That's Why You're Beautiful
Chapter Seven
None of us slept that night.
Jasper and I both sat upright in the hospital chairs and, although I tried to close my eyes, the sound of Alice's sniffling always distracted me. I heard Jasper shifting about a lot of times and peeked through my eyelids to see him lying beside Alice and hugging her until she calmed down.
When the daylight gradually began to trickle through the hotel blinds I started to panic. The operation was today. Brain surgery. It all sounded so serious and dangerous... Was Alice strong enough to cope with it all? I honestly didn't know...
I glanced over at the person in question and saw that she was sat up, staring blankly into space. Jasper had fallen asleep and his head was resting on her shoulder, and I wanted to be him for a moment. Lost in a world of dreams.
Her eyes moved towards me and we both smiled weakly at each other. Her monitor was beeping more frequently than usual and I knew how she felt. My heart was beating so fast I expected it to give in under the strain at any moment.
"Big day today," she murmured as I reached for her hand.
I nodded numbly. "It's not everyday you have brain surgery."
That ended the conversation. Well done Bella, that was tactful.
"I'm sure it will all be fine, though," I hastily added. My words didn't have any meaning; I was just saying them. I didn't even truly believe myself.
Before she could reply, the door opened and Dr Cullen poked his head through the gap. He smiled sympathetically at Alice and said, "It's an hour until your surgery, just thought I'd let you know. The surgeons will be down to prepare you in a little while."
Alice nodded rigidly and I saw him hesitate. "You'll be fine, there's no need to worry. They perform this kind of surgery everyday."
She was just staring ahead. "Everyone keeps telling me that, but I wish I could believe you." Her words were clipped and forced, and my heart ached for her. She was trying to be strong for everyone and the effort was showing. Any moment now she would break.
Dr Cullen had no response, and he just slipped away, leaving us in silence once again. After a long time, I heard Alice murmur something and I had to lean closer to hear her.
"I'm... I'm so s-scared, Bells," she whispered.
I met her eyes and they were full of tears. Her shoulders started shaking and I reached over to pull her close, waking Jasper up in the process. I saw him blink a few times and, after he remembered what was happening, he looked over to Alice and grabbed her hand.
"Don't cry, darling," he choked. "You'll get through this, just you wait."
We were all huddled together and at that moment I realised how much it would tear us apart for Alice to... God, I didn't even want to think about it.
My thoughts were interrupted suddenly by a vibration in my pocket, and I noticed that it was my mobile. I grumbled and excused myself before quickly stepping outside and angrily answering.
"Hello?"
"Bella."
The cold voice made my eyes close and I briefly considered throwing my phone out the window. I could imagine it landing smack bang in the middle of the road, and then a giant lorry would come by and run over it, smashing it into thousands of tiny pieces with a satisfying crunch.
Then again, my phone was innocent in all this. It wasn't the one to blame.
I sighed heavily. "Yvonne this is not a good time, I'm gonna have to-"
"Bella, where the hell are you? You're expected at work today and-"
"Yvonne," I hissed. "My friend is in hospital. She needs me. I am not coming into work today." I said this slowly and clearly, trying to keep my temper under control.
I heard a sharp intake of breath. "Bella Swan, I do not care about your personal life."
My blood boiled. "I know, and that's why you're a mean, cold hearted bitch!"
My voice had raised a very octaves and a few people stopped their conversations to glance over at me. I felt my cheeks flushing as I snapped my phone shut and stormed back into the room with Alice and Jasper.
"Wrong number?" Jasper joked halfheartedly, and I slumped down on my chair.
"Argh, seriously don't get me started." He chuckled quietly. "On a positive note, I may have lost my job,"I added.
He raised his eyebrows and stood up. "Okay... well, I've just told Alice that I need to go out for a bit. I'll be back in time before..." he hesitated. "Well, y'know. I'll be back."
I frowned after him as he waved at us both before hurrying down the corridor.
The clock continued to tick away threateningly as I babbled on mindlessly to Alice. I knew we weren't talking about anything important but I wanted to keep her mind off... well, things in general. She didn't need it right now.
"Are you gonna tell me more about this Edward Cullen?" she suddenly asked, leaning on her elbows to speak to me.
My eyes widened and I acted innocently. "Who?"
She sighed dramatically. "You know who I'm talking about, Bells."
I closed my eyes. "Well... he was a client of mine once and I've happened to bump into him a few times. He's a bit of a pain, really." I said this in one quick breath and caused her to frown.
"And I'm guessing he's told Dr Cullen all about you? Considering the way he looks at you sometimes, he seems pretty unimpressed."
"Yeah, thanks for reminding me," I grumbled. "Edward told me that he told his father about our... uh, meeting. Which isn't great, to be honest. I could do with all the glares. Just imagine what he thinks of me!"
"It doesn't matter what he thinks," Alice answered. "And anyway, I thought you said you've lost your job now anyway."
"I hope I have. I honestly couldn't deal with it anymore."
Alice smiled. "I'm glad. Maybe it's time."
I smiled back when Jasper suddenly rushed back in and took his spot beside Alice. I could see that his hair was messy and that his face was flushed; he'd obviously been running around like a maniac. A nice maniac, though.
"Alice," he said softly. "I... I know this may seem too soon, but well, I've..." he sighed. "I've never felt this way before."
I watched with shock as he reached into his pocket and retrieved a small, dark box. He leaned towards Alice who was watching with surprised, wide eyes.
"Ever since I first met you, I just knew you were the one," he continued. "It sounds cheesy, but it really was love at first sight. I love everything about you... your personality, your hair, your eyes, your smile, everything. And it only feels right to ask you," he opened the box and took a deep breath, "To be my wife."
Inside the box was a beautiful golden ring, encrusted with wonderful diamonds that glittered under the lights. My mouth fell open and we waited in silence for Alice to say something. She was just staring in disbelief.
"Jasper... I... I don't know what to say!" she gasped.
"A yes would be helpful," he laughed, and I could tell that he was anxiously waiting for her answer.
She met his gaze for a long moment. "Of course, I'd love to!"
Jasper burst into a relieved smile and hugged Alice with all his strength, before placing the ring on her finger. He kissed her hand and turned towards me happily. I smiled back, feeling complete joy for them both. I knew it was all a bit rushed but, considering the circumstances, Jasper had made the right move.
"Congratulations," I choked out, reaching over to kiss them both. "You did say that Alice Hale had a ring to it, didn't you?"
Alice blushed a deep red. "Yeah, well..."
She didn't finish and we all laughed. I could imagine that just after the operation, Alice would come out planning the wedding and sending me around to order flowers and...
My thoughts turned icy. After the operation.
I glanced at the clock; just a few minutes now. I could tell that Alice and Jasper were thinking the same thing because they pulled each other closer and made the last of their moments together worth it.
It all made me feel very lonely.
No, I shouldn't be so selfish. Not now.
I leaned over and gave Alice one last squeeze. "You'll be fine. In a few weeks' time we'll all be trying on dresses."
Jasper raised an eyebrow. "I hope you're not including me with that..."
I smirked. "You'd look good in a dress."
Alice laughed, and it sounded a little forced. "Yeah. Hopefully, Bells."
There was a knock on the door and a group of doctors walked in.
"Are you ready?"
The question didn't really mean anything; Alice had to have this operation whether she was ready or not. Still, she nodded weakly and the doctors suddenly crowded around her. Before I could do anything, she was being wheeled away and Jasper kissed her for one last time.
"Good luck, darling," he whispered. "I love you so much."
Alice gave us both smiles. "I love you too."
And then she was around the corner, off into the operating room.
The silence suddenly became deafening.
I turned to Jasper who was just standing still, looking completely lost.
"What now?" I asked, looking around me.
"Now... we wait," he replied simply.
After about half an hour I became fed up with sitting outside the room and told Jasper that I was going for a walk.
I made my way along the corridor and was unnerved to see Dr Cullen heading in my direction. I bit my lip and nearly squeaked as he met my gaze, but he didn't seem angry this time. In fact, he continued to walk towards me and spoke to me when we met.
"Um, Miss Swan, would it be possible to have a quick word?"
I nodded numbly, feeling a little confused. I thought he hated me...
"I just wanted to say that I am sorry for any... negative feelings you may have received from me. I realise that they were unnecessary and inappropriate, considering the situation your friend is in at the moment."
I swallowed. "Um... thanks. Thank you."
He smiled warmly. "I was a little judgemental and I apologise for that. Edward has told me that you are, indeed, a very friendly person."
I raised my eyebrows. "He did? You've been talking about me?"
He looked momentarily uncomfortable and shifted the weight between his feet. "Well... I, we only spoke about you briefly."
Something about his eyes told me that he was lying, but I chose to ignore it. It didn't really matter at that moment.
"Anyway, I'm just heading to the cafe," I finally said, jerking my thumb stupidly. It was all becoming a bit awkward.
"Alright, well... I hope your friend's operation goes according to plan."
"Thank you," I murmured, heading through the doors.
I sat down on my own, tracing my fingers around the rim of my coffee cup. I'd ordered this and a chocolate muffin, but the truth was that I had no appetite whatsoever. My stomach was churning constantly and Alice was always on my mind. That and the fact that I, probably, no longer had a job, Edward and his father had been talking about me and, at some point, I had to open up to Alice and my family about my past.
Yup, not good.
I absently reached for my phone to take my mind off everything. I was beginning to feel glad that I hadn't hurled it out the window. Maybe I really should consider anger management classes... Alice had suggested that in the past.
I realised that I'd had several missed calls and messages off Yvonne but I deleted them all. I'd practically lost my job anyway and I didn't want to put up with her whiny voice.
I soon became bored and absently switched on my bluetooth, seeing if there were any interesting people around. I doubted there would be; the cafe was practically empty and there were likely to be regulations about using it around the hospital machinery anyway.
I sighed and decided to wander outside, when suddenly a name popped up on my screen, catching my interest.
EdwardCullen83
I raised my eyebrows. Surely he wasn't hanging around again... didn't he have pupils to teach or something? Or should I say pupils to bore...?
Still, I was, ashamedly, interested. I clicked on his name and sent him a quick message:
Hi Edward, it's Bella.
As soon as I sent it I started to worry. Why on earth had I done that? What if it was another Edward Cullen? I chewed on my lip, when suddenly my phone binged.
Bella... hello. Where are you?
I swallowed awkwardly. I was supposed to dislike him, yet I was bluetoothing him. My mind must be seriously messed up.
At the hospital. Alice is having her operation. You?
There was a long pause before he eventually replied.
I'm in my car at the hospital car park. I came in to see my father.
I frowned to myself; he's certainly here often enough. Practically all the time when I'm here... must be a coincidence.
Again? Is there a problem?
I hit send and within a few seconds there was a reply.
We've got a lot of... issues to discuss at the moment.
I nodded slowly to myself, sitting on the wall. I took a quick look around the car park and asked: Which car are you?
He soon said: Silver Volvo.
I sighed; the carpark was full of silver cars. It was at that moment, however, that I saw somebody step out of a car and wave at me. I squinted and realised that it was him. I grinned, for some reason, and wondered exactly why I was waving back.
Found you, I said.
I'll come over now, he replied.
After he reached me, I frowned at the surrealism of the situation. It was strange but I was gradually... warming to Edward; he seemed... alright. His company was fairly interesting, to say the least.
"Hi," he smiled once he'd climbed over the wall, nearly losing his balance in the process.
"Hello," I replied. "Fancy seeing you here."
"Yeah... I-"
"Was seeing Dr Cullen, yeah I guessed."
He nodded, staring at the floor. "How's your f-friend?"
My heart plummeted at the mention. "She's having the operation now." I glanced at my watch. "I'd better go back in really. Sorry... this was... brief."
He looked a little disappointed, but smiled slightly. "Well, can I give you my n-number?"
My eyes widened and he backtracked quickly. "Um... y'know... I, er... yeah."
I smiled at his stuttering. "Sure." What harm could it really do?
He laughed nervously and retrieved some paper and a pen from his pocket (of course, everyone carries those around...) and quickly scribbled down his number. I smiled as he handed it to me and once again frowned at the strangeness of the situation. Maybe we could become good friends. Who knows.
"Thanks..." I said, glancing at the paper. His handwriting was nice... I blinked, realising that he was still there. "I'll, um, speak to you soon."
I began to turn away when he suddenly asked, "Bella, c-can I just ask why your Bluetooth name is 'Bella Tennant?'"
My cheeks flushed. Argh... He couldn't know the full scale of my David Tennant obsession...
"Um... well, a girl can dream," I shrugged.
I could have sworn that, as I walked away, I heard him laugh.
