Plus que ma propre vie

I wasn't really sure where I was. I continued to run until my legs became so tired that I collapsed on the side of a road. I noticed a few small, scattered houses. La Push, I realized. I wandered past the small country store and made my way to Jake's house. I knocked on the door and waited a couple of minutes.

"Renesmee." Billy Black, Jacob's dad, answered the door in his wheel chair. "Jacob's not here. I assumed he was with you."

I thought for a moment. He must have gone to the cottage and once he found out that I wasn't there, gone to Carlisle and Esme's. "Thanks, Mr. Black. I think I know where he is."

Billy studied my face with a frown. "Is everything OK?"

I nodded. "Thanks. I just need to talk to Jake."

"Sure, sure. If you don't catch up with him, I'll be sure to let him know that you stopped by."

I pasted a phony smile on my face. "Thanks, Mr. Black." With that, he shut the door and I slowly trudged away.

Jake surely knew about this too. I furrowed my brow. I wasn't sure if I should feel betrayed or not.

I eventually made my way back to the main house. My mom was waiting for me on the front porch. She sighed in relief as I walked up the steps.

"Nessie." She took me in her cold stone arms. "Your father just called me and told me what happened. We were worried sick."

"I didn't mean to worry you, Mom." I stared into her topaz eyes. I hugged her tightly. I still had a lot of questions, but perhaps I had overreacted.

"Do you need to talk to me about anything?" she inquired.

I paused. How should I phrase this? I was almost afraid to say it out loud, to have my suspicions confirmed. I know the truth about my birth and your transformation, I told her silently, still in her arms.

Mom looked taken by surprise. After a few moments, she whispered, "You mean more to me than anything in the world, more than my own life."

I remembered the locket she'd given me on my first Christmas. Plus que ma propre vie, it was inscribed. "But how, Mom?" I released myself from her embrace. "How could you be willing to give up everything- your life, Dad- for me?"

She sighed deeply. "I guess you'd have to be a mom to understand, but... the moment I knew you were there..." She placed her hand on her stomach. "I knew my life's purpose was to keep you safe, at any cost. Everything else paled in comparison."

"Was it hard, not knowing if we'd survive?" I whispered.

"Yes. But deep down, I always had faith. You see, when your father transformed me, it wasn't a death. It was a beginning of a new life, a life I feel I was always meant to have." She shook her head. "You shouldn't be upset with your dad. What he did was very difficult, in more ways than one. He knew you were worth it, and so do I." Her eyes appeared to almost be shiny with tears, even though that was not possible for her. "Neither of us have any regrets. We were blessed far beyond what we ever expected."

Out of the corner of my eye, my father walked slowly up the steps, not wishing to interrupt the poignant moment. I turned to him. Quickly, I ran into his arms and buried my face in his chest. "Daddy..." Tears pooled up in my eyes. "I'm so sorry... I'm so very..."

"Shhh...." he murmured. Mom joined us in our embrace. I stared into the eyes of my parents and knew I would never have any more doubts about their hearts.