Solar Eclipse - Book 5

Chapter 4

Soon after the arrival of the Cromwell family we moved into the sitting room where we succumbed to the sofas and couches and fell into conversation.

I sat back beside Nic while his mother explained in detail what happened after Tyler and Jamie had been turned.

The first couple of weeks into their newborn lives they were naturals at the vegetarian way of life -which is what Charles and Anne had decided on for them- Elk's were Jamie's favorite and Moose were Tyler's.

Anne and Jamie spent a lot of time shopping, over the internet, buying an entire new wardrobe that was fit for a future Queen. Charles and Tyler fell into conversations and plannings of sailing to countries all around the world.

All was going well until Anne began talking about last weeks hunting trip.

At first mention Tyler jumped to his feet, gaining looks from everyone, and quickly walked out of the room.

"I got it." Charles said as he rose to his feet.

Anne got quickly to hers and placed her hand on his forearm. "No, love, let me talk to him."

Charles placed his hands on either side of her shoulders. "No, you have done enough for now. Let me handle this." he replied before disappearing after him.

Anne quickly took her seat and from the rigidness of her posture and the constant movements from Jamie I knew something was wrong here.

"Is anyone going to tell me whats wrong?" I asked after several long minutes of a unsettling silence.

Jamie looked at me and then to Anne before she nodded her head.

"We were hunting just yesterday," Anne began. "I was shadowing Jamie and Charles was shadowing Tyler. Everything was going well until the north winds picked up. The second the scent crossed my nose I knew something bad was going to happen."

"Was it a human?" I asked.

"Yes and no. There was a human present but there was another overwhelming smell that was a hundred times better."

Suddenly the memories of Nic telling me about our extraordinarily alluring scents flitted through my mind.

"The smell belonged to a hybrid. Half a second was all it took before Tyler's trajectory changed and in another sixteenth of a second he was gone. Charles took off after him while my attention was on Jamie."

"Did you?" I began only to have Jamie slowly shake her head.

"She knew that a smell that sweet and alluring meant bad news so she moved into a fetal position on the ground, locked her muscles in place and held her breath. Then I heard a scream and I took off running after Charles and Tyler."

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I expected to hear the worst.

"When I finally caught of with them Tyler was lunging towards the hybrid who was quick enough to divert both him and the young human girl out of the way. Charles was trying to talk Tyler out of his tyraid but nothing was getting through to him, so like any mother would do I made a move. Tyler turned on me and hit me so hard I broke through three trees before landing on my back."

I brought my hand to my mouth in shock as a slight gasp slipped through my lips.

"Luckily him hurting me brought him back to his rational self long enough for him to run back to the house with Charles. But it wasn't quick enough. The young girl that was with the hybrid had fallen against a rock that broke her skull in two places. She was alive but barily."

"Oh my goodness."

"Then the wind picked up again and suddenly Jamie was there, the girl was in her arms and her teeth was deep in her neck sucking what little life she had left from her. Both me and the hybrid boy managed to get her off and subdue her until she regained mental control. Then he helped me escort her back to the house."

My eyes flickered to Jamie who was sitting with her knees to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. She looked ashamed of herself.

"I killed her. I killed the girl." She wept dryly.

"Honey," Anne began. "It's happened to the best of us. Don't be so hard on yourself." She said as she wrapped her arms around Jamie and pulled her into an embrace.

"But I could have killed Matthew!" She wailed.

I gasped. Matthew.... The hybrid in the forest was my cousin Matthew. But then who was the girl he was with and why did he have her alone with himself in the forest.

"Who was the girl he was with?" I looked to Jamie.

She shrugged her shoulders before burrying her head in Anne's chest.

"He didn't say a name but before he left our house I overheard him and Charles talking about the girl claiming that she was carrying his child." Anne replied.

I rose quickly to my feet and began pacing back and forth in front of the sofa that I had vacated.

This girl, this unknown girl, was with my cousin in the forest claiming to be with his child. But it didn't make sense, atleast without knowing who the girl was.

Turning, I stopped right before Jamie and got down on my knees. "Do you remember anything about the girl?"

Jamie didn't move her face from Anne's chest but she shook her head. "I wasn't seeing anything but red. It was all red, everything around me."

Sighing in defeat I rose to my feet and returned to my seat beside Nic who was pondering on his thoughts, or so he looked to be.

Then his eyes came back to life and his head snapped up. "Mom," he called and she looked at him. ",did you retrieve the body of the young girl?" he asked.

A hopeful smile crossed my face.

"No, we were going to leave it there for the animals to dispose of naturally." she replied.

"This was yesterday right?"

Anne nodded her head.

"Where exactly in the forest did this happen?"

"Pugent Sound, just north east of Elliot Bay."

Nic got to his feet and took my hand before leading me out the side door that led to the wrap around porch. "We are going to go and see if it is still there."

"No need to do that, she isn't there." A different yet familar voice called out.

I turned my head towards the door that led into the hall only to see Matthew standing there, his arms crossed and his face severe.

I manuevered out of Nic's arms and crossed the room to stand before my cousin.

"Matthew, are you going to tell us what is going on?"

His brow furrowed as he began chewing on his lip.

Taking a step forward I rose my hand to touch his face but he quickly stepped back, holding his hands up before him.

"Okay, okay, I will explain." he took a deep breath. "Before I begin, Renesmee, I want you to know that I never meant to hurt you or betray you."

I held my breath.

"What did you do?" I asked, my voice bitter.

"One day after football practice I went to the locker room to change and she was there. She was naked and I was weak. Then her hands were all over me and her lips on mine. Then her lips were not on mine but all over my body and I couldn't help it. We had s*x and then she left. It was just a one time thing and it meant nothing."

I crossed my arms.

"Then she came to me a month later in the locker room and threw the stick in my face. She kept crying and saying she made a mistake and that she needed money to fix it. So I asked her what she was talking about and she told me she was pregnant and I was the father."

"Why were you in the forest with her?"

Matthew burried his face in his hands. "I knew that she couldn't go to any doctor to have the problem fixed and I didn't want my parents finding out so I went into Carlisle's office and began reading up on abortions with the intent of doing it myself. I didn't know anywhere else to go so I had her meet me in the forest where I told her I'd give her the money."

"Which you had no intent to."

He shook his head.

"I had a syringe of sedatives that I was going to use on her to knock her out so I could do the procedure and I was about to put her to sleep when Tyler came out of no where. I freaked and dropped the syringe and knocked her out of the way only to land on top of her as she hit the ground."

Tears of guilt were pouring from his eyes and his breathing began to pick up. He groaned in agony before he side-stepped me and ran through the sliding doors that led outside. Before I could even blink he was gone.

I was trapped in the memories of what Matt had just told me.

He confessed to us everything, only I was pretty sure we were the only ones that knew.

After twenty minutes of silence Charles and Tyler rejoined us. Charles took his seat beside Anne and Tyler beside Jamie.

Then it hit me. The girl, the unknown girl, that was pregnant with Matthew's child still had no name. I didn't know who she was.

Suddenly I heard something Matt had told me ring in my ears.

"Before I begin, Renesmee, I want you to know that I never meant to hurt you or betray you."

The fact that he felt as if he betrayed meant something towards who the girl was. Only I couldn't place a finger on it.

Who was this girl?

AUTHORS NOTE: Who do you think the mystery girl is?