Chapter 5 - Evasion

Renesmee

I sat on the bed, feeling the foreign aches all over my body that had never been there before. They felt good. But I had to be more careful. Perhaps Jacob was a freakishly strong human, but he was still human. Unless he was a human hybrid like me? That was still unclear and regardless that blood had tasted good. Too good. Perhaps I was able to survive on human food alone, but that didn't mean the craving for blood wasn't there, especially when it was placed directly on my tongue.

I moved towards the bathroom, putting on my robe as I did so. The need to be near Jacob was strange, almost magnetic. I imagined it was the way my parents felt about each other. My aunts and uncles. My grandparents. How they couldn't stand to be apart. I had not ever felt this way about someone, hadn't thought it was even possible for me. I stood in the doorway and stared at his naked body. His powerful thighs with his soft (yet still sizeable) penis dangling between them. His broad chest and powerful arms.

He looked back at me, smiling a rogue, boyish smile.

"You can look, but I don't know if I have another one in me after that," he said.

I laughed. "I think I'm all tired out, too," I said. "But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the view."

He took me into his arms quickly, holding me in a tight hug.

"I have to ask you something," he said.

"What?" I asked, nervously. There was so much I couldn't tell him. Not until I was sure.

"Would you want to spend the day with me today?" he asked, sounding almost as nervous as I felt.

"Yes," I said automatically. I had no desire to be apart from him.

I felt his chest relax as though he had been worried I'd say no.

"How's your lip?" I asked.

"Already better!" he said, pouting theatrically. "I heal quickly. You must have sharp teeth. It takes a lot to make me bleed."

"And what do you plan on doing with me today," I asked, ignoring his comment about my sharp teeth.

"Well, since I'm gonna need a break from fucking you, I thought we could start with breakfast. I do have to go take Luna out, so maybe we could take the dogs for a walk and — oh crap."

"What?" I asked.

"Today's Saturday, isn't it?" he said.

"Yeah, why?"

"I'm supposed to go to this thing on the reservation," he said, sounding annoyed. "But — I don't know, would you wanna go with me?"

I felt a certain unease at these words. My parents had told me to stay away from Quileute reservation, telling me there were dangerous enemies there. But they had been so vague and I couldn't see what could be dangerous for me there, especially with Jacob by my side. And I really did not want to leave his side.

"I'd love to!" I said. "I have to work a shift tonight, but not until 8 o'clock. I'm free for the day."

The two of them ate breakfast together. I had bloody sausages and made him eggs. For a while we are in silence, staring at each other through bites of food.

"You definitely don't have any heart conditions?" Jacob said finally.

"Nope," I replied, trying to keep my tone light and casual as though a triple-fast heartbeat could happen to anyone. "I've always had a fast heart rate."

"Hmm."

"It's not like your heart rate is exactly normal," I blurted before I could stop myself.

"That's true," he replied, then quickly changed the subject. "So what kind of a doctor are you? Surgeon?"

"An oncologist," I replied, glad for the change of subject.

"Yikes. That's cancer and stuff right? That must be a tough job."

"It is," I admitted. "But worth it when you can cure it or at least give someone an extra 5 years of life."

We were both quiet for a moment then. I thought about my endless life and how feeble 5 years really was. But, I supposed, it was better than nothing.

"How about your job? I know nothing about cars, I'm afraid. Do you have a specialty?"

"I used to, back when things weren't all electric. Now it's just about keeping up with the tech — things change so fast. But it's definitely interesting."

"And, how did you work on cars," I began slowly, "that were gas engines? I haven't seen one of them in 10-15 years."

I could tell by the look on his face I had caught him not in a lie, but in a truth. A truth he wasn't ready for me to know yet.

"Well I learned on them when I was a kid," he said quickly. "Older tech on the res. Lower income, ya know. Fix what you have instead of buying what you can't afford."

I supposed this could make sense. But still, the look on his face… or maybe I was just reading into it. Seeing what I wanted to see. And what did I want to see? Another hybrid vampire in the northwest peninsula? What were the odds that there was another like me in the country? We knew of only 6 others and they were all in the Amazon, all the creation of one other sadistic vampire.

I remember my grandparents and aunts and uncles fawning over my "individuality" when I was growing up. Even my father would wonder at how "special" I was. It was only my mother who I could see was anxious about the differences, worried about what it might mean for my childhood. She wanted normalcy for me, I could tell. And certainly she always tried to give it to me. But there was always a limit to how normal I could be and I could see it grieved her even more than my father.

"Well, I should probably go feed Luna," said Jacob, taking his plate from the dining room table and bringing it to the sink.

The thought of parting with him even for a moment made my stomach drop. Perhaps this showed on my face for he said, "you can come with me, if you like. Then we can go straight to the res after."

"Okay," I said eagerly. "What's the occasion? What should I dress for?"

Jacob seemed taken aback by this question.

"Um, whatever I guess. It's just a graduation party, that's all. For my friend's son. It'll be outdoors."

I ran (not too fast) to the bedroom and stripped off my robe, hurrying to find something suitable to wear. Jeans and a blouse seemed to do the trick. As I was pulling up my jeans I saw Jacob watching me from the doorway. He had not gotten dressed yet, but was still completely naked.

"What a shame," he said.

"What?" I raised my eyebrows.

"To cover you up," he said.

I rolled my eyes, but he came towards me, put his hands on my still-bare breasts and kissing them gently. He was hard again.

"You said you couldn't go again," I breathed.

"I probably still can't," he murmured, kissing my neck, making me shudder. "But it's so tempting to try."

Then he moved away from me, smiling.

"I guess that's why you should probably cover up, huh? Keep me under control?"

"If that's even possible," I teased.

Once we were both dressed, we went down to the street where his car was parked. Despite my protests, he insisted on driving. We drove to the west edge of the suburb where his apartment building — a three-story brick house as old as the city itself — was located. He ran inside quickly and came back out with Luna who jumped happily into the backseat.

"She loves our trips to the reservation," said Jacob.

Then we drove. 3 and a half hours of driving. I'd forgotten how far Forks and the reservation were — especially by car. For the first 45 minutes, I wondered what on earth I was doing driving with a total stranger — a stranger who was actually as strong as me, if not stronger — out into the Olympic Peninsula wilderness. I must have been out of my mind. Then we began to talk. Talking was hard when I was living a fake life. I had to try to keep my own story straight so Jacob wouldn't get suspicious. And he asked a lot of questions. Part of me wondered if he was just trying to keep me from asking any about him, but then I thought maybe I was being paranoid. He asked if I had any siblings, where my parents were from, where I went to high school, my favorite hobbies growing up, my favorite color, my favorite food, my favorite music. It went on and on. For the most part I found I could be honest about myself.

"No, I don't have any siblings. My mom was from Phoenix, my dad was from Chicago. Porter Creek Secondary School. Playing piano. Purple. Venison. Classical."

But other questions were harder.

"So, what have your previous boyfriends been like," Jacob asked.

"I haven't had many, to be honest," I said. "Too busy. And for one night stands I usually prefer women."

"Huh," said Jacob, sounding genuinely interested. "I guess you made an exception for me?"

"You're not a one night stand," I said without thinking.

"I certainly hope not," he said, seriously. "But c'mon, you must have had a high school sweetheart at least."

"I did," I said. "But… my parents wouldn't let me date."

I winced, the memory of a boy named Andrew coming back to me. Andrew was the most perfect boy. Captain of the hockey team in my first high school in Juno, Alaska, straight-A student, kind, funny. It was the junior prom. I was only 8 years old at the time, but a grown woman in every other way. He asked me out. I said yes. My family was nervous to say the least, but they thought no harm could come from one night at prom.

I got all dressed up. He brought me flowers. We danced, we talked, we laughed. I sat at his table with his friends, not with my parents (who everyone thought were my siblings). At the end of the night we were dancing close. He kissed me under the lights of prom, like a scene from a Disney Channel movie.

We started dating after that. He told me he loved me, that he wanted to be with me even after he went away to college. I felt like I loved him too. I wondered if I could tell him what I was. Certainly he knew I was different, but he couldn't explain how with his duller human senses.

Meanwhile, my father slowly grew to hate Andrew. Like any teenage boy, he had ambitions that were every father's nightmare. The night of our high school graduation (my first of many), he had booked a hotel room. We were going to meet there, but I never would. My family had packed our things. We were moving away, starting over. They had collectively decided it was time for my first love to end. That I couldn't make the same mistakes as my father. That I couldn't ruin an innocent boy's life.

Looking back, I whole-heartedly agreed with their decision.

"How about you?" I asked. "I'm sure you had a girlfriend in high school."

Jacob shook his head.

"Not even a crush?" I pressed.

He shrugged. "She chose some other guy."

"So we've both been unlucky in love," I said.

Jacob snorted, as though enjoying a private joke. "Ain't that the truth."