Okay, here's the real first chapter to the story. Now, you're probably going to notice the name Jacob in this, so please don't freak. It's not that wonderfully delicious hunk Jacob Black. This is a different Jacob of my own design. He's name is Jacob Evans for present and future reference as well. As of right now it will not mention where the characters are at in the chapter, but I will tell you the scene and the next chapter are set in Gatlinburg, TN. This one is currently at their closest hosp…well you'll figure it out hehehe. Anyway, hope you enjoy this first chapter everyone.

P.S. PLEASE REVIEW! I'll give you all of my chocolate candy I've gotten hidden from my mother. LOL

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight whatsoever, or its original characters. The only thing that I own is my own invention of characters and their background. So please don't sue me Stephanie Meyer. I don't have any money anyway lol. :-)

+The Awakening+

Beep, Beep, Beep,

'Someone please shut off that incessant noise,' I thought as the lines on my forehead creased in agitation. When had I set the alarm clock last night? I'm awfully sure it had to be a Sunday today. For that matter, I was also sure it was the day after graduation as well. I shouldn't have to wake up…should I?

I tried to remember the events of the night before, and how I'd gotten home. I mean, I could distinctly remember telling Tay I was heading back to her house to stay the night. Returning home would have been a complete bust, seeing how both my mother and my uncle were off of work that night.

Uggh, I still don't know why my mother let her brother move in with us after her and my father's divorce. The man was a pig! I mean, weren't all gay guys supposed to be fruity or girly like that RuPaul guy?

But, nooooo…

I end up with the Uncle that personifies the Butch factor; big, fat, hairy, and plain off rude. I could barely stand to remain five minutes in the room with him; sometimes even half that after he's had his morning glass of coke with rum.

To top it all off his name even screams how disgusting he is, and very much so proves my point; Butch. Yeah, shocker there, buddy! You really hit the nail on the cross when you named him Gran. Ha!

However, he can't fully be blamed for the complete detest I hold for my home. My mother is just as bad as my uncle, if not worse. If there was ever a woman with the word, 'Idiot,' stamped upon her forehead, then that woman would have to be my mom. Don't get me wrong, I love that woman to death! Heck, I'd jump in front of a bullet to protect her, but sometimes she could be a little dense.

For instance; why would you want to date a guy the second time around after he's cheated on you, all he wants is sex, he's a drunk, and he tries to flirt with your daughter who's half his age. Eck, disgusting bastard! I don't know what she sees in him, but it's obviously well hidden from my view; not that I'd want to see it anyway. To top it all off, he completely turns my mom against me in any argument between us. Even when she knows I'm right!

I mean, I know I should be happy for her since she's getting around after the divorce, but the friggin' separation was back in what? 2000? It's been eight years, mother! You can do better than that creeper.

Beep, Beep, Beep,

'Uggh, turn of that damn forsaken piece of crap,' I growled inside my head. I was too tired to even move a muscle; let alone reach over to turn off an alarm clock. 'Maybe if I wait long enough, someone in the house will get angry enough to come shut it off for me,' I thought with a hopeful smile.

Eh, call me lazy, but that's how I'd managed most of my life. The only thing I put my effort into was my schooling.

Okay, maybe it wasn't the only thing, but I could be really lazy at times; like now for instance.

Jacob used to joke that I….

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. My memories suddenly came flooding back to me like a tsunami of garbled up pictures and emotions.

I'd gone to a graduation party. It had gotten out of hand. There was drinking, and I'd had a few. Jacob had shown up after I hadn't seen him in over a year. He had looked different; pale, his amber eyes were brighter, redder, and he was almost ungodly cold. I'd been angry at him. I had tried to run, but he had only followed. He'd wanted to apologize for leaving me for that slut I had to call an ex-best-friend. I got in my car to leave. He'd swooped into the passenger seat, and slammed the door before I could stop him. I tried to get him to get out, but he wouldn't listen. I got even angrier. I peeled out of my friend's driveway. Jacob and I were arguing. I didn't see it coming. I looked up. There was a white light. Then a strong jolt. We were rolling; falling. There was cold water. Finally… blackness.

I had crashed!

I was drunk!

Oh god I'm dead!

Groaning out loud, I suddenly heard frantic voices over the beeping noise.

"Amber sweetie, can you hear me," came my mother's voice from above. I smiled softly at the rich texture of her smooth monotone. It wasn't a boring tone either like most history or math teachers have, but instead it was the kind that brought a peace to your mind. Her voice had always brought me out of the darkest places when I was a child; from the boogeyman hiding under my bed when I was four, to the cheating boyfriend who'd dumped me at fifteen.

"Anne, stop hovering! She'll close her eyes immediately if you're the first thing she sees when she wakes up," my Aunt Pat joked, but the way she had said it seemed as if she were trying to force her normal wistful nature. Something that I knew she'd never had to do in the past.

"I don't care, Pat! As long as she at least opens her eyes," my mother exclaimed, before I felt her take my hand. Then it was like a dam had burst inside of me.

Emotions came pouring into my mind from out of nowhere.

…Joy… Hope… Love….

However, they were underlined with something much worse.

…Grief…Sadness…Sympathy…

I felt tears pooling from the corners of my closed eyes; cascading down my cheeks in rough salty trails. Why was I feeling like this? I was fine a mere moment ago.

"Oh, sweetie, don't cry. Just open your eyes for Mama. I'm right here with you baby," my mother cooed, as she pressed my hand to her lips.

"M-mom," I croaked, as I slowly opened my eyes. Snapping them shut immediately, I growled at the brightness of the room.

"Pat, turn off the lights for a minute. It's gonna be too bright," my mother ordered, before calling out to my cousin, "Hunter, go find a nurse. Let them know she's awake."

"I'm already on it," Hunter called out, before I heard a door click shut.

Suddenly the lights dimmed in the room, and I carefully opened my eyes once again. However, this time I managed to keep them open long enough to adjust to the scene around me. Within moments, ever so slowly, my mother and aunt came into focus.

They looked awful. The two sisters could almost be twins if it weren't for the four-year difference. Either of the two's long, light-brunette hair was held up in almost identical messy ponytails. Both of their eyes held dark rimmed circles around them; along with tear tracks lining their skin. Added to that, they both were dressed as if they hadn't worn a pair of clean clothes within weeks.

"Hey, baby," my mother sniffed, as she wiped away a stray tear from the corner of her eye.

"Hey," I rasped, as my eyes darted around the room quickly, "W-water."

"Here, you go Lynnie," my aunt spoke; using my nickname that only she was allowed to let leave her lips.

My mother helped me to lean forward, as I took the straw into my mouth. Sipping carefully, I smiled in relief as the cold liquid smoothly washed over my tongue; finally washing away the dry sandy taste that had taken up root upon it.

"Better," Pat asked after a minute. Letting go of the straw, I gave a firm nod.

"What happened," I whispered, as I tried to sit up. Seeing my dilemma, my mother pressed a button somewhere on the bed, and within moments I was raised up into a sitting position.

"Don't you remember, baby," my mother asked fearfully, after having made sure I was comfortable.

"I remember crashing?"

"Yes, you were in a car crash. The other driver was on his way home from a late night at work. He fell asleep at the wheel, and swerved into your lane."

"That would explain the white light," I chuckled softly, before fear suddenly took over, "Is he alright, though?"

Both my mother and aunt grimaced slightly, but nodded all the same.

"He's fine sweetheart. All he received were a couple of bruises, and a few scrapes. If he hadn't of had his foot on the brake for few minutes before the crash, it would have been worse. He only hit the driver's side of your car enough to send it into a roll…"

"There was water," I blurted out, as the memory surfaced to the front of my mind.

"You were on a bridge, and the car rolled over the railing. You must have gotten out somehow, and swam to the bank. One of the EMT's found you," my aunt confirmed with a nod.

"I…I don't remember that. I just remember the water, and then…nothing. After that there was nothing," I mumbled more to myself than to them.

How had I gotten on shore? I didn't remember getting out of the car. Hell, I don't even think I could have swum after all of that! Then something clicked inside my brain.

Jacob?

"Jacob! He must have brought me on shore. He must have…"

Then I saw why my mother and aunt were being so quiet about this whole thing. Just a mere glimpse into their eyes told the horrible story.

Tightening her grip on my hand, my mother spoke solemnly, "Sweetie, Jacob…he…well…he didn't make it baby. I'm so sorry. He was driving, and the impact must have merely knocked him unconscious. He never got out of the water. T-they say h-he drowned."

I was too shocked to move. I couldn't even breathe. It was like someone had ripped open my chest, and had taken hold of my lungs; squeezing so tight that not a single drop of sweet air could enter. My heart had stopped beating. It was like the news of Jacob's death had taken with it the last of my life. I was a shell… but a shell that could remember….a shell that could speak….

"Jacob wasn't driving," I whispered, staring past the two sisters with a pair of confused, dead eyes. Breathing in shakily, I added at the sign of their stricken looks "I was."

The room fell awkwardly quiet. Only the sound of the monitors hummed around our ears, as we waited for someone to speak.

Then, the two sisters glanced between one another. It was almost as if they were having their own wordless conversation; like they could read each other's expressions as if they were some form of unusual Braille. However, within minutes, my mother finally licked her lips as she prepared to speak her next shocking words.

"No, you were in the passenger seat. They found Jacob's body buckled in on the driver's side. You must have let him drive you home, because according to Taylor you'd been drinking," my mother informed me, looking slightly scared upon hearing my revelation.

"No…no I think…I…I don't know… it's all so confusing," I whispered, as various emotions finally started flowing through me. Anger… at myself for letting Jake into the car. Disgust… for the things I had called him before the crash. Fear… that he probably blamed me for his death. Then finally, grief… for losing someone whom I'd cared so deeply for, and who I would never see again. Placing my head in my hands, I felt the tears well up in my eyes.

"This can't be true. He can't be dead," I gasped through the deafening sobs that began to claw their way up my throat.

"Oh baby! It's okay. Everything's going to be okay," my mother whispered as she took me into her arms.

Emotions continued to pour through me; some I didn't even know I felt.

…Despair…Shame… Pity… Worry…

I just wanted it all to stop. I wanted to stop feeling. I wanted to forget whatever I had heard within these last few minutes, but the words kept replaying over in my mind.

"…Car crash…"

"…Drowned…"

"…Jacob…dead…"

"…Gone…"

'It's a lie,'I couldn't help but to think. 'I was driving! I crashed! Jacob was in the passenger seat! NOT ME! They've got it all wrong! Yet how did I survive? How did I get out of the car? Better yet, how did Jacob get into the driver's seat?'

"How long have I been out," I muttered into my hands with a sniffle, after having composed myself a bit.

Pulling away from me, my mother wiped my cheek with her hand, as she turned her gaze onto my aunt. Pat, in turn, leaned forward as she wet her lips carefully. It was as if she were afraid to answer this next question as well; almost as if it were just as terrible as the news of Jacob's death.

"Well, you've been in a coma for about a week. The doctors were afraid you wouldn't wake up considering the significant trauma you're head took. You were out cold with a concussion for a long time before they finally found you. They said that there was a chance, when you woke up, that there may be some serious damage to your brain; that you might not be the same."

"Obviously we were wrong," came a voice from the doorway. Looking up, I found a middle aged man, who was slightly balding at the top of his head. He wore large round-framed glasses that almost magnified his already beady eyes. Scanning the chart held in both of his hands, he replied, "You really are quite lucky, Miss, McCall. That bump on your head almost killed you. If the EMTs hadn't of found you when they did, and shocked you back into this world, then you wouldn't be sitting here with us right now. I guess it was by God's good graces to let you stay here on this Earth with us." The man looked up with a smile on his face, as he replied, "Now, let's have a look at that bump on your head."

Walking over to stand beside me, he reached out, and began unraveling the gauze from around my skull. I could honestly say that it made me feel like a mummy, as he dropped the clump of white tissues into the trashcan next to him.

"Hmm, it looks to be doing better. It's definitely going to leave a nasty scar, however. Other than that I stitched it up pretty nicely," he commented, as he walked over to the cabinets within the room to retrieve more gauze and bandages, "Now, how are you feeling? Are you dizzy? Sick? How's your eyesight?"

"Um, I'm feeling fine actually. There's a bit of a sore tenderness on the side of my head though. However, my eyesight's perfect," I answered, as he returned with his desired items in hand.

"Good. Well, not the pain, but that's to be expected with the gash on your head," he replied with a meek chuckle.

"How bad is the cut," I asked. He grimaced slightly, as my aunt calmly reached into her purse to pull out a mirror. Handing it to me, I carefully lifted it up to view my reflection. What I saw made me put the mirror down just as quickly. Tears began to form anew in my eyes, as the image of what I just saw burned itself into my brain.

There had been a long, deep, cut extending from the right side of my forehead, coming down across my eyebrow, and almost reaching above my right eye. Just that one glimpse of it made me want to puke.

"Can you just hurry, and cover it up, please," I begged, while wiping the tears from my cheeks.

"No problem," the doctor spoke with a sympathetic smile. Slowly pressing his hand against my head with the gauze, his thumb barely brushed against my skin before I felt that odd feeling again; only this time there was more of a jolt.

…Irritation… Grumpiness… Frustration… Bitterness… Displeasure….

Jerking away from him immediately, I tried to evaluate where all these emotions were coming from. Sure I knew I felt deep disgust right now, but bitterness?

"Did I press a sore spot," the doctor asked. Looking into his eyes, it was then that I knew where the emotions were coming from.

They were coming from him.

How did I know that?

Better yet, how could I do that?

"Y-yeah," I lied, not quite wanting to be truthful. There was no reason to list 'insane' to my growing list of problems right now. Giving me a nod in annoyance, he went back to placing the bandage on my head. All the while I kept asking myself one question….

'What really happened to me?'

Well, I hoped you liked this first chapter, and it has you wondering what's going on. I love mysteries. :-)

Oh, here are some songs I listened to while writing this or revising it. I think I'm going to do a song list for every chapter. It sets the mood when you read it. :-)

Radioactive- by Imagine Dragons

Breath of Life- Florence and the Machine

Frozen Tears-Within Temptation

PLEASE REMEMBER TO REVIEW! Like I said before, I'll give you a piece of chocolate just so my mother can't have a piece LOL. Not really, but still, please review. I enjoy hearing the feedback.

Thanks for reading guys! ;-)