Chapter 14: Renesmee
For once, time passed quickly. Fifteen minutes were left until six o'clock. I was dressed in a nice but casual outfit consisting of a navy blue baby doll blouse and a knee length flowing black skirt (the only skirt I owned), and of course, classic black flats. My hair was down for now, but I would probably opt for a messy bun, come dinner time.
Jacob and Seth pulled in front of my house at exactly six. I dashed downstairs and said a cheerful goodbye to my dad. On the way out the door, I called a monotone goodbye to my mom, who responded with something that sounded suspiciously like 'finally!' Seth and I both flushed pink when we saw each other. He was wearing a clean t-shirt and dark jeans. I felt overdressed, and I could tell he felt underdressed. Oh well, I thought, at least I'm wearing something comfortable.
Jacob drove out of the city limits and into the surrounding forests. I relaxed a little in my seat, not knowing how long the ride would take. Seth tentatively put his arm around my shoulders. I grabbed his other hand in mine. He smiled at me, surprise still evident in his eyes. He probably thought I was going to go crazy again any minute, poor guy. I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes, relishing in the feeling of his warmth.
"Why are you so warm?" I asked suddenly. He looked distinctly uncomfortable.
He shot Jacob a pleading look before saying, "Let's just leave it at 'genetics' for now, ok? We're almost to the Cullen's."
"Promise you'll tell me afterwards?" I begged.
He hesitated. "I promise."
"I'll hold you to that." Then I gasped as I beheld the Cullen mansion.
I hadn't realized that we had turned onto a very long driveway, because it was lined with trees like the road. The massive house was pristinely painted and the lawn was perfectly manicured. It was old in make, but it didn't look the part; it was so well kept. I could hear the rush of a river close by. The trees formed a perfect circle around the house, leaving a meadow around the entire house. A little girl was playing on a swing-set near the left side of the house.
"Renesmee!" Jacob called joyously. I wondered if he was her uncle. He loped over to her, and I watched in amusement when she jumped off the swing into his arms. He brought her over to meet me. She was stunningly beautiful, even though she couldn't have been older than five. She had flawless ringlets, dark bronze and gold mixed together, that went all the way down to her lower back. My gaze met hers, and I noticed she had deep chocolate eyes, not unlike Seth's. Were they related? She was definitely not Quileute; rather, she was translucently pale. Her sundress and cardigan were definitely from a high end clothing store. She waved shyly at me.
"Hi Renesmee, I'm Kayla." I smiled at her. Her returning smile was dazzling. Her teeth were bright white and flawlessly straight.
Jacob looked down at her and whispered something in her ear. She must have found it funny, because she let out a trilling laugh. For some reason, it warmed my heart and made me want to laugh. She was like a small enchantress.
"Like mommy and daddy?" She whispered to Jacob, loud enough for us to hear. Her voice was like her laugh, and I felt like I wanted to talk to her more.
Jacob laughed like he had never heard anything so funny. Realization dawned on Seth and he chuckled embarrassedly.
"No Renesmee, not quite like mom and dad. More like Kim and Jared." Seth said.
"Oh." she turned her attention to me. "Do you know my mommy and daddy? Seth and Daddy are friends. But, not Daddy and Jacob, I'm not sure why." She informed me matter-of-factly, a hint of a frown at the corners of her mouth. She touched Jacobs's cheek and he set her down. She walked up to me and grabbed my hand. She was as warm as Seth.
"Come with me Kayla. You can meet my mom and dad."
We followed her, me with one hand holding her tiny hand, the other holding Seth's much larger one. Jacob walked next to Renesmee, almost protectively. I watched her walk. She was amazingly graceful for a five year old; her walk was like a ballet dance. In no time at all, we were in front of the steps leading up to her large house. The front door opened and a couple came out. I could see where Renesmee got her looks from.
The man, presumably Edward, was fairly tall and well muscled. His hair was nearly the color of Renesmee's, maybe a shade lighter. His face was very angular, and also very pale. His eyes were a piercing shade of topaz. He had his arm around a lovely woman. Her hair was dark brown, flowing down by her waist. Her eyes were the same as his. Where did Renesmee's eyes come from? Maybe she had inherited them from a grandparent like my eyes. The woman was fit, but not muscled. Her face was angular; her features were full and rounded.
"Hi Edward, hi Bella!" Seth said excitedly. "Long time no see! This is my girlfriend Kayla." He told them, pride in his voice.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Kayla." Edward greeted me, his voice musical.
"Oh yes, welcome!" Bella exclaimed. She gave me a small hug, her arms icy cold. What was with this family? Her perfume was floral, but it was faint. Yet, it made an impression on me, I really liked it.
We followed them inside, and I took in the beauty of the interior of their home. The back wall was entirely glass, and I could see the river through it. The furniture was distinctly modern and bright white, with dark wood accents. The food they had prepared smelled heavenly and possibly Italian. They led us to a spacious dining room where we all sat around the table, minus Bella, who went to grab the food. I sat next to Seth, who sat next to Edward, who sat next to Bella, who sat next to Renesmee, who sat next to Jacob, who sat next to me, clockwise around the table.
"Where's everyone else?" asked Seth.
Bella smiled. "They went hiking this weekend. We went last weekend, just the three of us."
I decided to chime in. "Do you hike a lot?"
She nodded. "It's our family's favorite hobby. The one thing we can all agree on actually."
"Do you guys have a big family?"
Edward smoothly answered this time. "Yes. There are Carlisle and Esme, Rosalie and Emmett, and Alice and Jasper, in addition to us. We all live in this house, but since we have Renesmee, Bella and I also have a small cottage nearby."
"Wow. How are you all related?" I couldn't quench my curiosity.
"My parents are Carlisle and Esme. Alice and Emmett are my siblings, and Rosalie and Jasper are twins." Edward said patiently.
"Maybe I'll get to meet them sometime." I said politely.
"Oh, I'd say we'll get to know you very well." a new voice excitedly said behind me. I spun in my chair and saw a petite teenaged girl with short black hair. She bounced over to me and extended her hand.
"I'm Alice." She announced brightly. "And you're Seth's girlfriend, Kayla!" She squealed.
"Um, hi?" I said uncertainly, shaking her hand, which was also ice cold like Bella's. And there were those eyes again. I was getting more suspicious by the minute.
"Why are you home so early?" Edward asked with a hint of frustration in his tone.
"I wanted to meet Kayla! I couldn't wait until next time!"
"Well, you've met her. Now you should leave before you scare her off." Edward informed her, half jokingly.
"Fine." She sighed, succumbing. "But now that I've seen her, I have someone new to shop for!" She said, the perk returning to her face. I looked mortified at Seth. He shrugged, a smile playing at his mouth.
"Seth! She can't possibly shop for me!"
"Trust me, don't argue with Alice. She has too many credit cards to count, too much free time, and a perfect memory." Seth said, laughing.
She patted his shoulder. "Plus, he knows that I'll dress you in better than jeans and a t-shirt! It works to his advantage." With that she skipped out of the room, leaving a thoroughly blushing Seth.
"I am not letting her dress me up!" I declared.
"Good luck with that." Bella and Renesmee murmured in unison.
The rest of our dinner passed uneventfully. At around eight o'clock, Bella and Edward told us that Renesmee really had to be getting to bed. We said goodbye to the cute little family, and they left out a back door, probably to their cottage. Alice reappeared to see us out, looking at me with a mischievous glint in her eye. We climbed into the car and started driving away. Jacob cleared his throat.
"So, Kayla doesn't have to be home until eleven. You want to go to your house Seth?"
"I was thinking maybe the cliffs. I have something important to talk to Kayla about."
I looked at him curiously.
"It's about the warmth and stuff."
I nodded. "Ok." I could ask him about the weird eyes and skin temperatures around here. This should be interesting.
A/N: First of all, you guys are AMAZING! I can't believe the amount of support I'm getting for this story! Second of all, I AM SO SORRY! I wish I could update more, I really do. Now, for a long winded and depressing explaination for my absence.
1. FINALS: I really had to buckle down and focus. I'm a sophomore, and my dream is to have a 4.0 gpa every semester all four years. I almost lost it this semester. Half of my grades were between 90 and 93%, barely an A. But I made it, I got the 4.0!!!!
2. MY MOM: She's been having some problems and last night she had to go to the hospital. She's ok now, and it's partially thanks to that that I got to update. I stayed home today because I was up so late. But we're keeping an eye on her.
3. Believe it or not, COLLEGE: I took my PSAT and now every day I'm getting new emails from colleges trying to convince me to go there. Not only is it disorienting, but it's time consuming. My dad wants me to look at all the sites, and request info, ect. And now new colleges are sending me paper mail. It's confusing.
4. SOFTBALL: We've been preparing for the high school season, and I've been practicing hard and attending clinics.
5. STRESS: One of my best friends got cheated on by her boyfriend, my other friend has started taking anti-depressants, my best friend ever had to work super hard on her finals too, my family... Well you get the picture.
6. If you read this to the end because you are fantabulous, please put the word 'celery' somewhere in your review. I'm curious and it's also funny. :-P
THANK YOU!!!!! -Sierra Jade Faerie