𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨. emmett cullen

eighty one

"Babe I don't think you want this loss on your record." I tried to plead with Emmett as he grabbed a large boulder and set it in between him and Bella. The whole family came outside to watch and the guys were placing their bets.

"Don't hurt yourself, Emmett." Edward taunted him.

"I'm not even going to try and root for him." I laughed. "Bella's for sure going to win."

"Emmett's the strongest one out of all of us." Dom tried to argue with me.

"But Bella's a newborn." I pointed out. "Her strength surpasses his."

"That's cold. Betraying your boyfriend like that." He shook his head mockingly, placing his hand over his heart. "You're a horrible person."

"I know. It keeps me up at night." I smirked.

"On three!" Jasper called out. "One." Emmett and Bella placed their elbows on the rock. "Two." Their hands latched onto each other. "Three." And Bella won, breaking the rock in the process.

"Told you," I smirked at Dom and he grumbled as he moved to whine to Rosalie. Emmett approached with a pout and I held my arms out and he instantly wrapped himself around me and nuzzled his head in my neck. "I told you not to do it."

"I had her." He whined.

"And then you didn't." I pointed out. "It's okay Em. One loss isn't going to kill you."

"It feels like it will." He pulled back with a frown.

"You'll survive." I grinned up at him. "Besides, she's the strongest for now but eventually she won't be a newborn anymore and you'll be back on top."

"You're right." He smiled.

"Always am." I reminded him.

———————

It was a few days later when things started to spiral. Our small little moment of peace didn't last long enough. Things started happening in a sort of domino effect. The first was the Volturi sending Bella and Edward a gift, a belated wedding present. The necklace was exquisite and true to their style, flashy and fancy. The couple put it on a shelf in their closet for safekeeping but I knew Bella planned on never touching it again.

The next thing that worried us all was how fast Nesmee was growing. We all expected it since Eli grew overnight, but he hadn't since that first time. Whereas Nesmee seemed to be growing as the days went by. She now towered over Eli by a few inches and Carlisle said she resembled a small six-year-old now. By the time winter came and the snow fell, it was clear to us that the girl would keep growing. We tracked Eli's measurements but I felt relief each week as he stayed the same.

The differences between our two kids didn't stop there. Eli was still like a normal human child. He ate regular food, napped during the day, and slept at night. He talked but couldn't make complete sentences. Carlisle informed me that other than being only a few months old, his growth rate had plateaued. The same couldn't be said for Renesmee.

It started with little changes at first. The first was her height, then her diet. As a precaution, we kept blood on hand for Bella. We had it saved from when she was pregnant and craving it, and now we saved it for when she craved it but didn't want to hunt. Renesmee spotted it in the fridge one morning and asked to taste it and now her little body almost demanded it. She had a few sips before every meal and the sight grossed me out at first. I was relieved when Eli never asked for some.