Tidal Moon (Renesmee & Jacob)

Chapter 2: Unknown

I gripped my cellphone tightly in my hands. I had been in Atlanta for two weeks simply exploring and hunting in the vast woods surrounding the city with Candace. My phone continued to buzz as Esme called. I'd ignored mom and dads and literally everyone else's calls, but ignoring Esme felt criminal. Candace glanced over at me from the large gothic style living room that sat perfectly in her gorgeously aged home. Her long black hair was pulled up in a messy bun from our morning hunt and she was pre-occupied with pulling leaves from her husbands hair.

"Answer." she and her husband Ty spoke at the same time with a small laugh. "You've tortured them for long enough. At least let them know you are okay." Candace urged pulling another leaf from Ty's long and unruly hair. I sighed and nodded, standing up and walking out into the backyard. It was definitely sunnier here than in Forks, but I didn't sparkle quite as much as my family did. And Candace also lives off the grid, so that's a plus.

"Hello." I said picking my phone up and holding it to my ear.

"Oh thank goodness you answered dear. Alice said you'd answer, but I was afraid she might be wrong. How are you? Are you eating? Your mother and father are terribly worried about you." She spoke in her beautiful and breezy voice, but I could hear the stern tone taking over when she mentioned mom and dad.

"I'm good. I've been hunting every morning, and.. I know. I know that they're worried. I just didn't know what to say. I needed to clear my head." I sighed as I answered all of her questions in order. I paced back and forth across the soft grass as the sound of the pools waterfall feature drizzled peacefully in the background. I glanced down at the sparkling tint of my skin. It had always fascinated me.

"I understand, I cannot imagine how you must be feeling. No one knew how to feel, much less how to explain it to you." She said on the other line. "But it's not as black and white as you may think it is. I know you're scared that this means you don't have a choice about how your future turns out, but you do. Your free will; will always belong to you, Renesmee. Always."

"Aren't Jacob and I meant to be together because of what he did?" I asked trying to keep myself and my emotions under control.

"Not because of what he did. But because of your bond, I truly believe he is your mate. Watching you two all of these years and the way the dynamic has shifted and the way that the tides have shifted, there is no question in my mind. But that is how I feel, and the only thing that matters is how you feel." She said with a deep sigh.

"How is he?" I asked, my voice nearly breaking with emotion. Memories came flooding back to me. One memory in particular floated into my peripheral and sucked me in.

- FOUR WEEKS AGO-

The small river flowed perfectly through the woods as though it had been there for all of time. I had just finished hunting a cougar and I was washing the blood off in the river when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around defensively only to see that it was Jake, barefoot and shirtless with only a pair of shorts on.

"Damn Ness, are we losing our edge? I thought you liked hunting big game, not tiny little baby cougars. I bet he had a mom and everything!" he said teasingly, taking long strides towards me.

"Oh shut up." I laughed, shoving his shoulder and making him fall backwards into the tiny river. I giggled, putting my hands up defensively. "You made me do that." I said innocently.

"Oh really?" he chuckled, shaking the water out of his hair. "Here, help me up?" he asked reaching a hand out towards me. Without even thinking I grabbed his hand and he tugged me into the water with him.

"You ass." I said, laughing. I had just so happened to land atop him in the shallow water. The sun broke through the trees causing his tan skin to almost glow in the sun. I glanced down at his deep brown eyes and all of a sudden it's like my entire world imploded upon itself. I couldn't even begin to describe the emotions I had started to feel. He smiled his goofy and lopsided grin back up at me as though he had been waiting for this moment his entire life.