The Change
Bella awoke to darkness. She didn't know where she was or why she was there and she couldn't focus long enough to figure it out or even to be afraid. All she could focus on was the pain consuming every cell in her body. Was she dying ? Had the car really killed her?
The Car. The whole thing flooded her mind in an instant. The ice and snow, driving to school, stepping out of her truck, and then blackness. So this was it. She was dying. Although, maybe she was already dead, maybe this was hell. It felt like it.
Bella heard a familiar voice through the darkness. "I'm so sorry…" She wanted to tell them it wasn't their fault, whoever they were. They sounded so sincere. So sad. She opened her mouth to say this but all that came out was a shriek of agony as her pain intensified. "I'm sorry." said the voice again.
She felt a twinge of annoyance through the pain. The voice sounded so familiar, yet she just couldn't place it. She felt a cool cloth pressed against her forehead in an attempt to comfort her. She could just barely make out the features of the person before her.
"Dr. Cullen?" Her voice was weak and quiet but somehow he heard her for he spoke again.
"Yes, it's me. I'm sorry that you have to suffer so much but it was the only way. I promise I'll explain when it's over." She didn't really understand what he meant. When what was over? What did he need to explain? Where were the nurses and other doctors? Every other time she'd been in the hospital she'd been surrounded by people and noise but it was so quiet here, so dark, and Carlisle Cullen was the only other person she could see.
It hit her like the van that had started this mess. She wasn't in the hospital. She began to panic, the pain intensifying as her heart rate increased. Where was she? Why? And what did it have to do with Dr. Cullen?
She wasn't aware of how long she lay there, but Carlisle never left he stayed by her side pressing the cool washcloth to her forehead and offering apologies. For what, she did not know. Eventually, however, she began to feel the pain lessen.
It was very subtle at first, and it took her awhile to realize it but little by little she became aware of the pain receding. She began to notice other things, too. She felt different, stronger somehow. She could smell Carlisle beside her, hear the sound of his breathing, and , when she turned to face him, she could make out every detail of his tortured face.
As the pain disappeared, however, she became aware of something else. She was thirsty, but for something far more sinister than water.