Chapter 10: Destructive Cycle

Carlisle's POV

We parted ways as we entered Halterman General Hospital. I watched her go to the Physical Therapy wing before heading to one of my own appointments.

"Dr. Cullen and Ms. Swan came in together." One of the nurses whispered to one of the cleaning crew right after I passed them. "Poor sap. There's no way he can compete with that man's money." The nursed huffed and I wanted flip over a desk. "Such a waste. He's so sexy." The cleaning lady agreed and I refrained from growling.

Money was nothing to me and I doubt that even if Bella was a 'kept woman' that money would be her reason for sticking with him. Even if it was the reason surely this man didn't have 1/1000 of the money I've accumulated over my long afterlife.

I had more questions than answers.

I could follow her on one of her weekend fieldtrips/escapades/outings, but I already felt like me watching her from my study was too much. If I took it to the level of following her I don't know if my obsession with her would ever stop escalating into insanity.

Everyone in the hospital seemed to know more about her than I did. I long ago noticed how most of them averted their eyes when she walked by, some openly glared, while others were sickeningly sweet to her. The only people who seemed to treat her normally were those people she was helping in physical therapy.

By the time I got back to the house Bella's home was blaring with music. A loud, fast dubstep song was blasting out of her speakers. It had an angry edge to it and as I parked I realized that she had it on repeat. I glanced down the slope and was surprised when I saw that she was breaking her usual routine. Instead of swimming she had her kickboxing gear on and was pulverizing her punching bag.

Her body was completely doused in sweat and her skin was tinged bright red. Bella looked like she was about to collapse from exhaustion, but she kept hitting that bag with kicks and punches. I was shocked and frozen on the spot by the look on her face. She had a devastating mixture of anger and sadness marring her beautiful face.

It physically hurt me to see those emotions coming from her.

Bella suddenly collapsed and my body lurched forward wanting to go to her. The only thing keeping her from falling was her grip on the top of the bag. My years of abstaining from human blood had fortified my self control to unworldly levels, but even so I was so close to running to her.

"Damn it, Bella!" Her voice was hoarse and I could only faintly hear her over the music. "Get up and work through it." She grunted as she pulled herself into an upright position. I could see her muscles straining and quivering with the effort she was putting in. "I won't have you pussing out on me!" Her words were punctuated by hits and kicks as she resumed her assault on the bag.

The cycle of her hitting the bag furiously, collapsing against it, then getting back up after cussing herself out repeated and I was struck with the realization that she could have been at this for hours.

I ran upstairs to my study, indecisive on what to do. She went through another cycle before I made a decision. My phone was out in a flash and I was dialing her number. I could see the small device on the bench right next to her. It lit up and I could hear a generic ringtone coming from it.

Bella looked up from her hunched position against the bag.

"You can't be fucking serious." She laughed humorously as she pulled off her sparring gloves. A few of her knuckles were bleeding while the other ones were bruised. She looked at the caller ID before clicking a button as she sat on the ground. My phone went to her voicemail.

I was hurt by her actions, but at least my call had its intended effect. She had stopped her destructive pattern of fighting, collapsing, then cursing at herself.

Her eyes were closed and with one hand she groped blindly at the mini fridge, pulling out a few water bottles. She poured the first bottle over her head in silence then drank half of the second one before pouring the other half on her left hand. Bella opened the third with her left hand and poured it onto her right hand. She let out a hiss of pain as the cold liquid came in contact with her knuckles.

"Real smooth dumb ass." I could see her sprawl out on the ground, ignoring the puddle of water under her. She stayed like that until her breathing evened out. Her arms were still shaking when she used the bench to stand back up.

Bella grabbed her phone then retreated into a part of the house that was out of my line of sight.

I practically collapsed into my seat. I felt like my actual age for the first time. With a slow motion I twisted my chair around so its back was to the window before I let my head rest on the desk. I tried taking some calming breaths, but they were ineffective.

My phone went off making me jump in my seat and I heard the sputter of wood cracking. I grabbed the smart phone and put it to my ear.

"Hey Carlisle." I froze in my seat and my breath caught in my throat.

"Oh, hey Bella. How can I be of service on this lovely day?" I was surprised by how happy my voice sounded, especially since it contrasted so much with my troubled emotions.

"I was being stupid and I hurt my hand. I was wondering if you were home and could come down here to have a look at it. If you're not home I can just drive myself to the hospital." Her tone sounded mechanical, lifeless.

"No, I'm at my house. Give me a minute to get changed and I'll head to your place." She sighed in relief.

"Thank you so much. The backdoor is unlocked and you'll be able to see where I'm sitting from there."

"No problem. I'll be there in a second."

Classes have started back up so I really need you guys to remind me and inspire me to write! Time is... hard to find.

What has got Bella so worked up? What will happen when Carlisle heads over to her house? So many questions...