Okay so HI! :D
I'm back at it, and this loves it my very first solo fic in a Post TE world. Sad, I know, but still true. It's a little bit different than TE, and I cleaned Edward up a little bit... I hope you'll like him just as much.
Big thanks to LMW and raok for pushing me along with this one and helping me flesh it out. Loves you guys a shit ton.
Now, I don't own any of this as SMeyer gets to claim that shit. But please please please please please review for me? Otherwise how will I know what you thought of it?
thanks =]
Key?
Meet the ignition.
Turn.
Engage.
Brake. Drive.
Go.
There are very few things in my life that are consistent. My car is one of them. My mother always gets me a Volvo. It's always silver. Doesn't matter where we live I always get one, and this one I'd get to keep for longer than four months. My mother, Esme, was an aide worker, and I'd spent the better part of my twenty-two years trailing around with her to her various posts and positions. It was fun; I saw a ton of really cool things, and grew up in a way that most little boys only dream of. It was a blast. But I wanted… stability after a while. So I applied to boarding schools. Tons and tons of them, all over the world. I just wanted to have somewhere that could be… home.
My mother and I sifted through school after school, finally picking St. Luke's in particular because it was close to where my father lived in Seattle. I hadn't seen much of Carlisle since he and my mother divorced, so I suppose it was kind of nice to have at least one parent close by, even if I didn't know him that well. It was going to be hard enough, I knew. I was adjusting to a new school, and an entirely knew experience. I'd seen Mean Girls; I knew this shit could be hard. But at the same time, I had been looking forward to it. That was what I'd wanted after all.
I breezed through my last two years of high school at St. Luke's and graduated salutatorian behind my best friend, Emmett Swan. You'd never realize it, based on his size and the fact that he's really good at hiding it, but he really was the smartest motherfucker I'd ever met. We went to college together, to the University of Virginia, where I majored in Architecture and Em in Structural Engineering. In the sweltering haze of Charlottesville, we met Jasper Hale. He was a tall, lanky kid from New Orleans who talked a lot about his passion for history. I suppose it's easy to be interested in that sort of thing when you grow up surrounded by it.
The three of us decided to take our passions and combine them. We always worked well together, so it was only logical (at least to me) that we would go into business together. I only hoped that it would work out. I pulled the Volvo into the parking lot of the small diner in Forks, a tiny town about three hours from Seattle. We'd come here plenty of times during high school, and I knew this town like the back of my hand. It really grew on me. It was quiet and green; peaceful, almost, like it had withstood the test of time. I walked slowly into the diner, spotting Emmett's massive frame squished into to a back booth. I waved as I made my way over.
"Sup, Teds?" Em asked, slapping his hand over my shoulder.
I rolled my eyes, "Nothing. Where's Jasper?"
He shrugged, fidgeting with his napkin in a very un-Emmett like way. It was that moment that I started thinking that something was wrong. "Em? You okay?"
He sighed, his brow knit together and his lips pursed. "Do you remember a while ago? When I told you about my parents?"
I nodded. Em's dad was a Cop in Phoenix where they were from and his mother, Renee, owned one of those hippy dippy shops on the outskirts of the city. They were divorced, and hardly ever spoke, but when they did it was electric. They seemed to fight, no matter the topic. Our graduations were tense, to say the least.
He took another deep breath before he continued, "Well, the thing is… I'm not an only child. I've got this sister—Isabella."
I cocked my head to the side and looked at him. In the nearly six years since I'd known him, I hadn't ever heard about a sister. Not once. "Em… you have a sister?"
He nodded, still looking worriedly down at the table. "Yeah. She's 19 now."
"Um, okay?"
He shook himself out of it, running one of his hands over his face. "Look, Isabella's got issues. Big ones, and she's never really had a normal life. She was sick for a while, then she was okay, and then she just… spiraled down hill again."
"What's wrong with her?" I asked.
"I don't know. My parents never told me anything about it. One day she was there and the next she was gone. I mean, she's my sister and I don't know anything about her."
I nodded again, not really knowing what to say or where this was going.
"So I went home last week, and I dug up some information. I found her; found out where she's been."
"Uh huh…"
"So this is it, Teds: you have to help me get Isabella out."
I sat there looking at him dumbfounded. "Excuse me?"
He huffed, "Teds, she's 19 years old and she's been locked up for her entire life. We need to save her."
I shrugged, "What if she doesn't want to be saved? What if she's happy where she is?"
He shook his head vigorously, "No. No. She… she needs help, Edward. Real help. I have to do this. Help me."
Emmett never called me Edward. Not ever. That was when I realized that this was serious. He really wanted to do this, and he needed my help. I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "Okay, Em. We'll go. Where the hell is she?"
"A rehab facility in Sedona."
"Sedona? " I scoffed. There was no way in hell I was going all the way to Sedona with him. No way.
Emmett nodded, "Yeah."
"Do you even know what kind of place this is?" I mean, what if she needs meds? Or a diaper? I wasn't equipped for this.
Emmett shrugged, "No. All I know is that it's rehab."
He was completely relentless about this, I could tell. He didn't want me to tell him that this was next to impossible, or that she might not even survive the move. So I didn't. I simply nodded, resigned to this.
"Okay, Emmett. I'll help you save Isabella."
A few hours later, we were on a plane to Phoenix, and I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed he'd already devised a plan of attack.
"So, It'll take about two hours to get up to Sedona, and Teds here's the catch: You have to go in and get her."
I went blank, "Excuse me?"
Emmett sighed, running a hand over his face. "They'll know my name. You can like… pretend to be your Dad or something."
"Em, this is illegal enough. You want me to impersonate my father?" This was getting a little far fetched, even for me. "I can't do that. I'll… I'll go in for her, but—"
He held up a hand. "That's all I need. I know they won't let me come for her."
"Em, what about your parents?"
He leaned in, whispering. "My dad knows. But I haven't told my mom. Apparently, this was all her idea."
"So… if it's okay with them—"
"Please, Teds." His eyes were pleading and I felt myself giving into him. He'd never asked me for anything, ever. This was a big one, but I'd do it. Emmett was like my brother.
We arrived in Phoenix a short while later, and rented a car, blazing through the desert at definitely illegal speed limits. Must be nice having your dad be a cop. I must have fallen asleep because Emmett shook me awake, "We're here." He whispered.
I yawned, blinking back the sleep as I looked at the white building in front of us. It was a single story, but sprawling and glowing in the darkness. Ominous would be an understatement. He pulled up to the front doors, and turned to me. "Do you have a plan?"
No. Not even remotely. "Yeah, I have an idea."
He nodded. "Okay. And thanks Teds. I owe you."
You owe me your entire life. "You'd do it for me, Em."
I got out of the car, and shoved my hands in my pockets. The warm yellow light from the foyer was inviting, but the stoic nurse behind the reception desk wasn't. I felt every muscle in my body tense as I approached her.
"Can I help you?" She asked frowning.
"Uh, yeah, I'm looking for Isabella Swan."
"Sir, I'm sorry, but it's after visiting hours and—"
"No," I interrupted. "I'm not here to visit her; I'm here to check her out."
"I'm sorry but I can't allow that. Isabella is here under her parent's custody. We release her to them."
I leaned over the counter, closer to her. "Isabella is nineteen, a legal adult. She doesn't have to remain here if she doesn't want to."
The nurse's eye narrowed before she turned to her computer. A few anxious moments later, she smirked at me. "You're lucky her parents over looked the waiver when they checked her in; almost seven years ago." She pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled a room number on it. She hesitated before handing it to me, "How do you know Isabella?"
"Our families are close friends. Chief Swan asked me to pick her up. I'm sorry for the late hour, but I just drove over from Texas." I didn't hesitate and I looked her right in the eye. She bought it, I could tell. She handed me the paper, nodding to her left. I was really doing this. I was getting Isabella out of her. The doors were all labeled with patient names, and it wasn't long before I found the one labeled I. SWAN.
I took a deep breath, and pushed open the door. The room was completely in white, and although I was expecting it to be pitch black, there was a bedside lamp on. Odd, considering the late hour. There was hardly anything in it besides a bed, a small television and a table. I made out Isabella's figure last. She seem to be drowned in the space. Her back was to me as she sat on the floor, looking out the huge glass window. I walked over to her carefully. It was then that I remembered that I hadn't a clue what was wrong with her. What if she began to scream bloody murder? I touched her shoulder lightly, "Isabella?" I whispered.
She didn't move. Not even a grunt to acknowledge my presence. I tapped her again, but was met with the same reaction. Finally, I bent down beside her, keeping my hand on her shoulder. "Isabella?" I asked again.
This time her head turned slowly. I gasped when I saw her. She was beautiful, to say the least, with creamy white skin and huge brown eyes. Her face though was completely void of emotion. "Isabella, I'm Edward Cullen. I'm here to take you home."
She watched me, her face not betraying any emotion. I was panting against her, waiting for her to say anything. I watched as her hand came up and she ran her fingers slowly over my face. My skin tingled in its wake. Her voice was horse, as though she hadn't spoken in years.
"You're going to save me, Edward Cullen."
