I'm sorry about the delay!

Chapter 25

Jasper's hand moves form my waist to my wrist, which he tugs gently. "Why don't we step out for a bit, Ness? I think a break could do you some good."

I hesitate. I've spent the past few weeks at Alec's bedside, alternating between napping and staring longingly at his prone figure, fitting a meal in here and there. "I don't really—"

"C'mon," another voice says from the doorway. Emmett. "Come down stairs with us, Remy bear." He raises his eyebrows. "I've been waiting for you to help me with the tree!"

Christmas, I let myself think. My favorite time of year.

"You know what?" I say, after a moment of Emmett and Jasper staring at me, hope lighting their faces. "I think Christmas is exactly what I need."

It turns out I'm right. After an hour and a half of decorating the massive tree in the living room, I'm starting to feel more like myself. Alice has Michael Buble's Christmas album playing full-blast, and Emmett belts out the lyrics along with her.

When we finally finish, everyone stops what they're doing to appraise the tree. Mom comes into the room with a tray of cookies and sets them on the coffee table before brushing a kiss on my cheek.

"I was starting forget what my own daughter looks like," she teases softly. "Merry-almost Christmas, sweetheart."

I return the sentiment. It's almost like the past ten months never happened. Nobody comments on how much weight I've lost, the pale tone of my skin. Nobody mentions Alec's name, or the Volturi. Emmett and Jacob force cookies into my mouth just to see how many will fit, and Alice surprises me with a new red dress for Christmas dinner, all the while wrinkling her nose at my t-shirt and sweatpants. Rose and Grandma can hardly stop playing with my hair and kissing my cheeks. The only people missing are Dad and Grandpa.

It's not until later that day, after the sun has set and the games have ended, that the illusion begins to crumble. Jasper is forcing Alice into an incredibly tacky Christmas sweater, an exact replica of his, and I'm sitting with Rose, her fingers making slow work of braiding my hair over and over. A warm plate of warm cookies rests on my lap, and when my dad and Grandpa finally materialize on the stairs, nearly falls to the ground.

"What's happened?" I cry.

Grandpa just shakes his head and gestures for me to follow him. "We need to have a word with you."

Everyone's eyes are on me as I slowly make my way to his side, my hair falling loose from the French braid Rose had just started. They lead me into a room-turned office just off the first landing, shutting the door behind me.

"Tell me," I beg, the words catching in my throat. Tears fill my eyes. "Whatever it is, tell me."

Grandpa runs a hand over his face. "Your father and I have been doing some research the past few weeks, trying to find out as much as we could about the herb." He pauses. "Reading legends, folklore, everything we could get our hands on."

"What did you find?" I whisper. Dad shifts uncomfortably. "Please."

Grandpa sighs. "Now, we're not certain, so don't take my word for it, alright? But what we've found—I think it's safe to say he's not going through the change again, Renesmee." He pauses. "What we think is happening—again, we're not certain—we think he's reversing it."

It takes a moment for the full impact of his words to reach me, and when it does my heart races and my knees go weak. I grip the back of the desk chair to stay standing.

"You don't mean . . ." I trail off, the words caught in my throat.

Grandpa nods. "I don't think there's much we can do differently, Renesmee. Nothing but waiting.

I shut my eyes. Alec is going to wake up human.

Human.

It starts slowly over the next two weeks. On Christmas day, I notice cracks in the fortress of Alec's mind, almost wide enough for me to slip the tips of my fingers through. A few days later, Carlisle makes a subtle comment about his heart beat becoming more regularized. I can see it in his eyes—this is a good thing. Soon, his body starts doing things that Carlisle calls "normal"; his eyelids flutter and his muscles bunch and clench. He responds to the cool touch of my father and grandfather with a spread of goose bumps, and his fingers twitch. His hair won't stop growing. Alice offers to trim his hair before I even get the chance to ask her, and she does it with quick fingers and steady hands.

Carlisle warns me that he may wake up angry and disoriented, that we can't begin to predict how he'll behave when he awakes. Again, he reminds me to be patient. It's harder than I thought.

I can't wait for him to wake up.

As much as he's beginning to change into a different person than he was before, I love that I'm learning things about this other part of him, this human side. It turns out his skin is a bit more olive than white, that his dark brown hair turns dark gold in the sunlight through the window. His eyes flutter as he dreams. He has a birthmark in the curve of his elbow I somehow never once noticed, and freckles are appearing on his hairline behind his ear.

When he finally does wake up, it takes us by surprise. I'm in my bed reading a book, and Carlisle is sitting by my side in a creaky wooden chair, reading a medical journal. His voice startles us both—especially when he's not speaking English. Carlisle responds quicker than I do, standing up, muttering things under his breath. He holds Alec down tightly by the shoulder.

Alec looks groggy, his eyes open and so very gray, his cheeks flushed with anxiety and his hands clenched tightly in fists.

"Grandpa!" I exclaim, scrambling to his side. "He's just confused! You don't have to restrain him!" I put my hand on top of my grandpa's, and speak to Alec. "Al, he's going to let you go," I murmur. "Everything's okay. We're going to take care of you." My heart is beating quickly in my chest, and my stomach has sunk to the soles of my feet. He's awake.

But Alec just stares at me, confusion even more apparent in his expression. He mutters something again in that strange language, almost German but not exactly. He looks at me with wide and suspicious eyes.

Dad and Jasper burs into the room at the commotion, even as quiet as it had been, Jacob trailing behind. My dad stares at me a moment. "Renesmee, I need you to step out with Jake right now."

Jake grabs me before I can even open my mouth to respond and pulls me out into the hall.

I stare at him, mouth agape, and try to pull my wrists from his grasp. "I don't understand—he's just confused! Let me go! He's not going to hurt me!" I strain against his hold.

Jake tightens his grip and clenches his jaw. "Just wait for your dad, Ness."

After a few more futile moments of struggle, I resolve to stand in silence while glaring at the shut bedroom door before me. It's at least five minutes more minutes before my dad comes out into the hall, shutting the door firmly behind him.

"What's going on? Is he okay?" I finally wrench my hands from Jake's grasp, and try to get around my dad. He grips my shoulders.

"Ness," he begins.

"Is he okay?" I press.

"He is," a pause, "physically alright."

I stare at him blankly. "Let me go into the room, Dad."

My dad shakes his head slowly, as if to clear it. "Carlisle sedated him."

A noise leaves my mouth, between a protest and a groan. "Dad, let me by!'

He hesitates to respond, and meets Jacob's gaze over my shoulder. The air feels thick around me, and my heart stops in my chest. Something is wrong. Something is very, very wrong.

"Renesmee," my dad begins. He pauses again. "Ness," he begins again.

His next words nearly send me toppling to the floor.

"Renesmee, I'm so sorry. He . . . he doesn't remember you."

And that is when my world fell apart.

Don't hate me! I know it took a while for me to post this chapter, but it's been the plan since the beginning. I've decided not to make a sequel. Instead, I'll continue posting here. There doesn't seem much point to making it a sequel! Also, I'm vowing to be more punctual!

Much love,

Leah