Hello. I'm Kate's cousin Becca and I'm here to update for your two favourite authors :o) And to their beta: they wanted this chapter out by tonight and since their was no response they asked me to post this chapter up and they said thanks a lot anyways :) ... they've been gone all weekend for a wedding and won't be back until sometime this week. They wanted to leave you with a chapter so that's why I'm here :D And like they always say, ENJOY! :D
Chapter 12: You're All I Have, When The World Comes Down On Me
Alice POV.
"Alice honey you have to eat something." Renee's fingertips appeared at the edge of my plate. With a little pleading force, she shoved the plate back towards me with a faint smile plastered on her face. It's been like that since the day she arrived here from Florida. I shook my head no and pushed the plate away from me again. I stared at the green vegetable I knew I wanted to eat but couldn't find the strength to.
Phil let out a low sigh beside her trying to ease the awkwardness of this moment. "Alice, what would you like to do today?" he said politely in conversation. My eyes shot up to meet the two pairs staring straight back at me. There were no sign of real happiness.
"I want to see Bella." That was about the most they could get out of me since the accident. I hardly slept, spoke, ate, and my voice apparently became slower and sadder. Everyone's noticed even me.
Renee cleared her throat across from me. In the corner of my eye I saw that she grabbed onto Phil's hand, entwining it with her own. The two exchanged looks of grief. They were getting tired of me not cooperating with them. The last they wanted was their second child to pay a visit to the hospital too.
"Sweetie, you heard what Dr. Cullen said," Yes, I did hear it. I just didn't want to listen. "We can't see Bella until tomorrow. She's just been through a couple of surgeries." Even her voice dimmed down and that was surprising for me. Renee was always so free spiritual. She always had a smile on her face, she always laughed and made me laugh too but this was no laughing matter. It's been a big change for us.
"If you want, we could do something to help distract us." Phil smiled weakly when I shot him an insignificant look. How could he want to do other activities when my sister was in the hospital, hardly living through tubes?
"Am I the only one who cares that Bella's in the hospital in poor condition? She needs us and we're letting her down. I know Bella well enough to know that she would be down there fighting for either of us, not caring what the doctor says." My tone became a bit higher filled with anger. I realized I stabbed the small wooden table with my fork, my hand still gripping onto the top as I took calm breaths. Phil and Renee looked taken a back with my actions. I never behaved like this at all in my life. Renee slowly moved her hand forward to touch mine but I had already seen it coming. My hand jerked away before she could even reach halfway. She froze, pulling her hand back.
"We do care, a lot Alice." Renee spoke the words slowly, afraid of what my next action would be.
"Apparently not," I was in no mood for another one of these conversations. We'd have an argument almost every night for the past three days. "Excuse me." I threw my serviette onto the table and pushed my chair back.
"Where are you going?" Phil asked me.
"Don't worry about it." I told them as I slipped on my flats and shut our room's door of the hotel closed.
Once I got into the elevator I pressed the G button all the way at the bottom of the list. Why Phil and Renee had to book a room so far up was seriously an issue. We were on the twenty-fifth floor and the elevator nearly stopped at every level there was. This had been the longest elevator ride I've been in, in my entire life. I stood all the way in the back corner as more people were loaded on.
I didn't have to stay with them but I chose to anyway. If I went back to the dorm, I'd just be worse for me because that was the last time I saw Bella without her bleeding and having broken bones and scars. So I took a few days off of school with the help of Renee so did Edward, he's been worse than anyone ever could be.
It hurt to look at him. He never answered my calls so I usually stopped by at the school to go to his dorm-where he stayed in all day-during the daylight. He never spoke to anyone. Not even Emmett or Jasper who I could already say, were his best friends. He was broken and nobody could fix that. I was lucky enough if he let me in and stay as long as I wanted. The first day, he didn't bother. He shut the door on my face but I never gave up. I looked out for him; he was already like a brother to me. He was part of our family and I never wanted to see him like this but, I had to. The both of us have been quiet for the past few days but only we could accept each other's company.
I made it down to the school after what seemed like forever. I parked my car in the visitor's parking and went up the elevator again to our dorm. After I knocked in a certain rhythm he came and answered it. It was required that I knock in a way so he knew who it was. Emmett and Jasper tried to get in but that never worked.
"Hello." I greeted the unfamiliar Edward who appeared on the other side of the door. His hair was even more disheveled and large purple circles appeared beneath his tedious green eyes. With an insensible nod, he opened the door wider to let me in. He didn't even acknowledge me back.
I sat down on my regular seat- the armchair right by the corner of our small family room area- leaned my head back, and kicked my feet up. The bright sunny afternoon reflected behind me. It didn't seem so sunny lately like it was suppose to be. I'd never thought I could go a day without being so… content. I wasn't even like this when I was sent to that disgusting, creepy mental hospital.
I watched Edward move gradually slower than usual to the sofa across from me, taking a seat. Automatically, he hung his head low and let out a sigh of frustration. He lifted that long pale hand of his and ran it through his hair. It was always like this in the beginning. We would sit there for minutes in silence until one of us eventually became even sick of it that we spoke up.
I guess this time the silence was becoming a habit that neither of us felt uncomfortable yet.
I never really understood why we were so downhill all the time. We basically just sat down collecting dust. Our families and friends were pushed away having less communication with each other and we eventually became useless to anything. We couldn't even take care of ourselves.
How could we though? Our parents expected us to do more when someone so important in our lives was badly injured. I mean, she was recovering well but that didn't mean we shouldn't care or give up our prayers for her to heal some more so that she could come back home with us.
"My father says Jacob's going into surgery tonight." He was the first to speak after a long period of time. My eyes shot up to meet his; they were still clouded with gray.
"That's good for him," I responded with the same tone. "I hope he'll be okay too."
He really seemed to have no care for Jacob. That much was clear when I heard the low growl he let out after what I said. I should have known to keep my mouth shut and to be honest; he was pretty scary when he was angry. I wonder if Bella felt the same.
"Sorry." I mumbled almost too quickly. He looked up at me, his eyes almost dancing with amusement in response to my petite frightened frame. At least I got him to crack a smile. Okay, it was tiny but come on; it was the best I got in days. I was even enjoying this.
"You smiled." I let him know in case he was too distracted to even realize he let out any sign of improvement. He only shook his head.
"My lips simply twitched." He said clearing his throat. I denied it. That was not a lip twitch.
"Sure it did."
He rolled his eyes. "Will you answer my question now?"
I froze. The question. I decided on playing dumbfounded. "What question?"
However, he was not one to fool. "You know which one."
"No I don't." Yet I continued to go along with it. He pinched the bridge of his nose. I noticed he did that often when he was puzzled or upset or angry. In this case, I would hope he wasn't angry because that meant those beasts would be unleashed behind his eyes. I was tiny, I never actually learnt self-defense. I had Jasper for that.
"How did you know Bella was in trouble?" he asked me this question frequently, almost once a day. This was a question I couldn't explain to Jasper when he had asked me. I couldn't even tell Rose the truth and Rose had always been one of my best friends since I moved here. She has told me everything there is to know about her and I returned the trust by telling her about me. Of course I failed to mention that I could see the future.
"Edward I told you, it's just this whole sibling thing," that was the best I could come up with. I hope we were gullible enough. "We can just tell when either of us is in danger."
What a sad, sad attempt. "Alice please, I'm extremely perplexed at the moment. We're in such an appalling circumstance and only you know what was going on. What did Bella say after your disagreement with her three nights ago?"
I really didn't want to let Edward down like I had done every time he brought this topic up. This was something I wanted Jasper to know about than anyone else and I didn't think Edward would be an exception just because he demanded for an explanation. I mean no offence or anything but Jasper should be the first to know. After all, we loved each other and I've been keeping this from him for a long time now. It was time he deserved to really know the truth.
He figured I wouldn't open my mouth so he relaxed onto the sofa, his eyes fixed on me waiting for me to spill.
"Edward, give me a few more minutes. I need to make a call." I got up and walked over to my room making sure the door was securely closed behind me. I pulled out my phone and pressed Jasper's speed dial number. One.
I was going to tell him. He needed to know sooner than later and the sooner the better, right? That meant I could tell Edward. I could help him out, it was the least I could do. But revealing my secret was something I wanted to keep on the DL. Now all promises were going to be broken.
"Hello?" One word out of his smooth voice was enough to help ease my nervousness.
"Hey Jas," I greeted him a bit more enthusiastically. "How are you?" I think I've used all of my energy for today just to greet him.
"I've been okay," the sound of his voice didn't convince me though. "How about you? I haven't seen you in a while."
I instantly frowned. "You're not mad at me, are you?"
"Of course not Hun, is there something on your mind?" I really did miss Jasper. He was right when he said it's been a while. A while to me was like a decade and on most days, a century. I've been separated from him long enough to know how much I've been hurting.
"Well, remember how you constantly say we should tell the truth to each other, always? That, that's what makes a well-built relationship?" This was it Alice, I was going for it. I was going to let it out and not be ashamed. I had this gift for a reason. A reason I had no answers to either but one day hopefully I'd be able to explain every unreciprocated question there was.
"Yes, what is it Alice? Is there something you need to tell me?"
I nodded my head, forgetting I was talking to him on the phone. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time now."
"Are you breaking up with me?" he panicked.
I froze, receiving a vision. It all happened so fast, the atmosphere became black as I travelled through a telepathic way into my vision making it look surreal. I saw Bella, eyes closed then suddenly, her brown pools of bewilderment appeared staring up at the ceiling widely. She sat up right away letting out a blood curling scream.
"Alice?" he was worried now. "Alice, I'm sorry. Are you there? Did I do something wrong?"
"I have to go." I told him, forgetting to retort his question. "I'm sorry. Bye Jas." I hung up my phone and slid it into my pocket running out of my room.
"We have to go." I told Edward slipping on my shoes. He followed behind me, confusion struck his face but he never questioned me. He assumed it had to do with Bella, I could tell.
We ran down to my car throwing the doors open as soon as I unlocked them. We hopped in and I instantly jabbed my key into the ignition, backing out of the lot and back onto the road. This time I took a different path to the hospital, one that was much faster and because I didn't want to pass by the scene of the accident. It'd bring back too many horrific flashbacks.
"We're seeing Bella." By the sound of his tone, he wasn't sure if it should be a question or a statement. I couldn't even tell how he wanted to imply it. Part of it sounded like a demand, a question and a proclamation. I guess it was all three.
"She's awake," I simply answered. I saw that he wanted to smile because of joy but he held back. "It's okay to be happy Edward. She's alive and she's healthy."
"How can I possibly let out any sign of bliss when Bella has the opposite emotion? If she's in pain, I'll join with her. I won't ever let her go through this single-handedly."
I let out a soft sigh at Edward. He was too caring for Bella. All he ever thought about was Bella, he always put Bella first and at this rate, he should be looking after himself. He was unstable, shattered and I wasn't sure how Bella would react to that. If I saw that he was a completely dissimilar being, Bella would pick that out too. That was if she was steady enough. I would hope so.
"Can I ask you something?" I turned left and stopped at the stoplight. This gave me the chance to finally meet his gaze. When I turned my head, he looked away not wanting to look into my eyes.
"What is it?" he stared out the window. The bright light reflected through the window, settling on his head. Bella was right when the sun really did bring out that odd bronze colour. She had once spoken about it in her dream.
"Why are you so protective of Bella?" Not that I complained. I thought it was rather sweet that he looked out for her so much more than he did for himself but that thought had bugged me for the past few days. He hadn't been her boyfriend for more than a month and already he had started showing signs of… devotion.
"To be honest, I'm almost positive about my feelings towards her. She's help me come out of my shell I've been in for the past year…" he trailed off not sure of what to say next or rather, how he'd express his feelings in words.
"That's okay Edward," I saw that he was beginning to frown at the mention of Bella. I tried to get into his head, by seeing a vision. The only response I got was something along the lines of "not her", and "leaving."
That's when I heard it. He leaned his head against the window, the sun still reflecting on his face. His eyes were squinting from the bright light; his lips appeared in a tight line. He was muttering to himself. Again, I picked out the exact same words. He was saying it too low, too fast for me to hear.
He needed his space so I decided on keeping my mouth shut. We arrived at the hospital not too long after. I parked my car; Edward hopped out before I even stopped. I got out and joined him as we walked together into the doors of the place that kept Bella breathing.
"Hello, I'm looking for Isabella Swan." Edward politely spoke to the nurse behind the desk. She punched in some numbers on the screen and looked back up at Edward.
"She's on the third floor, room 312." He nodded once at her before disappearing to the elevators.
I stood in the far back away from the doors and away from Edward when my eye twitched, one eye opening widely than the other. That's when I was receiving a vision. I closed my eyes staring blankly at the lit up button number 3 on the directory after I've seen what was going to happen. This couldn't be happening. Have we lost her?
"Edward," I breathed out in fret. He turned his torso to meet my anxious look.
"What is it?" he was concerned.
"I don't think it's a good idea to approach Bella too soon." I only said it for his own good. He was hurt enough and adding more weight on his shoulders wouldn't do any good.
"What's that suppose to mean?" he hissed under his breath. "Why shouldn't I see my Bella?" I didn't miss when he said "my Bella". The sound of his voice when he mentioned that made my heart ache, my head pound. I was positive my eyes were beginning to water as my mind concentrated on other things. Why was life so inflexible?
"There's something you need to know." I said each word like it was its own sentence. I was becoming angry. Angry that they would let something like this happen to her. I couldn't lose her. She was right when she told me she was all I had. She was all I had too, when things fell apart but now I wasn't sure if that was precise to say anymore.
The elevator door opened with a ding letting myself out with a slow pace. I knew the assigned room was just straight down the hallway, I've seen Edward and I walk into it and Edward wasn't looking too good.
I grasped his wrist, pulling him one space back. He blinked three times, taking in what I had just done. He was angry and I was pretty sure I was one of the reasons why. I felt bad enough.
"Alice," he hissed. "What are you doing?"
"You can't go in there." I made my voice sound as convincing as it could get but unfortunately, he thought I was out of my mind.
"I'm serious Edward. If you go in there…" but I was too late. He was stronger than I was. He pulled away from me and began walking almost superhumanly to Bella's room. I shook my head in distress not because of him but myself.
I walked the footsteps he took down the long hallway. It seemed to become dimmer each step I took as if the environment around me faded and disappeared so there was no way back.
I was shocked Edward stopped in front of the room when I came. He took one solid, agonized look at me before the both of us walked in.
She was worse than what I've seen of her that night. She was paler than usual; her brown hair seemed to have lost its colour so did her skin. Her lips were like a pale kind of pink and purple shadows occupied below her eyes. She looked much too fragile as if she'd fall apart with one single, light touch. Tubes connected to her body all over the place and her breathing was slow, not average.
Edward took one sharp breath as he approached her slowly. He was afraid to even touch her. She was so breakable at this point, we weren't sure of what to do, how we would draw near her.
He pulled the seat next to the desk in the far corner and set it right next to her bed. He sat down, letting his head hang low as he held onto her hand ever so lightly. He tenderly lifted her hand and kissed it gently, placing it back next to her. Never did he let go.
"Edward," Carlisle gasped when he entered the room. "You're early." He was in panic and I knew why.
"I wanted to see her," he simply explained as if it weren't obvious enough. "How is she doing?"
"She's still recovering. She's been sleeping all morning." He told him. I sat down on the other seat away from them. Carlisle turned to me looking worried.
"Hello Alice, how have you been?" he smiled slightly knowing what the answer would be.
"I've been managing."
"Your mother's worried about you," he was at my side, bending his knees so he could be at the same level as I was. "Have you gotten any rest lately?"
My answer was no and I let him know by shaking my head once.
"Bella's going to be fine. She was lucky to survive something like this with all the blood she's lost and the damage she gained. No one knows what happened. Do you know if Bella and Jacob were arguing that night? Or any other day?"
"No."
"Nothing at all?"
"Nothing."
"Okay," he shrugged it off, accepting my answer. He got up and stood by the door. "Edward, may I speak to you outside for a minute?"
Edward shot his father a small glare when he let go of Bella's hand. He rose up to kiss her forehead before joining his father in a small conference leaving my sister and I alone.
I took small steps towards her. At this angle, she looked completely different. She wasn't the Bella I saw just days ago anymore. Bruises traced the side of her face, stitches appeared on her arms, and she was delicate.
"Hello, Bella." I smiled lightly down at her. "It's me, Alice." Talking to her was something I've read in a book once. Apparently it helped the person and that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to help Bella as much as I could.
Another vision came to me, she was going to open her eyes in about thirty seconds and I prepared myself for that moment. I wasn't sure what would happen next.
I stared down at her as her eyes twitched. She blinked slowly, every ten seconds or so eventually they opened revealing her warm brown eyes. She lifted her head up gently as if it were in pain. She looked around the room.
"Where…am…I?" she forced the words out of her mouth ever so slowly. Had she forgotten how to speak too?
"Bella." I breathed in worry and in little joy. I was glad she was awake but half of me was miserable ever since that vision.
And then the words I had heard her speak through my vision became realistic as she parted her lips slowly letting out slow breaths.
"Who are you?" those words were enough to make myself seem fractured. The words repeated in my head as I began to lose conscious. Nothing in the world seemed significant to me anymore, everything seemed to be nonexistent.
I lost her. I lost Bella, my only sister. My best friend. She didn't remember me anymore.
Send them your thoughts!
I thought this chapter was great :) What did you think? :D
-BECCA.
(Sarah&Kate will be back soon. Don't worry xD)
P.S- if you guys beat last chapters record... I believe it was somewhere between 23-26 by 3-5 reviews I'll update in two days. I have the 13th chapter.
And if you go over 30 I'll update tomorrow night!
:)
