A/N: Hey! I'm new here, so this is my first fanfiction! I accept criticism very nicely, so fire away. I hope you like the story. If you have any ideas, comments, etc., feel free to PM me.

Prologue:

"Honey, please do something about your hair. I want you to make a good impression on Paul."

The girl strapped in the back seat of the car grinned. Her mom was crazy about Paul; after two previous divorces she was convinced that Paul was "the one". Of course, she also thought that the last two losers she married were "the ones", but this time, her daughter actually approved of the engagement. Paul had just asked Mom last month, and she was definitely anxious about the wedding preparations.

"Quickly, Bella, fix your hair. Stop zoning out. I swear you do that more and more often." Her tone was light, not at all scolding, and she flashed a giddy smile at her daughter, then returned her eyes to the road.

Yes, Mom was undeniably excited about Paul.

Bella swept her mousy, brown hair from her face, and then smoothened it back. It was a mess before, hair sticking up and obviously tangled, and it wasn't that much better after. Bella shrugged.

Her mother sighed.

The brown-haired girl looked out the window, watching the cars zoom past. The corners of her lips turned upward as she daydreamed about her life after the wedding, with Paul as her official father. Well, stepfather. But Bella didn't like her birth father half as much as Paul, so really, she forgot all about her previous fathers.

Suddenly, the car veered right sharply and Bella found herself pressed up against the car door. She heard a harsh honk, and then a symphony of shouting. The car was then abruptly hit by something- it knocked the car over and the car skidded toward the sidewalk, the friction of the road creating sparks and a high pitched whining from where the top of the car grinded across the road.

Bella's eyes lost their focus and fluttered shut. A trickle of blood dripped down her forehead as she fell into unconsciousness.

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"Miss, miss. Can you hear me?"

Bella blinked rapidly. What happened? She didn't remember anything from the last five minutes. She was going to Paul's house with her mom and then…where was Mom?

She opened the mouth, and all that came out was a quiet groan. There was a sharp throbbing in her forehead. Bella shut her eyes tightly again.

Wait. She was in someone's arms. What?

Bella frowned in confusion. She opened her eyes and squinted against the light. She could make out a figure looming above her. The figure sharpened. It was a man with a white coat on. On the white coat, there was a red cross stitched onto the right pocket. So this man was a doctor then. What did this mean? Where was Mom?

"…uh…mhm..huh?" Bella managed to gasp out. Every breath was painful.

"Miss. You're fine. Apart from a slight head concussion, you are fine. Very weak, but no serious injuries." The doctor spoke in a soothing voice.

"What? Head concussion? Broken wrist? Wait. Where are I?" Bella almost shot out of this doctor's arms, but she couldn't. There was a weight pressing against her chest. An imaginary one. Her sight, hearing and speech were all fine, but Bella was sure that her body was limp and weak. The doctor's words were disquieting. Why was she injuried? Where. Was. Her. Mom?

"You're in the hospital, miss. We're just entering."

"Hospital? Why am I in the hospital?"

"You are weak. You need to rest. When we get everything sorted out, you'll be able to go home. I don't have the specifics of your stay here, but I do know that someone with the name of Paul Genden is paying the medical expense. He says you're his…almost step-daughter, right?"

"Yes. Paul. My mom is engaged to him. Where is my mom?"

The doctor said nothing. He walked quickly through the hospital, and Bella looked around. Noone looked at her. She had so many questions, but didn't want to be rude by pressing the doctor.

The doctor entered Room number 501. He laid Bella gently on one of the hospital cots. Then he took the clipboard that was on the cot and looked through the papers. His expression saddened for a moment.

As the doctor was looking at the papers, Bella touched her hand to her forehead. There was something rough covering it. Probably gauze. Bandages. The doctor said that she had a minor head concussion. They must of fixed it up in the ambulance. Maybe.

Finally the doctor looked up.

Bella tried to sit up, failed, and instead propped part of her back up with her arms, elbows on the cot.

The doctor began to speak, "I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen. I'll be checking up on you daily at your stay." He paused, "You were in a car accident," Dr. Cullen glanced at the clipboard, "Isabella. Another driver, we think he was drunk, had almost collided with the car you were riding in. From the report, your car had tried to avoid the drunk driver, but the driver rammed his truck into your car. Your car had flipped over and slid to the edge of the road. Two passengers, your mother and yourself, correct?"

Bella nodded numbly. A sort of cold feeling was spreading from her stomach, the icy tendrils grabbing her inside with its claws, scraping the walls of her stomach.

Scratch, scratch.

"You survived of course, but…your mother was not so fortunate. There was a fracture in her collarbone, several broken bones in her arms and legs. She went into shock. We…couldn't save her. She died on the way back." Dr. Cullen spoke this part very gently, and even quieter. "I'm sorry, Isabella. I'll try to make your stay as comfortable as possible."

Bella tried to reply, tried to thank this kind doctor whose eyes were an odd shade of brown, a golden butterscotch color. She couldn't though. She couldn't talk anymore.

The dread that quickly swelled in her was horribly agonizing. It hurt in both a physical and mental way. She felt that cold feeling in the pit of her stomach laughing, engulfing her in a never ending cyclone of…pain. Her heart ached, her head throbbed, everything hurt- Bella felt like she was splitting apart, or shattering into a million pieces, and then it repeated again and again.

She laid in a ball, curled up, her arms wrapped around her knees, shaking. Bella didn't cry though. The tears had deserted her. There was a point where tears were useless- they couldn't convey the pain anymore. And what Bella felt was pain to the greatest extent.

The loss of a mother.

Dr. Cullen stood by the cot awkwardly, shifting his weight from leg to leg.

After Bella had reigned in the pain, and was able to cry softly, she opened her mouth to speak.

What came out can only be described as a scream.