Chapter 4: The Aftermath

First I would once again like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed my story. I truly appreciate it and I honestly love reading the positive reviews I have been receiving. Please keep them coming, it encourages me to continue writing. I also want to apologize for my grammatical and spelling mistakes. I try to catch as many errors as I can but I am not the best proofreader by far lol. I try to update as quickly as possible. So far this has been the most challenging chapter to write since there were so many possible ways the story could have gone. I don't plan on ending this story anytime soon as long as people are willing to continue reading and I will continue to write. So please continue to review and happy reading.

Chapter 4: The Aftermath

Edward had no idea how long he had been unconscious for. Ten seconds? Ten minutes? An hour? He slowing opened his eyes, moaning in pain. His side ached; broken ribs, he figured. He tried to straighten himself up in the badly damaged car, pushing the inflated air bag out of his way. He heard the crunching sound of broken glass as he moved. When he looked up to see that the shards of glass had come from the shattered wind shield, his heart sank down into his stomach when he laid his eyes for the first time on the car he had hit. He felt as though he was going to be sick when he saw what was left of the all too familiar red truck in front of him. "Oh God, no. Please no. Not her, anyone but her", he pleaded in his mind as he struggled to free himself from the car.

Edward's badly cut up hands shook in panic as he tried to undo his seat belt. His entire body was in agony but he had to get out. His vision was blurred as he tightly held back the tears that were burning in his eyes. Edward was finally able to release himself from the constraints of his demolished car. But the damage his car had endured was nothing compared to Bella's truck. The truck that Bella had once considered to be indestructible had proved to be anything but. The whole front seat passenger's side door had been completely smashed in, along with some other damage.

Edward dragged himself over to the front passenger side, limping in pain, where his car had smashed through. He prayed that no one would be sitting there but he knew that, of course, someone was going to be there. Whether it was Bella or Jacob someone had been sitting there. Edward knew it was stupid and useless to think otherwise. As wrong as it was to think, he hoped with every fiber of his being that it was Jacob sitting there. Just the thought of Bella broken and shattered like the twisted metal and cracked glass she would be buried underneath was immensely too excruciating for him to imagine. However, once Edward looked inside the mangled remains of the car, it was an image he would no longer have to imagine because it was now right in right of him.

"No, please, no. No, not you, Bella. No", he shouted out, sobbing, as he saw the unconscious and injured Bella that laid before him. "Someone call 911! Right now!" Edward yelled at the terrified bystanders who were already on their cell phones dialing. He prayed that all of what was happening was just some kind of terrifying nightmare; that in any minute he would wake up in a panic but then realize that it was all just an awful dream. But Edward wasn't waking up. It wasn't a nightmare. It was something much worse. It was reality.

Somehow, he wasn't sure how, probably because he was fueled by adrenaline, Edward was able to pry to open Bella's door, or at least what was left of it. The sight that was in front of him was horrifyingly heartbreaking. It took a moment for him to fully absorb the extent of the damage he was responsible for. Bella was crouched up in an awkward position, cut up and bruised. Edward put his fingers to her pulse point on her neck to check to see if her heart beat was steady. To his horror, it was weak, deathly weak. Next to her was Jacob. He, too, was unconscious, but from what Edward could see from the quick glace he gave his way, Jacob's injuries were no where near as extensive as Bella's.

"Bella, you have to hang in there. Okay? An ambulance is on its way, just please don't give up. You can't leave me, okay?" he said in shaky voice in between broken cries to Bella, who laid there unresponsive. Edward put his hand on the back of her head so he could gently bring her close to kiss her forehead. That was when he felt something liquid and warm. He pulled his hand back only to see it covered in Bella's blood. "Oh my God, what have I done?" he whispered, trembling now in fear.

Just then, Edward heard blaring sirens as several ambulances drew closer. EMTs rushed out to help get Bella out of the car. Edward reluctantly backed off so they could do what they had to do. He knew they were the only people who could get her to where she could receive the proper care but he felt guilty leaving her side.

The EMTs strapped both Bella and Jacob onto stretchers and wheeled them into separate ambulances. Edward went to go into the ambulance that Bella had been put into but was stopped by another EMT before he could go in.

"I am sorry, but I can not let you go in there with her", the EMT told Edward.

Edward retorted in a harsh manner, yelling, "I am going in there with her whether you let me or not. Don't think that I am going to leave her side for one second after putting her there in the first place."

The EMT shook his head, "I understand that you are angry but I simply can not allow you in the ambulance with her. If you were family then that would be a different story but you are not. I am sorry. Now you can either argue with me over this and waste the precious time that could save her life or get in a separate ambulance and get yourself checked out as well."

Edward stood there silently for a moment before speaking, "Fine. But please, and I am begging you, make sure that she is okay. Just get her to the hospital quickly and safely."

"That is what we are here for," the EMT told Edward before walking away.

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The phone at the nurses' station in the ER rang once before it was routinely picked up.

"Nurse Johnson speaking", the nurse said coolly into phone.

As she listened intently to what the voice on the other end was saying, fear and worry fell upon her face.

"Yes, I will tell him. Thank you," Nurse Johnson said before hanging up.

Just then Dr. Carlisle Cullen walked by to pick up some medical charts.

"Good afternoon, Nurse Johnson," he told her while looking over a patient's charts.

"Doctor?" Nurse Johnson said urgently, her worry evident.

Carlisle looked up at her, "Yes, what is it? Everything all right?"

"I just received a phone call", she told him as calmly as she could, "that your son has been in a car accident."

Overwhelming panic flooded Carlisle. "Oh my god. Oh Edward. He is okay? Tell me everything you were told", he demanded.

"I am not sure. All that I was told was that he was involved in a car accident along with two other teenagers, another boy and a girl. The ambulances are on their way with all of them now."

Before Carlisle could respond, the hospital doors flew to allow the EMTs wheeling in the three stretchers to enter.

"Edward!" Carlisle shouted, running over towards his son.

Edward removed the oxygen mask the EMTs had put on him so he could talk more easily. "I am fine, Dad. Nothing more than some cuts and bruises, really, don't panic. But Bella…" Edward told his father in a shaky voice, not being able to find the words to finish what he was saying.

"Bella? What happened to Bella?" Carlisle questioned, not realizing that she had been involved in the accident.

Edward weakly pointed to the girl on the stretcher across the room.

"Oh my god. And Jacob too," Carlisle said, now noticing the victims in the other two stretchers.

"Dad, you have to do me a favor. Have some doctor, I don't care who, check me over as quickly as possible because they aren't going to release me from the hospital until they know I am fine and I have to be there for Bella. In the meantime, I need you to get the best doctors to treat her. Okay? You do whatever is necessary to make sure she gets everything she needs. If anything happens to her, it all going to be my fault and I can't live with that. I can't live without her. I need for her to be okay," Edward told his father hastily, not being able to get all his words out fast enough.

"Just calm down, Edward, "Carlisle told him. "I will get you to a room right away and the doctors will be taking Bella in to run some tests as soon as they have her stabilized. But first and foremost I need you to get looked over and get all your injuries treated for. Your my son, Edward. And don't worry about Bella, she will be just fine. She is in good hands."

Edward nodded but was still not convinced that Bella was going to be okay. Carlisle ordered a doctor to have him taken to an exam room as Edward glanced down to look at his hand, still covered in Bella's blood.

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"Two broken ribs, a bruised ankle, and eight stitches for a gash on my arm is all I walk away with and yet Bella is still in surgery. It's not fair, Mom. I should be the one in there on the operating table, not her. She doesn't deserve this," Edward told Esme, his voice low and depressed. They were both now in the waiting room, along with Alice, hoping to get some word on Bella's condition.

Esme sighed, rubbing her son's shoulder trying to comfort her son. "Nobody deserves this, dear. Not you, not Bella, no one. Just have hope. Think positive thoughts, Edward. You father made sure only the best doctors here were taking care of her. They are doing all they can for her. And you know Bella, she is a fighter. She is going to make it through this, just wait and see."

Edward simply nodded in response. Nothing anyone one told him was of any comfort to him anyway so there was no point in continuing any further discussion. He was still in shock of what had happened. Everything kept playing over and over again in his head. The truck stopping short. The panic. The crash. Waking up. The shattered glass. Looking up. Getting out of the car. Opening the door. Seeing Bella. Broken. Mangled. The blood. Too much blood. It was all too much to bear. The images flashing through his mind were too vivid. Too much detail. Too heartbreaking. Just too much. Edward buried his face in his hands as he sat in the chair waiting.

Charlie walked back from the nurses' station after asking them if they had any news on Bella's condition.

"Any word?" Esme asked in a concerned tone, causing Edward to look up.

Charlie shook his head and answered flatly, "No, nothing. They got Jacob's results back though. He got a minor concussion and some other cuts and bruises, nothing to worry too much about. The doctors want to keep him for overnight observation, though, just in case." Charlie sighed, leaning again the wall. He looked pale and expressionless. It was the first time Edward was seeing him at the hospital. Edward had been in the exam room when he had first arrived.

Edward got up from his chair and walked over to him. "Charlie, I am so . . ." Edward said to him, beginning to apologize, before Charlie put his hand up to stop him from continuing.

"No, Edward, I don't want to hear it. Please. Not now. Just pray that she makes it out of surgery because if she doesn't . . ." Charlie told him in an insensitive manner before trailing off. He continued after a moment, "Well let's just say I know who to blame."

Edward just stood there. He didn't know how to respond or how to react. All that Edward did know was that hearing this come from Charlie just made the terrible reality sink in even further. If anything was to happen to Bella, it was all on him. He had been the one driving the car. He had been the one speeding. Speeding. The thought of it made him remember why he had been driving so fast in the first place. Edward wanted to get to Bella's house before she did so he could be there to tell her that he loved her. And now, Bella was in surgery fighting for her life and the possibility of him never being able to tell her her so was very real. Too real.

Charlie walked away and began pacing back and forth. Edward was still standing there, speechless. Alice got up and walked over to him.

"He didn't mean it, Edward. It was not your fault. It was an accident." Alice told him in the attempt to comfort him.

"Yeah, sure," Edward mumbled in response, his voice lacking all emotion.

"And she is going to be okay, Edward. Don't give up on your faith in her," Alice said, giving him a hug.

Edward weakly hugged her back, trying to take in everything that was just said. Because regardless of whatever anyone told him, he knew Charlie was right. He was the one to blame. Even if Alice was right and Bella was fine once she recovered, how was he ever suppose to face her again? How could things just go back to the way they were before when he nearly killed her? They couldn't. Edward hadn't even given any thought as to what he would tell Bella when she woke up. What could he possibly tell her that would make up for the fact that he very well could have been the one responsible for her death?

Just then, a doctor wearing a white surgeon's coat came in through the doors in the waiting room.

"Mr. Swan?" the doctor said urgently.

Everyone was standing now, Charlie, Edward, Alice, and Esme, all waiting anxiously for some news on Bella's condition. "Just two words," Edward thought to himself, "Two words. 'She's okay.' That is all I need to hear, just those two words. Just tell me that she's okay and I will find a way to deal with everything else. Just please, let her be okay."

"Yes?" Charlie responded, his voice filled with worry and anticipation.

"I'm sorry", the doctor told him bleakly.

It was the wrong two words. Edward felt his blood run cold. His body went numb. Everything lost its importance, its value. Everything. Gone. Meaningless. Within that moment, Edward lost everything because of two words. The wrong two words.

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I know, I know, another cliffhanger lol I am sorry. I am working on the next chapter now so I hope to have it up in the next few days. Anything you are wondering about Bella's surgery, such as why she needed it in the first place, and so on will be explained then.