CHAPTER NINE:
THE INTERVIEW

"SO, IF YOU LIKE Carlisle, will you meet the rest of the family?" Bella asked as Echo got ready for her interview at the hospital. Apparently saying you were an army doctor wasn't enough to get you a job at a hospital.

"Isabella, we've talked about this." Echo rolled her eyes.

"First of all, if you're going to call me by anything other than my nick name, please call me Bella. Second, I don't understand why you don't like the Cullen's. They are really nice people." Bella exclaimed, looking at her sister through Echo's body mirror.

Echo rolled her eyes. "I'm sure they are very nice people, but I don't trust them."

"You don't trust anyone, Echo." Bella grumbled.

"Can you really blame me, Bella? With my line of work, I'm trained not to trust people." Echo defended as she slid on a black skirt that looked weirdly professional on her.

"Yeah, but you aren't there anymore, Echo. You're home." Bella tried. Echo walked over to her closet as she tried to find a shirt, her things were still being sent down from her mothers house seeing as she hadn't been able to pack her clothes to bring down to her fathers home.

"Bella, I'm not going to be home forever. I'll have to go back some day." Echo reminded as she pulled out a dark blue long sleeved shirt, the sleeves being laced. Echo held the shirt up for her sister to judge and Bella took a moment before nodding her head.

"Why do you have to go back? Why can't you just stay home?" Bella whined. Echo changed into the shirt before looking at herself once again in the mirror.

Echo messed with her hair before saying, "It's my official job, Isa. I'm probably only going to be home for a year or two."

Bella frowned at her sisters response. "That's not fair! You've been gone for five years, they can't drag you back in another year. That's not enough time."

"Don't get angry yet!" Echo laughed. "I'm going to be around for as long as they'll allow me." She walked over to Bella, sitting down beside of her. "Don't worry about that right now, alright? All that matters is that I'm here right now. Alright?" Bella nodded her head and Echo sent her a smile before giving her a side hug.

"Now, do I look somewhat professional?"

"You look great, just put on red lips and you'll blow the interview away with your looks." Echo let out a laugh as she shook her head. She stood up from the bed before glossing her lips with a red matte and a clear lip gloss on top.

"Oh yeah, you look hot."

"If I didn't know any better I would say you were trying to make my interviewer fall in love with me." Echo visibly cringed as the word left her lips and Bella laughed.

"Hah! You said the word! Never thought I'd see the day!"

"Bella, shut up and get ready for school, you're already late as it is." Echo chucked a shirt at the girl and Bella only laughed in response before doing as her sister said. As Bella was brushing her teeth and Echo was brushing her hair the older Swan sibling asked whether Bella wanted to take the motorcycle or the car.

"You know, as much as I love your motorcycle, I think we should take the mustang seeing as it won't mess up your hair when you're speeding down the street."

"I do not speed." Echo defended. Bella cocked an eyebrow at the girl as she wiped her mouth.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"You know what, no one asked for your opinion."

"Technically, you did."

Echo glared at Bella who just smirked in response. The two girls quickly left the house and climbed into the Mustang. Echo quickly reversed before she put the car in first gear, and started speeding toward the school.

"If my interview is over in time, I'll come pick you up. If it's not, do you have someone that can take you home?" Echo asked, glancing at Bella. Bella nodded her head.

"Yeah, I can get Edward to take me." Echo rolled her eyes at the boys name and Bella just scoffed in response. "I will never understand why you hate him."

"I don't hate him," Echo defended. "I just don't like him because he's dating my sister."

"You know, you don't have to protect me from every little thing."

"Of course I do. I'm your sister, that's my job." Echo shrugged with a smile. She pulled up to the school and looked over at Bella who sent her a smile. "Have a good day, call if you need anything."

"I will. Good luck with your interview."

"Thanks, sis." Echo softly said. Bella sent her a small smile before grabbing her bag and getting out of the car. Echo waited for her to get inside before speeding off toward the hospital. Music softly played through the radio as Echo drove. One hand was on the steering wheel as her leg was propped up. Her elbow was placed on her knee as she placed her head in her hand, keeping her eyes on the road.

She only hoped that she would get this job, and that she could stay away from the Cullen doctor as much as possible. She didn't even know him or what he looked like, and she was already judging him because of his son. She scowled at herself. Echo wasn't one to judge others because of their family or who they hung out with, etcetera. But she didn't like the Cullen's, even though she had officially only met one of the family members.

Echo pulled up at the hospital and she noticed how much smaller it was than any other hospital she had ever seen. It was extremely smaller than the hospital that was located in Phoenix. Maybe that was a good thing, or maybe that was a bad thing. She didn't know, but she was about to find out. She got out of her car and locked the doors before making her way into the hospital. She looked around before finding a nurse that was placed at the front desk.

The nurse looked up from her computer and sent the girl a smile, Echo sent one back as she walked up to the desk.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, my name is Echo Swan, I'm supposed to have an interview today." Echo kindly answered. The nurse sent her a smile as she nodded her head.

"Alright, let me tell him you're here. You can wait right there if you would like."

"Thank you." Echo sat down and as she waited, she took the chance to look around the hospital. There weren't that many patients, which made Echo frown slightly. She wondered why that was, but of course, she didn't have time to find out when a doctor came from behind the double doors. He walked up to the nurse, talking to her for a moment. Echo looked at the nurse, a smirk on her face when she noticed the nurse gushing over him.

Echo looked back ahead of her as she leaned back into the seat. She placed her head against the wall and looked up at the ceiling, closing her eyes as she patiently waited.

"Echo Swan?" Echo's eyes opened at the gentle tone. She lifted her head from the wall and looked at the person who had called her name. In front of her stood the doctor that was talking to the nurse. She stood up.

"That's me."

"I'm Dr. Cullen, but please, just call me Carlisle."

Echo smirked, "So, you're the famous doctor I've heard oh so much about." Echo held out her hand in a polite jester. Carlisle took it, and Echo was surprised when she found his skin ice cold, she didn't mind it however.

"Famous is stretching it." He smirked. Echo smirked back before following him to his office. She took the moment to look at him. He had extremely pale skin, blonde hair, and the same golden eyes as his children. It seemed that whenever she was around one of the Cullen's that the air around them was freezing, but maybe it was because their skin was just as cold. Echo shrugged it off.

He opened the door to his office and motioned the girl inside. She walked in and sat down in the chair that was in front of his desk. Apparently, Carlisle was her boss. Echo inaudibly sighed to herself, maybe staying away from the Cullen's was going to be a lot harder than she thought.

1,451 words
Authors note: Carlisle has officially been introduced into the story. Yay :) I couldn't find a good stopping point so sorry for the sucky ending. Also, this part might be a little longer than I necessarily thought, but that's okay.

I hope you all enjoyed! Stay safe! Until next time, bye lovelies!♥️

@HAHA_LIFEISTOUGH