I found myself in the same ER.
I had been here enough times to know the procedures and what doctor did what and who knew my name. But no matter how many doctors knew my name there was always only one that ever treated me.
Edward Cullen, head of the ER itself.
Edward Cullen was the only one because the way he saw it, I his wife was to be treated only by him. Our marriage was what could be described as disaster. We had gotten married when we were 18, when I had gotten pregnant with our daughter, Faith. With her birth things started to get bad. We weren't in love in the first place. Just casually dating when I had gotten pregnant. Three years later while his parents had Faith we had somehow gotten drunk and conceived our son Chase. And now 5 years from his birth, trapped in a loveless marriage with two kids, I, Bella Cullen found myself in an ER.
"What happened?" he asked walking into the room I had been directed to.
"Slit my arm." I answered showing him the gash that ran from my forearm to my elbow.
He pulled on a pair of latex gloves before he started cleaning my wounds.
"I'm surprised you didn't faint yet." He mused cleaning my wound. "Don't remind me." I groaned. He smirked.
There were times where we got along, times like now which I cherished.
"So Alice called me earlier." I murmured as he worked. "What did she want?" he asked not taking his eyes off his work. "She decided we're going to Alaska for the family vacation." I answered. "Why Alaska?" he asked as he started stitching my arm. I shrugged when he looked up at me. "And you and I have to take the first flight out since you apparently have the keys to the cabin." I added. He nodded as he finished stitching. "When are we leaving?" he asked throwing the things he used to clean my wound away. "Tomorrow, Alice is stopping by to drop off the tickets and picking the kids up to stay the night at her house." I replied hopping off the examination table. He nodded again.
I grabbed my bag, cradling my bandaged arm close to me. "Hey, I'll be late today." He called after me as I reached the doorway. I nodded and left.
Alice had dropped the tickets off and took the kids after she packed their luggage, shooing me to pack my and Edward's suitcases. They soon left, leaving me to make dinner for myself and wrap Edward's plate in tin foil and set it in the oven to keep it warm. He came home around 11, I was wide awake. I padded down the stairs and found him in the kitchen, unwrapping his dinner. I leaned against the doorway rubbing my hand over my other upper arm.
"Are you going to just stand there or join me?" he asked warming it in the microwave. I smiled sheepishly and sat down at the island.
"Did Alice pick the kids up?" he asked as he sat down and started eating. I nodded setting my chin in my palm. "Why aren't you sleeping?" he asked. "I wasn't sleepy." I responded. He didn't reply. He finished his dinner and washed his plate and then headed upstairs. By time I got upstairs after getting myself a glass of water he was already asleep on his side of the bed. I sighed to myself and climbed in to bed and fell asleep.
The next day I found myself in first class next to Edward on a plane. Since it was an early flight I hadn't gotten much sleep. I fell asleep halfway there.
EPOV
Bella fell asleep halfway through and her head lolled onto my shoulder. I was in my own thoughts until the familiar spark when her skin touched mine broke me from my thoughts. I turned my head slightly to kiss her head and grasp her hand in mine. It was times like this where I could actually touch her without feeling guilty. She cuddled to my side even more. I lifted the arm rest separating us and pulled her to my side. She snuggled to me, letting out a small sigh. I smiled to myself. But as my thoughts wandered the smile slowly vanished.
Although she looked healthy now, a few months ago it wasn't the case. At that point I had been preoccupied with an old friend, Tanya Denali. She was visiting and was staying with us. I spent every waking moment with Tanya, if I wasn't at work I was with Tanya. It was wrong of me to neglect my family. Then one day Tanya had to go out on her own so I decided to spend time with the kids. When I went to get a baseball glove from our closet I found Bella asleep on the couch. I was about to lift her when my sister's nails sunk into my forearm stopping me.
"Alice what the hell." I hissed.
"Don't you dare touch her." She hissed. "She's going to hurt her neck and why shouldn't I make sure my wife isn't comfortable?" I asked in an angered whisper, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Because if you hadn't noticed, she's thin, so much so that she's underweight. And you know what the icing on top of the cake is? You did that to her." She accused.
I finally noticed that she was visibly thinner, in a sickly way. "How did I do that to her?" I asked.
You spent so much time with Tanya and neglected your family and she had to step up and play mommy and daddy. While she was taking care of your kids she forgot to take care of herself. She was hospitalized Edward, and you weren't even there." My sister whispered as her voice broke.
I stared at her in shock. When had she been hospitalized?
"The day she was hospitalized was the day you didn't come home. They had to put her on all these antibiotics and feed her through a tube. Did you know she went for almost an entire week without eating once?" my sister asked.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "I did that?" I asked in a shocked whisper. She nodded.
"This is the first time she's actually slept in a while, don't disturb her." Alice murmured pulling me out of the room. I spent that afternoon with my children and then promptly kicked Tanya out of the house. I couldn't have anything like what happened to Bella ever happen again.
As I broke out of my thoughts the pilot came on telling us to put our seat belts on. I carefully put her seat belt on without waking her and then put mine on. She woke up as we were landing. To say that she looked adorable when she looked around trying to get her surroundings was an understatement.
"We're about to land." I whispered.
Her head snapped to mine before she nodded sitting up, moving out of my arms.
I missed her already.
When the plane did land I got our carry-ons and followed behind her. We rented a car and drove in silence to the cabin that my family owned. By the time we pulled up to the cabin it had already started snowing. We were going to be in for a storm.
I needed to get out.
Telling her I was going out for a bit after we settled in, I left the cabin. I found a local bar and drowned a couple beers trying to forget the fact that I ruined my wife's life the minute I got her pregnant. Not being able to hold off for any longer, I got back to the cabin around 2. I quietly walked into the dark house and found a dim lamp lit by the couch. Bella's sleeping form was resting on the one side of the couch. She was curled up with the lamp's light hitting her face. I picked her up into my arms after I turned the light off and noticed that her body was cold. Of course she wouldn't think about herself. She was too selfless. She cuddled to my chest as I took her upstairs. I set her down and changed my clothes. She cuddled to me as I climbed into bed beside her. I pulled her into my arms, warming her with my warm body.
When I woke up the bed was empty of her. I got up and padded downstairs to find her in the kitchen.
"morning." I muttered rubbing the back of my neck as she looked up.
She smiled weakly.
Did you enjoy yourself last night?" she asked as I made myself a cup of coffee. I shrugged, taking a sip.
She nodded and looked back down at her plate. I sat down with my own plate.
"It was ok I guess." I answered.
She looked up searching my face before looking down again.
"How was your night?" I asked, reaching over to brush my finger across the back of her hand. "It was ok." She mumbled, not looking up from where my finger was. I smiled to myself.
We ate in silence after that, I pulled my hand back as she got up and washed her dishes before she left the room. I finished up and washed my own dishes and then entered the living room. I found her curled up on the couch, reading a book. I looked out the window and noticed the storm was here, full force. I had no clue as to how the rest of the family was going to make it here.
"I wonder how everyone else is going to make it here." She murmured from behind me. I turned around to find her watching me.
"I'm going to call, see where they are." I muttered picking my cell phone up from the coffee table as I sat down beside her. I dialed Alice's number and put it on speaker when I noticed she subtly moved closer. "Hello." My sister's voice rang out in a sing song voice.
"Alice." I greeted.
"How are you brother of mine?" she asked.
Bella raised an eyebrow. "Is she drunk?" she whispered in my ear. I laughed.
"Fine, where are you?" I asked.
"Miami, Florida." She answered after a pause.
Miami!" Bella screeched. I winced. Alice laughed shakily.
"Can I talk to Faith or Chase please?" Bella asked. In the background the phone was being moved. She rubbed a hand over her face. I hesitantly rubbed her back. To my surprise she leaned into my hold.
"Hi momma." Our daughter's voice soon filled the room.
"Hi sweetie." She murmured.
"Are you having fun?" I asked.
"Mhm, lots of fun, grandma and I are going to go swimming." She answered with a giggle.
From the corner of my eye I noticed Bella smile slightly.
"Give it to your brother." She murmured. The phone was soon handed to our son.
"Hi momma!" our son's voice hollered. The smile that lit up my wife's face warmed my heart.
"Hi sweetheart." She murmured. "Momma, Miami is awesome." He said with a smile in his voice. I chuckled.
"Here talk to grandma, I'm gonna go swimming, bye." He said and then the phone was handed to my mother before any of us could get a word in.
"Edward?" my mother's voice rang through as Bella got up to wash her mug. I spoke with her and made sure the kids were ok before I hung after goodbyes. I found Bella in the kitchen, looking out the window, absentmindedly playing with her wedding ring. I set my cell phone down on the counter and stood beside her.
"Miami, Florida. Basically two countries away." She whispered. "Our children are two countries away." She whispered. I reached out to rub her shoulder. She sighed.
After dinner we didn't stay up for much longer. She was asleep in bed by the time I got out of the bathroom. I woke up in the middle of the night to an empty bed. Slightly disorientated, I got up and followed the dim light downstairs. She was standing in the kitchen again by the window.
"What are you doing up?" I asked in a quiet voice, careful not to startle her.
Just thinking." She answered in a hoarse voice. I turned her around. Tears were running down her face.
"What's wrong?" I asked immediately concerned. She moved out of my arms.
"Nothing's wrong, I just came to terms with reality." She whispered. I cocked an eyebrow.
"I realized that I've dragged my fairy tale for longer than I should have, and I hurt people in my selfish desire." She continued drifting towards the living room. I followed her.
"I don't follow." I murmured leaning against the doorframe.
She sank down on the couch and laughed a shaky humorless laugh. "You should, it was your life that I ruined the most." She said almost inaudibly.
I pushed myself off the doorframe and sat down on the couch across from her, concerned.
"You haven't ruined my life." I said softly. She gave me a look through her tears.
"Of course I did, if it wasn't for my carelessness I wouldn't have gotten pregnant, you wouldn't have been obligated to marry me and you definitely wouldn't have to be trapped in a loveless marriage with me." She protested. I shook my head.
"You getting pregnant was an act of carelessness on my part too." I whispered.
Before I could continue she started speaking.
"Edward I know you're not happy, if you were happy you wouldn't have felt the need to go out, you wouldn't have felt the need to spend time with Tanya. I understand the fact that Tanya is so much beautiful than I could ever be. And to keep you locked in this marriage is the most selfish of acts." She whispered.
I didn't say anything. Anything I would have said now would just make things worse.
"And I shouldn't be crying; I shouldn't be grieving because I've gotten everything I had ever wanted and more. Though our marriage isn't exactly a successful one you always treated me with care and love both our children. And out of this fairytale I got two children who I'd give up anything for." "But I want you to be happy Edward." She continued.
I wanted to tell her that I was happy, grab her by the shoulders and shake her, get her to understand that I wasn't happy without her or our children. But I didn't.
"And since I'm the thing in the way of your happiness I've come to a compromise." She exhaled quietly before she spoke again. Tears were still streaming down her face. She took a moment to wipe them. "I'll give you a divorce, I don't want anything, if you want you can have primary custody of the kids, I just want you to be happy." Her voice started shaky in the first place but turned to a quiet whisper by the end.
Before I could answer she got up and almost ran out of the room with muffled sobs coming from her lips.
Of everything that she said I only understood one thing. She was leaving me, and I couldn't stop her.
BPOV
I had given up on sleep the minute I ran from him. I lay on one of the beds in one of the other rooms, sobbing quietly. He didn't search for me; I didn't even hear him come up. Subconsciously I wondered if he was hurting just as much as I was. The thought was a fleeting one, gone before I could ponder about it. Of course he wouldn't, he would be relieved that I was out of his life.
When I peeked into his bedroom in the morning he wasn't in there. The bed was made. He probably was already on a flight back home.
I dug out clothes for me to wear and took a shower and slipped into them before I padded downstairs. The wind howled outside alerting me of the storm. It barely registered in my mind as I shuffled along the cold floors to the kitchen. Nothing registered in my mind, not the fact that the house was freezing cold, not the fact that the blizzard was getting worse, absolutely nothing. As soon as I entered the kitchen the only one thing registered in my mind was the figure standing by the window watching the storm outside.
He didn't move as I made myself breakfast. I set some out for him before I ate my own. The heat of the eggs burned my tongue but that too didn't register. My body was numb, my brain and heart felt like they had shut down. He picked at his breakfast as I cleaned up. Another thing I registered was the fact that he had deep circles under his eyes. I didn't speak to him; I was trying to detach every feeling I had for him.
I settled on the couch, pulling the quilt there over me. The storm howled outside. I shivered as I opened up my book. Concentrating on my book deemed wasteful. I sunk into the couch and curled into a ball to keep myself warm. Soon the shivers made my whole body tremble.
"Bella." Edward whispered suddenly appearing in front of me.
I looked up.
"You're cold, come here." He whispered.
"It's fine." I whispered through my chattering teeth.
"Look, I'll give you a divorce if you want, please let me warm you." He whispered. It sounded like a desperate plea.
He was already unbuttoning his shirt.
It was going to be that kind of warming. You know the one where the bare body warms faster, its better without clothes, survival one-oh-one.
I gave up; I couldn't stand being cold anymore. I moved into his open arms. He was so much warmer than I expected. I involuntarily cuddled to him.
"You're freezing." He whispered picking me up and keeping me cradled to his chest. I couldn't reply, my teeth were chattering too much for that.
He carried me right to his bedroom and laid me down on the bed. He took a breath before he gently lifted my shirt up. My body shook as shivers took over my body. He quickly discarded both his and my clothes and climbed into bed next to my and pulled my body against his. I cuddled to his warmth. His arms rubbed up and down my body in attempt to warm my body. I buried my face in his neck and pressed my fingers against his chest. It wasn't long before I was warm.
"Thank you." I whispered.
He nodded silently.
And then the power went out.
I blinked, trying to get my eyes to adjust. He groaned.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing, the power went out, that means no heat." He muttered.
I sighed. He pulled me into his arms, tighter than before.
"I guess we keep warm this way." He murmured. His tone was lighter.
I rested my head against his chest silently. He absentmindedly rubbed my back again. A minute later he got up and lit a fire in the fire place before crawling into bed again. I blushed and looked away when I caught him naked. It had been a while since we even showed skin between each other. Actually we really never did except for the early days of our relationship, before our marriage.
"Remember when Faith was born?" he asked quietly after a minute, pulling me back into his arms. The wind howled outside as I nodded.
"I think I broke your hand that day." I murmured. He laughed. "Maybe a sprain." He teased. I laughed quietly.
We fell into silence again. "9 years since she was born." He whispered. "5 years since Chase was born."
"10 years of marriage." I added.
"Almost 10, it's ten in a couple of hours." He corrected. I laughed.
"You survived a decade with me." I whispered.
His face turned serious.
"So you really want a divorce from me that badly?" he asked. I hesitated.
How was I supposed to tell him that I loved him so much that it killed me to choke out my words last night? I wanted nothing more than to spend eternity with him.
He saw my hesitation. "Please don't spare my feelings, I want the truth." He whispered noticing my hesitation. I exhaled.
"In truth i'm selfish enough to not want a divorce." I finally whispered. His head shot up to meet my eyes. "So you don't want a divorce" he asked. "No, but if you want one, I'll give you one." I answered.
He laughed; it sounded relieved.
My confusion lasted for barely a minute before he pressed his lips against mine.
I pulled away with a gasp, gasping for air. "Sorry, that was way out of li-" I cut him off by rolling over and pressing my lips to his. He finally caught up and kissed me back with a renewed passion, flipping me over and kissing me passionately.
I moaned against his mouth, fisting my hands in his hair and tugging it. He groaned and pulled away only to kiss down my neck and suck the spot where my shoulder and neck met.
I mewled and ran my hands down his back. He held himself up with one arm and ran his other hand down the length of my body before massaging my breast. I moaned and pulled his face back up to mine and kissed him.
"Let me make love to you." He whispered. I nodded my assent.
He kissed me harder and positioned his arousal at my entrance.
"please." I whispered against his mouth.
He pushed in carefully, intertwining our hands as he sheathed himself inside me completely. He paused when he did. We both needed a minute to relish the feeling.
"So tight and wet." He whispered running his nose along my collarbone.
I ducked my head to kiss him again as I shifted my hips urging him to move. He moved slowly drawing out the pleasure. My eyes rolled into the back of my head as I moved with him. It had been so long and it felt so good. Soon enough he started moving faster, literally pounding into me. I met each of his thrusts. Our moans and the sound of our skin slapping together drowned out the sound of the wind outside. His thrusts became irregular and I knew he was close. The tightening in my stomach suddenly unraveled and my toes curled and my back arched as I exploded into waves of pleasure screaming his name.
His orgasm came right after me and he released with a shudder burying his face in my neck. I collapsed back onto the mattress and he collapsed onto me. We laid there for a moment panting. My chest heaved for air and he panted in my ear softly. It wasn't a minute later that he pulled out of me, making me whimper and laid down beside me pulled me to his body. I rested my head against his chest. He pulled the covers over us.
"Well that was the last thing I expected." He murmured. I nodded in agreement.
He pulled my face up to his. "You promise to never bring up the subject of divorce ever again?"
"I promise" I whispered.
"Good, I couldn't live without you." He whispered.
"I love you." I whispered.
He grinned before kissing me softly.
"I love you too, my Bella." He whispered.
I moved myself closer to him and kissed him. He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me softly. The clock chimed in the room. I looked up and noticed it was midnight.
"Happy anniversary." He whispered with a soft smile.
"Happy anniversary." I whispered back.
He kissed me then and I knew that sometimes miracles did happen and fairytales did exist. Maybe in the most unlikely places but they did exist.