Dear Jacob [RENESMEE CULLEN]

0

THEN

Renesmee Carlie Cullen was an early bird. And her birthday had never been an exception.

Despite the fact that she would never wake up earlier than her family (none of them slept due to being vampires), she always made sure to wake up as soon as the birds would begin singing their morning songs.

The moment her eyes shot open, she literally jumped from her bed, her body containing more excitement than a child who had overeaten with sweets and chocolate on Halloween.

"I'm thirteen," she whispered, her eyes widening, realizing the truth. She was no longer a child. She was now a teenager. And that meant so much to her. She would now see the world through different eyes, having seen teenagers on movies and having read about them and their experience. She couldn't wait to learn how to drive and to begin dating girls and boys.

What she failed to realize, since she was so young and inexperienced, was that teenhood was more complicated than she believed it to be. With being an adolescent came new responsibilities. High school could either make, either break you. And being a middle-schooler wasn't much easier either. And she also had to learn about colleges, to have a part-time job during the summer break...

Oh, Renesmee! How much she had yet to learn!

The rest of the world associated September 11 with terroristic attacks and dozens of murders. But for Renesmee and the Cullen family, that was the day when their little angel, their sunshine, their everything had been born.

"I'M THIRTEEN! YEEAH!", the young girl screamed at the top of her lungs, feeling nothing could stop her. She felt like she was on top of the world!

She was running around the house, her feet never stopping, until a pair of strong hands caught her in their arms. It wasn't just anybody's hands. Unlike anybody else from the Cullen family, these hands were warm, almost as if that person had a fever.

Jacob Black.

He was a shapeshifter in his early-mid-twenties, who was excellent at using his hands and repairing cars. He desired so badly to have his own shop that he had begun saving up in his teenage years, doing odd jobs whenever he possibly could.

He released his grip and instead pulled the young girl into a loving embrace, "Happy birthday, Loch Ness Monster!", he teased her with the nickname he had come up with several years ago and tried to mess with her hair.

She wasn't having any of this, however, as she gently pushed him away from herself, "Eww! Jake! I'm not a monster!", she exclaimed, trying to fix her messy hair, "I'm a teenager!"

The shapeshifter giggled, something Renesmee would have done herself if she was younger. Not anymore. She wanted to control herself more, to come across as more sophisticated and less child-like. Speaking of which, she had to choose something age-appropriate to wear for the dinner party her parents had thrown to celebrate.

Another pair of arms, this time cold, pulled Renesmee into a hug from behind, wishing her a happy birthday and placing a tender kiss on her head. It was her mother, Bella. She couldn't believe her little nudger was now a teenager. It seemed so long ago that Renesmee was a baby, playing with wooden toys and drawing shapes on her activity table.

Renesmee would have screeched if she wasn't so used to the coldness of her family members' skin. Sometimes she didn't mind it, especially when it was too hot during the summer. But other times, during winter, it was almost unbearable. She knew they couldn't help it though. It was part of who they were. Same as the warmness of her and Jacob's skin. Her mother claimed she was more similar to shapeshifters than to vampires. Whenever Bella spoke like that, Edward, her husband, would get annoyed. Even after all these years, his dislike for shapeshifters was there. He was working on learning to tolerate them.

Renesmee grinned like the Cheshire Cat as she exchanged hugs and kisses with her family members, always sharing the longest with her favourite aunt Rosalie.

"How does it feel like to be a teenager?", her aunt Alice asked her.

Renesmee flashed a bright grin at her, "It feels so perfect!", and twirled around like she was a little girl again. She wanted to keep a part of her innocence, yet wanted to be taken more seriously and to be treated more like an adult. Welcome to adolescence, where you were neither a child nor an adult.

The next few hours were spent in last-minute preparations for the party. Renesmee, who had been bathed and her body had been scrubbed to perfection, was sitting in a chair, wearing nothing but lingerie underneath a silky bathrobe. Her aunt Rosalie brushed highlighter on the hybrid's high cheekbones before fully applying it with a makeup sponge.

Alice was frantically searching through the large wardrobe where all the family members' formal clothes were kept until she found what seemed to be the perfect dress - dark blue (one of Renesmee's favourite colours) with medium sleeves. Combined with age-appropriate shoes, it would be the perfect outfit for the birthday girl:

Renesmee was in love with her outfit and the way her aunt Rosalie had done her hair and makeup. She adored having braided hair and makeup on her face. It made her feel like the girls she had seen on TV. She knew she couldn't join them at school yet due to her accelerated growth. However, as soon as she was declared ready to attend, she would. Not in Forks, for sure. The family couldn't set their foot in the small rainy town for at least a thousand years.

As the young girl slowly descended down the stairs, as she had seen in the dozens of movies she had seen for her short life, she felt like a princess. She remembered how Jacob would always remind her to keep her head held up high and to walk proudly because she deserved to be on this planet as much as every other creature on it.

"Chin up, Princess! Or the crown slips!", he would always remind her, making her laugh.

Renesmee was stupefied the second she saw how many people had come to celebrate her birthday. All those people who had come years ago and had sacrificed their lives for her safety were now at her home to celebrate with her. And they had brought gifts too! Renesmee enjoyed receiving gifts. She adored the curiosity, the moments when her trembling fingers would untie the bows and carefully tear apart the pretty paper to open and see what was hidden - specially chosen for her.

And when it came time to blow out the candles, all Renesmee wished at that moment was to keep her life the same as it had always been.

Sadly, not every birthday wish came true.