A/N: Hey guys! I know I shouldn't be writing another story but MAN I was starved for creativity! I hope you enioy!
If I knew every single word in every single language to have ever existed, no words could describe the unfathomable confusion I felt when I stared at my trigonometry text book. It wasn't the usual tear-your-mind-apart confusion, but confusion so intense that I only realized I was crying angry tears when I started to hyperventilate from all of the puffing I'd been doing since I opened the book. I knew Charlie would be home soon and I couldn't serve him pizza again or he might have my guts for garters. Huffing again, I snapped the book shut with an audible thud and raced to the kitchen. Opening the close-to-empty refrigerator didn't help my mood and I slammed it shut before mumbling incoherently. Opening the cupboard I saw a glimmer of hope.
Instant gravy. Excellent. I bent over and examined our potato, onion and pumpkin supply before pulling out two of each. I walked over to the freezer and opened it, revealing frozen peas in the slot of the door. Whistling my favourite song as I prepared the roast vegetables, I was dazed enough to not hear when Charlie got home.
"Bella!" He called and I dropped the pot of hot water which contained the freshly boiled peas, dumping the boiling liquid all over myself. I shrieked and threw off all of my clothes before splashing myself with cold water from the tap. Upon hearing the commotion, Charlie turned the corner and his eyes bugged as he ran over to me and assisted with my self-saturation attempts. "Are you okay kid?" He said and I looked at the skin that was rising with blisters.
"Sure" I said, almost in tears as the pain finally started to register.
"I think I should get you to the hospital" he said awkwardly, as if just noticing I was in my underwear.
"No, I'm fine" I said, also realizing and I blushed a fierce shade of red.
"Bella, don't be too proud to admit you need some assistance" he chastised and I rolled my eyes. Looking down, I noticed that all of the skin from my collar bone to my knees was raw with blisters and was even bleeding in some places. I debated with myself on whether or not I wanted to visit the emergency room again before deciding that these burns may need some attention. I hoped they didn't scar.
"Fine, I'll go get dressed" I grunted and headed for stares, wincing as I moved even the slightest bit.
It took me ten minutes to get up the stairs and into my room, another twenty minutes to find something to wear that wouldn't cause me pain, another five minutes to put on the airy summer dress and then another ten minutes to walk back down the stairs. I eventually made it to Charlie's car, the police cruiser, and let out the breath I hadn't known I was holding as soon as I sat down.
The fact that Charlie was the police chief of this little town known as Forks wouldn't have bothered me if I wasn't always in need of him to drive me to the hospital. I didn't mind as much now, because if you get driven around enough times, the humiliation of the police car wears off to become a dull annoyance.
We made it to Forks hospital after just twenty minutes of silence and Charlie let me grip his arm as I attempted to gain enough leverage to eject myself from the car. It took us a total of twenty seven minutes to get me out of the car and into a seat in the Emergency room.
"Isabella Swan" the nurse called out, "The doctor will see you now". She sounded bored, as if I wasn't sitting here on fire.
After another long period of time, we were seated in the office of a very new, very handsome doctor.
"Hello, my name is Carlisle. I just transferred here from Alaska so bear with me while I work my way around you as it seems you have an unusually extensive resume of injuries" he mused kindly and I barely held the scowl off my face before smiling. Carlisle asked me to explain what happened and then asked me to remove my sundress. I flushed red again and he looked at me apologetically.
"I really am sorry, but I won't get a good look at your injuries otherwise" he offered and I nodded before looking pointedly at Charlie.
Once Charlie left the room I removed my dress and Carlisle examined me, clicking his tongue and prodding as my blisters. I winced when it hurt and breathed deeply when it barely stung.
After the examination I put my dress back on and Charlie was allowed back in the room.
"Well", Carlisle began, "I have very good news. It looks as though your burns will completely heal with very minimal, if any, scarring. You were very smart to remove the wet clothes and apply cold water. It will take a few weeks though so I would like you to apply this", he said, handing me a tube of cream, "to your burns twice a day until they are gone. All good?" He said and I nodded.
"Yes, thank you", I breathed and smiled. Carlisle returned my smile and then began to mention how his son had been burnt but wasn't as lucky as me.
"Your son dropped boiling water on himself?" I asked, feeling less like I was a complete idiot.
"No, it was different. He's very self-conscious about it" he said sadly and I stopped myself asking how he'd done it, feeling like an idiot again.
"We'd best be off Bella. Thank you Carlisle, it was a pleasure meeting you, our town is lucky to have you" he smiled and ushered me out the door.
That night was painful. When Charlie had finally gotten me inside, he'd ordered pizza and we sat down quietly to eat it once it arrived. He hovered over me, very uncharacteristic of him, frightened I would hurt myself further. I was unable to shower as even the steam hurt my burns so I gave up and went to bed. I barely slept at all.
The next morning Charlie was very hesitant about the idea of me going to school but I assured him that I would take my cream, and I would sit out in gym. He seemed pleased with my answer and headed off to work. I left early for school knowing it would take a long time for me to get to the car and to my classes. Careful not to slip on my way to my truck, I fumbled with the keys and dropped them. It took me an extra five minutes to bend over and pick them up.
I finally got to school and sat in the cab of my truck for longer than necessary, preparing myself for the journey I was about to embark on. Once I was sure I was mentally prepared enough, I opened the door and stepped out of my truck and into the crowded parking lot.
However, the crowd didn't matter anymore, because across the parking lot was a very disfigured, very beautiful stranger.
A/N: So… what did you think?
Believe it or not, the more reviews and favourites a story gets, the more inclined I am to continue it. I would LOVE to continue this one… so, you know what to do?
