Chapter 3:

Where Am I?

I drove home slowly. I was pondering the events of the day. I officially decided that I would try to make an effort to get to know Emmett and Jasper.

The roads were still wet so my slower speed was a necessity. I drifted to a stop at the one traffic light that I had to pass on my way home. My phone started ringing so I reached across the console into the passenger seat to retrieve my phone from my backpack.

Suddenly I heard the squeal of tires sliding on the pavement. That sound was the last thing that my mind registered before it gave in to the darkness trying to overpower it.

When I finally came to, I found myself staring directly at a bright fluorescent light. I had no idea where I was, or what I had done to end up here. I tried to turn my head but my neck was held in place by a plastic neck brace.

Just as I was contemplating whether or not I should rip the annoying thing off of my neck a woman in pale blue scrubs walked in. I heard her footsteps echo slightly in the spacious room.

She came to my bedside. "Oh my goodness, Isabella! It is such a relief to see you awake so soon," the middle-aged woman exclaimed with a touch of concern still evident in her voice as she looked me over with an expert eye.

I tried to sit up but my head felt fuzzy and I was getting dizzy. I leaned back again. My head couldn't quite grasp the situation. "Where am I? What happened?" I felt like I my tongue was heavy and unresponsive.

"You poor dear. You were sitting at a red light and were hit by a car that lost control because of the wet conditions," the woman answered, "You were hit right on the driver's side. It was lucky that you were leaning away from the door, or you could have had severe head trauma."

My eyes widened.

"Yes, you are in the hospital." The nurse answered my unspoken question.

"How is my car?" I nearly shouted. That thing was expensive and I didn't have much money floating around. I paused; maybe I could have the person who ran into me pay for the damage. "Who was driving the car that lost control?"

The door opened and a doctor in a white lab coat entered the room just as the words left my mouth. He approached my bedside just as the nurse had. The nurse quietly excused herself as the doctor arrived.

"How are you doing Isabella?" the doctor asked.

I looked at him closely. He had light blond hair and dark green eyes. He looked too young to be a doctor. "Perfectly fine," I said with a bit of sarcasm dripping into my voice.

"I am Dr. Carlisle Cullen," the doctor continued, choosing to ignore my tone. He looked at the clipboard that was holding. "You have some minor head trauma. It is just a small concussion, but I fear that the whiplash is a little more severe." His eyes creased with worry.

I could tell that he was hesitant about continuing. "What is it?" I asked.

"You got fairly deep cut above your left eyebrow. It's already been stitched up, but I'm afraid it will leave a scar."

I breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn't worried about a scar. I was expecting him to tell me that I had lost a ton of brain cells for some inexplicable reason. Now that I wasn't worried about my well being I felt like I could ask some questions of Dr. Cullen. "Who hit my car?"

He sighed. "My son, Edward."

I gasped. Suddenly it fell into place. Of course Edward Cullen was Dr. Cullen's son. They both even had the same eyes.

As I figured that out, Edward Cullen himself walked into the room like he owned the place. He spared me a scathing glance while his father wasn't looking toward him yet. When his father turned his attention to him, however, he was the image of the regretful son.

I was glaring at him so furiously that if looks could kill, he would definitely be on the floor right now.

Instead of lying dead on the floor, however, Edward strolled over to my bed and sat on the edge next to my legs. He managed to jostle me enough to make my head get fuzzy for a second.

Once I could see clearly I gave Edward a glare while his dad was looking over my charts. After a few moments he dragged a chair over to sit in. Unlike his son, Dr. Cullen wasn't going to sit on my bed and cause me discomfort.

Once he was comfortably seated he looked me in the eye. "Isabella…"

"It's just Bella," I interrupted.

"Okay Bella," he continued," I fear that you will have to stay here for a couple of days. We have to run some x-rays of your head and neck, and maybe a ct scan as well." He looked over at his son who currently had his phone out and was looking at it with interest.

Shaking his head, Dr. Cullen continued. "I have already called your father and he will be arriving shortly. I'm sorry to say that he was a bit distraught," he looked at Edward again, "and more than a little angry."

"I'll take that as my cue to get out of here," Edward announced as he stood up.

Just then the door flew open and my dad was there, still in his police uniform – gun and all. His eyes immediately honed in on Edward who was standing stock-still. His eyes then focused in me and they creased with worry. He quickly made his way over to my bedside.

"Bells, I am so sorry." He paused as emotions crossed over his face. He slowly turned his focus onto Edward. His hand drifted to his belt…and his gun.

Edward swallowed audibly as he took in the sight of my dad.

My dad was a middle-aged man with thinning brown hair and a medium build. He had been the chief of police in Forks for god-knows-how-long. He rarely showed much emotion, but he was very protective people he cared about… namely, me.

"You and I are going to sit down and have a nice long talk," he said quietly. It was much more intimidating than if he had yelled at Edward.

Author's Note:

Okay, so this is a bit of a cliffy, but a pretty long chapter. Tell me what you think of it...even if you hate it. Reviews are always welcome!

Margie911