Taken
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. This fanfiction is for entertainment purposes only.
Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews! I really appreciate all the support. I hope you still like the story. Please read and review. This chapter is from Edward's POV. He is very distraught and may not make a lot of sense some of the time.
EDWARD'S POV
I have never been so frightened in my entire life. Even when she had been taken, I had never felt this afraid. I watch Bella's pale form lying on the gurney while the paramedics take care of her. Guilt floods through me. Her last words to me before the bathroom coursing through my entire body like a thousand stabbing needles…"I guess your need for vengeance is greater than your love for me." She had uttered those words and I had just stood there. I hadn't said a damn thing.
Why would she think that I needed revenge more than I needed her? I just needed Riley gone so I could protect her…my love for her was stronger than anything I had ever felt in my entire life. Why couldn't she see that?
I followed the paramedics to the ambulance just as Emmett and Rose pulled up to the apartment complex. I look at Rose in confusion and she throws her phone at me with a menacing glare before climbing into the ambulance with Bella.
The ambulance takes off and I quickly get into Emmett's car with him and we follow the ambulance to the hospital. I don't even have the strength to be angry with Rose for taking my spot in the ambulance.
"Read the text, man." Emmett says in a voice clogged with tears.
A text? Bella sent Rose a text…before…
Tears fill my eyes as I read the words from Bella to Rose.
R-
I love you so much. I had a flashback and the pain is too much now. It's unbearable. I wish now that I could not remember what happened to me in my apartment. I can't take it without my Edward by my side. I have ruined him. He wants to go through with it and I can't stop him any other way. I won't let him ruin his life for me…it is my fault we are in this situation to begin with. I have to stop him and I don't know how.
Tell my parents, and all the rest of our family that I love them. Give Emmy Bear a hug for me…be there for Alice, she will need you. Ask Jake to forgive me. Take care of Edward. Tell him I love him with all that I am and that I wouldn't want him to do this. If he loves me, he won't ruin his life for me now. I will be gone. I am gone. Love you, Rose, my sister, my best friend. Don't hate me.
-B
I read the message three times as the guilt hits me tenfold. She had a flashback…she had a flashback in the bathroom and she didn't talk to me about it. She didn't look to me for comfort. Why? What had changed?
I know what had changed…she had heard my plan to kill Riley…but why would that change her confiding in me?
We reach the hospital and Bella is hurried into the emergency room. Carlisle is already there…somehow. I know he is in New York because of the trial…but I didn't think he would be in the hospital. He gives me a disapproving look before running off with Bella.
How did he know already? Emmett is looking at me with a guilty look on his face. He shrugs his shoulders as if to say he had no choice. I look down at my feet and say nothing. I don't expect Rose when she plows into me, pushing me back against a wall in her anger.
"You were supposed to fix this, Edward! You were supposed to fix this and now look what you have done!"
I stare at her in shock. Tears are streaming down her cheeks. Rose doesn't cry. She is always strong and brave.
"I needed to protect her, Rose. Why can't you or Bella understand that? She is not safe while he is walking around!"
Emmett maneuvers us into a conference room so we can yell freely without the looks we are getting.
Rose gets in my face and she is livid. "She doesn't need Riley dead, Edward! She needs YOU!"
Now I am frustrated. "SHE HAS ME!"
Rose shakes her head. "No, she doesn't. She wants 'her' Edward back. She wants the man she can count on for anything! She wants the man who can make her feel alive again no matter what happens in her life! Why can't you see that?"
Her words force me to look at things differently. Bella had not seen that Edward at all today. She had seen an angry, cold Edward. She had seen an emotionless side of me that scared her. She had been terrified of me. She said I had changed. I had changed, but not as much as she thought I had.
Rose continues when I say nothing. "She wanted to save you…she thinks you are worth saving. Do you think she would ever be able to get over it if you killed another person over her? She would never want that, Edward. Bella doesn't want revenge…she just wants YOU back." Rose's eyes fill with tears again and she looks away from me and buries her head in Emmett's shoulder to cry.
Rose's words hit me and I try to take them. Bella's text message to Rose makes sense. Bella had said she needed HER Edward…she needed me. She needed me to be the man I had been in the hospital when she first confided in me. She did not need a monster out for vengeance. I sit down in the chair heavily just as Jake and Charlie plow into the room.
Charlie runs over to be frantically for answers while Jake just glares at me. He knows I screwed up. He told me to be careful and what did I do? I crushed her. I made Bella think vengeance was more important than my love for her. I made Bella so desperate she wanted to end her own life. I am not looking forward to a conversation with Jake.
Rose fills Charlie in and shows him the text message. I am expecting an irate Charlie, but I am surprised by the sadness for me in his eyes.
"I know you love my daughter, son. Now you need to prove to her that you love her more than you want Riley dead."
I nod even though I still want both to be true. Jake comes over to me then and pushes against my chest. I feel the anger radiating off of his entire body.
"I warned you! I told you she was emotional! I told you to be VERY careful! What the hell, man?" Jake is furious, but I don't miss the tears in his eyes. He hates me again and he has every right to hate me.
"You think I don't want that bastard dead? I do, Edward! But Bella doesn't want that! She doesn't want that! When are you going to think about what she wants and get over yourself?"
I know he is just angry and he is taking it out on me. I know what he is saying. Bella would not want me to do it. He and Rose are absolutely right. Could I really let him live after what he had done to Bella? Could I leave him alone? I wasn't sure about it.
Carlisle chooses that moment to enter the room. We all stand in anticipation.
"How is she?" Emmett asks as soon as Carlisle closes the door.
Carlisle refuses to look at me. He addresses Charlie and Jake. "We were able to pump her stomach in time. She will be just fine."
We all sigh in relief, but my father still won't look at me. "The regular emergency room doctor wants her to see a psychiatrist twice a week as part of her treatment. I think that is a good idea."
Charlie nods quickly as does Jake. My father is still avoiding me. He is angry with me.
Rose shakes her head and looks at Carlisle in irritation. "Bella has been through a traumatic ordeal. She is not crazy!"
Rose feels as though Bella is being maligned here and my dad is quick to reassure her.
"No one thinks she is crazy, Rose. However, she did try to kill herself. Emmett told me she had flashbacks combined with an emotional confrontation with Edward. It became too much for her. She needs help in order to control these emotions and stabilize them. She can't do it herself, Rose, at least not right now."
Rose nods seeming satisfied that Carlisle is not saying she is crazy.
"Can I see her?" I ask.
Carlisle shakes his head. "Charlie and Jake, you both can go in. I need a moment alone with my son."
Oh great. This is going to be fantastic.
How mad do you think Carlisle is? What do you think he will have to say to his son? The next chapter is still in Edward's POV. It also includes Bella's reaction after waking up. How do you think she will react? I would love to hear what you think!
Thanks again for reading! You are all wonderful! Please review!