Chapter 11
Location: Swan Residence, Forks
"Where are we, Harry?" asked Teddy.
"We're picking up a friend, love. Then I'll drop you off. Will you be okay? Sitting in the car? I'll be back in just a moment," Harry promised and quickly left the car when Teddy nodded.
She rang the bell and waited patiently in front of the door.
"Hey Harry, Good morning," greeted Chief Swan; already in his uniform.
"Hello Charlie, Bella. Let's go, then. Oh! Before I forget, here this is for you, Charlie," Harry said, as she handed him a cup of steaming coffee.
"Ah! Thank you for this, you're my savior."
Harry smiled and turned to get into her car. Once Bella had settled down besides her, she handed her the second cup. "Here, this is for you, I already had mine." Hopefully the potions effect will last through the week. It won't completely block her scent, just make it... less potent.
"Thank you, Harry. And I'm sorry for all this trouble. Charlie can be over protective sometimes," Bella said with a small smile.
"No, no… this was no hardship. And I don't know about him being overprotective, the weather really seems to be turning for the worse."
A few minutes later…
Location: Forks High School.
"We're early," Harry said as she got out of the car.
"Yes, but not that early. We should get going. I don't want to accidently break my neck while trying to rush," Bella replied, looking at the gathering snow with trepidation.
"Someone has a morbid sense of humor, I see," Harry said with a grin, even as she started walking towards the building.
The day passed quickly. Thankfully, Edward and Bella shared just that one subject together. The potion seemed to have done its job. This was proved during lunch, when Bella passed by their table, and Edward seemed content to just ignore her.
School was done for the day, yet the clouds seemed unrelenting in their persistence to block the Sun. Thankfully, it had stopped snowing sometime during the afternoon.
Harry started walking towards where Bella was waiting for her. She was leaning against the side of the car, with headphones in her ears and a book in her hand.
Just as Harry reached Bella, it happened. It started with a high-pitched screech, which was fast becoming painfully loud. Harry looked up, startled.
Everything seemed to slow down, like in movies. A dark blue van skidded off road, its tires locked and squealing against the breaks. It span wildly out of control, heading straight towards Harry and an unsuspecting Bella. On instinct, Harry pushed Bella out of the way of the spinning trajectory. Unfortunately, she herself had no time to get away. Just as she was about to shield herself with her magic, something hit her, cold and hard, but not from the direction she was expecting. Harry felt her head hit the pavement with a solid thud as a solid body pinned me to the ground. She breathed in the scent of fresh pine and daisies. Not exactly a manly scent. The back of her mind supplied. Shut up, stupid brain. Two long, white hands shot out protectively in front of her, and the van shuddered to a stop a foot from her face. Harry looked up into those gold eyes she was so familiar with. Huh, I owe him a life debt. That's a novel experience for me.
It was absolutely silent for one long second before the screaming began. In the ensuing chaos, she could hear more than one person shouting her name. But more clearly than all the yelling, she could hear Edward Cullen's low, frantic voice in her ear.
"Harry? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Harry said with a gasp. She tried to sit up, only to realize that he was still holding her against the side of his body in an iron grasp.
"Be careful," he warned. "I think you hit your head pretty hard."
"I did. Though it doesn't feel like a concussion," she replied, warily.
"Have a lot of experience with those, I see." His voice, amazingly, sounded like he was suppressing laughter.
"You don't want to know..." Harry trailed off, trying to clear my head, get my bearings. "Bella!? Is she okay?"
"She is, you pushed her out of the way. Nice reflexes," he said, his tone serious.
"I could say the same," Harry replied. She turned to sit up, and this time he let her, releasing his hold around her waist and sliding as far away as he could in the limited space. Harry looked at his concerned, innocent expression and was disoriented again, by the force of his gold-colored eyes.
And then the crowd of people found them, with tears streaming down their faces, shouting at each other.
"Don't move," someone instructed.
"Get Tyler out of the van!" someone else shouted.
There was a flurry of activity around. Harry tried to stand up, but Edward's cold hand pushed her shoulder down.
"Just stay put for now."
"But, I'm fine," she complained; extremely used to people being overprotective of her.
"Harry! Are you okay?!" Bella asked, frantically, leaning over Harry's squished car to get a look at her.
"I'm fine." Harry replied, using her favorite phrase. Bella turned, surprised to see Edward besides Harry. "How did you get here so soon? You were over there; you were by your car," Bella asked.
His expression turned hard. "No, I wasn't. I was standing just besides you both."
"He's telling the truth, Bella. I saw him standing besides us," Harry said, I'm TRYING to keep you safe Bella. Just go along with it, for now. Please.
Bella looked skeptical, but thankfully, let the issue subside for now. It took six EMTs and two teachers - Mr. Varner and Coach Clapp - to shift the van far enough away from them to bring the stretchers in. Edward vehemently refused his, and Harry tried to do the same, but the traitor told them she'd hit her head and probably had a concussion. "I don't have a concussion!" Harry exclaimed; giving a petulant pout when the EMTs ignored her and secured her in a neck brace. It looked like the entire school was there, watching soberly as they loaded her in the back of the ambulance. Edward got to ride in the front. It was maddening. At least Bella had to ride with her. Well, I did promise Chief Swan, I'll give his daughter a ride, today. Though I doubt, this was what he had in his mind when he asked me for help.
Just as they loaded her into the ambulance, Harry turned to see the Cullens. Their expressions ranged from disapproval to fury, but held no hint of concern for their brother's safety. Of course. They should really improve their acting skills.
They put them in the emergency room, a long room with a line of beds separated by pastel-patterned curtains. A nurse put a pressure cuff on Harry's arm and a thermometer under her tongue. Since no one had told her otherwise, Harry decided she wasn't obligated to wear the stupid-looking neck brace anymore. When the nurse walked away, she quickly unfastened the Velcro and threw it under the bed. Bella sat on a bed to her left, looking at her with concern.
"Teddy!" Harry said. "Oh God! I must call Mrs. Weber. He'll be so worried by now."
"Don't worry, I called Charlie. He said he'll collect him on his way here," Bella said.
There was another flurry of hospital personnel, another stretcher brought to the bed to Harry's right. It was Tyler Crowley beneath the bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around his head. Tyler looked a hundred times worse than both, Harry and Bella. But he was staring anxiously at them.
"Guys, I'm so sorry!"
"I'm fine, Tyler - you look awful, are you all right?" Harry asked, concerned.
He ignored her. "I thought I was going to kill you both! I was going too fast, and I hit the ice wrong..." He winced as one nurse started dabbing at his face.
"Don't worry about it; you missed us," Bella reassured.
"How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there, and then you were gone..."
"Umm... Harry pushed me, and Edward pulled her out of the way," she explained.
He looked confused. "Who?"
"Edward Cullen - he was standing next to me." Harry said trying to sound as convincing as possible. Huh… At least hanging out around purebloods has improved my acting.
"Cullen? I didn't see him... wow, it was all so fast, I guess. Is he okay?"
"I think so. He's here somewhere, but they didn't make him use a stretcher," Bella said. So I wasn't the only one who thought that was unfair! Harry thought, satisfied.
They wheeled her away then, to X-ray her head. Harry tried to convince the hospital staff that she was sure she did not have a concussion. She was, once again, ignored. She took a deep breath and pulled all her magic into her core. I'll have to hold on. Hopefully, my core won't mess with the X-ray machine.
A few minutes later…
"Is she sleeping?" a musical voice asked. Harry's eyes flew open.
Edward was standing at the foot of her bed, smirking. She glared at him. It wasn't easy - it would have been more natural to ogle.
"Hey, Edward, I'm really sorry -" Tyler began.
Edward lifted a hand to stop him.
"No blood, no foul," he said, flashing his brilliant teeth. Oh! Ha Ha… very funny, Edward… He moved to sit on the edge of Tyler's bed, facing Harry. He smirked again.
"So, what's the verdict?" he asked her.
"I'm fine," Harry replied.
"There's nothing wrong with us at all, but they won't let us go," Bella complained. "How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?"
"It's all about who you know," he answered. "But don't worry, I came to spring you both."
Then the doctor walked around the corner. Oh! I'm honored, my scratch is about to be treated by the famous, Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Surely he has more serious patients to attend to! Harry thought. Bella was staring at him, open-mouthed.
"So, Miss Black," Dr. Cullen said in a remarkably appealing voice. Okay, I need to stop crushing on dangerous vampires. Seriously. "How are you feeling?", he continued.
"I'm fine," Harry said, for the last time, she hoped.
He walked to the light board on the wall over her head, and turned it on.
"Your X-rays look good," he said. "Does your head hurt? Edward said you hit it pretty hard."
"It's fine," she repeated with a sigh, throwing a quick scowl toward Edward.
The doctor's cool fingers probed lightly along her skull. He noticed when she winced.
"Tender?" he asked.
"Not really." I've had worse.
Carlisle smiled and turned to check Bella.
"Well, Chief Swan is in the waiting room. You both are free to leave; but Miss Black, you must come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight," he said, turning back towards Harry once he had finished checking Bella.
Harry nodded back, dutifully.
