Never Returned (twilight story)

Baseball

A.N. Sorry I took so long, but here it is! Don't forget to vote, or if you really like me, become a fan. Comments are welcomed, feedback appreciated. Remember, all characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

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I walked down the stairs, chanting in my head.

Please don't be there. Please don't be there.

I put my hand on the doorknob.

Please don't be there. Please don't be there. Please don't be there.

I opened the door, looking around.

Please don't be there. Please- "Hey Bella." He walked out from behind the cover of my truck. Damn, I didn't think to look there. "Oh, hey Jacob." He engulfed me in a big hug. "You ok? I bet Edward and his lies shook you up." Edward and his lies. Edward and his lies. I knew I would have to repeat that to myself often to resist the temptation to take him back. Because, I wanted him so much, but I knew he would just leave me again. I nodded mutely. He squeezed me a little closer to him. Then he squeezed more. And more. "Jacob! Can't breathe." He let go, embarrassed. "Sorry Bells, I forget my own strength." "So, why you here?" "Well, the pack is throwing me a party tonight, and I was wondering if you wanted to come?" I thought about it for a moment, I certainly didn't want to go out anywhere , especially with him. But it was for his birthday... "Sure." "Great! See ya there." He kissed my cheek. "Got to go. See you at my place at nine?" "Sure. Bye." He jogged off. I took a deep breath of the cold morning air, preparing myself. Because I knew what I had to do. And was glad he didn't ask about it. I hopped in my truck and started the ignition. I drove for a bit, going towards the outskirts of the town and took a hidden road. Tree after tree zoomed by until I reached the end. And there it was. The house. The Cullen house. I took a deep breath and got out of my car. I headed towards the door, surprised vampires haven't come rushing out already. I looked through the window. The lights were off and it was lacking furniture. Strange. Maybe they haven't redecorated yet? I went to the door, a cobweb was on it. A cobweb? Rosalie would never leave a cobweb un-swept. I backed away from the house. They aren't here. I thought to myself, unsure if I should cry with tears of joy or sadness. I went for the truck, but she was already there. She ran towards me with her vampire speed. I cringed in fright as her arms shot around me, surprisingly gentle. "Oh Bella! I missed you so much!" Alice looked the same, same beautiful features, same pixie hair, same Jasper hanging around her. "Oh Jasper get over here! You won't hurt her." He cringed, obviously remembering how his trying-to-kill-me-at-my-party caused the string of events that lead the Cullens to leave. "Oh Bella, I'm so glad Edward wanted to come back! You two are perfect for each other!" "I'm not dating him Alice. I came to see the rest of you. I've got nothing against you!" Or at least not much, I added mentally. "But where are you living?" "Oh, just the forest. We were just building the house right now. We would have finished the day we started but then us girls were too sucked up in designs to help." "So where is everyone?" "Oh, I'll show you." "Wait, is he there?" "No, he's hunting right now." I nodded. "Let's go." I hoped in my car and followed her. She was running, but not as fast as she could go. Just enough to stay ahead of my car. She turned around and started running backwards, smiling and waving, causing me to laugh. She hit a tree and it smashed to bits, but she kept running, unfazed. Eventually, she stopped. "Here we are! Welcome to our new home!" I got out and looked. It was lovely, a two floor Victorian house with a wraparound porch. "I thought you said you weren't finished." "Well, we were still building the second floor when we left an hour ago." I barely took two steps towards the house before Emmett was there, his arms outstretched. "No!" Yelled Alice, tackling him. "You'll crush her! She's still human." He got up and smiled. "Sorry Bells. I forgot." Esme, Rosalie and Carlisle came out at a human speed with a chorus of "Bella!"s "It's so nice to see you again!"s and a "Oh great, she's back." "Bella, we missed you!" Said Esme. "Does this mean your back with Edward? Because I'm so sick of him and his dumb-ass mop around the house and do nothing attitude." Said Emmett. "No," I said. "I'm not back with him. I merely came to see you guys." "Oh." Everyone looked uncomfortable, even Rosalie. They all looked at each other as if conveying a secret message. Thunder boomed, Emmett cheered."Yes! Finally! I was starting to think our little weather forecaster was wrong!" Alice snorted. "I'm never wrong. It just changes when people make decisions. That's why I'm always right with the weather, it can't change it's mind." "Whatever, just grab a ball." "Baseball time!" They all stated walking to their cars. "Coming Bella?" "I'm not sure..." "Come on! We don't have an umpire, since Esme is replacing Edward." "We need an umpire Bella! These boys are always cheating." "Sure." I said and climbed into my truck. We drove to the clearing we played baseball in last time, before James, Victoria and Laurence walked in and changed my life into a giant, deadly game of cat and mouse. "Let's play some ball!" They put down makeshift bases and divided into two teams. Esme, Emmett and Alice vs. Jasper, Carlisle and Rosalie. I stood at the home base as the game began.

About an hour into the game, I was finally starting to relax. No longer did I glance nervously at the place they entered last time. No longer did I expect Alice to stop, have a vision, and yell. "Victoria's here!" I was finally relaxing, yelling "Your out!" or "Safe!" every two minutes, since they were that fast to get around the bases. "Guys, I wanted to know if you wanted any specific room because I wanted to put my stuff aw-" He stopped. "Bella? Why are you here?" "I came to see everyone." "You mean, you'll give me another chance?" He said hopefully. "Everyone but you." "Bella..." He said, practically appearing in front of me. "Oh Bella..." He said, his face twisted in grief. My hand twitched and moved towards his face. A voice, sounding suspiciously like Jacob, spoke in my mind: Edward and his lies. I looked at my upraised hand, and not knowing what to do with it, slapped him. "Ow! Shit!" I yelled. Carlisle ran over and delicately took my hand. He examined it. "I think you sprained your wrist." "Great." I mumbled. "Come on, I have the materials at home. We can bandage that up." He led me away, Edward started following but Carlisle shook his head lightly, causing him to stop in his tracks and stare sadly.

He finished wrapping the cloth and pinned it in place. "All done." "Thanks." "You coming back to the baseball game?" "No, I think I'd better leave." "That's a good idea. I'll tell them you left." "Thanks, goodbye." I left to my truck, gripping the steering wheel with my good hand and drove away.