She was in a black void. Not flying, not falling, not floating; just a form of consciousness. She tried to shift her legs but they weren't there. Neither were her arms, she found. Every once in a while there'd be a movement or brief flash of blinding light that would disorient her. And, faintly in the distance, she thought she heard music. It was hard to make out but it sounded like Metallica's `Nothing Else Matters'.
"Seriously?! You want me to try WHAT with you?" Bella sat in the passenger's seat, her body tugging at the seat belt as she stared at Renee in dumbfounded disbelief.
"Oh, come on, Bella. Stop being such a baby," Renee laughed. "Nudist Yoga is a very popular and unique experience. Maurine tried it yesterday and said that it was the most liberating thing she's done in decades! You really need to broaden your horizon and give it a chance. "
Bella continued to stare at her mother, who'd obviously lost her mind, while deliberating the best way to say `Hell No!' without actually being that crass. In the mean time Renee maneuvered the car into the drive way and put it in park.
"Look, Mom, I appreciate that you've been trying to figure out new ways for us to spend time together but this..."
"Bella," Renee cut her off as she opened her door and scooted out. She leaned over to peer back inside the car at her daughter. "I've already signed us up for this Saturday at 7:00am. Now, come on, Phil's got dinner on the table."
There was so much concern in Edward's eyes. She hated to see his brow furrowed so unhappily. Maybe if she could pull herself together long enough to prove that she was okay he'd relax his handsome face and remind her how lovely his smile could be. A smile worth dying for…
She took in a deliberate, deep breath for a count of 5 using primarily her diaphragm muscles before releasing it slowly through parted lips. She felt better already. As she'd been taught to during her first, and only!, yoga session she repeated the process until she felt calm enough to open her eyes and gauge her situation. She didn't like what she discovered.
Her body was completely strapped down to a gurney and there was an oxygen mask on her face. She was rocked this way and that as the ambulance bumped down the road toward the hospital. She recognized the paramedic sitting next to her checking her vitals and giving her worried glances as the one who'd come after the accident.
The accident.
"Edward!" She tried to sit up, her heart beating a million times a minute when she realized he wasn't in the back of the ambulance with her. Resigned to having to wait until someone let her out of her restraints, she closed her eyes again and prayed that Edward hadn't badly injured himself when he stopped the van from smooshing them. She envisioned his perfectly pale and smooth skin now a bruised and battered mess. The impact must have broken his hand and probably his wrist, if not his entire arm. Would it be completely shattered and beyond repair? Oh, why had he done such a thing! For her, no less! She wasn't worth ruining such a lovely appendage over.