Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight
Chapter 1: The Lion and the Lamb
Nessie's POV
"Renesmee wake up!" Cold water splashed onto my face and I awoke with a jolt. My foster mother's angry face was the first thing I saw that morning. It took me a minute to understand what had made her so upset so early in the morning.
"I'm sorry!" I instantly pleaded.
"Little bitch. You should have been up an hour ago cooking breakfast!" she yelled. "Now get up before I beat the living crap out of you again!"
When I was too slow to move she grabbed my arm and yanked me out of bed. She threw me so hard thatI hit the floor with a thud. I got up as quickly as I could to avoid angering her further. I was running down the stairs when a foot appeared out of nowhere and sent me tumbling down to the bottom of the stairs.
My foster brother's laughter could be heard all over the house. I quickly wiped the tears out of my eyes because I knew that if my foster parents saw me crying they would really beat the living hell out of me. It's happened to me many times in the two years that I have been here. Especially my foster dad. He was drunk ninety percent of the time. So it didn't take much to upset him and when he did he'd beat the living shit out of me. Even right now I still have bruises from the last time he beat me. Which was only two days ago. My crime? He caught me eating a snack and accused me of 'stealing' food.
My body was still aching badly from all the bruises I had received. I cooked the ages and prepared the coffee as quickly as I could. I set the table as quickly as I could and disappeared to my room. I got dressed for school as fast as I could. I put on makeup to make myself look passably decent. I suppose I should've considered the makeup I was given a luxury. Actually the only reason I was allowed to have makeup in the first place was to cover up all the bruises I had.
I left the house without eating breakfast that morning. That was a usual occurrence though. I was lucky if they even allowed me to eat in the first place. Somedays they 'invited' me to eat dinner with them but most times they didn't. I the bulk of my nutrition from the school cafeteria. Usually I'd get their early enough for the free breakfast they offered their students. That was all I ate. Breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday. On the weekends I had nothing to eat. They simply wouldn't allow it. I was allowed to cook for them and them only. So it was needless to say that I was severely underweight. Rumors spread around the school that I had some sort of eating disorder. I didn't bother to correct them and tell them the real truth.
I sighed as I felt tears well up in my eyes. My life was never perfect but there was a time when I was happy. Not the depressed girl I was today. I have seriously contemplated suicide several times. I'd held a knife up to my chest, my adoptive father's gun to my head, and even crap load of pills in my mouth. But I haven't followed through with an actual attempt yet. I wanted to die. I still wanted to die. I just wanted the pain and the abuse to stop and I didn't see any other way out of it.
Most of all I wanted to be with my mother. I missed my mom so much. When I was twelve years old my mom had to be rushed to the hospital because she collapsed for no reason at all. She was diagnosed with brain cancer. I watched her battle and battle hard over the next two years. She probably would have made it but then one day my world completely fell apart. Two years ago on April 1st 2020 she had to be rushed to the hospital because she had a 104 degree fever and could not stop coughing. She was diagnosed with COVID-19 also known as the Coronavirus. I couldn't believe what was happening. My mom had the virus that was quickly spreading across the world. Her body was too weak from battling cancer so she succumbed to the virus three days later.
I never got to say goodbye as I wasn't allowed into the hospital at the time. Everyone was so terrified about the virus spreading even more. So much so that I couldn't even be by my mother's side when she died.
Since I had no living relatives I was sent to live in foster care. Where I was taken in by the Smith family. It quickly became apparent that they only wanted a slave. A slave they could make money off of. So they treated me like crap. No. They treated me worse then crap. My body ached from beatings so much that I'd forgotten what it felt like to be pain free. I just wanted to escape to die. To be with my mom once again.
I arrived at school way too late to eat breakfast since I overslept. But I was there just in time for the start of class. The first class of the day was English. My favorite subject as I loved reading and writing. We were currently reading Animal Farm. The period zipped by in a flash.
"Renesmee can you come here for a second?" Mrs. Stevenson's voice made me freeze on the spot. Had I done something wrong? I was literally the quietest girl in the school. I never spoke to anyone. Not even teachers unless I was directly called upon. So I didn't understand what I had done.
"Actually Nessie can you just come back at break time instead? I want to discuss the work you sent in last week for your creative writing assignment,"
I nodded even though I was now terrified. I should have known that sending in a twenty four chapter story was a terrible idea. Even when I sat down for my next class I was still thinking about my story that I had sent in. The story of the lion that fell in love with the lamb. Twilight. That's what I called my story.
No it wasn't my story. I couldn't claim credit for it. Twilight was my mother's story. When I was 13 years old I asked my mom to tell me about my biological father. What I got instead was a fantastic tale of vampires, werewolves, and true love. It was such a beautiful story where my mom had made herself one of the characters. Isabella 'Bella' Marie Swan. I fell in love with each of her characters in her made up story. Who would not want to be apart of the Cullen family? Carlisle and Esme were the most loving fictional characters I'd ever met. I'd kill for sisters like Rosalie and Alice and brothers like Emmett and Jasper. The Volturi characters never failed to scare the crap out of me. The newborn Army, Victoria, and James. I'd found them all scary and fascinating as well. I absolutely loved the wolves. Especially Jacob.
My mom told me everything that happened from the time that she moved to Forks all the way up until she married my father. Right after the honeymoon she and my dad were forced to go their separate ways due to some threat mom wouldn't tell me about.
My mom truly believed in her stories. She truly believed that they were real. But deep down I knew what the real truth was. Her brain cancer was causing some serious irreversible damage. That's why she believed that vampires and werewolves were real as well as everything else in her story. But who was I to judge when her stories made her so happy? I was happy to hear them. So much so that I asked her all the time to tell me the stories again and again. So much so that one day she laughed and said "Why don't you just record me so you can hear them whenever you want? As long as you never share the recording with anybody. I mean it Renesmee Carlie do not ever share the story with anyone. We don't want the Volturi to get involved," I just smiled and did exactly that.
After my mom died I spent countless nights transcribing the stories onto paper. It was a way to escape my grief. At least for a little while. I'd made my mom's story into three books. Twilight. New Moon. Eclipse. It was the Twilight manuscript that I had sent to my English teacher.
Once break time came around I nervously walked into class. I anxiously pulled at my sleeves to hide my bruises.
Mrs. Stevenson smiled as soon as she saw me. That was a good sign. "Nessie please have a seat. We have a lot to discuss,"
"Um okay?" It sounded like a question.
"Where did you come up with the story for Twilight?"
"It was a story that my mom made up actually," I confessed. "She would tell it to me all the time before she died. It kinda just stuck with me,"
"Your mom is dead? But you have parents?"
"Foster parents," I corrected. "My biological mom died from the Coronavirus during the pandemic two years ago," I tried not to cry.
"I'm so sorry kid,"
"Anyway she used to tell me that story all the time. There's a lot more to it actually. I have written more books. Of course no one has seen them but me,"
"Well Nessie can you send them over? I'd be interested in reading them. I believe your story is so beautiful that it should be shared with the world. My husband works for a publishing company and when I shared your work with him he shared it with his boss. They all love the story and want to publish it,"
"Publish it?" I gasped.
"The company wants to make a deal with you as soon as possible. The book would be released in only a matter of weeks as they think the story is perfect as is and doesn't need any changes,"
"That sounds good?"
"It's very good Nessie. How about I take you to meet with the publisher after school tomorrow? Or your foster parents can bring you if they-"
"I'd rather go with you if you don't mind," I could not believe what I was agreeing to.
"Okay Nessie. See you after school,"
For the first time in years I had a smile on my face. My mom's legacy would live on in her stories.
Suddenly my mom's words ran through my mind. I mean it Renesmee Carlie do not ever share the story with anyone. We do not want the Volturi to find out. I felt a shiver run down my spine but quickly brushed it off. My mom was gone and her stories were pure fantasy anyway.
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