All Grown Up: The Story of Jacob and Renesmee Part III

22

Anthony

 "Quil, I told you, I'm fine! I just need to go home and put some ice on it!" Claire complained. They were in the backseat of my truck as I drove towards the hospital in Forks. He was gingerly cradling Claire's left ankle, which she said was twisted, he said it was broken.

We'd been up on his roof with Embry, Asa, and Xandra, just hanging out. When Claire wanted to go inside to get her hoodie, the two walked to the side of the house where the land rose up. The drop was only a couple of feet there, that was how Claire had climbed up in the first place. When Claire hopped down, she instantly cried out in pain and fell over. I guess she just landed wrong.

Quil, of course, flew immediately into a panic.

"Not it!" Embry shouted.

"What do you mean, not it?" I said.

"I mean, I'm not taking them to the hospital. Number one, I ran here so I don't have my car. Number two, I am drunk as a skunk, and C, I took them when he thought she had meningitis at two o'clock in the morning-"

"Okay, okay I'll drive!" I conceded.

"I'm outta here," Xandra announced.

"Me too," Asa agreed. "A.J., smell ya later!"

Quil was already placing Claire in my truck.

I sighed in defeat and asked my siblings to let Mom know what was going on.

Before I went wolf, I'd have probably told him to just calm down and just drive Claire to the hospital himself. Now, however, I understood their relationship, having been in the pack mind and seen it for myself. It was hard to believe such pure adoration was possible. When it comes to your imprint, there was nothing more important than that intense, primal urge to protect what was yours.

I forgot how fragile humans are since I'd never lived with one. Seeing the way Quil went into a tizzy if Claire got a cold or something, made me glad Mom is more sturdy. I can remember the way Dad got when she was carrying my siblings.

At the hospital, I followed behind Quil as he hurried through the automatic emergency room doors, his broken beloved in his arms. As he was at the desk trying to convince the nurse that Claire needed to be seen right away, I went to go read expired magazines. By the time he accepted the fact that she'd have to wait like everybody else and came to join me, I still hadn't found anything decent.

"I think I'm gonna go see if my aunt is working tonight," I said, getting up from the uncomfortable chair that looked like it was older than Grandpa Carlisle.

"Oh, that's right! Ask her if she can get Claire into a room sooner." Claire gave him the kind of eye-roll only a teenager can pull off.

"Dude, she's a baby nurse, so I doubt it," I said.

"Damn," he muttered.

I followed signs to the elevator and pressed the button to go up. It was taking so long, I started eyeballing the stairs on the other side of the building. Just then, the elevator door popped open, and there was Aunt Rachel.

"Hey, cutie!" she exclaimed, throwing out her arms, and getting up on her toes. I bent down so she could kiss my cheek. "What are you doing here? Did you come to bring me food?" she asked hopefully, looking like she might frisk me for a candy bar.

"Well, no. This wasn't exactly planned, but if you have a minute I'll buy you a snack in the cafeteria," I offered.

"Yes! I'm in," she quickly accepted, pushing the down button on the elevator. "I'm overdue for a break and I'm starved! So, what's going on?" she asked while we waited.