Disclaimer: Still not mine.
Chapter 7:
Recap: "Okay, great, see you out there in ten minutes," Emmett called over his shoulder as he exited the room. "You're on Edward's team!"
I turned to Edward slowly, my eyes wide with terror. "Edward," I whispered frantically. " I can't! I don't play baseball-I don't play sports! I don't know how…"
"Bella!" Edward interrupted firmly. "That was when you were human. You may not be so clumsy now that you're a- like us," he finished delicately, as if he was afraid to upset me with the word.
"You mean a vampire?" I questioned, smirking slightly.
"Yes. A vampire," he agreed, his eyes twinkling.
"But, still, I don't know the rules or the terms or anything! I'm going to be horrible, and then you'll hate me because we'll lose and-" My stomach churned at the thought of Edward hating me.
"Bella, stop it," Edward commanded, grasping my shoulders and turning me toward him. "I won't hate you. Even if you're the worst baseball player I've ever met in all my years of baseball playing," he promised. His mouth was grinning but his eyes were serious. "And that's a lot of years."
"How old are you?" I inquired curiously.
"Seventeen," he replied darkly.
"Seriously," I insisted.
"I was born on June twentieth, nineteen oh one." He informed me.
"Oh," I breathed, surprised but not letting this inconsequential fact change my opinion of him. His large hands still held my shoulders, keeping me just a couple of feet from his face. He stared down at me sadly, as if he was in pain. I hated to see anything but a smile twist his perfect features. "What?"
"I'm sorry," he choked, blinking hard as if he thought he would cry.
"For what?" I was thoroughly confused, wanting to know what was making this wonderful person so upset.
"For…what I did to you," he whispered, his agonized eyes piercing my own.
"What did you do to me?" I asked, my forehead wrinkled in worry.
"I forced you into this life, Bella. I didn't give you a choice," His strangled whisper was full of bitter regret.
"You saved my life, Edward, and you're apologizing for it?" I asked skeptically.
"This is hardly a life, Bella," he muttered darkly. I was surprised by his sudden change of moods. One second, he was convincing me to play vampire baseball and the next he was apologizing for not letting me die.
"I'm still here, aren't I?" I challenged. I wanted to bring him out of this dark mood he was suddenly in.
"Yes, you're here. But you're not living. We're just…existing," he growled.
"I'd rather just exist than be dead," I decided.
"But I didn't know that when I changed you. I didn't give you any say in this eternal half-life. I should have let you choose," he glared stubbornly.
"If you had, I would have chosen not to die!" I shouted with a finality that made him shut up. "Now, let's go win a baseball game," I demanded, willing to play baseball if it meant cheering him up. "Shall we?" I marched out the door and turned down the hallway. I couldn't hear him behind me. "Coming?" I shouted, feigning irritation.
"Yes," a velvet voice answered softly, just inches away from my ear. I started, my eyes widening. I turned to Edward, angry and ready to yell my head off. But the second my eyes met his, I forgot why I was angry. They glistened with restrained mischief, a dangerous side I hadn't seen so far. There was still sadness deep in the golden spheres, but at least it was now buried by other emotions.
"Well let's go, then," I said softly, tearing my eyes from his and continuing down the long hallway.
"Wrong way!" I heard Edward warn me laughingly. I growled in frustration, coming to a halt but not turning around.
"I'll never get used to it!" I vowed quietly.
"Yes, you will. In time," Edward soothed, taking my hand softly and leading me in the right direction. I had only spent a bit more than one day of consciousness with him, but we already fit together, arguments and all.
We exited the house in silence until something dawned on me. I was surprised I hadn't thought of it before. "Hey," I started. "Where is Rosalie and Emmett's room? I didn't see another set of stairs after yours, and I don't remember seeing it downstairs."
"It's in the basement," he told me hesitantly. He knew that more questions were coming, and I knew he didn't want to answer them.
"How come they wanted the basement?" I probed.
"They didn't," he answered shortly.
"Then why is their room down there?"
"Because the rest of us wanted them downstairs," he informed me grudgingly.
"How come?" I knew I sounded extremely annoying, but I was curious, and he wasn't giving me very full answers. Edward turned on me, frustrated.
"They make a lot of noise," he began. "At night." He stared down at me expectantly, hoping I would take the hint. It took me a second, but I understood.
"Oh," I muttered, embarrassed as the blush rose to my face.
"Can we go now?" he demanded, tugging on my hand. His expression was irritated on the surface, but his eyes were undoubtedly amused. I nodded, and he took off running, pulling me along behind him.
I didn't realize how fast we were going until we reached the trees. They flew by us so quickly that all I saw was a solid wall of green and brown. "Edward!" I called nervously, not slowing down. "How fast are we going?"
Edward turned around slowly to give me a crooked smile that made my breath catch. "Fast," he stated simply, speeding up just a bit. "Race you," he dared, pulling on my hand still.
"Fine, but I-"I began to protest, knowing this competition wouldn't be fair in the least.
"Go!" he shouted excitedly, speeding up rapidly. I pushed harder, willing my legs to carry me through the forest faster than his were carrying him. The surprise that I hadn't tripped or run into anything yet forced me faster, passing him with ease. My hand slipped from his as the distance between us grew. I kept running for about five minutes before looking over my shoulder to check Edward's progress.
He wasn't there.
I slowed and halted, the sinking feeling of being alone overwhelming me. "Edward?" I called warily. An evil chuckle sounded from just behind me. I spun around to face…no one. I could have sworn I heard something.
"Edward! That's so not funny!" I shouted at the trees. I stood in silence, listening for any sign that he was near.
"Boo," whispered a velvet voice. I could feel his breath on my face, smell him. He was so close. I turned to face him, angry.
"You're horrible!" I accused loudly.
"It was funny and you know it," Edward insisted quietly, still extremely close to me.
"To you, maybe, but not to me," I retorted, glaring at him. "I didn't know what to do!"
He softened at my helpless expression. I really would have been thoroughly lost if he wasn't with me. "I'm sorry," he murmured, claiming my hand and leading me just a few feet ahead of us.
The trees vanished after just a few steps to reveal a wide-open space. Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper stood close together on one side of the field, and Alice stood impatiently on the opposite side, staring expectantly at the sky. As Edward and I entered the field, her eyes snapped to us, then to our entwined hands. I didn't bother to wriggle out of his grasp this time. She had already seen it, and there was no point in denying that I felt comfortable this way.
"Okay," she started, her tone business-like as she strode over to us. "Here's the plan."
XOXOXOXOXOXO
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