Moving Forward - J. Black

iv.

EDITED

The presence of Bella Swan had officially transitioned to Eliza's turf, Edward was bringing her home to meet the family. Esme had roped the vampires into making a feast for the human girl, one that Eliza was sure would rot in the fridge after Bella left. "Is she even Italian?" Eliza scrunched her nose at the smell of the food. "Her name is Bella." Carlisle shrugged, assuming that meant something. "I'm sure she'll love it, no matter what." Carlisle added when Eliza seemed unconvinced.

"Oof, get a whiff of that." Rosalie smirked obnoxiously when she picked up on Bella's scent. "Here comes the human." Esme sang cheerfully, itching to meet someone new. Eliza finished cutting up the chicken and moved over to work on the salad, keeping herself as busy as possible. "Bella, we're making Italiano for you." Esme greeted the human as the couple came up the stairs. Eliza allowed herself to look over at the couple and her eyes looked over their clasped hands.

Heartache still lingered for Eliza, especially when she saw how wide Edward's smile was. Eliza forgot she was still holding onto the salad bowl and her fingers slipped before she could react. The bowl shattered as it hit the ground and even Eliza jumped at the impact. The whole house went silent as Eliza looked down at the shattered glass and up at her family wide-eyed. Mortified, Eliza mumbled a quick apology and scrambled out of the kitchen. "Perfect." Rosalie scoffed as she watched Eliza disappear up the stairs.

Eliza's body felt heavy when she made it to her room. The blonde let out a groan as her chest felt heavy like her body suddenly had the need to breathe but she couldn't. Eliza felt panicked at the heaviness in her chest. Rosalie entered the room to see the blonde hunched over the edge of the bed as if she was in pain. Rosalie was glad that Eliza finally reacted to Edward and Bella's relationship, it wasn't beneficial for Eliza to bottle everything up. "Liza." Rosalie spoke softly, the blonde's head snapping up at the sound. Rosalie was shocked when she saw the whites of Eliza's eyes turn red, almost as if her body was trying to prevent tears from building up.

"Hey." Rosalie bent down in front of Eliza to try and support her in any way possible. Eliza gave in to the odd feeling of her brain screaming at her body to breathe. The pain in Eliza's chest began to subside when she finally gave in to the feeling, taking in a gulp of air. 

Eliza felt lighter after finally allowing herself to revel in her emotions and it made Bella's presence easier. But what made Bella's presence even easier for Eliza was blaming Edward, it naive and unfair, but it definitely helped. A big storm was rolling into the area and Edward had invited Bella to the family's upcoming baseball game.

Eliza and Emmett were messing around on the field when the couple arrived. "I'm glad you're here, we need an umpire." Esme greeted the girl as Eliza shoved Emmett. "She thinks we cheat." Emmett explained as his body narrowly avoided the pair. "She knows we cheat." Eliza laughed at Emmett's unjustified pout. Thunder echoed through the woods as the storm neared its peak, the game beginning. Rosalie was up to hit first and despite her best attempt, Bella called her out when her foot hit the base after she was already tagged out. "Babe, come on. It's just a game." Emmett tried to lighten the mood when Rosalie looked over at Bella with spite.

"Nice kitty." Carlisle joked as he took the bat from Eliza. As the ball soared through the air, Carlisle made a homerun while Emmett and Edward clashed on the field. Eliza picked up the bat next, eyeing Alice as she prepared for her pitch. Eliza successfully hit the ball, but not with enough strength as Emmett launched into the trees and reached for the ball mid-air, keeping Eliza on second base. Rosalie took her place to bat again, sending the ball into the woods. Eliza made it home when suddenly Alice's yells paused the game. "Stop!" Alice looked scared, a vision clear in her head. Edward must have seen whatever Alice saw and quickly made his way to Bella.

"They were leaving, then they heard us." Alice explained the situation as the family gathered around. "Let's go." Edward ushered Bella behind him in a panic as the family gathered around to put up a protective front. "It's too late." Carlisle stopped Edward as he tried to get Bella to his car. "Get your hair down." Edward moved frantically, trying his best to fix the situation. "Like that'll help, I can smell her from across the field." Rosalie scoffed as Edward fanned Bella's hair over her shoulders.

"I believe this belongs to you." the first nomad appeared with the missing baseball, two others following close behind him. "Thank you." Carlisle was polite as the nomad threw the ball back to the Cullens. "I am Laurent." the nomad introduced himself to Carlisle. "And this is Victoria and James." Laurent further introduces the red-headed woman and the blonde-haired man at his side. "I'm Carlisle and this is my family." Carlisle remained calm, trying his best to keep the attention away from the human that was hiding among them. "Hello." Laurent acknowledges the coven altogether. Eliza could feel the tension in the air despite Carlisle's best efforts.

"I'm afraid your hunting activities have caused something of a mess for us." Carlisle assumed that these nomads were responsible for the recent 'animal attack' in the area. "Our apologies, we didn't realize the territory had been claimed." Laurent responded civilly. "Yes, well we maintain a permanent residence nearby." Carlisle explained to the nomads. "Really?" Laurent let out a small chuckle, amused at the idea. Eliza took notice of the blonde vampire scanning her family members, Edward's stare exciting James. "Well, we won't be a problem anymore. We were just passing through." Laurent apologized, giving his coven member a warning look. "The humans were tracking us, but we led them east. You should be safe." Victoria's tone was almost mocking. "Excellent." Carlisle still kept a civil tone with the group.

"So, could you use three more players?" Laurent looked at the coven for friendship. Eliza looked over at James' crooked smile, his gaze still narrowed in on Edward. "Oh come on, just one game." Laurent hoped as he saw the coven's weariness. "Sure, why not. A few of us were leaving you could take their place." Carlisle offered, communicating with Edward through a glance. "We'll bat first." Carlisle tossed the ball back to Laurent, but Victoria moved positions to catch the ball instead. "I'm the one with the wicked curve ball." Victoria grinned at the family. "Oh, well I think we can handle that." Jasper smirked at the woman's attitude, laughter easing the tensions.

Edward didn't take his eyes off James as he and Bella made a move to leave. James lingered in his original position, watching the couple's movements. A shudder went down Eliza's spine as a gust of wind whipped through the trees. Panic ensured as the wind sent Bella's scent through the air, giving James his in. James grinned as he snapped his head toward the human and Edward quickly shoved Bella behind him defensively. "You brought a snack." James moved for the brunette, but the Cullens quickly moved back to defend Bella.

"A human?" Laurent looked a bit surprised as he moved to control James' advance. "The girl is with us, I think it best if you leave." Carlisle immediately looked to get the Coven far away from his family. "I can see the game is over. We'll go now." Laurent agreed to leave. "James." Laurent warned when the vampire made no sign of movement. Laurent gave his coven member another look of warning and the vampire finally budged. Carlisle waited until the nomads were out of the area before urging Edward to get Bella somewhere safe.