Well, you guys are really working hard and you'll probably get that chapter sooner than I expected. Again I want to say thank you to 159, KAY, Hinata, Torri, Mni, TikiYiki, Guest(s), 195 Nikky Black and maddycullen23.
Chapter 21: The Aftermath
The first thing I was aware of was beeping. It was constant and even annoying although I wasn't sure where it was coming from. I knew I didn't have any alarms set or alarms that made that noise to begin with. The second thing I was aware of was the pain.
There was a sharp ache that was coming from my side, not to mention a dull aches from my knee, wrist and back. On top of that my head felt slightly fuzzy and there was a pounding that was more painful than a migraine.
I opened my eyes a crack just so I could immediately close them again. Someone needed to tone down the lights. I slowly opened them again, blinking furiously as my eyes adjusted to the brightness. It was then that I finally realized where I was.
I was in a hospital, someplace I had never really been as a patient. I had an I.V. hooked up to my arm and one of those breathing tubes up my noise, not to mention all the clips on my fingers that were monitoring my heart rate and everything else. They were all extremely annoying and despite my various aches and pains, I reached up with my left arm, you know the one that wasn't in a cast and pulled the stupid tube out of my nose and over my head.
When I was done with that, I looked around the room. Dad was on a chair in the corner, his head tilted back slightly and his mouth open. As I watched, a small snore came from his mouth and I smiled at the noise.
The door was pushed open and I turned to see Edward walking through it. His eyes were incredibly soft as they met mine and his smile was one I had only seen a few times.
"Hi," I said, my voice cracking with disuse.
His moved to sit on a chair next to me, his eyes flickering over to my farther. "Alice told me you would be waking up." He said, taking my hand in his. Somehow he was able to do so without getting caught up on any of the wires.
"Where's Alisha?" I asked.
"Alice and Rosalie are keeping an eye on her. They're down at the cafeteria right now." He told me, starting to rub the back of his hand with his thumb. I felt my body relax at his touch and I sighed in contentment. It had been too long since I had been with him.
Speaking of which, "What day is it?" I asked.
"It's Thursday night, you've been asleep for a full day."
I could feel my eyes widening at the news. "A whole day?" I questioned, incredulously.
He nodded, something hardening in his eyes. "The doctor said he expected you to be out for two to three days what with all your injuries."
I tried to sink into my bed at the look on his face. He looked positively murderous. "Dislocated knee, four broken ribs, broken wrist, a foot long gash in your back and a minor concussion. Not to mention all the blood you lost."
"Well, I'm alive." I said, smiling as if that would ease the tension.
"Barely." He muttered darkly. "If we had been just a few second later we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. He was going to turn you, he had decided upon it just as we showed up. I think what you did qualifies as something stupid."
Now his attitude was starting to piss me off. "Well, according to Alice, that's my future anyways." I scoffed as I said the words, although I still wasn't happy about it.
"That was also something that she shouldn't have shared with you." His eyes were darkening as this went along. Before they had been a dark gold, now they were almost black in his anger.
"This was something that should have been told to me when I first found out about all of you. It's my life and my future, it's not your responsibility to keep things from me," I seethed in anger. He was treating me like I was a child.
His posture was stiff, his eyes closed off. His hand had turned to stone in mine, he had become a statue again.
I took a breath, letting it out forcefully through my nose. I had just almost died, we didn't need to be fighting right now. "I'm sorry but I just couldn't let all those people get hurt. It wasn't right."
He let out a breath as well and his anger seemed to evaporate as he did. "I know, I realize that, I was just so scared. When Alice called us and told me what had happened, I didn't know if I would ever see you again."
He looked positively broken and I clutched his hand with all the power I could muster. "What happened to James?" I asked, trying to get his mind of the subject.
"Emmett and I took care of him while Carlisle did what he could for you. The female got away though, she escaped when you started screaming at them." He told me. "That's an interesting new development by the way."
It took me a second to remember what had happened and when I did, I gaped in surprise. "He was able to hear me and I hurt him with it. I thought only you could hear me because you can read minds."
"Carlisle thinks that because of what happened, you were able to have more control over your gift. After I told him what happened in the meadow, he thinks that you are more able to control the volume of your thoughts, rather than shielding them. That's why they were able to hear you in that moment."
"So then that would mean, you can't hear me because I make my thoughts quiet?" I asked, thinking it through.
"That's his theory." Edward told me, nodding. "It's almost as if your gift is the opposite of mine."
Silence descended as I thought over what he had said. So did that mean that any one could hear me? Could I talk to Alice and the rest of them if I wanted to?
As I thought about this my eyes landed on a packet on the side table that had the Disneyland logo on it. "What's that?" I asked, motioning with my head towards it.
Edward looked although I'm sure he already knew what I meant. "It's from the manager of Disneyland. We couldn't very well have them finding you on a ride that was supposed to be shut down. Emmett and Jasper made it look like you had gotten hurt on one of the other rides due to a malfunction of some sort. They had a pretty good time fabricating the scene. It especially helped that everyone was to busy worrying about the run away tram and the electric wires that had caused a fire on Tom Sawyer Island. All in all it wasn't a very good night for Disneyland." He explained before giving me the packet and flipping it open. "They gave you free passes to get in, a two nights free stay at the hotel and a voucher with $500 dollars worth of gift shops items and restaurant use, not to mention they insist on paying your hospital bills. Basically, they are bribing you to not sue them."
I laughed at the absurdity of it although I did feel a little guilty. Everything that had happened there was because James was trying to get to me. Hopefully no one else was hurt at least, well other than James. That reminded me.
"Did you guys get the camera?" I asked, excitedly. "He knew Alice back when she was human. She needs to watch it."
His teeth were clenched and I could feel his hand tensing in mine. "She saw, all of us have actually."
No wonder he seems so angry. I'm sure he didn't like seeing James beat the crap out of me.
"Emmett was impressed with you after he saw you scorch James's hand by the way. He stands by his earlier statement that I need to marry you. He can't wait to have you as a sister."
I laughed again, although I could still feel the blush rising at what that would imply. "I'm sure Alice is happy about being second best." I said sarcastically.
Edward shrugged, seeming a tad bit more humorous about the whole thing. "As long as she gets you for a sister as well, she doesn't mind coming in second. Although, she just made sure that Emmett knew that she likes me better than him." He was grinning by the end of the statement.
I bit my lip, remembering in that second what I had requested of Jasper. I'm sure he hadn't said anything seeming they had gotten to me in time. Perhaps now was a good time to tell him.
"Edward." His eyes met mine and I forced myself to say the words, not thinking about the embarrassment that would come with it. I hated it when it came to talking about my feelings. "I love you."
We might have implied it and even come close to saying it, on both ends, but neither of us had still yet to. The words felt weird on my tongue, especially when it wasn't aimed at Alisha or my dad but they were true and I wanted him to know it.
His smile was blinding and he looked absolutely overjoyed. Before I could brace myself for it, he had leaned in, pressing his lips against mine. I gasped a little in surprise before I let it out in a stuttered sighed, leaning into the kiss. I had definitely missed this.
He only pulled back when the heart monitor started beeping faster. Still, he kept his forehead against mine and I'm sure my answering smile was just as big as his had been.
"And I love you. Nothing will ever change that." He spoke, the words almost a whisper as his free hand brushed at my hair.
I was utterly pleased at hearing the words and I was biting my lip to try and keep control of my smile. If this kept up, I'm sure my cheeks would ache for weeks.
My eyes slid closed as I immersed myself in the feeling of just being with Edward again. I felt like I could stay like this forever, to hell with everyone else.
In the corner, my dad shifted in his sleep, his snoring stuttering. Edward's smile slipped before he laid his head down close to our joined hands. His eyes closed and after a second his chest starting to rise and fall in the perfect imitation of sleep. It was only a few seconds later that my dad shifted again, his head falling off the back of the chair. He jerked up, his eyes going wide. I couldn't help but giggle at his startled expression.
His eye focused on me before he practically jumped out of his seat, rushing to the bed. He rested his hands on the side as his eyes scanned my form. "Are you okay?" He asked, worry clear in his voice.
I shrugged my shoulders. "Well, considering what happened, I feel pretty good." I gave him a thumbs up with my arm that was in the cast.
He chuckled before he pulled up a chair, sitting opposite Edward. "You know, I have to admit, I'm getting kind of tired of all these calls telling me you're in the hospital."
"Trust me, so am I." I couldn't resist rolling my eyes as I said it.
His eyes drifted over to Edward before his lips pressed into a thin line. "He hasn't left your side since I got here." Dad told me. "I'm not sure whether to be happy about that or not."
I snorted.
"He does seem a bit serious about all this," he gestured to Edward's and my conjoined hands. "Which seems a bit strong considering you just started dating but at the very least, it means he cares about you. I find it oddly comforting and worrying in equal measure."
I wasn't sure what to say to that. On the flip side we hadn't been dating that long and we had only really been friends for about two weeks before we started dating. I didn't know what to call the month that we hadn't spoken. We definitely hadn't been friends at that point but still, we seemed to have been through to much. The car accident, Port Angeles, the flu, I smiled as I thought back to how I had thrown up on Mike. I might not have known Edward long but I still did care for him, that could not be denied.
"Well," I still wasn't sure what to say. Thankfully I didn't have to come up with anything. Dad stood, patting my shoulder.
"I'll go find the doctor, he'll want to hear that you are awake." He said, heading to the door. I waited until it had closed fully before turning to Edward.
"Annabell." His voice did not match the atmosphere. It sounded tortured and raw with pain. His eyes looked like they were on fire and not in the good way. His forehead was crinkled together as well, all in all he looked positively agonized.
"I'm sorry." He said, the words barely a whisper.
I was so shocked I didn't know what to say.
"I can't believe I had put you in that much danger. You were so closed to being killed and it's all my fault."
I couldn't help it, call it the motherly instinct in me. I grabbed his ear, squeezing it as much as I could and forcing him to look at me. "Edward, none of that was your fault." I told him. Although he looked surprised at my action, he didn't look convinced. "If you want to blame anyone, blame James. All we were doing was playing ball. It was Laurent's decision to come explore. It was James decision to go after me. If it hadn't been for all of you, I probably would have been dead all ready."
I was angry. Not just because he was thinking this way but also because he had ruined a perfectly good moment. We had just said 'I love you' for the first time and this is how he acts. That's complete bullshit.
"But it was my fault that you were there to begin with." He argued stubbornly.
I exhaled angrily, wincing at the ache of my ribs. "Well, let's say you never asked me, Alice would have. I would have ended up there just the same. You're not the only one in your family that I care for."
"I know," he said, nodding. Hopefully he was coming to his senses. "It would have been better if I had stayed away when I left."
My eyes went wide at his words and I could definitely feel it as my heart seemed to crack, not break but just crack. The pain and shock left me with no anger so I sounded almost breathy when I spoke. "You're wrong. The van would have killed me if you hadn't been here."
He winced, knowing that I was right. His eyes glanced to the door as he sighed. "Your dad is coming back with the doctor." He started to lay his head back down, as if he was sleeping again but I wouldn't let him.
"Edward, you can't leave, I won't let you." I told him.
His eyes softened and he pressed a kiss to my cheek again. "I promise you, I won't. I can't stay away from you." He spoke, smiling lightly again.
There was a part of me that didn't believe him, even after his promise. "You don't have the best track record," I muttered, slightly angry and he really didn't. First he left for a week and then he ignored me for a month.
He laughed before quickly putting his head down just in time for a doctor to walk in, a clip board clutched in his hand. He had dark hair that seemed to be slowly receding and was wearing a pair of scrubs under the white lab coat.
"Ah, you are awake." He said, his voice open. "Quite a surprise seeming all the damage you managed to sustain."
I nodded, slightly sullen from my early conversation. I managed to shake it off though as I talk with him.
It was at that point that tests were run. I had to go through and make sure I could move all my limbs in the proper way, except for my arm in the cast. My knee that had been dislocated was a little sore but it wasn't anything bad. The stitches in my back right now were the worst so far. If I bent to far forward or moved the wrong way they would pull and I really didn't want them to come out, although I was sure that Carlisle would be able to fix it up rather quickly if it did so. On the plus side I would have a cool scar after it healed, Jacob wouldn't have anything on it.
I was let out of the hospital late the next day with a referral to the one at Forks. I would have to get my cast changed once a week until my wrist was completely healed, which would take 6-8 weeks. After that I would have to get an evaluation to see if I would need physical therapy for it. I was hoping that it wouldn't be that bad.
My back would also have to be monitored as it healed. It wasn't that the cut had been deep, it was just that it had been so long that it worried the doctors, especially where it was placed.
Most of us flew back this time, Emmett took the car back though so the ride home was drastically shorter than the ride there had been.
Needless to say I had missed the banquet for cheering and most of the school vacation. I only had the weekend left before school would start again and I hadn't even started on the homework that had been assigned. Shit. Maybe Alice and Edward could help me when it came to that, it would take a miracle to get it all done in time.
It was Saturday night when the three of us were on the floor of the living room working on it, really they were helping me. They had finished all their homework within ten minutes. I was frequently giving them glares as I trudged my way through mine when there was a banging on the door. Edward went to answer it so I wouldn't have to get up, not to mention it might be impossible for me to do so with mountain of books that were surrounding me. Okay, maybe they were a tad more like hills but still.
Lauren came storming into the room seconds later followed by a surprised looking Jessica.
"I want to know what the hell happened!" Lauren almost yelled. I blinked owlishly in surprise as she continued. "You disappear and then come back all beat up. You better not have anything to do with this."
She had turned on Edward and now stood with her finger in his face. Alice seemed to be enjoying the show and I was as well to an extent. Lauren had always been a bit shy around Edward but it seemed she had gotten over it.
Although, I did want to laugh at the scene, I also felt turmoil building in my stomach. I could see the guilt flash across his face. He still thought it was his fault.
"It was an accident." I said, rolling my eyes. I was trying to go for the picture of relaxation. "His family invited mine to go on a vacation with them. Although my dad didn't go, Alisha and I did." I told her.
She had at least turned her angry eyes on me and wasn't trying to threaten Edward anymore.
"We went to Disneyland and I got hurt on a ride." I said.
She relaxed slightly, her shoulders dropping as she came to sit next to me. "Well, you're lucky you weren't killed. My mom told me you had gotten hurt somehow and I just kind of freaked, not to mention that you never showed up for the banquet. You have no idea how worried I was."
"Sorry," I muttered although I knew it wasn't worth much.
"Just don't do it again." She said, sighing before looking at Edward. "Sorry I was kind of a bitch to you for a second there."
I had to work to hold back my giggle. Edward smiled, waving it away as we all sat. Lauren and Jessica quizzed us about our trip and thankfully Alice took over most of the questions. When it came to exactly how I had gotten injured I played it off, stating that I didn't really remember it happening. Thankfully, they bought it, especially after hearing about the minor concussion I had received.
All though what I hadn't been expecting, or should have been expecting was a better word, was for Jessica to blab her big mouth. She always had to tell everyone her juicy gossip.
When I went to school on Monday, it was to be bombarded with questions about what had happened. I'm sure they all knew the story but that didn't stop them from asking questions, they were all hoping for something new to pass around.
The only good thing was that everyone excluding my inner-friends were too intimidated to approach me when I was with any of the Cullens. I did my best to make sure that I always had one of them around to keep all the students at bay.
For the most part it was easy, Edward walked me to my classes, he insisted on carrying my bag for me anyways, not to mention the two classes I had with Edward and Alice. So it was really only four classes that I had to fend for myself in.
Even then, eventually all of the fuss about my accident died down and again school returned to normal. Weeks passed and everything felt like it had during that brief period before James had arrived.
I had to get a new cast weekly and that was kind of annoying. Carlisle had at least offered to do it at his place so that I didn't have to go to the hospital every time. I was grateful to Alice during those times. Carlisle let me keep me arm out for a small amount of time in which Alice would wash it for me to get all the dead skin off and then smear lotion on it. It made the itching bearable for the next week to come.
As the end of the school year neared, fliers started appearing on the walls and windows around the schools. Some were for yearbooks, others for class rings and there were even a few for graduation but the one that was most prominent was prom.
I made sure to avert my eyes every time I walked past one or to make sure that I looked like I was daydreaming every time the subject came up at lunch. Today was no different. All of the Cullens had taken to eating with Lauren, Angela, I and everyone else. This way I wasn't constantly switching tables at lunch. It had been a little awkward at first, especially with how intimidating Jasper and especially Emmett could be. After they started cracking a few jokes though everything had relaxed and the whole table were mostly friends at this point.
Mike, Jessica and some of the others didn't seem to like the new development and had kind of branched off in the end, not that I was complaining. I was happy with anything that kept Mike away from me.
I glanced back to the others. Rosalie, Alice, Lauren and Angela had gotten in a conversation about dresses, no doubt that they already had all of theirs picked out and the dance was still two weeks away.
I ignored it, focusing on Emmett. He was joking around with Jasper, throwing me glances. I smirked, no doubt he was still trying to come up with something for payback. He had at least agreed to hold off with anything until I was fully healed.
I felt Edward grab my hand under the table and I squeezed back. Despite dating for over a month at this point, it was still the little things that pleased me to no end.
"Ready for the test in bio?" He asked causing me to groan. I had stayed up late last night trying to cram everything in. I was pretty sure I had been unsuccessful. Maybe I would should just ask Alice for the answers.
Edward laughed and I grinned despite my annoyance.
Angela glanced over at me then, eyeing the two of us. "Are you really sure you can't come?" She asked.
I had gotten this question at least one a day for the past week. "I really don't want to." I told her, sighing.
Although Edward didn't tense beside me, his smile did vanish.
"But it would be so much fun." She said, sounding similar to Alisha.
I hid a chuckle but smiled at her. "I'm sure it would but dances just aren't my thing." I said.
Lauren snorted. "That's bullshit. I saw you on the mat. Learning the dances were probably your favorite thing and I've seen you play Just Dance. You love dancing."
I grimaced getting caught in the lie. "Okay, I might like to dance but that doesn't mean I like dances." I said, emphasizing the difference.
She rolled her eyes at my stubbornness. "Yeah, whatever. You should still come." She turned back to Alice before I could answer and now it was my turn to roll my eyes. If anything their persistence would just make me more annoyed with the whole situation.
Lunch passed and then I had class. I slaved through the test in bio and then headed to gym. It was rather boring seeming I still couldn't do anything. As I was leaving though, Alice linked her arm in mine, pulling me towards Rosalie's car.
"Rose and I are going to take you to get Alisha today. Edward can drive your truck home." She said.
I sputtered in protest but I couldn't fight against her strength. In the end, I was buckled into the back of the car, sitting outside the elementary school.
"So why won't you go?" Alice asked, turning to me.
I grimaced. "You know why." I said. At my request, Edward had told Rosalie and Alice about what had happened the last time I went to a dance, I really didn't want to retell the story.
"So you don't want to go because you're worried about your dad and Alisha." Alisha summed up.
Hesitantly I nodded. I didn't want to see what would happen if I went to a dance again. Although I'm sure I was overreacting, I still didn't want to take the chance.
"I'm sure Carlisle and Esme can look after them when we leave, nothing will happen to them." Rosalie suggested, raising an eyebrow as she said so.
"Or I can just not go at all." I mumbled under my breath, arms crossed over my chest.
Alice sighed, before her face fell, a sadness leaking into her eyes. "You know Edward would really like to go." She said, almost sounding as if she was going to cry. "He won't say anything about it because he doesn't want to force you but he would really like to take you to it. Back in his time, dances were big things and when two people went together it meant something. It might not have the same connotations now but it still does for him."
I groaned but I could feel my defenses weakening. Edward had given me so much that half the time I felt guilty, not to mention everything his family had given me. Rosalie was almost like another mother to Alisha, both her and Alice were some of my closest friends, I loved Edward and not to mention everyone else.
"It could be an early birthday present, you know his is only a month away." Rosalie reasoned. Edward's birthday which I was insistent on celebrating even though he said it didn't matter was June 20th. I still hadn't gotten him anything though. What was I supposed to get someone that already had everything they wanted?
If I specified that this was the only reason I was going then it could solve that problem.
I shook away the thought before it could embed itself to deeply into my head. "I really don't think that me going is a good idea." I said. "And besides, it's not like I have a dress."
I should have kept my mouth shut. Alice's eyes immediately lit up. "We have plenty, most of which we haven't even worn. You can pick something out and if you don't like anything than we can go shopping."
I wanted to kick myself for using that as an excuse.
"Edward said that you had even had fun at the last prom you went to." Alice said.
It was true, I did have fun but all that was overshadowed by the grief at what had happened after I had gotten home.
"Why can't I just go next year when it will be my senior prom?" I asked. If I could get them to just accept that I could find a way to weasel out of that as well.
"Please, do it for me." Rosalie asked, even going so far as to do a puppy dog face. I had never seen her do on before so that in itself was surprising. "This will be my last prom and I really want to see you there. We won't be able to go to another one again."
"You could just come to next year's. We are allowed to invite people outside of school." I argued.
"But what about Emmett and Jasper?" She asked.
"They can come to."
This was getting us no where.
Alice huffed in annoyance. "You know that you'll just try and get out of it next year to and Edward will give you anything you want. You have to go this year, it won't be the same without you."
I could deal with her anger better than her sadness so I didn't feel the urge to give in at all. Finally both Rosalie and Alice turned back to the front and we waited the rest of the hour in silence for Alisha to get out of school.
After we returned home and thankfully Alice and Rosalie didn't stay long. I really didn't need to be hounded again. Edward stopped by though as the night wore on. We both headed up to my room, leaving the door open as my dad had requested seeming he was visiting normally rather than crawling through my window.
I sat on the bed as he took a seat on the chair like normal. Despite my annoyance with it all, Alice's words from earlier kept going through my head. I glanced up at Edward to find him studying me as well.
"You seem oddly quite tonight." He said.
"Do you really want to go to the dance?" I asked, my hand flying to cover my mouth after the words were out. Shit, I hadn't meant to ask that.
He raised an eyebrow at my behavior, a slight smile on his face. However he simply shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't mind going, the others have dragged me to them before." He stated. "But I am happy just being with you no matter what we do."
I sighed as I heard his answer. It was that more than anything that really told me that he would like to go. Ugh, I wish Alice was here so I could yell at her right now. I knew I was going to do something I would regret later.
Fuck it, at least it wasn't going to be anything sappy.
I stood up, standing in front of Edward, my hands on my hips. He looked at me, amusement clear in his eyes. I struggled to say the words but eventually I forced them out. "Edward," I said. "Would you go to prom with me?"
My words sounded sullen and I was glaring at the wall the entire time I said them. I heard his laughter a second before I felt his arms wrapping around my waist.
"You know if you said that you were willing to go, I would have asked you." He said, grinning widely.
"Let's just say I didn't want to see how that would have turned out." I told him. "So that's a yes then?"
He kissed me instead and mentally I reminded myself to tell Alice that I would need a dress. That could wait until tomorrow though.
It looked like whether I like it or not, I was going to the prom.
Hoped that everyone enjoyed it. I know that this chapter was one of the easier ones for me to write. The next chapter we get to see Annabell as she gets ready for the prom. See you all next Thursday!