Renesmee

I took a couple more steps forward and crossed my arms. "And also, why did you only take him?" I hid the intense fear and worry from my face as I tried to look nonchalantly at Galen's unconscious body. He looked calm and unafraid, as if he was only asleep. I really love him, I thought hopelessly.

Aro smiled like he always did. Marcus looked blah and Caius looked relatively pissed. Then again, so did their Jane, who was giving me the death-stare.

"Nice to see you woke up," I said, nodding to them.

Caius scowled. "This morning," he growled. Jane hissed, and I held onto my calm state. I can do damage, I realized.

"Back to our subject," I tried, turning back to Aro. "My question."

"It is not in happiness," Aro said, "that I tell you that they all have been, let's say, tended to."

I felt terror seep into every nerve in my body. Jane collapsed beside me, and it looked like David was having a hard time staying awake. I felt myself shaking, and the tears flowed through my eyes.

"That's disgusting," I gasped. "How could somebody do something so vile? It's cruel... and pathetic."

I felt a hand on my shoulder and Mom whispered, "It's okay, we'll get him out of this."

My insides warmed again for a fraction of a second, and then froze again. "Is Galen okay?" I turned around, waiting for another reason to cry. Dad pursed his lips, and I choked out a sob. I spun back around and yelled, "What did you do to him?!"

Aro held up a hand, and I felt obligated to calm down. I thought he was going to say something, but Jane – their Jane – spoke instead.

"You left him weak," she said happily. "It didn't take a third of a second to knock him out. Who knows how long it will be this time?" She laughed, apparently proud of her acts.

Maybe I'll just knock you out again, I wanted to say. I knew I couldn't, or it would start something big.

"So, what?" I muttered. "Do you want some kind of exchange? What can I give you, so you will give him back?"

Jane smirked and moved to stand in front of where Galen lay. She touched Aro's hand, and he motioned for them to retreat. "Let's see," she said, looking up and pretending to think. "What shall we exchange...?" She put her foot under Galen's back and pushed him over. I hissed, and she smiled.

"Shall we go?" Aro said quietly to the rest of them, leaving Jane to tease me in the field. "Return quickly," he said behind him.

Jane nodded, her eyes on me. She went to flip Galen over again, but it ended up more like she kicked him. She put her hand to her mouth and said, "Oops, my mistake!" She kicked him again, and I took a few more steps forward.

"Don't –touch – him," I said dangerously. Everything I saw was started to tint itself with red.

Jane faked a gasp and kicked him again. He was still unconscious, but his face told me he was in pain.

I was only a few large steps away from Jane and Galen. I tensed, waiting for her to push me off the edge of sanity. Everything was red.

"I said, don't touch him."

Jane smirked and raised her foot again. I lunged for her throat, knowing it wouldn't hurt her, but forcing her to the ground so she couldn't kick him again.

She dodged me – barely – and I felt an electric pain inside me, forcing me to crumple momentarily. Jane laughed, but she quickly cut herself off when I stood up and grabbed her throat, lifting her off the ground and ignoring the electricity gaining power.

"How many times do I have to tell you," I hissed, "before you get what I'm saying?" I threw her to the ground and stepped on her throat. "Would you like three days of nothing? Because I would gladly gift it to you."

Jane pulled on my foot, throwing off my balance. I fell to the ground, and she pulled my arm behind me, threatening to break it.

Stay away, I warned Dad, seeing them ready to run. This is mine.

Jane pulled a little, and I gasped. I rolled towards my arm, pulling her down. With all the force I could, I punched her in the face, remembering the feeling of unconsciousness.

She was pushed back by the hit, and pushed down by the darkness. She lay in a heap, and I returned the favour by kicking her five times in the stomach, watching with eager eyes as she bounced back every time.

I turned back to my family. David was trying to wake Jane, and I vaguely remembered why she had fainted. I looked directly at Dad and said, "Shoot."

They all ran forward at the same time, pulling Jane apart. I immediately went to Galen, unsure of what to do.

Alice came up behind me and said, "Let's take him inside."

I nodded, the fear and sadness falling down on me again. All of them, I realized. Holly, Eric, Jessie, Alex... all of them. I stayed sitting on the grass as Alice carefully picked him up and disappeared towards the house. I fell onto the grass and let the grief crush me. I gasped for breath, rubbing my arm from fingertips to shoulder. I felt something wet near my waist on the left side, and I pulled my shirt up an inch to see a deep gash, and the blood slowly seeping from it.

I groaned and fell back to the ground, the shock finally catching up to me.

__________

As soon as I was awake, guilt flattened me past the floor. It was my fault. My fault everything happened. My fault Alex is dead. My fault Jessie is dead. My fault Eric is dead. My fault Holly is dead.

My fault Galen was almost dead.

I started crying before I was fully awake, hugging my pillow and wishing everything would just go away. I traced everything back to its roots, deciding that my going to school was the reason all this crap happened.

And it was. If I had never have gone to school, I would never have met Jane, she would never have met us, nobody would have had suspicions, our secret would still be a secret, and we wouldn't have been here.

But, a little voice reminded me, you also would never have friends like this. You would never have Galen.

But life would still be normal.

There is nothing normal about life.

For the first time in a while, I agreed. Life isn't normal. I need these people.