Chapter 10
Whistling.
He was actually whistling.
Alice had noticed something change within Emmett and wished she could read his mind, knowing there was no way she could go to Edward. Their falling out had pushed Edward over the edge and he hadn't been around the household, staying in his little cottage with Bella and Renesmee deep in the woods. It wasn't far away from the glass house, but enough that Edward and Emmett had space from each other so there wasn't any altercation. The family tried a few times to get them to talk, but in the end Edward just simply left with Bella and Renesmee, refusing to apologize for what happened.
"Hey Al." Emmett grinned walking past her, wearing a black buttoned up long sleeved shirt with the top two buttons undone and dark blue jeans.
Alice blinked and slowly turned as her eyes followed him into the bathroom, tilting her head slightly. "Hey Em." She greeted softly, deciding to follow him, her curiosity burning. "You look nice tonight. Going somewhere special?"
A smirk spread over his lips as Emmett looked at her through the reflection, winking. "Maybe." He sprayed some cologne on and decided to roll the sleeves up on his shirt to his elbows, nodding when he was satisfied. "You and Jazz doing anything tonight?"
"Probably just hunting, might run up to the mountains." Alice was still eyeing him, pursing her lips together thoughtfully. "So…who is she?"
"None of your business, Al." There was no malice in his tone, but he was in a hurry.
Emmett walked past her, heading downstairs to let Carlisle and Esme know he was leaving for the night. He was actually concerned about Kyrine because she hadn't been at school all day, wondering if he'd scared her off. That was until her sister Amaya walked up to her, making sure he wasn't backing out of the double date with her and Kyrine that night. When Emmett questioned where Kyrine was, all Amaya told him was it was none of his business and that he'd see her that night.
Something made Emmett stop just outside the sitting room, especially when Emmett heard them talking quietly to each other and simply listened in. Alice went to walk past him inside the room and Emmett's hand shot out to stop her, pressing a finger to his lips, wanting to overhear what their adopted parents were talking about. Deciding to humor him, Alice remained silent and also listened in, even when Jasper joined them moments later.
"Car, there's nothing you can do about it, darling." Esme said, watching as her husband sat on the couch with his head in his hands.
"You don't understand, Esme. She's only seventeen and so young. She's had congestive heart failure most of her life, since she was a little girl. And now I had to basically hand her a death sentence if she doesn't have this surgery." Carlisle felt horrible and knew his wife would help him through it, needing her more than ever right now. "I love helping people, I love being a doctor, but…there are some things I don't like about being in the medical field and this is one of them."
Esme frowned and walked over to stand beside her husband, rubbing his shoulders comfortingly. "Life is cruel and unfair, that's one of the many things you've taught me in all the time we've been together. I don't like it anymore than you do, but all you can do is perform this surgery to the best of your ability and give her enough time until this transplant arrives. The donor is there, but they're waiting for the family to come back from the army overseas, right?"
"Something like that." Carlisle didn't know the entire story and rubbed his temples, finally turning to wrap his arms around Esme's shoulders. "The look her mother gave me when I told them about the surgery…I can't get it out of my mind. She looked as though I'd sucked all the life out of them, figuratively speaking of course."
Esme cracked a sad smile and kissed her husband softly, tenderly. "Everything will work out for her and you're going to give her a chance to live longer with this surgery. Just relax and try not to think about it until you're at work. You have to learn to separate your personal life from your professional." Knowing she was right, Esme extended her arms to Carlisle and felt him pull her into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Thank you." He whispered, pressing his forehead to hers and began dancing with her throughout the room, not caring if they didn't have music.
Emmett, Alice and Jasper stepped away from the door a few feet because it was apparent Carlisle needed some time alone with Esme. "What do you think that was about?" Alice wondered aloud, looking at Jasper before turning her attention to Emmett.
"No idea, but we might go to school with her." Jasper said helpfully, looking over at Emmett. "Maybe we can find out who she is?"
Emmett could only shrug, his mind currently on his date for that evening Kyrine, and left a few minutes later to head to the theater in Port Angeles.
Alice and Jasper watched him go, deciding they would do the investigating on who this seventeen year old girl was that upset Carlisle at work.
Amaya came home from school and hoped Kyrine's doctor appointment went well, a big smile on her face, excited for their double date that night. Natalie and Nicholas were completely clueless, which is what both girls wanted and everything was going according to plan. The girls would leave at six o'clock to make it to the theater in plenty of time before the guys. Jacob had called Amaya and left a voicemail saying he would be a few minutes late, but he wasn't standing her up, promising to hurry.
"Kyrie?" She called out, beginning to head upstairs and stopped when Natalie's voice sounded from the kitchen.
"In here, Amaya."
Just by the sound of her voice, Amaya instantly had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach and headed in the kitchen, tossing her bag on the couch on her way. Kyrine was sitting at the kitchen table sipping some juice with Natalie, both of them looking somber. Nicholas was nowhere to be found, though it was still fairly early for him to be home from work. Kyrine looked up at Amaya and instantly felt tears swell in her eyes, looking back down at the table while slowly taking another sip of her juice.
Something wasn't right.
"What's going on?" Amaya asked, walking over to sit down at the table beside Kyrine, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"We have to wait until Dad gets home." Kyrine quietly said, placing her head in her hand while closing her eyes, still not believing what was revealed at her doctor's appointment.
Now Amaya was really worried and frowned, worry shining in her violet eyes. The last time Kyrine said that it was regarding the heart transplant and them having to move from Miami to Forks. The time before that Natalie had called her while she was at school and Amaya was taken straight to the hospital in Miami because Kyrine had collapsed at her doctor's appointment, being admitted. She was forced to go on a dobutamine drip for a few days to give her heart a rest because it had overworked itself, which was rare to happen.
Luckily, her heart managed to heal on its own to the point where Kyrine didn't have to live on it, but the limitations began.
"Nat?"
"We want the entire family to be here, Amaya." Was all Natalie offered, sipping coffee since she felt like all the energy had been sucked out of her.
"Well when the hell is he coming home?" Amaya snapped, the worry evident in her tone, honestly not caring about anything except her sister at that moment. "I have a right to know!"
"I called him at work and he's on his way. It shouldn't be too long now." Natalie's voice remained grave, not even getting upset with Amaya's outburst because she honestly had no energy left to exert.
"Are we still on for tonight?" Amaya had to ask in case she had to call Jacob and cancel the double date, watching as Kyrine's head shot up instantly.
"No!" Kyrine swallowed hard when Natalie's eyes widened slightly, clearing her throat and lowered her eyes. "I mean no. What we have to say to you and Dad won't affect our movie night." The double date was the only thing Kyrine had to hold onto at that moment and Natalie agreed to let her go because of the upcoming surgery.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, please don't cancel on me, Maya. I need tonight, especially after…" Before Kyrine could continue, all three heard the front door open and Nicholas rushed inside the kitchen, tossing his briefcase on the counter.
Kyrine couldn't handle the frantic look on her father's face and stood up, instantly letting him engulf her in his arms, tears streaming down her face. She was a daddy's girl from the moment she was born and right now needed him more than ever, her crying turning to heart wrenching sobs that completely broke his heart. Nicholas had no idea what happened at the doctor's and looked over at his wife, seeing the tears pouring down her face as well, his breathing quickening a little.
"Kyrine baby, let's sit down and talk." He suggested softly, frowning when the clutch of his shirt tightened and lifted her up in his arms, sitting down at the table with her curled up on his lap.
Natalie couldn't even look at her husband right now, ashamed from all the fighting they'd done lately and how she treated her daughter. Instead of protecting her, Natalie had stopped her from living and that's not what she wanted, knowing she deserved to be happy. She could only sit there and cry, Kyrine's sobs just making her feel worse and knew what they were about to tell Nicholas and Amaya would change their family possibly forever.
Once Kyrine settled down enough to talk, she pulled back from her father's shirt covered chest, wiping her tears away. "Sorry." She murmured with a gentle sigh, finally looking up into his eyes. "Daddy, my condition is getting worse." It was the only way to start out breaking this type of news and Kyrine didn't know how else to do it, trying to take slow deep breaths.
Nicholas nodded, knowing the doctor was going to tell her that, but didn't say a single word, glancing over at his wife that was falling to pieces. "Go on, baby." He encouraged quietly when Kyrine didn't continue, running his fingers through her hair. "Tell Daddy what the doctor said."
Kyrine took a few more deep breaths and finally spilled everything about her examination with Doctor Cullen, not leaving out anything. The LVAD surgery was scheduled for next Friday right after Kyrine got out of school, wanting the weekend to recover, though she wouldn't be back in school until Doctor Cullen released her to do so. She explained that it was a life or death surgery because her heart was giving out on her quickly and, without the LVAD, she would die within a month. When Nicholas demanded if this Doctor Cullen was the best and he'd spoken with Doctor Miles, Kyrine assured him, which made him feel a little better.
Amaya could only sit there in shock and listened to her sister pour her heart out to both of them about the doctor's appointment, silent tears sliding down her cheeks. Kyrine was truly dying, her time was really running out and without the LVAD, she wouldn't make it until the transplant arrived. Suddenly, the double date was the furthest thing from her mind as Amaya got up and immediately hugged Kyrine as soon as she was off of Nicholas's lap, closing her eyes tightly shut. She loved Kyrine more than a sister, they were closer than closer, and if Amaya lost her it would probably be the end of her as well.
"I-I'm gonna be there every single step of the way." Amaya promised, her mouth right by Kyrine's ear, not letting her go as more tears fell, both girls trembling slightly. "Even if I have to take off school, I'm NOT leaving your side, Kyrie."
"No." Kyrine broke the hug to pull back, staring into Amaya's bloodshot violet eyes, wiping her tears away. "Don't you dare stop living your life because I'm sick. I would absolutely hate that and feel guilty, which I know you don't want. You can be there for me during the surgery in the waiting room with Mom and Dad and even through the recovery, but you are NOT missing any school. Do you understand me?"
"But…"
Kyrine shook her head, smiling with hopeful blue eyes. "Listen to me, I knew this was going to happen eventually and I'm ready for it. I'll do whatever it takes to live long enough to get that heart, even though I feel guilty every day that someone else had to die in order to give me a chance. But I don't want to think about that right now. I want to go to the movies with you and enjoy our night. I want to get my mind off of the upcoming surgery and live. So stop crying and let's go upstairs and get ready." She walked out of the kitchen, smiling when Amaya began following her, knowing she would want to do her hair and makeup.
Nicholas and Natalie just looked at each other before he took his wife in his arms, both of them apologizing for all the heated arguments lately.
An hour later, Kyrine stared in the mirror with a smile, glad she'd let Amaya talk her into getting this outfit for tonight. They both had to be careful with what they wore, more Kyrine than Amaya –her style was always eye-catching, so the rents wouldn't think anything of it-, because she rarely dressed up for anything. They both decided on a white short sleeved baby doll that had colorful flowers embroidered from the middle to the bottom along with dark blue leggings and white flats.
She left her hair down, allowing Amaya to put loose curls throughout it and had two butterfly colorful clips on each side of her head, pinning them just above the ears. Her makeup was simple foundation with blue eyeliner and natural shimmering eye shadow, pink gloss on her lips. She had a beautiful matching butterfly necklace around her neck along with a matching ring on her left pointer finger, her nails having a French manicure both girls had done while they went shopping in Port Angeles.
Kyrine could only hope Emmett approved, chewing her bottom lip nervously, and looked over at a breathtaking Amaya.
A mid-thigh high blood red tank dress hugged all of her curves to perfection, though it left plenty to the imagination, which is what Amaya wanted. It had black lace on the top and bottom hems that gave it more of a gothic style along with black fishnet tights that went with her three inch black Mary Jane pumps. They would definitely put her at Jacob's monstrous height, another thing Amaya wanted to achieve. Her hair was half up and half down, curled and hanging down her back in a haphazard condition, the blood red and black streaks- she'd specifically picked out the dye because of her dress- definitely showing through the blonde. She also added a black band that smoothed the top of her hair back for added effect, a black lace choker around her neck and dangling earrings that looked like black spider webs.
"You ready to go?" Amaya asked, trying to get the excitement in her voice and glanced over at Kyrine, who looked incredibly tense.
Kyrine nodded, picking up her purse after placing some simple diamond studs in her ears, hating the dangling ones, and followed Amaya out of the house for their double date.
