User talk:Hunterann

“Before you left on the honeymoon. I was prepared for several possible futures.” I nodded and opened the container. I’d never worn contacts before, but it couldn’t be that hard. I took the little brown quarter-sphere and pressed it, concave side in, to my eye. I blinked, and a film interrupted my sight. I could see through it, of course, but I could also see the texture of the thin screen. My eye kept focusing on the microscopic scratches and warped sections. “I see what you mean,” I murmured as I stuck the other one in. I tried to not blink this time. My eye automatically wanted to dislodge the obstruction. “How do I look?” Edward smiled. “Gorgeous. Of course—” “Yes, yes, she always looks gorgeous,” Alice finished his thought impatiently. “It’s better than red, but that’s the highest commendation I can give. Muddy brown. Your brown was much prettier. Keep in mind that those won’t last forever—the venom in your eyes will dissolve them in a few hours. So if Charlie stays longer than that, you’ll have to excuse yourself to replace them. Which is a good idea anyway, because humans need bathroom breaks.” She shook her head. “Esme, give her a few pointers on acting human while I stock the powder room with contacts.” “How long do I have?” “Charlie will be here in five minutes. Keep it simple.” Esme nodded once and came to take my hand. “The main thing is not to sit too still or move too fast,” she told me. “Sit down if he does,” Emmett interjected. “Humans don’t like to just stand there.” “Let your eyes wander every thirty seconds or so,” Jasper added. “Humans don’t stare at one thing for too long.” “Cross your legs for about five minutes, then switch to crossing your ankles for the next five,” Rosalie said. I nodded once at each suggestion. I’d noticed them doing some of these things yesterday. I thought I could mimic their actions. 370

“And blink at least three times a minute,” Emmett said. He frowned, then darted to where the television remote sat on the end table. He flipped the TV on to a college football game and nodded to himself. “Move your hands, too. Brush your hair back or pretend to scratch something,” Jasper said. “I said Esme,” Alice complained as she returned. “You’ll overwhelm her.” “No, I think I got it all,” I said. “Sit, look around, blink, fidget.” “Right,” Esme approved. She hugged my shoulders. Jasper frowned. “You’ll be holding your breath as much as possible, but you need to move your shoulders a little to make it look like you’re breathing.” I inhaled once and then nodded again. Edward hugged me on my free side. “You can do this,” he repeated, murmuring the encouragement in my ear. “Two minutes,” Alice said. “Maybe you should start out already on the couch. You’ve been sick, after all. That way he won’t have to see you move right at first.” Alice pulled me to the sofa. I tried to move slowly, to make my limbs more clumsy. She rolled her eyes, so I must not have been doing a good job. “Jacob, I need Renesmee,” I said. Jacob frowned, unmoving. Alice shook her head. “Bella, that doesn’t help me see.” “But I need her. She keeps me calm.” The edge of panic in my voice was unmistakable. “Fine,” Alice groaned. “Hold her as still as you can and I’ll try to see around her.” She sighed wearily, like she’d been asked to work overtime on a holiday. Jacob sighed, too, but brought Renesmee to me, and then retreated quickly from Alice’s glare. Edward took a seat beside me and put his arms around Renesmee and me. He leaned forward and looked Renesmee very seriously in the eyes. “Renesmee, someone special is coming to see you and your mother,” he said in a solemn voice, as if he expected her to understand every word. Did she? She looked back at him with clear, grave eyes. “But he’s not like us, or even like Jacob. “And blink at least three times a minute,” Emmett said. He frowned, then darted to where the television remote sat on the end table. He flipped the TV on to a college football game and nodded to himself. “Move your hands, too. Brush your hair back or pretend to scratch something,” Jasper said. “I said Esme,” Alice complained as she returned. “You’ll overwhelm her.” “No, I think I got it all,” I said. “Sit, look around, blink, fidget.” “Right,” Esme approved. She hugged my shoulders. Jasper frowned. “You’ll be holding your breath as much as possible, but you need to move your shoulders a little to make it look like you’re breathing.” I inhaled once and then nodded again. Edward hugged me on my free side. “You can do this,” he repeated, murmuring the encouragement in my ear. “Two minutes,” Alice said. “Maybe you should start out already on the couch. You’ve been sick, after all. That way he won’t have to see you move right at first.” Alice pulled me to the sofa. I tried to move slowly, to make my limbs more clumsy. She rolled her eyes, so I must not have been doing a good job. “Jacob, I need Renesmee,” I said. Jacob frowned, unmoving. Alice shook her head. “Bella, that doesn’t help me see.” “But I need her. She keeps me calm.” The edge of panic in my voice was unmistakable. “Fine,” Alice groaned. “Hold her as still as you can and I’ll try to see around her.” She sighed wearily, like she’d been asked to work overtime on a holiday. Jacob sighed, too, but brought Renesmee to me, and then retreated quickly from Alice’s glare. Edward took a seat beside me and put his arms around Renesmee and me. He leaned forward and looked Renesmee very seriously in the eyes. “Renesmee, someone special is coming to see you and your mother,” he said in a solemn voice, as if he expected her to understand every word. Did she? She looked back at him with clear, grave eyes. “But he’s not like us, or even like Jacob. 371

We have to be very careful with him. You shouldn’t tell him things the way you tell us.” Renesmee touched his face. “Exactly,” he said. “And he’s going to make you thirsty. But you mustn’t bite him. He won’t heal like Jacob.” “Can she understand you?” I whispered. “She understands. You’ll be careful, won’t you, Renesmee? You’ll help us?” Renesmee touched him again. “No, I don’t care if you bite Jacob. That’s fine.” Jacob chuckled. “Maybe you should leave, Jacob,” Edward said coldly, glaring in his direction. Edward hadn’t forgiven Jacob, because he knew that no matter what happened now, I was going to be hurting. But I’d take the burn happily if that were the worst thing I’d face tonight. “I told Charlie I’d be here,” Jacob said. “He needs the moral support.” “Moral support,” Edward scoffed. “As far as Charlie knows, you’re the most repulsive monster of us all.” “Repulsive?” Jake protested, and then he laughed quietly to himself. I heard the tires turn off the highway onto the quiet, damp earth of the Cullens’ drive, and my breathing spiked again. My heart ought to have been hammering. It made me anxious that my body didn’t have the right reactions. I concentrated on the steady thrumming of Renesmee’s heart to calm myself. It worked pretty quickly. “Well done, Bella,” Jasper whispered in approval. Edward tightened his arm over my shoulders. “You’re sure?” I asked him. “Positive. You can do anything.” He smiled and kissed me. It wasn’t precisely a peck on the lips, and my wild vampiric reactions took me off guard yet again. Edward’s lips were like a shot of some addictive chemical 372

straight into my nervous system. I was instantly craving more. It took all my concentration to remember the baby in my arms. Jasper felt my mood change. “Er, Edward, you might not want to distract her like that right now. She needs to be able to focus.” Edward pulled away. “Oops,” he said. I laughed. That had been my line from the very beginning, from the very first kiss. “Later,” I said, and anticipation curled my stomach into a ball. “Focus, Bella,” Jasper urged. “Right.” I pushed the trembly feelings away. Charlie, that was the main thing now. Keep Charlie safe today. We would have all night. . . . “Bella.” “Sorry, Jasper.” Emmett laughed. The sound of Charlie’s cruiser got closer and closer. The second of levity passed, and everyone was still. I crossed my legs and practiced my blinks. The car pulled in front of the house and idled for a few seconds. I wondered if Charlie was as nervous as I was. Then the engine cut off, and a door slammed. Three steps across the grass, and then eight echoing thuds against the wooden stairs. Four more echoing footsteps across the porch. Then silence. Charlie took two deep breaths. Knock, knock, knock. I inhaled for what might be the last time. Renesmee nestled deeper into my arms, hiding her face in my hair. Carlisle answered the door. His stressed expression changed to one of welcome, like switching the channel on the TV. “Hello, Charlie,” he said, looking appropriately abashed. After all, we were supposed to be in Atlanta at the Center for Disease Control. Charlie knew he’d been lied to. “Carlisle,” Charlie greeted him stiffly. “Where’s Bella?” 373

“Right here, Dad.” Ugh! My voice was so wrong. Plus, I’d used up some of my air supply. I gulped in a quick refill, glad that Charlie’s scent had not saturated the room yet. Charlie’s blank expression told me how off my voice was. His eyes zeroed in on me and widened. I read the emotions as they scrolled across his face. Shock. Disbelief. Pain. Loss. Fear. Anger. Suspicion. More pain. I bit my lip. It felt funny. My new teeth were sharper against my granite skin than my human teeth had been against my soft human lips. “Is that you, Bella?” he whispered. “Yep.” I winced at my wind-chime voice. “Hi, Dad.” He took a deep breath to steady himself. “Hey, Charlie,” Jacob greeted him from the corner. “How’re things?” Charlie glowered at Jacob once, shuddered at a memory, and then stared at me again. Slowly, Charlie walked across the room until he was a few feet away from me. He darted an accusing glare at Edward, and then his eyes flickered back to me. The warmth of his body heat beat against me with each pulse of his heart. “Bella?” he asked again. I spoke in a lower voice, trying to keep the ring out of it. “It’s really me.” His jaw locked. “I’m sorry, Dad,” I said. “Are you okay?” he demanded. “Really and truly great,” I promised. “Healthy as a horse.” That was it for my oxygen. “Jake told me this was… necessary. That you were dying.” He said the words like he didn’t believe them one bit. 374

I steeled myself, focused on Renesmee’s warm weight, leaned into Edward for support, and took a deep breath. Charlie’s scent was a fistful of flames, punching straight down my throat. But it was so much more than pain. It was a hot stabbing of desire, too. Charlie smelled more delicious than anything I’d ever imagined. As appealing as the anonymous hikers had been on the hunt, Charlie was doubly tempting. And he was just a few feet away, leaking mouthwatering heat and moisture into the dry air. But I wasn’t hunting now. And this was my father. Edward squeezed my shoulders sympathetically, and Jacob shot an apologetic glance at me across the room. I tried to collect myself and ignore the pain and longing of the thirst. Charlie was waiting for my answer. “Jacob was telling you the truth.” “That makes one of you,” Charlie growled. I hoped Charlie could see past the changes in my new face to read the remorse there. Under my hair, Renesmee sniffed as Charlie’s scent registered with her, too. I tightened my grip on her. Charlie saw my anxious glance down and followed it. “Oh,” he said, and all the anger fell off his face, leaving only shock behind. “This is her. The orphan Jacob said you’re adopting.” “My niece,” Edward lied smoothly. He must have decided that the resemblance between Renesmee and him was too pronounced to be ignored. Best to claim they were related from the beginning. “I thought you’d lost your family,” Charlie said, accusation returning to his voice. “I lost my parents. My older brother was adopted, like me. I never saw him after that. But the courts located me when he and his wife died in a car accident, leaving their only child without any other family.” Edward was so good at this. His voice was even, with just the right amount of innocence. I needed practice so that I could do that. Renesmee peeked out from under my hair, sniffing again. She glanced shyly at Charlie from under her long lashes, then hid again. 375

“She’s… she’s, well, she’s a beauty.” “Yes,” Edward agreed. “Kind of a big responsibility, though. You two are just getting started.” “What else could we do?” Edward brushed his fingers lightly over her cheek. I saw him touch her lips for just a moment—a reminder. “Would you have refused her?” “Hmph. Well.” He shook his head absently. “Jake says you call her Nessie?” “No, we don’t,” I said, my voice too sharp and piercing. “Her name is Renesmee.” Charlie refocused on me. “How do you feel about this? Maybe Carlisle and Esme could—” “She’s mine,” I interrupted. “I want her.” Charlie frowned. “You gonna make me a grandpa so young?” Edward smiled. “Carlisle is a grandfather, too.” Charlie shot an incredulous glance at Carlisle, still standing by the front door; he looked like Zeus’s younger, better-looking brother. Charlie snorted and then laughed. “I guess that does sort of make me feel better.” His eyes strayed back to Renesmee. “She sure is something to look at.” His warm breath blew lightly across the space between us. Renesmee leaned toward the smell, shaking off my hair and looking him full in the face for the first time. Charlie gasped. I knew what he was seeing. My eyes—his eyes—copied exactly into her perfect face. Charlie started hyperventilating. His lips trembled, and I could read the numbers he mouthed. He was counting backward, trying to fit nine months into one. Trying to put it together but not able to force the evidence right in front of him to make any sense. Jacob got up and came over to pat Charlie on the back. He leaned in to whisper something in Charlie’s ear; only Charlie didn’t know we could all hear. “Need to know, Charlie. It’s okay. I promise.” 376

Charlie swallowed and nodded. And then his eyes blazed as he took a step closer to Edward with his fists tightly clenched. “I don’t want to know everything, but I’m done with the lies!” “I’m sorry,” Edward said calmly, “but you need to know the public story more than you need to know the truth. If you’re going to be part of this secret, the public story is the one that counts. It’s to protect Bella and Renesmee as well as the rest of us. Can you go along with the lies for them?” The room was full of statues. I crossed my ankles. Charlie huffed once and then turned his glare on me. “You might’ve given me some warning, kid.” “Would it really have made this any easier?” He frowned, and then he knelt on the floor in front of me. I could see the movement of the blood in his neck under his skin. I could feel the warm vibration of it. So could Renesmee. She smiled and reached one pink palm out to him. I held her back. She pushed her other hand against my neck, thirst, curiosity, and Charlie’s face in her thoughts. There was a subtle edge to the message that made me think that she’d understood Edward’s words perfectly; she acknowledged thirst, but overrode it in the same thought. “Whoa,” Charlie gasped, his eyes on her perfect teeth. “How old is she?” “Um. . .” “Three months,” Edward said, and then added slowly, “rather, she’s the size of a three-month-old, more or less. She’s younger in some ways, more mature in others.” Very deliberately, Renesmee waved at him. Charlie blinked spastically. Jacob elbowed him. “Told you she was special, didn’t I?” Charlie cringed away from the contact. “Oh, c’mon, Charlie,” Jacob groaned. “I’m the same person I’ve always been. Just pretend this afternoon didn’t happen.” 377

The reminder made Charlie’s lips go white, but he nodded once. “Just what is your part in all this, Jake?” he asked. “How much does Billy know? Why are you here?” He looked at Jacob’s face, which was glowing as he stared at Renesmee. “Well, I could tell you all about it—Billy knows absolutely everything—but it involves a lot of stuff about werewo—” “Ungh!” Charlie protested, covering his ears. “Never mind.” Jacob grinned. “Everything’s going to be great, Charlie. Just try to not believe anything you see.” My dad mumbled something unintelligible. “Woo!” Emmett suddenly boomed in his deep bass. “Go Gators!” Jacob and Charlie jumped. The rest of us froze. Charlie recovered, then looked at Emmett over his shoulder. “Florida winning?” “Just scored the first touchdown,” Emmett confirmed. He shot a look in my direction, wagging his eyebrows like a villain in vaudeville. “’Bout time somebody scored around here.” I fought back a hiss. In front of Charlie? That was over the line. But Charlie was beyond noticing innuendos. He took yet another deep breath, sucking the air in like he was trying to pull it down to his toes. I envied him. He lurched to his feet, stepped around Jacob, and half-fell into an open chair. “Well,” he sighed, “I guess we should see if they can hold on to the lead.” 378

26. SHINY “I don’t know how much we should tell Renée about this,” Charlie said, hesitating with one foot out the door. He stretched, and then his stomach growled. I nodded. “I know. I don’t want to freak her out. Better to protect her. This stuff isn’t for the fainthearted.” His lips twisted up to the side ruefully. “I would have tried to protect you, too, if I’d known how. But I guess you’ve never fit into the fainthearted category, have you?” I smiled back, pulling a blazing breath in through my teeth. Charlie patted his stomach absently. “I’ll think of something. We’ve got time to discuss this, right?” “Right,” I promised him. It had been a long day in some ways, and so short in others. Charlie was late for dinner—Sue Clearwater was cooking for him and Billy. That was going to be an awkward evening, but at least he’d be eating real food; I was glad someone was trying to keep him from starving due to his lack of cooking ability. All day the tension had made the minutes pass slowly; Charlie had never relaxed the stiff set of his shoulders. But he’d been in no hurry to leave, either. He’d watched two whole games—thankfully so absorbed in his thoughts that he was totally oblivious to Emmett’s suggestive jokes that got more pointed and less football-related with each aside—and the after-game commentaries, and then the news, not moving until Seth had reminded him of the time. “You gonna stand Billy and my mom up, Charlie? C’mon. Bella and Nessie’ll be here tomorrow. Let’s get some grub, eh?” It had been clear in Charlie’s eyes that he hadn’t trusted Seth’s assessment, but he’d let Seth lead the way out. The doubt was still there as he paused now. The clouds were thinning, the rain gone. The sun might even make an appearance just in time to set. “Jake says you guys were going to take off on me,” he muttered to me now. “I didn’t want to do that if there was any way at all around it. That’s why we’re still here.” “He said you could stay for a while, but only if I’m tough enough, and if I can keep my mouth shut.” 379

“Yes… but I can’t promise that we’ll never leave, Dad. It’s pretty complicated. . . .” “Need to know,” he reminded me. “Right.” “You’ll visit, though, if you have to go?” “I promise, Dad. Now that you know just enough, I think this can work. I’ll keep as close as you want.” He chewed on his lip for half a second, then leaned slowly toward me with his arms cautiously extended. I shifted Renesmee—napping now—to my left arm, locked my teeth, held my breath, and wrapped my right arm very lightly around his warm, soft waist. “Keep real close, Bells,” he mumbled. “Real close.” “Love you, Dad,” I whispered through my teeth. He shivered and pulled away. I dropped my arm. “Love you, too, kid. Whatever else has changed, that hasn’t.” He touched one finger to Renesmee’s pink cheek. “She sure looks a lot like you.” I kept my expression casual, though I felt anything but. “More like Edward, I think.” I hesitated, and then added, “She has your curls.” Charlie started, then snorted. “Huh. Guess she does. Huh. Grandpa.” He shook his head doubtfully. “Do I ever get to hold her?” I blinked in shock and then composed myself. After considering for a half second and judging Renesmee’s appearance—she looked completely out—I decided that I might as well push my luck to the limit, since things were going so well today. . . . “Here,” I said, holding her out to him. He automatically made an awkward cradle with his arms, and I tucked Renesmee into it. His skin wasn’t quite as hot as hers, but it made my throat tickle to feel the warmth flowing under the thin membrane. Where my white skin brushed him it left goose bumps. I wasn’t sure if this was a reaction to my new temperature or totally psychological. Charlie grunted quietly as he felt her weight. “She’s… sturdy.” I frowned. She felt feather-light to me. Maybe my measure was off. “Sturdy is good,” Charlie said, seeing my expression. Then he muttered to himself, “She’ll need to be tough, surrounded by all this craziness.” He bounced 380

his arms gently, swaying a little from side to side. “Prettiest baby I ever saw, including you, kid. Sorry, but it’s true.” “I know it is.” “Pretty baby,” he said again, but it was closer to a coo this time. I could see it in his face—I could watch it growing there. Charlie was just as helpless against her magic as the rest of us. Two seconds in his arms, and already she owned him. “Can I come back tomorrow?” “Sure, Dad. Of course. We’ll be here.” “You’d better be,” he said sternly, but his face was soft, still gazing at Renesmee. “See you tomorrow, Nessie.” “Not you, too!” “Huh?” “Her name is Renesmee. Like Renée and Esme, put together. No variations.” I struggled to calm myself without the deep breath this time. “Do you want to hear her middle name?” “Sure.” “Carlie. With a C. Like Carlisle and Charlie put together.” Charlie’s eye-creasing grin lit up his face, taking me off guard. “Thanks, Bells.” “Thank you, Dad. So much has changed so quickly. My head hasn’t stopped spinning. If I didn’t have you now, I don’t know how I’d keep my grip on—on reality.” I’d been about to say my grip on who I was. That was probably more than he needed. Charlie’s stomach growled. “Go eat, Dad. We will be here.” I remembered how it felt, that first uncomfortable immersion in fantasy—the sensation that everything would disappear in the light of the rising sun. Charlie nodded and then reluctantly returned Renesmee to me. He glanced past me into the house; his eyes were a little wild for a minute as he stared around the big bright room. Everyone was still there, besides Jacob, who I could hear raiding the refrigerator in the kitchen; Alice was lounging on the bottom step of the 381

staircase with Jasper’s head in her lap; Carlisle had his head bent over a fat book in his lap; Esme was humming to herself, sketching on a notepad, while Rosalie and Emmett laid out the foundation for a monumental house of cards under the stairs; Edward had drifted to his piano and was playing very softly to himself. There was no evidence that the day was coming to a close, that it might be time to eat or shift activities in preparation for evening. Something intangible had changed in the atmosphere. The Cullens weren’t trying as hard as they usually did—the human charade had slipped ever so slightly, enough for Charlie to feel the difference. He shuddered, shook his head, and sighed. “See you tomorrow, Bella.” He frowned and then added, “I mean, it’s not like you don’t look… good. I’ll get used to it.” “Thanks, Dad.” Charlie nodded and walked thoughtfully toward his car. I watched him drive away; it wasn’t until I heard his tires hit the freeway that I realized I’d done it. I’d actually made it through the whole day without hurting Charlie. All by myself. I must have a superpower! It seemed too good to be true. Could I really have both my new family and some of my old as well? And I’d thought that yesterday had been perfect. “Wow,” I whispered. I blinked and felt the third set of contact lenses disintegrate. The sound of the piano cut off, and Edward’s arms were around my waist, his chin resting on my shoulder. “You took the word right out of my mouth.” “Edward, I did it!” “You did. You were unbelievable. All that worrying over being a newborn, and then you skip it altogether.” He laughed quietly. “I’m not even sure she’s really a vampire, let alone a newborn,” Emmett called from under the stairs. “She’s too tame.” All the embarrassing comments he’d made in front of my father sounded in my ears again, and it was probably a good thing I was holding Renesmee. Unable to help my reaction entirely, I snarled under my breath. “Oooo, scary,” Emmett laughed. I hissed, and Renesmee stirred in my arms. She blinked a few times, then looked around, her expression confused. She sniffed, then reached for my face. 382

“Charlie will be back tomorrow,” I assured her. “Excellent,” Emmett said. Rosalie laughed with him this time. “Not brilliant, Emmett,” Edward said scornfully, holding out his hands to take Renesmee from me. He winked when I hesitated, and so, a little confused, I gave her to him. “What do you mean?” Emmett demanded. “It’s a little dense, don’t you think, to antagonize the strongest vampire in the house?” Emmett threw his head back and snorted. “Please!” “Bella,” Edward murmured to me while Emmett listened closely, “do you remember a few months ago, I asked you to do me a favor once you were immortal?” That rang a dim bell. I sifted through the blurry human conversations. After a moment, I remembered and I gasped, “Oh!” Alice trilled a long, pealing laugh. Jacob poked his head around the corner, his mouth stuffed with food. “What?” Emmett growled. “Really?” I asked Edward. “Trust me,” he said. I took a deep breath. “Emmett, how do you feel about a little bet?” He was on his feet at once. “Awesome. Bring it.” I bit my lip for a second. He was just so huge. “Unless you’re too afraid… ?” Emmett suggested. I squared my shoulders. “You. Me. Arm-wrestling. Dining room table. Now.” Emmett’s grin stretched across his face. “Er, Bella,” Alice said quickly, “I think Esme is fairly fond of that table. It’s an antique.” “Thanks,” Esme mouthed at her. 383

“No problem,” Emmett said with a gleaming smile. “Right this way, Bella.” I followed him out the back, toward the garage; I could hear all the others trailing behind. There was a largish granite boulder standing up out of a tumble of rocks near the river, obviously Emmett’s goal. Though the big rock was a little rounded and irregular, it would do the job. Emmett placed his elbow on the rock and waved me forward. I was nervous again as I watched the thick muscles in Emmett’s arm roll, but I kept my face smooth. Edward had promised I would be stronger than anyone for a while. He seemed very confident about this, and I felt strong. That strong? I wondered, looking at Emmett’s biceps. I wasn’t even two days old, though, and that ought to count for something. Unless nothing was normal about me. Maybe I wasn’t as strong as a normal newborn. Maybe that’s why control was so easy for me. I tried to look unconcerned as I set my elbow against the stone. “Okay, Emmett. I win, and you cannot say one more word about my sex life to anyone, not even Rose. No allusions, no innuendos—no nothing.” His eyes narrowed. “Deal. I win, and it’s going to get a lot worse.” He heard my breath stop and grinned evilly. There was no hint of bluff in his eyes. “You gonna back down so easy, little sister?” Emmett taunted. “Not much wild about you, is there? I bet that cottage doesn’t have a scratch.” He laughed. “Did Edward tell you how many houses Rose and I smashed?” I gritted my teeth and grabbed his big hand. “One, two—” “Three,” he grunted, and shoved against my hand. Nothing happened. Oh, I could feel the force he was exerting. My new mind seemed pretty good at all kinds of calculations, and so I could tell that if he wasn’t meeting any resistance, his hand would have pounded right through the rock without difficulty. The pressure increased, and I wondered randomly if a cement truck doing forty miles an hour down a sharp decline would have similar power. Fifty miles an hour? Sixty? Probably more. It wasn’t enough to move me. His hand shoved against mine with crushing force, but it wasn’t unpleasant. It felt kind of good in a weird way. I’d been so very careful since the last time I woke up, trying so hard not to break things. It was a 384

strange relief to use my muscles. To let the strength flow rather than struggling to restrain it. Emmett grunted; his forehead creased and his whole body strained in one rigid line toward the obstacle of my unmoving hand. I let him sweat—figuratively—for a moment while I enjoyed the sensation of the crazy force running through my arm. A few seconds, though, and I was a little bored with it. I flexed; Emmett lost an inch. I laughed. Emmett snarled harshly through his teeth. “Just keep your mouth shut,” I reminded him, and then I smashed his hand into the boulder. A deafening crack echoed off the trees. The rock shuddered, and a piece—about an eighth of the mass—broke off at an invisible fault line and crashed to the ground. It fell on Emmett’s foot, and I snickered. I could hear Jacob’s and Edward’s muffled laughter. Emmett kicked the rock fragment across the river. It sliced a young maple in half before thudding into the base of a big fir, which swayed and then fell into another tree. “Rematch. Tomorrow.” “It’s not going to wear off that fast,” I told him. “Maybe you ought to give it a month.” Emmett growled, flashing his teeth. “Tomorrow.” “Hey, whatever makes you happy, big brother.” As he turned to stalk away, Emmett punched the granite, shattering off an avalanche of shards and powder. It was kind of neat, in a childish way. Fascinated by the undeniable proof that I was stronger than the strongest vampire I’d ever known, I placed my hand, fingers spread wide, against the rock. Then I dug my fingers slowly into the stone, crushing rather than digging; the consistency reminded me of hard cheese. I ended up with a handful of gravel. “Cool,” I mumbled. With a grin stretching my face, I whirled in a sudden circle and karate-chopped the rock with the side of my hand. The stone shrieked and groaned and—with a big poof of dust—split in two. I started giggling. 385

I didn’t pay much attention to the chuckles behind me while I punched and kicked the rest of the boulder into fragments. I was having too much fun, snickering away the whole time. It wasn’t until I heard a new little giggle, a highpitched peal of bells, that I turned away from my silly game. “Did she just laugh?” Everyone was staring at Renesmee with the same dumbstruck expression that must have been on my face. “Yes,” Edward said. “Who wasn’t laughing?” Jake muttered, rolling his eyes. “Tell me you didn’t let go a bit on your first run, dog,” Edward teased, no antagonism in his voice at all. “That’s different,” Jacob said, and I watched in surprise as he mock-punched Edward’s shoulder. “Bella’s supposed to be a grown-up. Married and a mom and all that. Shouldn’t there be more dignity?” Renesmee frowned, and touched Edward’s face. “What does she want?” I asked. “Less dignity,” Edward said with a grin. “She was having almost as much fun watching you enjoy yourself as I was.” “Am I funny?” I asked Renesmee, darting back and reaching for her at the same time that she reached for me. I took her out of Edward’s arms and offered her the shard of rock in my hand. “You want to try?” She smiled her glittering smile and took the stone in both hands. She squeezed, a little dent forming between her eyebrows as she concentrated. There was a tiny grinding sound, and a bit of dust. She frowned, and held the chunk up to me. “I’ll get it,” I said, pinching the stone into sand. She clapped and laughed; the delicious sound of it made us all join in. The sun suddenly burst through the clouds, shooting long beams of ruby and gold across the ten of us, and I was immediately lost in the beauty of my skin in the light of the sunset. Dazed by it. Renesmee stroked the smooth diamond-bright facets, then laid her arm next to mine. Her skin had just a faint luminosity, subtle and mysterious. Nothing that would keep her inside on a sunny day like my glowing sparkle. She touched my face, thinking of the difference and feeling disgruntled. “You’re the prettiest,” I assured her. “I’m not sure I can agree to that,” Edward said, and when I turned to answer him, the sunlight on his face stunned me into silence. Jacob had his hand in front of his face, pretending to shield his eyes from the glare. “Freaky Bella,” he commented. “What an amazing creature she is,” Edward murmured, almost in agreement, as if Jacob’s comment was meant as a compliment. He was both dazzling and dazzled. It was a strange feeling—not surprising, I supposed, since everything felt strange now—this being a natural at something. As a human, I’d never been best at anything. I was okay at dealing with Renée, but probably lots of people could have done better; Phil seemed to be holding his own. I was a good student, but never the top of the class. Obviously, I could be counted out of anything athletic. Not artistic or musical, no particular talents to brag of. Nobody ever gave away a trophy for reading books. After eighteen years of mediocrity, I was pretty used to being average. I realized now that I’d long ago given up any aspirations of shining at anything. I just did the best with what I had, never quite fitting into my world. So this was really different. I was amazing now—to them and to myself. It was like I had been born to be a vampire. The idea made me want to laugh, but it also made me want to sing. I had found my true place in the world, the place I fit, the place I shined.

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