Annie and Leah decided that they were going to go and spar at the gym and go grab some lunch afterwards. In the meantime, I was going to follow Renesmee to a lunch meeting with her aunt in Seattle. Because that's what I wanted to do with so few days left of summer. "Nessie, grab your coat and lets get going," I called down the hall. Rebecca didn't quite understand what Nessie was to us and I really didn't want to have to explain why the kid grew every single day. I She was less than a year old and looked like she was nine or ten. I didn't see a reason to do that to my sister.
"Ness, let's go!" I shouted when she wasn't fast enough. "I'm not going to be waiting all day." Her normally light footsteps pounded on the floor as she marched her way down the hall to the front door.
"Ryanne doesn't hurry me like this," she said, standing a few feet from me. She crossed her arms around her petite chest and cocked a hip to the side and glared at me. I'd been letting her spend way too much time with Annie lately. The strong set of her jaw was definitely a testament to that.
"Yeah, well last time I checked I'm not Ryanne. Say goodbye to Billy and Rebecca and get in the car," I commanded. She grumbled and mocked me, but did as I asked without any hesitation. "Where are we meeting her?" I refused to say her name and there too many Cullens to ask her where we were meeting the Cullen. That and the fact that Ness had kept her last name.
"We're meeting Aunt Rosalie at the Chili's up in Seattle," she said, putting emphasis on the name. I just nodded and started driving. One of my favorite things about the hybrid spawn next to me was that she didn't seem to need to talk. She was perfectly content to sit in the car with the radio on and absorb everything that was going on around her. I think it's because she realized that she would have forever to see things in the world, but she only had so long to see it for the first time. She would never age; she would see everything that there is to see, grow up long before she should.
It was a weird thought to ponder. I had the ability to be immortal, to live forever. But a life, an eternal life, without the girl that completed me wasn't a life at all. We were young, but I couldn't wait for the time to come for Annie and I to have kids. She was going to be a great mother, I could feel it in my soul. I was anticipating the day that I would shout down the hall for a little girl with her mother's crystal blue eyes and dark hair instead of Nessie. I couldn't wait to start my family.
Nessie's fingernail tapping on the glass to point out the restaurant pulled me from my thoughts. I turned in to the parking lot and found a place to park. Nessie was practically bouncing in her seat as I pulled the car to a stop. "You stay with me. Ryanne will never let me live it down if I'm not with you every moment," I said, holding my hand out to her. She slipped her hand into mine. We walked in silence over to the restaurant. We didn't stop and ask for a table; I was sure the little Cullen bitch had already gotten one. I let Nessie lead me to wear they sat.
Oh yes: they. Just as Annie had assumed, Bella was sitting between Rosalie and the bodybuilder leech. She beamed at us when we marched to the table. I let Ness slide in first and followed after her. I folded my hands on the table, feeling eerily like my father in that position. "You have an hour," I said sternly. I wanted to say that they had ten minutes since Bella was with them, but I couldn't be that mean. Annie had made it clear that she thought the best chance for Nessie to have a normal life was for her to be with both of her families. But Bella and Edward weren't going to be good for anyone. Until they were willing to tell the truth, we weren't willing to let them around Nessie.
"That's ridiculous!" Bella shouted. "You're keeping my daughter away from me and all I get with her for the first time in weeks is an hour?" I had expected it from blonde so I was more than shocked when she laid a restraining hand on Bella's wrist.
"We'll take whatever time we can get," she assured me with a gentle look. Maybe I should have said ten minutes. "How have you been, Renesmee?"
"Good; Grandpa Charlie is teaching me to fish," she said. She went into detail about the trout that she had caught the other day. "Billy taught me how to make fish fry. It was so good. Oh, and Aunt Ryanne has been teaching me how to fight with Leah and Nate." I stiffened. I had never really realized how much Renesmee knew about my family and the Pack. But, I guess, the information that she was giving out wasn't really important. And if the Cullens wanted to see their daughter again, they wouldn't harm my family for anything. I had no intention of hurting the little monster, but I had leverage. And I would use it if it would keep everyone in my family, including Nessie, safe.
"And, uh," Emmet began with a cough, "are you feeding, Renesmee?"
"I prefer Nessie, please," she whispered. Emmet nodded in understanding and then turned to look at me. Her little eyebrows furrowed in obvious confusion, but she quickly turned back to look at her vampire family. "I don't understand what you're asking," she said politely.
"They've taught you that you can only eat human food, didn't they?" Bella said distastefully. I snorted. We didn't teach her anything. We simply made it clear that she wasn't going to feed while she was around us.
"You don't feed on animals or anything like that?" Emmet said, squeezing Bella's arm. He leaned down to her ear. "We agreed to let you come because you said that you would just enjoy the fact that your daughter was here. So shut up," he muttered. It was almost funny that he whispered. The only one who might not have heard was Nessie, but the rosiness that bloomed in her cheeks said that she definitely heard was what was said.
"I don't drink blood," Nessie said, calling all attention back on her. "Jake and the Pack don't want any feeding on their land," she explained. That was true enough. Besides the fact that I didn't want Nessie to feed ever, I wasn't going to allow it on the Reservation. "But I like regular food. Especially pastas!" I bit my lip to avoid the laugh that threatened to escape. "And Aunt Ryanne makes the mushrooms that she stuffs with sausage; they're delicious."
The three vampires in front of me looked incredibly uncomfortable as Nessie was practically drooling over Annie's stuffed mushrooms. I liked that she called us by family names while we were with the leeches. I could see that she cared about us but nothing was better than seeing the look on Bella's face every time she called Annie her aunt or talked about trips that she took with her grandfather and my father. There was a part of me that wanted to ask the parasites I front of me if they could even remember what food tasted like anymore, but I decided that I would play nice for a little while.
Rosalie looked over at Bella suddenly. "We've been here a while and we've been drinking soda. One of us needs to go to the bathroom to make it look normal," she said. Emmet nodded his agreement. "Bella?"
"My daughter just got here and you want me to leave?" she asked indignantly.
"You've had the most soda, Bella," Emmet spoke now. "She's not going anywhere, right Nessie?" Nessie smiled and nodded politely. "Go on, Bella." He slid out of the boot and let Bella slide out after. She wasn't gone very long when Emmet leaned forward, mimicking my position. "I'm speaking to both of you, but we can't be too loud. She'll hear and she'll freak out." I nodded and leaned forward.
"Renesmee... Nessie, we're leaving the clan for a time," Rosalie whispered now. Her voice was so quiet no human could have heard it. "Carlisle and Esme know; they approve." Nessie nodded. "Our family is falling apart because of your parents. Alice and Jasper have already left us and left that stupid note for us."
"Cut to the chase. What are you proposing?" I snapped suddenly.
Emmet looked me dead in the eye. "We want to take her with us."