The Rossi Coven [1] Emmett Cullen

Chapter 24

"TWENTY-FOUR"

--------------------------------

Just like Myra and Teuvo said the day before Sakura's birthday, she and her husband were packed and ready to leave the day after we celebrated her own birthday. The coldies went out for a good long hunt, high up in the mountains. Us hybrids tagged along. Nacho even hunted a bit, much to my disgust. It was a fun trip. It took all day. I ran around a bit with Aki. It felt amazing to let loose and just feel like I was flying.

The whole trip became a competition. They competed to see who could get to ten legitimately sized catches first. No small baby deers, nothing smaller than a full grown doe. There were a lot of mountain lions, bucks, and Alessio even found a bear.

It reminded me of Emmett and when we stood, overlooking the mountains and the valley in Alaska together. It reminded me of how much I missed the big goof. Every day that passed, I pretended I was oblivious to the fact that my heart didn't feel anywhere near full until I heard his voice.

Every once and a while when Rosalie and Michele were talking on the phone, which they never seemed to stop doing, Emmett demanded he get to say hi. It would ease the pull in my heart for an hour or two, cause I could replay the sound of his voice over and over in my head.

And no, we still do not have each other's phone number. It's stupid I know, but since we made the decision to stay apart, there is no reason to put both of us through that pain by constantly talking to each other.

That all is beside the point right now. Not important. What IS important is Myra and Teuvo's departure today after we get back from the trip. I sat atop a GIANT oak tree relaxing, taking in the sun as some rays broke through the trees above me.

I felt like I was higher than the rest of the world around me. Like nothing could touch me while I was this far above the ground. Aki sat in a tree across from me, basically doing the same exact thing. This was our break while our family finished the last bit of their competition.

Nacho gave up after two catches. I think the queasiness finally caught up to him. That's what you get when you still have a human stomach and you eat raw animal blood. No matter how 'tough' of a hybrid you are, there is only so much blood one can handle before the guilt starts to kick in, if you ask me.

Hearing the brushing and moving leaf sounds turn to voices, I took that as a sign that the trip was coming to a close, sadly. It was nice to take a second and get away from the whole world and just breath and take in the warm sun. Yes, it was in fact sunny in Forks, Washington today. The world must have known we were saying goodbye to part of our family.

Once the voices grew to a much louder octave, I locked eyes with Aki. She sighed and rolled her eyes before she gracefully jumped out of the giant tree, landing softly on her feet. Some times it was hard to believe she was anything less than a vampire. Her grace and poise matched any vampire I've ever met.