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Thequietness of the hospital waiting room was unnerving. Even in the early afternoon hours, no one walked in or out of the hospital. Usually Eleanor didn't mind silence but, after the night she had, she needed a little noise.

El's leg bounced as she waited, her fingernails in between her teeth. She was the only one in the room - besides the receptionist who sat behind the desk. Edward was in Bella's room, while Renee and Charlie were in the cafeteria. They had come down that morning, right after Carlisle had informed them that there'd been an accident.

She assumed the rest of the Cullens' left, not wanting to deal with the pressure of being in a hospital.

She had turned her phone back on that morning, not eager to see what messages were awaiting her. It had pinged with several missed calls and messages and El regretted turning it off in the first place. She had replied to all messages, telling her mother that she'd be home soon to explain.

"Eleanor." Edward's voice disrupted her silence, causing her to jump out of her seat. His face was void of emotion but his tone gave away his feelings. Eleanor wondered what had happened inside Bella's room. "She wants to speak with you."

Eleanor brushed her sweaty hands over her jeans as she followed behind Edward. He pointed out Bella's room, taking care not to go too close. El offered him a smile as she reached forward to twist the door knob.

Bella was lying flat on the bed, head propped up by a few pillows. An IV was stuck in her hand, which was lying across her stomach. She looked just as pale as she had last night, purple bags decorating her under eyes. Eleanor knocked on the door to alert Bella of her presence. "Hey."

"Hey." Bella began to push herself up into a sitting position, wincing as she did so. Eleanor rushed to help her.

"Are you feeling better?" El asked when Bella was finally situated.

"Yeah, just still kind of freaked out." Bella mumbled, her voice hoarse. She studied Eleanor, who awaited her questions patiently. "What are you?"

El huffed a laugh, looking down to her hands. "It's complicated."

"Are you a vampire, too? You're... you had powers." She stuttered, staring at Eleanor's hands.

Eleanor shook her head as she raised her hand, twirling her fingers. "No, I'm not a vampire. I'm human but I can do things that others can't. I have no idea where they came from."

"These are what helped me find out about the Cullens'." El continued, letting her fingers fall into her lap. "They've been helping me learn how to control them."

"So what can you do? Last night, it was like you had, like, telekinesis,right?" Bella was amazed. "What else can you do?"

"Well, telekinesis is part of it." She said with a sigh. "So far, I can also produce these energy blasts and read minds. You remember that night that we were almost attacked in the alley?"

Bella nodded, tilting her head in curiosity. "Well, I used them to get one of the guys off of me. I... I saw his fears in my head. Edward thinks it's some kind of mental manipulation ability."

"Woah." Bella breathed. "That's... They sound awesome."

"Well." Eleanor couldn't help but laugh with a shake of herhead. "They may sound cool but I think my life would be a lot easier without them."

"What?" Her friend looked at Eleanor like she was an idiot. "Why? You can actually help instead of just standing by the sidelines."

"I don't know. It just feels like one day I could snap and hurt anyone who's in my way." Eleanor stared down at her lap, avoiding Bella's eyes. "The only reason I'm accepting them is because of Carlisle."

Bella hummed. "Are you two together, then? I know you said that you were mates."

"We are, but we're not together." Eleanor noticed some movement outside of the door, smiling towards Bella's mom when she peeked in. "I want to be with him, but it's a little complicated with the age difference right now."

Bella looked like she wanted to ask more questions but, before she could, Eleanor stood up. "Your mom is outside. I'll let her in so you guys can talk. Feel better, Bells."

The girl bid her friend goodbye and greeted Bella's mom before walking through the hallways, eager to get out of the hospital.

"What made you think it'd be okay to drive to Phoenix without talking to me first, Eleanor?!"

Eleanor had been sitting on the couch for close to half an hour now, listening to her mom yell at her. She had hoped to sneak into her room when she arrived home to postpone to inevitable, but Mrs. Stanley had been standing in the doorway.

The look on her face was enough to make Eleanor do anything she told her to.

"I didn't want you to tell me that I couldn't!" Eleanor argued. "Bella was upset and I didn't trust her to drive all the way to Phoenix by herself that night. I figured it was better to go with her and deal with the punishment than finding out she was on the side of the road somewhere."

Her mom sighed at that, stopping her pacing to put her hands on her hips. ""I understand that you were worried for your friend, but couldn't you have just brought her here for the night? You could have been on the side of the road somewhere and I wouldn't have known!"

She looked down, a rush of guilt flooding her. She was insanely lucky that she hadn't ended up in the hospital with Bella and subconsciously tugged her sweater up to hide her bruises. "I'm sorry, mom. I just didn't want her to get hurt."

Mrs. Stanley moved to sit down next to her daughter. She wrapped her arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. "Well, I'm glad that you're a good friend to Bella and that is the only reason you're not in trouble. I can't promise the same thing if this happens again."

"I love you mom." Eleanor mumbled into her mom's side. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"I love you, too." Mrs. Stanley kissed the side of her head. "Just don't do it again. Between you and Jessica, I'm going to die of a heart attack."

Eleanor had to laugh a little before she pulled away. Her mom squeezed her shoulder before letting her go, watching as her daughter ran up the stairs.

El entered her room, shutting the door behind her before turning around. Her heart jumped in her chest when she saw Carlisle sitting on her bed and she leaned back into the door with a hand over her heart.

"Good God, you scared me." Eleanor huffed, taking a deep breath before moving to sit next to Carlisle. "How did you-"

She caught sight of the opened window and shot an unamused look to the man. "Really?"

"Edward disappears into Bella's window to check on her at night." Carlisle said like it was enough of an explanation. "I wanted to check on you and figured it probably wouldn't be a good idea to go to the front door."

"Well maybe give me a heads up before you appear in my bedroom." She said lightly, falling back so her upper half was lying on the bed and her legs were on the floor.

Carlisle laughed at her, leaning back on his elbow next to her. "I'll be sure to tell you before I do it again."

Eleanor hummed before closing her eyes. Carlisle moved his hand so that it was rested on her head, his fingers gently combing her hair. She could feel herself relaxing as she laid next to him, content that he was with her.

She shivered when his hands moved down towards her neck, pulling down at the turtleneck sweater. When Carlisle stilled, she opened one eye. His brows were pulled down, eyes locked on the fading finger-shaped bruises.

El reached to cover his hands with her own, causing him to look back up at her. She offered him a smile. "They don't hurt."

"Not anymore." Carlisle mumbled, his thumb brushing over her skin. "It could have been much worse."

"But it wasn't." She reassured him. "I told you I could protect myself."

He only shook his head. "And if you couldn't. What if I hadn't been there to see you throw him off? What if you didn't have your abilities?"

"Don't do that, Carlisle." Eleanor whispered, pushing herself up so that they were face to face. "I'm right here and I am perfectly fine. That's all that matters."

He nodded once, still clearly not happy with what had happened. He cleared his throat before speaking again. "Are you going to the prom tomorrow night?"

"No." She shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't want to."

"Why not?" He began to move his hands through her hair again.

"Not really my thing." She shrugged her shoulders. "I'd much rather stay home that dance around in an expensive dress that I'm going to wear once."

The vampire shook his head as a small smile crept up on his face. "Are you in a lot of trouble? You could come over to my house tomorrow night."

Eleanor's mood suddenly plummeted and she grimaced at him. "Does that not bother you? Having to consider whether or not I'm grounded before asking what my plans are? Are you sure you want me?"

Carlisle sat up fully, Eleanor following his actions. He opened his arms, motioning El forward. She fell into his chest. "Eleanor, I don't care what people think or what the circumstances may be. I only want you, El."

"I don't care how long it will take until you're ready." He said, chin resting on her head. "Take all the time you need. I'll be waiting for you when you're ready."

Eleanor could feel her heart swell in her chest, her cheeks warming at his words. If she wasn't sure about where she stood before, she knew for sure now. She wanted to be with Carlisle just as much as he wanted to be with her.

Eleanor gathered every ounce of courage that she had as she lifted her head off Carlisle's chest and leaned forward. Her lips touched his only briefly before Carlisle pulled back with a sound of surprise. His hand rested on her cheek, brows pulled down into a frown. "What're you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" El teased before turning serious. "You're right. No one has to know anytime soon and I'll be eighteen in a few months. I want to give us a chance."

Carlisle's eyes softened and he smiled brightly. His free hand wrapped around the back of Eleanor's neck and he leaned forward, connecting their lips together once again.