January 25th, Tuesday
When I opened my eyes that morning, the first thing I noticed was the silence.
Not the usual rain against the window. Not even a drizzle whispering through the trees. Just quiet.
I rolled out of bed and crossed to the window, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. The world outside was white and glassy, coated in a thin, deceptive layer of snow and ice. Even the driveway shimmered faintly in the dawn light.
For a second, I just stared, then my stomach dropped.
The ice. The snow. The parking lot.
Oh, shit. Today was the day.
The day Tyler Crowley lost control of his van in the parking lot. The day Bella was supposed to die, and didn't, because Edward freaking Cullen stopped a two-ton van with one hand. The scene that basically kick-started everything in Twilight.
Except this time, Edward wasn't the only wildcard in town.
I glanced at the clock. 7:10 a.m.
Plenty of time to do something… or screw everything up.
By the time I reached Forks High, my breath fogged in the air and my fingers were stiff on the steering wheel. The parking lot was already slick, patches of black ice hiding under the thin powder of snow. I pulled into my usual spot and cut the engine, my heartbeat loud in my ears.
The school was still half-empty. Perfect.
I leaned against my car, hands shoved deep into my jacket pockets, watching the lot fill. Angela's old sedan, Eric's busted-out Civic… then Bella's red Chevy trundling in, engine coughing like a smoker, right on time.
"Bella!" I called, waving her over before she could park.
She blinked at me through the window, confused, then pulled up and stepped out, breath turning to mist. "Mike? What are you doing here this early?"
"Just wanted to say hi," I said lamely. "And, uh… maybe warn you to be careful. It's icy."
She smiled, shivering. "Yeah, I noticed. You camping out here or something?"
"Maybe." My voice was lighter than I felt. I kept my eyes flicking toward the corner of the lot, Tyler's van should be coming from that direction any second now.
The rumble of the van's engine broke the stillness. I straightened instinctively. The blue van turned the corner too fast, wheels skidding. I saw it happen in slow motion, the back fishtailed, the tires lost grip, and the whole thing spun sideways toward us.
"Bella!" I grabbed her arm, pulling her a step back, just as the van slammed into the side of her truck with a metallic crunch that echoed through the lot.
Glass shattered. The van's side caved in. Bella stumbled, frozen in shock. I pulled her farther back as the sound of screaming brakes tore the morning apart.
And then silence again, horrible, heavy silence.
It wasn't like the movies. No dramatic music, no slow pan over the wreck. Just the smell of antifreeze and smoke and the sound of my heart trying to punch out of my chest.
Students were already rushing over. Someone yelled for a teacher.
Tyler's van was wrecked, front smashed, one wheel bent at an ugly angle. Bella's truck, though… the thing looked like it had taken the hit and shrugged it off. Just a dented door and a shattered window.
"Are you okay?" I asked, voice shaking.
Bella nodded, wide-eyed. "I, I think so. You pulled me…"
Her words cut off as we both looked toward the van. Tyler was slumped against the airbag, face pale and bloodied, one arm bent at a wrong angle.
"Tyler!" Bella gasped, running toward the wreck before I could stop her.
I followed, stomach twisting. I hadn't seen it play out like this in the original story. He was supposed to walk away with a few scratches on his face, some embarrassment, a bandage or two. But now…
He wasn't supposed to be hurt this badly.
Edward was there a moment later, appearing out of nowhere like a blur. He pushed through the crowd, eyes darting between Bella, me, and the mangled van.
"What happened?" he demanded.
"I, I don't know," I said. "He came around the corner too fast. I just… pulled Bella out of the way."
Edward's gaze lingered on me a second too long, calculating, suspicious, and I felt that old, unnatural chill in the air. Then he turned back toward Tyler, helping lift the wrecked door until the teachers arrived.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
By the time the paramedics took Tyler away, the lot was taped off, and everyone was buzzing with rumors.
I stood by my car, arms crossed tight, watching them load him into the ambulance.
He'd be okay, they said. Broken arm, broken leg, a mild concussion. Lucky.
Lucky…
Yeah, tell that to the part of my brain screaming that it was all my fault. That I'd played with fate, and it hit back.
Bella came up beside me, bundled in a blanket one of the teachers had given her. "You saved me," she said quietly. "If you hadn't called me over…"
I forced a smile. "Yeah. Guess I got good timing."
But it didn't feel like good timing.
It felt like a warning.
…
The ambulance lights cut through the gray morning like flickering ghosts, painting the fog red and blue as I followed behind in my car.
The wipers screeched against the glass, smearing the mix of snow and sleet that had started falling again.
My fingers gripped the steering wheel so tight they ached. Every time the siren wailed, it was like another jab of guilt reminding me: This isn't how it was supposed to happen.
Tyler was supposed to walk away with a few scratches.
Bella was supposed to be the one everyone worried about.
Edward was supposed to save her.
But instead, I had changed everything.
Forks hospital was already buzzing when I got there. I parked crooked, barely noticing, and ran through the sliding doors, the blast of sterile air and antiseptic smell hitting me like a wall.
A nurse at the front desk looked up, startled.
"I, I'm here for Tyler Crowley," I said, out of breath. "He was in a car accident. He's my friend."
She nodded, typing something into her computer. "He's in surgery, honey. You'll have to wait in the lobby."
So I waited. For hours.
Every time the automatic doors opened, I looked up, expecting news, dreading it. Students came and went, teachers too, even a few reporters. Eventually, the crowd thinned until it was just me and the low hum of fluorescent lights, Tyler's parents went home to pick some things for him and would come back later.
At some point, I must've fallen half asleep in the chair, because the next thing I knew, someone was saying my name.
"Mr. Newton?"
I blinked awake. Standing in front of me was Dr. Cullen, immaculate as always, like the stress of the hospital didn't even touch him. His white coat looked freshly pressed, his eyes calm, that same strange golden color that always seemed both warm and cold at once.
"Doctor," I said, getting to my feet a little too fast. "Is Tyler…?"
"He'll be fine," Carlisle said gently. "He suffered a fractured radius, a compound break in the femur, and a mild concussion, but the surgery went well. He's stable now, resting. You can see him soon."
I exhaled shakily, feeling my knees almost give out. "Thank God."
Carlisle studied me for a moment, his expression unreadable but kind. "You were at the scene?"
"Yeah," I said quietly. "I was right there when it happened."
He nodded. "From what I've heard, your quick thinking likely prevented a worse outcome. You pulled Miss Swan out of the way?"
I hesitated. "Yeah. I did."
Carlisle's smile was small, sincere. "That was brave of you."
I wanted to believe that.
I really did.
But all I could think was she was never supposed to be in danger at all and I'd just made things worse.
A familiar voice broke through my thoughts. "Mike."
I turned and saw Chief Swan walking down the hall, his uniform jacket dusted with melting snow. He looked exhausted, but when he reached me, he offered a firm handshake.
"Charlie," I greeted awkwardly. "Hey."
He squeezed my hand. "I just wanted to thank you, son. If it wasn't for you, Bella could've been seriously hurt."
I forced a nod, trying to smile. "Just… lucky timing, I guess."
He gave a heavy exhale, relief softening his features. "You did good, Mike. Real good."
"Thanks," I said. But my voice came out hollow, distant.
Inside, my thoughts were crawling with what-ifs.
If I hadn't called her over. If I hadn't meddled. If I'd just trusted things to happen the way they were supposed to.
Charlie clapped my shoulder once before heading off toward a nurse's station, leaving me alone again with the hum of machines and the weight in my chest.
I sat back down, elbows on my knees, staring at the linoleum floor.
Bella was fine. Tyler would recover.
Everything should've been fine.
But it didn't feel fine.
Somewhere deep down, beneath the guilt and relief, I could feel the timeline shifting again, like gears grinding in a clock that no longer fit together right.
And for the first time since I'd landed in this world, I wasn't sure what was going to happen next.
…
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