"How on earth are you not wincing in pain?" Bella Swan asked her step brother as she watched the nurse swab his palm with alcohol and then bandage it while the boy didn't at all seem bothered by it.

"It's a gift," Raymond muttered as his wound was wrapped and his eyes met her own. Her almond shaped eyes seemed to be calm now, no longer hectic or filled with embarrassment. They had been sat in one of the hospital emergency rooms for 20 minutes now, nurses coming in and attending to both of them. Raymond didn't seem to mind it while Bella's cheeks seemed to redden by the minute. He smiled at, Bradley, the male nurse who finished wrapping his hand and proceeded to exit the small room the two were in. The door shut behind him and Raymond flexed his palm once before looking up to his sister, "so, how are you feeling?"

"Like I need a few aspirin but otherwise fine." She muttered although her stare was far off, looking out the window that led to the halls of the hospital. She was looking for someone, that much was apparent the longer she glared and bit her bottom lip. "I don't think I have a concussion that's for sure."

"It's better to be safe then sorry." Ray answered, he followed it up by a low whistle to gain her attention. The brunette finally turned back abruptly, locks of hair whirling in the air as she appeared to be shocked to be caught. Ray tilted his head and smiled, "who are you looking for?"

"Dads," Bella blinked, a terrible lie that only ended in Raymond laughing.

"You're such a horrible liar, who?" He questioned yet again and Bella glared at his mocking for a moment.

Her bottom lip jutted out before resigning, "Edward."

Raymond had almost forgotten entirely about the accident, the hand imprint, and the look Rosalie had given her twin brother before he had dipped away. All the small details began to connect, forcing questions to bubble into his subconscious and curiosity to peak as he matched his eyesight with his sibling. "Tell me what happened."

Bella sighed, looking down at her hands, "you're gonna think I'm crazy."

"Of course, we are siblings, but I'll believe you." Ray countered dryly, leaning back against the wall behind his cot. The small stitches on his hand slightly burned, a gentle reminder he needed to look before setting his hand down from now on. "Look why don't you start from the beginning."

Bella tapped her small fingers against the edge of her cot, retracing her steps all the way back to the moment just before her life had been on the line. In truth she figured there was going to be at least a few nightmares over the incident but the thing that would likely keep her awake for a few weeks was the obsessive curiosity she felt sprouting over Edward Cullen and his dented handprint into Tyler Anderson's mini van.

She flustered with the paper laid over for her, losing herself in the flashbacks of those brief seconds until Raymond was waving a hand in her line of view, "earth to Bella, I'm growing stale with excitement here." The brunette female shook her head rapidly, swallowing thickly for a moment before her cheeks burned a bright red at the embarrassment, her step brother smiling when she finally seemed to collect her thoughts.

Bella cleared her throat, her eyes growing blank as she reverted back to moments prior, "I was waiting for you by my truck, Edward had talked to me that day and walked me outside before I'd realized I needed to wait for you. I figured you'd come looking for me by the truck so I just waited. It was cold and looked like it was gonna rain again so I started fishing for my keys out of the front pocket of my backpack. When I went to look down I caught a glimpse of the parking lot, I could see Edward and his sister Alice were near their car all the way across from me. Alice was talking to him but I felt like his eyes were just looking at me when I managed to briefly catch him. I didn't want it to be even more awkward then it already so I pretended to be looking for the keys when screeching tires scared me. Everyone started to shout get out of the way just as the car rounded the corner at full speed, I didn't even realize it was coming for me until it was too late.

All I can remember thinking was I was gonna die and how stupid I was too not have moved away but it was like my legs weren't cooperating. They refused to move in immediate danger and so I just shut my eyes in the last moment when I felt an arm wrap around me, pulling me back and slamming my head into the truck. When I opened my eyes all I heard was steel crushing against something much stronger and Edward was there. His arm was holding me but I could only look at his extended hand because—"

"It had dented Tyler's van," Ray finished her story from his own visual aid, remembering every crease in the brief glimpse he'd also gotten. Edwards brief glance his way also came to mind but of course that wasn't the alarming part of the story. He finally looked back to a wide eyed Bella gawking at him as he swallowed thickly.

"You saw it too?"

He nodded his head, "yeah."

"What the hell is he?"

"Them." Ray corrected and when Bella only seemed to give him an incredulous look he cocked his brow. "Do you really think it's just him?"

Bella bit her bottom lip in agreement, "what do we do?"

"Bella! Ray!" Charlie Swans loud yells boomed all the way to their small room, both teens looking towards the window to find the top of their father's head frantically searching for them. Charlie turned towards one of the rooms and pointed a finger, "you can kiss your license goodbye!"

"Charlie! Don't be an asshole, you know very well the roads are slippery here." Marcus rebutted, "besides now is not the time. Let's find the kids in a calmer fashion."

Ray turned his head to his sister, "for now we pretend like it didn't happen and you got really lucky, then we do something."

Bella nodded her head and pulled her lips tighter as they patiently waited for their parents to appear.

|•|•|•|•|

"You called Renee!" Both step siblings yelled a little too loud at Charlie Swan. The Chief almost lost his response as he winced and nodded his head.

"Charlie man!" Raymond was a little less angry, actually amused was more his expression as he shook his head with slight humor.

Bella turned his way briefly when the sound of his brief laughs escaped him, shooting him a quick set of daggers that silenced him almost instantly and then her vision returned to her father. Ray took a step back and towards his own dad as he knew Charlie Swan was about to get an earful, the wrath of Bella Swan was something neither of the men wished to deal with. She was usually the last to pick a fight and it took a lot to push her over the edge but when Bella grew angry it was like hell.

"You good?" Marcus questioned to his son, eyes on the bandaged hand.

Ray lifted it up and wiggled his fingers to show it wasn't bad, "yeah fine. I'm actually hungry, mind if I go get something from the vending machines?"

Marcus shook his head and pushed the door open with his hand, speaking over Bella's yells, "this is gonna take awhile, here's a 5."

Raymond snatched the money out of his dad's hand quickly and ducked under his arm, stopped in his tracks and turned to his father, briefly glancing back to the bickering father and daughter. He pointed a finger in their direction, "protect your husband, Bella is ruthless."

"And he's the one holding the gun," Marcus snorted but turned to stop the yells from Bella.

|•|•|•|•|

Raymond was balancing on the balls of his feet, looking over the various amount of chips and candy. He had debated heading towards the cafeteria but in order to get there he had to go through the waiting room and one look in that direction had indicated at least half of the schools population and that had promptly led him to turn in the other direction. He wasn't a shy person but his inner Bella would definitely come out if all those people were shouting thousands of question at him.

A hand suddenly shot out at the same moment he went to press the keys. The touch was ice cold and gentle, so soft he'd almost entirely forgotten the touch of her skin. The olive toned hand held a few rings and instantly he knew who it was, a bright smile gliding onto his face.

When he looked towards the persons face he breathed a little more even, "I'm fine mom."

His mothers beautiful face scowled at him, "These are gonna leave more scars!"

She was a figment of his imagination, a true testament to the lack of sanity he actually obtained but even so he didn't care. This women was his mother, from the wrinkles in her eyes to the scar above her right temple, every part of her was real to him.

"I'm sorry," was the only thing he managed to speak watching as the women grew wary.

"It's alright, it was for Bella," the mother understood, of course she would. "You'd do anything for her. She's your best friend."

Raymond nodded softly, filling with warmth the longer she spoke. It'd been awhile since she had last appeared, he wondered if it had anything to do with his happiness as of late. Forks hadn't been his first choice to find joy but there was things in this town he couldn't deny.

His mouth dried, hoping to keep her around a little longer but realized soon she'd disappear, still, there was something he needed to say, he needed to ask. "Mom, am I going crazy? Your dead, and I can still see you."

The women allowed his hand to fall back, finally looking up at him and staring at her son. There was something there, like a flicker of secrecy he caught before she was pressing her lips together and holding back a laugh. This ghost of a women was so alike to his mom he doubted his own words, watching as she placed a hand to her mouth and chuckled into it, identical to the mother with life. She shook her head as soft laughs continued to escape and managed to speak, "son, you're not going crazy, I promise."

"Then what is it?" He questioned, allowing the words to hang in the air like he was meant to answer it himself.

His mother pressed her hand against his cheek, her icy touch just another tally to the reasons he might be insane as she kindly answered, "oh Raymond, there is so many thing you need to learn about yourself. So many things you will discover in your most desperate time."

"What?" He quipped.

"Raymond!" Rosalie Hale suddenly burst the moment he had been in, the image of his mother vanishing. Normally he felt warmth encompass him whenever the blonde was near but his mother had gone and now he was left with even more questions then before, both from his mom and Rose.

He turned reluctantly, awaiting as the topaz eyed girl came forward and stopped directly in front of him. Her eyes looked him over once, taking a second to glance at his bandaged hand before returning to his handsome, sullen face. "Raymond, are you okay? Who were you speaking too?"

Was he okay? Not a chance in hell, he was pretty sure the string to his sanity was being cut with all the secrets and mysteries surrounding him. There was so much to think through in his head it took too long of a moment to realize the Hale female meant his wrapped palm. He lifted it, fisting it and nodding, "I'm fine, a few cuts, that's it."

Rosalie noticed how he refused to answer the other question but for the moment she let it go, exhaling as he seemed to be rid of any pain. Her mind had unraveled when she'd arrived and Carlisle had said not only was Bella being taken care of but so was her step brother, which had lead to an almost break in her normality. She knew how dangerous the bond of mates was, it was a thin line the two walked and at any moment could be set off, especially for vampires.

Raymond noticed her worry and disliked it all, he detested the slightest bit of it that broke into her angelic features. Even with all the questions plaguing his mind he still found that all of it could be erased with just her presence. Rose was quick to look back at him, "oh, I'm glad to hear that."

"Is Edward okay?" Raymond blurted out, remembering his conversation with his sister.

Rosalie's eyes went slightly wide at the mention, remembering how only a few minutes ago she had been angrily yelling that he needed to fix this and yet here she was possibly complicating it all. It was quite comical, she blinked repeatedly at him her body rejecting the lie she was about to spew but nonetheless muttered, "he's fine." She stepped back, suddenly the atmosphere around them dropping to a chilling degree as her eyes became sharp, "I have to go. Just wanted to see if you were okay."

"Rose..."

"Goodbye Raymond," she curtly said and turned away, strutting down the hall at an alarming rate as she left them.

|•|•|•|•|

When Ray returned to the room where his sister was he found that both fathers were sitting on plastic chairs, speaking quietly to themselves as Bella looked anywhere but at her father. Her anger seemed to have subsided as she swung her legs softly and looked at him with her big brown eyes.

Raymond lifted the KitKat bar in his hand, the other holding a Milky-way. She smiled, hand greedily reaching for the crunchy bar and humming to herself, "so that's where you went."

He nodded his head, refusing to speak as his thoughts were concentrated on a certain blonde. Ray took the seat beside Bella, the material over the cot crinkling under his legs as he adjusted besides his sisters. His long legs touched the ground unlike hers, a small gesture he would normally point out simply to annoy her. Bella opened her bar up, cracking one of them off and biting into it happily, she munched for a moment until finally realizing the abrupt silence beside her. She knew his solemn face wasn't just because of the accident but because he had someone in mind, just like her.

Her elbow pushed softly into his side, gaining his attention as she quietly muttered, "what happened."

"They're here." He quickly stated and then bit into the bar. "She doesn't seem happy."

Bella hummed in acknowledgment, choosing the keep the conversation brief as the door to their room opened and in stepped a blonde male. He was young, younger then any doctor either her or Raymond had ever seen but above all he was beautiful, scarily so.

This must be Dr. Cullen, Bella and Raymond both thought, the formers hand clutching around his bandaged one.

"I heard the chiefs kids was here," Dr. Cullen greets them, both fathers standing and shaking his hand appreciatively.

"Dr. Cullen," Marcus confirms his kids suspicions.

"Chief Swan, Thompson." He greets them both with kindness, as if they were old friends and then looks to the teenagers. "So you two must be Raymond and Bella. Got yourselves into quite a bind didn't you."

Raymond decides not to allow his suspicions to Get the best of him as he stands and shakes the man's hand, "Dr. Cullen, it's nice to finally meet you and sadly Bella somehow always gets me into situations like this."

The brunette's cheeks grow red as she shakes the doctors hand, "don't mind him. He must have hit his head harder then me."

The young doctor laughed at both of them, something warm that made both of them sit a little straighter, how could he have a beautiful laugh?

The doctor pulled out his pen, stepping in front of the pretty brunette and holding out his pointer finger as he moved the pen from one side to the other, Bella's eyes following the entire time. "You have a nice knot growing back there, but your x-rays show no indication of concussion. As for you Raymond, it seems you'll have a few scars but from what I've heard it's something you're used too."

Ray assumed that the doctor meant his boxing career to which he offered a toothy grin. "Well can't say I'm not."

"Alright well Bella if that's all you're free to go, I'll get the nurses to sign you out to your dads." The nice doctor spoke with a level of calmness that seemed odd coming from the patriarch of Cullen's. His children were all so fierce and striking in both personalities and looks that it seemed almost odd to have him be so serene.

"Anyway we can go through the back Doctor Cullen, there's a pretty big crowd in the waiting room." Charlie spoke up, standing behind his children's cot. Marcus eyes his partner and rolled his eyes while Ray held in a laugh as Bella nodded her head fiercely in agreement.

"There's a smoke break exit just around the corner, it smells rotten but no one goes back there." Cullen graciously asked.

Bella and Charlie seemed relieved as the two dark skin males hid their laughs as the doctor walked out with a soft goodbye.

"I was hoping to see Bella lunge out a reporter all Sydney Prescott style but I guess not." Raymond snorted before jumping off the cot.

|•|•|•|•|

"No, mom I swear I'm great!"

"Hestia, there is no need for you to come and slash tires Bella is fine—"

Raymond walked into his sisters room, rolling his eyes as he found her too consoling a relative on the phone. After the accident Charlie had stupidly called the Swan girl's mother and she had called the Thompson's boy's aunt. This had lead to a downward spiral of numerous relatives checking in on the two after word hard gotten out and then dissolved into wild tales. Ray's Aunt Lucy had called just two hours ago crying her eyes out because she'd mistakenly overheard that he had lost a hand when he was involved in the crash. It had taken too long to convince her he was more then fine and that although a plethora of pumpkin pies was not necessary it would be greatly appreciated.

"Raymond Alexis Thompson, I swear to god if you don't keep those bandages clean and from infection I will personally slap you silly!" Raymond's favorite cousin and the longest phone call yet lectured him over the phone for the umpteenth time.

His lips pressed into a broad smile as Bella overheard and raised her brows at the simple threat. He threw himself on the bed beside her, sprawling his long legs over her own and leaning back against the soft pillows as he began to respond, "you know Bella and I are laughing at how pathetic your threat was."

"Raymond and Isabella I swear on my dog!" She shrieked and the two suddenly stopped laughing.

"Alright, Alright fine!" Raymond spoke calmly. "Yes, I'll have Bella clean them everyday and I'll make sure all her marbles are still collected in her head. Would you quit yelling women, my ear drums beg of it."

Bella laughed softly as she responded to her own call, "Raymond is fine just like I am! He's laying here pretending like history homework doesn't exist."

Renee answered a few muffled replies that Ray didn't hear as he concentrated on his cousin, "thank you, that's all I wanted. Now I've got to go and finish this last bit of organic chemistry homework but tell everyone I love them and please you too be careful!"

Ray smiled at the tone of his innocent cousin, no matter how motherly and stern she was Hestia was like another sister to him. He very rarely got to see her but that didn't matter much as they see on the phone almost weekly. Hestia was much different then him or even Bella but somehow she was always the missing link between the two.

"Love you too Hes, let me know if any of these guys try to get frisky at homecoming and I'll come down to knock some teeth out." He offered up earning a small laugh from her.

"Love you Hes! Mom says she loves you too!" Bella spoke a little louder so the cousin could hear.

Raymond ended the call with his cousin and turned his attention to the Swan girls who was still conversing over the phone.

Bella muttered a quick goodbye to her mom after assuring her she was fine one last time before turning her phone to her brother. "Mom says she wants to talk to you."

Ray plucked the phone happily out of her hand and wittily responded, "hello thank you for requesting to speak to your better looking child, how may I be of service today."

Bella smacked him in the arm for that one but all he could do was snort at her. Renee answered back with a laugh, "well I suppose it's a good sign you're cracking jokes, doesn't mean you've lost an arm just yet."

"I swear whoever told that women was risking giving her a heart attack," he rolled his eyes and got comfortable, "anyways what's up pretty lady."

"Just wanted to hear my favorite boy's voice, make sure he's safe with his sister." Renee hummed back, her voice was tranquil despite her tone an hour ago. Bella was good at calming her mom, it was one of her many traits.

"We're good, a few bumps and scratches but nothing too serious, Bella here might have actually hit her head hard enough to be more of a social person though." Raymond joked and even Bella seemed to snort at that.

"One could dream," Renee laughed as well and Ray could just picture the look on his second mothers face, it mirrored Bella's quite well. A sigh pressed through the line before she stated, "listen Ray, you know once we get settled and if Phil gets this job in Florida you and Bella are more then welcome to come live with us right?"

"That's sweet Renee, and you know I'd be there with our little klutz in a heartbeat if she wanted it." Raymond answered with sincerity and although he taunted the girl Bella seemed to smile as she knew he was being sincere.

"Alright well I guess you two must be starving by now so I'll go. Be careful alright watch out for each other and for the love of god make sure Bella isn't near anymore swiveling cars." Renee said.

Ray smiled, "aye aye captain, talk to you soon Renee, love you."

"Love you Ray," the mother hung up just as she said her goodbye.

Then it was just the two siblings, both silent as they knew exactly what they had to discuss.

"He stopped the car with his hand, he pushed it right out of my way." Bella restated her previous sentence, her voice was low despite the fact Charlie and Marcus were downstairs watching the football with full volume. It was as if she was afraid that someone else would overhear their conversation.

"And Rosalie was hesitant to speak over it, she started asking me about you but when I asked her over Edward she was gone." Raymond confirmed pulling closer to his sister.

"Something's up," Bella breathed, her cheeks were rosy with adrenaline.

"Something big, the question is are we ready to be involved in it?" Raymond responded with the same amount of energy, despite the whispers they spoke with it was clear the two were buzzing with energy.

"I don't think we have much of a choice now, Edward—he's begun to mean something to me." Bella admitted.

Raymond pressed his lips together and agreed, "you're right." He didn't outwardly state it like Bella had but his truth was on the table as much as hers, Rosalie was becoming something more then just a friend.

"What do you think it is?" Bella questioned, her chocolate brown eyes straying off as she too seemed to think over the idea.

"I think whatever it is we won't expect it," Raymond broadly answered closing his eyes because in truth he had no idea what it could have been.

Bella spoke after a pause of them both disgusting ideas, "you know whatever happens I'm with you."

"Bella you're my sister blood or not, I'm with you." Raymond promises his sister and squeezed her pale hand with his dark one, the two vowing silently.