I woke to the sound of my alarm going off, that was the first night during which I didn't have a nightmare. I stood up and dressed in casual clothes. I took note of the date and recognised that there were tasks I needed to carry out before I could allow myself to relax. I cleaned myself up and tied my hair up in a messy bun and then made my way down the stairs.
I grabbed my car keys off of the table by the entrance to the garage and walked up to Carlisle who was glancing over medical records from the police department, "Can you drive with me somewhere? I don't think I'll be able to drive back is the only issue."
"Of course," he smiled and placed the folders down on the coffee table.
He followed me out of the house and to my car. I took my place behind the wheel and turned the car on. My music played at a medium volume and I drove a few miles out of town, Carlisle was simply observing my outward appearance. I moved my lips to the song but didn't use my voice.
Not using my voice didn't continue on the entire time, I got lost in a softer song as I reached my destination. I turned the car off after I parked, took a deep breath, and got out. I walked over a few feet away from the car and sat in front of my parents' gravestones and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear.
I took a deep breath and fixed the flowers that were resting against the stones. "Hi, mum. I know I haven't visited in a while, and I'm sorry for that. I know I've had a lot of holidays without you, but I don't know, this one's harder. I wanted to visit during Christmas, but Aaron wouldn't let me.
"I got away from him, Carlisle helped me with that. You would have liked him if you had met him. Dad wouldn't have been able to get around the species thing, but you would have liked him," I took a shaky breath and started to get upset.
"Why did you have to go hunting? You could have left it alone, you could have been here with me. Instead, you hunted when I was a kid. How could you?" I rested my face in my hands and then laid my back on the ground and cried.
Footsteps approached me but I still kept my hands over my face. Carlisle knelt down next to me and helped me sit up. "Are you all right?" He asked.
"It's still hard," I admitted. "She was there but she wasn't. That doesn't make sense, what I mean to say is..." My voice trailed off, "Well, it's exactly that. She existed, but she never really cared about anything besides hunting. For some reason, I can't manage to get over it, get over her."
"I understand, Jessamine," he held me close.
"What about you, what about your mother?" I asked.
"My mother died during childbirth with me," he looked down.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," I leant into him.
"It's all right, love," he soothed.
"You're so kind, so... what's the word?" I racked my brain for a perfect adjective, I turned to him and took his face into my hands, "So you," I kissed him.
"So me?" He chuckled after we pulled away.
"There isn't a word for the degree of compassion you hold," I looked into his eyes.
"Jessamine," he whispered and traced my cheek with his thumb.
"Carlisle," I copied him while resting my hands on his waist.
He kissed my cheek, "Are you ready to go back? We have a game to get to," he seemed to linger on the thought, as though he was going to say something.
"I am," I smiled and attempted to stand, it didn't work so well. I laughed as I rolled back onto the ground.
"Here," Carlisle chuckled and offered his hand to help me stand.
"Thanks," I giggled and walked with him back to the car. I gave the keys to him and he drove us back to his home. When we got there, we put our things back in the house and Carlisle went to change. He returned back downstairs with proper shoes, jeans, and a button-down. I couldn't help but smile and kiss his cheek.
"Are you ready?" He asked and held his hand out for me to take.
"I am," I gave him my hand with a quizzical expression. He placed me on his back and took off running. Everything around us was a blur of colour, the whole experience was surreal. We reached a clearing within minutes and he placed me down on the ground.
I blinked a few times and stumbled for a second before I returned to my normal state. "Are you all right?" Carlisle asked me, watching me.
"I'm fine," I laughed, "Just never gone at that speed before, it was fun."
"I'm glad," he chuckled and lead me over to his family.
"I'm glad you girls are here, we could use umpires," Esme chimed.
"She thinks we cheat," Emmett smirked.
"I know you cheat," Esme laughed. "Call them as you see them, girls."
"Hey," I hugged Bella with one arm.
"Hey, how are you?" She asked; we had gotten fairly close being the only two people to really know about the Cullens.
"I've been great, and you?" I questioned.
"Pretty good," she smiled and took her spot behind Esme, I stood close to her without getting in the way.
Rosalie was the first to bat, she caused a thunderous noise to emit from the bat as it collided with the ball, proving to Bella and me that there was certainly a need for the thunderstorm to cover up the game. She circled the field, hitting each base, and made it seem like she was going to make a home run.
The ball flew back into Esme's hand and she touched it to Rosalie's leg before Rose reached home plate. "You're out," Bella called. Rosalie stood and glared at Bella while walking off.
"Come on, babe, it's just a game," Emmett called from the side of the field.
"Nice kitty," Carlisle patted her on the back with a smile, I stifled a chuckle as I watched her take her place at the back of the line.
Carlisle went up to bat next, he showed off slightly, to which I smirked and then watched in wonder as he knocked the ball so far away. He made a home run, sliding into home plate as quickly as he could. He hopped up off the ground and dusted his pants off. Jasper went up to bat and smiled before Alice pitched to him.
The ball went unbelievably far, again, and people ran to go get it. They were quickly stopped by Alice screaming, "Stop!"
Everyone froze for a split second before gathering together around Bella and I. Carlisle took off his scarf and wrapped it around my neck, it was then that I understood what was happening. I took a strong stance beside him, not intending to waiver for anything. Three people emerged from an opening in the forest and flashed over to us.
"I believe this is yours," a man said, holding the baseball in the air between his thumb and index finger. He threw it back to Carlisle who caught it with ease.
"Thank you," Carlisle started.
"We were just passing by when we heard you," the man explained. "I am Laurant, and this is Victoria, and this is James," he motioned to the people to his sides.
"I am Carlisle and this is my family," Carlisle motioned to the line of people standing together. "I believe your hunting activities have caused somewhat of a problem for us."
"My apologies, we weren't aware that the territory had been claimed," Laurant said.
"Yes, well, we maintain a permanent residence nearby," Carlisle explained.
"Huh, fascinating," Laurant provided an expression of wonder.
"The humans were tracking us, we led them east. You should be safe," the woman, Victoria, grinned; Carlisle nodded in response with a false smile.
"Do you have room for three more players?" Laurant asked, no one answered. "Oh, come on, just one game?"
"Sure," Carlisle started, "a few of us were just leaving, you could take their place. We'll bat first." He threw the ball to Laurant.
Victoria caught it, "I'm the one with the wicked curveball," she smirked.
"Oh, I think we can handle that," Jasper smiled.
Laurant laughed with excitement and he and Victoria walked back a few paces to ready themselves to play. Carlisle and I began to walk slowly away from the group, but James was still staring Edward down. After a moment, he turned to join his friends. A gust of wind blew by, causing Bella's hair to toss, and James turned back around.
"You brought a snack," he commented and crouched into a predatorial stance.
Bella and I were pushed behind the group as they, too, crouched into a mirroring stance. "The girls are with us," Carlisle warned.
"Girls?" James cocked his head to the side and his eyes moved down the line of people, eventually landing on me.
"I can see the game is over, we will go," Laurant and Victoria backed off, Laraunt held his hands up in surrender. "James," he called when he noticed that James wasn't moving. James turned swiftly and met up with Victoria. He kissed her on the head as they walked away.
"Well shit," I mumbled.