Chapter 3: Scars

Quick throwback to the previous chapter 'Grandpa'. The last thought was Renesmee running to ask Bella about her scar. singergurlxoxo wanted to see the outcome of that conversation, so, here it is!

“And if you should forget me for a while, and afterwards remember, do not grieve. Better by far you should forget and smile, than remember and be sad.”

Momma closed the poetry book gently and smiled at me. “There. All done. Now, I think it's time for you to get some sleep.”

I pouted, and she laughed softly. “Come on darling. We have to be up early tomorrow to go to the airport, and it's already past your bedtime.”

I smiled with her as I remembered the trip we were taking to Grandma's island for the summer. Then I remembered something else; a question I had been meaning to ask her since yesterday.

“Momma, what happened to your scar?”

She looked at me, her eyes wide with surprise. “What do you mean?”

I touched her arm, showing her my talk with Gramps, and the photo he showed me. Then I took her left hand and held it up, tracing a line on her skin where the curved mark should have been.

“Ah,” she sighed, understanding. “I don't know exactly what happened to it. It just disappeared after I was changed. Maybe it's still there, just too faint to see, or maybe the venom healed it completely. I guess we'll never know. Either way, it's gone now, and you don't have to worry about it.”

“Where did it come from?” I asked.

Momma huffed; she obviously wanted to close the subject, but I wasn't near done yet. “Didn't Gramps tell you this?”

“He said a vampire bit you, and Daddy sucked the venom out. That's all. I want to know who the vampire was. Why did they bite you? How did they get close enough? Oh please Momma, tell me the story!”

She sighed again. “If I tell you, will you go to sleep afterwards?”

I nodded.

“Promise?”

She held out her little finger, and I linked mine with it. “Pinky promise. Now tell me!” I bounced excitedly and she laughed.

“Ok, ok. Calm down. Now, where do I start?” She tapped her chin thoughtfully.

“The beginning, silly. Where else would you start?” I giggled.

She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. “Of course. The beginning. Well, it was just after your father and I first got together...”
As I sat enthralled by her words, Momma told me the story of how she had gone to watch the family play baseball and had thereby come to the attention of an evil vampire named James, and his coven mates Laurent and Victoria. She told me how she had run away to her old home in Phoenix with Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper, while Daddy, Gramps and Uncle Em had gone after James, and Gran and Aunt Rosie had stayed in Forks to protect Grandpa from Victoria. She told me how James managed to find her, and tricked her into thinking he had Grandma Renee so she would come to him, and she told me about Emmet and Jasper killing him, and Daddy and Gramps saving her life.

“And that's how I got my scar.” she finished.

I sat silent for a moment, taking it all in. Then I frowned.

“But what about the others? Laurent and Victoria, what happened to them?”

Momma sighed sadly. “Well, as I said, Laurent went to live with Tanya in Alaska for a little while. But he had trouble living our lifestyle, so, I assume, he left them. He was still friendly with Victoria, and she asked him to come here and see if the Cullens were still protecting me. You see, Victoria and James were mates, and she wanted to avenge his death. But, rather than kill Daddy, she thought it would be more fair to kill me, and make him feel what she felt.”

I gasped, and she nodded.

“I know darling. Anyway, Laurent came to Forks, and found the big house empty.”

I frowned. “Empty? Why was it empty? Where was everybody?”

“They left.” she said simply.

“Why?”

Momma cringed. “Daddy thought I would be safer if I weren't around vampires. The whole family left Forks for about seven months, and it was during that time that Laurent came back. There was no one there to protect me, and I happened to meet up with him in the forest. I went looking for a place Daddy took me too once. I found it, and Laurent found me. He was going to kill me, not for Victoria, but simply because he was thirsty.”

My eyes were wide. “But if Daddy wasn't there, who saved you?”

She smiled. “The pack. It was around that time that Jacob and Embry first became wolves, and they, along with Sam, Jared and Paul, chased Laurent away and caught him, and made sure he could never hurt anyone again.”

“Yey Jakey!” I cheered, and Momma laughed. I pursed my lips then, remembering the reason Laurent was in Forks. “What about Victoria? Did she really come looking for you?”

Momma nodded. “She began to build an army of newborns, very young, very strong vampires, in Seattle. She was sloppy though, and there was no control among them. Stories of killings and disappearances were all over the news, and that warned us that they were coming, even though she was deliberately not making decisions so that Alice couldn't see her. Our family joined forces with the pack to fight them, but I convinced your father to stay with me instead of fighting. I made a trail to the baseball field, so that the newborns would come to where we wanted them, then Jacob carried me to our camp-site so the wouldn't smell me and find us, and Daddy went another way to meet us there. Unfortunately, Victoria, coming to watch the fight, crossed his trail. She knew we would be together, and she came to find us, bringing her second in command Riley with her.”

“What happened?” I asked, fascinated.

She smiled. “Daddy and Seth fought them, and won. The rest of the family and the other wolves won the fight against the newborns as well, and we never had to worry about them ever again.”

“They're dead then?”

“Yes baby, they're all dead.”

I considered this for a moment. “Good. People like that shouldn't be aloud to live and keep killing people. It's not right.”

Momma smiled at me. “I know darling. But the fact is, that is the way most of our kind live. I wish it were different, and I wish we could change their minds, but it just isn't possible.”

I sighed. “I guess you're right. Thank you for telling me your story.”

“You're welcome darling. Now, time for you to go to sleep.”

I snuggled down under the covers, and she kissed me goodnight. I fell asleep to dreams of Daddy fighting evil vampires, and Jacob chasing them through the woods in his wolf form.

I slept very well that night.