My Girl: Chapter 25

Omg guys! I just now realized I forgot to tell you that I was going to be away all last week. I am so sorry if I gave you guys the wrong impression. I have officially decided after this there will only be one more chapter. I was thinking though, that I might do a follow up piece including all the moments, only this time through Renesmee's eyes. You all have to tell me what you think.

-Kat386

My eyes scanned the cottage; which was now filled with big, ugly cardboard boxes and I was momentarily filled with sadness. We had raised Nessie in this house. We put her to bed countless times, comforted her more times than I can remember (she cries a lot.) She got grounded- although not often it did happen. Her and Bella fought like cats and dogs. I realize though that the house doesn't hold the memories. The family does, and we will always be family.

I finished lining the last box with gray duct tape and carried it easily to the stack. In an attempt to seem normal we were taking some furniture via a moving truck. We didn't take much though. Most of the boxes were empty. Emmett should be here with the truck within the next hour so I had a little while to make sure everything was in place. We hadn't even touched Nessie's room. Nothing except changing the bedspread and adding different photographs and bringing in a vanity had been done to it since she was a little girl. We weren't about to change that.

I heard a tiny cough behind me and recognized the voice without hesitation, "Hi, Renesmee."

"Hey, Daddy," she replied. I could tell her throat was constricted. "It looks different in here."

I turned to greet her, "Not much. We're taking boxes in an attempt at normality, but mostly everything is staying."

Her eyes widened in fear, "Did you take stuff from my room?"

"No, we didn't take anything," I said. "Like I said, almost everything stayed the same. We didn't even take many clothes. Alice looked at this move as a whole new opportunity to go shopping."

Her eyes returned to their normal size and she smiled, "Like Aunt Alice needed a reason to go shopping."

I chuckled, "But now she has an excuse." I looked behind Nessie, "You didn't bring my granddaughter?" The whole family had been trying to spend as much time with Sara as we could. We knew we wouldn't be seeing her nearly as much and everyone adored her. She reminded me of when Nessie was born. Anyone who met her just couldn't help but fall in love with her.

"Her and Jake are going to come by later. I was going to see if you guys needed help." She took a deep breath and glanced around, "But I guess everything is in order."

"Yeah. You know our new house is always open for you and your family."

"Thanks, Daddy. You mind if I look in my room? I want to see if I have any old clothes that I could use for Sara. I didn't realize how many clothes we'd go through in a day. I'm doing at least five loads of laundry a week," she sighed, but I knew she didn't mind. She had always wanted a normal life and this was one step closer to that.

I shrugged my shoulders, "I'll come with you." I followed her into the soft pink bedroom and breathed in the scent. It smelled like Nessie with a mixture of something sugary and sweet and then just a dash of wolf. I sat on the edge of the bed as she disappeared into the huge closet, and I could hear her rummaging around. She had grown so rapidly that we never bothered to throw her old clothes away. Plus, that would look odd. Those garbage men would probably be more than a little creeped out.

Sara was only a month old, so she really didn't do much, but she was a happy baby. She hardly ever cried and she loved to smile. Nessie came out with a tiny sweatshirt, a little pair of pants and two pairs of socks. She probably only wore each item once.

She sat on the bed with me as she neatly folded the clothes and tucked them into the small black tote she was carrying. "I hear Uncle Emmett coming," she whispered.

"Me too," I replied as I leaned my head on the top of hers.

"You have to wait for Jake and Sara though. They want to say goodbye," she said not moving.

"Of course," we were buying time now, and we both knew it. The noisy truck pulled to the front of the house, shortly followed by the sound of Emmett yelling to Jacob and Sara 'Hey! There's my gorgeous girl. Then Jacob replied 'Hey bro. I don't know you that well.'

She sighed and put her hand gently on my face, projecting me her thoughts 'We need to get up now.' At the same moment we stood and walked to the front door. Leaving behind a piece of the past and walking towards the next chapter in our lives. But here's the thing that I now realize.

Just because we're moving forward, doesn't mean we can't look back.