I'm having so much fun writing this story, I'm really glad you guys like it. This one's shorter than the others, but there's more plot and interactions between Edward and Bell— and we also got Carlisle!
CHAPTER THREE:
SUPERNATURAL
When Bell opened her eyes the next morning, she knew something was different— she could see it in the light streaming through the gaps of the curtains. She rose from the bed and pushed the curtain to the side, peeking out the window. Bell gasped softly at the fine layer of snow that covered the whole yard, dusting over her truck and the trees like powdered sugar. The rainwater from the day before had frozen— coating the needles on the branches in delicate, gorgeous patterns while the driveway was glossy with a thin sheet of ice.
Charlie had already left for work by the time she was walking down the stairs to eat some breakfast, consisting of a bowl of hot oatmeal and fresh strawberries. Bell took a few minutes to snap some pictures of the backyard with her camera, taking advantage of the gentle lighting. She'd send those to Renee after school. Bell found herself wondering if Edward would let her take pictures of him, the color of his bronze hair and golden eyes would contrast beautifully against the pure white of the freshly fallen snow. Would he smile bashfully at his feet, flustered by the attention, or would he give her another of his charming crooked grins?
The mere idea of it made her eager to get to school, carefully tucking her camera in her bag within its protective case and walking to her truck. The grip of her boots kept her stable on the slippery ice and she made it safely to the cozy inside of her vehicle. Driving to school, she passed the time comparing Edward Cullen to the boys that constantly hovered around her. The difference between the three of them was glaringly obvious. Whereas Mike and Eric were rowdy and eager, visibly competing for her attention, Edward was much more subtle— with his velvety voice and coy stares from under his long lashes — and carried himself with the impossibly elegant grace that he and his adoptive siblings shared.
Bell arrived at the parking lot with no problems despite the layers of frozen water on the asphalt. She had her suspicions as to why, and got out of her truck with her phone in hand. The thin chains, crisscrossed in diamond shapes around her wheels, gleamed back at her in the morning light. She smiled softly to herself, sending a quick text to Charlie. Apparently he'd gotten up earlier than he usually did, just to put the snow chains on her truck. His unspoken concern made warmth spread throughout her body, all the way to her toes. He probably hadn't said anything about it because he'd been too embarrassed.
She was standing next to her truck, pocketing her phone after putting it on silent, when she heard it.
A high pitched screech that became louder by the second, painfully familiar. Bell looked up from her bag, both annoyed and morbidly amused that a car was going to end her life again. She looked away from the dark blue van that skid across the slippery road, tires locked and squealing against the brakes, and locked eyes with Edward Cullen. He was standing exactly four cars away, a horrified expression on his beautiful face. When she blinked, he was gone.
Something collided with her and Bell jerked, not expecting anything coming from the opposite side of the van, smacking the back of her head against the side of the truck before being pinned to the ground as the van curled around the front of it. The van was still moving, though, seemingly determined to crush her one way or another. There was a hissed curse by her ear — spoken by a voice she would never forget — and a pair of pale hands with the long, slender fingers of a pianist shot out to slam against the side of the van. The metal groaned and dented under his fingertips, and those same hands moved so quickly that they became a blur as they lifted up the vehicle and moved her legs out of the way.
The loud, metallic thud and popping of glass reached her ears as the van settled right where her legs had been. Bell stared, shocked, at the van and let out a long exhale that turned to mist in the cold air. Screaming broke out, followed by loud wails and calls of her name. Cold fingers tucked her hair behind her ears and cupped her face, turning it to face a deeply concerned golden gaze. His eyes were still wide, mildly frantic as they darted around her face.
"...Bell?" Edward called her name again and it finally registered, making her blink at him. "Are you alright?" He asked, his soft hands trembling against her skin.
"Yes." Bell murmured, swallowing thickly, "I'm fine." She said after seeing the furrow in his brow, the pad of his thumb brushing over her cheekbone.
"You hit your head." He sounded pained as he said it, like it was his fault.
She reached up, curling her much warmer fingers around his slender wrists as she stared into his beautiful eyes. "I'm fine." Bell whispered gently, reassuringly. "You stopped it."
His fingers twitched against her skin and she saw him stop breathing. Edward pulled his hands away from her as if she'd burned him and stared at her with a strange detached weariness. "I just pulled you away. I was right next to you." He said with an uncharacteristic amount of seriousness.
Bell only stared in silence.
Edward fretted over her again when she sat up, hovering like a worried and overprotective mother. The crowd of students flocked around them, some with tears falling from their eyes as they shouted at them and the others.
"Stay right there!"
"Are you okay?!"
"Don't move!"
"Get Tyler out of the van!"
It was all a blur, really. Bell's mind kept going back to the moment Edward disappeared from her sight and pushed her down less than a second later, to the way strong metal gave away under his seemingly delicate digits. She knew better than to question him right away, seeing the way he shielded her protectively from the flock of concerned students until the ambulance arrived. The van was lifted away by six EMTs and two teachers — Mr. Varner and Coach Clapp — so they could bring the stretchers in. Edward refused his and automatically told them she'd hit her head against the side of the truck and could have a concussion before she could even think of refusing her own stretcher.
Bell's half hearted protests were brushed away as the EMTs put a neck brace on her and started loading her into the back of the ambulance as Edward got in front. To make matters worse, and possibly more chaotic, the one and only Chief Swan arrived at the scene with his iconic cruiser. He ran over with a concerned expression and yelled her name in panic when he caught sight of her inside the ambulance.
"I'm fine, really, Dad." Bell tried reassuring him, the bottom of her chin bumping against the neck brace as she spoke. That probably didn't help her case.
Charlie turned to the closest EMT to get a second opinion. Bell threw an arm over her eyes and let out a long, exhausted sigh as they finally closed the doors and drove off. While she was relieved she got to live a little longer as Isabella Swan, she was terribly confused. The accident kept replay in her mind's eye on a loop, the brunette trying to come up with a quick explanation of what had occurred. She found none, unfortunately. At least not rational ones.
Charlie's cruiser escorted them all the way to the county hospital, where she was unloaded and rushed to an emergency room with haste while Edward glided down the hall and disappeared around the corner. They put Bell on one of the lined up beds separated by tall pastel patterned curtains. A sweet looking nurse was quick to put a pressure cuff on her arm and check her temperature with an infrared thermometer, jotting down the numbers and flashing her a smile before leaving the room.
Bell unfastened the velcro on the neck brace with quick fingers and tossed it to the side, huffing. There was a sudden commotion and a flurry of blue scrubs as nurses brought in another stretcher to the bed next to her. Tyler Crowley, a nice kid from her Government class, looked a hundred times worse than how she felt. Despite the bloodstained bandages wrapped around his head, Tyler looked at her with an anxious expression.
"Bell, I'm so sorry!" He babbled, apologizing fervently.
She waved a dismissive hand and gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, don't worry about it. Are you okay?" Bell asked, concerned. The nurses had started unwinding his stained bandages, exposing a myriad of nasty looking cuts scattered over his forehead and left cheek.
He ignored her words. "I thought I was going to kill you! I was going too fast— I hit the ice wrong…" Tyler winced as a nurse dabbed at his cuts with antiseptic.
"Tyler, don't worry about it." Bell repeated, much more sternly this time. "You missed me."
"How did you get out of the way so quickly? You were right there, and then you weren't…"
Bell pushed her damp hair out of her face, "Edward pulled me away." She explained tersely.
A confused expression flashed across his face, "Who?" Tyler asked.
"Edward Cullen." Bell elaborated calmly. "He was close to me and pulled me away just in time." She continued, watching him blink at her in surprise.
"Cullen? I didn't see him… wow, it was just all so fast, I guess. Is he okay?"
"Yeah," She nodded her head, recalling the dented metal, "He's around here somewhere…"
A couple of nurses wheeled her away after that to get an X-ray. They found nothing wrong, of course, just like she'd told them a hundred times before. Now all she had to do was wait for a doctor to see her and then she would be able to go home. At one point, Bell had grown so tired from Tyler's apologies that she blocked him out and threw an arm over her eyes again.
"Bellamy! Oh my god! Bellamy!"
"Someone call 911!"
"There's so much blood!"
"Bellamy, keep your eyes open! Where's the fucking ambulance?!"
"Bellamy…!"
"Is she sleeping?" Edward's musical voice asked softly and Bell moved her arm away, opening her eyes to see him standing at the foot of her bed. Bell pursed her lips and gave him a peace sign, feeling a bit better when his lips curled into a small smile.
"Hey, Edward, I'm really sorry—" Tyler began, desperate.
Edward lifted a hand to stop him, flashing him a smile. "No blood, no foul." He told him, moving to sit on the edge of her bed. Bell curled her legs to give him more space, toying with a portion of the white sheets. "So, what's the verdict, partner?" Edward asked playfully, less tense now that she was out of danger.
"Oh, it's horrible, partner." Bell played along, biting back a grin as she placed the back of her hand against her forehead like a damsel in distress. "I'm dying as we speak!"
"And what a dark place the world will be without Bell Swan." Edward grinned, but she had a feeling he was being truthful.
Bell chuckled, letting her arm fall across her stomach, "Other than the inevitable threat of a natural death, there's nothing really wrong with me. I just have to wait for the doc." She continued before looking him over. His bronze hair was stylishly tousled, like always, and his clothes were perfectly immaculate as if he'd just come back from a photoshoot. But, she still asked, "You okay, partner?"
The corners of his eyes crinkled with his smile, "Perfectly fine now, partner."
A doctor walked around the corner just then, and Bell blinked in surprise. The man was beautiful in the same way Edward was, in a supernaturally perfect way. He was young, looking like he was nearing his mid twenties, with collar length blonde hair that was pushed away from his face. There were bruise like shadows under his eyes, standing out against his pale skin and making him look tired, but even then he looked like he belonged to the cast of Grey's Anatomy rather than a hospital in a small town like Forks. From his appearance alone, Bell knew for a fact that she was staring at Carlisle Cullen.
"So, Miss Swan," He began in a remarkably appealing voice, "How are you feeling?"
The brunette gave him a smile, "Perfectly fine now, Doc." Bell replied, sending Edward a wink. He looked down, a bashful smile playing on his lips.
Dr. Cullen looked at his adoptive son with a warm smile, something like relief in his dark eyes, and walked over to the lightboard on the wall over her head to look at her X-rays. "These look good." He said after a moment of observing them, "Does your head hurt? Edward said you hit it pretty hard." Dr. Cullen asked, turning to face her again.
"It's fine, he's exaggerating." Bell pointed out while sitting up, sending the youngest Cullen a look, but didn't protest as the doctor's icy fingers probed lightly along her skull. She winced when he reached the back of her head and he stopped, Edward watching them like a hawk.
"Tender?"
"Not too bad." Bell told the young doctor, "I've had worse."
The blond smiled back at her, flashing his pearly whites, "Well, your father is in the waiting room. You can go with him now, but don't hesitate to come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all." Dr. Cullen said before adding, "Take it easy for today. No school."
Bell looked over at Edward, "Does he get to go back to school?"
Edward shrugged his shoulders with a small grin, "Someone has to spread the good news that you survived." He pointed out.
"Actually," His adoptive father corrected and pointed behind himself, "Most of the school seems to be in the waiting room."
"Mm, great." Bell sighed, letting her head hang forwards tiredly.
Dr. Cullen raised his eyebrows at her, "Do you want to stay?" He asked softly, genuine concern in his eyes.
Bell shook her head and Edward stood to let her stand up from the bed. She lifted a foot to slide it into her boots and Edward's hands darted out to stable her. "I'm fine." She assured him again, but he still looked unsure as he loosely held on to her sleeves.
"You can take some Tylenol for the pain." Dr. Cullen commented lightly as he took her chart into his hands. "You were extremely lucky, Miss Swan." He smiled warmly again, signing her papers with a flourish.
"Lucky Edward was there to pull me away." Bell nodded, unable to help herself. Edward let go of her sleeves, shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat.
"Oh, well, yes," Dr. Cullen agreed, suddenly very interested in her papers. He quickly dropped the subject and walked over to Tyler's bed. He obviously knew his son wasn't anywhere near her during the accident.
Bell moved closer to Edward, "Can we talk?" She asked him softly.
He avoided her eyes, pink lips pressed together in a firm line. "Your father is waiting for you." Edward shot back.
She bit the inside of her cheek, glancing at Dr. Cullen's back before looking back at him. "Please?" Bell whispered and his mouth twitched.
Edward let out a sharp sigh and nodded towards the exit before walking off with her on his heels. As soon as they rounded the corner to an empty hallway, he turned on his heels to face her. "What?" He asked in a clipped tone.
"Are you going to explain?" Bell asked patiently, unbothered as she stared up at him.
"There's nothing to explain." He said quickly, stern with a serious look in his eye that darkened the golden hue. "I pulled you away from the van, that's it."
Bell rubbed the side of her face and pushed her hair back. "I saw you, Edward. You were standing four cars away, you left a dent on the van and you lifted it." She pointed out in a serious whisper.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Bell. I was standing next to you and you hit your head when I pulled you away." Edward argued, but it sounded like a line perfectly delivered by a skilled actor. He didn't actually believe anything he was saying, but he wanted her to.
She closed her eyes for a moment, a small smile tugging at her mouth, "I'm not going to tell anyone."
Surprise flitted across his face. "Then why does it matter?" Edward sounded both confused and exasperated.
"I'd like to know the truth if I'm going to be lying for you." Bell answered, shifting her weight from one foot to another. "You don't have to tell me right now, though. Just, please, don't lie to me."
His expression softened considerably and the firm frown on his lips started looking more like a pout. "Can't you just thank me and get over it?" Edward asked weakly, looking at her through his lashes.
"Mm, no." Bella fluttered her lashes with a small grin, effortlessly disarming him. Edward stared, his eyes flitting from her eyes to her lips and back again before he turned his head away suddenly, sighing sharply. He was flustered again.
"What if I want you to figure it out by yourself?" He asked after a moment of silence, avoiding her knowing gaze.
Bella shrugged her shoulders, "Then wish me luck, I guess," She replied. "Goodbye, partner." Bell told him in a softer voice, brushing past him to walk out the exit at the end of the hallway. The waiting room was full of familiar faces, looking small and cramped with so many people inside.
"Bells," Charlie called as he rushed over.
"There's nothing wrong with me." Bell said, loud enough for her friends to hear. They sighed and murmured in relief. She then turned back to Charlie, "Dr. Cullen said everything was in order and that I could go home." She continued.
He sighed quietly in relief, giving his only daughter a small smile, "Let's get going then."
Bell gave her friends a short wave as they left the building. The ride home was quiet as she mulled over Edward's words, Charlie sending her brief glances throughout the whole thing— he was trying to tell her something, but didn't know how.
Her father finally spoke up when they arrived. "You'll need to call Renee," Charlie said guiltily, his head hung as he closed his door.
She tapped her fingers on the hood of the cruiser, grimacing. "She must be hysterical."
"Sorry," Charlie mumbled.
"Don't be, Dad," Bell reassured him, following him into the house. "It's better that she knows right away rather than later."
It took thirty minutes and countless I'm fine's before Renee could calm down. She begged Bell to come home, forgetting that home was currently empty in her hysteria. Bell let her down gently, telling her how much she enjoyed being in Forks and that accidents happened wherever and whenever. That's just the way life is, a big box of mysteries. Bell ended up heading to bed early after a quick shower when she noticed how worried Charlie was despite her words. She drank some Tylenol and plopped down on her bed.
Drifting off, Bell could've sworn she felt cold fingers caress her cheek and trail down the column of her throat to run along her collarbone.
Let the pining commence.
