Hello again. We get some insight into a few things this chapter… and a learn a little more about Seth and Olivia.
Many thanks to shepeppy, my beta and best friend. She beta's the crap out of my fic – literally!
SM owns Twilight. I own Jake's reservations in this chapter.
Chapter 25 – Past & Predictions
JPOV
"Hey Jake," Seth called over the rack as I searched for a black shirt in my size, "what do you think about this one?"
He smirked up at me holding up a bright pink shirt up to his chest, wiggling his eyebrows at me suggestively. I shook my head and sent him a half smile telling him he should ask Olivia if she wanted to get the matching one, before picking up three of the fitted black t-shirts in my size and tossing them over my shoulder with the other stuff I planned to buy.
Seth just rolled his eyes and put it back telling me he was just about ready to check out. I nodded and told him I would cash out now and meet him outside in the car when he was done.
I walked up to the register and dropped my things. While I waited for the leggy blonde behind the register to finish with her other customer I eyed the jewellery display without much interest. I didn't wear any jewelry, as a rule. I wasn't really one for accessories at all, but when you considered the fact that I occasionally morphed into a giant wolf, jewellery was definitely a complication that I could live without. So my eyes wandered, not really taking in any specifics, just needing something to occupy my thoughts with, other than her. I hadn't been able to stop thinking about her, how good it felt to hold her, kiss her... touch her since our time together this morning. It was all I could think about for the last couple of hours. I shook my head a bit, trying to banish the thoughts from my head and focus on what I was here for.
I went back to looking at the silver in front of me, forcing myself to pay a little more attention.
As my eyes wandered over the rows of silver it dawned on me that each and every piece in the case was completely unique. I glanced up to the sign at the top of the display that read "Lavish & Lime: Handcrafted one of a kind of silver." They were actually kind of nice, really interesting pieces, simple and somewhat unpolished, giving them a more natural feel than shiny machine-made mass produced pieces of jewellery. I looked closer at the jewellery, finding myself actually interested in some of the more intricate pieces, when something caught my eye. It was a medium length rope chain, with a simple hand crafted silver oval plate pendant, set sideways so that the necklace threaded through two hooks, one at the top of each side to hold the pendant up. The pendant was a bit smaller than the pad of my thumb. Etched in the middle of the pendant was a simple heart with wings. I smiled lightly as I looked at it, thinking of the person it reminded me of.
"Something catch your eye?" the blonde with the too short skirt behind the register asked, startling me.
I looked up to see her leaning over the counter, her head cocked to the side, glancing between me and the case in a way that suggested she was asking about more than just a piece of jewellery. She was snapping a piece of gum in her mouth as she chewed, twirling a lock of overly processed blonde-hair between her fingers and arching her back a bit in my direction, probably trying to give me a better look at what was under her very low-cut shirt. Yeah, right, I thought to myself. Do other guys actually fall for that? I fought back a grimace as I took in her expression and pointed at the silver necklace I was looking at without meeting her eyes.
She looked down and nodded, a small hum escaping from her, as she reached in and pulled out the necklace for me.
"There's an inscription on the back too." She flipped it over so that I could see the inscription and placed the pendant in my outstretched hand, brushing her fingers against mine.
"Hot," I heard her mumble under her breath, after touching my naturally warm skin. I rolled my eyes inwardly at the obvious double meaning in her tone.
On the back of the pendant, etched with the same tool used to do the winged heart on the front, were three words, written in a simple script.
'Love Without Reservation'
I smiled to myself, thinking that the inscription was a perfect way to describe what she and I had been struggling with for the last little while. From the time we moved to Alaska until now, there had been one obstacle after another. Her frustration, my misunderstanding, that prick Colin, my father's murder, then her attack, and now the PoD had us on the run. It just seemed like we could never take a breath and just be together for a little while. We were both struggling to figure out how to make this work.
"What do you think? From the looks of the smile on your face you've got someone special in mind to give it to."
The blonde was now ringing up my other purchases, several pairs of jeans and khaki cargo pants, shirts... practically a whole wardrobe. I had a lot of things that needed replacing, and managed to find most of what I needed here. The girls would probably be shopping for a while still; their stuff was never easy to get all in one place. Leah needed just about as much as I did, and so did Olivia. We decided Nessie should get a bunch of new things too, some things she might not normally wear. We all decided to do that actually, hoping to disguise ourselves a bit when we were out in public.
I looked up to see the blonde cashier smiling at me knowingly, although there did seem to be a bit of regret in her expression. I nodded and she took the necklace from me, placing it in a plain white box with a cotton liner.
"Should I wrap it up for her?" she asked, surprising me a bit. Huh, I thought, this one's smarter than she looks.
I smiled back. "Thanks. Yeah, that's probably a good idea."
She took out a simple pale green wrapping paper sleeve and slid the box into it before tying the open end closed with a small white ribbon.
"Do you want to carry it out separately or would you like it in the bag with your other things?"
"I'll take it, thanks."
She smiled while handing me the bags with my clothes and then the necklace.
"She's a lucky girl," she said as she passed the necklace to me.
I shook my head no. "You've got it backwards."
"What's backwards?" Seth asked, appearing out of nowhere behind me, checking over his clothes carefully to make sure none of them were on the wrong way.
The blonde and I laughed together.
"Nothing man, I'll see you out at the car." I said before turning to leave.
I made my way outside and put my things in the trunk of the SUV. I got settled in the driver's seat and texted Leah to see how the girls were doing with their shopping while I waited for Seth to return.
How's it going? You guys almost done? – J
I put the phone on the dash and looked down at the little present in my lap. I picked it up, turning it over and over in my hands as I thought about when to give it to her. We'd be running a bit after we ditched the car, at least until nightfall when we reached the train station. I would probably have to wait a while. Things might be a bit hectic until we find a place to settle in for the next couple of weeks.
The phone beeped and I set the little green wrapped box down on the dash to pick it up. I laughed when I read Leah's response.
Well, I'm done, but the other 2 are taking their time with some girl talk in the change room. I think we've got about another hour and half to go... 1 hour if I can help it. - L
I stifled my laugh long enough to type back. I glanced back at the box of doughnuts on the back seat and smirked.
K, Seth and I will wait in the car – with the doughnuts. Have fun... – J
That ought to make her day. Leah hated shopping, and would probably have rushed into one store and bought everything in one place, much like Seth and I had done, but there was no way Nessie and Olivia were going on their own, and it wasn't like Seth or I could take them shopping for everything they needed. It was just easier for everyone (ok everyone but Leah) if Leah went with them. To top it off, Leah loved doughnuts, and when they went to get breakfast this morning they had actually managed to find a place that made chocolate covered ones with real whip cream inside. Leah had ordered a dozen doughnuts to take with us on the road, but only one of that kind. They were her absolute favourite and she was saving it for after the shopping trip, something to look forward to after the torture. She would probably spit nails if she came back and found out that one of us had eaten it. I barely had time to set the phone on the dash again when her response beeped back.
Touch the chocolate-cream and you will suffer! That goes for Seth too. C U in 45. - L
I chuckled again, knowing that she would most likely make good on her threat if she came back and we had actually eaten it. She might be a girl, but she was a werewolf, and Leah was not one to be messed with. There were reasons I chose her as my second in command. Her surprising strength and... tenacity were part of what helped me make that decision.
"What's so funny?" Seth asked, dumping his bags in the trunk and hearing me chuckle. I waited for him to close the trunk and make his way over to the passenger seat before showing him the series of texts Leah and I had been sending back and forth.
Seth laughed and reached back to grab the box of doughnuts. He opened the lid and pulled out the chocolate-cream with a huge smirk on his face. He popped open the glove box and sat it inside.
"I'm not taking any responsibility for that when she gets back, and I am not going to save you when she's got you in a chokehold in the parking lot, Seth." I said, rolling my eyes and chuckling at him.
He shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows at me. "Yeah, I'd like to see her try. I'm her brother Jake, I know all of her tricks," he muttered under his breath.
I shook my head and chuckled at Seth's confidence. This should be interesting. The glove box gave me an idea though. I needed some place safe to stash Nessie's gift until I could give it her. I didn't want to put it in the back with other things, it'd probably get banged around a lot. I picked up the green package and slipped it in the glove box, on top of the shelf, before closing its door.
"Present?" Seth asked, eyeing me carefully. I sighed a bit, thinking that I couldn't really blame him for being curious. It did seem like odd timing to be buying anyone a gift.
"I bought something for Renesmee. Nothing much, just a little necklace. I thought it might cheer her up a bit." I said quietly, reaching for the doughnut box and grabbing the closest one.
"One of the handmade ones at the store? Those were nice, really unique. I'm sure she'll love it." Seth said with a smile and then grabbed his own doughnut out of the box before returning the box to the back seat.
We ate in silence for a few seconds, before Seth spoke quietly.
"How's it going with you two?" he asked hesitantly. I sighed a bit, not really wanting to talk about it.
"Pretty good, all things considered, I think." I said just as quietly.
Seth seemed to sense my reluctance and nodded before seeming to drop the subject and grabbing another doughnut from the box.
"Sprinkles or plain?" he asked me.
"Neither, I'm good." I said.
He grabbed the plain one for himself and then settled back in his seat before looking at the phone on the dash.
"It's good that Liv and Nessie are taking some time to talk, sometimes it's nice to have someone to help you sort out your thoughts," he said while looking at the window.
I rolled my eyes. Seth's attempt at subtlety didn't fool me.
I sat back with my head against the head rest and closed my eyes. I didn't really feel much like talking about some of the things that were going through mind, but I knew that if I didn't sort this out soon, I'd end up sharing my preoccupations with others whether I wanted to or not. This way I could at least process and filter my thoughts in private. And with the girls tied up for about another hour, now was as good a time as any.
"She's been having nightmares. That's why she hasn't been sleeping. She described them to me... and they're pretty frightening. She was so scared this morning that after she woke herself up screaming it took me over ten minutes to calm her down. She was sobbing and shaking like a leaf." I kept my eyes closed as I talked, head resting back, trying to sort through my thoughts about this as calmly and rationally as possible.
"It sounded like she was pretty terrified. We were going to come in and help, but she calmed down quite a bit when you went in, so we thought we'd give you two some privacy."
I nodded. "Thanks, I'm glad you did. She probably would have been embarrassed about having an audience if all of you had come in." I sucked in and blew out a deep breath before continuing. I wasn't really sure whether Seth would understand my problem, but once I told him what I was about to say next it was bound to come up.
"She said she's been avoiding sleep almost the whole week because every time she falls asleep she has a nightmare. Every time except last night that is. She said I make her feel safe. She slept peacefully the entire night last night. Her nightmare didn't begin until I left her by herself." I said in a low voice. My brow wrinkled and I sighed as I began thinking about the obvious solution to her problem, and the cause of mine.
"Well that has to be a bit of a relief, Jake. At least that's something you can help her with. I'm sure Leah would be happy to take over the night shift so you can stay with Nessie," Seth said with happy optimism.
I grimaced a bit and swallowed back my reluctance to talk as I opened my eyes and turned to face Seth. He was staring at me, his expression a mixture of surprise and curiosity.
"It's just not that easy Seth. I'd love nothing more than to stay with her every night... but when we're that close it's..." I shook my head and frowned turning to look out the window. There was no easy way to explain this. I could see Seth's reflection in the glass; his expression had shifted to concern. Aw hell, I thought, Seth's a great guy, like the brother I never had. If I couldn't talk about this with him, I couldn't talk about it with anybody.
I turned, looking through the windshield at the sun, and decided to lay it all out for him, and see what he thought. Maybe he was right. It might help to have someone else help me sort through this.
"The thing is Seth, she's got so much going on right now. Her emotions are all over the map. One minute she's feeling one way, the next she's completely turned around and feeling another. I know that she's never unsure about me... but I don't want to give her any reason to be." I sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. "She loves me, I know that. And she trusts me, I know that too. But when we're together, when we... kiss or touch I... I have a hard time trusting myself. She's sixteen Seth, and I'm twenty-three. I know she's what I want, but I don't want to do anything with her before she's ready. I don't care about waiting, I'll wait as long as she needs me to. But she's always so eager... I can talk to her, wait for her to tell me what she's ready for, sure, but I don't know if she's the best judge about what she is or isn't ready for right now. And when we're together like that, I can't be the best judge either."
I shook my head and took a deep breath trying to figure out how to put it into words. I continued, my voice so low it was barely a whisper.
"I don't know how to explain it Seth. Our connection is like... fire and heat and gravity, I'm drawn to her, like a moth to a flame. The sheer force of it is enough to scare me into not trusting myself with her. Nothing else exists, just her, and our heat - and that pull. I got a glimpse of how she feels about it when we were together this morning, she showed me without really meaning to. It's... intense for her, just like it is for me. I don't want to take things too far, and scare her or hurt her. I can't do that her. And sleeping in the same bed with her every night... might be more temptation than either of us can handle."
I felt like a complete jerk, basically admitting to Seth like I couldn't control myself enough to keep my hands off the woman I loved. But... it wasn't like that, because the pull wasn't just physical. Our connection went a lot deeper than that for both of us. But that's not what it sounded like, I'm sure. I let my head fall and ran my hands over my face, waiting for Seth's response. He was very quiet, but I couldn't bring myself to look at him, afraid of what I'd see if I did.
"Did I ever tell you what happened to Olivia before I met her?" Seth asked quietly.
I turned to look at him. Olivia? I shook my head, wondering where he was going with this.
Seth took a deep breath and turned to look out over the parking lot. His posture was tense, and his jaw clenched and released a couple of times before he spoke.
"Her junior year of high school she hooked up with Travis, you know, the dark haired, muscled up guy Connor hangs out with?"
I snarled lightly under my breath at the mention of Connor and his friends. If any of them were involved, this was bound to end up badly. Those guys were pigs, and only out for one thing. Why would a shy, sweet girl like Olivia get involved with one of them?
"Olivia used to be on the cheering squad and Travis was on the football team. Olivia said Travis hardly seemed to notice her. But when a couple of their friends had been dating and suggested they double one night Travis asked her out. She was flattered, because he was really popular and she never had been, so she said yes. She'd never really dated before, so they took it slow and went on a couple of group dates, and then he took her out just the two of them a few times too.
She said it was only their fifth or sixth date by the time Travis invited her to his parent's house one weekend while they were away for their anniversary. Everything started out ok, they ate and watched a movie, but after that... they started to mess around a bit." He paused here, swallowing hard and taking a deep breath.
"Things got heated, a little too quickly for Olivia's liking... and she told him to stop. She said she tried to... she..." He stopped here, unable to finish because he was choking on his own words.
His jaw clenched again and his hands curled up into fists on his legs, which were now shaking in a way that let me know he was struggling to control himself. He turned to face me then, a black fury and hatred burning in his eyes like I had never seen before. Seth was usually a peaceful person, he was not one to get worked up easily. Something horrible must have happened to her for him to be so angry.
Oh hell no, I thought. Not her. She was so tiny and delicate - anyone could see that she'd never have a chance to...
"Seth... did he? Was she...?" I whispered. I couldn't even bring myself to say the word. The thought of someone as big and strong as Travis forcing himself on someone as small and gentle as Olivia was just unspeakably wrong. The guy was massive; he was easily twice her size. She wouldn't have stood a chance defending herself against a guy like him.
I swallowed back the bile that was beginning to rise in my throat as I processed Seth's facial expression. He didn't answer me. He didn't have to. His silence, his expression, his rigid body, muscles tight and quivering, were all the confirmation I needed. He simply closed his eyes and began taking deep breaths. His jaw clenched and stayed that way as he fought the fury back, while I worked to still my own shaking hands. That sick bastard had raped her. Their difference in size led me to believe that it was probably painful, maybe even violently so. I was sick just thinking about it. My stomach flipped and then tied itself into knots as I thought about how it might have happened. I didn't want to think about it, but the images popped into my head anyway. I pushed them back and began seeing red as I thought about the chance that we had lost just about a month ago.
"We should have annihilated them that day in Alaska Seth! We could have beaten him to a pulp!" I yelled. I was infuriated! I jumped halfway out of my seat, my own hands curling up and shaking while glaring at Seth. He should have told me. I knew those guys were trouble, and we had the perfect opportunity to make sure none of them ever hurt anyone again, but he passed it up! It didn't make any sense.
He shook his head at me and then turned to look at me, his eyes tormented with frustration and anger.
"I would have killed him Jake," he whispered, his voice as hard as steel. "I wanted to the day I found out. But when Olivia told me about it, and she saw my reaction, she made me promise not to go after him. She said she knew I would lose it on him and she didn't want me punished for that. She said he already took enough away from her – she had never... she was a..." he tried to explain without saying the words.
"She didn't want to lose me over him too. She begged me to let it be. So I promised her I wouldn't do it."
"But what about the police? Seth, didn't she press charges? I know they were minors, but something could have been done." I couldn't believe that Travis could just do that to her and get away with it. He should have paid, and paid dearly, for taking advantage of a girl in that way, especially one as sweet and delicate as Olivia. It was a monstrous thing to do.
He shook his head sadly. "You know how shy she is. She couldn't bring herself to tell anyone. She knew people would want to question her, and that they'd want to look at her – her body for evidence. Her parents begged her to, but she refused. She was nearly hysterical with the thought of having someone examine her, she just wanted to be left alone. They tried, but they couldn't make her report it. She just... couldn't do it. She just kept it to herself. She said that I was the first one she ever told, besides her parents. She switched schools after that and didn't see him again until this year."
I sat in my seat, staring at the shoppers loading bags into their trunks or putting their children in strollers. My anger began to subside slowly, as did Seth's. The silence between us allowed us to breathe and calm down.
After a few minutes Seth broke the silence. His voice was quiet, but calmer than it had been before.
"What happened to Olivia was... terrifying and painful. There's a world of difference between that and what you and Nessie have. I was the first guy she trusted enough to date after that. She hadn't gone out with anyone else, even though it had been almost three years. I knew, after what she had told me, that it might be difficult for us to do things with each other, intimately. But we love each other, so we worked it out. She was vulnerable, kind of like Nessie seems to you, but in a very different way. We talked about it, and decided that she would be in charge of whatever we did, and how and whenever we did it."
He paused and chuckled lightly.
"She surprised me by being a bit more eager that I thought. I was sure she'd want to take things incredibly slow, and I was ok with that. But she didn't. She said she just wanted to be with me and love me in whatever way felt right. She knew what she was ready to handle and when. I trusted her to be open and honest with me about what she wanted and needed, she trusted me to respect her needs. And it worked out really well. She felt safe and in control of her own body, and I knew she was always comfortable because she promised she would tell me if she wasn't. Maybe you should try letting Nessie take the lead Jake. You love her – trust her enough to know that she would never want to put you or her in the position of being responsible for doing something you might regret later."
I stared up at the blue sky as I considered everything that Seth had told me. I had never really thought of it that way. I was worried about her being vulnerable, and not wanting to take advantage of her. But I would never hurt her, or take advantage of her the way that creep Travis had with Olivia. Seth was right, there was a huge difference between being together the way that we were, and what had happened with Olivia. I knew it wasn't the same, but the solution to the problem could be. We talked, asked questions and communicated with each other. I loved her, and I wanted her to be safe and happy. She trusted me... so I guessed I just had to do my best to trust myself, and trust her enough to know what was right for her and when. Whatever we did or didn't do would be about love, trust and mutual respect.
I smiled a bit as I turned to look at Seth. He was looking out of the side window. The girls were making their way back to the car. Olivia and Nessie had handfuls of bags and were talking and laughing a bit together, while Leah trailed behind. He was looking at her like she was the only person in the world. My smile widened a bit as I realized that it was the same way I often looked at Nessie.
"She's lucky to have you Seth. And thanks, man. I'm glad we talked." I said, punching him on the shoulder lightly.
He turned to smile at me and said, "You've got that backwards, Jake. Trust me, I'm the lucky one."
I laughed at the irony of his statement before nodding. We opened the doors and went out to meet the girls and help them with their bags.
I eyed Nessie as we approached and noticed that she seemed happier, less tense. She had been giggling with Olivia, talking about something they bought at the last store they were in. She was beautiful when she laughed. Her face lit up, hey eyes sparkled, and her laughter sounded like music, soft and light. I smiled at her broadly, liking the changes I was seeing. I guess a little girl time had done her good.
I took all of the bags out of one hand as I approached.
"Hey," I said, "you look like you had fun."
"Hey yourself," she smiled at me before standing on her toes and giving me a small kiss. "I did. Olivia helped me find a few things I was looking for, and we had a nice talk. Leah was really helpful too."
I snorted lightly and looked over my shoulder at Leah, who rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders before opening the door and climbing in to the back seat. She pretended like she hated doing things with the girls, but I knew otherwise. Shopping might not be her favourite activity, but she liked Nessie and seemed to be getting along really well with Olivia, so she probably did enjoy herself a bit.
We headed to the back of the SUV and were arranging bags to make everything fit when we heard a growl from the back seat.
"WHO. ATE. MY. DOUGHNUT?" Leah snarled, jumping out of the SUV and bolting to the back.
Seth backed away a little bit while I chuckled and held my hands in the air. Leah narrowed her eyes and studied my expression carefully, looking for any sign that I was lying. Apparently she believed me, because the next thing I knew she had Seth in a headlock and was threatening his life.
"Okay, okay!" Seth gasped as Leah tightened her grip. "I didn't eat it!"
"Where is it then?" she snarled.
Olivia, Nessie and I laughed at the expression on Seth's face. If Leah wasn't careful he was going to start turning blue.
"Glove box," Seth managed to get out between gulps for air.
She looked at me for confirmation. I nodded and she released him, but not before telling him he'd better find a safe place to hide if she didn't find it in there.
We all had a good laugh at Seth's expense before climbing in to the SUV and setting out on the road again. While we drove the girls took all of the tags off of the new things, folded them and packed them in our backpacks.
A few hours later we had reached the point where we decided to leave the SUV. I found a spot in the woods where the trees had thinned enough for us to get the vehicle into. Once I parked we piled out and grabbed all of our things. Seth and the girls went to work covering the back end of the car with branches to hide it, while I walked into the woods to have a meeting with Sam and Edward.
I phased and shook out my fur, stretching a bit. It felt good to be on four legs instead of two sometimes, especially since we were back out on the run. My senses were heightened as a wolf. I was always more aware of my surroundings, and felt ready to take on anyone or anything. I had grown to like, if not love my other form over time. It no longer felt like a burden to me, like it used to in the beginning. Renesmee changed most of that for me. She needed to be with someone strong, who could protect her against the dangers in her parents' world. No average human could do that for her like I could.
Jacob?
Yeah, Sam I'm here. Sorry we're a bit late. We stopped off to do some shopping and the girls took a bit longer than we anticipated.
That's ok Jake. Edward will be relieved to know. He was starting to get worried. He almost had Bella text you.
I shook my head and rolled my eyes. These check-in's with Sam and Edward had been my idea, a way to co-ordinate and find out what they learned to help us stay on top of the game. I should have known Edward would worry about us if we were late every once in a while. It was annoying, but I still couldn't say I blamed him... too much.
Well, everything's ok here Sam. Tell him to calm down. We're going to run for the next few hours straight and hopefully we'll make it to the train station in Vancouver.
We've been to Toronto, and everything seems to check out there. So if that's where you're planning to go it should be safe.
Thanks Sam. Any leads?
None so far. Even the Denali's were clueless. Whoever was visiting you in Alaska was very careful not to come across any of them. They were shocked to hear of what's been going on.
Hmmm, so the PoD seemed to know about the clan of vampires in Denali too. The more information we got, the more it seemed as though someone familiar with the Cullen family was behind this. I didn't bother voicing my concern about this to Sam, I was sure Edward and the others had already come to the same conclusion as I had.
Jake? Said Sam, interrupting my thoughts.
Sorry Sam, just thinking.
That's ok. We've got a plane to catch soon, so I won't keep you long. Edward and Bella are here and they wanted me to ask how Renesmee is holding up.
She's ok, mostly. She had a rough few days. I think she's a bit overwhelmed with everything that's gone on. Plus she lost quite a bit of sleep because she'd been having nightmares. Last night was the first night she slept in a while. We talked a bit last night, and then she slept and seemed to be feeling better afterward. She didn't have another nightmare until this morning. She had a good time shopping with the girls today, and that seems to have lifted her spirits.
I waited while Sam relayed the message to Edward and Bella, suddenly feeling very grateful for the fact that Edward couldn't read my mind from where he was and figure out exactly how little Renesmee's good night sleep had to do with our talk.
Jacob, you still there?
Yeah Sam.
Listen, Edward wants to speak with Renesmee about her nightmares. He seems really concerned about them. He's going to call your cell phone. Can you be back to Seth and the girls in a couple of minutes, to let them know?
Well that was a surprise. We agreed to use cell phones only in emergencies because we didn't know if anyone was tracking them. The phones were all new and traced back to unlisted European numbers, but we agreed not to take any unnecessary risks with them anyway. Edward must be pretty worried about the nightmares for him to call.
Give me three minutes Sam, four tops. Tell Emily I said hi, and stay safe.
Do the same for me. And would you tell Seth to check in at home when he can? Sue's ecstatic about him and Olivia and she wants to congratulate them if she can.
Will do. I'm outta here Sam.
Bye Jake.
I phased and dressed as quickly as I could before running back to join the others. They had just finished covering the car and were putting on their backpacks when I came through the trees.
"How'd it go Jake?" Seth asked as he adjusted his straps.
"Good. Nothing new. They checked out Toronto for us and said it's clear." I replied while walking over to Renesmee. She was fiddling with her straps too, trying to get the right fit for running. I didn't like the look of her bag, it seemed too full. She was mostly recovered from her attack, but running with a bag that full for a few hours would probably hurt her. I made a mental note to empty some of her things into my bag before we left.
"Ness?"
"Hey, Jake. Can you help me out here?" She was trying to adjust shoulder strap, but it was twisted behind her back. I lifted it a bit and straightened the strap before grabbing the bag and pulling it down her arms.
"Jake, what...?"
"Your dad's going to call any minute now." I said before dropping my voice to a whisper. "They asked me how you were doing, and I told them you were ok, but when I mentioned your nightmares your dad got worried and said he needed to talk to you. Are you going to be ok to talk to him about it?"
She closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath. Her shoulders slumped a bit. I hated seeing this upset her again after having a good afternoon and finally being able to forget about things for a while. She nodded just as the phone rang. Leah had grabbed it out of my backpack and was bringing it to us.
She grabbed the phone and answered quickly.
"Dad?" She said quietly.
"Yeah, I'm doing ok. Don't worry, Jake's taking great care of me." She smiled a bit and grabbed my hand, giving it a little squeeze. My heart gave a little squeeze of its own, hearing her praise. I had thought she might have been upset or disappointed with me for not being there this past week while she was having trouble sleeping and was obviously a bit overwhelmed with emotion. As usual though, she seemed to only see the best of my actions, forgetting everything else. Nessie always looked for the best in everyone.
I felt her grip tighten again as she began relaying her nightmares to her father in a whisper. Before long she was shaking a bit. I pulled her to me and hugged her from behind as she began to describe this morning's nightmare in detail to her father. She did her best to stay composed, but soon she was visibly shaking, her head bowed forward and she was leaning against me for support. I hugged her tighter and whispered in the ear that wasn't up to the phone that she was doing great and I was proud of her.
After a minute or so of listening to her father she spoke briefly with her mom, telling her she loved her and missed her. When she let Bella go she was back on the phone with Edward. After telling him she loved him and missed him too she turned to me and held the phone out.
"My dad wants to talk to you before we hang up," she said quietly.
I took the phone from her and kept the other arm wrapped around her waist.
"Edward?"
"Jacob, listen, we don't have a lot of time for explanations because we've got to run and catch our flight, but I need to talk to you about her nightmares," he sounded serious, and a bit anxious, which was beginning to worry me. I looked over at Leah and Olivia, and when they saw my expression they came over to take Nessie from me so I could talk to Edward in private.
"I'm listening," I said as I walked back toward the trees.
"Jacob when Bella was human she used to dream a lot, almost every night, which is rare. Most people don't have memorable dreams that often. Bella's dreams were a bit... special though. She seemed to have a sense of precognition in them. More often than not her dreams were quite accurate."
"Wait, do you mean she could see things that were going to happen in her dreams, like Alice does with her visions?" I asked incredulously. No one had ever mentioned this before. Bella and I were best friends. It was a bit of a shock to be learning this after all this time.
"In a way, yes. Bella's dreams weren't as accurate as Alice's visions, they seemed to encompass the general idea of what would happen, more like general predictions than precognition. The details were not always correct. Not all of her dreams were predictions either. But more often than not, the nightmares were. Given Renesmee's abilities, how she seems to have borrowed gifts from both Bella and I, but they manifest in different ways, her nightmares concern me. I have no idea what to make of them, because she's never had a nightmare before. I think it's important that we pay close attention to them and make sure she tells us as much as possible about them, just in case."
I was stunned into silence for a minute. What if Edward was on to something with this? Could Nessie's nightmares somehow predict the future? For the second time that day my stomach was in knots. The thought of any of those things happening to her in any capacity scared the hell out of me. I hoped and prayed for Nessie's sake that she had somehow managed to flip this gift around too and was dreaming up things that would predict the opposite of what would happen to her.
"Jacob, we have to go. I need your word that you'll keep me informed about her nightmares and let me know immediately if there has been a change to them or if she has a new one. Can you do that for me?"
"Yeah," I said quietly, "Don't worry Edward, you'll be the first to know. I promised to be there to help her if she has another one, and I'll get back to you about it as quickly as I can." I heard their flight being called for boarding in the background.
"Thank you Jacob. I know you're doing everything you can to keep her safe. Sam and I will be ready to meet again in two days time. We're splitting up a bit for a day so Alice can scan the future for us. If you need to talk to me before then call this number. If we don't answer assume we had to get rid of the phone and wait for us to contact you. Good bye Jacob, have a safe trip and... Thank you for taking care of my little girl." He said, slowing down to a murmur at the last part.
"Talk to you soon Edward." I said and hung up. I leaned against the closest tree and closed my eyes to get my bearings. This could potentially be huge. And it would scare Nessie. I had to take a few minutes to compose myself before I could walk out there and face her. I decided not to tell her about her father's worries that she may be somehow predicting her future in her horrible nightmares. I'd simply tell her that I promised him to help her through them as much as I could, which was the truth
I pushed off the tree and began to make my way back to the others as I promised myself that I would not allow any of the horrible things she dreamed to happen to her. If we knew about the potential danger then we would be prepared. Anyone wishing to carry out anything close to what she dreamed about was going to have to get through me first.