-Evening Sun- Book 1, Chapter 9 : Insincerity
Saturday, February 5, 2011@12:33 AM
Book 1: Renesmee
Chapter 9: Insincerity
Jacob ran off to find Leah, and I saw her walking towards the forest. I was not sure if he had seen her too.
“Seth, are you okay?” I asked while helping him up.
“I’m fine. But Leah… I’m sorry about that conversation.” Seth apologized.
I gave him a fake bemused look, but he saw through my mask. “I know you heard.”
I smiled at him, “Yea, yea. Let’s go. Jacob’s going to kill Leah if we don’t stop them.”
Immediately, Seth stood up and ran. It was hard to keep myself running at a human’s speed. I envied Seth for a moment. His immediate reaction was hard evidence, strong and secure, of his love for his bigger sister. Even though he always got insulted and made fun of, he still loved his sister dearly, and that was hard to find in a teenager, let alone a boy. I admired him for his gratefulness and love for his sibling. Leah was lucky to have a brother like Seth. Just then, my parents came to school.
“Is that you, Bella?” Someone called from behind me. Me and Seth turned around.
“Oh my gosh, and that’s Edward.” The same voice continued.
“Hi, Angela.” My mother greeted. Both my parents hugged the woman named Angela. They were wearing everyday, long-sleeved clothing, just more adult-like. So, Angela did not feel their cold skin.
“Renesmee, Seth, what are you two doing here?” My father asked.
“Jacob ran to find Leah. Some,” I raised my eyebrows slightly and stared at my father. He got it. “Problems.”
My father stared into the woods, then at me. Then, he nodded and smiled.
“What are you doing here anyway, Mom, Dad?” I was trying to lighten the awkwardness.
“What? Bella, is this beautiful girl you call Renesmee your daughter? And this boy, your son? They’re all so grown up! It’s impossible!” Angela shrieked in surprise.
My parents remained with a straight face; I bet all those lying to other humans, including Charlie, gave them a perfect story to say when they asked that question.
“Renesmee is my daughter, adopted while we were studying in university. She’s special. She grows at a rate a little faster than normal, so we adopted her, to give her a family.” My mother said it like she had practiced for a long time just to get it all right.
“Seth is a friend.” My father smiled at Seth.
“I think we should get going. The alumni’s gathering is starting.” He continued.
As they walked away after we said goodbye, Angela kept turning back to look at me, and I could hear my parents chuckling while they were hand in hand.
“Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett.” I and Seth greeted as they walked past us to the same alumni gathering. They greeted back.
We ran, again at a human pace, to find Jacob and Leah. I could hear their conversation from beyond the woods.
“I don’t care about her safety. She’s just a little brat that can take care of herself. You’re just wasting our time to protect a girl that can run faster than you. Just because she is your soul mate doesn’t mean we have to obey your every command and protect her. It just makes me sick being around her every day. I’m not even sincere about protecting her. What’s better? I really want to kill her.” She laughed.
“Don’t you dare lay your hands on her. One slight motive to injure her and I will snap your neck into half so easily like a branch or chopstick.” Jacob growled.
“Can’t help it.” Leah gave him a three word answer.
“You can’t? How about I help you not lay any hands on her. Can you help that?” Jacob threatened. I did not like him like that, he was cruel.
“Stop it! Jacob! Don’t say that! It’s okay, no need for violence. Right, Leah?” I placed my hands on his shoulders, looking like I was calming him, but instead I was securing him in case he was too infuriated and went for a phase.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. Was she tired of living?
“Seth! Hold on to Jacob.”
I ran over to talk to Leah and pulled her away to a distance that nobody could hear what I told her.
“I know you hate me. We can settle that personally, but don’t implicate Jacob in it. Anytime, any day. Okay? So don’t irritate him anymore and just go along with him.”
“Anytime? Any day? Fine.” A wide grin was across her face. It was a face of victory, like she got the prize, that she could fight me.
We walked back out into the area where Jacob and Seth were. A mile away from behind the trees, I could hear another commotion.
“Please. She doesn’t mean it!” Seth pleaded.
“Renesmee sacrificed herself so that I would not get into a fight with your sister, and your sister just grinned! Do you know what that means?” Jacob sounded angry. Seth was on the ground, pleading, as I could see through the tiny spaces in between the trees.
We were nearing the area where they were. It was silent now. I tripped over a protruding branch as I was not paying attention. I was thinking about what Jacob said. ‘And your sister just grinned!’ did he spy on our conversation, or did we not go far enough? I caught myself on Leah’s arm, and I accidentally pushed her onto the ground. Whatever I was thinking I could not keep to myself. Leah flinched, and she stared me a murderous look. She was about to phase. Oh no. What had I just done?
“Leah, no!” Jacob growled sharply and phased. Leah had not yet phased, and she never intended to. Jacob was going to kill her!
“Leah, run!” Seth screamed, but Leah was paralyzed with fear and shock. Seth phased to protect his sister.
Jacob lifted his large paw, and in a one-tenth of a second, he was sent running towards Leah blindly. I was shocked. I did not know what to do. My head took over of my body rather than me at that point of time. I was mindlessly thrown in front of Leah, with two hands stretched out in front of me to stop Jacob. It felt like a razorblade. I could feel the thick fluid flowing out from the wound as I was thrown 20 feet back by Jacob’s over-powering speed.
As soon as the thick mist that clouded his mind was blown away, he realized what was happening, that he had thrown me back to the trees, and injured my arm with his sharp teeth, leaving a large, bloody wound.
“I’m so, so sorry!” Leah apologized to me, lending a hand to help me get up. Seth phased back to help with my wound.
Tears rolled down my cheeks as those that were the size of baseballs rolled down his chocolate-brown fur. The pain of the skin wound was nothing, it was the pain in my heart when I saw the regret, the guilt, the fear, in his mesmerizing eyes after he realized what he had done, that made me cry. I did not blame him, but he blamed himself, and that made me heart-broken. My heart, so brittle – just like glass – and so fragile, it had to be well took care of, as long as he did not feel anything but happy, it would stay strong and indestructible. But what I had just witnessed, the regret, the guilt, the fear in him, it was like when Alice dropped the glass vase last time. My heart –just like the glass vase- was shattered into a million pieces of fragmented glass.
Jacob winced in agony, and took off in shame. Seth was treating my wound, but I told him to stop, and let it heal with that accelerated healing speed that both the shape-shifters and the vampires had. He hesitantly let go of me. I patted him on the shoulder.
Take Leah back to the Cullens, and keep the thought and memory to yourself. I don’t want my father to know and kill both of them. He was used to it too, my thoughts running through his head. He nodded and brought Leah, who was in a bit of shock, back to our home.
It would be meaningless to try and chase after him, so I decided to go to my meadow. He told me before, that the meadow was the right place to go to get away from his troubles, and so I would try my luck there.
“What have I done…?” He was talking to himself, his face in his palms.
“Nothing. It’s okay.” I comforted him.
“Renesmee? Renesmee! I’m so sorry!” He hugged me so tightly.
“It’s okay.” I took his face in my hands and kissed him on his lips. “How about we get going now? We have to get home.”
“But your wound…?”
“It’s almost healed. Let’s go already!” I laughed, and pulled him, as if he were that heavy. He finally smiled, not big, but that was good enough to show that he was alright.
After that incident, Leah’s hate for me was slowly dispersing. She was grateful. Seth took care of her, such a great kid. Jacob, he was not timid, but he always waited for my permission or command before doing anything. I just wished that he would not do that, because it was hurtful to me, knowing that his courage was gone because of me. I wished that he would change, to be the old Jacob he always was…
