"I'm sorry, is this a bad time?" His voice was melting honey but the expression on his face looked like he was concerned about the mental health of me and my sister.
He glanced in my direction carelessly but then as he turned his head, he froze.
His liquid gold eyes widened in surprise and he unsurely returned his stunning gaze to my pale and rather gobsmacked face. His eyes were filled with some sort of emotion, as though he had recognized me, but I was positive I had never seen this man before; he wasn't a face one would forget.
The look he had given me was brief, only lasting a second, but his stare brought me back to reality and I had enough decency to drop my head to glare at the tiled floor.
I realized suddenly that I was blushing furiously and briefly put my head into my hands to cover my scarlet face.
He was probably shocked at how atrocious I looked.
I felt Hannah stir uncomfortably beside me as though regaining her senses as well.
Thankfully John was quick to intervene.
"No, no thank you for arriving so fast Carlisle, they're just...tired."
Although my eyes were still boring holes into the ground, I could hear the slight trace of a smirk in John's voice; he had obviously witnessed this man's affect on women before.
"Don't worry about it, I understand," he seemed sympathetic, and I wanted to look up to match the beautiful voice to the doctor's staggeringly perfect face but I couldn't let him see me in such a hideous state; I'd probably just end up scaring him so bad, he'd ban me from the hospital or something.
I could hear him enter the room and close the door carefully behind him with a small click.
"Before we start, I'd like to introduce myself," I still had my head down but I could hear him take a few steps closer to where John, Hannah and I were situated. "I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen, I apologize for my absence before," I suddenly remembered the reason why he had left and a pang of sadness and pity shot through me, making me momentarily forget about the incarnation of pure beauty who was standing just a few feet away.
"Don't even worry about it man," after the doctor's mellifluous voice, the words that came out of John's mouth sounded like nails against a chalkboard. John briefly clasped hands with the doctor before continuing. "Carlisle, this is my wife Hannah."
The doctor walked over and casually shook my sister's hand.
"Very nice to meet you Mrs. Forrester."
My sister who, unfortunately seemed to be struggling with her coherency, managed a slight nod.
Then with dawning realization and petrifying terror, I knew who John was going to introduce next.
I needed to run out of the room.
"And that spoiled brat over there is her baby sister, Lilly."
THAT RAT BASTARD!
My head snapped up for the first time since Carlisle had walked into the room to glare poisonous daggers at my brother-in-law. I could feel all the blood rush up to my face as I cursed John to the deepest, fiery pits of hell. Oh, he was going to be lucky if he got through tonight with his testicles in tact.
John blatantly saw the murderous rage in my eyes and I watched as his smile literally fell off his face.
However, before I was able to mouth any threats in his direction, I felt Carlisle's presence in front of me and I turned very reluctantly to meet his honey coloured eyes.
It took me only a second to analyze this man's face; he was flawless... literally.
His blonde hair would have put the Sun to shame as it glittered like a jewel in the harsh light of the room; it was neatly slicked back, and there was not even a single strand out of place. His face was something you read about in fairy tales, except they had never created a character to match this man's beauty. Every feature on his porcelain face was immaculate; his jaw was strong and chiselled but not too angular, his nose wasn't too big or small, his lips were perfectly full and his eyes... oh his eyes made me want to give up everything I had just so I could stare into their warm, honey coloured depths for a little longer.
But before I turned into a gawking idiot, John began to speak, attracting Carlisle's glimmering eyes away from my ashen face.
"S-spoiled but selfless," From somewhere behind me John was scrambling for words, trying to make up for his earlier remark that would end up with him sporting a huge bruise somewhere on his body for the next two weeks; he knew I was freakishly strong and violent for someone so small. "She flew down all the way from Italy to be with us."
Carlisle's lips were slightly pulled up at the corners as his gaze returned to me, and his hand waited, out stretched to take mine.
I sat frozen for a few seconds debating. Then I imagined coming into contact with his pale, porcelain skin and decided for my own health that it would be best if I kept my hands to myself.
"M-my hands are wet... and cold, I'd rather not put you through the discomfort..." My voice sounded hoarse and seemed too loud for the tiny room, but Carlisle didn't appear to have heard.
"Il mio piacere di conoscerti, sirena"
Those familiar words rolled off his tongue like silk and left me immobile for a few seconds; until I absorbed what he had said.
My faced flushed, not with delighted pleasure, but with embarrassment and anger.
I should've known that he would notice my sodden and unpresentable appearance above all else; sirena was Italian for mermaid.
He leaned forward and grasped my hand firmly.
Well, at least he hadn't called me a fish, and mermaids were supposed to be beautiful, right?
It took me a second to regain my senses and when I did I was shocked to feel that his skin was as smooth as the stone it looked like, and as bitingly cold as ice.
I quickly yanked my hand away from his; It was purely reflex, but it came off as incredibly rude.
I could almost feel John scowling at me.
However instead of being insulted, Dr. Cullen was the one who apologized.
"I'm sorry, I suffer from terribly poor blood circulation and it usually causes one's hands and feet to become extremely cold." Carlisle had his hand clenched into a fist now and his face bore a sheepish smile but the expression that filled his eyes was one of sadness and frustration. It confused me for a moment but when I looked again, his eyes were emotionless.
"Right, so let's take at look at your file Mrs. Forrester." Carlisle seemed to have noticed my look of curiosity before because he shot a worried glance in my direction before walking up to Hannah's headboard to grab the manila folder.
The room was painfully silent as the impossibly beautiful doctor read my sister's file.
"Seems like the baby doesn't want to come out," Dr. Cullen chuckled at his own joke as I realized how close he was. I fidgeted uncomfortably, not only at the proximity of his body, but at the sound of his laugh. It literally sounded like one of those recordings you heard on a CD of sound effects; too perfect, too...unnatural.
My heart beat accelerated as I quickly stole a glance at him from under my curtain of soaking hair, and then I almost had a heart attack.
His immaculate golden eyes rested upon me for a brief moment, a look of subtle curiosity bubbling deep within them before tearing away from my wide eyed expression, back to Hannah's file. If I wasn't so dizzy, I could've sworn that I'd seen the corners of his mouth pull up in a faint smirk.
"Sooo... is it coming out of me or do I have to rip it out myself?" Hannah's voice suddenly disrupted her longest silent streak in two years; the longest had been three years ago when I had eaten the last Kit Kat bar while vacationing in Peru.
Carlisle laughed again, this time exposing a set of perfect, gleaming white teeth.
Deep down I felt a sudden jab of irritation; did he have any flaws?
"No, I assure you, according to Dr. Podolski's records you should be having the baby either tonight or tomorrow. If not we can talk about necessary procedures when the time comes, but it really doesn't seem like it will come to that." Carlisle scribbled something on the page he was examining before carefully clipping the folder back onto the headboard. "I suggest you stay the night, unless of course you enjoy being drowned by the rain." Dr. Cullen was talking to Hannah but his eyes slowly drifted to me as he spoke the last part of that sentence; he was definitely smirking now.
He was making fun of me!
I would've been even more pissed off if his devastatingly beautiful smirk hadn't left my brain in a state of shock.
I quickly looked down, blushing again and mumbled a few insults in his direction too quiet for anyone to hear. It was completely irrational and unfair that he had this kind of influence over me.
Carlisle, John and Hannah were suddenly discussing potential names for the baby (whose gender remained unknown) as if they had all been best friends for years; and then there was me.
Still sitting miserably wet and brooding, staring at the wall waiting for this annoying, strange and unbelievably handsome doctor to leave.
A few more minutes of mindless chit chat passed when I was about to get up and leave when, to my embarrassment, I suddenly sneezed.
"Salute," Carlisle's voice was like music, but I was feeling oddly irritated and was unable to hold back my annoyance.
"I speak English you know," My voice was dripping with acid and Hannah nudged me under the blanket with an incredulous look on her face.
Despite my efforts at trying to be rude, I saw him try and hold back a smile.
For someone so attractive he was really starting to get on my nerves.
"Yes, of course, my apologies." Carlisle was moving towards the door now and with a mixture of relief and guilt I realized he was getting ready to leave. "If you need anything or if Hannah starts getting contractions just hit the call button and someone will be right in."
"Yeah for sure, thank you so much Carlisle." John's voice was full of respect and sincerity as he watched the doctor pause at the door.
His pale white hand rested on the metal door handle and he lingered for a moment, his mesmerizing eyes seemed troubled, but before I could take a better look, he turned, pulling the door open and gracefully slipping out of the room.
There was an uncomfortable silence that filled the tiny area and I knew John and Hannah were going to put me under fire the minute someone spoke.
Deciding that I wasn't in the mood to be lectured, I swiftly stood up and began squeaking my way towards the door.
"I'm going out to eat, you guys want anything?" I mumbled the words, embarrassed to meet their questioning stares. I knew I had been acting like a five year old and I didn't need them to remind me.
There was a moment or two of confused silence before Hannah spoke.
"Uh, yeah can you get me a meatball sub please?" Her voice was tentative and too polite.
I nodded and then turned my head towards her husband. "John?"
"Umm, maybe just some berry cobbler and a coffee, but only if you promise not to poison it first."
I smiled suddenly and stuck my tongue out at him like a four year old before yanking the door open and sliding out.
Now outside in the hall I decided to rest my head against the door for a moment. I closed my eyes, listening to the distant hum of the florescent lights that lined the ceiling. I remained like that for about two minutes before sighing and then bearing a disgruntled look on my face, I turned to squeak my way down the corridor.
"You're not staying I take it?"
My legs had turned into lead and I stood motionless, not facing the source of the smooth, silky voice.
I wondered if he'd have me indicted into a psychiatric ward if I just started running away...
However, before I had the opportunity to take my chances, he had already made his way in front of me and now stood waiting for my response with one perfect, feathery eyebrow arched in confusion.
"N-no... I mean yes." It took all I had not to simply stand there and salivate at this man, let alone put together complete, coherent sentences.
Carlisle's marble face broke into laughter once again making it ten times harder to control my already quickening heartbeat.
"For someone who claims to speak English, you're not very good at it."
I could feel the scowl on my face and the amount of blood that had rushed to my cheeks, but this time I didn't even care. He was an ass.
I simply bit my tongue and stalked past him angrily.
Squeak-squawk-squeak-squawk-sque-
I stopped abruptly; this can't be happening.
I could see Carlisle from the corner of my eye and it didn't take much to realize that he was about to burst with laughter.
Deciding that my image was beyond redemption, I kept squeaking down the hall in an attempt to prove to myself that I didn't care what this man thought about me.
Unfortunately that was just about the biggest lie I had told myself and I knew it; I did care about how he perceived me, very much so. And that's what annoyed me the most.
"How lovely, your feet have their own orchestra."
I jumped at how close the doctor's voice was and as I turned my head I was surprised to see that his flawless face was bobbing along close behind me. His stunning golden eyes looked at my face for a moment and I nearly tripped over my own foot as his tantalizing lips turned up in a smirk.
"Don't you have other patients to annoy?" I muttered bitterly tearing my eyes away from his heart stopping face as my own turned scarlet.
I heard Carlisle chuckle, a sound that would have made song birds explode with envy.
"I annoy you." He stated this as though it was common knowledge but his voice sounded too amused.
"No, what makes you think that?" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. It was so much easier to communicate with him when I was facing the other way.
"You're extremely bitter."
"Thank you," I mumbled through gritted teeth. I was done with being the centre of attention for today.
"You're leaving quite the trail of water be-"
"Why are you following me?" I cried in an exasperated voice as I turned to look at the bothersome doctor.
"I'm not, I'm on my lunch break," he looked down at his silver watch but the expression on his face confused me, it looked as though he was enjoying some kind of private joke.
I turned my head away from him; the doors where I had come in just a little under an hour ago were a few paces ahead.
We walked in silence and for that I was grateful; I didn't feel like making an even bigger idiot out of myself.
I tried to focus on the exit ahead but the knowledge that Carlisle was only a few inches behind me made it very hard to concentrate.
"I never really got an answer to my first question..."
I looked up in confusion and found him walking close beside me now; too close. My heart felt like it was trying to come out of my throat.
He took my silence as confusion and reiterated his previous question. "You're leaving for the day?"
"What, uh- no, I'm just grabbing some lunch."
We were at the door now and I reached over to yank it open when he caught my arm in mid gesture sending my heart into a frenzy. His grasp was gentle but firm and I could feel the iciness of his skin even from beneath my jacket.
"Allow me," as though I had a choice, his hand was still wrapped around my arm. "Per favore," he added with a slight smile before swinging the doors open for me.
I thanked him with a slight nod and immediately started to head towards the glass doors before he had a chance to see the affects of his touch on me.
I didn't hear his footsteps behind me, but for the third time once I turned around, I saw him gliding along beside my shoulder.
We continued to walk in awkward silence as every pair of female eyes in that tiny lobby gave me death glares.
We got to the glass doors and I paused, remembering with a groan where I had parked.
"Let me guess, that's your car." Carlisle smiled and extended an arm and I realized that he wasn't wearing his hospital garb anymore. He was clad in a cream raincoat, similar to his white doctor's coat which was probably why I hadn't spotted the change in his wardrobe; that, and the fact that I was too absorbed by his face to pay attention to anything else.
It took me a moment to recollect my thoughts and to look where he was pointing at.
My white Kia forte sat parked in the slot farthest away from the hospital entrance and I laughed at how apparent my misfortune was even to a complete stranger.
I turned to acknowledge Carlisle's choice when I saw his expression.
His enchanting gold eyes were filled with curiosity and his feathery eyebrows were knitted together as he scrutinized my face, making me feel unnecessarily self conscious.
"What?" I asked almost defensively, turning away from him to stare at the rain streaked doors.
I was expecting something along the lines of "Why am I standing here with you, I'm obviously out of your league," or something that put into words his god-like perfection and my perfectly ordinary appearance.
"That's the first time you've laughed," Carlisle's voice was soft and almost a whisper, "I like it."
I didn't dare look at him now, my cheeks were beet red and my eyes felt like they were going to pop out of my head at his comment. He liked my laugh? After hearing his own which would have made the most elegant harp sound like a screeching cat; he liked my laugh...
"I need to go," I mumbled suddenly and made a grab at the metal door handle when he protested by lightly grabbing my arm again. My heart was erratic but my face serene as I looked up at him, not expecting to see his eyes filled with conflict and remorse.
"I apologize if I offended you," His golden eyes were smouldering as he leaned towards me; I almost forgot how to breathe.
"N-no, you didn't," I stammered pathetically, I was vaguely aware of what I had even said; I was having a hard time remaining conscious when his impossibly faultless face was only a foot away from mine.
Carlisle's porcelain face suddenly broke into a smile and he released my arm as he thankfully took a step back.
I stood, slightly dazed for a second before I tried to make another grab at the door handle while I had some control of my bodily functions, but Carlisle stopped me.
Again.
"One minute, where are you going?" Instead of holding onto my arm this time, he held the doors shut.
"Uh, to my car?" I was completely lost now, where else was I supposed to go?
"My car's right there and we're both going for lunch, join me." Carlisle inclined his head towards a shiny black Lexus that sat only a couple of metres from the entrance but I didn't give a damn about that right now.
Dr. Carlisle Cullen, heart stopping, jaw dropping Carlisle Cullen, had just asked me to go out to lunch with him. If my heart skipped another beat, I'd be going into cardiac arrest.