A/N: Even though this story got no reviews whatsoever on the last chapter, it was still the most viewed when I checked the chapter stats, checking in at around 166 views. So thank you for that. I didn't get any response to the spin off, so I'm guessing (more like hoping) that you all like that idea... From what I've got written, I feel like I'll be able to update faster, and get the story across more clearly. I also want to address my update schedule… I'm in highschool, so I don't really have a lot of time to make updates at least once a week. I do, however, try to update every two weeks when I have time to write. That being said, this story is about to wrap up, and what I have for the next one, it's looking like it'll be easier to post, having already written some of it. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

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

Chapter 23: Cliff Diving

The rest of the visit went by smoothly; I helped the other women cook and then clean. We'd made lunch, so when the guys came back they could eat.

"It has been two hours," Emily joked.

When Jake and Sam came back, they had four other men with them. They were all tall- though not as tall as Jake- and shirtless, but wearing jean shorts down to their knees and tennis shoes. One of them I recognized from the dinner the Cullens held my first night here. Paul- Rachel's husband.

As soon as he walked through the door, Jake came to my side, pulling me in a hug. I noticed from the corner of my eyes that Sam, Paul, and one of the other guys did the same thing to Emily, Rachel, and Kim.

"Hey... What's wrong?" I asked, running my fingers through his hair as he snuggles into my neck.

"It's just... Been a long day." He answered. One of the guys behind him cleared their throat. Jake slowly raised his head. "Oh. Right. Nessie, these idiots behind me are Quil, Jared, And Embry. Jared is Kim's fiancé."

"Oh. Nice to meet you." I said to them

"You too. I've heard a lot about you." Jared chuckled.

I glared playfully down at Jacob, who blushed, then put his head back in the crook of my neck. For some reason, that did weird things to me.

"Wish I could say the same," I replied with a chuckle.

They all laughed with me. I could feel Jake's breath as he laughed against my neck.

"Okay, guys. Come and eat, then Jake can go take Renesmee cliff diving." Sam announced.

"You're actually going to let me?" I asked Jake, who's face was still buried in the crook of my neck. I could feel him smile against my shoulder.

"Yeah. I promised you, right? Plus, I'll be there, so I won't have to worry about you doing something like your mother." he allowed, almost sounding like he was convincing himself rather than me.

"Okay." I grinned. "Hurry and go eat then!" I demanded with a laugh.

He laughed with me and raised his head. He looked me in the eyes, and then kissed my forehead before he walked away. "Have you already eaten?"

"Yeah… We snacked a little while we were cooking," I answered, sitting down in one of the two open seats at the table. Jake went to the cabinets and got down a plate, walked over to me, and sat down in the seat next to me before loading his plate up with two of everything. He dug in.

Useless conversation passed as the guys ate. It didn't take long for Jake to finish eating and tell me he was ready.

"Let's go, Ness, before it gets any colder." he muttered. He definitely wasn't ecstatic about taking me cliff diving, but he could see I was. He was putting me first- yet another thing I wasn't used to.

After goodbyes were said and hugs were given (the guys didn't do that- too girly, they said), Jake got me situated on his bike and took me to the cliffs.

"We'll start at the one closest to the water... I don't think I could handle you jumping from higher up." he told me as he parked the back in a secluded lot.

"That's fine. I just want to see what the big fuss is about. It sounds fun."

Jake nodded. "It is. But if the ocean is a little choppy, it can turn from 'fun' to 'dangerous' within seconds. Just ask your mom."

I looked at him. "I can't. You won't tell me her name."

It was a little appalling to know that he didn't think I noticed how every time he mentioned my family, he never mentioned them by name. It was always: "your mom," or "your dad". Never a specific person.

He froze.

"You noticed that, huh?"

I laughed, and told him exactly what I thought. "Jake, I'm not an idiot. You never say any of my family member's names. It's always what they are to me: 'your aunt,' 'your uncle.' Never their actual name." I shook my head and continued walking forward. "Why do you do that, anyway? I mean… You keep telling me they're not bad people… But if they aren't bad, why don't you give me a name?"

"Because, then you'd know who your family is. And they are good people, some of the best people I've met. But I don't know how you'll react when you find out. It may not end well for you."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, that it may not be good for you to find out just yet."

"And why not?"

He threw his hands in the air, exasperated. "The exact reason I keep telling you! It may not end well for you."

"Why would it not be good for me?"

He hesitated. "It's a lot to take in, Ness. A lot. It may be an overload for you." He shook his head. "C'mon. Let's go."

I followed him the rest of the way. When we reached our destination, he made me stay a few feet back.

"Okay, I'm going to go first, so you can get an idea of how it'll be. Plus, I'll be in the water if anything happens. You ready?"

I grinned. "Yep."

He grinned back and kissed my forehead. "Okay. Watch and learn." He turned away from me, and started running. When he reached the edge of the cliff, he jumped, diving head first into the ocean below. I ran to the edge right about the time he landed in the water. After about ten seconds, he surfaced.

"You gonna come in or what?" he yelled up at me.

I smiled again and stepped back. I ran to the edge and jumped, not attempting to dive because I knew that wouldn't end up good for me. I spent what felt like ages in the air, falling, descending towards the water below. Once I was surrounded by water, I kicked to the surface where Jake was waiting, a grin of his face.

"So? How was it? Everything you thought it would be?"

I laughed, carefree. "More. Can we do it again?"

He closed the few feet between us and kissed me. "As much as you want."

The rest of that day was spent jumping off cliffs, swimming around, and lounging on the beach. After a while, though, Jake started getting hungry, so we decided to go back to Forks and eat at the dinner. Having no dry clothes, we decided to stop at the house and change, plus get the car so we wouldn't get wet again.

By the time we arrived to the house, I was so cold I couldn't feel my body. Good thing Jake was warm, right?We quickly changed out of our wet clothes and into dry ones. Jacob grabbed the keys to Edward's Volvo, and we left to get food.

After we had both ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake, our conversation flowed with ease. I didn't ask anymore questions about my biological family; I'd decided it was too hard for him to talk about them and not say anything he thought he wasn't supposed to. Instead, we talked about him- what was he like growing up, did he love having two older sisters or hate it, things like that.

We sat in the little booth for hours before deciding to leave. By the time we got home, I'd laughed so hard at the stories of his childhood that I didn't notice Carlisle and Esme's car back in the driveway.

"I thought they weren't supposed to be back yet?" I asked Jacob.

"I guess they got tired of the rain. Alice probably made them come home. Or Blondie." he responded.

I rolled my eyes and got out of the car. Jacob followed me up the stairs to the front porch and opened the door for me. There wasn't a soul in the living room.

"Hello? Is anybody home?" I called out.

"Kitchen!" I heard a female voice yell. I was pretty sure it was Bella.

I walked towards the kitchen to find Bella and Esme sitting at the table talking. About what, I had no idea.

"Hey. What are you guys doing back so early?" I took the seat next to Bella and across from Esme.

Bella laughed. "Apparently, Rose's hair frizzes up whenever it's wet and humid."

I laughed along with her. "Ah, Rose's fault, huh?"

Esme and Bella both nodded.

"What did you and Jake do today?" Bella asked, almost hesitantly.

"We went to La Push and cliff dived. It was so much fun. We went to Emily's, too."

"That sounds fun. Was she cooking?"

"Yeah… There was a lot of food." I laughed. "By the time we left, though, there wasn't any."

"Yes, those guys can eat." she chuckled.

I yawned. "Well, I'm going to go take a shower and go to bed. I'll see you guys in the morning."

"Goodnight, honey." they both chorused.

True to my word, I went and took a shower, basking in the warm water. I then dressed in some shorts and a too-big-t-shirt, and put my elastic grey headband on to pull my hair back. I climbed under the covers, and drifted off.

I shot up like I'd been electrocuted, my heart and breathing was fast- too fast to form a coherent thought, if that was at all possible.

I quickly got out of bed and walked downstairs to the kitchen for a glass of water. I went over to the cupboard, grabbed a glass, and filled it to the rim with tap water. I drank the I whole glass in three painful gulps.

My breathing had just slowed to a normal pace when, suddenly, the lights flicked on. I quickly turned around, the glass still tightly gripped in my hand.

Who I saw wasn't who I had in mind.

Edward was standing in the doorway, hands up in a surrender position.

"Renesmee? What's wrong?" he asked, concern lacing his voice.

My mind went straight to the dream- the dream that I couldn't possibly tell him about. I waved it away.

"Oh, nothing a little water can't fix." I laughed weakly, and waving the glass in the air as I spoke.

He didn't buy it.

"Are you sure? Because you look… Rather pale."

My response was immediate: "I'm always pale."

"Not like that,"

"I said I'm fine!" I snapped. "Okay?"

Edward looked shocked. "Okay. As long as you're sure…"

"I am."

"Okay." he repeated and started to turn down the hall to go upstairs, but stopped. "Renesmee?"

"Yeah?"

"You know you can tell anybody here anything, right?"

My smile was tight, but immediate. "Sure."

"I'm serious." Was he ever.

I had to remind myself that this was probably not going to work out- not gonna last. At least… Not for me. No matter how genuine he looked.

"Jacob more than the rest of us." he looked disappointed in that fact, "Maybe you should start talking to him. It might help."

I stared at him for a minute. "You really think so?"

He nodded and answered sincerely. "I do."

I sighed and slid to the floor from where I was standing. He walked over to me and did the same.

"What's wrong?" he asked again.

"Nothing, it's just that… I'm not used to this. At all. Most families-"

"Nessie, we aren't most families." he said, sounding freakishly like Jake, and gently put his arm around my shoulders. "We know how you feel- we've been there. I, at least, can relate to why you're so guarded- why you won't let anybody do anything for you. I see that. Which is why you can tell me- any of us- anything."

I looked away from him and towards the entryway. It would be easier if I didn't look at him while I spoke. "You know, I've never, willingly, stayed in a foster home this long before?"
I could feel his gaze on me, surprised that I was actually opening up. And to be honest, it shocked me, too. And scared me.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'willingly'?" he asked gently.

I smiled grimly. I'd have to start from the beginning for that question. "Did Carla ever tell your parents about why I left the last foster home I was in?"

"No. She said that you should be the one to tell us, when you're ready."

I laughed softly, looked down at my entwined fingers, and took a deep, calming breath.

"Let's just say my foster father cared about me a bit too much."

It took him a minute to understand. "Oh."

I nodded, still not looking at him. "But, other than that… I left willingly. Like I told Jake: most families only want foster kids because of the-"

"Money." he cut me off. "Right."

I nodded.

We were quiet for a few minutes. The only thing making a noise was the tick of the grandfather clock in the living room.

I yawned, realizing how tired I was. I made to stand up; Edward dropped his arm from my shoulders to the floor.

"I'm gonna go to bed." I told him, rubbing my eyes. I made it to the entryway before I turned back to him. "Thank you. You know. For listening."

He smiled crookedly, making me think, and not for the first time, how much he looked familiar. "No problem, Nessie."

I smiled back at him, and turned to walk away again. A thought hit me.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked as he stood up.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Where did that nickname come from? I mean… I know Jake calls me that, and the first time he did, I thought it sounded familiar, but I can't place it."

He seemed to freeze. "Umm… I don't really know. I think Jacob told me a few days ago that it was because your name is so long. And, being Jacob, he was able to get 'Nessie' from your real name." he laughed awkwardly.

I nodded, and laughed a little back. "Huh. Makes sense, I guess."

He raised an eyebrow, looked at the floor, and nodded.

"Okay. Well, I really need to go to bed." I laughed again, feeling… Different. "'Night."

"Goodnight, Renesmee." he said quietly.

I went to bed that night feeling like I could breathe for the first time since I arrived.

A/N: So? What'd you think? I decided last minute to add the last part of the chapter in… I'd already had it written and didn't know where else to put it. Ironically enough, that was the first thing I ever wrote for this story. Anyway, I hope you like it. I'll update whenever I can. Semester exams are coming up, so it may not be for a while.

Laters,

~Em