Authors' Notes
Courtney: Hi everyone! We're just finishing up the next chapter before we'll upload that today as well.
Joy: Officially it's because we need to check it over, unofficially we'd like you to suffer with the clify this ends on.
Courtney: Pretty much ? Enjoy!
Ps. shout out to SassYNoleS for one of our favorite comments and for commenting on every chapter! Courtney and I love your reviews.
also thank you to JustAReader248 for pointing out our mistake. we will be fixing it soon!
disclaimer: Courtney and I know absolutely nothing about baseball.
Chapter 14
Batter's Up!
Emmett's POV
February 22nd , 2003
"I'm beggin' you, please don't take my man. Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene. Please don't take him just because you can."
"Can we please listen to something else?" Edward moaned. "Anything else."
He reached for the radio and I leaned down to slap his hand away. "Don't mess with Dolly Parton, idiot." I turned the radio up louder just to spite his moody ass. "Besides, if we put on your music we'd be listening to that sad crying crap."
It was Saturday morning, and as Alice had promised, there was a storm brewing. Eddie Boy and I were waiting outside the Swan house, and I was getting antsy to play some ball. Jasper had gone in—lucky bastard—to properly greet Charlie Swan and bring the sisters out, while I had to sit here listening to Eddie whine.
"Shut up," he grumbled.
"Oh, I'm sorry—have you not been whining about Bella the entire time?" I stood back up so I could see their front door over the roof of my car.
"Here they come." Edward—clearly ignoring me—turned to the closed front door, listening to whatever Jasper was thinking.
The moment Rose walked out the door, I swore my heart stopped. The light seemed to halo around her and nearly brought me to my knees as I watched her walk closer. There wasn't even a flicker of hesitation in her as she made and kept eye contact with me.
Everything about her was divine. From the way her hair fell in perfect curls over her shoulder to the way the sun kissed her gorgeous blue eyes—I was in love.
I jumped down, giddy to be closer to her, and flashed around to the other side of the jeep. As she walked towards me, I took the moment to check her out. She had on a fitted t-shirt and those jegging things girls were raving about nowadays, paired with a brown leather jacket and low-heeled boots to match. And damn did it look fine on her.
I pulled Eddie out of the front seat—ignoring his indignant squawk—and held the door open for Rose. "My Queen."
She hesitated for a moment, watching me as I watched her, and my mind flickered back to our conversation a few days ago.
"I'm not going to run. I'm not going to walk away," I said, thinking back to all the lady at the relationship hotline had said. "I'm not going anywhere—not unless you want me to."
It had been a few days since the disastrous end to our fantastic date and since then I'd hardly seen her. And it was driving me crazy. Bella told me it was because she'd come down with a cold, but I couldn't help feeling like she was avoiding me.
The other end of the phone was quiet before, with a raspy voice like diamonds, Rose said, "I won't let anyone hurt me again."
"Never," I swore, clinging tighter to my phone. "If there's even the chance I'll hurt you, I'll hand myself into Bella for a slow death."
The silence stretched again, long enough that I pulled back to check she hadn't hung up. It made me uncomfortable standing in the silence, waiting for her response, but as much as I wanted to say something, I knew I had to wait. It was what the lady at the relationship hotline had said when I called. Rose had been through a lot and the only way forward was if she trusted me.
"I'm not Vincent," I whispered, finally breaking under the silence, hearing the hitch in her breath. "I'm not Royce. Let me prove it."
Nothing. But then…
"Okay."
Now, watching her, I couldn't help but hold my breath. She'd said yes to giving me another chance but she could have changed her mind since. And as much as I wanted to get on my hands and knees and beg for her, if what she wanted wasn't me, then I had to respect that. I wasn't going to be like the last guys. Not a chance in hell.
Her eyes searched my face, and she must have seen something there because she smiled. It was a small smile—nothing like the challenging grins she used to give me—but my knees nearly buckled all the same.
I held out my hand and her smile grew a little as she slipped hers into mine. Taking a chance, I pulled it up to my lips, kissing the back of it gently. Her smile grew as she bit her bottom lip. I spun her around gently, my heart skipping at the musical sound of her laugh.
Fuck I've missed you.
As she climbed into the passenger seat, I finally noticed what her shirt said. I laughed at the compass pointing at me with "I'm with stupid" underneath it. As she moved, the compass stayed trained on me, even as she sat down, and I laughed again, delighted.
Holding the frame above her, I leaned in so we were close. "Love the shirt."
A tiny smirk graced her lips as her eyes flickered over my biceps (the plan worked!). "Thought you would."
Her tongue darted over her lips and my gaze dipped to her mouth. She tilted her chin up, mischief in her eyes and I leaned closer, enthralled.
"When you two are done being horny—" Eddie grumbled behind me, "—can we get going?"
"Sure," I replied easily, leaning closer. "But I'm not done yet."
Delight sprung in her eyes as he scoffed. She leaned closer until our noses brushed. I ached to cross the final distance, but she pulled back with a whisper. "Bella gets stabby when she's impatient."
"I'm immortal." I shrugged, grinning, but I pulled back, pressing a final kiss to the back of her hand.
Alice and Jasper were already in the back seat, whispering and giggling to each other. I rolled my eyes—and Eddie calls me horny.
"You are," he growled. "At least wait until I'm not around to hear you!"
"You'd better start running then." I grinned. "There aren't enough seats for you, and I doubt Bella's gonna let you sit on her lap!"
He snarled at me as Bella shrugged, sliding into the backseat next to Alice. "I'm sure if we cut him into small enough pieces we can fit him in the back."
"Or Bella could always sit in Edward's lap." Rose's grin was wicked as she twisted to look at her sister in the back.
Eddie made a sound like his lungs were collapsing—too quiet for the girls to hear—as he said, "I'm happy to run."
Absolutely not. I grinned as he looked at me, nose flaring. You are going to suffer.
"Best not," Jasper said with a shit-eating grin, finally looking out from Alice's eyes. "You're our star player—can't have you exhausted before we even start."
"Can we go back to the dismembering option?"
Alice leaned back into Jasper, a wicked, menacing grin on her face. "Are you saying you don't want to because you think Bella's fat?"
The strangled noise Eddie made was louder this time and I didn't need Jasper's ability to feel his panic. I thought about putting him out of his misery, as he choked out, "I wouldn't want Bella to be uncomfortable."
Bella just shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first lap I've sat on. Be glad it's not your face."
Eddie Boy looked about to pass out as I howled with laughter. Jasper buried his face in Alice's hair, while Bella just looked pleased with herself. She hopped out of the car, making sure to brush past Eddie as close as she could, before gesturing at the car. "You first."
The pure pain on his face as he slid in was what had Rose and Alice giggling. He somehow managed to scowl at all of us before Bella hopped onto his lap and he gripped the overhead handle tightly. I turned around when I heard it splinter beneath his grip as Bella 'got comfortable'.
I snorted, watching her wriggle around in his lap before leaning back with a sigh. "All good now."
I couldn't help but add, "Don't forget your seatbelt."
Bella grinned. "Right. Don't want to get in a crash." She pulled the belt around, pressing her closer to Eddie as she looked back at him. "You comfortable?"
"Fine," he muttered between clenched teeth. "Just drive."
"It's been a while since you've sat on a man's lap, Bella." Alice grinned directly at Eddie as I pulled out of the driveway. It was like she'd picked up on everything he was most uncomfortable about and was running them all home.
"As opposed to a woman's lap?" I joked, laughing loudly.
"Yes, actually." Bella grinned wickedly. "I had a great booty call back in Phoenix; she had an amazing ass."
"You're gay?!" Eddie's voice cracked as he panicked.
I was pretty surprised too, but the sisters just rolled their eyes.
"I'm not gay—I'm bi. I get the best of both worlds," Bella smirked.
Jasper eyed Alice curiously and she grinned, shaking her head. "I don't care what's between a person's legs. I'm after what's in their hearts."
I glanced at Rose, debating if it was safe to ask. She rolled her eyes good-naturedly when she caught my gaze. "Don't look at me—I'm strictly dickly," she snarked. "If you don't have a cock, don't bother to knock."
Bella and Alice burst into laughter and Rose pressed her lips together like she was fighting not to join them. I snickered along with them while Jasper stared down at his girl in reverence and Eddie looked relieved.
"So now you know. Alice and Bella are about as straight as a double rainbow," my goddess smirked, making her sisters laugh even harder.
Though, judging from Eddie's expression, something else was getting harder as well. He shot me a death glare in the mirror as I smirked and purposefully hit a pothole.
"Having fun?" Rose asked her sisters who grinned back.
Alice was leaning into Jasper so much she was practically in his lap. She could have easily sat in his lap for the drive while Eddie and Bella took their own seats, but where'd be the fun in that?
Bella leaned back into Eddie a little more, delighted in how he seemed to tense even more. "Someone is."
We all laughed at the poor bastard's expense, and at the scowl he sent me, I thought, You're the one in love with her. If you didn't want to be tortured you shouldn't have picked someone so wicked.
It wasn't long before we were at the outskirts of town. It wasn't a long trip, but when I had to drive at human speeds, it felt like forever.
"Is Dolly Parton all you listen to?" Bella asked suddenly, leaning forward. Her smirk widened at Eddie's strangled moan.
"Yes," Jasper muttered, making Alice giggle.
"What else would I listen to?" I looked back with a grin.
Bella rolled her eyes when I turned the radio up, but Rose's smile grew, and that was all that mattered.
Eventually we reached the end of the road and I flicked the gears to off-roading as we left the bitumen behind. I winked at Rose before glancing at the lovebirds in the back. "Hold on. It's about to get bumpy."
"Isn't it already?" Alice sent another grin at Eddie who returned it with a scowl that turned into another groan when we hit a bump and Bella bounced in his lap.
I snorted as his eyes squeezed shut. Except, as I looked back to tease him, I noticed his hands were now resting on Bella's hips—no longer in a death grip on the handle above him. And she wasn't doing a thing to stop him. I wiggled my brows at her with a grin and she just rolled her eyes.
Eventually I pulled to a stop and we all piled out. I turned to Rose, grinning already. I'd been looking forward to it since the moment Jasper had said the sisters were coming today.
"We're walking from here," I said, eyeing her boots and already knowing how she was going to respond—I'd planned for all of it. "This is the closest we can get to the clearing by car."
Her face screwed up in cute disgust. "I don't think so."
I held out my hand like I hadn't been looking forward to this part the most. "Well, we could always run."
She raised an eyebrow at me that had me faltering for a second. She glanced at her sisters who grinned at us before she turned back to me, a challenge glinting in her eyes. "Are Carlisle and Esme already there?"
"Yes…"
Her sisters snickered as Rose smirked. "We'll meet you there then."
With that, they stepped into the forest…and disappeared.
"What?" I scanned the trees, but even with my enhanced vision, I couldn't see them. It was like they'd just blinked out of existence. "What was that?"
"Magic," Eddie snarked, clearly still pissy about the car trip.
I rolled my eyes and shoved him into the nearest tree as we took off towards the clearing. If the girls wanted to walk through the forest at their weird magicky pace then I wasn't going to stop them—I didn't have a death wish.
When we got there, Carlisle and Esme were setting up the bases and flirting in that weird way parents do.
"Ew! Get a room, you two!" I called out, snickering
"Maybe then you might actually win," Esme shot back with a grin. She turned to Carlisle with a mock frown. "What's the tally now, darling?"
Carlisle pretended to think for a moment. "72 to 5, love."
Esme hummed. "Maybe we should let them win this one."
"Don't even think about it!" I pointed at them as we crossed the clearing. "We're going to win!"
"Without cheating?"
I poked my tongue at my mother as Jasper chuckled. "That's the only way to have fun."
"Where are the sisters?" Carlisle asked, watching us with a fond smile.
I glanced around the clearing and shrugged. "They didn't want to run."
"Now why would I do that?" Rose's voice echoed through the clearing. "That would just mess up my hair."
I spun around, but I couldn't see any sign of her, and yet her voice was everywhere. Then, the ground softened a few metres away, and the Swan sisters reverse-melted out of the ground, not a speck of dirt on them. My jaw dropped.
"Reverse melted?" Eddie muttered, his eyes as glued to the sisters as mine were while they smirked at us.
"Shut up!"
"I'm glad you girls are here," Esme said, smiling softly. She wasn't showing even a hint of the hesitancy and worry I knew she had to have been feeling. Last night she had decided to 'foster a dialogue' with Bella somehow today—whatever the hell that meant. "I was hoping you could be the referees? The boys like to cheat."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jasper said, like he hadn't just admitted to it.
Alice grinned. "What? You think you can just bench us that easily?" She tilted her head to the side in mock thought. "Unless you don't want to lose."
"To beat us you have to match us." Jasper grinned back, always ready to provoke his girl. "You really think you can get on our level, darlin'?"
There was a violet glint in her eyes as she walked up to him slowly and I started writing his eulogy. She gripped his chin between her finger and thumb and brought him down for a searing kiss that would have made nuns blush.
She pulled back after a hot minute with a satisfied look on her face. She made a show of fixing up her lip gloss while Jasper looked seconds away from falling over.
"That's cheating!" Eddie cried, staring at Alice with an annoyed look. "You can't distract him like that!"
And highly disrespectful, I narrowed my eyes at her as she pulled the dazed man in for another—softer—kiss. You kiss a man like that and he's not gonna be able to focus for the rest of the game!
"Shush you," Bella cut in, levelling Eddie an amused look. "Let her have her fun."
It was a perfectly tame response from Bella and I was surprised; maybe Eddie Boy wasn't the only one with an emotional boner here.
I expected him to continue arguing—Eddie only liked cheating when we did it—but he just pouted.
You are whipped! I thought at him and he just scowled at me. But can you play with that raging boner you still have?
His eyes whipped down to look and I smirked when he found all was okay with his little world. Made you look.
Oh, if looks could kill…
"So can we play?" Alice wound her arms around Jasper's neck, smiling innocently at him like she didn't already know her answer.
"Course," Jasper choked out and I rolled my eyes when he was rewarded with another kiss.
But then all my attention was on Rose as she walked closer to me. There was a glint in her eyes and a wickedness in her step that had me swallowing thickly.
On second thought…
She smirked like she could see what I was thinking. My world zeroed in on her until she was right in front of me—toe-to-toe, chest-to-chest. My breathing resumed with a hitch as she drew closer until her lips were inches from mine.
But then she darted to the side at the last second and pressed her lips to my cheek instead.
"If I kissed you," she murmured in my ear, sending a shiver down my spine, "you'd be out for a week."
"Promise?"
She pulled back with a wink. "So no complaints about us joining the game?"
"My only complaint, gorgeous, is when you're not with me." I settled my hands on her hips and her smile grew.
"How about you girls take my place?" Esme offered. "And Bella and I can referee." She turned to Bella. "Unless you want to play too?"
I tore my gaze away from Rose's enthralling eyes to see Bella offer Esme a tight smile. "No, thanks."
"What are the usual teams?" Alice asked, still eyeing Jasper with a small grin.
"Carlisle and I versus the boys," Esme replied with a smile. "They're like children—very easy to beat. But you're welcome to choose your own teams if you like."
The sisters shared a glance that spoke essays, before looking directly at Carlisle for the first time since they'd entered the clearing. "Your call on the teams, doc," Alice said, with slightly narrowed eyes.
"That settles it then," Carlisle said with a nod. "Alice, Rosalie and me, against Edward, Jasper and Emmett."
"We need to adjust the rules to include your magic," Eddie added to the sisters.
"Yeah, no cheating with your voodoo," I joked.
They looked at me, aghast and I wondered if I'd put my foot in it again.
"As if we practise any of that dodgy crap!" Alice looked highly offended. "Do you know how unstable that shit is?"
"Especially with those morons letting any human with half a brain into their actual shops!" Rose huffed. "You hear stories about them all the time! Selling cursed objects to humans, releasing demons into the world, communicating with shadow spirits! It's all well and fine for those properly trained! But their shops don't even have proper wards to keep the humans out!"
I put my hands up in surrender. "My bad."
Bella snickered from the sidelines as she and Esme sat down on the grass—closer than I'd thought Bella would allow. The rest of us headed onto the pitch.
"I hope you don't expect us to hold back." I grinned at the sisters, crossing my arms. "There's a reason we wait for the thunder to start."
Rose's smile was slow and stunning. "If you hold back, you'll lose."
"Just what I wanted to hear."
"So what magic are we allowing you to use?" Eddie cut in again to ask ridiculous questions. Why couldn't he just let me get lost in Rose's eyes?
"No magic necessary," Alice replied easily. "It's all already done."
Eddie narrowed his eyes. "That doesn't answer my question."
"If you're so afraid to lose, just forfeit now," Bella jeered from the sidelines, causing Eddie to sigh in defeat.
"Easy, no extra magic to cheat," Jasper cut in and Alice clasped a hand to her chest in half-hearted betrayal.
"Me—cheat? How dare you!"
He looped an arm around her waist and pulled her in with a sly grin. "You can't lie to me, darlin'. I know you have five different ways to cheat already planned out."
"Six," she corrected, biting his nose gently.
I caught Eddie's eye—Fuck those two are weird—and he just rolled his eyes. "Fine, but we still need to—"
I stopped listening as another conversation caught my interest. Bella and Esme were sitting on a dried and decayed log that someone had dragged over before we got here—and their whole vibe was awkward. Esme seemed to be trying to soften Bella up and get her to talk—maybe this was what she meant by 'fostering a dialogue'.
Not that I expected it to work. The only times I'd seen Bella truly happy was when she was with her sisters, or making someone's life hell.
Esme was asking Bella questions about herself—small talk; things to get Bella talking. But every question she asked Bella met with short answers.
I had my back to them so I couldn't see their faces, but I'd lived with Esme for almost a century—I knew what she sounded like when she was upset.
Finally, Esme asked a question that had Bella actually engaging: "I've noticed you girls seem quite powerful—how long have you been practising magic?"
Bella sighed like she'd rather hug Carlisle than answer Esme's questions, but she surprised us both by answering: "I've been studying the longest. Traditionally the oldest studies for ten years before the youngest are taught. I've been studying since I was three in our first life."
I chanced a look behind me to see Bella stretched out, using the log as a backrest while Esme sat atop it. Bella's head was turned away from all of us—staring into the forest like she could pretend none of us were there. I turned back before she could catch me eavesdropping.
"I broke tradition," Bella continued, "and started teaching my sisters when Alice was eight and Rosalie was five in our first life. For some reason, Mother didn't mind."
"Why not teach you all at once?" Esme asked, curious.
"For one, learning kid's magic is tricky enough," she explained like it was obvious. "The first spell is always the hardest. And certainly not something one child should be teaching another. The first ten years of instruction require close monitoring because it's all too easy to get carried away and magically drain yourself. But I was eager and Mother was happy to let me do it. And they picked it up quickly. Like any witch, they had areas where they excelled, but they picked up the basics fairly quickly.
"And they were a handful, of course." There was a fondness in her voice that she always had when she spoke about her sisters. "Once, when Rose was eight, she almost drained herself entirely by eternally preserving a stick of lavender." She snorted at the memory. "All because she wanted it to always smell beautiful."
Esme laughed lightly at that. "Did they ever get into trouble?"
"Oh yes. Plenty of times. I was alway pulling them out of scrapes. I remember once," she laughed, "once, Renee signed us up for ballet, and Rose decided that our dance number needed to be a lot more risque—nevermind that we were thirteen at the time. So she finds this shiny red leotard and cuts out the sides. She matched them with a tutu and black shoes and came to practise looking like a red risque-version of Black Swan. The teacher fainted."
"Goodness! What did you do?"
"I fixed Rose's hair piece; it was on wrong."
"Oh dear."
I couldn't help but turn back to Rose at that. It sounded so like her that I couldn't help but grin. By now, the others had finished deciding on all the rules and Rose was watching me with slightly narrowed eyes.
"Is something else more worthy of your attention?" she asked, an eyebrow raised slightly.
"More than you?" I gave her every ounce of my attention. "Never."
She turned away with a sniff. "Good. We're batting first."
I headed out onto the field while Jasper started at the pitcher's mound, and Eddie crouched behind the batting patch. Ever since we'd started playing a few decades ago, we'd always started like this. Us out in the field while Carlisle and Esme batted first.
Only difference this time was instead of Esme we were up against two witches. One of whom was distractingly and knee-weakeningly gorgeous. Though, as I glanced at Jasper, it didn't look like he was faring any better against Alice as she grabbed the bat first.
"Don't hold back," she smirked.
He grinned, practically the embodiment of the heart eye emoji. "Not in my nature."
He wound back and threw the ball, and definitely didn't hold back. It flew at her like a comet on drugs. It was in hitting range in half a blink, and I waited for it to fly past Alice before she even registered it, but instead she swung the bat. Harder and faster than possible for a mortal—even a witch—she swung and hit the ball with a resounding crack!
I was so shocked the ball flew right over my head before I could even react. It wasn't until Eddie snapped at me that I finally ran after it, but by the time I threw it back, Alice had already made it to third base.
Strong and fast—what the fuck?!
Bella and Rose laughed as Alice grinned at us. "Told you."
"How?" Jasper breathed—probably more in love with Alice than before.
"Magic," she said with a wink, blowing him a kiss.
"They copied you. With just a touch," Bella called out, clearly seeing our confusion. Her smirk was every bit as smug as her tone. "Now, everything you can do, they can do. Better, of course."
"Of course," I muttered, utterly dumbfounded.
The rest of my family were in equal phases of wide eyes and dropped jaws. Jasper looked like he was ready to propose then and there; Eddie was looking at Bella like he was wondering what she could do; Carlisle and Esme were looking like they were mentally preparing the adoption papers; and I hadn't taken my eyes off Rose since.
She caught my glance and gave me a sweet wink that had me weak at the knees. "I'm next. Try and keep up."
I was having trouble just picking my jaw off the ground—there was no way in hell I was going to be able to keep up. The best I could hope to still be alive by the end of this, because she was killing me already, and she hadn't even stepped up to the plate yet.
Except suddenly a jolt ran down my spine that had me snapping up straight. Her wicked smile told me it was from her. "Don't keep me waiting."
I adore you.
I gave her a little half-bow. "Wouldn't dream of it, gorgeous."
I settled in, ready for her to impress the hell out of me. And just like her sister, she whacked the hell out of that ball and took off running around the bases. Except this time, I was ready. I raced beneath the ball and launched myself up a tree to grab it. But as I did, one of the branches snapped, sending me crashing to the ground. The ball landed beside me with a soft thump, and I turned back to see both sisters had made it back to home base as my brothers watched me, disgruntled.
Bella whistled while Esme cheered. I sighed—winning this game definitely wasn't going to be as easy as we'd thought.
I threw the ball back at Jasper and moved back to my position. As I did, I caught Rose's eye and she smirked. I raised an eyebrow and she shrugged, her gaze flicking over to the cracked branch as if to say "shame you can't climb". I grinned back, low and dark. Oh, it's on, pumpkin.
Carlisle was up next and I relaxed a little. No tricks there. As I readied myself to run out the left field where I knew he always hit, I listened in again to Esme's attempts at getting Bella to talk. Though it did sound like she was getting better at it—Bella was even answering in full sentences!
Eddie raised an eyebrow at me, but I just raised one back. Don't grump at me about eavesdropping! We both know you are too.
He just rolled his eyes.
"What was your favourite activity growing up in your first life?" Esme asked easily.
"Mashing berries to make juice for the girls," Bella said softly—no snark in sight! "Berries were hard to come by then, so whenever I grew small patches of them in the garden I'd mash them up in a bowl and make juice for them. It was their favourite treat"
There was a level of caution in Esme's voice I didn't understand as she asked, "And what about your hobbies? Didn't you have any just for you?"
"Of course!" Bella scoffed like it was a ridiculous question. "I used to make paint with Alice out of flowers. Rose and I would spend hours collecting carving stones. We did a lot together!" There was a strange amount of pride in her voice as she said, "I always made sure to spend equal time with both of them."
What a strange answer. I caught Eddie's eye and he grimaced. Doesn't she do anything for herself? Like I know she loves her sisters, but that sounds a bit much!
"What was your favourite meal?" Esme continued.
"Lamb soup. The girls absolutely loved it," Bella said like that was anything like what Esme asked. "We grew our own spices carefully to be able to make it whenever we could get lamb. Even if it was just the scraps no one else wanted—they always loved it when I made it."
"But what about your favourite meal?"
I couldn't help it. I had to look over—even if they caught me staring, I had to see. Bella was looking back at Esme with a scrunched up nose and a bewildered and frustrated look. "Do vampires go deaf in their old age? I just told you it was lamb soup!"
Esme smiled easily, though the concern on her face was clear. She waved at us on the pitch and I turned back to avoid being caught. "I'm sorry, sweetie, I got distracted watching your sisters—they really are quite good."
Bella sniffed, but sounded pleased as she said, "Yes. Yes they are."
I caught Eddie's eye again and mouthed, What. The. Fuck!
Except he was now staring at Bella looking like someone had broken his heart. We weren't even playing the game anymore.
"How often would you get to have lamb soup?" Esme continued softly.
"A few times a year. Essentially whenever a lamb was born with a physical defect. The whole town was poor, so we couldn't exactly go killing healthy lambs. But I always made sure to make it for them whenever I could." She gave an almost happy sigh. "I still make it for them every year on their birthday."
Edward and I froze, and I could tell by Esme's short gasp that she'd heard it too. 'Their birthday'—didn't she mean hers too?
"Sweetie, do you mean their original birthdays?" Esme hedged.
"Hmm? No, I mean the one in this life. Dates were iffy back then—we'd usually just celebrate the general week back then." Bella shrugged like it wasn't that big of a deal. "Since we can actually keep track of the days in this life, I always make sure they have fun on their birthday.
That's fucked up. I thought at Edward. They share a fucking birthday, and she just refers to it as her sisters'! Her favourite hobbies are things they do. Her favourite meal is theirs. What the hell is Bella's in all that?
I looked over at Jasper to see his jaw was clenched too as he stared at Alice with a look I couldn't place. Carlisle was frozen on first base—I hadn't even heard him hit the ball—and was staring at Bella like someone had stolen all the air from his lungs.
"Our fifteenth birthday was the best," Alice called out suddenly, like she could hear the conversation too.
Then I realised if they'd copied our speed and strength, maybe they'd copied our senses too—maybe she really could hear.
And it doesn't even click for her. What. The. Fuck—I turned to Rose—surely she couldn't be that—
"No, last year was better," Rose argued, just as unfazed. "She made us that three-tier cake."
Alice groaned at the memory. "Oh gods, that cake was so good."
Bella laughed. "Then I'll make sure to make it again this year."
The rest of us stood listening to them laugh about the cakes and presents Bella had gotten them over the years, and it became clearer and clearer that they had no idea how fucked up it all was.
"And what did you get, Bella?" Esme asked carefully.
Bella thought about it for a moment. "I got some new material for Rose's dress," she said finally with a smile.
Edward sucked a breath in between his teeth, and he was staring at Rose and Alice like he couldn't believe them. The rest of us stared at the sisters in shocked silence, trying to wrap our heads around it. And they just continued chatting happily.
Finally, Edward said to Alice and Rose, with gritted teeth, "And what did you get Bella?"
Rose and Alice started at the tightness of his voice and Bella was instantly snapping at him, "Watch your tone."
"No," he growled.
Suddenly Bella was in front of Edward, her face contorted into a snarl and her eyes glowing. "I don't know who the hell you think you are taking that tone with my sisters, but you'd better shut the hell up and keep playing your game before I adjust your attitude for you."
A crackling silence settled on the field as we all waited with bated breath for one of them to back off first.
Edward looked away, jaw clenched and nose flared.
"That's what I thought," Bella said with a soft voice that belied her hard eyes. "Don't ever talk to my sisters like that."
Hey! Don't talk to my brother like that! I frowned at Bella's back. He's only trying to help you.
The whole thing was bullshit. I'd known that Bella put her sisters before herself a lot, but not this much. Not to the point where she didn't have any fucking hobbies of her own. Someone had to tell her! Tell all of them that that wasn't normal.
Because I was finally starting to see it. The sisters were devoted to each other, sure—because they had to be. After everything they'd been through, they could only rely on each other. But this was way more than that. This was unhealthy.
We were slowly getting them to trust us, but I could see now that we had a long way to go. Because we needed to do more than just get them to trust us. If we wanted to help them, we had to start from the beginning.
Because I'd do anything for Rose, but the only way to move towards healthier behaviour was if someone told you it was unhealthy first. Right?
"Why don't we keep playing?" Carlisle spoke up suddenly, cutting through the rising tension.
Edward and I shot him incredulous looks because there was no way he was okay with this, but he gave us both a look that said now wasn't the time. I clenched my jaw, ready to argue but Edward shook his head after a moment.
Later, his eyes said.
Fine. But this isn't over.
The look in his eyes and the clench of his jaw said it was far from over.
It was like walking on eggshells, but we started the game again. Alice and Rose glared at Edward as he settled back into position behind the batter, and he glared right back.
But the most surprising part was Bella sitting back down beside Esme. I figured the only reason she hadn't straight up walked out was because her sisters stayed, but I hadn't expected her to sit back beside Esme.
But I guess Mum is probably the only one out of us she doesn't immediately hate.
Alice was the first up on the batter's plate and her eyes were narrower as she waited for Jasper's throw. Glancing over at Rose, I sighed. She met my gaze before purposefully looking away.
Great. We're in the doghouse too. I met Edward's gaze as Jasper wound back. How are we supposed to help them if they get mad at just bringing it up?
He lost a bit of his anger as he sighed. Slowly, he mouthed.
I sighed. Good thing we're immortal.
Edward cast a glance at Bella who was glaring resolutely at the side of his head.
Oh yeah, we definitely need forever.
But as I turned back to the game, I heard Esme start talking again. I dared a glance and saw Esme watching the game. I could have heard Bella's jaw clench as she turned away from all of us.
"I'm sorry if my questions upset you earlier, Bella. I'm not trying to pry—"
"And yet you are," Bella replied coldly.
Esme was silent before she said, "I'm sorry. I'll stop now."
Maybe eternity's too short.
I snapped back to the game as Alice whacked the shit out the ball. In the opposite direction of me. I took off after it, darting around trees as it flew above me. Right when I was starting to think the damn thing had grown wings, it finally dropped to the ground. Scooping it up, I lobbed it back at where I could see Jasper waiting at third base. Carlisle tore onto home base as Alice slid onto third base, her foot touching the plate seconds before Jasper caught the ball.
She stood slowly, directly in his space and watching him with narrowed eyes. He returned her look, not moving out of her way. Then she snorted lightly and apparently all was forgiven. I rolled my eyes as he kissed her on the nose.
I settled back into my position, waiting for the lovebirds to finish, but was startled at Bella's sharp exhale. "Fine. What do you want to know? I can practically feel your questions."
"It's okay." I could hear the smile in Esme's voice.
"Just ask."
After a long moment, Esme finally said, "I'd like to know more about the young women my sons are so enamoured with."
"Then ask."
"Your mother in this life—"
"She's not my mother." Bella's voice held a cold rage that wasn't directed at anyone here.
"Renee, right? What was your relationship with her?"
"I despise her more than I do your husband. What do you think?"
What the hell did she do? What could possibly be worse than burning someone to death?
"Oh…" That was clearly not how Esme was expecting the conversation to go.
"Next question."
"Your sisters play really well. Have they always been so good at baseball?"
Good job, Mum. Her sisters always melt her.
But Bella's rigidity was practically tangible as she stiffly said, "Baseball wasn't invented until after we died."
That was clearly a sore spot.
Well this is going well, I thought, catching Eddie's eye.
He grimaced and gave me a look that said, Pay attention to the game idiot. We're already losing.
I flipped him a mental bird and purposefully listened back into the conversation.
"What about your second life?" Esme prodded gently. "They're too good to have started today."
Bella sighed heavily but answered anyway. "Phil—Renee's current boyfriend—is a minor league player. He taught them when we were young. He wanted to impress Renee, but they ended up loving it." Slowly her tone was thawing as she spoke about her sisters. "But we haven't had many chances to play since then."
I looked over at Rose and couldn't help but smile. She had a look in her eyes as she stepped up to the plate that said she was loving every minute of this. That of course could have been the fact that they were whipping our arses—but still, she was having fun.
Bella cleared her throat "I guess it's a good thing then that your family is so obsessed with keeping up appearances."
She was trying to be mean, but I didn't have to look over to know Esme was pleased.
"Well, they're very good. You must be proud," Esme added.
Bella didn't say anything for so long I thought the conversation was over, but then she spoke so softly I almost missed it: "Always."
I turned my attention fully back to the game as Jasper stepped onto the pitcher's mound and Rose settled onto the plate. Except her eyes were boring holes into mine. She raised an eyebrow when I grinned back. She narrowed her eyes, flicking them back to Bella before looking back at me. It was like she was asking me what could possibly be more important than her.
I dipped my head, my wicked grin spreading. Nothing could be more important than a goddess like you, I thought shamelessly, hoping she could read the message in my eyes.
It looked like she had as she sniffed. She didn't break eye contact with me as Jasper whipped the ball right at her. The ball hit the bat with a splintering crack as she lobbed the ball in the opposite direction with a hard look back at me.
Message received, gorgeous. You have my full attention.
~Scene~
We were up to the sixth inning and we were getting our asses whipped. As my brothers and I headed to the plate, we took the obligatory moment to get in some banter—aka flirting.
Eventually we swapped positions and I used the chance to get in the flirting I couldn't in play. Jasper and Alice were probably doing the same, while little Eddie was probably pouting in Bella's direction, but I only had eyes for my goddess.
"You know, Esme accused us of cheating, but your team seemed pretty lucky yourselves that round." I reached up to tuck a loose hair behind Rose's ear.
It had only taken a few pitches before we were all back to teasing after the initial tension, and now it was like nothing had happened. Even Bella was grinning on the log.
She raised an amused eyebrow, not bothering to hide her grin. "Luck?"
"Well what else would you call the grass suddenly growing and tripping Jasper right before he could catch you out?"
She shrugged, mischief dancing in her eyes. "Maybe the forest just doesn't want you to win." She looked out at the field with mock seriousness as she said, "You should probably try a bit harder this inning—you're down fourteen runs."
I tsked. "That's if you're going by Bella's count. If you go by the actual score, we're only one down."
"What?" Alice shrieked, rounding on her sister and Esme. "That's not true."
"Of course not," Bella said easily.
"Now who's cheating," Jasper drawled, smirking at his girl.
Esme gave Alice an apologetic shrug. "Sorry, dear. He's telling the truth."
Bella held up her hands at her sisters' glares, but Eddie spoke before she could. "You haven't been counting my runs."
I thought back, doing the mental maths, and he was right. I snorted at him, Oh yeah, she's definitely still pissed at you. You have a shit ton of grovelling to do.
Eddie didn't react, his eyes on Bella as she made a show of looking around. "Did anyone else hear that? Such noisy wind you have here!"
It was times like this I felt sorry for the guy. Crushing that hard on her while she spent most of her time spitting mad at him. But maybe he was used to it, because the muscle in his jaw just twitched as he turned away.
"It's 54-53 to Carlisle, Alice and Rosalie," Esme said with a slight smile. "Good luck."
I poked my tongue out at her before Rose caught my attention again by saying, "Well, you're still losing."
I turned back to her with an incredulous grin to see her with her nose slightly upturned and a glint in her eye.
I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back until she was flush against my chest. I leaned down to purr in her ear, "That sounds like a challenge, gorgeous. And you know I love a challenge."
She froze and I wondered if I'd gone too far, but then she relaxed back into me, tilting her head back. There wasn't any of that hesitance from earlier as she smirked at me, a delightful wicked glint in her eyes. "Are you sure about that? I may be too much for you to handle."
"Never." I lifted my free hand to trace her jaw. I pulled back when her eyes fluttered at my touch and headed to the pitch with a wink. "Good luck out there, princess. I aim long."
A delicious pink dusted her cheeks as she narrowed her eyes at me. "I'll have to see it to believe it.
"Oi! Ape for brains!" Jasper called out, twirling the bat. "Quit flirtin' and get your ass over here."
With another wink at Rose, I turned to my brother. "Like you're one to talk. You've been thinking with your dick all game!"
He flipped me off while Eddie snapped at both of us to focus.
You're just pissy because Bella's ignoring you again, I thought to him.
He snarled at me and I didn't have to be a mind reader to know his response wasn't pretty.
"Don't pout, boys," Alice called, tossing the ball in the air with a lazy smirk. "It's unbecoming."
I flipped her off as Jasper said, "You'll be the ones pouting when you lose, darlin'."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't lose."
"Prove it."
Alice stared down at the ball in her hand and I heard Bella snicker behind us. I glanced between them, but she just smirked like she knew something we didn't. Alice sniffed like she'd come to a decision and drew back hard. Jasper settled in for a fierce throw.
But before anyone could blink, she spun on her heel and whipped the ball with as much force as she could into the forest.
What the f—
Alice grinned like the hellfire menace she was as she grinned at her boy. "Now you can't win," she taunted him.
Bella snorted and cheerily said, "Have I mentioned Alice is a terrible loser?"
"Must have slipped your mind," Eddie groaned.
I shook my head at her but Jasper just laughed, the smitten fool he was.
Before anyone could stop me, I scooped up a handful of mud and flung it straight at Alice's face. Jasper, whipped as he was, pulled her out of the way—did he forget about the girls copying our abilities, or is he just trying to be her knight in shining armour?
Jasper, ever the casanova, used the opportunity to pull his lady in for another kiss.
I pretended to gag. "Get a ro—"
With more force than I thought possible, a glob of mud hit the side of my face. I looked around to the others until I found the smirking culprit sitting next to Esme, calmly wiping her hands on a hand towel.
I shook my head at her, wiping the mud off with a chuckle. "Alright, I'll get the ball."
It was better than watching Jasper and Alice suck faces—even Carlisle and Esme were being gross, making lovey eyes at each other.
As if he could hear my thoughts, Jasper finally pulled back, smirking down at Alice who looked thoroughly dazed and weak at the knees. "Now you can't win either."
We're still one down, you idiot. I rolled my eyes.
"I'm cool with that," Alice breathed.
"Oi! Jasper! You're on my team next time we play monopoly!" Bella shouted.
I shook my head at the lot of them and turned to race into the forest when soft fingers intertwined with mine. I looked over to see Rose gazing at me with a soft, almost shy, look in her eyes. "Want some company?" she offered quietly.
A warm bubble burst in my chest. I felt like I could walk on clouds as a wide grin split across my cheeks.
"Only if it's yours, gorgeous." I winked.
A light blush dusted her cheeks as she swatted at my chest. "Prat," she huffed, never letting go of my hand as I led her into the forest.
I had no idea what prat meant, but I didn't care one bit. Her hand in mine was so soft and warm and I never wanted to let go.
Had I been alone, I'd have run into the forest and been out in seconds—provided I could find the damn ball. But I was with Rose and I didn't care if we got lost out here, just as long as I was with her.
We walked through the forest slowly, never once letting go of each other. She was looking around for the ball, but I was content to just watch her. To watch the way the light danced across her skin, the way the breeze sifted through her hair, the way her lips tipped up when she caught me staring.
I brought our hands up to kiss the back of hers and that gorgeous smile spread.
After a few more minutes of aimlessly searching, I simply had to break the silence. I knew there was probably some fancy spell she could do to find the ball in an instant, and so I had to believe that if she hadn't done it it was because she wanted to spend this time with me. And if that was true, then I just had to say it. I'd been practising it all day and now that we were alone I just had to say it.
I pulled her to a stop. "I'm sorry if I overstepped the other day." I reached up with my free hand and brushed aside a loose lock of hair. "I'm sorry for upsetting you. I care about you, and I want this to work. But I want it to be on your terms," I said softly. "Whatever you're happy with. No pressure. You set the pace."
A few days after the disastrous end to our perfect date, I'd found a number for a relationship callline. I hadn't expected much beyond the usual baloney of "be yourself" and "trust the process", but I'd been curious. It was supposed to be a helpline for people in struggling relationships, and we weren't—not yet anyway—but I wanted to be, and if I wanted to prove it to Rose, then I had to do everything I could. So I called, and before I knew it I was taking notes.
And the one thing the therapist had stressed, was that I let Rose set the pace of our relationship.
Rose got an odd look on her face for a moment—like she was contemplating something—before she looked directly at me. "You spoke to a relationship therapist about us, didn't you?"
How did she know? I shifted uneasily on my feet. Shit. Did I fuck this up again? "I didn't mention your name or anything—I promise. I didn't even do it with my family nearby—I went to Seattle. I just really want things to work for us, and I don't want to fuck this up again. I l—"
I was cut off by Rose's hands on my cheeks and her lips on mine. It was only a chaste kiss, but it was enough to short-circuit my brain. She pulled back, dropping her hands, and without thinking I followed. I'd gotten a taste of heaven and I wanted more.
I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her against me. I wanted every inch of her against every inch of me—even then it wouldn't be closer enough. Wanting the same, she stepped even closer. Her hand slid under the edges of my shirt and I shivered at the touch of her warm fingers against my skin. If it could have, I knew my skin would have been covered in goosebumps at her touch.
Kissing Rose was like nothing I could have imagined. Her hands were in my hair and my hands were on her hips. I never wanted to move from this moment. I sunk into her arms and she sunk into mine, and everything was divine.
Heat rushed along my spine as her tongue darted out to trace the lines of my lips. At the same time, her nails scratched lightly against my ribs and I gasped into her mouth. She spun me around, pressing my back into the tree and pulled me closer still, angling the kiss deeper. Her hands were cupping my cheeks, and I wrapped my free hand around her wrist, holding her closer. I never wanted to let go.
But eventually she pulled back a fraction, gasping for breath. Her lips were still so close to mine that I could feel every breath. I could still feel the ghost of her lips against mine. I wanted more.
If only I could get my body working again.
I dropped my face into the crook of her neck and she giggled. I was immortal. I didn't need to breathe; my heart didn't beat and there was no heat in my veins. But one kiss from her and I was short of breath, my heart was pounding and I felt flushed.
"You were right," I said eventually, when I could get my voice working again.
She hummed.
"I think I will be out for a week." I leaned more fully into the tree she'd shoved me into, and I wondered if it was too soon to ask for round two.
Her laugh was clear and brilliant and I loved every second of it. I wanted to capture it and play it constantly.
But then my brain restarted and caught up with what she'd said. "Wait– How'd you know…? You called too?"
Rose's smile was coy and dazed as she bit her lip. "Of course," she admitted softly. "I want this to work. And I didn't want to scare you off."
I was ecstatic. I grabbed her hips and spun around. I was absolutely fucking ecstatic. Her laugh was like music, like angels singing.
I am in love with you.
The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't say it. It was too fast. Her pace. Keep it at her pace.
"I'm crazy about you," she said it so quietly that I almost missed it.
All the air rushed from my lungs. What did she say?
She tucked her hair behind her ear and ducked her head a little. She looked up at me through her lashes and my mouth went dry all over again. There was a self-conscious tug to her smile as the silence between us stretched. I wanted to say something, but I could barely think straight.
The corners of her lips dipped the longer I didn't say anything.
"We should probably get back before Bella sends a search party," she joked eventually, before turning back to the field.
But before she could walk far, I was pulling her back for another kiss. It was softer this time and I took my time. Her lips were soft against mine as I pulled her impossibly closer. I might not be able to tell her everything I felt yet, but I could show her.
Eventually I pulled back and whispered, "I'm crazy about you too."
Her smile was so brilliant I couldn't help but kiss her again. When we broke apart, I entwined our fingers again and we broke into a run back to the game. As we ran, neither of us paid much attention to the path—instead grinning madly at each other—and, of course, stopping for a few dozen extra kisses.
We made it back to the field, and Bella looked up from where she was weaving long blades of grass. "Took you long enough. Did you get lost in each other's throats?" she said with a wink.
"Where's the ball?" Eddie cut in.
Rose and I glanced at each other and broke into giggles.
"Oops." I ran my thumb along the back of her hand, revelling in the blush that spread across her cheeks.
"We got distracted." Rose bit her lip, grinning wildly.
Eddie huffed in irritation. "Fine, I'll get it myself."
He glanced at Bella but she didn't even look up from her weaving as she said, "Don't hurry back."
And as if to prove she was still pissed at him from before, she turned to Esme. "Do you garden?"
Esme looked torn between being ecstatic Bella was speaking with her again, and feeling bad for Eddie. I couldn't care less—I only had eyes for my goddess.
But then Alice let out a sharp cry that echoed across the field. Her eyes widened and she doubled over like she'd been punched.
Jasper instantly had his arms around her, steadying her. "Darlin'? What's wrong?"
But then he stumbled, almost dropping to a knee with a strangled grunt. His face twisted in pain and Alice paled beside him.
What the fuck?
Bella vanished from the log and reappeared at Alice's side. "Alice? What is it? Is it your visions?"
"It's here," she breathed, not blinking. "Whatever was coming—it's here."
Bella inhaled sharply and Rose stiffened beside me. That made the rest of us, confused as we were, darted towards them. Rose grabbed her sister by the shoulders, holding her up, while I did the same for my brother.
"Alice." Bella put her hands on her sister's shoulders and stared hard into her eyes. "Focus; try to see. What's coming?"
Alice's eyes flickered violet for a second before she snapped upright, staring into the forest with a fearsome and terrified intensity. "Vampires."
We all turned to where she was looking, desperately searching for whatever she saw. But there was nothing. No sounds, no smells—just us.
Jasper stood up on his own, his eyes on Alice. "How far away are they?"
But it was Eddie who answered, his eyes fixed on the same point as Alice. "Two miles out."
"They're moving fast," Bella said, her hand in the dirt.
Suddenly the breeze picked up and I could smell them. Jasper pulled Alice into his side and I could tell he recognised them too.
"They're the ones we smelt all around Port Angeles," Jasper growled.
"Bella and her sisters should leave," Eddie suddenly insisted and I wondered just what he could hear. I stepped closer to Rose, a growl building in my chest, but Carlisle shook his head.
"No, that would look suspicious. It might draw them into a fight if they think we're hiding witches. Despite the treaty there is still a considerable amount of enmity between our kinds." Carlisle straightened. "Edward, do they intend to fight?"
He shook his head reluctantly. "They heard us playing and decided to join."
Carlisle turned to Bella, all serious. "I understand the hostility between us and I have no intention of belittling or ignoring it. However, you and your sisters mean a lot to my family, and we want to keep you safe."
Bella didn't say anything, just narrowed her eyes at him. Alice was still staring trancelike at the forest, and Rose's eyes were darting between the three. Eventually, with hard eyes and a voice like ice, Bella said, "Nothing you do will make up for how you sentenced us to death." He nodded gravely as she continued, "But I'll pretend like this counts."
Does that mean she's going to accept our help…? I met Edward's eyes to see my own confusion reflected there, but Carlisle seemed to understand as he nodded. "Stay behind us. The treaty is always in effect, but some vampires still hold old grudges."
"Don't be stupid," Bella said looking down her nose at him as her eyes started to glow. "Why in the Morrigan's name would we hide?"
The air crackled around her, and everything started to change.
It started with her eyes. A shiver rolled down my spine as I watched red bleed into her irises until they were the shining crimson of a newborn vampire's. Then her skin. Where it had looked soft before it now shone like marble. And the way she stood, it was like water trapped in stone; fluid and hard—the grace inherent to all vampires. And suddenly it was silent. The absence of their three mortal heartbeats made the silence deafening.
They were vampires.
The change complete, Bella narrowed her eyes at Carlisle. There was a challenging look in her red eyes, like she was daring him to tell her off. But he just looked flabbergasted—we all did.
I glanced down at Rose beside me and brushed my fingers along her arm. She still felt the same—still warm and soft—but she looked exactly like a vampire. I ran my fingers along her skin, expecting it to be cold and hard like my own, but it was as soft and warm as always. It was unnerving.
Alice had changed as well; however, unlike her sister's she'd changed her hair from it's usual long flowy style to a spiky pixie cut.
"Illusion spell," Rose murmured, watching my fingers trail across her skin. "How do I look?"
"Beautiful," I breathed, looking up. And looking at her face, it was like the air had been punched right out of me. Where she had been stunning before, now she took my breath away. The red of her eyes was a startling difference to their usual crystal blue. My hands came up automatically to cup her cheeks. "Absolutely stunning. Not that you didn't look beautiful before—just a different kind of beautiful now."
Her answering smile lit up the world and almost sent me to my knees.
"As long as they don't get close enough to touch, they won't know the difference," Bella said.
"They won't get close enough to touch," I vowed, not taking my eyes off my goddess.
"Good," Carlisle said, turning back to the forest Alice was still staring into. "Emmett, Jasper, stand with me. The rest of you stand behind us."
I didn't want to leave Rose's side but when she nodded, I moved to stand at Carlisle's left. Jasper cupped Alice's cheeks and she finally tore her stare away from the forest. He didn't say anything, just stared into her eyes until she nodded. He moved to stand at Carlisle's right.
Esme and Edward then stood with the sisters behind us. We were spread out in a loose formation with Carlisle at our front and Jasper and I at his sides. Between his scars and my muscles, we made an imposing front.
I looked back at Rose one last time to see her standing with her sisters, shoulders back and chin raised. She was a gorgeous sight, and while I wanted to stare at her forever, I turned back to the front with her image locked in my mind.
Then they entered.
There were three of them. They entered the field with the confidence that came from centuries of getting what they wanted. A dark-skinned, bare-chested man led them, a faint mocking smile on his face, while the other two brought up the rear.
The woman had a light in her eyes that looked like she was imagining the fun she'd have with our deaths. And the other man…he cocked his head as his eyes ran over us. I wanted to snarl at the lethality rolling off him in waves, and he smiled.
But what had me most on edge were the scars that littered their pale skin. The woman's throat was covered in scars that radiated outwards—almost like lightning strikes across her skin. The other man's arms were scattered with bite marks and tear lines. Neither of them had even half the number Jasper had, but there were more on the pair of them than I had ever seen on any other vampire—besides Jasper—in my life.
I wanted to snarl at them. To rip them apart before they could get near Rose and my family.
They stopped a few metres from us and the field descended into silence as we sized each other up.
"I am Laurent," the leader said, watching us curiously. He tipped his head to the scarred redhead. "This is Victoria." He tipped back to the man who was staring at Jasper with vicious delight. "And this is James."
"I'm Carlisle." He nodded to each of us. "This is my family."
Their eyes darted over all of us, and I tensed when they darted behind us, but their gazes slipped right over the sisters like they weren't interesting enough.
"A family? How quaint." Laurent smiled playfully. "Hello."
"I'm afraid your hunting has caused…something of a hassle for us," Carlisle said, stern politeness rolling off him. "We maintain a permanent residence here. Your hunting has brought us some unwanted attention."
Laurent blinked, tilting his head. "Our apologies. We didn't realise the territory had already been claimed."
"You should be safe now," Victoria cut in, smugness radiating off her. "The humans were tracking us, but we led them east." There was a mocking tone to her voice that matched James's grin.
"Still, if you would keep your hunting to a minimum while you're here, that would be appreciated," Carlisle said.
Laurent's eyes darted over my muscles and Jasper's scars as he smiled easily. "Of course."
James's smile and Victoria's mocking eyes said they had other ideas, but they didn't disagree with him.
"So?" Laurent chuckled like we were old friends. "Could you use three more players?" When Carlisle didn't say anything, Laurent pushed playfully. "Oh, come on. Just one game."
Carlisle was silent for a long moment before he nodded, clearly seeing no way out. "Why not? A few of us were planning on sitting out. You can take their place."
"Excellent!" Laurent beamed and the other pair smirked.
"We'll bat first."
I grinned when they turned their attention to me, their eyes flashing in challenge.
This might even be fun!
I could hear sisters moving away, but I didn't dare turn. When James's eyes narrowed to follow them, Jasper whipped the ball at him. He didn't react as the redhead's hand lashed out, catching it inches from his face.
"I'm the one with the wicked curveball," she challenged,
"Oh, I think we can handle that," Jasper shot back, crossing his arms.
Laurent laughed at the challenge. "Exciting!"
We laughed with him as we split up onto the pitch.
As Jasper settled on the batter's plate, I chanced a look at the sisters on the log. Except instead of Bella, Esme was sitting next to Rose and Alice. I turned around to see Bella behind me. When I caught her eye and raised my eyebrow, she just cracked her knuckles.
Of course Bella wasn't going to sit quietly on the sidelines. I grinned at the wickedness in her eyes. Oh, yeah. This is going to be fun.
As I turned to watch Victoria settle onto the pitcher's mound, Eddie stopped beside Bella.
He wrapped his arm around her waist and pressed his nose against her temple, like he was going to whisper in her ear. I expected her to throw him or castrate him at least, but she just leaned into him.
Holy shit! Holy shit! Is there a demon possessing Bella? Is she dying? What. Is. Going. On?!
But then I remember the spell her sisters had used on us before.
…that makes so much more sense.
It was a smart idea. She and her sisters looked like vampires; now she could act like one too.
I couldn't help staring at them, though, and so I only caught a flash of violet in Bella's eyes as she hid her face in his chest. I was dying inside.
Fuck you two look cute. Ten minutes ago she was imagining your death, and now you two look like you've been dating for five fucking centuries.
I was too busy watching them that I didn't see Victoria stiffen. I didn't see her eyes swing incredulously to Bella.
Edward didn't react to my thoughts, or anyone else's, as he tipped his head down to murmur in Bella's ear, "Try not to kill anyone today."
There was actual laughter in her eyes as she pulled back to say—
"You!" Victoria snarled, suddenly in a half crouch, eyes furiously trained on Bella.
We all stiffened, instantly rushing closer to Bella as Laurent and James bounced back to Victoria's side. Esme pushed Rose and Alice behind her and the rest of us put ourselves between Bella and Victoria.
But Bella just raised an eyebrow like this was an everyday annoyance for her. "For someone I've never met before, you sure do seem to hate me. What– Did I kick your puppy or something?"
I couldn't help but snicker at that, before I schooled my face again. Victoria looked even more furious at that. Right. Not the time to enjoy Bella's petty bitchiness.
That was when my goddess inhaled sharply. "It was you. You're her! The mother! The one who turned us into the church!"
Victoria finally looked at Rose, utterly murderous. Her face twisted into an ugly snarl as she spat, "I should have burned you myself!"
