Disclaimer: I do not own nor do I make profit off of Twilight. All rights belong to the Author Stephanie Meyer
Reviews: FOUR!? four reviews you guys are seriously spoiling me and I love it!
YellowSmoke- NO, thank you! You literally have kept a smile on my face since I read your review! I absolutely love that you love Carlisle as much as I do, I always wanted to read more of him int he Twilight books but never got it so I always made him center fold in this story. Thank you so so so so much for your amazing words and for taking the time to even give me a review that is so incredibly kind of you!
GuestMG- OMG thank you so much for yet another review you don't know how much I appreciate you taking time out of your live to give me the feedback and words! You know what the funny thing is I somehow completely forgot Esme is also a victim of abuse from her past and I love you for pointing that out! how could I have forgotten that? Since you were kind enough to thank me, here is another early chapter! Thank you again so much for the tie and the amazingly generous words!
Orangiethefox- Wow! Thank you so much for the review, it was incredibly kind and I can't thank you enough for taking time to leave me that review it really made me happy. I love that you like the story and it makes me soooo happy so hear that from you! Here is a another chapter and I thank you sooo much!
Sarah- Aww thank you so much love for taking the time to sit and make a review, I really appreciate your words. They were so utterly kind, and made me smile! I appreciate it so much, it means the world to me!
Ill Visions
My whole body is soar, but my neck and ribs are the worst, pulsing with every beat of my heart. My skin feels hot, but I'm freezing, did I cover myself when I laid down? I try to reach for a blanket but my limbs feel too heavy to move as if my blood has been replaced with lead. I could move them if I really tried, but I'm so tired and my joints feel as if they'll creak and turn to powder the minute I move. Suddenly a cold hand rest on my forehead before carding itself though my hair. My first instinct is move away but I can't...or won't their both the same thing at this point.
"She's burning up." The calm voice of Dr. Cullen or Carlisle as he asked me to call him enters my ears.
"She's exhausted." I feel a light blanket get tucked around my shoulders, "She's only changed her shirt." Slim fingers touch my cheek and larger ones push my bangs away.
"Her body and mind have been through a lot today, for now we'll just watch her. I have a feeling it will pass." Theres a long pause and then the fingers on my neck disappear,
"What happened?" I know she's talking about the finger shaped bruises there, I can feel her staring,
"I believe she'll talk when she's ready." He knows. Either Edward told him or it's just instinct, it could also be he didn't believe my lie. It doesn't matter I can't talk about it, I've been taught not too. I've grown accustom to the lie, to the game, it's become a part of who I am, and I hate myself for it.
…
As the night continues and I fade in and out of a restless sleep I am very aware that I'm never alone. When I wake up cold, theirs someone there tucking a blanket under my chin, when I wake up sweaty and uncomfortable, theirs someone there dragging a cool cloth across my forehead; and when I wake up wheezing from the strain on my neck, there is someone there fixing my pillows and tipping my head back with cool fingers. Once when I wake someone lifts me into a sitting position and forces water and small pills down my throat. At first I reject it and the same cool fingers rub soothing circles on my back,
"It's okay sweet girl, slow sips." Carlisle's voice encourages and after a second I comply swallowing both water and pills if anything so I can go back to sleep. I'm laid back down, a cool hand rests on my forehead for just a second, "Sleep now."
I begin to wake up with what feels like seconds later, but could be hours. I'm still soar, still tired, and with the feeling that someone is hoovering nearby. My feeling is confirmed when a cold finger touches my forehead right over the tenderness of the bruise at my hairline. Slowly the finger moves down to my cheek then follows down to my jawline and eventually to the fire that is my neck. I resist the urge to swallow. With eyes still closed I take a deep breath through my nose feeling my ribs expand with a groan, the soreness there strong.
"What did they say?" The calm voice of Esme hits the air. I hear steps follow,
"Which one?" Carlisle's voice asks back almost amused.
"Both." She answers quickly,
"They can't spare me much time right now, but I did manage to wrangle a week on call under the circumstances, the kids were...a little more difficult."
"Shocking." Esme's voice is gentle with a sarcastic hint to it,
"Would you like the good news or the bad news first?"
"Give me the bad." Esme answers after a second of silence,
"Rose is not happy, which is to be expected. Apparently both Alice and Edward tried to speak with her, but she wasn't having it, she's run off and Emmetts gone to look for her."
"Alice tried to speak with her?" Esme asks, her voice sounding stern, someone takes a long breath,
"It seems our Alice has seen this coming for a week and according to Edward, she's kept it to herself, but even she doesn't know how this is possible." Another long pause of silence and I feel myself drifting off again,
"and the good news?"
"Her fever will break by morning, she'll be a bit uncomfortable, but her sickness will pass." Another long pause, I hate these.
"I haven't taken care of a sick child since..." She trails off, her voice doesn't break, but it does sound hurt.
"Shhhhhhhhhhhh" Carlisle whispers and while I can't see him I imagine him wrapping his arms around her, "Why don't you go for a hunt Mi Amour, you haven't left this room all night." She hasn't? She's only just met me and she's been taking care of me, Carlisle too, why? After a second of silence Esme speaks,
"Why is it that she doesn't smell?" I wish I knew myself,
"It's strange, I've never seen it before so unfortunately even I don't know."
"It feels.." She trails off, after a second she speaks again, "like she was meant to live with us."
"Esme-"
"Please don't," she cuts him off, "I'm going to hunt." Heels click on wood and disappears. Another cold hand on my forehead and darkness starts pulling me under,
"Maybe."
…
Sleep starts to lift from both my mind and body, and unlike the last dozen times I'm beginning to feel more awake. I'm feeling more, and I'm especially beginning to feel the ache in my ribs and lungs, and a dull throbbing in my neck and behind my ears. However I don't feel as heavy and my skin doesn't feel like it's burning off. I stretched forgetting my neck. I grunt reaching for the tender skin while trying to sit up. Before I can rub at the pulsating spot a cold hand seizes mine and a body scoots behind me propping me up,
"owwww," I groan
"Shhhhhh, it's okay, slow movements." I feel cold fingers on my lips, "open." I open my eyes instead finding that everything still has the same pink tint to it that it did last night. Carlisle sits in front of me one hand lightly rubbing circles over my bruised skin, the other clutching a small blue pill close to my mouth.
"What?" I chock out through sleep ridden lips,
"It will help with the pain Mare." I let him push the pill between my lips, and then hand me a glass of water. I grab it and take a small sip, it hurts all the way down, but I'm so thirsty I start guzzling, when the glass is pulled away, "You're going to choke." He's right, I start coughing sending tears into my eyes and down my cheeks before I can even think to stop them,
"Owww." I breathe out when I finally get the chance,
"Esme, can you please get us some ice?" Esme appears out of nowhere next to the bed,
"Of course., give me a moment." She turns and is out the door, before I can even blink, but I don't hear her heels anymore,
"Do you want the bad new or the good news." Carlisle asks reaching forward to wipe my tears off my cheeks just as he had done at the hospital.
"Bad," I sigh just catching a small smirk on Carlisle's face,
"Bad news is, this is the worst it's going to be."
"And the good?" I relax more into his touch,
"It's going to get better from here." I groan and squeeze my eyes shut, I could have told him all that. "Thank you love." Carlisle murmurs, taking his hand off of my neck only to replace it with the ice pack,
"Ahhhh!" I try to pull back, but the icepack follows,
"Layback Mare." I let him push me back into fluffed pillows, his reaches forward resting his palm on my forehead, while his other hand fixes the icepack around my back,
"Careful," Esme, reaches forward shoving another pillow under my back.
"How do you feel?" His fingers brush my cheek, "You were ill last night."
"I'm fine."
"Non the less you need to rest, the pain pill is going to make you tired so listen to your body and allow it to be at peace." I sigh because, one thats what I've been doing this whole time and two, I'm not use to anyone fussing with me this much. The last time I was sick I passed out in my bed and woke up 16 hours later, mom asleep on the couch while a pot of a fowl smelling substance bubbled away on the stove. I don't know how long it had been there or how long mom had been passed out in an alcohol induced sleep but what I did know is that she hadn't felt the need to check on me.
"Why?" I croak out,
"Mmmmmmm" Carlisle musses,
"Why are you taking care of me? You don't even know me, but you let me sleep in your bed?"
"Remember the discussion we had in the car?" I raise an eyebrow, "While you are here, this is your home and I'm responsible for you, therefor it is to be assumed that you will be taken care of while you are here. While we don't have a bed for you yet, you will sleep here as Esme and I don't need it, and since you are both a minor and ill last night it is my responsibility to step in and take care of you, whether I know you well or not. Do you understand?" I swallow,
"I don't know...I guess." Carlisle's eyes soften and Esme steps closer,
"Are you hungry?"
"No,"
"You should eat something," Carlisle informs me, turning to his wife, "Something light love." Well it looks like he's decided for me. I resist the urge to roll my eyes, I've taken their time, I've taken the bed, I've taken...wait, why do vampires need a bed...Oh Gross! I make a face and it doesn't go unnoticed, "Marceline?" he asks concerned,
"Why do you have a bed if you don't sleep?" If vampires have blood running through their veins it would ll shoot straight to Carlisle's cheeks.
"The sheets are clean," he teases. This time I roll my eyes and Carlisle chuckles. I swallow a lump in the back of my throat feeling it the whole way down,
"So what happens now?" Carlisle tips his head back to look at me,
"For now you'll stay here, and we'll take it day by day." I can't help it, it still bothers me. This isn't how I was raised, you just don't take strangers in to your home and trust them,
"So you're just going to let me live here?! A stranger, a human, what if I cut myself, what happens?"
"Well I myself was wondering the same and when you're feeling better I hope that it would be acceptable for me to take a sample of your blood for myself." I shrug forgetting my neck and wince,
"Yay, have at it."
"Before we start taking things from each other, lets have a bite to eat hmm?" Esme floats in, tray in hand. She comes to my side and gently places it over my lap while Carlisle help me sit up stuffing more pillow behind my back. The tray in front of my has chicken soup, buttered bread and orange juice. She also offered me something eat last night too, when did they have time to get all this.
"Oh-wow."
"Groceries were dropped off last night." Carlisle clears up almost reading my mind.
"It's canned, I hope that's okay?" Esme confesses,
"As opposed to what, home grown?" I ask sarcastically picking up the spoon on the side of the tray,
"I have a fresh vegetable garden." Esme smiles,
"I was joking." Carlisle reaches for the napkin and drops it in my lap,
"Eat Mare."
…
I'm so sick of sleeping, sick of waking up in someone else's bed only to fall asleep in someone else's bed. Once when I start to wake theirs a finger tracing the features on my face...it feel good.
"She looks just like my vision." A voice whispers in delight,
"Be nice if you could have said something." I know that voice, Edward.
"That would have ruined the surprise."
"This isn't a surprise Alice. She's a person, a human with thoughts and feelings and a name. She's lost and confused with no place to go." Edward growls in a low whisper,
"Of course she has a place to go, she'll stay here." This new voice, this Alice sounds entirely too happy for the situation. I read about her in the book, but didn't get too far to really learn who she is other that the "short energetic pixie" Bella describes her as. A cold finger traces from my cheek to my chin.
"Did you ever take into consideration who all lives here?" The finger retracts at Edwards harsh tone.
"Everyone will love her, don't worry I've seen it. You, Carlisle and Esme practically do all ready, the others will too." Theres a long pause.
"You've seen her future?" Alice is silent for a while before answering,
"Only small flashes...she's different. I can't see her future like I can everyone else's...it's...unsettling." Another pause,
"I can't always hear her thoughts," Edward admits, "I noticed last night after we got home. Her mind went from loud and clear to radio silence...it comes and goes."
"Edward-"
"Alice, Edward out." Esme orders, her voice a little above a whisper. "Alice, Carlisle want's you to meet him in his study."
"I know" Alice sighs. Soft heels click on the floor. I feel a blanket behind tucked under my chin.
"Sleep well sweetheart." Esme whispers running a hand through my hair. Her heels click on the floor before the door is softly slammed shut leaving me alone with only my thoughts, and I have two major ones,
1. Alice saw my future here...possibly happy
and
2. Alice can't always see my future and Edward can't always read my mind.
and I don't know if that's a good thing or bad...