Phenomenon

After my conversation with Alice, I decided to head straight over to the Cullen household again to brainstorm some more solutions for the problem at hand with Esme. I still trusted Edward and wanted to support him in this endeavor, but there was only so far you could push someone's limits before they snapped and did something they regretted; we had to figure out some way for him to be in the same room with Bella without putting her or the rest of our classmates in danger. And just how I should restrain the vampire if and when I needed to without revealing our secret... 

While it was a relief to know Edward had the restraint to keep from harming Bella, Esme did voice her concerns that today's incident could convince him this was way over his head and he needed to leave, for good this time. I comforted the kind-hearted Cullen matriarch, reassuring her we would find another solution, one that wouldn't involve his departure from our family, even if it would be just until Bella graduated and left Forks, though another fear lurked at the back of my own mind. The fear that, if Edward proved unable to maintain his control or things became too unbearable, the Cullens would have no other voice but to leave Forks all together. 

It was a selfish fear, I knew, to worry about the coven having to move away, leaving my brothers, mother, and I alone. Our families had all melded together so well, it was difficult to face the inevitable reality that one day they would have to leave, to keep humans from growing suspicious of their eternal youth. It was a day we often tried not to think about, though it still haunted the dark recesses of our minds, especially in the face of a situation like the one we were in now. We didn't want to have to say goodbye to our extended family, carry on our facade in the face of our human neighbors and community on our own. There wasn't anyone else in this town who understood us as well as the Cullens did, nor anyone we felt quite as comfortable being ourselves around as we did with the coven. 

(That might be true, but you've got to think about Bella's safety in all this, too.) A quiet voice whispered from the back of my mind, reminding me of my loyalty to her and Charlie; I sighed at the thought, feeling torn. The Cullens were my family just as much as Bella was, but...being so fragile, so...human like she was, I knew I had to take greater care to ensure my stepsister stayed safe, that she would be able to make it out of this quiet little town in one piece, just as she had been when she'd first arrived. Mama looked out for her as the surrogate mother she was while Bella was under her care, but I was the oldest out of the four of us, so it was my responsibility to look out for my younger siblings, no matter what. I had to watch Bella's back, especially in matters she wasn't even aware of, matters dangerous to her in any way, shape, or form. (It would crush Charlie if anything were to happen to Bella...and I can't do that to him, either, not after everything he's done for us...) 

These thoughts plagued me throughout my and Esme's brainstorming session, which carried into our discussion with Edward and Alice when they returned home from school. The rest of the Cullen 'children', evidently already bored with the conversation, wandered off to occupy themselves elsewhere. Like Carlisle, Esme suggested I talk to Mr. Banner about Edward and I switching seats in class, putting space between Edward and Bella since he'd been unable to convince Ms. Cope to switch his classes. I'd thought about the suggestion, but I'd still been on the fence about it; Edward brought up my concerns from earlier, pointing out Mr. Banner was unlikely to go for something like that so late into the school year. He was a creature of habit and wouldn't want to change anything after getting used to how things were, even if it was something as minor as allowing students to change seats. Not to mention that, if he did go for it, the other students would start complaining about the three of us getting 'special treatment' and want to change their seats around, too...and there was no telling if Bella would grow suspicious if I tried using her as an excuse for why we needed to switch...more than likely she'd think it was because of something she did and she'd end up kicking up some kind of fit about it. Then that good impression Edward had tried to make today would go down the drain... 

(Urgh...) I parked my Camry outside our house and slouched back into the seat, scrubbing my hands down my face, (There's just no pleasing everyone, is there...?) With a wary sigh, I grabbed my messenger bag from the passenger seat and slid out of the car to trudge up to the porch; warm light spilled out from behind the living room curtains, cutting through the gloomy evening air as icy sheets of rain fell from the veil of clouds overhead. I ducked onto the porch to escape the sting of the needle-like raindrops and let myself into the house just as mama called everyone into the dining room for dinner. (I'll have to tell mama about all this when I get the chance...maybe she'll have some kind of idea as to what we can do...) 

Thankfully for me, mama had some laundry she needed to get done after dinner, so I volunteered to join her in the basement and filled her in on the situation once we were alone. She seemed proud to hear about Edward's feat of self-control throughout most of Bio, though her eyebrows pinched when I mentioned the difficult final moments of the lesson Alice brought up afterward outside the science building. Like me, mama had faith in Edward's ability to resist his urges, although there was a side of us that worried for Bella's safety, too, which, unfortunately, did little in helping us come up with new ideas on how to help him through this dilemma. She mentioned, again, the idea of switching seats, but I pointed out the problems that would cause with Mr. Banner and the rest of the class. She smiled, reminding me gently that there was absolutely no harm in trying, especially if it meant the difference between life and death. 

I sighed at the irony of that statement and helped her finish up with the laundry before I headed upstairs to the attic to start on my homework. It was a welcome distraction from the seemingly overwhelming problems that encroached from all sides, giving my brain at least a couple hours to focus on something else while the dust settled. It wouldn't be until after I'd had my evening shower and I'd gotten myself ready for bed that I would allow myself the chance to reflect on everything before I went to sleep. 

(At this point, there's only so much we would be able to do...) I stared up at the darkened rafters overhead, the heavy drumming of the rain against the roof muffled by my headphones as I listened to a couple of songs on my iPod. I shifted under the covers to get comfortable, lacing my fingers together behind my head, (Either he's going to have to leave alone, with the rest of the Cullens...) My chest tightened at the thought, ears folding back against my head and my tail curling around me, (Or I can try to talk to Mr. Banner about switching...) I frowned to myself and sighed, letting my eyes slide closed, already getting the gut feeling I knew how that particular conversation was going to go. Mama's voice whispered from the confines of my mind, reminding me there was no harm in trying, pulling another sigh from my lips as I rolled into the center of the bed on my side, my iPod sliding off my stomach onto the comforter beside me. 

(No harm in trying, huh?) I opened my eyes again, taking in the pattern of one of my pillows before my gaze slid to the darkened window, watching the rain splatter endlessly against the glass; was Edward out in this weather now, roaming those darkened woods in search of more animals to placate his thirst, gorging himself again in preparation for his next interaction with Bella at school tomorrow? I wouldn't be surprised, considering how overboard he'd gone over the weekend just to be ready for today. Why should tonight be any different? (And yet, even with all this preparation, his control still hangs by just a thread...) I curled up into myself, hugging my knees to my chest, sandwiching my iPod between them, (Edward...I know you're strong and stubborn as all hell...where are we going to go from here...?) 

Even as I asked myself that question, somewhere, deep in my gut, I had the feeling I already knew the answer. The answer, I hoped, would turn out to be wrong. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

I couldn't sleep; with the constant worry over our current situation, my brain was very reluctant to want to shut off that night, which I spent tossing and turning, stewing over my own thoughts and trying to come up with some new solution that would work in our favor and keep the Cullens in Forks. There was still very little I could come up with outside the ideas my parental figures had suggested, which, unfortunately, still seemed our best plan of action by the time I dragged myself out of bed the following morning. 

(I'm glad demons and vampires don't need a full 8 hours of sleep to function properly...) I thought, grateful to both supernatural sides of myself for the ability to go days, sometimes even weeks, without sleep with none of the negative effects humans had to suffer. (I need to have all my wits about myself, especially on a day like today...) My gaze drifted toward the abnormally clear window, watching the growing light filter through the curtains in grayish-green beams. The melted snow and rain from the day before had all frozen over, forming a thin layer of ice over everything in sight, including all the pine needles and leaves still on the trees, creating beautiful, sparkling patterns among the canopies. (Hm...I'm gonna have to keep a closer eye on Bella today...she finds a way to injure herself even when the ground is safe and dry...) 

Mama and Charlie were the only other ones awake by the time I came downstairs; since mama was in tune with nature, she'd known the temperature would drop down low enough to freeze what was left of the snow from yesterday, so she and Charlie had arranged to get up early so they could go out first and put snow chains on all our tires. They were just pulling on their boots to head out into the early morning light when I came down the stairs, surprising the pair of them since they'd thought all us kids were still asleep, though they were grateful when I offered an extra pair of hands to help with the chains. They ended up declining the offer, though, insisting I stay inside where it was warm and that they could handle it; when I tried to convince them I would be okay, mama pointed out someone needed to make something hot for breakfast and persuaded me to make the special oatmeal we saved for cold winter days like these. I sighed, conceding, and headed into the kitchen to start breakfast while they finished getting ready. 

Our family's version of oatmeal was not much different from anyone else's, though we added our own little twist; while we enjoyed adding cinnamon and fruits, we'd found there was more flavor to be had if we blended the fruit slices up and then added it into the oatmeal that way instead of as a whole. It was something we didn't do often, since the blender was notoriously noisy; no matter how big our house was, having occupants with super sensitive hearing did little in the way of helping with privacy. Mama's hearing was sensitive enough she could hear what I was doing in my room, even when she was in the basement...with three floors between us. While it wasn't technically an invasion of privacy considering we couldn't always control it, it could still be something of an inconvenience, especially when my siblings and I had guests over. It didn't help mama always paid special attention to the happenings around the house when we had a member of the opposite sex or someone we really liked over, to keep us from doing anything we weren't supposed to...she even did it when it was just Jacob or one of our friends over, just because they were boys...I'd lost count of how many times she'd questioned why I hadn't made a move after Jacob had come to hang out, which would inevitably turn into a teasing feast when Henry joined in. And don't even get me started on the remarks Geoffrey or Charlie decided to throw into the mix for good measure... 

Shaking the embarrassing memories away, I blended up the fruit while the water boiled and mama and Charlie came back from taking care of the cars; my ears perked at the sound of a pair of doors swinging open, their hinges creaking, then the unmistakable pounding of feet racing down the upstairs hall toward the front of the house. Well, the twins were up, which, more than likely, meant Bella was probably already up herself and they'd all join us in the kitchen soon. Neither of our parents, however, had enough time to do much else aside from grab their keys and whatever else they needed for work before they headed off for the day, although mama was sure to grab the thermoses of strawberry, blueberry, and cherry oatmeal I'd made up for her and Charlie while she reminded me to have a good day and look out for Bella. I nodded after her with a smile, telling the two I loved them as the front door swung shut behind them. In short order, my siblings trudged down the stairs for breakfast, the twins sniffing excitedly at the air as they came into the kitchen, eyes lighting up when they landed on the meal I set out on the table. Bella was a little slower to respond, although an entertained smile did tug at the corners of her lips as our younger brothers raced each other to the table, elbowing and growling just as I knew they'd done in the bathroom upstairs. 

"Dunno if you like oatmeal, Bells, but if you don't, I can grab you a box of cereal from the pantry." I told her from where I leaned against the counter, enjoyed the mixed flavor of the strawberry/banana combo I'd added to my own bowl. She glanced at me, shaking her head slowly as she approached the table to claim her own share of food; I cocked my head, immediately picking up the anxiously excited bounce in her step as she crossed the kitchen, an eyebrow arching in question; what could have possibly given her such pep in her step? She had never had such energy and enthusiasm when in Forks, so to see such a thing now was astonishing, to say the least. 

(Well, she's never had a handsome vampire in her life before, has she?) I hummed to myself in agreement as I finished my oatmeal and turned toward the sink to start on the dishes, absentmindedly listening to Henry and Geoffrey arguing at the table. I glanced over out of the corner of my eye, not entirely surprised by Bella's absence in the conversation, though I wasn't expecting the far off, dreamy look in her eyes as she gazed out the bay window. My lips quirked up in amusement as I lowered my gaze back to the task at hand, (Hm...things are getting quite interesting around here, aren't they? I wonder how this'll change the dynamic if Edward and Bella start liking each other?) That thought eased the vice in my chest, loosening its grip around my heart, even as a voice nagged at the back of my mind to be cautious. While I was happy knowing Edward could have possibly found the piece of himself, he'd been missing all these years, I knew that was still a very real danger for my stepsister, especially considering she was Edward's singer. She was still human, fragile in comparison to the invincibility of a supernatural creature, like a vampire...if Edward wasn't careful, if he allowed his self-control to slip for even a single second when he was with her...I couldn't always be there to protect her from him...I couldn't be lurking nearby every second of the day to make sure things went smoothly. 

(Ugh, just thinking about it gives me a headache...) I inwardly groaned, feeling it throb around my temples, (This isn't the start of the 20th century anymore, it's not like Bella and Edward always need a chaperon to keep them in line and make sure they don't do anything before they're married. This is the 21st century, damn it, and I know Edward has the self-control to be with her. I trust him.) I glanced over my shoulder at Bella again, frowning quietly to myself, (For both their sake...I want them to be happy and trying to keep them apart will only make them miserable. They've both suffered enough up to this point and it's time. They deserve it.) 

I finished washing the dishes before Bella had finished her breakfast, wiping my mouth and hands on one of the dish towels before hanging it up to dry again as I glanced at the clock. It was only about twenty after six now...maybe I should head outside to see how bad the ice was and check the snow chains before we had to leave for school. I wanted to try and clear the front steps and the footpath leading to the driveway, to make it easier on my stepsister, too. 

"Hey, I'm gonna head outside first to see how things are looking." I rounded the kitchen island and grabbed my messenger bag from where I'd left it in one of the high chairs on the other side. I turned to look at Bella, who'd lifted her head from her breakfast, looking ready to start shoveling the reminder of it down her throat. I quickly shook my head, "Don't rush, Bells, we still have time before we have to leave. Just finish your food, slowly." I quirked a brow to emphasize the order, "I just want to make sure it's safe. Henry, Geoffrey, you two be careful when you leave for the bus, okay?" 

"We're not going to drive them?" Bella furrowed her brows in concern, glancing at the twins as they nodded absentmindedly after me, still too immersed in their breakfast to do much else, "Everything out there is covered in ice, that can't be safe...maybe we should -" 

"We'll be fine, Bella." Geoffrey reassured as he finally looked up, "We've seen plenty of winters in Forks to know how to get around when it's icy. Besides, if we left now, we'd be waiting out there for an extra half hour in the cold." 

"Not that we'd have any difficulty staying warm, what with how hot I am." Henry grinned around a mouthful of oatmeal; Geoffrey rolled his eyes, unamused, while Bella turned to regard our younger brother with an expression of mildly amused concern, her eyebrows pulling together over the bridge of her nose. I coughed into my hand to stifle my laughter at the joke, both at how cheesy he sounded and the hidden weight behind it, knowing it would go completely over Bella's head and continue to do so until she was let in on our little secret. 

Unlike vampires, demons were all born gifted with one to two abilities, which were often tangent on their parents'. Mama had a psychological connection to nature and could manipulate the environment around her telekinetically, so Henry, Geoffrey, and I had control of one of the elements, depending on each of our personalities. Henry was hot-headed and almost physically on par with Emmett, so he controlled the element of fire; Geoffrey was quieter, more level-headed like Charlie and Bella, preferring to keep his feet firmly on the ground, so his was the earth element, though he'd also picked up the mental ability to read minds, like Edward; and as for me - 

"The boys'll be fine, Bells, they know to be careful when they leave the house on days like these." I smiled reassuringly at my stepsister as Geoffrey kicked Henry under the table, a silent way of telling him to go easy on the jokes, which almost made him spill his orange juice. "'sides, it'd be better to let them stay inside where it's warm than force them to go out in the cold when they don't need to. Now, finish your oatmeal and I'll meet you outside, okay? You two," I turned to the twins, "Have a good day and stay out of trouble." 

"No promises." Henry answered cheekily as I headed out into the front hall; shaking my head in amusement, I pulled on my jacket and boots, slung my messenger bag across my body, grabbed my keys from the bowl in the living room, and headed outside. Closing the outer pair of doors firmly behind me so Bella wouldn't take me by surprise, I crossed the porch to the screen door, allowing my gaze to drift out over the frosted grass to the edge of the trees, slowly inhaling what little moisture was left in the air into my lungs. Bolts of energy spread from my lungs outward, crackling through my veins like lightning until my whole body was practically humming; my eyes lowered to the front steps and the walkway leading to the driveway, watching the weak morning light dance over the shiny white frost that blanketed the ground, only disturbed by the footprints and tire tracks our parents had left behind when they'd headed off to work. 

My eyes scanned the small breaks among the white, taking in the sight of the deceptively beautiful ice hidden underneath as the tingling in my veins swelled, vibrating strongly from the ends of my fingers while I raised my right hand, flexing my fingers, just ever so slightly; the shift of the hardened, crystalized water would not be easily noticeable to anyone on the outside, but for me, I could literally feel as the element bent to my will, shifting from a solid to a liquid as easily as if it'd melted naturally. I brought my hand up before me, stopping it just about chest height and flicked my wrist to the right in one quick movement; as I did so, the liquified ice/snow parted like the red sea, disappearing among the frosted lawn, leaving the front steps, walkway, and driveway clear. 

I'd been gifted with the ability to control water, which came in handy in a damp environment like the one found here in Forks; my powers were never used beyond helping with minor inconveniences, like clearing away ice or snow, unless someone in the house had an accident. If it wasn't anything too serious or life threatening, I was able to heal any physical injury my family acquired, and we would be okay. I'd saved all of us several trips to the hospital when my brothers got into trouble as kids and when Bella visited during the summer. 

"Dawn?" Speak of the devil, "What are you doing?" 

I turned at her voice, noticing her arched eyebrow as she joined me on the porch, lips pursed in question; it took me a minute to realize I was still holding my arm up in front of me, as though I'd caught or was holding something. Thinking quickly, I bent my wrist, curling my fingers inward toward my palm as I twisted my forearm around and arched my back, my left arm curling in toward my body before stretching upward, toward the ceiling. 

"Just stretching." I hummed, adding a short, appreciative groan for a bit of effect. Cracking my neck with a sigh, I dropped my arms and stuffed my hands in my pockets while I turned to regard Bella once more, "You ready to go?" 

Deep chocolate eyes appraised me skeptically, as though she knew I was lying and wanted, badly, to call me out on it, but something was holding her back. After a few tense minutes, Bella finally gave a slow, thoughtful nod, closing the front door behind her before she joined me, pulling the hood of her jacket up. I nodded in return, pointedly avoiding saying anything further as I opened the screen door and left the protection of our enclosed porch behind to descend the front steps. Bella followed close behind, her steps careful, slow, though she stopped when she noticed our path ahead was clear of the icy snow that covered the rest of the outside world. 

"How did...?" Bella's wide eyes swept the, now clear, path and driveway before she redirected her gaze to me. I shrugged nonchalantly and headed toward my Camry. 

"It's called rock salt, Bells, gotta keep plenty on hand for days like these." Pulling my keys out of my pocket as I spoke, I rounded the hood of my car and unlocked it, "Now c'mon, we don't want to be late." 

Bella eyed the clear ground before her, her brows furrowing as she crossed the driveway and made her way around my car to her truck, gaze flicking up to me while I settled into the driver's seat. I didn't need to meet her gaze to see the unspoken questions burning in her mind, fighting and clawing to be the first one out of her mouth. She had never spent a winter here or anywhere cold enough for a large culmination of snow or ice, though I had a feeling she knew what rock salt was, even if she didn't know what it looked like. It would make sense our parents would salt the driveway and path to make it easier on us when we left for school, even if there was a lack of physical evidence to suggest it had been used. I should have known my stepsister would be too observant not to notice. 

"Hey, I'm sure Edward is already at school." I peered up at Bella through my bangs, cutting her off as she opened her mouth to voice her concerns aloud; her cheeks flushed, and I could almost swear I heard her heart skip a beat at the mention of his name. I had to fight to keep the smirk threatening to overtake my lips at bay, "We wouldn't want to keep him waiting, would we?" 

Scowling darkly, Bella hurried around the hood of her truck to the drivers' side, slamming the door shut behind her as an amused chuckle escaped my lips. Shaking my head, I pulled my other leg into my car and closed the door behind me before reaching back to fasten my seatbelt and start her up. If things continued the way I thought they were going to, things were sure to get interesting around here very soon; I was looking forward to seeing how things panned out and I hoped Edward and Bella would be able to be happy together in the near future. 

(There are still obstacles in the way, so we're going to have to be patient.) I sighed at the quiet voice that whispered in the shadows of my mind as I led the way toward school, keeping at a safe, careful speed so Bella wouldn't feel like she needed to try and keep up and to prevent an accident; even with the snow chains on our tires, it was still dangerous to drive too fast on roads with black ice and I would really rather arrive at my destination in one piece, thank you very much. No need to give either of our parents a heart attack when Charlie had to be one of the officers on scene and mama would have to see one of us brought into the hospital on a stretcher. Talk about a parent's worst nightmare come true... 

Thankfully, though, with the combination of the chains and my and Bella's overly cautious driving, we pulled safely into the school lot and parked in a couple of spots in the corner together. The pavement underfoot was still slick with ice, so we were both careful as we got out, with Bella taking extra care to test her footing with each step before she proceeded forward, one hand holding the truck bed in a near death grip. 

Closing the door behind me, I reached out to use the other side of her truck for balance as I caught a couple pairs of golden eyes watching us from four cars away; I smiled in greetings, raising my free hand to wave at Alice and Edward, the smaller of whom returned my smile while her brother's focus was entirely on Bella's unsteady figure leaning into the other side of the truck. I cocked my head, catching the tender, bemused expression on Edward's face as he watched her, a faint smile tugging up the corners of his lips. He looked, oddly, peaceful in that moment, yet still agitated and on edge, as though impatient. Contradictory emotions, I know, but they were there, even if they seemed a strange mix displayed upon a single face, at the same moment. The face of a man internally at odds with himself, still trying to figure out his own emotions after having found the missing piece of himself he hadn't known he'd been looking for, too afraid to go for it, even as it dangled tantalizing in front of him, just within his reach. 

"Dawn?" Bella's voice drew my attention away from the vampires and I turned to her, cocking my head to the other side; I was almost surprised at the tender expression I found on her face, her eyes wide, glassy, as though she was fighting back tears, voice strained despite her best efforts to keep it steady. She indicated to something I couldn't quite see, though I had a pretty good idea she'd just pointed to one of her back tires, "Did...did you -?" 

My expression softened in understanding at the unfinished question, guessing seeing what mama and Charlie had done for her had caught her by surprise; Bella had always been mature for her age, handling most, if not all, the responsibilities at home when she lived with Renee, so she wasn't quite used to being the one taken care of, in any situation. She hadn't been expecting the efforts our parents had put into making sure she stayed safe on an icy day like today; hopefully this little gesture would help her understand just how much she meant to all of us, and she'd finally let down some of her walls. 

"Nah, that wasn't me." I moved carefully along the truck bed, still gripping the side to help with my balance, "Mama and Charlie wanted to be -" 

A sudden, ear-piercing screech from across the parking lot cut me off, piercing my eardrums at such a frequency it me made flinch; my head whipped around instinctively to find the source, ears pinned back as the noise drew closer, pitching to a near torturous note that made every single one of my hairs stand on end. The world around me became completely secondary in that moment, shapes and colors melting together into nothing more than an indistinguishable blur of movement and far off, unintelligible sounds. Even the deafening screech became little more than background noise to my overtly sensitive ears, which perked as the events unfolding before my eyes fully registered in my brain. 

In that split second of time, I became aware of one thing and one thing only: the dark blue van skidding across the lot, tires locked and squealing as the slick ice sent it spinning wildly, right toward the back corner of my stepsister's truck and - 

"Bella!" Her name somehow found its way past where my heart had lodged itself in my throat, my eyes widening with the realization; something broke through the backdrop of shapeless colors that surrounded us on all other sides, a white and black blur that collided with Bella from the left, knocking her out of the path of the van a split second before it curled around her back bumper, metal crunching as it bent to the shape of the older vehicles' indestructible frame. The van didn't stop there, though, twisting around the back of the truck to arch around its' side, in the direction Bella and her savior had, temporarily, escaped. 

Without pausing to think, I launched myself over the truck bed, landing in a crouch on the other side, next to where Bella lay on the icy pavement and thrusting my tingling fingertips forward to catch the oncoming vehicle. The sharp tips of my ice encrusted fingers sank deep into the body of the van, just alongside the right front tire, as my attention was drawn to a pair of slender, snow-white hands indented further along the frame. I didn't have to look up to know whose hands those belonged to, the pair of us too focused on keeping the van from advancing on the fragile human we were trying to protect, even as the force of it pushed us backward into the body of the car parked on the other side of her truck; pain crackled through my shoulders and down my back where it slammed into the tan frame, nerves flaring in protest as it bent to my shape. The van shuddered under our unyielding grip as we held it partially off the ground, balanced unsteadily between us and the two furthest tires. 

A low, almost undetectable sound pulled my attention toward the vampire beside me, and I met his warm, butterscotch eyes for the briefest of seconds before they flickered away, drawing my gaze down to where my stepsister's legs lay in the path of the back, passenger side tire. I glanced back at him and gave a single nod, letting him know I understood; he returned my nod, pressing his arms deeper into the van's body as I shifted myself around, extracting my fingers from the metal so I could wrap my arms around Bella's waist and haul her toward me while I plopped down onto the cold pavement. Her body was limp in my arms, and I frowned, wondering if she'd hit her head on the way down and been knocked unconscious while Edward released a silent sigh of relief and let go of the van, letting it fall back onto all four tires with a crash that shattered all its' windows. 

In that short stretch of time, as the reality of what had happened sunk in, I allowed myself the chance to assess the situation happening in the tiny space I now occupied with my stepsister and my vampire brother. My breath came in short, panicked bursts, heartbeat pounding in my ears as it continued to pump adrenaline throughout the rest of my body, my focus immediately on them; Edward had turned to Bella and I now, eyes stretched wide in panic as he looked at her, fear and anxiety warring for dominance just beneath the surface. He leaned down for a look at Bella's face, checking to see if she was conscious as the sound of people's screams alerted me once more to the outside world, a variety of voices calling Bella's name, talking all at once, throwing out ideas of what needed to be done now. I ignored the chaos outside our own little private bubble, however, finding it unimportant in the moment as I returned my attention to Bella, who was now attempting to push herself out of my lap, so she could sit up on her own. 

Although not quite ready to release her yet, I loosened my grip on her, frowning deeply when Edward put an arm around her, as though ready to pull her protectively to his chest instead, his expression calmer, more relieved, if not still anxious. "Be careful, Bella." he warned in a soft, cautious voice, "I think you hit your head pretty hard." 

Bella leaned away in protest and winced, lifting a hand to hover over a spot above her left ear, "Ow..." She murmured in reply, blinking in surprise as she realized he was right. His expression lightened further, easing the tense line of his eyebrows as I released a slow sigh of my own, just as relieved to know she was still breathing. I put a hand over hers, moving it to brush her hair aside so I could examine the area myself, grateful for the lack of fresh blood in the air. The last thing we needed was Edward going on a frenzy right now. 

"How did...?" Bella's voice trailed off as she slowly shook her head, as though trying to clear it, her gaze moving from Edward to me, "How did the two of you get here so quick...?" 

I tensed as I met Bella's quizzical stare, eyebrows pulling together anxiously while my gaze flickered to Edward's. His expression soured at the question, face puckering as though he'd just sucked on a lemon and his eyes darkening with realization of what we'd done. 

"Bella, we were both standing next to you." He told her in a smooth, albeit serious, voice, willing her to believe him. She frowned and glanced as me, as though searching for confirmation; I smiled gently back at her and nodded quietly in agreement, allowing her to wiggle away this time as we all shifted to get a little more comfortable in the limited space, though I knew it was unnecessary for Edward. He slid as far from Bella as possible, not allowing any further contact while I made sure she would be okay, though her focus remained on him. He kept eye contact, arranging his features into an innocently concerned mask, eyes soft, persuasive, as he willed her to accept the lie. I silently prayed she would melt under the normally convincing stare, just like other humans did, but I should have known better...Bella was often too stubborn and observant for her own good. 

The screaming of those who had witnessed the accident had now become background noise, drowned out by closer voices shouting at us through the cracks between the vehicles; the crowd mostly consisted of the other students, the more curious teens pushing their way to the front in an effort to see the aftermath of the accident, some hopeful at the thought of seeing the cranage it usually caused. Authoritative voices filtered in through the mayhem, barking orders to one another and our classmates, at us, not to move. I heard one of the teachers shouting for someone to help Tyler out of his van. Bella, distracted by the crowd, glanced around, her eyes widening while she tried to get to her feet. 

Edward and I instinctively reached out to stop her, each of us putting a hand on her shoulders. 

"You should stay put for now." Edward told her gently, earning a frown in return, Bella's eyebrows pulling together as she folded her arms, shivering. 

"But it's cold." She protested childishly, pressing her lips into a thin, white line, which pulled a strained chuckle from between Edward's teeth. I glanced at him quietly, knowing now wasn't exactly the time to be laughing, though I could understand what could have possibly amused him in that moment; who in the world would be worrying about the cold when they'd just narrowly escaped death, not once, but twice, not to mention came within inches of being crippled within the time frame of just a few minutes? 

Shaking my head, I unzipped my jacket and shrugged it off, wrapping it around Bella's slender frame; she barely seemed to notice, blinking slowly as she observed her surroundings for a second before she turned back to Edward, "You were over there..." She gestured vaguely in the direction she'd seen him before the accident, our sight obscured by the hulking body of the van, "You were by your car...a-and Dawn, she was..." She looked back, toward her truck, remembering I'd been standing on the other side of it. 

"It doesn't take long to run around a car." I reminded her gently, rubbing her arms through my jacket to help warm her up, trying to console her without sounding like I was being patronizing, "But let's not think about that now, Bells." 

"But you didn't run." Bella argued, glancing at me as she jutted her chin out stubbornly, voice taking on a whiny, childlike quality, like a little kid trying to convince an adult their imaginary friend was real, "You just...appeared...and I saw you." She turned back to Edward, whose expression had hardened now. 

"Bella, listen to your sister and don't worry about it." He widened his eyes, just a fraction, trying to be compelling again, "Besides, I pulled you out of the way, that's all that matters." 

"I know that part." Bella glowered, setting her jaw, "But you were nowhere near me." 

His eyes blazed and I could tell he was fighting back the panic welling up in his chest at her refusal to just accept his explanation, even though it was, technically, the only logical one on the table. He kept her gaze, though, knowing breaking eye contact was a rookie mistake when it came to lying, although I could feel a cold hand clamp around my wrist, squeezing tight, a silent plea for help. He needed someone else to back him up on this, someone on his side to convince Bella our lie was truth, help him cover his tracks...well...both of ours, really, if we were being truthful. We'd both taken a huge risk just now when we'd thrown ourselves in the path of danger to keep Bella alive, not just putting ourselves on the line by risk of exposure, but also our families. Not only did we need to convince Bella to keep her mouth shut, but we also had to find a way to cover up all evidence we might have left behind that could make anyone else suspicious of what had gone on here. 

"Please, Bella." Edward whispered in an intense voice, eyes boring into hers, desperate for her to just trust him. 

"Why?" Bella demanded, suddenly defensive as she narrowed her eyes. I put a free hand on her shoulder, gently drawing her attention now. 

"Bella, please, trust us, we know what we're talking about." I told her in a gentle voice, giving her a compelling look of my own; she frowned back at me and pursed her lips, still unwilling to let this lie as she turned to regard Edward again, but I squeezed her shoulder tight to keep her attention, "Please, Bella." She pinned me with a deep, piercing gaze, eyes narrowing as she scanned mine, searching for the deception she could sense lurking just behind my gentle, calming tone, hiding away the secrets she was searching for. 

"Promise you'll explain everything to me later?" She finally demanded after a long pause, crossing her arms stubbornly; I did my best to keep my expression calm, gentle, as I nodded, conceding, for now. I would have to come up with something to tell Bella when we got home, since I knew she would, more than likely, try to corner me when we were alone. She turned to regard Edward once more and I kicked him behind her, making him turn from where he was trying to fix the dents in the tan car behind us, "And you?" 

Edward's face scrunched and he pursed his lips tightly in exasperation at Bella's unrelenting questions as he snapped at her, "Fine." 

"Fine." She returned in the same hard tone. 

Edward turned away from us, carefully arranging his features into a calm mask; I sighed deeply, sensing his discomfort and anxiety with the entire situation as I glanced up to where Tyler's van was being moved out of the way by a half dozen men in EMT apparel and a couple of our teachers – Mr. Varner and Coach Clapp – so they could bring in the stretchers. I could hear the ambulance and police sirens nearby, blaring across the parking lot, red and blue lights emphasizing the situation as officers pushed the crowd back to allow the EMTs more room to work. I let my gaze sweep past the adults, searching the surrounding crowd, which I knew Edward was already looking through, mentally, to ensure none of them were questioning our presence. So far, I didn't see any suspicion in any of our classmates faces, only the typically shocked, worried expressions, although I could spot a few curious looks among the crowd, students peering around for a better look, still trying to see if any of us had been wounded during the accident. There wasn't anything in any of their faces that suggested they suspected more than Edward and I being in the right place at the right time. All right, so that just left having to convince Bella and - 

An icy shiver skittered down my spine when my eyes landed on the four vampires hovering just outside the swarm of chaos, observing from a safe distance on a piece of sidewalk not full of people. Alice still looked completely calm, if not a bit thoughtful, her head cocked just the slightest bit to the side; Emmett was frowning, but didn't look angry, but rather surprised and a tad bit disappointed; Jasper kept his cool, collected mask tight over his features, but his arms were crossed, eye narrowed into dangerous black slits; Rosalie was furious, her own arms crossed tight over her chest, full lips pressed into a thin, white line and her dark eyes ablaze, a tigress baring her fangs, readying for an attack. Oh man, this was going to be one hell of a night after all this was over... 

"Dawn?" A gruff voice drew my attention to the first EMT who had reached us, his kind blue eyes peering down at me from a frowning, bristled face; I smiled reassuringly at the male nurse, Brett Warner, who worked at the hospital with mama and Carlisle, grateful for a familiar, friendly face. It seemed a stroke of luck he would be the first to reach us in the chaos, knowing he would look out for Edward and I since he knew us so well. He wouldn't force us onto a stretcher if he was convinced neither of us needed it, though he appraised the two of us critically now for any sign of injury, "You hurt at all?" 

I shook my head, "No, I'm fine, Brett, nothing touched Edward or I." I put a gentle hand on Bella's back, expression tightening, "But, you know, I think Bella might have gotten hurt." 

Edward nodded his agreement, "I thought I heard her head hit the ice when I pulled her out of the way." 

Brett immediately turned his attention to my stepsister, who shot Edward and I a piercing glare of betrayal for ratting her out; I didn't meet her gaze, though, knowing she was going to murder me later for signaling her out when she hated to be the center of attention, in any kind of situation, and turned my attention to a second EMT insisting on looking me over while a third spoke to Edward. Thankfully for the two of us, we were able to get away by promising we would get ourselves checked over by our parents; hell, we simply had to say mama and Carlisle's names and they backed off, since both of them were the best residents in the hospital. Bella was not so lucky, though, as she was loaded onto a stretcher sporting a neck brace, her face flushing an embarrassed cherry red. I took advantage of the distraction to glance behind me, inconspicuously scanning the back bumper of the tan car for any dents Edward or I could have left behind before allowing him to lead me away, after the EMTs, whispering under his breath that Emmett would be double checking for anything he could have missed. I sighed, grateful for that as he held the passenger side door of the ambulance Bella was being loaded into open and climbed into the seat beside me while Brett took the wheel. 

"Bella!" My ears perked at the familiar voice at the back of the ambulance, and I turned, spotting Charlie running up from just out of sight, eyes wide when he saw her on the stretcher. I left the passenger seat and walked up alongside Bella to look at him, watching as his eyes widened further in panic when he spotted me in the vehicle as well. 

"We're all right, dad." I smiled reassuringly, even as his eyes quickly scanned the both of us, looking for any other signs of wounds, his concern practically emanating from every pore, "Bella just bumped her head a little." 

Pain shot up my arm where Bella's hand smacked me, hard, on the bicep; I winced and put a hand over the brutalized area, turning to look at her while Charlie had gone to demand answers from another EMT close by. She pinned me with an icy glare as the ambulance door closed behind us, another EMT crouching down by her feet. I rubbed my arm, more for show than any actual need to soothe it. 

"Geeze, that's the thanks I get for saving your life? Thanks, Bells." I said with a hint of sarcasm as I frowned at her; she glowered back and pressed her lips together, choosing not to say anything further as she glanced at the other EMT, as though she didn't want to say anything in front of him. I took the chance to return to the front seat as we were given a police escort to the hospital. 

(She's keeping to our story, for now.) I glanced at Edward out of the corner of my eye, knowing he would already be keeping a mental tally of the EMTs' thoughts, to figure out Bella's condition and find out just how deep a grave we had dug ourselves. Even if my family decided to include Bella in our world, I knew a situation like this one was dangerous for the Cullens, so much so that they would have to leave. My heart felt heavy at the thought, (We're going to need to talk to mama and Carlisle about this, ASAP.) 

Edward glanced at me and gave a small nod of confirmation, subtle enough no one else would have been able to pick up on it aside from me. In the few years I'd come to know Edward and the rest of his family, we'd all learned ways to communicate with each other nonverbally, just for situations like these, when a human was within earshot. Even if they couldn't figure out what we were talking about, it was still too dangerous to include anyone else. 

The ride to the hospital was short, only about a fifteen-minute drive, although neither Edward nor I wasted time; as soon as the vehicle was parked, we didn't even pause long enough to make sure Bella was unloaded safely, just hurried through the automatic doors in the back into the plain, sterile white halls. Edward, able to recognize his father's mental voice from such a short distance, naturally took the lead to his office, which was several wings up from the emergency room. Luckily for us, mama was already waiting for us there; she rushed to my side as soon as we entered, ushering me into a chair to look me over. 

"What happened?" Mama looked from me to Edward, who promptly closed the office door behind us, sagging into it with his eyes closed; Carlisle peered at him from the desk, furrowing his brows at the strained emotions on the younger vampire's face, "Was it -?" 

"No, nothing like that." Edward shook his head slowly, opening his eyes once more to show the two elders they were still a rich golden color; the pair seemed to relax, with mama sighing in relief and Carlisle frowning apologetically. I took mama's hand, squeezing reassuringly. 

"Bella had been hurt, though, they just brought her in." I got to my feet, knowing mama wouldn't push to keep me sitting if she knew I was okay, "She should be in the emergency room now, but we don't know how serious her injuries are..." 

"What happened?" Carlisle asked this time, an attractive wrinkle appearing just over the bridge of his nose as he looked between Edward and I. Edward took a slow breath, filling his lungs, as though gathering his thoughts. 

"It was...this stupid car accident, she was just...in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I...I-I couldn't just watch...couldn't let it crush her..." 

"Edward," Mama put a gentle hand on his shoulder, smiling softly, "Slow down, sweetie, relax...we can't understand when you're rushing your words..." 

"She's right, son," Carlisle nodded his agreement, though he did cock his head at me, "Now, how are the two of you involved?" 

I took a deep breath of my own, wanting to be coherent enough for our parents to understand, "It happened in the parking lot...A van hit a patch of ice..." Edward had focused on a point on the wall behind Carlisle's desk, intent on the simple oil painting hanging there, an undiscovered piece by one of his favorite artists, Hassam, "Bella, she...she saw the snow chains you up on her tires and...she was just so grateful, she was standing there, by the back bumper..." 

"Alice saw it coming." Edward managed to speak, his voice low, rough, like he was forcing it past his lips, "There wasn't enough time to do anything except...run across the lot to shove her out of the way..." 

"Edward was the one who initially saved her, I just jumped in to help keep the van at bay..." I sighed and glanced down at my fingers; the ice had long melted away, returning them to normal, "No one else noticed us, except Bella...she knew we weren't close enough to have been able to save her..." 

"I'm sorry, Carlisle, it was my fault." Edward hung his head, squeezing his eyes, "I didn't mean to put us all in danger..." 

Mama gave Edward a gentle look and wrapped him in a warm hug as Carlisle stood from his desk, rounding it to put a hand on his son's arm, "You did the right thing, both of you." He smiled softly at me, taking my hand in his cold one and squeezing tightly, "I know it couldn't have been easy, but we're proud of both of you." 

"Very." Mama pulled away to smile gently up at Edward, cupping his face in her hands to kiss his forehead tenderly. He looked slowly at her, eyes still tight, worried, as I bit my bottom lip, glancing between mama and Carlisle 

"She knows there's something wrong..." 

"You and Elizabeth wanted her to know, right?" Carlisle looked at me compassionately; I sighed and nodded, "Yes, but not like this...and what about you guys?" 

Mama nodded her agreement, worrying her bottom lip now, too, "Even if we wanted her to know our secret, we promised we wouldn't let anyone else know yours'." 

Carlisle smiled reassuringly, rubbing my knuckles with his thumb, "That doesn't matter now...if we have to leave, we'll leave." He sighed deeply as mama and I frowned at the thought of having to say goodbye, "But, for now, we should focus on the situation at hand. What has Bella said?" 

"Nothing." Edward shook his head, pressing his lips tightly in frustration, "Not yet, anyway." 

Carlisle quirked a neat eyebrow as mama furrowed her own. 

"She's agreed to our version of the story," I told them, "At least for now, but..." I glanced at Edward as he crossed his arms, uneasy, "She's expecting some kind of explanation..." Mama and Carlisle exchanged a look, identical frowns on their lips. 

"She hit her head when we fell..." Edward winced at the memory, "Well...I knocked her down fairly hard, but...with something like that, it should be easy to discredit her account." His features twisted in disgust at his own words, as though the mere thought made him physically ill. Carlisle and mama gave him an understanding look, picking up on the distaste in his voice too. 

"Hm, maybe we won't have to go down that route." Mama pointed out, taking my free hand in hers again as she turned back to Carlisle, who nodded his agreement. 

"She's right, let's see what happens first, all right?" He squeezed Edward's shoulder, "We'll figure this out. Now," He released both of us, his features softening into a more relaxed expression, "It sounds like we have a patient to check in on." 

"Please," Edward begged in a strained voice, "I'm so worried I hurt her..." 

Mama giggled softly, wrinkles appearing around the corners of her eyes as she smiled softly at him and squeezed his arm, "We'll get right on it, Edward." She promised, earning a chuckle of agreement from Carlisle, who nodded as he smoothed a few stray blond locks back into the body of his hair. 

"Been quite the eventful day so far, hasn't it?" He hummed, amused; I cocked my head, thinking back on the day's events while mama giggled again, the irony not lost on either of us. It was quite amusing, seeing as how, in the span of a few minutes, Edward had gone from possibly being Bella's killer to her protector, instead. 

Edward emitted a low, edged chuckle, evidently understanding what we had, though I was sure he still believed there was nothing Bella needed protection from more than himself. 

Edward and I stayed behind in the office to give our parents the chance to check in on the situation, although he kept a mental tab on what was going on through other hospital staff. I sat back in the chair mama had sat me in earlier, watching Edward pace as he told me minor details of the goings on in the emergency room. 

It seems Tyler Crowley, the driver of the van, had sustained the worst of the injuries, pulling the attention of the nurses from Bella as she waited to be x-rayed. Mama and Carlisle remained in the background to observe, trusting their PA's diagnosis that her head injury was only minor, which pulled a relieved sigh from Edward's lips, easing some of the tension from his shoulders, though he continued his anxious pacing. At one point, Tyler engaged Bella in a conversation about the accident, apparently overcome with guilt over what had happened; Edward reported he kept apologizing, even though Bella's expression clearly said she wished he'd stop. I watched in amusement as the vampire's face scrunched as he said this, as though he couldn't fathom how someone wouldn't be able to tell that themselves. 

Edward finally stopped pacing, however, his body snapping into a rigid line as he stared at the door; I watched him with furrowed brows, wondering for a second what could be wrong when he whispered that Tyler had asked how Bella had gotten out of the way so quickly. My ears perked with interest, and I leaned in, anxious now, as Edward had stopped breathing. 

After a long, tense minute, Edward exhaled, his breathing resuming in short, quick pulls, face relaxing as an unconscious smile tugged at the corners of his lips, eyes suddenly alight. I couldn't help but quirk a brow at his expression, wondering what on earth could have made him so happy so fast when he started toward the door with an unexpected skip in his step. I hurried to follow, closing the door behind us before following him down the hall; something in the conversation much have really piqued his interest, as Edward was now striding purposefully toward the ER, almost careless in his eagerness to see her. I quickened my pace, worried about what could happen if he didn't check himself before he spoke to her again. 

Catching up with the vampire just outside the doors, I grabbed his arm as a nurse walked in ahead of us, tugging firmly to pull him back into a shadowed corner nearby while Bella was wheeled out for x-rays. Thankfully for us, she didn't seem to notice either of us watching her from our hiding spot and I sighed in relief, turning to frown at Edward now. He wasn't looking at me, though, his gaze too far off, like he was lost in his own thoughts as he stared in the direction Bella had just gone, differing emotions flickering across his face so quickly it was difficult to pinpoint them in the moment. 

"Edward, what are you -?" He barely gave me the chance to finish what I was saying before he was moving again, gliding swiftly down a nearby hallway, a backway to the radiology room. I blinked, confused for the briefest of seconds before I shook out of my stupor, "Hey, don't just ignore me! Edward!" I hissed low under my breath, knowing even from this distance he would be able to hear me; he didn't turn or even acknowledge me as he rounded a corner out of sight, leaving me to purse my lips after him, "What in the hell just happened...?" I asked myself, scratching behind one of my ears, completely lost. Was there something I was missing here? Did I not get some kind of memo about the situation that we needed to know? 

"He'll be back." My mother appeared beside me then, catching my attention; she was smiling in the direction Edward had gone, like she'd been watching, before she turned to me, "I'm sure he's just gone to peek on Bella's x-rays, to see if anything's wrong." 

I frowned, glancing after him again, "Is something wrong?" 

Mama shook her head, "Thankfully not, Bella doesn't even have a concussion, thank goodness. More than likely it's just going to be a little bump on the head, nothing more. From what Carlisle's told me, there are a lot of healed contusions on her skull, though, so either Renee had butter fingers throughout most of Bella's childhood or that girl is a lot clumsier than we first thought." 

I felt a stab of sympathy for Bella, knowing her life had been difficult up until this point and she'd always been clumsy, but damn, I never realized just how big a danger she could be to herself...I almost felt like we were talking more about a two-year-old just learning to walk instead of a nearly grown, 17-year-old teenager... 

"Is it all right to visit her?" I turned to mama once more, who smiled gently in return and nodded, "Of course, she's well enough to go home now, but we need to wait for Carlisle to give the thumbs-up first." She indicated for me to follow and led the way into the ER; it was the typical long room lined with beds, each sectioned off with pastel-patterned curtains. 

Bella and Tyler occupied the beds on the further end of the room; Bella was reclined back into her pillow, lips pursed, and eyes closed as a way of escaping Tyler's insistent apologies from the next bed. I winced to myself as we drew closer, taking note of the bandages that adorned Tyler's head and arms from where he'd been cut by the glass shattering in the van. The scent of fresh blood, an overpowering scent of heavily salted rust, assaulted my nose as soon as we entered the room. 

Tyler looked up at our approach, eyes widening when they fell on me; he moved to sit up, opening his mouth to speak when mama put a restraining hand on his shoulder, warning him not to move. He barely acknowledged her, his gaze glued to my face, "Dawn, I am so sorry, are you -?" 

"I'm fine, Tyler." I reassured him with a gentle, patient smile, seeing he was still frazzled by the whole experience, "Just lay back and relax, okay? You look like you got messed up the most in this whole thing." 

Tyler's brow was still furrowed in concern as I turned to Bella, whose eyes were now open as she glared at me. I did my best to ignore her venomous gaze as I pulled a nearby chair closer to take a seat by the foot of her bed. No need to make her anymore suspicious than she already was, not when I was walking the razor's edge as is. 

"Hey." Edward's smooth voice arrived a second before he did as he strolled up to us leisurely, his head cocked, just the slightest bit in curiosity. I glanced up at him, seeing he was a lot more relaxed than he had been when he'd run off earlier, his expression calmer, lips quirking up into a faint smile that lit up his honey eyes. I quirked a brow, wondering if he'd gotten the chance to see Bella's x-rays firsthand as she turned her glare on him now. The springs in Tyler's bed shifted again as he tried to sit up once more, turning to regard the other male. 

"Edward -" 

The vampire held up a hand to stop him, smiling reassuringly, "No blood, no foul, Tyler." He told him sincerely, though there was a wry note just under the surface, his smile widening to reveal his straight white teeth; I gave him a 'really?' look, to which he shrugged, still evidently amused as he took a seat at the edge of Tyler's bed, facing Bella without being too close. 

"So," he smirked, crossing his arms, "What's the verdict?" 

Bella sniffed, her bottom lip jutting out in a little pout as she leaned irritably back into the pillow, "There isn't anything wrong with me at all, but they won't let me leave..." She eyed Edward and I critically in turn, eyes narrowed, "And how come the two of you weren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?" 

Edward continued to smirk, still at ease, "It's all about who you know," he chuckled lightly; I could hear mama giggle lightly from the counter across the room as the door opened behind us, my ears inclining toward it, "But, don't worry, Bella, Dawn and I have come to spring you." 

Carlisle came around the curtain then, smiling warmly at Bella as he held her information and x-rays on a clipboard in his hand; her eyes immediately bugged when they fell on him, mouth dropping open in surprise, not uncommon for most when they saw him. Carlisle was still fairly young looking, with that perfect blond hair that went well with his alabaster skin, giving him a movie-star look that would make any woman (or man) swoon, even when he had the black and blue bruises around his eyes typical of any vampire in our world. I heard Edward's low groan of realization, knowing Bella would have definitely noticed the 'family' resemblance. 

"So, Miss Swan, how are you feeling?" Carlisle asked in that soft, soothing voice he reserved for his patients, to help put them at ease. A part of the calming bedside manner he had developed over his centuries of work. 

"I'm fine." Bella said in a quiet voice, like she was trying to string her thoughts back together. 

Carlisle nodded, clipping her x-rays to a lightboard installed on the wall next to her bed, "Your x-rays are looking good. Does your head hurt at all?" He turned to regard her again, his head cocked, just the slightest bit, "Edward and Dawn have told me you hit it pretty hard during your fall." 

Bella's sigh was exasperated, "I'm fine." She repeated in a firmer tone, impatient now as she shot Edward and I another glare. I leaned back and crossed my legs, trying to appear as comfortable as I could be in the hard plastic chair. 

Humming, Carlisle set his clipboard aside as he stepped closer to Bella and ran his fingers gently around her ear, feeling for the bump hidden under her hair; she winced when he found it, reflexively moving away from his touch. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Edward stiffen and glanced at him, his intense focus on Carlisle and Bella. He looked like he was wishing he could switch places with Carlisle in this moment, that he had the self-control his father did, so he could get closer to Bella, be the one touching her so delicately like he was, checking her wounds without worrying about harming her even worse than he already had. 

"Tender?" I turned back to the two as Carlisle gave Bella a gentle smile, understanding her pain; she notched her chin, vehemently refusing to show any further weakness. 

"Not really." She crossed her arms; I rolled my eyes at her stubbornness, wondering if she'd still have this kind of attitude if she had been hurt worse while Edward chuckled lowly. Bella glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, frowning heatedly while he simply grinned at her. 

Carlisle looked at me, bemused, and released a low chuckle of his own, "Well, you seem perfectly fine to me. Your father is in the waiting room, so you should be able to go home with him now." He retrieved his clipboard, "Just be sure to return if you're feeling any dizziness or you're having trouble with your eyesight." 

"Can't I go back to school?" Bella grimaced, obviously not looking forward to Charlie fretting over her. Mama joined us then, shaking her head. 

"Now Bella, don't be stubborn. Even a minor car accident like this one is a big deal, so give your dad a bit of latitude, will you?" She smiled gently, her voice soft, but firm, "I could come home with you and Charlie, just in case." 

Bella gave mama a wide-eyed look, obviously appalled at the idea as she quickly shook her head, "No, I'm fine! Really, you don't need to leave just for me." 

"It wouldn't be any trouble, Bella." Mama cocked her head with a concerned, motherly smile, "Believe me, I work so many hours as is, my boss has to beg me to take time off!" She joked, hoping to calm the situation, even just a little. Bella still didn't look entirely comfortable at the idea of being the center of our parents' attention. 

"What about Dawn and Edward?" She turned her scathing gaze on the pair of us, lips pursed in disapproval, "Do they get to go to school? They were involved in the accident, too." 

"Yes, but we walked away without injury." I pointed out as I got up and stretched my arms over my head, purposely emphasizing my point; she glowered grumpily as Edward emitted another low chuckle of amusement, getting to his feet as well. 

"Besides, someone has to let everyone know we survived." He hummed, smirking smugly. Bella's expression soured further, chin squaring. 

"Actually." Mama tilted her head to the other side and tapped her chin thoughtfully with a finger, "I do believe I saw that most of the school was in the waiting room with Charlie." 

Bella groaned loudly, mortified, and covered her face with her hands at the thought of all the people waiting for her outside the emergency room. Carlisle looked at mama and I, quirking a brow in concern, but mama smiled patiently, shaking her head while I folded my hands behind my head. 

"Oh well, I guess if you don't want to leave, Bella." Mama turned toward the doors, "I'll just tell everyone you have to stay." 

"No, no!" Quick as a flash, Bella swung her legs over the side of the hospital bed and clambered to her feet; I almost laughed at how easily mama had been able to get her to get going, but held it in as Bella stumbled, the sudden change in position causing the blood to rush to her head; Carlisle and I each caught one of her arms, steadying her, while Edward kept his distance, though I could see the concern and envy warring in his eyes. 

"I'm okay." She reassured him before he could think to ask, her cheeks filling with a soft blush. Carlisle nodded slowly, making sure she was balanced before he released her, just as I did. 

"Elizabeth, make sure she takes some Tylenol for her pain." He called to mama, who looked back from the other side of the room; she smiled and nodded in understanding before she bustled out to grab her things from the locker room. Bella sighed, exasperated once more. 

"It really doesn't hurt that bad..." She insisted, desperate to escape the limelight, even though she knew mama wouldn't be deterred now. Carlisle gave her a patient smile of his own as he signed her chart. 

"It sounds like you were very lucky." He told her, missing the look she shot in my and Edward's direction, her eyes narrowing, "Yeah...lucky Edward and Dawn just so happened to be standing close by." She agreed frostily. Carlisle glanced up over the clipboard, looking between Edward and I out of the corner of his eye, obviously sensing the suspicion still lingering in my stepsister's tone. 

"Oh, well, yes." He agreed smoothly, occupying himself with the paperwork in his hands. He shot Edward and I a quick glance, letting us know we should handle it from here. I sighed, ruffling my hair as Edward pursed his lips, muttering a quiet, sarcastic thanks that caused the corners of Carlisle's lips to quirk a little in amusement before he turned to Tyler. 

"As for you, I'm afraid you'll have to stay with us just a bit longer." He told the young man, leaning down to examine his injuries. Edward and I exchanged a guilty look, neither of us thrilled with the fact that we'd hurt another innocent in our attempt to save Bella, yet grateful our classmate would survive the ordeal. For now, we needed to worry about the predicament we had dug ourselves into, as Bella marched deliberately in our direction, pinning the two of us with a hard glare as she got up in our personal space. 

"Can I talk to the two of you for a minute?" She hissed under her breath, low enough that she thought no one else in the room would be able to hear. I could smell the mixture of orange juice, strawberries, and oats still on her breath from breakfast, which felt like an eternity ago now, even though I knew it had probably only been a couple of hours since then. Beside me, I felt Edward stagger back a step, obviously still finding it difficult to be too close to her without fighting his instincts. I glanced at him inconspicuously, noting the concentrated pain he tried to conceal as he clenched his jaw and cleared my throat to get Bella's attention. 

"Bells, you really shouldn't keep Charlie waiting." I told her, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder to guide her toward the emergency room doors, "You know his anxiety is probably through the roof about now." 

Bella frowned at me and planted her feet stubbornly, unamused at my attempt to usher her away before she could push the issue further; her gaze shot toward where Carlisle was, supposedly, busy tending to Tyler. Once she was sure they were occupied, she turned her hard gaze back on the pair of us, pressing her lips into a tight line. 

"I would like to speak with you alone, both of you." She looked between us to emphasize her point, "If neither of you mind." She insisted in a low, no-nonsense tone. 

I inwardly groaned, wishing more than anything I could go home and crawl back into bed; I kept my composure, however, knowing it wouldn't help our case to let Bella know just how much this was wearing on us. Edward and I both had a role to play in this moment...Bella would know our family's secret, yes, but it was still dangerous for her to know the Cullens. Breaking the news of the supernatural to her now...well, that would go over about as well as a bomb in the middle of a natural disaster. 

Exchanging another silent look with Edward, he gave a curt, reluctant nod, turned on his heel, and stalked toward the exit doors. I put an arm around Bella to usher her along as we followed the vampire out into the plain white halls outside the ER; I could power walk fast enough to catch up, but Bella was practically jogging by the time we turned down a corner to a dead-end wall. Edward paused, turning to face us again and pinning Bella with cold golden eyes. 

"What do you want?" He asked icily as he crossed his arms; I frowned at his sudden change, knowing he would want to try and put some distance between him and Bella, yet still surprised at his suddenly icy demeanor. 

Bella, not quite expecting it herself, visibly cringed at his hostility, her eyes stretching wide in bewilderment while her eyebrows furrowed. When she spoke, her voice was small, even though I could tell she was trying to sound strong, determined. 

"You two owe me an explanation." She pointed out, reminding us of the promise we'd made back at the school. I could sense Edward's pain, even as he glared at her, "We just saved your life." He retorted harshly, gesturing to me and then himself, "We don't owe you anything." 

Bella flinched at his tone, and it took her a minute to gather herself together again to speak, her voice nearly a whisper now as she looked between us, "You promised..." 

"Bella, this really isn't the best time to talk about this, not here." I told her gently, doing my best to defuse the situation before it got out of hand, though I could already sense it was quickly heading in that direction. "Look, today's been...exciting, to say the least, and we shouldn't push it too far...I think we all just need to take a step back and let the dust settle first." 

Edward nodded tartly in agreement, "You should be taking it easy, especially with a head injury like yours'..." 

Bella's expression tightened at his words, eyes flashing heatedly and chin jutting out, "There isn't anything wrong with my head!" She snapped, crossing her own arms. Uh oh...Edward met her gaze challengingly. 

"What is it you want from us, Bella?" 

"I want to know the truth." She told him, much more confident than she had been a moment ago, "I want to know why I just had to lie for the two of you." 

"How about the fact that one of us is your sister?" Edward shot back angrily, trying to redirect her attention, pushing her away, "A little something called family loyalty?" 

"Okay, let's calm down..." I cut in as pain flickered across Bella's face at the accusatory tone of his voice; I put myself between them and squeezed Bella's shoulder gently, "Look, it's been a long day for all of us, we've been through something traumatic...and I'm sure we're all just dealing with it in our own ways." I gave Edward a look, telling him to cool it before things got out of hand, "Looks, Bells, uh..." I turned back to her, trying to gather my thoughts, figure out how to best explain what had happened without revealing too much, too soon, "Well, things are...a bit complicated to explain here properly, so maybe you should wait, huh?" I tried to smile, reassuring, "After everything that's happened, it's best not to add to your full plate right now, so how about we get you back to Charlie and -" 

"Don't talk to me like I'm a petulant kid, Dawn!" Bella growled, shoving me back; I stumbled a little, caught off guard, and a cold arm wrapped around my waist, steadying me. Bella glared, the pain still evident in her expression, though it was quickly being overruled by anger and irritation. I frowned sadly at her as I straightened, seeing she was shaking as the words she kept in spilled, unbidden, past her lips, "I deserve some answers for what happened! I saw it! Neither of you were within reaching distance, and don't you dare try to brush it off as me hitting my head too hard, Tyler didn't see either of you, either! That van would have crushed all three of us, but it didn't, you two stopped it, you left those dents in its side, AND the bumper of the tan car I parked next to. I should have been killed or paralyzed, but you two kept the van from crushing me or my legs, you pushed it away, held it off me..." She broke off suddenly, as though just realizing how crazy she must have sounded in that moment, her anger giving way to tears; she grits her teeth to keep them at bay, still trying her best to glare at the two of us. 

I stared at my stepsister in surprise, taken aback; I hadn't expected such anger from her in this situation, she wasn't usually so confrontational or adamant about something. I guess she knew when to put her foot down when she needed to. 

"You think we lifted a van off you?" Edward spoke up sarcastically, quirking a brow. Bella pursed her lips tightly at his tone and nodded stiffly, jaw still clenched. Edward sniffed, shaking his head with a mocking grin, "Nobody is going to believe that you know." 

"I'm not going to tell anyone." She rebuffed, each word careful, slow, as though she was trying to keep a handle on her temper. I knew Bella would keep her word, no matter how angry or upset she might be at Edward or I at this moment. She would keep this secret because she and I were family. Edward seemed taken aback at his admission, though, staring at Bella as his carefully sculpted mask began to crack. 

"Then why should it matter?" He furrowed his brow, trying his best to keep a firm tone, though there was a noticeable edge there, just under the surface: curiosity. Bella shuffled in place, as though uncomfortable, and squeezed her forearms in her hands. 

"It matters to me, because I don't like to lie." She told him earnestly, without breaking his gaze, "If I have a good reason, I don't mind it so much." 

There was a silent plea in her eyes, a plea for Edward and I to trust her. My heart clenched in my chest, guilt weighing heavy on my shoulders as I shoved my clenched fists into the pockets of my jeans. I wished I could spill everything out for Bella to see, to let her into our inner circle, that I didn't have to lie to her about this anymore, but it was more than our current situation and the threat of someone overhearing our conversation that stopped me. It was more than my family's secret on the line now... 

"Can't you just thank us and get it over with?" Edward rebuffed callously as he narrowed his eyes, unwilling to let Bella in like she'd hoped. Her eyes glistened for a second, but she covered it up with a scowl, setting her jaw once more. 

"Thank you...both of you." She fumed, waiting for us to say anything else; I sighed, knowing I should have expected this. 

"Bells, can't you just put this aside for now...?" I asked quietly, furrowing my brows and cocking my head compellingly, willing her to just let it be; her face scrunched as she looked at me, as though wondering how I could even ask that. Edward huffed, shaking his head slowly, as though exasperated. 

"In that case...I hope you enjoy disappointment." He told her coldly; she returned her gaze to him, scowling now. He scowled right back at her, and I got this strange vision of a big, powerful lion staring down a tiny, harmless kitten, more amused by the vulnerable cat's fearlessness than anything else. 

Bella's cheeks pinkened as she puffed them outward, like an agitated child would in preparation to throw a temper tantrum, "Why'd you bother then?" she asked Edward frigidly. 

Her question seemed to catch him off guard again, and his mask slipped once more, just for the briefest of seconds, as he answered her, "I don't know..." His voice barely above a whisper as his eyes scanned her face, as though memorizing every detail for the final time before he turned and walked away. I frowned after him, more surprised by the look he'd left with before I caught a whiff of mama's scent nearby, her footsteps coming from the direction of the ER. I sighed, turning to regard my stepsister again, my lips pursed. 

"Ya know Bells, there are just some things people can't talk about." I told her, shaking my head slowly back and forth, not quite like I was disappointed, more exasperated and tired; she gave me a strange look, eyebrows pulling together as her anger gave way to confusion, "Look, we're sorry if we made you feel stupid or like we're treating you like a kid, but this is just...it isn't something that can be talked about easily...you should be able to understand that better than anyone." I gave her a pointed look, sighing when her eyebrows furrowed deeply in return. Mama rounded the corner as I shook my head once more, "I'll see you at home..." I told her before I turned and followed Edward.