Disclaimers: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, songs, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
i.e. SM owns Twilight and all its characters; Twilight characters own me; ergo SM owns me. And she's falling behind on the upkeep.
For KaeEllBlue who inspires more than just me.
Much thanks to NotEvenTheTrees for having an awesome penname for starters.
Angela was crying, again. I believe she had gone through both of the small Kleenex packs that I happened to have in my messenger bag. She would have to fend for herself when she got inside the airplane. "Why does the time with you two always have to go so fast?"
Eric, Angela and I were standing together, the three of us holding hands in the waiting area of the airport. Usually sending Angela off wasn't as difficult, but we all knew this time was different. The next time we would all be together she would be a mother. But the potency of the farewell had diminished a bit, too; this was the third time we'd officially said goodbye in the past seven hours. We were all a bit exhausted at this point and it was getting late in the day.
Angela and her husband Ben resided in Seattle where they lived their own happily ever after. Ben worked for an airline and one of the perks was free stand-by tickets. The chances she'd be able to board were greater later in the day as planes were never full at night. She might also get a first class seat, affording her more room and comfort in what must be an uncomfortable flight for her to take to begin with.
"Shh, baby, I know," Eric sighed, placing a loving hand on her swollen belly. "We're really going to miss you too. These past ten days have gone too fast, but you have some nesting to do when you get home, remember?"
"And you two have your lives to get back to once I leave. It couldn't have been easy for you two social butterflies to be grounded with a pregnant lady around," she winked. Only Eric had missed going to the bars. I missed going out too, I suppose, but for a very different reason. I preferred coffee shops. I'd missed two week's worth of open mic nights while Angela was with us, given that she couldn't stand the smell of coffee. Since she couldn't go out to see me perform, I gave her a series of private concerts instead. They consisted of a few lullabies and some new instrumental material I'd been working on.
I started shivering when I thought of the last time I'd sung in the coffee shop. The performance itself had gone off without a hitch, but afterwards was another story altogether. Usually the short walk home was a safe one but Eric hadn't come with me that night. I had walked the two blocks home alone. And I had been robbed of my performance guitar by two men wearing layers of clothes with their hoods up. One was a short, slight man and the other was twice the size of my father Charlie. Thankfully they hadn't stolen the guitar. I shuddered again.
"I saw that, Bella," Angela took my elbow and turned me to face her. "I know that being mugged has taken a toll on you. Ben and I have been talking about it, and we both want you to come back home. Well, to Seattle at least. It is getting more dangerous here and Seattle is ranked the safest place to raise a family the past two years running. We have really low crime rates."
"Snooze," Eric interrupted and grabbed my free hand. "She loves being here with me, Angela. You have Ben and I need Bella."
I smiled at my two best friends warmly. "Angela, I'm just not ready to go back. Not yet. Even coming home for the baby's birth is going to be a big step for me."
They both nodded knowingly. "Charlie." Eric confirmed.
"I may even stop by Forks, yes," I shrugged. I hadn't felt too badly about avoiding my hometown until Angela had announced her pregnancy and asked me to be the baby's Godmother. The town itself had been a big part of my life for so long, but it wasn't something I wanted to return to. If only I could completely forget. So many things had gone wrong; my trust in so many, shattered. I had come to New York with Eric in the hope of forgetting all that happened there.
"Speaking of Forks, any word on the happenings with the Class of '06?" Eric inquired of Angela. I knew he was hoping for any gossip, any chance that a certain someone back home was still pining for him. Me? I could care less. I avoided all social network sites as I didn't want anyone, anyone,to know where I was. I was quite proud of my ability to drop off the radar. No one knew where to find me, and that was just how I liked it.
Angela, knowing this, shot me a furtive glance before saying in a low voice, "Well, there has been an interesting development in the Jessica and Mike saga…"
I smirked at her. "It's okay, Angela, you can speak up. It's not like anyone around here knows anyone from Forks or La Push." I knew she had news from La Push, and I would just have to suck up and hear it.
Eric shushed me, desperate for something juicy. "Please continue Angela. What about Jessica and Mike?"
"Jessica and Mike…" she paused far too long for effect, "are getting married. Again!" Eric gasped and I stifled a laugh. At this point, I wasn't sure if I was laughing at the news or Eric's reaction.
Jessica and Mike had a tempestuous relationship, at best. They married right out of high school. Jessica said she was pregnant and we all assumed that's why they were getting married. But we were wrong. It was a ruse that took us all in, including Mike. She was never pregnant to begin with. I wonder if Jessica used the same reason this time, or if there were actual feelings involved.
"Anybody else getting hitched?" Eric implored. Angela's eyes focused on me. I knew that look. It was the look that preceded an answer I didn't want to hear.
Without looking at my watch, I interrupted Angela and Eric's gossip session. "Isn't it time to check in again? I mean, the next flight was supposed to be leaving at about 8:30 and you have to waddle all the way to your terminal." Even though time was pressing, I felt badly for cutting her off.
"Oh, you're right." Angela's voice quickly became thick with emotion. "One more hug?" She turned to me. "Soon, I'll see you real soon. There was something I needed to ask you while I was here but for the life of me I cannot remember. Pregger brain." She shrugged.
"Yup, pregger brain." I nodded in agreement. It wasn't like my friend to be so scatter-brained, then again, she had a lot on her mind and was creating a small person at the same time.
"Before I forget," Angela said as she reached into her bag. "Here is your stand-by ticket for Seattle." She handed me my ticket. "I'm so glad you're going to be there when the baby's born…" she trailed off as a new set of tears began to form.
Eric sighed, "I'm so glad you didn't come to visit us during the second trimester, Ang. You would've been all horny and we couldn't have done a thing to help you." We all burst out laughing. He was always so good at knowing how to lighten the mood.
"I will miss you most of all, scarecrow," Angela giggled as she leaned towards Eric to give him a hug. She leaned closer to his ear to whisper something she didn't want me to hear. I allowed it as I had a feeling she wanted to share with him the news that she had begun before I had interrupted. She finished whispering and looked down. Eric looked at me, his face betraying the news and confirming my suspicion.
"Off you go," I said before anyone could keep looking at me with sympathetic eyes.
"Okay then, I'll let you know if I get on this time. Will you wait here?" She implored.
"Bitch, I have better things to do tonight. Of course we'll wait for you," Eric added quickly before Angela could possibly take him seriously.
Eric took my hand as we watched her walk to the escalator and out of sight. We blew Angela kisses until we knew she couldn't see us anymore. He pulled me into a warm embrace, knowing how hard this was for me. "Want to work on the crossword until she texts us the all clear?" He whispered into my ear.
"That sounds good," I sighed. Eric took my hand and led me outside to the nearest bench. The August night air was muggy and heavy in our lungs. I was so glad that I wasn't alone in New York. I knew he felt the same way. We fit into each others' lives well.
"Okay," I started, picking up where we left off earlier. "14 across, seven letters: 'mythical creature of the night, bloodsucker.'" This must've been the Times' gimme question so I began scribbling in: V-A-M-P-I-R-E.
"C-R-O-W-L-E-Y," was Eric's sad reply.
"Oh, Eric, I know," I dropped the pencil and newspaper in my lap and reached for his hand. "I know you wanted something to happen between you and Tyler. I hate to say this, but I think that, for him, what you two shared was more of an experiment in sexuality rather than a relationship."
"Bitch, an experiment in sexuality was losing my vagina virginity to Lauren Mallory," he began, obviously reeling from the memory.
"You have got to stop watching True Blood. Only Lafayette can precede everything by saying bitch!" I laughed.
His eyes became infinitely sadder as his voice lowered. "I know, I know. It still hurts though, even after almost four years. I knew who I was even back then and just had a feeling that he knew, too. Not just about me, but about himself." Eric shook his head, as if the act would clear his mind of the painful memories. If that actually worked, my head would be shaking all the time. "One day he'll come crawling back to me when he realizes what it is he really wants, and I don't know if I'll make time for his closeted, albeit fine, ass."
Curiosity was getting the better of me and I asked before I could stop myself, "Was that what Angela told you before she left? Was it news about Tyler?" I knew that it wasn't about Tyler, whatever it was. They wouldn't have kept that from me. No, it had to be news about him…
BUZZ BUZZ
I started, realizing that it was a text and that it must be from Angela. The only other person who would text me is Eric.
1st class seat! YAY! Flight 7811.
I smiled, relieved that she found a flight and a first class seat at that. Admittedly, I was anxious to get home before it got too dark. Given my recent nighttime encounters, I don't think anyone would blame me. We began packing up my messenger bag when my phone vibrated again with another text message.
OMG WAIT!
Eric read over my shoulder. "Wait? Why?"
Suddenly, an ambulance appeared in emergency lane in front of us with its lights on but without sirens. My mind started reeling into various unsavory scenarios. Was Angela okay? How did they get here so quickly? What was going on?
Eric scanned my face, which was probably ashen and rigid. Sensing my unease, Eric grasped my hand. "Don't assume that the ambulance is here for Angela, silly, she just sent you another text."
Really cute doctor heading your way. I think I know him from somewhere. Do you?
What? My panic attack was caused by an irrational pregnant woman jonesing for a hot doctor? And how was I supposed to know that he was, in fact, a doctor? Is he wearing a white lab coat? Did he have a circular mirror on his head and a stethoscope hanging from his neck? I had to sit down. Unbeknownst to Angela, I had almost begun hyperventilating fearing the worst news imaginable.
"Ohh. Cute doctor? Yes, I will wait for that." Eric started scanning the exits, rubbing his hands together in anticipation, unwilling and unable to sit down next to me.
With my head in my hands I muttered, "Her pregger brain strikes again. We don't know any cute doctors, Eric. The only doctor we all know is Dr. Gerandy back home and he was not cute." I had spent a lot of time at Dr. Gerandy's office in Forks and his looks were not even the least bit appealing.
BUZZ BUZZ
He is carrying a red cooler. Darn! Taxiing. Lemme know if you know him. TTYL.
I showed Eric Angela's message, knowing he would keep an eye out for the doctor with the cooler; I began fanning myself with the New York Times. I was holding onto the wrong edge of the paper, causing it to fall apart on the ground in front of us. As I stooped to pick it up, I read the loud headline: NIGHTTIME CRIME ON THE RISE IN MANHATTAN.
"Oh. My. God." Eric stated in what was intended to be a whisper but came out as a stifled scream. I looked up from the tangled mess of paper on the ground to see what the matter was.
Before us was the doctor, walking with apparent haste towards the ambulance that had parked not twenty feet away from us in the emergency lane. He was wearing navy blue scrubs and Ray Ban sunglasses despite the encroaching darkness, talking into a cell phone while his other hand held a cooler with the word UNOS inscribed on its side. We could plainly hear him giving instructions as he took long strides towards the ambulance. "No, Seth, you can return to the garage; the ambulance is here to retrieve me. Thank you." He fluidly stepped into the ambulance, taking a seat towards the back exit as he hung up his phone.
Illuminated only by the ambulance's fluorescent lighting, I could tell his hair was a striking bronze color. It was disheveled, yet purposefully so. His pale skin glowed in the light, but I could not make out the features of his face due to the sunglasses he continued to wear.
They began to depart at the same time as he was taking off his Ray Bans. The doors closed, and I could see him staring at us through its back window. I was too far away from the ambulance to be sure, but I could've sworn that the doctor was saying something to me.
He returned his phone to his ear as the ambulance turned on its siren and made its way out of the loading zone. He began shouting into his phone as well as at the ambulance driver. Two voices warred: one stating that they must stop while the other insisted that there was no time to lose. We followed the lights into the darkness, the whole scene lasting less than a minute.
"What was that?! How do you know him?" Eric insisted, turning towards me. "I saw him saying something to you."
Catching my breath proved to be difficult. Finally I blurted out, "I have no idea Eric. I've never seen him before in my life." At least, I couldn't be sure. There was something about him.
Taking my word for it, Eric blindly reached for my hand. A smile slowly illuminated his face as he continued to stare in the direction the ambulance was heading. "That. Was. Hot." He grabbed some of the newspaper still scattered along the ground and began to fan himself in earnest. "I mean, you know, but still. Hotter than August in New York City."
Gathering my wits about me, I insisted that we leave immediately. It was dark now and with the darkness my sense of foreboding increased. Eric gripped my hand more firmly as I began to walk towards the tunnels. "Let's get a cab," he insisted, knowing just how great my fear was about to become. I nodded quickly.
A cab stopped in front of us and Eric slid inside. A black sedan pulled up alongside our cab, trying to get my attention. "Excuse me Miss, may I take you to your destination?" The driver of the black sedan called, slightly out of breath. I looked around me to see who he might be talking to. There was no one else, so I shook my head vehemently and got in the cab beside Eric. Before I could close my door I could hear the mystery driver call, "Please, Miss, I implore you!"
"Another friend of yours?" Eric asked. I looked at him, visibly shaken. He frowned and pulled me closer. I hid my head in his lap and he stroked my hair gently. "Of course he isn't. Any friend of yours would know your name was Bella, not Miss…" His voice trailed off, realizing that I was upset.
Eric gave me the silence I needed to think through what had just happened. Who was that doctor? What is UNOS? Did he know me? Better yet, should I know him? Why was that driver trying so hard to get me to go with him? Was I blowing things out of proportion and merely jumping to conclusions?
Fifteen minutes into our drive home, neither of us had said anything. "Eric, is the black sedan still following us?" I asked, my head still down.
Taking his eyes off of me for the first time, Eric looked around in the darkness. "I don't think so, honey. Do you want the cab to drop us off somewhere besides home, just in case?"
Realizing how silly I must be and just how unjustly irrational my fears were, I decided to sit up. "No, no, I'm getting tired. Let's go home." I glanced around, just to be certain. Charlie had raised me to be cautious, not a fool.
"Is there anything you want to talk about?" Eric offered. I knew I could trust him. Eric had never hurt me and had taken me in when I needed someone the most. But still. I wasn't sure what I needed to share. I shook my head.
"Thank you Eric, but no," I smiled weakly. "Will you text Angela and let her know that I didn't recognize the doctor?"
"Speaking of Angela, do you want to know what she told me before she went to her airport terminal?" Before I could shake my head again, he added, "It was about Jacob."