WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN

≪•◦ CHAPTER SEVEN | STEREOTYPICAL ◦•≫

••●••

     "Grace, you're being stereotypical," Colby said as the siblings arrived at the hospital to check on Bella.

"No, I'm not. They're vampires, just like the ones we met in Italy," Grace defended herself, her voice tinged with frustration.

Colby shook her head as they entered the hospital, passing a young, pale, and blonde doctor. "They don't have red eyes, so you can't say the Cullens are like the vampires in Italy."

Grace's eyes narrowed. "They're vampires, there's no doubt about that. Vampires are monsters, evil, bloodsucking killers."

"Okay, you need to stop," Colby said firmly. "Edward literally saved Bella from becoming a pancake. If he and his family were really like you say they are, wouldn't he have just let the van crush her?"

Grace crossed her arms, her irritation evident. "You're only defending them because you have a thing for Emmett."

"That's not true, and no, I don't," Colby retorted, rolling her eyes. "I barely know the guy, and that's not the point. The point is you're being stereotypical just because we had one nasty run-in with vampires."

Grace huffed, clearly not convinced. "Whatever, you're not listening to me. They're vampires, meaning they drink blood and kill people. I'll see you at home. Let me know how Bella is." With that, Grace turned on her heel and walked away, taking the twins and Talia, who were waiting with her.

"She's ridiculous," Colby mumbled to herself as she found Bella's room. Just then, the blonde doctor from earlier walked in, holding the door open for Colby as she was right behind him.

"Thank you, Doc," Colby said, smiling at the unbelievably attractive doctor who sported the same color eyes as Emmett and his family.

The doctor, whom Colby figured was Dr. Cullen, smiled kindly at her before making his way to Bella and her father. Colby followed close behind.

"I heard the chief's daughter was here," Dr. Cullen chimed, smiling at Bella and her dad.

Colby walked up to Bella and smiled. "Thank God you're alive," she said, her relief palpable.

Bella smiled back as Chief Swan spoke up. "Ah, Doctor Cullen."

Colby smiled proudly to herself, pleased to have been right about who he was.

Dr. Cullen walked in front of the girls, smiling at the nurse. "I got this one, Jackie," he said, taking the clipboard from the woman. He stood in front of the girls, who shared a look with each other before smiling softly back at the doctor.

"Isabella," he began.

"Bella," Colby snickered when she heard Bella correct him.

"Well, Bella, it looks like you took quite a spill. How do you feel?" he asked, looking at both girls as Colby glanced at Bella.

"Uh, good," was all Bella managed to say. Colby could feel the girl's awkwardness radiating off her. She gave Bella a reassuring smile that seemed to noticeably calm her down, making Colby, Charlie, and Dr. Cullen smile.

"Look here," Dr. Cullen said as he held up his finger for Bella to focus on while he used a flashlight to examine her eyes.

"You might experience post-traumatic stress or disorientation, but your vitals look good. No head trauma," Dr. Cullen finished, putting his flashlight away.

"I'm so sorry, Bella, I'm really—" Tyler began again, which annoyed Colby since she knew he was the cause of the accident. It seemed to annoy Bella's dad too, who interrupted him by closing the curtain separating them.

"I'm glad you were the one that shut him up and not me," Colby commented, earning a small smile and chuckle from Charlie. She knew it wasn't entirely Tyler's fault but mostly the poor choice of tires put onto the van that almost cost Bella her life.

"You know, it would've been a whole lot worse if it wasn't for Edward knocking me out of the way," Bella said, looking up at Dr. Cullen. Colby knew exactly how he got to her so fast and saved her, even though Grace swore up and down that Edward and his family were like the vampires they met in Italy. Colby knew they were vampires and also knew they had to be good. She and her brother had met a family with the golden eyes the Cullens sported, and they were kind and drank animal blood, explaining to both Jason and Colby that they were vegetarians. If the Cullens were a coven of vampires like those in Alaska, a strong part of her trusted them and felt drawn to them as well.

Chief Swan looked at Colby for confirmation, and she gave him a simple nod. "Edward? Your boy?" the man asked, looking at Dr. Cullen.

"Yeah, it was amazing. He got to me so fast; he was nowhere near me," Bella ranted. Dr. Cullen looked down at Bella, a look that only Colby seemed to understand, as if he was afraid Bella had found out something she wasn't supposed to.

"Well, it sounds like you were very lucky," he smiled at the girl and her father. Colby gave him a knowing look with a smile plastered on top as he walked away.

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The three exited the room, with Charlie leading the way. He turned to the girls. "I have some paperwork to sign. You should probably call your mom. And it was nice seeing you again, Colby," Charlie said, looking at Bella and then at Colby, who nodded and smiled.

"You told her?" Bella asked, receiving only a nod from Charlie. Colby spotted Jason in the waiting room near Rosalie, Edward, and Dr. Cullen. Rosalie quickly looked away when she noticed Colby.

"I, uh, gotta go talk to my brother. I'm glad you're okay, Bells. I'll see you later," Colby said, smiling at Charlie before walking towards her older brother and the three Cullens, who watched her with a mix of worry and curiosity in their eyes.

"Everything's fine, she doesn't know," Colby said as she passed them, earning looks of confusion and realization all at once, but they seemed to relax slightly.

"How is she?" Jason asked once Colby reached him.

"Completely unharmed," Colby answered simply. "If it wasn't for Edward, it would've been worse," she added, looking directly at Edward, who met her gaze as the two Salvatores walked outside.

"So, vampires?" Jason asked, keeping his voice low.

"There isn't really a doubt in my mind. It's the only thing that makes sense, but I'm not going to go around throwing stereotypes like our dearest sister. By the color of their eyes, I'd say they're a lot like Kate," Colby said in the same low voice.

Jason nodded. "She's still fighting the court system," he said, changing the topic rather quickly.

"Shelby?" Colby asked, the name of Jason's ex-girlfriend leaving a sour taste in her mouth.

Jason nodded. "She still refuses to give me full custody of Delilah," he said. Delilah was Jason's four-year-old daughter, and he had been trying to get custody of her since they lived in Alaska four years ago, once he found out about Shelby using.

"Do they know she's using? Like, a lot of bad stuff that Delilah shouldn't be exposed to?" Colby asked, irritated.

"They said they didn't find any evidence in her home," Jason replied.

"Bullshit. What about the drug test?" Colby tried.

"They're still waiting," Jason said with a sigh.

Colby huffed. "You're going to get custody of Del. You're an amazing dad and a much better parent than Shelby by far," she said, hugging her older brother.

"I'll see you at home," Jason said, kissing his sister's head and walking towards his truck parked beside Colby's car.

Colby lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. She held it in for a few seconds before releasing the smoke, staring off into the parking lot as her thoughts took over.

She knew the Cullens were vampires, but they were not like the ones in Italy. Far from it. Besides the fact they didn't have the same blood-red eyes, they also had a completely different aura and personality. Granted, she wasn't close to them, but she had talked to them a bit.

Rosalie and she were similar in their attitudes, although Rosalie and Colby didn't speak much due to them not really knowing each other. Either that, or Rosalie just didn't trust Colby. But Colby knew she was good.

Other than Emmett, Jasper seemed to be Colby's favorite. He was distant, but they seemed to connect in their history class. She had a strong feeling Jasper knew what she was if he knew what a Grimoire was. Edward was one she never connected to; he was a jerk but nice in a way. Alice reminded Colby of her sister Talia—curiosity, beauty, wonder, and a little bit of mischief sparkled in Alice's eyes, just like in Talia's.

To Colby, Emmett was an enigma. He was alluring, captivating in every way, and she was drawn to him like she had never been drawn to anyone else. She wanted to figure Emmett Cullen out. She wanted to know him, learn anything and everything she could about him and his family.

Colby Salvatore was drawn to the Cullens like she was drawn to the moon.