THE REST OF TOMORROW

Chapter 4: The Calm before the Storm

The more I thought about it, the harder it was not to really want to go camping with Jacob and the guys. My mind was so busy with how fun it would be that I woke up before the sun was even up. The only thing left to do was to see if my mom and dad would let me go alone with the guys. I'm not sure why I wanted it to be just us, but maybe it was because I had to test myself to see if things would be okay without Dad. The only thing was I was afraid of hurting my parents' feelings, most especially my dad's. Somehow I managed to get outside on our front porch alone, and sat down in the white porch swing my dad put up not too long after we got here from Washington.

My mind got busy again and I saw all the times Dad had been worried about me. When he worries, his face doesn't do too much, but he gets very still. It's his eyes that show you he's not happy with something, and also when he gets very quiet. Sometimes he growls, but never at me and only a few times at Mom. Just thinking about him being worried made my tummy begin to hurt, so I hugged my arms over it and tried thinking of what it would be like to go on our trip.

"Renesmee?" Daddy asked me as he walked onto the porch. I hadn't noticed he was coming and wasn't fast enough to move my arms away from my tummy. After he sat down next to me on the swing he put his arm around me and I leaned against his left side sighing. "What are you worrying about?"

My daddy is the best at knowing when I'm thinking too much about one thing, and sometimes it is a good thing. "I want to do something but I don't want you to worry about me." He didn't say anything and my tummy did a flip flop. I sniffed and he pulled me just a little closer.

"I'm not worrying. Will you tell me what it is that you wish to do?"

"I want to go camping but just me and the guys and Jacob." I said it really fast but my dad's mind works faster than mine and I knew he caught it all.

My dad shifted his body and he turned my head to face him, "Renesmee, I don't ever want you to be worried about telling me something, even if you think it might upset me. What you requested is very reasonable. Your mom and I trust Jacob and the other young men in his pack to look after you, and I'm proud of you for being so brave."

After he kissed my forehead, and I gave my dad a hug, I slid off the swing and ran back into the house past my mom until I was up on the third floor in the study with the pull out bed. Jacob was snoring away sprawled out on the bed which was way too small for him. We needed to get him a better bed, but right now it was time for him to know what I did. For half a second I debated on how to wake him, and decided just to launch myself. I landed on his chest, and he woke up instantly. For a moment he was startled, but the second he saw my face he was happy. "Jacob, we get to go camping, just us. Me, you and the guys."

I slid off his chest and snuggled up next to him. "I thought Dad would be worried, but he says that he trust you to look after me. I think we should wake everyone up and pack and go now."

Jacob chuckled and I lifted my head, frowning at him. "What's so funny?"

Very quickly he settled down. "I think it's awesome that we get to go alone, but the guys need a little bit more sleep along with me."

"How can you think about that?"

"We were up pretty late after you fell asleep last night," He reached out and moved away a piece of my hair which had fallen against the right side of my face. As I looked at him, really looked, I could tell by the circles under his eyes how tired he was. "Okay, go back to sleep. I'll get Mom or Dad to go with me to get food for our fun."

"Actually, if you can be patient, I would like to go with you."

What was I going to do while he slept?

"Why don't you go over to the big house and see what everyone over there is doing?"

There are times when I think Jacob can read my mind, "I haven't been there in a few days, so maybe you are right." Before I could move, Jacob was hugging me and I giggled returning it with my own, "If you aren't up by noon, I'm going to go without you."

By the time I got to the first level of the house, Jacob was already snoring. I wasn't sure how he could fall asleep so fast. It always took me such a long time. Last night had been pretty easy, but only because almost everyone I loved was with me.

~*~*~*~*~*~

My dad must really have been glad to have Jake around, because he suggested that we take the Volvo, and he even said we could go by ourselves. The only thing he told Jacob was not to go to fast, which is silly because nothing bad can happen to me, even if the car got into an accident. My mom gave us a list of foods to get while we were at the market, and when I looked it over I shook my head. "Jake, why do we need vegetables for a camping trip?"

"Maybe your mom wants those for the house," he suggested as we got on the main road that would take us into town. He got us going pretty fast and all I could do was smile especially when he reached up and pushed the button for the sun roof. When he rolled down all the windows my hair went crazy but it was great and I laughed, "Play your music, Jake." I loved my dad's music but when I'm with my Jacob, I have to listen to what he likes.

"My CD," he began to say, but I smiled at him as I got into my pack purse and pulled out his mix.

"Hey, you snooped," Trying to be serious with me wasn't something he was very good at, and he shook his head as I pushed the CD into the player. I quickly picked the song I liked the most, and we were soon driving down the highway jamming to *Wolf like Me*.

As we got closer to town, Jacob made me turn the radio down and he closed up the windows and the sun roof. I'm not sure why Dad has that because we don't get to use it when there are vampires in the car. Maybe Aunt Alice told him there would be a day like this.

"Nessie, your hair," Jacob had parked the car on the sidewalk not far from the grocery store and was looking at me funny.

I reached up and turned down the visor and flipped open the mirror. My hair was a mess, but that didn't worry me. "Aunt Alice says, 'A woman should always be prepared,'" I reached into my pack purse and pulled out a brush and some spray in conditioner.

All Jacob did was laugh that is until I pointed the conditioner at him. "Do you want to smell like grapes?" That was all it took to get him to quit being such a child. He did put the windows down while I got my hair fixed up and after that we headed into the store.

The first stop was the vegetable section. Jake got the bags and held them open for me while I loaded them with things like broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, and the sort. None of those foods were really all that great but Grandpa said eating a balanced diet would help with my ulcers, and he was right about that one as usual.

We went to the meat section of the store and I held my breath. Raw meat smelled really nasty to me. It wasn't the same as when Jake and I went hunting and he took down a deer or even a cat to eat. That kind of meat always smelled normal to me. "Jake, this stuff stinks," I said lifting my shirt over my nose so I could breathe in the scent of the fabric softener.

"It's not so bad," he answered as he got way more than what was on Mom's list.

"Can you eat all that?"

"Not by myself, but we will have help," Jacob reminded as we walked away. The rest of the store wasn't too bad to smell. There was always human blood and my throat always burned, but there wasn't anything in my mind that made me want to hurt anyone. I'd have to tell Jake that when we got back in the car. I hadn't really thought about any of that before now.

When we got to the isle with the crackers, Jake got way more than what was on the list. He was getting more of everything and I hoped Mom wouldn't be to angry with him.

"Jacob, why are you getting marshmallows and chocolate bars?"

He didn't answer me as he put another bag of marshmallows in our cart. "It's a secret."

Secrets aren't any fun because you have to wait to know what they are. The rest of the time I tried to figure out what he was going to do with the sweet stuff, things Mom had not put on her list at all. Maybe it was just to have as snacks or desert.

Back on the road, Jake started to reach up for the sun roof but I put my hand on his. "Jake, when we were in the market my throat was burning but I didn't even think about hurting anyone for their blood. I never thought about it till now, but how come I can do that, not think about it, and my uncle Jazz sometimes worries about how he will be with a crowd of people?"

"I think it may be because since you were born we have all been teaching you to be controlled around other people. Do you remember the first time you met Charlie?"

How could I forget that? My momma was so afraid, but Dad was there and he helped me and her. My dad told me that Grandpa Charlie would smell very good to me but that I had to be very careful with him. Maybe what Jake said was right. All my life I had been taught not to hurt anyone, and even though I got to drink human blood for my medicine, I could still go on and not think about hurting anyone to take their blood.

"Are you worrying?"

"Nope, just thinking about what you said and about Grandpa Charlie. I wish he could come for my birthday."

"That's still a while a way. Maybe he can come."

We still had a month and a half left, but I didn't want to hope for that to happen and then be sad when it didn't.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was a real relief to get home and find my mom and dad were not at all mad about Jacob getting all the food. The guys were all awake and our things were packed up. While Dad and Jake started to put things in the cooler, Mom and I went up to my room to get my things ready.

"Renesmee, I want you to do everything Jake tells you," she began. My mom and dad still have rules for me to follow even though I'm very smart. She likes to remind me to follow them so I have to be patient, which can be difficult when all I want is to have fun.

"We are going to have so much fun," as I said that I thought about Mom and Dad being here and not having fun with us. I didn't want them to be sad, and Dad told me not to worry, but how could I go off and not include them?

My mom put her hand on my shoulder. Without having to think I turned, and let her hold on to me. "Maybe you and Dad should come."

"You will be fine, and we want you to have fun with Jake and the guys. Are you worried about hurting our feelings?"

All I could do was nod, and she rubbed her hand over my back, "Your dad and I will be okay on our own. We will miss being with you, but this is your special time with Jacob and the pack. When you get home, we can all do some things together." Mom knew just what to say, but I still felt just a little bit sad.

"If I have a bad dream, or I get afraid will you and Dad come find me?"

"We will be there in the blink of an eye if you need us," she said.

I nodded resting my cheek against her chest. This was going to be fun, and it was time to stop being such a worry wart. Once I was ready, Mom helped me finish packing and then we went back downstairs.

Everything was set and after giving Dad a hug I ran outside not afraid this time even though it was getting just a little bit dark.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The fire crackling, and the guys talking were about the only sounds around us in the clearing Dad said we could use. Jake said we were about fifteen miles away from our house, but still on our property. Without anyone to help me, I managed to put up my tent. It was pretty big, but I needed one that way so that if I got afraid Jake would be able to rest with me until I was not.

"Hey, Nessie, do you want to try a stuffed hamburger?" Seth asked as I peeped my head out of my tent. My sleeping bag was all rolled out the way I like it so I decided to go over to the fire.

"What in the world is that?" I hadn't heard of a stuffed hamburger, and it sounded yucky, but I thought I might give it a go. We promised Mom and Dad I would eat some good food.

Seth handed me a plate with the burger in question on it along with a huge handful of Doritos. I still liked eating those, and had since I was little. The rest of the guys and Jake already had their food so I decided to sit with my Jacob. He made room for me on the ground and I set next to him and Embry. Once I had prepared myself I shut my eyes and took a bite of Seth's stuffed hamburger and chewed. It wasn't so bad. "This is good, Seth."

He smiled, and I took another bite because I was feeling pretty hungry. After I swallowed it I looked over and up at Jake who stuffed most of his burger in his mouth. He and the guys are sometimes not so delicate when it comes to eating, but I still love them. "Jacob, do I really have to take my medicine tonight? This is a special time and I don't think one time would hurt me," I glanced at him with my most pitiful look and realized they guys were also looking. He was in charge of me, and that was good.

"I have a feeling your dad would know if you didn't take it and he might not be very happy with either of us, especially if you go back and get sick."

"We don't have to think about it, well you guys don't. If you think about other things then he can't read what is really on your mind. Aunt Alice does it all the time." Well maybe not all the time but I really didn't want to have to take that stuff. He wasn't looking at me, and I could tell he was thinking about it. I didn't want him to be sad or to get in trouble but tonight was really special.

"If he comes to find us in the middle of the night then you have to take it without complaining."

All I could do was grin, and the guys laughed shaking their heads.

After we got done with dinner and bagged up our trash, Jake got a bunch of sticks that had been made into spears. He handed them out to everyone and I even got one. "What are we doing, hunting?"

"Nope this is dessert," Embry told me as he got out a bag of marshmallows. He put one on the end of my stick and on his and then showed me what I needed to do. "You can let it catch on fire, but it's better to let them get nice and brown."

Being patient wasn't too hard for me so I did what he did and watched the other guys twisting their sticks. None of us said much and a few minutes later Jacob pulled my stick in front of him. He had a graham cracker and had put a part of the chocolate bar on it. He took another piece of the cracker and made a sandwich pulling my marshmallow off the stick in the process. "Now Nessie, this is very hot, so be careful."

I took it from him and didn't have to prepare myself for liking it. Sweets were really good to me. Mom said they likely tasted sweeter to me than they would to someone like Grandpa Charlie or Claire, but no matter what I loved them. When I took my bite it was gooey chocolate paradise. "Hmmm."

"I think she likes it," Brady said.

All I could do was nod my head as I took another bite savoring what I was tasting which was chocolate and marshmallow melting in my mouth. After I finished one Jake handed me another and I leaned against him as I took a bite. "Why can't we just eat food like this all the time?" It wasn't as good as human blood, but it was better than most animal blood.

"That's a good question," Jake said in between chewing his treat.

"What are these called anyways?"

"Smores," Seth answered as he chomped down one of his.

It didn't take us long to eat them all up, and I lost count of mine after the seventh one. It was all dark around us, but leaning against Jake with his arms wrapped around me, I felt very safe. "Okay I want to hear some stories," I said as the other guys came back from hiking in the woods to take care of business.

"What kind of stories?" Jake asked as he rested his chin on top of my head.

"How about the first time you met my dad?"

"Which one of us?" Seth asked.

"Jake," I answered feeling my tummy settle after all the yummy sweets.

"Well, I had always heard about your family due to our legends."

I had been to the bonfire and heard the story of how Grandpa and the leader of Jacob's tribe made a pact, and I sort of knew the rest of my question but it was always fun to hear Jacob tell it. "Did you meet my dad at a dance?"

"Yep. My dad wanted me to tell your mom not to go out with him."

"Go out?" I tilted my head up and felt my eyebrows crunch in as I tried figuring out what he meant by that.

"He didn't want them to date."

"Oh, why not?" My dad is one of the best people I know of, but why wouldn't Billy see that, well accept that Wolves didn't like vampires, but still.

"Our legends had us being natural enemies and my father and the council didn't really know your family as well as we do now."

I nodded and Jake didn't go on.

"Hey how about scary stories," Brady said.

This could be interesting. My life was full of vampires, Shape shifters, Werewolves, but I had never seen them only heard about them that one time. I wondered what could be scary.

"Maybe we shouldn't," Embry said looking over at me and Jake.

"She's seen enough, what do you think Nessie?" Jacob asked me.

"Okay."

It was Brady who seemed the most eager to go, so the other guys let him go first. "Well there is this story about this group of kids who went camping out in the woods kind of like we are now," He began, and the other guys started laughing at him.

"Hey be nice and let him tell it," I said already feeling butterflies in my tummy. The guys settled down and Brady went on.

"Well what they didn't know was that there was this Insane Asylum not far from where they were camping. I think it was twenty miles away. That night while they were putting up their tents and all that, there was an escape. One of the craziest killers of all times was on the loose, only they had no idea what was going on."

Humans killed too, I knew that but as Brady went on I began to feel scared, not for me but for the kids in his story. I wasn't about to let Jake know that though and kept still as the story continued.

"The killer got to their camp and when two of the boys went into the woods he slit their throats."

My mind pictured a crazy man with wild hair and a dirty outfit grabbing little kids and killing them. I felt sick at the thought of someone like Claire getting hurt by humans and wondered if that sort of thing could really happen.

"Ness, are you okay?" Seth asked concerned.

All I could do was nod my head and Jacob hugged me. "Hey, maybe we should try something else."

"Wha…" I had to swallow. "What happened to the rest of the kids?"

Brady looked at us and I knew that he was waiting to see if Jacob would let him finish. I needed to know what happened.

"Well, the rest of them got away," Brady said stuttering and I knew he wasn't going to get to finish it.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Almost all of the guys phased to run patrols to make sure everything was okay where we were and back in La Push. Only Jacob stayed in his human form and rested next to me as I tried to fall asleep. We had sung some silly songs that Brady learned from some kids not from the Reservation who had been out on the beach, but I kept thinking back to that story. "Jacob, do human people do things like what was in Brady's story?"

"You don't need to worry about that," he said as he brushed his hand through my hair.

That made me feel sleepy, but I needed to know, "Please? If you don't tell me I'll think about it and worry and my stomach will get upset."

For a few moments all I could hear was the steady beat of his heart, and some far off animal making noises. "Sometimes people kill other people, but where we live and where our friends live it's pretty safe."

"Do they slit the throats?" My mind showed me the same image and I tried not to see it, but it wasn't working very well.

"Um, sometimes. Nessie, I'm sorry we let him tell that story."

I snuggled into my Jake not wanting him to feel bad. I thought about that time with the bird when I was very small and shared that with him as my mind began to settle down. I hoped I would dream of that instead of anything bad, but I had a feeling tonight was going to be a bad night for me.

~*~*~*~*~

It was very dark and damp. There was a musty smell all around and dripping. I was all alone and for the first time in my life very cold. My hands hurt and my toes stung. I didn't have a warm jacket, but I really had never needed one. I tried to talk but something was keeping me from that. When I tried to move something was holding me back. As I began to struggle that something tightened all around me and I couldn't get my breath. I wanted to scream but I couldn't.

When my eyes opened what I saw wasn't my room. It was dark and something was holding on to me. I pushed but couldn't get away so I did the only thing I could think of and screamed as loud as I could. Suddenly I was free and Jacob was sitting up.

"Hey, Nessie, it's just me."

My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest and I threw myself at Jacob holding on to him so that I wouldn't think about what my dream had shown me.

"I'm sorry," he told me as he rocked me. I heard the zipper being pulled and heard Seth asking if he needed to get my dad, and that's what I wanted.

"If I had to guess the entire family will probably be here very shortly."

"Do you think it was…" He didn't say but I knew what they all thought. I wanted to tell them it was something else but my heart was still beating really fast and I couldn't make myself move.

Outside there was more movement and I heard my dad asking what was going on. He sounded really worried, and I still couldn't make myself move. When Jacob started to take his arms away from me I held on tighter shaking my head. That was also when a felt a cool hand on my back.

"She had a bad dream. We told scary stories, or started too," Jacob was saying all in a rush.

"Renesmee," my daddy said as he brushed my hair away from the left side of my face and kissed my cheek.

When I saw him I was able to let go of Jake and in a second he was holding me. I'm not sure when I started to cry, but when it started I couldn't make it stop. Brady's story had been really scary but what my dream showed me was scarier because it was so real, more real than anything I had ever seen.

Everyone was with us now, all my family and they were all asking questions, but my dad was carrying me away, and I didn't care. The familiar smells of my house and my own room helped me calm down and I heard Mom and Dad telling me that I was safe, but still couldn't make myself tell them about that dream. I had my face pressed against my dad's neck and felt him leaning back in my bed.

"I can't go to sleep again," I said as I lifted my head away from his neck to look at him.

"Shh, it was just a dream," he started but I was already shaking my head.

"It wasn't just a dream. I smelled damp and it was dark and I heard water dripping. Something was holding me…" I couldn't go on and once again I cried into his neck.

My mom had left the room, and I wanted her to stay, but my mind wouldn't let me think about anything else accept for keeping awake.

When she came back someone else was with her and I made myself look at her, finding Uncle Jazz with Aunt Alice. "What is it like for you to see things?"

In a moment Aunt Alice was sitting on the edge of my bed and I looked into her golden eyes needing to know if what I had seen was something other than just a bad dream.

When she ran her fingers over my head I didn't mind and felt a little tired. "My visions happen when I'm wake, so I'm not sure we could compare," she told me.

It was all so frustrating, everything.

"Have you ever had that dream?"

"Only the damp part and the dripping, never the rest."

"Do you mind sharing with me?" Aunt Alice asked.

Instantly I felt stupid because I could show her, but I had been so upset that nothing wanted to work. The trouble was I really didn't want to see it again. "I don't want to remember it."

Aunt Alice smiled at me and I felt a little better as she kissed my cheek. "Why don't you try and rest and we will all wait downstairs while you do?" She looked over my head at my dad and then left.

"Dad, don't be mad at Jake and the guys. Brady didn't know his story would scare me."

I yawned and slid over onto my mattress but rested my head against his chest. "Do you think my dream means I'll go there someday?"

"Renesmee, try and sleep and we will talk about this tomorrow."

"Don't leave me," I felt him kissing the top of my head.

"I won't move from this spot."

When he began to hum his lullaby all of my fears began to go away. I was safe and maybe if I tried really hard I could make that bad dream go away for good. All I could do was hope.

~*~*~*~

AN: *Wolf like Me* Was on Stephenie's Website for her music selection during BD. I chose it for Jacob because of that.

Okay this is where the story begins to take off. I'm thinking this is going to take a darker turn which may mean a level M rating but not sure just yet when that will happen. I'm not sure if I addressed the age issue here or not. She looks like she's about 10 or 11, and Nessie has the mental capacity from age nine to maybe fifteen or so at times. I know she's not as smart as the Nessie in BD, but I kind of like her having to learn. So here you are.

Thank you all for stopping by to read and a big thanks to those of you who review, those mean so much even if it's only one or two words. Hang on for more.

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