The Dark Side of the Moon

24. Sincerity

I awoke to what must've been an evening sun in my face, the brightness of it glowing through the backs of my eyelids. I did not want to open my eyes, as the comfort of wherever I was was too great. When I did manage to peek and open them, I saw a white ceiling, before I looked around at the unfamiliar room. I was in a bed, surrounded by deep purple sheets. A glass of water lay on the nightstand next to the bed, and a washcloth lay draped across a chair that sat next to the bed.

I sat up abruptly as the realization that I had no idea where I was hit me. I must've moved too quickly, as my head felt like it weighed a ton and my body was still sore as my vision spun and blurred. A soft groan escaped my lips as I clutched my head. My mouth felt like cotton, and I carefully gripped the glass of water before chugging it down as quietly as I could. Just as I placed the cup back on the table the door opened, and my whole body flinched in surprise.

A set of worried topaz eyes met mine as Alice Cullen popped her head in the door.

"Oh good! You're finally awake!" She exclaimed as she rushed over to where I sat in the bed. "You had us all very worried Bella. How are you feeling?"

"Alice what...what happened?" I stuttered unsure of how I got here. The day was foggy in my memory.

"Well from what I saw you were really, really sick. I don't even know why you were at school in the first place!" She scolded. "We got to the school and, oh Bella! I'm sorry but the vision came too late! I didn't know you were so ill...I immediately ran to find you but you were coughing your head off, you looked so out of it. You fell and...you coughed up blood! Carlisle thinks it was some sort of viral infection."

Alice talked very quickly, as if she couldn't contain the rapid flow of words that poured from her mouth. I tried my best to process everything she said.

"How did I get here? What happened after? And how long was I out?" I asked quickly. "Does Charlie know?"

"Hey, hey it's okay! We called your dad on the way here and explained that you fainted and were very sick, and we were going to take you to Carlisle," she paused, an odd look on her face. "He said to just keep you in your own clothes, but other than that he seemed fine with it."

"Oh... he's okay with it?" I asked, knowing why the odd request.

"He is okay with it."

I sat there for a moment, thinking this through. How could Charlie not get mad about me not being home? It didn't seem like him, but then again, he was talking to Alice, a complete outsider, and not me. I feared what was to come when I returned home. As I processed this, little memories of someone coming in, a pale man with cold hands, coming to place a cloth on my head, came back to me.

"Alice, how long have I been here?"

She hesitated, her gaze moving to the door before falling to her lap. She looked at me, speaking very slowly. "Bella, it's Friday evening. You were out for well over 24 hours."

I tensed up in shock. I'd been unconscious for almost two days before, but to have been such a burden to another's home seemed so wrong to me.

"I'm sorry to have taken up your time. I don't want to-"

"Stop, stop, stop!" She interrupted. "We wanted to make sure you were okay. Don't you dare blame yourself for being sick!" She interrupted. I didn't know what to do...this was far too kind of her.

"Alice, you're too kind. I can never repay you all for helping me like this." I couldn't understand why, but for some reason, I trusted her.

"Well you can start by laying back down; I'm impartial to that color in your cheeks. You need to rest," she said as she gently pushed my shoulders back onto the bed and covered me again with the soft comforter. "You're family, you know."