CHAPTER TWO: Panic
"Momma!" Renesmee cried happily when Jacob reluctantly relinquished her into my hold.
I stroked her hair absentmindedly. "Hello. So whatcha hunting tonight?"
"Hmm..well, are you coming with us, Bells?" He looked at me skeptically. I hunted less and less these days, as if starving myself could kill me.
"Uhhhh…." I didn't really want to hunt. I was never in the mood. The much-needed passion and bloodlust was missing from my mindset.
"Bells, you haven't fed in over two months! You don't want to endanger other people, especially now that you're attending college," Jake protested.
"Fine," I groaned. He knew my weaknesses. One: Renesmee. The other: keeping humans safe.
Jacob grinned. "Hear that, beautiful?" he told Renesmee. "Your mother is coming with us!"
"Yay!" My daughter was thrilled. She touched me with her hand and showed me an image of me, holding her hand and running with her, attacking a deer.
"Wait, Ness," Jake held her back before she could run off. "Measuring time!" He took a measuring tape out of a drawer and began to measure her height, width, and the rest. She was growing unbearably fast. By now she was probably about the size of a seven or eight-year-old. The most gorgeous "eight-year-old" in the world.
Renesmee waited patiently for the measurements to be done, then scampered out the door towards the woods. "Come catch me," she yelled. Jacob and I ran after her, matching each other's speed.
When he came close, he snuck up on her oh-so-quietly, then scooped her up in his big arms. "Gotcha!"
Renesmee squirmed and giggled. "Let me go, Jakey, let me go!"
I attempted to hide my grimace. Luckily, Jacob and my daughter were much too involved in their foolery to notice my distaste. I stepped away and tried not to watch the spectacle. Too much here reminded me of the past. Way too much.
I ate a small deer quietly behind a tree, trying to block the sounds of their folly from my ears.
"There's one, there's one!" I heard Jacob yell. Then I heard sounds of delight from Renesmee as she spotted some large, appealing animal. "Race ya to it!" Jake laughed. The air whooshed as they both ran towards the target, Jacob quite obviously slowing so that my daughter could stay ahead.
As they reached it, someone gleefully smacked their lips and devoured the animal with much enthusiasm. Then a high-pitched giggle escaped their mouth.
I stepped out from behind the tree to see my daughter's satisfaction. I really loved when she was so completely happy. She glanced at me and waved, then broke out into a grin as she ran to Jacob. He lifted her up with a chuckle as I watched with a bit of envy.
When Jacob kissed Renesmee so wholeheartedly on the cheek—he had probably done this before, I just hadn't witnessed it—my stomach lurched. Everything crashed and burned before my eyes. If I had only been human, I would have fainted mercifully, sparing me from the haunting images that flashed through my head.
Edward's lovely face appeared suddenly, smack dab center in my brain. At this I panicked and fled from the forest.
"Run, run, run," I encouraged myself. "Don't think about it. Not—him." I winced as I was forced to think ofhim yet again. I ran, using only instinct as a guide, away from the daughter and friend whom I loved. My brain stopped functioning normally and I only felt the wind.