I am so sorry for the epic failure on updating! Real life sucks sometimes and so does writers block….but and so I'm back from outer space I just walked in to find you here with that sad look upon your face…..okay I know I butchered that poor song, but I had to change it to fit you and me….no more sad look, because I'm back from outer space…sorry I won't go there again….promise ;)
I want to give a big shout out to my beta Yuki Sakura-Chan. She is awesome. Go check out her stories, they are AWESOME!
Just a reminder I put the links to their outfits on my profile. Check em out!
Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Twilight or any of the lovely characters. They belong to the wonderfully talented Stephanie Meyer. I do own the original story line and any original characters. But I do own: All of the books, soundtracks to all three movies, Team Edward t-shirt, Twilight the movie, New Moon the movie and used ticket stubs to Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse.
Last Chapter:
"I do have one more question Doctor," Arthur said.
"Okay," Dr. Gerandy replied.
"Do you know the condition of my other grandson, James Carter?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*WYB*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"James Carter?" The doctor repeated.
"Yes, he was admitted around the same time as Riley," Arthur explained.
"I didn't examine Mr. James Carter, but I will check with the front desk and see if I can find anything out for you," he said as he turned on his heel swiftly and walked towards the red headed woman that was still going through paper work at the check in desk.
He leaned over the desk and spoke to her in soft tones, making it impossible to make out anything that either one of them were saying. Dr. Gerandy frowned at something that she said and grabbed a chart that she had pushed towards him. He flipped it open and flickered through the pages with a skilled hand.
He must've found what he was looking for because he snapped the chart closed and came back towards us.
"It seems that Mr. Carter is also in recovery," he said when he had reached us again.
"Is he okay?" Arthur asked in concern. I realized then that this must be a tough situation for him, seeing that it is both of his grandsons. I could tell by his expression that he also cared for James quite a bit.
"I don't know all of the specifics, Dr. Monroe, James doctor, would be able to fill you in better."
"Is there nothing you could tell me?" Arthur begged slightly.
"Well," he said looking back at that receptionist; she had her nose once again buried in paperwork. "I'm not really supposed to say anything since I'm not his doctor, so you didn't hear this from me. Mr. Carter has a broken wrist, two broken ribs, his nose and cheek bone are also fractured and he is also suffering from what looks to be a mild concussion. He is physically worse off than Riley but concussion wise, Riley's looks worse."
"Thank you, Doctor," Arthur murmured as he sat down, all of this information seemed to be getting to him.
"Of course, Dr. Monroe should be down here soon, I'll let the front desk know that there is family waiting on him," he said as he turned to go. "Oh and I will send a nurse down as soon as Riley is able to have visitors."
And with that he was gone. His white coat flowing out behind him as he stepped into a waiting elevator.
Edward silently led me to seats next to Arthur, helping me into the cold plastic chair.
"You doing okay?" He leaned over and asked into my ear.
"I think so," I answered honestly. I mean I still felt immensely guilty for my part in all of this, but Arthur's words from earlier helped me see a different perspective on everything. If Megan hadn't made the choices that she had all those years ago, then none of this would have happened.
I leaned into Edward's side, the exhaustion setting in from being up late and woken up to early. I couldn't help the yawn that escaped my lips.
"Baby, maybe we should head home, let you get a little sleep and come back later in the afternoon," Edward suggested quietly.
"I'm fine."
"I'm not trying to say that you're not, but as the doctor just pointed out it's going to be awhile before they let anyone in to see Riley and even then it will be Megan and his grandfather. So I'm just trying to say that it would probably be for the best if you get some rest and then come back to see him."
I knew that what he said made perfect sense but I felt guilty at the thought of leaving the hospital before I saw Riley. I needed to see with my own eyes that he is okay.
Before I could protest, Arthur jumped into our conversation. "He's right Bella. You should go on home and I'll give you a call when we hear anything. All of us sitting here and being exhausted won't help anything or anyone. When the doctor gives us the go ahead for us to see him, I'll let you know and you can come back. Plus that will give Meg and me a break to run home and freshen up."
I felt myself nodding without my own consent. He was right; I wasn't helping anyone by being here. Megan and his grandfather would be with him when he woke up and I could come later, once he's had a chance to come to.
"You'll call me though?"
"Of course sweetie. Just give me your number," his wrinkled hand reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a sophisticated looking device. I rattled my number off to him quickly, his nimble fingers punching it into the phone.
We stood and said goodbye to Arthur, Megan was tucked into his side sleeping. I was thankful that she seemed to be at peace for the moment, I'm sure that the events of the evening had truly worn on her.
"Get some sleep," I said to Arthur as I pulled on my jacket.
"I'll try," he said giving me a small smile. "You too."
"I'll try," I mimicked him.
Edward let Jasper, Alice and Rose know that we were taking off, after a quick discussion they decided that they too were going to head out.
"I'll come back later this afternoon," Jasper assured Arthur. "Let me know if the police come by, someone should be in there with them when they speak to him."
Of course Jasper would remember that Riley would be questioned by the police about everything that had happened. I was never more thankful that he was a lawyer until that minute. "I'll do it if he wants, or anyone from the firm would be more than happy to help."
"Thank you, Jasper. I am glad that Riley has such supportive friends," Arthur said offering Jasper his hand for a quick shake.
I wrapped my arms around Arthur one last time and whispered to him, again, how sorry I was.
"You're not at fault Bella, Riley won't blame you and neither will I," he reiterated.
"Tomato, tomatoe," I said flashing him a cheeky grin. The guilt that I was feeling about this situation was something that I was going to have to deal with on my own; no matter how many times someone told me that it wasn't my fault.
He gave me a small smile in return and once again told me that he would call me as soon as he heard anything. The ride back to Edward's apartment was quiet; the only sounds were the dulcet tones of a piano coming from the car speakers. Edward kept one hand on the wheel and the other wrapped tightly around my own.
"Are you okay?" he finally asked when we pulled into his parking spot.
"I'm not sure what I am," I answered honestly. "I just need some time to deal with everything."
"Of course, I just want you to know that I am here for you. I know that Riley and I didn't have the best feelings for each other, but I never wished for something like this to happen."
"I know," was all I could say. My head hurt, along with my heart. I couldn't shake the thought of Riley broken in a hospital bed. I just wanted to crawl into Edward's huge, comfortable bed and sleep until Arthur called.
"Come on, let's get you into bed," Edward said, almost as if he could read my mind.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*WYB*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It's foggy.
The fog was so thick; I could feel it seeping into my throat as I breathed. The haze creeping down my throat, almost choking me. I could feel the panic starting to set in.
I needed to find my way out of this fog, I knew that. Somewhere in my brain I knew that I would feel better once I was out. The fog was so dense that I was blinded by it, only able to see just a few inches in front of me.
"Bella," a voice beckoned from beyond the fog.
"Is someone there?" I called out in a choked voice. The fog making it hard to vocalize anything.
"Bella, where are you?" The voice called again, this time farther away.
"I'm here. Please, I'm stuck in the fog."
"Bella, there is no fog. Where are you?"
"Please help me. The fog, it's everywhere," I was starting to get desperate. The fog was starting to choke me and everywhere I ran the fog was there waiting, thicker and heavier than before.
"Focus Bella. There is no fog. It's only in your mind," the voice was closer now. I could almost reach out and touch it.
"Who are you? Why won't you show yourself?" I choked out between sobs. Until that minute I didn't even realize that I was crying.
"I'm right in front of you Bella. It's me Riley, just open your eyes and see," he begged.
The fog suddenly lifted and we were standing at the park that he had taken me to on our second date. But it was different then before; the grass was brown, dead from the cold that lingered in this place. The waves from the ocean were angrily slapping the shore and it was dark. Like all the light had been sucked from this place.
"Why are we here?" I asked him.
"This is our place, Bella. Don't you remember?" he asked in a forlorn voice.
"Of course I remember. But why is it so dark?"
"The weather can be funny sometimes," is all he answered. "Come on, let's go."
He grabbed my hand; I almost flinched away at the iciness of his fingers and palm. It was almost as if he had been sticking his fist into a snow bank.
"Where are you taking me?"
"It's time for lunch, I have a picnic spread out for us," he said pulling me along behind him as we headed towards the middle of the dead grass.
I followed him with trepidation. I didn't like this place, I wanted to leave. I wanted Edward.
"Where's Edward?" I asked suddenly. I knew deep down that he was here somewhere.
"He's not here," Riley bit out harshly. "How can you ask for him after everything that I have done for you? Why is that not enough?"
He had stopped yanking me along during his outburst, but kept his back to me.
"Riley, what are you talking about? You have Megan now, your happy."
"Happy. Is that what you call this?" he asked with a hollow sounding chuckle.
"Aren't you?"
"No. I thought that you would love me again, especially after everything that I did for you," his voice was softer now, but still held an edge of emptiness.
"What did you do? I don't understand?"
"I took care of you Bella. I made sure you were safe."
He turned then, revealing his broken appearance. His eyes were both blackened, his nose disjointed looking with dried blood caked around it and his lips split open and leaking blood down his chin.
"This was for you," he choked out. His breathes were becoming labored, his hands came up to clutch ribs.
"Are you alright?" I cried out as he bent over in pain.
"Why do you care? You left, you don't want me."
"I do care. I don't want you to be hurt, I never wanted to see you hurt," I sobbed, I reached my hand out to touch him but he pulled away crying out in pain. He stumbled backwards before falling to his knees.
"Riley, please let me help you," I rushed towards him but his next words stopped me dead in my tracks.
"You've done enough. Just leave me alone."
He then slumped to the ground then, losing the fight. His eyelids slid close over his blue eyes.
"What have you done?" a voice screeched from behind me.
"I didn't…it wasn't," I choked out as Megan ran past me, dropping onto the ground next to Riley's lifeless body.
"RILEY," she screamed out in agony. "Riley, baby, please be okay."
She sobbed over his body, lifting his hand to her face, cupping her cheek with his palm. "Please."
I choked out a sob at the sight of them.
"You!" she screeched at the sound. "You did this!"
"I didn't. Please, I didn't."
The wind starting whipping around us then, angry and bitter.
"Then why is his blood on your hands?" she shouted, pointing her fingers at my hands that were clutched together in front of me.
"They aren't," I gasped out, holding up my hands for her to see. But it was then that I saw what she saw. Riley's blood was everywhere on them. Thick in red as it ran in rivers down my fingers and along my wrists.
I screamed out then, "NO, NO, NO," I tried wiping them onto my shirt, but the blood was too thick, there was too much of it.
"Love, you're okay," Edward's strong voice wrapped around me then just moments before I felt his arms wrap around me and his hands clamp around my wrists.
"Edward," I choked out. "It's my fault, it's all my fault."
"Love, please calm down. Your okay, I've got you."
"My fault, my fault." I kept sobbing the same statement over and over again.
"Please wake up, Bella. You're just dreaming," his strong voice broke through my sobs again.
"What?" I asked in confusion as I opened my eyes.
"Are you awake now?" his concerned voice came from behind me. I blinked my eyes rapidly, I was no longer in the darken park with a bleeding Riley in front of me. I was lying in Edward's bed surrounded by him and the sunshine that was filtering in from the windows.
"What?" I repeated again, trying to make sense of what was going on.
"Are you awake?"
"Yes." I sighed.
"Good, I was close to shaking you awake, you had me worried." His hands ran up my arms from my wrists to settle on my shoulders, with a small push and pull, he turned me over to face him.
"I had a bad dream," I said as I looked up into his concerned green eyes.
"I know, you kept repeating Riley's name and that it was your fault and something about blood," he said as his brow furrowed. "You know it's not your fault, don't you?"
"I don't want to talk about it, Edward."
"Well to bad, we are talking about it. If this is going to give you nightmares, then it is something that we need to deal with," he said sternly.
"It was just a nightmare, Edward, it doesn't mean anything," I said in a shaky voice. Flashes of Riley lying on the ground and bleeding started flashing in my mind. I must have flinched because Edward grasped me to him tighter.
"It's normal to feel guilty but you need to know that you didn't cause these problems between Riley and James, this is something had been brewing between the two of them for a long time, you just happened to get pulled into the middle of it," he explained as he ran a soothing hand down my back.
"But I am the reason he went to fins James last night," I tried to argue, but he wasn't having it.
"No, Riley was there because of the game that James was playing. You are important to Riley," I heard his voice crack slightly at that admission. "And he wanted you to be safe, it's the same thing that I would have done. It's the same thing I would do."
"I can't help but to blame myself," I sobbed out and with that the tears started again. I don't know how long we lay there like that, me sobbing and Edward comforting me, but it was what I needed. I needed to cry and get it all out and I needed Edward's arms to do that.
"I love you so much," I rasped out in an emotion strained voice.
"As I love you," was his sweet and simple reply.
Our time was cut short when the ringing of my cell phone interrupted us.
"You should rest some more," Edward said as I went to sit up.
"It could be Arthur."
He didn't argue with me on that, I think he knew that I wouldn't rest again until I had seen Riley with my own eyes. I quickly found my cell phone where I left it on the breakfast bar in the kitchen.
"Hello."
"Bella?" an elderly man's voice said.
"Yes, this is Bella."
"This is Arthur," he said confirming my thoughts. "I wanted to let you know that Riley is awake and that he wants to see you."
"He wants to see me?" I asked in shock, I had honestly thought that I would be the last person that he would have wanted to see upon waking.
"Of course, once he heard how upset you were he told me to call you immediately to let you know that you could come back anytime you wanted," he explained.
"I'm on my way then," I said shooting up quickly off of the stool that I was sitting on.
"Did you get some rest?" he asked in a very grandfatherly way.
"Yes."
"Did you get something to eat?" was his next question. "Well…. not since last night," I admitted.
"Eat first then, you'll be able to handle everything better on a full stomach," he demanded softly.
"Is it bad?" I asked softly.
"He's fine, Bella. I promise. You just need to take care of yourself, it will be better for Riley if you well rested and full."
"Okay, I'll eat something and then we will be on our way," I assured him. I would just do about anything if it meant that I could talk to Riley and see with my own eyes that he was okay.
I rushed Edward out of the apartment, barely giving him a chance to put his jacket on. We swung through a fast food joint drive-thru; I ordered the first thing that my e4yes landed on. Thankfully it was something edible but I'm not sure that I really would have noticed either way at this point.
When we finally reached the hospital parking lot, I barely remained in my seat while Edward rushed around the car to open the door for me. I bustled my way back into the hospital, towing Edward behind me. Thankfully the "nice" red headed lady from earlier had been replaced by a younger brunette.
"How may I help you today?" she asked cheerily when I stepped up to the counter.
"I'm looking for Riley Carter," I said sweetly. I felt Edward slide up behind me and wrap his arm around my waist.
"Are you family?" she asked after giving a slightly dazed look towards Edward. I almost wanted to roll my eyes at her, come on we were here looking for a patient, shouldn't you keep your eyes in your head!
"No, friends. We were here earlier and just received a call that he was awake and wanted to see us," I offered her. I could feel the annoyance starting to build.
"I'll have to check with the RN on his floor. I'm not sure if he is being allowed visitors right now."
"I just talked to his grandfather, he told us to come," I snapped. I felt Edward squeeze my waist gently.
"If you could check I would appreciate it," Edward said before I could seriously go off on this girl.
"Of course," she breathed out as she picked up the phone from its cradle. She dialed a few numbers.
"Hi Rita, this Shelby in admitting. I have some people down here that want to see Riley Carter, I was just checking to see if he was open for visitors yet," she chattered into the phone.
"Um…let me check," she said after a minute. She placed her hand over the receiver. "What are your names?"
"I'm Isabella Swan and this is Edward Cullen," I answered her, trying to keep the bite out of my tone. I knew rationally that being snotty to this woman was not going to help anyone, but I just didn't have the patience to deal with all of this.
"Okay, I'll send them up," she said in a snotty tone, I have no doubt that she was hoping that she could send me away. What the hell is wrong with the people that work here?
"Thanks Rita."
She took her time setting the phone back into the cradle and reached one perfectly manicured hand over to her keyboard and typed in a sequence of letters.
"Mr. Carter is on floor three, in room 379. Visiting hours are over at seven PM," she rattled off without looking at us. "If you head down this corridor, there will be a bank of elevators, take the second grouping. That set will take you to the floor you are looking for."
And just like that we were dismissed; she turned her chair around and started flipping through some files that had been sitting on the counter.
"Thank you," I said curtly.
The elevator ride was quick and silent. Edward held me close to him, humming softly against the top of my head.
"Do you want me to come in with you?" Edward asked once we were outside of Riley's room.
"Of course I do, why wouldn't I?"
"Well, I don't want to cause any problems. Riley has every reason to not like me, I stole you right out from under him," he offered softly.
"You can't steal something that he didn't have," I said reaching my hand up to cup his cheek. "I love you. I chose you. Nothing else matters. You can come in if you want; I'm not going to force you. But I would like you to be by my side."
"Then where else would I be," he said just before his mouth came into contact with mine. "I love you, baby."
"I love you. Let's go," I said taking his hand and knocking softly on the door.
"Come in," Arthur's voice called out.
"Hey," I said poking my head into the room. I couldn't see Riley yet because the curtain was pulled obscuring him from the view. "Is he awake?"
"He sure is, come on in," Arthur said from his seat at the foot of the bed.
I walked further into the room, keeping my eyes cast onto the floor. I was worried about my reaction to Riley. If he looked terrible, I'm sure that I would gasp, but that wouldn't be good. I didn't want to add to his troubles anymore then I already have.
I stopped when my knees hit the foot of the bed, I could feel Edward keeping his space behind me. He was close but not so close that we were touching.
"Bella, look at me," Riley said softly from his bed.
I forced my eyes upward. They trailed along his legs, over his taped up torso and finally setting on his very battered face. I barely kept myself from gasping. His right eye was encircled with black, the eyes itself bright bloody red and barely open. There was a cut that ran from the side of his nose to his cheek bone and his jaw was so black and blue that you could barely see the day old stubble growing on it.
"Oh Riley," I said, a sob catching in my throat. "Are you…does it….how do…?" I couldn't find the right thing to say all of a sudden.
"Come closer, please. It hurts to move my jaw too much," he said giving me a grin that turned into a grimace. Moving his mouth seemed to cause him some discomfort.
Of course it causes him discomfort. He got punched there repeatedly.
I walked around the bed, taking a sit in an empty chair by his head. I noticed then that Megan was MIA.
"Where's Megan?" I asked.
"I sent her home to sleep. She was dead on her feet," Riley Explained. "Hey Edward. How are you?" His voice was polite, but kind of strained.
"I'm doing fine. Please accept my deepest sympathies at what happened between your brother and you," Edward offered as he sat in the unoccupied chair at the foot of the bed.
Riley just nodded his head for a sec and then turned his attention back to me. I could hear Edward and Arthur strike up a quiet conversation, obviously trying to give Riley and me a sense of privacy.
"How are you doing, really?" I finally asked.
"Besides all of this?" he waved his hand over his face and chest. "Swell."
I sat in the chair awkwardly for a second, shifting my weight. "I'm sorry," I finally blurted out.
"For?" he asked with a confused look on his face.
"This all my fault."
"No, it's not. This is between James and I, it was a long time in the making."
"But, you wouldn't have been there last night if it wasn't for me," I argued.
"I would have eventually been in that exact place, Bella. It was what James wanted," he said making eye contact with me. "It was only a matter of time before this happened."
"You make it sound as if it were inevitable."
"It was."
"How do you know that? If I hadn't called you whining about my problems then you wouldn't have felt the need to protect me," I said scooting my chair closer to the bed.
"It was his plan, Bella," he said loudly causing Edward and Arthur to stop their conversation. I'm sure they were both keeping an ear trained on us anyways.
"What does that mean?"
"James told me last night that he was using you as a way to get to me. He knew that you weren't interested in him and he knew that he frightened you. So he figured that if he harassed you enough, you would call me and I would come looking for him. This whole thing was a way to flush me out, get me to come to him on his terms."
I gasped in shock there. James was only using me to do this to Riley? What the hell if wrong with this guy.
"Yeah, well, James doesn't like to lose. When Megan filed for divorce and we started to work through everything, he took that as a failure. He doesn't like to fail. He knew that he needed a way to get to me. Megan was out since she was fed up with his bullshit, so he went for you. He knew that I liked you from the dinner, so he used you against me."
"How do you know all of this?" I asked.
"He told me. When I showed up at his dingy motel, he was delighted that I was playing his game. I should have known that is what was going on all along. James was always fiercely competitive. I should have known," He said slumping back against his pillows in what looked like exhaustion.
"Do you need anything?" I asked suddenly.
"Only one thing."
"What is it? I'll call for a nurse," I said looking around for the call button.
"A nurse can't help me with this."
"Okay," I said uncertainly. I wasn't sure what he needed without a nurse.
"Don't blame yourself."
"What?" I asked in confusion.
"Don't blame yourself for all of this mess. It has nothing to do with you besides you being in the wrong place at the wrong time. James has been gunning for me along time and now it finally came to a head. I'm just sorry that I got you involved in this," he explained as he reached out his free hand to grasp mine.
"I don't know if I can promise you that," I said after a minute.
"You can and you will. I'm in a hospital bed, Bella are you seriously going to tell me no," he said cocking an eyebrow at me. I'm sure that hurt but he didn't even flinch.
I thought about what he said for a minute. I guess if I looked at it from his perspective, with the information that he has, I guess I could see where he was coming from. Then a thought crossed my mind and I knew what I had to do.
"I can only agree with that if you can agree to the same thing."
"I don't blame you, Bella. I thought that was clear."
"I don't mean me. I mean you. Please don't blame yourself for all of this. It's not your fault either," I told him, squeezing his hand softly.
"You drive a hard bargain, Swan. But I think I can handle that," he said giving me a small smile.
"So what happens now?" Edward asked breaking the silence.
"With what?" Riley asked looking in his direction.
"With James? Is he still here?"
Arthur took over the conversation from there, explaining to us that the police had come and taken Riley's statement earlier. They also had witnesses from the crime scene that sided with Riley, they had told the police that Riley was attacked by James and that he was only defending himself. So basically it was up to Riley if he wanted to press charges against his brother.
"Are you?" I turned and asked him then.
"Yes," he said evenly and without any hesitation. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Well he's your brother," I offered lamely.
"Not anymore. I'm just glad that this done and I can move on with my life. He probably won't get more than a slap on the wrist but I hope that it's enough that he knows not to try it again."
"Do you think that he will? Try it again, I mean."
"I don't know. I hope not but I'm not going to live my life in fear of him. He won't be bugging you again. The restraining order you put up against him threw him for a loop, he told me so. He had no intention of contacting you again after that. He may be big on talking the talk but not so much on walking the walk. He's death afraid of going to prison," he said with a slightly evil grin on his face.
I felt my whole body sag with relief. It's over. I could go about my life as normal without any fear.
"Thank you," I whispered.
"For?" he asked.
"Everything. For caring about me, for protecting me. Thank you," I said offering him a watery smile.
"You're welcome."
We stayed and visited for a little longer. But eventually Riley's eyes stated drooping and I knew it was time to leave.
"We should go so that you can rest," I told him patting his arm softly.
"Yeah, I am starting to feel drowsy. Must be the medication," he said, his words starting to slur a little.
Arthur offered to walk us out. He was headed to the cafeteria in search of some food and coffee. Edward and Arthur slipped out the door first and just as I was about to follow, Riley called out to me in a surprisingly strong voice.
"Bella."
"Yes," I poked my head behind the curtain again.
"Be happy."
I could feel myself choking up again. "You too," I managed to get out without crying.
I turned my tear filled eyes to him, only to be meet with his peaceful, sleeping face.
We're reaching the end now friends. Only one chapter left and then the epilogue, it makes sad and happy at the same time. Sad because I am going to miss this story and Happy because I finally finished. But don't fret my pets, I still have my other story and a million more in the works…..now I just have to decide which one to go with and beg my beta to love me enough to keep betaing for me!
Reviewers get a teaser!
XO-
Symphiann
