July 4, 2009~

Edward pulls the Volvo into the parking lot of a McDonald's somewhere in the countryside of New York. I am sleeping in the front seat until Edward taps me on the shoulder and I jolt awake. "I'm innocent!!" I shout, my eyes snapping open, and he gives me a puzzled look.

"Sorry," I mutter. "Bad dream."

Edward nods. "Out we go. We're only a few miles away from that lake town where the orphanage is. But I want you to eat something."

I agree immediately, for my stomach is growling angrily at me due to lack of food. I haven't eaten ever since the dinner I had the night before I was almost raped and murdered by my former 'master', Xavier. Edward opens the passenger door for me, and I climb out hesitantly, more alert to my surroundings and the other people, that is.

"What time is it?" I ask, yawning.

"It's six thirty," Edward replies, not even glancing at his watch. "Dinner time for the average human."

Immediately, I am a little weird-ed out again by his response. What was that supposed to mean? I choose not to say anything and follow him into the fast food restaurant, sitting down at a table when he asks me what I want.

"A cheeseburger is fine," I say. "That's all. And a bottled water."

"Okay." He nods and goes to wait on line as I scoot further into the booth, hugging my knees to my chest. As Edward waits on line, I look after him, outlining his perfect figure and taking in all of his features. I think back to when Sister Fiona asked if he was my father; even when I considered he was my father. Let's see: the bronze hair and pale skin are two immediate resemblances. But Bella had the same pale skin as me, too. The eyes are golden topaz like Bella's, but I inherited from her when her eyes were a warm milk chocolate.

Besides appearance, what else is similar? I know I have my curls from my grandfather on Bella's side. My height is just plain abnormal, because I am very small for a fourteen year old; Bella was never short, but Edward isn't either…what about personality? I cannot remember my father's personality, but Bella was warm and welcoming. She was kind and never thought for herself…she always wanted the best for me…

I pull my knees closer to my chest and fight back the tears in remembering Bella. I have to stop crying all the time when I think about her! It's childish and immature. Pull yourself together, I growl at myself, you're being a baby.

Then Edward returns holding the tray of food. His facial expression tells me that he is repulsed by the greasy food, and he almost sets it in front of me too hard. A few of the French fries scatter on my skirt, but I quickly scoop them up and dump them back on the tray. Edward watches all of this while sitting in the booth across from me, a look of disgust chiseled into his face.

I hold out a fry to him. "Want one?"

"Er, no thanks," he barely manages.

"Aw, c'mon, you bought it for me. Just have one," I insist.

"No thanks."

"Edward."

"I'm on a diet. Greasy foods are unacceptable!"

I glare at him long and hard. Anyone in their right minds would accept ONE French fry even if they were on a diet. Here he goes again with that weird behavior!

"What's your deal?" I hiss. "You save me and now you look at me like I'm freakin' four years old or something."

Edward shakes his head. "No, no, I know you're not four years old…"

"Then stop glaring at me like that!" I practically shout.

He narrows his eyes at me and frowns. "That man could've harmed you back there. I saved you, remember?"

"Xavier," I grumble, rolling my eyes and forcing down my cheeseburger as the horrible memories haunt me.

Edward sighs. "You are very appealing, though." He grins and shifts in his seat. "Bella is a beautiful woman…"

A growl slips between my lips. "She's married, you know."

He looks deep into my eyes, his eyebrows knitting together in concern. "Is she?" he asks, his voice rolling out in a soft tone.

I bite my lip and try to hide my puzzlement. "She is. I know she is," I say defiantly. "She's a very pretty woman; of course she's married…" I continue, my voice getting stronger. "Why do you care anyway? What, do you secretly love her from high school still, or something?"

Edward glares at me coldly. "What if even after you were gone she was depressed? She didn't speak for months, years even. We told her to ignore the danger and find you if it was killing her, but she didn't want Jane to find you. She would see you in everything she did: in the woods she would find your favorite flowers and cry. In the town, she would see the park swings and think of you. When we went to Seattle, she refused to because it was where she lived with you! Everything about her made me upset! It made her husband, your FATHER, depressed and angry to see her like this." Edward pauses and looks down at the floor. "She was beautiful before you left, but in a way that made everything else around her beautiful, too. When she was sad, she was still beautiful, but she made everything around her seem wilted and dying. She wouldn't listen to us. Wouldn't…listen…" His stone hand is gently brushing my cheek when our eyes meet and a set of flashbacks surge through me: a wide open house with windows on every wall and white ceilings and floors. I look around, again only a little girl as I was in my dreams from before. A bunch of taller people bustle around me, grabbing suitcases and coats and heading toward the door. They all speak in hushed, melodic whispers as a boy picks me up and holds me to his chest. His russet skin is hot against mine as I press my hand against his neck. He nods and smiles, but a tear trickles down his cheek.

"Don't worry, Jacob," I whisper. "I'll be back soon. I'm just goin' away for a little while."

Jacob, the same boy who helped deliver Bella's baby, replies, "Of course. A little while is all." A few more tears run down his tan skin and I wipe them away with my thumb, giggling. "Silly Jake, don't get all wet!"

His lip quivers as he kisses me on the forehead and hands me over to another man behind us. "Here," he mutters, his voice choked. "Take her. I can't bear to look anymore."

"Jakey?" I ask, my voice going shrill. "Jacob? Where are you going?"

He turns to me and his eyes are rimmed in red. "'Bye, Nessie. Be good for Mommy…please."

I whip around to face the man who is holding me. "What is he talking about, Daddy?" My own words startle me, though, but only because the man is Edward. He doesn't answer, his rigid chiseled jaw remaining tight.

"Goodbye, Edward. I love you, remember that," a woman says, kissing Edward gingerly and then taking me from him. Her arms are strong, but her skin is smooth and marble-like.

"Goodbye, Renesmee. Goodbye, Bella, love," he says as the woman carries me toward the door. I think it is Bella. I clasp my hands around her neck and wave goodbye to the familiar pale faces all watching me leave. Bella lithely dances down the porch steps and up to a red Ferrari F430. "Here, sweetie," she says, brushing the loose strands of hair away from her ashen face as she puts me into a car seat and buckles me in. Then she handed me a thick chapter book to read. The title was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Bella climbs into the front seat and buckles herself in, gripping the steering wheel as she makes a U-turn in the gravel driveway and speeds down the barren road that rips through the Washington rainforest.

"Mommy, where are we going?" I ask, my eyes scanning the copyright page in the front of the book.

"We're moving to Seattle for a little while," she chokes, her voice cracking flatly. Out of the blue, a huge russet wolf bounds out in front of the car and slithers across the road into the wet trees.

"Jesus Christ!" Bella shouts, slamming her foot onto the pedal and scooting to a stop. The car hisses and roars as it idles in the middle of the road.

"Mommy," I say. "Was that Jake the wolf?"

"Yes," Bella replies, her voice shaking. "That was Jake the wolf." Suddenly she bursts into dry, tearless sobs and starts driving again. Her wails of sadness echo throughout my ears the entire way to Seattle, her sniffles and cries clouding my thoughts. Why are we doing this if it makes her sad? I think to myself, reading innocently in my head about Harry and Hermione and Ron…

*flashback ends*

I pull away from Edward and storm out of the restaurant, tears blurring my vision as I begin to walk toward the empty highway. He appears next to me and grabs my arm, pulling me back.

"What are you doing?!" he demands.

"I'm leaving!" I holler. "You make me…me…ANGRY!"

"About what??"

I suddenly fall over and curl up into a little ball. "You make me think about my mom, and I get angry when I think about that! UGH!!!" I start to cry hysterically, not caring that a bunch of tourists coming out of McDonald's are staring with fear.

"I'm sorry," Edward whispers and lifts me over to the Volvo, my head tucked under his marble neck. "We're gonna get Violet and go back to Forks to see Bella. You won't be sad anymore, I promise."

"H-how can you p-promise me that?" I stutter as Edward puts me into the back seat and drapes a blanket over my shoulders.

"Shh, shh," he coos, stroking my curls with his cold hand. "It's gonna be alright. I promise you, it will alright." He sounds like he is assuring himself more than me.

Part II:

Edward's voice is smooth and serpent-like as I hear him opening the car door and coaxing me to wake up. "Nessie...Nessie...wake up, Renesmee."

I fight back the urge to keep my eyes shut and turn to him at the door. "Edward...?"

"C'mon," he says. "We're going to get Violet and then I promise we'll go right back to the car so you can sleep."

"W-what time is it?" I stumble over my own words.

"Late," Edward replies curtly. "Very, very late."

"How will we...how will we get Violet?" I ask, my eyes playing cruel tricks on me as I failed to keep them open. I trip over a tree root and Edward catches me, guiding me with a firm grip of his hand to my shoulder.

"Dad...," I mutter, clearly talking in my sleep. "Just let me go to the park with Lily. Alex will pick us up, I promise. Dad, I can't find Bella. I can't find Mom."

Edward chuckles tersely and picks me up into his arms, letting my head rest on his shoulder like a baby. He's very strong in being able to carry a fourteen-year-old girl like this for such a long distance. "It's okay, Nessie. I'll let you go with Lily. She's a good girl."

"Okay, Dad," I reply, oblivious to the fact that I am still speaking out loud.

Oblivious to the fact that I am considering Edward is my father out loud to him.

Edward sets me on my feet when we reach the steps leading up to the main building and opens the door for me. I blink my eyes and wipe the tiredness away, regaining my vision and looking around the all-too-familiar foyer of the orphanage where I stayed for ten years of my life. "You ready?" Edward asks, placing a hand on my back as I waver and blink again.

"Yeah," I say. "Let's go save Private Violet."

He laughs quietly at my response and leads me into a small room that smells like an old school gymnasium. As soon as Edward puts me in one of the cushioned seats, my head falls backward and I begin to snooze, my eyelids drooping. A hand reaches out and cradles my head, and Edward whispers, "Renesmee, please make an effort to stay awake."

"I'm...I'm trying, I'm trying," I snort and my eyelids flutter open as I stare blankly into space. The blurriness suddenly disperses and I look around, noticing the familiar desk and office where I once stood so very long ago...with Bella.

"Excuse me, sir," a nun says, rushing into the office. "Do you have an appointment?" Her dark brown eyes flash toward me and then she whispers something in Spanish. Her young voice is full of misunderstanding.

"Jesús Cristo," she sighs, making the sign of the cross. "Renesmee, is that you?"

"Hmm...what?" I murmur, my voice thick with tiredness.

"Mr. Edward," Sister Fiona begins, "Renesmee is tired. Why is she here and not at her master's house?"

"Mr. Xavier tried to rape and kill her," Edward says coldly. "I brought her back here to come and get Miss Violet Cullen."

Sister Fiona is completely shocked. She begins speaking to herself in rapid Spanish. "No lo entiendo...que parecía estar bien...oh, no no no." She gathers a bunch of papers together on her desk and whisks out of the room, a few of the stray sheets flying to the carpeted floor. I look over at my protector and see that he is rubbing his temples agitatedly.

"Edward," I breathe. "Where'd she go?"

He stares at the ground, his smoldering eyes suddenly fading from gold to a dark brown. "I'm not sure, but she better be back with Violet." He sounds threatening.

"Well don't kill her if she's not," I say, emerging from my sleepy coma.

Edward shoots me a menacing glare, but his eyes soften as he looks over my porcelain face. Something about me makes his paternal instincts kick in whenever I am around him...it's strange.

Just then the thought of my blood-related father drifts back to my mind. I push it away and look at the floor as Sister Fiona hurries back into the room with Violet behind her. "Mr. Edward, you cannot just take Violet Eclipse with you. You need to sign forms and papers and contracts..." Her eyes dart quickly across the room as she gives Edward all the information in a rushed, nervous tone.

"Ness!" Violet whispers, and I look up to see my cousin standing there waving excitedly behind Sister Fiona.

"Vi!" I exclaim in a hushed voice as Sister Fiona and Edward stand over the desk, looking at different papers and such.

She runs to me and hugs me, wrapping her arms around me tightly. "I can't believe you're alive," she murmurs.

"Yeah," I breathe. "Me neither."

"Oh, Nessie, I thought you were gonna die for sure!"

I laugh nervously. "I almost did. One of my masters tried to kill me."

Violet goes bug-eyed and suddenly Edward and Sister Fiona turn to us. "Violet," Sister begins, "you'll be going with Edward and Renesmee from now on."

Violet's golden irises light up with joy as she nods, but something about her face tells me that at the same time he's happy, she's also something else.

Scared.

"Vi," I begin. "Are you okay?"

Violet stares out the huge glass window, black with night, and says, "Are you sure we can trust him, Ness?"

I frown and nod. "Of course we can."

Violet turns to me, a look of confusion on her face. "I thought you said that no one could be trusted?"

I shrug and sigh. "Sometimes you have to go with instinct, Violet. This is one of those times."

Violet shifts uncomfortably as Edward leads us out of the dark office and into the foyer. He holds Violet's possessions with care as Sister Fiona follows us through the tall grass pathway to Edward's Volvo. Violet and I get into the backseat as Edward puts her things in the trunk. Then he gets into the driver's seat and zooms away, Sister Fiona waving solemnly behind us. The roads are dark and barren, and dirt flies up behind us as we go a hundred miles over the speed limit.

No one speaks for the first three hours of the trip. Violet stares out the window, a sad and confused expression gracing her face. I sit there and fiddle with my own bronze curls, my feet tapping anxiously at the back of Edward's seat.

"Please stop doing that," he finally says, and I stop. I sit there in pure silence, watching Violet blink her eyes at the white moonbeams. The hills quickly paint pictures as we ride past them, but soon disappear behind the Volvo. I shut my eyes, but the humming of the motor keeps me awake and the car is going so fast that it is hard to relax. There are no other cars on the highway.

"Hey, Vi," I whisper, turning to her, but then I notice that's she's asleep. I turn forward again and sit still, utterly bored with this road trip.

"Edward," I say quietly, hoping he doesn't hear me, but he indeed does.

"Yes?" His darkening eyes stay focused on the road ahead of us, but his jaw is tense and rigid.

I toy with my locket in between my fingers. "Why did you...why did you fix it?" I ask.

Edward sighs. "It would make you happy, and I don't want you to be unhappy." His response immediately angers me. If he didn't want me to be unhappy than why did he leave me?!
"You would've been unhappy if Bella died. I had to leave to keep her safe," Edward mutters, and right away and retort, "How did you know that's what I was thinking about?!"

Edward adjusts the rearview mirror to focus it on my porcelain face and half-smiles. "You're expressions are always easy to read." He chuckles darkly, his serpent-like voice sending chills rippling down my spine. "Like Bella."

I have had enough.

"That's it!" I suddenly shout, and Violet's eyes snap open. "Stop the car!"

"What's going on?" Violet murmurs, still half-asleep.

I don't answer, only glare at Edward. "Stop this car, now!"

He steps on the brakes, and slowly the Volvo lurches to a complete stop, remaining stagnant in the middle of the road. "What?" he asks.

"You know what!" I snap. "You keep talking about Bella like she's some childhood crush of yours or something. You sound like her stalker and worse of all, you rub it in my face that you got to see her and I didn't yet!!"

Edward purses his lips and ponders for a second, then suddenly fires his foot onto the gas again as we rocket up the county route.

"There's something wrong going on here," I say, my heart fluttering with fear. "You have to let us out, Edward. I can't trust anyone anymore."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Edward says, pressing on the pedal harder.

"He probably has a gun in the front seat!" I shout to Violet, and her eyes widen with terror.

"That's ridiculous," he says. "Why would I have a gun?"

"To shoot us!" I interrupt. "You're taking us to a ghost town where you're gonna shoot us to death!"

Edward's face turns irritated. "Why would you say that?!"

"Because you can't trust anyone!!" I scream. Violet covers her ears and curls up into a little ball; I listen closely and hear her crying.

"You can trust me!" Edward says. "You can, just believe me. Bella wants me to do this for her!"

"I can't trust anyone in this Godforsaken universe!" I continue, tears blurring my vision. "And I learned that from the best."

All of a sudden, a herd of deer jumps out into the middle of the road. Seven bucks stand frozen in the Volvo's headlights, their antlers jagged and vicious. Violet lets out an ear-splitting shriek and Edward swerves out of the way, driving off the road completely. The car spins out of control, training into an overgrown wheat field. I scream and hold onto Violet, a stray limb from a few randomly scattered trees smashing the windows and shattering the glass. It showers the pieces onto Violet and I, and the car suddenly flips from a crevice in the ground. Violet slips away from my grip and something bangs against my head very hard. Black dots dance across my sight as I gasp and shake away the pain, but it just keeps coming worse. Possibly the worst moment for it, a flashback suddenly arrives: asleep in an apartment room, I lie snuggled beneath the blankets of a warm twin bed. The comforter is a pretty purple floral pattern, and there are pictures of Bella and me scattered along the lavender walls. I am once again a little girl, only four years old. The crisp autumn air blows in from my open window, and I hear the city of Seattle living and growing beneath our apartment complex. I sniffle once and then sit up in bed, peering around my dark room, allowing my eyes to adjust to the darkness. It is not completely dark, though; the light from the moon shines in as do the lights of all the other apartments and hotels and office buildings and skyscrapers around me. I look at the blinking digital clock on my bedside table—11:03 p.m. I sigh and walk over to my window, kicking off my blankets and peeking out. The dim city lights mix with the darkness to cause some alternative twilight amongst the region, and I look beyond the tall buildings to see the gigantic Space Needle glowing radiantly amidst the black sky. I breath in deeply, closing my eyes serenely. I can hear Bella listening to the television in the front room, and her occasional coughs. All of a sudden, a dangerous voice coos form the corner of my room, "Oh, look who it is? Miss Renesmee Cullen." Out from the shadows steps a dark haired girl with piercing red eyes and a black cape and hood. Jane.

Two other men are with her—one very tall burly man and another one who looks exactly like her, except male version. Felix and Alec, all from the Volturi.

I whimper and begin to pant with fear, but Alec appears beside me and cups his hand over my mouth. "Now, now, Renesmee," Jane whispers. "There's no need to be hasty." She and her pal Felix stroll closer toward me, and I begin to struggle against Alec's strength. "Please," I squeak. "Let me go! I didn't do anything."

"True," Jane ponders, strolling away from me for a second, but then she whips around and sneers, "But your parents aren't innocent."

I take a step away from her, backing up into Alec who still keeps a firm grasp on me. He chuckles darkly and Jane growls, "You didn't really think you'd get away with all this, did you? You didn't think that we, or I, would just let you run off merrily after our little 'confrontation', did you?" She laughs bleakly, like an evil villain about to kill their next victim. "Well, guess again, Cullen." She snaps around and abruptly orders, "Felix! Take her, now!"

With one fluid movement, Felix grabs my foot, rips open the window screen, and dangles me out of the large opening. "Don't scream, Renesmee, or else there will be consequences."

Now I am panicked. I look down below me, watching dizzily as people begin to scream and shout for help, looking up at our apartment window and pointing frantically.

"This is what happens when Edward and Bella don't follow the rules," Jane jeers, her voice menacing.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry!!" I stammer, tears slipping out of eyes and running off my forehead, falling onto the sidewalk a hundred feet below us. "Please, let me go!"

Jane, Alec, and Felix exchange malicious glances, and Felix mutters, "Whatever you say." Then, I feel his big hand releasing my foot. As if in slow motion I begin to fall, screaming blood-curdling screams that rattle my bones. The people beneath me begin to shriek along with me, and suddenly I grip onto the building's ledge. I pull myself up onto it with all of my might, panting and heaving as I roll onto the two foot wide ledge. My window is only about six feet away, and reach my hand up meekly to make an attempt at reaching it. My fingers slip and almost fall forward, but catch my balance and back up against the wall, crying uncontrollably. Fire trucks race onto the avenue and police cars begin to quell the gathering crowd as I tremble violently amidst the cold air. I dare to look down, my teeth chattering and the salty tears running down my chin. There, racing through the crowd and shoving people out of the way, is a small pixie-like woman who I immediately recognize. She rams into the barricades, nearly knocking them over, and her worried eyes watch me carefully. Her face is begging and pleading for me to not move an inch. I look up above me, still shaking from the cold and fearfulness, to see Bella looking out the empty window shouting my name. "RENESMEE!! RENESMEE!!!!" she hollers, trying to reach down to grab me, but her arm doesn't stretch far enough. A firefighter comes up behind her, gently taking her shoulders and handing her off to one of his coworkers, who is leading her out of the room. I can see her protesting against them, being stubborn as usual. Her lips mold around the slurred words: "You don't understand! Someone pushed my baby out of her window!" Her gestures are wild and her golden eyes are crazed, but the firefighter trains her out of my room. Within seconds, she is pushing through the crowd. She leaps over the barricade despite the officers attempting to hold her back and slaps her hands on the building, yelling up to me more as a ladder from the big red truck nears the ledge. I reach out to him, but he says loudly, "Stay back, ma'am. You can fall easily. We'll come get you."

I follow his instructions obediently and climb into his arms as he carries me down the ladder, cradling me close to his chest. I shiver and he holds me closer. The way his fatherly instincts are remind me of my father...Edward.

When we reach the ground, Bella races to us. A few other firefighters yank her back, straining her against reaching out to grab me, but she pulls anyway. "Let me—give her to me!" Bella exclaims, snatching me from the man and hugging me close to her. She shakes with dry sobs and I let her cry into me as her words come out muffled and barely comprehensible. "Don't you ever...do that to me ever again, young lady! I—I almost had a heart attack!" She continues to break down as the crowd begins to clap in honor of my safety and the firemen.

"W-what happened?" she demands, her voice weak.

"It was Jane from the Volturi, Momma," I whisper, my voice barely audible over the crowd. But Bella understands me perfectly. Her topaz eyes widen with disbelief and she shakes her head frenziedly as I explain to her that Jane threatened me with Alec and Felix. When I am done explaining, Bella lifts me into her arms and rocks me back and forth, rubbing my back soothingly. I squint through the crowd, spotting the short pixie girl again. Her gold eyes are sad and hopeless as she shakes her head and trudges away.

*flashback ends*

Part III:

I remain motionless among the shattered glass and debris of the smashed Volvo. I lie in between a small crook that separates the front and back seats. Violet is propped up against me, her eyes shut closed and her fists clenched together. I look to the front seat, but no one is there. Then, I hear an awful screeching noise—metal scratching against metal.

"Nessie, Violet?!" I hear a familiar voice shout to us through one of the smashed windows. I blink a few times, noticing a drop of blood emerging from a small cut on my forehead and watching it slide down the side of my face as someone grabs my arm. His skin is cold and rock-hard.

I yank my hand back, alarmed by his sudden touch, but then Edward says, "No, no, Renesmee! Give me your hand and I'll get you out."

"Okay." I give him my hand and slowly he lifts me out of the crushed Volvo. He hugs me close to his chest, his strong hands never wavering nor loosening as I tremble. The trickle of blood drips lazily off my chin and rolls onto his shirt, but he doesn't move. His eyes are closed and his perfect face is sculpted into a look of pain and thought as his whole body remains still.

Then I hear a cry from the inside of the car. Edward and I suddenly run to the window, only to see Violet still curled up and afraid.

"Vi!" I call. "Can you hear me?!"

"Of course I can hear you," she snorts. "We're in the middle of an old farm with no one else around for miles; and to top that, you're about two feet away from me."

I let out a sigh of respite and Edward tears one of the pieces of metal off the roof of the car, leaving a huge gap just big enough for Violet to get through. Edward leaps lithely on top of the car and helps her through, gently placing her in the stalks of overgrown wheat. The stars twinkle above us in the night sky, and I watch as Edward slides off the roof of the destroyed car and lands without noise on the ground.

"Now what?" Violet says.

I shrug, but Edward takes out a cell phone and dials quickly, putting the silver object up to his ear. "Carlisle I need you to come get us...we're somewhere in Iowa, I believe. No, there was a freak accident...deer in the road...track our scent." And then he hangs up the phone, shoving it back in his pocket.

"Carlisle's coming soon," Edward says quietly. "He'll be here as soon as he can."

"Who's Carlisle?" Violet asks, practically reading my mind.

"He's your grandfather," Edward says hesitantly. "He's a little young, only because he was married at age eighteen..."

"Well how old is he?!" I demand.

"Er, forty-seven. But he looks a lot younger than that, like he's twenty-three," Edward explains. "Ness, let me see that cut on your forehead." He motions for me to come near him, but I don't budge.

"Renesmee, please come here," he says.

I sigh and walk toward him as he places his ice-hold hand on my forehead, feeling the gash. Blood drips onto his fingers, and I notice that his eyes are no longer a dark gold, but a very dark brown—almost black.

"We'll need to clean it," he says, his eyebrows knit together in concern. He has such a look of sincerity on his beautiful face that I believe it is actually carved like that. "Carlisle will probably have some cleaning chemicals." He looks down at his watch. "He should be here soon."

Then, Violet decides to speak. "How did we get to Iowa so fast?" she says, staring out at the stalks of wheat blowing gracefully in the hot summer-night wind.

"I drive fast," Edward covers up quickly, his eyes never leaving the oozing cut on my forehead. His defined jaw is still clenched tensely and his hands shake as the blood drips down his fingers. His eyes are wide and crazed now, and his irises are a pitch black.

"You know," I say, pushing his hand away from my cut, "if it's really bothering you to be near my cut, then please don't feel like you have to do this."

Violet's brow is furrowed and she watches us curiously, her golden eyes hinted with confusion. "So, this Carlisle man is our grandfather?"

Edward nods. "Yeah, he is."

I look at the ground and wrinkle my nose. There is a long moment of silence, and then Edward walks off into the field. "I'll be right back," he says, slipping into the darkness. I roll my eyes and crawl over to where Violet is quietly sitting.

"He's such a freaking stalker," I mutter.

Violet whips around to face me, her expression hard. "He's trying to help us, you know."

I narrow my eyes at her. "Well, he's weird. He knows more about our family than we do." She stares out into the open field as I tell her this. "Don't you think that's kinda CREEPY?!"

Violet bites her lip anxiously. "I don't know who to believe. I mean, if Edward really does know our family, then yay for us. But if he doesn't, and he's just luring us into some sadistic trap, well then so be it; we'll either a.)be reunited with our families, b.)make a daring escape for our lives, or c.)die. And I think it'd be choice A on this one."

I don't realize my jaw is dropped open until Violet takes my chin and shuts my mouth.

"This is retarded, Vi—" I begin, but she cuts me off right away.

"No, its not. You're the one who chose to trust this guy in the first place. You're the one who believed in him a few years back. And you're the one who got us into this mess!"

"So now its my fault?"

"Well, sorta, yeah," Violet replies, nodding vigorously. "If you hadn't been so mentally troubled and rebellious we'd still be living happily at the orphanage."

"That place was hell, Vi—you and I both know it."

"Maybe it wouldn't have been if you got along with everyone."

"I got along with a lot of people." I cross my arms defiantly.

Violet glares at me, a look of sarcasm on her face. Then, she grabs the back of my shirt and lifts it up, running her finger down the jagged scar that I received from fighting. "Oh yeah, you were a mellow one all right. And I suppose you got this scar from landing in a patch of daisies? Or did the unicorn give it to you when you didn't give him the magic rainbow cookies?"

"Ha ha, you're killing me," I reply, my voice impassive.

"I mean it," Violet snaps, her eyes shifty. I stick my tongue out at her and flare my nostrils, but she lumbers away muttering, "Yeah, real mature, Ness."

Just then, a black Mercedes speeding down the dark road comes into view. Its lights blind me, and I duck amidst the wheat. "Violet!" I call, my voice hushed, squinting in the sudden light to see her crouching down in the wheat stalks. I duck just as Edward appears back in the clearing where we are.

"Edward, get down," I hiss, my voice pleading him to actually listen for once.

He completely ignores me, dashing out to the road in a blur. What an idiot!! I think to myself. I pick a rock up off the moist ground and am about to launch it at him when suddenly a tall thin man with light blonde hair and pale skin steps out of the Mercedes. In the mere shine of the headlights, I noticed a faint golden shimmer in his eyes, like Violet's. It must be Carlisle. It must be our Grandpa.

He and Edward are discussing something very, very quietly. I strain my ears to hear them, keeping as still as a statue in the wheat stalks. Eventually, my ears adjust to the quiet and I pick up on what Edward is saying: "She's with me...having a hard time...pugnacious...stubborn like Bella...Violet, too..." Just then, Violet looks over at me, her eyes wide. Apparently, she heard the conversation as well as her name being mentioned in it. She crawls toward me, her graceful movements barely moving the plants. She taps my shoulder tediously, and as scared as I am, I begin to hold my grudge against her. "Ness..." she whispers, her voice small and hushed.

I simply ignore her, squinting through the blades of grass, pretending to be focusing on Carlisle and Edward's conversation.

"Ness, I'm sorry," Violet says, looking at the ground.

No answer.

"Nessie!"

Ignored.

"Renesmee Carlie Cullen!!" she shrieks in a whisper, her voice going even more shrill than it already is.

I turn and face the other way, my acting absolutely horrific, but then she rams into me, sending me sprawling onto the ground.

"RENESMEE!!!!" she snarls. "Answer me!!"

I regain my breath after having the wind knocked outta me and roll over, pinning her to the ground. "Are you happy now, Violet?!" I slap her across the cheek, but her skin is soft but tough like mine. A red mark eventually begins to appear, and she pushes me off her, pinning me to the ground a few feet closer to the road where Carlisle and Edward are.

"You're a freak!" Violet growls, her usual bell-chime voice now a low, vicious growl. "You're the one who turned my life upside-down."

I fling her off me and tackle her back to the ground as she attempts to get up and run. "I was only trying to save you from trouble."

This time, Violet doesn't fight me, but simply glares at me, her black-and-blonde hair dirty with the soil from the field. "You only taught me that horrible things come out of solving your problems by violence." She flicks my forehead with her fingers, her mouth puckered in a sour but firm line. "I'll just call you Scars from now on, 'cause that's really all you are. You should open a museum on your arm someday. I'm sure everyone will know 'The Nessie Cullen Museum' as a gallery of the finest and most gruesome scars in the world! You can be the tour guide."

I don't say anything this time. I launch my fist into her face but she catches it and pulls my hair, rolling on top of me and punching my side.

"You're a bitch, that's what you are!" I snap, my fists clenching over the loose strands of her hair and pulling on it.

Violet winces and grabs my shirt collar. "Take it back!"

"NO!"

"I hate you!" Violet hollers, and suddenly I feel the gravelly pebbles digging into my back from the asphalt. The two of us look up to see the man and Edward staring down at us with bewildered expressions. "This is what has become of the two young ladies," Edward manages to mutter, and Carlisle's eyebrows are raised at us in disbelief.

"I don't remember leaving you two like this...," he murmurs and then blinks, exchanging a quick glance with Edward as Violet and I stand up and brush the dirt off our clothes. "I'm Carlisle Cullen," he greets, reaching his hand out. The two of us reach at the same time but Carlisle pulls us into a strong hug. "I'm your grandfather, if you can remember anything..."

"I do," Violet says quickly, nearly cutting him off. "I remember you."

I roll my eyes at her, and sadly shake my head. "I'm sorry, Car—er, Grandpa. I don't remember anyone except for Bella."

Edward looks at the ground, his eyebrows knitted together in a confused way. He looks almost depressed.

Carlisle purses his lips and sighs. "Well, we'll soon fix that slight dilemma." He exchanges another short glance with Edward, who mindlessly walks to the passenger seat of the Mercedes.

"Violet, Renesmee...you can get in the backseat," Carlisle instructs as he walks around to the driver's side and gets in, shutting the door.

"After you," I grumble, opening the car door. As she climbs in, I am seriously considering slamming it on her butt, but I stiffly climb in after her and flop down onto the seat. I am surprised at how tired I am, because after I put my seatbelt on, I feel my eyes lazily closing. My head rests against the leather and it feels like a mere five minutes, but I open my eyes and see mist rising above the hills and dissolving into the sky, now glowing lightly with the morning sun. I feel something hard and cold touch my knee, but I dare not open my eyes. I hear Carlisle's voice then. "Edward, leave her. She's resting."

"She doesn't even know who I am, Carlisle. Doesn't she remember?"

"I guess not, my son. She has been through a lot, and she's only a teenager."

There is a long pause. "What about her powers and aging?"

"She lost her powers after being away from you for so long...they will return soon, but Bella will be the final piece to that puzzle. As for her aging, it slowed to normal because of the fact that, again, she was away from you and Bella for so long. The longer she stays away from us, the more human she becomes."

Edward doesn't say anything in reply, but I remain still and lifeless against the black leather seats.

About three things I am absolutely positive:

One, Edward (as well as me) is not human.

Two, there is a part of him, and I don't know how dominant that part may be, that feels extremely protective of me and Bella.

And three, I am unconditionally and irrevocably sure that he is my father.

Then, I woke up.