Fridays after school had become my favorite time of day because it meant Jasper would ask me to join him to do something during the weekend. In the last week of February, his request was cause for concern.
"Come on," he told me, getting out of the car. "You love when we play."
"The last time we did, everything went wrong," I told him, walking through the front door.
"What went wrong?" Esme asked me.
"She's concerned about playing with us tomorrow," Edward called out from behind me, having just gotten home from school as well.
"Hey, no fair with the mind-reading," I told him, going to sit on the couch.
"Oh, come on," Noah said, walking into the living room. "Alice already says you'll play."
"Is Bella coming?" I asked.
"No," Edward replied, walking into the room as well. "She's not invited this time."
"Then I guess I'll play."
"She's on my team!" Jasper yelled before anyone else could.
The following day, our entire family was gathered on the field once again, ready for another game of baseball.
"Alright," Carlisle said, gathering everyone together. "Here's how we'll split it up. It'll be Jasper, Emma, Edward, and Rosalie on Team 1. Then Emmet, Noah, Alice, and I are on Team 2."
"And I'll be the umpire," Esme said.
"Team 1 is up to bat first!" I yelled before running over to the home plate.
Our game was chaotic from the start. Alice's pitching skills were unparalleled, and her first pitch almost broke the bat in my hand. Emmet caught my ball, giving us one out. Edward had managed to get a home run, but then Carlisle got Jasper out while he ran to third. Rosalie made it to second before I got out again because Noah caught my ball.
Then it was my turn to pitch. Alice got a home run. Noah made it to third base. Carlisle got out while running to second. Emmet got out because Edward caught his ball. Then Alice accidentally hit me with the ball in the arm, causing her to be out immediately.
It was our turn to bat, but since my arm kinda hurt from Alice hitting me, Esme took my place. Everyone continued playing for a while, while I rested my arm until Emmet broke the bat.
"Well, that's game," I said, laughing at Emmet.
We all gathered our stuff, getting ready to run home when Alice once again gasped.
Edward's eyes quickly focused on her as he read her mind and saw her vision. His gasp was cause for concern.
"What happened?" Carlisle asked them.
"Victoria," Alice said, coming out of her vision. "She attacked Harry Clearwater."
"We have to go," I told Jasper.
Without hesitation, he again picked me up and ran as fast as he could to Sam's house. While I probably could have gotten there quicker, I wasn't totally sure how to get there from the field, so Jasper's running was way faster.
Although I didn't know Leah and Seth well, I had hung out with them a couple of times since staying with Sam. They were nice kids, and they didn't need to be wrapped up in this chaos if I could stop it.
Jasper set me down as we reached Sam's house, and I ran straight to the front door. "Sam?" I yelled out.
"Emma?" He replied, coming around the corner from the kitchen. "What's going on?"
"Alice saw Victoria attacking Harry Clearwater," I told him.
"And it already happened," Jasper said, walking in and looking down at his phone.
Sam's phone rang, causing him to look down at it. He picked it up and said, "Hello? Oh Charlie, what's going on? Oh no! Yeah, I'll go check on them."
"What did he say?" I asked him as he set the phone down.
"He said Harry had a heart attack, and they are on their way to the hospital."
"I'll tell Carlisle to get there right away to help." Jasper started texting before he even spoke.
"We need to go down to the Clearwater's and check on Seth and Leah while Sue goes down to the hospital."
"I'm coming with you," I told him.
"And I'll go get the others," Jasper said, looking up. "We'll do a run-around and see if we find her."
"Thank you," Sam told him.
Jasper gave him a slight nod before turning to me. He gave me a big hug, saying, "Be careful."
"You too."
As soon as we let go, he took off while Sam and I got in his car. Sam drove us to the Clearwater's, where Seth and Leah were already alone. We walked up to the front door and walked into the unlocked house.
"Seth? Leah?" I called out. I knew Leah wouldn't want to see Sam right now, but I needed to make sure they were okay.
I could hear crying in their living room, and I walked in to see Seth sobbing on the floor. I knelt down next to him and wrapped him in a hug. "I've got you, Seth," I said, pulling him close to me.
"He's gone," he told me, sobbing into my shoulder. "Mom called and said he's gone."
"Oh, Seth." I hugged him tighter, knowing he needed comfort right now.
I looked up to see Sam walking into the room. "I can't find Leah," he told me.
"She ran outside after Mom called." Seth's words were quiet, but both of us could hear him.
Sam ran outside, hoping to find her before she did something rash. I stayed with Seth, knowing he needed someone to be with him. As he cried, I couldn't help but feel bad for him. Even though we barely knew each other, Seth felt like a little brother to me. I wanted to protect him from the world, but I couldn't.
As I held Seth, I could feel him suddenly heating up. "Seth, you're really warm," I told him. I pulled back slightly to put my hand on his head to feel his temperature.
"Go away, Sam!" Leah yelled outside. "I don't want anything to do with you right now!"
"Leah?" Seth said, perking up. He quickly got up off the floor and headed outside to find her.
I got up and went after him as Leah continued yelling. "My dad is dead! And the last thing I need is you to come in here and make me feel worse!"
"Leah, just calm down," Sam said.
I followed Seth around the outside of the house to see Leah and Sam fighting. Leah looked enraged, but something was different about her. She looked out of control.
She looked like she was about to phase.
"Sam!" I called out, hoping he understood what I saw.
"Leah! Where were you?" Seth called out, running over to her.
"Wait, Seth!" Sam yelled, trying to grab his arm and pull him away.
So he did see what I saw.
"No!" Seth and Leah yelled at the same time.
And then, against all odds, they both phased.