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Edward and I had agreed to our lopsided compromise, one detail of which was that he be allowed to replace my truck when it passed on. Edward swore it was only to be expected; my truck had lived a long, full life and then expired of natural causes.
When I’d been forced to admit that the truck had become no more than a still-life tribute to classic Chevys on my curb, I knew his idea of a replacement was probably going to embarrass me.
I peeled my gaze off the unusually elegant Charlie for the first time and saw the dreaded white garment bag laid carefully across the sofa. “Aaah.” “Go to your happy place, Bella. It won’t take long.”
It made no sense when he looked at me that way. Like I was the prize rather than the outrageously lucky winner.
He had the most beautiful soul, more beautiful than his brilliant mind or his incomparable face or his glorious body.
Worrying, always worrying. How different it would be when he didn’t need to worry about me anymore. What would he do with all his free time? He’d have to get a new hobby.
“I’ll meet you at the altar.” “I’ll be the one in white.”
“Don’t let me fall, Dad,” I whispered. Charlie pulled my hand through his arm and then grasped it tightly.
We’d asked Mr. Weber to make only one small change. He obligingly traded the line “till death do us part” for the more appropriate “as long as we both shall live.”
“I feel just horrible, leaving you to cook for yourself—it’s practically criminal negligence. You could arrest me.”
“But I’ll see you this way in my head. Pink cheeks. Heartbeat. Two left feet. All of that.” I deliberately stomped on his foot as hard as I could. He smiled. “That’s my girl.”
“I love you forever, Dad,” I told him. “Don’t forget that.”
“I was asleep. This is really good, by the way. Impressive for someone who doesn’t eat.” “Food Network,” he said, flashing my favorite crooked smile.
People would stare if I was out in the open. Normal people couldn’t run like this. Sometimes I thought it might be fun to enter a race—you know, like the Olympic trials or something. It would be cool to watch the expressions on those star athletes’ faces when I blew by them. Only I was pretty sure the testing they did to make sure you weren’t on steroids would probably turn up some really freaky crap in my blood.
“I don’t care about anything but keeping her alive,” he said, suddenly focused now. “If it’s a child she wants, she can have it. She can have half a dozen babies. Anything she wants.” He paused for one beat. “She can have puppies, if that’s what it takes.”
“Help me stop this from happening.” “How? By offering my stud services?”
I'm HOLLERING
Instead of being the A/V dweeb about to ask the head cheerleader to the prom, I was the finished-second-place werewolf about to ask the vampire’s wife to shack up and procreate. Nice.
“Did you know that ‘I told you so’ has a brother, Jacob?” she asked, cutting me off. “His name is ‘Shut the hell up.
“Edward told me once what it was like—your imprinting thing. He said it was like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, like magic. You’ll find who you’re really looking for, Jacob, and maybe then all of this will make sense.”
Think he can hear us? We were less than a mile out now. I think so. Hey, Edward. If you can hear me—circle the wagons, bloodsucker. You’ve got a problem. We’ve got a problem, Seth corrected.
Jake, Seth thought. I belong here. I do like vampires. Cullens, anyway. They’re people to me, and I’m going to protect them, ’cause that’s what we’re supposed to do.
IM GONNA CRY
Maybe a round or two before I crash.… Hey Seth, wanna see how many times I can lap you? NO!
Your family’s divergence from humanity is much more interesting. Magical, almost.” “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo,”
I wondered what all house-of-horrors stuff they kept around here. Fridge full of blood, check. What else? Torture chamber? Coffin room?
It had once probably been a big mixing bowl, but she’d bent the bowl back in on itself until it was shaped almost exactly like a dog dish. I had to be impressed with her quick craftsmanship. And her attention to detail. She’d scratched the word Fido into the side. Excellent handwriting.
Seth leaned against me, shoving back, and then he galloped into the trees. “He has one of the purest, sincerest, kindest minds I’ve ever heard,” Edward murmured when he was out of sight. “You’re lucky to have his thoughts to share.”
Personal affection is a luxury you can have only after all your enemies are eliminated. Until then, everyone you love is a hostage, sapping your courage and corrupting your judgment.
My life and his were twisted into a single strand. Cut one, and you cut both. If he were gone, I would not be able to live through that. If I were gone, he wouldn’t live through it, either.
Now that I could see, the scars were Jasper’s most dominant feature. It was hard to take my eyes off his ravaged neck and jaw—hard to believe that even a vampire could have survived so many sets of teeth ripping into his throat.
“Well,” he mumbled, “that name you came up with is kind of a mouthful and—” “You nicknamed my daughter after the Loch Ness Monster?” I screeched. And then I lunged for his throat.
Edward had always thought that he belonged to the world of horror stories. Of course, I’d known he was dead wrong. It was obvious that he belonged here. In a fairy tale.
“We’re going to tell her I spent hours in there playing dress-up. We’re going to lie
“I would’ve thought you two had knocked it to rubble by now. What were you doing last night? Discussing the national debt?” He howled with laughter.
Renesmee touched him again. “No, I don’t care if you bite Jacob. That’s fine.” Jacob chuckled.
“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.”
Nobody ever gave away a trophy for reading books.
Now, as I shut the car door, I heard the song morph through a bridge and change into my lullaby. Edward was welcoming me home.
“Stupid leeches,” he muttered to himself when we got outside. “Think they’re so superior.” He snorted. “They’ll be shocked when the infants save their superior lives, won’t they?” Edward said. Jake smiled and punched his shoulder. “Hell yeah, they will.”
Whatever end found us, it would not find us separated.
“The redcoats are coming, the redcoats are coming,” Garrett muttered mysteriously to himself and then chuckled once.
Jacob retreated slowest, the fur on his shoulders standing straight up as he bared his fangs at Aro. Renesmee grabbed the end of his tail as we retreated; she held it like a leash, forcing him to stay with us.
Just taking her puppy dog for a walk
“If you didn’t love her so much, I could never bear this. I know you can protect her, Jacob.” He whined again, and dipped his head to butt it against my shoulder. “I know,” I whispered. “I love you, too, Jake. You’ll always be my best man.” A tear the size of a baseball rolled into the russet fur beneath his eye. Edward leaned his head against the same shoulder where he’d placed Renesmee. “Goodbye, Jacob, my brother… my son.”
IM GONNA THROW UP BLOOD THIS IS SO SAD
