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Her face showed a mix of awe, bewilderment, and perplexity at the game. She seemed extremely intimidated. "Go team!" she said enthusiastically. A chuckle came through my lips as I fluffed her hair up in a frenzy and bounded after Alice and Emmett.
Another crash of lightning sent a rumble of thunder through the earth at our feet. All the amazing feelings shooting through my body were making me exceedingly intoxicated with bliss. In this moment I felt like I had everything I could ever want. I flew past Alice and Emmett.
Show off, Emmett thought.
I just chuckled at his expression as I turned to run backwards, stopping in the outfield next to Carlisle. I peered over Emmett's shoulder to see Esme and Bella walking toward the field.
"Same teams?" Carlisle asked.
Everyone nodded in agreement. My team members, Carlisle and Alice, left to go to their positions. Carlisle went to stand between first and second base while Alice went to the pitcher's mound. I darted toward the outfield.
Edward, you are such a gentleman, Esme commended.
I hadn't been paying attention to their conversation and listened to the end of it as they finally reached the outside of the playing field.
"You don't mind, then? That I'm...all wrong for him?" Bella asked Esme incredulously.
She's not all wrong for me, I'm all wrong for her. I amended internally.
"No." Esme began. I'd never want to take Bella away from Edward, I just couldn't imagine... "You're what he wants. It will work out, somehow." He needs to change her but I know if he never will, Esme was thinking wistfully.
The ground shook below us as thunder rumbled overhead.
Get ready, Edward! Emmett chortled internally. He was swinging the bat back and forth.
He'll miss the first one, Alice snickered.
"All right," Esme called out. "Batter up."
Emmett raised his bat, ready to strike. Alice continued to snicker internally as she pictured Emmett missing the first pitch. She brought the ball to her waist. In a swift stealthy move she brought the ball into flight. It flew past Emmett at amazing speeds as Jasper caught it.
He's going to hit the next one, Edward. Be prepared, though, there is a ninety-seven percent chance you'll catch it. Alice mused in her mind.
Jasper threw the ball back at Alice and she showed her gleaming teeth at him.
Damn she is so attractive when she pitches, Jasper thought.
I began ignoring Jasper's thoughts quickly after that. I didn't need to be distracted from the game. Alice brought the ball back to her waist. She threw it with great force again and I was prepared. Emmett hit the ball with such strength that the aluminum smashed into the ball making a sound so fierce that it reverberated off the trees. It sounded just like the thunder. I caught a glimpse of Bella before I took off running. Her face looked stunned.
The ball suddenly flew toward me at a ferocious velocity. It went whizzing by me at lethal speeds and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to catch it. Bella had distracted me with yet another one of her expressions. I hurtled through the woods, jumping over downed trees, hopping over rocks until I caught up with the ball. I put all my strength into my leap as I jumped and caught the ball while grabbing onto a branch and swinging down to the ground.
With immense speed I ran back to the clearing, ball raised high and a smile prominent on my face.
"Out!" Esme yelled to Emmett's disappointment.
Don't worry, I'll get you back... he threatened.
Bella had a bewildered expression. I heard Esme explaining what happened. "Emmett hits the hardest, but Edward runs the fastest."
Jasper was next to bat. He already knew that throwing one towards me would be a mistake and was going for a ground ball. He hit the ball and it bounced off the ground. Carlisle caught it and started running to beat Jasper to first base. They collided and sent another thunderous noise through the night's air.
Bella was sitting on the grass and jumped up with a look of concern on her face. I laughed harder than ever at her expression.
"Safe." Esme called out.
We continued to play until the other team had three outs. We switched positions and I was at Bella's side in a quick motion that she almost didn't see.
"What do you think?" I asked in excitement.
"One thing's for sure, I'll never be able to sit through dull old Major League Baseball again," she smiled widely.
"And it sounds like you did so much of that before," I laughed.
The thrill of the game and the desire I felt when I was around Bella had me feeling high.
"I am a little disappointed," she said teasingly.
"Why?" I asked, perplexed.
"Well," she grinned, "it would be nice if I could find just one thing you didn't do better than everyone else on the planet."
She thought I was better than everyone else on the planet. I was soaring. I didn't think anything could remove the smile that seemed to be permanently plastered on my face.
I'm going to have to have a talk with her about filling your head with non-sense, Emmett guffawed stupidly.
You're oozing love over here. You're up lover boy, Jasper joked.
"I'm up!" I told Bella while heading to the plate.
We continued to play for several innings when several things happened simultaneously. I had bent down to get into the catching position, Carlisle had walked up to bat and Alice gasped in horror while she shrieked in alarm in her mind. I brought my eyes to hers as I saw what she was seeing. Terror rose inside me as a large dead weight fell through my chest and into my stomach.
Three vampires were running in our direction, curious about playing ball. The next series of visions had me scrambling to Bella's side in terror.
Edward, no! Alice thought while her vision continued as one tall vampire caught Bella's scent on the wind and attacked. In her vision Bella didn't die because we prevented him from sucking her dry but she had been bitten. Only a part of a second had passed and I was at Bella's side.
Get her out of here now! Alice bellowed from her mind. My brain was in limbo because I saw the other outcomes too.
Everyone was saying Alice's name alarmingly in their heads but Esme was the first to break the silence. "Alice?" she asked, her voice strained.
"I didn't see ?C I couldn't tell," she mouthed almost soundlessly.
I felt Bella tense up as everyone flew rapidly to her side in protection. Bella knew - she had to know. She was always so observant. Everyones thoughts were jumbled in confusion and alarm. Panic burst inside me like poisonous gas.
"What is it, Alice?" Carlisle asked in a business like tone.
It's too late, Edward. I'm sorry. "They were traveling much quicker than I thought. I can see I had the perspective wrong before," Alice's eyes were blank yet horror struck.
They'll have to go through me before they get to Alice, Jasper thought protectively. He moved closer to her. "What changed?"
She looked up at him in absolute horror. I could see how split second decisions were altering her visions. None of them looked promising. "They heard us playing, and it changed their path," she explained with pure agony in her voice.
It's my fault, she thought feebly.
We all looked at Bella and saw that her face was shocked. Her heart drummed madly as she comprehended our words. I saw through seven pairs of eyes Bella's expressions from every angle. Each of their thoughts were ricocheting in my head. Was this the punishment I would suffer for being selfish? Losing her? I cried internally. My heart was screaming in protest.
"How soon?" Carlisle asked me.
Alice was in a stunned stupor. I read through each line of her thoughts as they flitted across her mind. "Less than five minutes. They're running ?C they want to play." I frowned at him.
Take Bella and run! "Can you make it?" Carlisle asked me nervously.
I brought her scent into my lungs. It was just another reminder of how weak and fragile she was.
"No, not carrying ?C" I cut short. "Besides, the last thing we need is for them to catch the scent and start hunting."
It was one of the many visions that had gone through Alice's mind: Bella being hunted. Each decision we made turned the outcome into something different. Some were more devastating than others. As soon as I decided it I saw the reaction of the vampires. They would hunt ?C we would lose. I couldn't run with her.
This isn't good, Carlisle thought.
All right, a fight! Emmett exclaimed in his head, completely unperturbed. I glowered at him. He shrugged, I'm sorry. I don't want them to hurt Bella any more than you do.
"How many?" Emmett asked Alice.
"Three," she clipped in a muffled wail.
"Three!" That will be too easy. "Let them come." Emmett scoffed and began flexing his muscles.
Everyone's thoughts were in such a frantic state of mind I couldn't listen anymore. They were coming at me from all angles. Bella's name was coming up in every single thought. I began dissolving in misery. It was entirely fault.
"Let's just continue the game," Carlisle finally decided. "Alice said they were simply curious."
This is ludicrous! I can't believe this crap...all for a human girl. Rosalie muttered reproachfully.
Now that the decision is made what is the outcome? Carlisle asked me.
I shrugged because there were too many situations where decisions have yet to be made. I knew my face was screwed up in concentration and I knew that worry lines were etched into every crease of my face. I could see myself perfectly in Carlisle's mind as he stared at me.
Everyone began walking out onto the field to continue the game. Their minds were somewhere else though.
Forest is clear here, Emmett thought.
I nodded in his direction. Esme grabbed my arms and pulled me just a few feet away from Bella. The short distance felt like miles. I was so horrified that I had brought her to danger. Anguish was ripping through my body. A knot formed in the pit of my stomach.
"Are they thirsty?" Esme whispered.
I shook my head.
That's good to hear. Esme was relieved.
I headed back to Bella quickly. "You catch, Esme. I'll call it now."
I stood in front of Bella protectively. I would die to save her if I had to. She didn't deserve any fate but life. My insides were plummeting sickeningly with each aching second before the crimson eyed creatures were to come into view.
I won't let anything happen to her, I swear. Alice tried to assure me.
She had refused to go back onto the field, staying at Bella's side in a protective stance. I knew that in this moment Alice showed her loyalty to me. The space between her and Jasper made him relatively nervous and he, too, was staying closer to Alice because of the situation. Emmett and Rosalie were staying in the infield. Chaos was filling everyone's minds around me.
The wind blew across Bella's neck sending her sultry scent down my lungs. "Take your hair down," I commanded.
Her face looked positively terrified as she obediently slid her rubber band out of her hair and shook it out. She could tell that eminent danger was around the corner. The smell assaulted my lungs again.
"The others are coming now," she stated.
I knew she could understand. Her knowing mind always amazed me. For a fleeting second I thought about what it would do to me if she were no longer around. Pain ripped through my chest leaving large angry scratches.
"Yes, stay very still, keep quiet, and don't move from my side, please," I pleaded.
The billowing wind blew her scent towards me again. Each time it was a reminder of how easily this could go wrong. The knot in my stomach tightened. I pulled her hair forward and tried to wrap it as closely to her neck as possible.
Edward...Edward. Edward! Alice was shouting my name from her head but I was too preoccupied to notice. "That won't help," she whispered, "I could smell her from across the field."
"I know," I said, frustrated.
Bella was like a gazelle in a sea of lions.
I didn't want to scare her but you wouldn't respond. Alice sighed in her thoughts.
The rest of my family began playing baseball again. This time they were lightly bunting the ball and barely running at top speeds. We weren't interested in the game anymore. The waves of terror continued emitting from everyone's mind. I felt Bella's heat against me. She had moved within inches of my body. "What did Esme ask you?" she whispered.
I wasn't going to tell her but I realized that I had too. I hesitated for only a second. "Whether they were thirsty," I was thoroughly discomposed.
This is the dumbest idea ever. I don't know what the hell Edward is thinking keeping her human. Grr. So frail and...mortal. Rosalie wailed in a real temper.
I ignored her because I was too busy looking for the minds of strangers in the forest.
I wonder how many there are. An unknown 'voice' flitted through my head.
My eyes snapped up to the edge of the tree line. I couldn't believe I had put Bella in this kind of danger. I was constantly putting her in harm's way. "I'm sorry Bella," I cried, "It was stupid, irresponsible, to expose you like this. I'm so sorry."
I couldn't expect forgiveness because I didn't deserve it.
This should be interesting. I heard an unfamiliar female's mind.
I heard them in the distance and so did the rest of my family. There was a quivering silence cutting through the air as my family peered out at the darkening forest in the direction of the coming doom. They were just lurking out of sight. I was convinced for a whole shining second that they had changed their minds until three dark figures emerged from the forest.
