July 1, 2009~

Lily went back to sleep awhile ago, after washing most of the mud out of her skin and clothes. I did too, but now I cannot sleep at all. I stare blankly at the ceiling, the raindrops on the screen gathering in weird patterns across the glass. A sheer blue light glows from outside, and I am warm underneath my covers.

I try to count to sheep. Imagining little white fluffy things dancing across my vision, I counted carefully to myself. One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…eight…nine…ten…eleven…twelve…thirteen…

I decide to think in the mean time. I cannot believe Lily's story. Rena was eighteen…poor Alex. He must've been under a lot of stress. I wonder if Lily looks like them.

Thirty-one…thirty-two…thirty-three…thirty-four…

Is Alex married like she thought? For Lily's sake, I hope not. It'd be nice if Alex came back and took Lily home.

Fifty-seven…fifty-eight…fifty-nine…sixty…sixty-one…

Is my dad still alive? I have no idea. I can't remember much about him…

Is it ironic that Edward shares the same name as my father? Yep; totally. Maybe he is my father, even though he denied it. Maybe he and Bella are divorced and he's going to kidnap me or something. I hope not.

Eighty-three…eighty-four…eighty-five…eighty-six…eighty-seven…eighty-eight…eighty-nine…ninety…

My consciousness drifts and I slowly fade to sleep…

The apartment is dark and hot. Very hot; like a sauna. I blink my eyes open and look around. I am lying on Bella's neatly made bed. Her sheets are warm from the temperature, and I wonder if it's hot in Seattle like this.

"Bella," I call into the empty apartment. "Mom?"

There is no reply. Yet again, I am older; probably around fourteen or fifteen years old. I hear cars beeping and people shouting outside the living room window as I get up and walk to the front of the apartment.

"Is anyone here?" I call out, expecting to get an 'I'm in the kitchen, honey' from Bella. But there is nothing.

What if that demon girl pops out again? She'll kill me for sure if I don't get the hell outta here within the next three seconds. With that, I dash to the door and fling it open. But what I see is not what you'd expect to see in an apartment building…

There is mossy greenness everywhere I look. The air is still extremely hot, but this time it's humid too. It smells of rotting wood and musky water, like a swamp. I turn around, hoping to see the apartment, but all I see are more moss-and-vine-decorated trees and a filthy river. It rushes by me, its water brown with dirt and plants. Oh, crap, I think to myself and break out into a run through the woods.

There has to be a way out of here somewhere. It can't just go on forever, I try to tell myself. I strain my ears to hear for any noises by cars or people in the swamp.

Suddenly, the bushes behind me rustle ever so carefully. I whip around to see the demon girl standing there, her red eyes glinting in the dim light of the cloudy day.

"Nessie," she coos. "So nice to see you again." I back up into a tree trunk and clench my hands into fists. "You wanna go?!" I warn, my voice sounding stronger than I feel. "Bring it!"

She cocks her head and clicks her tongue. "Oh, Nessie, you have so much to learn." With one fluid movement, Demon thrusts her leg forward in an attempt to trip me, but I grab it and throw her into the river. She splashes against the current, but quickly gets back up again; too quickly. She races to me, but instead of cowering this time, I pull my lips back over my teeth in a snarl and leap at her, our hands interlocking. She tries to grab my neck, but I block her and grab hers instead. I shove Demon into a tree and dig my nails into her skin, but it is rock hard.

"Nice try," she sings. "It's not going to work, no matter how hard you try."

"Who are you?" I growl, my voice venomous.

"I am Jane, a member of the Volturi guard." She shakes her head again. "Oh wait, that's right, you have no clue." She smirks evilly. "I'm the reason you and your precious mother Bella had to live alone for so long. And then she had no choice but to bring you here to New York State." Jane shrugs. "Sorry, Nessie."

I feel my hands getting weak. This girl was the crazy murderer who was after me so many years ago.

"What do you want?!" I roar. "How could you ruin my life like this?!"

Jane blinks. "I had to. Nessie, you're against the rules of our existence."
"W-what are you talking about?" I stammer.

"You know," she begins. "Vampires?"

I gulp and my breath comes in short, quick pants. Vampires? She's crazy. Absolutely mad. There's no such thing as vampires.

"Sorry, but I have to do this," Jane snarls, and suddenly glares at me with those bloodred eyes. I am immersed in pain, feeling fire lick away my skin and my bones disintegrate. "Jane, stop!!" I cry. "STOP!"

"No," she growls. "I can never. I'm getting back at you for all that you've ever done to us."

"I haven't done anything!!" And then, I drop into the swampy river, the water burning my skin like the bubbling liquid of a hot tub…

I float unconscious downstream and land in stagnant water; a murky pond. Someone lifts me out, but I am not cold. The heat is even more sweltering out in the open air.

She begins sobbing against me, holding me close to her as she strokes away my wet hair. "I'm sorry, Renesmee," she whispers.

Bella.

I shoot upward out of my bed, about to scream, "Mom?!" but I restrain myself when I see the others sleeping.

I breathe in and out steadily, trying to convince myself that I was just dreaming. But then, the silk curtains sway ever so slightly from a sudden movement and a piece of neatly folded paper lands on the wooden floor.

I look both ways before getting out of bed, just to see if anyone else is awake, but the room remains silent. I tip-toe across the floor and kneel down to pick up the letter, sitting cross-legged in the silvery moonlight. The rain has stopped and now the night is clear.

I unfold the letter carefully, making sure not to rip the delicate paper, but what's inside startles me. I begin to read:

Dearest Renesmee,
I'm sorry I had to part from you so suddenly, but it is something I must do. I promise I will be back soon to take you home to Forks where Bella awaits us. No matter what anyone says, you are safe here. Ignore the nightmares of Jane. She will not come to hurt you.
Renesmee, always have faith that you will be reunited with your family. Times may seem difficult, but life is unfair like that. Enjoy your locket, and I'll see you in a few weeks.
---Edward

I stare blankly at the letter, not knowing how to react. How does Edward know about Jane? And my nightmares?! Everything is very confusing, but then I remember how he said to 'enjoy my locket'. What does that mean??

I reach up to my neck, expecting the locket to be gone, but instead it is there. I gasp in awe and look down at the clean shimmering gold. Slowly, my fingers peel it open to reveal the picture inside. I gasp in awe when I see the picture, because nothing is becoming any clearer now. Is he my father? He was lying! But he could be my brother…but I don't have a brother!

There in the picture are three beautiful people, their white skin glowing pearl in the faint light. Bella has her arms around me, her smile brilliant against her red lips. The man that stands beside her has the same auburn hair as me…but this time, his face isn't blurred.

The man is Edward.

Then, I woke up.