CH12: GIFTED

     Two rapid heartbeats replaced my teacher’s. It turned out that her heart was minutely beauty. “Where’s…where’s Renesmee?” I heard her ask weakly.
     This time my aunt didn’t stop me. I went into the room hesitantly with tears already streaming down my face. Momma and Poppa were busy handling the twins with Aunt Rosalie while daddy and Uncle Emmett were attending to Ms. Hill.
     “Ness,” she said reaching out for me. My uncle had covered her up already.
     “Look at for them, okay?” she breathed before permanently closing her eyes.
     “I will,” I whispered back a little too late. My dad covered her up thoroughly. He took me into his arms and I let my sorrow flow out of me. She didn’t deserve this. Zachary should be the one dead. The only thing that I could do now was to keep my promise: watch out for my cousins and for them to never see their biological father.
     “It’s okay, baby girl. Leila’s in a better place now,” daddy advocated gently. “Now go on and meet Rommel and Emmie.”
     I nodded and wiped my tears away. I’d have to put a brave front now, for my beloved teacher and family. It wasn’t hard to do, thankfully, because as I turned around to head downstairs to approach Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmett, they were glowing with pure mirthfulness. I couldn’t help but gravitate towards their radiating happiness.
     “Hey squirt,” Uncle Emmett called to me while cradling one of the twins. Everyone had gathered around the living room.
     “Come and meet Emmie,” he said. “And Rommel,” Aunt Rose added.
I let out the biggest grin when I saw two pairs of those familiar tantalizing gray eyes. Maybe Ms. Hill wasn’t completely gone after all. I was handed baby Rommel first and then baby Emmie. Aunt Alice took lots and lots of pictures. As I held them in my arms, Rommel drifted to sleep while Emmie looked to me confusingly. Within those 4 short hours, they grew just subtly. I kissed Emmie’s cute, little nose before Uncle Emmett took her to their room where Rommel was already with my aunt. Even with the early labor, the room was done in no time. Baby blue checkered sheets covered Rommel’s bed while light pink flowered sheets covered Emmie’s.
     I yawned involuntarily and Momma was beside me in an instant. She smiled her dazzling smile and stroked my cheek.
     “Why don’t you sleep at the cottage for a while?” she asked while everyone else began to disperse throughout the house.
     “You haven’t slept thee for ages and change is good for a new year.”
I smiled right back and touched her neck. (Can we go hunting tomorrow before we come back here?)
     “We can all go,” daddy said appearing from upstairs.
     “But for now, you should get some rest. You’ve had quite a night,” he added, gesturing to my bracelet. I hid my hands behind my back, bit my lip while the blood rushed to my cheeks. My mom chuckled. I dashed out of the main entrance before they could say anything else on the matter.Rommel and Emmie grew quickly. They were twins, all right. The only thing they didn’t share was the shade of their hair; Rommel had the exact color as Ms. Hill’s while Emmie’s had a more sandier tone. Like their biological mother, they, too, were absolutely gorgeous.
     I came in though the kitchen door surprised to see a 3-month-old looking Rommel crawling on the floor with only his underwear on. I flitted to him and picked him up in one swift movement.
     “Good morning, baby boy,” I greeted him, kissing both of his cheeks. His giggle rang throughout the house.
     “There you are, you naughty little rugrat!” Aunt Alice chimed, flailing a striped dark and light blue onesie. Now I know why he was crawling away. My petite, little aunt had been playing dress with the twins practically ever since they were born. Of course, Emmie didn’t mind as much but Rommel avoided it when he could.
     “Now c’mere, mister, your momma wants to take more pictures of you and your sister,” she urged enthusiastically, clapping her hands as to show him she was harmless.
I was still carrying him when his face scrunched up in concentration. At the same time, the striped onesie flew out of Aunt Alice’s grasp and it stayed there in mid air. Our eyes widened in astonishment.
     “Carlisle!” she called. Everyone must’ve heard the urgency in her voice because in seconds, they came filing into our wide kitchen.
     “What happened, Alice?” Poppa asked.
Rommel started waving his arm like a music conductor and his piece of clothing swayed in the same motion, still hanging mid air.
     “Looks like this little rascal’s got a power after all,” Uncle Jasper said crossing his am in approval.
     “But when Nessie was born, her gift showed right away,” Aunt Rose said carrying a giggly Emmie. She looked too adorable with her dark and light pink onesie.
     “Heck yeah! My son’s got a gift! This is the coolest one I’ve seen so far!” Uncle Emmett exclaimed making funny faces at Rommel before I brought him his son.
     “Hmmm,” Poppa hummed while pacing the tiled floor. “If Rommel has a gift, Emmie should very well have one, too.” 
     “That’s an interesting theory, Carlisle,” daddy said reaching out for Emmie who willingly welcomed his open arms.
     “What theory?” Aunt Alice asked. I took a seat on one of the stools from the island counter, knowing that things were turning in an exciting direction.
     “Well Carlisle thinks that their powers work similarly like Jane and Alec,” daddy answered, completely intrigued. “She may have the ability to do the opposite of her brother.”
     “So if my son has the ability to move and control objects,” Aunt Rose said carefully, piecing things together. “Then Emmie can stop movement?” Uncle Emmett finished.
     “We should test it,” I offered, swinging my legs back and forth. Daddy nodded, placing baby Emmie on the counter while my uncle placed baby Rommel right next to her.
     “Rommel, do you think you can try and move something again?”
Even with the twins being a week old, they understood better than any 4 year old can possibly could. Again, his cute little face scrunched up in concentration. In a second, one of the cabinet doors flew open and the chocolate chip cookie jar began floating towards him. He opened it with his mind and out came 2 cookies. He gave the other one to his baby sister. They both giggled and so did we. They chewed it happily while their parents applauded proudly.
     “Okay, Emmie,” Momma prompted, “now it’s your turn. Why don’t you try and stop the clock?” 
     She obeyed and the clock’s hand stopped. This proved Poppa’s theory. Uncle Emmett picked them both up and said, “You two are incredible.”
     “They are, indeed,” Gramma agreed. “All of my grand babies are,” she added kissing all of our cheeks.
     Poppa said, “Just like Jane and Alec. While Jane can nearly make anyone feel the most excruciating pain, Alec can numb the senses altogether, their powers completely opposite of each other. The same goes for all immortal twins, I suppose.”
     “Of course, over time their gifts should become more powerful. Who knows, they’ll probably be able to control our movements one day,” Uncle Jasper observed.
     “Well in that case,” Momma joined in, “We’ll teach them to use it for good.”
The twins were clinging onto their father tightly when Emmie exclaimed, “Good! Good!”     
     I smiled. Like me, as they grew, their knowledge did as well. In no time, they would start walking and talking. It’ll take a while for them to start school, unfortunately. It’s a good thing they had each other to play with; they wouldn’t get bored.
     You’d think that I would get jealous with all the attention they were getting but on the contrary, I was relieved. Having them here made our family more complete. I didn’t feel as alone now. It was sort of even nice knowing that I had responsibilities and obligations now, too. I’m still furiously maddened at the fact that Zachary was still out there, somewhere, repeating the same misfortune onto a beautiful woman like Ms. Hill. One day I would avenge her.
I randomly wandered off to the backyard. I stopped in front of a tombstone that said: Leila Hill. You’ll be forever missed.
I got down to my knees and caressed the newly growing grass. It was February now, a full month to the day we discovered Rommel and Emmie’s power. I heard them playing in the forest near by. Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper were on babysitting duty while my other aunt and uncle went out the whole day to have some time for themselves.
     I wasn’t aware of the tears escaping from my eyes until Emmie wiped them away. She looked like a small 5 year old. Her dark blonde hair was well past her shoulders now. Rommel appeared beside her out off thin air.
     “C’mon! We’re supposed to be hiding from Uncle Jazz!” he stopped mid jog and I can only guess it was his sister’s doing. Emmie’s gift evolved quite quickly. Not only can she completely freeze anyone on their tracks but she can even halt their power, or maybe just her brother’s. They narrowed their eyes at each other. They fought constantly but loved each other dearly.
     “Quit fighting, you two,” I scolded them. I was getting used to playing the role of the big sister. The only downside was the fact that Mia couldn’t come by as much as before. She would notice that everyday she came by the twins would look just a little bit older.
     They obeyed and sat on each of my sides. They sat Native American style. We were all silent now. They stared sympathetically at the ground. They knew very well whom this tombstone belonged to.
     After a while they got up, but I didn’t.
“Ness, c’mon, you visit our mom more than we do,” Rommel said jokingly with his hand resting on my shoulder. I chuckled lightly and wiped the rest of my tears away. As I got up, Emmie said: “ Race ya to the front, big bro,” wiggling her eyebrows. In a flash, I was alone in the backyard. Their sibling rivalry was hilarious.
     The sun was about to set and I made my way to the back porch swing on our patio. Right when I sat down, Jacob emerged from the trees. He started jogging over and I met him halfway. He held his arms out and I leapt into them effortlessly. He spun me around and our lips crushed amorously before he gently placed me back down. 
     His arms were tightly secured around my waist. “Hello to you, too, babe,” he said with a mischievous wink. I giggled and tippy toed to give him one more kiss. I started to pull him towards the porch swing.
     “Watch the sunset with me,” I said.
     “Why don’t we go over to our bench at the beach?”
     “That’s perfect! Let’s go.” And with that we ran to First Beach.
This sunset stood out of all the rest. Maybe because it was the first one I spent with Jacob knowing that he loved me, possibly even more than I loved him. I leaned against his well-toned chest, enjoying this feeling. I looked up and brushed my lips along his jugular. He got up and offered hid hand. I took it willingly and we walked along the shore, hand in hand. He occasionally took it and held it up to his lips and I smiled wider every time he did. It would be a few more minutes, now, before the sun would completely vanish. We stopped at one time and we stayed there, getting lost in each other’s eyes like we usually did. Our hands were still tangled together and I took advantage of that.
     (I love you.) I placed in his head. He smiled my favorite smile, moving his hands to my waist, pulling me closer.
     “As I love you,” he replied before giving me the sweetest kiss.
It was getting darker now and that meant it was time for me to go home.
     “I think we should be heading back,” I said, speaking my thoughts. He sighed but nodded knowingly.
     We were less than a mile away from the house when Jacob asked, “what are you doing for Valentine’s Day?”
     “Oh, well Daddy’s going to surprise Momma with a trip to Isle Esme,” I answered.
     “You going with them?”
     “Yeah, it’s kind of a family/romantic trip. I know what you’re thinking and trust me, I’m gonna be staying far away from their bedroom.”
     “When are you leaving?”
     “The 7th. Daddy wants to stay there a full week.”
     “One full week?” he asked, frowning.
     “I know, I know,” I said, patting his cheek.
     “I had plans for us, too, he added with a pout.
We were walking on the driveway now and daddy came out to greet us.
     “Jacob, I know you had plans with Nessie for Valentine’s Day and I’m sorry we’re going to take her away from you, but you and I both know that Bella would never leave the country without her. So how about we make a compromise?”
     Jake looked at me father suspiciously but gave in to his curiosity.
     “What did you have in mind?”
     “Well we’re planning to have another vacation at Lake Crescent soon. You can come along this time, as our pet,” daddy offered playfully.
     Jake wasn’t offended. In fact, he even punched my dad on the shoulder, playing along. It made me happy seeing them getting along this well.
     “You got a deal,” he replied. “But I gotta warn you, I might chew up the furniture.” We all laughed at that and then he kissed my cheek goodbye.
     Daddy and I entered the house to find Rommel and Uncle Jasper playing Just Dance on the Wii. From the looks at their dancing, Aunt Alice and Emmie were winning by a long shot.
Daddy planted a kiss on my forehead before he left to find my mom. I was just fine where I was, watching the boys dance.