It was like waiting for the other cold, undead foot to come stomping down on my happy little world. Jake had talked to the Pack and while Sam was still hesitant, they had all agreed to help protect Renesmee and my father. She aged too rapidly for me to put her in any summer camp or let her be a part of anything that would be beneficial for a young girl, but Emily offered to take her during the day. She'd always wanted kids and I think Nessie gave her a chance to practice being a mom. God knows the little monster needed one.
But it was less than a week later that the proverbial boot came to squash my happy little family. Even from Jake's house, I could hear the snarling and snapping that was going on a good distance away. Nessie reached up to show me her thoughts but I shook my head at her. "Use your words," I managed to say despite distraction. She deserved to have as much of a normal life as we could give her and that meant learning how to communicate with people without using her gift, regardless of how cool it was.
"Jake is shouting for us," she whispered in her perfect little voice.
"Get your coat. We'll head outside," I replied with a nod. She nodded back and zoomed off. What could Jake need from us right now? He was on patrol. I took Nessie's hand in my own, ignoring her thoughts, and left the house. "What's going on?"
"Bella and Edward are at the treaty line. They're threatening to cross and come take Nessie home," Jake said, swinging an arm beneath my knees and pulling me to his chest while Nessie clambered up onto his back.
"Are you sending me home?" Nessie asked in a quietly pained voice. We had talked more about Bella, about the lies. My sister was so desperate to make herself seem like the perfect victim, it was impossible to tell whether or not she knew how deep she was into her lies. Ness didn't want to go back. She felt like no one had protected her and told her the truth. Her father sided with her mother for some unknown reason. Her grandparents didn't seem to care about what was going on which was strange. If it wasn't for the fact that Bella and Edward were there, I would say that Carlisle and Esme should be raising Nessie. They were more like her than the wolves. They would be great parents for her. But I knew that it wouldn't happen like that; Bella would poison that for her too.
I think the most striking betrayal for Nessie, apart from her parents, was Rosalie. From what she'd shown me and told me, she and her Aunt Rosie were close. I had heard about how close Bella and Rosalie had gotten when Bella was pregnant. The blonde leech had always wanted a child and Renesmee was her chance. So it hurt the little spawn when her aunt, who had so desperately fought for her life, hadn't stood up for her. "No, Nessie, we're not sending you away unless you want to go," Jake said with surety. "And we've got to make this quick. Charlie will be here to pick you up in just a little while."
Seeing Jake and Nessie together was weird in some ways. They weren't supposed to like each other; they weren't supposed to be friends. But he was great with her. The two of them had this nasty way of teasing each other, of laughing and joking when it seemed completely inappropriate. The words mutt and monster were terms of endearment in my house. And what neither of them knew was how great it was to see them together for me. When the spawn was happily playing like a normal little kid, I had hope for her future. And when Jake was taking care of her, reprimanding her for doing something wrong, I had dreams about the kids that we could have one day and the father that he would be to them.
The treaty line came into sight. Emmett had his arms wrapped around Bella's waist. Edward stood impassive, probably listening in to hear all the lies that we had told Renesmee. After all, that would be the only reason that their monster would want to come and stay with us, right? "No one is blaming you for loving her. In fact, we're glad," Edward said in response to my thoughts. "But the witnesses are here for her, to help protect her. They can't very well do that when she's not with us, can they?"
"Shut up," I snapped. Jake dropped me from his arms. He kept a hand at waist, ready to pull me away if he needed to. Nessie was holding his other hand, half hiding behind her. "You're no better than her," I jabbed a finger at Bella. "You two are ruining your own happiness with your selfishness. Your child feels betrayed by your lies. You are the reason that she ran away. She waited for you to be gone so that she could leave. That is how much she wanted to get away. Do you not realize what you've done? You've hurt her. All of you."
"It was not our intention; you know that Renesmee," Edward said. Bella was just staring at me, looking like she wanted to eat me alive.
"Give me back my daughter, you bitch," she snarled at me. Jake's arm tightened around my waist in that protective way that I generally ignored.
"Your daughter came to us, Bella," Jake managed to say between his clenched teeth. "But if you'd rather hear it from her," Jake prompted. His large hand rested against Nessie's pale arm as he guided her forward. She looked up at me with frightened eyes, but I just smiled at her. She could do this. I wasn't going to let her be like her mother and father. I wouldn't have it happen. She would be able to speak her mind, to tell other people what she was thinking. Other people would be her first priority. She wouldn't be as selfish as her parents.
"I want to stay here with Ryanne and Jake," she said clearly. I smiled with pride. That was what I wanted her to be like. I wanted her to say what was on her mind.
"What about hunting, Renesmee?" Edward said. "You'll get thirsty soon."
"I don't feed anymore; I prefer human food," she replied. "Especially when Emily or Ryanne cook."
I chuckled but didn't do much more. "Renesmee, please come home. You belong with us. You belong with your family."
I watched her cock her head to the side and narrow her eyes. "I thought Ryanne was my family, Mom," she said. Jake coughed to cover his laugh. Nessie sounded so much like me there was no denying she'd been spending time with me. We were all staring at the quiet little bug with disbelief.
"Is that what you wanted from her? You wanted her to turn her back on her family and be just like you, didn't you?" Bella shouted at me. "How could you do that to her? She isn't like you all; she needs to be with her family."
"You heard her, Bella," I replied calmly. "She doesn't want to be a part of all this. She wants to stay here."
"What about feeding? She needs to feed to survive."
"No, she doesn't; she lives on human food just like the rest of us," I replied. "And if she doesn't want to go with you, you can't force her."
"And the Pack is fine with her living here? She's part vampire, you know!" Bella shouted.
"Bella, stop," Edward said firmly. Who knows what the rest of the Pack and Nessie were thinking about. Whatever it was had caused Edward to cock his to the side and look at us all. "If she wants to stay and live with the dogs, she can."
Nessie looked relived. "Come here, Nessie," Jake prompted, wrapping his hand around her shoulder and pulling her back to our side.
"You named my daughter after the Loch Ness Monster?" Bella screeched.
"She's a monster in her own regard, huh Ness?" I watched her smile up at Jake at his words. "Embry will take you back to your grandfather. Em?" Embry nodded, although he didn't look too happy about it. He'd been so angry lately, with the imprint and everything. It was strange to see people that weren't happy with what had happened. I hadn't met Penn though, so my advice wasn't worth it. He lowered himself to the ground and let Nessie crawl up before he took off for the Rez again. "You're not welcome here, Bella. Leave before you start an attack."
"You can my daughter, you mongrel! I want her back," she snarled.
"She doesn't want to go with you, Bella."
"Can you just hold one of us captive like this? What about the treaty?"
"You want to talk about the treaty, Bella? Do you have any idea how many times the Pack has forgiven you all? All you ever do it break the treaty. We're doing the only thing that we know how: protecting humans. And you're right, she's part vampire. That's why we're deal with that part of her that's human. Now get away from us."
Bella was being dragged away by Emmett while Jake glared at Edward. "This isn't finished, dog. If anything happens to her -"
"Edward, leave," Dr. Cullen announced. "That's enough." We watched Esme and Edward walk away and then Carlisle looked back at us. "I'm sorry for all this trouble. Take good care of our granddaughter, please." I smiled and nodded, watching them all disappear.
"Well that went better than expected," Jake said. I stared up at him like he was brain dead. "What?" he asked innocently.