Nora Brennan was not a clumsy person. She wasn't an unhealthy person. She wasn't even ill very often.
So how was it that in the span of a few months she had been in this hospital twice?
Everything had been chaotic so far; several students had cried and blubbered over the three 'survivors' and then Nora persevered through the pokes and prods of nurses. She'd even seen a bewildered Donald in her journey through Forks' medical team.
Her co-worker had laughed at her unimpressed face – she didn't appreciate the stretcher and neck brace, mainly because she knew she was injured on her leg and not her spine, having ploughed into Bella's body rather than the ground.
If anything, it was all slightly overwhelming, but she figured Forks didn't tend to get major accidents considering how tiny the place was, so any sign of something like this was cause for uproar of epic, exaggerated proportions.
Eventually, people settled down. Or were squeezed into the waiting room where they milled around like lost sheep. It was starting to resemble an episode of ER.
After an X-Ray and someone placing ice over the ankle, Nora was left to lie on a bed with it elevated before her, alongside a bloodied Tyler Crowley – who hadn't stopped apologising – and an annoyed Bella. Apparently the girl hated hospitals and hated attention even more. She clearly wasn't enjoying herself. In fact, she was currently pretending to be asleep.
Nora snorted but turned her head to face Tyler. His entire face was scraped from shattered glass and bandages covered his hair, as well as a sling on his left arm. She couldn't believe how lucky they'd been; no death. It felt good.
But it also really bloody hurt. Her leg continued to pulsate in pain, so she gave in to the need to be still, despite wanting to leave this place.
"How're you feeling?" She asked, trying for cheerful and ending up sounding fake.
He looked utterly miserable but fortunately answered her question rather than offering another apology. "Okay – my mum's gonna freak though."
"Your mum's my boss," Nora commented. "She's nice."
He gave her a half-hearted grin, "Yeah, on days when I don't crash the car. Or destroy someone else's. Or nearly kill two people."
"If it helps, I highly doubt Bella will sue you," she offered, smiling slightly. "And clearly you suck at murder, so the last one's sort of a dud. I might kick you when my ankle heals but that's about it. Standard revenge."
Tyler snickered, immediately stopping from the pain it caused, but remained amused and less desolate. Mission succeeded.
Of course, smug as a bug, Edward decided to stroll in at that exact moment.
"How's the ankle?" He asked her, nodding at Tyler and perching himself on the end of her bed.
Bella's eyes flew open and she ogled him slightly, flicking her eyes between Edward and Nora with what Nora thought could only be fascination. In fact, so was Tyler.
They took the whole 'Cullen's are freaky cult people' thing way too far.
"Oh you know, right as rain," Nora drawled. "I'm just lying like this for fun."
Edward studied her, "Pain makes you more sarcastic."
"It also makes me more violent. Don't push me, Cullen."
He smiled, "I would never push an injured person, Brennan."
She rolled her eyes with a scoff. Before she could reply, Carlisle swanned in – in a similarly graceful, pretentious manner as his similarly graceful, pretentious son. She smirked at Edward's narrowed eyes.
Carlisle examined Bella first, ignoring the keen, curious eyes on the girl. Nora wondered what he thought of the day so far. Had Edward told him he'd almost revealed his vampirism to a bunch of teenagers? What did he think of his son calmly sitting near the girl who smelled extra tasty?
Clearly hurting her ankle had made her far more blasé about the undead deal if her terrible mind-jokes were anything to go on.
Eventually, it was Nora's turn for treatment.
"The X-ray results show that you haven't fractured the bone," Carlisle revealed, glancing at her and occasionally at Bella who was still ogling Edward from afar. "But I'll need to examine it properly for ligament damage."
As he spoke, he began closing the curtain around her bed, blocking Bella and Tyler from view. Now it was just her, her vampire friend, and Dr. Acula.
She snorted, ignoring Edward's deadpan look. Scrubs was awesome.
"Why're you allowed in the circle of trust, pretty boy?"
"Moral support, of course," he offered with a twitch of his lips.
A cold hand suddenly touched her ankle causing her to yelp and returning her focus to the doctor. The pain actually burned, as Carlisle began turning it gently, checking her reaction as well as figuring out the range of motion she now had.
"Son of a – "
"Definitely a mild sprain," he interrupted, setting it back carefully, "but luckily it should heal within a few weeks. As long as you don't walk on it."
He quickly picked up the bandages he had apparently brought with him and began carefully wrapping it. She withheld a wince, knowing Edward was looking at her.
Then again, he could read her mind. Sure enough, his lips were pursed in concern.
"For how long?" She asked, taking her mind off of him.
Carlisle smiled sympathetically, "At least a week, Miss Brennan."
Great. This is why you don't bodily tackle people on ice.
"Call me Nora," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "You've seen X-Rays of my ankle, Carlisle, I'd say we've bonded."
His low laugh was joined with Edward's.
"How long will it hurt like a bitch for?" She asked glumly.
He offered a smile but ruined it with his chuckle. "Possibly a month or longer. It depends on how much strain you put on it while it heals."
"Damn," she groaned, running a hand over it gently. It was slightly swollen and already she could make out the horrible purpled bruise peeking around the bandages now wrapped around it. "Will I need crutches?"
"Well, you can walk on it after a week but I recommend crutches until then. Just in case."
Ugh. Fan-freaking-tastic.
"And you'll need to place ice on it for at least twenty minutes, three separate times, for today. Then, every four hours for the next two days. It will help reduce the swelling."
The frown on Nora's forehead continued to grow; how could an ankle sprain cause so much work? She practically knew the answer, but asked just in case, "Does that mean I miss school?"
"For the next week," Carlisle nodded, "it would be best."
She couldn't have stopped herself if she'd tried. Grinning, she offered her fist to Edward who, sceptically rolling his eyes like he was above such childish actions, gently fist bumped her.
Carlisle watched curiously, incredibly pleased and apparently, relieved that the pair of them were no longer so wary of one another; Edward because of the need for secrecy, Nora because of general terror.
He advised gently, "You may want to consider taking an Advil for the pain."
She stared at him. "What the hell is Advil?"
"Ibuprofen," Edward offered, ever the helpful fellow. "It's a brand name. Like Nurofen."
"Right," she nodded tiredly, "I knew that."
"Well, I'll get you the crutches in a moment but other than that, you're free to go. We tried contacting your brother but there was no answer," Carlisle commented, looking vaguely worried.
Nora quickly reassured him, "Its fine. He's just at work at the moment; I'll text him to let him know what went down."
Opening the curtain, Carlisle noticed Bella still seated and said, "You may leave as well, Miss Swan."
The girl observed him as if he were a bug under a microscope, before flitting her eyes to Edward and finally, to Nora. Nora offered her a jaunty salute.
"It was nice jumping out of the way of mini-vans with you," she grinned, struggling to sit up.
Carlisle finally headed over to help tend to Tyler, and Edward remained perched on her bed, even as Bella shakily stood, almost fell, and looked at Nora shyly.
"I better head out," she mumbled, blushing. A quick glance told her Edward had slightly stiffened. Bella, oblivious, gave her a small smile, "Thank you for saving me."
Nora brushed it off, feeling slightly guilty, "No worries. All in a morning's work."
"Char – my dad will probably want to speak to you," Bella admitted, "to say thanks, as well. He's like that."
Something clenched in her chest. Her dad. Her dad who was waiting anxiously in the waiting room. It hurt more than her ankle.
Nora smiled weakly, "Just tell him saving people is what pagan's do."
Bella gave her a weird look, "What?"
"He'll understand," she explained wryly, her heart not really in it.
The guilt remained, even as Bella slowly stumbled out of the room. Nora didn't like being told she had saved Bella because that wasn't really what happened. She had acted the way she knew her father would want her to. Nothing more.
Beside her, Edward said softly, "That still makes you an honourable person, Nora."
"Honourable," she repeated, tasting the word on her tongue. She didn't look at him.
The guilt didn't fade, but she felt slightly less melancholy and for now, that was enough.
"What're you going to do now?" She asked.
He gave her a frown as if her question was ridiculous. "Drive you home, obviously. How were you planning to leave, otherwise?"
Nora hadn't thought about it at all. Her bike was a wreck. Her ankle was more of a wreck. Her brother was in work.
Reluctantly, she said, "Okay, but I stand by my need to drive myself places when my ankle's healed."
He smirked but nodded.
Absently, she added, "Thanks, though."
Because he didn't have to do that. But Edward was a good person. He didn't even consider leaving her to figure out a way home. Bless him.
Eventually, Carlisle returned with the crutches and feeling ridiculous, Nora slowly stood, leaning heavily against them. Edward stood beside her, seemingly waiting for her to fall.
She rolled her eyes. "Have a little faith in me."
"I have the utmost faith in you," he replied, innocently.
"Riiight. Come on, let's blow this Popsicle stand."
After a brief, awkward discussion, Edward helped Nora deal with insurance and payment details. It exhausted her, especially because she was used to the free health service of Britain. And it felt like hours before she'd finished it all, the crutches beginning to dig painfully into her armpits.
But eventually, she managed to bid Carlisle farewell and silently, the pair of them left, avoiding the overabundance of students in the waiting room, and heading out into the icy cold car park. Edward's car, pristine and shining, awaited them. Just nearing the thing she felt haughty – at least now she knew why Edward always was.
"Need some help?" He asked, opening the passenger seat for her.
Nora just huffed in return, carefully seating herself and lifting her injured ankle in slowly.
Chuckling, Edward closed the door and sat himself in the driver's seat. He didn't make any attempt to drive away at first, and Nora didn't really mind. She was tired. Her ankle hurt. And the day had been strange to say the least.
But it didn't last too long. He broke the silence as soon as she'd finished texting her brother.
"Why did you tell me not to save you?" He asked so abruptly it was if the question had been boiling over in his mind.
She looked at him properly. He was tense, focused, and slightly upset.
"Because I didn't need you to," she said firmly. "I can handle myself. It would have been a pointless move on your part with disastrous consequences. Can you imagine if Bella had seen you?"
He swallowed, looking far away, "She suspects something."
Nora's head shot up to face him, "What?"
Edward nodded idly. "After we spoke at lunch time," he looked at her pointedly. Oh, there fun 'I'm scared of you but you're still my best bud' chat. "I decided to try talking to her, to make her seem more real in my mind. Not just a…" he didn't finish, but he didn't really need to. Involuntarily, she shivered. Luckily, Edward was too focused on his words to notice the action for once. "She asked why my eyes had changed colour."
All Nora could think were curses. She'd known Bella was clever but bloody hell. She was also, apparently, observant. Or, as many were, she had noticed the strange aura surrounding the Cullen's and that caused her to become more observant. Nora was almost surprised no one had questioned them before.
And now, suddenly, two humans had. Jesus, they must be seriously paranoid in the Cullen household right about now. No wonder Jasper and Blondie glared at her so much.
"Well, did she actually think it was suspicious or was it a casual kind of notice?" She asked.
Weirdly, Edward blanched and looked beyond frustrated with her question. Teeth clenched, he gritted out, "I wouldn't know."
"What do you mean?"
He turned to face her, studying her confused expression, and admitted, "I cannot read her mind."
That brought her mind to a rapid halt. She almost got mental whiplash. "What?"
He nodded grimly, "It's as if no one is there."
"I never thought I'd ask this question seriously but, is she," she struggled for the right word, "magical?"
For a moment, Edward just looked amused. "Magical?"
Nora couldn't help but smile back at him. "Shut up or I'll start calling you Lestat."
"Not Dracula?"
She smirked, "Nah, that's Carlisle."
Edward sighed, "Yes, I heard your jokes, terrible as they were."
"Dr. Acula. I can actually say that joke and mean it," she laughed. But, she eventually controlled herself and returned to the original point, "Anyway – do you think she is?"
He seemed to have considered this in great detail – he probably had – but immediately shook his head. "No. She's definitely human."
"Should I trust you to be a good human detector?"
"Yes," he answered, a little offended.
In an attempt to appease him, she said quietly, "I really don't think you should worry. She's noticed you're weird, sure, but nothing else. Everyone thinks you're weird. It's nothing new."
He eyed her, looking slightly nervous. It was strange. "You figured it out," he pointed out. "Or at least you figured out enough that telling you became inevitable."
She just rolled her eyes, "You're my best friend. It's my duty to uncover your secrets."
He looked at her as she spoke, suddenly commenting, "I thought it might anger you."
Nora frowned. "That what would anger me?"
"That I cannot read her mind," he admitted, "I know you wish I couldn't read yours."
"Ah," she responded, understanding. It was there. The jealous twinge. The envy of a closed mind. But she couldn't succumb to feeling that way; it was no one's fault, after all. "I'm learning to deal with it. As long as you don't read my daydreams. They're pretty focused on Jon Snow."
He replied wryly, "I did notice, yes."
"Speaking of Game of Thrones, how goes the series? You finished it yet?" She asked, eager to change the subject to something less supernatural. Or more supernatural, if you thought about the series.
He smiled. "I haven't continued."
"What? Why the hell not? They're awesome," she gasped, even waving her hands for further proof of their awesomeness.
Edward, the ponce, just laughed at her disbelief. "I thought it was something we should do together."
Nora laughed. "That's really sweet. But only a crazy person would give up watching Game of Thrones for a friend. It's blasphemy."
He didn't reply straight away, gazing at her, but eventually asked softly, "Would you like to watch it with me tonight? I can drive you home, afterwards."
It was said so tentatively that Nora wanted to take back all the glares and avoidance. She knew why he was suddenly so timid. It was because of her reaction to him. The true him, that is. But she stood by her original actions because they were fair and honest.
She wasn't scared of him anymore, not the shocked-petrified terror she had originally felt anyway. But the wariness remained, making her really think about it. His family would be there. All those immortal beings and one human. It sounded like a good premise for a new TV show.
Edward had wanted to save her life today, she reminded herself. He respected her wishes today. He was her friend, today and onwards.
So she came to a decision.
"Okay," she replied, offering a small smile. "You should probably start driving though. I'm starting to wonder whether you really do drive or if it's my imagination."
He glared at her but the smile gave him away.