Now turn away,
'Cause I'm awful just to see
'Cause all my hairs abandoned all my body,
Oh, my agony,
Baby, I'm just soggy from the chemo,
We're counting down the days to go
It just ain't living
-My Chemical Romance
BPOV
"No, go out and have fun," Charlie said again.
I was trying to talk him into letting me stay at the hospital. I was supposed to have a date with Edward that night, but Mom had been called into work, so I had to take Dad to his treatment unexpectedly. He was so sick, and the last thing I wanted to do was leave him there alone.
"Edward and I can go out anytime, it's fine. I'd rather be here with you."
He scoffed at me, "Why? Is it that you love to watch me sleep, or is it when I throw up?"
He caught me off guard with his response.
"Bella, hun, just go," he said with a huge sigh. "Edward's a good guy, and you can't keep canceling on him to be here."
I was glad to hear him say that about Edward. It took about an hour of convincing him that Edward wasn't the one to make me cry that night that Em lost his shit. After Edward walked me up to my dad's room, Dad went into interrogation mode when he saw that I had been crying. He immediately assumed Edward did something to cause me to be upset. I couldn't convince him otherwise, so I finally just told him what happened.
He was not thrilled on the thought of me having a boyfriend, but he loved what Edward had done to protect me and that he came to check on me that night. Emmett, on the other hand, well he had become a permanent member of Charlie's "shit list", but Charlie pretty much loved Edward. It had been about a month since all of that happened. Charlie made it clear that Em was not allowed in the house. No problem there. Even though it was not necessary, Edward also reassured him that he would not let Em bug me.
Edward and I had spent a lot of time together. He had taken me to movies, out to dinner, or we would just hang out at my house. But much of it had been spent in the lobby, of the hospital, where we had first met. He had spent many evenings there, keeping me company, after his football practice. I was falling for him, fast, and it scared me. It was odd though, because at that point, he pretty much knew everything about me. I felt like I knew a lot about him, but just like Em, he was also very guarded about his home life.
He had cancelled on me more than once; calling me sounding very upset. He would say something had come up and he couldn't make it. I wanted to believe him, but I could hear who I assumed was his dad screaming in the background. It made me sick to think someone was treating him badly at home. The next time I had seen him, I had asked him about it, and his whole body went stiff. He admitted that it was his dad I had heard, but not to worry about him. Yeah right. He wouldn't go into any more detail, and I didn't want to push, but it would be a lie if I said I didn't worry about it all the time.
"Knock, knock." Edward opened the door, sticking his head inside.
"Hey Edward! Come on in." Charlie seemed just about as excited that Edward was there as I was.
Edward was quickly becoming the son Charlie never had. Some nights, when Edward would visit, if Dad was feeling ok, we would stay up there and they would talk sports all night.
"Hi, sweetheart." He walked over a kissed my check. We still had not moved past cheek kissing and hand holding. I didn't want to make the first move, and he was too much of a gentleman to try yet.
"Hi," I replied with a smile.
"Charlie." He walked over, and shook my dad's hand.
"Have a seat." Charlie motioned to the open chair next to me.
Edward took his rain-soaked jacket off and sat down. He had been freshly showered after football practice; his hair was still wet, making it look darker and a little matted down. He was usually clean-shaven, but that time he had a little bit of stubble on his face. I still wasn't used to how attracted I was to him.
"How are ya feeling tonight?" He always asked this when he came up to say hi to Charlie.
"It's a good day, don't worry about me. You need to get this girl out of here to have a good night." Edward laughed at Charlie's response.
"I plan on it," he said smiling over at me.
Charlie was still protective, and even tried to have "the talk" with me at one point, when he found out Edward and I were dating officially. Thank God he got too uncomfortable, because all he said was,
"Ok….um…so here's the thing Bells. Uh….well when you….er, when….just don't do it okay?"
After that, he did the smart thing and handed it over to Mom. I thought I was gonna die of embarrassment.
Edward had proven himself, though. Always picking me up and bringing me home on time, and giving Charlie information before he had to ask for it. Edward and Dad talked briefly about whatever game was on the night before, and then Edward turned to me.
"You ready to go?"
I looked over at Charlie, still hesitant to leave.
He looked so frail; he had lost a ton of weight, and his hair was all gone. He refused visits from his friends, because he was embarrassed, and he was just too sick to see anyone. It had not been a good day like he told Edward it was. He had been throwing up all day. He had the worst shakes I had ever seen and the chemo had gotten to the point where it was burning his skin inside out. The palms of his hands were home to chemical blisters from the chemo running through his veins. He was getting worse everyday; I think I had seen him at his lowest. I will never tell anyone what I had seen the other day.
I had come home from school - I was supposed to go to Alice's, but she had to stay after for a test retake. I had walked into the house and it was silent. I went upstairs and heard a muffled noise coming from the bathroom. When I'd rounded the corner, I saw that the bathroom door was open. What I'd seen then, will never leave me. The image before me stole all the air out of my lungs. Dad was sitting on the ground in his bathrobe, with his back to me. I was sure he had just gotten done throwing up. He was leaning against the bathtub for support. His body was shaking with sobs. I was almost seventeen years old, and I had never seen him cry; not even a tear, no watery eyes. Not even at his mother's funeral, never.
The pain he was in had just gotten unbearable and he had lost everything; his job, social life, his pride, and any sense of normalcy. He couldn't even eat normally because he would just throw it back up. The last thing I wanted to happen was for him to know I had seen him in that broken state, it would've killed him. As quietly as I could, I backed down the stairs, avoiding the creaky steps, and left the house. I drove around for hours, having to pull over because I couldn't see through the tears of my own that wouldn't stop flowing. I returned home at a time he thought I would have been back from Alice's.
When I walked in the front door, he had still looked just as sick, but he was sitting in his recliner watching sports. He forced a weak smile.
"Did you have fun with Alice?" His voice had sounded strained, with his teeth gritted in pain.
"Uh, yeah I did, thanks." I hated lying to him, but he couldn't know I had seen him before.
"How are you feeling today?" I asked. He thought for a minute, and then looked me in the eye.
"Today was a good day, Bells."
I knew the truth though; and that was the day I learned that Charlie never had good days anymore. He didn't have one last week he didn't have one the day before and he sure as hell didn't have one that day, like he had just told Edward. He was more than miserable.
"Yes, she's ready. Go." Charlie's voice pulled me from the terrible memory, He wasn't taking no for an answer that night.
"Ok, love you. Call me if you need anything." I walked over to kiss him on his cheek.
"Don't worry about me," he grumbled.
"Well, see you around nine," Edward said as he grabbed my hand.
"Sounds good." Charlie waved us out the door.
When the door shut, Edward turned to me, "So, where do you want to go tonight?" he asked, swinging our hands back and forth.
"Um, someplace close if that's okay. He was lying; it wasn't a good day… not even close."
Edward was the first person that I had been honest with about everything going on at home. I would tell Alice, but Jasper and she had been inseparable since they met. So I hadn't spent as much time with her as I was used to.
We had done a few things with them; Jasper was probably the funniest person I had ever met in my life, and he made Alice so happy. His humor was a nice break from the depressing state of my home. Alice and I had had a couple of girl nights, and she had told me, in way too much detail, how far they had gone. So, I knew that they have done more than Edward and I, but hadn't slept together, at least. Edward had finally opened up to me a little about Jasper's recent past and how he had been with girls.
I could tell that he hadn't wanted to put his friend down or make him sound bad, but he also didn't want my friend to get hurt. I had decided that it wasn't my place to tell Alice, but I encouraged her to talk to him. He had been open with her, and I know that a lot of it was hard for her to take. Apparently, Jasper had been with many girls. They both agreed that they would take their sexual relationship slow. As far as I knew, he had been a gentleman toward her - well as much as Jasper could be. I thought it was really sweet that he stayed with her when they came back to her house and found a broken window. Jasper seemed like a good guy under the wild exterior.
Neither Alice nor I had spoken a word to Em since our confrontation at the hospital. He had made zero attempts to talk to me. The one time I tried, in the school hallway, he told me not to speak to him "until I stopped being stupid".
After that, I was done. I didn't tell Edward, because I didn't want to cause any problems with his family. I knew that he and Emmett were not speaking already, and I didn't want to make it worse.
We continued walking down the hall toward the elevator; Edward's voice took me out of my musings.
"We can definitely stay close. How about the little taco place around the corner?"
I didn't want to disappoint him, but I really didn't want to leave. I knew Charlie would never call if he needed anything. Edward read the look on my face, and could probably tell I didn't want to leave.
"Uh, I heard the hospital cafeteria has some awesome chicken strips," he said with a wink.
This was why I was falling for him; he always knew what to say and do to make me feel better. I broke out into a huge smile.
"You're sure you don't mind?"
"Course not," he said, leaning down and kissing the top of my head.
We walked into the cafeteria, and it wasn't very busy. We looked and the food in the cases, and the only thing that looked edible was, in fact, the chicken strips, so, that's what we got. We sat down, and started talking about our days.
"I dunno, I am just so sick of it, you know?"
He had just finished telling me about his football practice that had not gone too great. He said his dad embarrassed him, but didn't elaborate. I always got confused when he talked about football. When he was with my dad, they could talk for hours about it, and when he talked about playing, he had a spark in his eyes; you could just tell how much he loved it. But there were times, when that light would dim, and he would look… almost sad.
"Edward, can I ask you something?"
"Anything," he said with a smile.
I wanted to ask him, but I was nervous about how he would react. He had never gotten mad at me, but you could tell he just wasn't open about anything when it involved his family life.
"Uh, it just seems that you don't really like to play all that much, sometimes."
"That's not really a question Bella," he said playfully.
I rolled my eyes.
"Ok, here's the deal, I'm really not sure how much you know about my family…" he waited for me to respond, so I let him know that Em was not very open about them.
"Well..." he stopped, running a hand through his hair and took a big breath.
"You have a lot going on, Bella, and I really don't want to burden you with all of my messed up stuff."
I wanted to tell him how much I cared for him and that it was not a burden, but I wasn't sure if he felt the same way about me, and I didn't want to scare him away.
"Edward, really, I want to know." I took a chance, and said, "I really care about you." I held my breath waiting to see how he would react. His head shot up,
"I care about you, too." I swear I heard him add 'too much' under his breath.
"My family…my family, they're screwed up, Bella. I really don't want to drag you into it by telling you everything," he said in a quiet voice.
He was obviously ashamed of whatever happened behind their closed doors. I had heard his dad screaming at him through the phone, and I prayed that he wouldn't say it was true; I was terrified that his dad abused him.
"Edward, please, you don't have to tell me if you don't want. I won't push. However, you can't keep it from me to protect me… I lean on you so much, and I want to be there for you, too."
I really wanted him to understand how much I worried and cared about him.
He let out a huge sigh, and looked around the room; we were pretty much alone. I knew his mom worked at the hospital, and I wondered if it was so bad that he wouldn't want anyone she worked with to know.
"My family is beyond screwed up, Bella. My dad is the biggest... fuc- jerk ever." Even though I didn't mind, Edward always tried not to cuss in front of me. I thought it was a little old fashioned, but he was just that way. It was sweet.
"My mom acts really sweet, but she isn't. She'll do anything she can to keep control of Em and me, even if it's irrational and harmful." He paused, and I had to ask, I had to know so I could try to help him.
"Edward." He looked up and met my eyes. "Does your dad…. um, does he hit you?"
He laughed bitterly.
"Uh, no. A little when I was younger, but now I'm bigger than him, and I wouldn't hesitate to hit him back."
I let out a breath of relief, I knew abuse could come in many forms, but I was glad to hear he wasn't dealing with anything physical. It did, however, make me sick to think of him as a sweet little boy getting hit by his dad.
"He just never wanted me, Bella; it comes down to that."
How could anyone not want him?
"He will yell and stuff at both of us, but he is on my case a lot more than Em's. When he figured out I could play football, and Em couldn't, he started forcing me to play. I love the game but he ruins it; he goes nuts if I don't play perfectly, he shows up at practices and screams at my coach, and at me, in front of the team. I can't quit 'cause if I do he has promised to 'make my life more of a living hell then it is' so I just play." He made air quotes and talked in a low voice, impersonating his dad.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing; this guy was crazy.
"Anyway, I really don't want to get into it all, but the point is, they didn't want me, and I don't want to be there. Em is your friend." I rolled my eyes. Not anymore. "Well, was, or whatever. I don't want to bash him to you, but you need to understand, he will do whatever he can to get me in trouble. He will lie, set me up, anything to get them pissed at me, just so he can float through. It's been that way since we were little. His jealousy has just gotten worse."
My stomach was sick, no wonder Edward was always beating on Em; I would too.
"You probably wanna run don't you?" he asked with a flat laugh.
"Uh, yeah I do. I want to take you and run; I don't want to you go back there."
He let out a breath. "They're assholes, yeah, but there are a lot of people that have it worse, so I can deal with it, and I have been for a long time. I don't want you to worry; you have enough to worry about already."
I rolled my eyes at him. How could I not worry? I wanted to know more, but I could tell he didn't want to go into more detail by his body language, so I let it drop.
We went back into the lobby and sat on what was now "our" purple couch. I was cuddled into his side and he had his arm around me. We were talking about his upcoming game and our faces just kept inching closer and closer to each other. My stomach was twisted into knots I wanted him to kiss me so bad.
"I know we have not been together very long, but… uh, I have never told anyone that stuff about my family, Bella, no one. I really care about you, a lot." My heart was thumping against my chest.
"I care about you, too. So much, Edward. I'm really glad you told me; I want to know everything that goes on in your life." It was true; there was nothing that I didn't want to know about him, even if the news hurt.
"Can I," he paused and cleared his throat; our faces merely inches apart.
"Can I…"
He never finished his sentence, because his lips crashed into mine. His body leaned forward into me and his lips moved against mine. He ran his tongue along my bottom lip and I opened my mouth to allow him entrance. My whole body was on fire. This was my first kiss, I had nothing to compare it to, but it was amazing as far as I was concerned. I slipped my arms around his neck and started to deepen the kiss. Right as I started leaning into him, I felt a vibration in my pocket, then we heard my phone ring. I pulled back, and we looked at each other. Edwards's eyes were hooded with lust and his cheeks were a little pink. I was sure I was bright red. The phone continued to ring.
"Uh," Edward's voice was hoarse, he cleared his throat. "You gonna answer that?" He asked with a laugh. I snapped out of my daze, and answered the ringing phone.
"Hello."
As I answered the phone, I saw Edward shift on the couch, trying to hide the obvious bulge in his pants. I looked away quickly, trying not to embarrass him. The person on the other line was saying my name, and it snapped me out of my visions of Edwards bulge…God.
Shit it was Jake. I listened to everything he said, and my mouth went dry and my stomach turned. When he was done, I hung up the phone and started for the elevators; tears already stinging my eyes.
EPOV
Bella just stood up and started jogging to the elevators. I jumped up to follow her, while trying to hide my obvious hard-on I had from our was cuddled into my side, I couldn't help it, and I had to kiss her. But then her phone rang and now she was running from me. What the fuck?
"Bella!" I shouted after her.
She turned to face me; she had gone completely pale. "Edward! Sorry, I have to get up there. That was Jake… my dad… he" She couldn't get the words out; she was having a hard time breathing and was bouncing from foot to foot.
"Calm, down. Okay, breathe," She took two deep breaths and then tried again.
"Dad…my dad. Jake said he like passed out or something. Fuck, Edward, I don't know! They sent him to the main wing of the hospital to see his doctor. I gotta get there!"
I still wasn't sure what was going on, but I asked her what room he was sent to and she didn't know. She was panicking and not thinking the situation over well. I grabbed her hand, getting on the elevator, and then took her to the outpatient wing where we left Charlie. We found his nurse, Jake. He explained what happened; that Charlie had been out of it. He was passing out because his blood pressure, and couldn't be stabilized. I had my arm around Bella and she was clinging to the back of my shirt. Jake gave us the information on where we could find Charlie, so I took Bella there.
By the time we got there, the doctor was already with him, and Charlie looked like he was sleeping. Bella let go of me and ran over to him. She grabbed his hand in hers, then stroked his hairless head with the other. She had tears streaming down her face, and it broke my heart. I felt completely helpless; I had no idea how to help her. I walked over and put a hand on her shoulder; I could feel the silent sobs racking her body.
As soon as she calmed a little, the doctor explained that Charlie was fine; they had him stable. He asked Bella to call her mom and have her come in. I could tell she didn't want to leave her dad, so I kissed her on the top of her head, and let her know I would call her mom for her.
I walked into the hall and took a deep breath. I had grown closer to Charlie in the past month - more then I would ever be with my dad. I was embarrassed to say that this man I hardly knew was the dad I had always wanted. He actually gave a shit about me; he asked me about school and he asked me about my team. He sympathized with me if I had had a bad game, gave me suggestions on how to be better, but never, not once, made me feel like shit. I hated seeing someone so good in such a bad position.
I called Renee - who also had been nothing but nice to me, and loved that Bella and I were together. She said she was leaving work and would be right in. I walked back in, only to find Bella in the same spot I had left her. I just resumed my position behind her, softly rubbing circles on her back.
Renee came in, and I could tell she had cried on the way. I was sure she was scared because its not like I could give her information like a doctor. I could see she was trying to hold it together for Bella. She walked by me and squeezed my arm, giving me a weak smile. I moved aside so she could hug Bella. Not too long after the doctor came in to talk to them, I went to leave the room so they could have privacy.
"Edward, wait." Renee grabbed my arm. "Stay," she said with a smile.
I looked over at Bella; she nodded and added "please". Her voice was so broken. I walked back to her, and resumed the circles on her back.
"So, here's the deal," The doctor, who I learned was Dr. Burke, started. "For some reason, his blood counts are all wrong. We expected them to be down with the chemo, but they are all off. We need to do tests. We'll start them tonight, but won't have any answers until tomorrow, of course. There is no reason to worry tonight; he is just fine. We gave him some medication, that should help him sleep through all of the tests until morning."
After answering some questions from Renee, the doctor left. Renee wanted to stay a little longer, so she pulled me aside, asking me to take Bella home; not wanting her to drive in her condition. After some coaxing, Bella agreed to go with me. She was quiet the whole way home. Once we pulled in, I walked her to the door and went in with her. She was too quiet.
"Bella, sweetheart, are you ok?" I asked, brushing her hair out of her face.
"Yeah, I just…" she took a deep breath, and sat down on the couch "I just have an awful feeling Edward… something's not right; I dunno."
"What do you mean?" I asked, pulling her hand into my lap, and rubbing circles into her palm.
"I dunno, everyone keeps saying that everything's gonna be okay, and I just don't think it is."
With that, she broke down in sobs. I pulled her into my lap and just rocked her back and forth, trying to calm her. The doctors had been very positive in the diagnosis of Charlie, but I didn't blame her for being scared. I sat with her, in silence, for probably a half an hour, with my phone buzzing in my pocket the whole time. It was late, so I knew it was my mom freaking out; Bella was just more important right then.
Even though I was humiliated and worried I would scare her off, it felt so good to tell her about everything. She was the first person I had wanted to let in and know the truth. At the same time, I wanted to protect her from it, too. My parents could be fucking crazy, and I wouldn't put it past them to use her as a pawn to make me do what they wanted me to do. She was so sweet about it all. She just listened and told me how much she cared about me. There was no doubt in my mind; I was falling in love with her… and fast. I almost told her right before I kissed her, but I stopped myself; not wanting to move too fast. She was dealing with so much already. As I was thinking it all through, I noticed the shakes from her crying had stopped. I looked down, and she was fast asleep in my lap.
My phone was buzzing again. I looked at my watch, and noticed it was getting really late. At that same time, the front door opened and a very tired looking Renee walked in. I felt really fucking awkward having my girlfriend's mom walk in with her asleep on my lap.
"Uh, sorry, she uh… was upset, and fell asleep." I tried to explain, so she didn't think I was molesting her daughter in her sleep or some shit.
Renee just waved me off and thanked me for bringing her home. "You know where her room is. Do you think you can get her up there?" Renee asked.
"Sure, no problem."
We were both speaking in whispers, so as to not wake up Bella. Yeah, I knew where Bella's room was, and had very briefly been in. Charlie may like me, but made it perfectly clear that he didn't want me in there. His words were, "I will shoot you if I find you in there alone with her." He had said it kinda like a joke, but made sure I knew he wasn't exactly joking. I didn't blame him.
Renee walked ahead of me, and I carried Bella up the stairs in my arms. She woke a little, but was out of it. She laid her cheek against my shoulder, and I kissed her forehead. Renee pushed her bedroom door open for me, but didn't go in. I guess she was trying to give us some privacy to say goodbye. I was a little surprised; Bella was pretty passed out but… still. I walked in and pulled her blankets down with one hand, but when I went to lay her in bed, her grip tightened around my neck.
"Don't leave," she mumbled sleepily.
I laid her down and took her shoes off; I left her in her clothes and just pulled the blankets up to her shoulders. I leaned over and kissed her lips lightly; nothing like before. I did hope that would be happening a lot more, though.
When I went to leave the room, I barley heard her speak, "Edward." I turned, and she was still fast asleep, so I continued my way to the door.
"Love you." I whipped my head around, and she was completely out.
I wasn't sure if I had heard her right, but it made my heart beat ten times faster.
I walked back over to her, and I couldn't help it; I leaned down and placed another kiss on her forehead, then made my way down the stairs. My phone was going off like crazy, so I answered it at the bottom of the stairs,
"Hello."
My mom, on the other end, went the fuck off; absolutely screaming at me. I tried to explain what happened and tried to apologize. She wouldn't let me speak. She just kept saying how Bella was a "bad influence," and she "is gonna keep me from her." She could fucking try; I found one good thing, and I would be fucked before I let her interfere. There was no way they wouldn't get a fight from me on this one. I was still trying to speak, unsuccessfully, when Bella's mom rounded the corner, holding a cup of what looked like tea.
I was horrified; I knew she could hear my mom screaming on the other end. It's one thing for Bella to know; it's a whole other thing for her mom to witness it. She reached for my phone. I was too stunned to stop her. She took my phone and put it to her ear, but then she pulled it away, 'cause my fucking lunatic of a mother was still screaming.
"Ah, Hello..." she said, holding the phone away from her ear. I could hear the screaming stop. "Hi, this is Renee, Bella's mom. Um yes, I know... No." She was making the oddest facial expressions to whatever my mom was saying on the other end, "No, I'm sorry we kept him out, but it was not his fault… No just wait. He is such a good kid… no he is a sweetie and was helping me."
I couldn't hear what my mom was saying but could hear her voice muffled on the other end. "Well I'm sorry you feel that way, but I don't feel that you should punish the kids; this is my fault. I asked him to drive her home… Well I'm sorry you feel that way Mrs. Masen."
With that she handed the phone back to me. When I put it back to my ear, the only thing my mom said was, "Get home."
When I hung up, I was scared to look at Renee; she saw first-hand what happened when my mom's lovely façade melted away.
"Edward, I am so sorry. I had no idea that you would be in that much trouble for being out late. I would have never have asked you." She had a look of utter shock on her face that someone would react that way over something so little. Welcome to my world.
"No, uh it's okay... happens a lot. Doesn't take much," I said with a nervous laugh; I was humiliated.
I'm sure she wouldn't want Bella with me now that she saw the crazy shit I came from.
"No. No, Edward, it's not okay. I'm calling her in the morning, when she has calmed down. She was very upset, and maybe she will listen better tomorrow."
Then she walked forward and gave me a huge hug. It felt so good, not in a fucking creepy pervy way, but it was so… motherly. My mom never touched me like that. I wasn't used to the affection.
"Thanks, but you really don't have to, they're just… like that," I wasn't sure how to explain it.
"I don't care what's going on Edward; you can come to Charlie and me with anything. If you need help or anything, promise me you will come to us." She had tears in her eyes.
I was shocked at how upset this had made her; she hardly knew me but cared so much. I wasn't used to it. My own parents obviously hated me; I never expected anything different from anyone else. The concern she was showing made my heart constrict; I wasn't sure how to act with her affection, never having received it from my own mother before, so I just gave her a weak smile.
"I promise, thank you."
She gave me another big hug, telling me to get home before it got worse, and promising again to call my mom in the morning. I walked to my car; it wasn't raining, but it was kinda muggy outside for Forks, and smelled very earthy, with all the wet foliage around. I drove home, bracing myself for what I was going to face. I wasn't worried about the screaming; I could handle that. I didn't want her to try to keep Bella and me apart.
When I pulled up, my mom was on the front porch, with Emmett fucking standing behind her with a smug smile on his ugly face. He had not so much crossed my path since the night of our fight; he knew I still wanted to beat the shit out of him, so he stayed out of my way. I got out of the car, and when he saw the look on my face, he scrambled inside. My mom looked like she had calmed down a little. I walked up to her, and she actually let me explain what happened. When I was done all she said was,
"I don't even want to deal with you. Your dad's in bed; I'll let him decide in the morning, after I tell him."
I was honestly happy with that; this had nothing to do with an interference with football, so he'd probably tell me I was worthless or something and let it go. I told her goodnight, and left her on the porch to head up to bed. When I got to my door, Em was standing outside of it.
"What the fuck do you want?" I spat at him.
"Just thought you might want to thank me, you know, for pointing out to Mom that you hadn't come home on time. She was going to bed; didn't even notice you were gone, so I made sure to remind her."
That piece of shit! He would do anything to keep Bella and me apart, and that included getting me in trouble.
"I would beat your piece of shit face in, but then that would keep me from my girlfriend."
His face was turning red with my words.
"So, with that, get the fuck out of my way so I can go to bed." I opened the door and then shut it in his face.
I'm sure he was stunned; he was trying to bait me in a fight, so I would get grounded. That fucker could say whatever he wanted; I wasn't gonna give in that easily.
I fell on my bed, exhausted from the day, and glad there was no school the next day. It was a Friday, but it was teacher work day or some shit; so we had the day off. I fell asleep right as my head hit the pillow.
I woke up the next morning, ready to face whatever I had to with my dad. I took a shower and cleaned up my room a little. Instead of waiting for him to find me, I went and found him. He was working behind the TV, hooking something up; he looked over his shoulder when he heard me come in and then turned back to his project.
"I have had your mother bitching at me all morning for whatever stupid stunt you pulled last night. I don't give a shit who you see, who your stupid friends are, or who you fuck." He stopped and turned to give me eye contact. "But if you let this little girl you're seeing interfere with your football or school, I will cut this shit off so fast your head will spin."
That was that; I said nothing, knowing he wanted to hear nothing. I walked back up to my room and was gonna call Bella to see if she heard anything from the doctor. The phone rang before I could call her. I looked at the screen and her name was flashing.
"Hey, babe."
"Edward."
She was crying; I could hear the trace of hysteria in her voice.
"What's wrong?" I had already started putting my shoes on.
"My dad... it's not good, can you come to the hospital?" she asked, sniffling.
"I'll be right there." I hung the phone up grabbed my keys and headed to the hospital, prepared for the worst.