Chapter 3: The Wolf

Nessie's POV

I couldn't stop thinking about that Jacob guy. Our interaction had been brief but I wanted to see him again. I felt a tugging in my chest. A longing sensation to be near him again. It was crazy. It was pure insanity. I'd only seen him for a few minutes and yet I was desperate to see him again.

Beau clapped his hands once, smiled, and chuckled. I removed him from his carrier and held him close to my body. "I know, son mommy is crazy,"

He just smiles and claps his hands again. Even Bailey was looking at me like I was crazy. Or maybe he was just waiting for me to feed him his dinner. Yeah, that was probably it. It was already 7:30 in the evening. Past feeding time for my dog. Also just about feeding time for my son. Beau whimpered. I went downstairs to the kitchen where we kept the kibble stored and filled his bowl.

"Okay baby your turn,"

For the briefest of seconds it hurt when he latched onto breast. My parents had left to have date night and my brother was out with his friends so I had the house to myself. There was a time not too long ago where you couldn't keep me home any longer than necessary. Usually I would have been at Jack's house having fun but of course it was that fun we were having that resulted in Beau. He and I had never given much thought to what could possibly happen. We always got too wrapped up in the heat of the moment to think about things like condoms or birth control pills. In hindsight I should have realized that our behavior would eventually have some unintended results. But my son had been the biggest blessing I could ever receive. His father may have turned out to be a huge asshole who only used me but I got something beautiful out of it.

I dreaded the end of Summer because I would have to part with my son when I went back to school. If I ever found a babysitter willing to look after him while I was at school anyway. So far I have not had any luck in that department. Maybe if I could afford to pay people more money than I was currently offering it would be easier. $50 a week was nowhere near a lot but it was all that I could afford. I was beginning to stress out about the situation because I had less than two weeks to figure it out.

Bailey suddenly ran to the front door growling and barking. I went to investigate. I turned on the front porch light and was shocked to see a wolf standing there. A huge wolf. On all fours he was taller than a bear. Maybe as tall or even taller than a horse. From a distance he could have been mistaken for a grizzly bear because of the reddish brown fur. I did the total opposite of what any sane and rational person would do in this situation. I opened the front door and stepped outside with Beau still latched onto my breast. My dog went running toward the beast and skidded to a stop a few inches away from him. My golden retriever looked so small next to the wolf. The wolf glanced at him but he seemed more interested in me. My feet responded before my brain did and I began walking toward the massive animal. He wagged his tail as I approached. An odd sense of familiarity overcame me. It was as if I had seen this wolf before. I shook my head. I would have remembered seeing such a magnificent animal before. I stopped a few feet away from him unsure of what I should do next. The wolf decided for me when he closed the gap between us. He leaned his head into my body and I scratched him behind the ears. Beau grabbed at his ears which startled the wolf. I pulled my son back. But thankfully the wolf didn't show any signs of reacting aggressively. Instead he seemed interested in Beau. He sniffed Beau's little body causing him to giggle and kick. The wolf's ears suddenly perked up and he looked around as if someone had called him. He ran off.

"Well that was certainly strange,"

I walked back inside the house and got ready for bed. I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. It was Friday and I was feeling unusually optimistic about the day. Then I remembered that I had an appointment at 9 with Beau's pediatrician. He was due for his next round of vaccinations today. Just as I was walking out the door my mom stopped me and asked if I could stop at Costco to do some grocery shopping. I agreed a little too enthusiastically. Trips to Costco meant pizza and hotdogs at the food court. Before giving birth I was frequently tasked with the chore of grocery shopping. As soon as I got my driver's license I volunteered to take on that duty.

There were plenty of other people waiting with their babies/young children in the waiting room when I got there. Some of the babies were crying while the young children played. Beau was chewing on his teething ring as he laid there in his carrier. It was not long before we were called into the room. Beau didn't even flinch as the doctor stuck him with needle after needle as if he were a human pincushion.

"This little guy never ceases to amaze me. I've never seen a baby not cry while getting their shots,"

"Yeah my son is something else. I'm telling you he hardly ever cries either,"

"Enjoy the silence. Because once they start talking it's impossible to get them to be quiet and you'll be longing for these days,"

I laughed. "Anyway. It was good seeing you again Doc,"

All in all the whole appointment had only taken about an hour. Outside I glanced upward at the extremely cloudy and overcast day. The weatherman predicted that it would remain this way all day. Beau stared at them in awe.

"Those are dark clouds baby. I know we don't see them here very much in Florida now do we?"

He babbled incoherently. I loved it when he did that. I loved talking to my son and sometimes I could swear he was trying to talk back to me.

"Okay, next stop Costco,"

The Costco parking lot was pretty full. No surprises there. The only time I'd ever seen the parking lot empty was on a holiday. I had just begun loading the car with groceries when I had the sudden feeling that I was being watched. But when I looked around all I saw was other people minding their own business and doing their own grocery shopping. I sighed. Maybe I was just being paranoid. I started off in the fruits and vegetable section. My doctor had said the other day that I should start including more fruits and vegetables in my diet instead of eating so much processed and fast foods. I shook my head. It wasn't my fault that I preferred twinkies, donuts, cookies, cake, ice cream, and junk food over apples and grapes. Unless it was apple pie I didn't want to eat it. I did like oranges though so I made sure to put that in my cart.

I made my way over to the meat section and started to load up the cart with chicken, turkey, prime rib, and fish. It was then that I once again got the feeling that I was being watched. This time I spotted a guy looking at me. My heart skipped a beat. This guy looked a lot like my son with the only differences being that he was a teenager and he had gold eyes instead of green. Gold eyes. So strange. And he was looking right at me. Or at least it appeared to be that way to me.

"Excuse me, can you please move out of the way?"

"What? Oh yea, sure. I'm sorry," I quickly moved out of the way so the elderly lady could get ground turkey. I couldn't see the boy anymore when I looked again. He sure did move fast. Or maybe I had just imagined him. I shrugged and moved to the desert section. Fuck it. Doctors' orders be damned. I was going to eat as much sugary foods as I wanted. That concluded my grocery shopping. After paying for everything I walked over to the cafeteria which was nearly full. I rushed to get the one table left that was still available. I left the shopping cart with Beau's carrier sill strapped to the seat by the table.

He cried out for me. "I'll be right back baby. I promise," I kissed his cheek. I ordered a slice of pizza, a hotdog, and ice cream. I waited maybe two minutes before my order number was called and I went to collect my food.

I nearly had a heart attack when I saw that same guy who'd been watching me standing right next to my shopping cart and looking at Beau. My heart was beating so fast that I could feel it pounding in my ears as I sprinted toward the table.

"Get away from my baby!" I shouted so loudly that it caught the attention of several families. The boy looked up but didn't budge. "Who are you? What are you doing with my baby?"

"Renesmee please, calm down. I just wanted to talk to you,"

I was taken aback by his bell-like voice. "How did you know my name?"

"I think everyone knows your name by now," he chuckled. "That video you posted is spreading like wildfire,"

"Oh, right" I blushed bright red.

"And that is why I need to talk to you. You might want to sit down for this,"

I did as he suggested and he sat down across from me. "First of all I should start off by introducing myself. My name is Edward Cullen,"

"You're the Edward that I mentioned in the video, aren't you?"

"I am and that is what I've come to talk to you about. You might want to eat your food before it gets cold," he suggested. I bit into my hotdog. "I'm your brother. We're twins,"

"Wh-what?"

"You and I. We're twins. Our parents died when we were very little. Carlisle and Esme adopted us,"

For a second I felt like I could not breathe. I could not speak. It felt as if my jaw had just suddenly locked in place. "I don't understand,"

"Carlisle and Esme could not have any kids of their own so they chose to adopt. There's several of us. Bella, Alice, and Rosalie are our adoptive sisters. Emmett and Jasper are our adoptive brothers. It's quite a long story. But know this. We never abandoned you,"

"But then-"

"Come over tonight. Here is the address," I was surprised that he had already written the address down. "We'll explain everything then,"

"I can't,"

"Why not?"

"I have no one who'll watch my son,"

"Bring him with you. He'll be more than welcomed into our family. Trust me on this," he smirked.

My mind was racing as fast as my heart was beating. "He looks like you,"

"He's a very special baby alright. He's more like me than you think,"

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about,"

Edward smirked again. "Be careful what you think about when you are around him. Let's just say he's very good at reading people,"

I sighed. "Are you always this cryptic?"

Edward's crooked smile caught me by surprise. It was a lot like my own smile. He didn't say anything else on the subject. "One more piece of advice. Do not ever leave him unattended like that ever again. Not even for a second. All it takes is one second of inattention for someone to take him and then you'll never see him again. I've seen first hand what that kind of pain can do to a mother and father,"

Just thinking of never seeing my baby again felt like a punch in the gut. I'd die if anything happened to him.

"Can you come over around 8pm tonight?"

I shook my head. "Yeah, I can do that,"

"Well I have to get going. I'll see you then,"

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