Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight
Secret Santa
Alice POV
I nervously fingered the CD casing, with the CD placed safely inside it, as I waited for the elevator to come to a stop. When the elevator doors opened with a ding, my nerves got the better of me and I accidentally dropped the CD. Hurriedly, I bent down to pick it up and realized that the edge of the back of the casing had a small scratch on it. With a frown, I held the CD close to my side and stepped out of the elevator. The linoleum on the floor squeaked under my flats as I shuffled along the hallway. As I walked, my eyes scanned the foreign combination of numbers plastered on all of the doors that I passed by.
"620," I whispered as I noticed the familiar label on one of the doors. Taking a deep breath, I grasped the cold metal door knob with my free hand before slowly turning it. I poked my head into the room and saw Edward seated on his bed, watching an advertisement on the television with the remote control in his right hand. Stepping into the room, the door shut behind me with a click.
His head quickly turned in my direction, causing his beanie to slip off his head. I bit my lower lip as it revealed Edward's hairless scalp. Countless number of treatments, mainly chemotherapy, had done that to him. Edward has been battling cancer for the majority of his life and yet, I still started to tear up at the sight in front of me. The crooked smile that had graced his lips as I entered his room quickly turned into a frown. With creased eyebrows, Edward held his arms open for me.
"Come here, Aly," he beckoned me over. I rushed over and placed the CD on his bedside table before wrapping my arms around his torso. Edward's arms enveloped me. With my head resting on his chest, I let my tears fall. I felt safe with Edward, my twin brother. My haven. He rubbed my back soothingly until I calmed down.
"I have to leave soon. Jasper told me to come by his house as soon as possible. He said that it was urgent." I mumbled as I lifted my head off Edward's chest.
I looked up to find him smiling gently at me, "It's alright, Aly. Go ahead." I frowned at the thought of not being able to spend more time with Edward when I spotted his beanie at the corner of my eye.
Bending down, I quickly picked it up. I shook his beanie softly in attempt to get rid of any dirt on it. I straightened myself up and turned back to face Edward. Leaning over, I pulled the beanie onto his head before kissing him softly on his forehead. "I'll see you here tomorrow for the unwrapping of gifts. I love you," I said.
"I love you too, Aly," Edward replied. With that, I headed out of his room.
EdwardPOV
Once Alice left, I returned my attention back to the television screen. Flipping through the different channels available, nothing caught my attention. It was then that I remembered that Alice had brought my CD here for me. Switching the television off quickly, I reached over to my bedside table and placed the remote control on it.
I opened the drawer in my bedside table and rummaged through its contents in search for my CD player. My hand then came in contact with an object circular in shape. Triumphantly, I lifted my CD player out of the drawer. Using my free hand, I pried the CD casing open and plucked the CD out. I pressed my pinkie finger down on one of the buttons on my CD player, causing its cover to flip open. Gently, I pressed the CD into my CD player before snapping the cover back down. I quickly covered my ears with my headphones and pressed the 'play' button.
My first piano composition started playing and I contentedly leaned back against the headboard of the hospital bed. Halfway through my third piano composition, someone knocked on my door. I looked up to see Dad poking his head into my room. I switched my CD player off and placed it on my bedside table as he made his way over to the chair placed next to my bed.
Sitting down, Dad asked, "Hey Edward, how are you feeling?"
"I'm feeling fine, Dad," I answered with a small smile. "What were you doing before this? You came in here later than usual," I observed as I gestured to the clock on the wall as it read 1.20 in the afternoon. He usually drops by at 1 p.m. instead.
Dad sighed softly, "There was a car accident. The driver, Charlie, lost control of the car when he drove on some black ice on the road. The car collided into a tree. He and his wife, Renee, died immediately upon impact. His daughter, Bella, suffered some bruises and cuts. It's terrible. She's lost her only family, and it's close to Christmas too. She hasn't said a word since she was brought in here."
I nodded my head solemnly. Mulling over everything that he had informed me of, Dad quietly slipped out of my room to leave me with my thoughts.
Alice POV
I had my left arm curled around Edward's right arm as we sat on the floor of the hospital's hall. It was Christmas Eve and the hospital was holding its traditional unwrapping of gifts for its patients. Edward was gazing at the happy faces around him with a smile on his lips while I leaned against him and watched as the nurses bustled around the hall with their arms loaded with an assortment of packaged gifts. They were giving out the labeled gifts to the patients who were all presently seated in the hall as well. All, but one patient, had a few gifts surrounding them.
I noted the surprised expression on the brunette's face as she held the lone gift in her hands. Curiously, I craned my neck and saw her name written on the wrapping paper. Bella. However, the sender's name was not written there. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. I continued to watch her as she slowly tore the wrapping paper away. A plain CD casing, with a CD inside it, tumbled to the carpeted floor. Bella quickly put the torn wrapping paper onto the floor before picking up the CD. She cautiously flipped it over.
The imperfection of the CD casing may go unnoticed by many others but I gasped as I noticed the familiar small scratch on the edge of the back of the CD casing.