Wow, I got more threats from threatening Jasper, and more tears from threatening Bella. Ha, wow. To voldemortperfumes, jeez, why didn't I think of bi-polar? That seems so obvious now. Hm, okay, I'll say Renee is severely bi-polar. Got that everyone? Well, don't let me keep you from finding out if she's dead or not…
OMC! Our Favorite Year has just been nominated for the Best Human Story for the Quixotic FF Awards! Awesome! So, go help them out and be a judge, or nominate some more stories! Some of the categories haven't even been filled yet! The site is on my profile page! (I just keep saying this so people will go help them. I think half of you have realized this so…carry on, now.)
Goodbye, Edward. Goodbye to everyone. Goodbye…
Darkness crept silently into this bright, shining place, and I felt my head start to swim.
"NO!"
I woke to a monotonous beeping in my ears, and opened my eyes to find a brightly lit room. For a second I thought I was once again visiting Jasper after his accident, but this time I was in the bed, wrapped up like a mummy.
Then it hit me: I was in the hospital. The fiasco with Renee came back in a blur, as well as my leaving with the angels, sinking deeper and deeper into the water…
I shot up, gasping, and shrieked, "NO!" A pair of strong arms grabbed my shoulders, a velvety voice whispering in my ear, "Shh, Bella, it's alright, she's gone. Shh, she'll never hurt you again."
I nearly choked. "Edward!" I grasped at his face, bringing his forehead to mine, shocked to see tears on his cheeks. I traced them, following the serpentine tracks down to his quivering lips. His blood-shot eyes were rimmed with deep shadows, and they were drowned in sorrow and guilt.
"Why are you crying? I'm alive. That stupid beeping machine says so." I looked over at the heart monitor, scowling at it.
"I nearly lost you, Bella. You don't know how close you were to death." Another tear ran down his face, and he turned away. I ran my fingers through his hair.
"Actually, I do know. And your voice was the only thing that kept me fighting."
He looked up, surprised, and whispered, "You could hear me?"
I smiled. "Every scream."
He grabbed my hand in his, bringing it to his lips. My heart fluttered, made apparent by the erratic beeping of the heart monitor. He smiled, but it was weak and didn't reach his eyes.
"You don't know how much it hurt to see you dying. You're so young, so full of life…you had, well, have, so much ahead of you. And I never even got to tell you 'I love you'."
My heart skipped a beat, my face turned pink, and my breath became ragged and forced. He looked at me, confused, then realized the reason behind my reaction. Chuckling slightly at the monitor's screeching, he pulled my lips to his, kissing me tenderly.
Then, all to soon, he pushed me back against the pillow, and said, "You need to rest. You nearly died. That has to be draining." I rolled my eyes and, for the first time, noticed the room was empty besides us.
"Where is everyone?" I asked, looking back at Edward.
"Charlie and Rosalie are sleeping. Emmett's eating. Alice and Jasper left to get coffee from downstairs. The Clan's around here somewhere, causing trouble, no doubt. Mom's on her way, Dad convinced her to sleep at home. And he's around here, doing his doctor thing." He summed it up for me, rubbing his thumb against my hand.
"Why are you here?" He looked shocked, and stood up.
"Do you want me to leave? I can if you want…"
"NO!" I shrieked, grabbing his shirt. He looked relieved, and sat down again.
"No, I mean, why aren't you sleeping? You look horrible." I ran my fingers over the shadows under his eyes, scolding him.
"I didn't want to leave you." His voice shook again, his eyes watering up.
"How long have I been unconscious?" I asked, afraid to think how long he had been this miserable.
"Three days. Ever since you almost died, they've been keeping you unconscious, trying to reverse most of the damage. You've had two surgeries, one on your leg, and one on your shoulder. So, no extreme sports anytime soon," He said, laughing at the end.
I chuckled, starting to feel the extent of the damage. "Oh, yeah, 'cause I'm all about extreme sports."
"BELLA!!" Emmett pounced me out of nowhere, wrapping me in an infamous "Brother-Bear Hug".
"Ow! Em, kind of in pain here…" He let go quickly, pushing me back down and straightening out my covers. Edward stood up, walking over to stand by the door. Emmett took his seat, and grabbed my hands in his monstrous ones.
His eyes were red and blurry, but a toothy smile was plastered across his face.
I grinned. "Hey there, Brother-Bear."
"Hey there, Sister-Bear." He ruffled my hair playfully, and I froze, remembering seeing Emmett Sr. Had it only been a dream? Or was there really a Heaven?
"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost," Emmett said, studying my face carefully.
"Oh, nothing." I reached up and stroked my brother's cheek. How much he looked like his parents…
"Alright. How are you feeling? Are you in pain? I mean, you fell down a flight of stairs and out a window, I'm not sure if anesthetic would make you feel better."
I laughed. "I'm good, Em. A little sore, but mostly numb." I remembered, with a jolt, who was responsible for my 'accident'. I looked at Emmett and asked, "Where's Renee?"
He sighed. "The police caught up with her in Seattle. She's been transferred to a Mental Institution in New York, and it's up to you whether or not to press charges. Dad had a hunch you wouldn't want to."
"His hunch was right. I just want her to get real help. Wherever she was in Arizona obviously wasn't helpful." I sighed and sat up against my pillows. My neck was starting to get stiff.
"Bella!" "Bells" "Jelly-Belly!" "She's awake!" "Truly awake!" "She's alive!" A chorus of voices shouted at me. Rosalie and Alice ran up to me, dragging Jasper with them.
I scowled at him for using my forbidden nickname, but smiled at the look of joy on his face. It was so hard to be mad at him.
Emmett scooted over so they could push Jasper up right besides me, then Alice plopped down on the other side of me, curling against me on my pillow, and Rosalie perched herself on the edge of my bed. Edward came back over and sat next to Rosalie, nudging Alice with his feet.
Alice claimed one of my hands, the one attached to my busted shoulder, and I used the free one to push a few golden locks out of Jasper's face. His eyes were puffy and red, like everyone else's, but they were also calm and serene, just happy I was awake.
"Hey," I whispered, resting the back of my hand on his cheek. He smiled.
"Hey, back. S'good to see you awake. You were beginning to worry me for a second. I thought Edward was going to have to go 'Sleeping Beauty' on your butt and do something drastic to wake you up."
I laughed. "I don't even want to know what this 'something drastic' that you're talking about is."
He winked. "I thought not." He grabbed my hand from his face and put it between his. Then, slowly, he kissed my forehead, as he always did when I was scared or nervous. Except, this time, it was to reassure himself.
Suddenly, Rosalie started crying. Out of nowhere, tears began cascading down her face, and she wrapped her arms around me, squeezing me as hard as she could without hurting me.
"God dammit, Bella! Don't. Ever. Do. That. To. Me. AGAIN!" She screamed into my hair, sobbing. I clutched her tightly with my good arm, the bad one still in Alice's grasp.
I stroked her hair, whispering soothing things into her ear, and just waited for the tears to end. Soon enough, she had calmed down to a hiccup every few seconds, and wiped away her eyes.
"I love you, too, Rose," I said, squeezing her hand. She sat back down, next to Edward, who rubbed her back, reassuringly. Emmett came over, and held her hand, slowing down her hiccups.
Alice curled up next to me, again, and with the sad look on her eyes, she told me all I needed to know. She was a good friend, and my death would have hurt her dearly. I kissed her spiky head, and leaned against her tiny frame.
So, just like we had with Jasper, we chatted and laughed, like one of us wasn't in a hospital bed. According to Edward, Charlie had stayed up with me longer than even he had, so I probably wouldn't see him for a few more hours. I tried to convince Edward to go get some sleep, but he refused.
We were discussing where I would sleep, now that I needed help getting up the stairs, when there was a chorus of screams outside the door, followed by a "YEE HA!" and a crash. We all just looked at each other and laughed, already knowing the source of the noise.
Edward walked to the door, and I heard him laugh, then mutter,
"Tanya, Tanya, Tanya…"
Wow, that was longer than I thought. Hm. See, she's not dead! Seriously, you should know by now that I just LOVE cliffies. He he. And your reactions to them.
Wow, almost done. I'm estimating about three more chapters, and an epilogue. Sad…
R&R pleez! And please vote in my poll!
Anna
