A/N:

Song for the chapter is "Scream With Me" by Mudvane.

Thanks to my betas Dinx, jointgifts, and Mizzdee for continuing to love Carsurfingward as much as I do, and their patience with edits for this monster.

No long rambling author's note today. Let's get to the confrontation.

Chapter 21

~.~.~.~

Scream With Me

October 18, 2003

"Alice!" I called out.

She stopped, turning around at the sound of my voice. Annoyance crossed her face because, I was sure, I'd had the nerve to bother her.

Well, too damn bad, bitch.

When I left Edward's room, she'd already disappeared from sight. I hurried to the elevator, hoping that I'd be able to catch her. Luck, though, was not on my side. Alice had already gotten on, so I pushed the button for the car. I was trying really hard to not jump to conclusions. Even though Alice had upset me on more than one occasion, I didn't want that to poison my thoughts. We'd been friends too long for me to just throw it all away out of anger.

Of course, I ended up having to wait for the slowest elevator in the universe. I bounced back and forth on my feet as I waited, trying to do something with the nervous energy coursing through me. After what seemed like forever, the doors opened, and I went inside.

On the ride down, I went over some of the things I wanted to say to her in my head. The biggest issue was finding out what her problem was with me. Alice's behavior had been strange back in Seattle, and I wasn't sure what had caused it. I suspected it had something to do with Edward's accident, but for the life of me, I couldn't understand what exactly it could have been.

I didn't blame her for her involvement in the events that led up to his injury. If anything, she had only been part of the tragic domino effect of Edward's fall. However, I wondered if her attitude was displaced guilt being projected on me.

It still didn't excuse her actions, though. Alice needed to know using me as a scapegoat was not okay, and it had hurt me. While we hadn't had the closest relationship, I had still considered her a friend. I wanted to hold onto the belief that I wasn't wrong about her—that she did really care about me. It was the only way I could justify all of her meddling in the past concerning her brother and I.

The doors opened to the lobby, and I walked out. I still didn't see her, so I jogged over to the sliding glass doors. Enough was enough. I could tell things were starting to fester inside of me, making it so easy to hate Alice. Just the sight of her nowadays would cause my blood to boil. I didn't want it to happen, because she was Edward's sister. Animosity between us wasn't going to help anything.

Once outside, I looked around, hoping to spot her. Black spiky hair peeked out from in between two cars. I noticed Alice was almost to her own car and was probably getting ready to leave. I called out, hoping to stop her.

She walked over to me, looking like I had asked her to kill a puppy or something. There was a sour twist to her mouth and a glare on her face. I was a little taken aback by her expression.

Really, what the fuck is her problem anyway?

"What do you want?" Alice asked coolly. "I have somewhere I need to be. Make it quick."

Is she for real here?

"You and I need to talk, Alice," I said.

She huffed. "I don't have time for this."

Alice began to walk off, and it was the last fucking straw. Every realization I had come up with to make her look less like a villain evaporated into thin air. I was tired of being looked at like I was less than nothing. I was tired of her snide comments. I was tired of not knowing why her attitude toward me had changed almost overnight.

I was just so fucking tired. I wasn't going to take it anymore.

I went after her, grabbing her by the arm to pull her back.

"Get your hands off of me, bitch," Alice seethed.

I removed her from my grasp. "Well, bitch," I said, sneering the word. "If you hadn't walked off like your time is the most important thing in the world, I wouldn't have had to grab you."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Alice asked. Her face turning red from her anger.

"Who the hell am I?" I shot back. "Who the fuck are you? You walk around like you're better than everyone else, and I ,for one, am sick of it."

"Watch it, Bella. You really don't want to get into this with me," Alice warned.

"Oh, I think I do," I promised.

"Fine, but I'm not doing this here," she said.

Alice stomped off over toward the benches I'd sat on with Edward earlier. I wasn't sure what the point was—they offered no more privacy than the parking lot we'd been standing in. I humored her, though, following her.

She plopped down on one with obvious irritation. I ignored her attitude, deciding to sit on a separate one next to her.

"Talk," she demanded. "You're the one who wanted this."

"All right, fine," I said sarcastically. "What is your problem, Alice?"

A humorless chuckle escaped her.

"What's my problem?" she asked. "You want to know what my problem is?"

"Yes," I answered. "You've been acting like a first class asshole, and I want to know why."

She narrowed her eyes. "You. Are. My. Problem."

For the second time that day, I was speechless. Needless to say, it was not the answer I was expecting. Racking my brain, I couldn't come up with a single reason why she'd say those words.

"If Edward had dumped you a long time ago, like I told him to do, none of this would have happened. He would be clean and probably married with kids by now. But, no, you just had to dig your claws in him. I know that you can't possibly love him—you've shown that you don't many times over. What was it—the money, Bella? Is that what you were after?" she revealed.

Of all the things she could have said to me, she had to pick those words. I knew Edward might have had a better life had he not met me. However, the picture she painted was way off base. I'd lived with Edward for a few years, and I was certain whoever he ended up with would have had some of the same problems I'd had with him. Edward's drug use was well ingrained into him by the time I came along. There was no way he would have stopped for someone else.

The dig about the money hurt the worst. I'd refused access to it many times, and yet she was accusing me of being a gold-digger. I was beginning to wonder if she lived in her own world, or if she just liked to make things up.

"Are you fucking kidding me with this shit?" I asked. "Obviously, we have two different perceptions of the past few years, because that's not the way I saw things."

"Surprise, surprise," Alice mocked. "Bella has a different viewpoint."

I ignored her jab, knowing it wouldn't help things if the conversation morphed into us trading personal attacks.

"I don't give a damn about his money, Alice," I revealed. I hoped that pulling apart her argument piece by piece would show her how wrong she was. "If I did, I'd already have full access to it. He tried to put me on the account, and I told him no. It's his, not mine. I wasn't comfortable with being able to get into it without talking to him first."

She scoffed. "Like my brother was that stupid. He never did that."

The confidence she had in her words was staggering. It was like she didn't know Edward at all.

"You can ask Jasper if you don't believe me. I'm sure Edward told him," I offered.

Alice glared. "You're lying. Jasper would have told me. He tells me everything."

"I wasn't aware that you and Jasper were all buddy, buddy now," I said. I'd had my suspicions for a while, and I was hoping she would confirm them.

"Oh, there's a lot you don't know," Alice said snidely. "But, if you must know, Jasper and I are together now."

I closed my eyes, wishing I'd not just heard those words. The two of them together would be a colossal fuck up waiting to happen. I realized it was selfish to think that way, but because they were two of the most self-serving people on the planet, nothing good could come from their union. Each would not only try to destroy the other, but also those around them as they pulled them into their drama.

"He's quitting for me, you know," she admitted. "Jasper went to rehab so he can get better. He loves me enough give it all up."

She chuckled and a smug grin formed on her face.

"Did you know that Edward was going to rehab, too? He told Jasper it was the only way you'd stay with him. I have to give you credit—it was a good move. You had my brother so wrapped around your finger, he'd do anything. It just wasn't good enough for you, though, was it? You had to push him to the point where he'd do something stupid. How does it feel to know that you ruined everything and almost killed Edward?" she asked.

For the second time, what I thought I knew about one of Edward's family members shattered before my eyes. Alice wasn't even close to the person I had believed her to be. Instead, a selfish, bitter, uncaring, and altogether sad human being sat before me, spewing lies and hatred.

A small part of me felt guilty for my actions that night, but I knew I wasn't as much to blame for the accident as Alice was claiming. I didn't deserve the accusations she was hurling at me, and I was done listening to her. I straightened my shoulders and looked her in the eye.

"I did know Edward was going to rehab. Jasper told me while Edward was still in Seattle," I admitted. "If you think that things would be perfect now if Edward had gone, then you are dumber than I thought."

Shock lit up her features, but I didn't give her a chance to respond. I was just getting started.

"Going to rehab would not have guaranteed that he would be drug-free, Alice. He would have the tools to stay sober, yes. However, he also would have had to want to stay clean. Can you sit here and tell me that you know, without a doubt, that Edward would have done it?"

She sputtered a couple of times, proving my point.

"There was no magic cure, Alice. Just because Edward was going to go, and Jasper did go, doesn't mean anything. Jasper will have to work at staying away from the drugs. Edward, well, he's already detoxed. He'll have to want to stay away from them, too.

"I've made mistakes, Alice. I live with them every day and have come to terms with what I've done. If you think for a second some other girl would have done better than me, well, that is where you're mistaken. No one loves your brother more than I do. Most girls would have given up on him long ago when they realized they couldn't control him. The difference between them and me is that I never wanted control over him. I just wanted his love and to feel like I was more important than the drugs.

"We fought that night because I'd had enough of being treated like I was second in his life, behind the chemicals. Did I go about things wrong? Probably. At the time, I felt backed into a corner. I regret the way things played out that night, more than you will ever know.

"For you to sit here, though, and try to place all the blame on me is bullshit, Alice. I wasn't the only one who made a bad decision that night. Had you not been so determined to put your two cents in and piss Edward off even more, he wouldn't have fallen off the car. I never blamed you for your part, but I've changed my mind. Your selfish need to show Edward just how upset you were is the reason he's here now. You've never been able to just let things go and have always tried to push him past his breaking point. This time you almost killed someone. How does it feel to know that your direct actions almost killed your brother?"

Alice sat there silent, with tears streaming down her face. Looking at her, I couldn't find the desire to feel bad for her. She'd pushed me, hard, to the conclusion I'd come to. It wasn't at all how I wanted the conversation to go, but I wasn't going to sit there while she attacked me and stay quiet. Alice would have to live with all of the choices she'd made by herself. I was done.

I stood up and walked away, leaving Alice sitting on the bench. I had more important things to do than listen to another word come out of her mouth. In some small way, I mourned the friendship I'd thought we'd had. However, it had been based on lies, and mistrust on her part, it wasn't hard to get over.

~.~.~.~

October 24, 2003

The rest of the week was uneventful. After putting Alice in her place, she seemed to disappear off the face of the earth. I was aware it was probably because of my words, but I didn't care. Her presence in the few minutes she had visited Edward only seemed to agitate him, so I was glad she'd made herself scarce. Esme was upset Alice hadn't made more of an effort to see Edward and had no idea why. The fact she had kept our exchange from her mother surprised me. I was sure she'd go running to Mommy so she could tell her what a horrible person I was. However, it never happened. Either way, it didn't matter to me. I was just glad that things weren't complicated by Alice's hurt feelings.

I'd gone home each night for the rest of the week, giving Esme a chance to stay with her son for a couple of nights. The two of us had agreed it would be a good thing to stay with him a few nights a week, so we could spend some quality time with him. There were some nights that Edward was alone for the night, though. It'd been suggested in the beginning by the doctors, so he wouldn't become dependent on any one of us. Edward had calmed down after the first couple of evenings by himself when he found out that he could use the phone.

It wasn't uncommon anymore for me to get a call at three a.m. from Edward. The doctors had been trying to get him on a normal sleeping schedule, and at first, it had worked. The last few days, though, it was like a switch had been flipped. Edward could no longer sleep normally, starting to resist it at every turn. He'd sleep for a couple of hours at a time throughout the day and end up staying up almost all night. During that time, he'd get bored and wanted to talk to someone.

His parents, Emmett, and I had all been called at various times during the night. Esme and Carlisle had taken them without complaint the first few times, and then asked that he not be allowed to call at night. Emmett was more understanding, taking them every so often, but not always. He was still in Seattle until Friday and had to be up early most days. He was in the final stages of selling his company, trying to get finished as fast as possible so he could be there for Edward.

I, however, didn't mind being called one bit. Even though his parents had told the staff not to let him make any calls at night, I let the staff know that an available nurse could call for him at any time. He hadn't been banned from making phone calls altogether. It was up to the individual as to whether or not they wanted to be contacted. I knew he did it because he was lonely and bored. Being aware of that fact, and not doing anything about it, would have kept me up anyway. So, I answered every time he called.

Friday was important for another reason besides Emmett finally returning. It was also the day scheduled for Edward's test to check his swallowing reflexes. I had agreed to come that morning when Esme had called me and asked me to. She had a doctor's appointment she couldn't get out of and wanted me to be there since she couldn't. I was more than happy to do it.

The test itself was pretty straightforward. Edward was given different consistencies of foods to eat and liquids to drink while a Speech Language Pathologist, or SLP, watched as he swallowed. Two of the drinks looked really gross with thickening powder in them. One was like pudding, one like syrup, and another was like regular water. The foods ranged from Jello and pudding to soups and a grilled cheese sandwich.

The SLP started with the pudding-like liquid, dipping a spoon into the cup and offering it to Edward. For the first few seconds, he looked like he was going to argue with James, the SLP administering the test. However, he must have decided against it, because he opened up and took the spoon into his mouth. I held my breath as I watched with the SLP as Edward swallowed. I waited to see the signs of choking begin, and when it didn't happen, I let the air escape from my lungs.

James made a few notations on a clipboard he had picked up and started with the pudding. It went on with each item brought—James would have Edward put a food or drink into his mouth, and chew if necessary, and then he would watch him swallow. One by one, I grew confident that his swallowing reflexes had not been damaged by the head injury or the tracheotomy they'd had to perform in Seattle.

"It looks like Edward is ready for solid food," James mused as he finished writing. "I'm sure the nurses on the floor will be happy about this development, too. I hear you've been giving them flack for refusing to give you anything."

James looked up at Edward with a smirk.

"Yep," Edward stated proudly, pushing on the plastic tube in his throat. "I told them I could eat. No one ever believes me."

"I know, man," James said. "You were right, but we just have to make sure. Wouldn't want anything to happen to you in case it had gone the other way, you know?"

Edward sighed. "Whatever. When can I get some real food?"

James chuckled. "I'll let your doctor know the results. Hopefully, they'll be in here later to take that tube out, and you can have some lunch."

"They better. I'm starving," Edward said.

"Be patient," I scolded Edward playfully. "Let the poor man do his job."

"Fine, but if I don't get lunch, I'll start hitting my call button every five minutes. Then they won't be able to ignore me," Edward warned.

"That'll give the lazy ones something to do." James guffawed.

"Thanks," I said.

"No problem," James answered, gathering the tray of food and his clipboard. "Have a good day, you two."

James exited the room, leaving Edward and I by ourselves. Edward began discussing the various foods he wanted now that he had been cleared. I listened to him name them while I tried to hold back the cartwheels I wanted to turn. It was such a relief to know there was one thing that hadn't been affected by his accident. His ability to swallow seemed small in comparison to all the other challenges Edward would have to face, but it was a victory, nonetheless.

True to his word, Edward began pushing the call button in five minute intervals when he saw the lunch cart and wasn't given a tray. The nurses were pleasant with him the first couple of times, explaining they were waiting on the doctor to change his diet order. The last time, though, a nurse came in and threatened to take away his call button. I argued with her that it was against patients' rights to do so, and she stomped off.

Bitch. Looks like another one goes on the list.

I tried to keep Edward occupied with a deck of cards I'd brought with me. It worked for a while until I'd won three games of Rummy, and he called me a cheater. We tried watching a few programs after that, but by three o'clock, Edward had had enough.

"This is bullshit!" Edward exclaimed. "I'm going to starve, and nobody gives a damn!"

"Edward," I chastised lightly. "Please calm down. Do you want me to see if they've heard anything from the doctors yet?"

"Yes," he said, looking at me.

I stood up, walking toward the door. My progress was interrupted by a man in a white coat, a new doctor, and a woman dressed in scrubs crossing the threshold. Finally, I thought. It only took them five hours to get here.

Wonderful. Now I'm beginning to sound like Edward in my head.

"So, are you ready to get rid of the feeding tube?" the doctor asked.

"I was ready when that guy said I could have real food. Where have you been?" Edward asked.

The doctor, Dr. Ben Cheney, laughed lightly. "Sorry, I had an emergency earlier. I got here as fast as I could."

"Oh," Edward replied.

As the doctor began explaining what he was about to do to Edward, I realized something. Edward seemed to deal with situations that annoyed or upset him better if things were clarified for him. It was something I'd done from the beginning, because I wanted to make sure he understood me. When I thought about it, though, I could see why knowing what was going on around Edward would help keep him calm. I knew that if I wasn't aware of what was happening to me, I'd be pissed. So, in a way, it wasn't his injury that demanded to know exactly what was happening, but rather, it was Edward's own common curiosity.

I was well aware it was hard, at times, to distinguish which of Edward's mannerism or demands were products of the accident or just a part of his nature. Edward had become a new person since he'd woken up, yet I still saw signs of the man he was beforehand.

I was jerked back to reality by the sounds of coughing.

"That's it," Dr. Cheney praised.

I watched as Edward coughed and Dr. Cheney pulled on the tube. It was, in my opinion, one of the grossest things I'd ever witnessed. I had to turn my head, not able to take the sight. The sound of retching made me tear up. I had never been able to deal with any type of pain that involved Edward, and that time was no different.

Eventually, the sounds of discomfort stopped. I turned back and saw a plastic basin on Edward's lap filled with a thin tube covered in fluids. I cringed, looking up at Edward's face. He seemed all right, just slightly worse for wear.

"Your throat and nasal passage may be sore for a while," Dr. Cheney explained. "It's normal and will go away within the next day or two. As long as you don't try to push yourself too hard with talking, or eating rough foods, you should be fine."

"Can I eat now?" Edward asked, his voice slightly rough.

The doctor chuckled, handing the basin to the nurse standing next to him. She took it and left the room.

"Yes. I'll have a nurse go get something from dietary," Dr. Cheney said.

He did a quick check up on Edward, making notes in his chart, and then left.

"My throat feels like sandpaper," Edward stated.

I ran my fingers across the skin of his neck.

"I'm sorry. Do you want me to see if they can give you anything?" I asked, wanting to help somehow.

He cleared his throat. "No, I want food."

Not long after the doctor left, a nurse came in with a tray of food. She placed it on a rolling table next to Edward's bed, moving it so it was positioned over him. Edward scooted up and took inventory of what was laid out before him. The nurse asked if he needed anything else, and when he declined, she left.

With slightly shaky hands, he began opening a carton of milk. I looked at the food and was secretly glad I wasn't the one that had to eat it. Plates with lumpy mashed potatoes, gravy covered mystery meat, and a sad looking salad covered his table. In my opinion, a more revolting first meal couldn't have been picked out. I kept silent, though, because as far as I knew, it was the best tasting meal ever.

The first bite proved me wrong. Edward spit out the mashed potatoes into a napkin seconds after placing them into his mouth.

"Ugh," he complained. "I'm not eating that shit."

"Um, I think the cafeteria is closed at this hour. They won't open up again until dinner time. Maybe I can see if the nurses have anything else you can have," I said, rambling.

"No," he argued. "I'm not eating anything else here. It's gross."

"Well, what do you want? Since you can eat whatever you want now, I don't think it'll be a problem to go get you something. I'll just check with them on my way out," I mused, beginning to rise.

"Don't leave," he said. "Just call someone and have them bring me some food."

"Let me see if I can first," I said.

Edward was about to argue, but I gave him a look that begged him to let me. He settled back in his bed, pushing the table with the offending food to the side. I blew him a kiss and walked out of the room.

It was only a few steps from Edward's room to the nurses' station. When I made it to the desk, I leaned over, hoping someone would see me. Carmen, the older nurse that allowed Edward and me to go outside the other day, turned in my direction. She smiled when she saw me, walking over.

"What does Edward need this time, Bella?" she asked with a slight chuckle.

"Oh, didn't you hear? Edward's allowed to eat now," I said in a playful tone. "He hates what he was given, though. Can I have someone bring him something? Is there anything he's not supposed to have?"

"Hey, Maria, you owe me ten bucks," she said to the woman sitting behind her.

"Damn it," Maria muttered. She handed Carmen some money.

"You bet on whether or not he'd eat that, didn't you?" I chastised in a mocking tone.

"Of course. I knew he'd raise hell when they gave it to him. I was just surprised he did it so quietly."

I laughed. Carmen was my favorite nurse in the unit. When she had Edward as a patient, she was constantly joking around with was one of the only members of the nursing staff that treated him like a person. Truthfully, she and Maria, another elderly nurse, were the only ones. The others either looked at him like they were hoping he'd fall for them, because they took care of him, or treated him like he was mentally challenged. Both types pissed me off, and each time I came to see Edward, I hoped I'd see Carmen taking care of him.

"Don't tell Edward you bet on him. He'd demand his cut," I said.

"Oh, I know. I wouldn't tell him for anything. I need a new purse." She chuckled. "But yes, he can have anything he wants. Just make sure he doesn't try to eat too fast."

"I can do that," I said. "Thanks, Carmen."

"Not a problem," she answered, waving me off.

When I went back into Edward's room, he was looking at me expectantly.

"So, do I get to eat, or am I going to have to start throwing a fit?" he asked.

"Knock it off," I said. "Carmen was out there, and she said you could have whatever you want as long as you don't inhale it."

"I love her. Why can't she be my nurse all the time?" he mused.

"I don't know," I said. I walked over to where my purse was sitting next to the chair I'd been sitting in. I picked it up and rummaged around, trying to find my phone. Once I located it, I placed my handbag back on the floor and sat in the chair.

"Who are you calling?" Edward asked as I dialed. His brow was furrowed.

"I'm calling Emmett. He said he'd be here at five, and it's almost five now. Maybe I can catch him before he gets here," I said.

Edward began to say something, but stopped as I said hello to Emmett after he picked up.

"Hey there, Blue Bell. What's going on?" Emmett said.

"Not much, Em. Hey, where are you?" I asked.

"I'm about twenty minutes away from the hospital. Why? Is everything okay?" he asked, his voice rising.

"Everything's fine," I said, hoping to assuage his panic. "I'm calling because they cleared Edward for solid food today. They brought in a tray earlier, and he said the food tasted horrible. Is there any way I can talk you into getting him something?"

"Really?" he exclaimed. "You don't have to ask. Just tell me what he wants, and I'll get it."

"Okay, I'll ask him," I said. "No, wait. You can just ask him yourself." I chuckled.

I handed the phone to Edward, who took it quickly and placed it at his ear. Looks like someone is eager to get something decent, I mused internally.

"Yeah," Edward said, with one hand holding the phone and the other on his throat. "Uh-huh…I don't care where you go…I just want a cheeseburger and fries…Oh, and a Coke…Yep, that's it."

He handed it back to me.

"So, we'll see you in a bit, then?" I inquired.

"What do you want?" Emmett asked.

"I'm good," I said, trying to end the conversation.

"Yeah, that's not going to work. Tell me what you want, or I'm picking it for you. You have to eat, Blue Bell."

"I am eating," I said, defending myself. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Edward had a disapproving expression on his face. Damn Emmett.

"I don't believe you. What'll it be?" he questioned.

"Fine, surprise me. I don't care," I said annoyed. "By the way, you suck, Emmy Bear."

"Yep," he said. "See you soon."

I ended the call and placed the phone back in my bag. Turning toward the television, I could feel Edward's eyes on me. I sighed, knowing I was going to have to discuss what he'd heard.

"Just say it," I said, looking at Edward.

"Why is Emmett so concerned with you eating?" he asked.

"Well." I paused. "I, uh, food was the last thing on my mind, there for a while, in Seattle. I had more important things to worry about."

"Christ," Edward uttered under his breath.

He was silent after that, so I stayed quiet. I worried about what he was thinking as he lay there. What I had said was the truth, though. I did have more important things on my mind than shoveling food down my throat. Edward had been in a life and death situation, and at the time, I didn't give a damn about my own well being. It had come second to the crisis going on around me. However, based on his unwillingness to discuss things further, I was sure that Edward didn't approve of my choices.

We stayed like that until Emmett arrived, carrying two large bags. I jumped up to help him, and he shooed me away.

"Back off. I got it," Emmett chastised in a playful voice.

He walked over to Edward, looking at the "food" on the rolling table.

"Damn, dude. No wonder you had your girl call me. That shit looks vile," he observed.

"It tasted bad, too," Edward admitted, raising the head of his bed to sitting position. "So, you bring my cheeseburger, or what?"

"Of course I did. I figured we could all eat together," Emmett said.

"Works for me. Pass it here," Edward responded.

Emmett cleared the substandard meal off of Edward's table and took it to the nurses. When he came back, he began handing out food. Edward got his cheeseburger and fries, and it was like all was right in his world. I couldn't help but smile when I saw the joy on his face.

I ate my chicken sandwich while Emmett devoured whatever sub sandwich he'd gotten. Neither of us, though, could help watching Edward. It was almost like we were waiting for him to choke or something. He must have taken Carmen's advice seriously, because he consumed his food slowly, savoring each bite. I knew that it had to be better than what he was served before.

When we were finished, Edward had eaten about half of what he'd been given. I'd only fared a fraction better. Emmett was looking at me with a scowl. I knew he was not happy with me, but I was used to him getting on me for how much I'd eat.

"That's all you're going to eat?" Emmett scolded.

"Uh, yeah," I said. "I told you I wasn't hungry."

"Was she always like this?" Edward asked.

"Dude, you have no idea. Some days I was sure I'd have to shovel it in and make her chew manually," Emmett complained.

"It wasn't that bad," I murmured.

Emmett scoffed, and I glared at him.

"I'm such an asshole. If I hadn't been on that car, you wouldn't be doing this to yourself," Edward admitted.

"Edward, no—"I began.

He cut me off. "No, bullshit. It's because of me that you're so worried you can't eat."

He slumped back in the bed, crossing his arms and leaning back. I looked into Edward's eyes, and his gaze dared me to argue with him. I hung my head, not knowing how to counter his words.

"He's right…to a degree," Emmett admitted.

"See," Edward said.

Emmett turned to Edward with a serious expression on his face. "But, man, how she acted while you were under isn't your fault."

Edward was silent, and I was afraid of how he was taking Emmett's words. I didn't want Edward to blame himself for what had happened while he was in a coma. That was all my doing. I knew I should have eaten anyway, but it was just hard to when he was wasting away.

Emmett stood. "Hey, I'll be back in a few. I'm going to go check something out."

He left the room, and I knew it was so we could talk. Emmett was anything but subtle, but I appreciated the gesture. I got up and sat on the edge of the bed, facing Edward.

"I don't blame you for anything," I said, taking hold of his hand resting in his lap. He looked down at our intertwined fingers.

"You should. I don't remember that night—at all. So, I can't give you a reason or an explanation as to why I did it," he mused. "I wish I could take it back, but I can't."

"I know," I said.

I leaned up, placing a small peck on his cheek. "It's just, so many things went wrong that night, and so much has happened—I don't have it in me to blame you. The way I see it…it was everyone's fault and no one's fault at once. We can't change it. We just have to move on. I love you, and I'm not willing to walk away because of the past. All I want is for you to keep your word."

"I love you, too," Edward vowed. "I don't want to hurt you anymore. I know I have in the past, and I'm going to try really hard to change. It would kill me for you to walk away now. You're everything to me."

He captured my lips with his own, opening them and sliding his tongue across the crease in mine. I allowed him inside, deepening the kiss. We went from sweet to heated in seconds, giving in to the passion that our bodies demanded. A throat clearing made us break apart slowly.

"Um, sorry," Emmett said.

"Damn, bro. You too?" Edward complained. "Why does no one want me to get laid?"

Edward flopped backwards in an overdramatic huff. Emmett looked like he was going to burst out laughing but held it in. I shook my head and was amused at both of them.

"I can go find a nurse to flirt with if you want," Emmett suggested. "I'll give you guys a couple of hours to do the deed."

"Yeah, go do that," Edward said. "Wait, what about Rose?"

"Oh, you haven't heard, have you?" Emmett asked.

Edward furrowed his brow. "No."

"I'm divorcing Rose. We're finished." Emmett chuckled humorlessly.

"About fucking time, Em. That bitch was bad news," Edward stated.

"Tell me about it," Emmett said. "I should have listened to you."

"Yes, you should have. I'm always right," Edward added.

"God, I've missed you, bro. Hasn't been half as fun without you," Emmett admitted.

Edward smiled. "Of course it wasn't. I'm one of a kind."

"You are, brother," Emmett said. "I'll see you guys in a bit."

Emmett walked out of the room, leaving me with my horny boyfriend.

"All right, go shut the door," Edward said.

"Edward," I whined. "Can we please wait until we talk to your doctor? I'm afraid I'll hurt you. I promise, once they clear you, I'll screw your brains out."

He huffed. "Fine, but we're not leaving the bed for a week when he does. I miss being inside you."

I shivered. "You're not helping my resolve."

"In that case, I can't wait until I can eat—" he started.

I placed my hand over his mouth, stopping the words. "How about we cuddle?"

I removed my hand, pleading with my eyes.

"Okay," he said. "You win."

Edward moved over a small amount, and I lay next to him on my side. He had the arm under me wrapped around my shoulders. I laid my head on his chest, running my hand over his cheek and looking up at him.

"We should cut your hair," I blurted out.

It had grown out, but the patch where he had been opened up for the surgery was still there. His scar was more prominent with the short chunk surrounding it, but neither bothered me. I just thought that maybe he might like to have everything even.

"I'm not cutting it until we go home," he said.

Home.

I'd realized that it didn't matter where home was. I just wanted to get Edward out of there. If home was going to be at his parents' house for an undetermined amount of time, then so be it. It didn't matter anymore. Home was wherever Edward was, and his parents were just going to have to deal with the fact that I wasn't leaving his side.

Looks like my ass is going to move into Casa Cullen when Edward does.

A/N:

I think there's still time to vote in the Avant Garde Awards. FiaPYK and many other great stories are nominated. They all deserved your votes.

http : / www (dot) avantgardeawards (dot) com/

Don't Dream it's Over was nominated for a Single Shot Award for Best Romance. There are so many good o/s listed in the categories. Voting is open, so go check them out and don't forget to vote for your favorites.

http : / thesingleshotawards (dot) blogspot (dot) com/