A/N: To answer a question I saw in reviews, why did Renesmee meeting Jacob make her disappear when she's also been around Seth and Leah? My opinion is, she only briefly visits with the Clearwaters, does not stay with them. By imprinting, Jacob has full intentions to be a constant fixture in her life, which makes her disappear for Alice.
We're sticking with Eddie boy's POV for awhile! There is a long conversation to come, spanning multiple chapters. This is just the setup! Hope you like it!
Edward's POV
Another hour and a half passed, Bella and I never relaxed a muscle. I searched my mind out as far as I could, dying to hear a glimpse of Renesmee…or even Jacob. Finally, I heard them, both of them. Carefully, I stood up, heading into the kitchen with Bella and Seth following. We left Sue and Charlie behind to watch their game.
"They're almost here. Both their minds are in a tangle. Jacob still hasn't told her the truth, he's not sure how to start." I whispered, narrating to them both.
"While they were out tonight, Renesmee ran into your old friends—Angela, Ben, and Mike." I couldn't stop the sneer to my lips as I gave a pointed look at Bella. "They mentioned something to her about you and Jacob possibly being an item back in the day. She's trying to make sense of it."
Bella's eyes were so scared, she lifted her shield again.
Oh no Edward. She's going to hate me, she'll think I've been lying to her for her whole life. I guess I have.
I pulled her to me and she slumped against me.
"She may be confused right now, but she will understand. I'll back you up. No mother is expected to tell their daughters their full romantic history." She rolled her eyes at me.
A history neither of us want to revisit. Giving her the answers she deserves…that's some of the hardest times of our lives.
I reassured her with another squeeze. This couldn't be avoided, no; we can support each other through the conversation on Renesmee's behalf.
"Are you all okay with me being here? Should I leave?" Seth asked us both.
"Of course Seth, stay. I think it would help to have a possible mediator. Unless Jacob or Renesmee want you to leave, we're fine with it." Bella patted his hand where it fell on the table.
The closer the car came, I pushed all my focus onto their minds, working to control my emotions. I listened carefully to them both, inching slowly toward the door, unsure of where their conversation would lead as both still remained silent. Jacob, the coward that he was, was still at a loss for words to come clean to my daughter. And my daughter, my brave girl, she wasn't having any of it. She was determined to get some answers. She tried to start, but the words died off in hesitation. Finally Renesmee spoke again. I patted a comforting hand to Bella, where she was still tight against me, and slipped out of her grasp, ready to intervene.
"Jacob, I have to ask. Something came up at the restaurant tonight, when you were cashing out. I don't know how else to ask this, but…did you know Bella Swan? Like before, when she lived here?"
Nervous, he looked away from her and I heard him recognize my car and scent in his mind. An old, familiar animosity filled his thoughts.
Bella slumped into a kitchen chair when she heard Renesmee's question, putting her face in her hands. She was distraught that our daughter would find out this part of our lives in this way. Seth laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.
While Bella was stressed, I was livid. I listened and Jacob Black continued to stay silent, his thoughts incomprehensible as he still had no idea what to say. I'd had enough waiting, if this conversation had to happen, it's happening now. In two strides, I was at the door, nearly ripping it open. Jacob whipped his head around, but Renesmee stayed stubbornly focused on his face, demanding answers.
"Yes Jacob," I put every ounce of my rage into my words. "Did you know Bella Swan?"
How I wished the answer to that question was no. How much simpler our lives would be.
For almost two years, he knew Bella; he loved her and pursued her. While I may hate him for many of his choices and overall arrogant attitude, I couldn't even put the blame on him for entering her life. No, that blame was mine. If I'd never left her, in hopes of saving her from my evils, she would've never seeked out his friendship.
In the years since her transformation, Bella and I had talked about our life together, discussing old memories. It started as practice for her and her shield; she would work to lift it away from herself and then share an old memory with me.
During her newborn year, she had made it a priority to reminisce on her human memories as much as she could, hoping to remember all of our time together. Through her shield practice, it led to even deeper discussions about our hardest times together. With the sincerity of her open thoughts, I could accept her, undeserved, forgiveness for my choices. I couldn't fathom how, but she understood my intentions behind leaving her. She even argued, objectively, that some positive growth came from the experience—not the least of which being my near complete immunity to her blood. There were plenty of negative consequences, of course: our sufferings, provoking the Volturi, and Bella's gained wolf friendships. For better or worse, we had both moved past it all, grateful to have ended up together despite the obstacles.
It felt jarring, wrong, to have the memories dredged up again after such closure.
Even as I thought these things over, Jacob remained silent. His thoughts were in a scrambled snarl, his mouth failing to speak coherent words. It was Renesmee who broke the silence first.
"DAD?" She screeched, the highest levels of shock on her face. Her thoughts too, had been shaken by the surprise. I was one of the last people she expected to see behind this door. My anger must have been clear on my face. I kept my fists balled at my sides to keep from reaching for Jacob's neck. I was frozen in place, eyes boring into his, unwilling to move, worried that when I did I would strike.
In a flash, Bella was behind me, her hands reassuring yet restraining on both my shoulders. This broke Jacob away from staring at me. He locked eyes with Bella's and his jaw dropped open. Shock, hurt, anger, and loss flitted through his thoughts. He truly believed, or hoped, he would never have to see her after her change, he knew he couldn't bear the sight. While the wistful longing of love was—thankfully—gone, she was still his best friend and he still hated our kind. How he felt about Renesmee, knowing we were her parents, softened the blow in some ways. Yet, there were still years of anger and resentment working its way into his new reality.
"Edward, not here, not now. Charlie is right behind us." She anxiously whispered to me. She could tell as well as I could that Charlie and Sue nervously held onto our every word. While Sue was more aware of the supernatural world than Charlie, she was just as anxious.
I nodded slightly, assuring her I would keep myself under control until we could get Charlie out of here. I registered Seth's thoughts, he met eyes with his mother and motioned for her to get Charlie out of here soon. As I backed away from the door to let them inside, Bella moved a hand down to grab mine, always my most comforting support.
Charlie had slowly gotten off the couch and walked to meet us as we continued inside. His cop instincts always on, he noted the tension immediately and worked to ease it.
"Jake! Renesmee! How was your day, kids?" He leaned over and patted Renesmee's shoulder, "Good," She mumbled back. Jacob didn't acknowledge the exchange. Instead, he remained locked on to me, his thoughts warring between his deep rooted hatred of me yet the acknowledgment of my relation to the new center of his universe. That thought had me seeing red. I gripped Bella's hand harder, fighting to hold control until Charlie was gone.
Charlie's thoughts were tense as he remembered a similar standoff between us, years ago. Arguably one of his worst decisions, Jacob Black had kissed Bella without her expressed consent, leading her to punch him in the face for retaliation. Unfortunately, he being a werewolf and her still being a human, this hurt her much worse than him. This led to quite the standoff between us in this very foyer when I came to pick her up.
Bella remembered too, that instance and a few other similar confrontations between us. Her eyes flicked back and forth between us, desperately hoping her and Seth would be able to keep things civil.
Heeding the prompts from her son, Sue came up beside Charlie.
"Hey, why don't we go see what Leah is up to tonight? Let's give the kids a chance to catch up, it's been years." She eyed Jacob pointedly, her thoughts imploring him to remember the treaty that kept her people safe. Next, she looked at Seth, a mother's anxious plea to stay out of trouble. Last, she warily glanced between myself, Bella, and Renesmee; she never fully trusted us but had seen enough civility over the years to build a small level of trust.
Charlie walked between us all, breaking mine and Jacob's stares. He gave a quick hug to Bella and Renesmee, a shoulder clap for me and Jacob, and he and Sue left.
