Chapter 19: Revelation
Nessie
I stayed in my room with Faith and Hunter at Carlisle's request. I didn't mind it in the least. My mind felt very confused after the events of the morning. So many questions ran through my head. How had that wolf gotten in here? Why did I feel the need to protect her? How did I know with such certainty that she was safe around my son? Why was she here? I was far from being an expert in wolf behavior but I was sure that wasn't normal.
I was happy that, at least, my kids had not been scared by the whole incident. Maybe it was just my crazy imagination but I could have sworn that Hunter was happy and maybe even smiling a bit when the wolf puppy was around. I checked my son's temperature and thankfully it was still normal. My daughter still seemed to be feeling. She hadn't been hit with this nasty illness as badly as her brother had been last night. Though, according to Carlisle, it could have gotten a whole lot worse for her as well if we didn't detect it when we did.
I remembered that I still had to give them their medicine as well. I also had to take mine. I'd left the prescriptions that Carlisle had given me in the nightstand. I gave Hunter his medicine first, then Faith, and lastly myself. Then I decided to draw up a bath for my babies. I got Hunter undressed first and put him in the tub before he had a chance to pee on me. I learned right away that with him I needed to be very fast before I was met with a fountain of urine in the face. I had been warned beforehand that getting peed on was a very real danger when you had a baby boy. I didn't believe it until it happened to me.
My son's face lit up with joy when I put him in the water. It was so strange to me to see how something so simple can make a baby so happy. But in a way maybe it was not so strange. Because I also took immense joy in giving them baths. Maybe it was because I knew that it made them both so happy.
When I got Hunter out of the bath about ten minutes later he had almost fallen asleep. I laid him down in the crib and went to get Faith ready for her bath. She took just as much joy in being in the water as her brother did. I watched as she kicked and splashed happily. I didn't even mind that now I had soap and water all over me. More than anything I was amazed by just how well coordinated she was for being only a month old. Hunter also seemed to have very good reflexes and control of his body for his age. I didn't understand it. Maybe they were just a little advanced. I didn't know.
Hunter had fallen asleep by the time I brought Faith back to her crib. I stood there watching over them wondering what I was going to do next. I couldn't abuse the Cullens' hospitality for much longer. They had been kind enough as it was to offer me their home. But I didn't want it to get to the point where they just saw me as an unwelcome intruder into their home. The problem still being though that I did not have anywhere else to go.
Oh well. I might as well watch TV and try to take my mind off everything for now. I remembered that I dropped the remote last night on the side of my bed. When I bent over to get it I saw that it was nowhere in sight. I assumed that I must have accidentally kicked it under the bed or something. I got down on my knees and reached under the bed. I pulled something out from under the bed. It wasn't the remote though. It was a photo album that had been covered in dust. I was sure that no one had opened it in years. I was about to put it back when I saw that the name Bella Swan was written on it. I pinched myself thinking that I was dreaming. I winced.
This had to be a coincidence. There must be other Bella Swan's in the world. I got a rag and wiped the dust off of it before cracking open the photo album. My jaw dropped when the first picture I saw was one of my mom. The photo album slipped from my fingers and landed on the floor with a thump. My mind was racing and there were so many questions in my head. I picked up the album again and caressed the image of my mom with my fingers. She looked young. No older than I was now perhaps but I knew without a doubt in my mind that it was her.
I flipped the page over and found more pictures of my mom as a teenager. In some of the pictures she was alone. But in others she was with someone. Usually it was Edward. No, that couldn't be right because he looked exactly the same in these pictures as he did now. In other pictures there were other members of the Cullen family. My head was spinning. They all looked exactly the same in these pictures as they did now. But, that was impossible because these pictures had been taken nearly two decades ago. That was my mom right there. My mom. Most of these pictures my mom was with the guy who looked exactly like Edward.
My mom had told me that my father's name was Edward. It felt as if the blood had suddenly been drained out of my body. My body froze and remained locked in place. My mind, however, was racing. Slowly things began to click in my brain. My dad's name was Edward. I had known that pretty much all of my life. The boy in this picture that gazed so lovingly at my mom was named Edward. If this was the same Edward that I knew then that could only mean one thing. It seemed impossible since he looked just like any other 17 or 18 year old boy. But my mind could come up with no other rational explanation.
Edward Cullen was my biological father.