Chapter Nine: Pareidolia

Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Twilight or any of it's characters. They belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do, however, own Julie Yang and her mother, Mai Yang as well as Mandi. So far that's it. I might or might not add more. But I don't like to have a ton of OC's. I prefer to keep it to a minimum.


The first thing I noticed when I came to was that I was in a hospital room suffocated by white. White walls, white blankets, white chairs, everything was white. It didn't help that the lights were very bright and pretty much reflected off of all the whiteness, my eyes almost burned from it. The second thing I noticed was that my room was packed full of people; my mom, Paul, Quil and Jacob, a nurse and two people that I didn't even know.

I tried to bring my hands to my face to rub the sleep away from my eyes but I ended up groaning in pain. In a sudden rush I felt everything; I was sore from head to toe, my face felt like it had been a part of the whack a mole game and my left arm was immobile; a sharp pain was shooting from my elbow to my wrist. My ankle was akin to the feeling of a migraine except it was in my foot not my head.

"Julie? Honey, how are you feeling?" Mom was by the bed the second she noticed I was awake.

"Confused," I managed to croak out, "and thirsty." An instant later Paul appeared with water. I nodded and smiled at him in thanks and took a nice long sip of the fresh, cold water. It soothed my throat and woke me up a bit.

Before I could say anything else the nurse ushered everyone out of the room to check my vitals. Paul refused to leave, the nurse even tried pushing him out but he wouldn't budge. Mom tried to coerce him out with her but at that point it was clear that he was staying put, right by my side. The nurse grudgingly allowed it but told him that if he interfered he'd be escorted out by security. He huffed but agreed.

The nurse pushed up the hospital gown sleeve to my shoulder on my right side and began to take my blood pressure and such. As she did so she introduced herself in a calm, soothing voice, "Hi, my name is Kailey. Do you know your name?"

"Julie Yang," I looked at her as if she'd grown three heads which made her laugh.

"Just asking some basic questions to see if you have a concussion and how bad it is," she explained. "Do you know where you are?"

I had to take another sip of water because of how dry my throat felt before I could answer her, "In a hospital?"

I noticed Paul silently retreat to the corner of the room in one of the ridiculously white chairs. Subconsciously I knew he was still ready to come to my aid at a moment's notice and I felt utter relief that he was still in the room with me. If he hasn't stayed I'd probably be freaking out. My anxiety levels would be through the roof; I don't really know where I am, I don't remember why I'm here, I don't even know how I got here…

"Yes, you're in a hospital. Do you know why you're in the hospital?" I know she wasn't trying to be annoying but I was sick of all these questions. I wanted some answers.

"No," I said grouchily, "I don't know. Let's just say I know nothing okay? Do you care to fill me in?"

She sighed, "You were in a car accident, Miss Yang, I am only trying to access your concussion."

"I know," I replied, "I feel fine I just don't remember.." I trailed off, distracted by the poster on the wall. It was one of those 'Always remember to wash your hands' posters with the steps and kids on it. What was weird about it was the woman that seemed so out of place. She also seemed familiar.

She had very pale and yet beautiful skin with red hair and eyes even more red than her hair. And, as fast as a gun can be fired a memory flashed before my eyes. A monster! She was a monster!

I shut my eyes tightly and screamed, "SHE WAS THERE! SHE CAUSED MY ACCIDENT!" and I pointed in the direction of the woman on the poster. Someone grabbed me by the shoulders and I shrunk as far from them as I could, "Get off me!" I swatted around, too afraid to open my eyes and see her face again. Fear began to grip at my heart and I felt myself finding it hard to breathe.

Two warms arms embraced me gently yet securely and they were just so opposite of the cold, icy fingers of the red woman that I instinctively relaxed. I opened my eyes and found it to be Paul that was calming me. I didn't know him very well but in that moment I didn't care. He smelled of pine mixed with the saltiness of the ocean but in a good way. That brought me back to reality and when I looked at the nurse's face over Paul's shoulder I realized I was acting like a nut case.

"I'm sorry…" I scrambled for an excuse that would seem viable, "I had a nightmare and I guess I'm still really sleepy and I have a very active imagination…"

The nurse eyed me suspiciously but nodded and continued to explain my condition, "Well you suffered from quite a few injuries. We've agreed to release you but your mother mentioned she has work out of town to attend to. Is there anyone else that can stay with you during your recovery?"

Without hesitation Paul spoke up, "I will."

I looked at him, I was surprised and grateful but also cautious. He barely knew me, why would he be so willing to give up so much of his time to take care of me? Why did his skin feel like it was on fire? Who exactly is this man and why is he so interested in me? I couldn't help but notice that I have been here less than a week and since the moment I met him my life has been insane.

"No," I told the nurse, "I have a friend, her name is Mandi. She'll be staying with me." In my peripheral vision I saw the hurt in Paul's eyes but I ignored it and the small ache that suddenly appeared in my chest. I needed space from him, I didn't know him and I had so many questions. I needed to figure out exactly who Paul was before I continued to allow him to be in my life.

The nurse nodded and turned around to type a few things out on the computer. As she did so Paul began to say something but I interrupted him, "Listen I appreciate your offer but my mom doesn't want me to have boys over all the time, don't take it personally," I lied.

Somehow I knew that he knew I was lying but he still didn't press me and sat back in his chair. I felt bad but I knew for now this was the best thing for me. "You can text me whenever, it's not like I'll be busy," I laughed awkwardly but Paul was clearly not amused.

He didn't ignore me though, "Yeah, I'll check in when I can." Even though it was me who pushed him away it still hurt my feelings that he was distancing himself.

The nurse turned back to me after printing a packet of papers, "This has your medical information in it, how to take care of your injuries, your prescription for the pain and for any nausea you might experience. You're arm is broken and the bones in your ankle were completely shattered. Those will take the longest to heal, but we expect you to have a full recovery in six to eight weeks but you will need to come back periodically for x-rays so we can monitor the healing process. The doctor will be here in a moment to schedule an appointment and then you're all set!" She handed me the packet and smiled before slipping out of the room.

"Paul…" I sighed and he crossed his arms over his chest in a defensive manner, "I'm sorry but I think we're moving too fast. I just need some space to figure things out okay?" He nodded but didn't speak. Hesitantly I asked, "Do you, uh, do you know where my phone is?"

He cleared his throat before answering, "Yeah, your mom has it, I'll go get her for you."

Before I could say anything he got up and left. I was so confused. I liked Paul, more than I know I should and I wanted space but I also didn't and that frustrated me more than anything. My mind is a mess. I groaned in frustration. How did things get so crazy so fast?

Less than five minutes had passed before my mother knocked at the door and came in, Paul wasn't with her. "Hey there, love. The doctor's said you can go home?"

"Yeah, but they want someone to stay with me. I just need my phone to call a friend of mine from school since you're going back to whatever project you have going on.."

Mom frowned at me, "Do you want me to stay with you? You've always been so independent. I didn't think you would need me and there's so much going on in-"

"No, I'm fine" I cut her off, "Like I said, I have someone who can stay with me. Besides things are more normal when you're not around anyways."

I could see that my words cut deep but I was feeling selfish. In a moment like this a mother should be there for her daughter. There shouldn't be anything more important and the fact that she already told the doctor she had other things to take care of made it clear she didn't want to have to stay home. Sometimes I couldn't help but wonder why she even bothered keeping me. Her life probably would have been better if she'd aborted.

The doctor came in the room at that moment saving me from continuing this conversation with my mom. He had a bag with my clothes in it but I could see that they were coated in blood and looked to be pretty torn up. "Miss Yang. I am Dr. Norman. I've cleared you to be released, we just need to make an appointment for an xray in two weeks time. How does noon on Wednesday the 16th look for you?"

"Yeah that's fine, I have school but you guys can just give me a note right?" I sat up, painfully so, but was able to swing my legs over the side of the hospital bed.

"Absolutely, well I've got you down for twelve P.M. on Wednesday then, here are the belongings you came in with." He passed me the zip locked baggy, "And we've also got a fresh pair of clothes here that you mother brought in," he placed a pair of plain jeans and a T-shirt next to me. "Do you have any questions for me before we send you on your way?"

I shook my head and began to gather the clean cloths. "Right. Well I will see you in two weeks, take care of yourself young lady," And with that the doctor left, leaving just my mother and I in an uncomfortable silence.

Without saying anything she helped me dress myself and for her silence I was thankful. I had so much on my mind and my feelings were all over the place, I didn't feel like talking and I guessed my mother could sense that. She was also normally not in the mood to speak in situations like this, I suppose I got it from her.

After I was dressed and on my feet she passed me my phone and keys, "I love you, honey. I'm going to drive you home at least but I don't want you to hesitate to call me if you need anything okay?"

"Thanks mom, I love you too." And with that we said no more. She brought me home as promised. She left me a good amount of money before she took off back to Seattle. Once she was gone I texted Mandi and updated her on everything that had happened. She agreed to come over but said she wouldn't be able to make it until later so I decided to rest while I waited.

I went to my room and undressed then re-dressed in a pair of short shorts and a tank top before I curled up under the covers in bed. Almost as soon as my head hit my pillow I was out. Back into the sweet, blissful nothingness.


A/N:Hello my faithful little doves. I apologize for the time it took me to pick back up on this story. In all honesty I have been extremely depressed. I was with a man for four years, we were engaged, he cheated on me and left me for the girl he cheated on me with. It took me a very long time to recover and during that time I wasn't really in the mood to write and for that I am sorry. But this author's note is not all bad news! I met someone new. He seems like a great guy and we're only friends right now but I do like him. I know it's probably cheesy but my feelings for him gave me a bit of inspiration to get back into writing. I am also happy to inform you that I'll be starting another story that revolves around Mandi and Jacob. Check it out!