Chapter 17: Chapter Seventeen: The Game

It was just beginning to drizzle when Edward turned onto our street. I lifted my face to greet the rain. Up until that moment, I'd had no doubt that Christian would be staying with me while I spent a few interim hours in the real world.

And then I saw the black car, a weathered Ford, parked in Dad's driveway — and heard Christian mutter something unintelligible in a low, harsh voice.

Leaning away from the rain under the shallow front porch, Jacob Black stood behind his father's wheelchair. Billy's face was impassive as stone as Edward parked my truck against the curb. Jacob stared down, his expression mortified.

Christian's low voice was furious. "This is crossing the line."

"He came to warn Dad?" I guessed, more horrified than angry.

Christian just nodded, answering Billy's gaze through the rain with narrowed eyes.

I felt weak with relief that Dad wasn't home yet.

"Let us deal with this," I suggested. Christian's black glare made me anxious.

To my surprise, he agreed. "That's probably best. Be careful, though. The child has no idea."

I bridled a little at the word child. "Jacob is not that much younger than I am," I reminded him.

He looked at me then, his anger abruptly fading, "Oh, I know," he assured me with a grin. "Get them inside," he instructed, "so we can leave. We'll be back around dusk."

"Do you want the truck?" I offered, knowing my sister wouldn't oppose. She hadn't climbed out of the cab yet. I suppose Edward was relaying the same information.

He rolled his eyes. "We could walk home faster than this truck moves."

I left it at that, standing to climb out of the back of the truck. It was still raining, but I didn't mind. It felt nice.

Jacob seemed to notice my motives and ran out into the rain as his shocked father screamed at him to come back. He appeared on the side of the truck and held out his hand to me. Not thinking about it, I took his hand and he reached up his other one to grab me under my arm and slowly helped lower me to the ground.

I turned when I touched the pavement and saw Christian's evil glare. I ducked my head, worried for that conversation later.

Bella climbed out of the cab next and ran to the porch, Jacob and I walking up behind her.

"Hey, Billy. Hi Jacob." Bella greeted them as cheerfully as she could manage. "Charlie's gone for the day — I hope you haven't been waiting long."

"Not long," Billy said in a subdued tone. His black eyes were piercing. "I just wanted to bring this up." He indicated a brown paper sack resting in his lap.

"Thanks," I said, though I had no idea what it could be. "Why don't you come in for a minute and dry off?"

I pretended to be oblivious to his intense scrutiny as I unlocked the door, and waved them in ahead of me.

"Here, let me take that," Bella offered, turning to shut the door. Probably allowing herself one last glance at Edward.

"You'll want to put it in the fridge," Billy noted as he handed her the package. "It's some of Harry Clearwater's homemade fish fry — Charlie's favorite. The fridge keeps it drier." He shrugged.

"Thanks," I repeated, but with feeling this time. "Bella was running out of new ways to fix fish, and he's bound to bring home more tonight."

"Fishing again?" Billy asked with a subtle gleam in his eye. "Down at the usual spot? Maybe I'll run by and see him."

"No," Bella quickly lied, her face going hard. "He was headed someplace new... but I have no idea where."

He took in her changed expression, and it made him thoughtful.

"Jake," he said, still appraising us. "Why don't you go get that new picture of Rebecca out of the car? I'll leave that for Charlie, too."

"Where is it?" Jacob asked, his voice morose. I glanced at him, but he was staring at the floor, his eyebrows pulling together.

"I think I saw it in the trunk," Billy said. "You may have to dig for it."

Jacob slouched back out into the rain.

Billy and I faced each other in silence. After a few seconds, the quiet started to feel awkward, so I turned and headed to the kitchen after Bella. I could hear his wet wheels squeak against the linoleum as he followed.

She shoved the bag onto the crowded top shelf of the fridge, and spun around to confront him. His deeply lined face was unreadable.

"Charlie won't be back for a long time." Her voice was almost rude.

He nodded in agreement, but said nothing.

"Thanks again for the fish fry," I hinted.

He continued nodding. I sighed and folded my arms across my chest.

He seemed to sense that we had given up on small talk. "Girls," he said, and then he hesitated.

We waited.

"Girls," he said again, "Charlie is one of my best friends."

"Yes."

He spoke each word carefully in his rumbling voice. "I noticed you've been spending time with the Cullens."

"Yes," I repeated curtly.

His eyes narrowed. "Maybe it's none of my business, but I don't think that is such a good idea."

"You're right," Bella agreed. "It is none of your business."

He raised his graying eyebrows at her tone. "You probably don't know this, but the Cullen family has an unpleasant reputation on the reservation."

"Actually, we did know that," I informed him in a hard voice. This surprised him. "But that reputation couldn't be deserved, could it? Because the Cullens never set foot on the reservation, do they?" I could see that my less than subtle reminder of the agreement that both bound and protected his tribe pulled him up short.

"That's true," he acceded, his eyes guarded. "You seem... well informed about the Cullens. More informed than I expected."

Bella stared him down. "Maybe even better informed than you are."

He pursed his thick lips as he considered that. "Maybe." he allowed, but his eyes were shrewd. "Is Charlie as well informed?"

He had found the weak chink in our armor.

"Charlie likes the Cullens a lot," I hedged. He clearly understood my evasion. His expression was unhappy, but unsurprised.

"It's not my business," he said. "But it may be Charlie's."

"Though it would be my business, again, whether or not I think that it's Charlie's business, right?" Bella said.

I wondered if he even understood her confused question as I struggled not to say anything compromising.

But he seemed to. He thought about it while the rain picked up against the roof, the only sound breaking the silence.

"Yes," he finally surrendered. "I guess that's your business, too."

I sighed with relief. "Thanks, Billy."

"Just think about what you're doing, girls," he urged.

"Okay," I agreed quickly.

He frowned. "What I meant to say was, don't do what you're doing."

I looked into his eyes, filled with nothing but concern for us, and there was nothing I could say.

Just then the front door banged loudly, and I jumped at the sound.

"There's no picture anywhere in that car." Jacob's complaining voice reached us before he did. The shoulders of his shirt were stained with the rain, his hair dripping, when he rounded the corner.

"Hmm," Billy grunted, suddenly detached, spinning his chair around to face his son. "I guess I left it at home."

Jacob rolled his eyes dramatically. "Great."

"Well, girls, tell Charlie" — Billy paused before continuing — "that we stopped by, I mean."

"I will," She muttered.

Jacob was surprised. "Are we leaving already?"

"Charlie's gonna be out late," Billy explained as he rolled himself past Jacob.

"Oh." Jacob looked disappointed. "Well, I guess I'll see you later, then, Alexandra."

"Sure," I agreed.

"Take care," Billy warned us. We didn't answer.

Jacob helped his father out the door. I waved briefly, glancing swiftly toward my now-empty truck, and then shut the door before they were gone.

I stood in the hallway for a minute, listening to the sound of their car as it backed out and drove away. I stayed where I was, waiting for the irritation and anxiety to subside. When the tension eventually faded a bit, Bella met me in the hallway and we headed upstairs to change out of our ridiculous clothes.

I tried on a couple different tops, my sister and I pulling our wardrobes together, not sure what to expect tonight. As I concentrated on what was coming, what had just passed became insignificant. Now that I was removed from Jasper's and Christian's influence, I began to make up for not being terrified before. I gave up quickly on choosing an outfit and so did my twin. She threw on an old flannel shirt and jeans. I decided on a black long sleeve turtleneck and bellbottoms.

The phone rang and Bella sprinted downstairs to get it, with me close behind. There was only one voice she wanted to hear; anything else would've been a disappointment for me. But I knew that if he wanted to talk, he'd probably just materialize in our room.

"Hello?" she asked, breathless.

"Oh, hey, Jess." I heard after a couple seconds. "How was the dance?"

I nodded to Bella and walked back upstairs, going to fix my hair in the bathroom. My eyes kept flashing towards the window in the bathroom, trying to judge the degree of light behind the heavy clouds. Using a large toothed clip, I twisted my hair against the back up my head and clipped it in place.

After a little bit of editing the strands in front of my face, I heard Dad's cruiser in the garage.

The front door slammed and I could hear Dad banging around under the stairs, putting his tackle away as I came down.

"Hi there, kiddo!" Dad called as he saw me, walking into the kitchen. I waved at him.

"See ya, Jess." Bella hung up the phone.

"Hey, Dad," she said. He was scrubbing his hands in the sink when I came up beside her. "Where's the fish?"

"I put it in the freezer."

"I'll go grab a few pieces before they freeze — Billy dropped off some of Harry Clearwater's fish fry this afternoon." I worked to sound enthusiastic.

"He did?" Dad's eyes lit up. "That's my favorite."

Dad cleaned up while Bella got dinner ready. It didn't take long till we were sitting at the table, eating in silence. Dad was enjoying his food. I was wondering desperately how to fulfill my assignment, struggling to think of a way to broach the subject.

"What did you do with yourselves today?" he asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Well, this afternoon we hung out around the house..." Only the very recent part of this afternoon, actually. Bella tried to keep her voice upbeat, but my stomach was hollow. "And this morning, we were over at the Cullens'."

Dad dropped his fork.

"Dr. Cullen's place?" he asked in astonishment.

I pretended not to notice his reaction. "Yeah."

"What were you doing there?" He hadn't picked his fork back up.

"Well, we sort of have a date with Edward Cullen and Christian Hale tonight, and they wanted to introduce us to their parents..."

"Dad?" I asked.

It appeared that Dad was having an aneurysm.

"Dad, are you all right?"

"You are going out with the Cullens?" he thundered.

Uh-oh. "I thought you liked the Cullens."

"They're too old for you girls," he ranted.

"Edward and Bella are both juniors and Christian's a senior — only a year older." I corrected, though he was more right than he dreamed.

"Wait..." He paused. "Which one is Edwin?"

"Edward is the youngest, the one with the reddish-brown hair." Bella said.

I continued, "Christian is the new one who got here a few years ago."

"Oh, well, that's" — he struggled — "better, I guess. I don't like the look of that big one. I'm sure he's a nice boy and all, but he looks too... mature for you two. Is this Edwin your boyfriend? And Chris...tian?"

"It's Edward, Dad."

"Is he?"

"Sort of, I guess."

"Alex?"

"No. I'm not dating Christian. He just wants to take me out. And the big one is Emmett, we're not with him." I replied.

"You two said last night that you weren't interested in any of the boys in town." But he picked up his fork again, so I could see the worst was over.

"Well, they don't live in town, Dad."

He gave her a disparaging look as he chewed.

"And anyways," I continued, "it's kind of at an early stage for the both of us, you know. Don't embarrass us with all the boyfriend talk, okay?"

"When are they coming over?"

"They'll be here in a few minutes."

"Where are they taking you?"

I groaned loudly before Bella could answer. "I hope you're getting the Spanish Inquisition out of your system now. We're going to play baseball with his family."

His face puckered, and then he finally chuckled. "You're playing baseball?"

"Well, we'll probably watch most of the time."

"You must really like these guys," he observed suspiciously.

I sighed and rolled my eyes for his benefit.

I heard the roar of an engine pull up in front of the house. I jumped up and started cleaning my dishes.

"Leave the dishes, I can do them tonight. You two baby me too much."

The doorbell rang, and Dad stalked off to answer it. I was half a step behind him with Bella at my side.

I hadn't realized how hard it was pouring outside. The boys stood in the halo of the porch light, looking like male models in an advertisement for raincoats.

"Come on in, boys."

I breathed a sigh of relief that Dad didn't attempt their names.

"Thanks, Chief Swan," Edward said in a respectful voice.

"Go ahead and call me Charlie. Here, I'll take your jackets."

"Thanks, sir." Christian said.

"Have a seat there, boys."

I grimaced.

Edward sat down fluidly in the only chair and Christian stood next to him, forcing me and Bella to sit next to Chief Swan on the sofa. I quickly shot Christian an apologetic look. He winked behind Dad's back.

"So I hear you're getting my girls to watch baseball." Only in Washington would the fact that it was raining buckets have no bearing at all on the playing of outdoor sports.

"Yes, sir, that's the plan." Edward didn't look surprised that we'd told Dad the truth. He might have been listening, though.

"Well, more power to you, I guess."

Dad laughed and Christian joined in. Edward smiled.

"Okay." Bella stood up, dragging me with her. "Enough humor at our expense. Let's go." She walked me back to the hall and we pulled on our jackets. They followed.

"Take care of my girls, all right?"

I groaned, but they ignored me.

"They'll be safe with us, I promise, sir."

Dad couldn't doubt Edward's sincerity, it rang in every word.

Bella and I stalked out. They all laughed, and Edward and Christian followed us.

We stopped dead on the porch. There, behind our truck, was a monster Jeep. Its tires were higher than my waist. There were metal guards over the headlights and tail-lights, and four large spotlights attached to the crash bar. The hardtop was shiny red.

Dad let out a low whistle,

"Wear your seat belts," he choked out.

Edward followed Bella around to the passenger side and opened the door for her. He lifted her up with one hand into the seat. Christian and I made our way to the back and the same happened, except I tried to jump. I hoped Dad didn't notice.

As Edward went around to the driver's side, at a normal, human pace, I tried to put on my seat belt. But there were too many buckles. I noticed my sister having a hard time, too.

"What's all this?" I asked Christian.

"It's an off-roading harness."

"Uh-oh."

I tried to find the right places for all the buckles, but it wasn't going too quickly. Christian sighed and reached over to help me. Bella didn't even try and Edward also reached to help her. I was glad that the rain was too heavy to see Dad clearly on the porch.

Christian's hands lingered in all the places he buckled. I gave up trying to help him and focused on not hyperventilating.

Edward turned the key and the engine roared to life. We pulled away from the house.

"This is a... um... big Jeep you have." Bella said.

I facepalmed my forehead at her awkwardness.

"It's Emmett's. I didn't think you'd want to run the whole way." Edward replied.

"Where do you keep this thing?"

"We remodeled one of the outbuildings into a garage."

"Aren't you going to put on your seat belt?"

Edward threw her a disbelieving look. I stayed quiet and let them have their ridiculous conversation. I didn't look at Christian, worried about what had happened with Jacob earlier.

"Run the whole way? As in, we're still going to run part of the way?" Bella's voice edged up a few octaves. Apparently, she didn't like running.

He grinned tightly. "You're not going to run."

"I'm going to be sick."

"Keep your eyes closed, you'll be fine."

She bit her lip.

I don't know how he found his way in the downpour, but he somehow found a side road that was less of a road and more of a mountain path. For a long while conversation was impossible, because I was bouncing up and down on the seat like a jackhammer. Christian seemed to enjoy the ride, though, smiling hugely the whole way.

And then we came to the end of the road; the trees formed green walls on three sides of the Jeep. The rain was a mere drizzle, slowing every second, the sky brighter through the clouds.

"Sorry, Bella, we have to go on foot from here."

"You know what? I'll just wait here."

Their conversation continued as Christian helped me unbuckle and then we climbed out. He was around to my side in a blur and helped me down. It was barely misting now; Alice was going to be right.

When we made it over to them, it was just as they broke apart, yelling something about how they'll be the death of each other. Edward threw my sister over his back once again and they readied to run. He glanced at Christian and I when he spoke.

"Are you waiting for an invitation?"

"We'll be exactly two minutes behind you guys," Christian replied.

Bella glanced at me apologetically before they raced off.

I glanced down towards the ground, suddenly interested in landscaping and began kicking at the weeds with my shoe.

"Alex," Christian began.

I didn't respond.

"Alex, is there something going on with you and Jacob Black?"

"I mean, no." I didn't know how to explain it. "He may or may not like me. He's a good friend, too, so it's not like I dislike him." I said, still looking at the ground.

Christian lifted up my chin to regain my full attention. "Then what are we doing here?" He sounded hurt and a little frustrated.

"What?" I asked rhetorically, suddenly angry. "What are we doing, Christian? Not only have you not made that very clear, besides the fact that you say I'm 'everything to you,' you're also getting mad because a friend of mine, a close friend I might add, helped me down from my truck?" I couldn't help the acid that dripped from my voice. I had been confused this entire time about what we really were and when the subject was brought up, he never commented. How could he be upset with me?

Before he could answer, I yelled. "I'm here with you, aren't I? Do you see me down at the rez!" I turned and stalked off in the direction my sister had headed.

He caught up to me instantly, to no surprise. "Alex, I'm sorry." He sounded genuine.

I ignored him and kept walking.

"Alex, you're right." He turned me around. "I never made anything totally clear with you; I'm sorry. You mean everything to me, Alex. I want to be in your life. I want to be with you." He sounded pathetic in a cute, non-mean way. Like a puppy.

I held my hand out to him as acceptance and he took it, then quickly swung me up bridal style. "Hold on," was the only warning I got before he took off.

I quickly buried my head into his chest and squeezed my eyes shut.

And I could hardly tell we were moving. I could feel him gliding along beneath me, but he could have been strolling down the sidewalk, the movement was so smooth. I was tempted to peek, just to see if he was really flying through the forest like before, so before I could stop myself, I did.

At his wicked speed, all I could see was the blur of green around us, so I focused on his face instead.

His golden eyes weren't looking at me, even though I figured he knew I was watching him. He was concentrating on not running flat into a tree, or that's what I would be doing if the roles were reversed. He had an open-mouth smile on his face that was charged with energy, his eyebrows arched. It was obvious he liked running, liked to feel the wind rushing past him. His hair flew back with the speed, exposing his forehead completely, but he didn't look any less like a painting. As lovely as he was, sophistication didn't reach him as it did Carlisle. Christian looked young at heart, young in his bones. It may have been because he was changed so young, but I think it's just a part of his makeup. He was youthful and exuberant and just pure joy.

I wasn't quite sure we had stopped until he finally met my eyes.

"It's over, Alex."

I looked around and we were indeed at a standstill. He let me down gently and I focused hard to stand up straight. I failed and he caught me as my knees crumbled underneath me, right before I hit the ground. He was chuckling to himself after he had a sure hold on me, which made me angry with embarrassment.

When we were collected, I saw Edward and Bella not too far away and we walked to catch up with them. They were finished with their conversation by the time we reached them and together, we walked a few feet through the tall, wet ferns and draping moss, around a massive hemlock tree, and we were there, on the edge of an enormous open field in the lap of the Olympic peaks. It was twice the size of any baseball stadium.

I could see the others all there; Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie, sitting on a bare outcropping of rock, were the closest to us, maybe a hundred yards away. Much farther out I could see Jasper and Alice, at least a quarter of a mile apart, appearing to throw something back and forth, but I never saw any ball. It looked like Carlisle was marking bases, but could they really be that far apart?

When we came into view, the three on the rocks rose.

Esme started toward us. Emmett followed after a long look at Rosalie's back; Rosalie had risen gracefully and strode off toward the field without a glance in our direction. My stomach quivered uneasily in response.

"Was that you we heard, Edward?" Esme asked as she approached.

"It sounded like a bear choking," Emmett clarified.

Bella smiled hesitantly at Esme. "That was him."

"Bella was being unintentionally funny," Edward explained, quickly settling the score.

Alice had left her position and was running, or dancing, toward us. She hurtled to a fluid stop at our feet.

"It's time," she announced.

As soon as she spoke, a deep rumble of thunder shook the forest beyond us, and then crashed westward toward town.

"Eerie, isn't it?" Emmett said with easy familiarity, winking at me.

"Let's go." Alice reached for Emmett's hand and they darted toward the oversized field; she ran like a gazelle. He was nearly as graceful and just as fast — yet Emmett could never be compared to a gazelle.

"Are you ready for some ball?" Edward asked, his eyes eager, bright.

Bella tried to sound appropriately enthusiastic. "Go team!"

He snickered and, after mussing her hair, bounded off after the other two. His run was more aggressive, a cheetah rather than a gazelle, and he quickly overtook them.

Christian gave me an uncharacteristic kiss on the side of my head and bound off after them as well, wordless. This earned me a shocked stare from Bella. I'd have to explain later.

"Shall we go down?" Esme asked in her soft, melodic voice, and I realized I was staring open-mouthed after him. I quickly reassembled my expression and nodded. Esme kept a few feet between us, and I wondered if she was still being careful not to frighten us. She matched her stride to ours without seeming impatient at the pace.

"You don't play with them?" I asked shyly.

"No, I prefer to referee — I like keeping them honest," she explained.

"Do they like to cheat, then?"

"Oh yes — you should hear the arguments they get into! Actually, I hope you don't, you would think they were raised by a pack of wolves."

"You sound like our mom," I laughed, surprised.

She laughed, too. "Well, I do think of them as my children in most ways. I never could get over my mothering instincts — did Edward tell you two I had lost a child?"

"No," Bella murmured, stunned, scrambling to understand what lifetime she was remembering.

"Yes, my first and only baby. He died just a few days after he was born, the poor tiny thing," she sighed.

"It broke my heart — that's why I jumped off the cliff, you know," she added matter-of-factly.

"Edward just said you f-fell," Bella stammered. I had only heard about this for a brief second from Bella recapping her time with Edward, so I remained silent, unsure of what to say.

"Always the gentleman." She smiled. "Edward was the first of my new sons. I've always thought of him that way, even though he's older than I, in one way at least." She smiled at Bella warmly. "That's why I'm so happy that he's found you, dear." The endearment sounded very natural on her lips. "He's been the odd man out for far too long; it's hurt me to see him alone." She looked past Bella to me, then. "And you, love. We've only been with Christian for five years — which is a very short time for us — but after we learned what had happened to him... I didn't think I could feel heartbreak again until then. I saw him as my son the minute he walked through our doors. I'm glad he has someone, too. I hate seeing anyone left out of love."

"You don't mind, then?" Bella asked, hesitant again. "That I'm... all wrong for him?"

"No." She was thoughtful. "You're what he wants. It will work out, somehow," she said, though her forehead creased with worry. Another peal of thunder began.

Esme stopped then; apparently, we'd reached the edge of the field. It looked as if they had formed teams. Edward was far out in left field, Carlisle stood between the first and second bases, and Alice held the ball, positioned on the spot that must be the pitcher's mound. I looked for Christian, but didn't see him anywhere.

Emmett was swinging an aluminum bat; it whistled almost untraceably through the air. I waited for him to approach home plate, but then I realized, as he took his stance, that he was already there — farther from the pitcher's mound than I would have thought possible. Jasper stood several feet behind him, catching for the other team. Of course, none of them had gloves.

"All right," Esme called in a clear voice, which I knew even Edward would hear, as far out as he was.

"Batter up."

Alice stood straight, deceptively motionless. Her style seemed to be stealth rather than an intimidating windup. She held the ball in both hands at her waist, and then, like the strike of a cobra, her right hand flicked out and the ball smacked into Jasper's hand.

"Was that a strike?" I whispered to Esme.

"If they don't hit it, it's a strike," she told me.

Jasper hurled the ball back to Alice's waiting hand. She permitted herself a brief grin. And then her hand spun out again.

This time the bat somehow made it around in time to smash into the invisible ball. The crack of impact was shattering, thunderous; it echoed off the mountains — I immediately understood the necessity of the thunderstorm.

The ball shot like a meteor above the field, flying deep into the surrounding forest.

"Home run," I murmured.

"Wait," Esme cautioned, listening intently, one hand raised. Emmett was a blur around the bases, Carlisle shadowing him. I realized Edward was missing. I still hadn't figured out where Christian had gone, either.

"Out!" Esme cried in a clear voice. I stared in disbelief as Edward sprang from the fringe of the trees, ball in his upraised hand, his wide grin visible even to me.

"Emmett hits the hardest," Esme explained, "but Edward runs the fastest."

The inning continued before my incredulous eyes. It was impossible to keep up with the speed at which the ball flew, the rate at which their bodies raced around the field.

I learned the other reason they waited for a thunderstorm to play when Jasper, trying to avoid Edward's infallible fielding, hit a ground ball toward Carlisle. Carlisle ran into the ball, and then raced Jasper to first base. When they collided, the sound was like the crash of two massive falling boulders. I jumped up in concern, but they were somehow unscathed.

"Safe," Esme called in a calm voice.

I finally worked up to the courage to ask. "Where did Christian go?"

Esme smiled her sweet smile. "Since he joined, the teams are uneven, so they take turns running perimeter and playing games. It'll be his turn next and someone will switch out with him."

I nodded a little glumly that I had to wait to see him and refocused.

Emmett's team was up by one — Rosalie managed to flit around the bases after tagging up on one of Emmett's long flies — when Edward caught the third out. He sprinted to Bella's side, sparkling with excitement.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"One thing's for sure, I'll never be able to sit through dull old Major League Baseball again."

"And it sounds like you did so much of that before," he laughed.

"I am a little disappointed," She teased.

"Why?" he asked, puzzled.

"Well, it would be nice if I could find just one thing you didn't do better than everyone else on the planet."

He flashed a smile at her, "I'm up," he said, heading for the plate.

He played intelligently, keeping the ball low, out of the reach of Rosalie's always-ready hand in the outfield, gaining two bases like lightning before Emmett could get the ball back in play. Carlisle knocked one so far out of the field — with a boom that hurt my ears — that he and Edward both made it in. Alice slapped them with dainty high fives.

The score constantly changed as the game continued, and they razzed each other like any street ballplayers as they took turns with the lead. I couldn't help but think about Christian, hoping he wasn't lonely or dejected running perimeter by himself. Occasionally Esme would call them to order. The thunder rumbled on, but we stayed dry, as Alice had predicted.

Carlisle was up to bat, Edward catching, when I finally saw Christian. He was running at a normal speed from the treeline towards Esme, my sister, and I.

"Look! There's Christian." I smiled. That smile quickly faded as I saw the serious, angry expression on his face.

Alice suddenly gasped and Edward's head snapped up to look at her. Their eyes met and something flowed between them in an instant. He was at Bella's side before the others could ask Alice what was wrong.

Christian reached me and started pulling, nudging me farther from my sister than I already was.

"Alice?" Esme's voice was tense.

"I didn't see — I couldn't tell," she whispered.

All the others were gathered by this time.

"What is it, Alice?" Carlisle asked with the calm voice of authority.

"They were traveling much quicker than I thought. I can see I had the perspective wrong before," she murmured.

I was still trying to pull against Christian when he whispered low. "I caught their scent; others are coming." I felt my body go rigid as the vampires continued discussing.

Jasper leaned over her, his posture protective. "What changed?" he asked.

"They heard us playing, and it changed their path," she said, contrite, as if she felt responsible for whatever had frightened her.

Seven pairs of quick eyes flashed to Bella, then to me, then away.

"How soon?" Carlisle said, turning toward Edward.

A look of intense concentration crossed his face.

"Less than five minutes. They're running — they want to play." He scowled.

"Can you make it?" Carlisle asked him, his eyes also flicking to Christian.

"No, not carrying —" he cut short. "Besides, the last thing we need is for them to catch the scent and start hunting."

Christian swore under his breath.

"How many?" Emmett asked Alice.

"Three," she answered tersely.

"Three!" he scoffed. "Let them come." The steel bands of muscle flexed along his massive arms.

For a split second that seemed much longer than it really was, Carlisle deliberated. Only Emmett seemed unperturbed; the rest stared at Carlisle's face with anxious eyes.

"Let's just continue the game," Carlisle finally decided. His voice was cool and level. "Alice said they were simply curious."

All this was said in a flurry of words that lasted only a few seconds. I had listened carefully and caught most of it, though I couldn't hear what Esme now asked Edward with a silent vibration of her lips. I only saw the slight shake of his head and the look of relief on her face.

"You catch, Esme," he said. "I'll call it now." And he planted himself in front of my sister.

The others returned to the field, warily sweeping the dark forest with their sharp eyes. Alice and Esme seemed to orient themselves around where my sister and I were standing, even though we were far apart.

"Take your hair down," Edward said in a low, even voice.

She obediently slid the rubber band out of her hair and shook it out around her.

I stated the obvious. "The others are coming now."

"Yes, stay very still, keep quiet, and don't move from my side, please." He hid the stress in his voice well, but I could hear it. "You're not in as much danger as Bella may be, but your lack of scent might intrigue them as it did me." he whispered to me.