chapter 4

Chapter 4: Arguments

The last bell rang loudly in my ears. I practically ran out of the classroom to the front office. I handed my slip in to Mrs Cope and rushed outside and into my car. I was desperate to go home and tell my parents about my first day of school. I put the car in drive and speeded through the highway going 90mph.

I had really enjoyed today. I had made quite a lot of friends - if you could call them that - and had become best friends with Ryan. He told me to come early the next day and to bring my guitar so I could audition for the orchestra.

I was thrilled by this and only hoped to get. Though I had studied music notes for a long time and could learn thing quickly there was no ignoring the fact I had just gotten the guitar the day before.

I was back at our little cottage in less than 15 minutes. Bella stood on the porch steps waiting for me. I ran to her and flung my arms around her. I then quickly let go in case she thought I had had a bad day of school and was upset.

I put my warm hand against her cold skin and 'showed' her how my day went.

"Orchestra, yeah?" She asked raising an eyebrow. I nodded.

"At least you're fitting in. Not much has changed there has it? Pretty much like my first day there." We walked into our cream-coloured cottage together.

I had loved the house ever since I saw it. It was quite small of course with no second floor but as Bella had once said, it was magical. I was mad when they put in another floor and remodelled the house. But Edward had told me it was because they wanted me to have a bigger room. "And closet," Alice had piped in. And yes there was a door in my room that led me to a magical place filled with clothes from all over the world.

"Hey Nessie," Edward greeted me. He was sitting on the leather couch with Uncle Emmett watching the flat screen t.v of football. I never understood what was so interesting about the sport, you must need a Y chromosome to understand.

"Hey Ness," Emmett said, not taking his eyes of the t.v, not wanting to miss one bit of the action. He must have more Y chromosone's than usual, I thought, if he's so interested in sports and is that muscular.

Thinking of that I remembered Tom from lunch. He was very similar to Emmett: arrogant, strong, sports fan. But unlike Emmett, Tom was quite, well, dumb. And not that imaginative if he was the one who came up with the band name 'The Jocks'. I began to wonder what song he would have played if I went to see his band...

Edward suddenly burst out laughing. Aw crap, he had been listening to my thoughts.

"What?" Emmett and Bella asked in unison. Bella glanced at me and saw my face turning red and sighed.

"Won't you give our daughter a little privacy, Edward?" She told him strictly in the same tone she used when a kid in her class did something naughty.

Bella had recently gotten a job far in Seattle teaching little kids in 1st grade. I, after all, had started school and would be gone most of the day so she filled her day too. Edward had also gotten a job teaching in a high school even farther away. He taught English and posed as a 23 year old, the same with Bella.

"I'm guessing she didn't mention she got asked out on a date," Edward chuckled. I frowned at him; what date?

"Renesmee?" Bella looked at me curiously, biting her lip to fight back her laughter. "Did that..."

"I didn't know he was asking me out on a date!" I defended myself. Emmett had now joined Edward in a laughing fit. "I didn't! He just asked me to see his band perform!"

"Wonder what Jake would say..." Bella said teasingly.

"Mom!" I shouted. The last thing I wanted was for Jake to find out.

"Sorry, sorry!" she apologised, nearly about to laugh out loud. "How about we go upstairs, away from these maniacs." She walked up the stairs, me stomping up behind her, whilst they kept laughing.

I sighed as we entered my room. I slammed the door on their hysteria and scowled. How could I have known it was a date? I'm only 6 after all.

I turned around to face Bella. She wasn't laughing now but looking concerned. "Are you okay, sweetie?" she asked in a soothing tone.

"Yeah, I guess," I told her. "Could you-"

"Already done, honey, no one will be able to hear your thoughts now," she reassured me. My mother had the ability to block all mental abilities like mind-reading. We called her a shield and at first she could only shield herself but now others as well.

"Did you take your medicine?" she asked. I had to take the medicine to slow my growing 5 times a day.

"I took it before I leftt in the morning. I had it again at lunch," I answered. Some of my classmates where very curious when I left 5 minutes before the bell went at lunch to go to the restroom. Nina had suggested she come with but I refused.

"Good," Bella said. "You have to take it again in a few hours and then after dinner-"

"And then before bed," I finished her sentence. "I know mom, I've been taking it for 6 months now. I'm not a kid anymore." We both started laughing at my poor choice of words.

"Seriously mom, I know."

"Well, okay," she said. "Do you have any homework you need help on?"

I groaned. I had forgotten about the piles of homework I had stuffed into my bag. Bella helped me with the homework which actually was very easy for me. Ever since I was born I grew much faster than an average baby. By one week I was already speaking short sentences; in no fewer than 3 weeks later I had taken my first steps; at the age of 3 months I looked like a very big one-year-old. I could even read.

Bella had been very frightened of my rapid growth and wished to savour my childhood as long as possible and was delighted when she found out that they could slow it down. At first I was to take it 9 times a day but then my whole life started to revolve around me not forgetting to take the medicine. Also, when I ate that much of it it turned out I didn't grow one bit.

All my homework was done in 20 minutes and surprisingly I had enjoyed some of it. I had heard around the school that my English teacher, Mrs Smith, was one the strictest teachers at Forks High School. I found this odd because when I had met her she had seemed not strict but kind and gentle in a way. Then I found out that they only thought this because she gave a lot of work and expected very highly of us. School had started just last week and already she wanted us to do at least a page long essay on the some other plays on Shakespeare and what they had in common. I wrote Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet and how at the end all the main characters die. 5 pages long.

"Thats a college level essay, Nessie," Bella told me as she read through it. "You must have gotten your intelligance from your dad..."

"And your beauty from your mother," Edward had sneaked into my room without me even noticing. "Listen, Nessie, I'm sorry-"

"Its okay," I interrupted, I didn't want to bring up the subject again.

"At least let me make it up to you," he said, I sat up straight to show I was interested. "So I heard about you joining the ochestra..."

I stared at him - where was this going?

"Have you chosen what piece you're going to play for the audition?" He asked. My eyebrows squashed together in confusion: I hadn't thought of that.

"I thought not. Would you like me to help?" I smiled at him in gratitude. Edward was the best musician in the family and had taught me everything I know about music.

For the next hour we practised stayed in my parents' room (that's where the piano was) and played different pieces of music together while Bella listened quietly, eyes closed and swaying to the music. She must have started daydreaming, I thought. Vampires didn't sleep but Edward had told me that some would like to, like himself and mom, because they want to get away from the world and reality. Daydreaming was the closest thing they had.

It went on like this for another hour or so after I had my medicane until Edward had to stop and make me dinner.

"No, stay," I begged. "I'll just go hunting later."

He sighed. "You need to eat more human food Nessie. What did you eat for lunch?"

"Some french fries, a salad and a can of Cola," I lied. Really it was just one fry, a bite of celery and a few sips of the drink.

"Seriously Nessie?" Edward glared at me. He knew.

"Mom!" I shouted. Bella suddenly jumped up in a defencive position.

"What?" she glanced around the room looking for the enemy but then drop her position.

"Don't blame your mother, Renesmee Carlie Cullen," Edward glowered at me. Crap, he never called me by my full name. "She is still blocking you. I can see you're lying, its written all over your face." He paused then starting talking in a softer tone. "You know I'm only trying to do what's best for you. You need to get used to eating human food. And I'm making spaghetti bolognaise."

I perked up then, spagetti bolognaise was my favourite, especially when made by Edward. He was a brilliant cook.

As he cooked I watched t.v in my room with Bella. It was a flat screen, the one Emmett and Rosalie had got me. It came with a huge stereo on top of my dresser speakers all around the room, DVD Player, CD player, Satellite T.V, even a few game consoles and a brand new leather sofa. In an average room it would have taken up all the space but not in mine. My room was practically the whole of the 2nd floor apart from the bathroom (which only I used so it was mine too). When you went up the stairs you would see a short passage only big enough for 4 people to stand in (2 Emmetts or 6 Alices) with only one door to the right.

When you entered my room you would see a huge room painted black with a silver border going around the top of the wall; wooden a large window to the right with white curtains; under it a wooden desk with my laptop on top along with a few papers ; on the opposite side the entertainment system and a door leading to the bathroom; in the middle of the room was the couch. If you kept going forward you would see an arch (picture a huge door way with no doors) leading to my bedroom. On the right would be another window the same size with the same curtains but with my bed under it; on the opposite side a door leading to my huge closet with make-up dresser inside; and my bookcase leaning on the wall in front.
On the first floor there was only the kitchen/dining room, living room with t.v, a tiny bathroom (vampires don't need to use the bathroom, that one is just in case a werewolf or human comes by), my parents' small bedroom and even bigger closet mom hardly ever used.

I heard the cutlery cabinet open and knew dinner was ready and Edward was now getting the the silver-ware out. I inhaled and smelt the delicious scent of the spagetti and chilli sauce - it very nearly smelt as good as blood.

Bella wrinkled her nose at the smell. Human food wasn't appealing at all to a vampire.

"Smell good?" she asked me.

"Unbelievably," I answered. "If I was a real human I would be drooling right now."

"Your father's cooking does have that kind of effect on humans," Bella giggled. We both went downstairs and into the kitchen.

Edward had already placed my dinner at the table for me to eat and he was there too reading, Bella sat at the table to join him.

The aroma was stronger in the kitchen and I could taste it without having to take a bite. Unexpectedly my stomach grumbled loudly and I felt ravenous. I ate every single bit of it in 1 minute, the sauce burning my throat. Edward stopped reading and began staring at me wide-eyed and shocked. I gulped down the glass of water next to me then asked him what was wrong.

"You're, um, eating like your mother did..." he answered glaring at me for no apparent reason. Bella looked at him with the same confused expression that I wore. "While we were on our honeymoon," he finished.

I froze - I understood what he meant then. The honeymoon that had ended abruptly when they found out it was me growing inside mom....

"Renesmee," he snarled at me. "Tell me the truth, have you-"

"No, dad!" I screamed with fury. Didn't he trust me? "No I have not and I'm not talking about this any more!"

"Tell me the TRUTH!" he growled.

"Leave her ALONE!" Bella screeched; she swiftly got up and stood in front of me arms stretched out, blocking me from Edward's view. She looked outraged and was fuming. I had never heard her take to Edward like that, ever. "I have already talked to her about thi-"

"What?" he hissed.

"Yes! She needed to know!" Bella defended me. It was true, around a year ago I started to recognise my feelings for Jake; how I never noticed that he came round at least once a day, how he played my silly games with me, went hunting with me, cared for me.... Bella realized too and took me aside to discuss personal matters. It was quite disgusting but she said I needed to know the truth.

"YOU TOLD HER TOO EARLY!"

"NO I DIDN'T!" Bella yelled.

"You filled her head with your stupid human memories!" Edward growled.

That did it. Mom was too tame to do anything about that so I did. Had he forgotten all the pain she went through? I pushed her out of the way and lunged for my so-called-trusting-father.

But Bella was too quick for me and pulled me back, her cold hands gripping my wrist tightly. "I can't BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT!" I spat at him, but he now looked horrified with himself. That didn't change the fact that he had said those horrible words.

Bella gripped my wrists even tighter and whispered to me, "Let's go hunt." I was still glaring at Edward but nodded.

Bella led me to the front door, loosening her pull on me but not entirely letting go. Edward all of a sudden realized that we were leaving. "Wait-" he began to say pleadingly.

"We'll be out hunting, don't come and look for us, we'll be back whenever, I got the pills in my pocket," Bella said in one breath. I noticed her bulging jeans pocket that must have contained it. They would trust me with me big things but not the little....

As soon as we were out Bella let go off me and ran to the forest, me tagging along behind her. We were in the centre of it in merely a few minutes. She left me alone for a brief second, no doubt circling the forest to see if any humans were about. She came back, gave me a quick nod and then ran off again. I took a sniff of the fresh air, smelling the subtle smells of pine
and oak. Bella was going after a few deers, 5 to be exact. I followed my senses and smelt something delicious, bear.

I chased the scent, my thirst unbereable, and found it. The bear was no different from any other, the only sad fact was it was alone, defenceless.

It satisfied my thirst, more or less, so I rushed back to the centre of the forest. Bella was there, waiting for me I thought. Except then I got a good look at her. She was sitting cross-legged on the wet grass, her long curly hair in tangles, her arms clamped over her chest, her eyes screwed tight, her lip trembling. He had made her want to cry. I rushed over to my helpless mother, sitting beside and wrapped my arms around her. She leaned into my shoulder, sobbing but with no tears.

"Shouldn't I be the one comforting you?" she mumbled into my hair. I laughed half-heartedly. "How do you feel?"

"Angry but I think I'll be able to control it," I answered. "You?"

"Okay..." she was a terrible liar. I continued to sooth her, humming the song I had chosen to play for my audition. I stopped right in the middle of the chorus.

"What is it?" Bella mumbled.

Exactly what I had hoped for. I smelt dog.