Chapter 25

The shadowed starry night sky allowed us to finally deport from the hotel. Outside it was moist and warm, a nice contrast from the cold lifestyle I was now adapted to. We all walked together, side by side, making our way to the cars we’d rented.

 The sliver of moonlight added wondrous capabilities to vampires, an almost silver glow reflecting off our skin. However, as Emmet boomed with laughter, always unaware of expected dangers, the light reflecting off his gleaming teeth just made him more frightening.

“It’s not really that funny”, I half-growled.

“C’mon! You didn’t even break the lamp!”, he said, cracking everyone up all over again.

Even Edward was trying not to smile, one corner of his mouth turned up slightly.

“Jacob’s right, there is no privacy in my family”, I muttered.

“Told ya”, Jake grinned back at me.

I forced a small, tight grin, glancing over to him and Renesmee. The one detail that did comfort me right now was their behavior. They acted exactly the same as they did before the engagement. I was guessing it was to keep any more surprises from happening, from ruining everything all over again.

Then fixing my gaze on Jake, I realized it was Renesmee who restrained any behavior. It was all in his stare. I could read the longing and desire that radiated from his eyes.

“Did Alice see anything new yet?”, I asked.

“Nothing of grave importance.”

I kept my silence for a minute, waiting for him to add on. But it seemed he was done.

Why was nobody else as distressed as me? Could it be the future we inclined towards was easier to access than I had believed?

“I love you”, Jake whispered to Nessie from the back seat.

For a moment, all was silent. I teasingly cleared my throat.

“Sorry Mama”, Nessie flushed.

I smiled. I felt my disposition lifting a little. After all, we were already in Jacksonville, not far from my mother and Phil’s home. How couldn’t we save her?

 

We explored the town for a while. There was a fair tonight which we decided to go to. Right away, Alice ran off to the little boutique stands, dragging Jasper close behind. Emmet tried his “luck” at one of those strength games with the hammer and the bell, which didn’t fail in amusing us as he undoubtedly took home the grand prize. Edward and I were swinging on the top of the Ferris Wheel.

The view down below us was intriguing from a vampire’s point of view. Everyone looked smaller, yet were exactly as clear as if we were standing right next to them. I easily spotted the scattered out members of my family. They were enjoying themselves.

“I love you”, I whispered just below his ear.

“As do I”, he murmured into my hair.

“So what’s the plan for tomorrow? Unexpectedly show up at Renee’s door, pretend to be something we’re not, and drag her away from the water?”, I joked halfheartedly.

“That’s the plan”.

I became silent for a moment.

“What if…what if, somehow, Renee escapes our grip? Or realizes why we came? Or-”

“Relax, love”, he said soothingly.

“How can I possibly relax dealing with so many conflicts after another?”, I sighed.

He pulled me closer to him. The wheel started to incline as we made our way to the ground.

“This is nothing new to me, love. Don’t you remember all those times you escaped from Alice’s visions?”, he asked.

I thought back to my blurry human days, then to my vibrant vampire ones and nodded.

Sneaking away to lure James towards me and away from the ones I loved, my mystery baby growing inside of me, Alice, searching for a blind spot she wasn’t even sure existed to try and save our family….

“If you’ve managed to save a hopeless case like me, then my mother should be fine”, I teased.

He kissed my forehead as we came to a stop.

“You have no idea of the agonizing pain you had brought me. After all of those near death experiences”-traces of pain touched his face-“I could only try to cope with it. There was no knowing what exactly would come next,”-his face became lighter-“but we always prevailed.”

As we made our way past the small crowd to the exit, I found myself able to smile, reaching up to touch my lips to Edward’s. I looked up at him, finding pleasure in his light gold eyes. Unthinkingly, I slid my hand up his thin white t-shirt, relishing the smooth perfect planes of his chest.

His fingers locked in my hair, pulling me tighter to him.

Within two seconds I pulled myself away, hearing the whispers and giggles of small children and their parents nearby.

“We’ll save it for the hotel”, I said ruefully.

But it was hard to resist just one more kiss.