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Chapter 115

Eavesdropping Attacks

Edward

I stood in the kitchen on this beautiful, completely rainy holiday and started making breakfast.

All my angels - plus Marcus - were still asleep.

It took me a lot of effort to lay Marcus down in bed with Leah. I was already on my way to the guest room with him, but why was I fooling myself? I had seen in their minds what they had done in Carlisle's attic. They had slept together. That didn't hit the mark. They had made love to each other devotedly, as far as I had to gather that from their memories. Had to! I did not want to know! Still less hear or see! But what else could I do when their thoughts were literally screaming at me.

My cell phone beeped me out of these unpleasant thoughts.

A text message from David. Well well, he was already awake. I had wondered where Emma stayed. He asked me to photograph for him the recipe of the dish from our breakfast table that Emma was about to explain to him. However, he found Emma's instructions very questionable. To put it mildly.

I replied that I would bring him the book.

I was early this morning and without Emma's help I could finish vampirically fast.

I didn't mind the outside temperature, but I got shoes from upstairs. I ran at human speed behind the houses along the edge of the forest and an open patio door awaited me.

I knocked as I entered and called out an elated "Good morning" across the first floor.

Other than Emma happily running into my arms, I got no response.

I lifted her up, twirled her through the air and gave her a cheery kiss on the cheek after getting a big smack.

This made up for the fact that I would seem to be baking alone today.

I went into the kitchen with Emma on my arm and had to laugh.

David was sitting at the table, a cup of coffee right in front of him, the cell phone still in his hand, his head propped up on one arm, his hair even more impossible than my own. Asleep!

I pushed his cup and cell phone away, added the book I had brought with me, and pulled the supporting arm aside with a jerk. He was startled and almost fell off the chair.

Emma and I chuckled.

"Good morning!" I said again.

"Mor ... yawn!" he yawned.

He looked at me confused for a moment, wondering in his mind why I was here in the middle of the night.

I looked out the window with a smirk.

Because of the rain and the associated low-lying dark clouds, it was nowhere near as bright as usual, but night?

I countered that it was already after eight o'clock.

He nodded. Mechanically. Then his eyes fell on Emma's cute, little, but bare feet, which is why I still had her in my arms. Therefore at his eye level. He did not yet perceive everything else in its entirety.

"Socks or slippers on. March off!" he ordered, and I gently lowered Emma to the floor.

"Why did you get up when you're still so sleepy?" I inquired, sitting down across from him at the table as he made an effort to lift his extremely heavy cup.

From the look of him, the cup had to be filled with osmium. The heaviest precious metal on earth.

"I told you I didn't mind if Emma came over in the morning."

"You were also saying how much fun it is for you to bake with Emma!" he was starting to wake up.

"Yes. So?" I asked. Did it really.

"I also want to experience that. Emma is my smooch ball, after all. Not yours!"

"And that's why you told Emma to wake you up for this today!" I thus stated.

He nodded. And yawned.

"It's stupid when the kids do what you tell them too, isn't it?" I asked wryly.

He nodded. Yawning in turn.

"Don't you really ever get tired?" he asked skeptically.

I shook my head.

"Not a bit?" he called into question further.

"When I'm with Bella, it happens from time to time," I admitted.

"I see," he said, knowing I didn't mean that literally.

Bella, however, made me feel shortness of breath, even though I didn't actually need to breathe. To burn inside. My senses went crazy in her proximity.

"But seriously. The only exhaustion we know of, at least to some extent, is more mental. Our minds work differently. I think about many things at once."

"What are all of the things you are thinking about now?" he wanted to know.

"For one thing, I'm not only following our conversation, but also your very tired thoughts. I hear Emma choosing a pair of socks from the drawer upstairs, asking her teddy for advice and humming happily to herself. Pay attention to the heartbeats of everyone else in the house. I'm thinking of Bella and my children, which I do ubiquitously. Seeing the image in my mind of leaving Bella in bed earlier ..."

"Okay, enough!" he interrupted me smirking.

But I was far from finished.

"If I fixate too much on many things at once, it can be exhausting. But it's also over immediately when my thoughts relax overall," I at least finished explaining.

"What do Emma's thoughts look like?" he asked interestedly.

"Delightful," I smiled. "She's still too young for me to absorb her reflections. It's more of a jumbled mess of many colors, emotions, and individual terms. Only when she really concentrates on something can I guess her thoughts."

I also told about his boys thoughts when asked.

They were far more tangible, but still very quiet. I sometimes had to concentrate and listen carefully to catch them.

"Did you actually bring the recipe?" he inquired.

I lifted the book that was right in front of him.

"By the way, I can't forget anything either!" I grinned.

"I got it," he said, rolling his eyes.

Emma came running back into the kitchen and crawled onto my lap.

With brown socks to pink pajamas. Very chic. If Alice could see that!

Emma and I picked out the recipe she had wanted to explain to her father and then I went back home.

I listened as I came through our patio door.

Leah was awake. And was thinking about yesterday. Great.

I turned on some music to at least distract myself a bit and started making breakfast.

I really enjoyed preparing everything lovingly for my family. Especially when everyone was here. Besides, breakfast was the most important meal of the day after all.

I was taking the rolls out of the oven and putting in a tray with the croissants when I heard someone sneaking down the stairs on soft feet.

I smiled.

I went to the china cabinet, grabbed a cup, and in a flash interrupted the coffee maker, which was already running but not yet finished.

I could not possibly receive a goddess in the kitchen without coffee! Presenting the cup on my palm, I waited. Bella tried again and again to surprise me, but she never succeeded. Pretty as the morning dew, she appeared in the doorway. On bare dainty feet, with tousled hair, wearing only my pajama top, bright chocolate eyes, and an adorable smile. To nibble on.

"Good morning, handsome man!" she pranced toward me.

I took her in my arms, beaming with joy, lifted her onto the kitchen counter and handed her the cup.

"What did I even do before you got here?" she smiled happily at me, tousling my hair.

We prepared the rest of the breakfast together, me telling her about that night when I had asked myself that.

The night before her birthday. Probably the longest night of my existence.

While Bella was already going in the bathroom, I woke up our numerous children.

If there were any more, I'd soon need a tray for all the cups. Becky was awake, but Jake actually fell asleep again. That was rare at this time of day. Lying with his head on her butt. Less rare, regardless of the time of day.

I knocked and entered.

I knew Becky wouldn't mind if I came in.

"Good morning," she greeted me in a good mood, to which I replied in the same way.

I squatted down in front of the bed, put the cups down, and gave Becky a light kiss on the forehead, as had become customary.

Becky turned so she could drink her coffee and showed absolutely no consideration for Jake. He slid out of bed against me, and we rolled onto the floor together.

Becky laughed.

"Good morning," I purred, and he looked at me confused. As I said, him not being awake yet when I came in on the weekend was rare.

With difficulty, he sat upright and stretched out his arm in the direction of the cup. The other arm was already resting on Becky's naked long legs, which is why my son looked quite satisfied.

I immediately left and made my way to the adjoining room.

I smiled.

Marcus and Leah were discussing their pet names. Then I pulled a grim face.

Marcus was defending his 'wildcat' as he pondered in his mind how wild and rampant Leah had been without lacking emotion. And Leah, though somewhat embarrassed, similarly considered how much she seemed to have earned that name. I had to put a stop to such thoughts! Immediately! Otherwise, I would no longer have a chance to assert myself in this regard. With Jake and Becky, I had long since given up complaining about their thoughts. I was not heard after all. I did not have Bella with me all the time, so that I could distract myself from strange thoughts.

I arrived in time at the door when they were questioning how they got to bed.

I knocked and waited to be invited in.

Except for this courtesy, however, I was not ready to deviate from my morning routine.

I walked purposefully toward the bed, sat down, and gave Leah a kiss on the forehead.

Like every morning!

I looked at Leah's pretty face.

She looked radiant with joy. She had an enchanted smile on her lips that I had never seen before. It reminded me very much of Bella.

The fact that I had undressed Marcus somewhat made him uncomfortable.

Ask me how I found that! I thought. But I could hardly have laid him in bed fully clothed.

Since he had to go to the bathroom, I had a direct opportunity to talk to Leah about their thoughts.

Hers were far from better than his!

"You really need to talk to Marcus, please!" so I said quietly. Quietly, because I knew exactly how curious Jake was sitting in his room. I didn't want to spark a competition about whose thoughts were worse. I would be the only sufferer!

Leah choked on her coffee, startled.

She feared that they had done something wrong and that I would now reprimand them for it. Possibly, that they had spent the night in the same bed, whereby it slipped her mind that I myself carried the responsibility for it.

I smiled.

"I don't want to hear or see why he calls you wildcat!" I immediately declared, and as if on cue she turned bright red in the face. The darker Native American skin couldn't cover it up one bit. "Don't be ashamed, there's no reason for that. But please don't let me in on it too! I already get more than enough from Jake and Becky," I gently lifted her chin again.

This moment reminded me of the situation once in the dining room.

Our first real conversation. Just the two of us. When I tried to tell her that you couldn't think during sex. It felt like it had been years ago. At that time, I already felt connected to the children. They were Bella's children, so I saw myself in the responsibility to protect the twins and to help them as far as I could. I liked them very much and they grew closer and closer to my heart. Lovely children for whom I would do anything. Because of Bella.

But today they were my children. I loved them as intensely and unconditionally as I loved Bella. I could no longer imagine a time without my three angels. Actually, there were four angels. I counted Becky among them. But apparently Leah had heeded that advice yesterday afternoon and had given herself over to her sensations completely unquestioningly.

"Thanks, Dad!" my princess murmured, hugging me tightly.

Her thanks was for the fact that I had brought Marcus back.

But it wasn't my achievement. Neither was it Jake's or Becky's. He would have come back to Leah. All by himself. I was sure of that by now. It caused him a certain amount of discomfort not to be with Leah. However, I had only clearly recognized this when he saw Leah again yesterday morning. There was a vague tension that had fallen from him. Perhaps it would have taken another day or two for Marcus to understand on his own where this uneasiness was coming from. Leah, on the other hand, was not sure if Marcus would have come without my intervention.

"I'm sure you do, little one!" I therefore replied.

I heard Marcus come across the hall, gave my princess another hug, and headed for the door. I listened to his thoughts.

He had seen Jake and Becky through the open door of the room. How they sat half-naked on the bed, fooling around, kissing freely. Without shame that the parents would see it. He was fascinated. There was nothing like that at his home. Not from anyone. Never! Such behavior was not completely foreign to him personally. He had apparently been able to behave that way with his last girlfriend. But only when they were alone or among their young friends. Never with her or his parents. Even a casual hug was met with nasty looks from his father . He wondered if he could ever let himself go like that with Leah. In front of her parents. In front of a mind-reading supernatural father! The latter scared him a little.

I was standing in front of him when he came back into the room.

In my mind I said the following, in an extremely threatening voice, growling, 'If you break my princess' heart, I will break everything in your human body!'

My general thought when it came to my family.

However, I actually pronounced something completely different.

"You're welcome here anytime, Marcus, and you can feel right at home with us," I said sincerely, placing a hand compassionately on his shoulder.

His mind worked impressively for a human.

It was immediately clear to him that I had probably followed his thoughts. That I had noticed his considerations because of Jake's and Becky's openness.

His head involuntarily went in the direction of the hallway from where he had glimpsed the two, but immediately back to me.

I nodded affirmatively at his thoughts.

Then his gaze went to Leah, who looked a little confused.

She suspected that something was going on here without her.

He didn't want to give this girl anything other than what he had seen next door. An intimate love, without worrying about any moral concepts, as he had been instilled by his parental home. And I had given him permission with my words, so to speak, to feel completely free here. He was ready for that, but not sure if he could free himself from his upbringing that way. It had been beaten into him too much.

"Thank you very much, Edward!" he said emphatically.

On impulse, I took him in my arms for a moment.

Something he had not expected, but it made clear to him how seriously I really meant my words. He didn't know anything like that from his home.

I went back to my angel who was already standing in the doorway.

Bella smiled.

"You were afraid of losing your princess and instead you get another son?" she asked teasingly.

"Certainly not!" I said convinced and kissingly pushed my goddess into the bathroom and under the shower ...

We had a very leisurely breakfast together, but without Emma for a change.

For that, Deacon came by. But he only asked if we might have some milk, which had run out at the Mitchell family after Emma had accidentally dropped the last milk carton.

While he waited for Bella to get it from the kitchen for him, he took a furtive glance at our breakfast table.

I had tried one of the recipes from the new book and the result - little pancake rolls filled with cheese, prosciutto and an arugula leaf - apparently looked very appetizing.

My family had pounced on them, which is why I had prepared some more. Now there were four pieces left on the plate. I packed them for him and his three siblings.

Later I got a text message requesting the recipe.

The kids drove the Audi to their planned 'The Lord of the Rings' marathon. For one thing, they didn't know how early their friends would get there - if they ran across as wolves themselves - and for another, they picked up Marcus' cousin Claire on the way, who was with Jason.

On this occasion, Marcus wanted to introduce his new girlfriend to his mother. Leah was therefore a bit nervous and had stood for ages in front of her closet to put on something suitable.

That sounded very familiar to me. So, no matter how much the twins resembled their father on the outside, Bella could not deny these children!

Breakfast had dragged on a bit, so I cleaned up with Bella afterwards before we left as well.

I smirked when we then reached the cinema room.

The group of friends now consisted of eight people. In other words, four couples. None of them was paying attention to the screen at the moment. Not even the two vampire couples who were also in the room.

I stopped Bella before she could open the door. Bella smiled in understanding, and we turned back.

We sat down in the library. At some point, while Bella was getting something to drink from the kitchen, Carlisle entered the room.

We greeted each other.

I hadn't seen him and Esmé since Thursday and when Bella and I got here, he was 'busy' in the pool with Esmé.

One teeny tiny disadvantage, that I lived with Bella, but it cast a very small shadow on my current life.

"Jasper has been talking to Mr. Corbin. If it's all right with you, he'll get back to you this week about an appointment. He is currently getting an overview of what he has to initiate regarding your marriage license. In this regard, he would like to talk to both of you in advance. He'll advise you to just wait until next June until you're legally of age, but I already told him that's too long for you guys," Carlisle reported.

"Way too long!" I confirmed acidly, when Bella was already back, bringing Esmé with her.

"Maybe you'll take comfort in the fact that there's a date now!" said Esmé.

I pricked up my ears.

"When?" asked Bella and I simultaneously and equally excitedly.

"Provided the legal things are settled by then," Carlisle interjected, but I barely listened to him.

"Next year?" I asked horrified when Esmé couldn't hide at least that in her thoughts.

They also said what Mr. Corbin had discussed with Jazz about Becky. The investigation process would now begin so that the arraignment could take place in the near future. Tomorrow the rape would have been four weeks ago, so we expected the justice system to move in a timely manner. Jazz was confident that Becky would get through the interrogations and not suffer a significant emotional relapse.

With that prospect, should we really put it past Becky to return to her parents' house as early as tonight? I was not sure.

The first movie was over, and the kids were lucky. It was not raining, so they romped around outside on the basketball court from sitting for so long.

During the second part, I sat in Alice's studio while Esmé and Bella considered the evening's feast.

"How are you, Edward?" she asked me politely.

"Really, Alice? You're trying to keep me away from your real thoughts with that?" I asked. I was sorely disappointed in my favorite sister. Reciting the New York phone book - even if it was the one from 1968 when we lived there temporarily - translating Christmas carols into Japanese, or reciting the Constitution backwards. Those were the things I was more used to from Alice.

She lowered her head - heavily exhausted - onto the table.

"I'm running out of things to say. Focusing on not planning on your wedding during school and not revealing you anything is pure torture!"

"Imagine if we lived under one roof," I teased her.

Jerkily, her head shot up again.

I squatted in front of the table, put my hands on the edge of the table and smiled charmingly.

"Just give up!" I suggested.

"No way!" she rumbled, after thinking extensively about it for about three-tenths of a millisecond.

Alice was not without reason my favorite sister.

Admittedly, having something against Rose's obvious superficiality wasn't hard, but Alice and I had always been quite close. We could talk confidentially without actually speaking. I heard her thoughts, and she anticipated my response. She knew me better than my other siblings. In some ways even better than Carlisle. Also today we had a quiet conversation, but it was nothing special in terms of content. I always liked to keep Alice company when she was busy in her studio. In the process, she calmed down a bit and was less jittery. In addition, I was hoping for more information about my planned marriage, but Alice was just good at keeping things from me mentally. She was working on a top for Becky. Sophisticated asymmetrical tailored in a bright blue that I made some comments about. It would go wonderfully with her eyes.

Just in time before the second part of the saga was over, I went back to the main house and caught Bella sneaking a nibble of dessert in the fridge with her index finger.

I said nothing. I just stood there with my arms folded in front of my chest and arrogantly raised eyebrows. Caught off guard, Bella lowered her gaze as she sucked the chocolate cream off her finger.

She was just adorable!

The mob from the cinema room came closer to the kitchen, discussing loudly.

Jazz had the opinion that if he had been there, 'Helm's Deep' would not have fallen. Emmett agreed unequivocally. Brandon and Jake were of a totally different opinion.

The humans spread out around the set table in the adjacent dining room, while the vampires pretended to dine in the kitchen.

For one thing, there really wasn't enough room in the dining room for everyone present, and for another, Lisa, Jason, and Claire knew nothing about vampires.

Bella barely got to eat, so amused was she by our staged background noise.

As everyone prepared to watch the final part of the saga afterwards, I snapped Marcus's gaze up.

'Can we talk?' he asked in his thoughts.

I had actually been waiting for this all day, because I knew he wanted to get something off his chest.

I nodded and with the words "We'll be right there" we already sent Leah and Bella ahead to the cinema room.

We went to the terrace. It was raining, but the air was wonderfully clear.

He seemed to need that right now.

He stood at the farthest dry edge and took several deep breaths.

He sorted through his thoughts. He searched for the words he had concocted, but could no longer find them.

"Why do you think you have to be afraid of me?" I asked calmly, nudging Marcus in the direction of his actual thoughts.

His answer surprised me.

"I love Leah!" he said in a firm voice, full of conviction.

"I know," I replied. It wasn't that fact that surprised me, but that it was the first thing he could think of to say. It was the reason why he wanted to talk to me. Or let's say, why he had the feeling to have to speak with ME. With the mind-reading supernatural father! He was actually afraid!

He slumped his shoulders a bit, ran his hands over his face and through his hair. He looked at me for a moment and tried to interpret my expression.

I smiled casually, which puzzled him.

"You want to tell me about the many little pictures I saw in your mind!" I reminded him a little more pointedly.

He nodded.

"Why do you want to tell me and not Leah?"

"Leah doesn't want to know ... I wanted to tell her about my ass phase yesterday, but she didn't want to hear about it," he explained himself.

"Because she doesn't want you to feel like you have to tell her about it," I said now, which was what had been going through Leah's mind last night as she mulled over this moment. "Of course, she's curious about what you've perpetrated already, and we both know that's the correct term for it. You have already made some not explicit hints, as far as I know. That you rebelled against your father. And she noticed how tormented you always look when you talk about your father. The two things seem to be connected. But Leah doesn't want to see you like that!" I summarized my daughter's considerations.

Baffled, he raised his eyes to me.

His girlfriend did not want to hurt him and therefore refrained from any explanations, although she actually wanted to know them. He found only one term to sum this up. Love! The full epic implications of my being Leah's father had dawned on him today. Through an ordinary morning for us. Being woken up with coffee, sitting on the edge of the bed, a 'good morning' kiss which I became back with a loving hug. Regardless of whether he would tell Leah about it or not, there was no way around the complete truth to me for him now. Not just in the fleeting and disjointed memories I kept seeing, but in totality. Marcus didn't want to risk that I forbade him to have contact with my daughter, should these volatilities once become too much for me and the entire extent become apparent to me.

I stepped a little closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"So, Marcus. You wanted to talk to me in private," I said now meekly prompting and pointing to the patio furniture.

We sat down, Marcus took a deep breath, and he began to narrate.

He spread out his entire previous life in front of me. Actually, he didn't want to speak so verbosely, but I didn't interrupt him. I had the impression that it did him good to get all his frustration and anger about his father off his chest, even though I noticed that he left out some not insignificant things. Nevertheless, he soon got to what he had originally wanted to say. His rebellious phase. With a great many details.

I sharply sucked in the air between my teeth a few times.

It had started slowly when he was about thirteen, but at fourteen he was already facing the juvenile court judge for the first time. The boot camp where he had been under court order had not made much of an impression on him ... But he had changed his life, he assured me. Since the beginning of last year, his rebellion was over. When he realized that he did not want to continue living like that for the rest of his life. His father had apparently taken no notice of this change, as he said bitterly.

"... Two weeks ago, I got a ticket because of parking wrong," he chuckled in conclusion.

I smirked as well, although his resume so far hardly gave reason to do so.

But I believed Marcus that that time was closed. Partly during his remarks, he had asked himself in his mind how he could have done this or that. How stupid he had been. How tired of life and unpredictable he had been.

We talked for quite a long time, and I promised Marcus that I would never judge him based on his past. After all, I had one, of which my children had no knowledge until now.

To be honest, Marcus had taken me quite by surprise that I then let myself be carried away by this promise. That he had outmaneuvered me like that, by a single trivial question, I wanted to suppress as quickly as possible.

And so we finally joined the others in the cinema room.

The movie was already halfway over.

The room was very pleasantly furnished. The seats - or rather, the small sofas - were lowered towards the screen, just like in a real cinema.

Five rows of three sofas each.

My feet were on the backrest in front of me and Bella snuggled up against me. She nodded off in the meantime, but she wasn't alone in that. Claire, Jason, Jake, and Lisa didn't quite get the movie either. But everyone was awake again for the finale.

With school tomorrow and it already approaching eleven o'clock, the company quickly disbanded.

At home we waited for our twins.

Jake had driven Becky home and Leah had seen her boyfriend off.

Both had taken time. It was almost midnight by the time they came through the front door.

"Uh ... the times when you waited for us were actually over," Jake meant in surprise.

They pondered whether their mother was aware that they would be of age in a few months. Oh no, my children. Those times would never be over! Meanwhile, Bella actually fell asleep when the two of them weren't in the house, but she still remained restless. I, too, was always a little nervous. Only when we knew exactly where they were spending the night did our restlessness remain in check.

"We want to ask you one more thing!" said Bella evasively, which made the twins chuckle at first.

"And this is so important that you can't wait until tomorrow to do it?" asked Leah.

"Yes. It is!" I confirmed, and the general merriment of the twins was gone.

They looked at each other seriously.

We stood up from the sofa and stepped in front of our children.

"We want to ask you for something!" I began.

"We wish you would be our Maid of Honor and Best Man!" said Bella.

The wolves swallowed dryly.

"Really?" they asked at the same time.

We nodded in affirmation and our children jumped into our arms, excited and laughing.

I took that as a 'yes'!

Although Becky slept at home once again that evening, the night passed quietly.

Jake had taken forever to fall asleep, but there was no call from her parents. In the meantime, I had run over once. Just to be on the safe side. But Becky was asleep. She held the little wolf tightly in her arms and had a T-shirt on from Jake.

And then we were already sitting in the stands in Scarborough, cheering on our team.

God knows they needed it. In the last game against Kennebunk, our girls were really taken apart.

Esmé sat between Bella and me.

As usual. So that something like the first game against Biddeford didn't happen to us again.

On my other side sat Emmett and one row in front of us sat Jake, Becky, Brandon, and Lisa. Everyone else didn't have time today because the game took place right after school.

While the first set could still be dismissed as a general warm-up - our girls won it, although they could usually play a lot better - in the second set they just couldn't find their way into the game.

Becky got upset constantly. Occasionally also about Carlisle, because he still forbade her to play along. I trusted Becky to be able to do really well on the field, despite her still injured hand.

I knew that she was already training again. Apart from the general fitness training, which she had actually only suspended for three days. She had been training with Leah for about a week and a half. Secretly. She was very careful, yet I had caught her one evening with an ice pack. Since then, I knew about the training and gave her my promise not to tell Carlisle, provided I was allowed to bandage her hand in return and also examine it thoroughly after the training. She agreed with that. So, I padded the seam and worked a completely rolled up gauze bandage into the palm. Firstly, so that Becky was reminded not to use that hand, and secondly, so that it would cushion the impact of a ball if she did forget.

Now she sat in front of me and cursed.

The second set hadn't been running very long when I picked up Marcus's thoughts.

I was surprised. I had not paid attention to him. He was also not in the gym, yet I heard him already. He was in the parking lot and on his way to the gym with Jules.

I bristled skeptically as I listened to him.

"You don't speak a word to anyone!" instructed Marcus to his little sister just then.

"Why?" asked Jules, grinning mischievously.

"Do you have any idea what they're going to do to me if I'm here and then I'm cheering for the wrong team, too?"

Jules' grin widened.

"No, but it'll be fun though!"

"Ha, ha. I'll buy you an ice cream if you shut up!"

"Ice cream? Am I eight or something?"

Jules stood at the front door with his hands stemmed into his sides.

Marcus ran an annoyed hand through his hair and pushed Jules through the door.

I asked myself suspiciously who he meant by 'they', however I almost laughed when I actually saw him enter the gym. Sunglasses, a baseball cap pulled low over his face, and the collar of his jacket turned up. He also pulled the hood over Jules' head. He wanted to hide himself!

At the edge of the stands, he peered cautiously over the spectators, and I waved at him. He saw us and cleaved his way to us with his head bowed.

Mentally grateful, that we were sitting at the top.

They quickly sat down next to Jake.

Marcus introduced the faces unknown to Jules and greeted everyone in a good mood. He surveyed the stands again before taking off his masquerade.

At this I detected the reason for his game of hide-and-seek.

A group of boys. They were sitting three rows behind the bench of the Scarborough team. I listened to their thoughts for a moment. Just an ordinary group of teenagers, but they seemed to be with the female players.

Marcus' athletic knowledge showed after he just briefly surveyed the action on the field, "That doesn't look good!"

"Nope ... not really!" confirmed Jake. "Otherwise, they're better," he followed up.

"Much better!" interjected Becky, cursing.

The set proceeded further in a frustrating manner.

We also explained to Marcus that Leah was able to block out everything during the game in a very impressive way in order to concentrate completely on the game. In this respect, Leah would not have noticed that he was already here.

With the final whistle of this miserable set, Marcus jumped up with many other spectators to greet his wildcat. He managed to get past the small group unnoticed.

It was truly hard not to grab Bella's hand while Esmé kindly slid forward to the edge of the bench so we could at least look at each other unobstructed.

When another whistle sounded from the referee, I turned back to the field.

Leah and Marcus were still kissing.

I was less surprised, but I wasn't the only person who noticed. One of the opposing players was really staring at the two of them.

She stood there frozen, thinking only that this should not be. Not him! Not Marcus! Absolutely motionless, she looked after Marcus as she was pushed onto the field by a teammate. She got angry but didn't say a word to anyone. She unsportingly went after Leah and blamed her. For whatever. It was not to be taken from her considerations. Only that she was quite upset, precisely because of this kiss.

Marcus didn't hear the abuse that Leah had to listen to down there.

But I did. I listened to the thoughts to find the reason for their behavior. Unsuccessfully.

Becky and Marcus delved into a chat about how he easily understood how helpless Becky felt. Despite his torn cruciate ligament, he would have preferred to storm onto the field to help his team. But she would just have to go through with it. Carlisle would certainly not forbid her to do so for nothing.

Marcus did not pay much attention to the fact that Leah was attacked on the field. He saw that Leah was currently the best player on the court and thought it was tactics. He also hardly cared that Leah was scratched. As close as they stood sometimes to each other at the net, it happened quite often indeed. Only when Leah then got a ball thrown at her head on the way to serve and hit the ground hard, Marcus narrowed his eyes skeptically and instantly rose from the bench. He considered that it could have been an accident. Could have been! That someone had wanted to throw her the ball, but Leah hadn't paid attention. For human eyes, this was well within the realm of possibility. After further smaller attacks, which he now observed closely, he fixed the girl with his eyes and inwardly the rage boiled up in him.

Bella and I were also no longer sitting in our seats. Once again, we were worrying about our daughter completely unnecessarily. We knew how unnecessary it was, but it just couldn't be stopped.

I pulled Marcus back a bit by his sweatshirt.

"You know her?" I asked. Perhaps a little too roughly.

I gave him a brief moment to cough.

Marcus nodded grimly and explained us who Janet was, what he had to do with the team, and that the group of teenagers he wanted to hide from until the game was over were the players' boyfriends. And that this Janet was the best friend of his ex.

The set was nearing its end and Marcus ran down to the players' bench, upset.

He would clear it with Janet.

In the meantime, I heard a collective, surprised "Marcus?!" from the third row. So I followed the teenagers' conversation a little more closely.

"What's he doing here?"

"When did Marcus get here?"

"Why didn't he sit with us?"

"He looks like he's about to burst with rage!"

"What kind of show does your pearl put on on the court, anyway?" was asked of someone who appeared to be dating this Janet.

All the boys turned to the game and paid close attention to their behavior. The young man who was addressed stood up.

"Janet!" he called out to her, but he was overheard.

The set was whistled off and Marcus' dark voice rumbled menacingly through the hall after Leah lay on the floor again.

This did not escape Janet.

Roughly, he dragged her through a door, knowing he didn't have to worry about Leah.

Of course, I followed his conversation with Janet, and I was pleasantly surprised at how calmly and confidently Marcus handled the matter.

But I chuckled softly as I continued to listen to the group of teenagers and at the same time enjoyed the gentle fingertips of my angel on my smooth cold hand behind Esmé's back.

"Marcus will get it to Janet proper!" Janet's boyfriend was teased, though of course this was not meant literally.

"Have you ever actually wondered why Marcus gets along better with your girlfriend than you do?"

"Just because he doesn't care if she talks to him afterwards. Not me!"

"What are we going to do about Marcus?"

"A little welcome party!"

"He must have a thing for female volleyball players!"

"That's quite a hot chick that went after them, wasn't she?"

"Pretty hot!"

"Something like that has to be rewarded!"

"You mean 'punished'!"

"How? Any suggestions for the 'Welcome Back' party?"

"Rick should be here any minute. I'll intercept him and we'll figure something out! ... But you have to get him to the back in any case," one announced and disappeared.

On his way out, he walked past the players' bench and gave a brunette player one more kiss.

"Well, what a coincidence. Jules is there too!" another looked around.

"Well, that seems to be the entourage of his flame!"

"That little one is cute!" one of them noted, referring to Becky.

"She seems to be in pretty good hands, though!"

"And I wouldn't mess with him!" said another, referring to Jake.

"With the one behind him, either!" countered another, referring to Emmett.

"But I'm sure Jules can help us distract the girl so we can get Marcus out!"

"I'll do it. Jules has a crush on me!" one announced confidently and made his way over to us.

Jules wasn't into him, as I heard when Jules discovered him. She even found him downright silly. Still, Jules was happy to be persuaded to distract Leah a bit after the game. That would be the punishment for the fact that he only wanted to buy her an ice cream. Her brother had to learn so slowly that she would no longer be a child. Jake would also join in the distraction. I wondered how my princess would react to this. Would she be able to laugh about it or would she be more upset?

My angel forbade me to interfere in the children's affairs.

When the four of them were back in the gym and Marcus and Leah were displaying their love unmistakably and impressively, I was sure Leah would take it with humor whatever the guys came up with in conclusion.

Her thoughts were very creative and ranged from simply hiding and 'throwing away keys', to a general kidnapping, to the thought that Leah would have to delight all the boys with a kiss. A proposal that everyone wanted to agree to in principle but would probably cause considerable problems with her girlfriends afterwards. However, a certain Amy's challenge ensured that our girls got out of their playful slump in spite of everything. Leah played excellently, which, as I now heard, was apparently also thanks to Marcus.

The discussion between Carlisle, Becky, and Leah was exhilarating for me and for Bella, to whom I replayed verbatim.

Especially his disbelieving thoughts when he heard that Becky had trained despite his ban. That surprised him. Actually, he should have expected that after the game against Biddeford.

I ended the discussion by going down and telling Carlisle that he should let her play. That I knew Becky could handle the left hand restriction.

We ran into the locker room together. I picked out what I needed for her special dressing in the 'first aid' box while Becky quickly changed behind me. I carefully bandaged the hand and expressly warned her not to overdo it. After all, she hadn't really warmed up and stretched like she usually did.

"I'll be careful!" she promised, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek and running quickly through the dark hallway to her team.

I smiled as I cleaned up the first aid kit again.

"Are you a doctor?" asked an enchanting voice behind me, which made me tremble pleasantly.

"Are you experiencing any discomfort?" I inquired.

"Heart palpitations. Halted breathing. Hot and cold shivers on the skin," the lady began to list.

I turned around and pulled Bella into my arms.

"May be the doctor's fault!" I stated, completely surrendering to her touch. I had not held Bella in my arms since this morning. She had driven here alone. On her motorcycle. Without saying what she had to do during the day!

We enjoyed this togetherness for a few more minutes before we - well-behaved apart from each other - went back to the stands again.

After all, we were only here to cheer on our two girls. As with Becky and Leah on the field together it was to be expected, we won the set with ease and with it the match.

Jake immediately made his way to Leah with Jules to distract her from Marcus.

The rest of us stayed up in the stands for a moment, watching as Marcus was abducted.

He was, of course, about to go to Leah.

However, when he reached the bottom of the stairs, he was surrounded by the friends.

He guessed at least to some extent what they were up to and rethought his escape options. In vain. He had no chance against six young men, some of them muscular and experienced fighters like himself. They were joined by two others who had already made preparations in the outdoor area.

He looked around in search of help.

And what did he see? Leah, who had just been hugged by Jake and was being turned away from him. Jake was still waving at him. So was Jules, who had a mischievous grin on her lips.

"That way!" he was directed and was pushed out through a side entrance.

We watched the action from a safe distance after Jules took pity on Leah and Marcus and led Leah to the usual 'execution spot'.

Jules had also been standing there being tortured by the troop. She had ratted out Marcus for something, who had received a considerable beating from her father. One had tied her by the hands, fastened the rope with some room to move to that pole to which Marcus was now tied, and pelted her with snowballs. I saw in her thoughts that it had not really been spiteful or even brutal. She even laughed at that, because they all aimed so badly.

With Bella's permission, the coach did not insist that Leah and Becky drive back to Saco with the rest of the team.

So the twins, Becky, Brandon, and Lisa stayed in Scarborough. Jake had driven here with the Audi, insofar the five would also come back. In addition, Marcus was also here with his bus.

We still reminded everyone that tomorrow was school, and they shouldn't be home too late.

I took Jules into the car and brought her to her sister's house.

I picked up some take-out dinner for Bella - roast chicken, as requested - so she wouldn't have to cook.

After the little half bird was eaten, we sat down on the porch in front of the house. The night was starry and beautiful to look at. Through an open window my music came accentuating to us.

David spontaneously came over for a bottle of beer and sat down with us.

He had made the serious mistake of calling his dinner a little spicy. He told it as if Sonya was on the verge of filing for divorce because of it.

I saw in his mind how much she had raged angrily and doubted that it was just that little remark.

Luces also came running over. He had an urgent problem with his tablet and needed his dad's help.

David - programmer. Sonya - web designer. Of course, the Mitchell family owned all sorts of modern entertainment electronics of more and less existential necessity. They were already teaching the boys how to use the equipment, but were very careful not to let it rule their lives. How quickly and comprehensively addictive it was was something David had experienced firsthand, and he certainly didn't want to see his children in a similar addiction. So Luces was only allowed to play with his tablet when his siblings were in bed. And if it didn't work properly, that was almost the end of the world.

Bella gave Luces hers to play with while David expertly took care of the unit.

I was not unversed in these matters, but David had impressive expertise. He not only knew how to program, but also had an excellent knowledge of technology as such and was in no way inferior to me - a vampire who immediately processed new information in a meaningful way and could not forget anything. At best, I was more expeditious in finding the error. However, I would not have the patience to search for the error. I would have simply disposed of the tablet and ordered a new one.

Thanks for reading!