Title: Running into Brick Walls
Author: Socoangel
Rating: M (unsure if it will need such a high rating just yet, but figured I would err on the side of caution)
Summary: Bella comes to Forks, WA in response to her father's illness and finds herself staying longer than expected to care for him. While she longs for home in Florida with her mom and stepfather, she finds that maybe being in Forks isn't such a bad thing after all.
Disclaimer:**All characters belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyers, I just wondered what would have happened if certain circumstances were different!**
Chapter1
THUNK! "Oh damn, I am SO sorry! I wasn't watching where I was…." Cold realization struck me and dammed up the words on my tongue. I found myself staring slightly upward into a pair of eyes the color of the Baltic Amber pendant around my neck. Holy hell, I had just run slam into what felt like a moving brick wall coming around the corner, but that had proven to be the one and only Edward Cullen. He quickly backstepped a couple of paces in an almost dramatic fashion, his nostrils flaring slightly. I was fairly certain my face was showing the immediate effects of my clumsiness, I could practically feel all the blood in my brain rushing to the skin on my face to create my signature "Bella Blush" as my mom & stepdad called it. Knowing I had left my sentence unfinished, I looked down at the floor and mumbled "…going. I'm terribly sorry for that, I guess I'm a little distracted."
I chanced a glance up and noticed him shake his head almost imperceptibly, as if trying to focus his thoughts. I shook my head slightly as well, trying to gather my thoughts enough to facilitate an escape from my blunder. He made a slight huffing noise and I found myself becoming slightly irritated with his demeanor, he seemed put off that I had run into him. Ugh, what is wrong with me? I pondered this for a moment, I'm sure it was all my imagination, I was under extreme stress as it was, & the environment was definitely NOT helping matters. I had abhorred hospitals for as long as I could remember, I had spent entirely too much time in various ER's in various hospitals being x-rayed, stitched up, bandaged, and put in casts. Had one looked at my compiled medical records, it may appear as though I was the product of an abusive parent or parents, but that was in no way the case. I was, quite simply, a danger to my own self I was so clumsy. This thought brought me back to the scene at hand & I noticed that he had crossed his arms and spread his feet slightly, as if trying to root himself to the floor. The large sliding doors behind me whooshed open and then shut, creating a slight breeze. I noticed him seem to almost jump slightly & suddenly he looked quite like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming mack truck, despite the stalwart stance. What was with this guy? I had to be imagining all of this, as there was no way I could mean enough to elicit this much response from someone like him. He was supposedly the most calm and collected of his family, aside from his father, the Chief of Medicine for the Forks Medical Center. Or at least, that was what I had been told today at lunch.
"You're the new girl that just started at Forks High today aren't you? You're Chief Swan's daughter." My head snapped up at his voice, which sounded completely opposite of put off or distressed, it was like smooth honey, practically dripping off his tongue in a leisurely manner. Gah! What was wrong with me? He looked somewhat questioningly at me, and I remembered that he had asked me something. "Yeah, that's me. Again, I'm really sorry for running headlong into you like that. I'm sure you've heard about my dad, everyone else in town has. I guess I'm a little more out of it than I had realized." He shook his head in the affirmative, "Yes, my father was working in the ER when they brought him in, he's known your father since we moved here a couple of years ago. They try to help each other out on various cases when the police and hospital are both involved. I'm very sorry to hear of his illness, I hope he gets better soon."
"Um, thanks, I hope we can get him back on his feet soon. I was hoping he would be well enough for me to go back home at the end of the summer so that I can finish high school back in Florida." He seemed to grimace, although the expression was so quickly erased and replaced with a calmer one I wasn't sure I'd even seen it. I found myself having trouble maintaining eye contact with those beautiful eyes for some reason. I ducked my head slightly and continued, "No offense to Forks or anyone that lives here, but it's kind of depressing here, always rainy and overcast. I guess I'm spoiled to more bright sunny days than days like this." He looked intently at me, confusing me even further. "You hardly look like a sun worshipper if you don't mind me saying so" he said "Your skin is pale enough to make a lot of the girls around here look tanned." Ummm, ok, yeah so I am pale, what's it to him? A small, slightly crooked smile touched his face for a moment and I found myself immediately feeling sorry that I had started to get angry with him, he was joking. As if I had to make up for my flash of irritation, I said "Oh, that…yeah, my aunt had skin cancer, so I guess I am overly conscious with the sunscreen." He nodded, and said in a more serious tone "Good reason, we are all also conscious of that as well, what with Carlisle being a doctor." "Carlisle?" I asked. "Well, since we are all adopted, my brothers and sisters and I sometimes call him Carlisle, or Dad, whichever we feel is appropriate at the moment" he stated simply. I nodded, understanding the sentiment.
He glanced down at his watch quickly, gave me an apologetic version of that same slightly crooked smile, and said "Well, I am supposed to be meeting my father in a few minutes, actually right after he finishes checking on your dad, so I must say goodbye. Again, good luck with your father's recovery. I will see you at school sometime." "Ok, thank you again for the well wishes, and I'm sorry I wasn't watching where I was pacing." He smiled again, this time in a more genuine fashion, and the effect was nothing less than spectacular on his finely sculpted features. I gulped, hoping he wouldn't notice, as he replied "No Worries Isabella, don't give it another thought" and turned to walk away. "It's just Bella!" I said, perhaps a little louder than I had intended. "I'm just plain old Bella." I said in a softer voice. Again I flushed crimson as he turned halfway round and said "I would never say you were plain, or old for that matter, but if you wish, Bella it is." At this he turned back and walked away, I noticed he made little to no noise as he walked, even though the tile floor seemed to give notice to anyone who tread on it. No wonder I hadn't heard anyone coming, he was so quiet.
I turned back and eyed the small arrangements of seating in the ICU waiting room from the hallway where the collision had occurred. Some comfortably padded chairs, a couple of loveseats for families to sit together on, and two utilitarian metal and plastic chairs stowed in the corner. I wished suddenly that my mom would hurry up and get back in here. She had stepped out to "get some fresh air" which was parent-speak for "I'm going to go call your stepfather and let him know how things are going and assure him you haven't cracked yet." I was assuming that Dr. Cullen would be in to speak with us about my dad at any minute, as his son would been waiting for him. I sat down in one of the cushioned chairs without even realizing I was going to do so, and looked around again. I wondered about the possible need for those metal & plastic chairs again. Maybe so people could stand in them to change the TV's mounted in the corners if the remotes weren't to be found? I was all too soon to find out what they were for.
For a moment I let my mind drift back to what had just happened. I wondered why such a seemingly casual exchange had felt so strange, almost the feel of an electrical charge in the air. How weird. I rolled my head in circles, trying to encourage the tight muscles to relax even the slightest bit, however the more I thought of my encounter with Edward, the more tense I became. My thoughts of that were cut short though, by the entrance of my mother and Dr. Cullen into the waiting room. He was stunning, even if he was old enough to be a doctor and have adopted teenagers, but I couldn't help finding myself frozen as I looked up at a pair of eyes almost the identical color of his adopted son's!
"Bella?" my mother Renee said, as she sat down in the chair next to mine. I barely noticed a knowing look pass from her to the doctor before me and back again. Dr. Cullen had walked over to the corner for one of the hard chairs and placed it facing me, about 3 ft away. I had been so preoccupied thinking about their eyes that I hadn't noticed him even move away and back. Immediately I was on full alert, my body stiffening as I thought about the look that had passed between my mother and he a second ago. "Charlie?" My panic immediately had me on my feet, flashes of my Gramma Swan's funeral 5 years ago racing through my thoughts. The dark clothing, the tissue boxes stashed everywhere, the constant stream of people that had come through the house, strangers holding my hand or hugging me as I sat beside my father. I thought of how I had never seen him cry before that, or since, although I lived with my mom the majority of the time, it seemed so alien. He was so strong, it seemed wrong to see his tears. I had only been back to Forks in brief weeklong spurts during the summer since she had passed away.
My mother was on her feet beside me, "Sweetie, no, he's not gone! Come on and sit down, Dr. Cullen wants to talk to us." I allowed myself to collapse back onto the chair, almost as if the adrenaline rush from just a few seconds ago had already vacated my body and I was spent. I did feel that way, but considering a call in the middle of the night, several hours on a plane, and no sleep in the past 72 hrs, I didn't feel as if the bags I knew were under my eyes were ill-gotten. Dr. Cullen gave me a soft smile as he began to speak, and I knew immediately that things were not good. They could have been worse, my father was still alive, but something was definitely wrong. "Charlie had a massive heart attack, Bella, we found three major blockages, and we did correct those during his bypass surgery. He will, however, have a long recovery ahead of him and he will have to make some major changes in his lifestyle to facilitate the best outcome possible. He told me that you all had agreed that you would come and take care of him when he gets home from the hospital, is that correct?" I nodded slightly. "I understand that this is a big undertaking for anyone, especially a 17 year old, are you absolutely ok with this plan?" Again I nodded, trying to concentrate on the words he was speaking, and not the hypnotic note to his voice. I would suppose it would come in very handy for calming upset patients or family members when need be, because I could very easily have slipped into a deep sleep listening to him.
We spent the next fifteen minutes discussing how long Charlie would remain in ICU, in the hospital overall, and what the plan of action was when he came home. The transfer to Forks High School had already taken place and I had attended school that day, albeit with less than full attention and what I can only call basically dressed. My mother would stay with me until Charlie came home, at which time she would return to Florida where we had lived with her husband Phil. She and I went through the suggested dietary changes with the Dr. and his medication regimen as well, before he quietly bid us good night and told us both to get some rest. We then went to Charlie's small but tidy home and proceeded to clear out the cupboards of all highly caloric, artery clogging, and extremely junky food items. We both fell into bed exhausted several hours after getting there, with me clutching one of Charlie's old flannel shirts in my hands to my face. It smelled of his soap and cologne and was oddly comforting, as he had used the same products for as long as I could remember. That night, I dreamt of nothing that I can remember except a pair of molten amber eyes surrounded by impossibly long, thick lashes.