A/N: Sorry I'm late! Here's chapter 22! Is anyone getting the feeling that this story is going to wrap up soon? Well, you're right! I expect this to be finished in about five more chapters, give or take. Please pay attention to the A/N at the bottom of the chapter! It is regarding the sequel. Any mistakes are mine.

That's all I have today! Thanks for reading, and enjoy! Also, remember that everything in italics are straight from the book and are Stephanie Meyer's, not mine.

*Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight Saga!*

Chapter 22: Cliff Diving (RPOV)

I woke the next morning by myself, in my bedroom. Jake must have brought me up here some time last night. I stretched and grinned as I thought about last night. I gingerly got out of bed and checked my phone.

I had one missed call from Bella, and two texts from Nik.

Nikolas: Are you coming to school today?

Nikolas: If not, I still think we should meet up or something… I really need to give you an explanation for the other night.

I sighed and checked the time. It was only 7:30, so I decided to call him. He picked up within five rings.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Nik, it's Ren. Listen, I won't be coming in today, and I think my friend Jake is taking me to La Push or something like that… I'm sorry." I stated as I walked out my door and down the steps to where Jake was watching TV and eating leftover pizza.

"Who are you talking to?" he mouthed.

"Nik," I mouthed back.

He made an "O" with his glorious lips.

Damn, what I would give to have those lips meet mine again…

"It's okay, Ren… I just… What I have to say, shouldn't be said over the phone. But… I guess it can wait." he replied in a carefree manner interrupting my reverie.

"I guess I can meet you somewhere tomorrow?" I said in a questioning tone. "Does that work? Would that be okay?"

"Yeah. That would be perfect. How about I pick you up around four? We can go to the Diner in town or something."

"Sounds great." I replied.

"Okay, Ren. I'll see you then."

"See you." I said, and hung up.

"What was that about?" Jake asked.

"He wants to give me an explanation about the other night… But, he doesn't want to give it over the phone- said it should be done in person… Whatever that means."

"Huh… How bad can it be though? I mean… it'll definitely be bad for him if he comes here after what he did to you. No boy in his right mind leaves you alone in a city you've never been to, in a restaurant that he took you to."

I laughed. "Well, he'll be here tomorrow about four, which apparently means you cannot be here for that."

"I don't see how you're going to get rid of me. The family won't be back until Friday." he smirked.

"Oh, trust me, I'll find a way." I smirked back.

"And, how exactly will you do that?"

"A good trickster never reveals her secrets." I grinned.

He laughed. "Oh, so, you're a trickster now, huh?"

I nodded. "Yep."

He leaned in and replied with an "Mmm…" before pressing his lips to mine.

One thing that hadn't occurred to me, was what this was. Were Jacob and I dating? Special friends? Friends with benefits? Never having done this before, I didn't know what to expect. Clearly, we knew each other from before I was in the system, but in what way? That was something I didn't have the answer for. That and, what did he expect of me? Did he think I was just some fling that would be done the minute I decided to run? More questions that had no answers…

That's why it only surprised him when I pulled away and asked: "What is this?"

"Huh?" his eyebrows knitted in confusion.

I waved a hand between our bodies- very close bodies, in fact. "This. What is this?"

"What do you mean, Nessie?"

"We make out. We almost had sex… What is this to you? Am I just another girl?"

"No, God no. Nessie, I can't tell you the last time I've been with a girl. After you left… Everything sort of… Didn't matter anymore. You, Renesmee, are just as important now as you were then. Nothing can change that."

"So, am I- are you… Are we… Dating?" The term was foriegn on my tongue. I rarely ever said words like that- "girlfriend", "boyfriend." I hated all the mushy-gooey shit. It seemed too… clingy for my tastes. I didn't like to constantly be around someone- that was. until Jake.

Until Jake I couldn't be around the same person for more than three hours. But here I was, hardly ever leaving his side.

Jake chuckled nervously, and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know, Ness."

"Because it's just that… I know you've known me longer, but I technically met you just a few weeks ago. And, though, I can feel this…" I waved a hand between us, searching for a word. "...this… this feeling between us, I don't know if I could handle jumping into a relationship right now. Hell, I don't think you could handle all the baggage I carry." I explained quickly.

"Nessie. You honestly think that I couldn't handle anything you threw at me? That's my specialty." he grinned. "Life has thrown me some wicked curveballs, so if I can handle them, then why wouldn't I be able to handle you?"

"Because you know nothing about me." I stated firmly. "If you knew half of all the shit that's happened over the past two years, you'd run screaming." Hell, I ran screaming. Well, running yes. Screaming, no.

"You keep saying that, Ren. I'm not going to pretend to know what it means, because, no matter how much I want you to realize that I'm not going anywhere, I'm going to gain your trust the right way. I know you'll tell me everything eventually- when you're ready." he said confidently, our earlier topic forgotten.

I studied him for a moment. "No matter how long it takes me to 'get ready'?"

"Whether it takes days, weeks, or months. I'll always be here, Ness. The rest of the family will, too." he vowed.

"Okay," I whispered quietly.

I didn't know how long it would take for me to tell them what had happened over the years, to tell them everything I'd been through before them; however, now that I was closer to each and every one of them- Jake, especially- I was more comforted in the fact that they wanted to help me. But there was always that nagging voice in the back of my mind that told me: "It's all fine and dandy now, but once you spill your spineless guts to one of them, it's all over. They'll send you to another family, because, let's face it, no family wants a screw-up like you."

… And that's what changed my mind completely.

It was hard contradicting yourself- you knew what was right on one hand, but the other, held everything that could go wrong.

Jake grudgingly dropped me off at Emily and Sam's later that day. We- meaning Jake- drove a beautiful black motorcycle, which he pulled- seemingly- from nowhere, to La Push in the pouring rain. Even Jake's leather jacket and a helmet he insisted I wear was nothing compared to the rain.

Emily's house was a tiny, gray house at the end of a lane. There was only one narrow window beside the weathered blue door, but the window box under it was filled with orange and yellow marigolds, giving the whole place a cheerful look.

When Jake and I walked into the house, we were immediately in the kitchen where three women were cooking. There was already a large plate of bacon, stacks of pancakes, a large bowl of scrambled eggs, and at least two dozen muffins on the table, but the women were in the process of cooking more. At the sound of the door closing, all three women turned to face us.

"Oh, Jake! Nessie! We've been wondering where you've been!" the girl who I remembered to be Emily greeted us cheerfully. She sat down the bowl of raw eggs on the counter, wiped her hands on the light pink apron she wore over her jeans and t-shirt, and came over to hug us.I embraced her quietly and quickly. "Jacob, Sam's outback waiting on you."

Jake chuckled. "Okay, Em. Thanks."

Emily walked away to resume her cooking with the other girls. Jake turned to me.

"I shouldn't be gone very long… You've got your phone in case Edward or Bella calls, or you need me for any reason." he emphasised the last two words. "Ummm…. Let's see… Oh." He leaned down to kiss me gently on the lips with a grin. "There. I think I remembered everything."

"Jake, stop acting like my father." I laughed quietly. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Sure, sure, whatever." he muttered. "Okay, I'm gone. Ness, again, if you need anything-"

I cut him off. "Call you. Got it. Now go, Jake." I laughed.

He pouted for a split second before it turned into a wide grin. "Bye."

"Bye."

"Jake! Take a muffin!" Emily demanded.

Jake laughed, but grabbed one on his way back out the door. "Take care of my girl, Kim. Don't let my sister or Emily torture her." Jake joked. At least, I was hoping he was.

"Hey!" Jake's sister shouted.

"You got it, Jake." another girl, who I assumed was Kim, replied.

"Okay, now that he's gone... " Rachel started towards me. "How's it been going, Ness?"

"Umm… Okay, I guess. Better than usual." I allowed.

"Good, good." Damn, you could tell she was related to Jake. "I'm not going to torture information out of you, I promise. My brother just liked to overreact a bit."

I laughed lightly. "Don't I know it."

Rachel laughed with me.

"Who doesn't know it?" Kim asked sarcastically.

"Jake." Emily answered.

We all laughed at that.

That escalated quickly.

After a few more minutes of going back and forth, I felt weird just standing there while they all cooked.

"Do you guys need help or something? I mean, I can't cook to save my life, but I can help clean up or…"

"No." Emily answered. "You're the guest, and the guest never cleans up. Just sit back and make fun of Jake with us."

"But it feels weird just sitting here watching you all cook while I do nothing."

"Suck it up, Nessie." Rachel told me. "You're not going to do anything but relax."

I bit my lip. "Fine."

"Good. It settled then." Rachel grinned and turned back to her pancakes.

"So, Nessie," Kim began conversationally, "how's it going with the Cullens?"

"Umm…" How to answer that… "It's really… Different, I guess. I've never been with a family who acts like they do. It's really, uh, refreshing, I guess you could say."

"That's awesome, Nessie. They're really good people." she replied. "Always have been. Not a lot of people saw that in the beginning, but it's true."

"They are. That's what's different." I said, mostly to myself, but they heard it.

"Ness, they're nothing like other foster families. I'm sure you can see that now… We can all understand why you had your reservations about them at the start, but… You're in good hands there." Emily told me.

"I know. At least… I know that now. To be honest, I regret ever thinking anything different." I said.

"Don't regret it. As I said before, we all understand why. You have very good reasons to not trust any of us, but you do. That's all we can ask of you. We won't push you for your story until you're ready."

"But I don't know when I'll be ready!" I exclaimed. "It'd be easier for you to just ask."

"That's pushing you, Renesmee. You're not ready for that." Rachel said gently.

"The reason I'm not ready, is because I'm prolonging the happiness I have with the Cullens- with Jake, hell, with you guys, even if I don't really know you yet. I'm so screwed up-"

"No, you're not. Nessie, you haven't had any control over your life for the past two years. This is one thing you can control. You're not screwed up- the people who made you think that were. Because of them, you've been second-guessing yourself, and that's not the way to live. You can change that. You're not going to tell us anything until you're ready. Do you understand?"

At Rachel's words, I finally understood. Nothing bad would've happened to me if it weren't for those other families, him.

My vision was blurry from the unshed tears. "Then I can never tell you. Because I know what I'm hiding, and I know why I'm hiding it. Because I can't through another family, Rachel. I can't, I don't have it in me to be thrown away again. And if they knew-"

"Nothing would happen to you." She walked over to me and wiped the tears that had fallen from my eyes, then grasped me firmly by the shoulders. "You'd still be part of this family, Renesmee, and to steal a line from Lilo and Stitch, family never gets left behind or forgotten. No matter what you think."

"You don't know that." I said weakly, shaking my head, unable to look at her as more tears fell.

"Yes, I do. You wanna know how?" At my sniff she answered her own question. "I've seen how you've already changed this family, Ness. We'd be nothing without you."

I laughed at the incredulous idea through my tears, but before I could comment, Rachel continued.

"Don't doubt that, Renesmee. I can see it in your eyes- you don't believe a word I just said, right?"

I bit my lip as more tears welled in my eyes. "How can I, Rachel? People have told me almost the same thing for as long as I can remember, and they threw me out on the streets within a matter of weeks. Or even worse, they-" I stopped myself before I could continue with a shake of my head. "I can't afford to let myself hope, Rachel. Well, anymore than what I already have. Hope just takes me further away from the person I am once all that hope is shattered. Hope ruins my life every time I let it come in once more. Hope- hurts." By that time I'd stopped crying, and turned into a robot of sorts- a self-preservation mechanism I used a lot. "This time isn't any different."

"Renesmee. It. Is. Not. The. Same." Rachel said, a little harshly, desperately. "Hope does hurt when you've been let down, and you've been let down a lot. But if there's one thing I can assure you of, is that this family- our family- will not let you down. I swear it."

"I can't afford to believe you, Rachel." I said again, tears running down my face one more. "Don't you see that?"

"Oh, honey." she whispered, pulling me into her chest as I cried. "I do. But you have to see what this family is doing to you. Have you ever cried over the thought of a family leaving you behind before?"

I shook my head. "Not in a long time." I whispered, my voice muffled by her red sweater.

"Then can't you see that it's different?"

I nodded slowly, after some hesitation.

"Okay." She pulled back, smiled gently, and wiped the tears from my face. "I think we're on the same page then. How about you start cleaning up while we finish with the cooking. The guys could be back any minute, now."

I sniffed, and nodded gratefully. "Thank you. For everything."

Rachel's smile widened. "It's what family does."

I was learning that.

A/N: *Sniffs* I will admit that I did cry a little towards the end… But we won't share that with anyone else.

Okay, the sequel. I don't think I'll be doing a sequel, after all. However, I will be doing a spinoff type deal. I have the name and summary ready, but I won't release it until the end of this story-which is quickly approaching. I have a few more chapters in mind before ending this, and then maybe adding a few epilogue chapters before posting the "spinoff".

I think that's it… Sorry for any inconvenience for the late chapter… I've already started working on the "spinoff", and that's been taking over my mind, lol. But, there's the chapter. Hope you enjoyed it!

Please review!

Laters,

~Em.