Chapter 4:
Tap, tap, tap I feel on my shoulder. "Mommy?" Rhett says. I open my eyes. I am still on the porch from last night and Rhett is beside me. I yawn.
"Good morning, honey," I try to say through the yawn. He smiles as if he's relieved to see that I am alive.
"Where's Daddy?" he asks with his adorable innocent smile. I try to hide my worry. He's not back yet?
"He's just out right now. He'll be home later, sweetheart. What do you want for breakfast?" I try to change the subject. Rhett shrugs then looks up in thought, squinting his eyes.
"Uh, Pancakes!" he cries jubilantly. He then scampers off to the kitchen in the house. As soon as he's out of sight I drop my head into my hands. One tear falls onto the wooden deck leaving a small black spot, a fault, on its perfectly stained wood. I raise my head and walk to the kitchen. Rhett is standing impatiently by the microwave, awaiting his breakfast.
"Honey I could've made you actual pancakes instead of the frozen ones," I tell him.
"I couldn't wait!" he cries with a smile. I chuckle. I had only been outside for five minutes! "Mommy?" Rhett calls as I sit down at the kitchen table.
"Yes, sweetheart?" I answer him. There's a pause, as if he's not sure if he can ask.
"Well, uh, I was wondering if maybe, just possibly, we could maybe… go to the park?" he squeaks out the last four words. I roll my eyes; that boy always wants to go to the park. I would usually say yes to his request, but I have to make sure that when Jake comes home that he's okay.
"Well, how about we play in the backyard on the swing set?" Rhett processes my idea then makes an unsatisfied face by twitching his top lip up. "Just until Daddy gets home," I add. Rhett thinks for a moment before nodding his head.
"Okay, but when Daddy gets home we can go to the park right?" he clarifies. I nod. "Alright. Well, I'm going to go get dressed to play outside!" Rhett shouts, running down the hall toward his room. I hear distant "woohoo"s and "hooray"s from the direction in which he ran. I shake my head and snicker at my crazy little boy. He is so much like his father. Suddenly I frown and worried thoughts reenter my head. Why isn't Jacob home yet? Where would he have even gone? More thoughts swirl around inside my mind and I reach for the phone. I rapidly enter Jake's cell number. It is a long shot but I am willing to try anything at this point. The tone rings five times and I hear his voice; and even though it's only a voicemail message, tears come to my eyes hearing him speak.
"Hello, you've reached Jacob Black. I'm sorry I can't answer your call right now but I'll call you back as soon as possible. Thanks for calling, leave a message."
The tone rings and I begin my message. "Jake, umm hi. It's me, Bella. Please, just—" I sigh holding back tears. "Please come home. I'm sorry about what I said last night. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I'm just… sorry. Please come back, Jake. I miss you… I love you." Then without anything else to say, I hang up the phone and lean on the counter, balancing my weight on its edge. A flood of tears come in waves out of my eyes imagining him getting hurt or being killed. I hear Rhett coming from his room in his squeaky sneakers and I blink away the not yet hatched tears and wipe away the already rolling ones.
"I'm ready, Mommy!" he cries. I turn around and smile at him, hiding my tears. He cocks his head to the side and looks closely at me.
"Mommy, were you crying?" he asks worriedly. I try shaking my head but start crying. I desperately blink away the wetness and force a fake smile.
"Let's just go outside, honey," I offer. Rhett looks unconvinced.
"Do you want a hug, Mommy?" he asks. His face reflects worry and love. I smile, a genuine warm smile, and bend down to a crouch, spreading open my arms. Rhett grows a smile on his angelic lips and runs toward me full speed. His body slams into mine strong enough to make me gasp, but gentle enough to make me laugh. I hold him close to me and kiss his little forehead. I feel him pat my back ever so gently and I pull him out so that we're face to face.
"Thanks you, sweetie," I say tenderly. He shrugs.
"Well, I love you, Mommy," he responds casually as if my heart doesn't soar when he says this to me.
"I love you too," I respond. We stay silent for a moment. "Now, as I remember, there was a little boy who wanted to play outside." I wink and Rhett smiles as wide as he little mouth will let him. He then runs toward the door and straight for the swing set. By the time I get outside, he's already giggling and smiling as the small rectangular piece of plastic he sits upon rises toward the sun then back to the ground. I laugh as I watch my reason for existence happily play. Happy tears gush from my eyes and I wipe them away with a giggle as Rhett waves from the swing. I take in everything that's around me; my little red house, my little boy on his prized possession, my muddy backyard and the lush forest that borders my land. For one blissful second I forget all my worries and just look at what I have accomplished. A smile rushes across my face like a tidal wave. Suddenly, something catches my eye on the edge of the forest… a sparkle. I squint in that direction and more sparkles show themselves like a million diamonds reflecting light from their facades. I slowly walk toward the shine.
"Rhett, can you go inside for me, please?" I request as calmly as I can.
"But—" I hear him whine. I shoot him a glare.
"Go inside," I command firmly. Rhett quickly climbs off the swing and scurries to the porch. I hear the door swing open then back closed in one subtle movement.
"Show yourself!" I shout, picking up a branch from the ground and holding it out in front of me in defense. "I know you're out there!" I feel beads of sweat begin to form on my forehead. Suddenly a dark form emerges from the woods under the shadows of the trees. It's too far to see detail but it looks like the body of a person. I mask a scream with a sharp gasp. The form steps into the sun and it turns into a walking disco ball. The shining ball of light begins growing closer to me. I don't mask my scream this time and instead just freeze in place screaming that there's a child and that they can have anything they want, just not to hurt me or Rhett. The form laughs and anger shoots through me. Did it think I was joking? That I was weak? Suddenly, my screeching stops and I instinctively am running full speed toward the form, adrenaline and fury pumping through every fiber of my being. I find myself screaming with anger as I get closer to the creature. As I grow closer I recognize more details of the form. It wears a grey suit, aged and worn. I go up its body and realize that it isn't and it, but a he. He has dark auburn hair, almost dark enough to be perceived as brown and his complexion is like a ghost; white, almost translucent. I finally escort my eyes to his and they meet. His irises are a golden brown, much different than any other I had ever seen… or had I? Suddenly, memories flow through my body and I realize who I am looking at. It was him. It was Edward.