"I can feel it calling again, the primal need is filling me, changes are about to begin, and now my blood is boiling." -
Disturbed- The Animal.
( ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ )
Marie Swan was a great many things: She was a patient and supportive mother. A doting grandmother. A loyal friend. An avid gardener. She was a woman willing to give the shirt off of her back to another person in need if she could. She was also nothing if not a firm believer in never making a promise she couldn't keep.
It was why, at a quarter to twelve in the afternoon, the staff of Northwest Hospital and Medical Center found themselves bending over backwards to attend to one Bella Swan. She had been brought in by ambulance earlier in the week for seemingly passing out in her apartment for no medically known reason. When they couldn't reach her mother- the mayor- or her father- the chief of police, they called the last emergency contact on her insurance forms.
And good thing too!
Marie was livid. She had left message after message with her daughter in law's personal assistant- the last one a subtle threat that there would be consequences if Renee didn't make an appearance by nightfall.
Her son was the next one to call. His secretary had assured her that he would be there in an hour, and they now sat side by side in the room with Bella. The silence was thick in the room, and Charlie Swan couldn't help but cringe away from his mother's withering looks. Had he really been so wrapped up in his own life now that he hadn't noticed his daughter suffering in silence?
A throat clearing in the doorway revealed Angela. Behind her were two… less than respectable looking men. Charlie eyed them with the trained eye of a police officer and inwardly smirked when they danced from foot to foot in apparent nervousness.
"Hello Chief Swan, Mrs. Swan. How's Bella?" Angela asked quietly.
Charlie's shoulders dropped. "We still don't know. She just refuses to wake up."
"We were told you and a friend of yours were responsible for finding and getting her help. I'd like to thank you, Ms. Webber." Marie said with a kind smile.
"Yes. My friend Embry-" She said pulling on his hand, " and I were the ones to find her. I had heard from Alice and Edward Cullen that she had called out sick from school. After not being in church, I was worried."
"We're all worried. Who is your other friend?" Charlie asked with a suspicious eyebrow.
"This is my friend Paul. I met him, Embry and their friend Jared in the coffee house I visit every morning before classes." Angela supplied easily.
"And what is it you do? Both of you?"
Embry cleared his throat. "I'm a bartender at Lux Lunae, sir." He really hated cops. They were too nosy.
"I work in a garage." Paul answered, shrugging with indifference. He didn't seem to care that he was talking to the chief of police- Izzy's father.
"That's enough, Charlie." Marie growled. That had Paul shifting his weight. Marie carried more authority in her voice alone than the stare Charlie was trying to use on him.
"Ah… I see Bella's visitors have grown." An amused voice sounded from the doorway.
Charlie smiled tightly while Angela, Embry and Paul moved to give the man behind them room.
"Hello Dr. Cullen. How is Bella?" Angela asked without missing a beat.
Carlisle sighed. "I'm not sure. Medically speaking, she's completely fine. However, it's almost as if she's entered into a coma of sorts. Can you tell me, have you noticed anything odd lately? Undue distress, mood swings, sudden behavior changes, sleeping pattern variances?"
"No sir. She went to class, directly after, she went back to the apartment and studied until 8:30 every night, went to bed, and only went out if Edward or Alice were available to go with her." Paul blinked and stared at Angela in mild shock. He had had no idea her days were THAT hectic.
"Hm. Alright. I'm going to give it a day. She's exhausted if nothing else- though I have no idea why. That much is evident from the circles under her eyes. My guess is she was pushing herself too hard and her body couldn't handle the pressure." Carlisle said with a gentle shrug- the way doctors often times did when they didn't know what else to do.
Charlie sighed and watched him leave. He checked his watch and frowned. He had a meeting to get to in less than an hour. "If you'll excuse me. I have a meeting to go to. Mother, I'll talk to you later?"
Marie frowned at her son. Her eyes were narrowed as she leveled a steely gaze his way. "I'll call you if she wakes up before your meeting is over." She snapped.
Charlie winced. "Thank you. This meeting is important. A lot of the politicians are going to be there. It'll help me in the campaign for commissioner in the coming election."
Marie's glare said it all. She was none too pleased with her son at the moment. But it could wait. She had bigger fish to fry- namely the mayor and her son's wife- Renee Swan.
She turned her gaze on the three remaining occupants. "I'm assuming you didn't meet in a coffee house as you told my son." She said knowingly, yet gently.
Angela bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah… um… I met Embry in the club he works at. The same goes for B-Izzy and Paul."
Marie smiled. "Alright. Fair is fair. I'll save my energy for the confrontation with her mother. Now. I'm going to get something to eat. Would you three mind waiting here for me to return?"
Angela bit her lip again and glanced at both Embry and Paul. She smiled when they nodded. "Sure, Mrs. Swan. We'll be here when you return." She held the door open, waited the appropriate amount of time and then closed it when the woman was far enough away.
"It's so odd to see you so… polite." Embry teased.
Angela raised an eyebrow. "Try etiquette classes. Isabella and I were the most praised of all the girls." She preened pompously. She burst into a fit of giggles seconds later.
Paul shook his head. "So… Jared was right after all."
"It wasn't like that. I saw her as both Isabella AND Izzy. It's like… she was the same person, but not. She had NO clue who I was talking about both times I confronted her. As a matter of fact- I insulted her both times I did too."
Paul sighed and leaned against the wall. "So who is this… Edward?"
Angela rolled her eyes and pulled a disgusted face. "He's the man her mom wants her to marry. She's nothing but a breeder to Renee. Just another way to get her foot in the door with the right groups of people."
"So she doesn't want to marry him?" Embry needled.
"I don't think she wants to even KNOW him. He's so boring. So.. Old fashioned. He never let her go anywhere without a chaperone- be it his cousin or his younger sister or myself. And heaven forbid she talk to another man without him near her."
"Dude, it's like the Victorian age met the Stepford wives!" Embry crowed.
"Can I just kick his ass and get it over with? He's done her more harm than good from the sounds of it!" Paul huffed.
Angela chuckled. "He definitely doesn't make her happy, that's for sure." She said with a knowing smile.
The door was knocked on and Embry moved to answer it, only to be pushed back down to his chair. Angela counted to five in her head and moved to answer the door with a smile on her face. "Welcome back, Mrs. Swan."
Marie pursed her lips and shook her head. "Don't you dare. I don't expect that. And you'd be a fool to use it here with me. Be yourself Angela." She smiled.
Angela let out a breath and slouched against the wall. "Thank you Mrs. Swan."
Marie smiled and patted her shoulder. A comfortable silence danced over them, only broken by the steady beeps of the heart monitor Bella was attached to. In that time, the older woman watched her younger companions and noticed Paul's hand twitching. He wanted to touch Izzy, just to see that she was alright.
"They say that coma patients react to voices. Sometimes touch as well. Maybe you three should give it a try."
Paul grinned. He pulled his chair closer to her and touched her hand. "Hey, Izzy. You gotta wake up girl. You have to be there when I tell Jared he was right. Then you have to explain it to him. Otherwise he won't understand."
Her breath hitched, but otherwise she remained still. It was progress for them though. Embry patted her leg, Angela patted her shoulder and Marie took her unoccupied hand. They each lost themselves to their thoughts- and Angela's softly muttered prayers.
That was how Renee found them an hour later.
"And just what is going on here? Ms. Webber, who are your.. Friends?" Renee wondered, the sneer barely contained.
"Mayor Swan.. These are my friends Paul and Embry. I met them and their friend Jared in the coffee house I visit every morning before my classes." Angela supplied easily.
"I see. What are they doing here? I don't think they know my daughter." She asked with an arched eyebrow.
"They heard about Bella and saw how upset I was. Paul offered to drive me to the hospital to see her. Embry is here because Paul is taking him home afterwards- his car broke down, you see?" Angela asked with an easy smile.
Renee nodded her head. "I do indeed. Thank you for offering your help to Ms. Webber." She said stiffly.
Paul smiled. "It was no problem."
"Ms. Webber, I was wondering if maybe you and your friends were done visiting today? I would like to speak to my mother in law about a private matter."
Angela nodded her head. No, they weren't done visiting. "Of course, mayor Swan." She leaned over and kissed Bella's cheek. "I'll see you soon. Please wake up."
Paul and Embry refrained from touching her any more- even though Paul wanted to land a kiss to her lips.
Renee waited by the door and closed it when Angela, Embry and Paul were far enough away as to not appear to be shutting it in their faces. She checked her watch and huffed. She didn't know what Marie thought she had over her, but she was going to find out if it killed her. She had quelled each and every rumor that had surfaced about her during her career as a politician and was known to be one of the most honest and sincere ones to date. She was anything but in reality- she just knew all the right people and could afford to never get her hands dirty.
"Marie." She said coldly. "I'm here."
Marie glared openly at the woman trying to quell her growing temper. "So I see."
"What is it that was so important it drew me away from meetings all day long?" Renee snapped.
"I warned you, Renee. I told you if a hair on her head was harmed there'd be hell to pay. Or have you forgotten that I've been playing the game longer than you've been alive." Marie hissed.
Renee stared at her daughter- the one who had Marie's love and affection- even Charlie's love and affection- so easily. "I don't know what game you think you're playing, but I can assure you-"
"Tell me what you remember about the affair you had with a certain ex personal assistant of yours? The one who has proof from YOU in YOUR handwriting that says you are in a loveless marriage… dated three weeks ago?"
Renee paled. "How did you know about Phil?"
"So it's true." Marie said with a nod of her head. "Tell me, Renee. How would you feel if your lover knew you had no intentions of leaving my son for him like you promised?"
They neither of them noticed Bella staring at them. Their voices had roused her from her deep sleep. And she could hear every word of her mother's betrayal to her father.
"What do you want me to do, Marie? People are going to ask what's the matter with her! Heaven forbid the nursing staff talk! I have to do something! I can commit her to a ward here for a month or two. Tell the press that she was entirely too stressed and it caused her to have a breakdown. That's as kind as I will be."
Marie raised her head. "You do that, Renee- Mayor or not- and I'll send in those letters written in your hand to every mainstream newspaper and television studio Seattle has heard of. It won't be too long before it goes national."
There was fire in Renee's eyes. "So you'd allow Isabella to remain a harlot?!"
"NO! I'd allow Izzy to be who she CHOOSES to be!" Marie hissed.
"I think not! You can try it, Marie. Isabella is going to a rehab center where the papers and press will be told the stress of too much work and a pending marriage proposal took it's toll on her delicate psyche."
"Izzy!"
Both women blinked and looked down to the young woman laying in bed. "My name.. is. Izzy." She huffed.
Marie smiled at her. "How are you?"
Izzy blinked. "Tired. And I don't remember what happened. It's all just.. Flashes."
"This just PROVES why she needs to be medicated and committed! She's going crazy!" Renee nearly screeched.
"Last time I looked, mother, I was an adult. Don't presume to tell me that I'm going to rehab when I've done nothing to warrant it. As a matter of fact- I'd like you to leave. And if you happen to see my dad, ask him to leave too- I'm just a little upset with him at the moment. I'd like to spend some time with my grandmother." She snapped.
Marie stood and watched her granddaughter- pride in her eyes.
Renee was shocked. She had known about her daughters different personalities- had done her best to quell it. She realized now, the perfect daughter she had groomed was all but pushed into submission. She had to be careful now. This new side of her, the more open and free side, it was dangerous.