It was later that evening, as I was being discharged that I spotted my opportunity. Carlisle was talking to Rania and Liam about my aftercare routine and the do's and don't's of it all. I had been given the same lecture earlier so I had stopped paying attention quickly.
As I looked around the quiet almost empty hospital waiting room, I spotted Alice hovering by the empty nurses station. I glanced at the adults and they seemed to be otherwise engaged so I slipped away without them noticing.
"Alice," I greeted the girl. She didn't respond but grabbed my hand and pulled me away to a private hallway.
"Amani," Was all she said. Again, she had that uncertain and fearful look in her eyes, her lips thin and twisted into a frown as she furrowed her brows.
"Tell me what I need to do and I'll do it," I said, deciding to say what I really want to say. There was no point skirting around each other and pretending we didn't know anything.
"You know about my past," She said quietly, looking down at our still joined hands.
I gasped, suddenly feeling so stupid.
I had forgotten that Alice couldn't remember her human past. It was never a huge focus in the movies or the books so I had forgotten up until now. I was too busy focusing on trying to help Edward and Bella that I didn't realise I could also help Alice and spare her so much time and pain.
"I'm so sorry Alice, I didn't realise I could have-," I paused, not knowing what to say. I decided to change directions. "When do you want me to?" I asked.
She looked up at me, her furrowed brow smoothing and her lips parting a little. Her eyes seems to be searching mine for something as the silence between us stretched.
"I can wait until you're healed from the accident-," I cut her off.
"Nonsense. How about tomorrow after school?" I asked. She nodded slowly, her eyes still searching my face.
"Would you prefer if I came over to your place instead?"
"I'm not sure, what do you think?" She asked. I thought about it for a second. What I was going to tell her would be a lot to handle so she might appreciate some support from her family.
"I think it would be best if I just came over to your house," I decided. She nodded silently. I figured this was the end of our conversation as I didn't want to be away from Rania and Liam for too long. "Okay then, I'll see you then,"
"Okay," she finally smiled, albeit a small and still unsure one. We walked back to where we left the adults, still hand in hand before she let go and skipped over to Carlisle just as he was finishing his conversation off.
"Alice, what a pleasant surprise," he greeted his daughter. She gave him a kiss on the cheek in response and I watched the interaction, noting how much happier the smaller girl seemed.
"Amani and I were talking. We thought it might be helpful if she came over after school tomorrow to help her with her work," The girl looked towards my two guardians who looked at me for confirmation.
"Oh yeah, I figured it'd be better if I stayed with the Cullens for a bit instead of getting bored at home,"
Rania pursed her lips, looking towards Dr Cullen.
"Only if that's okay with you and your family,"
"Yes it's more than fine," He assured her.
"Great. Amani, you can come by tomorrow," Alice concluded. She made her way back over to me, surprising me with a fierce hug.
"Thank you," she whispered into my ear. I didn't say anything, just squeezed her back before we let go. After saying our goodbyes, we left the hospital and drove back home.
It felt good to be out of the sterile building and in my own space. We ate take-out and watched mindless tv before I headed over to my bedroom.
Showering was quite the task since I had to be careful to not disturb my ribs. By the time I had put on some fresh bandages and dressed, I was exhausted and fell asleep almost as soon as I hit the bed.
.
I woke up with a start the next day, my clothes and hair sticking to me with sweat. It took me a while to calm my racing heart but once I did, I grimaced at my state.
A quick glance to my alarm clock told me it was almost 11 am. I had slept for quite a while considering the early night I had last night too.
The house was silent and I decided to see if anyone was home. I found Liam sitting with a laptop in the living room, looking busy typing.
"Hey you're up. How you feeling?" He asked, having noticed me hovering by the entrance. He frowned after noticing my less than presentable state.
"Good, sleeping was a bit awkward with the bandages though," I shrugged, brushing off his concern. "Do you have work today?"
"I'm doing some it right now but yeah, I need to be in the store to do most of it though," He murmured, once again distracted by his screen as he typed away.
As the eldest Newton, he was in charge of the store and was essentially getting ready to completely take it over from his dad. The store did surprisingly well since it was popular with hikers and tourists who wanted to explore the lush nature around this town.
"You can drop me off at the Cullens earlier if you want and head to the store," I suggested.
"It's not even twelve yet, they won't be home," He pointed out.
"Mrs Cullen will be home and maybe even Dr Cullen. I don't mind spending time with them," I shrugged. He deliberated for a second.
"Would they be okay with that?" He asked.
"Yeah they will be,"
"Okay then, if you're sure," I nodded, heading back into my room to get changed and dressed.
I took another awkward shower before I got dressed slowly. I chose some loose comfortable clothes this time, going for a matching set of baby pink joggers and hoodie.
I slipped on some shoes and grabbed my jacket, slipping my phone in the pocket.
"Are you not going to eat?" Liam asked.
"Nah, I'll eat when I'm there," He nodded, and after he grabbed his stuff, we jumped into his car and drove silently.
We almost missed the small dirt path that lead to their home but after a short bumpy and muddy ride, the path turned into a neat gravel driveway.
The house was quite spectacular and stood tall amongst the trees. It wasn't too different from the house in the movies, with glass and wood incorporated into the design so that it almost blended into the nature.
We stepped out of the car and I craned my neck upwards, looking through all the glass windows and trying to guess which room was what.
The door opened before Liam could knock and Esme opened up, giving us a slightly surprised smile.
"Hello Mrs Cullen, sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if it was okay to drop Amani off a little earlier than planned?" It was quite fun to see other people become flustered around the Cullens. Poor Liam was blushing so hard.
"Of course, that's more than okay," I climbed up the stairs to properly greet her.
"Thank you Mrs Cullen, I'm Amani," I held my hand out to her for her to shake but she surprised me by ignoring it and instead pulling me in for a hug.
"It's great to finally meet you Amani, please, call me Esme," I was shocked by the amount of sincerity and sentimentality in her greeting, but I brushed it off.
"Will you be coming inside?" She asked Liam. He shook his head and explained he was going to work. After promising to call him when I was done, he soon drove off and I headed inside with Esme.
"Unfortunately it's just me home at the moment, so I'm not sure what you'd like to do," She sounded a little nervous as she took my jacket and hung it up. I slipped off my shoes too, out of habit.
"That's fine, I was just bored at home. Can I help you with anything?" I asked. She looked thoughtful for a second.
"How about lunch? Did you eat at home?" I shook my head and we both headed into the kitchen.
"I have to say, it's a beautiful home you have Esme. I really like how the wood and glass exterior really make the house blend into the forest," I commented. She beamed.
"Thank you Amani. I designed it a while ago and I just had to incorporate the forest into it," She explained.
Talking to Esme was easy and comfortable. She was so kind and compassionate that it almost hurt. It reminded me of my own mother, her face already feeling a little blurry. I could hear her voice and smell her but that was it. My memories from my old life already felt so distant and unclear.
Well, most of them anyways.
Some of them I could recall in perfect clarity and I hated it.
I quickly brushed off those thoughts as I focused on stirring the pasta sauce.
I could think about that another day, but today, I was focusing on Alice and her past.
