Jacob walked me back to the front door of Carlisle and Esme's home and kissed me goodbye. The butterflies he left in my stomach fluttered in rapid yet beautiful agony as he drove off with Embry and Quil. I couldn't keep my smile inside.
I tried to creep in the door quietly, but as I put my dirty bare feet on the hardwood floor I knew it would be useless. I opened my mouth to tell everyone I was back, but I decided to listen when I heard a conversation going on in the kitchen.
Aunt Rosalie rose her voice, which caught me off guard. I would have to be extremely quiet.
"We have to, Rose. It was going to have to happen sometime." Esme said.
"This is going to rip her world apart..."
"She'll be fine." My father said. "This is her first move of many. She'll get used to it."
"It's unfair, is all. She's so happy here."
"She might be happy, but she's not safe. None of us are anymore." I began to wonder if they were talking about me.
"Edward is right, Rosalie. We have been here far too long. We're really pushing our limits here." Rosalie didn't respond to Carlisle's warning.
"Edward and I will tell her." My mother chimed in. "We're her parents. She needs to hear it from us. And I know how to calm her down if she gets upset."
"When she gets upset." Aunt Rosalie said.
I couldn't stand by quietly any longer. I tip toed into the kitchen. My whole family had their eyes on me before I entered the room.
"What am I going to get upset about?" They all just kept staring.
"Will someone please tell me?"
My mother broke away from my father. "Why don't you sit down."
"No. No, I'm not going to sit down. You are going to tell me what is going on." Everyone, including me was shocked. I had never been forceful towards anyone before. And of course the first person I had to yell at ever in my life was my mother. I could have died from guilt.
"Renesmee, it's time for a change. We have stayed in Forks for a really long time. Longer then we should have. We have to leave before someone finds us."
"Where are we going?"
My mother froze.
"France." My father replied for her.
Suddenly it got hard to breathe. My chest got tight and I could feel tears swelling in my eyes.
"What?"
"It's a small town called Uzes. It's very-"
"I swear to God, Dad, if you start talking about it's rich history I am going to freak out..."
"Renesmee," My mother said as she grabbed my arm. "This is going to be your first chance at a normal life. You can make friends and go out and-"
"I don't care, Mom! This is my home. This is my home!" I said, stomping my foot on the ground like a toddler.
"Renesme, we're your family. You have to come with us."
"No I don't. I can stay with Jacob."
"Renesmee-"
"No, no. Will you just listen to me?" Everyone stopped and looked at me. I turned to Alice and Jasper who were standing behind me so I could tell everyone at once.
"Since Billy passed away Jake has been really lonely and he always tells me that he can't wait until we can live together. It wouldn't be a problem at all. I could go to school on the reservation, where everybody knows what I am. I would be fine."
"No, Renesmee. I'm not letting you live alone with Jacob. You're far too young and-"
"That doesn't matter."
"Renesmee, don't interrupt your father." My mother scolded.
"This is unbelievable! You couldn't wait until after my birthday to tell me this?"
"Ness," Emmett began to speak, but I cut him off.
"I'm going to Jacob's."
"No, you are not." My father blocked my way out of the kitchen.
Tears of frustration fell from my eyes. "Then I'm going to my room." I squeezed past my father and ran up to my room.
As soon as I reached the door I slammed it shut with all of my might. I ripped off my dress and collapsed on my bed. As soon as my face hit the pillow I started crying.
I couldn't believe they would do this to me. I was so happy here. They couldn't just take me from the only place I had ever known. And I couldn't believe my parents wanted this.
All I wanted in that moment was Jacob. I wanted him to hold me and tell me everything was going to be alright.
A few minutes had passed when I heard a gentle tapping at the door. I knew it wasn't Jacob because he would have come right in. The door opened slowly letting the light from the hallway seep in.
"Hey, kiddo." Emmett said quietly. "Can Rose and I come in?" I rolled over and sat up in my bed without a word, signaling that it was okay. Emmett walked in first but Aunt Rosalie flitted past him and reached me first.
"Sweetie, you've got mascara all over your face..." I started to wipe it away but she lowered my hand. "Let me." She grabbed the corner of my bed sheet, dabbed it with her tongue and delicately removed the patches of black from under my eyes.
"I know how awful this is for you, sweetheart. Really, I do. The first move is always the hardest. But soon you'll get used to it, I promise." Rosalie said with a smile. I only looked down and hugged my knees closer to my chest.
"You are going to see so much, Renesmee. The world is a fantastic place. Forks is nothing compared to what else is out there." I turned away from her in disbelief. Forks was the most beautiful place on the planet. No one could ever change my mind about that.
"Rose, why don't you let me and Ness talk... Alone." She looked halfway shocked then she got up and left my room but not without giving me a kiss on the cheek.
"You know what I think?" Emmett said as he moved closer to me.
"I think this sucks." I broke my tough exterior and giggled.
"I mean, you've got your family, your one and only family going half way across the world and the love of your life right here. That sucks."
"If you're trying to make me feel better it's not really working." I told him.
"Do you wanna go on a walk?" He asked out of nowhere.
"I-"
"Too bad, we're going." He threw a pair of dark shorts and a 'Forks High' sweatshirt at me.
"I'll be on the ground." He said, then jumped out of the three story high window. I got dressed quickly and followed him. But honestly, I didn't want to move or even breathe at all.
We began walking silently through the forest. I knew exactly where we were because I had been in these woods my whole life. I knew every tree, bush and stump like the back of my own hand. I smelt a doe a few miles away, but I wasn't hungry. I just followed Emmett through the dark forest with no objection.
"We're here." He announced a few yards ahead of me.
"This," He said leaning into the trunk of a tree. "Is Bruce." I started at him blankly.
"Bruse the Spruce. Get it? It's funny." I continued staring. "Anyway, whenever I am confused or upset I just talk to old Brucey here and things just kind of sort themselves out."
"You talk to a tree?"
"It's not just any tree, Elle." My blank stares turned into curiosity. "How much do you really know about what else is out there?"
A small smile crossed my face. I didn't know much about other supernatural beings, and to be honest I never really thought about it until that moment.
"Do you know what a Hamadryad is?" I shook my head.
"It's a type of land nymph that's existence lasts as long as the tree it inhabits. It's like a Dryad, but Dryad is only bonded to a tree, they can live forever." The way Emmett's eyes lit up as he talked about these creatures was kind of humorous. Emmett wasn't really the brainy type and to see him so passionate about something like this made me giggle.
"I found her by accident. I was hunting when I was a new born and I heard her talking." He glanced at the tree then back at me. "Do you want to meet her?" I nodded my head in excitement.
Emmett patted the tree twice. "Bruce?"
The bark of the tree began to separate. A light was breaking through from the core of the trunk. Millions of diamonds were floating through the air past Emmett and I. After a series of loud crunches and flashes of blinding light, I saw her.
She looked like a vintage painting of a goddess. Her long yellow hair tumbled elegantly to the ground. Her eyes were piercing and almost unnaturally green. Moss and vines covered her body to act as clothing. And when she spoke, her voice sang. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
"When are you going to stop calling me that?"
"Never." He smiled.
She looked at me and I nearly drowned in her intoxicating gaze.
"And who is this?" She grinned.
"This is Renesmee, my niece."
"I should have known. She's so beautiful." I was still so stunned by her, all I could do was smile.
"It's lovely to meet you, Renesmee. I'm Sena."
"Not Bruce?" I joked.
"Much to your uncle's distaste, no, my name is not Bruce." She laughed in a melodic manner.
"I brought her here because she needs help making a decision and I was hoping you could help her."
"Of course I will help you, dear. Why don't you come closer?" She extended her hand to me. Her skin, much like a vampire's in the sun, shimmered like a million fireflies lighting her pale skin on fire. I placed my palm in hers sending chills all through me.
"You've been crying?" She asked with concern. I nodded. "Oh, dear..." With her legs still trapped in the tree, she lowered her upper body and allowed me to curl into her.
"Simply existing can be quite cruel, can't it?"
"Yeah." I half laughed.
"That is why I choose to stay here, in my home so that the toxins of the world will simply float by me. I can live in calm solitude here. Fortunately, you're not like me, child." She put her hand on my chin and looked deep into my eyes.
"You have the will to run, Renesmee. You are thirsting for something new, but you are so afraid. Something has bound you by the wrist and the heart. The rest of the world is a minor blur to you because your heart is being held captive. Love is grand, but if it is true it will run with you."
"So, he will come with us?" I eagerly asked.
"If love is true one will follow their lover to the end of the world, knowing that death is the only ending but enjoying the adventure there."
"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand... Will Jacob come with us?"
"She doesn't tell the future, Ness. She states facts and offers wisdom. You have to apply her words to your life."
"I wish I could put your mind at ease with facts, dear, but that is not my power. Though, I do have one more piece of advice." I glanced up at her with unintentional wonder.
"There is a stronger kind of love then what I have spoken of. The greatest love of all is a love that is willing to sacrifice. It looks around and finds other ways your mate can be happy and if that higher source of happiness exists, one lover must break their own heart by setting the other free."
It didn't take long to digest Sena's wisdom. Either Jacob's love for me was strong and we will be together, or our love is an undeniable force that cannot be shaken and he is completely willing to let me go to see me happy.
"I hope that helps, dear." She cooed.
"It does. Thank you Sena."
"Will you come back soon?"
"I will." I smiled.
"Emmett," She offered him her dainty hand. "Always a pleasure."
"Thank you, Sena." She kissed his cheek.
"See you soon." And just as she came, with the cracking bark and the blinding light, she was gone.
We began walking back to the house. "So, did that help?"
"Yeah, it really did. Thank you, Emmett." I hugged him around the waist.
"Love ya, kid." He said as he kissed the top of my head. I smiled at this and kept myself wrapped around him for the rest of our journey home.
Emmett wasn't one for showing emotion so I treasured every 'I love you' and soft kiss on the forehead. He was more of a prankster then anything else. He used his humor to tell people that he loved them. The only person I had ever seen him show true affection for was Aunt Rosalie. Maybe that was just it; Uncle Emmett was a sucker for love.
I took a running start to make it into my window. Emmett followed right behind me with a single bound.
"So, you're okay now?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"Well you should probably get some sleep." I nodded my head and walked over to my bed.
"Do you need me to tuck you in or anything or are you good?"
"I'm good." I laughed.
"Alright. Night, Ness." He shut the door to my bedroom lightly.
I slipped under my covers and fell asleep quickly, but not before wondering what kind of love Jacob and I shared.
AN: Thank you for reading chapter two! And I am unbelieveably sorry for how long it took... Things got crazy, then crazier, then worse. But now I have a normal schedule and I have time to write! So I can update more frequently now!(: And if you read my other story 'Everything Unexpected' I started doing "shout outs" in my authors notes and I am going to start that in thist story as well. So thank you to ScorpiusRoseLover for being my first and ONLY reviewer for this story. I hope I get more soon(: