Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight


Chapter Twenty-Eight

*Lizzy's POV*

My family was absolutely losing their minds right now. Renesmee and Jacob were being awkward as ever, my parents were worried along with most of the adults, Abby was freaking out, Lily was nervous, Aidan was trying to be optimistic, and I couldn't help but let the glooming feeling of pessimism take over me.

I was never like this. Two years ago I was happy. I was fine. I wasn't mad or angry. I was scared because of everything my family had been through, but now it was different. I don't know why I was so mad all the time, I guess because of what happened with Seth...But maybe it was other things. Everyone leaving me behind, moving, and now everything going on with Grace and the Volturi. I just had this gut feeling telling me something terrible was going to happen.

"I can't deal with this," Abby whispered to me, running a nervous hand through her brown locks. "I just...He's coming because of me."

"We don't know that yet," I pointed out to her.

"We do," Abby argued. "Let's be honest, why else would he want to come here?"

"Abbs, you're thinking way too-"

"I'm am thinking clearly!" She snapped at me.

"I understand you're scared but you don't need to get angry with me," I shot back, narrowing my eyes at her.

She instantly regretted her actions, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I replied softly.

"Look, I just need to think to myself," Abby confessed. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," I reassured her.

Abby then headed towards the direction of the apartment. She really needed to clear her head. I don't blame her. I needed some time to myself too.

I then walked outside, slowly closing the backdoor. I took a deep breath, letting the fresh air fill my lungs. I just wanted to runaway from here. Somewhere far away. I thought back to our home in Washington or the islands. I wanted things to be simplistic. I want to be having pretend war with Uncle Emmett, Uncle Jasper, and Aidan. I don't want to be in the middle of an actual physical war. Let's face it, the Volturi want us dead. Everyone keeps trying to tell themselves a war isn't coming, but it is. There is no doubt that we're about to be on the ride of a lifetime.

I grew up in the midst of war. We all did. Our parents tried to prevent it and they did a good job, for awhile. Now there was turning back.

My eyes suddenly fell on the figure in front of me skipping stones into the Vermont lake. I felt my stomach twist into knots just looking at him. Every part of my body was telling me to not even approach him, but Aidan's voice kept ringing in my brain.

"Go talk to him."

Slowly, I approached the figure. He didn't seem surprised by my presence, "I know you're there."

"I wasn't trying to be discrete," I told him.

"So...Whatcha doing here?" Seth asked, throwing another stone into the pond. "Because there's no way in hell you're here to skip some stones."

"You don't know that," I argued, picking up a smooth rock and flung it past his body. "I used to love it when you would take me to LaPush and we'd do this."

"I miss that too," He replied softly. "Look, Lizzy-"

"We need to talk," I announced, my voice tight.

"We do," he agreed, turning around now. Seth looked a lot different than I used to remember him. He didn't seem like a happy go lucky kid. He seemed so much more mature in this light. His face stoic.

"So..."

"Look, I'm sorry you felt suffocated," He muttered. "I just...I didn't think I was bothering you that bad."

"You don't bother me, Seth," I reassured him. "You mean a lot to me...I just can't help but feel like you look at this like your job."

"That's because it is!" he shot back.

"Well it doesn't feel real if you put it that way!" I cried out.

He stared at me in disbelief, "What do you mean?"

"It doesn't feel like a real relationship if you're only doing this because you have to," I told him. "Seth, I don't want you to tie your whole life down to me. It isn't right. You didn't ask for this."

"I can't help it, you're my imprint. And for starters, I want to be around you," Seth argued. "Look at Jake and Ness-"

"We're not Jake and Renesmee!" I hissed. "We can't compare ourselves to them! It's not working! We're different than them!"

"What do you want me to do!?" Seth exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. "Lizzy, there's not many people with a relationship like ours. Most wolves imprint when their imprint is a lot older."

I nodded stiffly, "And they just fall in love...Like that?"

"Yeah," Seth answered. "Or no...I don't know. I'm basing it off your sister. Like I said, that's the only thing that can guide me."

"That one day we'll just live happily ever after and fall in love?" I asked. "After all of this?"

"I guess," Seth said, shrugging. "I just always assumed that you needed your time, yes. You're still very young and I can imagine it's confusing, but this doesn't need to happen right away."

"But it'll happen eventually," I pointed out.

"Maybe..."

"Look...Seth..." I wanted to find the right words. I didn't know how to say it, but it just kind of slipped out. "I don't think we would work as a couple."

It felt as if there was a weight being lifted from my shoulders. At the same time, it felt like someone was tearing me in half.

"What do you mean?" He sputtered.

I bit my lip, "Look, I know I'm still very young. I'm in the body of a fourteen year old. I still have a lot of time...But there's the inevitable elephant in the room about where this'll go one day."

"Look, we shouldn't even be thinking about this right now-"

"Seth! I can't help but think about this!" I cried out. "I can't give you what you want. I never will be able to give you the life you deserve!"

He looked at me shocked, "How do you know what I want?"

"I'm your best friend!" I shot back. "I know how much you want a big family and a ton of kids. You want to be there for a bunch of tiny little Seth Jr's-"

"Lizzy! That's so far in the future!"

"It'll be here soon enough!"

"How sure are you about that? We have time, don't rush-"

"I can't have children!" I shouted.

Seth looked at me, wide eyed. I was breathing heavily, my chest heaving up and down. The tears welding up in my eyes, "Seth, I can't have children. I won't be able to give you a family. That's why we can't ever be together because you'll be absolutely miserable!"

Before he could react, I ran away. I kept running until I was far into the woods. My mind was racing and my heart pounding out of my chest. At this point, everything was just a blur. The tears were coming out like an ugly, snotty, waterfall. My fingers gripping to the bark of the tree nearby. I hated this. I felt vile. I hurt him.

Then, I heard a scream. My eyes shot up and suddenly I felt dread take over me. With that, my feet started to run in the direction of the screaming.

*Renesmee's POV*

"Momma, I don't want to go," Lexie cried out to her mom. "I wanna stay here with you, Daddy, Grace, my cousin, Nonna-"

"I know, sweetie, but you need to be brave," Ava told her daughter fiercely. I looked to where Elaine was handing Maysun the sleeping bundle that was Lucia. The little girl was out like a light. Meanwhile Tommy silently held on to his father's hand while Ava tried to console her daughter.

"I don't want to leave you all!" Lexie shouted. I could feel the old memories resurface of my parents sending me away. I've had to do this more times than I ever wanted to as a child. I mean, who wants to leave their family? Especially at this age. Looking at Lexie with her big doe blue eyes, I could see myself in her.

"Baby, you need to be strong," Ava told her.

"I don't wanna be strong!" Lexie cried out. "I just want my mommy and daddy."

"Sweetheart, it'll be all over before you know it," Ava tried to reason with the little girl. "You'll be in Florida, isn't that nice?"

"I can't!" Lexie sobbed, clinging to her mother's arm. "I just can't."

"It'll be okay, Lexie," I spoke up, startling the family. I felt bad since it was probably a private conversation, but I just needed to.

I then knelt down in front of her and grabbed both of her hands in mine, "I know what it feels like. I had to do this a few times. In fact, I was just like you."

"How?" Lexie questioned, nose scrunched up.

"I had to be sent away by my momma and daddy when bad guys were trying to get me," I explained to the young girl. "And I didn't want to. I was scared and I wanted nothing more than to be with my parents, but I needed to go. Wanna know why?"

"Why?"

"I needed to protect my siblings and my cousins," I explained to her. "I'm the oldest and it's my job to watch out for everyone else younger than me."

"So...I need to protect Tommy and Lucia?" Lexie asked softly.

I nodded, giving her a weak smile. "Yeah. Exactly. I know it seems scary, but you can do it. You're such a strong girl, Lexie. It's terrifying, but you got this. I promise. Jackson and Maysun are gonna need your help."

Lexie bit her lip before nodding her head. "Alright...I'll go."

"Good, girl," I breathed, smiling at her. "Everything will be okay. When you get back, your gonna have another cousin to play with."

"We love you a ton, baby," Ava now spoke, kneeling down to her daughter. "We don't want you to go, but it's for the best. Okay?"

"Okay," Lexie agreed, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck. Lexie then turned to where Carolyn was standing. Without hesitation she ran for her grandmother and hugged her by the legs. "Bye, Nonna."

Carolyn's lips formed into a smile as she then picked up the young girl and cradled her.

"You'll be brave, right?" Carolyn whispered to the girl. "Just like Renesmee."

"Just like her," Lexie reciprocated, hugging tightly to her grandmother. "I love you, Nonna."

"I love you too, Lexie," She replied.

Carolyn then gave the child to her parents so they could say goodbye to their children outside. Maysun and Jackson were in the black BMW out front.

"She reminds me so much of her grandfather," Carolyn mused to me.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes. Very much..." Carolyn trailed off. "That was sweet of you, to tell Lexie that."

I shrugged, "I've been in her place before. It's hard not too."

"You had to do this a lot as a child?" The older woman questioned.

I nodded, "Yeah...There's always someone after my family it seems."

"I know the feeling," Carolyn muttered. "I just wish for some peace, but I guess that's never an option."

"Peace does come," I answered. "So does happiness. It seems so unreal for anyone to be happy during the dark times, but they come. They always come eventually."

"Let's just hope tragedy does not strike us anytime soon," Carolyn muttered to me before walking away.

I sighed. That woman was odd, but none the less, she was hurting. It was understandable, in a way.

"Ness! Come in here!" Lily called out to me, walking over. "Grandpa's making some announcements."

"Alright," I said, walking over to where everyone was now gathered in the living room.

"We're going to start up patrols," Grandpa told everyone. "The Denali's will be arriving here shortly. Until then, we're understaffed. The wolves have a perimeter out back. So that means that the rest of us will have to go out. Carolyn and Elaine, we need two to possibly figure out a shield of some sort."

"You'll need my help," Ava pointed out. "Three witches for the protection spell is ideal."

"Masen and Lizzy could produce their shield," I pointed out.

"Lizzy's not here," Aidan said, rushing into the house. "Seth just informed me she ran into the woods. They got into a fight."

"Lizzy," My mother whispered. "Edward, we need to find her."

"Seth's got her," Aidan insisted.

"I hate to admit it, but we'll need you two up with us. We need your shield and Edward's mind reading," Grandpa said. "The rest of us will be protecting the house. Abby, you will be with Grace and Masen. Dru and Lucas you'll stay with them."

"But I want to help!" Abby protested.

"Dear, you may be a target," Grandma pointed out. "We don't want to see you get hurt."

"Alright," Abby grumbled.

"The rest of you stay in this house," Grandpa ordered. "I know you're all practically adults, but we need you here. Grace's is vulnerable right now. All of you need to be on your toes and if anything happens like she goes into labor, notify Ava or myself. I won't be too far and neither will Ava. We'll come back once we get bigger numbers."

My grandfather then turned to me specifically, "Renesmee, you and Jacob know what to do if Grace does go into labor, correct?"

"Yes," I answered, nodding my head. "Just like you taught."

"Taught?" Aidan questioned with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah," I replied, shrugging. "Grandpa's been teaching me a few things."

"Alright, until then we'll regroup once we know there's no threat," Grandpa declared.

With that, we went into our places. Unfortunately, that meant I was stuck with Jacob. I looked at my boyfriend. He shifted awkwardly against the wall, fiddling with his hands. I sighed, rubbing my arms.

"So..."

"So..."

"Ness, I don't know what to say," Jake confessed to me. "I'm...I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just didn't know how to."

I nodded, my throat tightening. I didn't know how to respond either.

"Jake...I don't know if this is the time to talk about it," I replied softly.

"Then when?" Jake asked, his eyes pleading. "I'm scared."

"You're scared?" I repeated, slightly amused.

"Yeah," He answered, fiddling with his hands. "I am...Okay? I just don't want to be facing whatever this is without you."

"I'll still be here," I pointed out.

"True, but I mean as my girlfriend. My equal. I don't like this, Ness. I just want it to be alright," Jacob whispered.

"I do too," I replied, rubbing my arms. "But right now, we can't. What's important is Grace. Our relationship isn't of value right now."

"Well just know that whatever happens, I do love you," Jacob told me. "Forever and always. I'm not backing away from the vow I made to you."

"And I'm not either," I responded quietly. "I just need some space right now. I'm not leaving you, Jacob. I just need to breath. We're not breaking up or anything, I just need to think."

"Okay," He agreed.

"Hey guys!" a voice interrupted us. I look to see Grace waddling over with Masen supporting her gently.

"What are you doing up?" I asked with a smirk.

She shrugged, "I needed to walk a bit. I'm going to be confined in that bed for god knows longer."

"You should really be in bed," Masen muttered.

"She needs to walk around," Dru declared, coming out from behind. "She's getting Braxton hicks contractions, plus walking is good for pregnant women."

"Are you sure?" I asked, gently going over to support my friend.

"She's not due for another few days, right?" Lily asked.

"Either way, let's just have her walk around," Dru said.

"I'm fine," Grace insisted, rubbing her baby bump. "The baby's just restless. Anyway, my fever is going down. That must mean something, right?"

"I guess," I muttered, rubbing her back.

Ethan then came darting into the room, his eyes wild.

"What's the matter?" Lily asked frantically, rushing to her boyfriend's side.

"The Volturi are here," Ethan said, breathlessly.

"Here!?" I cried out, wide eyed.

"Carlisle's dealing with them right now," Ethan explained. "I hope Lizzy gets here soon."

"Seth says he has her scent. She doesn't seem to be in danger," Jake added.

"Let's home so," Lily muttered, taking a seat on the nearby couch.

"Let's," Masen agreed, pressing his lips to Grace's temples.

"Why did Lizzy run off to begin with?" I asked.

"Seth," Aidan filled me in. "She's upset about a lot of things."

"Well this isn't the time for her to be getting emotional over these kinds of things," Masen mumbled under his breath.

"Excuse me?" Abby questioned with a raised eyebrow. "That didn't just come from your mouth. You're own sister!"

"Well it is true," Lily mentioned. "She's been all aloof the last few weeks. What's with the imprinting anyway?"

"Have you guys even paid attention to her!" Abby shouted. "If you actually asked her how she was, you'd know how upset she is! There is so much more than her relationship with Seth!"

"Why are you scolding at us!?" Aidan shot back. "You don't even know the real reason she's upset!"

"We're on the same side!"

"Can we all stop for a second and be mature about this!" I yelled, causing the whole house to be silenced.

Then, it hit me. The scent. My nose twitched and I turned to see blood pouring out of Grace's mouth.

"Grace," I whispered.

Her knees started to wobble and her body would've collapsed to the ground if Masen didn't catch her.

"Grace, baby," Masen breathed, cupping her face. "Grace!"

"I'm fine," She coughed, her breathing labored. Her face was now twisting with pain. "It's time. The baby wants out- now!"

She screamed, holding her bump tightly. I go to support her with Masen. I share a look with my brother. Fear in both of our eyes.

"Everyone out!" Jacob barked at the crowd gathering around my best friend. "Masen, Dru, and Ness stay with her. Lily and Ethan go get Carlisle or someone, anyone with medical background out of the spooky clan. Aidan and Jen guard the entrance. Lucas watch Abby. Got it?"

"Let's just get this over with," Masen said, scooping Grace in his arms. He then rushed into the office using his vampire speed, placing her on the exam table.

"You just need to hold in there, Grace. Can you do that?" I asked my best friend.

"I'll try," Grace breathed, closing her eyes tightly.

"Renesmee," Dru called over to me. I walked towards my fellow hybrid as she pulled me aside. "If they don't get here in time we're going to have to deliver the baby."

"But we should have time," I said nervously.

"Yes, but this baby's growth rate is fast. It might mean that this labor will be extremely fast," Dru explained. "I was talking about it with Carlisle and Ava the other day. If they aren't here in an hour, then we have to get the baby out."

"What happens if we don't do anything?" I asked meekly.

"Then the baby and Grace could both die," Dru said. "I know it's scary, but I believe there's something else wrong going on in Grace's system."

I took a deep breath and looked to where my brother was consoling his girlfriend, holding on tightly to her as she tried to fight this.

My stomach dropped. All I could do was pray Lily and Ethan would come soon with the my grandfather or Ava.


A/N: So stuff's about to go down. Hopefully I'll be able to work on this more, but I don't know when that'll be haha. Until then, enjoy the chapter and wait for the fireworks to set off ;)