Chapter Four
Willow's POV
I open my eyes to a bright light over my head. At first, there's no sound, but then I can hear the beeping of one of those heart monitors. Then I realize everything hurts. "Ugggh, my head," I mumble, referring to what hurts the most. At a quick glance, I appear to be lying in a bed in a hospital room.
I hear a laugh in a perfect voice that is very familiar. Edward's. "Yeah, you cracked your head pretty hard. No concussion, though," he says.
I struggle to sit up, and see him sitting right next to me. "How long have I been out?" I ask.
"Only a few hours," he says. "Although, I'm afraid I'm going to have to inform you that you did not, in fact, dream that you made a van explode."
I cover my face with my hands, and feel several bandages there. "Why are you here?" I ask. "I thought you didn't like me."
"It's very hard to stay away from you, Willow," he says. "I'm not good for you," he adds quietly.
"Oooh, bad boy," I say sarcastically, and he laughs. This time, the laugh seems more real.
"Am I going crazy?" I say, sitting up. "I mean, I did shoot something from my hands."
"I don't know," he says. "But you totaled Tyler's van, at least."
"That isn't funny. I feel terrible about that." A pause. "Is he okay?"
"He's fine. Shocked, obviously, but okay."
"What are they saying I did to the van?"
He sighs. "That-is harder to cover up. I think...people are just playing it off as a busted tailpipe or something, but there are some people that saw it."
"Are you scared of me?" This time, he really laughs.
"That's good. It is really you that should be scared of me, Willow Swan." I don't know what to make of that, and I'm about to change the subject when a doctor walks in. He's in his twenties, and has blonde hair. His eyes are gold, exactly like Edward's, and his skin is just as pale.
"Willow, this is my father, Dr. Cullen," Edward says, and I kind of half-smile at him. Even my face hurts.
"Hi," I say. "It's nice to meet you, Dr. Cullen."
He smiles back. "Just Carlisle is fine, Willow," he says. "How is your head?" he asks.
"Fine," I say automatically. "I mean, it hurts, obviously, but not too bad."
"That's good," he says. "Well, if you really are feeling better, I suppose we can let you go. Your father and sister are waiting in the front room."
"Thank you," I say, swinging my legs over the side of the bed.
"You're very welcome," he says, and walks back out. Edward watches him go, and then turns back to me.
I stand up carefully, and he catches me when I lose my balance. I notice immediately his hands are very cold. Our eyes meet briefly, and I feel my heart flutter. It's only for a moment, though, and then he lets me go. Right as I'm about to leave, I turn back to him. "How were you there, at the cars?" I say.
"What?" he asks, but I know he knows what I mean.
"At the cars. First, you were halfway across the parking lot, and then you were over there. Also, if you would have intervened, you could have died. Why do that?"
An angry look flashes across his face. "I was over there when the incident happened, and as for the saving, I guess that was just instinct. It obviously seems as though you can save yourself just fine," he says, and turns to leave.
"Wait!" I say. He turns back.
"I don't care about how you got over there. I mean, I can shoot blue light from my hands. I just want to know why you would risk your life for me. You barely know me."
He's quiet for a moment. "Believe it or not, I care about you very much, Willow," he says quietly, and then he leaves.
I stand in the empty room for a moment, mulling over his words. I'm not good enough for him. He could have any girl he wants, like my sister, or any other pretty popular girl. Why choose me?
I walk nervously out into the waiting room, where I see Charlie and Bella sitting and waiting. Charlie glances up and sees me, and relief washes across his face. "Willow, thank god," he says, and gets up, hugging me. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, dad, I'm fine," I say, awkwardly hugging him back. "Nothing serious."
He stands back, putting his hands on my shoulders. "Are you sure? They said there was some kind of explosion."
The memory of the flash and the smoking van door comes back to me, and the room swims, but I manage to keep it together. "No, that's just an exaggeration, dad. It was just a little accident and a busted tailpipe. The truck isn't even damaged or anything, I don't think," I say, still a little shaken up.
He nods and smiles, still obviously relieved, and goes to sign the discharge papers. I walk over to Bella. "Are you okay?" I ask.
She looks up, and I realize she's been crying. "No. We could have died. I-don't know what happened. One minute, we were just standing there, and the next, I was in Edward's arms, and you were passed out on the ground. He-he was going to save our lives," she says wistfully. "When he caught me, I thought it was going to be just like a fairytale, but then he put me down and went over to you," she says, frowning at me.
"I was unconscious, it was probably just instinctive," I say, not wanting to anger her.
"You were fine," she mumbles.
"So were you," I say back.
We get to miss the rest of the school day. I wouldn't want to go back anyway; I don't think I ever will. I try to block out thoughts of the light bursting out of my hands as I take a shower, letting the water run over me until it's cold and I'm forced to get out. I walk back to my room, my hands shaking, not quite sure what to do with myself. I sit down at the desk, and see the familiar pile of blank paper and my arsenal of art supplies: paints, pencils, paintbrushes.
Without really thinking about it, I pick up a piece of paper and begin drawing. I draw until I hear a knock at my door. "Willow? Are you going to make dinner?" It's Bella.
"Uh, yeah, just a minute," I say, holding up my finished painting. It's of two people, sitting in a meadow at sunset. The girl has golden hair pulled back into a braid with flowers in it, and the boy has messy bronze hair and has his arm around the girl. Without even realizing it, I've made the boy's skin a shade paler than normal. Feeling strange, I put the painting down on the desk to dry and go downstairs to make dinner.
The next day, I walk into school with my eyes on the ground and Bella next to me. "Everyone's looking at us," she says. "Geez, Willow, you could have at least made yourself more presentable."
"Shut up, Bella," I mumble, and turn to go to Calculus, the stares following me as I go.
At lunch, I glance up as I always do at the Cullen's table to look for Edward, but he's not there. My heart plummets, and I make my way over to the table where Bella is, going on and on about how Edward caught her in the parking lot.
"Willow?" comes Angela's voice. I glance up, and she's pointing behind me. "I think Edward wants you to come sit with him."
Sure enough, he's sitting at a table across the lunchroom, and raises his hand at me. I get up, slowly, and point at myself, incredulous. He nods, and I glance back at the other kids, who have gone speechless. Bella's face is a mask of surprised anger. "I guess I'll go see what he wants," I say, and walk over, taking my food with me.
"Good afternoon, Willow," he says, and I sit down, feeling slightly faint. Boys this gorgeous don't speak to me. Ever.
"Hi," is all I can manage to say. "What do you want from me?" I ask.
"Just your company, that's all," he says.
"No, really, what do you want?"
He laughs. "I gave up trying to stay away from you, so I figured you could sit with me." He glances back at my previous table. "Although, it does seem to make your friends very jealous."
I wring my hands. "Don't do this," I say. "If Bella doesn't get what she wants-I'm just saying, it's not pretty. I mean, why me? I'm just-me," I say. "Why not her? Why not literally any other girl here?"
"Willow, you are worth a lot more than you give yourself credit for," he says. "And as for your sister, I wouldn't worry about it."
"You know, I've been trying to figure out what you are," I say.
"What I am?" he says, and I can hear the laugh hiding under his voice. "What exactly do you think about that?"
"I'm not sure yet," I say quietly. I glance at the clock. "The bell's about to ring. Are you coming to class today?"
He smiles again. "Actually, no, Alice and I are leaving early today," he says, just as the short dark-haired girl walks up behind him.
"Hi, Willow," she says in a bell voice.
"Hi, Alice," I say. "Well, have fun, whatever you're doing," I say, and get up.
"Bye, Willow," he says, and I wave back, still completely bewildered that he would even want to talk to me.
That day in Biology, we have to do blood typing. He's lucky he missed out, there's blood everywhere. I don't have much of an issue with blood, so I'm fine when I'm handed the needle to prick my finger, but I can't keep my thoughts off of Edward. He's just...very strange. He thinks he has the strength to stop cars, his skin is ice cold and pale, and the one time he leaves early is the day we're blood typing. I stick my finger, watching the blood form a tiny bubble on my fingertip, and then it hits me.
I jerk in my seat. "I know what he is!" I shout, and everyone stares at me, but I can barely feel their gazes.