Title: Cry
Author: Hermione Eveningfall
Fandom: Twilight
Pairing: Edward/Bella
Summary: Why did this have to happen to me? What did I do to deserve any of it? Edward, please...
Prologue
I sat holding tightly onto my mother's hand as we sat in the doctor's office, waiting for the results to come back. For the past couple of months I felt off, sleeping a lot and running fevers for no apparent reason. She finally convinced me to set up a doctor's appointment, which I did with quite a bit of hesitation.
The doctor put me through a series of tests, and when it came time for the results, well...needless to say the both of us were shocked. Shocked and horrified...I had cancer.
"Leukemia to be exact," Dr. Shepard explained, once we sat in his office, and the room seemed to be filled with a deafening silence.
"Leukemia." My voice I could barely recognize, and felt my mother starting to tremble beside me.
"What...what can we do?" she asked, and I watched as the doctor began jotting information down on the chart, clearly updating my health information.
"I am going to refer her to an oncologist, and hopefully she will begin chemotherapy treatments. We caught it early, so there is a chance Bella will be able to go into remission after a couple of months."
A couple of months...hah! Even though I was only fifteen going on sixteen, I knew all about chemotherapy. An uncle of mine died from cancer barely two years before, and he suffered horrible nausea and hair loss during his treatment period.
The next couple of days passed in a blur...we went from doctor to doctor, needing second and third opinions. Renee could be terribly stubborn when it came to my well-being, and refused to believe I had such a terrible disease. However, every physician and specialist told us the same information, and before I knew what was happening, we were speaking with an oncologist. She started me on chemotherapy as quickly as possible, and almost at once the side effects tore through my body.
Thank God I went into remission about a full year later, which is why the decision for my moving to Forks came to be. Renee thought I would benefit from settling down, because she had to follow her current husband Phil to east Jesus nowhere and back.
When I moved to Forks, I thought my life was over. I hated the tiny town, where the sun only made an appearance every couple of days.
Charlie, my father, was grateful to have me in his life again, and provided me with an old truck for transportation to and from school.
School was where I met Edward Cullen, and since then, well...my life has never been quite the same.
Chapter 1
A light rain pattered against my windows as I lay in bed on Monday morning, preparing to get up for school. My alarm would not go off for another ten minutes, but the dream I had woke me beforehand.
Strange dreams were common with me lately, ever since I met the love of my life. The one, of course, who sat in my desk chair, his amber-colored eyes focused on my still form.
"Good morning," he greeted when I turned over, blinking in the haze. Ever since we began to call ourselves a couple, Edward spent every night with me. Of course, being a vampire...sleep wasn't natural for him, so he remained awake all night to watch over me.
"Hi," I croaked, struggling to sit up, and rubbed a hand over my face. I glanced down and saw two faint bite marks, where James had inflicted his venom into my body just a month before. Thankfully Edward and his family had come to my rescue just before the villain succeeded in killing me, though I had plenty of fresh scars as a reminder.
"Is your window open a crack?" Edward asked, and I cocked my head to one side, confused.
"No, why?" I glanced at it, and sure enough, it was shut tight.
"Your sheets are drenched. I thought maybe rain had been pouring in by mistake." Edward touched them with his finger tips, and I chewed on my bottom lip with concern.
"Wow...I didn't even notice." I accepted a hug and a kiss on the forehead, before sliding my feet over the side of the bed. Mondays were always rough; the beginning of a new schook week. There were two exams approaching, and I'd spent the past couple of nights cramming the information into my head.
"You did toss and turn quite a bit," Edward pointed out as I chose my clothes for the day, modeling them for him. "you look beautiful in anything, Bella. I do not see why you have to have a second opinion."
I blushed a deep shade of crimson, and couldn't help but stick my tongue out at him. "You're no help," I teased, and stumbled to the bathroom to shower. The water felt so good on my bare skin once I stepped into the tub, and closed my eyes as it provided me with a gentle massage.
My head throbbed the longer I stood in shower steam, and I thought about Edwards comment regarding my soaking sheets. That wasn't the first time over the past few weeks I'd woken up covered in sweat, though normally I passed that off as nothing more than an after effect of a nightmare. Usually my nightmares involved my running to one place or another, and that caused my legs to thrash repeatedly until he would steady them.
Once I got out of the shower, dressed in a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved top the color of lilac, I re-joined Edward in the bedroom. I was amused to find the sheets already pulled neatly around the edges, and he flashed one of his famous crooked smiles in my direction.
"You didn't have to do that," I said after grabbing my backpack from the floor, and he shrugged.
"It isn't any trouble," he promised, and after encouraging me to get breakfast, disappeared faster than the blink of an eye.
Charlie had already left for work by the time I reached the kitchen, and the only proof that he'd been here sat in the sink. I smirked at the sight of the dirty cereal bowls before grabbing a clean one of my own, and filled it halfway. To be perfectly honest, my appetite wasn't at it's best, though I knew it would be a bad thing if I chose to go all the way until lunch without food in my stomach.
Edward met me at school, trying to look nanchalant as he leaned against his volvo. My old truck looked like a piece of junk in comparison, but I loved the vehicle all the same.
"You look awfully pale, Bella," he pointed out after taking my hand once I shut the door and locked it. "are you feeling well?"
I shrugged, trying to act as natural as possible while we strolled through the halls of Forks High School. Despite a decent amount of sleep, I couldn't understand my exhaustion. Edward noticed the change in my step, and kept his arm around my shoulders to prevent me from falling or crashing into anyone.
Mike greeted me once we entered the classroom, and I could feel Jessica's eyes on us as Edward and I took our usual seats.
"Hi," I said, waving half-heartedly, and rubbed my eyes. "Sorry...didn't get a lot of sleep last night."
Jess grinned in understanding, especially since our exam happened to be today for biology.
"Same," she whispered. "I was up till amost two studying. I guess that's my punishment for procrastination."
I smiled back, waiting impatiently for the teacher to arrive. Strange how fast I felt at home in this place, remembering my first day when I first saw Edward. I never thought I'd fall for someone quite like him...almost frighteningly beautiful. His skin always felt cold against mine, but because his touch was always so gentle, I forgot that.
My heart raced once the exam packets were given out, and I hoped my mind wouldn't go blank after studying so hard.
"Good luck," Edward whispered, and I felt my cheeks grow warm.
Luckily the knowledge I soaked in from my textbook and notes remained, and I was able to answer most of the questions easily. My eyes ached staring down at the fine black print, and for a moment or two I swore I was going to doze off right on my desk.
Focus, Bella, I scolded myself, and glanced at Edward who's pencil flew down each page. Naturally he would have no problem with this test, having been part of the class for several years now. Besides, it didn't really matter if he failed...there weren't many occupations availible for vampires. Unless, of course, you took Carlisles approach and became a doctor...surrounded 24/7 by the smell of blood.
Once I finished the exam, I leaned back in my chair, and waited patiently for the class period to end. Everyone else appeared to be struggling to finish in time, and I had to smirk as Mike sat there with his tongue sticking out from the corner of his mouth.
"God that was so hard!" Jess whined once we were released, and I allowed Edward to be a leaning post again. "I probably failed."
"Next time you'll crack your books open at least a week before," Tyler teased, sneaking up behind and poking her in the sides. She shrieked with surprise, and whacked him with her backpack, which only made him laugh.
The rest of the day passed in a haze, and only Edward could pull me out of this strange funk. I felt a bit strange, and when he would ask me exactly what hurt, I couldn't describe my feelings.
"Just run down," I admitted once the two of us sat together at lunch. Alice joined us with Jasper, Rosaline and Emmett, and I tried desparately to keep my attention as alert as possible.
Edward squeezed my hand halfway through the meal period, and it caused a gentle shiver to go up my spine.
"So, are you coming over tonight, Bella?" Alice asked, her eyes curious. "Edward wrote some new music."
"Oh it's nothing special," Edward promised, narrowing his eyes at me. "there's no need..."
"New music?" I asked, smiling. "I love your work, so I'd love to hear it."
Edward started to argue the point again, but he shut his mouth at the last minute. "All right," he agreed, and I nodded with approval.
"Bella, are you sure you're feeling okay?" Alice continued. "you seem a little down in the dumps." she fiddled with the Cullen crest pendant around her neck, the lights in the cafeteria causing the piece of jewelry to shimmer.
"I'm fine," I lied, though I could tell she didn't believe me. That was one problem with having a friend who could read your mind...literally. Part of me wondered if Alice knew of my prior condition, or could forsee something happening in the future...it was hard to tell from her expression.
"Just curious," she insisted. "I don't mean to be a pain." she shrugged, and I felt a sense of relief wash over me. The last thing I wanted was to give Edward another thing to worry over, considering he already had to rescue me from a near-death experience.
After school, Edward announced that he would meet me in Charlie's driveway until I could get myself situated.
"Okay," I replied, and watched as he climbed into the volvo. Sighing softly I wrenched open the rusty door to my old truck, stepping up to the driver's seat. I sat still for a couple of minutes, supporting my forehead with my hands. What is going on? I thought, before deciding to gun the engine and ignore my discomfort as best as I could.
