The next few weeks passed without any incident worthy of noting.
"Talula, we're gonna go play baseball! Wanna come?" Emmett shouted
"Sure!" I yelled back, "Give me a minute to change into proper clothes, though!"
"Okay!"
I then quickly changed into my baseball outfit and ran downstairs.
(Outfit+hair... ignore the accessories and other things besides the actual clothes in the first pic)
"Ready to go, big man?" I teased
"After you shortstop."
"Rude. Wanna race there?"
"Why do you ask? You know he's going to say yes." Rose piped up
"It is polite to ask even if you already know the answer," I said
"Whatever. Get into position, you two." She sighed, "Ready... Set... Go!"
We took off, me changing forms mid-stride to give me a little extra boost. After a minute, I changed back and brought my wings out and took to the sky. I landed in the middle of the field right as Emmett got to the edge of the clearing.
"You cheated! You used your powers!" He whined
"Hey, you never said that they were off-limits on the race. So unless you specifically say that imma use what I got to help me kick your ass." I retort
"Whatever."
We started roughhousing when I saw Emmett's jeep pull up.
"Who drove your Jeep here?" I questioned
"Edward because he brought Isabella." Rose spat
"Why the fuck did he bring her to a family game?!" I hissed
"Bella is part of this family now, girls, so we allowed him to bring her." Carlisle calmly stated
"How in the world do y'all not see she is using him! She doesn't want to age, and she knows that there is a way for her not to age, so she is clinging to that, playing with him! His true mate is out there right now, and here he is with that thing!" I seethed, "I'm sorry, but if she is going to be here, then I can't be here. I'm going to go for a run. See you later."
"What's her issue?" I heard Isabella ask as I walked away
"You," Rose replied angrily before coming over to me.
"I know you don't want to be around her, but please stay for me." She pleaded
"Why. If I am around her for longer than a few minutes, she might just end up with a bullet in her."
"Then don't be near her while waiting for your chance to bat." She reasoned
"Fine. But you better be near me to keep me from attacking."
"Deal." She responds before giving me a right hug.
We both walked back over to the rest of the family.
"Thank you, Rosalie, for getting her to stay. It is always entertaining with her with us." Esme states
"Glad I can amuse you guys. Who's outfield today?" I grumble
"The fast and the strong," Jasper answered.
"You know I can't be outfield by myself. Who's going to be out there with me?" I joked
"I meant tweedle dee and tweedle dum," Jasper replied
"That makes much more sense now, thanks, Jas." I said, "we'll get out there, you two. We ain't got all day for you slowpokes."
They all laughed as we got into position; Rose at bat first, Esme as the catcher, Alice pitching, and the brown-haired vamps at outfield, the rest of us off to the side. Jasper was doing tricks with the bat, Carlisle stood there cheering everyone on, I did some stretches before making some dance moves.
I got up to bat, waiting for the ball. When it was finally pitched, I struck it extremely hard, making it fly above the trees into the woods; Ed went after it as I raced around the bases. He still hadn't come back after a couple of minutes.
"Damn Tal, think that's a new record. How hard did you hit the ball?!" Jasper exclaimed
"Half strength." I shrugged
"Think someone should go after him to see if something happened?" Bella asked.
"Nah, he's fine. He'll be back within the next minute." I stated.
30 seconds later, he came out of the forest.
"Finally got 30 miles out." Edward said, "that's a new record. How much strength did she use?"
"Half." We chorused
"Only half!" He exclaimed
"Yup." I shrugged again, "back to the game, mister. Unless you are too exhausted to continue."
"I don't get tired."
"You say that now. Wait till you spar with me. I might bleed, but I sure as hell don't get tired fighting."
"Oh yeah, what the longest you've lasted in a fight?"
"Against the robots that can keep up, that would be at least a week. Against other living beings, that would be as long as they last before they're dead." I stated deadly calm
"Would you two stop ya bickering? We got a game to play." Jasper cut in, picking up on my deadly emotions
"You are correct on that dear brother of mine," I said, emotions doing a complete 180.
We got back to the game, having fun. It lasted a few minutes before the three nomads came, causing us to form a barrier between them and the human. Carlisle talked to them a little bit before playing with the added members and Bella leaving with Edward. The wind shifted, which caused Bella's scent to drift towards the blond nomad.
"You brought a snack." He said
We surged forward, blocking him from getting to her. All of them hunched down in protective stances while I was standing normally with two long daggers drawn and pointed at the nomads.
"The girl is with us. It would be best if you leave now." Carlisle said, trying to defuse the situation
"I can see the game is over now. We will go now." Laurent said before walking away with Victoria, "James."
Once they left, Carlisle told Edward to get Bella out of the clearing. Once those two left, we all raced home to find the one with dreads by the back door.
"I'm here to warn you about the other two." He stated as we walked up to him, "James is a tracker and always loves a good game, which with the way your boy acted has enticed him to hunt the human. Victoria is his mate and obviously will do anything for him, and she also can get out of any situation."
"Why the fuck should we listen to you. You threatened my family." I growled
"Talula, stand down." Carlisle warned, "Now, why have you told us this?"
"I have grown tired of their ways. I would also like to try this diet of yours."
"We have friends up North in Alaska that will help you make the change."
"Thank you, that would be much appreciated. Now, James is a tracker and always loves a good game or hunt for his meal; this human you are protecting will be his most exciting game because of the reaction you gave. Victoria will follow him wherever as they are mates, and she can also get out of any situation. I hope this information helps you in any way. I must be going now. Goodbye." Dreads said before heading out the front door.
Right after he left, Edward and Isabella entered the house. We all walked to the garage while coming up with a plan to protect the stupid human.
"We need to get her away from here while also leaving a few different trails with her smell heading in opposite directions. Edward, you will not be going with her as it will be too obvious that you would be with her from the reaction you gave the nomads in the clearing." I state, "Alice and Jasper, you take Isabella south for a while, then head East towards New York. I have safehouses you can use on the way. They are all stocked up on everything needed."
"Why do you have safehouses?" Isabella asked
"Because I do." I answered, "Plus, with the amount of trouble me and my team get into, we need multiple safe houses around the world for our family members."
"You're part of a team?" Bella questioned, "What type of team are you on?"
"Yes, she is. She is part of the most elite military team." Rosalie said
"What? How?!" Isabella exclaimed
"The leaders of the team took me in when I was a child and raised me, sent me to military school to further my education while they were deployed, and once I finally graduated, I was automatically put with their team. I became the person who drew up all the plans, found all the information we needed for a successful mission, and was the team's medic of sorts. The reason I'm not with them now is that I am stuck on stupid medical leave, and the higher-ups aren't letting me go back until I graduate from a normal high school for some stupid ass reason that they won't divulge with me. Now we are done talking about me. Get your ass in the car and get out of here." I said, "Jasper, call me if you ever need anything while on the road. I will send a list of safehouses to you once you get onto the highway headed south."
"Who is going to wear some of Bella's clothing to leave the trails?" Edward asked
"I hope you weren't planning on having the males wear the clothing. As funny as it would be to see that." I pointed out, "The females will be wearing them, Ro don't give me that look; we need to deal with this problem. Ro put on one of her jackets, then head out with one of the guys. Esme, stay here to protect Charlie, please. I will take Edward here and go in a different direction from you, Rosie. Whoever else is left, stay behind to help Esme guard Charlie."
"Got it." everyone chorused.
Everyone began moving around to get ready to go and do what they were assigned. Right, when I put on Isabella's coat, my phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hey, baby wolf. How are you doing?" Lyla asked
"I'm doing just fine, mama, though I am a tad bit pissed off," I replied
"Why?"
"Stupid ass mortal and nomads have now threatened the safety of the Cullens."
"Wish I could help you, but I assume you already have come up with a plan to deal with the issue."
"Why did you call me?"
"One, to check in on you, and two, ask for your help on something, but it seems you're busy with something else already."
"What is it you need help with?"
"Need you to dig up some info on someone."
"Who and why?"
"Winslow Campbell. He thinks he is the perfect match for Brie."
"Let's hope he doesn't have a record. I will get back to you as soon as I get the info. Love you, mama."
"Love you too, little wolf," Lyla said before ending the call
"What was that about?" Edward demanded
"It was my team leader; something important came up that she needs me to help with. SO I will make some quick changes to the plan."
"How can something be more important than my mate being in danger?!"
"We don't have enough time for me to create a list. Edward, Emmett, Ro, you guys leave a trail of Bella's scent leading north. Esme, you stay here to protect Charlie; I can help once I finish helping my team. Carlisle help guard Charlie for now until I can take over; after that, go where ever you will be needed."
"Got it." everyone but Edward chorused
"Why aren't you going to help protect Bella?"
"One, don't like her. Two, she's not your true mate. Three, at least Charlie has some importance to this world, unlike that thing you are claiming is your mate just because her blood calls to you!" I shouted, "Now, if you excuse me, I have to go help my team with something more important than that desperate bitch you're obsessed with."
I stormed back into the house and my secret room.
"Hey, Mara. How are you doing today?" I asked as I entered
"I am doing fine. How are you?"
"Things could be better, but it's life, so oh well. Anyways can you notify me when it's an hour after everyone has left the house, please?"
"Of course. Is there anything else you need me to do?"
"Not at the moment. Though I may need to talk things through with you to figure out some things." I answered, pulling out my laptop
"Like what?"
"I'm going to be digging into someone's life to see if they are actually good for Brie or not, and I might need to talk to figure something out."
"Okay. I'll be here when you need me."
"Thanks, Mara."
~~~~~
It's been an hour since they have all left the house, Miss."
"Thank you. Mind transferring over to my phone so that I can bring you with me."
"Of course. Where are we going?"
"We are going over to Charlie's for a bit." I packed up my laptop
"But have you finished finding what you are looking for?"
"Almost. I'm just waiting for the results to come back from the algorithm I built. I thought that in the meantime, you and Charlie could meet and get to know each other."
"That is very kind of you. Are you sure he will react positively to me, though?"
"Of course he will. I mean, he does deal with me, and I'm a pain in the ass. You are an angel especially compared to me. You have nothing to worry about, Mara." I said, climbing into my car.
"Thank you, Rain."
"You're most welcome. Now, let's get this show on the road."
~~~~~~~
I knocked on the door.
"Charlie, you home?" I called out
"It's open." A broken voice answered
I walked straight in and towards where the voice came from. I saw Charlie sitting on the couch, looking utterly destroyed.
"Oh, Charlie. What did she say?" I softly asked, wrapping my arms around him
"She... She said the same thing Renee said." He broke down.
"Shh, it's okay. If she doesn't want to be here or actually care about you, you have to let her go. I know that she is your daughter, but she can't be treating you like this; it's absolutely wrong."
"But, she's my daughter. I can't let her go."
"I know it's hard, but you have to for your own emotional and mental health. You will always have the rest of the guys at the station and me. You even have my team and their families."
"How'd I manage to have your team care about me?"
"You care about me, and you also gave me a job as close as I could get to what I usually do. But mainly the caring about me part."
He chuckled slightly at that.
"Hey, it's true." I pouted, "Even though they haven't had the chance to meet you in person, they have talked to you over the phone, and they can tell that you truly care about me."
"I do care about you. I care about everyone in this town."
"I know, they know, everyone knows. It's how we can tell that you are a good man with a great heart." I stated, "Now, want some pizza or some other form of unhealthy food?"
"Sure. Where are we ordering from?"
"I don't know." I rubbed the back of my neck, "What are the good places to order from?"
He chuckled, "We can just head to the diner and get some food from there."
I stuck my tongue out at him.
"I call dibs on driving!" I shouted, running to the door
"Actually, miss, you are going to have to ride shotgun and look at what information just came up on your laptop." Mara piped up, causing Charlie to jump
"What the hell was that?"
"Oh, uh. That is my AI, known as Mara. She helps me with a lot of things."
"Like what?"
"Running simulations for my training, helping notify me of important things,"
"Like when to eat, drink, or sleep." Mara cut in
"Yeah, that stuff. She also is there for me to just talk to and figure out things like my emotions and the jumbled thoughts in my brain."
"That sounds nice." He mused
"If you want, I can add her to your phone if you want so that she can help you too, or I can create one special for you." I offered
"It's fine. You don't have to." He said, climbing into the cruiser
"Well, I want to. For now, I can add Mara to your device until I create one specially tailored to your needs. Now chop chop, we got food to eat, and I'm buying." I stated,
"But..."
"No, you are not paying, it's my treat, and I definitely have more than enough money to cover the cost." I cut him off, "honestly, if you are ever financially strained, just let me know, and I can help. I will always be willing to help you. It helps that I also have enough money to cover everyone in this town for life."
"How is that possible?"
"I make tech and weapons on the side. The weapons are mainly for the military and anyone else that I can trust with them. The tech is for everyone and is very affordable. You just have to find my website, call me, or contact me in some way, so I know what to make because they are all custom pieces."
"Wow." was all he said