All eyes were turned to Charlie and I now, even little Blake peeked up at us from where he was now in his mom's arms. Jacob watched us, looking slightly nervous.
But Charlie sighed, moving awkwardly towards me, as if he wanted to hug me. "I'm alright. Gosh, I can't get over how big you are! Has it really been that long since I've seen you?"
I glanced up at Jacob, who nodded in encouragement, before I proceeded to answer him, "It's been a while." That seemed like a decent enough answer, after all he knew about my "condition" that caused me to grow too fast. Or at least what my parents had told him.
Charlie nodded, "It's felt like forever." I was getting worried, since he hadn't brought up my mom yet. But those thoughts came too soon, "I thought I'd never see you again, since I haven't heard from Bella in years."
"How many years?" I asked, a little excited, and a little quickly.
Charlie's brow furrowed as I said that, but he shrugged and answered, "I don't know. The last time I saw her was when she picked you up from my house all those years ago. And you were so tiny." He lowered his hand to show how tall I had been. My heart dropped. That didn't mean that my family didn't survive. It could just mean that they hadn't kept in touch with Charlie so he wouldn't know about them being vampires. I hoped that's what it meant, at least.
I couldn't say anything more to him, because I felt like crying. As soon as I saw Charlie I was hoping that he would be able to tell me more about the Cullens. Of course, I had gotten my hopes up too soon. Charlie didn't know what to say, and he rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to figure that out, "Well, it's good to see you again Renesmee. I've missed you." I looked up at him and smiled when he said that, and took a couple steps closer to him before wrapping my arms around his waist. He patted my back with a smile before turning back to the others and saying, "I can't believe my grand daughter is a teenager. I feel like an old man."
Billy muttered something along the lines of "You are and old man Charlie." Then they laughed, exchanging a few fun insults. It was good to see that they were still happy.
Jake was by my side again, putting his hand on my lower back. I had turned my eyes towards the two werewolves that were sitting down staring at the dirt. I still couldn't put my finger on it, but why did they look so familiar? Jacob was looking at them too, when I glanced at his face, and he was squinting his eyes. Finally he said, "Paul? Seth? Is that you?" I gasped, realizing that I did know who they were. They just looked so different...older...
They looked up as they heard their names, and stood to greet their old friend. But their faces held no trace of happiness, and their eyes looked lost. They shook hands with Jake as he said, "You guys are okay? Where's everyone else?"
"Dead." Paul mumbled. He motioned for us to follow them as they took a seat on the ground again. I sat on a rock, not wanting to get dirty, and Jacob sat on the ground behind us. Seth followed Paul around like a puppy and sat beside him. "Have you had any contact with the Cullens at all?"
When he said their names, my heart jumped. Did that mean they were alive? Jacob answered, since I seemed incapable of it. I was vaguely aware of Charlie, Sue, and Billy talking softly nearby. "No, we haven't yet. That's why we came back."
"Well they aren't in Forks. Hell only knows if they're even alive still." Paul mumbled, and glanced to see if I would get angry. I didn't, just worried as usual, and he continued talking. "So who knows if they are alive? But as far as we know, Seth and I are the only surviving wolves."
I gasped, remembering how many of them there were. Some of them were so young too. Younger than Seth had been. The fight must have been terrible, and I felt a tear fall down my cheek. Jacob's finger was there to wipe it from my face.
Paul sighed, "I don't like telling this story, but I suppose you guys deserve to know. Get comfortable. It's long, and it doesn't have a good ending."
What story in my life did have a good ending so far?
Nothing...yet.