Sorry it's been awhile. Since it has taken me so long to update, I am giving you all more than 1 chapter :)

Nessie

"Come on, Kid. You can do better than this," Emmett says as he pins me into the cool earth. My cheek is jamming into a rock, but I am stuck. There's nothing I can do when Em has my arms pinned behind my back. "You going soft on me?" he mocks.

"Shut up," I growl. Trying to free myself, I kick my legs and wiggle. Emmett is just too strong though for me to get away. He laughs one of his big, bellowing kinds of mirth and releases me. "I'm just a little distracted today," I admit as I stand and brush the dirt off.

"Excuses, excuses." Emmett is looking at me with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Sometimes I take for granted how incredibly awesome he is as an uncle. "Again?"

"Sure, sure." I take my protective stance across from his big body and wait for him to make the first move. "Don't go easy on me this time," I add as I raise my fists.

"You really are your mother's daughter," he grins as he begins to circle me like a hunter. I keep eye contact and make sure to match his pace. He finally lunges at me, going faster than he ever has before. He's even a blur to me. The full impact of his body sends me flying through the air. Before I hit the ground, I feel his cold arms catch me. "You sure you want me to give my all?" he asks with a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Maybe not," I admit. The last thing I need is broken bones.

"Didn't think so."

For the eighth time today Emmett and I brace ourselves for another fight. I take a deep breath and focus only on Emmett's eyes because that is how I will know when he begins his movements. Sure enough, when he dives at me, I am ready. I side-step him and use the split second that he is on the ground to leap onto his back.

He, being such a big guy, throws himself off the ground and reaches around his body. His big hands can't quite grab hold of me and I use the chance to pull on his head. I know if I was stronger, I'd be in a position to take his head off. Emmett catches me off guard when he rams into a tree. The pain of the bark causes me to release my hold.

I fall to the ground and Em picks me up over his head. I kick him as hard as I can in the face. Surprisingly, it cracks a little. He tosses me but I do a back flip and land on my feet. I run as fast as I can at him. When I am close enough, I leap over his head and land on his shoulders. He grabs me by my feet and holds me upside down like a child.

After a few seconds of laughing, he drops me. I stand and attack again. This time he pins me fast. My face slides into the hard ground and I taste dirt in my mouth. "Better Nessie!" he laughs. "You're getting stronger. I bet if you ever go up against another newborn, you will win. I just know it."

This is the news I have been waiting on. It's the reason I have been out fighting Emmett daily. And even though each night I dream about Katerina, she still wins; I now know that if she ever does come for me, I will win. "Ah shit," Emmett suddenly scowls. He pulls me back to my feet and I catch a whiff of what caused the cursing.

My face is bleeding where it hit the ground. It's bleeding more than I would have thought for how little the injury hurt. I heal a little faster than the average person, but I am no werewolf. I also can scar. "Edward's gonna be pissed," Emmett adds. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reply as I wipe some of the blood off with the collar of my t-shirt. I jog back toward my house and go straight to the bathroom without stopping for any of the questions being thrown at me.

In the mirror I see that I have a long gash from under my eye all the way to my jaw. Grandpa appears in the doorway. "Let me have a look," he sighs as he steps closer. I allow him to clean it up. "You'll be fine. It's bleeding a lot, but it's really not serious. You most likely wont scar."

"When will it heal?" I ask because the dance is coming up really soon and I don't want to look like Frankenstein at my first school dance. I'm not worried that Jake will care, but I will. Jake will tell me I'm beautiful no matter how I look.

"I'm not sure, Nessie. About a week, I would assume."

"So I will be back to normal for the dance?" I ask trying to sound nonchalant.

"Oh most definitely," he promises. "But there's nothing I can do about it in time for tomorrow."

I think about all the people coming over for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, but cannot make myself care about the cut. I would rather a cut on Thanksgiving than one on the night of the Winter Formal. "Thanks Grandpa," I sincerely say with a kiss on his cheek.

I bound out the bathroom and run to my room. I can hear Daddy yelling at Emmett outside. A small part of me wants to help Emmett, but I know he can handle Daddy himself. If anything, I am sure Rosalie will come to his defense. Right now I just want to see how Jake's doing back in La Push. I pull my phone out and send him a quick text.

Jacob

How's it going? The text from Nessie reads. I type a quick reply telling her that it's great to be home even if it is only for a night. "How's Nessie?" Dad asks from his seat on the couch. The game's on which means we can only chat during commercials.

"She's great. I mean, she's really awesome."

"That's great son. How about Bella? What's she up to?"

I am a little shocked to hear how tender my dad is toward Bella. I had assumed that once she became a vampire he would stop treating her like his own daughter. Every time he's kind catches me off guard. "She's doing really good. She and Edward are just doing the usual." I take another mouthful of chips and walk to the couch.

I sit down with a plop. "When are you all leaving for Italy?"

"I don't know," I admit. "I guess whenever the pixie sees Aro make a decision that could hurt Nessie." The game comes back on and I am once again ignored. I use the silence to finish off the bag of chips.

Outside a car pulls up and I hear the voices of Rachel and Paul near the house. I meet them on the porch and pull my sister into a big hug. Paul affectionately punches me in the stomach and slaps my face. In response, I tackle him off the porch.

We stand in a fit of laughs. "I've missed you man," Paul says. Rachel rolls her eyes and walks inside.

"Yeah, you too," I admit. "How are the rest of the guys?"

"They're great. Sam's having a big early Thanksgiving dinner at his house tonight. Seth and Leah were both invited. It's only fair that you come too."

"Alright, that would be awesome. Is it cool if I bring my dad along?"

"Of course man," Paul says with a grin. "So what you doing tomorrow?"

"Driving back to Canon Beach. I've got Thanksgiving with the Cullen's. They're making a big deal of it. I guess Nessie's friend Lizzie is coming with her family. A few of Carlisle's co-workers are coming too. It should be interesting to say the least," I laugh. "What about you?"

"Charlie and Sue are hosting this year. Rach and I are going with Billy, Leah, and Seth. Did you not know that Edward, Bella, and Nessie were invited?"

"I hadn't heard," I admit. I guess Bella decided not to see Charlie. Part of me is angry. We could have made a trip out of today and it would have been fun. Sometimes I really don't understand Bella's antics.

"You didn't bring Nessie?" Paul asks as we enter the house.

I shake my head. "She wanted to help with the cooking tomorrow."

The conversation ends here. Paul sits down next to Dad and watches the game. Rachel begins to cook something up in the kitchen. I can't help but enjoy the simplicity of being home. Here people can just sit and relax and be happy. I do miss Nessie though.