Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.
When I woke up the next morning, I was smiling. It was such a relief to know that Edward Cullen had returned, and that he obviously wasn't mad at me anymore, even if I still wasn't sure what I had done to irk him in the first place. On top of that, when I looked out the window to check on the weather, I found that there was still plenty of snow on the ground. I was practically glowing when I went downstairs for breakfast.
"Bye, Mom! Good luck at work, today!" I called as I pulled on my coat before leaving.
I guess I shouldn't have left when I did, because I was earlier than usual. I sighed slightly and killed the ignition, waiting in my car until more people showed up. Once the parking lot filled up a bit more, I finally deigned it acceptable to get out of my car and, treading carefully on the ice, made my way to the trunk to get my bookbag. I glanced to my right, noticing Edward Cullen leaning against the hood of his Volvo, four spaces down from me. I blushed when I caught myself staring, and then looked away; I sure did that a lot around him…
As I opened the trunk, I heard an odd, screeching noise. It was ear-splitting, and getting louder, closer.
Like the idiot I was, I didn't pay too much attention to it, didn't turn around until I heard screams and warnings. But when I did, I froze in terror once I saw the van coming right towards me.
Before I could move my fear-locked legs myself, I found myself out of the way of the collision course. One second, I was by the car, and the next, I was in the narrow space between my Taurus and the car in the parking space beside it. And, to add to my shock, let alone embarrassment, I was in Edward's arms.
"W-wait…H-how—?"
But I was silenced as the van hit another sheet of ice, again coming towards us. I guess it wasn't all that willing to let me get away scotch-free.
"Damn!" Edward hissed under his breath as he saw the van careening towards us yet again.
With me still in his arms, he twisted his torso so that I was facing away from the oncoming threat. Then, when it was only a few feet away, his arm shot out, practically a blur. The van stopped immediately, and then Edward pulled his arm away. When I looked at the van, I saw that a rather large dent had been left in the door.
I felt my jaw drop in amazement. I looked up at Edward, eyes wide, as my mind automatically compared him to Shizuo Heiwajima. Am I a pathetic anime nerd, or what?
Edward stood, notably with me still in his arms, before he straightened me up until I could stand on my own. But then his hands were on my shoulders, as if he felt the need to steady me. "Are you okay?"
I didn't answer, my gaze still shifting between his beautiful face, etched with worry, to the dent in the van. Edward followed my gaze to the dent, and then his jaw hardened angrily.
"Edward…" I finally managed, "How—what—what happened…?"
He turned his attention back to me, opening his mouth. But he didn't say anything, because that's when the crowd starting forming. Several people had pulled out their cell phones, their voices frantic.
"What happened?"
"Call an ambulance!"
"Someone needs to get Caleb out of the van!"
After a few more moments of all the chaos around me beginning to blend into something of a background blur, I heard sirens sounding in the distance, and then there were two ambulances in the parking lot, scattering the students. One of the EMTs pulled the boy out of his van, put him on a stretcher, and loaded him into one ambulance before it drove off in the direction of the hospital.
Another one of the EMTs approached us. "Are you alright?"
I blinked once, still dazed by all the commotion and still transfixed by the rather obvious dent in the van door, before I opened my mouth to explain that I was perfectly fine.
However, Edward spoke before I got a word out. "I'm fine, but she may have hit her head…Or she's in shock."
I glared at him. Traitor!
It looked like he was suppressing a smirk. "Then again, I can't be sure, so I think it'd be best if my father take a look at her."
"Should we take her in?"
"No, I think she'll be fine with me. I'll take her to the hospital." Edward wrapped a protective arm around my waist, and pulled me to the passenger side of my car. He opened the door and literally picked me up and plopped me into the seat. He walked around to the driver's side, closing the trunk in the process.
As he pulled out of the parking space, I looked out the window. My new friends, and the entire student body, for that matter, were watching with concern and shock. But when I glanced at the rest of the Cullens, they looked absolutely livid, with no concern for their brother. I shrank back into my seat a little bit, biting my bottom lip nervously.
I waited until Edward had reached the highway before speaking again.
"Alright, how'd you get there so fast?" I demanded, distinctly remembering that he had been by his own car.
"I was standing next to you."
He's a pathetic liar.
Edward seemed to flinch, but I couldn't really tell, since it was gone so fast.
"I'd appreciate it if you told me the truth."
"I was standing next to you," he repeated, almost mechanically…or as if he were trying to hide something from me.
I sighed, frustrated. Fine. Let him act like a child.
When we got to the hospital, Edward parked my car near the Emergency Room entrance before getting out to come around and help me out. Despite my anger, I blushed a little. He wrapped a protective arm around me again, and led me inside. He obviously knew where he was going, and he pulled me along to a room filled with beds. He sat me down on one.
"Please, just stay put. I'll get my father." Without another word, he turned on his heel and glided out of the room.
I sighed and looked around; there really wasn't anything all that interesting. I let out another sigh, swinging my legs like child. Hurry up…I thought, somewhat irritated.
My attention was caught by the commotion outside of the doors as someone was wheeled in on a stretcher. A few nurses moved the victim to the bed next to me before departing. It was a boy from my English class, Caleb…something. Based on the shallow cuts and bruises criss-crossing his arms, I had a pretty good feeling that he had been the driver of the killer van.
Caleb looked at me, his eyes still round with shock and horror. "Tiana, I'm so sorry!"
"Don't worry about it. I'm—"
"I thought I was going to run you over! I'm so sorry! I guess I hit the ice wrong, and—"
"Don't worry. I'm fine. You missed me," I interrupted, trying to suppress my sigh.
"Y-yeah…How did that happen, anyway? I mean, one minute you were in front of your trunk, and the next…"
"…Edward Cullen pulled me out of the way…Perfect timing, huh?" I laughed once, trying to lighten the mood.
"Oh, really? That's weird…I didn't see him…"
"It probably happened all so fast," I suggested. I suppose that was a half-truth, though…
"Yeah, probably…Is he okay?"
"Yeah. He's here…somewhere. He said he went to find his father…"
That's when the door opened again. Edward stepped into the room, followed by a blonde man wearing a white lab coat with a badge clipped to the pocket. Though I had never met him, I instantly knew that it was Dr. Cullen.
"Oh, hey, Edward, I'm sorry—"
Edward held up a hand to silence him. "Don't worry too much about it. No blood, no foul." I frowned slightly when I saw the slight smirk on his lips as he said that.
Dr. Cullen approached Caleb first. "Don't overexert yourself. You need to rest, calm down. I'll determine if something in wrong with Miss McKay." He placed a gentle hand on Caleb's arm, a slight smile on his face, before he turned to me. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. I'm a little dizzy, to be honest, but I'm just trying to get my bearings again."
He nodded and began to gently probe my head with cool, long-fingered hands. "Well, it doesn't appear as if your skull was damaged. Let's see about the rest of you." He checked my other extremities, my reflexes, my vital signs, my temperature, my blood pressure. He nodded, determining I was perfectly fine. "No injuries, no concussion. You're all set. But I would suggest you take the day off from school, and take some Tylenol when you get home, just to be safe."
"Okay…" I sighed, reluctant. I glanced at where Edward stood by the door. I felt myself frown, heard the slightly bitter tone in my voice as I asked, "What about him?"
"I personally think he should get himself home, as well, but he insisted on going back to let everyone know that the two of you are still alive. He also wants to check in on his siblings."
"Then why—?"
Dr. Cullen made a show of lowering his voice. "He wants you to go home and rest, too. He is truly concerned about your well-being."
I couldn't help it; I blushed and looked down at my feet. "Alright…Well, if there's nothing else, I'll head home, now…Thank you, Dr. Cullen."
He nodded in acknowledgement before turning to Caleb. I stood to go, just as Edward quickly left the room. I frowned before running after him. There was no way I was going to let him get away without explaining anything to me.
"Edward, wait!"
He ignored me.
"Edward!" I called again, catching up to him and grabbing his arm. Ignoring the fact that it felt like his skin was as hard as marble and cold as ice, I held firm, glaring up at him.
"Let go, Tiana." His voice, while soft, was commanding.
"Not until you give me an explanation." My eyes narrowed as he opened his mouth. "And don't give me that shit about how you were standing next to me."
He blinked, as if startled that I was cursing. It surprised most people, especially coming from quiet little me. And it usually meant that I was pissed as hell.
"You were standing by your car, parked four spaces down from me. I know what I saw. And I know that you know that's where you were. I don't mind lying for you, but I need to know why."
He sighed and reached down to pry my fingers from his arm. "Tiana…I…It's complicated. You must understand that I just need you to trust me."
I opened my mouth to argue, but he held up a hand to stop me. "Please. Please, just trust me," he begged.
I sighed, though it sounded more like a groan of frustration. "I need to know what happened. I'm not going to tell anyone, but I need to make sense of it all. It all happened so fast, so…surreal. I don't how you did it, or even what you did, but I need to know what's going on."
"Why does it matter if you're not going to tell?"
"It matters to me. I want to get past everything that happened last week. I really…I just want us to be honest with each other…"
"Can't you just thank me and forget about it?"
"I—" I stopped when I realized that I had yet to thank him. Grimacing slightly, guilty now, I said, "Thank you, Edward. But I can't just let this go…and I have no intention of doing so, either."
"Well, I can't tell you. It's too complicated. You wouldn't understand."
"Wouldn't I?" I demanded, anger flaring.
"Please, Tiana. Just let it go."
"No," I replied, crossing my arms stubbornly.
He was glaring a bit, now. I glared right back, though it was hard to keep my focus when it kept feeling like I was trying to stare down an angel of destruction.
"Why did you do it, anyway?" I asked him suddenly.
"I…I'm not sure…" he murmured, sounding truly confused about his motivations. After a pause, he suddenly declared, "I think it would be better if we weren't friends." He then turned on his heel and left.
I wanted to run after him again, but I forced myself to remain where I was. My cheeks puffed out in distaste, though, as I watched his retreating form. Once he turned the corner, I turned around to go in the opposite direction, following the same route that Edward had taken to get me to the ER. I walked through the relatively empty waiting room and out to my car in order to head home.
"I'm fine, Mom," I sighed when she returned from work. "Dr. Cullen said so."
She tugged at her scrub shirt. "I know he did, but still…"
"Really. I came home like he told me to, took some Tylenol, rested…I'm fine," I repeated.
"She wasn't injured, was she, Christine?" Dad asked from across the dining table.
"No…I asked Dr. Cullen, myself."
"Then, relax. She's still alive, she didn't get hurt, she followed the doctor's orders…"
Mom sighed. "I know, I know, I'm sorry…"
"It's okay," I told her.
After dinner, I turned on my laptop and pulled up Google in order to e-mail Morgan and Amie.
Hey, guys!
Sorry that I haven't gotten a chance to send a message sooner. The past two weeks have been pretty hectic…
Anyway, I love it up here! It's been raining or snowing since I got here, and the town itself is really great. The scenery is really pretty, and the people that I've met at school are really nice so far. And, to answer your inevitable question, Amie, I've met some good-looking guys.
I smirked slightly as I typed that, knowing Amie would think that to be an understatement if she ever actually saw the Cullens.
One of them is from the Quileute reservation, but he's younger than me, and I've only seen him once…The other three go to my school, and they're all adopted brothers. Two of them are seniors, so I haven't really gotten to know them.
But the youngest one is Edward. He's in my Biology class. I'm…still not sure if he likes me, or not, because sometimes he's really nice, but, other times, it's like he'd rather avoid me at all costs. However, he saved me from getting run over today…
Don't worry about me, though. It was just really icy, because of all the snow. I'm just lucky that Edward was nearby and pulled me out of the way. I didn't even get a scratch.
I'll send another e-mail when I can. I love you both, and I hope I can visit or call or something, soon.
Sighing, I sent the e-mail and then shut down my laptop, getting ready for bed. I frowned as I thought back to that morning, in the hospital. None of Edward's replies had answered my questions; they had just raised more questions.
But, judging by his reactions, I wasn't going to get any straight answers, if I was going to get any in the first place. I sighed, wondering if I would ever get him to be honest with me.
"Oh, well…" I muttered to myself as I climbed into bed.
Once I drifted off to sleep, I dreamed about Edward Cullen.
We were in a forest, on opposite sides of a clearing. He turned and ran in the opposite direction, not making a sound. I ran after him, blundering through the foliage. But no matter how much I tried, I couldn't catch him.