Seth
The drive did not take that long due to my incredible driving skills (or lack thereof). As my beat up car sped down the road, onlookers gaped in astonishment that I could make the car go so fast. What they did not know was that my imprint was in the backseat, and starting to lose consciousness.
I glanced in the mirror as I loosened and then tightened my grip on the steering wheel over and over again. My pulse raced almost as fast as the car and my vision blurred because I was so angry at that stupid driver. I swear, if I ever laid eyes on him again…
"You okay Amber?" I asked her, not sure whether or not I should pull the car over and call for an ambulance. But then again, I knew that if I could just get her to Carlisle, he would be much better than any hospital nurse.
She nodded weakly but still tried to act like nothing was wrong. "I'm perfectly fine." She stated plainly. "It's just a few scratches."
"A few scratches that'll need stitches." I clarified.
She whimpered. "No stitches. Got it Seth?" She half whined, half pleaded.
I was torn. Should I keep her safe, or keep her happy? I did not want her to hate me for my decision, but I knew what choice I had to make. I stepped down even more so on the gas pedal. She frowned at the sound of the engine humming more loudly.
"Let's just see what Dr. Cullen says, okay? If he says no stitches, then you don't have to get any." I explained, even though I knew full-well that she would need them.
I think she knew that too, but she just nodded and laid her head against the car window. She studied the passing scenery and she once again amazed me with her collectiveness. At this point, Alice would be pissed the car was getting ruined with blood, Bella would have been sweating bullets because of Alice being so worried, Emmet would laugh it off, Jasper would freak at the blood and Rosalie just would not care.
How did I feel about it?
There was only one thing to feel. I was more worried than I had ever been because I thought she would go unconscious and never wake up.
"Amber?" I said in an attempt to keep her awake.
She mumbled for me to be quiet.
Well, actually, she said something more along the lines of 'shut-up and focus on the road, I don't want more stitches than I need' but hey, who needs the details?
Finally, I pulled into the Cullen's extensive and unnecessarily long driveway. It seemed like it took ages to reach the end of it, and I know that phrase is a cliché, but for me that is the only way to describe it. I mean, how would you feel if your true love was bleeding out in the back of your car?
"Hi Amber!" Alice chirped as the car pulled to a stop. Amber gave her a suspicious look, unsure of how in the world she knew what her name was.
Alice caught her mistake and hurried to fix it. "I've seen you around at Forks, right? What happened to you?"
Amber looked down at her torn arms. "I fell."
"Off a cliff?" Emmett joked from where he stood on the front porch. I shot him a threatening glare and he changed his attitude immediately.
"Here, let me help you inside." He offered before leaping off the porch and onto the front lawn.
Even though I had been friends with the Cullens for awhile, I still did not completely trust them around blood. And there was a lot of blood…on Amber.
Emmett caught the look I gave him and he decided that he would get Carlisle instead. However, that was hardly needed because Carlisle emerged from the house moments later.
"Hello." He addressed Amber. "I'm Dr. Cullen, what's your name?"
"Amber. And I don't mean to cause a big fuss, I'll be okay, it's just a few scratches." She explained.
Carlisle quickly examined her arm. "I think that's going to need stitches." He decided as he ignored the vicious glare I gave him at the mention of the word stitches. I did not want Amber to be scared of the Cullens, and certainly not Carlisle who could help her.
"Why don't I take you inside and get you patched up?" Carlisle suggested.
Amber shot me a hesitant look but I offered to help her inside and she let me support her as she hobbled inside. Once there, Carlisle brought her to the same room where he had helped Bella years ago when she needed stitches.
But Bella was not the one on the table now.
Now it was Amber.
It was my Amber that was hurt.
And each time Carlisle cleaned her arm with disinfectant, or pulled the needle through, or applied pressure, it was my Amber that was crying tears.
And her tears nearly broke my heart because I knew that if I had just been smarter about the whole thing, those tears could have been avoided.
My only consolation was that when it was over and everything was all done, she looked up at me and smiled faintly.
"So when can we do that again?" She asked in a voice that was starting to get hoarse.
I forced myself to cough a laugh. "When I'm not around to see you hurt."
She seemed disappointed. "But then you wouldn't be there to help either."
"This is true." I replied, immediately rethinking what I wanted to say. "Then I guess we won't be doing this again…or at least not on a road."
She smirked and then turned her attention to Carlisle. "Thanks for helping Doctor Cullen."
He smiled. "Any friend of Seth's is a friend of this family. You are more than welcome here any time you want to visit."
I could see the shock on Amber's face so I knew that Carlisle could too, but instead of commenting he just left us alone in the room.
I suppose that was nice on his part, but I could not find the words I wanted to say.
How could I express to my imprint that I was sorry with my entire being and that if I could, I would trade places with her in a heartbeat.
Instead of a complicated monologue, I stood by her side as she lay there and settled instead for just, "I'm sorry Amber."
She reached out and grasped my overly large hand with her tiny hand, clasping her fingers around mine.
"It's fine Seth." She said with a smile. "I'm not mad at you or anything."
I wanted to tell her more, to tell her everything, but her phone began ringing.
She tried to reach down into her jean's pocket but because of the sling Carlisle had put her left arm in, it was nearly impossible. She huffed angrily and in one quick movement snatched the phone from her pocket with her right hand.
"Can you get it?" She asked me; holding the phone out.
I took it from her and listened to what the caller had to say before hanging up and telling Amber.
"That was Ella; she just called to say that she's not feeling too well and thinks she should stay home." I explained. "So I guess she is not going to the movies…but do you still want me to drive you to the movies? You can go hang out with Mike…" I finished slowly.
She bit her lip and looked at me with her great, big eyes. "I never actually called him."
She caught the suspicious look I gave her so she hurried to explain. "I just pretended to so that…well, I'm not really sure why. I guess I was just going to go with you and Ella and pretend that he had cancelled on me. I was kind of hoping that you would tell Ella you'd rather go with me."
"You don't have to hope." I said softly. "Just say the word and I'll go with you…I'll go with you anywhere." I said, the words slipping out before I had time to even consider how odd that must sound to her.
Sure enough, my upfront statement caught her by surprise and she smiled slightly. "That's sweet Seth, but would you really rather go with me, or are you just saying that?"
I gazed into her eyes. "Look me in the eyes and tell me what you think." I told her as a response.
She did but could not decide upon a clear answer. "I don't know Seth…maybe you do, maybe you don't…I'm not sure."
It was then I knew that she needed more clarification. Why she needed me to be more upfront I will never know.
Maybe she just wanted me to do what I was about to do.
Maybe she had been waiting for me to do it the entire day.
Maybe she had imagined it already.
Maybe she did like me the way I liked her…
…
…
…
Maybe she liked the way I leaned in and pressed my lips softly to hers.
The way I cupped her face in one of my gigantic hands.
The way she could feel my hot breath in her mouth.
The way I wrapped my other hand around her waist.
The way I whispered how much I liked her and how much she already meant to me.
…
Maybe Amber liked the way I kissed her...
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A/N: Alright now, make sure you review so that I stay motivated to keep writing and posting it on here. I received a very lovely review from someone named Maggie and I just wanted to say thank you. If you had not reviewed, I am not sure when I would have updated. I honestly sat down and wrote this right after I opened my email.
Later,
Ariel