Chapter 13: Betrayal

The front door opened. Thunderstorm raged outside. Its bright flashes blasted their sharp claws into the ground, leaving the dirt to wonder what had struck it.

Bree stared at the sight, bewildered. Her eyes glued to the uproar outdoors, she breathed in the moist air. It tickled her nostrils, promising the coming escape from the Cullen residence.

The yellow-eyes wanted to go play baseball on a field apparently close to their house. They had wanted her to come with them, as they did not trust her enough to leave her alone at their contemporary house. It had presented a great opportunity for the newborn to try slipping away in the middle of the game, her main intention being to find Fred as fast as possible.

She hoped he was searching for her. If not, her chances to run away were slim. Even when she had practiced her gift with the blond patriarch of the coven before the reveal of her faith, it had not worked too well. She shouldn't count on it.

The sound of footsteps reached her ears. They were coming nearer, their pace slowing down the closer they arrived, as if anxious to meet her.

Esme's and Carlisle's forms appeared from behind a wall. Their spotless clothes were delicately on them, as if the Cullens would have taken a great time putting them on. Not a single wrinkle was seen in the fabrics of the sportswear they wore. The couple smiled tensely at her as they held each other's hands tightly.

The betrayal the young teen felt from seeing them was intense. It rolled into her, kicking her in the stomach. She crouched instinctively, baring her teeth for them to see. Her silent snarl was only heard by her mind, which trembled in her chest, ready to become louder if needed.

Rain tapped the roof violently, provoking the hallway to feel stuffed, like too many creatures would have been standing inside of it.

"Bree, we understand your upset with us, but I can assure you, we did not mean you any harm when we withheld Alice's vision from you." Carlisle tried to appease her. His amber eyes shone with compassion. "We only wanted you to feel safe in our care. Telling about your demise wouldn't have improved your mental health. It was better for you to not know what would happen."

The girl stayed silent. She glared at the two leaders of the Cullen clan, refusing to ease her stance. She would never let them trick her again.

Esme took a hesitant step towards her. "Please, Bree. We only want to help you."

The words made the younger vampire roll her eyes. She couldn't believe what was coming out of the yellow-eyes mouths. Did they think she was going to buy what they said? That they cared for her? If they had truly felt so, they would not have held her captive and forced her to pass away in the hands of the Volturi. They would have let her go—run from the dangerous ancient coven wanting to kill her.

"You're lying," she hissed.

The caramel-haired woman opened her mouth. "Sweetheart, we are not ly-"

"Yes, you are. Why am I still here if you so much want to "help me"? You'd let me leave if that were the case, but it's clearly not." Bree spat. Nervousness flapped briefly inside of her but was soon replaced with fury. She didn't care how rude she was being by cutting the matriarch's word. If she were to get attacked by the yellow-eyes, it wasn't like she would survive much longer anyway. The Volturi were to arrive in three days.

"It's not as simple as that," the blond doctor tried to cut back into the conversation.

"Yes, it is!" The newborn growled.

The mated couple glanced at one another, their expressions lost, searching for a hint of anything in their significant others irises to figure out what to say. As they found nothing, their troubled eyes returned to the girl.

"We truly do understand where you're coming from, but letting you go would make us the target of the Volturi. We are already deeply monitored by them. Our unusual living choice and Bella draw their attention to us enough as it is." Carlisle attempted to explain. "We have no other choice than to keep you here. Otherwise, our family would get destroyed."

"And there might be a chance that the Volturi will spare you. A path of action we aren't thinking about. We still have time to figure that out and see if Alice's vision's outcome changes," Esme added. Hope radiated from her voice, like she would have genuinely believed what she said.

That made her delusional.

There was no way to save the teen other than by escaping from the Cullens and the Volturi. It was foolish to think there was a third path, casually hiding from everyone's sight. It should have been mangled with plants from unusage, easily seen because of the eye-catching messes growing in it. So there wasn't one; the imagery path in the older vampire's mind couldn't exist if all the odds were against it.

"I doubt they will," Bree retorted.

The blond patriarch sighed. "You have to have faith in God. We need to pray that he helps you."

"I don't really believe in him."

"Then have hope," Carlisle declared, his tone firm.

The newborn shaked her head, standing up from her crouch. "No."

Esme frowned. "Surely you can attempt, at least."

The rain calmed down a bit as the teen shaked her head again. Its droplets fell to the concrete steps outside the door, splashing back up into the air briefly before coming back to the ground with a thud.

Alice's familiar steps danced to the hallway. Her wide smile directed itself towards the trio. "I'm so excited to go play!" She squirmed.

The crimson-eyed girl took a step back away from the pixie. She didn't want to stand too close to her. Perhaps the other vampire could see her future clearer when near her. She didn't want to leave anything at risk. Her escape had to happen. She needed to not think about leaving and concentrate on thinking about what she'd do when she came back to the Cullen residence after the baseball game. That could deter Alice from seeing her real plan to leave the baseball field when the right moment presented itself. She needed to be patient.

"All of you look so great with your outfits on," the raven-haired pixie continued. Her words seemed deliberate, like she had tried to stop the brewing awkwardness and anger.

Bree looked away. She didn't want to look at the person who was the reason for her possible death. She knew it wasn't logical to think Alice was the cause of her death, but she wanted someone to blame. The short vampire was a perfect victim for that. Ideal creature to toss to the other end of her anger.

"You did an amazing job fixing mine and Carlisle's." Esme smiled back pleasantly. "And Bree's outfit is so very lovely too!"

Pride took over Alice's expression. "Thank you! I knew you'd like them."

Her confession made the newborn snort. Of course, the pixie would have known her coven leaders would have enjoyed the cloth pieces. She was able to see into the future and make clothes to their liking.

"Do you like yours, Bree?" The pixie asked warily.

The young teen glared at the woman. She stayed silent. It was not the business of the yellow-eyes to know whether she fancied her new outfit or not.

A small glimmer of satisfaction rushed to her as she was reminded how Alice had most likely not known how she felt about the clothes. The raven-haired vampire wouldn't have asked the question otherwise.

As the brown-haired girl didn't answer, Alice's expression dropped. She glanced at Carlisle and Esme "I suppose we should go soon. If we don't, Emmett is going to have a tantrum."

"Yes, you're indeed right." The blond patriarch nodded. He turned to look at Bree "You first."

The rain poured to the ground as the newborn ran towards the baseball field. Her wet clothes weighed on her, attaching to her skin like glue. Their uncomfortable touch stuck bravely on her like she'd already run away—like the clothes were attempting to stop her from doing so.

For their unfortunate luck, she wasn't going to let them dictate what she did. Soon, she'd be away from the yellow-eyes and safe from the dangerous Volturi.

Her eyes looked around, hoping to find an excuse not to play with the Cullens. She didn't want to be distracted by their activity when the time came to flee.

As she arrived on the edge of the field, her eyes spotted the yellow-eyes who had run to prepare for the game when she had still been getting ready to leave the house. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper stood firmly on the wet grass. Their expressions were clouded with impatience.

The trio dripped water, all of their hairs soaked from the sky's cries.

Bree slowed down, stopping fully when she felt she was close enough to the other vampires. She left quite a hole between herself and the amber-eyed coven. She had no desire to get too close to them now that their lie was out. In her mind, the already scary vampires had turned into monsters. And there was nothing the coven could do about it. They had betrayed her—told her she had hope when she didn't, and that if anything was monstrous.

Raindroplets slowed down, their pace becoming calmer. If the Cullens were to play, they should do so soon. The crimson-eyed girl was sure that otherwise the storm would stop and leave them without their baseball match. She doubted they would be able to play for too long. They had taken quite a while to leave when the storm struck.

Her muscles stiffened as a surprisingly huge drop of water splashed in her hair, its wet composure spreading onto her scalp. The ending of the storm was bad for her too. It made her escape window smaller. She needed to pray that the clouds continued giving water to the plants for a bit longer.

Alice jumped next to the newborn, her amber eyes glowing remorsefully. "I'm really sorry about-".

The young teen lurched backwards as a hiss burst from her small lips. She wanted to have nothing to do with the pixie. Couldn't she see how much harm she had done? She needed to stay away from her.

The raven-haired vampire frowned, offended by her reaction.

"Alice, don't go close to the newborn." Jasper's furious but worried voice rang. The man rushed between her and his mate.

"Jazz, it's fine, truly!" the short seer soothed him.

The southern-accented man narrowed his eyes. "It's not fine. She reeks of distrust and

apprehension." The last word spat out of him, like he would have been too revolted to spell it out loud. His vigorous gaze burned holes in Bree's face as he forwarded his new words to her. "You better be careful of your next move."

Panic flared in the newborn's chest. Did he know she was planning to flee? No, he possibly couldn't, or could he? Was his power to feel the emotions of others so strong that he was able to get the gist of what they were about to do? She rejected the idea, fixing her mind back on things happening around her. It was a ridiculous thought; he couldn't be able to do something like that. One of the other Cullens should have already mentioned it if it had been true. Her mind was just playing tricks on her, encouraging her stupid fantasies.

Esme's hands came behind her, placing themselves on her shoulders. The woman really wanted to have a death wish. If the sixteen-year-old girl hadn't known it was the matriarch of the coven, she would have attacked her toucher in a second. The only reason she let the caramel-haired vampire lay her hands on her was because, while getting to know her a bit, she had gotten the impression that Esme wouldn't hurt her without a good reason.

"How about you two go help the others get the game ready? We cannot waste more time if we wish to play," the matriarch instructed her children.

Jasper and Alice eyed her quickly before leaving to help their coven members.

Esme turned the teen around, forcing her to face her. "Bree, it's rude to hiss."

Bree's crimson eyes blinked defiantly. Her head rose upwards, wanting to look tough.

"I know Jasper was being rude to you, but that does not mean you have the right to be mean back to him. Show him you're the bigger person, and don't let his provocation get into your head," the caramel-haired woman said. She stared at the younger vampire wishfully.

"I don't need to be the bigger person," the newborn pointed out. As she spoke, she knew she was speaking the truth from the expression the other vampire made. She was the youngest immortal in the field, and Esme knew that. It wasn't her job to be nice to the southern man if he wasn't being pleasant either. He was, to her understanding, over two hundred years old while she was merely sixteen—not even legally an adult.

"I suppose you're right," the matriarch sighed. She pressed her lips together before speaking again. "Jasper cares about our family a lot, even if he doesn't always show it outwardly. He is scared you will end up hurting us or Alice, and feels a great need to protect our family. The way he shows it isn't considerate towards you, and I in no way endorse or accept his behaviour, but I do want you to understand he is only looking out for the rest of us."

The girl didn't react to her words. She didn't care how the scarred man felt. She was only concerned about her safety and wanted to have an easy escape.

Esme squashed her shoulder gently. "I want to apologise on behalf of my son. I'm sure he will come around and stop treating you the way he does."

Thunder cracked in the sky, colouring the field white.

The teen shifted her gaze away from the matriarch. Hurt spawned in her unbeating heart. He wouldn't 'come around'. She knew they both knew that. She had a time limit in her life, which was getting shorter the more time she spent with the yellow-eyes. In three days, she would be dead if she'd stayed here. Even in her wildest dreams, Jasper didn't start treating her well during the remaining days. It would take longer than that, which wasn't really an option.

"We are ready to start." Carlisle whispered silently as he walked up to the two. He wrapped his right arm behind his wife's back and raised his free hand to caress her cheek.

The caramel-haired woman smiled, letting go of Bree. She gave the doctor a small kiss on the lips. "We'll come soon."

"Good, Emmett is going to explode soon from anticipation," the blond doctor smiled. He turned to look at the newborn, who was now standing awkwardly in her place. "Do you want to play with us?"

"No," she answered.

"Then you can help me umpire the baseball match," Esme proposed.

The newborn nodded reluctantly. She needed to seem like she wasn't planning to do anything, and concentrating on the game might help hide her plan to flee. She couldn't choose fully to escape, or else Alice's visions would show it to the pixie.

"Hurry up!" Emmett shouted from his place. He stomped his feet impatiently. "You're taking forever. I want to play."

His action made the newborn roll her eyes. The hulk-like man didn't need to shout. They were able to hear him just fine from the other side of the field. He was acting like a child, which was dumb because she was supposed to be the kid.

The vampires in the area constructed two teams out of each other. Jasper, Alice, and Esme would face off against Carlisle, Rosalie, and Emmett.

The grouping had confused the brown-haired teen until she figured out Esme was both an umpire and a player. She wasn't sure how it was going to work, but she guessed they must have had a plan if they chose to put the matriarch on a team.

The baseball game began with a swing of Emmett's steel bat. It knocked the baseball far into the forest, forcing Jasper to run after it. But as the scarred man disappeared behind the trees, it didn't take long for the ball to fly back towards the field.

Next was the turn of the blond patriarch to swing. He waited until the ball was thrown close to him before hitting it hard and successfully. It flew back towards the forest it had returned from a minute ago.

Bree sat down on the grass, her hands playing with the spiky tips of the green plants growing from the ground. They tickled her marble skin as she brushed her hands nervously against them.

She needed to get ready to bolt. The Cullens were occupied with their game. This was her best chance to run. They wouldn't be able to react immediately to her escape attempt if she immediately stood up and ran.

As her body swirled in anxiety, a fresh scent drifted her way. It made her head snap to it, like a magnet finding its other part. The sweet smell of a familiar vampire, Fred's scent, infiltrated into her nostrils.

She jumped up from the grass instinctually, glancing at the yellow-eyes. They had not yet detected the scent.

Without thinking more, she sprinted towards the smell of her friend.