Ness' Comet

Ch 46: Not Everything

I was thankful I had to go to school in the morning. I decided to wake up earlier than expected, and my plan was to take the car myself. I was trying to avoid seeing Jacob. I hadn't spoken to him since last night, and I was worried about what he would say to me. I was aware that he never got up any earlier than he had to, so I was secure in the idea that I would sneak out before he saw me. Unfortunately for me, Edward had beaten me downstairs. I knew vampires didn't sleep, but I hadn't expected him to be there yet.

Edward looked visibly confused and surprised at seeing me so early. "And why are you up already?" he inquired.

I smiled nervously. "Um, I have an early thing at school today."

Edward pursed his lips. He did not look convinced and despite my best effort, he could read in my mind that I wasn't telling the truth.

"I don't know why you bother trying to lie to me Renesmee," he commented, rolling his eyes. "But if you want to get out of here early, for whatever reason," he said "whatever reason" knowing full well Jacob was somehow the cause. "Then, I'll drive you in a second."

"Do you think I could just drive myself today?"

"Why?"

Oh boy. It was terribly hard explaining things to him without giving myself completely away. I decided I was done trying to hide things. I was going to tell him the truth and he simply had to deal with it.

I sighed, exasperatedly. "Something awkward happened between Jacob and I last night, and I doubt its as big of a deal as I'm making it, but I would rather leave here before he wakes up, and I want to drive myself because I don't want him picking me up later. Are you satisfied?"

Edward stared at me. His expression wasn't unpleasant, angry or even shocked. However, he did look slightly surprised that I had-had the courage to tell him outright what was going on.

"I see," he replied.

"What does that mean?" I demanded.

He shook his head. "Nothing. We can talk about this later."

Ugh. Whenever Edward said things like "we'll talk about this later," that was code for, "I'm going to talk to your mother about this first and then we'll both discuss it at length with you later."

"Alright," I replied. "So I can take the car then?"

Edward looked apprehensive but ultimately agreed. He was apparently taking mercy on me because he could see I was in no mood to be told I 'no' by him over something so retrospectively unimportant.

The entire car ride to school I spent blasting whatever music came on. It was a way for me to drown out all the worry that circled around my brain. I didn't remember a single song I listened to as I stepped out of the volvo into the school parking lot. It was mostly empty, and there were only a few stray kids out in the hallways who were there early for who knows what. I decided it was a good time to sit on one of the window ledges in the hallway and get some reading done while I waited around for the bell to ring. As luck would have it, a few minutes later I heard a familiar voice tentatively say my name. I looked up from my book and was shocked to discover that my ears had not deceived me.

"Hi Lizzie," I said, unsure of how my tone must have sounded, or what my intended tone even was.

She looked at me, slightly sheepish and awkwardly asked, "What are you doing here so early?"

I shrugged. "I was ready early and decided not to linger around my house."

She bobbed her head, which was preceded with a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

"Why are you here so early?" I countered, genuinely curious and trying to fill the emptiness.

"I had a meeting with Ms. Flannigan. No big deal." She waved her hand dismissively.

"Okay," was all I managed to say.

Lizzie sighed. "Can I seriously talk to you Ness?"

"Alright."

She moved closer, and looked around the empty hallway to make sure nobody was listening. "I know you don't want me talking about it, or asking about it, or anything. But, I'm sorry for the way I treated you. Whatever is going on must be bigger than me and I want you to know that whatever your situation is, that it's none of my business."

I was surprised by her sincerity. I was extremely gladdened by her apology. I'd been done being angry for quite a while and I was anxious to continue our friendship.

"Thank you," I said meaningfully.

"But," she said, causing me to become confused. "I know something is going on Ness. Something unnatural. I won't ask you about it but you can't continue trying to convince me that I'm crazy. That's all I want from you."

I studied her for a moment after she said this. I was attempting to process my thoughts. A part of me was instantly annoyed that she wouldn't completely let this go. However, I had to think about things from her perspective before I allowed myself to be totally offended. I sighed heavily.

"Alright. Fine. Yes, Lizzie, there are things that I know about that you can't ever truly know. But believe me, it's for your own safety that I'm keeping things from you. Now please, don't ask me about this kind of stuff ever again."

She nodded, her expression not totally satisfied, but appeased nonetheless.

"Okay," she said kindly. "Now can we be friends again?"

I chuckled lightly. "Yes, of course we can."

We chatted for a few more minutes about silly things. I realized during that time how much I had missed having a girlfriend to talk to. Now that something had kind of happened between Jacob and I, I was dying to discuss it with someone, and I didn't trust anyone as much as I had trusted Lizzie. Besides, her and Sophie were the only people who knew anything about Jacob.

"Hey Liz," I began hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Now that we're friends again, there's something I really need to get off my chest."

"Sure! Whatever you need sis. Is it about your hot friend?!"

She definitely saw through me immediately. I couldn't help but blush. "You could say that."

"Tell me everything!" Lizzie exclaimed.

"Well," I murmured. "I can't exactly tell you everything, as we've discussed, but I can tell you some things."

"Ohhh," she replied, putting the pieces together. "So, your little friend is 'special' you might say?"

I laughed. "Is that the word we're using now?"

She shrugged jokingly. "Hey, I'm just trying to be tactful. What else do you want me to say? I don't even understand fully what I'm describing when I say that!"

"Fair point," I admitted. "But yes, he's 'special' so you might say. Everyone close to me is 'special' in their own way. We aren't all the same. But anyway, there are some things that I want to share with you, and even if you don't have one hundred percent of the information, I still think you can be helpful. Besides, I have to say something to someone or my head will explode!"

"Okay," said Lizzie warmly. "The bell is going to ring soon. We'll hang out after school. I'll text you?"

I nodded in agreement. "Sounds good."

She smiled. "Can't wait to hear not everything!"