The letter still weighed heavily on my mind, but I tried not to focus on it too much for the sake of enjoying what time I had left with my family.
Caius had been very clear that if I wasn't at the airport on the exact date and time I had given him then he would come down to Forks himself to retrieve me.
Now, I knew this was an empty threat but I had to be back anyways. It wasn't a good look for the Volturi to have their Queen missing, let alone for long periods of times. Aro warned me that for my safety, I shouldn't stay away from the castle, unguarded, for too long. We had too many enemies, he said, and I was beginning to worry that he was right.
Nevertheless, the letter was still pushed to the back of my mind as the following day I was determined to enjoy.
Paul had come down bright and early to pick up me, Nessie and Jake.
Making good on his promise, he was going to take us cliff diving which I knew my parents would never approve so Nessie and I decided not to tell them when we set off.
We were both still half-human despite the years strengthening us and our abilities. I especially was more vampire than human, but that didn't mean I wouldn't bleed or potentially get hurt.
Paul promised that he would look after me though and I believed him, so Nessie and I climbed into the back of his truck whilst Jake climbed in the front.
Immediately, my foot crunched on water bottles and forgotten fast food bags making me blanch at how messy his truck was.
"You really need to clean up back here," I teased him as I struggled to find a clear spot. "It's like a freaking war zone."
Nessie threw a couple of water bottles up front to clear her space and Jake laughed.
"Shut up," Paul waved me off and rolled his eyes. "Just put on your seatbelt so we can go."
"If I can find it," I muttered as I moved a Burger King bag.
Nessie shifted uncomfortably as we were squished together but eventually, I managed to find the seatbelt. As soon as it clicked Paul zoomed off, and then we were speeding down the highway no thanks to his lead foot, watching as the green trees of Forks passed by.
I stared out the window as soft radio music filled my ears, and I had to admit, I missed home.
Italy just didn't have the same atmosphere or character that Forks did. The lush green landscapes and mountains were scarce over there and there was certainly no rain.
There was just something about Washington that screamed home to me, but unfortunately, I just didn't belong there anymore.
Not anymore, not since I met Caius.
I loved him, I really did, and we had been together for twenty five years and I had yet to grow tired of my mate. Sure, he was exhausting sometimes but we had plenty of time to work out the kinks.
Underneath his hard exterior he really was a great man, scarred by his human life and his experiences as a vampire.
Many called him the Cruel King, or the Caius the Merciless, but to me he was just Caius.
...Just Caius that would absolutely kill me if he knew what I was about to do.
Paul parked the truck on an empty piece of gravel on the side of the road, and I felt butterflies fill my stomach as I hopped out of the truck.
My feet hit the ground and crunched as we walked through the thick brush, carrying all of our gear as we set out for the cliffs.
I had a towel, my sunglasses, and some extra clothes as well. Nessie carried the same and the boys carried the food.
Esme had been kind enough to secretly prepare us some hotdogs and hamburgers, most of which I had no doubt Paul and Jacob would be the ones to ravage.
After years, they still had not given up their ability to shift, which meant that their appetite was the same. Sam had, but that was only because he wanted to start a family with Emily.
I had no clue if Jacob ever planned on doing the same for Nessie, but I decided not to ask as finally reached our destination.
Two huge cliffs, one higher and the other lower, lay just a few steps beyond, dropping off and ending with the water below us.
It was 70° outside, so good weather for Forks, but it was still kind of chilly, and I shivered as I begin to take my top and bottoms off.
Nessie and I changed until we were both in our swimsuits and then the guys stripped to their trunks and secured all the bags safely.
Then Paul walked up to me with a huge grin, and even from a few inches away, I could feel his overpowering body heat.
Perks of being a wolf, I guess.
"Are you ready?" He asked me, a mischievous look already glinting behind his eyes.
I gulped as I looked down, the wind blowing through my hair as my eyes scanned over the waves. They were powerful, overlapping each other in a competition to become the biggest and most deadliest.
They were the waves I was soon going to be engulfed in, and Paul gave me a teasing look as I rubbed my arms.
"Yeah, I'm always ready," I lied to him, and Jake laughed as he took in my expression.
"I don't know guys..." He trailed off as he looked at Nessie and Paul, "Nadine doesn't look so good. Maybe we should leave her up here while the rest of us adults conquer the cliffs."
"The baby cliffs are just down there," Paul then pointed out smugly, "you know, just in case you wanted to start off easy."
I could tell that they were trying to antagonize me, and unfortunately after being around Caius for so many years, it worked.
I could feel my temper flare up, annoyance flooding my veins as I glared at them.
"No thanks," I told them through gritted teeth as Nessie laid a hand on my shoulder, "the jump from here is just fine."
"Are you sure?" My sister asked, "you don't have to jump if you don't want to."
I ignored the queasiness in my stomach as I took another look down and said, "Ness it's fine. I can handle the jump."
She still wasn't convinced. "You sure?"
I threw her an annoyed look. "Yes, Reneesme. I'm sure."
Nessie put her hands in the air in surrender, and then went to stand by Jake as Paul came closer. He smirked at me as he nodded over to the edge of the cliff, and I rolled my eyes.
"If you're not scared, then we should jump first," he said casually. I crossed my arms. "You know, to show them how it's done."
"Rightttr," I said sarcastically, drawing out the word. "I forgot you're the expert on this, Mr. hotheaded daredevil."
"The one and only," Paul said smugly, and then he offered me his arm, and I reluctantly took it.
Defeated, I had no choice but to walk towards the edge, and I was pretty sure Paul could feel me shaking as I did. If he did though, he didn't say anything, and once we were right at the edge, he gave me one last look.
"Your blood sucker is going to kill me for this," He said, and before I could even ask what he meant, he put a hand on my back, and then he pushed me.
I screamed.
"PAUL! YOU MOTHER—"
The rude words that I was going to call him died as soon as I hit the water, the ice cold waves immediately stealing my breath as I struggled to swim underwater.
The velocity of my impact had submerged me deep, and since my skin was like stone, I sunk before I floated. This meant that I was pretty deep in the ocean but luckily I didn't need to breathe as often as a regular human, so I was able to hold my breath as I swam through the deep blue abyss, furious at Paul for what he had done.
I swore in my mind that once I got back up, I was going to drown him, and I briefly smiled at the thought.
My eyes squinted as I navigated the ocean, and then I felt three more splashes just as my head broke the surface.
"Fucker!"
That was the first word that came flying out of my mouth, directed towards Paul as I finished my sentence.
He laughed as I came swimming over, hitting him while Nessie and Jake crackled in the background.
Paul exclaimed in pain as my hand came down on his shoulder over and over again, trying to grab me, but being a vampire I was faster and managed to dodge him.
"Ow, ouch woman! Stop!"
"That's what you get for pushing me, you asshole!" I exclaimed as I hit him once last time before swimming away so he couldn't get me back.
Paul glared as I hid behind a grinning Nessie.
"That's what you deserved for being a scaredy-cat," He accused, "and for nearly taking my head off that one time."
My eyes widened. "That was ten years ago!" I exclaimed with disbelief in my voice, remembering exactly what he was talking about. "Ten years and you're still on that?!"
"I will never forget," Paul said stubbornly, and I had the pleasure of flicking him off while I shook my head.
"Get over it. That was one time!" I stuck my tongue out at him.
Once, literally ten years ago, Paul and I had been training when I made another trip back to Fork. We were in the woods, just messing around and trying to prove to each other who was the strongest, when I had ripped up a tree and threw it at him.
We at least got the answer to who was the quickest out of the two of us, because Paul had barely dodged it, and I may have accidentally almost had killed him if he didn't duck in time.
Ever since then, he used the 'tree incident' as we called it against me whenever he wanted something, or as an excuse to mess with me.
It was fine for the first three years, but after that, I was amazed that he still didn't let it go.
But even more stubborn than vampires were werewolves. I swear their memory was like cement from how tightly they held onto things.
Even now, Paul wouldn't let me forget, and I had to hear about it all the way until we swam to the beach.
Once my feet finally hit dry land, I shoved Paul and then Jake thankfully saved me from more of his guilt tripping by tackling him, wrestling him in the sand.
Me and Nessie rolled our eyes as we stared at the two boys, sharing a look before giggling.
"Get him Jake!" She cheered him on, and just to spite Paul, I also cheered "Yeah! Kick his ass!"
"Hey!"
Paul was offended as he pinned Jake to the ground, pouting, but it wasn't long before Jake got up and then had him pinned.
Nessie and I mimicked referees as our fists pounded into the sand, counting down the seconds just like in real life wrestling until we got to one.
Once Jake had successfully held Paul down for long enough, we screamed, "Ding, ding, ding!" and he released. Then, Jake got up laughing.
"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Nessie congratulated him and smirked smugly at Paul rolled his eyes.
He brushed the sand off of his clothes, and then came over to sit by me, shaking his head and feigning disappointment.
"Twenty years of friendship and you still take his side. That's low, even for you," Paul whistled. "Especially after what you did to me."
I groaned as I shoved him with my shoulder. "Would you shut up about that damn tree?" I laughed lightly. "That was so long ago I barely even remember it."
"And yet I remember it like it was yesterday," Paul stared out at the waves dramatically, "I remember every day. At night that haunts me—"
Nessie cut him off with a groan. "Oh, shut up," she told Paul, exasperated as she and Jacob finally separated, "you're so dramatic."
Paul huffed. "Says you," He shot back.
Jake grinned as the two started bickering, and eventually he separated them, suggesting that we go back on the cliffs again.
This was enough to stop their arguing, but my stomach twisted once more as I looked up at the spot that I had just jumped from.
My skin was still sore from the unexpected impact of the waves, but I couldn't protest because Nessie had already grabbed my hand and pulled me up with a devious smile on her face.
"I'll race you up there," She said quickly, "whoever wins gets the blood bag Esme packed!"
At this, I felt my eyes go wide and my mouth water slightly.
"Oh, you're on," I told her, already thinking about the delicious blood that waited for me. Nessie counted down, and when we zoomed off, I could hear the boys shouting out words like, "Ew!" and "Gross!" But neither of us care as we raced up the mountain.
Our footprints littered the sand, overlapping as we laughed and pushed and shoved each other.
Nessie was fast just like me, and she had grown faster in the years since our birth.
So much so that I was shocked she was actually giving me a challenge, given that I was more vampire than her.
But she simply smirked at me as the wind blew through our hair, reaching out at the last minute to push me before successfully making it to the cliff first.
"You cheater!" I accused as she immediately made her way for the blood bag, and I glared at her while Nessie grinned, easily ripping the cap off.
"You snooze you lose," She laughed at me while I growled. "That's what you get for being spoiled and sitting on a throne all day while letting others hunt for you."
"I do not—" I started to protest, but just as I did, Paul and Jake came barreling into view and grimaced at Nessie drinking the blood.
Paul pretended to gag while Jake simply looked away.
"That is so gross," Paul whispered and I shoved him just as Nessie finished drinking the bag dry.
"Still want some?" She asked, offering me the tiniest bit left in the corner. I simply hit her and snatched the bag from her, throwing it at her head.
"You both are such assholes," I told both her and Paul, who immediately began to protest. I just shook my head. "Just like old times."
Just like old times, I repeated in my thoughts, a smile tugging on my face.
Yeah, it sure was.
* * *
Hi, I bet you guys didn't think I'd update this again. Well ALOT has changed and obviously it's been awhile since I've updated but if you're still interested in this story then thank you and this is for you guys! <3 Caius and Nadine's story isn't finished yet and I thought I owed it to you guys to at last pull through and finish this chapter. As you can see, Nadine has matured and so has everyone else. I went back and changed the time jump so now our Dear Nadine is 26 with a fully functioning frontal lobe and man I'm excited to show you guys what she can do!
Once again if you've stuck around for almost a year then thank you. I really appreciate you guys and your patience. Let me know what you think about this chapter in the comments below and as always, don't forget to vote, comment and follow! <3