We are on chapter eight now! Thank you SO much for the reviews, and thanks to everyone that added to favourites and alerts! You guys are awesome! High fives for you all…I had complaints, didn't you guys get a kiss from a Quileute or Cullen after you reviewed? Damn, I better write to Fan Fictions mods and get that sorted lol
Thank you to my beta Biddy429 - she really keeps this story afloat!
I own nothing Twilight but enjoy anyway!
Previously - "So I guess my dad spilled the beans on my craziness!" I begin.
Edward paused for a second. "Yes, he implied you had a gift but nothing about you being crazy." He smiled at me. "You can see ghosts?"
I closed my eyes then nod. Why is it so difficult to admit it to him, when I tell people all the time?
"Yep, I am permanently haunted!"
Chapter Eight
Alcohol Poisoning
Edward was watching me, his expression open and curious. I knew he was waiting for me to continue but I felt like saying, "if I tell you my secret then you have to tell me yours", but I didn't think it will work that way. I was a human with a secret, he was not human with a huge secret and if he were to share his secret with me he could be exposing God knows how many other people's secrets.
But I wanted to get to know him, and he seemed to want to know me, but that couldn't happen properly when neither of us was being honest with one another. How could I ask him about it for fear that he will run, taking his family with him, thus leaving me with no answers.
Edward seemed to realise that I need prompting after the long silence, and he cleared his throat subtly.
"So these ghosts, do you see them all the time? What do they want?" he asked me.
He sounded optimistic, as though he knew that I was telling the truth. Normally people deny that what I am saying was true and brand me crazy until proof is thrown at them. But Edward wasn't talking to me like I was crazy, he wasn't talking like a psychologist, asking what the voices in my head were saying - he was simply talking to me as though it were an everyday occurrence, like it was nothing out of the usual, like seeing and talking to ghosts was what everyone does. Does that mean he believed me without proof?
"Yes, I see them all the time. Not every day though, and they want my help," I answered. He opened his mouth to reply but I cut him off blurting out, "You believe me?"
Edward looked at me blankly. "Of course I do," he replied simply.
"Why?"
His eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Why wouldn't I? Why would you or your father lie about something like that?"
I was way too used to sceptics, apart from Alex; others had to be convinced I was telling the truth unless they had felt the paranormal around them.
"I guess I am just used to people thinking I am a crazy liar," I mumbled.
Edward chuckled softly. "I don't think you're crazy Bella, trust me, this is nothing compared to…" he didn't finish, but I could have guessed what he was going to say.
"Have you always been able to see ghosts?" he asked quickly seemingly trying to cover up what he was going to say.
"Yes or at least I think so. At first my mom and dad used to think I had an imaginary friend, but I would change their names every day, one minute I would be talking about Jane then next I would be talking about John, but we know now that it was just ghosts. I couldn't do anything to help them when I was little but they would always find me. I guess I was someone for them to talk to, a real live human that is," I said to him and he nodded, understanding.
"How long before you and your parents realised that your imaginary friends were real, or should I say ghosts?" he asked.
"I had always known, I knew the people I was seeing were real...they told me that they were dead, they were the ones that helped me so that's why I helped them. But when I was about seven, my mom and I had already left Forks and we were vacationing in California when she finally accepted what I could do. We came across this gypsy tent and I asked if we could go inside. My mom had always been opened minded about….things that are different so we both went inside and that's when the gypsy told us that I had a gift and I was going to help people in the future, make people be at peace, both the living and the dead," I said, remembering believing the gypsy straight away. "I don't think my mom was too convinced at the time about believing that I was seeing ghosts but after hearing the gypsy, she knew I was telling the truth and accepted that I was…gifted, as she called it." I sighed.
"And your dad?"
"He accepted it too but he just doesn't like to hear about it, he doesn't like to know what is going on, whereas my mom was always eager to help me help them in any way she could," I told a very fascinated Edward.
"Wow, to think that there is almost a whole different world that no one else can see. Do you know if there are others that can do what you can? It is only ghosts that you see?"Edward asked.
He was gazing at me; his eyes alight with so many questions and filled with curiosity. He looked like a boy that had just learned the most fascinating thing and he couldn't wait to find out more. I supposed it was only natural to have questions, I would too if it were the other way round.
"Apart from the gypsy who saw ghosts, it took me years to find someone with the same ability I have. I was worried I was the only freak in the world and I felt alone but I did find someone recently." Edward was still gazing at me, waiting for more so I quickly went on. "As well as seeing ghosts, I have dreams in forms of visions which are brought on by ghosts, they sometimes show me how they died, sometimes visuals are better than words, but it can be scary. I think I have better intuition than most people, maybe it's something to do with seeing things that others don't, but I feel things too, and I know what I feel is right…but that's it, no other special tricks I'm afraid!"
"That's it?" Edward said incredulously. "Bella, what you can do is amazing, such a powerful gift and you use it to help people who are both alive and dead. It's pretty special and I don't think I have been as fascinated as this in such a long time," said Edward smiling crookedly at me, making me blush profusely.
"Such a beautiful colour on you," Edward murmured softly. I looked down at the bed covers, not used to compliments from the most beautiful person on the planet….who also happened to be a vampire.
Thankfully, before I could say something stupid, there was a quick knock on the door. I looked up to see a doctor, one who I distinctly remember seeing yesterday, Edward's adoptive father, Dr Cullen. I blushed again as the memory came back to me - I was not exactly at my best when I first saw him.
"Hello Bella, how are you feeling?" asked Dr Cullen, as he appeared at my bedside.
"Fine thank you, much better than before," I replied, and I wondered if I should apologise for yesterday. I decided not to as he was a doctor after all. It would have been much, much, worse if I were in Edwards's arms at the time when I vomited all over their porch.
"Good to hear it." He smiled. "We are still puzzling over what caused you to becoming ill so quickly. We have carried out every possible test and we cannot seem to figure out why you went into respiratory failure and cardiac arrest. It all appears to be a mystery but one of which I can assure you I will do my very best to resolve!" said Dr Cullen determinedly.
I almost forgot my theory of how I had gotten so ill. I guessed since Edward knew, and according to Ryan, so did Dr Cullen, then I might as well have shared my theory with them. Plus I really don't want to waste any more of Dr Cullen's time and I would have prefer to get out of hospital sooner rather than later.
"Dr Cullen, I think I might have the answer as to why I got so ill, but I'm not sure you will believe me. You see, my theory is, well, not really medically or scientifically possible, at least it won't be to you…but to me it's not anything unusual…" I said trailing off and leaving an unspoken suggestion. I looked from Dr Cullen to Edward. Edward seemed to have grasped immediately what course my mind was taking, as he looked shocked, and I began realise that Dr Cullen was not that far behind as the look of confusion had disappeared from his face.
"Please call me Carlisle," he replied slowly. "Can you explain what you mean Bella? I am interested in all theories, medically correct or not."
"Um, well, Edward told you about my…er, gift?" I asked and he nodded so I went on, "Well my gift isn't limited to just seeing spirits or ghosts, whatever you want to call them, I get visions as well, dreams that they want to show me. But my theory is, and my friend Alex agrees, that I could have experienced, literally, how someone died. A little boy to be precise. I have experienced things before but in visions only, I have never physically experienced things that ghosts have, but if there is really no medical explanation then I am thinking that this ghost, this boy, was showing me how he died." I hoped I didn't sound as crazy out loud as I did in my head.
Carlisle sat down on the plastic chair by the bed; his eyes were like Edward's, not just in colour but alight with curiosity as well.
"You think a ghost did this to you?" said Carlisle but he didn't sound disbelieving.
"Maybe, I can't prove it yet but my friend Alex is getting my laptop so I can look online at some obituaries to see if any boys from this area have died of a disease, or illness that presented the same symptoms as I did," I said. "What kind of illness could he have died of?"
"There are so many, the list is as long as my arm. Your symptoms are very common, fever, vomiting, sweats, chills - then you started developing sever symptoms such as vomiting blood, respiratory failure and finally cardiac arrest. Those were sudden, none of them made medical sense like you said, so if it was a ghost then he made you ill very quickly. It should be easy enough to look into children's deaths in this area, there won't be many that died after a bout of illness with those symptoms, I could look into it for you if you like?" he offered.
He hadn't even asked me any questions about the ghosts, and he didn't seem to want an explanation, he just seemed to accept it all. I realised that I was staring at him in disbelief so I quickly looked away.
"Sure, that would be a lot quicker than looking it up online," I looked back at his kind smiling face. "But Dr…I mean Carlisle, I…don't you want to know more, I mean normally people have thousands of questions, they don't believe me without proof and you are a doctor, I don't mean disrespect to you, but shouldn't you be looking for medical reasons why I was so ill?"
Both Edward and Carlisle chuckled.
"Probably, but I have always looked beyond modern medicine, and if you say it was a ghost projecting his symptoms to you then I believe you. I am good with…different, I believed Edward the minute he told me, and quite frankly your theory is a whole lot better than the ones we have being trying to come up with," said Carlisle smiling kindly at me. "And trust me, I certainly do have many questions about all of this but I am trying to hold my tongue for just now," Carlisle gave Edward a sideways glance.
"Oh," is all that I replied, not sure what else to say.
"I will go and look into some of the paediatric deaths in the area," said Carlisle getting up. "How old is the boy? Is he here?"
Carlisle and Edward suddenly looked around as if a ghost would pop up for them both too see. I suppressed my giggles and shook my head.
"He is around five years old, but that's just my guess as he doesn't speak to me. I would look at all male children deaths, going back as far as you can because it's not only recent ghosts I speak to, the earth as a lot of spirits and some go back decades, sometimes more than that," I said. "And no, he isn't here. Neither are any of the other ghosts that I have seen since coming to Forks, but no doubt I will see at least one of them soon."
I had no doubt that Ryan wouldn't stay away too long, as he knew I was going to grill him about leaving me hanging earlier, so he wouldn't come back while I was on my own.
Carlisle's eyes danced with questions but he thought better of it. He walked to the door and as he was about to step out I said, "Carlisle, I was hoping to ask for a favour…other than helping me with the ghost."
"Sure, Bella, anything."
"Would it be possible to shorten my stay here? It's just, well, there are normally so many souls stuck in hospital and as much as it sounds horrible on my behalf not to help them, I just don't think I can. Once one asks for help, then well, it's like feeding a stray dog, when others find out then they all want your help. Which is all fine and normally I don't mind, but…" I sounded selfish so I didn't finish.
Carlisle looked understanding. "Don't worry Bella; you don't have to explain wanting to have a life. If you were to help every lost spirit then you wouldn't get a minute to yourself. Of course I will try and get you discharged as quickly as possible, I may be able to convince Dr Warren that you are fit and healthy. It can't be easy being in a place filled with ghosts so I will do my best."
He nodded to Edward and then left the room. At least he could help me find out who the boy was, it was convenient to have medical help and he understood so well that I felt relieved that I didn't have to explain myself fully.
Once the door closed, Edward turned to me as said, "What do they look like? The ghosts I mean?"
I allowed a grin before I replied. "Sort of like Casper, you know, white, bald head, cartoon-ish, almost see through…"
Edward raised his eyebrows, a smile playing on his face.
I laughed at his expression. "Just kidding," I smirked. "They look normal; there is just a subtle difference. I can't really describe it but if I didn't know that I could see the dead, then I would think they were real people. Although they all look the same as they did when they died. Say for instant, that they died of….uh, say they died in a car accident and they were all bloody then they would look like that in death until it was, er, time to go, so to speak. Most souls, or sprits, whatever you want to call them, they move on pretty quickly so they go into The Light looking healthier than they ever did in life, but the ones that remain behind, the earth bound spirits, well they will stay looking the way they did when they died and stay like that until whatever is keeping them here is resolved."
Edward was silent for all of two seconds before he fired another question at me. "The Light? Like heaven?" He looked sceptical so I considered my answer before I replied.
"Maybe," I said looking directly at him so I could read his face as I explained. "I wouldn't know because I have never been there but the spirits I help - once they have resolved their un finished business, for lack or a better term - they say they see 'The Light'. I can never see it because it's not for me but they say it's the most incredible thing they have ever seen and they see their loved ones that have passed on, waiting for them, to guide them through." Edward still looked sceptical. "You say you believe that I can speak to ghosts, you seem, as well as your father, pretty open minded, you believed me before I could explain, and not many people do, so if you can believe that then I would hope you can try to be open minded about the rest. I take it you are not a believer of God?"
Then I realised why he might have doubts. If he is a vampire, and I am almost certain he was, then maybe he had a right to question what happened when people died, and whether there really was a God. I would too if I was turned into something that I didn't understand, at least at first. If I didn't have the evidence in front of me that people don't just die and that's it, then I would ask the same questions.
"I'm sorry," I said quickly. "I didn't mean to say that as if it's a bad thing that you don't believe. Just because I believe in it, doesn't mean everyone does. I have seen things that people would be floored to see, I have seen sprits move on, so I have what is almost proof that there is at least something waiting for us when we die. It gives me hope, as well as it does to the families I help but it's not like I can shout from the roof tops that there really is hope for us all when we die….although, if I did I wouldn't be the first." I grinned again and he smiled back.
"No you certainly wouldn't, but half of the people that do, end up in a psych unit," said Edward. "I do believe in your gift but maybe I need a little more time believing in 'The Light' and everything that goes with it. I have had too many years to convince myself that God, heaven and all the rest of it, doesn't exist, so I may need time getting my head around that but I am not writing it off, I am still open minded."
I suddenly wondered how much time he has had to get his head around it, I mean how old can he really be? His human age, before he was changed, I assumed was around my age, maybe a few years older, but he could be hundreds of years old for all I knew. And his whole family. I wondered if Carlisle was his father in more ways than one. I wondered if they are all connected, even if it was not by blood.
Edward had many questions for me but I bet it was not as many as I had for him, but I couldn't ask them yet, as frustrating as it was I knew that I just couldn't blurt out what I thought I knew. I didn't want him to run. I felt myself wanting to be near Edward, to get to know him, even if he never told me his secret.
Edward and I chatted for another half hour, his stream of questions were relentless. He kept firing them at me, one after the other. The more I told him, the more absorbed he became. But answering his questions wasn't as easy as I thought it would be because every time I meet his gaze he melted my words with his stare, his beautiful face and hypnotic eyes. He had to gain my attention by clearing his throat or calling my name. It was embarrassing as I burned red and stuttered on my words.
I felt like such a little girl, back when boys were fascinating, when you would get all giggly when they walked pasted and you would write their names in your notebook, drawing a big heart around it. It was pathetic, I felt ridiculous every time I got brain freeze from staring at him too long. If I kept it up, I will give myself a heart attack with the way my heart was behaving.
The whole time I kept wondering why he was still there. Apart from the obvious, why was he so interested in me, why was he even bothering to get to know more about me and my gift? Jessica said that he didn't make friends, so why was he being so social? I haven't really got a word in edge ways in regards to asking him questions, so I couldn't ask but when I got out of there I would ask him to sit with me at lunch, like we were supposed to on Tuesday, and I would ask him questions in return.
Just as I was explaining to Edward about Alex, the door opened and Carlisle walked in. He sat in the chair that he vacated earlier and was holding a few brown medical files.
"There are three boys from Forks that have died in the past fifteen years. All three are between five and seven; they all had different causes of death. Two had raging infections before they died, but it wasn't what killed them, although the symptoms were the same as yours. The other died of what was effectively alcohol poisoning but there were complications so it wasn't noted as the official cause of death." Carlisle opened one folder.
"What happened?" I asked.
"The boy, Cameron Sanders, was at home with his brother, who was supposed to be watching him. Cameron got his hands on some alcohol and he mixed it with cola. His father was an alcoholic so he had seen what to do plenty of times. Anyways, Cameron got pretty drunk really fast, crawled to his bed somehow, and sometime during the night he vomited. He didn't choke on it but he inhaled it, which led to him contracting acute pneumonia. His liver and kidneys were already having trouble so he got sick pretty quickly. His brother found him not long after and rushed him here to the ER. They did everything they could but his body couldn't cope and his heart gave out," said Carlisle with sadness heavy in his tone.
"The poor boy," I whispered. "He suffered the symptoms I did? The fever, vomiting blood and the pain?"
Carlisle glanced at the file again. "I am not exactly sure about the pain, but he did vomit blood, had a fever and sweats, and in the end cardiac arrest was inevitable. He might have lived if he had gotten to the ER before he vomited, but there is no certainty as his liver was already struggling. He could have died of liver failure if it wasn't for the pneumonia."
"What happened to his family, are they still here? Was the father charged? If it wasn't for him being a drunk then the boy wouldn't have done it!" said Edward almost angrily.
"He wasn't there, so he couldn't have been charged with anything. The brother wasn't either, it was ruled an accident, he didn't realise that Cameron had drunk the alcohol and he took him to hospital when he realised that he was ill. The mother was distraught, naturally, but I don't know where they are now," Carlisle replied.
I wondered how he knew all this but I guessed looking like he did then all he would have to do was breathe on a nurse that was there when the boy died, and she would have told him everything she knew.
"It could be him but I won't know until I see a picture or if I can ask the boy himself," I said. "What about the other two?"
Carlisle opened the two other files simultaneously. "One, an Adam Benson, he died after a severe infection while he was fighting Leukaemia and…"
"That's how my mom died," I said suddenly. "She had breast cancer; she was doing okay until she got an infection. She knew she was dying but she still smiled until the end."
I closed my eyes tight so I didn't cry. I felt cool hands touch mine, so I opened my eyes. I looked down at Edwards hands on mine but I didn't say anything. It felt safe to have his hands in mine, but I had no idea why.
"Did you see her?" asked Carlisle softly.
I nodded. "She was at peace, there was nothing to keep her here, she just wanted to say goodbye," I managed to say without choking on my words.
There was a long silence. Edward didn't remove his hand from mine and I didn't pull away from his icy, but somehow warm, touch.
No one seemed to want to interrupt the calm silence. Anyone breathing that was.
"How romantic, the blood sucker is holding your hand, how cosy…or cold," said Ryan as he appeared by the foot of the bed. I looked up to see him grinning at me.
Obviously Edward and Carlisle didn't know that the room had just got more crowded so I didn't say anything yet.
"You ought to be careful with him, Bella, he could hurt you," said Ryan quite loudly as if he hoped they can hear. I tried not to smile so I looked away.
"I haven't met other vamps, so I can't lie and say they are bad because they haven't so much as drunk a drop of human blood…they have totally disappointed me. You were actually quite truthful when you told your friend that I was a 'vampire freak', because I used to be quite interested in vampire lore, it fascinated me and these guys are a huge disappointment…they are too tame!" Ryan chuckled, trying to provoke me into laughing, and he got what he was hoping for.
"What's funny?" Edward asked, making me blush yet again.
I hesitated for a second then sighed. "Ryan, a ghost, is here. I met him on my first day and he has been stalking me ever since." I grinned at Ryan who rolled his eyes.
The seat that Carlisle occupied shifted suddenly and Carlisle looked around, his eyes wide.
"A spirit is here? Right now?"
I nodded. "Yep, right over there by the door."
Both Edward and Carlisle glanced at the door automatically, but in their eyes they were seeing air.
"Do we have believers?" asked Ryan and I nodded. "Want me to show them something?"
"Are you able to?"
I knew a lot, if not all, ghosts could use energy to make things move, control technology and various other things that I couldn't really explain. It was how they alert people that there was something not quite right with their house, or they knew, or felt, that a loved one was still hanging around. Most people passed it off as wind, or they thought of some rational explanation as to why the vase smashed in a locked room or why the broken radio switched on. Some people would believe in anything but not ghosts, so they convinced themselves that there was a perfectly normally explanation as to why things that couldn't be explained was happening.
I was always fascinated to see ghosts do things like that, and when other people witness it, after they find out and believe that ghosts were real, then they seemed intrigued.
"What's he saying?" asked Edward, still staring at the door as if it might come alive.
"He says he is going to try and move something, he likes to show off what he can do," I said smiling at Ryan.
"I did not say that!"
"I can read minds too, you know," I joked. The room became still, Edward, who still had my hands, froze and turned into stone. I felt the tension in the room, then I realised what I said.
"Just kidding, I was joking with Ryan. Sorry, I sometimes forget that other people can't hear what they say," I said quickly mumbling over my words.
Ryan was right, Edward really must be able to read people's minds, otherwise why would he freeze up when I joked I could read minds. I guessed I touched a nerve and he thought it was real because of my other gifts.
To cover the awkwardness Carlisle acted as though nothing happened and said, "So what kinds of things can ghosts do? Can they manipulate anything?"
"Er, well, they can move things, they use the energy around us to manipulate things like phones, computers, even things that don't work. I don't know how to explain it to be honest," I answered, trying to sound as though I had forgotten what just happened.
Edward let go of my hand and his face smoothed out.
"Well that was awkward," said Ryan. "You stepped on a few toes. He probably thought that you could read his mind and they were outed…which ironically they already have been."
"Just get on with it," I said.
Edward looked at me frustratingly, a look I would get from my mom and Alex when they had no idea what a ghost was saying and my replies didn't make a lot of sense.
"Sorry, just Ryan being a pain," I twisted the truth. He was really being smart mouthed but I couldn't tell them that.
"I wish I could see or at least hear him," said Carlisle thoughtfully. "It would be ever so fascinating. I mean, I believe what you say Bella but to be able to experience it for myself then…" Carlisle seemed to be lost for words.
"Careful what you wish for," I told him while trying not to show my distaste in his wish. "I have gotten used to my gift but there has been so many times when I wished I didn't have it."
Carlisle smiled apologetic. "I am sorry, Bella, I don't always think before I speak. I was merely thinking out loud, not giving it much thought. I can imagine what it's like to keep and live with such a big secret." He glanced at Edward who shifted in the chair. I guessed their secret was much bigger than mine; compared to theirs mine seemed so small.
"Is Ryan still here?" asked Edward looking around.
"Yes, he is still standing by the door. I would say he is eavesdropping but we already had that conversation earlier, besides, he would be part of the conversation if you could see him." I said.
Carlisle looked back at the door, smiling politely but didn't say anything to him.
"Why is he still here, earthbound I mean?" Edward asked looking at me now.
I shrugged. "Your guess is good as mine. He won't tell me, he says he likes it here but I will find out what is keeping him here, I will help him even if he doesn't want it," I said looking straight at Ryan. But he scowled at me, looking angry.
Suddenly a cup that was sitting on the table against the wall flew through the room, hurtling in my direction. Edward leaped from the chair and caught it before it hit me. He sat back down and hissed at the door, where Ryan still stood.
"I told you that I don't want to go anywhere!" Ryan raged. "Just keep your nose out of it and leave me be, you can't make me go anywhere!"
Before I could reply he disappeared.
"Did he do that?" Carlisle asked, looking from the table to the cup, in wonder.
I nodded sadly. "I wonder why he doesn't want me to help him. He can't like it here that much, there must be a reason."
"He nearly hit you with the cup!" said Edward angrily.
"Don't worry about it; I am used to flying objects by now. It wouldn't have done serious damage and he was mad at me, I don't blame him. You shouldn't either." I tried to reassure him. "Ghosts don't always have control over their emotions and sometimes they can't help but do something like that in a fit of anger. Don't worry about it Edward, it's just something I have to get used to when helping them."
Edward didn't look convinced but he dropped it.
"Fine," he said. "Let's read over the other two boys files, let's work out who the little boy could be and why he made you ill."
Anyone know a better title for this chapter? I couldn't think of one.
I kind of got sidetracked with this story. I lost my plan for this chapter so I had to just keep writing and hope that it turned out okay - so I hope you liked it. I think there was supposed to be more but oh well.
I am planning the next few chapters and obviously I will have to get Bella to reveal to Edward that she knows about him too. So I have a question for you - How do you think I should handle the whole family when they find out Bella knows. Remember that Bella has a secret too, and if anyone can handle such a big secret then it's her. Obviously in the books, it was more or less accepted by the whole family, apart from one person. How do you think I should have Rosalie react? Should she be a bitch like she is in the books or maybe curious since Bella isn't just ANY human like she was in her eyes in the book….? Let me know what you think. I might get her to be a bitch but not as cold as she was in the books….add your thoughts by clicking the button below (:
