When they got home, she sat on the couch, looking up, watching them, waiting to see what would happen next.
Numerous bags were set in a corner of the room, but they remained carrying baseball equipment. Charles motioned for her to come with them now.
She got up and walked with them, smiling. "Baseball. Well, this will be fun."
They walked through the forest toward the enormous clearing.
Janet smiled up at Charles. "Was this the place you two went today?"
"It is," Charles said with a hint of amusement. "This is the place she thought might not be large enough to accommodate all of us."
Jesus laughed. "You could fit, like, thirty of us in here."
"Well, I didn't know that," Bella said defensively.
"You've been here before, haven't you?" Levi said.
"Yeah, I was fine until James and his coven came," she said, smiling at him.
Levi looked absolutely bewildered now.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, wondering if she said the wrong thing.
"Who the hell is James?"
She held out her hand to him, to look at the scar from the bite. "He's dead now. He was a nomad like Laurent, and his mate was Victoria. She's still alive. She's after me now, because the Cullens killed James."
". . .Laurent?"
"The wolves killed him. Victoria is the only one left."
"Is she hot?"
Bella looked at him, incredulous. "She had a mate, and. . .wait, what am I saying?"
"Yeah. She had a mate. So what?"
She rolled her eyes. "Maybe after she kills me, you can talk to her."
"Will do."
"Levi," Janet said to him, "we're not going to let her get killed by this Victoria."
Levi looked at her, as if he couldn't believe she thought he was serious.
"Were here," Bella said from in-between the two. "What are the teams?"
They looked to one another.
"How about Duncan, Janet, Levi, Elizabeth, Jessica, and me on one team, and Charles, Samuel, Donna, Nadine, Jack, and Jesus on the other?"
"You?" Jesus said, incredulous.
"What? I could try, unless it's too dangerous," she said.
"It would be very dangerous," Charles told her.
"Then it won't be even teams. And I think I could try. What could happen?"
"Do you want me to tell her?" Jesus asked Charles eagerly.
"Sure, if you think it won't scare her," he said, watching Bella carefully.
"And if it does?"
"Well, I don't think it will. If she hasn't been scared by any of our kind, then I think she can handle it," he said.
Bella's face was full of curiosity.
Jesus looked back to Bella. "Well, your skull could get crushed in if the ball hits you in the face. If the ball hits you anywhere else, who knows? It could break bones, ribs. . .all kinds of fun stuff!"
"Oh, fine, I'll watch," she said, walking to where she was last time. She sat down and waited for the game to start.
"I thought so. . ." Jesus said, walking out onto the field.
Janet walked to the pitcher's mound. "Everybody ready?"
"Who's up to bat first?" Duncan asked.
"I will," Donna said, stepping up.
Duncan gestured for her to go ahead, and joined the rest of the team on the sidelines.
Janet pitched the ball, and Donna hit it fast into the woods.
"Levi, catch it!" she yelled to him.
After three outs, they switched. Janet turned to Charles. "You ready to lose for once?"
Jesus went to the pitcher's mound.
"What are you talking about?" Charles said, smiling. "You're going to let me win, aren't you?"
"Charles, you've lost your mind already, haven't you? Wait, didn't that already happen?" she said, smiling.
Charles smiled sarcastically.
"Oh, come on, can't we just beat you without the side conversations?" Levi said to them.
"But it's true. Don't leaders lose their minds soon after their coven becomes over three?" Janet smirked.
"Where are you getting those statistics?" Charles asked.
"The proof is right in front of me," she said, the rest of the team smiling. Janet knew that it was a joke, and hoped Charles knew too, because if not, it could be bad.
Charles smiled and shook his head, waiting for the game to continue.
Jesus pitched to Donna, who made a single, but by the end of the second round, it was 6-6.
"How come we didn't find this sooner?" Nadine asked.
"The insane are sometimes gifted at hiding their insanity," Charles replied.
"What?" Bella asked, confused, before anyone else could say anything.
"I found your brain, Charles," Duncan said, holding up thin air.
"Where did you find it?" Charles asked
He clapped his hands at Janet. She threw the ball to him.
"Here it is, we've been using it for a ball. Here," he said, handing it to Charles.
Charles threw the ball at Duncan's head.
He ducked, and the ball flew right past Bella's head, an inch from her ear.
"I am so sorry, Bella," Charles said sincerely. "Wait. . .what am I apologizing for? Duncan, apologize to Bella."
She was laughing. "I'm fine," she said as she looked at Jesus. "Guess you were right, I will get my head smashed open. Victoria won't be able to do anything then."
"Can't scare her. James and the bite, Laurent, the wolves, now almost getting her head smashed open. I like her," Jesus said, laughing.
Levi joined in.
"What do you say, Charles?" Jesus asked him.
Charles glared at Duncan.
"What?" he asked.
"Apologize to her."
"I'm sorry, Bella." He put his head down.
"I'm fine, Charles. And what do you say?" she asked, repeating Jesus.
"What do I say about what?"
"'Can't scare her. James and the bite, Laurent, the wolves, now almost getting her head smashed open. I like her'," she said, quoting Jesus.
"I don't think he should be taking it so lightly. You were almost killed."
"I'm fine, that's happened to me more than once. I'm getting used to it. Maybe the first time wasn't a joke at that point, but it's just a memory now, it's fine."
"I'm not okay with it."
"What's wrong?" she said, walking over to him.
"Nothing," Charles assured her.
"He's right. It takes a lot nowadays to scare me," she said, smiling at him again.
He frowned a little, but didn't say anything.
She looked at her watch. "Mind if I go home and cook myself dinner?"
"I'll escort you," Charles said.
"Okay," she said, walking back toward the house. "What is there to put together, I wonder?"