Two Ghosts {Leah Clearwater}

41: Decisions

Renesmee had completely entranced anyone who met her, having everyone wrapped around her finger. Any hostilities towards the child was forgotten.

But when the Cullens weren't fawning over the child, they were worried. Renesmee was growing fast, too fast as it seemed. The day old baby looked to be a couple months old, and her intelligence was further than a baby's. Renesmee had the ability to show others what she was thinking with a simple touch, and most thoughts were filled of her mother.

Pandora hated that Renesmee only had memories of her mother on her deathbed, so she made it her duty to change that. Whenever she had the baby, she showed her niece pictures of Bella and shared stories of their youth. Renesmee would always show her aunt how she envisioned the stories she would tell, and Pandora would always be left in awe from her niece's imagination.

"Pandora, Renesmee is asking for you. Again," Rosalie pouted as she walked into the living room with Renesmee in her arms. While Rosalie definitely took over as the main caretaker of the baby, Renesmee definitely showed favoritism for her aunt. It was something that Rosalie was bitter about, but she could never refuse the baby anything.

Pandora grinned, standing from her spot on the couch next to Alice and reached for the baby. "Hi lovely," Pandora cooed as she took the baby from Rosalie. As soon as Renesmee was close enough, she pressed her tiny hand to Pandora's cheek. Pandora blinked, frowning as flashes of Bella flittered through her mind, both from the pictures Pandora had shown Renesmee and from when Bella had given birth. "She'll wake up soon, sweetpea. You just need to be patient." Pandora sighed as she took her place next to Alice, watching as Renesmee asked Alice the same question.

Pandora watched as Alice showed Renesmee different outfits that Alice wanted to buy for the baby, reveling in the clapping whenever Renesmee liked a particular article. Pandora didn't want to remind Alice that Renesmee would grow out of the clothes within the week, if not the next day, at the rate she was growing.

Renesmee squealed when Jacob walked into the room, his face lighting up as he made a beeline for the baby. Pandora let Jacob take her from him, leaning back into the couch as she watched Jacob tickled the baby.

"Bella's going to kill you," Pandora reminded with an amused look on her face. Jacob threw her a nasty look, making Pandora snicker.

"No she's not," Jacob rolled his eyes. Pandora shared a look with Alice before snickering.

"Jake, you imprinted on her baby. She's going to think you're some sort of pervert," Pandora shook her head. "If I didn't know you, I'd think you're some kind of pervert."

Jacob sighed, "she'll get over it."

"Just don't be so over-protective when Bella's around Renesmee. If you get between her and her baby, she'll probably attack."

Jacob said nothing, just rolling his as he went back to playing with Renesmee. "Did Blondie feed Ness?" He asked after a moment.

Pandora shrugged, "probably. I've only had her for a couple minutes before you came in." Pandora stood after checking her watch, "I'll be back soon."

She left before anyone could question her, letting her feet take her deep into the forest.

Once she was deep enough in, unable to hear anything from the house, she stopped.

"Leah?"

The girl emerged a moment after Pandora called her name, pulling Pandora into a hug.

"Is it bad?" Pandora asked, biting her lip.

Leah sighed, rubbing Pandora's arms. "Between worrying about Bella and trying to find you, he's not doing so well. My mom has been over pretty often, making sure he eats and gets out of the house. He's better when she's there."

Pandora sighed, closing her eyes as her heart ached for her uncle.

"Hey," Leah said softly, moving her hands to cradle Pandora's face. "He's not alone. He'll be okay, Dora."

"He doesn't deserve to lose his family like this," Pandora shook her head. "I don't even know what's going to happen to him when he has to be told that Bella died. It's bad enough that Bella was calling him all the time, only to keep telling him that she's not getting better. He doesn't deserve to lose his daughter like that."

"I know," Leah sighed, pulling Pandora close. Pandora shut her eyes tight, clutching onto Leah like a lifeline.

Late last night, Pandora had asked Leah to check on her uncle for her, needing more than overhearing Bella's conversations with him. She couldn't talk to her uncle when he called, she was supposed to be missing. She hated listening in on their conversations as they usually consisted of Bella assuring Charlie that she was okay, but still sick enough to stay away from him. Charlie would then beg Bella to come home, or ask her where she was so that he could visit her only for Bella to dodge the question and try to get him to remember her the way she was before Edward came along. It broke Pandora's heart to hear her uncle like that, but there was nothing she could about it.

Pandora thought she would feel better knowing, but instead it just left a sense of dread. Pandora wanted to cry out, to scream, but she did nothing.

She was afraid, not only for her uncle but for her sister as well. The last memory her sister would have of her would be them fighting. Pandora couldn't even remember the last time she told her sister that she loved her, and that alone made Pandora feel like the worst person on earth. Her sister may have ignored her grief and brushed Pandora aside, but she was still family. Pandora felt incredibly guilty that she shut her sister out, regretting that she never tried to make up with her sister.

"Pandora?" Pandora glanced at Leah, a frown set on her lips. "He'll be okay."

"I know he will be, he's not alone." Pandora sighed, "But my sister is." Pandora reached forward, brushing her hand against Leah's cheek briefly. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this. Tell everyone I'll be back before Bella wakes up."

Pandora waited a moment, just long enough to see her words register in Leah's mind, before taking off into the woods, not looking back.