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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

    𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐋𝐈𝐙 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐖 at this precise moment in time was that her once calm and cool demeanor was destroyed the minute Bella pulled out onto the roads in the late afternoon on Wednesday, just after another long day of school. She could feel her heart elevating in her chest, practically could hear each beat as her stomach twisted with nausea and her throat became dry. Bella had informed the curly haired blonde on the first drive that the air conditioner to the truck was busted, so Liz tried to keep herself calm by sticking her head out of the window like a dog going for a car ride, only she was taking deep and even breaths to calm her nerves.

    Bella had kept her promise and had taken Liz to her doctor's appointment all the way at the far side of town on the first Wednesday of February. The drive there was even more nerve racking then it was coming back, mostly because Liz did not know what she would expect from meeting this doctor for the first time. He was a very nice man, Dr. Clifford Keen. He was older, in his late fifties, early sixties, dark brown hair with gray at the roots and nice kind, gentle hazel eyes. He was very likable, which made being there a bit more bearable. Bella had thankfully agreed to wait in the waiting room as Dr. Keen and a nurse named Shelly took her to get her CT scan. Liz unfortunately had to tell him about the car accident and her small bump on the head, which worried him a little. Even though Dr. Cullen confirmed there was no concussion, he was very concerned as to why the hospital did not order a CT since they knew her medical history just to be on the safe side. Liz was glad that they didn't because of her sister being there, but was also curious to why Dr. Cullen didn't order for scans seeing is how he should have her medical records.

    Thankfully, they did not find anything out of the usual then what they had seen before, meaning the small hit on the head wasn't anything to worry about, which only means that nothing has changed and her brain damage was just as fucked up as it was three months ago. And weirdly enough, Liz was perfectly okay with that. As long as she has the same time she was promised, meaning she doesn't need to worry about telling Ester or anyone else anytime sooner than she originally planned.

    But as Liz sits in the passenger seat of this beat up, red Chevy truck, her anxiety was almost as bad as the first time. Bella tried to respect Liz's privacy, but the action of the curly haired blonde digging her nails into the leather seats every time another car would pass them on the other side of the road was very hard to go unnoticed. She had managed to keep her mouth shut about it on the way there, but Bella knew Liz was experiencing some post-traumatic stress just by watching her unsteady breaths and how she would occasionally stick her head out the window for some fresh air.

    "Hey, are you alright?" Bella decided to ask, trying to find the nerve to ask her new friend without getting her upset. Liz leaned back she her head was back in the truck, resting it back and closing her eyes and swallows down the nausea she feels creeping in her stomach. She really did not want to throw up, especially not in front of Bella or in her truck for that matter. She was already acting like a baby to begin with, she does not want to scare off her only means of transportation to her doctor appointments.

    "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry if I'm acting strange."

    "No, I mean, I get it. If I've been through what you have, I don't know if I'd be able to get into another car ever again." Bella tried to reassure the Chambers girl, but it did not seem to work all that well as the blonde just groaned and covered her sweaty face in the palm of both of her hands. "Sorry, I know you don't like talking about it. I didn't mean to bring it up."

    Liz removed her hands and sighed, feeling the weight of guilt hit her all of a sudden, knowing Bella can only remain quiet for so long before even her mind becomes the curious one. She thought she owed Bella at least some kind of explanation. "My doctors call it 'amaxophobia'. I didn't even know there was a word for it until they actually said it. It is literally defined as people who suffer from fear of driving or being within another car again. They said it's most common for those who've been in a serious car accident which also makes it connected to PTSD."

    "Yeah, I didn't know there was a name for it either." Bella looks over at the blonde for a second before stopping at a red light. "But you drive your motorcycle to school all the time?"

    Liz shook her head softly. "That's different. I live like a block away from the school. It takes me about five minutes to drive, not even that long. I still get really nervous but as long as I take the back roads that don't have a bunch of other vehicles, then I'm fine. Driving on main roads like this, it's extremely hard but I can manage but it's better if I'm not the one driving. Now going onto a parkway? Now that's a completely different story. I have to take medication because my doctors fear I'll have a panic attack, similar to the one I had in the parking lot that day in Tyler's van but much worse."

    Both girls jumped suddenly when someone honked behind them, Bella not realizing the light had turned green and took off, looking over to see Liz had closed her eyes and was trying to relax, her chest rising and falling with each deep breath she took. "My dad told me that it was a miracle you survived the accident, how no one knew how you got so far from the car before it was involved in the explosion."

    Liz's mind flashed back to the scene, remembering the pain coming from her knee and the sting of the glass shards that punctured her skin. She remembers the smoke forming outside and the horrid sound of multiple other cars crashing into one another. Seeing half of her father's body hanging out of the front window and her mother trying to talk to her, trying to unbuckle her seat belt to get back to her daughter. Everything was foggy and time seemed to skip because one moment she was calling for her mother in the car, the next she was looking out into the bright blue sky before a loud explosion could be heard in the background. Then her mind wandered to Jasper Hale, as it did every time she would have a flash back to the Highway 19 accident.

    "Yeah, it was a damn miracle all right." She mutters under her breath with caused a confused Bella to turn toward her friend curiously. "If I told you something important, you promise you won't think I'm crazy."

    The brunette didn't hesitate to answer. "Of course."

    It took Liz a moment to form the right words. "I think -- I think Jasper Hale was the one who pulled me out of my parents car before it exploded."

    The Swan girl froze for a second, not exactly sure what to say as she tried to keep her eyes on the road, making a right turn which both the girls neglected to realize how close they were to Bella's house, Liz agreeing to go back to her place to have dinner with Bella and her father. Bella was beyond confused, finally managing to take her eyes off the road and looking over at her blonde haired friend. "What? What do you mean?"

    "I don't know. Um, whenever I'm near him, or whenever I touch him, I get like this flash in my head, and it's always of the accident. It's like I'm reliving it somehow."

    "Like a memory?" Bella inquires, looking back onto the road.

    "Kind of... to be honest, I really don't know. My memory is very foggy from that day and I don't remember seeing his face, I just remember feeling a presence. His presence." Liz shrugged in frustration, running a hand threw her thick curls and pushing them to the side. "I never told anyone this, but after the second car hit us that caused our vehicle to flip in the air, I could hear my mother talking to someone. More like yelling at someone to help me. I thought I was just hearing things, my ears were ringing so it was hard to make out, but I'm pretty sure that's what she said. Next thing I knew, I was outside and it felt like I was floating, like someone was carrying me."

    As much as Bella had her suspicions about the Cullen family, especially after Edward strangely stopped her from being crushed to death with his bare hands, even Bella has to admit that this sounded a bit surreal. "And you think it was Jasper who saved you?"

    "I know it sounds crazy, Bella. But he was there. He even admitted it to me when I questioned him about Edward stopping the truck at the hospital."

    "Wait, Jasper actually said he was there during the Highway 19 accident? Why? Was he a part of the accident?" It was Bella's turn to ask all the questions Liz has been asking herself for days several days now.

    Liz shook her head. "No, no everyone who was involved in the accident died, besides me and Matthew McCloud, of course. Jasper refused to tell me anything more."

    "Matthew McCloud? He was the baby?" Liz only nodded, for which Bella frowned as she tried to think. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would Jasper be there if he wasn't involved in the accident?"

    "Bella, if I knew the answer to that, my life would probably make just a little bit more sense." Liz didn't mean for that to sound so harsh, but she couldn't help it. She was just very frustrated and couldn't stand not being able to put the pieces together. "I swear my life was much simpler before I met the Cullen's."

    Bella didn't say anything she pulled in to the front of her house, turning the ignition off and turning to look at the Chambers girl. "I think there might be more going on with them then they're telling us."

    "I think you might be right." Liz agrees, the two girls deciding not to say anything else on the matter, heading into the house in silence, both knowing that this was just going to lead both of them into investigating more.

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   𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐄 around, Liz Chambers was not having the best day. Since the moment she woke up this morning, the pain between her eyes was back and has yet to go away. She had taken four painkillers, but they haven't done anything to help. She spent the entire day in a daze, the pain drowning out everything the teachers were saying, the girl getting yelled at multiple times for resting her head on her desk because the pain was just too much for her to handle, especially in the school's lighting. Liz thought about going to the nurse's office on the possibility of going home, but this was going to be her new normal for the next couple of years so she was going to have to get used to it one way or the other.

    When Liz had gotten to the library for study hall and another one of her lessons with Emmett, she could barely comprehend anything he was saying to her as all she wanted to do was fall asleep. He had taken notice to this - asking if she was alright, but Liz had just brushed him off and stated that she was fine and that it was only a migraine. It was so much more than a simple migraine. It was like someone was physically drilling a hole between her eyes. It was a horrible feeling and it made her extremely dizzy.

    The last time she had one this bad, was back in California and she had to go see her therapist again, who only made her talk in hopes of trying to distract her from the pain. Her doctor says this was normal and was bound to happen, sometimes it would be severe and other times just little pulses of pain here and there. Albeit, just because she expected this, doesn't make it suck any less. Liz is just grateful that she didn't have this before her neurologist appointment two days prior.

    Liz found herself sitting down at her usually lunch table, still in a deep daze and was not paying attention to anything or anyone around her. She could barely eat her food, seeing as it sat there untouched as the blonde leaned back in her seat, her one arm crossed over her stomach while she pinched the bridge of her nose and eyes closed, seeing is how that seemed to be the only thing keeping her calm at this moment.

    "Liz? Hello, earth to Elizabeth?" The curly blonde haired girl opened her eyes, looking to see Angela waving a hand in her face, trying to get her attention. Scrunching her nose up in annoyance, she waved her hand away and tried her hardest to push past the pain.

    "Don't call me Elizabeth," she grumbled, brushing her thick curly hair behind her ear before crossing her other arm over her chest. "What did you say?"

    "We're all going to La Push tomorrow. You should come." Angela offers with a smile, hoping that her friend agrees to this seeing is how she has been so distant ever since she came home.

    It took a minute to comprehend what exactly she said but when she finally did, she immediately shook her head. "Oh, I-I don't think I can—"

    "No, don't even try to get out of this." Jessica piped up, sending the Chambers girl a stern look. "You're coming. Even if I have to drag you out of the house by your beautiful blonde curly hair, kicking and screaming. You're coming and I don't want to hear another word about it."

    "Jess, seriously I don't want to—" Liz tried again but was cut off by the Stanley girl one more time.

    "I said I don't want to hear another word about it. You can't just isolate yourself, Liz. You need to hang out with your friends and since we are good friends, we aren't letting you sit at home all weekend feeling sorry for yourself."

    Liz then looked over at the boys, all who looked sort of amused by the whole situation. "Guys, help me out here."

    "Sorry, Liz." Mike shrugged, a not so sorry look on his face. "I agree with Jess."

    Her sharp blue eyes turn to the Asian boy next to him. "You too, Eric?"

    Said boy held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I'm Switzerland on this one. Though I do think you should come. How else are you going to see my awesome new surfing skills?"

    "Watching you try to walk and chew gum at the same time is entertainment enough," Liz resorted bitterly, knowing that she was not going to be getting out of this anytime soon. She was angry but mostly scared. There were multiple reasons why she didn't want to go, the main reason being that she didn't want to be in a vehicle with any of them, especially after what happened with Tyler. She barely made it down town to her doctor's appointment the other day. How the hell is she supposed to get out of this?

    Seeing Bella come in was a huge relief for the young blonde and she wasn't sure as to why. Maybe it has to do with the fact that Bella and her have a bit more of an understanding about her situation. Especially after they mutual agreement about the Cullen family. Both girls spent the entire rest of the day on Wednesday talking about all the possibilities that could explain both Jasper Hale and Edward Cullen's strange and unnatural behaviors. Of course they all came up with superhero crap, but they honestly couldn't come up with a logical explanation.

    "Hey!" Eric blurts out in the middle of a conversation at the sight of Bella, the brunette girl dropping her bag and standing between Liz and Jessica. "La Push, baby. You in?"

    "Should I know what that means?"

    The attention turns to Mike, Liz grumbling softly from all the talking. "La Push Beach down at the Quileute Rez. We're all going tomorrow."

    "Yeah, there's a big swell coming in." Jessica informs her.

    Liz winced as Eric stood up abruptly, not really expecting that fast movement or the loud squeaking of the chair. "And I don't just surf the internet."

    "Eric, you stood up once, and that was on a foam board."

    Bella noticed the blonde next to her silent and in pain, squinting her eyes down at her worriedly. "Are you alright, Liz?"

    It took Liz a minute to get the ringing of that noise out of her ear, shaking it off before nodding her head. "Yeah, I-I'm good. Uh, you definitely need to come. You can help me throw rocks at Eric as he sadly tries to stand on his board."

    Mike, Tyler and Jessica all laughed as Eric slumps down, Angela trying to change the subject for her long time crush. "There's whale watching, too. Come with us."

    Bella's eyes cast down at her blonde friend, who was practically pleading to her through her deep gaze. She didn't have to say anything to know Liz was pleading to her, as she does remember taking her to the doctor the other day. Understanding that she was desperate, Bella leaned in and mumbled something only she could hear. "Maybe you can spend the night tonight and we can go together?"

    Feeling a bit more relieved, Liz nodded softly, mouthing 'thank you' so her friends did not hear her. Eric grinned, still trying to convince Bella to come along. "La Push, baby. It's La Push."

    "Okay, I'll go if you stop saying that, okay?" The brunette girl laughed before walking away to get her lunch, leaving the six friends at the table agreeing with the new girl.

    Liz went back to trying - and failing - to drown out the pain, but nothing seemed to be helping the girl. Not even the fact that her friend was currently by the lunch counter talking to Edward Cullen was enough to distract her from the pain she was in. Nothing about this was normal and it sucked that the only person who she can talk to about it is her doctor and her grandmother. Which, honestly, isn't the best idea seeing is how Vivian was already worried about her enough as it is and if she even tries to say that she wasn't handling the pain as well as she thought she could then her grandmother will tell Ester and then force her to go back to California where she can keep an eye on her. That was something Liz could not deal with on top of everything else.

    "Liz?" The blonde forced herself to open her eyes to look at Angela, who had leaned in and moved her bushy curly hair to the side to get a better look at her face. "You really don't look so good. Maybe you should go to the nurse and lay down for a little bit?"

    Laying down sounded like heaven at the moment. At first, she had opened her mouth to decline, ready to go into her speech about how she was fine and that she can make it through the day, but then again the only thing that will truly make her calm down was sleep most likely. She really wanted to go to sleep. She could marry sleep at this moment if it were possible.

    So instead, she nodded her head in agreement, pushing the tray away from her body. "Maybe your right. Um, tell Bella I'll meet follow her back to her place, okay? I don't have anymore classes with her."

    "Okay. Do you want me to walk you?" Angela asked as Liz grabbed her bag before standing up, shaking her head.

    "No. I'll manage. Thanks." With a soft nod from the Webber girl, Liz gathered her bag and then picking up her barely eaten tray, taking it over towards the trashcan before walking out of the doors. The nurses office was near the main office, which was on the opposite side of the cafeteria. Unfortunately, Liz was unable to make it even a couple feet from the cafeteria when she was abruptly stopped by a small figure blocking her path. Looking up, Liz mentally groaned at who she saw standing there, the person she least expected to approach her.

    Hailey Cleveland. The girl who took her anchor spot on the track team, and the one girl she has been trying her hardest to avoid since she returned last month. Well, her and all the girls on the track team, that is. She became very skilled at avoiding them like a hawk, but Liz knew this was inevitable. Why oh why does she have the worst timing in the freakin' world?

    "Hey Liz," Hailey breathed out, brushing a piece of her dark red hair out of her face and giving her a nervous smile. "How've you been?"

    "Uh, good. I've been good, Hailey. How about you?" Unfortunately the awkward tension did not distract the curly haired blonde from the pain in her head.

    "I'm great! I'm dating Dean now. Kenna wasn't too happy about it but she can only string a guy along for so long before he claims he has had enough, you know what I mean?" Hailey laughs nervously, rolling her eyes at the mention of her teammate's fear of commitment. "Anyway, I'm so glad I ran into you. I feel like I haven't had a chance to talk to you and I just wanted to say, how deeply sorry I am for what happened. About everything. I hope you know I didn't want to take over as anchor, I was the only one who actually thought their might be a chance you'd come back to the team and I didn't want to step on your territory, you know?"

    "You know, Hailey, it's fine. I was never going to come back because of my knee anyway. Coach made the right decision giving it the spot to you. I'm sure the team is in good hands." It hurt every bone in Liz's body to say these words. It didn't matter what she said, she is still bitter about the fact she could never run again. Jealousy was an ugly thing and Liz hated with a burning passion that it was over Hailey Cleveland, someone you couldn't hate because she was nice but can't stand because she was a little too nice.

    Hailey's smile couldn't have gotten any wider, her big brown eyes dancing in delight. "Oh my god, you have no idea how much of a relief it is to hear you say that. I was so scared that you were gonna hate me, most of the girls think you do because you always seemed to try and avoid them. Oh you need to come to Darlene's place tonight! She's having the whole team over for our annual 'Friday Fright Night'. You used to love them."

    'Used to' being the key word in that sentence. It took everything in the youngest Chambers girl not to lose her cool with her. "I can't, I got plans tonight."

    Liz tried to move around her, but Hailey blocked her way once again. "Maybe some other time? I know the girls would love to see you again, we all miss you on the team."

    "Um..." Liz froze, not believing she found herself in another position of being forced into something she doesn't want to do yet again. "Maybe- well see."

    "Hey Liz," the two girls look over, surprised to see Jasper standing by the exit of the cafeteria doors with his golden blonde hair brushed back and hands dug in his pockets. "May I have a moment?"

    Hailey, who was highly confused and shocked, looked back at the Chambers girl curiously. Liz was not at all surprised that he was there, in fact was honestly grateful that he was. "Sure. I'll see you later Hailey."

    Without waiting for the red-head to respond, Liz made her way over to Jasper as the two began walking, leaving Hailey standing there as she watched the two walk away. Jasper and Liz made it to the next building and in the direction of the nurses offices where she was originally heading. The pain between her eyes has not settled down at all, even anything only grew worse since talking with Hailey.

    "Thank you." Liz blurts out, breaking the silence that seemed to consume the two of them. "For both my flower that I never got to thank you for and saving me back there. I have nothing against the girl, besides my own pride being destroyed for a sophomore taking my anchor spot."

    "What are friends for?" He says with a smug look, which caused Liz to chuckle softly.

    "I guess you're right." As the two turned down the hallway, Jasper moved to opened the door to the administrative section of the school, where the main office, principal and vice principal's office, as well as the guidance counselor and the nurse's offices were held. "Speaking of being friends, I am being forced to go to the beach tomorrow with friends who think it might actually be warm enough in this damn town to go surfing. As you are now part of my friend group, I thought I'd extend the invitation."

    Jasper laughs, surprising the curly haired blonde as she was not used to this sound coming from him. "I don't really do beaches."

    "And I don't really do school, but here I am."

    Jasper just rolled his eyes, his deep gold eyes meeting hers. "Which beach?"

    "La Push Reservation of course, what other beach is close to this secluded town?"

    "Um, I actually got a family thing I need to deal with." Once again, Liz found herself wondering why she was even trying with him.

    Nodding, she crosses her arms over her chest as the two came to a stop in front of the nurses office. "Another family thing, huh? You sure have a lot of those. Maybe you should come up with better excuses."

    Jasper looked down at the ground, his once soft features turning back to its original hard expression. "It's the only one I got." With that said, he walks away, leaving the curly haired blonde standing behind once again.

    But what Liz failed to realize his, since the moment she was in his presence, the pain between her eyes had diminished some to the point she didn't realize, not until he was out of sight and the pain suddenly returned. Reminding her why she was standing outside the nurses office to begin with.

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- GUESS WHO FINALLY UPDATED!!!!!!!

- I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT, I WILL ADMIT I HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING WITH THIS TO THE POINT I ALMOST PUT IT ON HOLD BUT I NEEDED TO FIGURE IT OUT BECAUSE I LOVE LIZ ALL TO MUCH AND I NEED TO GET THROUGH HER PAIN AND GET TO THE PART WHERE SHE IS HAPPY, WHICH HOPING WILL BE SOON!

- NOTE! I SWITCHED LIZ'S APPOINTMENTS FROM WEDNESDAY'S AFTER SCHOOL INSTEAD OF FRIDAY'S BECAUSE IT FEELS MORE CONVENIENT. SORRY FOR ANY CONFUSION!

- WHAT DID YOU GUYS THINK OF THIS CHAPTER? I KNOW IT WAS A BIT CRAZY BUT IT NEEDED TO BE DONE. I SWEAR JASPER IS GOING TO DRIVE LIZ CRAZY WITH HIS BLUNT WAYS.