My Renesmee/The Choice
Chapter 21: No more chili dogs for me! (Renesmee's POV)
"Here, drink this, Nessie." My grandfather, Carlisle, kindly slid a clear glass of crimson liquid into my hand. "See if you can hold this down."
My dad had laid me down on the couch in the living room, and my vampire family collectively encircled around my makeshift bed. Every pair of eyes was full of concern. Jake knelt by my side, his warm hand on my cheek. It was all a little embarrassing—my up-chuck reflex—but I felt so much better now that it was over. I sat up and grasped the glass with both hands, steadily bringing it up to my nose.
"Is this blood? It smells weird." I dazedly asked my grandpa, and my family—with the exception my dad and Jake--immediately erupted in laughter at my question. "What's so funny?"
"It's human blood, Nessie. The best in the world!" Emmett hastily answered in between his obnoxiously loud cackles. "Bottoms up."
"Human blood?" I peered down at the contents of the cup, wondering how in the world they had stumbled upon it. I knew my family—they were against killing humans for sustenance at all costs. It was how I was brought up—to respect human life.
"Don't worry, Nessie. I am a doctor. I can get this without hurting anyone." Grandpa Carlisle invitingly pushed the crystal glass up to my lips. "Now, drink up. I think it will make you feel better."
Jake flinched at my grandfather's suggestion, and his massive body began to restlessly quake. "Is this really necessary, Carlisle? She seems to be fine." He spoke through his teeth.
"Let's just try it, Jacob." Grandpa Carlisle assured him, and Uncle Jasper placed a hand on Jake's shoulder to calm him. "We need to see if she can keep something down just to make sure nothing else is wrong. Now, go ahead, Nessie."
"It's okay, Jake. I'll try it." I tilted back my head and let the blood flow into my mouth. The blood trickled over my tongue, and I had never tasted anything so sweet in my life. I remembered playfully biting Jake's fingers when I was an infant and ingesting some of his blood—but this was something entirely different. So new. It was maddeningly delectable, and I finished the whole glass in several gulps. "Wow, can I have some more?"
"Well, let's see if you can keep it down first." My grandfather chuckled along with my family. Jake was clutching my hand so tightly for a second there I thought he might accidentally crush the bones of my fingers. Jasper's touch obviously wasn't helping him much. I turned to look at my dad, and the muscles in his forehead fiercely pinched together. He didn't like this one bit either.
"Nessie, tell me. What have you eaten today? There was something else in your vomit that wasn't blood." Grandpa Carlisle inquired, glancing from my dad's pained face to mine.
"Just a chili dog from the carnival." I relayed to him.
"How long has it been since you've eaten human food before tonight?" He continued his interview to uncover the cause of my ailment.
"A year or so. I can't remember." My mind was foggy at the moment. I really couldn't recall when I had eaten anything other than the blood from animals I had killed on my hunting trips.
"Yeah, and all that birthday cake went to waste the other day," Aunt Alice sadly added. But everyone else ignored her.
"That's probably all it was." My grandpa concluded, turning to my family and then back to me. "Did Nahuel mention anything about getting sick after long periods of time without human food?"
Nahuel. I didn't want to think about him. He could fall off the face of the earth if I had anything to do with it--but I had in fact watched him regurgitate the contents of his stomach many times after he had ingested human food. "Yes, he did. I've seen it."
"That settles it then. You think I would know everything there is to know concerning medical issues judging from the centuries of study and practice I've had, but you half-breeds continue to baffle me day after day!" Grandpa Carlisle exasperatedly threw up his hands and then called to me as he exited the room. "I'll get you some more blood, Nessie."
My dad's face and body relaxed, and he let out a deliberately loud breath. Jake released his firm grip on my hand and smiled at me when he heard my grandfather's verdict.
"Now, didn't I hear something about a wedding before you had to go and ruin the carpet, Nessie?" That little eavesdropper! Leave it to my Aunt Alice to instantly change the subject of conversation when she had the opportunity. I didn't even have time to answer her before she happily danced up the stairs. "I'll be right back!"
"Oh, great, here we go." My mother grumbled, rolling her eyes, and then placed her hand on my head. "But I'm glad you're feeling better, Nessie. You had me worried there for a minute."
Aunt Rosalie tugged Emmett by the upturned collar on his shirt and left the room in a huff. Great, I had a feeling there would be someone else who would need convincing about my upcoming marriage to Jake.
"Nessie, you and Jake are getting married? That's wonderful!" My grandmother Esme enthusiastically exclaimed, hugging my shoulders with her skinny arms. "Have you set the date--"
"Alright, Nessie." Alice had returned and breezily took a seat beside me on the couch, tossing my legs heftily to the side. Jake swiftly moved to stand beside me, resting his hands on my shoulders.
My grandmother knew better than to get in Alice's way and exited the room toward the kitchen, "I'll just get something to clean up this mess!"
In her hands, Alice held some kind of book, which resembled a scrapbook, and immediately flipped through the pages. Dozens of magazine clippings from bridal magazines haphazardly covered the pages, and post-it notes were positioned to mark the most important details. "Okay, here's what I was thinking—a late November wedding. We can do a whole fall harvest kind of theme with pumpkins and cornucopias and sunflow--"
"Alice, why don't you ask what Nessie would like?" My dad interjected, profusely annoyed. "It is her wedding after all."
"Thanks, Dad." I looked up from the book to my father and gave him a satisfied grin. I was so proud of my dad in that moment. He was actually going along with it.
"Sure, Edward." Alice fought back the growl trapped in her throat. She had obviously been planning my wedding ever since I was born. She wasn't going to like having the tables turned on her. "Okay, Nessie, what would you like?"
My eyelids were growing increasingly heavy, and I realized that I was so incredibly tired all of a sudden.
"I think maybe roses . . ." I yawned into my palm and heard my grandpa's voice as he reentered the living room.
"Here's another pint for you, Ness--"
But I was already drifting into sleep. The next thing I knew, Jake's warm arms were cradling my exhausted body and carrying me upstairs to my room.
Attn: Please review! Do you think Carlisle is right in his diagnosis?