AN:
I'm really sorry about the wait on this one, I never wanted to go so long with posting chapters, but I haven't been feeling up to much lately.
To keep it brief without leaving you guys with no explanation, I am dealing with some things at the moment, and they've all just been resolved. I've mentioned before that I am using this story as a journal in a couple of ways to help myself heal, and some things that Daisy is dealing with are things I've had to face head-on in the last couple of years of my life. But I've managed to be strong enough to put someone away for a long time, and I'm going to focus on getting tougher and less afraid, and I'm going to let our Daisy grow with me.
Thank you so much to everyone who is still here reading, and for all of the reviews and favourites and follows I've received since last chapter.
Nessie had made enough to feed half the pack, but Jacob and I weren't complaining. Edward and Bella sat opposite myself and Daisy, his arm around her shoulders while they reclined easily in their chairs, watching the four of us eat as we conversed.
Nessie had picked at her plate, but pushed the majority of her meal to Jacob, who had cleaned it immediately and taken a second helping of food onto his own. Daisy was on her second plate, complimenting the food more than once to Ness, who smiled happily and told her to help herself before we took it all.
"How long are you in Forks?" I asked Edward around a mouthful of food. Daisy smirked up at me, but didn't say anything, and I kissed the top of her head.
"Just tonight. We're heading back after dinner. We'll be back in a month and a half for Renesmee's birthday, at any rate."
"Don't want to cramp the kid's style, and all that," Bella snickered.
Daisy smiled and swallowed her food, reaching for her drink across the table. "That's going to take some getting used to," she said quietly, her wide eyes focused warmly on Bella as she spoke. "It's hard to believe you guys are Nessie's parents, when she could pass as your older sister."
"Don't inflate their egos anymore than you already have, Daisy," Ness scolded gently. "I told them they didn't have to come all this way just for one night, Seth, but Dad insisted he couldn't stay away. Not when his favorite adopted son is celebrating their birthday,"
I laughed, and Jake rolled his eyes, too busy shovelling his mouth full of food to bite back.
"It's nice to get away from the rest of the family, even if it is just for a couple of days," Bella sighed, looking up at her husband lovingly.
"We thought we'd take advantage of a good run and some hunting. We're back at school now, so we're looking forward to as many weekends away as we can get."
"Just looking for an excuse to check in and make sure I'm taking care of your little girl." Jake muttered, lifting his beer to his lips.
"We don't doubt you're taking care of her," Bella smiled. "Edward wouldn't have agreed to leave if he didn't think you could manage."
"I believe I can take care of myself," Nessie snapped quietly. "Mom just wanted to get out of here so she wasn't as busy taking care of shielding me and Jacob from dad after we started dating."
"Yes, thank you for that," Edward sighed, squeezing his wife's shoulder as he raised his eyes to the ceiling.
I saw Daisy chew on her lip in concentration for a moment, perhaps trying to reign her own thoughts in at the turn in conversation, and I squeezed her knee under the table.
"So, Daisy," Edward changed the subject and smiled warmly at my imprint. "Seth and Renesmee tell me you're the creative sort."
"Somewhat," Daisy nodded. "I'm making a living off of it, which I like. I think they're a little too nice with what they have to say, though."
"The mural speaks for itself," Nessie nodded in the direction of the wide wall at the end of the room, and Daisy hung her head in embarrassment.
"What were your plans for the future? Continue working for yourself? I suppose that would be good for you, whether you want to travel back to Australia at some point."
"I don't think I'll be going back anytime soon," Daisy smiled. "Seth and I are building a house in La Push."
"Congratulations," Bella said enthusiastically, though I assumed she already knew. "When do you start?"
"The next month or so," I told them. "Just have to finalize some things and get the paperwork sorted. The guys are going to take care of all the building and things, so it should be ready in no time. I bought the land recently, took her to see it today."
"It's perfect," Daisy sighed happily. "I can't wait to officially live together."
"You're not sad to leave your home behind?" Bella asked.
Daisy shrugged, throwing me a small smile before directing her eyes back to her plate. "It's hard to miss anything when I have a new life that's one hundred times better here."
I had too much to catch Edward and Bella up on, and I asked them questions in return about their lives now that they were back at high school and living officially as teenagers again. Alice had enrolled along with them, waiting for the last of their family to catch up before she took her place at the school for their graduating year. The Cullens had moved back into the house they had waiting for them in Alaska a couple of years ago, and they were travelling to a school far enough away that they didn't have to risk running into anyone who would have happened to see them out and about.
Daisy had finished eating and leaned back in her seat, sighing heavily, her eyes focused on her empty plate as she sat in silence and listened in on our conversation. Nessie made a point of bringing a large cake to the table, with thirty-one candles lit up on top of the thick chocolate icing. The four of them sang to me, and I grinned as I blew out the candles, wondering if there was anything else in the world I could possibly wish for as I watched my imprint looking up at me with a reserved smile on her face.
"None for me," Daisy said softly as Nessie cut a quarter of the cake for myself and set another quarter on a plate for Jacob.
"Are you okay?" I asked her quietly, giving her a gently nudge. "I didn't think I'd ever see the day you'd say no to cake."
"Just feeling a little off," she said dismissively, giving me a small shrug to let me know to lay off.
It was almost midnight by the time we said our goodbyes, and I embraced Bella and Edward warmly, telling them I was looking forward to seeing them for Nessie's birthday. They were planning to stay for a couple of weeks, and they would be bringing the rest of the family with them, so I was sure to have plenty of time to catch up.
Daisy was still quiet when we climbed into the truck and started the drive back to her house.
"Hey," I said gently, giving her hand a firm squeeze. "Are you alright?"
"I don't know," she sighed, frowning slightly as she gazed out of the window. "I just don't feel myself."
"Is there anything I can do?" I asked her. "Are you sick?"
"I don't think so," she was thoughtful for a long moment. "I'm probably just tired. It's been a long day."
"I won't wake you up when I get up for work." I promised her.
She turned her head against the seat to give me a small smile. "Wake me up. I'll be fine. I can always go back to bed before I start on my work in the morning."
Daisy's POV
Almost as if the weather was aware of the changing of the season, the first day of September came with a huge storm that lasted three days. Seth and I locked ourselves inside over the weekend, finding more than enough to entertain ourselves with, and when the weather cleared up on Tuesday I was more than happy to reenter the world with a thick jumper and a pair of fleeced tights to match.
Nessie and I were spending a lot of time together with our wolves busy with work, and Claire had begun reaching out more and more to spend some quality girl time with us, complaining more than anything about her pregnancy and how Quil had been watching her like a hawk, more unbearably than usual.
I had picked Nessie up from her house, and she was chatting about her upcoming birthday party in two weekend's time as I drove us to Fork's community centre, our yoga mats stashed in the back seat where we would be meeting Claire for our second yoga class since she'd decided she needed to start exercising. She hadn't wanted to go alone, and Nessie and I were almost too eager to join her and get out of the house and have something the three of us could do together.
Claire grinned at us excitedly as she climbed out of the car, her tank top strained against the minimal bump she'd grown, the only indication on her otherwise skinny figure that she was carrying a baby at all.
"Good afternoon," she sang happily, falling into step beside us, a water bottle clutched in one hand and her yoga mat rolled under her arm.
"Where is your jacket," I shivered, frowning at her disapprovingly as I tugged down my own sleeves and gripped them tightly. I was done trying to justify Nessie acting like she felt the cold at all, but Claire at least was still human like myself, and the weather was too cold for September in Washington.
"I'm basically a hot water bottle at the moment," she told us. "I feel like I'm going to give birth to a fur ball with four legs, honestly. I guess being knocked up by a shape-shifter will do that to you."
"Rachel said she was warm, too," Nessie smiled. "How are you going?"
"Well, I haven't been sick for two weeks," Claire knocked twice on the wooden frame of the door as we entered the building, and we found our little back corner and rolled out our mats. "And I've finally got some physical proof I'm pregnant," her hand fell to her almost-flat stomach proudly. "You should have seen it the other night. I was huge! Quil couldn't keep his hands off me."
"I doubt you were 'huge'," I chuckled. Claire had been blessed with a frame like my cousin Raina, skin and bones through her limbs and waist that no amount of unhealthy eating could change, and full curves on her chest and hips. I had a wider bone structure, looking more athletic without really needing to try to, and I'd always been jealous of my cousin's tiny frame until I grew up and realised I was happy enough as I was.
"It's such a pack thing," Nessie mumbled quietly, though none of the other girls in our small yoga class were within hearing distance. "I remember Kim and Emily complaining that the guys were taking them whenever they could when they were pregnant."
"It's an animal thing," Claire agreed. "I guess that's the point of the imprint, though, isn't it? To impregnate us as much as they can and build a bigger pack."
"Well, Seth's going to be extremely disappointed," I giggled, but my eyes locked on Nessie, who smiled at my joke, but her eyes were guarded. Claire made another joke, but I laughed without hearing it and was saved from further conversation when our instructor started up her meditation music and called for our attention.
I'd always managed to get through my life being a little better at most things than anyone else, unless what we were doing involved running or strength. My wit and voice and flexibility were usually unmatched, and despite me being too anxious to hold a regular conversation with people I'd just met, I usually won them over when I could show off a little.
I was coming to terms that being friends with Nessie was putting all of that at a standstill. I was no longer the 'pretty one' when I hung out with her, and watching her extend her curvaceous legs, straightening them and balancing with no hint of discomfort, I had to push down a little jealousy, reminding myself there was something extra that ran through her veins to help with situations like this. Years of not dancing had taken my muscles back to something a little disappointing, but I managed to fold in on myself easier than Claire, who muttered quiet curses to herself as she wobbled and stretched out her hands for extra balance when she pushed herself just a little too much.
I'd found some happy medium between my two new girlfriends. Nessie was the most silent out of the three of us, smiling at what we had to say and making small comments to keep herself in the conversation. She was good at commanding attention, when she drew it to herself. Her unnatural beauty and the hypnotic sound of her voice could capture an entire room, so unnecessary words didn't grace her lips. Claire was easily one of the most outspoken girls I had ever met in my life, which made me think of Jasmine and helped me to feel at home most of the time. If she didn't like something, she would have no problem telling you. I appreciated that about her. There was no hiding things in an attempt to stay in your good graces.
I had good days and bad days. I could be loud when I was feeling especially brave, but on the other hand tended to shrink in on myself the moment I felt uncomfortable. It helped our little trio get along without any hint of unease. That, and the fact that we were all living aside a secret that wasn't ours to tell. We were sisters, in a way. The same way our partners were brothers. And I was starting to feel more connected to these girls, who I'd known less than a year, than the majority of my own flesh and blood family back at home.
We fell back onto our mats as the more tedious part of our class ended and our instructor guided us through twenty minutes of relaxation, something I'd felt I'd needed the last couple of weeks. My life was heading in the exact direction I was happy for it to, but there was a discomfort that had settled over me, without any explanation. I guess anxiety was the only explanation I'd ever really need, though it didn't seem to fit. I'd felt out of place, as if I was waiting for something and I wasn't sure what it was or when it would happen. I sucked in a long breath, exhaling through my mouth and adjusted my head against my mat as I focused on our instructor's quiet voice, trying to find peace at least while I was here.
The thin woman thanked us for our time and stood to switch off the mediation music, turning on the long fluorescent lights that immediately brightened the room. The rest of the class pushed themselves into a seating position, and I smirked as I swung my leg out to kick Claire's shin gently. She choked against a quiet snore and her eyes flew open, taking in the rest of the class gathering their things and making their way out.
"I wasn't asleep," she said quickly.
"Sure you weren't," I chuckled.
Nessie's lips twitched with humour. "I'll give you a hundred dollars if you can make it through next week's class without snoring, Claire."
"You're on," Claire muttered, rolling up her mat and stuffing it under her arm.
We walked the short distance to the small coffee shop on the corner of the next block, seating ourselves at a tiny round table and holding onto the cardboard cups for some extra warmth. Nessie didn't even attempt a sip of her tea, holding it against the wooden top of the table and letting it cool as we spoke.
"I don't see the point in Port Angeles this weekend," Claire sighed sadly. "I can't drink. You guys'll be having all the fun, and I'll be babysitting."
"Realistically, you shouldn't have been drinking even if you weren't pregnant." I reminded her.
"No one checks your ID when you walk in with four overgrown men." She insisted with a roll of her eyes.
"Well, you can't cancel now. The guys have been excited for weeks." Nessie told her. "And you can be Quil's excuse to have fun and not worry about you for the entire night. You're the new pack mother. Designated driver, and all."
"I'm not the new pack mother," Claire growled. "That title will always belong to my aunt. What's all this about, anyway? Why are they suddenly so keen to actually go out instead of getting drunk on the beach?"
"Change of scenery?" I offered pathetically. I think Embry had been the one to set things in motion, telling Seth, Jake and Quil that we were going out and leaving no room for argument. Seth thought he was restless and wanted to meet girls, which I couldn't exactly blame him for.
Almost as if Nessie had read my mind, she opened her lips. "Jacob thinks Embry is trying to broaden his horizons. Get out of La Push and meet more people."
"You mean, look more girls in the eye and hope he catches up with the rest of them." Claire scoffed. "He can complain about imprinting all he wants, but he's making it obvious that's what his big plan is."
"Don't be mean," Nessie scolded her gently. "I feel sorry for him. It must be hard, having Jacob and Quil so far gone, and now Seth."
I felt something like guilt flood my stomach, but Nessie spoke again before I had time to comment. "Jacob's being weird."
"What do you mean?" I asked, concerned.
Nessie sighed, running the tip of her index finger around the rim of her coffee cup before she flicked a handful of thick curls over her shoulder and shook her head. "I was hoping you guys would know something I didn't." She paused, casting both of us a look. When she didn't get what she was after, she continued. "He's been quiet, for like a month. It's getting worse and worse. I don't know what happened, or if it's something coming up, but he won't talk about it and I don't know how to get him to open up."
"You don't think it's…" I paused and thought about how to phrase the rest of my sentence. "You would know, wouldn't you? If there was…a threat around."
"It's not that," she told me. "He would talk to me about that."
"He sent Quil home from patrol last week," Claire mused. "They were meant to be on together. Quil said Jake phased in and told him he didn't need him straight away."
"Well then, he's keeping it from the guys, as well." Nessie sighed.
"Seth hasn't said anything," I offered weakly. "When did you notice he was being weird?"
"After my parents left," she told me. "After Seth's birthday."
"Do you think your dad said something to him?" Claire asked. "I thought he'd come around to you guys being together, or whatever."
"I would hope my father didn't say anything to him." Nessie said. "Whether it took sixteen years or not, he had to have known this was coming."
"Why don't you just ask him, Nessie?" I said gently. "You know the guys can't keep anything from us when we want to know."
"Well, he's trying his hardest to act normal, which is the stressful thing. When you've known someone your entire life, you get to know when something is off. I worry that if I bring it up it will frustrate him. He's trying so hard to go about our life like there's nothing the matter, but there's just something not quite right."
"Just ask him," I decided. "You'll enjoy your birthday more if you do."