacob chuckled a bit. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But really, thank you," Jacob said with sincerity.
"No problem, Jake." Holy crap. That was the first time I'd ever heard my dad call Jake by a nickname that didn't have to do with a dog or profanity.
Jacob was shocked, as was I. "Y-you just called me Jake."
"Yeah, I think I did," my dad said with false surprise. I could hear the smirk in his voice.
Jake must not have known what to say after that, because he didn't say anything without being prompted to.
"Jake?" Bella asked quietly.
"Yeah, Bells?"
"You…you really love her, don't you?" she asked cautiously. Was she talking about me? And what did she mean?
"What? What do you mean by 'love her,'" Jake asked. I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was uncomfortable.
Mom sighed. "I mean like care for her. For Nessie. You'd really do anything for her, wouldn't you?"
When Jake answered, his voice was quiet and filled with love. "Of course I would. My life would be absolutely nothing without her. I would and will do anything for her, do anything to make her happy. And I'll protect her until I can't anymore, though God forbid that point come. I'd do anything for her. I'll be anything she needs me to be. I love her."
My heart swelled with his deep words, making me smile in my half-consciousness.
"Wow, Jake. I never knew you could be so deep," my mom said in awe.
I felt him shrug again. "I guess that's what imprinting does," he said. His voice sounded a bit louder, so I guessed he was looking down at me. "Love you, Nessie," he breathed, kissing the top of my head lightly.
My smile grew and my heart fluttered more. I put my hand flat on his chest. Love you, too.
He drew in a quick breath at the shock of my response. "You're awake," he said so quietly that I had to strain to hear him.
I nodded my head slowly.
He chuckled. "Go to sleep, Ness," he whispered.
I obeyed.
I woke up with a pair of freezing arms carrying me. I shivered without the warmth of my Jacob.
"I told you I should've carried her inside," I heard Jacob grumble.
"And I told you that wouldn't be very smart, what with your shoulder and all," the voice that was holding me said, my dad.
I reluctantly opened my eyes and looked for my Jacob. When I saw him, I almost flipped out of my father's arms to get away from the frigidness. Dad saw me and lowered me to the ground. I ran to Jake and hugged him, embracing his warmth.
"Hey," he said, hugging me back. "I'm, um, guessing you were cold?"
I nodded, my arms still wrapped around him.
He chuckled and picked me up with his good arm. "Come on," he said, walking in through the front door.
My dad sighed and started to follow us, but then he was bombarded by an overly anxious Alice.
"Edward! Edward, what happened? I started to see you, but then Jake got in the way, then I could see you again… Oh my God, did Jake get hurt?" She ran over to Jake and me. "Jacob, are you hurt? Are you alright? Did Carlisle help you? What happened?" She rambled off questions like it was a race.
"Alice! Please, stop talking. I'm fine…now. I was hurt, but—" Jacob started.
Just like that, Alice shot off on a question spree again. Jacob just sighed and started walking toward the stairs.
"Jacob Black, I am talking to you! Do not ignore me!" Alice shouted. She started following us up the stairs.
"Yea, Alice has gone crazy. Again," I said, rolling my eyes.
He laughed a bit. "When isn't she?"
"Jacob Black! I heard that! You too, Nessie! How dare you? I'm your favorite aunt!"
From downstairs, I heard Rosalie yell, "Hey!"
"Alice. I'm fine. Please. Just let me take Nessie to her room, and I'll be right back down, okay?" Jacob said irritably.
Alice grumbled, "Fine," and went back down the stairs.
"What? Why do you get to stay up for hours upon hours?" I asked, exaggerating a little.
"Because I'm not seven years old," he joked, smirking.
"Well, you're, like, the second or third youngest person in this house," I said logically. "So, technically, you're a kid, too."
"And where'd you come up with that logic?" Jacob asked me. He shook his head, clearing it, and said, "Ness, I'm not a kid. Hell, I'm not even a teenager. I can stay up later than twelve a.m. if I want to."
A question popped into my mind that I'd never really asked. "Jacob, how old are you? Like, really? And please don't tell me you're as old as my dad. That would just be weird," I said, disgust on my face.
He laughed at my expression. "I'm twenty-four. Technically."
Hm. That wasn't so bad. I mean, he wasn't 114 years old like my dad was. "So, you're the second youngest."
He smiled. "Yes, yes I am." I smiled back.
We were in my room now. He set me down on the floor. "Thanks. For carrying me up here. I didn't hurt you, did I?" I asked, starting to panic if I did.
"No. I'm fine. I'm almost healed, I think. Not the worst injuries I've ever had, but the second worst," he said. "Carlisle is making me wear the stupid brace thing until Tuesday, though," he grumbled.
"So, are you going to go to school tomorrow?" I asked him. I didn't know if he was going to because people would question why he had a brace on when he didn't have it on Friday. Then, on Tuesday when it was off, people would question how he had healed so quickly, and people would bring up a ton of questions…
"No, probably not," Jacob said, pulling me from my thoughts.
"Oh," I said. I knew that this was probably going to be the answer, but I was still a little disappointed. But it's not like I would be the only one there. I still had my family and Ryan and Kristen…
But no one would be the same as Jake.
"Just tomorrow or Tuesday too?" I questioned.
He shrugged. "That depends on Carlisle's opinion."
"Oh," I repeated. I stared at the crème carpet under my feet, imagining school without Jacob. It couldn't be that different, could it? I mean, there would be another family member in each of my classes…
But it wouldn't be the same.
Jacob placed him hand under my chin and lifted my head up. "Hey, it'll be alright. It's just two days. I don't have that much of an effect on you, do I?" he inquired.
I looked away from him and shrugged. "Maybe…" I muttered.
He chuckled. "You know, you could try to get your mom and dad to let you stay home too." He smiled mischievously.
I smiled at the thought, but then sighed. "As awesome as that sounds…I couldn't. Do you know what Ryan would think of that? If he knew we were skipping school together? He already thinks that you're trying to steal me away from him," I reasoned, saddened by this truth.
"Maybe I am," he said mysteriously, a sexy grin spreading across his face…
I shook my head, trying to clear it from thoughts about Jacob. I looked away from him, down to the floor again. "Really? Because you shouldn't."
He chuckled. "I'm just kidding. And why'd you look away from me?" he asked, tilting his head.
"Um... B-because…" I trailed.
"Because why?" he prompted, grinning again.
"Because I didn't want my dad to hear my thoughts," I admitted in a rush, blushing.
He just chuckled. "Night, Ness," he said, walking towards the door.
I sighed. "Night, Jake."
When he was out the door, I changed into my pajamas. To my surprise, the door leading to the balcony had been fixed, so I could sleep in my own room tonight.
I laid down in bed, staring at the ceiling for a long while. I wondered what my dreams would be like now, now that I knew we were being hunted.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you like it! Please review! I'll try to update as soon as I can! :)