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Chapter Twenty-One
Returning Home
BPOV
It had been four days. For days since I had become Mrs. Carlisle Cullen, and in those four days I had yet to leave our hotel room. Carlisle had to attend that medical conference for a few hours each morning, but he would go early and always return before noon. Edward had called me a few times, I had been honest enough with him to tell him I was no longer staying at my mothers, and why (her nagging), but I also told him I was taking the time to travel and see Florida a bit on my own. He just told me to be safe and to bring him a souvenir.
Carlisle had talked briefly about what we were going to do when we got back to Forks. We had no delusions of spending any quality time together, plus there was the issue that Elizabeth had pretty much moved herself into his house, though she only slept there on weekends, apparently.
"She has been hinting at marriage, and not at all subtlety," Carlisle had told me one night as we sat in bed eating Chinese takeout and watching Nick and Night on television. "She even has the names of our future children picked out," he admitted with a sigh. "Perhaps I should just call the whole thing with her off."
He then reached over taking my left hand in his, and then gliding his finger softly over my wedding band. "You are my wife, Bella, maybe…maybe we should submit the paperwork…make it legal, in every way."
His blue eyes looked at me hopefully, and part of me, a very large part, wanted to say screw the consequences and do it. I would have loved nothing more than to be able to walk down the street by his side, our hands joined, my tummy swollen with his child, but no…it would tear our families apart. So many people we loved were connected to this.
"No, this is the way it has to be, you should ask her," I nearly choked on my own words, but it was what everyone expected. Besides, as much as I wanted to hate Elizabeth Masen, she was a good for Carlisle; she could give him what I couldn't, a happy home, and a family.
"Are you sure?"
I nodded, but I was sure he could see the sadness in my eyes.
He sighed, shaking his head slightly, but then raising his hand to cup my cheek, he leaned in and kissed me, and that was the end of the conversation, and neither of us has brought it up since.
It was the last day before we had to head back to Forks. I was leaving that afternoon, but Carlisle's flight didn't leave until the following morning, unfortunately I wasn't able to transfer my flight from Jacksonville Airport to Miami International, so my wonderful husband would be driving me back to Jacksonville and then himself all the way back to Miami in order to catch his own flight.
So we loaded up the rental car, said farewell to our honeymoon, and hit the road.
I had wished we had more time, even if just one day. One more day that I didn't have to pretend that the man I loved was nothing more than a friend and future father-in-law, one more day to fall asleep and wake up in his arms, one more day where I could freely and openly call myself his wife.
We listened to music and chatted and tried not to dwell on the fact that we had no idea the next time we would be able to be together. When we finally arrived at the airport, I suddenly felt like I was about to cry. I didn't want to go, I didn't want this to end. Unable to stop the emotions from welling up inside of me, my eyes suddenly filled with tears.
"Bella," please don't cry. He reached up, gently wiping away a tear that had fallen to my cheek.
"I'm sorry, I just…I don't want this to end."
He smiled softly at me, before leaning in and kissing me softly on the lips, "It doesn't have to. Bella, please, let's just follow our hearts. Let's return home to Forks together."
Shaking my head, sadly, I used my palm to wipe away my watery eyes. "I can't."
My husband sighed, grasping both of my hands in his. "Bella, please, I don't want to hide you from the world anymore. Please just…I know this will hurt Edward and Elizabeth, but it would hurt them more if they found out about us later, after we've married them."
I knew he was right, but still I couldn't. So I pulled my hands from his, reaching around my neck I unclasped my necklace, and taking it off. Next, I slid my wedding band off my finger and back onto the chain.
He frowned as he watched me place the necklace back around my neck. "That's not where that belongs."
"No, but it's where it stays…for now." I then took the engagment ring Edward had given me off my right index finger and back onto my left ring finger. I then gave Carlisle a quick peck on the cheek before taking off my seat belt and then exiting the car.
We walked to the terminal in silence, after checking in my luggage he walked me to the escalator. "I can't go up with you," he said glancing at a sigh that stated, 'Ticketed Passengers Only Beyond This Point'.
"I know. I love you." I didn't want to leave him thinking I was upset at him. In truth I was more upset at myself for being such a coward. I should be brave enough to follow my own heart.
"I love you, too." He breathed as he opened his arms, pulling me into a hug. Wrapping my own arms around his waist, I took in a shaky breath as I lay my head on his chest. We stood there, just holding each other for several minutes, before he gently pulled away. "You should go, you don't want to miss your flight."
I nodded, and very reluctantly, with a final kiss, I said good-bye before stepping on the escalator. I turned my head to get a final glance at him, he smiled, and waved, but it was short lived, as the steps continued to raise, his handsome face quickly faded from view.
The flight was long, too long. I tried to occupy my time with reading and listening to my I-pod, but it kept drifting back to Carlisle…and then to Edward, who I knew was anxiously awaiting my return. I did miss him, he was my best friend (aside from Alice) and I did love him. About half way through the flight I decided to check my phone. I had two voice mails and five text messages, only one of which was from Carlisle, telling me he loved me and to let me know that the plane landed safely in Seattle. The rest were from Edward, Alice, my dad, and Rosalie and they had all been made it the last half an hour. Clicking on the first text, which was from Alice, I gasped in shock as I read through her words.
Bella, Jasper was in a car accident. He's in surgery. They don't know if he's going to make it. I'm so scared. Please call me.
No, I didn't care for Jasper all that much, for obvious reasons, but Alice loved him to death. I could only imagine what she was going through at that moment. Plus, for years I did consider him a close friend, and I would never wish anything like this on him, ever. I quickly checked through the rest of the texts, they were all pretty much telling me the same thing. One of the two voicemails was from my dad saying he had been at the scene shortly after the accident and that Jasper had suffered a sever head trauma and it didn't look good.
The second voicemail was from Edward.
Hey Bella,
I know I text you earlier, but I wanted to let you know that I'm going to have your dad pick you up and then he'll bring you to the hospital. Alice doesn't want me to leave. She's pretty shaken up. His parents and brothers are here too and we're all sort of just waiting to see what happens. I'll call you again, if he comes out of surgery before your flight arrives.
I almost couldn't believe this was happening. Emmett was Edward's best friend, but Jasper had always been a close second. He was probably just as worried as Alice, no one wants to lose a friend, especially in such a horrific way. I text Edward, telling him I got his voicemail and that I would be there as soon as possible. Next, I text Carlisle, I assumed he had heard of the accident, no doubt Alice or Edward had notified him immediately.
Carlisle,
Did you hear about Jasper?
Seconds later I got a response. Yes, I've been trying to get an earlier flight home, but so far no luck.
I looked down at my watch, I had been in the air for almost four hours, his flight didn't leave for another three.
Are you going to head straight to the hospital? He asked.
"Yes."
"I'll most likely see you there then."
"Okay."
The next time I would see my husband would be sooner than I expected, but he wouldn't bet there for me, he would be there to comfort his children, and possibly in a professional capacity, which, considering the circumstances, is exactly how it should be.
XXX
My dad greeted me with a quick hug, and we chatted briefly as we made our way to the luggage area.
"So, how's my baby sister?"
A wide grin spread across his face as the proud papa went into vast detail of little Emma's first few months of life. It made me happy to see Charlie so full of joy, there was a time when aside from baseball season and fishing he didn't really show any kind of excitement about life at all. After getting my one piece of luggage, we got into Charlie's police cruiser and made our way back Forks General Hospital.
I spotted my fiancé instantly; he sat in a chair against the far left wall, Alice's head resting on his shoulder. To their left was Emmett and Rosalie, and besides them was Jasper's family.
"Bella," his eyes caught mine almost instantly, a small smile pulled to his lips.
"Hey," I said quietly.
Alice lifted her head allowing Edward to stand up. He wrapped his arms around me then kissing the top of my head gently. "Any word?" I asked.
He just shook his head in response. My attention then turned to Alice, the poor thing looked horrible. Her complexion was as pale as a ghost, her eyes rimmed red from crying. Without a word I went over to my best friend since the third grade and pulled her into a tight hug. "It's going to be okay." I whispered in her ear. Of course I didn't know if it would be okay at all, but what else do you say at time like these.
So I sat down besides her, and Edward beside me, and we continued to wait.
XXX
CPOV
It was just after two in the morning when I received a call from Edward, Jasper was out of surgery, and surprisingly enough they were optimistic. I then called a colleague of mine at the hospital, hoping for more specifics on Jaspers case. When Dr. Gradey told me what shape Jasper was in when he was brought it, I was more than a little shocked to find out he was still alive, let alone recovering well from surgery. I still had another several hours before my flight landed and in that time, I had really gotten to thinking. Not about Jasper, though I was concerned how Alice may be handling everything.
Bella had pretty much given me permission to propose to Elizabeth. I knew deep down it wasn't what she wanted, but at this point I didn't know if she would ever change her mind about giving up our double life. I didn't want to hurt my son either, nor did I want to lose my friendship with Charlie, but I honestly didn't know how long I could keep up this charade. What if one day while being intimate with Elizabeth I accident say Bella's name, or even she called out my name when with Edward. Then there was still always the possibility of Victoria or Jasper saying something, though as it hasn't happened yet, I find it unlikely, still…it was possible.
Getting up from my isle seat I made my down the narrow area between the row of seats and towards the bathrooms. I had talked openly on the phone to Edward and DR. Gradey, despite other passenger's glares and whispers. It was an emergency situation after all. But this next call would be private and I didn't want hundreds of strangers hearing me talk to my girlfriend.
Sitting down on the toilet lid, I pulled out my phone and dialed Elizabeth's cell. She answered almost immediately.
"Hello sweetheart. I was actually just thinking about calling you."
"You were?"
"Yep. I just wanted to double check you flight information. Flight 1402, and it lands at six, right."
"That's correct. Um, Lizzy, did you hear about what happened to Jasper?"
She gave a small, sad sounding sigh, "Yes, though I heard through Vicki he's going to pull through."
"They think so, yes."
"Well, that's good. Too bad for the other boy, I heard he died on impact."
That wasn't something I had heard. I never thought to ask of the details of the accident, just Jasper's injuries. Charlie must have told his wife and she told Elizabeth.
"I hadn't heard that. Do you know who he was?"
"Some boy named Mike Newton. They think he was driving drunk, but apparently it'kfjfuthguyfkeverfee lll lisns still under investigation."
"Wow, poor kid." Mike was never all that bright, but he was a likable kid, a good football player too. He had been attending Washington State on a scholarship. "Anyway, the reason I called is that I knew we originally planned for me to stay with you for the rest of the day and then heading back to Forks in the morning, but with everything that's happened…well, I really think I should be there for my kids right now."
"Oh, Carlisle, of course. Do you not want me to come up for the weekend, then? I'd understand completely if you want it to be just family right now."
Okay, this was it. Bella said I should take this step and so I would, even if it felt like a sin against my heart.
"Of course I want you there, Lizzy. I love you. Beside in a way you already are family, or... you will be soon."
She took a long, deep, and slightly shaky breath, "How soon?" She asked.
"Very soon, I promise you."
I would have to get a ring, and decide the best way to do it, but before the month came to a close, Elizabeth would become my fiancé.
A/N: Okay, so drama galore this chapter. Jaspers is in a near fatal car crash. What does this mean for his future Military plans and for his relationship with Alice? You find out next chapter. Also, Carlisle goes against his own heart at Bella's insistence makes plans to propose to Elizabeth before the New Year.