so i need some reviews to know if i should continue...

tell me what you think

Chapter 3

Protector

I was standing in the forest alone. The sun was shining through the trees and the rays were hitting my face. I couldn't tell if this was real or a dream because everything seemed normal and I felt like I was awake, but there was also silence. I looked through the trees and I saw Seth walking towards me. He stood right in front of me and took both of my hands. Then he started to say something, but I couldn't understand what it was. His lips were moving, but there was no noise coming out of his mouth. I stared at him, dazed and confused because I couldn't understand what he was saying to me. But then, suddenly the whole world seemed to stop. I could hear him breathing in and out slowly and he took one big breath and was about to say something to me.

"I'm a-,"

DING DING DING

I quickly opened my eyes and sat up. My alarm clock was going off and it woke me up from my dream. He was about to tell me something.

"You're a what?" I whispered to myself. It was on the tip of his tongue and he was about to tell me, but the stupid alarm clock just had to wake me up.

I groaned and slammed my hand down on the off button of my alarm. Then I threw the covers off of my body and stumbled into the bathroom. My hair was all messy. Maybe I was rolling around in my sleep. I picked up my brush and tamed my hair, thinking about the vivid dream I had. It was weird because I've never had a dream that was that clear before. Maybe it's just because this is a new place, but who knows.

I walked back into my bedroom and got changed into an appropriate outfit for school and straightened up my room a little bit. When I was all finished and ready I walked down the stairs and grabbed a banana and headed out of the door quickly.

"Bye mom," I shouted as I opened the door.

I took one bite of the banana and walked down the steps and put my hood on because it was slightly drizzling. Then I started to walk down the side walk.

"Vanessa," I heard my name being called from behind me.

I turned around and smiled.

"Hey Seth," I said.

He caught up with me and we both started walking together. I broke off a piece of my banana and handed it to him.

"Thanks," he said as he shoved it all into his mouth at once.

I laughed, "Hungry?"

"I'm always hungry."

I rolled my eyes and we both walked together to school once again.

***

This day went by really quickly, thankfully. But gym went by slowly. I wasn't very athletic and I was never very good at sports. And today I got hurt. Of course I did, I always find a way to get hurt. We were playing basketball and I fell down on my ankle. I probably sprained it, no surprise there. So Casey, one of the girls I sit with at lunch, decided to help me walk to the office. I was such a wimp.

"Ouch," I yelped as I limped my way down the hall.

"We're almost there," she informed me.

We passed one of the classrooms and I looked inside. I saw Seth look at me and he started to get out of his seat. I waved my hand and tried to tell him to sit down, but he didn't listen. He went up to his teacher. I sighed in embarrassment. I must look really stupid right now.

He was at my side in an instant and he threw my arm over his shoulder.

"I'll take care of it," he told Casey.

She flashed her eyes between Seth and me once and then she smiled and walked away.

"You don't have to help me, go back to your class Seth," I said.

He shook his head, "I already told my teacher that I'm going home because I don't feel well," he pretended to cough.

I chuckled, "And he believed you?"

"It's not hard to pretend to be sick."

"I guess not," he walked slowly with me and when we got to the office he let me sit down on the chair. He sat down on the chair next to me and held my foot in his hands. It started to feel like it was burning. Like there was a fire set on my foot.

"Ow," I screamed.

He quickly took his hands off of my foot. The burning started to fade and it started to feel a little better. I stared at him in confusion. He was staring down at the floor. I quickly leaned over and took his hand, surprised when I realized how hot they were. He moved away from my touch and stood up and walked over to the woman behind the desk. She looked over at me and went into the back. She came out with a bag of ice and Seth quickly walked over to me and rested it on my ankle. The ice was already melted and it was just a bag of water now.

I glared at him as he stared off into space, trying to ignore me. Why were his hands so warm? If he was really that hot then he should be in the hospital right now, but he looked fine. I didn't understand how this could be possible.

"Are you really sick?" I asked.

He hesitated to say an answer, but then he turned towards me and looked at me like I was crazy.

"No," he chuckled, "I'm not sick at all remember."

"Then why do you feel like you have a fever?" I stared at his face. He looked calm, but there was a second of distress that I saw in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" he whispered.

"You know exactly what I mean, Seth."

I shouldn't have to explain myself anymore to him because he knew why I was asking this.

"I think we should get you to a doctor Vanessa," He stood in front of me and reached out one hand to help me stand up. I stared at it for a moment, and then I grabbed it, feeling my hand start to get hotter and hotter the longer I held his hand. I let go of it quickly and stared up at his face. He wasn't looking at me anymore. He threw my arm over his shoulder again and we started walking to the exit of the school.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You're going to a doctor, an excellent doctor if I might add," he smiled.

"And how are we going to get there. I don't think I can walk the whole way."

"I can carry you."

I stopped, "Umm, no."

He laughed and pulled me up into his arms with no trouble at all. His hands warmed my skin from the cold rain when we got outside.

"Where's this doctor?" I asked.

"He'll be at my house."

He started walking down the side walk and headed for his house. I kept my arms wrapped around his neck and felt sort of embarrassed.

"Wait, how does he know ab-,"

"Trust me, Ness," it was the first time I hear him use the nickname my mom called me. No one really called me that except for my mom. It was strange to hear him say it.

The warmth of his skin didn't bother me out in the rain because it warmed me up. I would probably be shivering if it wasn't for Seth. And right now I didn't mind that his skin was abnormally warm even if I didn't understand why.

"Aren't you cold from the rain?" I asked.

"No, just wet," he kept walking, keeping his eyes on me, "How are you holding up?"

"I'm ok, just a little confused."

He sighed and looked off into the distance.

When we finally reached his house I saw a black Mercedes in the driveway. Seth carried me up the porch steps and managed to open the door with no problem at all. The doctor was waiting in the living room. My mouth fell open when he turned around and I saw his face. He was pale and had blonde hair and the most beautiful golden eyes.

"Set her down here, Seth," his voice was like bells chiming.

Seth laid me down onto the couch and grinned at me.

"Vanessa, I am Dr. Carlisle Cullen, I'm just going to check out your ankle and you tell me where you feel the pain, ok?"

I nodded my head and stared at him. How did he know my name? I never saw Seth talking to him on the phone or anything. He started to put pressure on my foot and I felt the pain already.

"Ouch," I yelled.

He looked up at me with his beautiful golden eyes and started to write something down on his clipboard. I glanced at Seth who was keeping his eyes on Carlisle and glanced at me every couple seconds. When the doctor turned back to me and started to put his hands on my foot again I was ready for the pain, but instead it started to feel better. His hands were ice cold, which soothed it. I didn't question the cold or think it was strange because it was making my foot feel better.

"It's not broken, so I would say to ice it for the rest of the day and you should be as good as new by tomorrow," he smiled and took his hands off of my ankle and went into the kitchen.

"How is it?" Seth asked as he sat down at the end of the couch, careful not to touch my ankle.

"It's fine," I said, staring at my foot from all sides.

The doctor came back into the room with a bag of ice and he placed it onto my ankle. It helped the swelling and it felt good. Seth shook the doctor's hand and walked him to the door.

"It was nice meeting you Vanessa; I hope your ankle feels better. And if it doesn't get any better than just call me."

I smiled genuinely, "Thanks."

Then he walked out of the door and Seth closed it behind him and walked back to the couch. I kept my eyes on him and he kept his on my ankle. I noticed a sudden change in him, like last night he started watching me protectively again.

"So, how did that doctor know about my ankle?" I asked.

He looked up at me, "I called him."

I raised one eyebrow, I knew he was lying.

"I didn't see you talking to anyone; you were next to me the whole time."

"Maybe you weren't paying attention," he laughed.

He looked back down at my ankle and stared at it, while I tried to figure him out. He was so complex and there was so much I felt like I didn't know about him. There was something he was hiding behind those dark, curious eyes, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was. And I would hope that he trusted me enough to tell me because I would understand and if I didn't I would try to.

"You know friends tell each other everything," I interrupted the silence.

He raised his head.

"I mean, I know we haven't known each other for too long, but I can keep a secret."

He half smiled and sat closer to me, making sure that he didn't hit my foot.

"Would you hate me if I told you I can't tell you everything right now?"

He flashed his white teeth at me and I knew I couldn't resist.

"Maybe," I said locking my eyes on his.

He chuckled, "Would it make you feel better if I promised to tell you soon."

I nodded.

He moved his face closer to mine, "Then I promise to tell you absolutely everything about me as soon as I know that you will understand."

I smiled, "Thank you," I whispered.

He sighed, "You're welcome."

I looked down at my ankle and saw that it wasn't as swollen as before. Seth took the bag of ice off of my foot and replaced it with another one, putting a towel over it so that he wouldn't melt the ice like last time. He stayed by me and watched over me protectively. I had to admit that I liked to think of Seth as my protector. It made me feel safe and it was like he really cared about me.

When it started to get dark I called my mom and told her everything that happened. Of course, she got all freaked out and started to worry so I had to get home. Seth helped me get up and walked me to my house. My ankle was starting to feel better from the ice so I'm pretty sure that I would be going to school tomorrow.

He walked me up the steps and opened the door for me. I smiled.

"Thank you, Seth, for everything," I said.

He smiled, "Ice your ankle when you get inside."

Again, he was trying to protect me, "I will."

I took one step inside the house and grinned at him as I closed the door. I limped into the living room and immediately laid down on the couch. My mom was making dinner in the kitchen.

"Ness?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"I'll bring you some ice," she said.

"Ok," I replied.

I turned on the TV and didn't feel like changing the channel so I just decided to watch whatever was on.

"Ew," I wrinkled my nose when I realized it was the news. My mom walked into the room with a tray table with food on it and an ice pack. She set the table down in front of me and the ice pack on my ankle.

"Thanks mom," I said.

She kissed the top of my head and walked back into the kitchen. I started to take a bite of the food on my plate and watched the TV at the same time. There was a story on about how the animal death rate in Forks is going up.

"Hunting season is coming up and now more than ever the death rate of wildlife has gone way up. Authorities say that people might have to hold off the hunting for another time. They have been finding dead carcasses in the woods, fully drained of their blood."

I cringed at the words.

"No one knows who or what is disturbing our little town of Forks, but we hope that the death rate will go down. Back to you Graham."

I turned off the TV and just ate my dinner in the peace and quiet. I could hear my mom washing the dishes in the sink and I closed my eyes for a moment. The ice on my leg reminded me of Dr. Cullen. I wonder why his hands were so cold and why Seth's hands were…warm. There must be something about them that makes them that way. Well maybe something made Seth that way, but there could be other reasons why the doctor's hands were cold. I took one last bite of my dinner and then I pushed it away. Then I sat up and slowly started to rise off of the couch. A bang on the window startled me and I gasped from the noise. I got up from the couch carefully and walked over to the window, searching for anything that could've made that big banging noise. The rain made it harder to see through the trees, but I could see a big dark figure sitting up in one of the trees and staring down at me with bright eyes that glowed in the darkness. I didn't know what this was, but it looked like it was watching…me.

I quickly backed away from the window and went to the staircase, carefully watching each step I took and glancing at the window a couple of times. The way it looked at me reminded me of something. I couldn't think of what it was though. All of the thoughts raced through my mind as I got ready to go to bed and let my ankle rest for a while. I left the ice on top of my ankle so that it could help even more and I closed my eyes. The bright eyes of the dark figure stayed in my mind as I dozed off and fell into a deep sleep…