Chapter 8 – Information
I pulled back my shield and looked at them. Renesmee's head was in my lap and I played with her hair. I didn't need to look at her to tell she was fighting to stay awake. Carlisle sat with us on the mantle, "You're the ones Senna told me about." Renesmee sat up, "What do you mean?" He smiled, "Senna told me about a young vampire and her daughter that she met 60 years ago who fed on the blood of animals. She told me the last she heard was that two of them moved to Canada." I glanced over at Edward, then back to Carlisle with a confused looked. "Umm, Edward wasn't with us. He was away from us for a while." I nodded. If Edward were with them, he would have seen who Senna was talking about and they would have know that much sooner. I shook my head, "Well, you know now. Oh, by the way." I patted Renesmee's head, so she would pick herself up. I went to the china cabinet and took out a metal box from the bottom drawer. I sat back with Carlisle and Renesmee, giving him the box, "This is the information I collected about Renesmee."
I opened the box, taking out the steel vile containing the piece of her placenta. I also had locks of her hair, a sample of her blood, but he may need a fresher sample and the journal I kept of her growth progress. "I wanted you to have this. I knew you would be really interested in this information," I smiled. Renesmee giggled, "If you need anything else, just ask." Carlisle smiled and hugged me, "I am sorry Bella. Esme is right, we should have been there." I groaned and rolled my eyes, "Ok, let me say this for all of you to hear, but I can take care of myself. As you saw, I've survived this past century and took care of my daughter. Trust me; I can survive on my own." I heard someone chuckle. I looked up and Jasper was looking away from me.
I winked at Alice and she smacked him in his head. Renesmee giggled and I smiled. I saw it was after 10:30pm. "Honey, it's after 10. Do you want to get ready for bed?" Emmett guffawed, "She has a bedtime. Wow Bella!!!" I glowered and Renesmee was getting ready to lean into a crouch. She had a short temper, "Ness, he was joking. Don't even listen to him." She looked at me and I stared back reassuringly. She sighed and bit her lip, "Fine." She glowered at Emmett and he winked back. She shook her head and left the room. I smiled, "She has a short temper." I mouthed, "She doesn't get it from me." Esme, Alice and Rosalie nodded in understanding. I had conversations with the entire family, as they told me about what they had done in the past century.
I noticed as we talked, Edward hadn't spoken. He glared at the floor, practically burning a hole in it. It's been more than a century, but I was still concerned about him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alice staring at me. When I focused back at Edward, he was staring at me, straight into my eyes. This stare used to make me blush, but that was long gone now. After listening to the Cullen's stories, I saw it was after midnight. "I'll be right back. I just want to check on Renesmee." I could hear her sleeping soundly. I sprinted up the stairs and looked in on her. She played classical music as she slept. If I turned it off, she would wake up. I smiled as I saw her clothes on the floor. She was just like me in that regard.
I dashed around the room, picking up her clothing and folding them. I kissed her forehead and went back downstairs. It didn't matter to me how old she was, she was always my baby. When I was heading for the stairs, I heard Edward speaking, "This can't be real. I mean we left so she could have a real life." I closed my eyes, ignoring the sting in my eyes, "Believe it or not, I have a real life." I stepped back into the living room and saw Edward made his way to stand by the mantle, "I have a fuller life than I ever thought I would have." I gestured to the stairs, "I have my own home, my own family and a job I love. Yes, my life had changed from where I thought it was going, but I couldn't be happier. I have a daughter I love more and more each day. I'm a mother, something I never saw myself as. For the longest time, my daughter and I only had each other, but when we came back here, our family grew. When we came back and the wolves realized there was a vampire in the area, naturally they hunted us. One day, Renesmee was out hunting and a wolf was stalking her. When she turned to defend herself, the wolf stopped."
Esme gasped, "He just stopped?" I nodded, "Yes, Jacob didn't hurt her." "Jacob?" Edward asked. I shrugged, "He imprinted on Renesmee." Carlisle stood with his son, "Imprinted?" I sighed and walked over to the couch, sitting with Emmett and Alice, "When a wolf imprints, they've found their soul mate. Their perfect match. Jacob told me that there was some kind of pull he couldn't ignore. Something drew him to where Renesmee was. And when he saw her, it was as if a steel cable linked them together, permanently. He couldn't hurt her and none of the wolves in his pack could either. When I caught up with them, Jacob changed back to human and he was so shocked to see me. He knew Charlie wrote to me, but that was so long ago. He had no idea how I survived her birth. In some ways, he thought I was dead." Edward hissed at that statement, but I ignored him. "So, I told Jacob what happened and he understood. Jake's the alpha of his pack and he made it so that none of his pack could attack me, being that my death would shatter Renesmee and he could not see her in pain."
I smiled, "Actually, I'm allowed on the reservation. Being that they know I hunt animals and being Renesmee's mom, I'm trusted to not hurt anyone." Emmett's stared at me, "You can go over the treaty line?" I nodded, "Yea." He stood, "Wow, just wow." Alice slid over to me and hugged me, "This is amazing. I am so happy you are alive. I've missed you so much." I hugged her back, "I've missed you too." Alice sighed, "I really wished you would have contacted me." She flashed a look in Edward's direction and I ignored it. I didn't want her mad at him, it wasn't his fault. "Alice, how many times do I have to say this? It doesn't matter now. You're here and so am I. Let's be happy about that." Esme sat with us, "You're absolutely right." I even notice Rosalie smiling, "So, how long are you and Renesmee planning on staying?" I sighed, "Well, she's a junior in the school. She did say she was interested in going to Washington State, but she was undecided. Renesmee knows that is where I was attacked. I think Washington State would be good for her, but I won't push her into a decision she doesn't want. It all depends on where Renesmee wants to go to school."
The Cullen's stayed and talked with me for the majority of the night. Carlisle was already fingering through Renesmee's progress journal. He was completely fascinated, "Bella, I have a question?" "Yes?" He sighed and closed the book, "So, Renesmee will eventually marry Jacob, being that they are in love?" I nodded. "Well, what about the venom?" I smiled, "She isn't venomous." I held my hand out for the book and began flipping through the pages, "Here. I wrote about that. I left out that when she was born, she bit me. I hurt, but there was no venom in her bite. When I spoke to Huilen about it, she told me Nahuel was the one to change her. He bit her when she tried to pick him up. Nahuel has three sisters, hybrids like him and none of them is venomous. It seems only hybrid males are the venomous ones." Carlisle's eyes widened, "That is fascinating." He looked at the clock, "I'm sorry, Bella. We monopolized your entire night." I saw it was 3am. Like before, time flew by when I was with them, "It's fine. I would have just read anyway."
They began to get ready to leave. All through the evening, Edward stared at me. I tried my best to ignore his gaze. Why was he suddenly interested in me? I mentally asked myself, annoyance thick in my mental voice. I hugged Alice, Esme, Carlisle, and Jasper. Emmett punched the back of my shoulder, knocking my throat into Jasper's shoulder. I whirled and caught him in a headlock, "I've wanted to do this to you since I was human." He chuckled darkly and took me up in his arms, "Alright, we are going to have this out soon," and he kissed me on my cheek. He placed me on my feet, took Rosalie's hand and walked out. Edward lingered in the room and I looked to him; he was still staring at me. I raised an eyebrow, "Is something wrong?" He stood woodenly, "I'm sorry. Good night, Bella." I watched as they drove away. Even in the night and through their dark windows, I could still see Edward staring at me.
