Chapter 9
Bella POV
The next day was busier than I expected it to be. I woke up extra early to get some good study in before heading into school. Angela was coming to pick me up and I was grateful. I really needed to get my own set of wheels. I couldn't rely on her forever.
"Are you going to school now my dear?" Grandma Inola asked. I was packing my bag at the kitchen table, mentally planning a way to ask Edward if I could ask his father to check Paul.
"Yeah, my friend is coming to pick me up, I'll give you a call later on the home phone if I have any news about Edward Cullen"
"Oh would you dear? That would be excellent, I'll make sure I stay home then"
A honk outside told me Angela was here. I kissed Grandma Inola on the cheek and headed out to meet Angela.
"Hey Ange" I said, climbing into the car.
"Hey Bella, you seem to be in a better mood today" she noted.
I smiled "Well I think that girl's night out was just what I needed to make me feel better" I said. I couldn't exactly tell her that I was excited to ask the vampire boy I sat next to in biology if his vampire father would check over my wolf friend.
"Well I was thinking that maybe we could have a day for just the two of us, I've missed hanging out with you Bella" she said.
"That sounds good! What were you thinking?"
"Well… what would you say to a girl's day out on Saturday in Seattle?" she said, and I raised my eyebrows in shock. Seattle wasn't exactly close, but it was better than Port Angeles in terms of stores.
"That sounds great, but I'll have to get back to you about Saturday. We might be having a doctor coming out to see Paul" I said.
"A doctor? They still don't know what's wrong with him?"
"No, Sue Clearwater has never seen anything like it, but he's definitely in a coma for something, we're just hoping this doctor could confirm it for us" I said. Well, it was kind of the truth.
"Oh Bella that's so great, hopefully this is one step forward to Paul waking up"
"I hope so"
Biology was fairly boring today, only because I had covered this topic in Phoenix also. Edward hadn't turned up, and all of the excitement I had this morning completely vanished.
But there was hope when the door opened halfway through class. Edward walked in and apologised to the teacher, before taking his seat next to me.
"Hi Bella" he whispered to me.
"Hey-" I hesitated "-uh, I know this is weird of me to ask, but can I talk to you after class?" I said, and he raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Sure, meet me by my car after school" he said with a smile.
I don't think Edward knew I knew he was a vampire. This was going to be an interesting conversation.
When school ended, I made my way to the car lot and looked for Edward. I knew he drove a silver Volvo, so I went searching for it.
"Hey Bella, you need a ride home?" Angela asked as she caught me walking between two parked cars.
"It's okay, Charlie said he could pick me up today" I said with a smile, trying to sound convincing.
"Okay, call me later" she said, and I waved her goodbye and watched her drive out of school. Charlie was in fact not picking me up, so I had no idea how I would get back to La Push. Finally, I saw Edward come out of the school and walk across the lot. The opposite side I was currently on. I huffed and walked over quickly, trying to figure out what to say in my head.
"Hey Edward" I said, as I approached him. He turned to look at me. He was very handsome, but I couldn't afford to lose myself to his looks. I had someone much more important needing my help back in La Push.
"Hi Bella, you need a ride anywhere?" he asked, opening his car.
"Uh sure" I said, climbing inside. It was cold in here; I mean really cold in here. I held my coat tighter to my body, trying to hold onto the warmth from it.
"Sorry, I don't usually have the heat on" he said, starting the engine and blasting the heat.
"So what can I do for you Bella?" he asked, letting his hands rest in his lap. I wish I looked like that when I relaxed. I thought I looked like a blob fish when I tried to relax, he just looked like the statue of Adonis.
"I know you're a vampire, okay?" May as well rip the bandaid off.
"You- uh, what makes you think I'm a vampire?" he asked, trying to sound like I was crazy.
"I'm familiar with Quileute legends and I know you made a treaty with La Push, I know what you are, and I know what they are, okay? I need to ask a favour of you"
He just stared at me with a confused look, and then he broke out into a smile.
"You're golden Bella! I thought there was something different about you! You always came into class smelling of wet dog and the smell was very off putting, I'm sorry to say"
"I smell like wet dog?"
"That's what the wolves smell like to us, I imagine we have a particular smell to them too"
"Oh, uh, sure. Anyway, can I ask you a favour? It's about your father"
"Shoot"
"Okay, um, I know your father is a doctor, and well, you see, I have this friend in La Push and he needs to be seen by a doctor that knows about the wolves-"
"-the Elders would never let us onto their land-"
"-no I'm not suggesting that at all. What if I brought my friend to my house in Forks? That way you wouldn't be breaking the treaty" I suggested, and I saw him think about it for a minute. Then he put the car into reverse, pulled out of his parking spot and drove out of school, taking me down a winding forest road.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"To my house. We've never had a human there before, but you need to talk to Carlisle, he can help your friend" he said, with a hint of amusement.
"Is it, uh-" How could I ask if it was safe with a family of vampires without sounding rude?
"Don't worry, we all feed on animals. Some of us haven't fed on humans at all, and the rest of us haven't tasted human blood for centuries" he said, as if that would comfort me.
"Right. So, how old are you?" I asked, trying to make conversation. I was quite interested as well. It wasn't everyday you have a conversation with a vampire.
"I'm 108, born in 1901 in Chicago"
"Wow, so how did you-"
"-how did I die? Well, it was during the Spanish Flu Epidemic. My parents both died, and I was going to die, had Carlisle not stepped in. He told me 50 years later that my mother actually asked, him to turn me"
"So you can't be turned into a vampire unless you're dying?"
"Not exactly. That's just Carlisle. He won't turn someone into one of us unless there was no other alternative. He would do everything he could to save them. He was actually my doctor back in Chicago and my mother must have figured out what he was and begged him to turn me, I was only 17, you see"
"Did it hurt?"
"The worst pain imaginable. But nothing was worse than denying yourself fresh human blood when you're a new vampire. The first year of our lives are actually when we're most dangerous"
"My gosh, so you've never drank human blood?"
"Not exactly. About twenty years after Carlisle turned me, I sort of rebelled. I hated what I was and the idea that he had for making a family was absurd to me. I was grieving my biological parents and I just wanted my own space, so, I went off on my own and-"
"-and what?" I asked, as he pulled into a driveway of a huge house. The walls of this house were covered in windows. The forest reflected back from them, making it look even bigger. It was beautiful and peaceful here.
"-doesn't matter. Let's go inside and you can meet my family" he said, getting out of the car and in a flash he was at my door, opening it for me.
"I'm guessing speed is vampire thing?" I asked, as we walked toward his front door.
"Yeah, we're really fast and strong, but that's a conversation for another day" he chuckled.
"So what's Carlisle like?" I asked as we entered the door. Everything in here looked clinical and modern, and very clean.
"He's the kindest man I've ever known" he simply said and led me up a set of stairs. I was looking at everything on the wall. There was a giant wooden cross nailed to the wall, and it looked old.
Edward noticed me looking "Ah, that's Carlisle's. His father was an Anglican Pastor at a church in London in the 1640's and this cross was from the front of the church. I guess Carlisle wanted something to remember his past life" he said sadly but continued up the stairs where there was a huge mural full of something that looked like graduation caps.
"Why do you have these?" I asked.
He chuckled "Oh, that's a, uh, family joke. We matriculate a lot" he said.
"Yeah, looks like you do" I agreed. Some of these caps looks worn and old.
"It must be boring to go to high school over and over again, why do you do it?" I asked.
"Well, mostly we just try and fit in. We all look like we're still in our teen years you see, so it would be strange of me to apply for a job as a doctor when I look fresh out of high school. I would imagine some people would be suspicious"
"Could you be a doctor?"
"Oh definitely. I went to Med school three times so I could be a brain surgeon if I really wanted to, but that doesn't interest me very much" he said nonchalantly.
"Fair enough" I said. He brought me into a vast kitchen which looked like it had never been used. There were no normal kitchen appliances you usually found in kitchens.
"Yeah, we don't need to eat food, so we've never used this" he said gesturing to the kitchen, he led me through to a very large living room. I noticed that the only colour in the entire house was white. Maybe that's why it looked so clean. The living room was a huge space with a large semi-circle white couch that sat in the middle of the room, facing a huge plasma screen TV that was mounted above the fireplace. There were various drawers and dressers around the side of the room, all of them holding nothing on their tops.
"Carlisle's office is just through here" he said. He knocked on a large door and a sombre "Come in" travelled through. Opening the door, I entered a whole new room. It was nothing like the rest of the house. Everything in here was more of a mahogany colour. Vast bookshelves lined the walls, filled top to bottom with very old looking books. There was a desk opposite the only window in the room, but the window itself was a wall.
"Carlisle, I'd like you to meet Bella Swan, Bella, this is Carlisle" Edward said. I held my hand out to shake Carlisle's.
"It's nice to meet you Bella, if I'm not mistaken, you know what we are. Otherwise my son wouldn't have brought you to our home" he said with a smile. He grasped my hand briefly with my own and I couldn't help but notice how cold his skin was. It felt like I'd dunked my hand into a bucket of ice water. I shivered involuntary.
"Uh yes, I know what you are-"
"-then my son didn't tell you about the consequences of telling a human our secrets?" he said mostly to Edward with a raised eyebrow.
I decided to save Edward "Actually, Carlisle, I guessed what he was. You see, I'm familiar with the Quileute legends and I know about the treaty with the wolves, yes, I also know about them"
"I see. In that case, the Volturi will not intervene. They definitely don't like to associate themselves with the wolves, though I think the wolves are certainly much better people than the Volturi" he said.
"Uh, I'll leave you two to it" Edward said, backing out of the room and closing the door behind him.
Carlisle motioned for me to sit at his desk, where he settled himself in his chair on the other side.
"So Bella, what can I do for you?" he asked politely.
"It's my friend, well not really my friend, it's… complicated"
"Have you been imprinted on Bella?" he asked.
"Okay, so it's the guy that imprinted on me, Paul. He's been in a sort of coma for the last 2 months and we can't figure out what's wrong with him. We can't take him to the hospital for obvious reasons, but he needs to be seen by someone. I was hoping maybe you could take a look at him?"
"You know, of course, that the treaty I made with Ephraim Black has terms?"
"Yes, I know you're not allowed to go onto Quileute land, but Paul really needs to see you. If I could find a way to bring him to my house in Forks, would it be possible to see him there?" I asked hopefully.
"There might be another way, come with me" he said, getting up from his seat and leading me back through the house and into another room that looked more like a mini hospital. It had a hospital bed with monitors, IV lines, pretty much the stuff you'd find in your average hospital room.
"If you could get Paul here, I can monitor him more efficiently. Is he on any medication or any sort of IV at the moment?"
"He's on saline fluids for dehydration and no medications. But because of his body temperature, the saline is just running through him. Sue Clearwater has to come over daily to replace them with new ones, but he's still showing signs of dehydration"
"I see. It seems to me from your description that whatever has caused Paul to fall into this coma is taking all of the nutrients and water from his body. I must see him immediately Bella"
"Okay, uh, is it alright if I make a quick call?" I asked, taking my cell out.
"Of course, I'll just step outside" he said, closing the door behind him.
I dialled Grandma Inola's landline number and waited for her to pick up.
"Bella, is that you?"
"Yes Grandma, it's me. Listen, I'm at the doctors house now and he says he needs to see Paul immediately-"
"-oh Bella that's great! But how will we move him?"
"Well, I'm going to have to talk to Jacob or Sam or someone about that, but the only snag is, the doctor thinks Paul would be better off at the house here. There is a whole mini hospital set up here, I'm in the room now and it's – professional. I think Paul needs to be here, and the doctor already thinks he knows why Paul is always dehydrated-"
"-Oh Bella, if Paul needs to be there, we'll get him there. Maybe you should call Jacob and see what he can do to help, preferably without Billy or Old Quil finding out"
"I'll see what I can do. Hold on in there, Grandma, I'll sort this out"
"You're such a clever girl Bella, I'll see you very soon"
"Bye Grandma" I hung up and went to find Carlisle. He was waiting in the kitchen, leaning up against the counter tapping at lightening speed on his phone.
"Carlisle?" I said, and he put his phone down and straightened up.
"Forgive me, it's one of the traits of a vampire, but I overheard your phone call, and if you can arrange for Paul to be brought to the treaty line, we can manage the rest of the journey" he said.
"Oh that's okay, I'd love to hear more about vampires when the time is right" I said. My priority right now was getting Paul here and getting him better.
"Of course, I'd be more than happy to tell you all about us. I'm glad Edward has a friend; he doesn't have any friends" he said, and I felt my heart sink for Edward. I knew what it was like not to have friends and it wasn't a nice feeling.
"I know this will sound rude of me, but is there any chance I could catch a ride back to La Push, just to the treaty line?"
"It's not rude of you at all Bella, we all have an eternity on our hands. Edward will be more than happy to take you" he said.
"Great, and do you have a cell number I could take so I can let you know when I've got a plan to move Paul?"
Carlisle reached for his cell phone on the kitchen counter "Please, take mine. It might be wise to take Edward's number as well" he said, as he read the number out to me. I put my cell phone back in my bag just as Edward walked in.
"Are you ready to go Bella?" he said.
"Yes, thank you for giving me a ride. I really appreciate your kindness, both of you" I said to Carlisle too.
"Not at all Bella, it's what we like to do; help people. Even if those people don't particularly like us very much" Carlisle said, and Edward chuckled.
"Come on Bella" he said, leading me back to his car. He turned the heat up for me and drove off.
"I really do appreciate the ride back, thank you"
"No problem. Listen, I overheard you say that this Paul has imprinted on you. I just wanted to say I'd never get in the way of your relationship, but I was hoping maybe we could hang out sometime?"
"Oh, Paul and I aren't in a relationship. We decided to try at being friends, but I don't know-"
"-don't know?"
"I don't know if I want to be just friends anymore. I know it sounds silly and he's been in this coma for months, but he's grown on me and well, I don't know if I'd be happy being just friends with him forever" I said truthfully.
"Fate will decide what's best for you both Bella. But if it's what you want and it's what he wants, then don't waste time. Life is too short to waste time wondering if the other person will like you back"
"You make it sound so simple"
"It is. Paul would be lucky to have you by his side, it's just a shame he got there before me" he chuckled, and I squirmed in my seat uncomfortably.
"I just hope he wakes up soon. My friend Jacob, had this theory, but I'm not sure if-"
"-we know most of the Quileute legends Bella, you won't be telling me anything new-"
"-right. Well Jacob has this theory that Paul might be spirit walking, that is to say, he's stuck in the spirit world. I know it sounds crazy-"
"-no it doesn't sound crazy at all. If vampires and werewolves exist, why can't that? Carlisle will be able to tell what's wrong with him when he examines him"
"Would I be able to take your number? We could plan to do something if you wanted" I said.
"Yeah that'll be good, we're almost here now" he said, and I looked out of the window and we were indeed almost at La Push. Man, how fast did this guy drive?
"Don't worry about what I said earlier, about Paul getting to you before I did, I was just making a remark, though not a very intelligent one"
"That's okay. Do you have a girlfriend?" I asked.
He frowned "No, I've never really had a girlfriend, you'd think being here for over 100 years would have seen me in a relationship a couple of times, but no, I tend to stay away from all of that"
I thought that was sad. 100 years without someone to love?
"Do you have a crush on me or something?" I cringed even when I said it.
"You're beautiful Bella, and you know something? You're the only mind I can't read, and it's damn refreshing. Maybe I'm mistaking that for something else, but I'd never go there with you. Even if you weren't with Paul, it's too dangerous"
"Dangerous how?"
"I'm a super strong vampire and you're a weak human, weak compared to my strength anyway. I could want to caress your head and mistakenly crush your skull with a wrong move-"
"-that's being a bit dramatic isn't it? -"
"-maybe-" he smirked "-but if I were to want a relationship, it would have to be with a woman of my kind. So there's no risk of injury or death"
"Death?"
"You're going to make me say it? -" he laughed "-fine, let's talk about sex Bella-"
"-oh God-"
"-you wanted to know! -" he chuckled "- if I were to have sex with a human, I'd most certainly accidentally kill them. I could get so into it and smash apart her pelvis or I could get so into it and want to drink her blood-"
"-but I thought you said you didn't drink from humans"
"We don't. But it doesn't mean we don't get tempted. You eat meat right?"
"Of course, in small amounts"
He laughed "Figures. Well, imagine replacing all of the meat with only tofu. You'd still be tempted by the smell of meat, but you'd eat the tofu. It's kind of like that"
"Oh, so it must be really hard for you to sit in this hot car with me then" I said, feeling guilty. I hoped he wasn't tempted by my blood.
"I've grown accustomed to it Bella; I hardly notice the smell of human blood anymore"
"Well that's good to hear" I mumbled to myself and he laughed out loud.
"Isn't it? We're here, it seems someone's waiting for you" he nodded his head towards the front of the car, and I was surprised to see Jacob waiting for me, not looking too happy.
"Oh dear" I said.
"Stand your ground Bella. You know what the right thing to do is. Think of Paul" he said.
"Will do. Thanks for the ride, oh, can you add your cell number into my phone?" I asked, handing him my phone. Within a second he was handing it back.
"All done" he said with a smug smirk on his face. I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Such a baby" he chuckled as I climbed out of the car.
"See you later vampire" I said, closing the door before he could reply. I walked over to Jacob, who was standing with his arms folded across his chest, staring at Edward with pure hatred.
"What's with you?" I asked.
"Why the hell were you with him?" he said, as he watched Edward drive off.
"Okay. First, don't take that tone with me. And second, I'm doing it for Paul-"
"-oh what? You think Paul would want you consorting with vampires?"
"I'm not doing it for a joke Jacob! Carlisle Cullen is the doctor we need! You know we can't take Paul to a hospital! Carlisle is the only doctor that knows about the wolves, he said he can help-"
"-oh I bet he did-"
"-he wants Paul to go to his house so he can monitor him there-"
"-you may be imprinted to him Bella but there's no way in hell I'm letting my pack brother move in with a bunch of blood sucking-"
"-I'm done Jacob. You can be the friend that talks about helping him and I'll be the one to actually help him" I said, and with that I started walking up the road. Luckily for me, Grandma Inola's house wasn't too far. Jacob didn't follow me or call out for me, which I was glad for. I honestly couldn't believe Jacob! I knew they didn't like the Cullen's but to take the 'mortal enemies' thing that far?
The house came into my view and I ran the rest of the way, wanting to get into the warm. Grandma Inola was in the kitchen sipping a cup of tea when I walked in.
"Hello dear, come and sit down for a minute, have a rest" she said, pouring me a cup of tea and putting it in front of me.
"Thanks Grandma" I took a sip of tea. It was so refreshing after the day I had.
I sighed loudly, exhausted "So I ran into Jacob on the way here"
"Oh Bella, that was my fault! He came to the house and asked where you were. I told him you were at a friend's house, you know, wanted to hang out after school, and when he asked for a name it slipped out of my mouth before I could stop myself-"
"-don't be silly, it's not your fault! He just told me that he wouldn't allow his brother to live with vampires, even if it was the best thing for him"
"Well I'll be having a word with his father! All of this mortal enemies business, it's ridiculous in this day and age! The Cullen's aren't a threat. Even when they first hunted on our land, they fed on the animals on the cliffs, they never touched a human. Don't you worry my dear, we'll get Paul to the doctor as soon as possible"
"Well, actually, I had an idea. If the guys won't help us, then they won't help us. But we don't have to lift Paul, we could roll him-"
"-roll him, dear? On what?"
"Well, I haven't thought that far ahead yet, but if we could get him onto some kind of gurney -"
"-I'll call Sue right now!" Grandma Inola said, picking up the phone and dialling.
It could work. If we told Sue about the plan, I knew she'd be all for it, because she always wants to best for her patients. She would be able to bring us a gurney, and we could transfer Paul onto it and push him to the treaty line and let the Cullen's do the rest of the heavy lifting.
If only I could get Jacob's help, we wouldn't need to do all of this! I was so mad at him right now!
"Sue said she has one that we can use Bella, when do you want her to bring it over?" Grandma Inola said, holding the phone to her shoulder.
"If she could bring it as soon as possible, that would be great!" I said, and Grandma Inola told her.
Grandma put the phone back on the receiver and came back to the table "Sue is bringing it now" she said casually, taking a sip of tea.
"Now? But won't the guys notice-"
"-Calm down dear, the boys are all at Sam's house for a pack meeting. They won't be in the area for another two hours" she said as a plan formed in my mind. This was perfect! If we could get Paul onto the gurney and wheel him to the treaty line within those two hours, the boys need never know we did it behind their backs.
I was sure this was the best thing for Paul. Lying in this bed was doing nothing to help him and Sue could only do so much for him in terms of medical assistance, since she wasn't licensed to give him certain medications and such. This is why Paul needed to see a doctor. Carlisle was a registered doctor, he could do everything for Paul at the house, things that were limited to us here.
Sue got here within 15 minutes and I went out to help her unload the gurney from the car. We folded it out and wheeled it inside the house and into Pauls room. Every time I saw him lying there, it made me feel helpless. But finally, I could help. This would help him.
"Okay Bella, I hope you've got a plan to get him to the treaty line because the boys will be back within the hour" Sue said.
"I have a plan. Sue and I will load Paul onto the gurney. I'm sure between the two of us we can manage his weight-" I looked to Sue and she nodded "-okay, once he's on the gurney, Sue and I will push him to the treaty line where the Cullen's will be waiting"
"Do the Cullen's know we're moving him now?" Sue asked.
"Crap, I'll call them" I said, taking out my phone and calling Carlisle.
"Hello Bella" his cool voice greeted.
"Hi Carlisle. I know it's a bit of late notice, but we are planning on moving Paul within the next five minutes. The rest of the pack are at a meeting and they don't agree with what we're doing, but Paul needs your help"
"No problem Bella, I'll get Rosalie to come with me and help. Do you know how you're going to get him to the treaty line?"
"Yes. We have a gurney so we're going to strap him to that and push him, we'd never be able to manage his weight all the way there-"
"-no, of course not. A gurney is a wonderful idea. We're leaving for the treaty line now" he said.
"Okay, we'll start the move now" I said and hung up. It was now or never.
"Okay ladies, it's go time" I said. Grandma Inola couldn't help with the lifting, but she would be our alibi to the boys if they were to come back early. Sue and I headed into Pauls room and whilst I pulled the blankets off of Paul's body, trying not to notice his ribs showing through his skin, Sue was busy loading the monitors and saline drip onto the gurney to make it easier for us to transport.
"Okay Bella are you ready to lift?" she said, moving her forearms underneath Paul's shoulders. I was at his feet and I had no idea how to manage this.
"Just hold onto his legs with a strong grip and lift with your legs not your back" she said, and I did what she said.
"Okay on the count of three, slide him onto the gurney, ready? 1…2…3" we slid Paul onto the gurney with extreme effort, but he was on it. Sue got to work strapping him in whilst I put a blanket over his body, so he didn't get even more cold.
"Grandma we're coming through" I called out, and Grandma Inola held the bedroom door open for us. Together, Sue and I pushed the gurney, which was much heavier now Paul was on it, out into the kitchen and out into the front yard. I went ahead to open the gate and helped pull the gurney through.
"You okay to push Sue?" I asked.
"Yes I'm perfectly fine, let's go quickly Bella!" she said, and we started pushing.
It took longer to get to the treaty line than usual, but I wasn't normally pushing a gurney with an unconscious wolf led on top. We made it to the treaty line within 10 minutes to find an ambulance waiting.
"Carlisle, what's all this?" I asked.
"Well, Rosalie was able to get this ambulance for transportation and when you mentioned gurney we thought it would be the perfect way to get him to our house – no sirens of course"
"I think it's fantastic. Can you help push?" I asked him. My arms felt like led, and if I felt like that then I wandered how poor Sue felt.
"Yes, let us take him from here, you can come with us if you like-"
"-I can drive Bella and Paul's grandmother, if that's alright with you" Sue said.
"Of course, Bella can direct you, I'm sure she knows the route. Paul will be perfectly safe with us; you have my word" he said. Rosalie, a tall, beautiful goddess with long blonde hair and perfect features was pushing Paul into the back of the ambulance. Carlisle climbed into the driver's side and drove off.
"You did the right thing Bella" Sue said, placing a hand on my shoulder. But as I watched Paul travel further and further from me, I felt nothing but sadness.
I hoped I had made the right decision.
A/N: What do you think about Bella's decision to hand Paul over to the Cullen's? Personally, I think she's doing the right thing. Paul needs to see a doctor and Carlisle is the perfect person for the job. Don't worry, I'm not going to have Edward want Bella. I thought that he could be another fun friend for Bella.