Chapter 3: Nighttime Chat
A story written by Yellow Smoke
All right's belong to their rightfull owners
Year 1956
Willow almost felt comfortable in this place inbetween. It was like being asleep, but far more peaceful than the actual sleep. She couldn't hear anything, or see anything, she wasn't even sure it was a place, but it was a feeling of being content. There was no color, neither black or white, but she was wherever she was, although she couldn't see herself, but she could feel she was there. Her breathing was perfectly even, and her heart beated in a beautiful tune, only meant for her to hear. In general everything was perfect, mostly because there was nothing, and Willow almost considered staying there forever.
But while she felt peaceful and asleep, the world around her was chaotic. She thankfully, was spared for the ordeal.
But outside Leavenworth highschool, she was laying on the ground, with her eyes closed, as though she had chosen to sleep on the road. No blood had been spilled, and there was no indication that she had been in an accident, unless you looked at her surroundings. Someone had however placed a coat underneath her head, while her hair had unravelled from her neatly styled hair, and honey colored curls were framing her face.
Just beside her a white car was parked, in the middle of the road, with a large dent in the front, which no one could explain. Black tire marks could be seen behind it, due to the force it had been stopped with, and the driver was standing beside it. A man in his fifties, who hadn't seen the girl before it was too late, and now he was watching nervously as they waited for the ambulance.
Alle while Mr. Chapman, the cold teacher from history, was trying to awaken Willow, but with little success. He had clearly tried to shake her gently, and pat his hands against her cheeks, but none of it seemed to work, and so at last he had clearly given up, while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.
And surrounding Willow and the car, half of the school was standing, watching nervously. No one really knew what had happened, but everyone was gossiping, whispering to one another, and everyone claimed they had seen something. Willow was perhaps suicidal? Or had someone scared her? Was she perhaps a russian spy, sent to their little town, who had been discovered? No one knew, but in the center of it all was Sharon, who with fake tears in her eyes told everyone how the new girl had stormed out of the canteen, clearly in distress. And several people were trying to comfort her, mostly due to her popularity.
Willow could only be thankful she wasn't awake, or she would have died from embarrassment.
It only took seven minutes for the ambulance to arrive, but those seven minutes felt like agony to most of those around Willow, and especially Mr. Chapman, who desperately tried to awaken her. The most ridiculous thing about the ambulance however, was the fact that anyone could have picked Willow up, and gotten her to the small cottage hospital faster than any ambulance. But no one thought so far, and the only ones who did were five people, all with golden eyes, who started from a small distance.
Edward Cullen had been the first one on the scene, while his siblings alerted the school, and got help. No one actually knew that Edward Cullen hadn't just watched, but prevented a far worse accident, and no one would know, as dear Mr. Chapman quickly had arrived, and had taken over.
But it was in silence Willow had been loaded onto the stretcher, before she had been placed inside the ambulance. No one could really explain why Edward Cullen was allowed to ride with the ambulance to the hospital. Some guessed he had been injured himself, or he suffered from shock, being the first one on the scene, but no matter what Edward Cullen had gotten a ride on the ambulance, although it was short, as Willow quickly was unloaded at the hospital.
Willow wasn't going to recall any of it, of how she had been wheeled into the hospital, only to be placed on a bed, before cold hands began to look her over, while hushed words were exchanged. But Willow was too far away to know of any of it, as she rested in her peaceful sleep. If only she had been awake she would have known what kind of plot was being planned against her, but instead she was whisked away, to a place of peace and silence.
It was almost like swimming in a river. She was just lying in the water, her whole body underneath the waters blanket of comfort, and only her head was above to get air, while her ear was underneath, listening to the waters' own music.
Willow had never felt this calm before, but even the best of sleeps ended at some point, and in this case it was Aunt Patricia's high pitched voice that seemed to do the trick.
"I don't understand, how could this happen? And on her first day?" Willow heard someone say, far away, but the high sounds seemed to drag her out of the water somehow, reminding her she couldn't stay there forever.
"My best guess, Mrs. Quin, would be all of it got a bit too stressful for her," a smooth velvet voice replied, and the voice itself was like honey, slowly dragging her back into the river.
"Oh god is she going to be okay?" Patricia's horrible voice said loudly, as it made Willow filch slightly, once more dragging her back to the real world. "God Frank… she has only been here for one day, and she is already at the hospital!" she screeched, rather quickly bringing Willow back to the world of the living, which was hell compared to the heaven Willow had been allowed to rest in.
And slowly Willow began to feel her body once more, although her mind felt slightly groggy, heavy and clouded, as though she still was underneath the water at that far away place in her mind. But she could feel her fingers, her toes, all while her arms started to tingle, and she felt herself move her fingers just slightly, as if to check if they still were working.
"Jezz, Patsy, it's not like it's our fault you know," Willow heard a familiar voice say, and if Patricia's terrified loud voice hadn't brought her back to life, Frank's uncaring dark voice would have.
And so she opened her eyes slowly, while she blinked, trying to adjust to the sharp light's above her, which shone ever so brightly into her tired eyes. If she had the strength, she would have raised her hand to shield her eyes against it, but slowly her eyes seemed to adjust, but before she had a chance to check her surroundings, she managed to groan in confusion, which sent the whole room into a state of worry. Mostly because of her Aunt Patricia.
"Oh god, you're awake!" she exclaimed, clearly surprised, as she rushed over to Willow's side, and blocked the lights as all Willow now could see was her aunt's worried narrow face, while her dead like grey eyes stared into hers, filled with worry and confusion. "how are you, what happened, do you feel any pain?" she began to question, as she touched her face lightly, clearly far too worried, or at least Frank thought so.
"Give her some room to breathe," he told, and Willow couldn't help but notice that this man never seemed to worry about anything. Was it even possible for him to worry or show emotions?
But Willow felt far too confused at this moment to say much, except starring rather confused at her Aunt, because where was she even? All she knew at this point was that she was in a bed of sorts, at least her body told her that, and her Aunt seemed worried, while a bright light was shining above her head.
"Oh hush Frank," Patricia told him, and slowly Willow turned her head to look at her uncle as well, still as confused as before. She couldn't help but notice that he was standing as far away from her as possible, leaning against the window still, wearing his police uniform. And Willow wondered if he still was at work. She sure as hell could see he wasn't too pleased, although she couldn't see what there was to be so angry about.
"Don't tell me to hush, you are the one hovering above her," Frank told her back, as he crossed his arms above his chest, but before Willow could try to figure out where she was, Patricia grabbed her face, turning her head back. Making her stare into her grey eyes once more. "How are you feeling dear?" she asked worried.
But Willow couldn't at this point tell how she felt, unless confused was a word, and she was far more focused on other things at the moment, like her whereabouts. All while her mind remained slightly foggy, like there was a cloud between her and the rest of the world.
"Where… where am i?" Willow muttered in a rather weak voice, as she stared up at her aunt, unsure what was going on at all. Had she been sick? Because this surely wasn't her pink bedroom at their house. From what she could gather both the ceiling and walls were white here.
But her question only seemed to worry Patricia, as she stared frightened at her for a second, before turning her face toward the side, clearly speaking to someone else.
"Is she suffering from amnesia?" she asked someone, her voice terrified.
Willow turned her head, to find out whom she was talking to, and for a moment Willow was almost sure she was dead, and an angel was here to fly her off. Because the strange man was without a doubt handsome. With blonde hair, which most of all reminded Willow of a cornfield on a summer day, and what seemed to be golden eyes. For a moment Willow almost thought these eyes seemed familiar, as though she had seen them before. But that thought quickly vanished in her tired mind, as she realized he was wearing a doctor coat of sorts… which never had suited anyone better than it had suited him. Although strangely enough, his coat and skin color were almost the same.
"I doubt it Mrs. Quinn, but i gave her quiet a strong dose of painkillers, which might make her slightly confused at the moment," the strange doctor said, as he walked closer, staring at Willow, while her aunt amaticly seemed to get up from her bedside, making space for the handsome doctor to stand at her bedside. "Good afternoon Miss Cross, you took quite a hit today by that car," he told her with a small smile, making it clear everything was just fine, and Willow felt almost hypnotised by his eyes.
She however noticed the doctor had cold hands as he carefully took her wrist, and gently placed his thumb against her pulse, clearly checking for something Willow wasn't going to understand.
"Where am i?" Willow repeated once more, although the answer was rather obvious at this point, but in her clouded mind she still hadn't connected the dots.
"You are at Leavenworth Cottage Hospital," the doctor answered, and flashed his rather white teeth at Willow for a moment. "I am going to be your doctor during your stay, and my name is Doctor Cullen," he informed her, and for some reason the name Cullen rang a bell somewhere to Willow, but she couldn't tell where. "Now, you took a rather hard hit, and have been given some pain killers. I suggest you rest while they get out of your system," Dr. Cullen told her, as he went down to the end of the bed, and began to write several things down on a chart, with his perfect handwriting. Which he did as though it was art, and not writing.
"Can we take her home now?" Willow heard her uncle say, but she no longer had the strength to look at Frank, as she felt how she got more tired for every second she stayed awake. What Willow didn't know was that an IV was connected to her arm, pumping her system full of drugs, and while her Aunt and Uncle had been too busy looking at her, they hadn't noticed the good doctor had given her an extra dose, to make sure she wouldn't be too awake.
Had Willow actually been awake, she would have jumped out of this bed already, well or not, and have stormed toward the exit as quickly as possible. There was nothing she hated more than hospitals, mostly due to the fact that more people seemed to be dead than alive, but in this drugged state she was in, she hadn't noticed much.
"I am afraid we can't discharge her before tomorrow. With the medicine we have given her I would like for her to stay under observation, and do a few test's tomorrow before she can be released," the good doctor's velvet voice said, while he seemed to eye Willow with a kind smile, as her eyes got even more heavy.
"What?!" she heard her uncle exclaim, clearly not off the same opinion as Dr. Cullen. "She can just sleep at home!" he argued, while she heard her Aunt hush her husband, clearly choosing to believe the doctor's words.
"It would be in her best interest to stay here while she is recovering," she heard Dr. Cullen defend his choice to keep her here. "But don't worry, you can both go home assured she is well taken care of, and we will call if anything happens. She is mostly just going to sleep," he told them, which Willow only could assume calmed her uncle and aunt somehow.
Because as he spoke her eyes closed for good, although a part of her wanted to stay awake, and beg Frank to take her home. A part of her mind knew it wasn't a good idea to stay at this place, that something was wrong… but before she could protest, she fell into a peaceful slumber, floating down the river once more.
And everything was once more fine, as the water rocked her forth and back, while all of her worries and problems slowly seemed to fade. For once she was given peace from all of the ghosts, her problems and fears, which made her want to stay forever. In this strange world there was no mother who had sent her away, or any father who had left her behind at a young age, there was just her and the river.
But while Willow stayed in the forever peaceful place, there was a small part of her that knew something was off. Inside herself she was caught in a small prison, with concrete walls around her, higher than herself, while she frustratedly screamed. Mostly because she knew she was in a dangerous position, and had seen things she wasn't supposed to see, and they knew.
She cursed herself however, for being so stupid. She shouldn't just have chosen to run out on the street, she should have been smart and tried to get away more efficiently and less panicked, but instead she had been hit by a car, and judging by the pretty Doctor, she was now on their territory, at their mercy.
And she was so drugged up that there was nothing she could do. She barely understood what she had seen, although it sure as hell hadn't been right. No amount of ghosts ever haunted such a small crowd, and some of them had been killed brutally, even fearing these people in death. Willow didn't really know much about this whole world of ghosts, because she had refrained from ever questioning any of it, but what she had witnessed was abnormal, even for someone who saw ghosts each day.
And suddenly she was no longer safe in the river, as it began to drag her down, and forced her head under water. What had been a loving rocking, turned into a deathgrip, as she felt how her lungs began to fill with water, while she screamed into the endless darkness, and her hands fought against the cold water, not that she had any chance to begin with. It was a force far bigger than her, and deep in her small concrete prison her mind was screaming at her to stop. Her dreams were separated into two layers, a part of now drowning in the water, while the other half was surrounded by walls, a place that was drier than any dessert. And she was left defenseless against both of her dreams, just like she was defenseless in reality as well.
This wasn't one of those dreams where she fought against the water, and reached the surface once more. Just like it wasn't one of those dreams where she broke down the walls, and reached outside. Because it wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare.
And as she reached the brink of death, when water was about to drown her forever, she was suddenly pulled out. Both of the water, as well as her own mental prison, and in an instant she opened her eyes once more.
It wasn't one of those moments where the person woke with a gasp, or sweat ran down their face. The only thing that indicated Willow had been having a nightmare, was how fast she opened her eyes, as her eyes looked up at the ceiling.
And although there was no heavy breath, Willow still decided to take a deep breath, as she just stared at the space above her, still too afraid to actually face the world. But she noticed the light above her had been turned off, while the only light in the room came from the side, illuminating the small space around her, while everything else remained dark, which suggested Willow had woken up in the middle of the night.
For a moment she truly wanted to believe she was in her own bed, in New York, but she knew that wasn't the case. She knew her mother had left her, but she also knew this wasn't her bed at her uncle's house. These sheets were far too clean and stiff to be hers, and the bed was actually softer than her own bed, not that Willow ever had liked a soft bed. It only confirmed the memories she already had today.
But the fact that it was dark outside soothed her, thinking no one would be by her side in the middle of the night, and she might actually be able to sneak out of this place. Willow was, truth to be told, just as clueless of where she should go, as before, but it wasn't going to stop her from getting away from this place. She couldn't tell what was wrong with those siblings, the Cullens, but she knew it wasn't safe to stay, and she knew that they knew something about her. They knew she had some kind of knowledge, and Willow would end up paying for that if she stayed.
But the fact that it was nighttime seemed to sooth her slightly, as she felt how her eyelids grew heavy, and she most of all wanted to sleep once more, as nothing seemed dangerous, but she nevertheless tried to force herself to stay awake for a bit.
And so slowly she sat up, feeling how her muscles and bones protested against the pressure, as she afterall had been hit by a car earlier the same day, but Willow managed to suppress a groan, as she got up into a sitting position.
She was just about to swing her legs out, when a voice made her turn her head towards the window, as she realized she wasn't alone.
"You are so hard to read, you know," a velvet voice said, which reminded Willow about silk, or honey that drizzled down. The voice was in no way scary, but actually rather inviting, if not calming… and it calmed Willow immensely, as she slowly turned her head she stared at the pale figure, sitting at the window.
She immediately knew who he was, and it was almost interesting how she couldn't have noticed him before, as his pale skin was a contrast to the dark room. Nevertheless Edward Cullen was patiently sitting in her dark hospital room, only lit up by the lamp at the nightstand, which seemed to be reflecting his bronze curls, that almost made it look as though he had a red crown upon his head.
His face and expression seemed calm, as he stared curiously at Willow, clearly not scared in the slightest, while Willow's heart seemed to remain calm as well, mostly due to her drugged sleepy state, as she under normal circumstances would have sent her screaming out of the room.
Because while he in himself presented something calm and perfect, his background didn't. Surrounding him were serverals ghosts, who all seemed to be staring at Willow as well, some of them trying to yell something to her, but the drugs were still in her system, and she could still not hear them, and had no desire too. Several of the ghosts were men, all dressed in suits of sorts, with blood flowing out of their necks, and down upon the floor. Willow had to admit none of them looked like nice men, but she was too tired to truly care about any of them, as she tried to hide a yawn.
But beside Edward Cullen, stood the same woman Willow had noticed before. The one with the same hair as him, whom he had to be related to somehow. She was pale as snow herself, and looked like someone who had been sick before she died, and while she tried to tell Willow something as well, she seemed far more calm about it, if not diplomatic.
"You are almost like a malfunctioning radio…" Edward told her, and once more brought her out of her own thoughts, as she looked at him, and she noticed he was looking rather curiously at her.
"I believe it's rather rude to refer to someone as an malfunctioning object," Willow muttered tiredly, not even thinking before she spoke, although it only seemed to amuse the god like statue, whose lips turned upward for just a second, as Edward Cullen smiled at her.
"I apologize for my manners," he simply said, although Willow could sense his apology wasn't that deep.
"Apology accepted…" Willow muttered, as she stared at the ghost's surrounding him, wondering what was wrong. She couldn't even recall why she had been scared of them, they couldn't even touch her, although something was wrong, but she couldn't recall what the problem was.
Instead she just stared tiredly at Edward, while he stared at her… clearly trying to figure something out, although Willow couldn't say she cared at the moment.
"It's strange… you are trying to hide something from me," Edward Cullen said, and once more brought Willow out of her thoughts, as she stared at his beautiful face, his brows scrunched up in frustration, a trait that almost made him seem normal.
"What have i said that makes you think i am trying to hide anything?" Willow asked confused, although she knew she was trying to hide something, and she wasn't supposed to tell… she just couldn't navigate in her own thoughts.
"I am pretty good at reading people… and there is something you know that you don't want me to know," Edward explained to her, although it sounded vague to Willow, and strange. "Why did you run out of that cafeteria?" Edward asked instead, as though the thought suddenly popped into his head, and he simply had to ask.
"I uhh… i got scared," Willow said without thinking, while she yawned once more, unsure what else to say except the truth, although she knew the truth would have consequences. But she was too tired to come up with some kind of lie, not that she ever had been a good liar.
"Scared of what?" Edward simply prompted, clearly not accepting her first answer, and Willow began to wonder if this was an interrogation. She was still too groggy and tired to realize how bizarre the whole situation was, another teenager trying to get answers from her in the middle of the night, at a hospital. In truth she didn't have to answer any of his questions, but she was too exhausted to even think of it.
"I would prefer not to tell…" Willow muttered, while she tried to come up with a good story… but there existed none. There was no good reason for running out in front of a car, unless she told the truth, which would lead her into more trouble.
"But i am asking you to tell me," Edward ordered, clearly not taking no for an answer, and his voice seemed so commanding to Willow, who at the moment simply wanted to follow, as though she had been cursed by a spell.
"I… i…" Willow almost stumbled over her own words, and she tried to figure out what the consequences of her words could be, but the drugs made her feel like she was floating on a sky, and she was far too tired to actually consider her choices. And her next words were said without much thought. "I ran away because you scared me… you and your siblings," Willow finally said, and swallowed hard, as she knew she should have said it… yet she had done so anyway.
And Edward seemed to stare into her eyes for a moment… thinking long and hard, almost as though he was trying to listen for something, but clearly found nothing, which left him frustrated.
"What is it that you know?" he asked in a rather angry tone, as he stood up from his chair, and began to walk toward Willow, as though the distance between them would solve his problem.
"I… you wouldn't believe me," Willow muttered tired, as she herself tried to move away from him, but the bed restricted her movements.
"Test me," Edward challenged her, while his voice suddenly became soft, as he leaned closer to her, and Willow could swear for a moment that he tried to smell her… although that was rather strange.
And Willow was about to deny, and try to get away, when she stared into his dark golden eyes, and felt almost hypnotised. Suddenly nothing else mattered in the room, as she stared into his eyes, and wanted nothing more than to please him. It almost felt as though she became a slave to someone else, as she no longer was capable of controlling herself.
"Why are you scared of me?" he asked, his voice soft as silk, as Willow slowly relaxed as her breathing became even, and she stared at his face… feeling as though she was flying in the air, high above everyone and everything.
And if this man wanted an answer, she had no trouble doing so, as she would do anything for him, if only he asked.
"I… I know you are a murderer… but i won't tell anyone…" Willow whispered, but for once she wasn't afraid, as she stared into the golden eyes, spellbound by the color and charm, while she had lost all kinds of logical thoughts, as long as she could stare into those eyes.
And he seemed shocked for a moment, almost long enough for Willow to get worried, and try to break out of this hypnotising state he held her in, but then he smiled kindly, which assured Willow everything was just fine.
"How do you know Willow?" Edward asked her instead, his voice so tempting that Willow just wanted to blurt it all out at once. There was no reason to have any secrets for this man, as Willow thought he only wanted what was best for her…
"I saw it…" Willow muttered, leaving Edward even more confused, as she gestured to the empty space around him, but Willow was at this point so hypnotised by his charm and beauty, that she thought he understood.
And Edward knew it would be fruitless to ask her anymore questions tonight, and instead he simply grabbed her shoulders gently as he whispered.
"Close your eyes,"
And Willow did so, once more falling asleep, although this one was peaceful, as she once more floated along the river.
All while she wondered whenever she had dreamt, or Edward Cullen had been real.
So thank you so much for all of those who have read and commented this one, it means everything to me! i am so sorry for not having answered, but life has been busy, but i am now back! i hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and what are the Cullens going to do with Willow now? Please leave a review!
