Bella's Little Sister

Chapter 60

We stood on the porch, watching as my father and sister pulled away in dad's cruiser.

"Jess?" Jasper questioned once they were finally out of our sight.

I took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as I turned to face him. He was standing in the doorway next to Emmett. "I'm okay." Turning my gaze to Edward, I said, "But if you hadn't come in when you did..."

He wrapped his arms firmly around me, bringing me closer to his side. "I would never have let it get that far."

"Even so," Jasper stated. "I've never seen a newborn show that kind of restraint."

Emmett smirked then. "I'm not sure she is a newborn. She's so... tame." He grinned at me as I looked up at him, waiting.

Edward shook his head, though he was also faintly smiling. "Emmett, don't antagonize her. She's the strongest one in the house."

Emmett only scoffed in response, cracking his knuckles as he did so. A faint grin crossed my face, the previous conversation all but forgotten now. "Is that a challenge?" I questioned him, raising a brow.

Jasper smirked knowingly as Emmett led us to the back of the house, disappearing into the trees for only a second before he returned. He walked back to where I stood, a large boulder in his grip, setting it down before me as his gaze locked onto me.

"Don't hurt yourself, Emmett," Edward called out to him.

The others, save for Rosalie, who was still inside the house with Renesmee, quickly joined us as we settled into position, one arm held behind our backs.

"Alright, on three." Jasper began the count, his gaze probing my expression as he spoke. "1, 2, 3!"

It was certainly no challenge at all for me to keep my arm absolutely still as Emmett used every ounce of his strength against me. My eyes never once strayed from his face as I made a show of pretending to lose. By now, Emmett was gritting his teeth with a frustrated and focused expression. With a smirk, I began to move my arm down towards the surface of the rock.

Pieces of the boulder broke off and fell to the ground as Emmett straightened his posture, the others laughing in amusement around us. Despite only being a vampire for all of three days, I still was not yet used to the strength that I had gained. That being said, I began breaking the rock down further, grinning widely as my family continued to watch in laughter.

After a moment, the sun breaking through the trees caught my attention, and I paused in my actions, slowly moving towards the rays that were filtering down through the trees. As the light gradually surrounded me, I admired the way the beams refracted from my skin, lighting up the air around me with an immeasurable amount of color.

Edward filled me in on everything that had happened while I had been unconscious and undergoing the change. Jacob and Sam had called a truce and come to an understanding, though I was sure that there would still be some underlying tension between them for quite some time.

It was only a few days later that we received a package addressed to Edward and I. I opened the lid of the small black box within the package, only to find an ornate necklace resting inside, its chain a thin, metallic gold. A large diamond lay in its base, glittering brightly in the light of the room. Edward, who was sitting next to me, pulled a notecard from the package the box had come in.

I so look forward to seeing the new Mrs. Cullen, it read. Congratulations.

There was no name on the notecard specifying who it was from, though it was rather obvious anyway. However, that was not our only problem. Renesmee was growing too quickly, appearing years older than she really was. Carlisle took daily measurements of her growth, though he was just as stunned as we were. I began to worry about how long we would have with her.