Chapter 4

The next time she awoke she was back in sight of the blinding hospital lights. Her head was heavily pounding and the clothes on her body felt alien to her. Her eyes struggled to adjust to the white lights of the sanitized room, but they were suddenly off.

"Back again, Miss Uley?" She recognized the voice, Dr. Cullen. "I've already turned the lights off so don't worry about that."

Her eyes finally opened to reveal the smooth pale face of the doctor. A wave of calmness rushed over her as soon as her eyes connected with his golden ones.

"What can I say?" She chuckled. "I just couldn't stay away."

"Well, it seems you've been having a recurring headache, insomnia, memory lapses, and a lack of appetite. It looks like post-concussive syndrome. Your mom told us you were feeling like this for a few days, why didn't you come back?" Carlisle questioned. He was trying his best to look like he was breathing but if he took even a single breath all his years of self-control would be over in an instant.

"I thought if I could just make it to at least seven days it could clear me from coming back to the hospital, at least as a patient."

"What do you mean?" This comment had perked the interest of the man. Thoughts raced through his head faster than he could analyze them.

"I was thinking of applying for a medical assistant job here in the hospital. I recently got my degree in biology, and I've been thinking of going to medical school after."

"That sounds like a plan, but let's work on getting you better first." It did sound like a good plan to Carlisle. He wanted to be as close as possible to her every single day, but it also meant he would have to work triple as hard to control his thirst. "We'd like to keep you for the next few days and make sure you're in good health before you can go back to business as usual."

"How long would a few days be?"

"About four to five days, just to make sure that the symptoms don't worsen, and we can give you an all-clear." It would also give him a few days to grow accustomed to her smell. "We can work over that application for medical assistant, make sure it's something you want to do."

"Yeah, that'd be great." She smiled at the man in front of her, her heart fluttering with every breath she took. "Thank you, Dr. Cullen."

"Please, call me Carlisle," he smiled. "Now, why don't you continue resting, and whatever you need just call. My office is right down the hall, I'll be here in no time."

The girl stared at the retreating form of his body and covered the heat that was rising to her face with her pillow. The butterflies in her stomach had made her uneasy and had her hands shaking. She didn't understand why she was feeling this way. It had only been a week since her first encounter with the doctor, but those few seconds were enough to have her drooling over the man like a lovesick schoolgirl.

A few days had come and gone quickly. Spencer had grown attached to Carlisle, seeing and talking to him every day had felt like a dream. In his free time, she would go over to his office and pick a book to read, which they talked about the next day. They spent hours talking about nothing and everything.

It had been a long time since Carlisle had felt this way, centuries. Being around her had gotten easier each day that passed. Her smell becoming comforting instead of a trigger to the endless hunger for human blood – he'd never had a simple drop of it, but nothing could explain how much he wanted to have hers. Getting to know her had been a welcomed activity by the young doctor. He could spend days upon days listening to the sweet sound of her voice, admiring her curious-filled face when she started a new book – which she read swiftly, taking only a couple of hours to finish most of them.

"Can't believe you have so many first editions, and you leave them at work." She ran her hand across the spine of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. "I would keep them in a well-preserved chamber, and no one would be able to even breathe on them."

Carlisle smiled as the girl gawked once again at his book collection. It wasn't hard to acquire first edition novels when you were alive when they were published. "If you're impressed by this collection, you'd be completely astonished by the one I have back home."

"You have more?!" He nodded. The girl shined like a kid on Christmas, her eyes gleaming at the thought of a big library. "Oh, that sounds like a dream."

"You're more than welcome to come over any time. It's always refreshing to meet a literature aficionado such as myself."

"Really? That'd be amazing!" She grinned brightly. "I could spend all day reading, forget about work."

The duo laughed. "Too late to withdraw the application but you're always welcome to pass your downtime in my office."

"Sounds like a plan,'' she smiled. "Now, doctor, what will you ever do now that I'm not going to be here every day?"

"Oh, how will I ever go on?" He chuckled. "But if you ever need help during that time, just come by. My office is always open. And hopefully, you'll visit from time to time on personal time."

"I'm sure it's something that can be arranged."

If there was still blood rushing through his veins, the capillaries in his face would have widened. He felt like he now understood Edward; how being with her made him feel human again. And there was nothing more that he wanted than to take their friendship to another level, but he wasn't sure if she would ever feel the same. Carlisle knew that she was unaware of the supernatural since Spencer had allowed him to be in her life. But what would happen once she knew everything? How could he ever come between her and her family?

"Miss Uley, your mother is here," a nurse spoke up, peeking her head through the office door. "Discharge papers have already been filed."

"Thank you, Nurse Dalen. She'll be out in a moment." Carlisle smiled.

"Well, the time has come." Spencer took her phone out of her back pocket and handed it to the doctor. He looked at her with a question-ridden gaze. "I'm gonna need your phone number so we can arrange any future endeavors."

"Right," he laughed, typing his number into her directory. "I'll be waiting for that call."

"I'll be making it soon enough," she grinned. "I'm gonna go now. I'll see you around, Cullen."

"I'll see you, Uley."

She left the office with a huge smile on her face, holding her phone close to her chest. For the first time, she was experiencing something she had heard of most of her teenage years. Once she had met Carlisle all she wanted to do was get to know him better, spend her time with him, just being near him would suffice. It was the first time she was learning what falling for someone was, and even though it was scary, she was jumping in headfirst.

"Hi, honey. Ready to go home?" Allison hugged her daughter for the first time in five days. Spencer nodded, truly ready to finally sleep on her own bed.

"So, how are you liking Dr. Cullen?"

"MOM!" Allison laughed at her daughter's reaction. It was easy to see that Spencer had taken a liking to Carlisle Cullen, and vice versa.

"What, darling? If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck."

"It's not like that, mom."

"But you'd like it to be like that."

"I'm not talking about that with my mother." Spencer placed her cold hands on her cheeks, trying to cool down the warm blood that had rushed onto her cheeks. The cool air of the car's A/C was only helping her so much.

"I just want you to be careful with that, honey. He's older than you, technically has kids, and rumor has it he is married."

A breath hitched in her throat. Married? She knew he had adopted five kids, most of them her age, but not that he was married. Had she read the situation wrong? He didn't wear a ring, he didn't mention any relationship, he had no pictures of a woman in his office. Then again, they had only spent five days together at the hospital. She didn't know what he did when he went home at night, who he went home to at night. Spencer shouldn't feel betrayed—they weren't anything, and they weren't on track to become anything.

"Don't worry, mom. I've just been picking his brain about working in the hospital, and he's been helping me with what I'm gonna be doing this summer."

"Oh, have you decided what you want to do?"

"I'm gonna get my medical assistant certification. It's a three-month course then I can work at the hospital."

"That's great, honey." Allison smiled at her daughter from the driver's side. "Is that where you'd see yourself making a career?"

"Not sure. I want to take this time to see if life in a hospital is truly where I'd like to work – see if medical school would be it for me."

Spencer hadn't taken the time to focus on her future. In her high school career, she spent her time focusing on the present and piling on as much as she could, and now she had no sense of direction. She would take every day as it came, hoping one day she would find her purpose.

Finally, back home, she hopped off the truck and stretched out her limbs, stiff from the days on a hospital bed. Taking a deep breath of fresh air and basking in the afternoon sun. The cold that had seeped into her bones from the hospital melted off, and she smiled feeling the warmth surround her.

"Why don't you go upstairs, honey?" Allison told her daughter. "There's a surprise waiting for you in your room."

Spencer smiled and quickly made her way up the stairs to see what her mom meant. Opening the door, tears forming in her eyes. Her room had done a 180-degree turn. The walls had been painted a light beige color, and plants hung from the walls bringing warmth to the room. The bed was adorned with a white cover, and a fluffy duvet to keep her warm at night. A wooden frame sat atop the bed dressed in white linen and ivy vines. A bookcase lived in the corner of her room, filled to the brim with her collection of hardbacks and peppered with potted plants. Opposite the bed was a small desk with a dark green suede chair, her laptop set up in the workspace. Her room finally felt like hers.

"Do you like it, honey?"

"Mom, did you do this?"

"I wish I could take credit, but your brother and your friend Paul came over when I was at work and redecorated. I was actually surprised that they even came over."

"I'll have to thank them," Spencer grinned. Even though their relationship was strained at the moment, and she had yet to see Paul since coming back, she was glad that they had taken time out of their days to do this for her. "I'll go over to Sam's house for a bit, maybe now he'll have time to see me."

"Why don't you go tomorrow, honey? You should take it easy."

"I feel a lot better, mom. You don't have to worry too much."

"I'm your mother, I'll always worry. If you're gonna go out, go see Jacob. He was really worried about you."

"I will."

Spencer kissed her mother's cheek and grabbed her bag to head out. Her first stop was to the Black residence. Jacob saw her coming down the street and ran out to wrap her in a hug. When she collapsed last week, he had been very concerned when she collapsed in his garage. Jacob was glad that she had made a full recovery and was now back home, with minimum side effects showing. The visit was short, only a quick hello to ensure the boy that she was okay.

After spending some time with Jacob, she walked towards Sam's house – she hoped to catch Paul there too since she had heard he now spent his time there alongside Jared Cameron. It hadn't clicked in her head why Paul would ever hang out with her brother and Jared. Even when they were back in middle school, he never paid them any mind, having a separate friend group. She had only become his friend by spending time with him away from school, and her brother had always disliked them together, claiming he was a bad influence.

Outside of the small house, Spencer could hear the low chatter of manly voices, a higher-pitched one joining after. There was no mistaking that Sam was home. She started feeling nervous as she raised her hand to knock on the door. The shaky limb was able to make contact with the blue door twice before it opened wide open, revealing a shirtless Paul Lahote.

"Spencer?" He questioned. Paul knew she was back, but Sam had given him clear instructions to stay away from her due to their situation.

"Hey, Paul. Long time no see, huh?" The girl smiled at her friend that now towered over her. A few years ago, they were still of the same stature, but too much time had passed since then. She went in for a hug, and Paul cut it short – worried she might note his burning temperature. "Is Sam home?"

"Uh, yeah." He scratched the back of his neck, turning towards the kitchen. "Sam! Spencer's here."

The older male appeared in front of them, a soft smile playing on his lips. "Hey, Spence. Good to see you're doing better. What brings you around?"

"I just wanted to thank you both for what you did in my room. Mom told me you worked on it while we were away. It's a dream." Sam smiled at his younger sister and shared a hug with the smaller girl.

"I'm glad you liked it, Spence. We wanted to give you a place where you could rest better after the accident. It's the least we could do." The alpha could hear the duo that was left in the kitchen had grown curious about who was at the door. "Do you want to come in for a bit?"

"Are you really inviting me in?" Spencer was taken aback – the last thing she thought was that she would get that invitation.

"Yeah, there's someone I want you to meet," Sam responded, keeping his doubts of the encounter to himself.

Spencer walked through the threshold and instantly felt the warm aura that emanated from inside of the house. It was a welcoming environment that she had grown to love from her own mother's house. She walked behind Sam, Paul following behind them. 'There was nothing that could prepare her to the sight she was met with.

In front of her stood a beautiful woman. She had tan skin, long black hair, and a beautiful smile. But there was something that stood out to her, something she was sure stood out to everyone – three long gashes ran through the front of her face. Yet, they didn't distract from the alluring atmosphere that surrounded her. Sam moved to her side, and Spencer quickly connected the dots and figured that was Emily Young. The Uley girl wanted to be indifferent to her presence, knowing how one of her friends had been hurt by the union in front of her, she couldn't help but note the love that radiated from the pair. It had been a long time since she had seen her brother as happy as he looked as he stared at his fiancé.

"Spencer, it's an honor to finally meet you." Emily stretched out her hand towards the girl, which Spencer gladly took. "Sam has told me so much about you."

"I wish I could say the same," Spencer joked. "Hopefully, we'll have a chance to get to know each other more. I'd love to get to know the woman my brother is set to marry."

"I'm sure we'll have enough time now that you're back." Emily smiled and grabbed a basket filled with muffins, offering them to the girl. Spencer gladly took the baked good in her hand, picking at it and placing the piece in her mouth – a wonderful taste that quickly melted in her mouth. "You're welcome over any time. Any family of Sam is family to me."

"Thank you, Emily. I'll be sure to take you up on that."

Not much time passed before Sam had cut the meeting short, claiming there was something important the duo had to do. "We should do this another time, Spence. Paul and I have to go."

"Go where?" Spencer questioned. "It's already night, not much to do."

"I can't really tell you, sis. But it's important."

"So still guarding secrets?" Sam shrugged. "It's fine, Sam. I'm growing used to it."

"Spence..."

"I can take a hint, Sam. I know when I'm not wanted," Spencer smiled. "Thank you for the muffins, Emily. They were divine. I'll be sure to take you up on that offer and visit sometime soon."

"Of course, Spencer. I'm sorry we had to cut this short."

"It's okay. I'll see you guys." Spencer took her bag and exited the house. She was confused on why Sam had welcomed her in only to have her leave soon after – there was something big he was hiding, and she needed to find out what it was.

"Spence, wait up!" Paul jogged up to her, turning her around. "Look, I hope you understand that we're not trying to push you away on purpose. There are things that Sam is protecting you from."

"Like what, Paul? What danger could possibly be surrounding us that he would stray from his family?"

"I'm sorry, but it's not my place to tell you, Spence. As much as I hate keeping this from you, Sam would not allow it to come from anyone but himself."

"Are you serious? What kind of power does he have over you?"

"PAUL!" Sam shouted, gaining the attention of his beta. "Let's go."

"I'm sorry, Spence. I hope one day you'll forgive us." Paul kissed her forehead and went to meet up with his alpha.

Spencer stood still as she watched their bodies disappear into the woods. She debated whether to follow them for a brief second, but she was exhausted. She left back home with a million questions running through her head. The pair of Sam and Paul was a strange view, and she was determined to get to the bottom of things.

When she got home, Spencer noticed her mother asleep on the couch, the tv in front of her still playing. The years that passed were clear on her face, the worry that she carried for both her children plastered in the lines of her face. She could see the exhaustion that she held, years of caring for two kids by herself taking a toll on her. Spencer grabbed a blanket and laid it on top of her mother's body, making sure that she was warm during the night. She left a kiss on her cheek, thankful for everything her mother had sacrificed for her.

After showering the day off, Spencer changed into her pajamas and laid in bed staring at her phone's screen. She thought if she stared at it long enough a message would magically pop up. Minutes passed and her phone kept silent, not a single notification appearing on the screen. She scrolled through her directory until it landed on the newest listing. Carlisle Cullen, it read. Her finger clicked on it and selected new message.

Her fingers danced atop the keyboard of her phone, no words coming to her mind to send to the doctor. Should she even send him a message? What if he truly was married? She would never want to come between a couple. But her fingers did not follow her thought train. Unconsciously, they started typing away a message and before she could analyze her actions, she sent the message.

Hi, Carlisle. It's Spencer. I made it home okay and don't have any symptoms, seems like you fixed me up! Anyways, wanted to know if you possibly had some free time this weekend to join me for some dinner at La Bella Italia. Hope you had a good rest of the day at work!

Her jaw fell when her screen read message sent. There was no way to delete it now. It was out there, and it would make its way to his phone. Spencer's head fell onto her pillow and muffled a scream that escaped from her throat. This feeling was alien to her, and she was learning what steps to take to grow closer to the astonishing man. Minutes felt like an eternity to Spencer, thinking that she had imploded the friendship she had built with the man over the past week.

Beep.

The sound from her phone caught her attention. She scrambled for her phone and quietly shrieked at the words on her screen.

Hello, Spencer. I'm glad you're feeling better, hopefully, no symptoms will arise once more. And I did have a good day at work, although I missed our afternoon book chats. I have a free day on Sunday. Tell me a time and I can meet you in Port Angeles. Hope that day is good for you.

"He said yes. If he were actually married, he wouldn't have said yes," she thought.

So, she typed back.

I'm glad you had a good day, and the book chats have an easy fix. I'm just a phone call away. As for Sunday, it's a perfect day. I think around 5:30 would be a good time for dinner. Let me know if it works.

Sent.

Seconds later, another beep.

I'll make sure to schedule those calls then. 5:30 sounds perfect. I'll see you there. Have a good night, Spencer.

See you then, Carlisle. Good night. 😊

Spencer smiled at her phone, joy wanting to burst from her body. She was reveling in this new feeling and the happiness it brought her. If it was Carlisle, it was worth it, she believed.

That night she went to sleep with the biggest smile she had experienced in her life. Unbeknownst to the life-changing moments that were to follow this meeting.