Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, Stephanie Meyer does, and there's just nothing we can do about that...
A/N: Wow! That was fast! I know the last chapter was short and I got a few reviews about how short it was, I was a little annoying but, I kind of understand.
Well, no room for complaining, here's the next chapter! There's one chapter after this so enjoy to the fullest!
Please give me feedback on what 'ya thinkk!
ENJOYYYYYYYYYY
Renesmee
"Renesmee you look so pretty!" Emily cooed when I stepped out of her bathroom with the knee-length pink chiffon dress she had bought me to wear tonight for the Valentine's Day dance at school. Emily had also been able to buy matching shoes, pink pumps of the same hue as my dress.
I felt empty and stupid. My chest felt bare without Jacob's Christmas gift, the necklace, dangling loosely from my neck. I had given it back to him last week when I ran into him, it was too much of a sour reminder.
"You think so?" I asked self-consciously. Emily smiled and nodded, her perfectly curled hair bouncing in time with her head. Her white Chanel dress was fit to each of her curves and her white heels clicked and clacked as she skipped towards me, pulling my hair back into a loose bun, light strands of hair gracing my face.
I couldn't believe I was actually going to this dance. I had such a horrible day today, especially since I had no idea who was sending me the flowers that I'd gotten up until seventh period today. That means I had seven roses from a complete stranger.
"I'm so excited!" Emily smiled, enveloping me in her infamous Emily-hug. I'm glad someone was excited because I was just plain scared shitless, my head was throbbing and my stomach was gurgling like I had bad gas.
I had a weird feeling down deep in the pit of my stomach that Jacob would be at this dance and I didn't want to see him there; not on a holiday like this. Emily smiled super-bright and lovingly before sitting me down on her bed.
"You look amazing honey, don't ever think I would lie to you about that." She assured me, putting light pink lip gloss on my lips. I sighed when Emily moved her attention from my lips to the front of my dress, making sure the top fit correctly. Emily ran her hand over my legs and then nodded to herself.
"What was that for?" I asked, a little paranoid.
"I just needed to make sure you're legs were shaven." Emily winked and I rolled my eyes. The dress was open in the back and I shivered a little.
"I think I need a sweater." I mumbled.
"If I don't need a sweater, you sure as hell don't." Emily sneered and I sighed. She was right, to an extent. Her dress had all of one sleeve and came up way higher than my dress did. Emily's cell phone rang abruptly and she pulled it our of her jean pocket from earlier today.
I listened in as she spoke on the phone, "Yeah… uh huh… we're leaving now… okay. Bye." I sighed, flopping down onto Emily's bed.
"Who was that?" I asked as Emily pushed me up off her bed.
"My mom. She wanted to make sure we were leaving." She sighed, grabbing her clutch and shoving her phone and some more lip gloss into it.
"Ah, I see." I muttered. I didn't want to go to this dance. Unfortunately for me though, Emily always gets what she wants. We walked carefully down the stairs and out the door to Emily's —recently washed— white Sedan.
"Ready? I'm so excited!" Emily gushed as she pulled out of her driveway, nearly hitting her own mailbox.
"Oh yeah, I'm just bouncing off the walls." I mumbled to myself. Emily must've heard me because she sighed heavily, rolling her eyes and turning on the radio. Lady GaGa's "Boys Boys Boys" erupted loudly from the car's speakers and I sighed, slouching into my seat as Emily made up her own words to the song.
It took us twenty minutes to get to school because Emily had to stop halfway to fill up on gas and then had to buy herself a pack of gum. She was taking so long it was absolutely ridiculous.
"EMILY!" I yelled when she got out again, saying she needed a bottle of water, just in case she got tired and thirsty. She had one leg out the door and looked back at me, shocked to say the least.
"What?" She asked defensively.
"Can we please go? Why are you so weird today?" I spat angrily. She pursed her lips and got back in the car.
"I was just thirsty, Jesus." She sighed, pulling out of the gas station. I rolled my eyes and Emily sped the rest of the way to school, finding a good parking spot among the tons of cars and half-drunk students. "Here we are, Princess Prissy-Pants." She sneered and I mimicked her face, sticking my tongue out at her.
We walked across the parking lot to where Emily gave our tickets to the girl from the "Spirit Squad" and she, in turn, gave us our neon pink wrist bands to get in. "Have fun!" she called over Muse's rendition of "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You." Emily smiled back cheerfully and we made our way into our pink balloon-infested cafeteria, cleared of all lunch tables and chairs.
There was an arch made of pink and red balloons over the entrance, a DJ up on stage nodding his head in time with the beat of the Muse song and a long, pink table cloth-covered table with —spiked— punch and more roses.
"Wow." I muttered sarcastically. What a cheesy dance. Emily's face, however, lit up with the hype of it all and she grabbed me, pulling me towards the dance floor. I stood there awkwardly as Emily danced to the love song blasting from the speakers. After the song ended and it morphed into "Angie" by Cobra Starship, Emily sighed, completely aggravated with me and pulled me to the side.
"What is your deal? Why can't you just dance?" Emily yelled, wiping the sweat off the back of her neck. I scratched my arm lifelessly and shrugged. "UGH, whatever, I'm getting something to drink." she snapped suddenly, leaving me by myself.
Tons of kids that went to school with me every freaking day looked so different. Filled with happiness and held by significant others. All the girls were dressed in either pink, red, or white. The guys looked completely carefree, dressed in everything from suits to jeans and a plaid shirt.
The song was loud and poppy, making everyone look even more spastic under the strobe lights. Emily's arm gripped mine from behind and she spun me, looking super excited.
"There's a rose over by the punch bowl, with your name on it!" Emily shouted over the music.
"What?" I screeched incredulously. How could that be? I had gotten the last of my flowers seventh period today!
"Yes-sir-e-bob." She nodded. I sighed, letting my head fall back out of frustration and writhed out of her grip, stomping towards the punch bowl. She had to be seeing things, there was no rose for me at this table, there couldn't be… there shouldn't be.
Sure enough, a single pink rose lay directly next to the punch bowl. To: Renesmee Cullen. From: A Red Letter.
Now what in God's name did that mean?
A red letter, sounds completely cheesy and stupid.
Just as I was about to stomp back towards Emily to complain, a red piece of paper peeking from under the table caught my eye. I looked around twice before kneeling to pick it up. It was rough and stiff like cardstock. I turned it over and found a thick, black arrow drawn in chunky black marker pointing towards the janitor's exit door. I knew where that led, down a narrow hallway and to the lobby of the school.
Now there was only one question.
Should I follow the arrow?
I looked back and opened my mouth, "Emily I-" She wasn't there. I craned my neck to look back over the crowd but I was way too short to see anything of substance over the mob of a crowd. She must be deep in there somewhere, dancing with a boy she's never met before, typical Emily thing to do.
I looked back down at the red paper with the smudgy black arrow on it and felt my hands shake.
Yes. A voice deep within me rang with clarity and hope. I sighed, feeling my eyes sting. I was tired of these cryptic clues. It made me feel like I was being followed. But, my father always used to harangue me about following my heart and the voice in my head.
However, I was sure this voice was coming from my heart.
I took an unsteady step forward, looking around again, this was it. Maybe I would find prince charming behind this door… Or maybe I would find a creepy rapist, school janitor by day, cryptic predator by night. I took a couple more steps until I was in front of the door, my hand on the cold door knob. I looked around, making sure no one was watching me, before I opened the door and slid into the dark hallway.
Nothing.
At least, not that I could see. I fumbled for a light switch, my heart and the muted thudding of the music back in the safety of the cafeteria was the only thing I could hear in the pitch darkness. I found the switch, flicking it on. I felt my heart drop when the fluorescents revealed nothing but an empty dully-lit hallway and a single red paper just like the one in my sweaty hands lying on the floor towards the middle of the eerie path.
I scurried down the hall, afraid to walk slowly, crouching and picking up the red paper.
Straight. Left.
The same thick, black print I'd never seen before in my life was scribbled onto the paper. I sighed, standing back upright.
This wasn't fun.
"Hello?" I called out shakily. My voice echoed off the empty hallway. I could barely hear the music from the dance anymore and my head was throbbing with pain. I stepped forwards again. If the card said straight, that's where I was going. I wasn't going to take any chances and get lost in the vast corridor of brooms and mops.
I was walking deeper into, what felt like, a trap. The music was completely gone by the time I came up to a dead end, on either side was another hallway. One path, I knew, led to the lobby of the school where I could escape and get back to the safety of the dance. The other I had no idea where it led, complete darkness could be behind that door. Osama Ben Laden could be behind that door and I wouldn't know it.
I looked down at the paper in my hand. Left. Of course, it would be the path I didn't know. It would be the one place in the whole school I didn't know about.
I wasn't liking this one bit.
I was scared shitless.
I'd never admit to being scared to anyone. It's just not something we Cullen family members do. We keep our fear bottled up inside because we're supposed to be strong people.
I would be the only exception to that rule.
I closed my eyes, breathing uneven, and stepped to the left.
No harm so far.
I started down the foreign hallway, completely horrified of what was to come. If this was some kind of Saw thing, I didn't want to play a game. If Jigsaw was going to appear on a random TV screen, I was fully prepared to shit my pants.
Of course, Jigsaw did not materialize. Instead, a red square taped onto a big, wooden door did and I stumbled backwards out of shock. Did I have to go through this door?
I lifted the paper in my shaking fingers, taking it off the tape it was connected to. I turned the paper to read it and the black, daunting font rose hair on the back of my neck.
Almost there. Don't stop now.
How fucking creepy is that?
I gulped loudly. My tongue felt like cement in my mouth but I wet my lips and put my hand on the knob, turning slowly. I closed my eyes, pressing them shut tightly. I was so afraid to look at what was on the other side of the door.
What did my dad tell me again?
It came back in a rush, the night I went Trick-or-Treating with Emily and Beyoncé when I was eleven. He put his index finger under my chin and told me, "Renesmee honey, your daddy will always be there for you. You know where I am, you know how to call me. If you need me, I'll be there."
No, that wasn't it. He told me something before that, something more important…
It was my third grade field trip to Dinosaur National Park, "No one can scare you, you only scare yourself." That was it! Don't be afraid, Renesmee. You can do this. You can only scare yourself and all that other stuff dad said.
I can do this.
I breathed in deeply and flung the door open.
Holy shit.
I was outside.
The flower garden.
Back when the school first opened, a flower garden was built with a massive willow tree branching out over the school planted right in the middle. It was made to commemorate Sequoya, the famous Native American.
Hanging from a bunch of outstretching branches was roses, dangling from thin fishing wire in a straight path.
What the hell is this?
I stepped unevenly, my breathing erratic by this point, and followed the row of roses and, now, twinkling lights hanging from the willow tree. There had to be more than twenty roses already, dangling, twirling in the milky twilight above my head.
The scene was so beautifully breathtaking I forgot about being scared out of my mind for a second. It made my heart flutter with happiness to think someone went through all this trouble for me.
Shit.
That scared me again because my first question popped right back up into my head…
Who was behind this?
I stopped short, staring down at a heart made of red rose petals on the grass beneath me. Was this where I stopped? Was this the end? Was this where I would meet my admirer? Or was this where Jigsaw finally popped out and chopped my head off?
Nothing.
I stopped breathing for a second, feeling a presence among me.
It was way too quiet for me to be by myself. I couldn't even hear my own breathing anymore. I was terrified. I didn't want to die, I was too young to be slaughtered in the back of the school by a scary rapist-janitor.
I didn't want to go this way.
A twig snapped behind me somewhere and I spun around frantically, finally meeting the face of the person behind all of this.
My breath caught in my throat.
It couldn't be.
A/N: AHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHHA! Cliff hanger #2!
This chapter is one of my favorites and I really hope you guys get a good grasp on it. Any questions about this chapter, ask away, this one is vital for all y'all to know!
QOTW: What is the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for you? (Mine was when Alex's mom bought me my Paramore/No Doubt concert ticketttt!)
Love you guys, 20 REVIEWS if you want to read the last chapterrrrrrr!
