~A/N It was so nice to hear from some familiar readers. My expectations for interest in this little story were exceeded. As always, there were some great guesses what might be happening. I hope I can still keep you guessing where I might go with the muse. This won't be a long drawn out story. I'm still writing a lot to meet my real life publishing goals, but I'm definitely wanting to explore some new ideas on here. One of my biggest dreams right now is to make my own paranormal series, which used to seem impossible to me, but after reading some of my AU content, I'm hopeful.

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But, enough about me. What is going on with Bella?

Chapter 1

The second time I woke in my unusual surroundings didn't feel as terrifying. A strong, warm hand clung to my fingers. My head fell to the right. I breathed with relief, "Charlie."

His familiar mustache twitched above a thin smile. I hadn't been paying enough attention to my father for far too long. This was the first time I noticed the addition of grays sprinkled throughout his facial hair. He hadn't shaved his beard today, or perhaps several days, which was so unlike him. Maybe he'd taken Sue's advice and started a real vacation. That was also uncharacteristic, so I doubt it was true. New fine lines littered his face in all the regular places. It wasn't possible that my father aged this much in the few days since I last saw him.

Even his voice sounded older. "Hey, Bells. You gave us quite the scare." Sentence fragments were all I managed, even inside my thoughts. Scared. I scared. Everyone was scared. How? Before I could ask, he continued. "Don't strain yourself, kiddo. You've been through an ordeal, and it's going to take some time to regain your strength. The good news is that all the initial tests look promising. There's no permanent damage."

Were all of them extremely confused? We hadn't told Dad exactly what we were, but he knew things were different now. I couldn't understand why he thought I could be damaged, but then I realized my limbs felt like lead and even whispering hurt. At least those stupid restraints were missing. If only I could regain a small amount of strength, I could move about freely. My head turned the other way as I tried to gain my bearings. Mom was absent. Had I imagined her in my face before? Now that I recollect more, Renee seemed a bit unhinged or like a caricature of her normal self. Nothing was right in this moment. I barely recognized my own parents, and I felt like a shell of my former self. Taking a full inventory of my surroundings, I noticed two other individuals in scrubs stood off to the side. An array of screens and medical equipment were nearby. I finally understood that I was in a hospital setting.

A dark-haired woman came closer. Her pleasant demeanor eased my apprehension. "Isabella, meeting you at last is a truly a monumental experience. I'm Dr. Vine, and I'm sure you have so many questions. I'll tell you one thing for certain. This entire facility is celebrating your awakening. You are our precious one percent that we expect to make a full recovery. It will not happen overnight, but you're in the best place to meet your needs. Your parents are eager to fill you in and get reacquainted, so I'm going to step out for a meeting with your entire medical team. When you're ready, I'll include you on what the next steps might look like. Just remember that over the next few days and weeks, you'll be relearning almost every task that once seemed like second nature, so don't exert yourself or try to do too much at once. Rest will be your greatest essential."

The doctor stepped away from my bed. Renee soon replaced the space left by Dr. Vine. Her voice shrilled against my ear. "She's fully awake! Charlie Swan, what were you thinking?" Mom chastised, saying, "You should have come to get me."

Charlie made the excuse I had only recently opened my eyes, and Mom was downstairs in the cafeteria getting coffee. He didn't want to miss what Dr. Vine had to say.

She waved off his excuse and focused on me once again. Mom asked a series of questions that ran together, but I couldn't answer any of them. They needed to answer mine before any of this made sense. "Wh… what hap… happened to me?"

Charlie took a deep breath as he stood up. It seemed like he planned to tell me, but Mom interrupted him. "There was a horrible accident. That boy is lucky we haven't sued the pants off him and his parents yet, but that's still a possibility. I've spoken to several lawyers."

"Renee. Enough. Like you said, it was an accident. No one is to blame. There was black ice. Bells was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

I repeated what they said. "An accident?"

"Yes, honey, at school," Mom added.

Hearing about school made their explanation even more confusing. I hadn't been at the school in a long time. If I was in a hospital, my spouse should be here, too. I don't think Mom understood what I'd said that initial time I spoke. My voice was stronger now, so I asked with more conviction. "Where is Edward?"

Renee spoke to Charlie. "There it is again. Who is that? Did Bella have a boyfriend before and neither of you ever told me?"

Mom was flighty, but she wasn't an idiot. How could she forget my wedding?

Charlie cleared his throat, which meant he was nervous. "Um, no, of course not." Turning his attention to me, my father spoke slowly. "Are you talking about Edward Cullen, Bells?"

I tried to shout, but my throat hurt too much. "Y-y-y-yes. Who else? He's my husband."

Mom cackled loudly. "Oh, my goodness! How funny. Looks like someone had a bit of a crush. It's true what they say about coma patients. They can dream vividly."

Coma. Dream. Crush. Renee's laughter. All these things crash landed onto me at once. How was I in a coma? The idea of me and Edward was a joke to my mother. My confusion multiplied, and I felt embarrassed for no apparent reason.

Charlie attempted to silence my mother. His hands performed a keep it down signal. "Now wait a minute. This is a good sign, Renee. Don't you remember the Cullen kid was a close witness? He regretted what happened that day and even tried to make an excuse for not being able to stop the impact. I told him there was no way. Everything happened in a matter of seconds. I'm sure that's why Bella remembers him now. He might have been the last face she saw before her traumatic injury."

Even if I couldn't scream, my entire body shook with frustration. The questions came easier after these few minutes of speaking again. "What are you both talking about? What exactly happened in this accident?"

My mother leaned closer and slowed her speech as if I no longer understood normal language. "You… were… at… school, in the early days of living with your father and a classmate, Tyler, lost control of his van. You never saw him coming toward you. Your body got tossed like a rag doll up into the air on impact before tumbling onto the hard pavement. You suffered a severe head trauma. You are what doctors call a TBI, honey. It means traumatic brain injury."

I repeated one part for my understanding. "Early days…" pausing, I asked a more urgent question. "How long?"

Renee's confession sent me reeling. "It's been three and half years since your father and I looked into your beautiful brown eyes, our precious daughter."

Everything my parents said couldn't be true, even though I'd never known them to be liars. Without thought, I blurted out what I believed to be the real truth, "But I'm a vampire!"

Mom giggled once more. "Yep, crazy dreams indeed. Yikes. That one is a little scary, though. I hope the nightmares weren't too often."

Charlie clasped his hands together and made a pained expression. "Bells, remember the doctor said you need rest? That's enough talking for now."

"Rest?" I questioned. "According to the two of you, I've been sleeping for years. Why should I rest?"

Renee sighed and spoke in a sympathetic tone. "It's a different type of rest now. Before, your brain had shut down in many ways. Now that you're back, true healing must take place. That's what we all mean by rest. I mean, this place has been good for you, but maybe we should transfer you to a big city now that you're conscious."

Charlie snapped, "No, Renee. Bella stays here. I already told you. This rehabilitation place opened in Port Angeles at the exact time when we were at a loss about our daughter's long-term care. I did my research, and it rivals any of those places in Seattle and California that you investigated. Here, she's close to home." He whispered the next part. "Close to me. That's important for all of us."

"Fine, but as Bella gets better, that decision should be hers. Isn't that right, honey?"

I didn't have a clue what they were talking about, and I don't remember any sort of rehabilitation place in Port Angeles. I remembered they had a small community hospital. This confusing discussion had left me exhausted and no closer to finding out what had happened to Edward. I complained about not wanting to sleep, but my body protested staying awake any longer. Before I could explain my need for a nap, I felt my thoughts fade.

A deep voice vibrated within the room. My eyes fluttered toward the door because a curious feeling overcame me. My heart rate kicked up a notch and an overwhelming heat flooded my veins. Sleep won out, but I could have sworn a tall, imposing figure filled the entrance of my room in front of Charlie.

I knew him. Didn't I?

No, knew wasn't an adequate word. He was something more to me.

~Thanks so much for reading.

Who wants to hear from a tall, imposing figure? Hit me up with your thoughts.