Chapter 12

Finally, Edward gave Jacob one last shove and ended the fight. He ran back over to where I was still standing, cradling my injured hand against my chest. I was a little in shock at the display of brute force I had just witnessed. I'd always seen Jacob as a protector of sorts, but pretty boy demolished him. It was really hard to see that happen, and I was a little pissed at pretty boy for his actions. They didn't seem completely warranted, in my opinion. The pain in my hand made thinking about anything else difficult, though, so I had to let those thoughts go for the time being.

Once I made sure Jake was okay, I allowed pretty boy to lead me back to the beach. He left me just long enough to let Ben know he would need to find another ride home. We walked silently back to his car as I tried to ignore the throbbing pain.

"I can't believe you did that," I finally said, wanting pretty boy to know I wasn't happy with his actions.

"He was being an ass," he stated and shrugged his shoulders.

"That may be, but he didn't deserve what you did to him, Edward!" I was fuming and couldn't believe pretty boy was being so nonchalant about beating up my best friend. Sure, Jake had acted like an idiot, but that didn't mean pretty boy had the right to do what he did.

"Bella, there's one thing you need to know and accept. When it comes to you, I will do anything to keep you safe. He hurt you, therefore, I hurt him. Now, let's go get your hand looked at," pretty boy responded with complete sincerity.

After that, I couldn't think of much to say. I was floored by his words. He would do anything to keep me safe? But Jake hadn't really been the one to hurt me. I had hurt myself by stupidly punching Jake. Didn't that mean Edward should have beaten me up instead? Ugh, I was so confused. We pulled up in front of the hospital, and pretty boy came around to help me out of his car. I was having a difficult time meshing the two sides of pretty boy together. One minute, he was all sweet and complimentary and the next he was being completely cruel. Of course, his cruelty was never directed at me, per se, only those he perceived had hurt me.

We walked inside, pretty boy leading me with his hand resting on my lower back. The receptionist greeted us kindly before asking us to fill out the standard forms. I took the clipboard and began making my way over to a chair when pretty boy stopped me. He just shook his head, took the clipboard from me and whispered something to the receptionist that I couldn't hear. She nodded in understanding before buzzing us through the double doors and picking up the phone next to her. Pretty boy led me into the maze of hallways beyond, and I tried to keep up with where we were, but it was useless. I was utterly lost by the time we stopped in front of one of the many doors.

Pretty boy squeezed my hand, and I wondered when the heck he'd grabbed my good hand and why on earth I was letting him hold it. He knocked lightly on the door before opening it and entering the office within. Sitting behind a large wooden desk, was Dr. Cullen. I recognized him immediately, and he was still as hot as I remembered.

"Edward, what happened?" Dr. Cullen asked in obvious concern. "Bella, are you okay?" he continued when pretty boy didn't answer right away.

"I think I broke my hand," I responded honestly.

"She punched someone," Edward stated flatly, and Dr. Cullen looked at him with concern etched all over his handsome face.

"Well, let's take a look at that hand, shall we, Bella?" Dr. Cullen reached out for my hand and I reluctantly allowed him to pull it away from where I had been cuddling it against my chest. "Well, it's definitely bruised and we need to do something about all this swelling. Do you feel okay to walk over to X-ray or should I get a wheelchair for you?"

"I can walk," I replied meekly.

Dr. Cullen nodded and began to lead me out of the room. Pretty boy followed behind even though his dad told him to stay in the office. Over the next half an hour, I had to endure Dr. Cullen moving my hand around in order to get different angles of the bones underneath. Pretty boy refused to leave my side the entire time. I really couldn't understand why he seemed so reluctant to leave me alone, even with his dad.


Disclaimer: Hopefully, we all know who owns it all by now...it's not me

A/N: Whew, I made it! I've been so freaking sick this last week that I haven't been able to get much accomplished other than coughing non-stop. I think hubs is about to kick me out of the bedroom at night so he can actually get some sleep. Luckily, I'm still a little ahead with this one, so I was able to update on time. Not sure when I'll be able to update my other stories :-( It should be soon, though, I hope.

Thanks so much to everyone who is sticking with me on this one. I'm having fun with these two. Things will get a little serious in a little bit, but it won't be too bad, promise :-)

~SP