SETH
The first time I saw her, Embry and I were in the hospital with Jake, who was with Carlisle. Complicated, I know. Embry and I were messing around in the cafeteria after breakfast, chasing each other and goofing off, when I bumped into something behind me. I turned quickly to make sure I hadn't broken anything, when I saw the prettiest girl ever staring up at me. Her eyes were green, her hair was brown, and she was clearly not Quileute, but she wasn't plain at all. Her whole body glowed, and my whole existence was based around her.
"Seth, did you just-" Embry said. I just nodded.
"I don't even get a sorry? Thanks a lot buff guy." I heard her magical voice say.
"Uh, sorry." Great Seth. Just great. I scanned her again quickly, and did a double take as I realized she was sitting. She was sitting in a wheelchair.
"I guess that will do." And then she wheeled away.
"Em, what am I going to do?! How will I find her again?!"
"Calm down bro. I bet Doc Cullen can help you out."
"She could get hurt! Embry I have to find her!" I stumbled over a chair and table in my scramble to the elevator. The stupid thing wouldn't work fast enough.
After what seemed like an hour, I finally made it to Doctor Cullen's office. I burst through the door, not bothering to knock. The bloodsucker would know I was coming.
"Morning Seth."
"Morning Doc, I was wondering if-"
"Edward told me, I happen to have an answer for you." He glanced at my feet. I looked down, and there she was, sitting across from doctor Cullen's desk, playing with an empty water bottle.
"This is Ri. Ri, this is Seth."
"Hey buff guy. Dr. Cullen, can I leave now?"
"Go back to your ROOM. Not the elevator, not the staircase. Your ROOM. Seth, could you supervise?" I nodded as Ri said,
"Come on Dr. Cullen. I'm not a bad person. Hospitals just give me the heebie jeebies." I chuckled, and pushed her out of the room.
"My arms work you know."
"This is fun."
"Not really. Hospitals give me the heebie jeebies."
"You said that already."
"Did I? I can't remember."
"Why not?"
"I have a bad memory sometimes. Courtesy of the accident."
"Accident?" I pushed her through the door of the room she had told me. She spun around to face me, eying the chair by the door. I sat obediently.
Ri
"A year ago, I was in the car with my mom. It was cold out. Freezing rain. My mom was in a hurry to get home because she had forgotten to lock the door, and we live in Seattle. She didn't want our apartment getting robbed. She turned the corner to get onto our street too quickly. The car flipped, landing on the right side. I was crushed. I'm paralyzed from the waist down. I didn't have too much brain damage, just sometimes things evade me. I tried going to school, but I've never had good patience, and navigating school in a chair is so frustrating. I'm homeschooled now. But it's a small apartment we live in, and it's hard for me to move around. So I came here. Hospitals give me the heebie jeebies though, so Dr. Cullen said I should move to a reservation near here. He says there's a man who's also in a chair who has a son a few years older than I am." I didn't know why I was telling him this. He had a calming effect on me.
"The La Push Rez?"
"I think so."
"I live there. I know who doc's talking about. Maybe we could hang out sometime? I'd love to get to know you." He smiled warmly.
"I'd like that too." I rolled over to my bag, pulling out a pair of pajama pants, then went over to my bed.
"Hey Seth."
"Ri"
"You wanna do me a favor?"
"Anything."
"Can you help me get up onto my bed?"
"Of course." Seth got up and gently lifted me into bed, cradling me in his arms for a few seconds. I thought he was going to kiss me, but then I decided not to think that because I'm such a hopeless romantic. Nobody would want to date a girl in a chair.
"Seth, will you come back tomorrow? Doctor Cullen says I can leave in a few weeks, when Mr. Black has space for me. I'm tired of being alone."
"Of course Ri. I'm here whenever you need me." He took my phone off my nightstand and put his number into it. He took my hand and squeezed it once, then left.
When Seth came to visit in the morning, I was laying in bed, watching my favorite tv show. Seth knocked on the door, a giant smile across his face. He looked at me like I was worth a million dollars. I was in a khaki skirt, a green sweater, and a green headband, and I was probably worth about $40 total. Seth sat on the bed next to me.
"Whatcha watching?" He asked.
"Say Yes to the Dress. Watching other people buy wedding dresses helps me get over how I'm not gonna get to get married and wear a white gown."
"Oh come on. You're too pretty to die alone."
I rested my head on his shoulder, not bothering to argue.
"You feeling ok?" I couldn't figure out why I was so concerned for him, but I had been in the hospital long enough to know what abnormal temperatures are. I moved my hand to his face, feeling his forehead.
"Yeah?"
"Seth, you're burning up. This isn't normal. I'm gonna call the doctor."
"He knows I'm like this. Can you just trust me?" I sighed. Seth started asking me questions, trying to distract me. He asked about my mom, and my friends back in school, and what my favorite dessert was. Sometimes he'd ask a dumb question that would make me laugh, sometimes a serious question that I'd answer in length. He teased me, and it teased him. For the next week and a half he kept coming back, sometimes bringing me flowers or balloons, the classic 'get well soon' stuff. Other times he'd bring me takeout food, or a movie. I never got bored of having him around. He kept the creepiness of the hospital away.
SETH
Ri's mini freak out was unnecessary, to say the least. She shouldn't have stressed out like that. So I started asking her things. Small things that weren't life deciding. Every now and again one would slip out, but I'd make up for it by bringing her things to keep busy. She was incredibly intelligent. I could tell she had been cooped up in here for too long.
"What is Ri short for?" I asked one day when we were sitting in her room together. I had pulled up a chair, my feet up on her bed. She was sitting on her bed intently reading a giant book of facts I had brought her.
"Huh?" She asked, only half paying attention.
"What is Ri short for?" She started giggling. I raised an eyebrow, seeing a potential conversation that could get her to smile her perfect smile again. She laughed.
"You're never gonna guess it."
"Wanna bet?"
"Course I do."
"If I win, you have to write me a poem." I swear this girl is going to be the next Emily Dickinson. Her poems are incredible.
"If I win you have to get me out of here. Take me out somewhere. Bring me to the party instead of bringing the party to me."
"Alright" I agreed after a moment of consideration. She stuck out her hand, and I shook it.
"Now get to guessing." She taunted. I guessed every name that started with Ri- from Rihanna to Rita. About twenty minutes into guessing I finally gave up.
"Ok, you little brat. What is it?" I teased. She smiled a little.