Renewal [Emmett Cullen] (1)

[20- Sick]

It had been a couple weeks since graduation. I was free to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Freedom at last. I spent most of my time with Emmett in his house. It was Thursday and we were playing Call of Duty. Much to Emmett's dismay, I had just gained the upper hand. Weeks of practising had finally paid off.

"I want a rematch!" Emmett exclaimed as I shot down his character. My laugh quickly turned into a cough. It hadn't really gotten better since graduation. The standard cough syrup didn't seem to work.

"El, are you ok?" His face turned from upset about losing to concern in a split second.

"Do you mind if we go see your dad? I've had this cough for a couple of weeks and it doesn't want to go away."

He rolled his eyes sympathetically, "Why didn't you tell me sooner? Carlisle could have treated you." I shook my head, Emmett would disagree if I said Carlisle had better things to do.

Emmett was on the phone with Carlisle and we left shortly after. On the ride over, my chest felt worse, a stabbing pain spreading through my diaphragm whenever I inhaled. It was like someone was reaching into my rib cage and squeezing my lungs.

Emmett wheeled me into Carlisle's office. Carlisle instantly appeared, giving a preliminary assessment with his enhanced senses. I recounted all my symptoms, things that seemed insignificant a week ago now felt more important.

"I have several possible diagnoses but I'll need to run some tests to narrow them down. Is that alright?" Carlisle asked.

I nodded. Like most people, I've been sick plenty of times before but something about it felt different. I was experiencing a different type of pain, somehow it felt more severe.

Carlisle took an x-ray and CAT scan of my chest and ran a blood test to check white blood cell count. Emmett never left my side, even as Carlisle drew my blood. It must of been hard, seeing me in pain. I was surprised the smell of my blood didn't trigger his vampire instincts.

Lying on the bed with the IV drip reminded me of recovering after the accident. After a couple hours of testing, Carlisle had my results.

"It appears that you have pneumonia. Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung which affects the microscopic air sacs. Patients usually recover within 2 weeks with antibiotics so you should be free to go home. Just remember to take it slow, have lots of rest and water," he said with a reassuring smile.

Emmett looked worried, I was the most fragile thing in his life. I was sure that when he was still human he knew a lot of people who died from pneumonia. This must have been scary for him. A month ago, I accidentally rolled my wheelchair into a door and my leg bruised. He constantly asked if it hurt but of course I couldn't feel it. He was so sweet and caring, I still couldn't believe he wanted to spend time with crippled me.

On the phone, my parents voices sounded relieved, after all that I had been through, pneumonia was nothing. We left the hospital shortly after. Emmett dropped me off at home, dad and mom were waiting by the front door.

My dad helped me into my bed, usually I could get in on my own but the hospital visit drained me. Emmett slipped into my window when dad left. His hair covered in tiny droplets, he must have run over.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, sitting on the end of my bed.

"Been better," I admitted. The feeling of coldness coupled with sweats plagued my body.

"By the way, I would have won," my eyes getting heavy as Emmett shook his head.

"When you come over next, we're going to have a rematch!" I could faintly hear him saying, my mind subduing to the sleep medication.

Over the next couple of days, I barely got out of bed, taking Carlisle's advice to heart, maybe too seriously. My eyes stayed glued to my computer screen. I made good use out of my Netflix account, watching reruns of my favorite tv shows. Emmett came over everyday. He brought delicious homemade soups that Esme made. For someone who never ate, she was an incredible chef. I was so thankful to know her.

Recovery felt slow. I never felt like I was improving. Everyday the pain was lessened because I learnt to cope with the discomfort. Despite being on medication, something didn't feel right.