A New Cullen Sister

Chapter 14

An hour and a half later, an exhausted Amelia cried herself to sleep. Carlisle was busy finishing a phone call to Edward, Emmett and Jasper, who wanted nothing more than the addresses of the abusers so that they could deal with them. Rosalie and Alice were dry sobbing somewhere in the house. Bella was staring into space, trying to deal with the situation. Jacob and Renesmee were at Bella's house, still sleeping.

After hanging up, Carlisle turned to Esme, who had not let go of her daughter for the past half hour. He stroked the top of his daughter's head. Their eyes met before a knock on the door interrupted their reverie. Dr Anderson kept ward rounds as brief as possible. Carlisle detailed his plan to help his daughter feel better, and surprisingly enough, Dr Anderson agreed.

After a while, Amelia was put into her bed and Esme tucked her in. Alice had reassured them that Amelia would not wake up until around noon. They went home, and Carlisle placed a phone call to Amelia's social worker, who was horrified to hear just how much abuse she had endured in silence. Both Carlisle and Esme were well aware that Amelia was holding back a few details. She'd told them what she could, what she felt was safe to tell, but there was more to her story than she was letting on. They both decided that it would be best to drop the topic and allow her to come to them when she was truly ready, when she felt secure enough as a member of the Cullen family to continue to tell her tale. Until such a time came, they were content to let her be.

At around 11am, Carlisle and Esme returned to the hospital and sat in Amelia's room again. The nurses didn't even bat an eyelid anymore. In their opinion, their favourite patient had spent far too long without a single visitor and they were only too delighted to basically give Carlisle and Esme an all-access pass to the ward. Amelia awoke a little before 12 from a deep, dreamless sleep. She felt like a weight had been lifted from her and she was rather cheerful.

After heartily tucking in to some breakfast, Esme bundled her up into some warm clothing. Carlisle brought her a streaming cup of hot chocolate in a thermos flask. He disconnected her IV lines temporarily, and sat her in a wheelchair, much to her disgust. Carlisle told her it was a taxi service for the sick people. She glared at him. Carlisle then attached her nasal cannula to a portable oxygen unit and Esme handed her a mask and when Amelia had put it on, she stuck a beanie on her head.

"You look adorable!" she exclaimed, snapping a picture with her camera. Amelia was unimpressed.

"I look like a mini sumo wrestler!" she mock sulked, "Why all these layers for a simple walk around the hospital? Thank you, by the way, I'm looking very forward to getting out of the ward for a little while."

"It's cold in the corridors," said Carlisle with a smile as he began to push the wheelchair outside of her room. Esme walked alongside them, carrying the portable oxygen concentrator which they had purchased for her. Conveniently enough, it came with a shoulder bag.

Amelia was delighted to be out of the ward for once. She chatted animatedly while they walked along the corridors, almost as if the events of the morning had not occurred. She had finally told an adult, and with the love and support of her family, it was hoped that she could finally begin to heal. She grew suspicious as soon as they started approaching the exit.

"Why are we heading towards the exit? Are we going to do a u-turn in the waiting area or something?" she queried, confused.

"No, we are going outside," said Esme, a sly smile playing on her lips.

"Cool, like a jail break? Reckon an alarm is going to go off? Can I call shotgun in the getaway car?" she joked.

"You'll have to sit in the back with Esme, my dear," retorted Carlisle.