CHAPTER TWO:
'Emmett don't crush her'
Edward Cullen was impatiently waiting for a phone call as he tapped his foot rhythmically against the hard wood floor of his family's home. He had reluctantly agreed for his daughter, Renesmee, to travel across country with her—he hated to admit it but the imprinting made it rather impossible—boyfriend. Jacob Black, a close family friend, werewolf, and inconsequently the love of his daughters life had taken her on a cross country trip, something his daughter had claimed was a rite of passage. He hadn't so much agreed to the trip as he had been blackmailed to agree by his daughter, who seemed to possess the same control over him as her mother did.
After being called a control-freak (which was totally not true) and being accused of trampling on his daughters privacy simply because he could read her mind, Renesmee had started with the timeless arguments of I'm not a baby, I'm legally an adult, you can't tell me what to do, you just don't want me to go because you hate Jacob and so on and so on until Edward felt like the most horrible parent in existence. Renesmee had finished Edward off with a good bought of waterworks. That's the one thing he hated about her being half human; she could still cry, which always tugged on Edwards heartstrings and he always caved. He was useless against those damn tears.
"Just relax, she'll call," Bella said, flipping through a magazine without really reading any of it. She looked at the supermodels dressed in fabulous clothing that she knew Alice would try to make her wear if she actually thought about the outfits long enough or visualized herself in them, so instead she just examined how fake the human models looked, with their layers of caked on makeup and airbrushed skin.
Even though it was a still photo, Bella's eyes were sharp enough to pick up the inconsistencies that the photographers had tried to hide. The truth was that people—humans—are not that flawless. Bella was surrounded by flawless, she knew nothing but flawless: the perfectness of her vampire family was eons above what mortal beings classified as pretty. The fake tan and fake eyelashes another model donned told her that much. Bella couldn't believe she used to be one of those teenagers that would take a passing glance at the magazines and then later cringe at her own reflection in the mirror. Bella shook off the trivial thoughts. They were meaningless; merely a distraction for her mind. She was worried about something and Alice kept shooting her nervous glances from the kitchen, which wasn't helping. If Alice was worried than how could this afternoon possibly turn out well? Edward was going to freak out.
Bella bit the bottom of her lip anxiously, a human trait she managed to retain after her change, which Edward found endearing. Her mind was busy fretting over the fact this coming phone call was bound to make Edward angry. She wouldn't have minded if Renesmee chose today to forget to call. But she knew her daughter wouldn't forget—she was part vampire and she didn't forget things. Plus Jacob had been given explicit instructions by Edward to make sure they checked in daily and he wouldn't risk Edward's wrath.
"But it's almost two o'clock and still, nothing!" Edward protested by slamming his fist against the window. The glass shuddered like a distant thunder.
"It's not two yet Edward, don't worry, she'll call," Bella muttered. If Jacob knew what was good for him he would make Renesmee call. On the other hand, if Renesmee knew what was good for her, she would postpone the inevitable conversation for as long as possible. Bella kept praying for one more day but she knew it would be today. She suddenly had the urge to return to the cottage so she was not present when the phone rang, but she knew all too well that Edward would just follow her there and then she would be alone with him as his tyrannical outburst. Perhaps that's why Renesmee had waited until she was on the other side of the country, with Jacob and his Rabbit, (yes, the Rabbit was still running) before bringing it up with her dad. Bella shrugged subconsciously to herself, it was too late to turn back now.
"I said once a day, every day, at two. Is that so hard?" Edward was pacing now, moving back and forth at speeds a human eye would not be able to see.
"Seriously Edward, you're going to stomp a hole through the floor and Esme is going to be upset. You know she just had the wood stained."
"Wood-smood," Edward mumbled. But that got him a well-deserved snarl from the kitchen, where Esme and Alice were trimming a flower arraignment. "Sorry," he mumbled under his breath, knowing Esme would hear him. "But how can you be so trusting, Bella? It's driving me mad, insane even, waiting twenty four hours between calls."
Bella bit her tongue to prevent herself from agreeing with the insane part. It wouldn't help the matter at hand. "Well, she hasn't been late yet and I trust Jacob."
"Well, I don't!"
"Yes, you do," Bella nodded, ignoring her husband's jibe at Jacob.
"Not anymore, not since-"
"Nothing's changed," Bella insisted, cutting off Edward's never-ending worrying. And you once had to trust him enough to leave Renesmee's life in his hands. Remember?"
Edward grimaced. He couldn't believe Bella was playing that card. He didn't want to think of the day the Volturi had come to destroy his family for thinking Renesmee was an immortal child, frozen at a stage of uncontrollable, unmanageable, blood-driven desire. According to Alice, that day could have turned out a whole lot different than it had and he and Bella would have left their only child in the hands of Jacob Black. Edward had trusted him enough then to know he would take care of Renesmee if he and Bella had been killed by the Volturi's guard. But now it was different. Jake and Renesmee's relationship had changed. They were no longer in that platonic friendship like Bella and Jacob had once had. They were both changing and Edward didn't like it, not one bit.
"That was before. She's older now," he spat angrily. It wasn't like Jake was just babysitting a five year old anymore. Their relationship was becoming steadily more serious and it frightened Edward, possibly more than the entire Volturi guard descending upon them.
"Exactly, she's older now. She's wiser. You have to trust her too, Edward. Jake just wants her to be happy. We've literally been over this a million times. You can read his mind; you know what he's thinking."
Oh, Edward knew very well what Jacob was thinking, and that's why he was so on edge. One day Jake's thoughts about Nessie were all she's so cute, isn't that adorable, is she hungry, does she want to go play. Then suddenly one day his head was filled with thoughts about the way her hair smelled and how he liked to watch her when she walked. Edward had almost killed him for that one. "Well she's still a child, she's barely lived," he spat.
"She's older than me when I had her, Edward."
"That is not making me feel better, Bella. I wish you would stop defending the wolf."
"Just calm down, darling; Jake is taking good care of her."
"That's what I'm afraid of," Edward muttered, clasping his hand to his forehead. Was it possible for a vampire to feel faint?
Bella sighed. Edward was already frustrated and he hadn't even spoken to his daughter yet. Where was Jasper and his mood control when you needed him?
At that moment Alice disappeared upstairs, returning a moment later with Jasper in tow. She forced him onto the couch with a quick peck on his cheek. Jasper looked from her to Bella, seemingly confused by the anxious emotions. Alice whispered something into his ear and he smirked, catching Bella's eye, who then looked at Alice whispering a silent thanks. Alice grinned knowingly, tapping her temple.
"I always know," she muttered.
Edward stared at her, but shook it off. He wasn't really paying attention. And he wouldn't until after he received the phone call. It was the same thing with him every day. The world would simply not spin until he had heard from Renesmee.
It was 1:55 PM, five minutes to go.
"I can't wait any longer, call your daughter and tell her to come home. She's been gone long enough; three weeks across country is sufficient. I want her home now!" he said, frantically shoving the phone at his wife.
"Edward, don't be ridiculous," Bella mused softly.
"Fine then, Alice, where are they? I'm going to get her," he asked through clenched teeth, grabbing his keys and heading for the Volvo.
"Edward you know very well that I can't see her future when Jake's with her."
"Yah, that's probably the way she likes it," Emmett said, snickering from across the room. "Ow," he groaned. Rose had punched his shoulder, but didn't bother trying to hide her smile. Up until now Emmett and Rosalie had been immersed in a game of checkers. And as if it was rehearsed, Emmett caught the lamp that shot straight from Edward's direction aimed at his head and righted it on the nearest coffee table before Esme walked in. Emmett whistled nonchalantly and Esme looked suspiciously from Edward to Emmett and back again.
"Knock it off you two," she said, pointing an accusing finger at them both. "That's an antique."
"Everything you own is antique," Emmett scoffed. But before he or Edward could apologize the phone rang. It barely finished the first droning tone before Edward had it pressed against his ear.
"Renesmee?"
"Dad, guess what Jake and I just saw? The Grand Canyon, it was amazing. I wish you could see it. We'll have to come back someday with mom. It's just, wow!" Renesmee's voice trailed off in excitement.
"Ask her if she's stopping by Renee's on their way back?" Bella whispered from her chair.
"Your mother wants to know if you're going to visit your grandmother before you head home?"
"Yah and Jake was also thinking about going to see Rebecca. And maybe spending a couple of weeks in Florida instead of just a couple of days, it's so sunny there and warm. We hardly ever leave Forks and I don't know if you noticed but the sun hardly ever shines there," Renesmee said sarcastically.
Bella chuckled but Edward roared, "Renesmee Carlie Cullen, you are supposed to be pulling into this driveway a week from today. Jacob Black, don't pretend you aren't listening, I can hear your wolfish snickering."
"Hey pops!"
Bella could hear Jake's cheerful voice coming through the receiver. Edward ground his teeth together hard. If only he could reach through the phone and ring Jacob's neck. Emmett barked a laugh that echoed through the house like a lingering taunt that only managed to fuel Edward's anger.
"But dad," Renesmee began.
"No buts, Renesmee. That was the deal!"
"But mom said!"
"Mom said?" Edward paused. "What did your mother say?" he said icily.
Edward turned, his narrowed eyes on Bella, who was still lounging on the white leather chair, pretending to be uninterested. Her face was the definition of calm and poise but inside her stomach was churning. Oh, crud! She had been outed by her daughter. Now what?
Emmett grinned. "Twenty on Edward," he whispered at Jasper.
Jasper looked at Alice for some help with the immediate future as she walked by with a vase of roses to place on the mantle. She rolled her eyes. "Don't start, Jazz," she murmured. "Besides, you know I'd never bet against Bella." Alice winked at him.
Jasper grinned, "Twenty on Bella then."
"I'm not fighting my husband," Bella muttered in mock horror. She really hoped this argument didn't lead to a wrestling match. She didn't want to tear up her clothes and give Alice a reason to go all America's Next Top Model on her.
"Definitely not in the house," Esme agreed, as Carlisle pulled her down next to him on the sofa. He planted a kiss on her cheek without looking away from his work. He was flipping through patient charts, updating records from memory.
"Renesmee, you start next semester at Harvard. You are supposed to be home with us for the next month," Edward argued.
"I'm not going anymore."
"What do you mean anymore? So you're not coming home next week and now you're not going to school? I'm not sure Jake is the best influence on you."
Edward could almost hear Renesmee roll her eyes, "This has nothing to do with Jake, dad, it was my decision and mom said…"
"Renesmee, I have to call you back. And no that does not mean she's off the hook Jacob Black, it means I have to have a discussion with her mother. And you better answer the phone when I call back young lady or I will track you down and drag you back home myself, is that understood?"
"Bet you couldn't find me," Renesmee mumbled away from the receiver as Jake snorted, but Edward caught most of it.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, okay; understood loud and clear. I'll answer the stupid phone, geez," she muttered angrily. Edward could hear Jacob mocking him in the background.
"Shut up Jacob," he said just as Renesmee slammed her cell closed. Edward closed his eyes and clasped his forehead in frustration. It was such a human gesture that Bella was momentarily captivated. "Bella, can I have a word with you, in private?" he was fighting to keep his composure.
Emmett snickered as Alice stopped humming the familiar tune that she had been carrying on throughout the conversation, as if nothing interesting was happening. "Oh Edward give the girl a break, she's not ready to jump into university," Alice chimed as she busied herself by fluffing the pillows Jasper had been leaning against, for the hundredth time. She had been mindlessly rearranging the pillows so often for the past several minutes, trying to 'see' how this conversation would end up, that she didn't notice that the once square pillows were now a funny oblong shape until Jasper clasped her hands and forced her to stop.
"You're killing the pillow honey," he said smirking. Alice looked down at the puffs of stuffing that were now protruding through the seams.
"You're in on this too?" Edward gaffed at her, taking her concentration away from the destruction she had been causing.
"Of course, who do you think packed her bag for the extra-long trip?" Alice asked as if it the answer was obvious and Edward was being overly obtuse in his questioning.
Edward laughed under his breath, but not in a humorous way, it was more of an insane type of laughter. He felt a wave of cool calmness cascade around him from Jasper's direction and he pushed red hot anger back at him twice as hard. He was not in the mood to have his emotions manipulated.
"The agreement was that she was to go to Harvard for a semester to see what she thinks of it. I don't want her settling down in La Push with Jacob yet. It's too soon. There is so much she should do first," Edward began.
"She doesn't want to settle Edward, but she's not ready for university, just let her be. It's just a year. One little year and then she'll buckle down and go to school wherever you want her to go." Bella crossed her arms defiantly and looked at her husband.
"Edward you're putting too much pressure on the girl, just let her have some fun," Alice said in a know-it-all kind of way.
"Oh yah, 'some fun' with Jacob; does that involve something along the lines of riding motorcycles and jumping off cliffs?" Edward spat. Esme, Rosalie and Emmett snorted. Carlisle rocked his head back and forth as if he was debating the validity of Edward's point. It was a fatherly type of gesture, fitting for Carlisle's personality and his role as head of the family.
Bella looked confused. "If you are referring to the escapades I had while still human then I must assure you that those were completely my fault. Jake had nothing to do with them. In fact I would say that if anything I was the bad influence," she said lightly, reminiscing about crashing the motorcycle Jake spent months refurbishing and the one and only time she participated in the thrilling and slightly dangerous sport of cliff diving.
"Oh, wonderful, then she's already got the reckless genes inside her," Edward mused. "That's all we need."
Bella sighed, "I wasn't in the best frame of mind if I recall correctly, which was partly your fault. Besides she's less breakable than I was, Edward," she quipped.
"But she's not infallible," he shot back.
"No, she's not infallible," Bella agreed. She didn't want to argue with him. It took far too much effort trying to stay mad when she looked into his perfect face. "Edward you just have to trust her. This is what she wants, just give her some space."
"Oh, I'll give her space, just you wait, a two by two metal cell of space." Edward was talking to himself now. He began dialing Renesmee again but Bella stole the phone from his hands and hung up.
"Don't call her right now, you're angry and she's upset. You'll only make things worse and then she really won't talk to you. Give it time, think it over and come around. Besides I already said yes."
"And you're the boss, is that it?" Edward mused.
"Yes, I'm the boss, and Harvard really appreciated the donation to the new Cullen wing of the library," Bella said standing. She skipped lightly towards her husband and ran her fingers through his hair, pulling his face towards her so she could reach his lips.
Edward wasn't pleased by the turn of events but couldn't refuse his wife when she was so eager for his approval and forgiveness.
Emmett groaned in disgust, "A fight would have been so much better. You two are so boring."
Everyone laughed and Jasper fed that emotion through the household until the tension had completely disappeared. He didn't like it when they were fighting; it gave him an emotional headache.
"Well, that was as uneventful as Alice said it would be," Rosalie muttered.
"You knew too?" Edward gasped in disbelief.
"We all knew, Edward. Renesmee has just been complaining about having to go to school, more or less, for the last six months. You know, for all the mind reading and stuff, you can be really dense." Rosalie stood and turned to look at Emmett. "Come on, you said your jeep needed new shocks. Let's go.
Rosalie pulled Emmett from the floor where the checker board was spread out.
"But I was winning," Emmett protested.
"I only let you think you were winning, babe," Rosalie said grinning. Emmett waved her off.
"She's telling the truth," Alice said easily. She was perched on the back of the couch now, her legs crossed as she examined her fingernails with extreme interest, mumbling something about a manicure.
Emmett looked over at her. "Yah, right!"
"Two moves," Alice said holding up her fingers in a V shape. "Then you were finished."
Rose laughed, dragging Emmett and his slack-faced jaw down the hall. They disappeared into the garage as Edward mentally cursed himself for not picking up on Renesmee's disappointment about having to go to school. She had obviously worked hard to hide it from him so she wouldn't disappoint him and had waited until she was far away before telling him. Could he be that unreasonable? Or was Renesmee just that stubborn? She was half her mother's daughter after all, and had definitely inherited Bella's pre-vampire stubbornness.
"What the hell is that?"
Most of the Cullen's froze, hearing Emmett swear loudly from the garage, but it wasn't until they heard Rosalie shriek, "Emmett don't crush her!" that they actually moved.
Alice sat patiently on the couch with Jasper. She already knew what was happening and had obviously enlightened Jasper. He still seemed mildly curious though. Alice had decided that unless it was a matter of life and death she was no longer sharing the monotonous details of her visions with anyone but Jasper because she claimed it took the fun out of life.