Descent

Chapter 9

My hands were visibly shaking as I clutched the steering wheel on my way to the hospital.

My dad had practically picked me up and placed me in the drivers seat in his haste to have me gone from the school and off to pick up my mom.

I vaguely recalled the absolute bewildered look in my brother's eyes as he had no idea what was going on. 

I just couldn't believe it.  It couldn't be. I took a shuddering breath trying to will down the need to shift. That would be bad in a moving vehicle.

My skin vibrated with tension. 

I pulled abruptly into the hospital parking lot almost missing my turn and taking out the stop sign in the process.

I could feel the whole car shake as I closed the door too forcefully. My body was wound too tight and my control was slipping.

I rushed in, the cool temperature inside did nothing to alleviate the heat coming from my skin. It felt like molten lava.

I passed waiting room after waiting room until I got to the nurse's desk I was looking for.

"Mom." I said, my voice cracked. She was sitting behind the desk buried in a mountain of papers.

She looked up and her face fell seeing me there. "Bella." She said bemused. She stood quickly knowing from my presence that something was wrong. "What are you doing here?"

She walked over to me gently grasping my forearm. She blanched at the heat emanating from my skin. Her eyes widened.

"Dad sent me. We have to go. Now."

"Wait here.  I'll be right back." She disappeared behind doors that said 'Personnel Use Only'.

A commotion at the other end of the hall caught my attention. It was a blonde man dressed in a white lab coat. His head was down looking at his clipboard.

"Carlisle." A very recognizable voice angrily called out. It was Edward and he rushed down the hall with urgency, practically a blur.

I stiffened. And the butterflies inside went crazy.

The blonde man looked up at him and I tensed all over. He was so pale. Too pale for even the humans. Vampire.

And he worked here.....at a hospital. With an endless blood supply and a lot of weak humans at his disposal.

"Carlisle." Edward called the man again standing right in front of him. I turned my ear in their direction to hear better.

"I have been calling you and calling you. Why haven't you answered?" Edward asked agitated.

Carlisle frowned. "I was with a patient. Edward...what's going on?"

"We have a situation? There's been a ......"

The rest of what he said was drowned out by my mother coming out with her purse and whispering to me that we could go.

I still stood staring after the two vampires. One that worked here....with my mother.

She turned to see what I was looking at that was keeping me from moving and gasped.

The sound traveled to the vampires and their enhanced hearing.  They both turned to us. Edward's eyes went wide at seeing me there.

Carlisle looked curious. My mom grew flustered as her head glanced between us, her hand tightening on my arm.

I could see Edward's eyes narrow and I knew he was trying to see into our minds.