eleven, hospitals smell like cleaner
twilight

The sharp scent of antiseptic lingered in the air, mixing with the faint lemon from freshly mopped floors. The fluorescent lights hummed softly, casting sterile glows over every surface. 

Clover liked the lemon smell, oddly enough. Juno always teased her about it, but Clover had a love for lemons.

Charlie was pacing. Actually pacing. His boots thudded against the tile, his brows furrowed deep as he muttered under his breath about Tyler's license. His frustration was visible, nearly vibrating through the small waiting room. 

He could, if he really wanted, take away the kid's license. Deep down, he knew it wasn't his fault but a result of the weather and the poor parking lot, but anything involving his daughter made him want to flip out. He just got her back.

Wyatt sat beside Clover's bed, his fingers drumming a restless rhythm against his knee. He glanced between her and Juno, who was completely unbothered, bitting at her bright green jello like it was the finest thing she'd ever tasted. 

Bella sighed beside her, absently poking at her own blue jello. "He's never gonna let Tyler live this down." 

"I don't blame him," Wyatt muttered, exhaling sharply. "That could've been a lot worse, Bell." 

Clover shifted, her wrist throbbing with a dull ache beneath the bandages. Doctor Cullen had been the one to check on her, wrap up her wrist, his movements precise, professional, but... watchful.

Like he was looking for something.  Like he was waiting for her to spill their secrets. Like he was waiting for Clover to say she saw Emmett.

She swallowed, staring absently at the ceiling before speaking. "I thought I saw," She hesitated, shaking her head. "Never mind." 

Juno nudged her foot under the blanket. "You thought you saw what, Clo?" 

Clover pressed her lips together. "It's stupid. I think I hit my head." 

Juno's eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn't push.  Not yet anyways.

Wyatt stood, heading towards where a nurse was standing, telling her quietly that Clover hit her head during the accident.

🌲

The ride home was quiet, the rhythmic sound of rain against the windshield filling the silence between them. 

Clover absently traced patterns into the fogged-up window with her fingertip, watching the blurred glow of streetlights pass. The dull ache in her wrist had settled, but her thoughts still remained unsettled. 

Wyatt tapped a beat against the steering wheel, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. "You sure you're okay, baby? We can take you back and get an mri done, make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine." Clover looked away from the window, smiling softly. "I'm okay, dad."

Juno snorted. "You say that, even after you were almost ran over by a van." 

Wyatt sighed but didn't press further. 

Clover exhaled slowly, turning her gaze back to the window.  "I swear I saw him do something weird," she murmured, keeping her attention on what was outside of the vehicle.

Wyatt frowned slightly. "Who?" 

Clover hesitated. "Doctor Cullen."

Silence. 

Juno was staring at her now, brow furrowed. "What do you mean, weird?" 

Clover shook her head. "I — I don't know. It was just... weird." 

Juno didn't respond right away, but she didn't look away either. Like she knew Clover wasn't imagining things. Like she'd noticed too. 

🌲

The rain had slowed to a faint drizzle by the time they pulled into the driveway, the rhythmic hum of the tires against wet pavement the only sound in the car. 

Clover hesitated for a moment, gripping the sleeve of her hoodie, then turned to Juno. 

"I know what I saw," she whispered. "Junie."

Juno blinked at her, setting down her third cup of bright green jello she had taken from the hospital. "You're actually saying that out loud now?" 

Clover swallowed hard, throwing a glance toward their dad, who was fiddling with the radio like that would somehow make him less involved in this conversation. Like he was showing them that he wasn't paying attention.

Juno leaned forward, her tone careful but now she was pressing. "What did you see?" 

Clover exhaled. "It was Dr. Cullen. He, ugh, he wasn't normal." 

Wyatt let out a loud, totally not subtle groan. "We really don't need to be talking about this, kiddos." 

It sounded like he knew something. Like he was hiding a secret of his own.

Juno ignored him, eyes locked on Clover. "Define not normal." 

Clover hesitated, her pulse quickening. "He wasn't hurt." 

Juno tilted her head. "He's a doctor. Obviously he wasn't hurt. And he wasn't there during the accident." 

"No, I mean, he should've been hurt." Clover's voice dropped lower, like admitting it would make it too real. "I saw him... with the glass he pulled from my arm. The broken glass. It cut through his glove, I saw it in his palm." She pressed her lips together, trying to recall the details perfectly. 

Juno's expression didn't shift, but her fingers tightened slightly around the jello cup she had picked back up. "And?" 

"And he didn't bleed." 

Silence. 

Wyatt let out an audible huff, rubbing his temples like he was moments away from exiting the car and just leaving his daughters alone. But he couldn't. He vowed to the love of his life that he wouldn't ever let anything bad happen to their babies, that he would forever stand by them no matter what.

"Juno, tell her she's seeing things," he groaned, turning toward them from where he sat in the front seat. "Tell her she hit her head too hard — or whatever logical explanation keeps us from going down this road." 

Juno didn't say anything. Because deep down?  She believed her.

The Cullens were anything but normal. With their perfect porcelain looking skin, their golden eyes that were definitely not contacts. The hair that seemed so fresh, like they visited a salon every day. She had never seen them eat.

Oh.

Oh.

"Sorry, dad. We're going down this road." Juno admitted. "Because the Cullens are not normal."

Wyatt dragged his hand across his face, letting out a dramatic sigh. "We're gonna have to move again."

Juno, looking between her dad and sister, let out the smallest laugh. Haha.