Renesmee's POV

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" My mother asked for what felt like the thousandth time, turning around in the Volvo's passenger seat to give me a full view of her concerned stare.

"Mom, I'm not sure how many other ways I can say it. I'm excited to visit Grandpa Charlie! I can't wait to have more than just one week to explore Forks for myself. Plus we both know I want to be nowhere near you two on this trip, no matter how beautiful Isle Esme is." I faked a gagging motion looking in the rearview mirror to lock eyes with my dad as he drove. He laughed, rolling his eyes at us both.

"I know it's just we've never left you for this long before! An overnight hunting trip is one thing, but the entire summer?" She turned her sad eyes to my dad, trying to pull him onto her side of the argument.

"Love, you know that once Renesmee sets her mind to something, there's no changing it. I wonder where she gets that from?" He ended sarcastically, with a pointed look at her.

"Say what you will, but I'm not the sole giver of that trait. She's as much her father's daughter as ever." As hard as my mother tried to say this sternly, she couldn't hide her adoration for my father in her face.

Nearly a decade together and an eternity to go yet they still looked at each other the same as they did after their very first date. Or at least that's what my Uncle Emmett tells me. I obviously wasn't there but he loves to give my parents a hard time about their corny romantics.

While I wasn't joking about being excited to see my grandpa and having a summer of independence, all the lovey dovey feelings were also a big factor in my summer plans. I've spent my entire life living with not just my head-over-heels-for-each-other parents, but also my grandparents and both sets of aunts and uncles. A house full of four sickeningly in love vampire couples…then there's me.

I shouldn't be complaining. My entire family has given me their complete love and support from the moment I was born, which was not an easy task. But at times it could still be a bit lonely, seeing each of them basking in the joy of living life with their perfect other half.

At that moment my dad met my eyes in the rearview mirror, giving me a small smile of encouragement. I smiled back, not even bothering to be annoyed that my mind-reading father had heard my spiraling monologue once again. After all this time, it has become routine. It's a part of who he is just as much as any of my family's abilities were theirs. It was actually my father's mind-reading ability that granted me my own unique gift. He can read — almost—anyone's thoughts nearby as it passes through their mind. When his genes combined with my mom's, his power flipped with me and now I am able to share my thoughts with anyone I so choose, with just the touch of my hand. Very convenient growing up and working on communicating your needs.

Before I could fully understand my power, I worried I would accidentally tell others my thoughts when I didn't want to. As a child, my mother would touch my palm while I slept and see my dreams. Now that I'm older, I have gained enough control over it to have almost perfected the ability to only share thoughts when I want to. Not being able to see my dreams anymore made my mom sad in some ways, but she understood my need to have privacy. While my mom never meant me any harm, what if someday someone did?

I also inherited part of my gift from my mother. She has a power the vampire world calls a mental shield. While many vampires had gifts that influenced others' minds, my mom's mind was shielded from it. Even as a human, no mental powers could be used against her. Much to my dad's frustration, she was the one mind he could never read. They didn't even realize this was her power until after she was changed. After all these years, she can now use her power to shield others as well. Sometimes she shields myself or other family members' minds to give us privacy from my dad's mind reading—or to give dad some peace and quiet.

To make up for her silence, she has even learned how to drop her shield from herself so that my dad can read her mind at times. Any time she does that, I can tell immediately from the joy on his face; he loves it when she lets him hear her that way. From her, my thought-sharing ability knows no shield; while my family worried it wasn't possible, I've easily shared my thoughts with my mom since the day we met. If her shield can't stop my power, we doubt anyone's can.

Others in my family have abilities too. My Uncle Jasper is able to sense and influence the emotions of those around him. His talent is not blocked by my mom, so he's always able to know how the whole family is feeling. He can calm any of us down as well, if it's ever needed. Sometimes it's unintentional, if he gets too happy spending time with Aunt Alice all of a sudden the whole house is full of mushy feelings.

My Aunt Alice herself is also quite special, she's able to see visions of the future. She's best at seeing things like the weather, the stock market, or other future events. She can also see other vampires and their future paths, especially ones she personally knows. Humans are a little harder for her to see, but not impossible; she saw many visions of my mom while she was still human. But with me, a vampire-human hybrid, it was tricky. When my mom was pregnant with me, both our futures disappeared. Aunt Alice struggled for years with me as a blind spot in her vision. Over time, as she's become more familiar with me, she's been able to see me in visions a small amount. It's not nearly up to her normal standard and it drives her crazy, but she's at least now able to get some glimpses of me from time to time to assure that my future is clear of any trouble.

My mom finally gave up her stress and we continued the drive talking about all the things each of us were so excited to do this summer. I made my family tell me every detail about their years in Forks, especially my mom and dad. I could barely wait to explore the town where they met and fell in love all on my own. On our yearly visits, we kept them relatively short and mainly stayed at grandpa Charlie's home and my family's house in the woods. My never-aging parents couldn't risk being seen by anyone who knew them in high school. I wanted to go around and actually see all these inconsequential places that were so instrumental to my existence.

Soon enough we were nearing the exit for the Seattle airport. Our next home was close enough that we drove here together. My parents would be catching a flight while I drove the Volvo (our "human world" car) on to Forks. Suddenly, I had butterflies in my stomach. An entire summer without my parents? I felt like a true eight year old child for once, scared to be away from them. Hearing my stress, my father met my eyes in the rearview mirror once again.

"Renesmee, you will have a wonderful time this summer. Your mother and I will miss you more than we can say, but we know you deserve to experience a summer on your own. And we have full faith in you. Remember, keep away from La Push and there will be no cause for concern. I talked to Sam myself. Charlie is used to us not ever visiting Billy with him but he doesn't know why. If he starts to act suspicious, Seth will help you. You'll have so much fun with Charlie and Sue and Seth; you'll meet new people and see the town for yourself. It will be a perfect trip. And at the end of the summer you'll get to relive every moment for us." Then he parked the car, quickly getting out and opening my door so he could scoop me up into the tightest hug. He leaned down and whispered in my ear.

"For many years I was the odd one out too. I remember how lonely it can be. One day, far too soon for me, someone will touch your heart and the waiting will all be worth it." I looked up at him to catch the loving glance he shared with mom.

I hugged him back fiercely, working to keep the stray tears from falling. He kissed my hair and passed me to my mother, who hugged me just as tight. It felt strange to hug my parents this way, with such childlike love yet to be standing as their physical equal. But I pushed past that thought and pulled them both into one last group hug. They gathered their things, watched me get situated into the driver's seat, and stood back to wave. I rolled the window down and my mother giggled.

"You look so much like your father behind the wheel."

"Remember you have nothing to worry about. We love you." Dad added.

"More than my own life." I replied, completing our special saying to each other. With that, I backed out of the parking spot and turned toward Forks.