Chapter Three-Curiosity

There were exactly forty-seven bricks surrounding the fireplace. There were sixty-two tiles on the kitchen floor. What else could I count? Television pixels?

Renesmee was pacing in the room next to mine as she spoke into the telephone. "Two hours. He's been gone for two hours. Seth says he's on the mainland, but he hasn't found anything yet." I was perfectly capable of hearing Bella's side of the conversation, but I chose not to listen. I could tell Bella was worried, though, from the inflections in her voice. Renesmee was speaking to her mother to calm herself down, but it wasn't taking much effect.

I walked to over to my window. Seth was still standing in front of the house. The massive sandy-colored wolf was almost hard to spot amongst the endless dunes of-well, sand. I knocked on my window and waved at Seth. He shook his head slowly and turned back around to focus on his telepathy with Jake.

"Carlisle says it's no one we know." Bella's voice penetrated my thoughts and with a twinge of guilt, I began to focus once more on their conversation. "It doesn't make sense. Why would vampires be in the sunniest state in the continental US?"

There was silence on Renesmee's end. "It's not…" she began.

"The Volturi? No, Alice is watching Aro. About a month ago he sent the half of the guard out to Eastern Europe to investigate escalating murders, and he hasn't heard from them since."

"Vampires?"

"Probably. But the Volturi doesn't know about Aiden. He's safe." They had been able to keep me hidden from the power hungry Italian coven for five years, but I would never have complete security. I was a burden to my family.

I heard the front door open, and Renesmee and I were at the foot of the stairs before Seth could close it.

"I've got to go, mom. Call you later." Renesmee hung up the phone. "Where's Jacob?" she asked Seth. "Is he coming home?"

"Jake can't find anything," Seth started. "He's coming back."

"What did Jake say?"

"The scent disappeared just as quickly as it came. And…" After more than appropriate time for Seth to complete his sentence had passed, I cut in.

"And what?"

"Jake said the scent was…familiar. I don't know." Seth shook his head.

"You look tired. Go upstairs and take a nap, hun. When did you say Jake would be back?"

"It shouldn't take him longer than twenty minutes to get here. You guys should be safe."

There were so many things wrong with this conversation. How was the scent familiar and yet Alice had seen nothing? How had the scent disappeared so quickly? Why would a vampire be in Florida in the first place? Now that Jacob was returning, what would we do? If the vampire left would we stay, or leave incase it came back?

Seth brushed past me to go upstairs, looking exhausted. Renesmee lifted her hand to my face.

"I'm fine. Don't worry." I said. Renesmee nodded, but her eyes were full of doubt.

"Stay safe," she said before ascending the stairs.

I needed to take a walk. Probably not the best idea, but hopefully I would be back before Jake. The sun had risen fully in the sky and no clouds obstructed its rays. It was as if there had been no storm. I thought, for the first time, of the two human girls I had watched on the beach the previous night. So carefree…

I shut the front door behind me and took a step into the scorching hot sand. My bare feet made light footprints leading to the water. The tide had risen visibly, and the water was slightly cool with rainwater from the night before. I thought again of the human girls as I traced a heart in the wet sand. I wondered what they were doing right now, on the mainland. We're they sleeping? It was only nine in the morning. Were they enjoying the sun on the beach?

Were they alive?

The vampire in the area could have been out hunting, and I doubted Jake would have been able to smell it through the storm. I should have watched the girls until they were safely inside. They were the only ones out on the beach that night…

But what could I have done? As if I could stop the vampire. Maybe I would have told Jake, but even he couldn't get to the mainland in time. I was surprised to feel emptiness in my chest at the thought of the innocent girls being dead. They seemed to be around my age. Their lives had a purpose. They had family and friends who loved them. Maybe they had a lover back home that would grieve them. They could have grown up and changed the world.

The loss of my life, however, would be far less significant. I had no friends besides Seth. The thought of me having a mate was laughable, since I had never had contact with human females besides maybe the imprints of the pack, and they seemed to fear me. I would never "grow up". It was likely that I'd stop aging at seventeen like Renesmee and Jacob. I would never know the joys and the pains of getting older-but that paled in comparison to the fact that I couldn't even have a childhood. I was five years old and could already pass the college ACT with flying colors. I didn't know what it felt like to go to school or to have friends. Pop culture didn't interest me. The term "ignorance is bliss" could not apply more. The ignorant, hormonal teenagers that I see on television couldn't be happier.

Renesmee had been in a similar situation, but she had Jacob. A guaranteed best friend, a guaranteed mate. She didn't have to hide from the Volturi. I still didn't see how she could be so happy. Was she not tormented like I was? But it was plain to see-Jacob was her life, as she was his. Seeing my parents so happy together almost made me want to experience love.

Almost.

I knew love wasn't easy. Not firsthand, of course. The twisted love story of Edward and Bella was proof enough. I knew every detail of the two years before Renesmee's birth. Bella had kept a record of them- Four volumes of her life story. Renesmee and I were the only ones who had read them. Bella was a phenomenal writer. Her love for Edward was unconditional, and they had to overcome endless obstacles to be together. But they had done it-for what? Love. An intangible emotion. I couldn't understand it.

I couldn't understand the point of my life either. I was waist deep in the water now. Perhaps it was to satisfy Carlisle's curiosity. Whenever I was in Washington, he would perform endless tests on me. I was interested to see the results, to learn more about myself. I knew I was completely unique, but that also made me feel alone. The water swirled around my shoulders.

I wasn't even unique in a good way. I was far less fragile than a human, but not as fast or strong as a vampire. I was starting to wonder if I had any wolf in me at all. Controlling my anger had never been a problem. Maybe phasing was a coming-of-age thing. Maybe since Jacob was my father, I would phase when I was his age. But I had already spent so much time around vampires…

I opened my eyes, and the water didn't burn. I could see perfectly clearly, but everything was tainted green. I stayed perfectly still as I watched the small school of fish swim around me. My lungs weren't burning yet, and I began to count.

Twenty seconds. I wondered if my invisibility would work on animals. The fish had been steering somewhat clear of me. I couldn't focus on so many small minds at once. They were all very small, thinking in unison.

One minute. I wasn't yet desperate for air. I looked up above me. The surface of the water distorted the sunlight, scattering the rays around the smooth ocean floor. It was beautiful.

Three minutes. Beauty. Could it be applied to something that one couldn't see? Renesmee was beautiful. The fish, moving as one body, scales glinting in the sunlight, were beautiful. The girl dancing in the rain on the beach with her friend, she was beautiful.

Five minutes. I watched a small shark swam in a zigzag path along the ocean floor. He seemed uninterested in me as well as the fish. Sharks must be lonely. Lonely, hated, and feared. Slave to their instincts. They were like me, except I had no idea which instinct to give into. For example, the wolf in me wanted to kill the shark; get rid of any potential danger. The vampire in me wanted the shark to fear me. The human in me feared the shark.

Seven minutes. I was starting to ache for oxygen, but I knew I could last much longer. I would have to make note of this for Carlisle. I honestly didn't know what he wanted to do with all of this information. Harvard Medical Report- Vampire/Werewolf Child Can Hold Breath For Over Seven Minutes Without Difficulty.

Eight minutes. The surface of the peaceful water was disturbed by a tan, muscular arm. It grabbed my shoulder and forcefully yanked me out of the ocean.

"What the hell, Aiden! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

So Jacob had come back.

My lungs filled with sweet oxygen but I was temporarily blinded by the sunlight.

"No." I choked out. "I was just swimming."

Jacob crossed his arms. "Swimming? You were being perfectly still. I thought you were dead!"

"Actually I was…" I felt my cheeks redden from embarrassment, or maybe lack of oxygen to the blood. "I was seeing how long I could hold my breath. You know, for Carlisle." I could see that Jacob was trying to dissuade himself from believing that I was trying to harm myself. It was a very real possibility, considering my distaste for my lifestyle. But I would never do that to Renesmee.

Jacob shook his head. "What is the doc planning on doing with you anyway?"

I shrugged. "Biological weaponry, maybe."

He was not amused. "I'm surprised Ness let you go outside. Seeing how long you could hold your damn breath…" he muttered.

"You're in a bad mood." I mused.

"Gee, I wonder why."

"So are we leaving? What's wrong? If you didn't catch anything…"

"We're staying."

"So there's no danger?"

"Not to you," Jake said. "…but the Floridians are in danger."

"I don't understand."

"Whatever that was," Jacob spit the word that like it tasted as sour as it sounded. "It had a serious purpose. Vampires don't just go to Florida to sunbathe."

"So why aren't we leaving?" he was only adding to my confusion. With each question he answered, a new one arose.

"Did you not just hear me, Aiden? God, I swear, sometimes you are as stubborn as your grandmother."

I stared at him blankly until he chose to continue. I tended to find that making people uncomfortable was the best way to get them to talk.

Jake sighed. "We need to stay to protect the humans. Whatever this is, it's not targeting us."

Guilt overwhelmed me as I realized that I had not even considered that angle. I recalled an earlier point in the conversation between Bella and Renesmee.

"Bella said that it's possibly a dispute between nomads. A vampire might have run to Florida to escape an enemy, knowing they would not follow them to someone so dangerous."

Jacob nodded, silently grateful for the information as I watched him try to piece together the story in his head.

"Well the scent disappeared, but we should stay in case it comes back."

"To protect the humans," I guessed.

"Exactly. The thing is, we can't really do that from here."

"What are you implying?" I surprised myself for being so blunt, but when I wanted answers I wanted them fast.

"We can't stay on the island. We'll move to the mainland, where Seth and I can run patrol."

"Do you mean…were staying at a resort?"

"That's exactly what I mean." Jake frowned. "I know Seth will be happy, but I'm not so sure about Renesmee."

"She'll surprise you."

"She always does." Jacob smiled and shook his head lovingly. "How do you feel about this?"

Hm. How unusual, Jacob Black taking other people's feelings into account.

"I'm not sure. Will we be around… people?"

Jacob nodded. "It's not that hard. It's just like talking to vampires, but dumber. Or talking to the pack, but smarter."

I chuckled.

"I think you'll have fun," said Jake. "Humans can be very entertaining."

"To mess with!" called Seth from the balcony. He must have been listening. "Don't worry Jake; Aiden's just worried about how to talk to girls at the beach!" Jacob rolled his eyes as Seth went back inside proclaiming, "Pack your bags! We're going to Key West!"

"I'd better go ask Nessie to call Alice and ask her to make reservations." He grumbled as he turned his back on me and started to the house.

"Jake." I said. He stopped but didn't turn around. "Seth said the scent was familiar."

I saw his shoulders tense. "Maybe. But it could always be an ally. Like I said, they're not targeting us."

According to Alice they weren't. But she's been wrong before. Jake continued to run towards the pretty little beach house on our island. We would be leaving. We would be staying in an unknown place surrounded by humans, with the threat of an unidentified vampire looming over our heads. I wasn't afraid of the latter, but I was terrified of the humans. I had no idea how to interact with them. I didn't even have a cover story. I didn't even know if I would speak to any of them, or if I even wanted to.

But encasing all of my doubt was a bubble of sheer excitement; a break from boredom and normalcy. I was about to explore uncharted waters and explore the boundaries of the world I lived in. I was stepping outside of my comfort zone. I was satisfying even more of my thirst for knowledge, experiencing the real world firsthand. I had never been so exited.

Or terrified.