Liplocked Lullabies

The first thing I saw when I woke up was Embry.

He was sprawled out on a green chair across from where I was sitting, his eyes shut tightly and his legs open wide.

It was quite comical actually.

Embry’s hands were clamped onto both sides of the chair, his gigantic arms like planks compared to the small stick-like armrests.

His mouth was agape, soft grunts and snores escaping his lips. His eyes were shut, and it took me a moment to realize that he was sleeping.

He looked so tall and out of place in the chair, my first instinct was to laugh. So I did.

My mouth felt dry, and my throat seemed to close up as I struggled for air. And then I felt it. The pain was excruciating. The entire right side of my face seemed to burn, as though I was on fire.

I let out a small squeak in surprise. Immediately, all eyes were on me.

“She’s awake!” an unknown voice said, and the next thing I know, Embry was awake and in front of my bed, gripping my hand.

“Thank god! I thought you were dead!” Embry screeched, his eyes wild and his hair a mess.

I blinked in surprise.

Dead from what? was the first question that ran through my mind, followed by, where the hell am I?

Adjusting to the bright light of my unknown location, I took in my surroundings. My eyes flew to the television first, a small screen mounted in the upper right corner.

As I squinted, I made out the show to be a wrestling match between a overweight man in a sombrero and cape and an even heavier man in neon orange spandex. Concentrating closely, I realized the match was in Spanish.

Below the match sat a small red cross and a plaque that read In loving memory of Deborah Riley, Forks Hospital Doctor: 1935-1999

It only occurred then that I was in a hospital. Forks Hospital.

My eyes then traveled to the crowd that seemed to be assembled in the far side of the room. Besides Embry who was still standing and mumbling things by my bedside, I saw Quil, Paul, Jared, a brunette which I recognized as Bella, a bronze haired man holding Bella’s hand, and a man in a bleach-white lab coat. I assumed this was my doctor.

His eyes landed on me, and he smiled slightly before walking towards me.

“Hello there, Ms. Call.”

His smile was bright and white, just like his skin. It took me a minute to recognize teh similarities.

Abnormally pale skin…Andrei.

I flinched back slightly as the doctor attempted to grab my hand. The image of Andrei at the beach, crushing my hand under his tight grip haunted my brain.

It was only after the Doctor checked the needle which I didn’t even realize was in my hand, that I relaxed. I was hooked up to an IV. But what had happened?

“I’m Doctor Cullen,” the doctor spoke again, taking me by surprise. “but you can call me Carlisle if you wish.”

“Okay, Carlisle…” I spoke carefully, making my cheek even more sore.

I brought my hand up to the right side of my face and expected to feel the wounds created, but instead felt plaster. They had bandaged it up, of course. I cursed my stupidity and tuned into what Dr. Cullen was saying, something about resting and taking it easy.

“…and you badly bruised your right hand, but it should be okay. The cuts on your face are quite bad. You could leave them as they are, after they have healed more and been treated to our best ability, but I would recommend surgery or a healing program we have here in the hospital.”

Dr. Cullen glanced at Embry, who was pacing anxiously.

“I think I’ll leave you some time to talk to your family and friends, but your sedative should kick in soon, so it won’t be long.” Dr. Cullen smiled knowingly, before disappearing.

“Tell her,” Bella hissed, nudging Embry.

He scowled before glancing at me.

“She’s obviously tired,” he said, gesturing to me nervously, “we should let her sleep, and tell her later.”

“Tell me, what?”

“Stop procrastinating!” Bella growled, and I actually felt grateful towards her at the moment.

“Fine.” Embry whined like a small child, adding a stamp of his foot for an added flourish. He turned to me.

“What?” I asked, eager to know, yet slightly annoyed at my brother’s nervous attitude.

“Jay, there’s something you need to know about us. I-it’s a pretty big secret, and I need to be a-able to trust you.” I nodded, not trusting my voice.

Was he gay? Was he a murderer? A million possibilities circulated in my head.

“You see, we’re…we belong to…we form…”

“We’re werewolves!” Quil shouted in exasperation, throwing his hands up in the air.

I blinked. Once. Twice. Three times.

“Excuse me?!” I stared at Quil like he had just grown three heads. “Y-you’re what now?”

“Werewolves.” Quil repeated with ease, as Embry smiled in relief. I felt my jaw go slack, and my eyes bug out.

“We-wha-ho-you…what?”

“We. Transform. Into. Wolves.” Embry pronounced slowly, as though he was talking to a small child.

That was what I was to him, a small child. Always.

My mind immediately flashed to my wolf in the woods. Larger than the rest, abnormally human-like. Able to understand my thoughts. My actions. My wolf on the beach, reaching up to attack Andrei. Attacking me. My scars.

I stared at the sickly green walls, trying to comprehend what was going on. Jacob.Jacob.Jacob!

“Where’s Jacob?” I asked suddenly, noticing his absence.

Suddenly the focus point became the cold linoleum floor, instead of me. Something was going on.

“Guys,” I repeated, more forcefully, “where’s Jacob?”

“Um…” Quil seemed unable of speech. He sent Embry a desperate look.

Your turn!

“He’s on a vacation.” Embry blurted out.

“Oh.” my face softened, believing him. “When is he coming back?”

“In a little while.”

“So,” I eyed Embry sceptically, “werewolves, huh?”

“Yup.” Quil said, puffing his chest out proudly. I gave him a look. “What?”

“Next you’re going to tell me that fairies and unicorns exist!” Quil and Embry exchanged glances.

“Actually, the main reason we didn’t like Andrei was because he was a vampire.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No.”

The pale skin. The red eyes. The super fast speed. It all made sense now. Jacob's voice echoed in my head. Leech.

“That’s basically the job of a werewolf, to hunt vampires.”

“Well, do you have any superpowers?”

“We’re fast. We heal really quickly, We’re really warm too.’

“Jacob didn’t have the fever…it was his normal body temperature!” I mumbled to myself.

“Yup.” Quil nodded enthusiastically, showing off once again. “We run at a toast one-o-eight-point nine these days.”

"Wow.” I raised my eyebrows. `So, these vampires. Are they all dangerous?```

"No. Some vampires are actually vegetarians."

"Like Edward." Bella piped up, and it took me a moment to remember that she was there.

"Edward?"

Was this their leader?

"Edward." Bella repeated, and I stared at her confused for a minute.

I followed her gaze, and realized that Edward was actually the bronze haired man gripping Bella’s hand.

"Pleasure to meet you." Edward purred, his voice low and velvety.

"Uh-huh." I nodded quickly, not exactly sure what to say.

Thankfully, Dr. Cullen returned, holding a clipboard and looking official.

"So, Miss Call," Dr, Cullen boomed, his smile friendly, "have you made your decision about your treatment?"

"Fa-ther." Edward drawled out, pronouncing each syllable.

"Yes, sir." I said, my eyes traveling from Edward to his father. "I’d like to keep my scars. I just want to wait until they heal a bit."

"Excuse me?" Embry almost choked on his own saliva as he bounded towards my bed. "You are doing the surgery, young lady."

"You can’t make me,mom."

"Yes I can."

"I’m my own person Embry. Stop treating me like a goddamn child and let me make my own decision for god sakes!" I growled, suddenly getting frustrated.

Embry stared at me, and I glared back, standing my ground. This continued for a few minutes, the others in the room clearly feeling awkward. Embry looked away, angrily.

“Fine.” he growled, sending a glare at the Dr. Cullen. “You’ll regret this later.”

“So,” Dr. Cullen cleared his throat, glancing between us. “If you’re letting your scars heal, you’ll need to take this medication twice a day for the next three weeks. Replace the bandage on your face every three days until the bleeding dries up completely. Janice is getting your medicine ready for you now.”

He turned the corners of his lips up into a smile that I felt obliged to return.

“You’re going to regret this,” Embry repeated, throwing his head back slightly.

I smiled slightly, resting my head on the lumpy pillow that accompanied the hospital bed.

“Looks like your sedative is kicking in,” Dr. Cullen smiled, “right on time!”

Everything slowly began fading away. Embry. Bella and her vampire boyfriend. Dr. Cullen and his creepy smile.

And then I felt myself slowly drifting off into a dreamless sleep, not sure when I would wake up.