I don't own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.
April and Gabby, thank you for pre-reading, and Fran, thank you for editing. Any mistakes left are my own.
Ch. 1 (9 years later)
I glanced at the sentence on the screen and shook my head before I deleted it. I then reworded it and sighed before I deleted it yet again. I placed my elbows on the table and my head in my hands as I rubbed my temple. I just couldn't focus today; everything I wrote was just pure crap.
I decided to take a break and stood and stretched. I headed over to the small kitchen and grabbed myself a soda. I searched through the cabinets and grabbed a can of cashews. I was just settling back at my desk when I heard the door open and close.
I turned my head to see my friend, Alice, bounce into the room. She stopped midway and ran her hand through her short black hair with hot pink tips. She was wearing a bikini with a sarong tied at the hip. I could instantly tell something was bothering her.
"What's wrong?" I asked apprehensively.
"Nothing," she said; however, her nose twitched, and she scratched it—a tell-tale sign she was lying. "You're writing…I can come back later." She started to back out of the room.
"Freeze, pixie, what did you do?" I swiveled my chair around to face her.
"Nothing, I swear. I just heard something on the radio about Forks I thought you should know about." She shifted from foot to foot and wouldn't make eye contact with me.
"You heard something on the news about Forks…Forks, Washington all the way on the opposite coast?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Uh-huh, more specifically it was about Emmett." She bit her lip.
"Let me guess, Emmett broke some sport's record in…it's August, so I guess that would be football." I fought hard not to roll my eyes.
Emmett now played a sport for every season and excelled in them all. I guess I should be impressed that any athlete in Washington could make the news in Florida. However, I had grown impassive to hearing how great Emmett was.
"Uh…no…you haven't heard from your dad? I guess I probably shouldn't be surprised." She huffed in irritation.
"Alice…" I prompted, starting to get an uneasy feeling.
"There's been some sort of car accident, and he's in the hospital," Alice stated quickly.
"What!" I grabbed my cell phone to see if I had any missed calls.
When I didn't see any, I called my father directly, while at the same time going on Facebook to look at Emmett's page. My call went to voicemail as I stared at the screen, seeing message after message from people telling Emmett to 'get well soon' and sending their prayers.
What the hell? Was I the last person to know that my twin brother was in the hospital? I knew I lived on the opposite side of the country and we've never been close, but I thought I would get a phone call. I typed his name into the search engine but before I could hit enter my phone rang.
"Dad?" I answered quickly.
"Are you Isabella Swan?" a stranger asked.
"Yes, who's is this," I questioned.
"Dr. Cullen, I work at Forks General Hospital. We have been trying to reach your mother. The only number we have appears to have been disconnected," he said.
"My mother…she passed away." I turned to see if Alice was still in the room.
She was sitting on the edge of my bed, chewing on her thumbnail. She looked at me wide-eyed.
"I'm sorry; I didn't know." He sounded apologetic. "Isabella, I need to speak with your current guardian."
"I don't have one; I'm emancipated. Can you please tell me what's going on with Emmett? I heard on the news there was an accident, but I don't know anything else," I asked.
"I'm afraid your brother's condition is very serious. Your father's too, however, he sustained fewer injuries," he explained.
"Wait…Ch…Dad was hurt too?" My heart skipped a beat, and I started to feel numb. "How bad is it? Are they going to survive?" I started to get upset.
"I think it would be better if I could talk to you in person. Are you able to come here?" he asked.
"Yes, but you have to give me more. Are they going to live through this?" I jumped when Alice placed her hand on my shoulder.
"I'm fairly confident your dad will make a full recovery. It's too early to know about Emmet. The sooner you can get here the better since right now you're their only living relative," Dr. Cullen explained calmly.
"I'll be there on the next flight," I promised and quickly hung up the phone.
"I need to pack…" I started to stand, then sat again. "I need to get a ticket."
"Wait, why are you going?" Alice asked incredulously.
"You know why. Both Emmett and my father are in the hospital," I explained.
"So, handle it over the phone," she insisted.
"The doctor asked me to come. I'm the only family they have left," I told her.
"That fact didn't have them running here when…"
"Alice, stop." I clenched my eyes shut as I felt a twinge of hurt from the memory.
"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I'm trying to look out for you. I don't like how they've never put you first. And here you are, ready to rush off to help them. I know you; you'll stay and nurse them back to health. And that's not a bad thing if the people you're helping are appreciative of your efforts."
"Thank you. And you're right; I'm not them, which is why I have to go. He's still my dad and Emmett's my twin. Two wrongs never make a right," I reasoned.
"I'll get the tickets, you pack." Alice shooed me from the chair.
"Just get me the one, I don't know when I'll be back. This may take a while." I head for the closet.
"The other ticket is for me. I'm coming with," Alice declared.
"I love you for wanting to go, but you can't, school starts in two days," I reminded her.
"So, I'll take a Senior skip day or two." She shrugged. "School is going to be lame anyways since you graduated a year early."
"Your father would never let you. Plus, you'll only be bored waiting around the hospital. I'll be fine, I promise," I insisted.
"It will be boring here without you. I've gotten used to you living in our pool house." Alice sighed. "You better be back by your birthday, or I'm dragging you home by your messy ponytail."
S
The elevator door at Forks General Hospital slid open, and I stepped out onto I.C.U. floor. I glanced up and down the hallway until I located the nurses' desk. A middle-aged woman with red hair looked up as I approached.
"May I help you?" she asked, eyeing me over the top of her glasses.
"Yes, I'm looking for the rooms of Emmett and Charlie Swan," I asked politely.
Her smile dropped, and she looked tired and a bit cross. "I'm sorry, but no fan club members are allowed," she said robotically.
"I'm family; Isabella Swan. I'm Charlie Swan's daughter and Emmett's sister. Dr. Cullen called and asked me to come." I dug out my I.D. in case she needed proof.
She glanced at it briefly and nodded as her smile returned. "We've been expecting you. I'll page the doctor to let him know you've arrived. Your brother is in 314 and your father, 316." She pointed down the hallway to her left.
"Thank you," I told her.
I made my way down the hall slowly then paused between the two rooms, not knowing which one to go into first or what to expect. I was only given minimal details about their accident, so I was nervous as to what I might see.
Over the last few years, my relationship with both of them had been strained. I saw them here and there over the years but never more than a week at a time. When Mom left that day, it was more than just to help Grandma. She had gone away to think, and it turned into a separation, and subsequently, divorce.
I remember being upset at first, but the feeling soon disappeared. Even at my young age, I could tell how much happier my mom became—I was happier too. For once it didn't feel like I was taking a second seat to Emmett and his sports. Mom focused all her time on me. First, she enrolled me in ballet, and when that didn't work out, we tried other things. Soon I fell in love with creative writing and drawing. My mother started making her own jewelry to sell at craft fairs and teaching yoga and Pilates at the local Y.
When the time came for visits, I was the one to do most of the traveling. Emmett came to stay with us a handful of times before he had to be back for whatever sport was in season. My mother and I would often make the trips if he was in a championship game. My father, however, made the trip once—when Mom died.
I stepped into the doorway of Dad's room. He looked as if he was sleeping; the only signs that he might have been hurt was the I.V. by his bedside.
"Okay, maybe it's not as bad as I worked up in my head," I said under my breath.
I took a backward step and went into Emmett's room and stopped short. There were more tubes and wires coming out of him than I had ever seen. He looked pale, and for the first time ever in his life, weak. I approached the side of the bed cautiously, so I didn't disturb him.
"Hey, little brother." Me calling him that name was probably an oxymoron since even at birth, Emmett was bigger than me. However, I was eleven minutes older, so it used to be a joke between us.
"I don't know who you are, but you need to get out!"
I turned at the sound of the voice. A tall blonde girl about my age was standing in the bathroom doorway with red-rimmed eyes and cheeks streaked mascara. Her arms were crossed in front of her as she glared at me.
"I'm Bella Swan, Emmett is my brother. And you are?" I stood my ground.
"Emmett's girlfriend. He's never mentioned you," she spat as if she was trying to hurt me.
"Well, I guess we have something in common; he's never said a word about you either, and last I checked, not even twenty-four hours ago, his Facebook status was single," I responded with a raised eyebrow.
"What's going on in here?" A doctor stepped into the room with a stern look on his face. "Miss Hale, you need to leave; only family at this time."
"But that's unfair, what about her?" She pointed at me.
"Are you, Isabella?" he asked calmly, and I nodded. "Then she's family."
"That's so unfair," Miss Hale complained.
"I'm sorry, but those are the rules. This is already your second warning. Come in here again without permission, and I'll have you barred from the hospital."
I felt slightly bad for her as her eyes watered and it seemed Dr. Cullen did too.
"Once Chief Swan is awake, we can get his consent for you to visit. Until then, I'm sorry, but you need to stay out," he said apologetically.
"Whatever," she huffed and stormed from the room.
He then turned to me and held out his hand. "I'm sorry about that. I'm Dr. Cullen; I have been handling the cases of both Emmett and your father."
"Nice to meet you. I have a ton of questions." I shook his hand.
"Why don't we go to my office and we can talk." He gestured to the door.
A/N: A time jump, hopefully I gave you enough to fill you in what happened over the last nine years. Other questions will be answered as the story goes on. I will mention since it was asked a lot last chapter that Renée isn't evil in this story. Nor did she plan to leave for good that day. Once she left she realized it was the best thing for her and Bella.
Thank you for sharing your thought with me.