6:14:19 → j. hale, a. cullen

PART ONE

"It is not the length of life, but the depth of life."

Emery Swan knew that her illness became terminal. She knew that her mom and her sister were scared. The way that they treated her made it pretty obvious. At the beginning, her mother was adamant that she was healthy. She remembers the way her mother, Renee, cried and held her hand tightly to her chest. She remembers her younger sister, Bella, sitting next to her, confused as to what the word leukemia meant. 

Emery knew that it wasn't their fault that they hesitated around her.

She quickly began to notice the change in the way Bella slowly stopped visiting her in her bedroom, sharing laughter-filled stories with her. Even though she still heard her sister sneak up to her bedroom door, placing her ear against it. Emery knew she was checking on her to see if she was still breathing. Emery didn't blame her mother, for focusing on her relationship with Phil instead of spending quality time with her. She knew that it was her way of coping. Hoping that if she pushed away from her daughter and the reality of her daughter dying, that Emery's leukemia would dissipate and everything would be back to normal. 

Emery knew she was a burden. She missed days from school, and quickly became more accustomed to the lukewarm dinner on the plastic trays in the hospital, then her mother's homemade meals she once enthusiastically enjoyed. 

She knew that her father, Charlie, was afraid of her illness. Charlie pretended to accept the fact she was dying. Instead of showing the fact that he was upset, he instead called every chance he had the opportunity to. Asking her random questions that had no appeal to them, but Emery embraced every awkward pause in his speech and ignored the shaky inhales whenever she needed to end the phone call. She noticed the way he tried to elongate the conversations, and went with it. She knew he needed to ingrain the sound of her laughter before it was gone.

And because of constantly being surrounded by the same hospital walls and the never ending  neutrality of everything that came with being ill, Emery immediately agreed to the idea of getting out of town and being with her father.

She knew it would be hard getting used to a new school and a new hospital, that came with a new set of doctors, but she knew that this would be her last chance to really travel, to really get an adventure. 

But what Emery didn't know, was that the best adventure would include the names of Jasper Hale and Alice Cullen.

"How much of an honor it would be, if we were to get our heart's broken, by you? The greatest one of all."