Hello Strangers!

Yes, this is going to be an Edward x Oc story though do be patient with me- I'm still working out how to write romances. I'm also going to take some time, before I get to that point, to write up Annie's childhood. And this chapter in particularly is going to focus on Renée.

Happy reading!


Chapter 2. Free but still not treading water.

Annie's pov:

Renée should have never had children in the first place.

But Annie found it difficult to hate the young woman when she got a front row seat to Renée wailing horrendously into her mother's shoulder for days on end. Remaining in Forks had become unbearable for Renée. She said it was because she felt stuck underneath the everlasting blanket of clouds. Feeling claustrophobic to the point where she felt near suffocated. So she escaped- taking both her daughters with her.

To be honest, Annie didn't think that it was just the weather that had bothered her new mother. She'd been privy to little inklings during the first few months of her new existence- had practically been forced to observe the people around her, considering that there was little else for her to occupy her time with.

Ultimately, it came down to the fact that Renée wasn't content with what Charlie could offered her- not that she thought he didn't love her enough. But rather that the life he offered her just wasn't what she wanted. Renée craved excitement in her day-to-day like she needed air to breathe. She needed to be able to go out her front door in the morning and not know what the day would bring her. She wasn't the kind of person who would flourish while maintaining a nuclear family lifestyle and that became more and more apparent to her and those around her the longer Renée struggled to settle into the role of housewife. That wasn't to say that she didn't love Charlie or Bella and her. It was just the kind of person Renée is.

So the divorce of her parents hadn't exactly come as a surprise to Annie, though that didn't make it all any less painful. She didn't hate Renée. Annie could sympathize a little too well with the young woman's stance to ever hate her absolutely- but she doubted that she would ever forgive Renée for what she had done to Charlie. Her new father was a good man. Serious and responsible- but he was kinder and more involved than Annie remembered her last father being. Charlie didn't deserve to lose both the love of his life and his two newborn daughters in only a matter of weeks.

But then again, Renée also didn't deserve to be stuck in a situation where she couldn't be happy.

Annie just wondered if bringing both Bella and her along had been the responsible thing for Renée to do. Sure, her grandmother- Marie Higginbotham- was probably the better choice to take care of them, if one were to compare her to Charlie's parents. As they weren't capable of taking care of Bella and Annie the way they needed them too since they themselves were in need of help to get through their day without issues... It's what ultimately made the court decided in Renée favour.

But if it were solely between Renée and Charlie?

There was no doubt in Annie's mind that Charlie would have won hands down.


Marie's pov:

Renée stood before her in deviants- a familiar sight really. Her daughter had always been stubborn. A trait, she was sure, she had inherited from Marie herself- since her worm of an ex husband definitely never showed to have much of a spine to begin with… She had to wonder though where Renée's unruly nature had come from. Marie had never been one to neglect responsibilities. Her parents had made sure to instill that particular work ethnic in her person- yet for some reason those same parenting methods seemed to do the exact oppositive for her own daughter. Renée had the tendency to complain and pushback whenever something didn't fit her personal agenda. It was something that started when Renée got into her teen years- a phase, Marie had comforted herself back then. But now it seemed that, despite having been a mother herself for close to two years, Renée was still the very same rash and childish person she'd been when she was in her teens.

"No."

"But mom-"

"No. You know that isn't our agreement."

"It's just one girl's night out!" Renée protested loudly, arms gesturing wildly in her aggravation. The two of them could hear one of the girls- probably Bella, that girl tended to cry faster than her little sister- start a new round of wailing in the other room. Her daughter willfully ignored the noise as she attempted to glare Marie down. "Just a small celebration now that the exams are finally over with- really, I haven't done anything but study these past few weeks. I think I deserve to unwind a little!"

"Then why not spend time with your daughters?" Marie asked her own daughter accusingly, her eyes narrowing as Renée bristled. "I might've been gracious enough to watch them so you could study- but don't you for a second think that I'm the one responsible for their care. You're their mother and yet these past few days you've barely spend any time with the-"

"I had no time to spend with them!" Renée cried outraged, "I've been busting my-" "Watch it, young la-." "-off for those exams! So that I can actually get a decent job for once and start getting my life back together." A lone tear slipped down her daughter flushed cheek- Renée pretended it wasn't there and Marie tightly set her jaw.

"And how do you imagine getting drunk with some classmates is going to accomplish that for you?" Marie demanded hushed and furious, "What kind of future exactly are you talking about here, Renée? One where you're able to independently take care of your children? Or one where you can just leave your responsibilities on the side and have a field day after field day? You can't do the last one if you want to do the first properly, dear- and I'm not going to be around forever to step in for you."

"I don't want you to have to step in." Renée muttered her frustration and parked herself down on the living room couch, Marie joined her there after a few second of silent contemplation.

"Good. I don't want to either." Marie admitted, "I love those little girls dearly, Sweetheart. I really do. But if you want to have any kind of relationship with them then you need to be here and spend time with them."

"I know." Renée sighed out and tiredly glanced over towards her old bedroom which now also seconded as a nursery for the girls. The crying had settled- and Marie was glad to hear that it hadn't set off the other girl. Renée grabbed a pillow from beside her and hugged it to her chest- her earrings jingling noisily as she did so- and then unceremoniously plopped sideways onto the couch.

"You're been doing well, Renée." Marie eventually relented, her daughter sent her an almost surprised look and Marie let out a huff of exasperated amusement. "It might not always feel like it- parenting can be a difficult and tiring job and to have to balance that with your other responsibilities can be even more so... Nobody who's ever had to raise children would say otherwise, believe me… But you've been doing well."

"… I just-" Renée stared unsurely, "I-I just thought that, after leaving Char- Forks that I would feel more… That I would feel okay again… B-But it's like that place is still sticking to me somehow… Like the walls are coming in at me and I just can't breathe right some days..."

Marie sighed again, though this time a sadness had managed to lace itself into her tone. She stood up from her seat and settled herself onto the armrest by Renée's head. Placed a hand in her daughter's hair and started to gently rack her fingers through it in silence until she felt her daughter relax under her touch. Granted, she didn't really understand the troubles her daughter was trying to work through. She was sure that this wasn't just something every new parent had to deal with- she, herself, had experienced some minor issues raising Renée when her ex husband had been off sleeping with who-knows-what… But by the way her daughter described it- it just didn't fit with her own experiences. It seemed more extreme- though she supposed that that description fit Renée just fine. Marie had been scared when she'd kicked her ex husband out of her home. Not for that sad excuse of a man to return but for her daughter- she feared not being able to do right by her on her own. Though intellectually she knew that Renée would turn out much better without that man in her life…

But Renée didn't have that problem. Charlie was a respectable man and loving father. Perhaps it was because her daughter had married so young and hadn't taken the time to really think about what she was doing until she was already patting down her swollen belly with a wedding ring on her finger. An ugly twist of disdain tightened in her person and Marie stilled her gentle strokes. She blinked down at her daughter as she rested on her couch in misery. She loved her daughter- she really did. But she couldn't help but feel unsettled and irritated with Renée's pitiful display. She always did this. Every single time the consequences of her actions came around to bite her- she'd either get outraged, self-pitying or just shove the blame off of her person entirely… And at times she'd even resort to all three if one were to allow her to do so... Her daughter still hadn't grown past her teenage attitude- but she was a mother now and Marie was damned if she allowed those sweet girls in the other room to suffer under her own daughter's shortcomings.

Marie gave Renée- who seemed to be close to dozing off- a look as she stood up from the armrest and walked off towards the kitchen, "I'm going to start our dinner- and you can go check on your girls and get them set up in their booster seats. You're feeding them today."

"What..? But-"

"After that, I'm going to check if you remembered how to use the washing machine- and then, we'll give the girls their bath and sent them off to bed."

Renée groaned as she sat up, "Mom, can't you just do it for one more da-"

Marie cut her daughter off with a stern look, "After that, I'm showing you how to properly balance your finances so that you won't run into any trouble once you're on your own."

Renée's mouth fell open and her eyes widened with something akin to shock- the young woman didn't utter a word as she seemed to take in her mother's stance. Marie leveled her daughter with icy blue eyes, almost daring her to object. Marie was adamant. There were many things she allowed to let slide in the past for her daughter's selfish wishes but not anymore. It was about time that her daughter gained some maturity- and if that meant that she'll have to become an unbending dictator to get her daughter in shape and wanting to leave her house then she will.


I think I might continue switching pov around- writing Marie's was fun!