Chapter 9
EPOV- Aftermath
Pulling the hanging curtain aside I found my brother sitting on the hospital bed staring into space. He barely flinched as I sat heavily on the bed beside him. My hands were bandaged, as were his and both of us had a few cuts and bruises evident on our bodies from the impact of the explosion. We had both got off lightly.
"Tell me that this is just a really bad nightmare," He whispered, without looking at me at all. He appeared lifeless and beyond any kind of help. Fate had decided that Jasper needed to be hammered yet again and I wasn't sure how much more he could deal with.
"I can't. I'm sorry Jazz," I wanted to give him some sort of comfort but I was exhausted myself and I knew that this was nowhere near finished. He nodded minutely and then his glassy eyes met mine.
"Is there any news about Emmett?"
I had no chance to answer because we were suddenly engulfed in the arms of our father who had sped into the room at a hundred miles per hour.
"Oh thank god. Are you two ok?" He released his hold of us and began to search our faces and bodies for signs that we weren't. His professional eye obviously told him that we were physically reasonable, besides the burns to our hands.
"Dad. We're okay," I struggled to change position on the bed so that I could face him more cleanly. "But…..but Peter…..god dad…. we tried so hard to…but he didn't…..he didn't make it."
Pain crossed the features of our father and he pressed his hands to each of our shoulders. "I know. Rick is with him now. Charlie has gone to tell Grace and Bella what has happened." The heaviness of the situation lay on me. How could we face any of them knowing that we weren't able to save their son; their fiancé; their friend?
"Emmett? Do you know what is happening with him? The last time we saw him he was unconscious and no one has been able to tell us anything," I looked at Jasper for confirmation that what I was saying was true.
Jasper looked blankly back at me. "Please let Emmett have made it. Please god."
Carlisle moved out of the room with the promise that he would find out what was happening and the two of us sat silently; lost in our own thoughts of loss and guilt. Time didn't really have any kind of meaning for us in that moment but soon enough we were no longer alone. A small sound alerted us to this fact and both our heads whipped up in the hope that Carlisle had returned with some good news for us. Instead we found a clearly distraught Alice staring uncertainly at us.
"Jazz?" Alice's sing song voice was over ridden with despair. Her red rimmed eyes conveyed all the hurt tonight's accident had provided for a number of people. Jasper shook his head slightly and dropped his head so that he could no longer see her face. Her body instantly moved and she was soon grasping Jasper around his body, whispering soothing words into his ears. When she reached her arm out for me I allowed her to cocoon me in her embrace as well. She kissed his forehead and leant over to do the same to me.
" I can not tell you how relieved I am to see you two; to hold you and know that you are okay," It was hard to miss the guilt underlying the words as she spoke. She was happy that her boyfriend was alive but couldn't disregard the fact that someone else she loved had lost their life tonight. She took her arm away from my body and gripped Jasper's cheeks so that he could not look away from her. "I do not know what I would have done if we had lost you too. Jasper there are no words….I just can't even…"
"Shh baby. It's okay. I'm here. I am not going anywhere." He allowed her to cling to his chest and looked at me over her shoulder. The guilt reflected in his eyes would have to be mirrored in mine.
Alice pulled back from him and wiped at her eyes fiercely before addressing us both. "Your mum is with Rosalie. Carlisle rang to let her know that the two of you were pretty much okay. I think she felt that Rosalie needed a mother figure right now with what was happening with Emmett and my mum is with Bella. Esme will be along soon I have no doubt. She was beside herself when she found out you were involved in the accident as well."
"How is…..is Bella…..?" I couldn't bring myself to ask what I needed to know because really there was only one answer. Bella would not be okay and it was highly likely that she wouldn't be okay for a very long time.
"Angela and Renee stayed with her. She locked herself in the bathroom." Alice began to lightly sob again and Jasper drew her closer. "I can't imagine what she is going through. I should be there with her but I needed to see you. I needed to see you with my own eyes to make sure they hadn't made a mistake in saying that you were fine. Mum said that Rose and I should be with our men; that you would need us. Was she right? Do you need me Jasper?"
Jasper buried his face into her hair and gripped her more tightly. I could still hear his words clearly when he spoke."I will always need you Alice. Always!"
Their closeness and relief to have not lost one another made me feel even more alone. I chose to get up and give them their time together even though the nurse had asked Jasper and I to stay put until the doctor could come and give us permission to leave. As I walked out of the room I literally ran into my mother, bumping her into the wall and unable to grab her because of my bandaged hands. Before I could even apologise Esme had her arms wrapped around me in an intense display of emotion. Words of love and comfort dripped from her lips as she held me tightly. My mother was an immensely loving and giving woman and the fact that two of her children had been involved in a horrific accident would have been hard for her to fathom. I had no doubt that we were in for a prolonged period of attention in the form of hugs and reconfirmation of her love. I couldn't find it in myself to resent what I knew was to come. It meant we were alive and that our parents weren't dealing with what Grace and Rick were now dealing with. My mother could have whatever she wanted.
"Jasper?" My mum questioned and I pointed through the door where we could both see Jasper and Alice entwined with one another. Her eyes scanned him restlessly and the she sighed in relief. She now had proof that both her sons were safe. She walked into the room and I followed her. Alice moved out of the way so that Esme could give her son a hug.
"Emmett has just woken up. Rosalie is with him. He is quite groggy from the knock he took and he's had a few stitches to his head but your father said that he will be alright. He is concussed and has quite a headache apparently but….."
"He is going to make it," Jasper finished for her and for the first time we were able to give each other a half hearted smile.
The doctor chose that moment to come into the room and look over Jasper and my notes. He quickly checked our wounds and gave us permission to be checked out of the hospital. Alice had brought us some fresh clothes to change into which made me extremely relieved considering the state of the clothes we had walked into the hospital with. When we were entirely ready we walked down to the section of the hospital where Emmett's room was. On arrival we found Emmett asleep and Rosalie with her head beside his shoulder and her arm curled up over his chest. She startled at the sound we made as we walked in and lifted her head to sadly look at us.
"Hi Jasper and Edward. Glad to see that you two are okay." She glanced at Emmett to see if he was still sleeping. " He is going to be alright too. Thank you for saving him." Rosalie's eyes watered with the depth of her gratitude and both Jasper and I had to look away.
"Does he know?" That was Jasper.
Rosalie nodded. "Carlisle told him and they had to pretty much sedate him straight away for his own good. Losing Peter is going to be hard for everyone. I still can't believe this has happened."
There was very little to do but wait so the four of us sat together in silence. Emmett's steady breathing was kind of comforting in the silence and we were lulled into a false sense of peace that could not possibly last. When Renee walked through the door I knew how it would be broken and the thought of Bella in her pain made me gasp with foreboding. Renee quickly enquired about Emmett, Jasper and my well being and then sighed heavily.
"Alice and Rose. Bella needs you now. She is going to say her goodbyes," Both of the girls were instantly at their feet and following their mother out if the door. Jasper and I could not stay put so walked out a reasonable distance from them. We weren't sure that our presence would help right now, even though Jasper wanted to be there for Alice.
My stride faltered and I almost tripped over my own feet when I saw Bella in the hallway ahead of us. She looked so small and fragile. The spark of life that she usually exuded was absent and she looked completely lost and broken. My heart splintered a little more for her pain. She did not deserve any of this. She should be out enjoying her special night knowing that next week she would be marrying Peter and living happily ever after. It wasn't fair that it had all been stolen from her. I despised fate at that moment. I really did.
Alice and Rosalie had their arms around Bella and she was clinging to them with very little thought. Jasper's quick intake of breath told me that he was feeling for Bella as well. The sound made me pull my gaze from the awful picture of a dejected Bella for a minute and when I returned it to her, her head was lifted and she was looking right back at us. There was nothing to tell me that she knew who we were; her face remained blank as she flicked her eyes back down and allowed herself to be guided into the room where Peter's body was. She moved robotically, as if she was on auto pilot. If only I could go to her and give her some semblance of comfort; take away her pain and let her know that she wasn't alone.
As the Swan family entered the room as a united front I clearly saw Grace Woods leaning over her son, stroking his head lovingly as Rick watched in defeat. Grace rose quietly when Bella was maneuvered into a place next to her and she reached out to hold her tightly against her.
So much pain. Too much pain. I couldn't bear to see it anymore. I turned away from the heartbreaking scene before us and made my way back to Emmett's room.
Life was not fair; not at all!
