All I Wanted Was the Truth

I got to school late the next day. Dad and I argued for nearly an hour over whether or not I should stay home, to rest up a bit. He kept retorting that I could have another attack like the one from yesterday, and Emmett Cullen might not be there to drag me all the way to the ER. But, in the end, my whining about missing a (made up) English test won out, and he let me go to school.

I was made even later by the fact that black ice blanketed the roads, forcing me to walk instead of drive - I had summer tires on my car. So I slipped and slid all the way to Forks High, where there was a commotion in the parking lot.

Tyler's van was idling in a strange position, I thought. And then it hit me - everybody shouting, running around in fright. A car accident.

I rushed over, forgetting about the dangers of the slippery road. Everybody was shouting the same thing - "Where'd Bella go?"

I frowned, looking around. There was a crowd of people around two or three cars, which I couldn't quite make out. There was a blue van - Tyler's - sitting in the cold air, dented and shattered. A big red truck had been jostled slightly by the van, though it remained basically unharmed. A tan car sat over two people - Edward Cullen and Bella Swan?

Everybody was worrying about Bella, asking her about her head, her legs, her hands. Was she all right? Yes, she seemed quite fine to me - maybe shocked, but that's it. But I was more worried about the other victim of the accident.

"Get Tyler out of the van!" I shouted.

That seemed to get people moving. Some older students, myself included, hauled the driver's door open and looked in.

Tyler looked a lot worse for wear than Bella did. Bella was merely pale. Tyler's head was covered in blood from multiple cuts on his cheek and forehead. I noticed with a small churn of the stomach that the back of his head was also matted in dark, red blood.

Everything that happened after that was a blur. Three ambulances showed up, two of them carrying Bella and Tyler back to the hospital. The other one followed them back.

This left a very distraught crowd of young adults standing in the parking lot of the high school. Teachers started coming out of the building, asking us questions and ushering us inside. "Class started five minutes ago," Mr. Banner mumbled.

I shivered. It wasn't the chill that sent shivers down my spine; blood made me slightly nervous when it was pouring out of somebody's head. I headed for my locker, wading through the tide of people.

But when I reached my locker, I just stood there for a while. I turned, leaning against it, and slumped down to the floor.

Car accidents make me tired, you see.

I closed my eyes, hoping that nobody would disturb me. I planned on skipping first class, as I'm sure most other people would, too. Even the teachers seemed uninterested in their teaching materials for the moment. I sighed.

"Kaya," a voice next to me said quietly. I looked up, not at all surprised to see Emmett sitting there, arms wrapped around his knees. "Are you all right?"

I grinned weakly. "I'm not the one being rolled through the Emergency Entrance at the hospital, Emmett. Not today."

He shook a strand of hair out of face distractedly. "I know..." he said, frowning. "But you don't look so good."

I shrugged. "These sorts of things take it out of me first thing in the morning, I guess."

He nodded. "I was just worried," he replied awkwardly. "Because of your headache yesterday, and all. Thought the noise of everybody would bring it back."

"Nothing so far," I said. "Like I said, I'm just a little tired."

He sighed deeply. "Well," he said. "At least Bella's okay."

"But is Tyler?" I asked darkly.

He looked over at me, surprised. "Tyler Crowley? Was he the one in the van?"

"Yeah."

"Oh..." He thought about that for a moment. "Well, Carlisle is working today. I'm sure he'll look after him."

"Hope so." I frowned. "You know, this school is lucky."

"Why?" Emmett asked, eyebrows raised.

I laughed. "Because there's always a Cullen to the rescue."