December 19th, 2018 - Wednesday
When I open my eyes again I'm assaulted by bright lights, a groan escaping from between my lips before I remember what happened. I give myself a few seconds to adjust before opening my eyes again, surprised to find I'm in a hospital room and that I'm not alone. Mrs. Masen is up and by my side in seconds, a worried look on her face as I try to control my breathing with the intubation tube down my throat.
A nurse comes rushing in a moment later to remove the tube, the sudden ability to breathe on my own sending me into a coughing fit. A cup is pressed to my lips and I gulp down the entire contents, not even caring what it is just that it's cold. When the cup is empty and my throat hurts a bit less I turn to the counselor, ignoring her pity filled eyes.
"Where am I?" I question roughly, though it comes out more as a croak as I apparently haven't used my voice in years.
"Denali General, room 106." She states softly, dread filling my entire body as I realize that she knows.
"Where's my father?" The words are barely out of my mouth when said man appears, looking as unkempt and dirty as ever. "Could you give us a minute, Mrs. Masen?" The vampire nods hesitantly, shooting my father a look before she strides out of the room, leaving us alone.
"You're coming home once Cullen clears you," He states gruffly, the arrogant prick standing way too close for comfort. "Shouldn't even be in this goddamn hospital."
"Why am I here, father?" I spit, sitting up a little straighter despite the intense pain it causes. "That's right, you put me here."
"Why, you ungrateful little-" I cut off the beginning of his tirade with a scoff, some of my old confidence returning seeing as we're in a crowded hospital.
"I am not going home as you put it, I'm going back to New York. I let you hit me, I let you degrade me, I let you beat me until I became the shell of who I used to be!" I exclaim softly, glaring over at the man as I grip the rails of the bed tightly, anger beginning to bubble up within me for once. "I am never going to let someone like you beat me down again. I will never be weak again, so get the fuck out and never come near me again. You're goddamn lucky I'm not pressing charges." I watch as his face slowly turns red then purple, my sperm donor absolutely livid that I'm finally standing up for myself.
"You're just an ungrateful whore like your mother, no wonder she didn't want you Aly-"
"No, my name is Harper. I am not your daughter, and I am nothing like my mother." I growl, my wolf doing the same inside my head as someone else steps into the room, my donor's mouth opening to say something else but a smooth voice interjects.
"I think that's enough Mr. Turner. They have asked you to leave and if you don't comply I'll be forced to call security, so kindly get the hell out and never return." The blond Adonis states with a forced smile, dark eyes following said man out the door before turning to me. As soon as our eyes meet my whole world shifts, my brain practically screaming 'mate' at me.
"Sorry about that, I'm Dr. Cullen, it's nice to see you awake." My mate says softly, my eyes darting from his lips to his eyes as he speaks. 'Cullen, huh? He's perfect, but a vampire. Fuck me and my luck.'
"How long have I been out, sir?" I question slowly, not trusting myself to string together a simple sentence in his presence.
"A week, but you seem to be healing nicely." He answers easily, his eyes slowly fading into the familiar gold I've been seeing all week. "You had two broken ribs, four cracked ribs, numerous lacerations and bruises, as well as a dislocated left shoulder. We had to stitch up your cheek as it was deeper than expected but you should have minimal to no scarring." I lean my head back and bite my lip, going through each possible scenario in my head.
"Can I go back to New York?" Dr. Cullen smiles down at me, a true gift from above, but it's a sad smile.
"Even if you were fit to travel, you cannot. We called your mother but it seems she's incarcerated at this time, and for the next five years." He explains apologetically, his hazel eyes peering deeply into my own as he speaks. "As you only have five months until graduation there are two options. My family and I have offered to take you in until then, or you'll be moved to the closest foster home which happens to be in Portland." 'Goddamn, I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. I am not good enough to infringe on their kindness.'
"When do I need to decide by?" I ask hesitantly, running a hand through my hair with a quiet sigh.
"You'll be in here for another two days so by Friday morning, I'd say. Don't stress over it, Ms. Reynolds, it is not a pressing matter at this moment." Dr. Cullen replies, still smiling at me as I take in this information.
"I'll have my decision by then sir," I mutter absently, already arguing with my wolf side about what I should do. 'Do I go with my vampire mate or relocate to a whole new state?'
"Until then, Ms. Reynolds."
"Mr." I blurt out, blushing wildly when I realize what I'm sort of about to admit to.
"I'm sorry?" He questions, hazel eyes filled with confusion as I continue to do my impression of a tomato. 'Fuck, I haven't blushed since the first time Liz and I fucked.'
"It's Mr. Reynolds, I'm a boy." I admit hesitantly, taking a leap of faith.
"My apologies, Mr. Reynolds. I'll have that changed immediately," He leaves without another word, though his voice still echoes in my head as Mrs. Masen takes his place.
"I'm sorry about your father, if I had known he'd be that aggressive I would've kept him out." Mrs. Masen states gently, part of me surprised that she even cares.
"It's fine, but would you mind closing the door and blinds?" I ask quietly, trying to word what I want to say in a nicer manner than what I want.
"Feeling tired? Would you like me to leave?" 'God stop being nice, it's making me uncomfortable.'
"No, I want to know how I got here but before you answer I think there's something you should see." I say softly, cutting off her question with a wave of my hand, unsure if I can keep my snark in check at this point. I let a bit of my wolf side go, wincing as my canines begin to sharpen and my senses become heightened, though not as much if I was fully transformed.
"You're- you're a shifter!" She exclaims in a hushed whisper, eyes wide as I revert back to my human appearance. "But Jacob can't partially shift."
"That I am, and I assume you're talking about Mr. Black. Each breed has a different ability, the Quiletes are just the largest wolves. My breed is apparently more controlled I guess, though I'm unsure if I have some other gift." I state offhandedly, blowing a strand of my hair back in annoyance.
"So there are more packs?" She inquires curiously, a small smile coming to my lips at her childlike nature.
"Of course, one pack can't defend humans against all the vampires. You guys currently outnumber us as you multiply quicker, so of course there are multiple packs." I retort, surprised that she thinks the Quileutes are the only ones. 'There's like four of them.'
"So wait, does that mean you knew my family and I were vampires on your first day?"
"No, I'm a fucking idiot and didn't realize until Tuesday. I didn't recognize the cinnamon scent as anything other than ordinary but I knew the eyes were a clue. I've only seen one pair of eyes like yours." I admit sheepishly, glad that I seem to be gaining some of my original fire back.
"You've met other vampires like us?"
"Only one unfortunately, most of the ones I've met have been of the human persuasion. Even though I'm technically a rogue I still have a duty to protect humans, no matter how much I despise most of them." I mutter the last bit to myself, though I know she heard it. "I do a little digging beforehand though, some vampires never drink directly from humans. I've met a few who only drink from blood bags, and that's better than killing humans by my standards." I bite back a yawn once the words leave my mouth, wanting to get my answers first.
"I'll ask my other questions at a later date, I think I should tell you what happened a week ago." She addresses, sighing deeply in a way that's weirdly reminiscent of her human ways. "Ever since your first day one of us has been dropping by your house each night to make sure you were okay, and until last Wednesday nothing seemed to be wrong."
"Why were you stopping by? And don't give me a bullshit excuse about it being your duty as a teacher." 'God knows I've been given plenty of excuses in my life.'
"A friend of Jasper's told us to look out for "a boy with green hair and a bird tattoo", after Alice saw the tattoo on your wrist she knew it was you. Sadly we didn't investigate too deep, maybe we could've prevented this…" She trails off sadly, the older woman's eyes filling with sadness and pity.
"Don't worry about it, I've been dealin' with this shit since I was young. I'd rather focus on how your friend new about me. No one, not even myself, knew I was going to be here." I comment, not realizing that what I said could be taken very wrong.
"His gift is just knowing things that may seem unimportant at the time but you were different. Maybe a day after he called you showed up, the boy with green hair and a bird tattoo. I mean, at first we were unsure if it was you but when Jasper sent your school picture to him he said it was you." Mrs. Masen draws in an unneeded breath before continuing on, a stony look replacing the softness. "When Edward and I saw you walking home in the snow we knew something was wrong, we just didn't know what."
"Okay, I understand the leech's gift but what I don't get is why. Why am I so important to one of the largest covens in the world, the Volturi being the only coven even close to your size?" I roll my eyes at her surprise, though I shouldn't be shocked. 'No vampire thinks much of a wolf.'
"You've heard of us before?" 'No, I just took a stab in the dark.'
"Yes, at first I didn't make the connection and then the doctor introduced himself. Pretty much clicked after that, only a few Cullens in the world and none have golden eyes like y'alls." I inform softly, a smile coming to my face when I see said doctor peering into my room from down the hall. Resisting the urge to wave, I turn back to Mrs. Masen with a tired sigh. "Please continue."
"I can't exactly tell you why you're important, just know that you are. Back to the incident, the only reason we knew what happened is because Alice had a vision of you and I, sitting here." She admits, probably a little hesitant to tell a wolf any of this. "She can't see wolves, that means you, but she saw me and my future that just so happened to involve you."
"You guys have a seer too?" I deadpan, running a hand through my hair in exasperation. 'This is way more than I wanted to fucking know.'
"Yes, it is a really long story for another time. Anyway, as soon as she got the vision she sent Rosalie and I to check on you since we have the best control outside of him and Esme. No one was home so we just came in and split up, but Rose found you in your room, almost dead from the numerous injuries." Mrs. Masen reveals hesitantly, the leech watching me closely as if I'll suddenly snap or something.
"So you brought me here," I finish absently, wondering if anyone had the foresight to grab my stuff. "So what now?"
"Well, during the next two days either myself or one of my siblings will be here to watch over you. After that, we'd like you to come stay with us but I'd understand if you chose to leave." She reassures, ever the kind and sweet counselor I met last week, not even remotely different even though I know their big secret. "I'm going to let you get some sleep, Harper. I'll be outside the door if you need me."
I nod my understanding and watch her go, thankful that she dims the lights on her way out. I take a deep breath despite the ache in my chest, finally closing my eyes and letting my mind slow down a bit.
December 20th, 2018 - Thursday
"Why do humans sleep so long Rosie? Is there something wrong with him?" I slowly open my eyes at the sound of that familiar deep voice, quickly finding Mr. McCarty sitting in the corner of my room. "Nevermind Rosie, he's awake now!" He quickly moves towards me but stops when I unconsciously flinch, a habit I need to break now.
"Hello Mr. McCarty," I greet gently, not wanting him to come closer but at the same time not wanting to be rude.
"Please call me Emmett, I hate when people call me Mr. McCarty." The large vampire states simply, a large grin on his face just like in class. "I much prefer 'Cullen' anyway, Emmett Cullen just sounds nicer to me." I hum noncommitedly as I look around for a clock, brushing my hair back slowly.
"What time is it?" I watch him pull out what looks like a brand new iPhone, a hint of jealousy flickering within me as I know what amazing pictures that phone takes.
"1:03," He answers cheerfully, surprise filling me as I never sleep this late, not even when I'm sick.
"Fuck," I breath, "I haven't slept through the morning in about two years."
"Oh no, it's one am, not pm." Mr. -Emmett corrects easily, the gentle giant smirking at me from his position by my bed. 'Honestly, he should sit far away. He is freaking me out standing over me like that.' "Oh, I forgot!" I jump at his booming voice, glad that no one else could see me though. He grabs something from beside my bed before presenting it with a loud 'aha', the big ass vampire holding a black leather bag out to me expectantly.
"What do you want me to do with this?" I question drily, eyeing the bag as if it offended my lifestyle.
"Well, open it, Harper!" I resist the urge to roll my eyes and instead do as he said, opening the bag hesitantly. Inside is my sketchbook, a pack of drawing pencils, and then expensive looking colored pencils. "I figured you'd be bored in here so while your father was gone me and Jas went to get your stuff, though we didn't find any of your clothes."
"Thank you, Emmett…" I trail off awkwardly, unsure of what else to say. I flip through my sketchbook to make sure it's all there before pulling the side table over to me.
"No problem Harper, least we could do." I ignore that in favor of drawing, though the scent of Dr. Cullen has me looking up, the beautiful blond Adonis standing in the doorway.
"You're up Harper, having trouble sleeping?" He inquires softly, that vanilla/cologne scent enveloping me in a warm cocoon.
"I don't sleep a lot Doc, never have." I state smoothly, trying to the keep my voice from wavering. 'He is too hot and I cannot handle this.'
"And why's that?" I shrug half-heartedly, smirking up at the gorgeous vampire despite my hesitance to get close.
"I've never slept more than five hours since I shifted, sometimes even less." I explain quietly, brushing my hair back so I can ogle him more clearly.
"Well, breakfast is in about five hours, Mr. Reynolds." I smile as he steps back out of the room, sighing deeply when I realize how bad I've got it. 'He is already wooing me with his unintentional charm.' I ignore Emmett's knowing smirk and instead focus on my drawing, deciding to express my pride seeing as how I couldn't before now.
While I draw I can feel Emmett watching me, his yellow eyes that are filled with a childlike glee that I never had. I end up finishing my pride flag quickly, the design not too complicated so I start on something else. The Joker, the Heath Ledger version, or the best version in my opinion. I remember when Danny and Liz showed me superhero movies one week, DC and then Marvel, and I've loved Batman ever since.
"I graded your assignment, it was really good." I glance up and over at Emmett with a raised brow, not understanding. "You know, the fish in the light bulb." 'Oh the fuckin' art project.'
"Yeah, how'd I do?" I ask quietly, glancing back down at my paper so I can keep drawing.
"Easy A, you're a natural artist Harper." Emmett states sincerely, a big dumb smile on his dumb face. "Where did you learn to draw?" I set the pencil down and turn to him, wracking up all the confidence I have so I can meet his eyes.
"I've always been drawn to art, sneaking into museums whenever I could." I admit with a small smile of my own, remembering the first time like it was yesterday. "A friend of mine gave me one of her old sketchbooks and told me to draw something, so I did. I drew her, though there wasn't much to draw."
"Why did you sneak into art museums?" He laughs, this big, booming sound that fills the room.
"I didn't have the money and my mother was usually dead to the world by ten, so I snuck in. Pretty easy if I slip in with a big crowd." I explain absently, brushing a hand through my hair, frowning when I see a few fading strands. "I'm assuming you guys didn't find my hair dye?" Emmett grabs the bag and pulls out two new tubes of Manic Panic dye, the two I have to mix to get this color.
"Alice bought it after she saw the two empty ones on your floor, she assumed you'd want more." He explains sheepishly, though I'm still too surprised to tease him about it. 'I don't do caring people, not at all.'
"I am going to reapply my dye, don't break anything." I mutter, already halfway off the bed before he can tell me no. I sway a little bit but the IV attached to me keeps me upright, Emmett watching me closely. I can feel cool air on my back as I step into the small bathroom, a twinge of embarrassment bubbling up within me as I realize Emmett probably just got an eyeful of my boxer-clad ass.
I mix equal amounts of dye in my hand before working it into my thick ass hair, glad that this shit works pretty much instantly. Once I'm done my hands are stained green but at least my hair is how I want it, eye-catching. I retie the back of my hospital gown as tight as I can, I don't want to give anymore free strip shows. When I rejoin Emmett I see he's not alone, Mrs. McCarty sitting on his lap with a small smile I haven't seen before, though it falls as soon as she sees me.
"Later Harper, Rosie's takin' over for me since I need to hunt." Emmett informs me happily, the large vampire giving me one last smile before leaving the room. I climb back into the bed, my left arm of no use to me since it's in a fucking sling.
I go back to drawing since I have nothing else to do, doing my best to ignore the way Mrs. McCarty is watching me. I lean a bit to the left when I see my mate striding down the hallway, a pensive look on his face as he studies some charts. I smile to myself until he's out of view, jumping when Mrs. McCarty clears her throat.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry we didn't get to you before." The blonde murmurs softly, her expression impassive but her eyes containing a story I don't know.
"Don't worry about it, it's not important." I mutter unsurely, not quite understanding what else I'm supposed to say to that.
"If we had done something or gotten there sooner…" I hear a personal story behind her words but it's none of my business, so I wave it off.
"No matter what you did, or didn't, do doesn't matter. It happened and it's finally over, I'm free." I retort, glad when the blonde goes back to her usual stony expression. 'It's way better than her trying to care about me.'
Thankfully she stops talking and instead just watches me, in a non-creepy fashion. I get bored of drawing eventually so I work on some music, well, the assignment Mr. Masen gave me. I wish I had a keyboard or even a phone to actually hear the notes but I settle for tapping my fingers, pretty much winging it. Maybe a half hour later I hear a familiar voice just outside my door, already getting my hopes up.
"Yeah, my name is Eliza Reynolds, Alyson's sister." 'Oh my fuckin' god.' "Just ask her, she'll tell you." I lean a bit to the left to see an unfamiliar nurse slip out from behind the desk, a confused look on her face when she opens the door.
"Your sister is here sweetheart, do you want me to let her in?" At my nod the woman leaves so I turn to Mrs. McCarty, hoping she'll do as I asked.
"Do you mind giving us a moment?" I ask hesitantly, surprised when the woman steps out of the room, even more shocked to see her leave the building. Liz steps into my room a moment later with Daniel behind her, both of them sporting matching smirks. "How the hell did you guys find me?" Liz waves my question off as they both come to sit on either side of me, both pretty much pressed against me in this small bed.
"Our third knows a pretty good P.I. so we took a chance, and he led us here." Danny states simply, lips pulling into a mischievous grin, one that I am all too used to.
"Your third? You finally found them?" I question, glad that they have finally found their last piece, or what I hope is their last.
"Yeah, his name is Ryder Elliot, he's so cute." I roll my eyes at Liz, still surprised that a century old vampire would describe someone that way. "He'll be here soon, he wants to meet you since you're as close as he's going to get to our dad."
"That sounds so wrong, Liz, especially with our history." I comment, eyeing the girl warily. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"
"Bustin' you out, bro!" Danny exclaims in a whisper, his eyes wide as I take in the changes that happened in the past month. 'She changed him.' His eyes are a mix between crimson and yellow, a very strange color indeed.
"And how do you plan to do that, drop me out the window?" I inquire drily, hoping they have a real plan. "By tomorrow I'll either be in the nearest foster home or with the Cullens, the really hot vampires."
"You mean, the other vegans?" Liz asks with a raised brow, eyes darting to the window and out into the hall.
"Yeah, and get this, one of them is my Imprint. How fucked is that?" I laugh hollowly, unsure of why I'm laughing when I really want to scream. "My point is, if I stay with the vegans I'll want to be with Cullen, but if don't go with them then I end up in some fucked up foster home." I run a hand through my hair as I go through every scenario, the last being that I live happily ever after with my mate, the most unlikely.
"Okay so how the hell do we get you out of here?" I go to help formulate a plan when someone knocks on the door, my eyes darting up to meet Dr. Cullen's confused ones.
"How are you feeling, Harper? Any pain?" He inquires softly, his hazel eyes studying each of my friends carefully before turning to me.
"No Doc, I'm all good." I reply, smirking up at the older man, a thought forming in my head.
"Alright then, call me if you need anything." Dr. Cullen states, a small smile hinting at his lips as he leaves once again. I turn to Liz with a smirk of my own, finally ready to get out of this fucking place.
~_~.~_~
"Okay, Bronze Age will be here in ten and Blond Adonis has left the building, hurry up Harper." I nod to Danny and slip into the bathroom, quickly changing out of the hospital gown and into some normal clothes. 'Ah it feels good to be in skinny jeans and a t-shirt again.'
Since the light is turned down all the way I just wait by the door until a large enough group passes by, slipping into the crowd with ease. I tug my beanie down a bit further to hide my very identifiable hair, completely forgetting how to breathe until I'm out the door. 'Thank god for small ass towns with no security.'
I jog over to the only SUV in the parking lot, climbing into the back with a large grin. Liz, who's in the front next to one hot dude, smirks back at me as we drive off before tossing back a small bag. Inside is a piercing gun, extra strength soap, and contacts.
"It's time we disappear, Harper."