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So many painful memories rushed through my mind. The invisible tears were impossible to choke back. While I ran through the thick underbrush, I felt as though I had begun to lose my mind. Imagine that…the first insane vampire. Edward was right behind me, trying his best to keep up with my frantic pace. He was determined not to let me out of his sight. He had been right about the entire situation since ngày one, but my stubbornness blinded me when he tried to warn against what I was agreeing to. Everyone tried to warn me. I suddenly heard a thundering growl that came from a mile away. I hastened my steps. Edward was at my heels now. Oh God, what have I done?
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{The First Day}
I peeped into Renesmee's bedroom to check up on her. I opened the door only to find several of her textbooks strewn over her giường and purple floor mat, but no Renesmee. The window was left open, which allowed a gust of wind to scatter her notes across the corners of her room. Everything was such a mess, but then I tried to remember that my responsibilities were equally as unimportant to me when I was her age. I took a few phút to straighten up her room for our little sweetheart. I knew where she had run off to, but I wanted to get Edward's confirmation on it, "Edward," I called to him as I folded some of Renesmee's clothes that were piled on hàng đầu, đầu trang of her desk, "where has Nessie run off to?" I had also noticed that she had been taking extra time away from her homework to "hang out." I shook my head sadly.
Even after sixteen years of parenting, I still couldn't handle Nessie's adventurous spirit at times. She's half-vampire, but I at least wanted her to give a little focus to high school academics. Edward hadn't responded yet, so I pushed the remaining clothes into the tall white dresser and walked into our quaint cottage's living room. Edward was seated đọc the newspaper casually while Muse played softly On the small stereo we kept in the corner bởi the window. I was amazed how much he emulated Carlisle that very moment. It brought me happiness just to stare at him. I shook myself out of the daze and got back to the question, "Edward? Where's Renesmee?" Edward shifted in his seat, but his expression remained calm. He was making a rather good attempt to act nonchalant to the question. I smiled and forced myself not to laugh. It was funny how protective he was over our daughter. He had to be the best dad in the world, in my humble opinion of course.
Edward warmly smiled at me, "She mentioned spending some time with Jacob and the chó sói, sói pack." I sighed and went to sit tiếp theo to him. He set down the newspaper and wrapped me in his arms. He kissed me on the forehead, "I think we need to start giving her some chores." I playfully scoffed at the thought, "Is that really a punishment for any vampire? She'll have the house cleaned in ten minutes, but for some reason, her room is always messy." Edward chuckled and lifted my chin so that his eyes would meet mine, "She is still half human, love, and normal human teenagers act like this, only I hear they're worse." I rested my head on his stone chest, "I do keep that in mind. I'm just afraid that she's getting a little too obsessed with Jacob. This werewolf imprinting thing must be really strong." I felt Edward tense a little.
Whoops, guess I went a little too far that time. He had never truly warmed up the idea as yet. In Edward's eyes, Renesmee was still a little girl who wasn't ready for "werewolf love." I craned my neck upwards to give him a long Kiss on the cheek, "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to bring that up. I know bạn don't like that topic too much." Edward nodded and pulled me into a closer embrace, "It's fine, Bella. It is what it is. No need to apologize." I laughed and beamed a smile at him, "It's a good thing we don't have thêm than one kid to raise." Edward laughed along with me, "I don't think either of us would be able to handle this parenting thing thêm than once." I glanced out the window after hearing thunder roll from about ten miles off, "Uh oh. It's going to rain in a while." Edward furrowed his eyebrows, "So?"
"Well, I wanted to go hunting today." Edward shook his head, "No, bạn mean bạn NEED to go hunting today. Bella, bạn haven't been in thêm than a week." Edward rose to his feet and offered me his hand, "Let's get going if we want to catch anything before the storm arrives." I unconsciously took his hand and stood tiếp theo to him, "But what about Nessie? Won't she wonder where we've gone?" Edward rolled his eyes and brushed back my hair gently with his hand, "She'll know. You're so selfless that you're willing to make yourself thirst just because Renesmee isn't back yet. Let's get going. bạn need to hunt." I looked into his bright, loving eyes and smirked.
Sometimes I was so happy that he couldn't read my mind on his own. In an instant, I tapped his shoulder and ran out the front door of our cottage in roaring laughter, "Catch me if bạn can!" Edward shook off his surprise and bolted after me, "We'll see about that, darling!" I looked over my shoulder to see where he was behind me. He was just a few feet away from me. I sped up, laughing, "I bet I can take down a herd of deer before bạn catch me!" "I wager that I can catch bạn before bạn take down anything!" We ran and laughed in amusement; it was the most fun I had in a while. I managed to evade Edward in a denser part of the forest, so I had just enough time to win my side of the bet. When I was through, Edward silently snuck up behind me.
I gasped. In less than a một giây he grabbed me into his arms and spun me around. I laughed till it seemed impossible for me to laugh any longer. Together, we jumped into a huge pile of leaves. It seemed like it was raining leaves instead of water, until a một phút later. Raindrops began to fall hard and fast, so Edward and I ran for shelter as quickly as we could. We didn't mind the storm. In fact, it was quite refreshing to smell the rain and feel it hit my icy skin.
Our trang chủ was in sight, but I heard something that made me stop abruptly. Edward, who was just as drenched as me, turned around and stared at me. We were still holding hands. He grabbed me around the waist. His eyes narrowed, "Bella, what's wrong?" He looked at me with frustration and concern. I frowned, "You didn't hear that?" "Yes, I did," he assured me, "I'm sure it's just a hiker who's calling out to his friend hoặc something like that. It's none of our business, Bella." "No," I insisted, struggling to tug free from his grip, "It sounded like someone was screaming for help." Edward reached out to grab my arm, "It is none of our concern, Bella. We're vampires. We can't do anything about it. We must stay away from humans in the forest. bạn know that. We need to get home."
I gazed in the direction of the desperate cry, and then looked back at Edward. My eyes filled with worry as I stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity, "Edward," I took his face in my damp hands, "Please. We won't go too close. I just want to see where the call came from." He scanned every inch of my face. He took both of my hands in his, staring at the ground, "Okay, but bạn and I must stay together. I am not letting bạn out of my sight." I was not about to protest, since I could tell that he wasn't happy about this at all. He pulled me near to his side and we ran north. I did not understand why I was so drawn to this stranger.
To be honest, the fact that I was irreversibly intrigued with a person that I couldn't even see scared me. Edward's presence, however, helped me keep my calm as we came closer. I feared the worst because the yelling had stopped. I urged Edward to run a little faster, and he reluctantly obeyed my wish. I knew that I would have to find a way to make it up to him later. I hated seeing him so upset when he was only trying to protect me. The yelling stopped but, as we approached, we heard someone moaning in pain just beyond a cluster of trees that was before us. We slowed our pace and noiselessly tiptoed through the mud. Our clothes were hopelessly snagged and stained, but that was the least of my worries at the present.
We were about ten feet away when an overwhelming scent of human blood permeated the air around us. As if this situation in general wasn't odd enough, the fresh smell barely bothered me. However, in Edward's case, it was almost unnerving. He covered his mouth and nose with his hand; his expression was pained. He glared at me briefly, and then sealed his eyes shut for a second. I touched my hand to his chest and whispered in his ear, "Edward, I can handle myself." He looked at me in horror, "No." He managed to choke out from behind his hand, "I will not leave bạn alone here." "Edward, bạn need to go," I pleaded profusely, "Please Edward; the smell has no effect on me. I can handle myself and bạn know it. Just go and make sure that Renesmee is alright. I will meet bạn back at home." Edward refused, as expected, "I will stand a few feet off, but I am not leaving you." "Okay, okay, but don't put yourself into danger on my account, Edward. I tình yêu bạn too much for bạn to do that." He unwillingly let go of my hand and hid himself behind a cây at a an toàn, két an toàn distance.
I took a một phút to gather my confidence. Whatever was behind those trees was not about to scare me away. I lithely pushed away the leaves, vines, and branches that hung down in my face. I maneuvered around the numerous cây trunks until I reached a bright, grassy clearing. I stood in the shadows while I examined my surroundings. The victim who I sought after was lying motionless in the middle of the field under a patch of glistening sunlight. My mouth hung agape and my expression saddened.
The victim was a young teenage boy, who looked like he was about fifteen years old. The boy was dressed in kaki, khaki hiking shorts with a green t-shirt, both of which were practically covered in blood. I heard his shallow breathing, so I knew he was still alive, but he was not alone. Not far off laid two other motionless bodies, a man and a woman, but neither of them were breathing, and both were mauled even worse than the boy. I quickly suspected that those were the boy's parents. I didn't see hoặc hear anyone else around besides Edward, who was anxiously waiting for me to come back.
I wasted no thêm time because I feared that I would lose the boy's life if I delayed another second. I had no clue why I was so attached to him already. It truly puzzled me. I thought perhaps it was because I am a shield, so it is my instinct to protect. He was unconscious, but his tim, trái tim was still beating at a fast rate. I didn't know too much medical science, but I did know that if the tim, trái tim beats too fast for an extended period of time, the results could be fatal. I checked to see where his wounds were so that I could stop the bleeding. There were scratches all over his body, but there were two deep wounds that were bleeding uncontrollably.
"It's a good thing I wore a tank hàng đầu, đầu trang beneath my áo sơ mi today," I thought to myself. I pulled off my blue áo sơ mi and ripped it in two. The first wound was on the rightmost side of his chest. It was important to stop the bleeding there, since it was closest to his heart. The một giây wound was located on his left thigh. I tried my best to stop as much of his bleeding as possible, but, when his breath became even thêm shallow and his tim, trái tim pounded faster than before, I knew that he was going to need Carlisle's care. I began to panic; in my tim, trái tim I knew that I couldn't risk losing this boy. I needed to save him at almost any cost.
Unexpectedly, I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I spun around to see who it was. Edward was standing right behind me with a solemn look on his face. My eyes widened, "Edward, what are bạn doing? Get out of here. It's not safe!" Edward didn't take his eyes off the boy. I was afraid his instinct would make him do something that he would soon regret in the future, but there was nothing I could do about it, and I was determined not to leave the boy to die alone there. I opened my mouth to speak, but Edward beat me to it, "We must get him some help quickly," he whispered almost inaudibly. I nodded in agreement, "I'm going to take him to Carlisle."
"Bella, love," he looked at me sweetly, "It's not our place to give him personal medical treatment, and where will Carlisle care for him? Only he can effortlessly resist human blood, so we cannot take this child to the house." I smoothed back the boy's wavy blonde hair. I forced myself to snap out of it, though; I had only known him for five minutes, yet I was already mothering him. I placed my hand back in my lap, "We don't have time to take him to the hospital, Edward. They will not know how to save him. Carlisle will think of something instantly. I need bạn to go get him for me. The boy can't stay here alone." Edward tightened his lips, "Carlisle will not just turn anyone into a vampire in order to save them, Bella, and he doesn't have the time to look after a newborn vampire. His days of 'saving' are over. Let him die here in peace as his parents have."
"No!" I almost shouted at the hàng đầu, đầu trang of my lungs. It felt so wrong to argue with Edward about this, but my tim, trái tim was compelling me to save the boy. Edward was unmoved in his decision to leave the boy in the clearing, but I wouldn't hear of it. I couldn't. I felt as though I would rather kill myself than leave him here. The precious time was ticking away; every second, the boy came closer to death. Edward tried to maintain his composure, "We aren't like Carlisle and Esme, Bella! We can't take in our own vampire children and care for them. We already have a child of our own at home. What about her? We will put her life in danger if we take this boy with us!" Edward could tell his reasoning was swaying my resolve, "Renesmee is our responsibility, Bella. This boy is not our concern," he pointed to the lifeless couple who lay at the corner of the field, "His parents were mauled bởi the same bear, no doubt. Maybe this is fate. Leave him be and let's go."
Edward stretched out his hand to me. I froze in my place on the ground. I felt as though I could not budge one inch away from the blonde boy. I looked at his face one last time. Just like his clothes, it was smeared with his blood. All I could think about was his future and his potential. "What if he were in my position?" I wondered helplessly. What would happen if I did make an effort to save him? Why did I want to save him in the first place? I knew that I would live in agony if I let an innocent child die at my hands. I bit my lip, confused and aggravated. Was Edward right? Would saving the boy endanger our entire family, especially Renesmee? In the midst of all these thoughts, instinct took over my reasoning. I swiftly grabbed the boy in my arms and bounded away to Carlisle, leaving Edward staring at me in utter shock and disappointment.
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I hope bạn all enjoyed it! :D <3 tình yêu bạn guys lots :)
