I'm not Stephenie Meyer. But I hope you enjoy this regardless!
Chapter 3: Phenomenon
I made the drive to school in good time, letting my siblings out in front of the building; I made my way to the parking spot. The thoughts around me were dull predictable, elated for the snow, worried about the ice, thinking about tests, dates… the list went on, I shuttered and I tried to block them all out. Reluctantly, I pulled my key and got out of the car. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Bella's massive truck come into the parking lot. Every time I saw her, it made my decision to stay away from her seem so much harder to follow through with. There was still so much about her that I wanted to know. The truck was handling the ice well I noted, considering its age, but it did have snow chains on. I watched Bella get out of her car and tried not to try to get into her head. She walked to the back end of her car with a very confused expression. She stood staring at the chains on her truck.
It frustrated me that she seemed to be some kind of a car wreck. I knew that is was wrong to be so keenly interested in her, and yet I couldn't make myself look away. Some foreign interest in her kept pulling me back even as I tried to get away.
I pondered Bella expression as she looked at the snow chains, why she would care so much? Hadn't she put them there? The look on her face was almost… touched. She seemed to be getting emotional over some snow chains.
Oh god! Oh shit! The breaks aren't working! Bella! Tyler Crowley's thoughts hit me a second before the screaming squeal of breaks against ice. My head jerked to the side. His van was skidding towards her at an alarming pace. Her human reflexes took an eternity to kick in. As I watched, she slowly started to look up. Her brown eyes locked on mine before she saw the van. They were full of fear, terror and confusion, a look I always thought would be directed towards me, not a vehicle. She seemed to recognize the danger when she saw the van, but stayed still. Not that she would have been able to get away in time at her speed. I threw my plan to stay away from her out the window.
In less than seconds, I was plummeting towards her at superhuman speed. She didn't deserve to die this way, not her. She was too good and kind for this to happen to her. I ran to her at an alarming rate, equally as fast as the van. I slowed myself in an attempt to cushion the blow I knew she would receive as I pushed her to the asphalt, trying to soften her landing with my hands.
Bella's scent hit me almost as I hit her. I swallowed back the venom that urged me to take her and forced my attention back onto the matter at hand. Bella and I were plummeting toward the ground.
Once she was safely on the ground, I turned my attention to the van, which had hit Bella's truck and was sliding in our direction again. I swore without thinking not to and threw my hands out to stop it in a reflexive motion. I switched my hands and shoved Bella's legs out of the way before letting go of the van and letting it fall to the ground.
Bystanders started to scream and cry, but I was acutely aware of the fact that Bella, in all of her warm, amazingly scented glory, was pressed right up against the length of my body. I immediately stopped breathing any more than I had to in order to speak.
The thoughts around us screamed concern and fear. Bella had clearly been seen in the path of Tyler's van, but so far, no one seemed to know that I was here. And thankfully, no one had noticed the van's unusual motions upon impact.
"Bella? Are you all right?" I asked cautiously. Her heart rate was fast, but with any luck, I had knocked her unconscious when I hit her.
"I'm fine." She whispered, clearly shocked. I became immediately concerned by how much she saw. The people around us may not have noticed me, but she may have. What had I done?
"Be careful," I warned trying to hint at my many meanings. She was trying to get out from underneath me, struggling against me. I could feel her pulse steadily thudding against me. Her muscles flexed as she tried to sit up. I swallowed back more venom my mouth was watering and my throat burned with intense hunger. I didn't want her stirring the air in the confined space more than she had to. "I think you hit your head pretty hard." I warned.
There was a pause as we listened to the sounds of teachers and students yelling. Bella was breathing in small, rushed gasps. I could hear Rosalie's thoughts off in the distance;
I am going to kill him. She thought angrily. Not if I get there first, I thought regretfully.
Oh, poor Edward. You can do this, you'll make it through. Alice thought hopefully.
"Ow," Bella seemed surprised that she was in pain.
"That's what I thought." Why hadn't she believed me when I said she hit her head?
"How in the…" she seemed confused about the whole situation. "How did you get over here so fast?" she asked. Uh oh.
"I was standing right next to you, Bella," I assured her. She tried to sit up again and this time I let her. I slid back as far as I could and pressed myself up against the side of the van. She looked disoriented and confused, but not like she hadn't believed my words.
"Don't move," somebody instructed, so of course Bella immediately tried to get up.
"Just stay put for now." I pushed her back down, my hand only lingered on her shoulder for an instant, but it felt like an eternity. How easy it would be to pretend it had been the van…
No! I screamed it at myself over and over. I had endangered my family more than enough for one lifetime.
"But it's cold." She complained. I couldn't stop my chuckle. She was just hit by a van, twice, and was trapped in a confined space with me, a monster that wanted her blood more than possibly anything in this universe, and she was complaining about the cold!
"You were over there," she said suddenly. I cursed her memory.
"No, I wasn't."
"I saw you."
"Bella, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way." I tried hard to make her believe this. My life depended on it.
"No." she was so stubborn.
"Please, Bella." I begged.
"Why?" she demanded more information. Information I didn't want to give her.
"Trust me," I was trying every approach I could think of.
"Will you promise to explain everything to me later?"
"Fine," I snapped. I would explain again to her that I was right by her side the whole time after the doctors told her that she had a concussion.
"Fine," she snapped back.
I waited for the 8 adults to move the van far enough to get Bella off. I briefly considered leaning on it to help them move it along, but Bella was glaring at me and refused to take her eyes off of me long enough to speed up the process.
I concentrated on keeping my thirst in check. Mind over matter, I reminded myself again and again.
Chief Swan arrived soon after they had finally strapped a fussing Bella to a stretcher. He was relieved to see her in such a good state. His imagination had gone wild with thoughts of Bella in a car crash. I noted that she once again stumbled over what to call him. Her natural inclination was to call him Charlie, but she corrected herself with the term 'dad'. Although when she spoke of her mother, she didn't use a first name. I listened closely for any mention of me, but so far so she hadn't said anything.
I turned down the assistance of the eager medics and caught the glares of my siblings before I climbed into the front seat of Bella's ambulance. Alice was trying unsuccessfully to usher them into the building. Rosalie's glare made her opinions on my situation clear, I didn't even want to get close to her thoughts. Emmett was amused, and Jasper shocked.
The ride to the hospital was agony. What had I done? On just a whim I had betrayed my family and put us all in grave danger. If she told anyone, we would have to leave, or worse; clean up a mess. Rosalie was right, I'm a disgusting, dangerous monster. I let my obsession with one human girl put all of us at risk. Now I had to deal with my mistake and try to pick up the pieces of our shattered façade.
At soon as I arrived at the hospital, I waved off more medics and headed straight for Carlisle. He met me in the hallway, having already been informed of my situation.
"Rosalie called." He said angrily. She said you 'picked up' a van in the parking lot? He was clearly quoting her, but was skeptical of it. I filled him in quickly as soon as we ducked into an empty room.
"The van was about to hit her, and I know it was a stupid mistake, but I couldn't stop myself. I pushed her out of the way, and stopped the van… twice."
"Twice?" He looked at me, eyes wide. Edward…
"Once it hit… me, it came around again and I had to stop it again." Carlisle nodded. He was handling the situation better than I would have expected.
"How much did the students see?"
"Nothing," I answered confidently. "I didn't pick up a hint of my presence in anyone's thoughts." Carlisle nodded.
"How much did she see?" he asked warily.
"That I was further away than I should have been, and she may have seen me move the van." I decided honesty was the best way to go. But I winced as I said it nonetheless.
"Is she trustworthy?"
"I think so. She has had the chance, but she hasn't said anything." I found that I was quick to defend her.
"So, she hasn't made up her mind yet then?" he asked.
"No." I said it a little too quickly. He recognized this and I found something to say before he could make any assumptions. "She's harder to read than anyone I've ever met." It wasn't a total lie, but I wasn't ready to let anyone in on my weakness just yet. Carlisle was confused, but accepted it and nodded. Carlisle trusted me, and I hated doing this to him.
"What do you need me to do?" he was down to business.
"She hit her head on the sidewalk, if she thinks that she had a concussion, then maybe she'll believe me when I tell her that I was right by her side from the start."
"I see." He refused to meet my eyes. "I'll do my best," but I'm not going to lie to the girl. Great, so I have to.
"Okay," I said
"Go check on her, and I'll be in shortly." I nodded and he disappeared.
Bella's room was easy to find. The E.R. was marked clearly, and there weren't many rooms. I just followed the sound of Tyler Crowley's profuse apologies down the hall to her room. At least the topic wasn't on my not-so-human actions. I walked slowly into the room. Bella was laying with her eyes closed on one of the two beds. Tyler was in the other. His open wounds were a helpful distraction from Bella, but his presence wasn't so helpful if I was going to have to tell her again and again that I was right by her side.
As I watched her for a moment as she lay in the hospital bed, a reminded myself that she was nothing but a risk to my family and I, and that something would have to be done if we wanted to remain safe in Forks. Although it was hard to raise my thoughts against her as she lay helplessly in bed.
"Is she sleeping?" I asked. Her eyes went wide at the sound of my voice. She went back to glaring at me as soon as she caught herself.
"Hey, Edward, I'm really sorry – " Tyler was about to redirect his stream of apologies in my direction. I raised my hand to stop him.
"No blood, no foul," I smiled.
I positioned myself on the edge of Tyler's bed, so that I could see Bella and so that Tyler's scent was almost as strong as Bella's, but even then, hers was infinitely more tempting.
"So what's the verdict?" I asked. I wanted to know what the nurses she'd already seen had said.
"There's nothing wrong with me at all," she complained "but they won't let me go," She was so stubborn, I couldn't believe it. "How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?"
"It's all about who you know," I said. I heard Carlisle down the hall.
Her x-ray looks really good Edward. There's not much I can do here. She's fine.
"But don't worry, I came to spring you." I added warmly.
When Carlisle sauntered into the room, Bella's mouth fell open. So there was at least one normal response she had going for her.
"So, Miss Swan, how are you feeling today?" Carlisle gave her his best smile.
"I'm fine," she insisted again. Carlisle stuck the sheets into the display and lit up the board.
"Your X-rays look good, does your head hurt? Edward said you hit it pretty hard."
"It's fine," she scowled at me. Carlisle brushed through her hair with his fingertips, examining her. I wondered how he could stand being so close to her. She winced.
"Tender?" he asked
"Not really." She lied. Her stubbornness and refusal to except medical care made me laugh. Bella glared at me again.
"Well, your father is in the waiting room – you can go home with him now. But come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all."
Sorry Edward. You'll have to do your best and hope that she keeps all this to herself. There's not much more I can do. Carlisle thought with remorse. Alice called, she had Jasper pull your dents out of the cars. I sighed with relief. I'd forgotten all about the evidence I'd left.
"Can't I go back to school?" She really didn't give up did she?
"Maybe you should take it easy today." Carlisle offered.
"Does he get to go to school?" she glared at me again.
"Someone has to spread the good news that we survived," I said. This only made her glare harder.
"Actually," Carlisle started "most of the school seems to be in the waiting room."
"Oh no," Bella's face went pale at the thought of the student body in the waiting room.
"Do you want to stay?" Carlisle was as surprised by her reaction as I was.
"No, no!" Bella tried to jump out of bed, but ended up falling into Carlisle's arms. I fought the sudden and uncontrollable instinct to catch her myself.
"I'm fine," Bella said yet again.
"Take some Tylenol for the pain," Carlisle suggested.
"It doesn't hurt that bad," she insisted
"It sounds like you were extremely lucky," Carlisle told her as he signed off on her chart.
"Lucky Edward happened to be standing next to me," she glanced at me.
"Oh, well, yes," Carlisle was ignoring the fact that she was clearly baiting him. He turned to Tyler and started in on his next patient. Bella waited until Carlisle's back was turned to jump on me.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" she hissed. The motion of coming towards me sent her aroma towards again. The shock to my senses wouldn't have been worse if I'd been hit by a speeding semi. I set my jaw and swallowed venom.
"Your father is waiting for you," I suggested while doing my best not to open my mouth, lest the aroma find its way in.
Go with her Edward, see what you can do to clean up this mess. Even Carlisle was against me.
"I'd like to speak with you alone, if you don't mind," Bella said after glancing at Carlisle and Tyler.
I walked briskly into a well ventilated hallway and kept walking until I was far away from the nurses' prying ears.
"What do you want?" I spun around to face her, masking my anger and self loathing with annoyance.
"You owe me an explanation," her words were suddenly fearful.
"I saved your life – I don't owe you anything." The sharpness of my words made her flinch.
"You promised." She said softly.
"Bella, you hit your head, you don't know what you're talking about." Her anger started to grow again, it flared in her brown eyes as they smoldered up at me.
"There's nothing wrong with my head." She growled.
"What do you want from me Bella?" I returned her glare.
"I want to know the truth." She said flatly. "I want to know why I'm lying for you."
"What do you think happened?" I snapped.
"All I know is that you weren't anywhere near me –" her words came faster and faster "Tyler didn't see you, either, so don't tell me I hit my head too hard. That van was going to crush us both – and it didn't, and your hands left dents in the sides of it – and you left a dent in the other car, and you're not hurt at all – and the van should have smashed my legs, but you were holding it up…" she trailed off. Her teeth were clench, her face red, and tears were starting to pool in her eyes. Upon seeing her, I regretted what I had to do, but reminded myself that it was for the best for everyone.
I relied on my life of lying to get me through the conversation.
"You think I lifted a van off you?" I said incredulously. She nodded.
"Nobody will believe that, you know." I warned. She responded slowly, keeping control of her voice.
"I'm not going to tell anybody." I was immediately confused again. If she wasn't planning on telling anyone, why was she so determined to know?
"Then why does it matter?"
"It matters to me," her voice was full of emotion. "I don't like to lie – so there'd better be a good reason why I'm doing it."
She'd never know that there couldn't be a better reason. But I still didn't understand why she would lie to protect me without some benefit to herself. Bella continually surprised me.
"Can't you just thank me and get over it?" I wanted to beg her to get over it, but something made me doubt she would.
"Thank you."
"You're not going to let it go, are you?" I asked solemnly.
"No." her voice was firm.
"In that case… I hope you enjoy disappointment." All I could do was pray that she would keep her word. She glared at me for a long moment before asking;
"Why did you even bother?" The question caught me off guard.
"I don't know," I whispered. I truly didn't. I wandered off, leaving her in the hallway alone.
Why had I saved her? I wondered as I drove home. At the time all I could think was 'not her'. It wasn't a very good reason and I knew it.
I had managed to build up an excuse based on the fact that I wasn't sure what would happen if Bella's blood spilled in front of me. I told myself that if her delicate skin had been broken, and her powerfully alluring blood had been spilled, I would have exposed us all by trying to get my teeth in some.
But by the time I walked through the door, I wasn't so sure that that had been my reasons. Esme pulled me into her arms.
"Oh Edward." She sighed "I heard all about it." She held me there like a child in his mother's arms. Please don't leave again. She stopped her thoughts sharply.
"How did it happen?" she pulled back to look into my eyes. I told her the excuse about Bella's blood spilling in front of me and my lack of control. She saw through it, but didn't press the issue.
Esme released me. "Well if you want to talk…" she offered. I nodded a thank you and drifted to the piano, which I continued to play until I heard my siblings nearby, home from school. I headed for my room and shut the door quickly. I was sitting on the floor near the window with the music turned up when I heard Alice come in. She floated gracefully to my side and settled cross-legged on the floor a short distance from me.
Edward. She thought softly. I know it was an accident, and I know you wouldn't have done it if there had been another option. That's not why I'm here. Her thoughts didn't question my reasons, which I appreciated, but I gave her a questioning look. I'm here to show you something. A session of rapid, shocking images filled my mind all at once. Each one involved Bella.
Bella in the passenger seat of my car.
Bella at a dance with Mike Newton.
Bella sitting on my black sofa.
Bella in another hospital bed.
Bella and I sitting contently on Bella's bed.
Bella in a wide green open field, filled with sunshine.
Bella lying in a dark alley, on the edge of death.
Bella with bright red eyes.
The last image made my eyes go wide.
"No!" I breathed. I couldn't let this happen! I jumped up and began pacing, looking for an answer, a solution. Looking for a reason. All I had done was stop her from getting killed by a van, how could this end in such a way? I couldn't doom her to this half existence. I knew that if it came true, it would be no one's fault but my own. I couldn't let it happen.
Edward. These are just possible futures. They may or may not happen.
My mind was made up. I was going to keep my distance from Bella Swan from now on. I swore to myself that she wouldn't become a vampire. I couldn't let that happen. I had decided in an instant that she didn't deserve to die today, but there was no way that I would let her become the monster that I was because of my interference in her life.
Alice caught my frantic expression. I just thought you should know.
"Thank you, Alice." I whispered weakly. She nodded and left the room silently.