Chapter 7
Escape
9:28. 10:19. 11:46. 12:32. Angela has fallen asleep on the couch. The hospital is silent. I'm alone still. Is he ever coming back?
The door swings open. Angela doesn't stir as Edward rushes over. He has a brief case with him and some papers in his hands. He runs to his desk and starts pulling things out of the drawers and off the top. I watch silently.
"What are you doing?" I finally ask.
"Getting the hell out of here," he mutters without looking up. My heart sinks. My throat clenches. Why did he say he would help me and take cared of me? Why did I believe him? "Come on," he says grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the office. He left Angela where she was. He half dragged me all the way back to my room. But even as he hurried me through the halls I thought he was trying to be careful with me. He never dragged me, if I was slow. When we reached my room my heart dropped another ten feet. Everything he'd said meant nothing if he was going to leave me here alone. He wasn't going to help me. Of course he wasn't going to!
He raced into my room and immediately started grabbing my few things off of the shelf. "What are you doing?" I asked again.
"I already told you, I'm getting us out of here," he answered, stuffing the book of poems in, too. My heart managed to climb its way up again.
"No, you said you were getting yourself out of here… not us," I answered cautiously. He looked up, surprised.
"Well I'm not going without you. Bella, didn't I just promise to protect you?" he demanded. I nodded. "Then that's what I'm going to do. Let's go," he said as if it was the simplest thing in the world, and for a moment I felt like it was, too. But the truth was there were people looking for me and bars on my window and a lock on my door.
Edward peeked outside then ducked back in. "Crap," he muttered closing it quickly and pacing a bit. His face was calculating.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Dr. Greco is out there. We have to go… now," he said in a panicky tone. He walked to the window and shook the bars. He was testing how steady they were. Nothing budged. He pulled out a Swiss army knife and began to twist out each screw. The soft scrape of the wood against the metal drew me ever closer to freedom. I was only realizing just now that I could go. I could run away with him. I could be free. I could start all over. I felt the cold air rush over my face and a second later there was the distant clang of metal. I lifted my head to stare out that narrow window. That little window, that I'd always considered my escape, was now really a gaping hole through which I could climb. I was going outside. Edward grinned and ducked out the window. He edged out before lowering himself to the ledge above the window beneath mine. I watched anxiously. He seemed to have no trouble moving lithely from one ledge to the next as he made his way to the fire escape.
On the second ledge he called to me "Climb down, Bella," in a whisper. I tried to follow his movement. I managed to get myself hanging just a few inches above the ledge with both hands gripping the sill of my own window. I felt the cold night air touching my skin where my shirt had ridden up at my waist. My fingers were slowly slipping down the sill. I knew it was only a few feet, but I felt like if I let go I would surely fall straight down to the hard, freezing gravel. There was a scraping and shuffling and Edward's warm arms wound around my waist.
"I got you," he murmured softly in my ear. I felt his hot breath on my neck. My frozen fingers unlocked and I let him set me gently on my feet. He kept his arms around me. I turned toward him, still wrapped in his embrace. I stared at him and put my arms around his neck. I leaned in and he did too. For just a moment I thought what more could anyone want? Then I looked at his lips and I thought I want so much more. I want us to be together forever. I want to know his family. I want to know him. I want him to know me. I never want this moment to end. I want the next moment to come faster. And most of all… I want to kiss him, right now! Then he pressed those smooth lips to mine and I wanted to die and to live forever all at once. He brushed them over mine just twice, and then withdrew. I was breathing heavily though we'd only kissed for a moment. Little puffs of smoke left my mouth, but nothing else stirred. Abruptly, he turned and stepped over to the next ledge. I followed suit. Part of me was overjoyed at any touch at all for him, but another part of me was collapsing in on itself at his sudden departure.
We managed to climb all the way to the fire escape, which we then took down to the parking lot. I couldn't stop looking at him, but at the same time it killed me to see him. I'm such a masochist. From the parking lot Edward led the way through the woods to his car. Inside he held out a pile of fabric. I must have looked confused to him.
"You can't just walk around in those clothes," he said gesturing to the uniform. I blushed still not making any move to change. He looked at me expectant and growing slightly more confused. He blushed too and said "Oh, right… I'll just… look this way… ugh, take your time." I nodded and quickly removed my uniform. I found the bundle was a huge shirt clearly meant for a man and a pair of jeans that were also a man's size. I pulled on the T-shirt and went to put on the jeans, but they didn't fit at all. They slipped down every time I moved and I couldn't get my feet out the other. I tried and tried, but finally decided that the T-shirt was long enough that I could go without the jeans.
"I'm done," I muttered softly, my embarrassment over the kiss flaring in my cheeks when I spoke to him. He looked at me and his eyes lingered on my exposed legs. They were pale and thin and I felt uncomfortable with anyone seeing so much skin. He probably didn't think I should be showing off my legs, only it didn't seem like that. It seemed like… I don't know what it was. When he finally tore his eyes off of my legs, he turned on the car and peeled out of there.
He didn't say where we were going, and I couldn't bring myself to speak again, despite how important this was so I simply sat back and watched the road twist and curve only to be swallowed by the car wheels. It was hypnotizing to watch. I fell asleep easily with the late hour and the steady thrum of the car.
