Forever Young

Chapter 30

The sky was orange when I woke up, but the sun wasn't where it should have been. It was on the wrong side of the house and I realized that, somehow, I was waking up as the sun just started going down rather than as it was rising.

Looking over to the other bed, I smiled. Takoda was there, in Renesmee's old bed, clutching on to his stuffed dinosaur. That was good- even though he was still sleeping a lot, Carlisle trusted that he was well enough to sleep in here with me. He no longer needed constant supervision.

It was probably close to bedtime now, but I had been sleeping for a while, it seemed. I wasn't tired at all. So I slid out of bed, leaving Cuddles carefully tucked in, and started making my way down the stairs.

I made it into the living room and stopped at the doorway. Most of the family was there, and I wasn't sure I really wanted to see them. I was sure that they had all heard me get into trouble earlier, and I wasn't sure who exactly had seen, other than the ones I had seen in the room with me.

But Esme was sitting next to the fireplace and held her arms open for me, so I rushed into them, hiding my face in her shoulder as I sat on her lap. No matter how embarrassed I was, I couldn't believe that I was back. I couldn't believe that she was still willing to hold me like this, and that she still loved me after all the worry I must have caused her.

"It still hurts," I mumbled quietly to her, though I was pretty sure everyone could hear. Carlisle must have been too hard on me for the sting to still be so severe. Maybe Esme could tell him to be more gentle next time I got into trouble.

Esme didn't seem as concerned as I had hoped, though. She just kissed my forehead. "I know, Sweetheart. Don't go running off like that again."

I nodded, turning as Renesmee walked into the room. She looked pretty- she still had the same pink shirt on, but was in a fancier skirt now. It was white instead of denim, and more flowy. Her hair had been partially pulled back into a braid, too.

"Where are you going?" I asked her. It looked like she was heading to a fancy party.

She smiled up at me, though she was rummaging through her purse. "Jacob and I are going out, remember? It's our... sort-of anniversary. It's hard to explain. I'll be back tomorrow night. We can do something when I get back, okay? I'm staying at a hotel with him for tonight."

"Kay," I said, watching as she pulled a comb from her purse. She quickly yanked it through the part of her hair that was down. "Can I come?"

Renesmee froze, and from across the room, Rosalie snickered. "Um..." Nessie hedged. "Not... this time. I'll take you to a hotel one day, though. One with a pool."

That would be fun. But I could do both. "Well, why can't I come this time?"

"Because it's private, Honey," Esme said gently. "And you already missed naptime, so we need to start regulating your sleep schedule. A hotel with a shared room won't help with that."

Though what Esme said made sense, I knew that there was more. Adults always looked at each other and tried to cover up when they were laughing if they didn't want kids to know about it. It sort of bothered me that Renesmee got to be in on those jokes now. Before, at least we had both been in the dark.

I sighed, leaning back into Esme. "Yes, Ma'am."

Renesmee still had a little bit of time before she had to leave, and at least allowed me to sit on the bed in her room to watch as she did her makeup. Jacob was going to pick her up when he got all done with his shift at the reservation.

She leaned towards the mirror, checking her mascara. I tried to think of what to say to her. Before, we had mostly talked about toys and games. But she didn't like that stuff much anymore. She would want to talk about stuff she liked.