|| My Love || Chapter 1 || Edward's POV ||
|| Date: August 3, 2011 || Time: 10:01 AM ||
I heard my wife scream in pain and I saw Evelyn jump a little. I couldn't leave her by herself here, but Bella needed me. I took Evelyn's hand and sat her on the couch and ran to the bathroom. Upstairs, the third door down the right hallway. I opened the door and saw Bella nearly passed out. I quickly caught her before she fell to the floor and I lifted her up. I pulled her pants up and shook her lightly. After she quickly regained conscious, she cried in pain and I picked her up bridal style and I put her down by the couch. Evelyn got up and gasped.
"Evelyn, dear, you need to do me a big favor. Alright?" She started to breathe heavy, and she looked at me, eyes watering. "In the kitchen, by the sink, my phone is by the plates. Can you please go get it?" I asked, holding her hands. She nodded quickly and ran to the kitchen. She came back at an instant and almost slipped. I caught her quickly and then let her go relax back by the dining room.
"Edward?" I heard Bella mumbling.
I took my phone out and quickly called Dad. After the long and uninteresting conversation, he told me to meet him at the hospital. I called Rosalie quickly.
"Hello?" I heard Rosalie ask on the other end.
"Rose, I need your help now."
"Edward? What's wrong? Is Bella alright?"
"I have to take her to the hospital. You have to come here and watch Evelyn. Please.." I ran to Bella and took her hand. "Hang in there, love."
"I'm on my way." Rosalie hung up. I put my phone down and held both of Bella's hands. "Stay with me, Bella."
"Edward.." She cried. "Help me."
"I'm getting help, love." I say to her. I heard Evelyn's footsteps on the wood again and I saw Bella turn her head. I looked and she stood there, terrified.
"Evelyn.. Mommy's gonna be fine." Bella says to her. "Mommy's gonna be alright."
I heard the doorbell and I rushed to it. Rosalie stood there, her hair a mess and her eyes were red. "Rose?"
"I rushed here, I didn't have time to get myself all pretty!" She says, walking in with a blue bag on her shoulder. "Come on, Evelyn."
Evelyn looked at Rosalie and took her hand as they walked to the kitchen.
"Edward?" Bella called me. I rushed back to her and lifted her into my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I carried her to the car. I put her in the car and closed her door after buckling her up. I drove to the hospital, almost speeding. I could barely take Bella's cries and groans in pain. As soon as I arrived, I jumped out the car and took Bella inside.
"HELP!" I yelled.
|| Time: 12:32 PM ||
I was pacing, ignoring the other people's stares. I felt my phone vibrate and I picked it up. "Hello?"
"Edward, how's Bella?" I heard Rosalie ask.
"I don't know, they're still checking on her.." I say, putting my hands on my face and then I sat down.
"Oh.. Listen, I took Evelyn to the park and so far, she doesn't seem to be sad about it. I hope she forgot some of it.."
"I hope so too. She was terrified." I saw Dad and I stood. "Rose, I'll call you back."
"Alright Edward." We hung up.
"You might want to go see her now. She's gonna need you for the next few hours." He says, leading me to the room.
|| Room 342B || Time: 12:54 PM ||
"Bella, it's alright." I say to her, wiping her tears.
"Edward, Bella," Dad and Allistari came in. Dad walked to the machines and then looked at Bella. "How are you feeling, Bella?"
"Sick.."
"What hurts?" Allistari asked, sitting on the bed.
"My head, my stomach, my chest.." She says, taking deep breaths. I squeezed her hand and she looked at me and then back at them.
"Does it hurt to breathe?"
She nodded and then looked at our hands.
"Bella," Dad begins. "You have a heart disease, did you know this?"
"Heart disease?"
"Yeah, it's one that's normally passed down. Did your parents or grandparents ever have it?"
"My great grandmother died young, but they never found out why.. She went to the doctor a lot, but I can't remember why.. She always had breathing tubes too.." She looks at him. "Is our baby okay?"
Allistari looked down and then back at us. "We did an ultrasound and we checked the heartbeat, we couldn't find one."
"How.. how.." Bella took a deep breath and started coughing and crying violently. I wrapped my arm around her and she snuggled in my arms and continued crying.
"Edward's blood type is B, and yours was A. The type A blood has antibodies that remove and terminate blood type B.. And that's what we believe happened."
"So now what?"
"We're gonna do a c-section and remove the baby so that we can try and figure out what happened." Dad answered.
I shot up on the seat and started breathing heavily. IT WAS JUST A DREAM?! Thank goodness... My phone vibrated in my pocket and I quickly looked at the ID. I answered it. "Rosalie?"
"Edward, hey.. Um, is Evelyn allergic to anything?"
"I don't think so.." I yawned and looked around. It was more empty than before.
"How's Bella?" She asked me. It sounded like she was putting something in the oven.
"I don't know yet.." I looked and saw Dad come to me. "I'm about to find out."
"Good luck." We hung up and I looked at Dad as he sat next to me.
"I have good news and bad news."
"Whatever makes more sense first.."
"Bad news is that we'll have to deliver the baby now in order to save him from anymore danger, and he's going to be more early than we like. And doing this lowers his chance of survival."
I sighed and then ran my hair. "Good news?"
"We didn't find anything wrong with Bella, but the reason she passed out and had pain was because of food poising." He took out his iPad he carries everywhere and opened up a story from the Journal News. "There were a bunch of bad eggs going around, and most were already bought."
"That means.." I took out my phone and called Rosalie.
"Edward? Everything's okay?"
"Does Evelyn look or feel sick?"
"I just put her down for a nap. She almost threw up earlier and I thought it was just 'cause she got sick... Why?"
"Hold on," I looked at him. "We all had breakfast this morning, if Evelyn's sick, what do I do?"
"Medicine, I'm sure Allistari will be able to give her a check up if you'd like. Come with me."
I got up and followed Carlisle to the room.
|| Room 342B || Time: 12:54 PM ||
Bella and Allistari were on the bed and Allistari turned around. "Are we ready yet?"
"Edward," Bella put her arms out. I walked to her and hugged her, not too tight. Then I placed multiple kisses upon her face and her head. She smiled softly. "I missed you."
"I missed you more." I tell her. It was true. Her smile, her eyes, he voice, her laugh. Everything about my Bella was perfect.
"How's Evelyn?" She looked at me and then she took a deep breath. "I couldn't see much, just blurs, but she sounded really scared."
"She was." I sighed. "I never seen her so scared before."
"Wait, can she come here before I give birth? Please?" Bella looked at my dad and Allistari.
"Sure, why not?" Dad smiled.
"Plus, I'd love to meet the little munchkin." Allistari smiled.
Bella and I sat on the bed waiting, and while we waited, we thought of some baby names.
"How about Robert or Luke? Maybe even Riley.." I asked her. I had my hand on hers and I felt her take it and squeeze it.
"I like Luke." She smiled. "How about his middle name? It could be Edward." She smiled and I smiled back.
"Luke Edward Cullen." I confirm. I pressed my lips on hers and she kissed back. As our lips moved in synchronization, I pulled her into my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I put my hands on her waist and we continued making out until there was a small knock on the door. Bella pulled away and smiled then she sat on the bed and I got up and answered it. "Little munchkin," I picked her up and little Evelyn began laughing. "Look who's here, Bella." I closed the door and turned to Bella.
"Hi princess!" Bella squealed. I put Evelyn down and she ran to Bella and hugged her. I smiled. They loved and cared about each other so much, it was unreal. "I missed you so much." Bella says to her.
I smiled and sat next to Bella. Bella let Evelyn come onto the bed and sit in between us. Evelyn looked so happy seeing us. I kissed her head and began to tickle her. She started laughing and Bella joined me and we tickled her until she looked like she couldn't breathe. Then we waited and did it again.
|| Time: 10:00 PM ||
Evelyn sat on my lap while Bella and I read her a story. She was falling asleep, but she seemed to interested in the book. As soon as she fell asleep, I brought her to the couch and put her head on the pillow. I placed her build-a-bear, Brooke, in her arms and she hugged her. I went back to Bella and she hugged me tight and we both looked at Evelyn.
"She's such a bundle of joy." Bella says with a smile. "I can't wait to be home and actually get started with our family. Just you, me, Evelyn, and little Luke. It will be perfect."
|| Date: August 4, 2011 || Time: 9:00 AM ||
I held Bella's hand as all of her effort was put into dealing with the contractions. She cried every time one came and she'd smile in victory every time it went away. As they got closer, she stopped smiling and all she could think about is what our child would look like. Then when the time came, the entire earth stopped moving for me.
The amount of pain she was in as painful to watch as it was when Evelyn had to be separated from Bella. She was crying hysterically, the tears fall down her cheeks and her face was red as she reached out to Bella. Unfortunately, at this time, Rose, who held her back, was not her best friend. Of course, Evelyn still loves Rose, but this made her upset. While they were getting Bella ready, I waited outside the door. I looked in the mirror as I brushed my teeth. I was a mess. My hair was everywhere and my beard was growing back. I haven't shaved in weeks. Worrying about this adoption and this baby have made me forget about taking care of myself. Finally, as I exit the bathroom, the red-haired Allistari comes out and leads me to the room. Bella was opened up and they were ready to start. I sat by Bella and took her hand. She smiled and I kissed her cheek.
It felt like forever, and both of us stared at each other. Finally, Bella looked away at the same time we heard a cry. The world had stopped turning, and everyone stopped breathing. I placed several kisses upon my Bella's head and two on her lips.
|| Time: 11:47 AM ||
"Where's Evelyn? I wanna see her?" Bella looked around and then she whimpered and sat back.
"Love, you need some rest." I tell her. We both were on the bed. After they sewed her up, they told us Bella would need to rest for about a week. And she could not lift heavy items, and by heavy, anything over 20 pounds, which included Evelyn. She could hug her and cuddle her, but doing anything that included lifting her or carrying her was big no no. It pained Bella, but if she wanted to heal fast, this was a rule she had to obey. If she walked around, she could only walk to certain places and distances.
As for our Luke, he's in the NICU. He was so underdeveloped that only the most healthy people can visit him. He was so weak and had so much more things to develop that even a common cold would kill him. This also meant that if we were to visit Luke, it would be a 5-minute meeting that would be no touching or holding. At least not yet. They also want Bella to pump breast-milk for Luke. She was so new to everything.
Both of us had to get used to this because they said it could be half a year before we can officially hold Luke or bring him home. They were sending Bella home tomorrow and she could go out again a week later. So I was planning to bring Evelyn to the toy store so she didn't have to wait so long to have something to do besides play with us. Even though her room was enormous for her and she had so many things, most of the stuff she had were things she couldn't play with, things she couldn't do without us, and things that were just there. She could only watch TV and rarely she wanted to.
Deciding it was best to wait until Bella was awake before bringing Evelyn to see her, I decided it was best for Rosalie to go home, freshen up, and I would take Evelyn to get something to eat. Hopefully when I return, Bella's not only awake, but ready to see Evelyn again.
I got a call from Karen as Bella fell asleep. I answered it and then walked out the room when Bella was surely asleep.
"Hello?"
"Hey Edward." Karen says, sounding happy. "How's life?"
"It's been complicated.."
"Bella told me.. Is she okay? Is the baby okay? Is everyone okay?"
"Everyone's fine, but they won't let us see the baby for more than five minutes, nor will they let us hold him. However, I've never seen Evelyn so upset before."
"Did you scare her unintentionally?"
"Unfortunately.."
"Michael and I have done that before too. The only way to calm her down is to read a book to her. She loves books, and she loves the pictures in the book. She's one of the only kids I know that is willing to learn something new. Especially if it's going to get her mind off of things for hours or a day. Of course, her memory is amazing and it's hard for her to forget things, anything new will interest her. Anyways, I gotta go. Talk to you soon."
"Thanks Karen," I hang up and then walk to the waiting room. Rosalie was brushing Evelyn's hair and Evelyn was looking at the floor. I walked to them and Evelyn looked at me and smiled.
"I told you he'd be back, little one." Rose says to her then puts a kiss on her temple. "How's Bella?"
"She's sleeping now. Why don't you go home and freshen up while I take Evelyn out to get something to eat?"
"Alright." She smiled and then Evelyn got up and turned around. "I had fun with you little one. I can't wait to see you again." Evelyn and her shared a hug and then Rose got up. "See you guys soon." She says, and then waved before leaving.
"Why don't I take you home and we freshen up a bit before we head out to eat?" I bent down and asked her. She nodded and then I picked her up and carried her to the car. After I buckled her up in her booster seat, I drove home. Once we got home, I took Evelyn inside and carried her to her room. I put her down. "Go pick out what you wanna wear." I tell her. She went to the closet and took her favorite sneakers, and blue jeans with a blue shirt. I helped her change and then I changed. I put on simple blue jeans and a white shirt, then I took her downstairs and put her on the couch to put her shoes on. "You alright Evelyn?"
She looked up at me and nodded slowly. I kissed her head and took her to the car. Honestly, she was normally quiet, but this quiet actually scared me. I wondered what was on her mind. Once I pulled into Applebee's and we walked inside, Evelyn held onto me tight. It wasn't that busy, but it was big and I knew she hated big places. I squeezed her hand and I was greeted immediately by Bella's old friend, Angela.
"Hey Edward! Where's Bella? Usually you two are here together." She smiled at me and looked down. "And who is this little cutie?"
"She's our daughter, Evelyn. Evelyn, this is mommy's friend, Angela." I say to her. Evelyn looked at her and then waved shyly.
"Oh god, she's so cute. Alright, come with me." She took us to a table and we sat across from each other. "I'll be back soon to take your orders." She walked away.
Evelyn looked at her kids menu and then bit her lip and took the crayons out. They fell on the table and she put the menu back down. She looked at me and then looked back at her menu and opened it up. She started coloring and I realized I don't know what she likes from here.
"Evelyn?" She looks at me and smiles. "Let me see for a second." She handed me the menu and I looked at it. The kids menu had burgers, pizzas, salads, chicken fingers, and macaroni and cheese. "Do you wanna have macaroni and cheese?" She nodded. "And apple juice?" She nodded again. "Alright, here." I put the menu back in front of her and she continued coloring. Before I gave it back, I glanced at a picture she drew of a bloody body, with their eyes wide open and a hole in their chest.
After the food arrived, and we ate, I noticed she looked sick. Then I remembered she was just sick. "Evelyn? You alright?" She looked up at me and nodded again. She took another sip of her apple juice and then she sighed. "Ready to go?" She doesn't even look too happy. Maybe she wasn't having enough fun yet. She then nodded and I took her to the car. Just as I buckled her in and closed the door, she began crying. I opened the door again and unbuckled her. "What's wrong?" I asked, worry in my eyes. I take her out and hold her in my arms. She had to have thought about something, or someone. Maybe Bella, or her other parents. The ones she witness die. Karen did mention her amazing memory. "Shh, it's alright Evelyn." She put her head in my chest and covered her face as she continued to cry. Her cry was heartbreaking, and seeing her this way was almost too much to handle. I rocked her slowly, and tried to at least put her to sleep. After she calmed down, she sniffled and pulled away. I kissed her head twice and then wiped her tears. "Let's go home." I'll take her to the toy store later. She nodded and then I put her in her chair and buckle her up again.
|| Time: 3:45 PM ||
I sat on the couch watching TV and then I heard crying from upstairs. I walked quickly to Evelyn's room and she was in her bed. She looked like she had a nightmare. I walked to her and sat on the bed. She looked up at me and whimpered. I pulled her into my arms and she whimpered and shook in my arms. I felt so helpless. She must have had one of those nightmares. The ones you can't remove from your head. Then after she calmed down a little, I got a book and sat down next to her. She moved into my arms and I began to read to her. Karen was right. Her love for learning new things took over and all she did was suck her thumb and stare in amazement. Who knew a kid so small can love learning about planets so much? Then after I finished, she smiled. Hopefully, Karen told me the truth.
|| Time: 5:25 PM ||
I bought Evelyn back to the hospital when I realized Bella must have been awake for a while. We both walked in the room and Bella was still asleep. Damn. Evelyn walked over to the bed slowly and quietly and then she got on the bed and put her head on Bella's chest. Bella didn't budge. In fact, it was only a deep sigh that made me sigh in relief she was alive. I sat on the chair and relaxed.
|| Date: August 5, 2011 || Time: 7:47 AM ||
I put Evelyn in her car seat as we were leaving the hospital. She was falling asleep, and since it was an early morning, we were letting her go to sleep. I placed Brooke in her arms and she squeezed it tightly before yawning once more. I closed the door and helped Bella into the car and then got into my seat. Driving home, I noticed Bella looked a bit exhausted. "Love, are you feeling okay?"
"Hm? Yeah. I'm just so tired.. I wasn't able to sleep last night... And now I'm probably super tired. How was Evelyn the whole time?"
"She was good. I took her to Applebee's and we saw your friend, Angela. After a while, I wasn't sure if she was sick or sad. Once we got to the car, she started crying. It took a while before I could calm her down." I tell her, then I glanced at Evelyn who was asleep.
"That happened when I was giving her a bath her first night. It scared me at first, so I asked Karen, but it happens a lot.. She said playing with her or reading her a book would get her mind off of things for a little bit."
"Yeah, I read her a book about the planets after she had a nightmare and she looked so happy. I guess she was right about that."
Bella turned around and then looked back up front. "Karen also told me that after she's used to us that we should start taking her to a therapist. Not because she's crazy, but because she might need.. Mm.. How do I explain this.. Oh, because she still remembers that night with her family, and even an hour with the therapist could get her mind off of things. She recommended me one, and I'm gonna try to make a meeting with her soon. You can join us if you'd like."
"I most likely will. And I do know her memory is incredible. She drew a picture yesterday and it wasn't hard to guess it was a dead body."
Bella's hands went to her mouth and she gasped. "A dead body?"
I nodded and then I sighed. "I really wish she didn't have to go through that pain."
"I agree." Bella sighs and yawns. "I'm sooo tired.. But I don't wanna sleep."
"Go ahead and sleep. I'll be able to carry you both inside." I chuckled.
|| Time: 11:12 AM ||
I closed my laptop after sending the email I needed to send to the job interviewer. I heard footsteps down the hallway and I looked and saw Evelyn at the door. I smiled and she smiled back and waddled over. I put the laptop on the nightstand and picked her up and put her on my lap. I kissed her forehead and then we both looked at Bella. She was awake, but she wasn't moving. Only breathing gave it away. Then she looked at us and back down.
"Bella?" I asked, still looking at her. She sat up and then sighed.
"I'm alright.. Just a really, really bad dream.." She yawns then she looked at her feet. "What time is it?"
"11:12." I say. "I was gonna take Evelyn to the toy store later. Would you like to come?"
"I wish I could. But it hurts to move." She frowned. "You two go have fun, maybe Alice could come over and paint my nails or something."
|| Time: 3:25 PM ||
I pulled into a parking spot by the toy store. After going inside with Evelyn, I could see how happy she became, also how nervous. I let her sit in the cart and I pushed to the girl's section. She chose a Barbie doll family, Ken, Barbie, Kelly, and a baby, and I let her get a small house. Then she chose a few extra things for the house and a car. I didn't care, she just seemed so happy. After I let her out the cart, she had left and come back with even more things. I couldn't say no, especially when she had that adorable smile.
After she had picked all the Barbie things she wanted, we moved on to the second aisle. The cart wasn't that full, and I wasn't too shocked. But when she came across the Monster High dolls, she was done. She picked up every dolls she could even reach. I took some for her too. And now, she needs a bigger house. So we put the other house down and took the Dream House, which required tons of adult assembly. I'd do anything for Evelyn.
After we left the girls section, I got a phone call. I answered it.
"Hello?" I asked, stopping. Evelyn looked up and stared at me.
"Hey Edward. It's Karen." She said in a cheery tone.
"Hey Karen, what's up?" I begin to push the cart to the electronics and I let Evelyn go to the little books they have for the Leap-Reader.
"I forgot to mention this to you yesterday, and this is super important, but there's a man after Evelyn. I already told Bella, but she told me you were at the toy store, so I had to tell you. This man has been looking for Evelyn since he got out of high school. He's about your age too. So, just be careful."
I was speechless. I looked at Evelyn and she was staring at something. "Evelyn, come here." She looks at me and skips over to me. "Alright, thanks Karen." We hung up and I looked at Evelyn again. "What were you looking at?" She shook her head. "Never mind, come on. Let's finish up."
Once we finished, I walked to the register and put all the stuff on the conveyor belt. Then I looked up and realized who was at the register.
"Jasper?" I raised my eyebrow.
He looked up at me. "Edward, long time no see.. Actually, really long time no see.." He says, still checking some of the things out.
"Where have you been the past year?" I asked him, still surprised to see him.
"Everywhere. Mom and dad kicked me out, so I found an apartment down in Texas. It's actually nice, the neighborhood is too. I came back a few months ago and now I'm taking some classes at the community college, and I also work here and at the gaming store." He looks at all the stuff. "Who are you buying all of this for?"
"My daughter, Evelyn." I say, looking down at her. She looks at me and then at Jasper and waves shyly, just like how she did to Angela.
"Wow, she looks just like you!"
"Really?"
"Yeah man, really similar. You know, it makes me real happy to actually see you. The past year hasn't been the best for me." He sighs.
"I've been worried about you. Especially after mom and dad kicked you out." I put some of the stuff in the cart.
"How's Alice?"
I pause and then look at him. "Her and Jacob are engaged."
He nods and then he presses a few buttons and continues. "Good for her, I guess. It makes sense, now that she has a family and all.."
After he finished scanning everything, and I paid him. I ended up buying Evelyn $500 worth of toys, and I know she'd take good care of them. Then I sighed. "We should catch up a little, Jasper."
"Yeah, we should soon." He sighs and turns off his register light. "You want help?"
"Yeah sure." We walked out and then he helped me load the car. "Thanks, Jasper."
"Anytime." He sighs. "I should go now. See you soon, Edward." He looked at Evelyn. "Bye Evelyn."
She looked at him and waved again and gave him a smile. Jasper walked off and I put Evelyn in her car seat and drove home.
|| Time: 6:23 PM ||
I watched Evelyn as she put the furniture in her doll house. She looked so happy doing so, and then she turned around and looked at me. A smile was on her face and she turned back and continued. I heard footsteps down the hallway and I saw Bella walking to this room. She walked in and sat down in the chair next to me. I took her hand and she looked back at me and I gave her a smile. She blushed and smiled back. Evelyn looked at us and smiled and waved. Bella and I waved back and she continued to play.
"So, I ran into Jasper today." I say. She looked at me and then opened her mouth and I put my finger to her lip. "He's alright. He knows he made a mistake and right now, he's going to school and he lives in an apartment now."
"Really? Did he meet Evelyn?" She sat back in the chair and crossed her arms against her chest.
"Yeah, he said we look-alike." Bella nodded. "You think so too?"
"Yeah, I do. You guys have, like, the same head and the same nose and ears and everything." She smiled and then looked at Evelyn. Evelyn was in her own world, silently playing.
"This is great.. Just us and Evelyn and a baby." She smiled and then it faded. "I wish it didn't take so long for it to be so great."
"I know, but at least we got what we wanted." I say then I stood up. "I'm gonna get dinner started. Coming?"
Bella nodded and stood up. "Evelyn, we're going to make dinner. Would you like to help us?"
Evelyn turned around and nodded. She skipped over and grabbed my hand. I held it tight and we walked downstairs together.
So that's the first chapter, and probably one of the longest chapters in this entire book. I hope you enjoyed this. Please review, it would mean a lot to me, and share with others. :)
~Gabby