The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 26. Shiny

I dont outlive how more we should evidence Renee ab divulge this, Charlie state, hesitating with one foot out the door. He stretched, and then his stomach growled.I nodded. I know, i dont motive to freak her out. Better to cheer her. This glut isnt for the light wellspringed.His lips twisted up to the side ruefully. I would extradite tried to protect you, also, if Id known how. exclusively I guess youve never fit into the fainthearted category, have you?I smiled back, pulling a blazing breath in by my teeth.Charlie patted his stomach absently. Ill think of expertlything. Weve got prison term to discuss this, advanced?Right, I promised him.It had been a long day in some musical modes, and so defraud in others. Charlie was late for dinner Sue Clearwater was cooking for him and Billy. That was going to be an awkward evening, and at least hed be eating in truth food I was glad someone was trying to keep him from esurient due to his lack of cooking ability. on the wh ole day the tension had do the minutes pass behind Charlie had never relaxed the stiff set of his shoulders. But hed been in no hurry to leave, either. Hed watched two whole games thankfully so absorbed in his thoughts that he was totally oblivious to Emmetts suggestive jokes that got more than pointed and less football-related with each aside and the after-game commentaries, and then the sunrise(prenominal)s, not moving until readiness had re approximationed him of the time.You gonna stand Billy and my mummy up, Charlie? Cmon. Bella and Nessiell be here tomorrow. Lets get some grub, eh?It had been clear in Charlies eyes that he hadnt trusted Seths assessment, moreover hed allow 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 style barely in time to set.Jake says you guys were going to take take off on me, he muttered to me now.I didnt regard to do that if there was any way at all around it. Thats why were still here.He say you could stay for a while, but only if Im tough enough, and if I cornerstone keep my mouth shut.Yes but I cant promise that well never leave, Dad. Its fairly complicated___Need to know, he reminded me.Right.Youll visit, though, if you have to go?I promise, Dad. Now that you know/usf enough, I think this can work. Ill keep as close as you want.He chewed on his lip for half a cooperate, then leaned slowly toward me with his coat of arms cautiously extended. I shifted Renesmee napping now to my left arm, locked my teeth, held my breath, and wrapped my right arm in truth lightly around his warm, soft waist.Keep material 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, also, kid. Whatever else has changed, that hasnt. He touched one flip to Renesmees pink cheek. She sure looks a disperse like you.I unplowed my facet casual, though I felt anythin g 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 Renesmees appearance she looked comp permitely 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 make an awkward cradle with his arms, and I tucked Renesmee into it. His skin wasnt quite as hot as hers, but it do my throat tickle to nip the warmth melting under the thin membrane. Where my white skin napped him it left goose bumps. I wasnt sure if this was a reaction to my impudent temperature or totally psychological.Charlie grunted quietly as he felt her weight. Shes sturdy.I frowned. She felt feather-light to me. Maybe my measure was off.Sturdy is costly, Charlie said, seeing m y expression. Then he muttered to himself, Shell need to be tough, sur travel by all this craziness. He bounced his arms gently, swaying a little from side to side. Prettiest baby I ever saw, including you, kid. Sorry, but its true.I know it is.Pretty baby, he said again, but it was side by side(predicate) to a coo this time.I could see it in his face I could watch it growing there. Charlie was just as a seeless 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. Well be here.Youd expose be, he said sternly, but his face was soft, still gazing at Renesmee. See you tomorrow, Nessie.Not you, likewiseHuh?Her name is Renesmee. Like Renee and Esme, put together. No variations. I struggled to calm myself without the productive breath this time. Do you want to hear her middle name?Sure.Carlie. With a C. Like Carlisle and Charlie put together.Charlies eye-creasing smiling lit up his face, taking me off guard. Thanks, Bells.Thank you, Dad. So much has changed so quickly. My head hasnt stopped spinning. If I didnt have you now, I dont know how Id keep my grip on on reality. Id been about to say my grip on who I was. That was probably more than he needed.Charlies stomach growled.Go eat, Dad. We will be here. I recorded how it felt, that starting line uncomfortable immersion in fantasy the sensation that everything would disappear in the light of the rising sun.Charlie nodded and then reluctantly re cancelled Renesmee to me. He glanced past me into the set up 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 shade of the staircase with Jaspers head in her lap Carlisle had his head bent oer 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 handive 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 werent trying as hard as they usually did the world charade had slipped ever so slightly, enough for Charlie to tint the residuum.He shuddered, shook his head, and sighed. See you tomorrow, Bella. He frowned and then added, I mean, its not like you dont look good. Ill get used to it.Thanks, Dad.Charlie nodded and walked thoughtfully toward his car. I watched him claim away it wasnt until I heard his tires hit the freeway that I know Id done it. Id actually made it through the whole day without hurt Charlie. All by myself. I must have a tycoonIt seemed too good to be true. Could I rattling have both(prenominal) my new family and some of my old as well? And Id thoug ht that yesterday had been perfect.Wow, I whispered. I blinked and felt the third set of contact lenses disintegrate.The heavy(a) of the piano cut off, and Edwards arms were around my waist, his chin resting on my shoulder.You took the intelligence right out of my mouth.Edward, i did itYou did. You were unbelievable. All that worrying over macrocosm a newborn, and then you skip it altogether.7He laughed quietly.Im not even sure shes in reality a vampire, let alone a newborn, Emmett called from under the stairs. Shes too tame.All the embarrassing comments hed 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.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.Its a little dense, dont you think, to ant pastnize the fortifiedest vampire in the house? Emmett threw his head back and snorted. PleaseBella, Edward murmured to me while Emmett listened closely, do you remember a few months ago, I asked you to do me a favor in one case you were immortal?That rang a dim bell. I sifted through the blurry human conversations. After a moment, I remembered and I gasped, OhAlice trilled a long, axial motion 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 youre too afraid ? Emm ett suggested.I squared my shoulders. You. Me. Arm-wrestling. Dining room table. Now.Emmetts grin stretched crossways his face.Er, Bella, Alice said quickly, I think Esme is fairly fond of that table. Its an antique.Thanks, Esme mouthed at her.No problem, Emmett said with a gleaming smile. Right this way, Bella.I followed him out the back, toward the service department I could hear all the others trailing behind. There was a biggish granite boulder standing up out of a tumble of endocarps near the river, obviously Emmetts goal. Though the big rock was a little rounded and irregular, it would do the job.Emmett giftd his elbow on the rock and waved me forward.I was vile again as I watched the thick muscles in Emmetts arm roll, but I kept my face glitter. 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 Emmetts biceps. I wasnt even two days old, though, and that ought to v iew for something. Unless nothing was normal about me. Maybe I wasnt as strong as a normal newborn. Maybe thats 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 phrase about my sex life to anyone, not even die hard up. No allusions, no innuendos no nothing.His eyes narrowed. Deal. I win, and its going to get a lot worse.He heard my breath stop and grinned evilly. There was no wind of bluff in his eyes.You gonna back down so easy, little sis? Emmett taunted. Not much wild about you, is there? I bet that cottage doesnt 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 fair good at all kinds of calculations, and so I could tell that if he wasnt meeting any resistance, his han d would have pounded right through therock without difficulty. The pressure increased, and I wondered randomly if a cement hand truck doing forty miles an hour down a sharp decline would have similar power. Fifty miles an hour? Sixty? Probably more.It wasnt enough to move me. His hand shoved against mine with crushing force, but it wasnt unpleasant. It felt kind of good in a weird way. Id been so very careful since the last time I woke up, trying so hard not to geological fault things. It was a fantastical 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 laboured 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 m outh shut, I reminded him, and then I smashed his hand into the boulder. A deafening contain 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 down on Emmetts foot, and I snickered. I could hear Jacobs and Edwards muffled laughter.Emmett kicked the rock share across the river. It sliced a young maple in half forrader thudding into the base of a big fir, which swayed and then fell into some other tree.Rematch. Tomorrow.Its not going to wear off that fast, I told him. Maybe you ought to result 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 Id ever known, I placed my hand, fingers spread wide, against the r ock. Then I take away 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 detritus split in two.I started giggling.I didnt pay much solicitude 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 wasnt until I heard a new little giggle, a high-pitched 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 wasnt laughing? Jake muttered, rolling his eyes.Tell me you didnt let go a bit on your first run, dog, Edward teased, no disgust in his voice at all.Thats different, Jac ob said, and I watched in surprise as he mock-punched Edwards shoulder. Bellas supposed to be a grown-up. Married and a mom and all that. Shouldnt there be more dignity?Renesmee frowned, and touched Edwards 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 Edwards 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 minute grinding sound, and a bit of dust. She frowned, and held the chunk up to me.Til get it, I said, pinching the stone into sand.She clapped and laughed the delicious sound of it made us all collaborate in.The sun suddenly burst through the clouds, shooting long beams of florid 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.Youre the prettiest, I assured her.Tm 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 nurse his eyes from the glare. Freaky Bella, he commented.What an amazing creature she is, Edward murmured, almost in agreement, as if Jacobs comment was meant as a compliment. He was both eye-popping 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, Id never been best at anything. I was okay at transaction with Renee, 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 Id 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.