AN: Sorry the chapters are really short! When I am typing them it seems like I go on and on forever, but apparently not! By the way, what do you guys think should happen? Should the Volturi come now? Should they take Jacob away? What happens with Nessie and Natalie? Will try to post more soon! P.S. It's hard to post a lot because of school, and we have a ton of homework most of the time.

5. Explanations

"A.. vampire? Mr. Collins.. A vampire?" I asked, shocked by hearing the words itself pour out of my mouth. It can't be.

"Yes.. I'm afraid so." Carlisle said, still keeping his calm façade. "However his "daughter" is human… very odd. I told your parents and they didn't want to tell you until they knew the facts. I haven't heard from Mr. Collins since then."

I was mortified. How could my best friend's dad be a vampire? This wasn't happening. Jacob walked over to me and quietly sat on the couch beside me. I put my hand in his, yearning for some kind of an explanation. Thousands of questions were swirling through my head. I couldn't speak.

"She wants to know why Natalie is still a human." Jacob interrupted the silence.

Right. I thought. Stupid power.

All was silent for a few moments before Mom slowly interrupted, "I think the Volturi had something to do with it. You know-

"Wait," Emmett interrupted. "Why can't we just go ask him what his deal is? Natalie deserves to know if she knows who her "dad" is."

"No, Emmett," Mom patiently spoke again. "First, I was saying that the Volturi keeps a close eye on us enough as it is, and with Mr. Collins hanging around Carlisle so much, maybe Aro or someone thought he.. knew.

I closed my eyes and calmly listened to the chatter of fast-speaking voices around me.

"And," Daddy spoke softly, hearing Mom's thoughts. "We can't just go intrude in Natalie's home and kill her supposed father. It wouldn't make sense to jump to such conclusions. Besides, the Volturi are probably after Natalie as well, and think we are protecting her."

Everyone was silent once more, but I knew there would be much more discussions after I went to bed. I opened my eyes, got off the couch, and loathingly let go of Jake's hand. Daddy paused his daydream and looked at me right in the eyes.

"Renesmee," he began. "Jacob will take you to the cottage, and when I am done speaking to Carlisle, Mom and I will be there. Okay?"

Of course he would want to speak to Carlisle alone. But what about Jacob? He tells me everything. I answered myself. I sighed, and with a quick "Okay." I grabbed Jake's hand and lead him out of the silent house with me.

"He's only worried about you." Jake interrupted my thoughts again. "None of us want you hurt because of this."

"So that's supposed to mean I can't listen in? I'm only best friends with Natalie!"

"We know," Jake replied. "But if the Volturi are getting involved it's best we try to keep you out of it as much as possible. That's probably not exactly what you wanted to hear, but it's going to have to be like that."

"You know," I retorted. "I'm not as weak as you think. I can handle situations like this if people would give me the chance."

Jacob laughed. I glared at him. "Well by the way you handled it five minutes ago, we're positive you're not the weakest person here. And.. you're half-human anyways.. if we get the Collins involved then Natalie might not…."

Now he was combining my thoughts with his. I knew he was concerned, but this was absolutely ridiculous. I wanted to be a part of this. I let go of his hand, and he stopped talking.

"What?" He asked. "I'm just worried. I want you to be safe."

We were already at the cottage by then. I unlocked the door and led him to my room. I plopped down on my bed and Jake sat in the nearby rocking chair, as usual.

"I know you guys want me safe, but I'm going to have to start being involved in my future soon. What with the Volturi-"

"No." Jake interrupted. "Well, yes, you will have to be involved, but no, we're not talking about that right now. We're talking about how I want you to be safe, always."

I can tell the conversation made a turn. "Well, that's that. There's really nothing else to say about it except that you guys don't want me involved because you care. And we covered that pretty well."

Jake came to the bed and lay down beside me. I turned on my side to face him.

"Well then," Jake began. "We're stuck in here until your parents get back. So… What do you want to do?"

"I have no idea." I replied. My mind began to ease a bit, probably because my guardian angel was inches away from my face. My heart skipped a bit and I was pretty sure he could hear it. He laughed softly and brushed the stray curl away from my face. I put my hand against his neck and showed him what I was thinking.

"I love you, too." He simply replied. I took my hand away quickly to be sure he didn't see anything else I was thinking.

He must have saw it before I took my hand away because he swiftly lifed my face with his hands. He kissed my forehead, gently, and then let go. It was the first kiss we had ever shared. I wanted more, but I knew the only reason he pulled away was that my parents were home. Great. Now Daddy would know.

Jacob lightly chuckled before he climbed out of the window, whispering the words "I love you" as he went.