Sunset Chapter 4: (Phenomenon) When science is actually useful and the angst train crashes
The next morning, I woke up slightly confused. Light was coming in from my window, which was not very common. Since it was almost always cloudy, most of the time the sun didn't bother making an appearance.
Getting up and going to the window, I looked out in delight. Snow had covered the yard while I had slept, letting everything become a winter wonderland. My amazement soon fell away to horror when I realized what day it was. Today was the day of the car accident.
I unconsciously got ready as I thought over any plans that I could make. I spent a good bit of time trying to remember everything about today and finding ways to stop Bella from being hurt without changing the timeline too much. Some were stupid and would never work while others were actually more plausible.
It was funny (not really) how it was easy for me to think (and avoid thinking) about the accident when it was so far away. Now that the day had come, however, I was a nervous mess.
"Pick a plan, stick to it," I repeated to myself as I thought through all of the different scenarios that could happen.
Deciding to pull my hair in a ponytail today so that it could stay out of my way, I finally looked at my outfit. Black converse, blue jeans, and a tan shirt with "Hollywood California" written on it in a dark blue. I was actually glad that I had chosen this as the shirt was older and I wouldn't mind getting (blood) anything on it if something went wrong. It was comfy and I could move easily in it too (if I needed to move quickly), a plus.
Dad was already gone by the time Bella and I were up. I felt a little sick so I didn't end up eating anything for breakfast. I guess I was acting odd because Bella kept sending me weird looks. The looks increased when I asked to drive today. I was glad that I had dismissed my idea of forcing Bella to miss school all together.
My sister raised an eyebrow. "Okay, what's going on?"
"Nothing," I waved her off with a fake smile, "I just know that you probably don't want to drive with the ice and all. I don't mind."
"…Alright, I guess," she said as she handed me the keys. I let out a breath when her back was turned. Maybe I could get through with this after all.
We both carefully made our way down the icy driveway and I avoided making a joke about both of our lack of balance. I even managed to catch Bella before she ripped off the side mirror.
As I drove to school, I distracted myself by focusing on the road, only making light conversation with Bella. I know she was trying to avoid thinking bad thoughts as well, even if they were different ones. The truck, thankfully, was doing fine with the roads even as I drove slowly. I mentally thanked Dad for the snow chains.
Once we got to the school, I made my way over to an area that Bella normally didn't park in. My plan was that since we tended to park in the same area, if I went somewhere slightly different, we would be out of the way of danger. Bella barely noticed and I assumed she had finally seen what Dad did with the truck.
Once Bella got out, I took a second to myself. Taking a few deep breaths to calm myself, I got out of the cab. Stepping out, I had to grab the bed of the truck so to not fall. Seems that the parking space, just like the rest of the parking lot, was covered in ice. For a minute I wished I had grabbed more than just my jacket to keep me warm (which was still in my bag in the car). Carefully, I made my way over to Bella, who seemed to be having a moment with the tires.
A high-pitched screech sounded out and I almost (ironically (no)) froze as I spotted the out-of-control car heading toward us.
"No, no, no!" was the only thought I had as the adrenaline hit me. Bella was right, everything seemed to be happening in fast forward. Hurriedly reaching out, I grabbed Bella's arm in an attempt to pull her away from the back of the truck. Several things seemed to happen at once.
I pulled with all of my might and Bella appeared to skate towards me. I might have put too much strength as the ice slide her past me and a car down. Her lack of balance added with the ice, it was no surprise when she fell. I thought I could hear the light "thud" of her head hitting the ground as she skidded another half-car length. Half of me was worried about her head injury while the other held relief that she was far enough away to be safe.
Everything turned to fear in a second when I realized what had happened. My momentum on the ice had catapulted me into where my sister was just standing. Meaning I was about to be hit. Adding to that, when I tried to stop myself, I just ended up throwing myself towards the ground.
Motherfucker, I should have taken physics.
When I hit the ground, pain exploded in my left shoulder. I couldn't tell if it was a "pop" or a "crack," but either way, my vision might have blackened for a few seconds.
Holy – Did I break it? Of all of the –
All of that happened in the span of a few seconds as the van was still coming towards me. All I could do was lay on the ice (cold, it was so cold on my skin) as I tried not to cry (from pain or fear? Both?). I distantly wondered if it would hurt to die or if it would be almost instant. Twice I would die at seventeen. Would it be anything like the first time (would I remember?)?
Suddenly something solid was pinning me to the ground. Two petite, pale hands shot out and the van shuddered to a stop a foot from my face, the small hands creating a deep dent into the dark blue vehicle. Her hands blurred as she grabbed me, moving my legs so that the van wouldn't crush them when it landed exactly where they were moments ago.
Almost dream-like, I looked over to Bella. Edward seemed to be making sure she stayed down. Good, no need to hurt herself further. Edward looked over, seeming more worried than I had ever seen him.
A cold (man it was cold, was I still on the ice?) (no, not as bad, nice cold) hand had grabbed my face and pushed it so I was facing her. Alice was sitting above me and looked anxious. It was then I realized she was talking to me.
"Emma? Emmie? Can you hear me?" Emmie? No one had ever called me that before except my Dad. I kind of liked it.
"Hey… Alice. I'm okay… I think I'm in shock." My words seemed to relieve her somewhat. The words felt kind of heavy, like fog. Was fog heavy? Thick?
"Hey, I need you to look at me." Yes, don't wonder. Look at the pretty girl.
"Your pretty," I muttered. Alice seemed to want to laugh. I wish I could hear her laugh. Would it be as wonderful as Jasper's?
"I think you have a concussion and your arm is messed up a bit. An ambulance is on its way, okay? I just need you to stay awake for me? Can you do that sweetheart?" Sweetheart? I liked that one too. I really must have hit my head.
"That makes sense… thanks for saving me…"
A beat of silence (more, less?) (not silence there was yelling). It was loud (the yelling, the silence) (how was silence loud?).
"I'm just glad that Edward and I were right next to you two." Alice's smile was a little tight as she looked over my head. Bella must be arguing with Edward.
I went to go nod but Alice's hand stopped me. A second later I understood why that was not a good idea. More thanks to Alice.
"Yeah… good for – Are you okay?" I asked suddenly worried (why was I worried?). Alice seemed confused (me too).
"Why wouldn't I be?" It came to me why I was bothered.
"The blood…" Alice stiffened (was it my words, was it Mike, was it me), "Mike – the window glass – sorry, I –" suddenly I forgot what I was talking about.
"…What was I saying?" I asked.
Alice (I think it was her) (of course it was her, of course) seemed to have disappeared. Was I the cause or did it (what was it again?) get to her finally? Was she even here (yes, no, YES)?
I don't remember much of what happened between getting off the ice and being put onto the stretcher. I think I blacked out again. I tried to find Alice and Edward but Alice seemed to have vanished all together. Edward was making sure they kept Bella on the gurney. I didn't have the energy to fight it and didn't really want to. Alice wanted me to go with them so I would. I think I needed the help anyway.
Dad arrived before they could leave. He saw Bella first and went over to her in a panic. He seemed to realize that I was on the other stretcher and ran over.
"Emma, it will be alright. They are going to take you to the hospital. I'll be there a soon as I can."
"Hi Dad… love you" I made out. That just seemed to make him want to cry more.
"I love you too, honey." Then he pushed gently away by an EMT.
All of the noise around me seemed to be fading in and out. I could make out the Cullens looking over from a distance. Rosalie and Emmett seemed to both look angry. Surprisingly, they also seemed a little concerned. Jasper was gone. Most likely with Alice, wherever they were.
I started feeling better as we drove to the hospital. By "better" I meant that I stopped almost passing out and started feeling more pain in my arm.
Bella and I ended up in beds next to each other while the staff ran around a bit. Tyler Crowley was finally brought into the bed on the other side of Bella a few minutes later.
"Bella, Emma, I'm so sorry!"
"I'm fine, Tyler – you look awful, are you all right?"
I didn't bother to answer, hoping that he would forget about me. It seemed to work.
As they spoke, nurses began unwinding his bloody bandages, exposing the shallow cuts all over his forehead and left cheek.
He ignored her. "I thought I was going to kill you! I was going too fast, and I hit the ice wrong..." He winced as one nurse started dabbing at his face.
"Don't worry about it; you missed us."
"How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there, and then you were gone..."
"Umm... Edward pulled us out of the way." Well, Bells I actually pulled you but whatever. Also, what about Alice? Did Bella not see her?
He looked confused. "Who?"
"Edward Cullen – he was standing next to us," I finally said. Bella nodded but looked like she wanted to question me.
"Cullen? I didn't see him... wow, it was all so fast, I guess. Is he okay?"
"I think so. Edward's here somewhere, but they didn't make him use a stretcher."
They wheeled me away then, to X-ray my head and shoulder. Alice was right. They said I had a concussion and a dislocated shoulder. They quickly put my shoulder back into place and I was glad when the pain lessened afterwards. They wanted me to wait for a doctor but I was sure that I would probably be let go in a bit.
Now trapped in the ER, we waited, harassed by Tyler's constant apologies to make it up to us. I refused to talk to him and he seemed to turn all of his guilt to Bella. My head seemed to get better the longer I rested and they had given me a sling to take the weight off my arm. They had also given me a few painkillers and I assumed I would have to continue to use them until my shoulder got better. I sighed as I thought about all of the time it would talk for me to get back to normal.
After about half an hour, Edward came in quietly. I gave him a small wave with my non-injured arm and got a hesitant one back. I had nothing against Edward really, and though I didn't agree with everything he did, I wanted to be his friend too. That wouldn't stop me from telling him how I really felt when he messed up. I was really glad that he was there for my sister today.
He seemed pleased the longer I thought. Good, got my message across. Turning his attention to Bella, he smirked.
"Is she sleeping?" He asked. Her eyes flew open from where she was pretending to sleep and she glared at him. Rude much, he helped save you.
"Hey, Edward, I'm really sorry –" Tyler began.
Edward lifted a hand to stop him.
"No blood, no foul," he said, flashing his gleaming teeth. He moved to sit on the edge of Tyler's bed and smirked again.
"So, what's the verdict?" he asked, eyes on Bella.
"There's nothing wrong with me at all, but they won't let me go," Bella complained. "How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?"
"It's all about who you know," he answered. "But don't worry, I came to spring you."
When Carlisle came out from around the corner, I was proud that I could control my reaction. He was as good looking as the rest of them, as pale too. His blonde hair and young face made me see why the nurses would have a hard time around him. I knew he would never leave his wife though.
Even if I didn't know him, I could tell by the way he looked at his son. Love seemed to radiate off him and even though I loved my dad, I wouldn't mind having Carlisle fill that role. He just seemed very fatherly in this moment. Edward shifted towards the area between Bella and I.
"So, Miss Swan," Dr. Cullen said to me, "how are you feeling?"
"Better," I replied, "My head and my arm is in less pain with the medicine the nurses gave me."
Doctor Cullen nodded as he looked at my x-rays on the board. He told me that I would have to take some medicine for a while and would speak to my Dad about it. Thankfully, after checking my head, he said that I would be fine to go.
Then he turned to Bella.
"Your X-rays look good," he said. "Does your head hurt? Edward said you hit it pretty hard."
"It's fine," She repeated with a sigh, throwing a quick scowl toward Edward.
He checked her head and we had the "tender head" exchange.
"Well, your father is in the waiting room – you can both go home with him now. But come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all."
"Can't I go back to school?" Bella asked.
"Maybe you should take it easy today."
She glanced at Edward. "Does he get to go to school?"
"Someone has to spread the good news that we survived," Edward said smugly.
"Actually," Dr. Cullen corrected, "most of the school seems to be in the waiting room."
"Oh no," She moaned, covering her face. I made a face, not too happy with that myself.
Dr. Cullen raised his eyebrows. "Do you want to stay?"
"No, no!" She insisted, throwing her legs over the side of the bed and hopping down quickly. Of course, she staggered, and Dr. Cullen caught her. He looked concerned.
"I'm fine," She assured him again.
I got missed some of the exchange as I got out of my own bed, going slowly to make sure that I wouldn't aggravate my injuries.
"It sounds like you were both extremely lucky," Dr. Cullen said, smiling as he signed our charts off.
"Lucky Edward happened to be standing next to me," Bella amended with a hard glance.
"And Alice, she did a lot to save me," I added quietly, making sure that Tyler and Bella wouldn't be able to hear.
"Oh, well, yes," Dr. Cullen agreed, suddenly occupied with the papers in front of him. Then he looked away towards Tyler and walked to the next bed. I quietly let out a laugh, not loud enough for Bella or Tyler to hear but I'm sure the other two could.
"I'm afraid that you'll have to stay with us just a little bit longer," he said to Tyler, and began checking his cuts.
As soon as the doctor's back was turned, Bella moved to Edward's side.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" She hissed under her breath. He took a step back from her, his jaw suddenly clenched. I left right before their fighting could get worse. I wasn't needed here.
Trying to make my way around the hospital was actually more difficult than I imagined it to be. I think I passed the same hallway three times before I decided it was time to ask for directions. Reaching another intersection, I found someone I wasn't expecting.
"Jasper?" I questioned as I saw the honey-blonde. I must have surprised him as he almost jumped and turned around quickly. Behind him were two others. "Rosalie, Emmett. What are you all doing here?"
Rosalie crossed her arms and gave me something that was a little less than a glare. Emmett had a hand on Rosalie's shoulder but seemed to be happy to see me. Jasper seemed to not know whether to be relieved, angry, or scared. He chose angry.
"What the hell, Emma. Why would you do something like that? You were nearly killed."
"I…" What was I to say? I'm sorry? I don't know why but I started to get mad. "It's not like I chose to almost get hit, Jasper. You should ask Crowley why he thought driving like that was a good idea."
His face turned apologetic and my anger disappeared. He must have been projecting.
"I know. I'm sorry, I just… I didn't want to lose you. You're one of the only people besides my family that I can call a friend." Oh. Wow.
I relaxed myself the best I could and slowly reached out. When he didn't make a move to pull away, I gave him a hug. I tried to ignore Rosalie and Emmett but it was still awkward with my arm.
"Lets just both be glad that Alice and Edward were so close to Bella and I. Otherwise things could have been worse." A lot worse. We both pulled back.
"Tell her thank you, will you? And Edward too," I said. Guilt hit me when I realized that I had the chance to tell him to his face but was too nervous. "I should have done it earlier but… I was a little out of it." Excuses. "Make sure Alice is alright for me? She ran off earlier."
"Of course." Jasper's mood changed. "I think you should go find your dad, he must be worried for you." He then gave me some directions to get back to the waiting room. I didn't stick around long enough after that to see what the problem was. It probably had something to do with me or Bella and if so, it would be best if I was absent from the scene. It was only later I realized that I had never told him I was lost.
Using Jasper's directions, I was quickly able to make my way to the exit. I almost facepalmed when I realized that it was right off the room I had started in.
Making my way through the crowd was harder than I liked but they stayed back when they realized my arm was in a sling. Dad quickly rushed to my side when he saw me.
"The doctor gave me your medicine and told me you'll probably be fine to sleep by tonight. Bella is already in the car. You ready to head out?"
"Let's go," I urged, not wanting to stay with all of the people. Dad lead me to the exit as I waved off Jessica and the others. Once we got to the car, Dad gave me a hug, making sure to watch for my arm. I sunk into his hold.
"Don't ever do that again," He muttered into my hair.
"No promises, but I'll try."
When we got to the house, Charlie finally gave the bad news.
"Um... you'll need to call Renée." He hung his head, guilty.
Bella was appalled. "You told Mom!"
"Sorry."
I just sighed. It would be a long phone call.
My mom was in hysterics, of course. I didn't blame her. With the phone on speaker, we spent a while calming her down. She begged us to come "home" – forgetting the fact that she was not even at the house. Unknowing that Forks was my home, that it would become Bella's in only a few months or less. Her requests were easily denied by the both of us.
While Bella went to bed early, I stayed up later in order to make sure that my head would be okay. Dad was more hovering than I had ever seen him. I didn't mind as much as Bella, knowing that he only loved us. He was trying to show that he cared. It was sweet.
Later that night I struggled to sleep, too many thoughts in my head. Once I started making connections, I couldn't stop.
Was that why Alice saved me and why she looked so scared? Why Jasper was angry that I put myself in danger? Because they cared? But why? I could see them only wanting to know me because of Bella but there was no reason to be so nice. To get to know me past a "Hello" and "Goodbye." To look so worried about my injuries. To care about me because of me.
I didn't deserve that. Especially because I put myself into this situation. I knew what would happen today and I made the choice to throw myself into harm's way.
I could have skipped school or gotten away but I stayed for Bella. Who was fine while I was hurt. Who could shake it off and dream of Edward while I woke up in the middle of the night, night after night. Nightmare after nightmare of what could have happened if Alice hadn't intervened. Who was more concerned about theories of the Cullen's supernatural abilities while I worried about my arm and making sure I could get it back to normal.
It was alright though. I chose this. I could live through it fine. I just had to focus on Bella. Keep her safe the best I can. Hope that the Cullens see that she is the one who they need to focus on. She was the one who was worth it. I don't matter. Not with them. And as much as I pretended, I never would.
Author's Note:
Happy Fathers Day! There are a few things I've decided to go over in this chapter, starting with the actual chapter itself.
So the beginning of this I am SO proud of, I loved the potential in the car crash scene and knew exactly where I was going with it. I honestly love what I wrote. Then I got to the hospital and had no clue what to do. Tried to have a conversation but that was cut short. Emma never really knew why but I imagine that Edward was coming over, mad because of Bella and Jasper wanted her out of there so they could deal with him. Also I think that Alice would have gone off to hide/hunt in the woods because otherwise she would have been all protective over Emma and/or try to kill Tyler (for many reasons). Both of those things would have been not so good in this current situation.
That end though? The one you just read? No clue what happened there. I had no plan for the end, nothing, and then Emma busted through my wall riding the angst train and I didn't even realized until I was reading it back over. Emma. HONEY STOP. I didn't plan for you to be so down on yourself, I SWEAR.
The second thing I wanted to mention was the absolutely wonderful comments you are all giving me. I just want to thank you all so much for your support! In light of all of the questions you guys have about powers, I thought I would give some more details. I was going to wait until we reached the "reveal of the vampires" part, but I haven't even gotten that far in writing yet so I am just going to do it now.
Emma is not a shield, but she does have a power. Jasper's powers work like normal. Alice's powers do too but she does not know about Emma's past life or that Emma knows future events. Alice can only see the future (not the past) so she can see the choices people will make/are making but she might not know WHY they make those choices (like if, for instance, they know the future). I tried to hint at this during the cafeteria scene during the "first sight," but Edward can read Emma's mind. Neither of them know this yet, but Edward can not read Emma's mind when she is thinking about Future events. He can know about them after they happen or during (but that's a little grey) but not before. When that happens, it is like static on a TV.
Now, Emma's real power I don't really have a name for yet but I'm calling it a "Masker" or "Cloak" right now (if you guys have any suggestions, leave them in the comments). It's like the opposite of a Tracker, like James is. When/if she becomes a vampire, Emma will have the ability to hide scents from other vampires. Right now, Emma can only hide her own scent and this is part of the reason why the Cullens have an easier time around her than other humans. I don't have the fine details right now, but that's ok (especially when Meyer plays fast and loose with her own world half of the time).
Last thing, I am hoping to reveal that Emma knows the future, but I wasn't sure when it would be. Debating about if it would be right after they met James or if I would hold off until Eclipse or what. Let me know if you guys have a time you would like and I'll think about when I think would be the best time. Thanks for reading all of this, you all have a good week!
