Dusk

#29

Bella

Rosalie led me 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 Edward, 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 they were very far apart.

When we finally came into view, the three on the rocks rose. Esme started toward us. Emmett followed after a long look at Edward's back; Edward rose up and walked off toward the field without a glance in our direction. Emmett was shaking his head when he made his way toward us.

"Sorry I didn't get to see you earlier today, Bella," he apologized, smiling sheepishly. "I really did want to be there."

"It's fine, Emmett. I understand."

Alice had left her position and was running, more like 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.

"Cool, isn't it?" Emmett said with east 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, a word that seemed strange describing Emmett.

"Ready for some ball?" Rosalie asked, a slight smirk on her lips.

"Rooting for you," I told her.

She chuckled and, after kissing my forehead, bounded off after the other two. Her run wasn't like Alice's, it was a bit more aggressive. I watched as she ran off until Esme's soft voice made me look at her.

"Shall we go down?" she asked in her melodic voice. Esme kept a few feet between us, and I wondered if she was being careful not to frighten me. She matched her stride to mine without seeming impatient at the pace.

"You don't play with them?" I asked, trying to get rid of my nerves.

"I actually prefer to referee. They cheat pretty often," she explained. "The arguments they have can get aggressive. Almost like they were raised by a pack of wolves."

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

She laughed too. "Well, every once in a while, I do see them as my children. As strange as it may sound. Did Rosalie tell you I had lost a child?"

"No," I muttered, stunned by the news.

"Yes," she sighed. "My first and only baby. She died just a few days after she was born, poor thing. It broke my heart-- that's why I jumped off the cliff, y'know," she added matter-of-factly.

"Y-You did?" I stammered. "Rosalie never told me your story."

"Besides Carlisle, she's letting us tell it ourselves." She smiled; I could see faint dimples in her dark cheeks. "Rosalie and I bonded very quickly, and I always saw her a daughter." She smiled at me warmly. "That's why I'm glad she found you, Bella. She's been the odd woman out for so long, I hated seeing her alone."

"You don't mind, then?" I asked. "That I'm...wrong for her?"

"Sweetheart, when I was still alive-- even when I was a newborn-- I was wrong for Carlisle." The endearment sounded very natural on her lips. "You're what she wants. It'll work out."