《Twilight 暮光之城Ⅰ——暮色》 （中英文对照·完结）

阿汤哥

我听到从屋前传来的引擎的轰鸣声。我跳起来，开始收拾餐具。

“别管那些盘子，今晚我来收拾。你也太把我当孩子了。”

门铃响了起来，查理大步走过去开门。我只比他快了半步。

我完全没有注意到，屋外正下着倾盆大雨。爱德华站在门廊的灯光下，看上去像是雨衣广告里的男模特。

“进来吧，爱德华。”

我如释重负地松了口气，这次查理终于把他的名字念对了。

“谢谢，史温警长。”爱德华毕恭毕敬地说道。

“进来，叫我查理就行，我来拿你的外套。”

“谢谢，先生。”

“坐吧，爱德华。”

我扮了个鬼脸。

爱德华毫不犹豫地坐到了唯一的一张椅子上，逼得我只好过去和查理一起坐在沙发上。我飞快地狠狠瞪了他一眼。他在查理背后使了个眼色。

“那么，我听说你要带我的女儿去看棒球。”只有在华盛顿，外面下着倾盆大雨的事实才会对参加户外运动毫无影响。

“是的，先生。计划是这样的。”他看上去毫不惊讶于我居然把实情告诉了我爸爸。不过，他也许早就听到了。

“嗯，我猜，我得祝你大大的好运了。”

查理大笑起来，而爱德华也跟着笑了起来。

=====================

"What did you do with yourself today?" he asked, snapping me out of my
reverie.

"Well, this afternoon I just hung out around the house…" Only the very
recent part of this afternoon, actually. I tried to keep my voice upbeat,
but my stomach was hollow. "And this morning I was over at the Cullens'."

Charlie dropped his fork.

"Dr. Cullen's place?" he asked in astonishment.

I pretended not to notice his reaction. "Yeah."

"What were you doing there?" He hadn't picked his fork back up.

"Well, I sort of have a date with Edward Cullen tonight, and he wanted to
introduce me to his parents… Dad?"

It appeared that Charlie was having an aneurysm.

"Dad, are you all right?"

"You are going out with Edward Cullen?" he thundered.

Uh-oh. "I thought you liked the Cullens."

"He's too old for you," he ranted.

"We're both juniors," I corrected, though he was more right than he
dreamed.

"Wait…" He paused. "Which one is Edwin?"

"Edward is the youngest, the one with the reddish brown hair." The
beautiful one, the godlike one…

阿汤哥

本帖最后由 queenie_su 于 2009-8-15 11:52 编辑

“好了。”我站起来。“拿我寻开心也该适可而止了。我们走吧。”我走回前厅，穿上我的外套。他们都跟着走了过来。

“别待太晚，贝拉。”

“别担心，查理，我一定会早早把她送回家。”爱德华保证道。

“照顾好我女儿，好吗？”

我呻吟起来，但他们都无视我。

“她跟我在一起会很安全的，我保证，先生。”

查理根本无法质疑爱德华的诚意，他说出的每一个字都饱含着诚挚。

我大步走出屋外。他们都大笑起来，爱德华跟着我走出来。

我停在门廊里，愣住了。那里，就在我的卡车后面，停着一辆庞然大物般的越野车。它的轮胎比我的腰还高。车的前灯和尾灯周围都围着金属护栏，防撞栏上安装着四个巨大的探照灯。这辆车子是耀眼的火红色。

查理低低地吹了一声口哨。

“系上你的安全带。”他憋出几个字来。

爱德华跟着我走到乘客座旁，把门打开了。我估量着自己跟座位的距离，准备跳上去。他叹了口气，然后单手把我举了起来。我希望查理没有注意到这点。

然后，他用一种正常的人类的速度走回驾驶座。我试图系上自己的安全带。但这安全带的系扣太多了。

“这些都是什么东西？”当他打开车门的时候，我问道。

“这是越野车专用安全带。”

========================

"Okay." I stood up. "Enough humor at my expense. Let's go." I walked back
to the hall and pulled on my jacket. They followed.
"Not too late, Bell."
"Don't worry, Charlie, I'll have her home early," Edward promised.
"You take care of my girl, all right?"
I groaned, but they ignored me.
"She'll be safe with me, I promise, sir."

Charlie couldn't doubt Edward's sincerity, it rang in every word.
I stalked out. They both laughed, and Edward followed me.
I stopped dead on the porch. There, behind my truck, was a monster Jeep.
Its tires were higher than my waist. There were metal guards over the
headlights and tail-lights, and four large spotlights attached to the
crash bar. The hardtop was shiny red.
Charlie let out a low whistle.
"Wear your seat belts," he choked out.
Edward followed me around to my side and opened the door. I gauged the
distance to the seat and prepared to jump for it. He sighed, and then
lifted me in with one hand. I hoped Charlie didn't notice.
As he went around to the driver's side, at a normal, human pace, I tried
to put on my seat belt. But there were too many buckles.
"What's all this?" I asked when he opened the door.
"It's an off-roading harness."

阿汤哥

本帖最后由 queenie_su 于 2009-8-15 11:53 编辑

“噢-哦。”

我试图找出每对系扣的正确搭配，但进度实在是太慢了。他又叹了口气，伸过手来帮我。我很高兴这雨吓得太大，没法看清楚站在门廊里的查理。这也意味着他看不见爱德华的双手是怎样在我的脖子上流连着，轻触着我的锁骨。我放弃帮他的忙，全神贯注地稳住自己的呼吸。

爱德华拧动车匙，引擎轰鸣着发动起来。我们把车从屋前开走了。

“你有一辆……呃……很大的越野车。”

“这是艾美特的。我认为你不想一路上都用跑的。”

“你们把车停在哪里？”

“我们把其中一间外屋改建成了车库。”

“你不打算系上你的安全带吗？”

他用质疑的眼神看着我。

然后某件事闯入了我的脑海。

“一路上都用跑的？这就是说，我们还得跑上一段路吗？”我的声音不知不觉提高了八个音阶。

他紧张地咧嘴一笑。“你不必跑。”

“我会晕过去的。”

“把眼睛闭上，你会没事的。”

我咬住唇，竭力抑制住恐惧。

=======================

"Uh-oh."
I tried to find the right places for all the buckles to fit, but it
wasn't going too quickly. He sighed again and reached over to help me. I
was glad that the rain was too heavy to see Charlie clearly on the porch.
That meant he couldn't see how Edward's hands lingered at my neck,
brushed along my collarbones. I gave up trying to help him and focused on
not hyperventilating.
Edward turned the key and the engine roared to life. We pulled away from
the house.
"This is a… um… big Jeep you have."
"It's Emmett's. I didn't think you'd want to run the whole way."
"Where do you keep this thing?"
"We remodeled one of the outbuildings into a garage."
"Aren't you going to put on your seat belt?"
He threw me a disbelieving look.
Then something sunk in.
"Run the whole way? As in, we're still going to run part of the way?" My
voice edged up a few octaves.
He grinned tightly. "You're not going to run."
"I'm going to be sick."
"Keep your eyes closed, you'll be fine."
I bit my lip, fighting the panic.

阿汤哥

本帖最后由 queenie_su 于 2009-8-15 11:53 编辑

他侧过身来，吻了吻我的头顶，然后叹息起来。我困惑地看着他。

“雨里的你闻起来很不错。”他解释道。

“这是好事，还是坏事？”我谨慎地问道。

他叹了口气。“两者都有，通常都是两者都有。”
我不知道他是怎么在一片黑暗和倾盆大雨里找着路的，但他终究找到了一条辅路，与其说是马路，不如说是山间小路。有很长一段时间我们根本没办法谈话，因为我一直像只手提钻一样在座位上弹上弹下。不过，他似乎很喜欢在这样的路上开车，一路上他都在大笑着。

然后，我们到达了路的尽头。树木筑成了绿色的藩篱，围绕在越野车的三侧。雨每一秒都在减弱，已经变成了一种毛毛细雨，云层后的天空变得稍微明亮些了。

“抱歉，贝拉，从这里开始我们就得走过去了。”

“你知道我怎么打算吗？我会在这里等你。”

“你的勇气都到哪里去了？今天早上你还特别勇敢的。”

“我可还没忘记上次的事。”这居然还是昨天刚刚发生的事？

他一阵风似的绕到我身旁。他开始解开我的安全带。

“我自己来，你去吧。”我竭力主张道。

“呃嗯……”他一边飞快地解开所有系扣，一边若有所思地说道。“也许我得修改一下你的记忆。”

我还没反应过来，他已经把我拉出车外，让我落到地上。现在雨已经变成蒙蒙细雨了。爱丽丝是对的。

“修改我的记忆？”我提心吊胆地问道。

=============================

He leaned over to kiss the top of my head, and then groaned. I looked at
him, puzzled.
"You smell so good in the rain," he explained.
"In a good way, or in a bad way?" I asked cautiously.
He sighed. "Both, always both."
I don't know how he found his way in the gloom and downpour, but he
somehow found a side road that was less of a road and more of a mountain
path. For a long while conversation was impossible, because I was
bouncing up and down on the seat like a jackhammer. He seemed to enjoy
the ride, though, smiling hugely the whole way.
And then we came to the end of the road; the trees formed green walls on
three sides of the Jeep. The rain was a mere drizzle, slowing every
second, the sky brighter through the clouds.
"Sorry, Bella, we have to go on foot from here."
"You know what? I'll just wait here."
"What happened to all your courage? You were extraordinary this morning."
"I haven't forgotten the last time yet." Could it have been only
yesterday?
He was around to my side of the car in a blur. He started unbuckling me.
"I'll get those, you go on ahead," I protested.
"Hmmm…" he mused as he quickly finished. "It seems I'm going to have to
tamper with your memory."
Before I could react, he pulled me from the Jeep and set my feet on the
ground. It was barely misting now; Alice was going to be right.
"Tamper with my memory?" I asked nervously.

阿汤哥

“类似于这样的事情。”他专注地看着我，但他的眼里有着浓浓的调侃。他把手撑在越野车上，落在我的头的两侧，然后向我侧下身来，逼得我紧靠在了门上。他的脸离我的脸只有几英寸远。我根本无路可逃。

“现在，”他轻声说着，他的气息完全打乱了我的思路。“你到底在担心着什么？”

“嗯，呃，撞到树上——”我吞咽了一下“——撞死，还有眩晕。”

他报以一笑。他低下头，用冰冷的唇温柔地吻着我的颈窝。

“现在，你还在担心么？”他贴着我的肌肤，喃喃低语道。

“是的。”我挣扎着继续说道。“担心撞树和晕眩。”

他的鼻子轻轻地贴着我的肌肤，从我的喉咙一路滑到我的下颌。他冰冷的呼吸呵在我的肌肤上，有点儿痒。

“那现在呢？”他的唇贴住我的下颌，耳语着。

“树，”我喘息着说。“运动症。”
他低下头，吻着我的眼睑。“贝拉，你不会真的认为我会撞到树上吧，对吗？”

“不，但我也许会。”我的声音里毫无自信。他嗅到了胜利在望的味道。

他慢慢地，一路往下吻着我的脸颊，恰好停在了我的嘴角上。

“我会让你撞到树上吗？”他的唇轻轻地刷过我微微颤抖着的下唇。

“不，”我喘息着说。我知道如果我要很好地反击的话，我还得补上一句。但我实在说不出来。

然后，他几近粗暴地捧起我的脸，如痴如醉地吻着我，他坚硬的唇摩挲着我的唇。

=======================

"Something like that." He was watching me intently, carefully, but there
was humor deep in his eyes. He placed his hands against the Jeep on
either side of my head and leaned forward, forcing me to press back
against the door. He leaned in even closer, his face inches from mine. I
had no room to escape.

"Now," he breathed, and just his smell disturbed my thought processes,
"what exactly are you worrying about?"

"Well, um, hitting a tree —" I gulped "— and dying. And then getting
sick."

He fought back a smile. Then he bent his head down and touched his cold
lips softly to the hollow at the base of my throat.

"Are you still worried now?" he murmured against my skin.

"Yes." I struggled to concentrate. "About hitting trees and getting sick."

His nose drew a line up the skin of my throat to the point of my chin.
His cold breath tickled my skin.

"And now?" His lips whispered against my jaw.

"Trees," I gasped. "Motion sickness."

He lifted his face to kiss my eyelids. "Bella, you don't really think I
would hit a tree, do you?"

"No, but I might." There was no confidence in my voice. He smelled an
easy victory.

He kissed slowly down my cheek, stopping just at the corner of my mouth.

"Would I let a tree hurt you?" His lips barely brushed against my
trembling lower lip.

"No," I breathed. I knew there was a second part to my brilliant defense,
but I couldn't quite call it back.

"You see," he said, his lips moving against mine. "There's nothing to be
afraid of, is there?"

"No," I sighed, giving up.

Then he took my face in his hands almost roughly, and kissed me in
earnest, his unyielding lips moving against mine.

阿汤哥

我实在找不到借口为自己的行为解脱。显然事到如今我已经比上次更清楚这样做的后果了，但我还是情不自禁地像第一次那样做出反应。我没有安全地待在那里一动不动，而是伸出胳膊紧紧地缠住他的脖子，然后忽然贴上了他大理石般的五官。我喘息着，张开了唇

他摇摇晃晃地退开，毫不费力地挣脱了我的紧握。

“该死，贝拉！”他挣脱出来，喘着气说道。“我发誓，我迟早会死在你手里的
我弯下身子，用手撑着膝盖稳住自己。

“你不会死的。”我咕哝着说道，试图稳住自己的呼吸。

“在遇见你之前，我本来是很相信这一点的。现在，在我真的做出什么蠢事以前，让我们离开这儿。”

他像之前一样把我扔到了背上，我看到出来，为了跟原来一样温柔他格外费了点劲。我把腿交缠在他腰上，胳膊紧紧地扣住他的脖子。

“别忘了闭上眼睛。”他严厉地警告道。

我飞快地把头贴住他的肩胛骨，埋在自己的胳膊下，然后紧紧地闭上了眼睛。

我几乎没有感觉到我们在移动。我只能感觉到他在我下面滑行着，但他就像是在人行道上溜达一样，动作很平稳。我心痒痒的，想要偷看一眼，想知道他是不是真的像之前那样飞跃过丛林，但我抵至住了这种诱或。不值得为这事再来一回可怕的眩晕。我让自己满足于听着他平稳的呼吸。

我不太能肯定我们是否已经停下来了，直到他伸过手抚着我的发。

“已经结束了，贝拉。”

我壮着胆子睁开了眼，然后确定，我们确实停下来了。我笨拙地松开把他箍得死死的四肢，滑落到地上，仰躺在那里。

“噢！”当我撞到潮湿的地上时，我愤怒地喊道。

==========================

There really was no excuse for my behavior. Obviously I knew better by
now. And yet I couldn't seem to stop from reacting exactly as I had the
first time. Instead of keeping safely motionless, my arms reached up to
twine tightly around his neck, and I was suddenly welded to his stone
figure. I sighed, and my lips parted.

He staggered back, breaking my grip effortlessly.

"Damn it, Bella!" he broke off, gasping. "You'll be the death of me, I
swear you will."

I leaned over, bracing my hands against my knees for support.

"You're indestructible," I mumbled, trying to catch my breath.

"I might have believed that before I met you. Now let's get out of here
before I do something really stupid," he growled.

He threw me across his back as he had before, and I could see the extra
effort it took for him to be as gentle as he was. I locked my legs around
his waist and secured my arms in a choke hold around his neck.

"Don't forget to close your eyes," he warned severely.

I quickly tucked my face into his shoulder blade, under my own arm, and
squeezed my eyes shut.

And I could hardly tell we were moving. I could feel him gliding along
beneath me, but he could have been strolling down the sidewalk, the
movement was so smooth. I was tempted to peek, just to see if he was
really flying through the forest like before, but I resisted. It wasn't
worth that awful dizziness. I contented myself with listening to his
breath come and go evenly.

I wasn't quite sure we had stopped until he reached back and touched my
hair.

"It's over, Bella."

I dared to open my eyes, and, sure enough, we were at a standstill. I
stiffly unlocked my stranglehold on his body and slipped to the ground,
landing on my backside.

"Oh!" I huffed as I hit the wet ground.

阿汤哥

他怀疑地看着我，显然还不能肯定自己是否还在生气，是否还有心情拿我寻开心。但我不知所措的表情推了他一把，他终于撑不住狂笑起来。

我自己挣扎着站起来，不去理会他，只是把外套后面的泥泞和蕨类植物拍掉。这让他笑得更凶了。我气恼地大步走进密林里。

我感觉到他的胳膊环住了我的腰。

“你要去哪里，贝拉？”

“去看棒球赛。你好像对打球没什么兴趣了，但我敢肯定就算没有你别人也能玩得很开心的。”

“你走错方向了。”

我转过身，看也不看他，高视阔步地向相反的方向走去。他又拉住了我。

“别生气，我只是一时情难自禁。你真应该看看你自己的脸。”他轻笑着，好不容易才按捺住笑意。

“哦，就许你一个人生气？”我扬起眉毛，问道。

“我没在生你的气。”

“‘贝拉，我会死在你手里的’？”我酸溜溜地引述他的话。

“这只是就事论事。”

我试图转身再次挣脱他，但他眼疾手快地抓住了我。

“你就是在生气。”我坚持说道。

“是的。”

“可你才说着——”

==========================

He stared at me incredulously, evidently not sure whether he was still
too mad to find me funny. But my bewildered expression pushed him over
the edge, and he broke into a roar of laughter.

I picked myself up, ignoring him as I brushed the mud and bracken off the
back of my jacket. That only made him laugh harder. Annoyed, I began to
stride off into the forest.

I felt his arm around my waist.

"Where are you going, Bella?"

"To watch a baseball game. You don't seem to be interested in playing
anymore, but I'm sure the others will have fun without you."

"You're going the wrong way."

I turned around without looking at him, and stalked off in the opposite
direction. He caught me again.

"Don't be mad, I couldn't help myself. You should have seen your face."
He chuckled before he could stop himself.

"Oh, you're the only one who's allowed to get mad?" I asked, raising my
eyebrows.

"I wasn't mad at you."

"'Bella, you'll be the death of me'?" I quoted sourly.

"That was simply a statement of fact."

I tried to turn away from him again, but he held me fast.

"You were mad," I insisted.

"Yes."

"But you just said —"

阿汤哥

“我不是在生你的气。你看不出来吗，贝拉？”他忽然紧绷起来，所有调侃的痕迹都消失了。“你不明白吗？”

“明白什么？”我诘问道，他突如其来的心情变化和他说的话一样让我困惑。

“我从来不会对你生气——我怎么可能生你的气呢？你是这么的勇敢，坚信……温暖。”

“那是为什么？”我低声说着，记起了把他从我身旁拉开的那些阴暗的情绪，我一直把那解释为是一种情有可原的失望——对我的软弱，我的迟钝，我蛮不讲理的人类反应的失望……

他小心地用双手捧起了我的脸颊：“我是在生我自己的气，”他温柔地说着。“我气我自己总是无法控制自己，总是让你处于险境。我不同寻常的存在总是让你处于危险之中。有时候我真的很厌恶自己。我应该更强大些，我应该能——”

我用手掩住他的口。“别。”

他抓住我的手，从他的唇上拿开，却按在了自己的脸上。

“我爱你，”他说道。“这实在是一个蹩脚的借口，一个用来解释我所做的一切的借口，但这确实是真的。”

这是他第一次说他爱我——尽管还加上了这么多多余的话。他也许没有觉察到这一点，但我确实意识到了。

“现在，求你，试着做你自己。”他继续说着，弯下身子，温柔地用他的唇摩挲着我的唇。

我明智地保持一动不动。然后，我叹了口气。

“你向史温警长保证过，你要早点带我回家的，还记得吗？我们最好现在就过去。”

“是的，女士。”

他充满渴望地笑起来，放开了我，只用一只手挽住我。他领着我在高大潮湿的蕨类植物和垂挂着的苔藓之间走了几英尺，绕过一棵宏伟的铁杉。然后，我们到了。我们正站在奥林匹克山山腰上一片巨大的开阔地的边缘。它是任何一个露天棒球场的两倍大。

======================

"That I wasn't mad at you. Can't you see that, Bella?" He was suddenly
intense, all trace of teasing gone. "Don't you understand?"

"See what?" I demanded, confused by his sudden mood swing as much as his
words.

"I'm never angry with you — how could I be? Brave, trusting… warm as you
are."

"Then why?" I whispered, remembering the black moods that pulled him away
from me, that I'd always interpreted as well-justified frustration —
frustration at my weakness, my slowness, my unruly human reactions…

He put his hands carefully on both sides of my face. "I infuriate
myself," he said gently. "The way I can't seem to keep from putting you
in danger. My very existence puts you at risk. Sometimes I truly hate
myself. I should be stronger, I should be able to —"

I placed my hand over his mouth. "Don't."

He took my hand, moving it from his lips, but holding it to his face.

"I love you," he said. "It's a poor excuse for what I'm doing, but it's
still true."

It was the first time he'd said he loved me — in so many words. He might
not realize it, but I certainly did.

"Now, please try to behave yourself," he continued, and he bent to softly
brush his lips against mine.

I held properly still. Then I sighed.

"You promised Chief Swan that you would have me home early, remember?
We'd better get going."

"Yes, ma'am."

He smiled wistfully and released all of me but one hand. He led me a few
feet through the tall, wet ferns and draping moss, around a massive
hemlock tree, and we were there, on the edge of an enormous open field in
the lap of the Olympic peaks. It was twice the size of any baseball
stadium.

阿汤哥

我看见别的人都已经到了：艾思梅，艾美特和罗莎莉正坐在一块露出地面的光秃秃的岩石上，他们离我们最近，大概有一百码的距离。在更远些的地方，我看见贾斯帕和爱丽丝，他们隔着大概有四分之一英里远的距离站着，似乎正在把什么东西抛来抛去，但我没看见球。看上去卡莱尔正在标出各个垒的位置，可是每个垒之间真的要隔那么开吗？

当我们出现的时候，岩石上的三个人站起身起来。

艾思梅开始向我们这边走来。艾美特长长地看了一眼罗莎莉的背影，也跟着过来了。罗莎莉优雅地站起来，大步朝场地那边走去，看也不看我们的方向一眼。我的胃立刻有了反应，不安地痉挛起来。

“我们听到的是你吗，爱德华？”艾思梅一边说着，一边走过来。

“听起来像是一只熊被噎着了。”艾美特进一步解释道。

我迟疑地向艾思梅微笑。“那就是他。”

“贝拉当时无意中显得很好笑。”爱德华解释道，立刻扳回一城。

爱丽丝已经离开了她原来在的位置，向我们跑过来，或者说，是舞着过来。她如行云流水般冲过来，停在我们跟前。“时间到。”她宣布到。

她话音刚落，一声沉闷的隆隆的雷声在离我们很远的密林中炸开了，然后向西边的城镇划去。

“怪可怕的，不是吗？”艾美特自来熟地说着，冲我眨了眨眼。

“我们走吧。”爱丽丝和艾美特一击掌，然后他们像箭一样向那块超大型的场地投掷过去。她奔跑的样子像一只瞪羚。艾美特几乎和她一样优雅，一样快——尽管艾美特永远也不可能被比作一只瞪羚。
“你准备好打几棒了吗？”爱德华问道，他的眼睛闪闪发亮，很是热切。

我试图让自己听起来有恰如其分的热情。“归队！”


============================

I could see the others all there; Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie, sitting on a
bare outcropping of rock, were the closest to us, maybe a hundred yards
away. Much farther out I could see Jasper and Alice, at least a quarter
of a mile apart, appearing to throw something back and forth, but I never
saw any ball. It looked like Carlisle was marking bases, but could they
really be that far apart?

When we came into view, the three on the rocks rose.

Esme started toward us. Emmett followed after a long look at Rosalie's

back; Rosalie had risen gracefully and strode off toward the field
without a glance in our direction. My stomach quivered uneasily in
response.

"Was that you we heard, Edward?" Esme asked as she approached.

"It sounded like a bear choking," Emmett clarified.

I smiled hesitantly at Esme. "That was him."

"Bella was being unintentionally funny," Edward explained, quickly
settling the score.

Alice had left her position and was running, or dancing, toward us. She
hurtled to a fluid stop at our feet. "It's time," she announced.

As soon as she spoke, a deep rumble of thunder shook the forest beyond
us, and then crashed westward toward town.

"Eerie, isn't it?" Emmett said with easy familiarity, winking at me.

"Let's go." Alice reached for Emmett's hand and they darted toward the
oversized field; she ran like a gazelle. He was nearly as graceful and
just as fast — yet Emmett could never be compared to a gazelle.

"Are you ready for some ball?" Edward asked, his eyes eager, bright.

I tried to sound appropriately enthusiastic. "Go team!"

阿汤哥

他窃笑着，弄乱了我的头发，然后紧跟着另外两人弹射出去。他的奔跑更具攻击性，更像一只猎豹而非瞪羚。他飞快地超过了他们。那种优雅和力量让我屏住了呼吸。

“我们要过去了吗？”艾思梅用她温柔的，优美的声线问道，我这才意识到自己一直贪婪地注视着他的背影。我立刻调整好自己的表情，点了点头。艾思梅始终和我保持着几英尺的距离，我怀疑她还在小心翼翼地避免吓着我。她配合着我的步调走着，没有丝毫的不耐烦。

“你不和他们一起打球吗？”我羞涩地问道。

“不，我更喜欢当裁判——我喜欢让他们诚实地比赛。”她解释道。

“那么，他们喜欢作弊吗？”

“哦是的——你真应该听听他们是怎样吵吵嚷嚷的！事实上，我希望你不必听到，否则你会认为他们是在狼群里长大的。”

“你说话的语气真像我妈。”我惊讶地大笑起来。

她也大笑起来。“好吧，基本上，我确实视他们如己出。我从没能从自己的母性本能中恢复过来——爱德华有没有告诉过你，我失去过一个孩子？”

“没有。”我大受惊吓，喃喃低语着。我脑子里很混乱，不知道她想起的是哪段人生。

“是的，我第一个，也是唯一一个还在。他生下来几天就夭折了，可怜的小东西，”她叹息着说道。“我的心都碎了——所以我才会从悬崖上跳下来，你知道。”她实话实说地补充道。

“爱德华只是说你跳——跳下来了。”我结结巴巴地说道。

“他总是那么绅士。”她笑了起来。“爱德华是我新生后的第一个儿子。我总是那样认为的，虽然他比我更为年长，至少在某种程度上来说是这样。”她温和地向我微笑着。“所以，当他找到你的时候，我才会那么的高兴，亲爱的。”她语气里的亲切感是那么的自然。“他独自一人过得太久了，看着他一直单身让我很难过。”

============================

He snickered and, after mussing my hair, bounded off after the other two.
His run was more aggressive, a cheetah rather than a gazelle, and he
quickly overtook them. The grace and power took my breath away.

"Shall we go down?" Esme asked in her soft, melodic voice, and I realized
I was staring openmouthed after him. I quickly reassembled my expression
and nodded. Esme kept a few feet between us, and I wondered if she was
still being careful not to frighten me. She matched her stride to mine
without seeming impatient at the pace.

"You don't play with them?" I asked shyly.

"No, I prefer to referee — I like keeping them honest," she explained.

"Do they like to cheat, then?"

"Oh yes — you should hear the arguments they get into! Actually, I hope
you don't, you would think they were raised by a pack of wolves."

"You sound like my mom," I laughed, surprised.

She laughed, too. "Well, I do think of them as my children in most ways.
I never could get over my mothering instincts — did Edward tell you I had
lost a child?"

"No," I murmured, stunned, scrambling to understand what lifetime she was
remembering.

"Yes, my first and only baby. He died just a few days after he was born,
the poor tiny thing," she sighed. "It broke my heart — that's why I
jumped off the cliff, you know," she added matter-of-factly.

"Edward just said you f-fell," I stammered.

"Always the gentleman." She smiled. "Edward was the first of my new sons.
I've always thought of him that way, even though he's older than I, in
one way at least." She smiled at me warmly. "That's why I'm so happy that
he's found you, dear." The endearment sounded very natural on her lips.
"He's been the odd man out for far too long; it's hurt me to see him
alone."

阿汤哥

“那么，你不介意吗？”我又踌躇起来，问道。“如果我……我对他来说完全是个错误？”

“不。”她深思熟虑地说道。“你就是他想要的。不管怎样，这是命中注定的。”话是这样说，可她的额头却因为担心而皱了起来。又一阵隆隆的雷声响了起来。

然后，艾思梅停了下来。显然，我们已经到了场边。看上去他们已经组好队了。爱德华守在左外野，卡莱尔站在一垒和二垒之间，爱丽丝拿着球，站在某处必定是投手板的小土堆上。

艾美特正在耍弄着一根球棒，它在空气中呼呼作响，我却几乎看不见它运动的痕迹。我等着他走到本垒，但随后我意识到，他已经做好了击球的准备，他已经站好了——站在离投手板那么远的地方，比我以为可能是本垒的地方还要远得多。贾斯帕站在他身后几英尺的地方，作为另一队的捕手。当然，他们中没有一个人戴着手套。

“各就各位，”艾思梅用清亮的声音喊道，我知道即使是爱德华站在那么远的地方，他也能听到。“开始。”

爱丽丝站得直直的，装模作样地一动不动。作为一个摆出挥臂准备投球的姿势的人而言，她的作风似乎太诡异了点。她双手拿球放在腰间，然后，就像眼镜蛇的突袭一样，她的右手轻快地一甩，球不偏不倚地向贾斯帕的手里飞去。

“那是一个好球吗？”我对艾思梅耳语道。

“如果他们不挥棒的话，这就是个好球。”她告诉我。

贾斯帕用力把球扔回爱丽丝正等着的手里。她容许自己简短地一笑，然后她的手再次旋转起来。

这一次，那根球棒挥动起来，以某种方式及时击中了那个根本看不见的球。撞击的声音有如山崩，隆隆作响。这声音回荡在山峦之间——我立刻明白了雷雨天的必要性。

那球像流星一样掠过场地上空，远远地落入周围的密林之中。

“全垒打。”我喃喃低语道。

================

"You don't mind, then?" I asked, hesitant again. "That I'm… all wrong for
him?"

"No." She was thoughtful. "You're what he wants. It will work out,
somehow," she said, though her forehead creased with worry. Another peal
of thunder began.

Esme stopped then; apparently, we'd reached the edge of the field. It
looked as if they had formed teams. Edward was far out in left field,
Carlisle stood between the first and second bases, and Alice held the
ball, positioned on the spot that must be the pitcher's mound.

Emmett was swinging an aluminum bat; it whistled almost untraceably
through the air. I waited for him to approach home plate, but then I
realized, as he took his stance, that he was already there — farther from
the pitcher's mound than I would have thought possible. Jasper stood
several feet behind him, catching for the other team. Of course, none of
them had gloves.

"All right," Esme called in a clear voice, which I knew even Edward would
hear, as far out as he was. "Batter up."

Alice stood straight, deceptively motionless. Her style seemed to be
stealth rather than an intimidating windup. She held the ball in both
hands at her waist, and then, like the strike of a cobra, her right hand
flicked out and the ball smacked into Jasper's hand.

"Was that a strike?" I whispered to Esme.

"If they don't hit it, it's a strike," she told me.

Jasper hurled the ball back to Alice's waiting hand. She permitted
herself a brief grin. And then her hand spun out again.

This time the bat somehow made it around in time to smash into the
invisible ball. The crack of impact was shattering, thunderous; it echoed
off the mountains — I immediately understood the necessity of the
thunderstorm.

The ball shot like a meteor above the field, flying deep into the
surrounding forest.

"Home run," I murmured.

阿汤哥

“再等等看，”艾思梅警告着，她专注地聆听着，一只手高高举起。艾美特风一般环绕着所有的垒跑着，卡莱尔在向他示意。我意识到，爱德华不见了。

“出局！”艾思梅用清亮的声音高喊着。我难以置信地看着爱德华从林海的边缘跃出，高举的手里攒着球，他欢畅的咧嘴大笑连我都看得清清楚楚。

“艾美特的击球最有力，”艾思梅解释道。“但爱德华跑得最快。”

这一局在我充满怀疑的注视中继续着。我的目光根本跟不上那只球飞舞的速度，也跟不上他们在场地上奔跑的身影。

当贾斯帕试图躲开爱德华滴水不漏的外野守卫，把一只地滚球击向卡莱尔的时候，我了解到了他们需要等到雷雨天才能玩球的另一个理由。卡莱尔冲过去截住那只球，然后把贾斯帕送上了一垒。他们相撞的声音，听起来像是两块飞速落下的巨石撞击的声音。我担心地跳了起来，但他们不知怎的都毫发无损。

“安全上垒。”艾思梅用冷静的声音说道。

艾美特的队伍领先一分——罗莎莉在艾美特击出一记长长的高飞球时成功触垒，然后设法沿着各垒奔跑——这时爱德华接住了第三个界外球。他冲到我身旁，兴奋得像在闪闪发光。

“你感觉怎么样？”他问道。

“有一件事我很确定，我再也不能坐下来看完整场老旧乏味的大联盟棒球赛了。”

“听起来你以前没少看他们的比赛。”他大笑起来。

“我有点失望。”我揶揄道。

“为什么？”他困惑地问道。

“嗯，如果我能从你身上找到哪怕一点你不如这个星球上的其他人的事情，我会感觉更好些。”

他露出一抹他特有的弯弯坏笑，走开了，丢下我一个人在那里，几乎喘不过气来。


========================

阿汤哥

“我来了。”他说着，向本垒板走去。

他的打法很聪明，他把球打得很低。罗莎莉虽然在外野随时把手准备着，但还是没能接着那个球。在艾美特把球扔回来以前，他已经像闪电一样跑过了两个垒。卡莱尔击出一记长球，飞得几乎和场地一样远——那轰隆声震得我的耳朵生疼——然后他和爱德华双双上垒。爱丽丝高调而优雅地和他们击掌相贺。

比赛继续进行着，比分在不断地变化着，当他们轮流领先时，他们像那些街头棒球手那样互相嘲弄着。偶尔，艾思梅会冲他们大喊，让他们收敛一点。雷声继续轰鸣着，但我们依然很干爽（但完全没有雨水），就像爱丽丝预言过的那样。

轮到卡莱尔击球，爱德华捕球的时候，爱丽丝忽然喘息起来。像往常一样，我的眼睛始终盯着爱德华，我看见他猛地抬起头，看着她。他们对视着，瞬间用眼神交流着某些事情。在别人还没来得及开口问爱丽丝发生了什么事时，他已经站在了我身边。

“爱丽丝？”艾思梅的声音很紧张。

“我看不见——我说不准。”她耳语着。

这时所有人都聚拢了过来。

“怎么回事，爱丽丝？”卡莱尔用充满威信的冷静的语气问道。

“他们移动得比我预计的还要快，我看见我之前的预计出错了。”她低声说着。

贾斯帕向她俯下身去，做出保护性的姿势：“什么情况变了？”他问道。

“他们听到我们在打球，于是改变了路线。”她懊悔地说着，就好像她觉得她对某些吓着了她的事情责任重大。

七双敏捷的眼睛同时瞄向我，随即移开了。

“还有多久？”卡莱尔说着，转向爱德华。

一种紧绷的全神贯注的神情掠过他的脸。
=========================

"I'm up," he said, heading for the plate.

He played intelligently, keeping the ball low, out of the reach of
Rosalie's always-ready hand in the outfield, gaining two bases like
lightning before Emmett could get the ball back in play. Carlisle knocked
one so far out of the field — with a boom that hurt my ears — that he and
Edward both made it in. Alice slapped them dainty high fives.

The score constantly changed as the game continued, and they razzed each
other like any street ballplayers as they took turns with the lead.
Occasionally Esme would call them to order. The thunder rumbled on, but
we stayed dry, as Alice had predicted.

Carlisle was up to bat, Edward catching, when Alice suddenly gasped. My
eyes were on Edward, as usual, and I saw his head snap up to look at her.
Their eyes met and something flowed between them in an instant. He was at
my side before the others could ask Alice what was wrong.

"Alice?" Esme's voice was tense.

"I didn't see — I couldn't tell," she whispered.

All the others were gathered by this time.

"What is it, Alice?" Carlisle asked with the calm voice of authority.

"They were traveling much quicker than I thought. I can see I had the
perspective wrong before," she murmured.

Jasper leaned over her, his posture protective. "What changed?" he asked.

"They heard us playing, and it changed their path," she said, contrite,
as if she felt responsible for whatever had frightened her.

Seven pairs of quick eyes flashed to my face and away.

"How soon?" Carlisle said, turning toward Edward.

A look of intense concentration crossed his face.

阿汤哥

“不到五分钟。他们在奔跑——他们想加入比赛。”他阴沉着脸说道。

“你能赶上吗？”卡莱尔问他，他的眼睛再次瞥了我一眼。

“不能，如果不带着——”他打住了话头。“还有，我们最不需要的事情就是让他们闻到味道然后开始狩猎。”

“有几个人？”艾美特问爱丽丝。

“三个。”她简单地答道。

“三个！”他嘲弄着。“让他们来吧。”他粗壮的胳膊上钢铁般的肌肉群一路膨胀起来。

对话停顿了片刻，卡莱尔仔细思索着，这一秒钟显得格外的漫长。只有艾美特一个人显得很镇定，其余的人都用焦虑不安的眼神注视着卡莱尔的脸。

“让我们继续比赛。”卡莱尔最终决定道。他的声音既沉着又淡定。“爱丽丝说他们只是很好奇。”

所有一连串的对话只持续了几秒钟。我仔细地听着，捕捉到了大部分的意思，但我还是没听到艾思梅问了爱德华什么，她的嘴唇沉默地颤抖着。我只看见他轻微地摇了摇头，她脸上露出了宽慰的神情。

“你来当捕手，艾思梅。”他说道。“现在我来下令。”然后他让自己矗立在了我跟前。

别的人都在走回场地上去，用他们锐利的目光警惕地扫视着幽暗的密林。爱丽丝和艾美特似乎刻意地围着我站着。

“把你的头发放下来。”爱德华用低沉平缓的声音说道。

我顺从地扯下绑着头发的橡皮圈，甩头让头发散落下来。

我点出那个显而易见的情况。“别的吸血鬼正在过来。”
=====================

"Less than five minutes. They're running — they want to play." He scowled.

"Can you make it?" Carlisle asked him, his eyes flicking toward me again.

"No, not carrying —" He cut short. "Besides, the last thing we need is
for them to catch the scent and start hunting."

"How many?" Emmett asked Alice.

"Three," she answered tersely.

"Three!" he scoffed. "Let them come." The steel bands of muscle flexed
along his massive arms.

For a split second that seemed much longer than it really was, Carlisle
deliberated. Only Emmett seemed unperturbed; the rest stared at
Carlisle's face with anxious eyes.

"Let's just continue the game," Carlisle finally decided. His voice was
cool and level. "Alice said they were simply curious."

All this was said in a flurry of words that lasted only a few seconds. I
had listened carefully and caught most of it, though I couldn't hear what
Esme now asked Edward with a silent vibration of her lips. I only saw the
slight shake of his head and the look of relief on her face.

"You catch, Esme," he said. "I'll call it now." And he planted himself in
front of me.

The others returned to the field, warily sweeping the dark forest with
their sharp eyes. Alice and Esme seemed to orient themselves around where
I stood.

"Take your hair down," Edward said in a low, even voice.

I obediently slid the rubber band out of my hair and shook it out around
me.

I stated the obvious. "The others are coming now."

阿汤哥

“是的，待在那儿别动，保持安静，不要离开我，求你了。”他很好地隐藏着他声音里的紧张感，但我还是听出来了。他把我的长发拉到前面来，披散在我脸上。
“这没用，”爱丽丝温和地说道。“我从场地那头就能闻到她。”
“我知道。”他的声音里透着一丝沮丧的颜色。
卡莱尔站到了投手板上，其他人也不甚认真地加入到比赛中。
“艾思梅问你什么？”我耳语道。
他迟疑了一秒，然后答道。“他们渴不渴。”他极不情愿地喃喃低语。
时间一分一秒地过去，现在比赛已经进行得很无趣了。没有人敢把球打得比一支短打更远，艾美特，罗莎莉和贾斯帕一直在内野里徘徊着。偶尔，在因为恐惧而麻木的意识中，我会留意到罗莎莉正注视着我。她的眸子没有流露出任何情绪，但她紧抿的唇让我感觉到她在生气。
爱德华根本没在注意比赛，他的眼睛和头脑都在广泛搜索着密林。
“对不起，贝拉。”他强烈地低声自责着。“这实在太愚蠢了，我太不可靠了，竟然让你暴露在这样的危险之中。我很抱歉。”
我听到他的呼吸停住了，他的眼睛瞄准了右方的场地。他踏出半步，把自己挡住我和即将到来的一切之间。
卡莱尔，艾美特，还有其他人都转身朝着同一个方向站着，聆听着对我的耳朵来说太过微弱的，拜访者的脚步声。

=====================

"Yes, stay very still, keep quiet, and don't move from my side, please."
He hid the stress in his voice well, but I could hear it. He pulled my
long hair forward, around my face.
"That won't help," Alice said softly. "I could smell her across the
field."
"I know." A hint of frustration colored his tone.
Carlisle stood at the plate, and the others joined the game halfheartedly.
"What did Esme ask you?" I whispered.
He hesitated for a second before he answered. "Whether they were
thirsty," he muttered unwillingly.
The seconds ticked by; the game progressed with apathy now. No one dared
to hit harder than a bunt, and Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper hovered in the
infield. Now and again, despite the fear that numbed my brain, I was
aware of Rosalie's eyes on me. They were expressionless, but something
about the way she held her mouth made me think she was angry.
Edward paid no attention to the game at all, eyes and mind ranging the
forest.
"I'm sorry, Bella," he muttered fiercely. "It was stupid, irresponsible,
to expose you like this. I'm so sorry."
I heard his breath stop, and his eyes zeroed in on right field. He took a
half step, angling himself between me and what was coming.
Carlisle, Emmett, and the others turned in the same direction, hearing
sounds of passage much too faint for my ears.


END