The Other Swan

5. Accidents

Monday morning rolled around and along with it came the ice and snow. I was glad, on days like these, that I didn't have to go to school. Bella did though, and I stood at the front door with her before she left. We stared out at the ice patch of a driveway.

"Good luck!" I wished her, patting her on the back once. Despite the salt and sand the town had put down on the roads, Dad had put snow tires and chains on her truck to ensure she got to school safe. He was always a worrier. As she shuffled across the driveway to get to her truck, I began to see his point of view. She almost fell multiple times and had to catch herself on her truck's side mirror to prevent a complete wipe out. Her lack of coordination was definitely something else. Nonetheless, Bella made it into the driver's seat and headed off to school.

It wasn't even a half hour later when I got a phone call from my very panicked dad.

"Lucy, it's Bella. She was hit by a truck at school. She's in an ambulance on the way to Forks General. I'm going to meet her there. Do you want me to stop by on my way and pick you up?" He asked, unsure if I'd even care to go. Bella and I had become somewhat closer since her arrival in Forks, and I had to admit, I was worried about her. I accepted his offer, and we pulled up right in front of the emergency room, not even bothering to park the cruiser. It's not like anyone was going to tow Police Chief Charlie Swan's cruiser anyway.

We rushed into the ER, and I immediately saw Bella with a neck brace around her neck and a small scratch on her forehead. As I rushed forward to be by her side, a high school student that I only vaguely recognized was wheeled up on a gurney beside her.

"Bella, I'm so sorry!" He cried out to her. His head was tightly wrapped in blood-stained bandages, and he looked much worse off than Bella.

"It's okay, Tyler. I'm fine – you look awful, are you all right?" She asked him. Tyler, that was his name. I think I shared a few classes with him when I started at Forks High School, but we never really hung out.

"It sure as hell is not okay. You can kiss your license goodbye," Dad threatened the boy.

"Dad, I'm fine," Bella insisted.

As she assured Dad that Tyler did not, in fact, deserve to lose his license over a simple ice-induced accident, a nurse came over and started slowly unwrapping his bandages, revealing cuts all over his forehead and left cheek.

"I'm going to track down Dr. Cullen," my dad grumbled, leaving the three of us alone.

"I thought I was going to kill you! I was going too fast, and I hit the ice wrong..." Tyler winced as the nurse started dabbing at his face with a sterile wipe. He was clearly panicking and not really paying attention to Bella's words, but she tried to calm him down anyway.

"Don't worry about it; you missed me."

"How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there, and then you were gone..."

"Umm... Edward pulled me out of the way."

He looked confused. "Who?"

"Edward Cullen – he was standing next to me." She didn't even sound sure herself when she said that though.

"Cullen? I didn't see him... wow, it was all so fast, I guess. Is he okay?" He asked, slightly calmer now that he knew Bella was okay.

"I think so. He's here somewhere, but they didn't make him use a stretcher." The curtain between Tyler and us was drawn shut by another nurse and Bella looked up at me.

"I'm sure I saw him by his car, but he insists he was right next to my, Lucy. I'm sure of it though. When Tyler's truck was coming at me it was like time slowed down and I noticed everything. I saw him across the lot. He was by his car with the rest of the Cullens." She seemed like she couldn't even wrap her own mind around the situation.