Disclaimer: Everything Twilight-related belongs to SM, you know the drill. Everything else mentioned belongs to their respective owners. I merely own the storyline. =]
JPOV
The nurse walking towards us looked grim enough that it immediately squished any hope of good news. In fact she looked down right murderous and Edward's squeeze on my hand only established my suspicions; he must have felt the same way about her expression.
Walking towards her, my knees were shaking so badly that, for a moment, I thought about sitting back down before I collapsed. The lack of sleep and anguish about my son's mother didn't seem to be an ideal mix, but fortunately, the nurse's expression wasn't an indication about Alyssa's well being as I learned when she simply told me that we could see Alyssa now. I was vaguely aware of Edward picking up Aden before we accompanied the nurse, probably the safest option seeing how unsteady I was on my feet and having my son in the hospital was the last thing I needed.
While the nurse led us to the room, she explained that the surgery had gone well and the doctors thought that Alyssa would be able to regain the full use of her arm and hand; they had done their best to save every nerve, but only time could prove how much of the use she'd be able to regain. Standing in front of a closed door, she explained further that Alyssa didn't wake up from the induced coma yet; it might take a while longer. I nodded silently, for now I only wanted to see her and make sure that she was as alright as she could be in her current condition.
The nurse held me back though, telling me that the police hadn't made any progress in their search; they, too, were waiting for Alyssa to wake up and hoping that she could identify her attackers since the neighbor who called the police couldn't say more than that all of them were men. Again, I nodded, but this time she stepped aside, allowing me to enter the tiny hospital room, but upon entering, I almost wished she hadn't.
In the bed lay a person that I could barely recognize as Alyssa, her left arm was covered in gauze up to her shoulder and the majority of visible skin was covered in hues of black, green and blue as the bruises on her body formed, wherein the unharmed skin looked unnaturally pale. Her nose was braced, her eyes almost swollen shut and her lip cracked in several places. She looked downright broken. It was glaringly obvious that she wouldn't have survived this if she hadn't been fortunate enough to be seen by one of her neighbors.
Closing my eyes while white hot rage shot through every nerve ending in my body, I felt Edward's presence behind me as he moved towards me until my back touched his chest just the faintest bit; he was telling me, without words, that he was there for me. He was here to catch me if I'd fall. For the thousandth time in the past hours I thanked the fates for having him in my life. The warmth radiating from Edward was enough to relax my tensed muscles a bit. I wanted to go home and curl up in bed with him until I forgot, at least for a little while that the past twenty-four hours hadn't actually happened and weren't a cruel result of a bad dream.
Opening my eyes, guilt washed over me; all of this was my fault. I was the one to suggest that Alyssa take my car; my time with Edward had mattered more than finding a different solution, one that might've prevented the robbery. My son could have lost his mother because his father only thought about spending every possible minute with his boyfriend.
Edward who was completely in tune with my emotions, wrapped his arms around my waist and whispered, "She will be alright again. Let's get you fed, showered and caught up on sleep, okay?"
"Just a moment," I whispered back before I entangled myself from Edward and moved towards the hospital bed. Gently pushing a strand of hair out of her face and I prayed that she would wake up soon. Leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead, I talked quietly to her, "Wake up soon, sweetheart. Our son needs his mother."
With one last stop at the nurse's office and their promise to call if anything changed about Alyssa's condition, I felt the bone deep tiredness creep up on me as we walked out of the hospital; I felt like I hadn't slept in days even though I knew it only appeared that way because of the emotional struggle about Alyssa's health.
The car ride home was filled with silence, each of us lost in their thoughts about the happenings in the past hours. Aden had fallen asleep almost as soon as Edward started to drive and I was glad that he was still too young to understand what was going on right now; he shouldn't need to see nor understand his mother's current condition.
Dwelling on my thoughts, I was surprised to see that we arrived at my apartment already. I carefully extracted Aden from his seat and followed Edward inside. I silently motioned to him that I was going to bring Aden to his room where I lay him down in his crib. Watching him as I stood there, I hoped that he would be able to keep his childlike innocence for a long time; I would do anything in my power to ensure it. Sighing deeply, I backed out of the room and found Edward waiting with open arms for me in the living room.
"I'm afraid if I sit down right now I won't get up again to make it to bed," I told him, my voice sounding strangely vulnerable even to my own ears. Taking his hand in mine, I continued, "Lay down with me for a while?"
Looking at me, his face was a mask of concern. "Don't you want to eat something first?" he asked.
"My bed and you," I answered, grinning wryly. "That's all I need right now."
"Then who am I to deny you that?" he teased, leading me to the bedroom and sat me down on the bed. His hands dragged to the hem of my shirt, taking it off as I followed his silent instruction by lifting my arms. Then his hands moved to unzip my jeans, dragging them off me as I lifted my hips. For once there was nothing sexual about the gesture and I was beyond grateful that he seemed to be able to read my mood perfectly well.
His touch, like always was a comfort to me and as I watched him undress and join me under the covers. There were no words spoken, but even then he knew exactly what to do. His arm circled my waist and pulled me to him until my back was flush against his chest; his legs slung over mine. Burying his face in my neck, he inhaled deeply and started to hum lightly.
With his body wrapped around mine, the world felt more right again. The warmth of Edward's skin seeped right onto me wherever our skin touched; I felt safe in the cocoon of his arms and it didn't take very long before sleep claimed me.
Waking up, I was disoriented by the setting sun, but it didn't take long until the past evening's events crashed back into my conscious. Edward was nowhere to be found, but the air smelled deliciously; looks like Edward cooked for me. The clock told me that it was 7 PM already and this time I was surprised to find that I hadn't been woken by Aden. Had I really been so out of it that I hadn't even heard him?
Groaning, I rolled out of bed; damn it if not every single muscle in my body hurt as a result of sitting all night long in the uncomfortable hospital chairs. Grabbing a shirt, I found Edward in the kitchen stirring some kind of sauce and noodles.
"Dinner is ready and look who magically rose from the dead," he teased when I wrapped my arms around him.
"You know it, baby," I said. "What about Aden?"
"Fed, changed and happily back asleep," he told me smiling. "He came first, now it's your turn."
"Sounds good but I want a bath, too," I murmured and dragged my lips across his neck.
Turning in my arms, his face broke into a grin. "I think that can be arranged if you are going to be a big boy and finish your whole dinner."
"As if there ever was any question about the size," I winked, watching as he arranged the noodles on two plates. Grabbing two beers, I followed him into the living and greedily dug into the food. By now I was so used to Edward's presence and all the little things he did for me, like taking care of Aden or cooking for me that I wondered what I'd do when he had to leave.
"Jasper."
Looking at Edward, I was startled by the serious look on his face. "What is it?"
"Uhh… I don't really know how to say this," he said, clearing his throat self-consciously, "but there's something I have to tell you."
"You're starting to worry me," I frowned. "Just spit it out, Edward."
"Ah it's not bad, I think," he stuttered. "Well it is, but it's not about us if that's what you thought…"
"Edward!" I interrupted, he seldom was so flustered and I didn't have a single clue what caused him to act so strange; he truly started to worry me.
"Do you remember when you went to check on Alyssa's car?"
"Of course I do, it was only yesterday," I murmured and tried to wait patiently until he found the right words to continue.
"There was this guy at Alyssa's door and even though I didn't understand what they actually talked about, I could translate some of the cussing that went down. The guy appeared to be seriously mad and called her a lot of names while Alyssa tried to get him to leave."
It took me a moment to put the pieces together and figure out what this could mean, yet I had to make sure and asked, "What exactly are you saying?"
Running his hands through his hair, he sighed deeply. "If I knew the answer to your question, I would've told you already. I have no clue who this man was and what he wanted. But do you remember the large bruise on her hips a couple of days ago?"
"She said that she walked against a cupboard, why would she lie about it if she was in trouble?"
"I don't know, Jas," he replied. "I've also witnessed a phone caller whom she called a bastard. Don't you know who this man could be?"
"Don't you think I would say so if I did?" I asked, the frustration clear in my voice. Fidgeting under my gaze, he shrugged his shoulders halfheartedly and my anger only grew. "Why didn't you fucking tell me any of this until now? Why did you keep this from me?"
"She's a grown woman, Jasper. I'm basically a stranger to her and she blocked me completely out when I tried to talk to her about," he explained quietly.
"All the more reason to talk to me, damn it," I seethed. Edward's whole posture showed that he, too, knew that he should've told me; that it could've prevented Alyssa being in the hospital right now. I had to figure out who this guy was, but I didn't even have a starting point. Alyssa only ever hung out with one girlfriend, there have never been any other men that I knew of and how had she been able to keep that from me with the amount of time we spent together?
"I'm sorry," Edward apologized. "I really am, but I hoped that she maybe would talk to you herself. I didn't have to right to involve myself in her business, unasked nonetheless."
"That is bullshit and you know it Edward."
"But…"
"No, just let it be for now," I interrupted. I was too mad to continue this conversation with him and feared that I might say things which I'd came to regret later on. "I want to be by myself for a bit, I need to figure this out."
Not waiting for a reply, I went to the bathroom to take a shower. Logically I knew that I was lashing out at the wrong person, but I wasn't thinking too clearly right now and Edward had been wrong, too. He shouldn't have hesitated to tell me, especially not when he suspected that Alyssa was abused by someone. He never said this was actually the case, but everything he said pointed to it. Maybe she was in some kind of other trouble, but even if my life depended on it, I couldn't begin to guess what trouble she could be in.
Why though didn't she say a single word about it? I wondered as I stood under the hot stream of water. Or did she hint at it and I simply didn't see the signs?
I had been so focused on having Edward back; I couldn't deny that I might've missed some kind of sign from her. That wasn't entirely true though, I did notice something wasn't right; I had just presumed that it was a postnatal depression or something similar. But how the hell should I have known it was someone possibly abusing her instead? There had been no outwardly signs except the bruise Edward mentioned earlier and even then, she had explained it with such an ease, I never thought about it twice.
Frustrated I turned off the water, the brooding and pondering wouldn't help me, I decided. Drying off, I put on a clean pair of boxers and went to lie down on my bed. The thoughts wouldn't leave me alone though; if I only knew who this guy was. Alyssa had a lot of answering to do when she woke up, that was for sure. Until then, maybe I should check out her apartment, it may hold a clue to what was going on.
The longer I thought about it, the more frustrated I grew. Not only didn't it bring me to any conclusion, but Edward and I had fought and I couldn't even remember our last fight; that's how long ago it was. Alyssa was the only one able to shed some light on the situation and there wasn't much to do about it until she woke up.
Being helpless sucked, I wanted to rip out my hair and never fight with Edward again; I felt terrible for being so harsh on him, but like a petulant child; I pouted in my room instead of apologizing to him. Turning left and right, I thought about what to tell him. The longer I tossed around in bed, the more my annoyance grew again. God, I was worse than a thirteen year old girl having fought with her biggest crush.
Edward and I had already been through enough, not to ruin everything at this point with such a stupid fight. Rolling out of bed, I decided to man up and apologize to him; we could put this behind us and move on together.
Slipping into the living room I saw him sitting on the couch, feeding Aden. I was such an idiot. Here I was too busy pouting and moaning instead of taking care of my son and Edward cared for him without complaint, no matter what time while I was yelling at him for not telling me something that Alyssa should have told me.
"Edward…," I whispered, my voice breaking on the second syllable.
But this time he interrupted me, "Shh, come here." I watched him scoot over to make space for me and complied with his request. Slipping in between his body and the couch, I drew him against my chest. Leaning my head in the crook of his neck, I listened to the happy sounds of my son as he drank his milk and Edward's steady breathing. I could see the smile form on his face and opened my mouth to apologize.
Interrupting me again he said, "It's okay. We've both made a mistake, babe."
Lacing my fingers through his, I looked at our joined hands for a long time before I answered, "So we did. I'm sorry still, Edward."
"I am, too," he agreed. "Let's not waste anymore time fighting about this, please. Our time together is too precious."
"You are right," I acknowledged and brought our hands to my lips and placed a kiss on every knuckle of his hand.
"I love you," he whispered. "Both of you."
"I love you, too," I choked out as tears pooled in my eyes. "Always."
What had I done to deserve such a good man, I wondered.
AN:
Do you still think that Alyssa is the bad guy?
I hope you aren't to cross with me because of the boys fighting but it was essential for what's to come. Again there was a lot of inner monologue, hopefully you weren't too bored but it, too, is essential. In the next chapter some things will be cleared up.
As always (at least lately) I've failed to answer your awesome reviews, but I read & loved all of them, thanks for all the lovely words. Huge thanks to my awesome beta, Jasper's Darlin' Kathy who is always reassuring me no matter how insecure I am; I'm truly grateful, hun!
Tell me your thoughts on the chapter, good and bad – I'm always thrilled to read them.
Take care,
Sanny