copy cat || paul lahote

nora woke to the sterile scent of antiseptic and the hum of fluorescent lights. blinking against the brightness, she took in the room around her, eyes narrowing when they landed on carlisle cullen. her expression hardened into a glare, and she opened her mouth to demand an explanation, but before she could utter a word, he raised a hand to stop her.

"alice saw you collapse in one of her visions," he explained calmly.

nora scowled, hating how involved the cullens were in her life despite her best efforts to keep them out. "and?" she snapped.

carlisle remained composed, his expression neutral. "last night, we attempted to intercept victoria with the wolves," he said. "she used the treaty line to her advantage and got away."

nora frowned. "i heard running," she admitted, recalling the muffled thunder of footsteps in the distance as she drifted between consciousness and pain. "but what does that have to do with me?"

carlisle studied her for a moment. "that's what i'd like to find out," he said. "you collapsed with no apparent cause."

nora sat up in bed, testing her limbs and rolling her shoulders. "i feel fine," she said dismissively, already swinging her legs over the side. but the moment she put weight on her right side, a sharp pain flared from her ribs to her hip. she clenched her jaw and forced herself to straighten, willing herself to ignore it.

carlisle didn't miss her stiffness. his golden eyes flickered with skepticism. "are you sure?"

"positive," she lied smoothly, reaching for her hoodie on the chair beside her.

after a long pause, he nodded. "alright. but if the pain worsens, you should come back."

she barely waited for him to finish before she was out the door.

the hospital was close to home, and the walk wasn't long, but each step sent a dull ache rippling through her side. she kept her pace steady, pretending she didn't notice. the cool evening air did little to soothe the discomfort, and by the time she reached her house, she was exhausted. she pushed through the front door, shutting it quietly behind her before trudging up the stairs to her room.

dropping onto her bed, she let out a slow breath, pressing a hand gingerly to her side. she knew she should rest, but curiosity gnawed at her. lifting her hoodie, she turned to the mirror.

a massive bruise stretched from her ribs to her hip, a deep purple splotch staining her skin. her brows furrowed. "how the hell did this happen?" she muttered to herself.

she pressed her fingers lightly against the bruise, wincing at the tenderness. the last thing she remembered was collapsing in pain, but there was no impact that could have caused something this severe. it didn't make sense.

grabbing her phone off the nightstand, she tapped the screen, checking for missed notifications. her stomach twisted when she saw several missed calls—some from an unknown number, but most from jared.

nora pressed on jared's contact name, bringing the phone to her ear. it barely rang once before he answered, his voice sharp with concern.

"what the hell happened?" he demanded.

she exhaled, shifting to sit up straighter in bed. "i don't know," she admitted. "i was home, went to the bathroom, and next thing i know, i'm on the ground screaming. carlisle was there when i woke up."

jared swore under his breath. "carlisle?"

"yeah, alice had a vision of me collapsing, apparently." she glanced down at her side, fingers grazing the massive bruise spreading along her ribs. "now i've got this huge bruise, and i have no idea where it came from."