Family discussion

"Edward, what's going on? I saw something about Portland, but that's all I could see. Is this just a trip, or an extended stay?" Alice stood staring at Dad, her hands on her hips. She just couldn't stand being out of the proverbial loop.

"Relax, Alice. I was going to tell you all about it." He cleared his throat. "I'd like to be able to get the whole family together at once to make the announcement." He sat down on the sofa in the living room. I stood in the doorway to the living room, a little anxious about what my family's reaction to the news would be. True, it wasn't a done deal, but the thought still made me nervous. I was fairly certain that I almost had Mom and Dad on board, but if anyone in the family disagreed, well, that would complicate things.

"Fine." Alice dashed to the staircase. "Emmett? Rose? Come downstairs! Family meeting!" She almost bounced on her heels as she waited for them to come downstairs. "Jazz has gone hunting with Carlisle and Esme, but they'll be back in..." She frowned and closed her eyes, deep in concentration. "Eight minutes."

I couldn't help but giggle at Aunt Alice's enthusiasm. My mom walked up behind me, putting her arm around my waist. I leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Thanks for hearing me out, Mom, I told her silently.

She smiled at me. "I love you, Ness. I just want what's best for you."

Within a few minutes, upon Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper's return, I found myself sitting at the dining room table with Mom and Dad sitting next to me, and Jake on my other side. Six pairs of curious yellow eyes stared at me.

"I've been doing a lot of soul searching. I've decided I want to go to college. After doing a lot of research, I've decided I'd like to take some classes at Reed College in Portland. I'll probably start by going part time, just to get a feel for living on my own."

"We've decided to visit Portland in a couple of weeks and tour the campus, as well as look around for apartments," my mom added.

I stared into the eyes of my family. Esme spoke first. "Nessie, this is very exciting news, but are you sure you're ready to live on your own? Living in the city will not allow you to hunt..."

"I've thought about that. It will be difficult, but I really need to adapt to living among humans. I mean, I do fine around Grandpa Charlie and Sue, but I think that, once we move from Forks, I will have more chances to live out in the open. I need to get experience doing that. I don't plan to stay in Portland forever. I'll start with a semester and see how it goes."

Emmett grinned. "Little Nessie in the big city. I like it." He stood up and wrapped me in a big bear hug. "You better come home to visit, though."

"We will need to make some arrangements," Carlisle stated. "I'll try to see if I can get some human blood for you to take with you. Of course, you'll have to primarily live off human food."

"Perhaps a unit or two," Dad stated, "but I really think it's best if we try to get her off of human blood as much as possible. It will make the temptation that much stronger, being around humans all day."

Carlisle nodded. "You may be right."

"I don't like it." Jacob frowned. "Ness, I don't think you're ready to live on your own yet. I just don't."

I turned to him. "Jake, in ten years, you'd be saying the same thing."

He sighed, knowing I was right.

"I think it's a cool idea!" Emmett stated again, enthusiastically.

"I'm not so sure," Rosalie said hesitantly. "I have to agree with Jacob here." Well, there was a first. "I just don't know if you're ready." Rose and I had been close since I was born-well, before I was born, as my parents told me.

"It makes me nervous, too, since I can't see you," Alice stated. "It would make me feel a lot better if I could know what your future was, if there was any danger."

"Well, we haven't made a final decision. We're still planning a trip to Portland." Dad turned to Alice. "Do you think you could keep an eye on things, let us know if you see any sort of problems with that, at least?"

Alice nodded. "I'll do my best. It's not an exact science, though."

"We'll still have a lot of things to take care of," Carlisle said. "We'll need to get an updated drivers license, birth certificate, and social security card, among other things. I suppose we'll need to pay a visit to Mr. Jenks."

"I'm on it," Mom stated.

"If you really need the documents quickly, I can take care of it." Jasper grinned.

"I think it's best if I do it. We're not in that great of a hurry. The winter semester doesn't start for four months," Mom reminded him.

I smiled. It sounded like things were coming together. I looked to my left. Jake was frowning and had been silent for some time. I sighed. I wish he would understand that I needed this. If he wanted to do something like this, I'd support him, even though I would miss him. I wish he wasn't hurting so much over this. I touched his face. It's only for a few months, and I'll come visit you on the weekends, I told him silently. He nodded, but still had a distant, sad look on his face.

"I still don't think it's a great idea, but I suppose we'll see," Rosalie conceded.

We slowly stood up from the table. I was starting to get nervous now, too, to be honest. I glance over at Alice, but her face was expressionless. I really wished that she could see my future, but I'd always been a blank spot for her. I hugged everyone in the family and thanked them for their support.