Chapter 11


I don't care if Edward's mad at me right now. I don't care if I shouldn't step into his yard. I don't care that the landscaping man is looking back and forth between me and Edward with a worried expression. Heck, I wouldn't even care if Mr. Masen himself was standing in front of me.

Nothing is going to stop me from going to Edward.

"Oh my God, what happened?" I yell, sprinting to his front door.

"It's Mom…she fell down the stairs…won't wake up…I don't know what to do!" He grabs my hand the minute I reach the porch and pulls me inside. "Please, Bella, help her!"

Another sound registers—Mary Alice is crying hysterically. I don't know how I didn't notice it before.

"Where's Merr-merr? Did she get hurt, too?" I gasp as Edward leads to me a dark set of basement stairs. I can just make out Esme's shape at the bottom.

"She's fine except for being scared. Mom was screaming as she fell and then just…stopped."

"Where's the light switch for the basement?"

Edward and I spin around at the question. Neither of us had realized that the landscaping man followed us into the house. Edward looks terrified that he's with us, but I'm just happy to have help.

"Edward, the lights?" I repeat, trying to get him to snap out of his daze.

"Th-there isn't any," he stutters. "I mean, there is, but all the bulbs are burnt out."

The man frowns, then pulls out his phone. He makes a few taps and it shines like a flashlight.

"Miss, why don't you check on the little one?" He puts a hand on Edward's shoulder. "You follow behind me, okay, son?"

Edward takes a deep breath and nods. After a quick glance at me, he starts down the rickety wooden steps after the man and his light.

It's not hard for me to find Mary Alice. Edward's house is not much bigger than mine, and Mary Alice is making a really loud noise. Just off the kitchen is a tiny hallway with three doors. I open one and find myself looking into a small room with a crib, a twin bed, and a set of drawers.

"Beh! Beh…Beh…Beh-wa!" Mary Alice yells out my name in the middle of her crying fit. She's sitting up in her crib and beating her fists against the rails.

"That's right, Merr-merr, it's Bella. I'm so glad to see you again, little cutie." After I lift her into my arms, she burrows her head right into my shirt and whimpers. I walk around the room for a couple minutes until she calms down.

Now that she's quiet, I can make out the sound of a voice coming from the basement. It's the landscaping man.

"…not comfortable with taking that risk. She could have a spinal injury. We need to call an ambulance, son."

"No, please, you don't understand. It's against his…uh, our religion to go to hospitals. I know she'd rather risk being moved than have an ambulance come. Please, just help me take her upstairs. That's all I'm asking. Then you can leave if you need to."

I can hear Edward's desperation in his voice.

There's complete silence for a few moments; it seems like even Mary Alice is holding her breath so she can listen to the man's answer.

"Alright, fine," he finally responds. "But your mom better not sue me for this when she wakes up." He lets out a dry laugh, and I think he's only half-joking.

I know it would be better to keep Mary Alice away from the sight of her knocked out mama, but I really want to find out how Edward's doing. And though I hate that such a terrible event is putting us together again, I don't want to waste a second of my time with him.

For once, something goes my way. Mary Alice's eyes start to close and her breathing becomes slower. All the excitement and crying probably tired her out. She doesn't put up a fuss when I lay her back down in her crib.

I hear heavy footsteps on the stairs as I close the bedroom door on a fast-asleep Mary Alice. The man is talking to Edward as if he's trying to keep him calm.

"Just so you know, cuts on the head, face, or mouth can bleed more. She'll probably look worse than she actually is, so try not to get upset, okay? I'll get her to the couch, and it would be helpful for you to gather up any first aid supplies you have."

"Um, we might have a few bandages around," Edward mutters. "But that's about it…"

"If you don't have antiseptic and gauze, warm soapy water and paper towels will have to do."

I rush into the living room to see Edward hurrying off to the kitchen and Esme being laid down on the couch. My hand covers up a gasp at the sight of all the blood on her face. There is a line of red trailing from the side of her mouth, but the largest amount seems to have come from a gash at the hairline near her temple. The man holds a yellow dishrag to the wound with one hand while the other brushes long tangled strands of hair away from her face.

He glances up me as I come closer to the couch.

"Your friend's mom really needs to be seen by a professional," he murmurs. "The only reason I didn't go ahead and make the call is because I've heard about the church his family goes to. Not all the members strictly follow the church teachings, though. If I talked to his dad, do you think I'd a chance of convincing him to let her get some help?"

I shake my head sadly. "Mr. Masen's probably stricter than the preachers themselves. He's going to freak out just knowing that we're helping her at all." My eyes get wide as I realize what I just said. "Oh no! Edward's going to get in so much trouble for us being in here. And if his dad comes home soon…"

"He's at an all-night prayer meeting, so we should be okay for now," Edward interrupts as he hurries into the living room, splashing soapy water on the floor with each step. "Is she awake yet?"

"No, and if we don't get her to a—" The man shuts his mouth abruptly and then lets out a sigh. "Set the bowl over here and hand me the paper towels. I'm going to take a better look at this wound."

"So you'll stay and help?" Edward asks hopefully.

"I only know basic first aid, but I'll do what I can."

The man carefully lifts up the dishrag from the side of Esme's head. The cut is long and gapes open a little bit. Fresh blood begins to well up from inside the gash. He dabs it away with a paper towel and quickly tries to check out the damage before more blood can hide it again.

"Thankfully, I was right," he says at last. "This one's not as bad as you might think, considering all the blood. But it looks like it needs stitches, and then there's the possibility that she might have internal bleeding or broken bones or—"

"I already told you no!" Edward cries out, grabbing my hand like he needs support or something like that. "There's not gonna be any hospitals!"

The man makes a low rumbly noise like a growl but nods his head anyway. "Yes, yes, I understand. She can't go to a hospital. Now, show me what kind of bandages you have, and I'll try to close up this cut."

I have to force myself to loosen my fingers when Edward lets go of my hand. He glances at me and gives a sad-looking smile. He doesn't say anything, but I'm really hoping it's the start of us being friends again.

An hour later, Esme's situation seems better. Except for what's on her shirt, all the blood has been cleaned up, including the drops on the basement floor. The man went out and bought some sort of liquid bandage glue and some more Band-Aids. He wanted to use the butterfly kind, but Edward said only the normal oval-shaped ones could be used. He didn't want his dad to get suspicious about where they came from.

Esme has another cut inside her lip, but there's nothing we can do about that. She's moving her arms and legs a little and making some sounds, which the man is happy about. Edward hopes she wakes up before his dad comes home in the morning.

I can tell the landscaping man doesn't want to leave while Esme's still knocked out, even though it's getting late. He also tries to find out more about what their life is like—says he just wants to help, promises not to alert the authorities. He seems honest enough to me, but Edward shakes his head and refuses to talk about it.

Edward had listened to my explanation about the CPS issue, though. When the man left on his supply run, I'd launched into my story, not leaving out a single detail. Edward's face stayed sort of blank as his listened, but when it was his turn to say something, I had a good feeling he was going to forgive me. Of course, that was the exact moment the man came back from the drug store, and then it was down to business again.

It's after ten p.m. when the man finally decides to leave. I glance at Edward to see if he wants me to go, too. My heart nearly explodes with happiness when he reaches out his pointer finger and hooks it around mine.

We walk to the door with the man, who keeps glancing back at Esme with a worried frown on his face. He lifts up a hand and grabs the hair at the back of his neck. I don't know why, but he looks a lot younger all of the sudden.

"Is there some time I can come back and see how she's doing? Or can you at least let me know if her situation changes, either for better or worse?" He points to the long-forgotten flyer I'd stuffed in my back pocket. "All my contact info is on there."

"Maybe," Edward says reluctantly. "I mean, I can't do it, but maybe Bella will be able to."

I nod like I'm taking some sort of important oath, and the man looks a little relieved.

"Thank you. And listen, while you haven't told me much about your situation, I want you to know…well, if you ever need anything—anything—don't hesitate to contact me, okay? You, too, Bella."

Edward looks surprised when the man gently squeezes his shoulder. We both watch from the porch as his tall figure walks down the sidewalk and eventually disappears out of sight around a corner.

"Huh," I say as the thought occurs to me. "You know, I never did find out that guy's name." I pull out the flyer to look at business card, but Edward's already answering.

"It's Carlisle," he mutters, pulling me inside his house and shutting the door. "Carlisle Cullen."