Sorry for the long wait everyone. School has been taking up a lot of my time lately. Sorry again for the long wait!

Chapter 35
Kai's POV

Thanksgiving in La Push was one of the best I've ever had. It's now a week till Christmas and I'm currently driving in Colorado. I'm going to spend three days with my mom. Since I called her on her birthday we've been talking once a week. We're slowly rebuilding our relationship, which is great. I turn down a street I haven't been on in so many months. The third house on the right is simply decorated with Christmas decorations. I park in front of the house and sigh. I stare at my hands as a billion thoughts go through my head. Will mom be happy to see me? Will she look the same? Does she still love me? Even though we've been talking for awhile I'm still worried. Alright Kai stop thinking like this! She's your mother, of course she loves you! I grab my bag and get out of the car I rented. I walk up to the door and take a deep breath before knocking.

"One moment!" a familiar female voice yells from inside the house. The door opens and my mother stands before me. "Kai." she smiles.

"Hi..." I start but am cut off by my mom hugging me.

"I'm so happy you're here!" she says squeezing me.

"Me too." I smile hugging her back.

After our reunion mom brought me into the house and talked with me until the timer for dinner went off. Even during dinner we talked and talked. It was so good to talk face to face with mom. She asked about college, Emma, dad, Embry, and everything else that's been going on. Mom said that her family are coming over tomorrow and can't wait to see me. I can't wait to see them too! Especially my little cousin, Mia. She's five and is completely adorable!

"Night mom." I say heading upstairs.

"Goodnight Kai." she responds heading to her room downstairs. I go down the hallway and into my old room which is now a guest room. Mom thought we'd never come back so she changed the house a little bit. I get ready for bed, and then crawl into bed and under the covers.

"KAI!" a little voice yells and I feel something fall on me.

"Umph!" I groan and snap open my eyes to find sparkling green eyes staring down at me. "Mia?" I ask.

"Kai!" she yells again and hugs me. I smile and hug her too.

"You're so big now." I say as she releases me.

"I just lost a tooth!" she smiles showing off a missing tooth.

"Wow, that's so cool!" I grin.

"Mommy told me you go to college now. Do you like it? Is it scary? Do you have a lot of friends?" she asks.

"Yes I do go to college now. I do like it and it's not scary. I'm making lots of friends." I smile as she watches me with interest.

"I missed you!" she says suddenly and hugs me again. I wrap my arms around her and hug her close.

"I missed you too, Mia." I agree.

"Why don't you come home anymore?" she asks with a frown and sad eyes.

"Well Mia my mom and dad got into a fight, so Emma, my dad, and I moved to Washington." I say.

"Why'd they fight?" she asks.

"They realized that they weren't happy together so decided to take a break from each other." I say and she nods.

"Well why don't you visit Colorado?" she asks.

"I've been really busy Mia. But I promise to come visit more often." I promise and she smiles.

"There you are." Aunt Stacey, Mia's mother, says entering the room."Oh Kai I'm so sorry. Did she wake you up?" she asks.

"It's okay Aunty." I assure.

"Well breakfast is ready." she says.

"Okay, we'll be down in a minute." I say and she nods leaving.

"Kai do you ever think of me or miss me?" Mia asks.

"Of course I do Mia." I say. "I look at pictures of us all the time. So does Emma and dad. Everyone loves you kiddo. Embry thinks you're pretty cute too." I smile.

"Who's Embry?" she tilts her head in confusion.

"Oh he's a boy I know." I say.

"Is he your boyfriend?!" she asks with a smirk.

"Yes." I say and she squeals.

"Is he cute?" she asks and I look at her.

"Mia!" I scold and she giggles.

"I'll take that as a yes." she smiles.

"Okay I think it's time for breakfast." I say getting out of bed.

"But I want to hear more about this boyfriend of yours named Embry." she whines.

"Nope I think you've heard enough." I say picking her up. She squeals as I put her over my shoulder. She giggles all the way downstairs.

I'm leaving tonight and am sad to leave. I've had a great time with my mom, and her side of the family. Mia, my other cousins, and I had a lot of fun together. I've missed them and their silly pranks. Mia bugged me all week about Embry and then finally asked my mom who spilled the beans. Everyone wants to meet him so I'm thinking next time I come back to Colorado I need to bring him with me.

"Kai do you have to leave tonight?" Mia asks entering my room with her three older siblings, Peter, Julie, and Andrew.

"Yes Mia I do. I have to get back to La Push so I can spend some time with my family." I say zipping up my last bag.

"And Embry." Julie snickers as do her siblings.

"Yes Embry too." I roll my eyes.

"But you're coming back right?" Mia asks with puppy dog eyes.

"Oh how can I say no to those eyes?! Oh course I'm coming back! I couldn't stand not seeing you for so long!" I say and she smiles as I pick her up. "Now I have some gifts to give you four since I'm not going to be here for Christmas." I say and their eyes light up.

"What'd you get me?" Peter asks.

"Hold your horses." I say and he frowns. I set Mia down and grab four boxes from under my bed."Here you go." I say handing them each their own gift. Mia's eyes widen as does her smile. I see their hands get ready to rip open the boxes."Wait!" I yell and they frown. "You need to ask your mom and dad if you can open them now." I say and they all whine. "Oh shush. You have waited three hundred four days, and you can wait two more." I say.

"But it's torture!" Andrew argues.

"I can always take them back or ask your parents to wait and give you them until the new year." I threaten and they rapidly shake their head no. "That's what I thought." I chuckle.

After making sure my cousins put their gifts under the tree I said goodbye to everyone before I headed to the airport. The plane ride isn't long, only about an hour or so. We even land early. It's around eight when I enter the baggage claim area.

"KAI!" a girl yells and I see Nessie running toward me. I smile and crouch down to hug her.

"Nessie." I say hugging her. I pull back and my eyes widen slightly."You've grown so much." I say looking up to Jake and Embry as they come over. Is this normal for her?

"Yeah I grow everyday!" she smiles as do I. I stand up and smile at Embry. His eyes light up and he pulls me into his arms. He breaths me in and I do the same. His scent calms me and I feel at home.

"I missed you." he whispers.

"I missed you more." I whisper and he chuckles lightly. He kisses my temple and releases me. "Hey Jake." I say and hug him.

"Hey Kai. How ya doing?" he asks.

"Pretty well. You?" I ask.

"Taking it one day at a time." he says looking down at Ness. I furrow my brow and look at Ness who frowns. I look to Embry and he sighs.

"I'll tell you later." he whispers into my ear and I nod. Jake picks up Nessie and we head to grab my bags.

Embry drops off Jake and Nessie at the Cullens and I say hello before we drive to La Push.

"So what's wrong with Nessie? Is she sick?" I ask worried. Embry sighs and stares out the windshield onto the empty road.

"She grows everyday. We don't know how long she'll be with us." he says and I frown. "The Cullens are worried that she'll continue to grow everyday and get older everyday. If that happens she won't be with them forever." he says and I stare down at my hands. "And there's more." he says and I snap my head up to him. His knuckles are turning white and I get a bad feeling.

"What's going on?" I ask scared.

"The Volturi are coming." he says.