Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight series, Stephenie Meyer does
Bella's P.O.V.
I spent most of the day watching movies with Jake. It was just like the old times. Jake was always the one to help me through rough times. He always there for me, and I was grateful to have such a great friend like him.
We fell asleep together on the couch, I was in Jake's arms and he had his head resting on my shoulder. It was probably the most comfortable nap I'd ever had.
I woke up later that night, still in Jake's arms. I started crying silently. I couldn't believe so much had happened to me that day. I mean, I never even imagined that Edward would leave me. I was naïve enough to think that he would stay with me after I got the baby removed. I thought we'd stay married and he'd change me into a vampire… but I'd also kind of hoped he wouldn't. I had never thought that I'd want a baby so much. I just hoped that I could forget him this time, start a normal, human life. The life that I was meant to live.
As if sensing my tears, Jake's arms tightened around me protectively as he slept.
Edward's P.O.V.
We arrived at Denali only a few hours after boarding the private helicopter in Seattle. The Denali sisters were waiting for us, along with Eleazar and Carmen. They immediately sought out my son, and when they saw me holding the tiny bundle in my arms protectively, they all surrounded me in an instant.
"Is it true? He is your hijo biológico?" Carmen asked, astonished.
I nodded stiffly. "Yes, he is," I answered as Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper flanked me, wary of all the vampires intent on knowing Eli.
"Calm down, my family. I would like to speak to Edward alone as the coven leader," Tanya pushed through the other four vampires easily. The other vampires scampered off to get the car, giving me apologetic glances. I nodded at my siblings, and they quickly followed Tanya's coven, leaving me and Tanya alone.
Tanya smiled up at me, her pretty, pale face lighting up. "I can hear his heartbeat, pounding as fast as the wings of a bird," her eyes widened with wonder. I knew that she was thinking that the idea of Eli being a full vampire was impossible now.
I nodded, now hopeful. "Yes, I told you that he has a heartbeat, though it is very abnormal. He also eats mortal food. We've been feeding him baby formulas all this week and he has stomached them like any normal baby, although he sometimes seems disgusted by them. We've fed him blood, as well… he seems to prefer that, but he is not a full vampire. That I can assure you. He was born before he was due, but he seems healthy as a human newborn. He does seem a bit weak, though. He has slept for most of the week. It is a rare moment when he opens his eyes," I explained, the words tumbling out of my mouth in a matter of seconds.
Tanya's golden eyes flickered to the small bundle in my arms excitedly. I knew the words she was about to speak before she said them, "Might I hold him, my dear friend?"
I hesitated for only a second, but I trusted Tanya. "Yes," I said and then I carefully placed a sleeping Eli in her arms.
She held him as if he was the most delicate thing she'd ever seen and looked at him with an expression full of awe and incredulity. "He is so beautiful," she marveled. "Beautiful as his father," her golden eyes moved from his face and up to mine.
I blinked, taken a back. I didn't say anything because I had nothing to say. As if she realized what she just said, she looked down instantly.
"Beautiful as the vampire side that he inherited from you, of course," she feebly corrected herself, but her thoughts said otherwise. "Edward, I believe you. This boy is your biological son,"
I nodded and then looked at Eli. On the contrary, I wished that he looked more like Bella. I wished for him to have her soft, chocolate brown eyes and delicate features. Oh, how I missed her. And the worst part was the knowledge that I would never, ever see her again.
Jacob's P.O.V.
I woke up the next day with Bella still in my arms. I looked down at her pretty face and stroked her hair back from her face. She still looked too skinny. Her cheeks, which were usually plump and rosy, were now sunken and pale, as was her mouth. I would have to go shopping for groceries today, since all my old man seemed to have was crappy frozen foods.
Where was he, anyway? Drowsily, I looked around the eerily quiet living room and saw that it was vacant. Carefully, I unwound my arms from around Bella and set her head down on the pillow, pulling the thick blanket around her. She moaned and mumbled something and then went back to sleep. It was weird, because she hadn't spoken a word last night, and she was a heavy sleep talker.
I tiptoed toward the kitchen and found it empty, too. I went to his room and found him sleeping there, snoring slightly. Relieved, I decided to go shopping for groceries quickly before Bella woke up. I grabbed the keys to my Rabbit off the counter and then jogged outside.
As usual, it was a rainy day. It was real quiet outside, since it was barely 7 am and all the Rez kids were probably still snoring away. I chuckled and then got in my car.
Bella's P.O.V.
When I woke up, Jake was gone and I felt empty, somehow, without his arms around me. I tried to sit up, and this time it was easier for me. "Jacob?" I called out wearily.
No answer.
I sighed and swung my legs over the couch and began to sit up—
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Jacob put me under strict orders to keep you from standing or doing any other crazy, rebellious things," Quil spoke from behind me, and I jumped, startled.
I turned to look back and saw that he stood, chewing some type of chip. "Quil! You scared me!"
"So-rry. I was just sleeping and then I get this crazy call from my very favorite Jacob Black telling me he's gonna go grocery shopping like some kind of grandma for you, and that I have to come over to his house and babysit his girlfriend," Quil laughed at my expression and then popped another chip into his mouth, chewing loudly. His hair was ruffled, and he did look like he'd just woken up. I felt bad that Jacob had waked him up just so that he could have someone to watch over m, but I was also touched. Jacob had token his time and money to go get food for me, and that he'd even had someone come watch me.
"Right, well, um… I'm sorry he woke you up just so you could come babysit someone as boring as me," I grinned awkwardly. Did he know about the whole issue with the baby? Did he know that Edward had left me once again? This was so humiliating.
Well, if he did, he didn't show it. "Well, I'm not. Jake has great TV reception," He laughed, and then walked around the couch so that he faced me. "Make some room for me, Bells. You're taking up the entire couch," he teased. I moved my legs and sat up, leaving him the other half of the couch. He plopped down, picked up the remote control from the coffee table, and then turned the T.V. on. Then I remembered that Quil spent more time channel surfing than watching actual T.V.
Well, this would be a long, long day.
Edward's P.O.V.
"So you're telling me that your son is growing at a very rapid rate?" Eleazar asked me as Tanya drove their very sensible car toward their large house which was only a few minutes away now.
I nodded. "Yes, he is, and according to Carlisle's calculations, if this rate continues, two months for Eli are like a year. In only 7 years, he will be almost as old as his own mother is at this moment," I explained dreadfully.
Eleazar gasped. "So he will… be old very soon. What do you plan to do?"
Alice answered for me. "Jasper and I plan to travel the world in search for others like Eli and find answers. We must also be prepared for a visit from The Vulturi. We must have a good enough alibi to explain Eli," she said, leaning forward. She and Jasper sat in the backseat while Rose and I sat in the one in front along with Carmen and Eleazar.
"Whatever the result is, Edward, we will be with you every step of the way. We already failed to help you fight the newborn army. We will not fail our friends again," spoke Tanya from the driver's seat.
"Thank you, Tanya," I said and then returned to the conversation at hand. "Yes, well, we hope that is not the case. I would like for Eli to have a long life,"
Carmen looked at me sympathetically. "And what are Bella's thoughts on all of this?" she asked patiently.
Hearing her name was like a stab through my cold stone heart. I looked away from Carmen and down to my hands. "She and I are no longer together. She doesn't know about Eli," I explained in a monotone. Rosalie's hand slipped into mine comfortingly.
Carmen gasped. "But you two were just married! How is it possible that she does not know about her own hijo?"
"We took it out of her before she could give birth to him. She thinks we killed him," I answered coldly.
They were silent for the rest of the ride.
*End of Chapter 8. I have a bit of writer's block, but I'm working through it :) I'll try updating as much as I can.*