Bare Skeletons ↠ Rosalie Hale [3] ✓

09

Charlie's house was covered in Christmas decorations. Red lights scattered around the house, as well as green tinsel wrapped securely around the bannister of the staircase. Hot chocolate dust floated in the air, leaving a sickeningly sweet smell in the air.

Renesmee sat on the ground, her legs stretch out in front of herself as she gently opened the present wrapped in red. It was a small box, and Jacob watched Renesmee intently as she opened the gift he'd gotten her for Christmas.

Beau sat beside Rosalie on the couch, sipping some hot chocolate. The drink was tasteless in his mouth, but there was something soothing about the heat in between his palms. Rosalie sat silently, legs overlapping each other as she smiled slightly at Renesmee and Jacob.

On the farthest side of the room, near the doorway that led into the living room, stood Edward and Bella. The married couple gently speaking to one another, Bella too, holding a mug of hot chocolate in her palms - even though she hadn't taken a sip since receiving it from Sue.

"What do you say Ness?" Charlie asked, looking at his grand-daughter.

Renesmee smiled, grabbing Jacob in a brief hug before saying, "Thank you Jacob,"

The werewolf, who had given the smaller female in the room a necklace for a gift gave her a bright smile in return for her thanks. Charlie, like the proud grandfather he was, patted Renesmee's bronze hair fondly.

"I don't know why you insist on drinking that," Rosalie said, leaning in a bit closer to him so she could speak into Beau's ear. Her golden eyes flickered down to the brown liquid in Beau's cup, and Beau smiled slightly at her as he took another tasteless sip.

"I used to love hot chocolate," Beau said, once he was done swallowing. "It was my favorite drink. Renee makes the best homemade hot chocolate."

"Homemade?"

"Renee didn't like hot chocolate coming from the packets. So, she forced Bella and I to help her make the more natural type of hot chocolate. We had cocoa, sugar, milk, water, and salt and boiled them all together," Beau was lost in the childhood memories he had spent looking over the kitchen counter as his mother had made his mug of hot chocolate for him as a kid. "Despite how long it took, it was the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted."

"I need to meet your mother," Rosalie said softly, blinking her light purple eyelids at him. Her face was expressing a rare fondness she only showed around family. "She's seems like a wonderful woman."

"She is," Beau said, his heart aching for Renee. "I need to call her soon."

He hadn't called Renee since a couple of months ago. Though, he'd given her a few sporadic texts every once in a while; and Charlie had also talked to her on the phone and had informed his ex-wife that both of their children were fine but just busy.

 If only Charlie knew that being busy meant many days of ruthless training for both Beau and Bella in order to make their gifts stronger in order to be prepared for the meeting with the Volturi. So far, Beau had only managed to take Kate's power - since trying to take anyone else's powers seemed impossible for him.

Edward and Beau had been practicing together. Beau's brother-in-law offering his hand everytime Beau was willing to train. A few times, Beau had managed to hear only snippets of random thoughts from different minds inside of the house, before the connection broke off completely. Leaving both men unsatisfied and frustrated at their failed attempts.

"Beau," Bella's voice cut into his reverie. "Come here a moment please."

Lifting himself from the couch, Beau moved to where Bella was. His sister had moved towards the front door of their childhood home. Rosalie and Edward shared a brief glance at both Beau and Bella before immersing themselves into conversation, giving both Swan siblings privacy.