6:14:19 → j. hale, a. cullen

23; in which she begins to heal

4:17:21

"You have got to eat, bug." Charlie insisted gently, a frown resting upon his features as he watched his daughter stare down at her food filled tray. Clutching at her sky blue grown, Emery weakly shook her head as her stomach shifted at the sight of the food. Willing to take a small drink of water, the Swan grimaced as her throat painfully constricts at the action. 

"I know I haven't been to high school in quite a while, but this has got to be better than the cafeteria food." Twisting her head to face her father, Emery forced a small grin to placate her worrying father, her socked foot gently nudging the rolling table away from her bed. 

"Maybe later, dad. Dialysis and the new medications have me a bit sleepy." She rasped out, her heart feeling heavy as she took in her father's exhausted appearance. 

The last few days were torture for the both of them. In between the forced sponge baths, the constant cleaning of her wounds and the hourly check ins from the nurses and staff, Emery barely got any rest. A part of her was restless and bothered, but another part of her was relieved. Relieved because every time she would close her eyes, she saw red staring back at her. Red eyes and twisted grins, strong hands clamping down and bruising her skin, creating scars that were only visible to her. 

Her father was no better off. During the rarity of him not being by her side, he was overwhelmed with the increase of animal attacks and deaths in the nearby towns. He feared for his children's safety, the fear encapsulating him every time he looked over and saw his eldest daughter in the hospital bed. 

Furrowing his eyebrows, Charlie goes to protest, but pauses as he catches sight of his younger daughter. Emery follows his movement and tenses in bed, her eyes widening at the sight of the vampires surrounding her in the waiting room.

"Don't let them in, dad." She whispered out, her hands gripping the arms of the bed. Forcing himself to not ask questions, her father merely nodded and made his way to the door.

"Hey, Bells." He called out, trying to make his voice sound normal, as his hand hidden behind the curtain grips onto the addition of his belt. "I think it's time you come on in and visit your sister." 

Freezing at the sight of her father's hard eyes, Bella nods and begins to make her way over, comforted as Edward follows behind her. The Swan pauses as her father walks out of the small opening of the door and leans forward, his hand circling around her arm and gently tugging her forward. 

"Dad," Bella began to protest, twisting her hand out of his grasp and pausing to look back at Edward. Before she could protest any further, Carlisle stepped forward, his stature hostile. 

"Family only."

✾

Carlisle glared as his children stood up from their chairs, their postures rigid and eyes staring ahead at the closing door.

"Carlisle, I have to be with her." Edward insisted, clenching his teeth in frustration as he was shot a short glance. "Where she needs to be is with her family. Have you no idea how all of this will look? The daughter of the chief, no less, surrounded by a family who were the last to be around the victim of a mysterious and violent accident, surrounding the terrified girl in her hospital room? Think. Put your needs and feelings aside and just think. This isn't about you, any of you. This is about a teenage girl getting harassed and attacked, by fledglings, because we were ignorant enough to think she would be safe on her own. Ignorant enough to think that we should have prioritized one's safety over the other."

Edward looked away from the pointed gaze, before slowly nodding and turning around. Rosalie sighed and moved forward to follow her brother out, before pausing as he sat back down, pointedly staring out the window, instead of the door and his family members.