Edward
I'm going to kill them. I'm going to go over to that table and send them flying across the room. Bella wants to move away from Lacey anyway, now she has a real reason. It wouldn't take long. I could go so fast I would be a blur. They wouldn't even know it was me. All they would see is two bodies streaking across the room. Bella was looking at me. If I looked at her, I would soften. She took my hand and pulled me towards our lunch table.
Man I wish he'd go away so I could get at her. Or the blonde… The thoughts streamed from Jeremy, the one who made that sexual gesture at Bella. I'm going to kill him.
Shit Jeremy is going to get us killed if he doesn't stop looking at her… Rob looked down at his food when I looked at him. Bella reached up and kissed my jaw. I tuned the two boys out for the moment.
I'll take care of them. It was Emmet. I saw what he had in mind and smiled slightly but shook my head. Bella didn't like violence. Emmett was disappointed. I saw Bella take a bite of Pizza and couldn't hide my surprise and disgust. "What are you doing?"
"Eating Pizza." Why did she look so confused? I looked at Alice who kicked me under the table. "What's the matter?" Bella whispered very quietly even I could barely hear her. I finally looked up and saw Lacey standing at the end of the table. I had completely blocked out human thoughts. I shook my head and smiled up at Lacey.
"Hello, Lacey." I said politely.
"Hi Edward." I wonder if Bella knows that Camille plans on making a move on him. I should try harder to talk to Camille about it. I don't think Bella would be happy. Not that I think Edward would allow her too. I wonder where they went this time on their camping trip. I tried not to scowl. I didn't tell Bella about Camille's notes and I would not be pleased if Lacey upset her like that. "How was your camping trip this time?" She asked following up her last thought.
"Very relaxing, thank you." This was a ritual. She would stand at our table for a few minutes and then go away. Then come back for Bella and walk to Calculus. We decided this was all the contact needed to keep the future certain. I always thought the same things: Why didn't she sit down? Alice moved over for her, did she just want to sit next to Bella? Should I ask her? Lacey never answered me in her thoughts. She was impartial to most things. It's what kept her innocent I realized. Bella was staring at her pizza in disgust; I tried not to roll my eyes. She was so absurd sometimes. "How was your weekend?" Lacey's sudden shift in mood caught me off guard.
He doesn't like me, I know it. He looks annoyed. He thinks I'm harassing Bella. Amy's right, I'm hanging around her too much. I should stop following her around. "It's good, I have to go." She mumbled and walked off. Bella looked at me confused but shrugged it off. She probably thought Lacey was just shy. Bella was suddenly still behind me. I saw her eyes dart away from the area of vulgar thoughts so that I couldn't tell why she was so still. I saw it though. I looked at Emmett who was grinning dangerously at the boys.
"Don't worry about it Edward, they're just stupid boys." I noticed I was gripping the table too hard, wood came off in my hands. Bella took the wood and squeezed it to sawdust on top of her pizza and then took my hand. "What happened with Lacey?"
"She thought I was annoyed with her." I shrugged. Lacey was not really our problem anymore, not until Nahuel got here. Not until I saw my daughter again. Lacey was even out of Alice's thoughts while she continued on this track that we laid out for her. I tried to ignore the fact that Lacey barely had a choice. It wasn't our fault, if anything it was Nahuel's. This would still happen if we weren't here. We're just assuring her survival. At least that's what I tell myself when Bella suggests we move and Alice freaks out.
"Do you want to skip?" I whispered in Bella's ear. She nodded and we left right after lunch. We held hands and walked slowly. Something was bothering her but I didn't push. We rode home in silence. She was deep in thought.
"Can we hunt?" She asked as soon as we were out of the car. I nodded. We ran quickly through the woods, up north where the bears were as Lacey pointed out once. Bella didn't usually like hunting bears but she threw herself into it with such force and enthusiasm she scared me. Something was very wrong. I finished my bear and waited for her to finish her second. Her clothes were ripped and she was covered in blood, very uncharacteristic. She liked to show me up when she could.
"Are you okay love?" I stroked her hair back from her face and she sighed deeply.
"I'm worried about Renesmee." That caught me off guard, again. "I think she's a little sad. She wants a baby and I don't think she'll be able to have one." I nodded. Bella and I had already discussed the likelihood that she would have to adopt. She grew when she was younger but she doesn't anymore. Her organs, though they work, are still unchanging. Her skin is unyielding. It would most likely be very painful if by some miracle, or curse, she did get pregnant. The strain may even stop her heart. If we turned her into a vampire, would she ever forgive us? Would Jacob still love her, would they still be imprinted? Bella and I thought the best course of action would be for her not to get pregnant but she didn't listen to us anyway. Not when she wanted something bad enough.
"She'll be okay Bella. She's tough and resilient. I just talked to her on the phone; she and Jacob are very excited to come see the house next week. She'll be so happy to see you." I looked at her anxiously, wondering if that was all.
She looked up and traced the contours of my lips, "And you. She misses you more than you know." I nodded. I missed Ness too. We ran back home to find the others home from school. Bella kept me from going into the house though. "I have to show you something." Her eyebrows furrowed as she said this. Maybe this is what's really been bothering her. She went into the garage and spotted her motorcycle. I rolled my eyes. It wasn't the one Jacob gave her, that one broke down many years ago. This was a new custom made Harley Davidson motorcycle. She didn't care what it was. She hopped on and gestured for me to get on behind her. I sighed but obliged not wanting to push my luck.
We drove through the woods and got onto the highway. It took about fifteen minutes for Bella to get off the highway and drive down a narrow dirt wood surrounded by trees. She veered off the road and into the woods. "Where are we?" I asked her as she cut the motor and got off in one fluid motion. If she was still human she would've fallen on her face.
"Okay, don't be mad." It was never good when she started a sentence like that. She started walking through the dense foliage and I followed cautiously behind. "The other day I saw Lacey at the book store. She was about to walk home so I offered her a ride." She paused and I nodded. "So, I dropped her off and I got a glimpse of her parents through the window." She stopped walking when we got to the edge of the forest. She pointed at a house across from where we stood. It was perfectly average looking. White walls, blue shutters, brick steps, a well kept lawn and garden in the front yard and surrounded by trees in the back. I was confused.
"Is this Lacey's house?" What was she getting at?
"Yes… Look… there!" She indicated the bay window that faced us. I looked through and saw what must be Lacey's parents. They looked like her in most ways but something was off. Bella was watching me, waiting for a reaction. I looked closer and felt my whole body go still, my eyes grew wider as if that would help me see better.
"See what I mean? Are you mad I didn't tell you before?" She asked a little smugly, as if she was getting revenge for the things I had kept from her. I stared at her and back at the window. I was speechless.
Renesmee
I hated making human food and I wasn't good at it. The pancake in front of me looked more like a blob of goo. I just didn't ever feel the need to learn to cook like my Dad had for my mom. To be fair, he had a lot more time on his hands than I do. Jacob pretended he liked it but he wasn't a good actor. We often went to Sam and Emily's. Emily was a great cook, or so I surmised by the amount of food the others consumed. Jacob came into the kitchen, looked at the goo and called Emily. At least he was being honest this time.
"I just talked to my dad." I informed him when he hung up with Emily. I never knew how to define Jake's relationship with my dad. He and my mom had been best friends, still were in many ways. I got the feeling that the only reason my dad and Jake were friends were because of me and my mom. I heard stories, a lot of stories, since coming to the reservation about Jake and my mom and the Cullens. Some, like my Jacob's obsession with my mom, I wish I hadn't heard. It was weird.
"What did he say?" Jake asked, sliding into his shoes. He looked at me and suddenly his face was full of concern. Damn. Mom always did call me her little open book. I should work on closing it. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just miss them. I've never been away from them for this long." My voice choked up a little but I managed to keep my eyes from watering. O great job, I thought to myself, now you only half look like a child. Jacob was over to me in a second and wrapped me in a bone crunching hug.
"Do you want to leave early?" I whispered. He would do anything that made me happy.
"No, they don't get out of school for another week anyway." I looked at Jake and his eyes were bright with amusement. I couldn't stop myself. I started laughing so hard my stomach hurt. The idea of my parents in high school, and Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmett, was hilarious. Jake laughed with me though he still looked at me concerned. I identified the note of hysteria in my laugh and stopped immediately which freaked him out even more. I sighed and rolled my eyes, a gesture reminiscent of my dad. "I'm fine. Let's go get you some food."
"Do you want me to carry you?" He asked only half joking. I growled at him and stalked out of the little house and into the woods on my own two feet.
"I hope your parents are well Renesmee?" Sam asked me as I watched Jake devour well made pancakes, eggs, toast, sausage and home fries. It smelled bad. Sam was always courteous but he wasn't my favorite person. I looked around for their kids and then remembered they were at school, like my parents. Hah.
"They're very well. They love their new house in Vermont. I can't wait to go see them." The emphasis on "go" was a little much but it was his fault that they weren't coming here. It was his fault that Jake had to leave his pack again to make me happy even if it was only for a month. I knew they wouldn't care. My family expected this type of behavior from the pack. Well everyone but my mom. I knew it made her sad. She considered the whole pack her friends, and they were, everyone but Sam who was always cautious. Sometimes I had the suspicion that Sam held a grudge against my mom for having me though he never thought it when a member of Jake's pack was running with him.
Sam nodded at my answer as if he expected my hostility. That was annoying. "How's the baby Emily?" I switched my focus to Sam's wife. She was much more pleasant.
"Kicking and hungry." She laughed, though only one side of her mouth moved up, the other side was dragged down by scars. My throat burned a little, I should hunt but I didn't like to go alone, it reminded me of what I left behind. It was time for us to live apart and have our privacy and I didn't want to go back to school, pretending to be my mother's sister. I didn't regret my choice but I still missed them, a lot. Jacob stood up suddenly and put his plate in the sink.
"Thanks for dinner Emily, sorry we can't stay we have to make arrangements for next week." He didn't even pause he just pulled me out after him I barely got a "Thanks, see you later" out before we were out the door.
"That was a little rude." Not that I minded, I didn't want to be near Sam right now but I felt bad that Jake basically just dined and dashed. Jake just shrugged. I followed him into the woods, he was moving at a determined pace. "What are we doing?"
"Hunting, Ness." He said it like it was obvious.
"Don't be ridiculous you just ate." I stopped walking and he turned to face me. His expression was a mixture of exasperation and sadness. I didn't get it. "What's wrong?"
"I was being selfish. You need to eat too." He grabbed for my hand to tow me along again but I pulled it back.
"I'm fine Jacob. I'll eat when I'm hungry. Let's just go back to the house, okay?" I didn't like him taking care of me, doing things simply for my benefit. I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Isn't that why I left my family? Jake groaned.
"Ness, don't be stupid." He touched the circles under my eyes. They would never get as dark as my parents but they still betrayed my hunger. I jerked back from his touch, turned and walked away from him. I definitely just hurt his feeling. I sighed heavily and waited for him to catch up. He did in a second and we walked silently back to the house. I called Seth Clearwater right when we got in.
"Hey Bella," His enthusiastic voice always made me smile. Seth was always a good friend of my father and he had the best stories of my family.
"Hey Seth, want to go hunting?" Jake rolled his eyes and I smirked at him. That's what he gets for treating me like a child.