8. Smells Delicious

April 2010

Astoria, Oregon

Amelia

The kitchen was filled with the aromatic smells of cooking. Esme, Bella and, me were preparing for the arrival of Renesmee, Jacob, and a friend of Jacob's named Seth. A giant pizza was cooking in the oven. Esme was filling the fridge; for once her shopping wasn't heading towards a homeless shelter. Bella was preparing a large chocolate cake.

"God, I used to love chocolate," I said to Bella from where I was perched on the countertop. I had been helping Esme make the pizza earlier, but now found myself without a task to do, so I just sat and watched as they worked.

"I was never that bothered with it," Bella replied.

"How can you not be bothered about chocolate?" I asked incredulously. "Shame I can never eat it again. It still smells nice though. And that pizza… God, I used to love pizza!" Both Esme and Bella turned to look at me in shock. Great, what freak thing have I done now?

"It smells nice?" they both asked surprised.

"Take it that's not normal?"

They both shook their heads.

"I wonder if I could still eat it. What with the whole freak thing going on?" I jumped off the countertop, landing a little too heavily on the floor; I pretended not to notice Esme wince. I placed my finger in the icing Bella had just poured onto the cake, ignoring her grumble, and shoved it in my mouth. It tasted divine. Not as nice as the blood unfortunately, but still heavenly.

"Mmm, that's good, Bella," I complimented her, and then I grabbed a plate and cut myself a giant slice. I ate it all in under five seconds.

Suddenly, my stomach felt funny. Without warning, I felt my body repel the food I had just consumed, and I moved to the sink as fast as I could. Gentle hands held my hair back as I was violently sick.

"Okay," I began, wiping my mouth, "so, human food smells and tastes nice, but a definite no go," I summarised. "Thanks Esme," I said, realising it was her who was holding my hair back. She let it fall again.

I began cleaning up the mess in the sink. It appeared to be a mixture of chocolate cake, Coke, and blood.

"You okay?" Esme asked gently.

"Fine," I replied, though I was secretly upset that I couldn't stomach the food. The fact that it smelled nice had made me optimistic. Esme and Bella shared a loaded look but didn't say anything, and went back to doing what they were doing beforehand. I hopped back onto the countertop carefully; Esme had made it very clear earlier that she wouldn't appreciate a dented countertop.

"I thought only three people were coming?" I wondered out loud, hoping to move the conversation on. I looked dubiously at the mountain of food Esme was currently placing beside me on the countertop.

"Yes, that's right," Esme replied.

"I know you all haven't eaten in centuries or whatever, but this is waaaaaaaaaay too much food for three people, especially since you said your granddaughter doesn't even like eating food."

"When you see how much the wolves eat you'll understand. Those two could literally eat a horse each and still be hungry," Bella informed me with a laugh. She had given up on the chocolate cake, since I had somewhat ruined it by taking a huge slice out, and was now checking the pizza.

"So, 'I'm so hungry I could eat a horse' isn't an exaggeration for them?"

"Nope!" Bella chuckled.

"That'd be a sight to see," I mumbled to myself. Esme and Bella heard me of course, and both of them laughed.

"Considering the wolves are as big as horses themselves, it certainly would," Bella said with a smile.

"Do you think they'd appreciate it if I changed the saying to 'I'm so hungry I could eat a wolf'?" I asked jokingly. Bella and Esme burst out laughing again; both of them were laughing too much to continue with their tasks. They were joined by a booming laugh from the living room.

"I am so saying that to Jacob when he gets here!" Emmett called from the other room.

"Please don't!" I replied panicked. I didn't need anymore of my new family members disliking me. Well, Jacob wasn't a family member anyway. Actually, what is he? Carlisle had said he was a "friend" of Bella and Renesmee, but the way he'd said it suggested there was more to it than that.

"Amelia, can we speak with you for a moment?" Carlisle asked as he walked into the kitchen. I jumped off the countertop, carefully again, and followed him into his study. Edward, Harry, and Jasper were all standing there, watching me carefully.

"What's up?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant, though the looks on their faces had me worried. What now?

"Amelia, do you remember what I told you about Renesmee?" Carlisle asked me.

"She's Edward and Bella's half-human daughter," I replied. "How do you have a half-human daughter anyway?" I asked Edward.

"I'll explain later," he replied, before looking at Carlisle, who took that as his cue to start talking again.

"Because Renesmee is half-human, she has a heartbeat and human blood. Do you understand what that means?" I shook my head, feeling like I was being slow on the uptake.

"There's a chance the human blood might appeal to you." Realisation hit me like a freight train as I took in the meaning behind his words. I would want to kill her.

"I'll want to kill her?" I managed to stutter the words out, looking at the vampires in front of me in complete shock.

"It's unknown what your reaction would be, given that you're different to the-" Carlisle began to say, but my hysterics cut over him.

"But there's a chance I'll want to kill her? What about the other two? Will I want to kill them too? And you're only just mentioning this to me?" My hysterics suddenly stopped, as I was flooded with calm. After all, there was no need to get so worked up about it. I glared over at Jasper, but stopped when I noticed the pained look on his face. The effort of calming my hysterics was clearly hurting him.

I looked over at Edward. What would he do if his daughter died? Because of me? Despite Jasper's best efforts, I felt the hysterics building up. They can't take this risk because of me! They shouldn't have to!

"Oh no, Amelia, don't start that again!" Alice was suddenly in the doorway, glaring at me. "For the last time, you're not leaving. Nobody wants you to. You're stuck with us." She smiled impishly at the last line.

I looked nervously over at Edward. "But what if I kill your daughter?" I managed to whimper.

"None of us would ever let you hurt her. Nobody wants to see either of you get hurt," he reassured me.

"And the other two?"

"Smell like wet dog, so no worries there!" Emmett answered my question from downstairs.

"You will have to get used to being around humans eventually, Amelia," Carlisle said gently.

"Right, I can do it!" I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. Edward, Jasper, and Harry each looked at me in a not so subtle reminder that my thoughts, feelings, and personality traits weren't exactly hidden anymore.

"When do they get here?" I purposefully looked at Alice. She scrunched her face up at me; it looked like she was in pain.

"I don't know," she admitted, defeated.

"Alice, darlin', you have to stop trying to see the wolves and Nessie's future," Jasper said to her as he went up to her and wrapped his arm around her, leading her out of the room.

"Alice can't 'see' the wolves or Nessie," Edward explained.

"Why not?" I asked.

He shrugged. "We don't know. Can I speak to Amelia alone for a minute?" he asked. Carlisle looked surprised but left, which seemed kind of weird considering it was his office. Harry looked uncertain about whether to follow him or not.

"Fine, stay if you must," Edward said to him. Before I could begin to wonder about Harry's strange reaction, Edward turned his attention back to me.

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure. Why, what it is? To not kill your daughter?"

"Well, yes. And to hunt, please," he replied. His plan to stop me from acting like a vampire is to … force me to act like a vampire?

"It'll be better if you're not thirsty," he explained.

"Fine, I'll go and get a cup of tea then," I replied snappily.

He dropped his voice before answering again, "Despite the lies you tell Carlisle, human drinks do not satisfy your thirst properly, and we both know it." He had me there. Damn mind reader.

"For my daughter's safety, please," he asked of me, pleading. Fine! If it means I'm less likely to attempt to kill someone, then fine!

"I'll go with you again," Harry said quickly. "If you'd like," he added. I nodded, despite what had happened last time, I still liked the idea that it would be him who would be with me. I couldn't figure out why I felt that way, but I did.

The hunt wasn't as bad as last time. It still felt peculiar to "give myself over to my vampire side," but it was in no way as horrifying has it had been first time round. Maybe it was simply because I had known what to expect this time. At least there was no weirdness between Harry and me this time around.

The entire Cullen family was sitting in the front room. It looks like it has been in a war with a glitter factory and lost, epically. A huge silver banner said, "Welcome home." The room was covered in glittering decorations of every sort and colour, helium balloons were placed at strategic points in the house, and every surface was wrapped in sparkly tinsel or shiny paper. In most circumstances, it would have looked overdone and tacky, however it actually looked rather stunning.

"Wow, you shouldn't have!" Harry said sarcastically from behind me, the others laughed at him.

"Wow, it looks amazing. How'd you do it so fast?" I asked, completely mesmerised by the glittering decorations.

"Vampires, remember?" Emmett replied jokingly.

"You did this, Emmett?" I asked unbelievingly. Everyone laughed. That would be a no then.

"As if," Alice scoffed. "I did it, of course." That made much more sense.

"Well, you did a brilliant job."

"Finally, someone who appreciates the importance of good decorations." Alice glared at Bella.

"I still think this is completely unnecessary," Bella huffed.

"Oh, stop complaining. It's not even for you anyway. It's for Nessie. What little girl doesn't love glitter?" Alice shot back.

"Hell, I'm eighteen and I'm still attracted to anything that glitters. My mum used to call me her little magpie," I chimed in, and was suddenly hit by an onslaught of blurry memories. I wonder if they are still looking for me? Surely they will be, they won't give up after only two months.

"Amelia?" I heard my name echoing from several different voices.

"Don't worry. I'm fine," I lied, struggling to hold back tears. Trust me to be the only vampire who could cry. I closed my eyes and placed my head in my hands, wiping my eyes.

"Amelia, if you want to speak to us about your parents, it's okay," I heard the gentle voice of Esme say.

"Well, I don't particularly," I replied snappishly. It wasn't until after I'd said it that I realised how impolite it sounded; Esme didn't deserve to be spoken to like that. I pulled my hands away and opened my eyes again. The concerned faces of the members of the Cullen family looked back at me. How could I explain how much I missed my human family? About the guilt I felt as my memories slipped away, and I got more and more involved in my new life, and thought about them less and less?

"I'm sure Renesmee will love the decorations," I said to Alice. I knew it wasn't subtle and I didn't care. Turning to Bella and Edward, I recalled my earlier question – it would do as a suitable distraction.

"So how do you two have a half-human daughter anyway?" I asked, and then I decided to ask about the other thing that had been bugging me. "And who the hell's this Jacob guy?"

"Bella conceived Nessie when she was still human, and Jacob is an old friend of Bella's who imprinted on Nessie after birth," Edward explained.

She conceived a half-vampire child while still human? That means she had sex with Edward while he was a vampire and she was still human. What the fuck? Why would she do that? And there they go with the whole 'friend' bit again. And what the hell is imprinting?

"Yes, we had sex while Bella was still human. And imprinting is an uncontrollable force in which a werewolf finds their soul mate," Edward answered the questions in my thoughts.

Soul mate? The werewolf is in love with their child? That is just sick. How can they appear so calm about it?

"It's not what it sounds like," Edward began, but I interrupted him.

"You mean your friend," I used the word sarcastically, (whoever this Jacob guy was, he was clearly more then just some old friend), "isn't a massive paedo?" Emmett, Jasper, Alice, and Harry all laughed at that. But none of them laughed quite as hard as Rosalie. It looked like my comment hadn't just made her day, but her decade. Carlisle and Esme glared at Rosalie, and she sobered herself up, but was still smirking. Bella and Edward seemed completely nonchalant about the entire thing. Just like you do when some paedo wolf claims your half-human daughter is his soul mate.

"Jacob isn't in love with her per se at the moment; he's currently just her friend. But when she's older …" Edward's explanation trailed off, and a look of anger flickered across his face. Bella shifted uncomfortably in her seat, a completely unneeded human habit. Finally, they seemed bothered by the whole sick and twisted idea. Then again, they can't say much. The raving vampire pervert who impregnated a human and the necrophiliac. Edward sighed then. Shit! Damn mind reader just heard all that didn't he? As much as I knew that the whole mind reading thing wasn't Edward's fault, it still crept me out slightly to not even have privacy in my own mind, especially with stray thoughts like that one floating around in there.

"We're going to have to tell you the full story, aren't we?" he asked wearily.

"Well, the short version kind of makes you look like some sort of vampire pervert, your wife look like a necrophiliac, and Jacob look like a paedophile, so yes." All of his siblings joined in laughing at me again then; even his parents couldn't quite suppress their amusement at my assessment.

"Amelia, we have to ask you not to mention any of this to Renesmee," Bella stated. God, how bad could it be?

"Fine, of course, if you don't want her to know that's up to you," I said as I moved to sit down on the chair opposite them. I heard Harry move behind me. He sat on the arm of the chair next to me. The rest of the family however drifted off; clearly they already knew what I was about to be told. Then Bella and Edward told me their story.

Half an hour - and one incredibly fucked-up story - later, I was looking at them in shock, still trying to get my head around everything they'd told me.

I proceeded to summarise everything they'd just said up to the part I really didn't get – Renesmee and Jacob. Falling in love with a vampire, false-informed suicide attempts, and fighting psycho vampire bitches I could just about get my head round. But I was still confused about the part that happened after Bella got pregnant.

"So, is this all right so far?" I asked as I finished my summary.

"Unfortunately yes," Edward replied, while Bella nodded.

"So vampire father tries to get knocked-up human to have an abortion, knocked-up human refuses and gets support from vampire family member who … knows what it's like to be unable to have children." I had wanted to say 'who wishes to steal the child because they can't have any', but Rosalie was the only Cullen I was particularly worried about pissing off. She didn't like me enough as it was. However, I knew Edward heard me, and by the look on his face, I think he agreed. "Rejected wolf decides to help protect the child to protect Bella. She has a really difficult pregnancy and then goes into early labour by dropping a cup of blood." I looked at Bella; it was hard to imagine the incredibly graceful vampire as the clumsy human she'd been described as.

"Then, and this is where things getting really fucked-up-"

"Amelia, language," Esme scolded from the kitchen.

"Sorry, Esme, really messed-up. Edward has to bite into Bella's womb to get the baby out so it doesn't chew its way out on it's own." I paused then, still trying to get my head around it. Both Edward and Bella just calmly watched me. It was kind of infuriating. How could they be so calm about all this?

"Why are you both looking at me like that is perfectly normal?" When neither answered I continued, "Jacob thinks Bella's dead and goes to kill the baby, but then he imprints on her, which means she is his soul mate, but it won't be romantic until she grows up. And we think the reason he thought he was in love with Bella was because he knew all along that she would produce his soul mate?"

"Yes," Bella answered calmly, like she was agreeing to something completely normal.

"And then some shit, sorry Esme, happens with the before mentioned up their own arse royal vampires that I'm not even going to try and understand." I'll just stick to trying to process their 'love story' first.

"Pretty much, yeah. It was certainly an interesting couple of years," Bella said.

"Interesting," I scoffed, "that's one way of putting it. I can see why you don't want your daughter to know. That day will be interesting."

"What day?" Edward and Bella both asked.

"The day when she's grown up and you have to explain all that shit-"

"Amelia!" Esme again.

"Sorry, Esme," I said exasperatedly. So I swear a little, what 21st century teenager doesn't? "Anyway, the day you have to explain all that to her."

"They'll be here in a minute," Alice called. "I think," she added sadly.

Right, time to not kill anybody. I still couldn't quite comprehend the idea of me actually killing anyone. But I would think about my two hunting trips, and how the animal blood had called to me, and how human blood was supposedly so much more potent. Then I could see how it could be possible for it to happen.

"Do you mind if I have drink first?" I asked. I always felt more human when I drank.

"That might be for the best," Edward replied. I flitted off to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of Coke. I downed it all in five seconds without thinking. So much for being human. But it still had the same humanising feel to it. Like it washed away the vampire in me, the one who seemed to become more alive straight after a hunt.

I flitted back into the living room just as the sound of an approaching car became clear.

"Edward, Bella, and I are going to go speak to Jacob and Seth," Carlisle began.

"Leah's with them too," Edward cut in.

Who's Leah? A look of surprise crossed Carlisle's face.

"I thought she never-" Carlisle began again, but was again cut off by Edward.

"She doesn't, but Jacob wanted extra protection, and with Quil and Embry both having imprints in La Push, she was the only available member of his pack."

"Well, then the three of us will go outside to meet all four of them. The rest of you watch Amelia." Everyone in the room nodded their agreement.

The three vampires darted out the door as the car came to a stop. The remaining vampires all surrounded me in some obviously earlier planned formation. Emmett and Rosalie stood between me and the door. Jasper and Harry flanked my sides, while Esme and Alice stood behind me. There bodies were tense, not moving. It took me a second to realise I was doing the same – vampire stillness.

I could hear the sound of four heartbeats, one was much quicker then the other.

"Mommy. Daddy!" I heard a girl's voice shout.

"Hello there, princess," I heard Edward say lovingly.

"Hello, darling," Bella called. Then there was a sound that sounded like someone being kissed on the forehead, followed by a girl's giggle.

"Put me down, silly Daddy," she ordered. "I'm too big to be swung around like that now," she added proudly.

"You're never too big to be my little girl." This was followed by another round of giggling.

My attention was brought away from their conversation to the one between Carlisle and the wolves by the sound of my name.

"We don't know how she'll react to Nessie's blood," Carlisle stated seriously. "And obviously Alice can't see it because of yours and Nessie's involvement."

"I still don't think we should take this risk with Nessie. We should test her control elsewhere before allowing her anywhere near her," a husky voice stated, sounding slightly over-protecting in my book. I guessed this was Renesmee's "soul mate" Jacob. Though a part of me agreed with him, why were we testing my self-control with a member of their family? They would all hate me if anything happened to her, and I would no doubt have to leave. Maybe I should just leave now, before I killed anyone.

"Amelia," Alice growled at me. Everyone looked at me in alarm. "You're not leaving," she clarified, clearly as a way to show everyone she hadn't seen me killing anyone.

"Better with Nessie, surrounded by vampires and wolves who will stop her before she could harm anyone, than with some poor defenceless human where we can't do anything." Carlisle's reply to Jacob from outside helped to calm me down. They knew what they were doing. They wouldn't let me kill anyone.

"Doc's right, Jake," another male voice said, that must be Seth.

"I still don't see why I have to be here," a female voice grumbled. That must have been the Leah they mentioned, whoever she was.

"I needed as many wolves as possible to help protect Nessie."

"And of course you couldn't drag Quil and Embry away from their imprints to help protect your bloodsucker love," she replied bitterly. Bloody hell, what is her problem?

"Sis, like it or not Ness is Jacob's imprint. And she's our family as well." So, Seth and Leah were siblings, I deduced, but how was Nessie their family?

"Thank you, Seth," Bella said to him gratefully.

"No problem, sis." Wait, Bella is his and Leah's sister as well? Interesting family - two werewolves and the human who married a vampire. They didn't even mention that part in their already fucked-up little back-story. But didn't the wolves used to hate the vampires? So I doubted Bella's brother and sister were impressed by her decision. Surely they would have stopped her?

Outside, Edward laughed.

"What could possible be funny right now, Leech?" Jacob growled.

"Can we not resort to name calling, please?" Carlisle interjected.

"Not in front of Renesmee, boys," Bella reprimanded.

"Sorry. Bella is Leah and Jacob's step-sister, Amelia. Their parents got married after everything that happened," Edward called to me. "She was trying to figure out why two wolves would allow their human sister to marry a vampire," he told the others.

"I want to meet her. Can I please, Daddy?"

"Haven't you told her?" Edward asked someone, incredulously.

"No, I didn't want to scare her or see her upset. Would you have preferred if I'd brought her home scared out of her wits?" Jacob replied.

"No, of course not, but you should have given her some warning."

"You shouldn't be making her go through with this. What kind of parent-"

"Don't you dare tell me how to raise my daughter, Jacob Black."

"Jacob. Edward. Not. In. Front. Of. Renesmee." Bella punctuated each word angrily, lowering her voice, though if I could still hear her, I assume her daughter could too.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Renesmee asked.

"Care to explain, Edward?" Jacob growled.

"Jacob, be nice to Daddy!" Renesmee ordered, sounding like her mother earlier.

"Maybe I should explain," Carlisle said with a sigh.

"What's going on, Granddaddy Carlisle?" I stopped focusing as he explained to her my newborn status. I had to concentrate on not killing her. What was it Carlisle had said on the plane? Stop breathing? Yes, that was it. If I smelled human blood, it was best to stop breathing. The sound of seven footsteps and four heartbeats was getting ever closer. So I stopped breathing.

Three Quiletes walked through the door first. They were giants; the two men must have been about seven foot, and the woman about six. I made sure not to breathe. They stopped in front of Rosalie and Emmett. Carlisle appeared from behind them and stood to the side of them. Instantly, his eyes travelled to where I stood. I wished there were some way to convey to him that I had no intention of killing his granddaughter. I couldn't see the doorway anymore, blocked as it was by all the people standing in front of me. Was I really this dangerous? But I could hear the quickly thumping heartbeat as it entered the room. Don't breathe, don't breathe, I chanted to myself. It was an unusual feeling, I didn't need the oxygen anymore, but being without the sense of smell I had become so acclimated to over the last two months was off-putting.

I realised all eyes on were on me, waiting for my next move. I stayed perfectly still and didn't move, not knowing what would happen if I did.

"Well, that was anti-climatic," Emmett quipped.

"You're not breathing are you, Amelia?" Carlisle asked. I shook my head, knowing that to answer out loud I would need to take in air.

"You need to breathe, to acclimatise yourself to the scent." What? They wanted me to breathe? Even though her scent would apparently make me want to kill her?

"If you want to live our lifestyle, Amelia, you have to get used to ignoring the scent of humans. You can't hold your breath forever." I heard Edward's voice from behind the wall of werewolves. Can't I just stay in the house, away from humans, forever then?

"That would be incredibly boring and nearly impossible. Breathe, Amelia."

So I did. It was a sensory overload after holding my breath for so long. The first scent that hit me was nauseating, a smell that could only be described as canine. It was overpowering, yet beneath it there was a different smell. It was sweet and succulent, a mixture of roses and something else, something delicious. All the other scents in the room faded to my senses. I felt my throat burn more than it ever had before. It was parched and I needed something to cool it. That sweet delicious smell called to me, telling me it was what I needed. What I wanted. What I had to have.

Everything became a blur then. I was suddenly aware of two pairs of ironclad hands on my arms, restraining me. I growled at them. I didn't know or care who they were; they were stopping me from getting to that scent. There was a cacophony of sounds and shouts around me, but I wasn't paying any attention to anything other than that sweet, delicious smell. I threw off both pairs of hands without thinking, but next thing I knew, I ran into something solid in front of me and fell backwards slightly. Then I was pushed onto the floor, with six pairs of hands holding me down. I struggled against them, still too focused on that smell to consider anything else. I had to find its source. It was the only thing that could cool the inferno in my throat.

"You don't want to kill her. She's my daughter remember? You didn't want to kill her. We all love her," I heard a voice say to me among the madness of sounds.

Renesmee. Bella and Edward's daughter. The little girl who had been so eager to meet me. I was trying to kill her. But even as I realised what I was doing, I couldn't stop. Her scent was too compelling. I was going to kill the innocent child.

"Stop breathing again, Amelia," a different voice ordered. Stop breathing. It was the only hope either of us had now. With great difficulty, I forced myself to stop. Slowly, my sense of smell disappeared, but the burn in my throat persisted, and there was nothing I could do to rid myself of the memory.

Without the compelling scent, I was able to come to my senses. I was lying on the floor with six vampires holding me down. Two of them were behind me. I couldn't see their faces, but in my range of sight were Rosalie, Emmett, Edward, and Carlisle. I tried to sit up, but was forced back down again.

"She just wants to sit up," Edward said. The hands on my shoulders were suddenly pushing me up to a sitting position, but they remained loosely clasping me.

My attention was instantly caught by what stood by the front door. Three giant wolves hovered in the entrance. Bella hadn't been joking when she said they were massive. She stood behind them, and beside her stood a girl of about twelve. She had long, curly bronze hair that reached halfway down her back and these wide chocolate brown eyes that seemed to show you the depths of her soul. She was looking at me with a mixture of fear and curiosity. She seemed so young and sweet and innocent.

I'd tried to kill her.

I forced myself to look away. Alice and Esme were standing to the side of me, looking hesitant. Jasper and Carlisle had probably told them to stay out of my way so I didn't harm them. I would have hurt them too, had they stood in my way, I realised with horror. These people, who had been nothing but good to me, and I hadn't cared at all about what I was doing to them.

"Amelia," Carlisle said. I snapped my attention back to him. His eyes brimmed with concern and compassion. I've just tried to kill his granddaughter, and he is still concerned about me? What if I had killed her? Surely then he'd have spent every day from now on regretting his decision to save me. He didn't deserve that kind of regret. Neither did Harry. Where was Harry anyway? Had he left in disgust after seeing I most certainly wasn't 'the nicest person he has ever met'?

"Harry's behind you, Amelia." Edward was clearly rummaging around my head again.

"Amelia." One pair of hands left my shoulders as Harry crouched down beside me. My eyes flickered over to look at his, and they were worried and concerned, just like Carlisle's. More remorse flooded me. "I'm right here. Everything's going to be okay. We won't let anything happen."

My eyes flickered back over to Renesmee, her soulful brown eyes on a child's face. Harry was right - nothing was going to happen to her because of me. I would make sure of that.

The next thing I knew, I was standing. All six hands had left me. Rosalie, Emmett, Edward, and Carlisle all stood in front of me again, clearly ready to stop me should I launch another attack.

Instead, still being careful not to breathe, I headed in the opposite direction, toward the back door and ran out of it. I ran away from the house where I didn't belong. The house I didn't deserve to live in.