Chapter One
It wasn't anger she felt, as she laid down in the hospital bed. It wasn't even confusion. One might think, being in her current state of mine, she'd be so confused, and be so, so angry. But she wasn't. She'd accepted things earlier that day, while her mother and father loomed over her in a white gown, her bareness underneath much more than she could feel comfortable with.
"Bella?"
It'd only been 3 hours since she'd learned her name.
Learned.
Because yes, she didn't even know who she was.
She didn't even know why she was here.
"Mhm?" Bella answered, not really sure how she would get used to her given name?
"Honey, you seem out of it. Do you want me to call the doctor?" She'd learned the woman in front of her was her mother, married to another man who wasn't her father. The man with her mother sat outside in the waiting room, along with half the Forks High population.
"Phil."
Her mother's eyes furrowed in confusion, questioning the answer to her own question about the doctor.
"You want me to get Phil?"
Bella smiled genuinely, shaking her head no, her long brown hair falling in her face. "No... Just. His name. It's phil." It wasn't a question, but a statement of clarity.
Her father, Charlie, came up behind her mother pulling her gently by the shoulder. "Renee, the doctor said she would be like this. Memories are going to come back bit by bit." Renee nodded, understanding the situation was just too complex for her mind to wrap around.
Bella took her time in staring at the people before her, knowing them, but not really knowing them, because she just couldn't remember them. She knew, yes, she had the sense of longing for the red-haired woman, craving warmth from her touch, but her mind just couldn't get a grip on those memories of said woman.
Retrograde amnesia, caused by a fatal car accident, and scene, school.
Isabella Swan, seventeen years old, hit her head on the concrete so hard, she'd lost consciousness for more than 24 hours. She'd woken up nearly 5 hours previously, only to learn, she didn't know anything. By anything, she means, everything.
A handsome doctor walked into the room a few minutes later, ushering her to sit up. "Bella? Have you been able to link your name to yourself yet?" The blonde doctor with music for a voice touched her head. Bella just stared at him, before shaking her head. The movement caused a pressure from his fingers on her scalp and she hissed, uncomfortable with the touch. "Tender?"
"Dr…"
"Cullen."
"Dr. Cullen, do you know when I can be released?" Bella Swan was careful in choosing her words, because can and will, meant two different things.
A smirk appeared on Dr. Cullen's lips, in spite of trying to hide it from the young girl in front of him. Yes, even with amnesia she challenges everybody.
She'd been able to get over the confusion shortly after she'd woken up, seeing the people she was supposed to know in front of her. The handsome doctor made her comfortable enough, explaining what had happened, breaking everything down, essentially, dumbing all the doctor terminology down.
"Well, Miss Swan…" And before he could continue, she had to correct him.
"Bella, please. It'd hard enough trying to learn my own name. Please don't double the effort."
Once again, his smirk appeared, but turned into a genuine smile. Bella knew the doctor only wanted her to feel comfortable, especially in learning everything from the beginning.
"Bella, leaving after such a short time, might make things harder for you. It's better for you to be in the hospital, at least at this time."
Shaking her head, Bella felt traitorous tears start to form in her tear ducts. "No." She just…couldn't.
And maybe now, she was finally able to get angry.
She stood up from the bed so fast, not minding the attention to her bare legs. She could admit, she just wanted to get away from these four walls. "This isn't fair!" She grabbed the sheets and threw them across the room. It didn't make much of an impact because it didn't make any noise, it defeated its purpose. "I JUST WANT TO LEAVE!"
Dr. Cullen grabbed the remote that connected to the heart monitor that was still hooked on her finger, pushing a red button, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Let them sedate me. She grabbed the pillow next, and decided to push the bed away from her then, and maybe it would get her what she wanted.
Because all she wanted was….
With all her anger and frustration, Bella didn't notice a needle being pushing into her arm by the handsome doctor.
"I just…. Want…" I tried to get him to listen, to understand.
How frustrating it was.
How hurt she felt, emotionally, and uncappable to remember her own family.
Because all she wanted…
"Carlisle, the needle was so unnecessary. She was just confused." A beautiful voice rang through the room, pulling Bella from the induced sleep caused by the needle. Starting to wonder how long she'd been knocked out, when the insistent pounding in the back of her head started. She couldn't catch what this Carlisle said, because the beautiful voice started speaking again. "I should have gotten to her in time." Pause. "She's angry, that's for sure. How long do you think it'll last?"
Bella waited, and waited, wondering when either of the people in the room would start talking again. She could hear the rhythmic beat of the heart monitor, a calm sound, ensuring her that yes, she was awake, but apparently this Carlisle and the man with the beautiful voice like windchimes, didn't know yet.
"I won't fight her anymore." The statements from the beautiful voice left Bella confused, questioning his statements. Get to me in time? Fight me on what? But because she didn't want to blow her cover, just to ask her questions, afraid that not only would they not get answered, but also that they'd stop talking. Because she just wanted to keep hearing his voice, whomever the voice belonged to.
Soon enough, the second voice started talking loud enough for Bella to actually hear, and it was then she realized, it was the blonde doctor. "She doesn't remember you from before. Maybe a new first impression would do you some good."
I knew him? I knew this beautiful voice?
Bella cursed the heart monitor for being hooked up to the stickers on her chest, when the beeping got louder, and she just knew her cover was blown.
Deciding to play it cool, she opened her eyes slowly, staring at the two men across the room, pretending she'd just woken up, instead of being awake for quite some time.
Both men stared at Bella, seeing that she was finally awake.
And the beautiful voice, could only ever belong to the being at the other side of the room.
Bronze hair, falling in front of golden eyes, a jaw that could kill, and arms showing from underneath his t-shirt that just begged for her hands to touch.
Yes, this man definitely belonged to that voice.
Dr. Cullen walked over to Bella quickly, pushing her hair out from her face, messy from slumber. "How are you feeling?"
Gulping, she just kept eyeing the other man, feeling exposed behind his piercing gold eyes. "I-I…" But she couldn't bring herself to answer. What word could she in fact, use?
Confused? Discombobulated? Scared?
Yes, all three words worked just fine, but it wasn't the word she wanted to use.
And she just didn't know.
Dr. Cullen, Carlisle, she'd come to learn, looked behind him at the other man, and the other man just nodded, as if they had a secret communication. The beautiful voice, beautiful man, she corrected herself, now that Bella could put a face to the voice, rushed out of the room.
"Bella? Have you remembered anything?" She looked away from the hospital room's door, after watching the man disappear, and brought her eyes to her doctor. Instead of answering, she just stared, trying to see the resemblance between both of the men. The eyes, she noticed, were both gold. Maybe a brother? "Bella?"
Bella blinked several times, pulling herself out of her isolated thoughts, finally able to answer. Everything was clearer, and the fuzziness from the sedation was finally leaving. "Yes? No wait… Yes, in answering to my name. No… Sorry. I don't… No. I-I'm… sorry." And she just kept stuttering through her speech.
Like she couldn't make anything less awkward. Both of the men had such beautiful voices that were more like they were singing, than speaking. Yet, she just stuttered.
Good going, Bella. Now beautiful boy's doctor brother will find you ridiculous. Just great.
The bronze-haired beauty returned to the room then, holding a cell phone in his hand. "Her parents are on their way now that they know she's away. 20 minutes."
Yes, like "Music."
The bronze-haired boy looked at Bella directly, confusion written all over his face.
As embarrassed as she felt, she obviously didn't have a filter since she'd lost her memories.
"Sorry." Bella apologized, but instead of stopping, she carried on with her explanation. "Just… music. Your voice is like music." And a filter, she did not have. Nope.
Dr. Cullen looked at the bronze-haired beauty, a teasing smile on the corners of his lips.
And Bella wanted to say the beautiful boy's cheeks flushed, but they just didn't.
Dr. Cullen used that moment to excuse himself, sending a wary glance at the other boy.
"You really think my voice is like music?" The bronze-haired beauty was teasing her, and much to her chagrin, Bella blushed anyways, a flushing red heating up her face.
He was too beautiful.
She didn't answer, looking away from the boy. Instead, she asked him, a question she just couldn't answer for herself.
"Who… Who are you?"
And because she couldn't even answer it for herself, she just wasn't prepared for his answer.
The musical voice spoke once again, and this time she started at his lips, watching as they formed the answer.
"My name is Edward Cullen."
Bella pursed her lips, wishing she recognized the name, but she just couldn't place it, and no, it wasn't her fault.
"I'm your boyfriend."