Chapter 2:

I stood outside the hospital cafeteria, staring at my reflection in the glass doors. I groaned, Why am I doing this?

Oh, yeah, because I can't get inside my own house.

I stared at the people inside, wondering if I should wait for Charlie by his cruiser. There were eight or nine dozen people inside, all wearing formal wear, tuxedos and ball gowns, much classier than I'd expected from Forks.

I looked back at my reflection, evaluating my appearance. I stood about five foot one, with brown eyes set in a heart shaped face and waist length mahogany hair. I was slender, but not curvy, and I was ghostly pale. Not to mention I was wearing a t-shirt, jeans and a denim jacket. And they were noticeably damp from the ever present drizzle.

Yeah, no way was I going to be able to fly under the radar in that room. Actually, that was asking too much, all I wanted was to NOT draw attention like a leper leaving a trail of body parts in his wake.

Yep, that would be nice.

Looking away from my reflection and focusing my eyes on the party goers, I spotted Charlie, complete with his one and only suit, a few feet inside the door, he was...

What precisely, is he doing, I questioned. I pressed my face against the glass, so I could see better, and studied the scene if front of me.

I bit my lip, to keep from laughing. It looked like he was scared for his life or at least his body, although I could completely sympathize, considering the circumstances.

My mirth got the best of me, as I laughed and decided I was going in there. I didn't really want to wait in the rain for the next few hours anyway. Besides, Charlie obviously required help.

I carefully pulled the door ajar, trying not to make any noise. I assumed I didn't since no one even glanced in my direction.

Thankfully, no one seemed to notice me, absorbed in what they were doing, standing around talking animatedly or dancing to music I couldn't hear.

Given that I didn't see anyone looking in my general direction, I stopped skulking and went to rescue Charlie. That no one had noticed their Police Chief being assaulted, seemed a little over the top to me.

Charlie was pressing himself into a corner, obviously trying to put some distance between him and the woman harassing him. I knew she was drunk, I couldn't see her face, but it was obvious from the way she weaved to the side, and seemed to have a difficult time standing up straight.

She ran her hands up his chest and nuzzled his neck. I gagged, as Charlie grimaced, trying in vain to push her away.

He was obviously being careful not to hurt her, as he could have forced her away. I smiled softly, it was so typical of Charlie to go easy on women. He'd never been able to forcibly arrest one.

That's okay; I can take care of this, for him. She's already so drunk she won't remember this tomorrow, why not do things the easy way?

I used my telekinesis to pull her back a few steps, while simultaneously keeping her upright. I was rewarded with a relieved sigh from Charlie.

I kept a low profile and moved to the side so I could see their lips clearly.

I was a few feet away when she spoke again, "Come on Charlie. You know I've always had a thing for you. I promise you won't regret it."

Ew, gross. I really did not need to see that.

Charlie mumbled something that looked like, "Oh God, somebody save me." He simultaneously slid along the wall in a desperate attempt to escape the woman, who apparently thought snatching at his clothes, was sexy.

I hid my disgust, and made sure to keep my voice low; deaf people have a tendency to unwittingly yell when they get upset. "Do you think you can sober up long enough to get your hands off my father?" They turned to me.

Charlie stared at me with wide, embarrassed eyes, "Bella?"

The woman regarded me with a contemptuous sneer. I barely resisted the urge to shove her away with my telekinesis. Not that that was a bad idea, I would keep it in mind, just in case she truly got difficult.

"Who are you?" She spat. I could tell by her posture and the way her lips moved, that her tone wasn't nice.

I stilled a flare of irritation, and kept my expression blank; almost like I was talking about the weather with an extremely boring person. "Isabella Swan."

She stepped away from Charlie and toward me. "Oh. You're Charlie's daughter."

I gritted my teeth when she smiled; I did not like this woman.

"I'm Barbara Newton. My husband owns Newton's Outfitters." She said this like it was important. I briefly wondered why? If she thought that made her important, my father was the Chief of Police. That trumped a store owner's wife any day.

"You can call me, Miss Swan." I slipped a little, and contempt showed in my voice, but only for the smallest second.

Her fake smile fell, so I assumed she picked up on it. "Fine, why don't you run along and play now. Charlie, and I, want some adult time."

I blinked, What the hell? God, she reminded me of one of mom's old boyfriends. "Sorry, but I have to interrupt. I really need to talk to my father." I turned to face Charlie who had taken advantage of her distraction to slither along the wall, and hide behind me.

"Dad, we need to go. Jake and I..." I gasped when I felt my telekinesis reach out violently toward something. I knew what that meant.

A millisecond later, I stumbled backward when hard, manicured fingernails clamped down on my shoulder, and tried to snatch me backward.

Compared to my shield, her strength-such as it was- didn't amount to much. She couldn't have mussed my hair with my shield in place, much less pull me down. I had to allow myself to fall, though. She was twice my size, it wasn't plausible that she wouldn't be stronger than me.

I landed on my backside, still suppressing my telekinesis.

In the back of my mind I noticed small vibrations through the floor, and knew Charlie hadn't reacted well to Mrs. Newton's attack. I knew it, but I didn't look to see what was going on, I was too busy to care.

After a few seconds, I felt a shift inside my entire body, and relaxed. That shift meant that I had overpowered my gift instincts; it went from trying to push it's way outward, to resting softy within me. It was a strange feeling.

I sighed, relieved and not a little irritated that it had freaked out over nothing, again. Seriously, what threat did Barbara Newton pose? Stop doing crap like that, I thought.

If I could control my subconscious it might have listened for once. My telekinetic mind responded to a slew of cues, my emotions, my mental mindset, and outside motion. Since I despised the vile woman my emotions towards her wasn't nice, I wasn't thinking kind thoughts towards her, and when she'd surprised me it had been too much for my telekinetic mind to let pass, so it had tried to act on its own.

My little buddy loves me.

I opened my eyes to see Charlie arguing with the Newton woman. His back was to me so I couldn't tell what he was saying. If the way he waved his arms, and held his body rigid, was any indication: he wasn't happy. Hopefully, he was so focused on protecting me that he hadn't noticed my little freak-out on the floor.

I got up as gracefully as I could, sure I looked like a drowning duck, but there wasn't anything I could do about that; I was naturally uncoordinated. I glanced around, blushing as I realized that everyone was staring at us, or rather me.

What a way to make a first impression.

I lightly touched Charlie's arm to get his attention, he didn't seem to notice. I watched the woman's lips carefully when she put her hands on her hips, and started speaking. I tried to catch what she was saying, but she spoke too rapidly for me to be able to decipher the words.

I couldn't see what Charlie said back, but it didn't sit well with her. Her face twisted into an expression that would have made me slightly nervous before the whole vampire thing started happening. Humans just didn't seem intimidating after psychotic vampires tried to kill you. Weird, huh?

I saw her hand drawback to slap Charlie, and started towards her. No way was that bitch going to lay her filthy hands on my father.

Before I could take more than a step in their direction, an incredibly pale hand grasped her wrist.

Stunned, I followed it back to the man who owned it. That wasn't possible, no one was that pale. No one alive anyway.

The second my eyes landed on him, I knew I was screwed. Apparently, my telekinesis did too. It flared out, and strengthened the shield I was already wearing. It covered my entire body. I could move freely, but all movement within a quarter centimeter away from me was stopped, and nothing would be able to move any closer to me. Not even vampires.

I felt it expand into a bubble that would encompass Charlie, and gently reined it in. Charlie wouldn't have the freedom of movement that I did; he could easily suffocate if his chest couldn't expand. I'd only shield Charlie if it was necessary, and I would be smart about it.

I divided my attention between guarding Charlie, and breathing slowly, keeping my gift under control.

If it hadn't been for the vampires eyes, I would simply have used a shield to control him, but those eyes were something I'd come to respect. They were a serene golden brown. The eyes of a vegetarian.

I paid more attention to the half of my brain that was studying the vampire. I shouldn't have; I needed to be in control of myself, and of the situation, but I couldn't stop. This wasn't supposed to be happening, not here. Forks was supposed to be safe. He shouldn't be here. Not in a hospital... This wasn't supposed to be possible.

Regardless of any potential admiration, I had for this vampire, he was just that, a vampire capable of killing everyone in sight if he chose. Letting my guard down around him could prove to be a fatal mistake. With that thought floating around in my brain; I involuntary braced myself for a fight, still studying the vampire before me.

He was as pale as any vampire, honey colored hair and looked to be about twenty. Though, he could be a thousand years old; vampires didn't age. He was your typical, gorgeous vampire, only this one was standing in a hospital cafeteria, wearing a tux.

I read his lips as he spoke to Mrs. Newton. "There is a free bed in the nurses' station. I suggest you make use of it."

I was too busy watching his every move, so I didn't see her reaction, just her back as she stalked past him, into the crowd. Not all that surprising, considering how intimidating vampires could be.

I glanced from Mrs. Newton's retreating figure to Charlie in time to see him say. "Why did you do that? If she'd hit me I could have arrested her for assaulting a police officer."

I couldn't help but butt in. "And you couldn't arrest her for that when she was trying to shove you through the wall?" Charlie blushed as they shook hands. Charlie respected this vampire, it was obvious from the way he clasped his hand and stood tall with his shoulders back.

Wait? Charlie knew him? Oh, crap, crap, crap!

This is so not good, I thought as sweat popped up on my brow and my heart kicked painfully in my chest. Even if he was a vegetarian; vampires are very dangerous to humans. Well, most humans, I wasn't really vulnerable since I was capable of defending myself, but Charlie didn't have that ability. My entire body started to ache slightly from the effort it took to keep my telekinesis under control.

I stopped paying attention to everything, but the vampires' position for a moment and focused all my attention on my telekinesis. Why had Charlie spent enough time around this thing to know him? It wasn't safe; he could snap, go to long between hunting trips, a dozen different things could result in Charlie being dinner. I'd almost lost Renee to one of them, that experience was the most painful of my existence. I didn't think I could survive loosing Charlie.

Stop thinking like that or I'll be responsible for his death. I made myself focus on thoughts of Charlie's safety; I couldn't live if I was responsible for him winding up like Renee almost had. The thought of Charlie lying in the dirt, crying and bleeding his ribs shattered and exposed, was almost enough to weaken my mental grip on my errant ability.

Charlie will be fine as long as I calm down and don't force the vampire to defend himself. Pretend ignorance, get Charlie away from the threat, find out exactly what the situation is and then decide on a course of action that will protect him. That plan, when repeated over and over , calmed me. I'd always felt more in control when I had made a choice, indecision was when I was dangerous. It was physically painful to wrestle it into submission, but eventually I felt the shift and breathed a sigh of relief.

I slowly opened my eyes to see Charlie and the Vampire staring at me worriedly.

My eyes focused on the vampire when he started speaking. It was more complicated to read a vampire lips because their skin was stone hard, and didn't flex or move like human lips. "Are you feeling alright?"

I took a step to the side so that I was in front of Charlie, as a potential shield. "I'm sorry. Could you repeat that?" I didn't need him to repeat it, I needed a reason to get between him and Charlie.

Not that it mattered, Charlie immediately stepped around me and stood beside the vampire. Idiot, I was trying to help you!

I forced my eyes to Charlie, "Bella this is Dr. Cullen. He works here at the hospital." He shifted slightly, so that he faced the doctor, but I could still read his lips. "Doctor, this is my daughter, Bella. She's deaf and, depending on the person, reading lips can sometimes be difficult."

Doctor? This vampire was passing himself off as a doctor? The kind of 'Doctor' that worked in a hospital, around blood?

Charlie started to speak again, but I cut him off when I saw something on the vampire's shirt. "Is that blood?" I didn't mean to raise my voice, it was an involuntary reaction.

Charlie nodded his expression becoming animated. "A woman broke her wine glass and took a chunk out of her hand. There was blood everywhere." His eyes glittered as he regaled me with his story. God, how boring is this town, if that constitutes excitement?

I ignored Charlie, and glanced at the vampire to see him studying me, I darted my gaze back to Charlie. "The doc here sewed her up. Now what are you doing here? What's going on, and why are you acting so weird?" His face went from bright and animated, to worried and pale. "Are you okay?"

I ignored him in favor of questioning 'The Doctor?' "You sewed her bloody hand?"

Was it even possible for a vampire to be that close to blood, and not feed from the helpless person bleeding? And he hadn't eaten her, I was positive of that. If he had his eyes would glow a bright, eerie red.

If what Charlie claimed was true this vampire would have to possess incredible control, to be that close to blood, even more than Phil. I hadn't even thought that was possible. James and Victoria were rabid beasts, according to Phil that was the norm for vampires.

The doctor did nothing more than nod in response to my question. He continued to study me.

Oh, crap. I groaned to myself, my heart thudding in fear and annoyance. Whatever the explanation, vampires just shouldn't be around blood, it was stupid. Doubly so, when said vampire was a vegetarian.

Why would he tempt himself? I huffed, seriously upset that I couldn't understand this vampire or his reasoning. Mentally I knew better than to express my feelings or thoughts out loud; vampires had super hearing and super vision. It was almost impossible to hide your reactions from them.

If he knew that I knew what he was, he would kill me. He would have to, that was the rule: If a human found out, they died so that the mythical world, that existed around them, would remain a secret. And the human population, regarded as nothing more than a food source by vampires, would remain blissfully ignorant.

I schooled my face into a neutral expression, turning my attention back to Charlie. He hadn't forgotten about my weird behavior, and was getting more anxious by the minute. "What was all that about? She didn't hurt you; did she?"

"No, she didn't hurt me. I'm just a little freaked out." Like she could have hurt me, how ridiculous.

Charlie relaxed, tilted his head to the side and regarded me thoughtfully, "Why are you here? I thought you were going to the movies with Jake?"

I sighed, and grabbed his arm trying to pull him toward the door. "They dropped me off at home thirty minutes ago, but you never gave me a house key so I was locked outside. I waited, but when you didn't show up, I decided to come get the key, and rescue you in the process." Despite my tugging, he still hadn't budged an inch. Protecting him was getting difficult. Couldn't he be like a normal person and want to get way from the vampires?

"Bella, the key's hidden on the eave above the door." I stopped pulling on him, and blushed.

"Why would you hide a key there, anyone could find it?"

Charlie just rolled his eyes. "You're too much of a city girl. This is a small town; we don't have much crime around here. And we don't have anyone stupid enough to break into the home of the Chief of Police."

No, I thought, You have a vegetarian vampire doctor. Much better than crime.

"Now, I thought you and Jake would be gone for hours, what happened?" I glanced from his lips to his face. He was his "Cop' face. Which meant he wouldn't leave me along until he got the story.

"Billy got drunk, and decided to cut out early. Now, I'm hungry, let's go home."

Charlie laughed, "I could have told you that would happen; Billy's never been able to hold his liquor."

I sighed, "Yeah, macho man stuff, very funny. Can we go now?"

I stopped paying attention to him as he turned to say his goodbye's to the doc. H was too close to this vampire, that wasn't going to work. I'd need to find a way to fix that.

When Charlie tapped my shoulder, I looked up and he gestured to the doctor. "It's very nice to meet you, Miss Swan."

I smiled. "It's nice to meet you too. And call me Bella." If a vampire could pretend to be civil so could I.

He smiled. "Very well, Bella. You can call me Carlisle. "

Trying to avoid speaking verbally, I nodded. He simply smiled slightly in response, still studying me with an odd expression.

I looked down, avoiding his gaze like a normal human would.

After a few seconds, Charlie put his arm around my shoulders and steered me towards the door. I didn't look back at the doc, even though the urge to do so was a tangible itch centered at the back of my neck.

I did notice, in the reflection of the glass doors, that he was still staring at me.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I waited until we made it to Charlie's house, -our house, I reminded myself- before I started questioning him about Dr. Cullen. Apparently 'Carlisle' had moved to town almost a year ago and had worked at the hospital ever since.

I was relieved to hear that, if he'd been here that long, there was no way he could be involved with James and Victoria.

Dr. Cullen had a wife, who was a stay at home mom, and five adopted children, who attended Forks High School. The same Forks High School I would be attending soon. Great, I leave Phoenix to avoid the Dynamic Duo and move to the one place on earth that serves as a home for -what appears to be- the second largest coven on earth.

Which didn't make sense. According to Phil vampires didn't have covens of more than two or sometimes three. Their violent, territorial instincts prevented it. So what was going on with this Doctor? He, apparently, had a coven of seven. Going by Phil's info only the Volturi could claim to outnumber them.

The Volturi were led by three of the oldest know vampires in existence, and led a small army of very talented vampires. In addition to killing anyone who did anything to risk exposing them, they searched the world for humans with special or strong talents that would be enhanced when they became vampires, so they could change them and strengthen their army.

If these vampires were even half as gifted as the Volturi, I was in serious trouble. If they discovered my knowledge and abilities, that is. Of course, the doc might have suspected something. My reaction to him may have tipped him off; I'd been too concerned with protecting Charlie to play the ignorant human as well as I should have.

So what now, I thought. What do I do now?

That was an easy question to answer, as I only had one source for information into the vampire world... Phil. I would text him as soon as I could, and see if he knew anything about these strange vampires. If their coven is as large as Charlie claimed, they would be known.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

An hour later, after we'd eaten, Charlie collapsed on the sofa and stared at some sports program like it held the answers to the mysteries of the universe.

I do not understand his obsession with sports.

I was seated beside him, trying to figure out what the players on television were doing. I was fairly sure they were playing basketball. That seemed a safe conclusion since they were running between basketball nets on a basketball court. And they were doing it with more grace than I could muster to walk with.

So sad, I mentally pouted. Just once it would be nice to be able to walk from point (a, to point (b, without humiliating myself.

After fifteen minutes of mind-numbing sports, I decided it was time for bed. "Goodnight Dad," I said, standing.

He held up his hand, a signal to wait. "Hold on a minute. Do you need me to wake you up in the morning?"

I shook my head. "No. I brought my alarm clock."

He focused his attention on the television again. "I signed you up for school. You start tomorrow."

He did? Wow, that was very... parent-like of him. I wasn't able to muster the brain cells necessary to do more than stare at him for a second. I wasn't used to someone doing something like that for me. I was always more of a parental figure than Mom, always the care taker; no one had ever tried to take care of me.

Genuinely moved by his thoughtfulness, I touched his shoulder lightly. "Thanks Dad."

He nodded, reaching up to pat my hand. "Make sure you go by the office first thing. Good night, Bells." He was immediately sucked back into the basketball game, so I didn't bother saying good night, he wouldn't have heard me anyway.

I climbed the stairs carefully and went straight to the bathroom. I showered quickly and washed my hair with my favorite strawberry scented shampoo. I'd never been one to enjoy long showers so I was in and out in five minutes. I hadn't bother to gather my clothes beforehand, I knew Charlie would be glued to the television for the next hour, so I wrapped myself in a towel and darted down the hall into my room.

I dressed in my favorite pajamas; a pair of ratty sweats and a t-shirt I'd stolen from Jake a few years ago. Jake always had the best shirts, so I stole the one's I wanted and eventually replaced them with the one's he would undoubtedly steal from me. I liked big t-shirts so mine would fit him and vice-versa.

After I dried my hair, I grabbed my cell and got comfortable on the bed before I texted Phil.

He had heard of the Cullen's. In fact, they were famous in the vampire world, vegetarians and the second largest coven in the world, only outnumbered by the Volturi, just as I'd thought.

Phil talked of them like hero's, genuinely admiring them, even though he'd never actually met any of them.

It was decided that, since the Cullen's were as close to a safe vampire as you could get, and I wasn't really vulnerable to a vampire attack, I would stay. At the first sign of trouble I would catch a flight out of the country, meet Phil somewhere, and he would make me disappear.

Not that I would actually follow that plan. I hadn't ever intended to do that. I was here to protect Charlie, trouble was the exact reason I wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

I set my alarm, placing the vibrator under my pillow before I crawled into bed.

Snuggling under the covers, I closed my eyes, quickly falling asleep despite the unusual surroundings.