A/N: Boring legal stuff: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters. Hey guys! Sorry to everyone who is waiting for updates on my other stories, they haven't been abandoned but...I'm having trouble getting inspired on them. My little brother passed away two months ago now following a long battle with terminal cancer, and I'm struggling. Anyway, hope you like this one, thanks for reading, please review! love xx Shezzi
"I'm going, Mom," I told her firmly, shoving the last few clothes into my bag. "I can't stay here anymore. I just…I need to get away from Pheonix."
"But Bella, it's Forkes. You hate Forkes!" Renee came back at me with the same argument she had been using for days.
"I think…maybe I'll like it more, now," was all I said. "I can't stay here. I'll be fine, and this way you can go back on the road with Phil without worrying about me."
"And what about your treatment?" demanded Renee.
"There are doctors in Forkes, Mom, there's an entire hospital. And it's not like I don't know my schedule."
"And what about the side effects?" demanded Renee.
"They're manageable. And it's not like being there is going to change them. And…I want to spend some time with Charlie, too," I admitted softly. I hadn't seen my dad much, and I wanted to spend time with him before…before college, I told myself firmly. That was all, before college.
Renee sighed, finally seeing that simply continuing the argument was not going to change the outcome. "Phil's got the car ready. Your flight leaves in an hour."
I followed her out of the room, swinging my bag up on my shoulder, double-checking that my pills were in the side pocket where I could access them easily.
The ride to the airport was strained, and Phil dropped us at the terminal, leaving to find a car park. Renee followed me to the gate, watching as I checked my luggage and took my boarding pass.
"Be good for Charlie. Please be careful with your medication, make sure you don't…" she trailed off, and I nodded.
"I will, mom. And I'll email, and text, and call, I promise. I have to go now." She nodded and pulled me into a tight hug, releasing me with tears standing in her eyes. I smiled tightly at her, then headed for the gate.
I sat in the uncomfortable airline seat, staring out the window as I deliberately blanked on everything, refusing even to daydream. Such behaviour was dangerous, and I couldn't afford to have an…episode on a plane.
I was brought out of my reverie by my watch buzzing on my wrist. I pulled my bag from under my seat, and took out my tablets and a bottle of water. I swallowed all four in quick succession before stowing the medications back in my bag. These were what ruled my life now. Going out? Make sure you have enough doses with you! Wake up in the middle of the night so as not to miss your scheduled dosage! At school? Have to leave the classroom to pop pills, and doesn't that make for a fun social life.
Then, there were the side effects. And weren't those fun! Nausea, upset stomachs, aches and pains, all things that the doctors had assured me would go away in a few weeks, a month at the most, but they hadn't. I had lost weight, I knew, and I had to take dietary supplements just in an effort to keep my body even slightly balanced.
The rest of the trip passed uneventfully as I ignored any attempts at communication from my fellow passengers and the flight attendants. Soon enough, I was on the smaller plane on my way to Port Angeles, and finally, I was in the dingy little terminal at the airport, standing with my bags and waiting for Charlie.
"BELLS!" I was sure that his bellow would have woken the dead. He grabbed me before I had even turned around, lifting me off my feet in a huge hug. I forced down the immediate of surge of terror/pain/anger/need to escape that this action brought about and made myself smile for him as he set me down, turning to face him.
"Hi, Ch…dad," I said, grinning.
"So, is this everything?" he asked, glancing at the two medium sized suitcases I had in addition to my carry on duffle bag.
"All of my life that I wanted to bring here from Pheonix, yep," I replied, even as he took the two suitcases and started leading the way out of the terminal.
Most of the trip to Forkes was made in comfortable silence. We were just coming within the town limits when Charlie started to speak.
"So, I've got you enrolled at Forks High," Charlie told me, "You'll start there tomorrow. And I contacted the hospital, you have an appointment tomorrow, I think it's during school, maybe the last period? I wrote you a note. Anyway, your appointment is with Doctor Cullen, he's going to be your doctor here. He said something about establishing baselines, whatever that means."
"Okay," I replied softly, studying my hands in my lap.
"Oh, and one last thing," Charlie said slowly as we approached the street I could still remember. "I kind of bought you a car, I hope you like it." He turned into the street and I could see the house and…
"Dad, it's awesome!' I exclaimed, joyful, as I stared at the huge old red pickup in the driveway.
Charlie's delighted grin split his face, but he quickly damped it down and muttered something about it being no big deal. As soon as he brought the cruiser to a stop, I was out and running one hand down the faded red paint on the bulbous hubcaps. Now, here was a car that could survive me, a tank of a truck, not one of those little Japanese plastic things that look like they would fall apart if you bumped them wrong.
"Thanks, dad," I said softly, walking over to where he was pulling my bags out of the car and did something I had not done in six months and deliberately initiated contact with a male, wrapping my arms around him and squeezing slightly before backing away.
The next morning, I was up, dressed and out the door in plenty of time, thanks in part to my fantastic drug regime that gets me up at four in the morning. I winced as the rain came down, and quickly climbed into the high cabin of my truck and turned on the engine, startling slightly at its incredibly loud roar. For all that I had once hated the rain, Forkes with its 300-day a year cloud cover was definitely a better match for my mood these than sunny Phoenix had been.
I found the school without any problems, and was glad to see that the age and quality of my car wasn't really going to make me stand out here.
I parked quickly and made my way across the lot, keeping my head down to avoid the curious stares of the other kids. I wished that I could have made this move three months ago…but three months ago…I still couldn't think about three months ago. My hand drifted to my abdomen briefly before I forced it back to my side, refusing to give in to weakness.
I climbed the wet steps leading up to the office carefully, not wanting to slip and embarrass myself in front of everyone.
In the office, I was met by an overly exuberant woman. "You must be Isabella!" she exclaimed loudly. "I'm Miss Cope, if you need anything, dear, just let me know. Now, I've got your timetable here," she handed over one piece of paper, which I began to look down. It all looked fine until last period.
"Ummmm…Miss Cope?" I said softly, disturbing her as she searched through her desk for something else she apparently needed to give me.
"Yes dear?" she asked sweetly.
"I…I can't take PE," I said, trying to sound firm, but it came out more pleading. This hadn't been a problem in Phoenix, where PE was only mandatory for the first two years, but apparently it would be here.
"Do you have a doctors note?" she asked, looking closely at me.
"Umm…no, but this afternoon I have a doctors appointment at that time, and I'll have a note after that," I told her, pulling Charlie's note excusing my early departure out of my pocket and handing it to her.
"Come back to me with the note and we'll put you into another class at that time. Now, here is a map of the school and I need you to get this form signed and bring it back to me before you leave. Okay?"
"Fine," I grated out, feeling my patience quickly running out.
"Well, you have a good day, dear," she chirped at me as I exited the office as fast as I could, turning in the general direction everyone else was traveling.
The morning passed fairly uneventfully; I had already done all of the reading for English, Spanish was far simpler than it was in Phoenix simply because it wasn't taught by a native speaker, and I had only been forced to embarrass myself by a teacher once. History was uneventful but at least kind of interesting,
At lunch, I sat with one of the girls from my English and Spanish classes, Jessica, who turned out to be the school gossip determined to bring me up to speed on everything and at the same time find out what my story was, which was never going to happen.
I was sitting, wishing for the period to be over already, picking at the unappetizing food in front of me, knowing it would probably be making a return trip in about an hour anyway when I hit my 'scheduled' nausea time.
I caught a sudden movement at the corner of my eye, and turning, saw a group of students walking into the cafeteria…but what students. They were gorgeous. I was about to ask Lauren about them when my watch started buzzing, telling me I had two minutes to take my meds before I missed my dose.
"Jess," I interrupted her gently. "I have to go, there's something I have to do, I'll see you later?"
"Sure," she replied, looking at me oddly but waving me off. "Have a good afternoon."
"You too," I replied, making my way out of the cafeteria and towards the nearest bathroom, where I quickly took my tablets and my dietary supplements.
I was just exiting the bathroom when the warning bell rang, and I headed off to my next class, and for today last class, biology. I got there just before second bell rang, and approached the teacher to get him to sign my form. He did so, then directed me to the only empty chair in the room…a chair next to one of the five students I had noticed at lunch.
It was the boy with bronze hair, his pale skin almost glowing in the shadowy light thrown from the windows, and he was gorgeous. He was staring at me oddly with his golden eyes, as though I was a puzzle he couldn't seem to solve, but his face shifted as I moved closer, and he smiled softly as I sat down.
"Hi," he said softly as the class started. "I'm Edward Cullen."
"Bella Swan," I replied, smiling slightly at him before we both turned our attention to the lesson. There was no practical today, just a lecture on various stages of cell division, which I had already covered, but I took meticulous notes anyway.
I had to leave right at the end of class to make it to my appointment on time, and in my hurry I caught my foot on the corner dropped my books all over the floor.
I knelt to collect them, and was surprised with a smooth, white hand entered my field of vision and started helping me, moving faster and more gracefully than I could ever have accomplished.
"Here," he said softly, taking my arm to help me back to my feet and handing them to me.
"Thanks," I said softly.
"So, what class do you have now?" he asked as we walked towards the door, the last ones out of the room.
"Oh, I actually don't today, I have somewhere I have to be."
"Okay, well, I'll see you tomorrow," he told me, and I was just turning to go when one of the things I should have been prepared for hit me. I normally made a habit of being in or near a bathroom at this time of the day, since my nausea was something I could almost set a clock by, but I had been distracted and delayed by my rather charming classmate.
I felt the nausea build, and glanced around desperately before darting to a nearby trashcan and bringing up the remains of my lunch. Fortunately, except for Edward and me, the hallway was already clear.
Before I could think any further on that, another wave of nausea gripped me, and I retched, clinging hard to the edges of the can.
"Bella?" Edward sounded concerned, and a moment later a cold hand was brushing my hair back from my face, coming to rest on the nape of my neck, and another was supporting my forehead. They felt wonderful against my suddenly hot skin as I coughed and retched up the minimal contents of my stomach.
It finally stopped, and I slowly straightened, breathing hard, and shook off Edward's comforting hands as I took a bottle of water out of my bag. My hands were shaking as I took a swig, rinsing my mouth out and spitting it into the bin.
"You need to go to class, you shouldn't get it trouble," I told Edward, who just gaped at me as though he thought I was insane.
"I'm not leaving you here alone!" he told me, even as he took his bag and mine and reached for my arm. "You need to see the nurse!"
"I'll be alright, besides, I have a doctor's appointment," I told him firmly. He reached for my arm again, to take it and guide me somewhere, and I flinched away, avoiding the contact, unable to completely hide the wince at his action. "Really, I'm fine, this is nothing to worry about," I told him desperately.
He pressed his lips together, then nodded in acquiescence. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?" he asked, and I nodded, waving as I headed for the front of the school. I was going to have to hurry if I wasn't going to be late for my appointment. I rushed through the office, giving Miss Cope my form, then out to my truck.
I got into the seat and sat for a moment, breathing hard. I couldn't believe that that had just happened. And he touched me and…nothing. I didn't start panicking, not until he reached for my arm that last time.
I remembered how cold his hands had been on my skin, how clean and…comforting the contact had been. I shook my head and turned my attention to the road, determined to make it to my appointment on time.
The hospital, unsurprisingly, wasn't far from the school. I pulled into the lot and parked, then made my way inside, clutching my bag to me as though it would somehow protect me.
The smell hit me as the door opened and I wrinkled my nose. It didn't matter how much time I spent there, the smell of hospitals still got to me. It never had before, neither had the smell of blood for that matter. I had thought about becoming a doctor, I had wanted to work with children, but now I couldn't even do that, and the idea of spending so much time with what I couldn't have brought me nothing but pain.
I made my way through the waiting area and approached the nurse, who smiled gently and told me to take a seat and Doctor Cullen would be right with me.
I was just starting to wonder if there was a connection between my new doctor and the oh so gentlemanly Edward when he appeared and answered my question for my. No way could two people look that alike and not be related, I mean they even had the same unusual eye colour!
"Isabella," he greeted me gently, holding a hand out to shake. "Welcome to Forkes. My office is down here."
"It's just Bella," I told him softly as I followed him down the hall, and he nodded, smiling gently at me. He led me into the office and motioned me to take a chair on one side of the desk, as he circled around to sit opposite.
"I received your file from your previous physician. For now, I want to take a viral load count, and maybe see if we can do anything to help with the trouble you've been having with the side effects."
I nodded, familiar with the drill by now. I should be. I had been HIV positive for six months.