Bella and the Cycle

I stepped out of the shower, wanting only to bury myself under as many blankets as possible.

I stumbled down the hallway—which seemed excruciatingly long right now—in my towel, to my room. Knowing that Edward would probably be inside right now, I knocked on my door, to warn him of my not-so-decent arrival. "Knock. Knock."

The two gentle raps on the door sent waves of ringing headache through my scull

To my surprise, there was no answer. I took the doorknob and slowly, very slowly I pushed the creaky door open an inch only to be taken back by the absence of him. "Edward, " I called feeling extremely foolish. "Are you there?" there was no answer.

I opened the door all the way and cautiously walked in. There was a note on the bed:

I've gone hunting for a few hours. I know you've been feeling sick, so here are some Tylenol. I love you,

-E

I smiled at his generosity, and put the bottle on my bed-side table.

Although I had a few outfits Alice had picked out for me during our last shopping trip, I decided to go against high-fashion and slipped on my ratty old sweats.

The cushions on my bed were like a cloud. A warm, soft, squishy, uncomfortable cloud. It was an empty bed without Edward there beside me. He was the one thing I wanted most at this moment—at every moment—but also the last. If I was around anyone right now I would embarrass myself, and bad. Emmett could use the blackmail, especially after I changed.

I didn't notice the sun setting until the sound of Charlie's cruiser outside interrupted my peaceful half-slumber. I quickly ran downstairs and threw some leftovers on the stove.

"Sorry Char—dad. I fell asleep. Dinner's in the microwave."

"Don't worry about it Bells, I wouldn't mind resting my feet for a while. We've been out chasing some massive bear that migrated from Canada." he rolled his eyes. "There hasn't been a lead—foot print, smell, even our hounds couldn't pick it up."

I nodded and served the piping hot Chicken Parmesan.

"Thanks bells, you're really great to have around." Charlie said gruffly before going back to the living room. "I hope you don't mind, there's a game on and I don't wanna miss it."

"Oh, yeah. That's fine. I'm kinda' tired. Good night."

"What's wrong Bella?" Charlie's concerned voice rang through the house.

"Nothing. I'm just...sick." In a rush to lay down, I threw my door open and didn't stop until I saw a statue sitting on my bed.

"Howd' Bell-a." Jasper's slight southern drawl didn't go unnoticed by me.

"Uh, hi. Not to be rude or anything, but what are you doing here?"

He smiled graciously, "I'm here to kidnap ya'. Eddie boy is tied up with Emm, so you're stuck'th me. I figured you'd wanna come on over for a few hours."

"Oh, of course." I went over to the window so I could make my great escape.

Jasper's hearty chuckle stopped me just as I was about to put my foot over the ledge. "Silly Bella, no wonder Emmett is always laughin' at you. Ah, I'll miss that when you're not human an'more."

"I'll tell Charlie I'm going to the Pharmacy." I thought out loud.

"You do that. Alice'll meet ya' by the car. A'ight?"

I nodded my head and started out the door.

On the last few steps my foot came in contact with a nail and I went tumbling down to the bottom. "Ouch," I muttered.

"Bella! Bella? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry."

He headed over to the phone and started dialing. "I'm going to call the hospital."

"Ah!" I called, "No!"

He sighed and put down the phone. "I want you to see a doctor."

"I'll go to the Cullens' place."

"Fine." he huffed, "just don't be too late."

I nodded and got my keys and jacket off the hook in the hall. "I'll be back by ten-thirty!" I called from the door frame. I could almost see him roll his eyes.

The door opened seconds before we got to the porch.

"Good evening Bella. It seems like ages since we've seen you!" Esme's kind, gentle, motherly face made me miss Renee.

The white, barren living room was uninhabited except the noise of people talking in the seldom used dining room. I heard Edward say something, then Rosalie's responding growl.

"Bella! Bells! Bellie! Bellery!" a chorus of cheers erupted from Emmett. Edward pacing back and forth, his fingers on the bridge of his nose, his nose scrunched up in distaste. Jasper was nowhere to be seen.

Rosalie and Alice were sitting in their usual seats.

Carlisle was reading a thick book that looked to be on spiritual healing. I saved the best for last. Edward's face lit up like a kid's on christmas morning when he saw me. He sped over and gave me a tight hug and chaste kiss.

"So, what brings you here, Bella?" Carlisle inquired.

"Alice, actually. She hijacked my truck and drove me here. Sh'told me you needed help with something?"

"Oh yes. We...figured that problem out. No worries," I heard him add silently, "anymore."

There was an awkward pause waiting for someone to say something. The silence was broken right as Jasper trotted in. His hair was wind-blown from running, and in his hand was a small paper bag labeled "CVS".

"I got you somethin'" he said as he passed the bag to me. "I wadn't sure what kind to get you, so I got all of 'em."

Inside the bag were a pile of different medicines for my...condition. "Thank You!" I ran up to him and wrapped my arms around his stone figure. Soon, I felt a pair of stone arms wrap around my shoulders and pull me away. I looked up and saw Edward mouth 'sorry' to Jasper.

"Sorry for what?" I asked as we were getting into the truck.

"Oh, I guess I shouldn't be surprised you saw that. I was apologizing for not stopping you sooner."

I twisted my eyebrows together.

"Jasper still has a hard time with the...blood thing. You're the first human to give him a hug without your head being ripped off. But, it was only because he was unprepared. If you ever did it again, I'm sure It'd be fine."

"Well, I feel honored." I smiled.

Too soon, we were parked outside my house.

"I'll meet you up there in a few minutes." he kissed my forehead.

I stumbled out of the car and through the door. On my way in, I hung up my keys and jacket.

"Hey Bells. How are you feeling?" Did Dr. Cullen look at your head?"

"Yeah he did," I lied, "I'm really tired. Good night." He looked satisfied with my answer.

"Night. See ya' tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you later."

Edward was there, sprawled across my bed, feigning sleep. I crawled up next to him, and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"So...why didn't you tell me?" he whispered.

"Tell you what?"
Well, I knew exactly what I didn't tell him but I wasn't about to admit it.

"You fell?"

I blew out the breath I had been holding in. That wasn't what I was expecting.

"Yeah."

"But that wasn't what I meant."

I buried my face into his chest, so he could my burning blush. "Please don't say it out loud."

He smiled and lifted my face up to meet his. "Good night, Bella."

As I drifted into oblivion, I heard him whisper. "You're on you period." then a light chuckle.

Alrighty! That was my story! There it was! My very first Fanfic! Okidokie! Bye bye! I'm not gonna force you to review but if you can, that'd be great. Oh yeah, I'm sorry about all the contractions (is that what you call them?). My version of Jasper has a very strong accent so if you're having trouble understanding what he's saying, say the dialogue out loud. A lot of those came from To Kill A Mockingbird. I'm only on chapter 5, but it is a very hard book to read out loud. Okay guyzzzz, BYE!

Love,
Sintra Graham