Fifty Shades
Chapter Seventeen
The crowd had dispersed for the most part and the remainder of the party that was present was inside of Charlie's house while Bella moved around the backyard, picking up trash from the huge party her father had thrown.
She was grateful for the solitude. It gave her time to think and time to herself. She reflected back over the evening. After the whole drama of having to talk with the man who tried to rape her years ago and the surprise sex with Jacob, she had steered clear of most. She hung by her father who attracted Billy and Sarah who also had Rebecca and Solomon with them.
Bella had been excited to see Rebecca and her husband, but also anxious. She knew Rebecca and Embry hadn't faced each other since their divorce and that would make this whole thing very tense. She was amazed when Embry maned up and faced his ex-wife. He introduced Angela to them which was awkward for Angela since she knew the truth about Rebecca Finau. She was proud that Embry was trying to fix what had been broken so long ago and that Rebecca wasn't retreating like Bella expected her to.
Bella and Jacob would exchange longing looks, but after their amazing time in Charlie's kitchen, they didn't speak to each other. Bella wondered to herself why, if Angela was right, Jacob wouldn't be trying to actively win her back? The looks he gave her said he missed her, but nothing more was said between them.
She wanted him to say something to her, anything. He could crush her dreams of getting back together with him or tell her how he felt about her. He didn't approach her at all. Instead, he went inside with everyone else while she stayed outside to clean up.
She knew it was hard on Sue to clean up the yard the next day so she hoped to make it easier on her. The poor woman already had so much to deal with already. Being a doctor and Charlie's wife, she was constantly struggling to juggle everything. Enter in her children, it was nearly impossible.
She heard a throat clear and turned her head to find none other than Alice Cullen standing behind her. Bella held the trash bag in her arms as she gave Alice a fake smile.
"Hey, Alice." This was definitely not a happy reunion. When Bella first moved to Forks, Alice had been one of her best friends. They did everything together, but once Bella broke up with Alice's brother, Edward, their friendship soured beyond belief. Alice hated her and bullied her constantly.
"Swan, what do you think you are doing here?" Alice sneered and Bella gulped before clutching the bag tighter.
"Same thing as everyone else, I guess. How are you? Edward said you were accepted to U-Dub. Congratulations." Alice's eyes narrowed, contorting her beautiful face with hatred.
"You should be ashamed to show your face in this town after what you did." Bella couldn't believe that Alice still held this grudge against her. She didn't do anything wrong and she wasn't sure why this was such a big deal to her.
"Alice, I know you are sore at me, but we used to be really close." The Cullen girl huffed.
"Yeah, what a horrific mistake that was!" She snapped and Bella flinched.
"Alice, what are you talking about? What did I do?" She asked, wanting to mend the broken friendship.
"What did you do? I'll tell you what you did, you little skank." Bella was hurt to her core that Alice could call her this of all things. "You with your big doe eyes and perfect little face dragged my brother in, twisted his head up, then kicked him to the curb like last week's takeout." Bella was confused. She didn't recall doing anything to Edward or his head.
"Um, I'm sorry, but I don't understand."
"You turned him into what he is, you little whore!" Bella gasped. The Cullen's were a strict Roman Catholic family that believed it was wrong to be gay and one of their sons was gay. Alice had taken it upon herself to blame the last girl, for all Alice knew, that he ever dated.
"Alice, I don't know what you think happened, but I didn't do anything to Edward. I never even had sex with him." Alice growled at her.
"And there lies the problem. All you had to do was lay down and take it like the little bitch you are, but no, you refused and now my brother is damaged." Bella became fearful as Alice stood before her, anger rolling off of her. "ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!" With a swift kick of her foot, Alice pushed Bella into the pool. She was so full of immeasurable rage that she didn't realize that they were at the shallow end of the pool. Bella shrieked as she hit the water and the back of her head slammed into the concrete steps, rendering her unconscious. "Oh, god. What have I done?" Alice covered her mouth with disbelief as the water started to redden and the clear water around Bella turned pink.
Jacob stood in the kitchen as Embry and Angela walked in.
"Have you fixed your shit yet?" Embry asked and Jacob shrugged.
"Working on it." Angela huffed.
"You aren't working on shit. You need to talk to her and not bend her over the second you get a chance." Jacob's eyes narrowed at Angela's little statement.
"Where is Bella?" He inquired and Embry nodded towards the back door.
"She didn't come in with everyone else so I assume she's still out back. It's not like she could have left." Jacob nodded and patted Embry's back with appreciation before he made his way to the door.
"Here goes nothing." He grumbled to himself before he opened the door, walking outside. The yard was halfway picked up which brought a smile to his face. Bella was always thinking of others.
He was confused when he didn't see Bella, only some petite girl with a bob haircut knelt next to the pool, horror written on her face.
He walked closer and suddenly he looks into the pool and saw splashes of white, black, and tan at the bottom of the pool with a pink discoloration to the water around it.
"Where's Bella?" He spoke and a sob left the girl's lips.
"I didn't mean to!" She shrieked from the horror of what she had done.
It clicked in his head what was at the bottom of the pool. He didn't think, just reacted. He jumped into the pool and swam quickly to the bottom, finding Bella lying on the cement bottom, still. He quickly grabbed her in his arms and quickly pushed himself to the surface with a loud gasp for air.
Bella laid limp in his arms, her chest still. He started to freak out as he got her out of the pool and jumped out himself.
The blood was still pooling out of the laceration at the back of her head. He pushed the wet hair out of her face and she was still unmoved.
"Bella? Come on, baby." He started to do chest compressions on her as he looked to the girl who watched with fear in her eyes. "Get help, now." He commanded and she instantly complied, sprinting into the house.
"We need a doctor!" Alice yelled as she entered the loud house, but no one could hear her over the game going on. She quickly caught sight of Angela and remembered that her and Bella were friends. She ran over to her with panic written on her face.
"Alice? What's wrong?" A small sob left her lips.
"It's Bella. She needs a doctor, now. She fell into the pool and hit her head." Angela quickly raced to fetch Sue.
Jacob was frightened. Here she was, the girl he loved, and her life was hanging on by a thread.
"Come on, baby. Breathe, please." The door slammed open as the whole party raced outside, Sue, Charlie, and Angela in front of everyone else.
"Bella!" Her father was frantic as Sue sat next to Jacob, checking Bella's pupils.
"Come on!" Jacob groaned as he pushed a breath of air into Bella's mouth. Just as he did a third breath, her chest convulsed momentarily. Jacob quickly pulled back as Bella coughed, a lung full of water spraying out her mouth. She coughed a few times as everyone calmed down, relief filling that yard. Jacob stroked her hair as she opened her eyes, only seeing his perfect, cinnamon eyes gazing down into hers.
"Jake?" He breathed a sigh of relief as she spoke and he pressed his forehead to hers.
"Thank god you're okay." He breathed out and she ran her fingers through his drenched hair. "I love you." Relief and joy rushed through her as he said this to her in front of everyone.
"I love you." She pressed her mouth to his and only Angela felt how romantic that moment was. It was their first time telling each other that they loved one another.
"Enough with the mushy, lovey dovey crap." Sue moved closer to Bella as the young woman released the kiss from her beau. "Lay back down." Jacob helped Bella lay down on the concrete as Charlie escorted their guests out the front of the house. Now Bella was alive, but that didn't mean she was out of the woods. "Someone get me a clean towel." Angela grabbed one off the closest chair that was still dry and clean. Sue snatched it before placing it under Bella's head. "Sweetie, how are you feeling right now?" Bella groaned as Sue took her pulse which was slightly elevated.
"Woozy. My head is spinning and it hurts. So does my throat." Bella gulped before hissing at the pain in her head. It wasn't like a sinus headache, but much deeper in her brain.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" Sue flashed two fingers and Bella blinked a few times struggling to focus.
"One. Two. Six." Bella closed her eyes again and Sue slapped her cheek.
"Don't you dare even think about passing out. I think you might have a concussion. No matter how tired you feel, you need to stay awake." Bella groaned before trying to stand up. "What are you doing? Lay back down, silly girl!" Jacob stood up in case Bella needed him and her feet wobbled.
"I'm fine, Mum. I just need to go home." Bella went to take a step and Jacob quickly caught her as she started to fall. He scooped her up in his arms and she rested her head on his shoulder, drowsily.
Bella hadn't called Sue by that name since Sue married Charlie. Bella was not in a good place health wise and everyone could see it.
Bella groaned groggily as Jacob gazed at her worrisome.
"I'll take her to the hospital." Jake volunteered himself and the others nodded.
"No hospital." Bella weakly protested, but Jacob stood firm.
"You are sick. You are going to the hospital."
As Jacob walked through the yard, Charlie called after him, "We will meet you there." He completely ignored the comment and ran Bella to his black Audi. Gently, he sat her in the front passenger seat, leaning her head back against the headrest. She quietly protested, trying to hold onto him. He gently pried her hands from around his neck before placing them carefully in her lap.
"It's okay, honey. Just relax and don't fall asleep." She groaned as he closed the door. He was in such a hurry to get her to that hospital that he slid across the hood of his car. He urgently climbed in the front seat and turned on the car before she sighed.
"I'm so sleepy." She warned him and he grasped her hand in his.
"Don't fall asleep, baby. Just talk to me, okay?" She nodded and slowly opened her eyes, gazing at him.
"About what?" She inquired and he smirked before speeding off.
"Tell me about school." She struggled to focus on his words as she released a long breath.
"I wrote a paper." She spoke as he stroked his thumb over her palm.
"Oh, yeah? For your writing class?" She nodded before gulping. She was struggling to focus on anything and everything.
"It was a descriptive paper...Using the five senses and such...My professor...She didn't say what to do it on...It was our choice." He nodded with a smirk on his face as she stared at his hand clutching her own.
"Really? What did you do it about?"
"The Red Room of Pain." He chortled as she said this.
"Really? How did your professor react to that?" She took a shaky breath before looking at his face.
"She thought I was describing a medieval torture chamber...Turns out I'm not the only person out of high school...that had no clue...those kinds of playrooms...existed." He chortled in amusement. This was entertaining, but his main focus was still on the road.
"Did you correct her?"
"My classmates did...when she read it aloud." He thought this was hilarious.
"That must have been embarrassing. Did anyone ask you how you came up with that idea?" She slowly shook her head as her eyes started to drift.
"Luckily, no." Her voice quieted down and he gently shook her hand.
"Stay awake, honey. You can't fall asleep yet." She groaned and shook her head.
"I'm exhausted. Please, let me sleep." He shook his head.
"If you fall asleep, you might never wake up and I'm not taking that chance." He pulled up to the hospital and quickly jumped out. He pulled her into his arms and she buried her face in his neck, a happy smile gracing her lips.
"I missed you." He softly chuckled as he rubbed her back, hugging her a little closer.
"Same here, Bells. I'm so sorry I pushed you away like that." She took in his scent and focused on it. It was musky, a hint of the ocean along with it. It was purely perfect to her. She missed how amazing he smelled.
"Why did you?" She inquired.
"Because I realized how strong my feelings were for you and I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't realize that by pushing you away that I was hurting you. I thought I was saving you from pain."
"Why?" She questioned further.
"Everyone I love ends up in pain because of me. I didn't want that for you." She understood where he was coming from. He pushed her away in protection, not because he didn't want her anymore. She would have done the same in his shoes.
"How strong is it that you feel?" She wasn't sure if she should believe what he said to her when she woke up. What if it was just for show because of how many people were around?
"I don't want to give you hope for more than what I have to offer by telling you."
"I know my place. Just, tell me."
"I love you." He blurted out with conviction before pressing his forehead to hers. Her heart swelled from his admission. He did mean it when he said he loved her.
"Where does that leave everything?" He chuckled before walking into the hospital.
"That's all up to you." Nurses came in and rushed her in the back, forcing Jacob to stay in the waiting room.
She was confused by all the commotion. Her vision was swirling, blurred beyond anything she had ever experienced, and she ended up passing out at some point.
She woke up, her head feeling clear for the first time in what felt like forever. Her eyes slowly opened and she saw her father sitting beside her.
"Dad?" She questioned, confused. Charlie shot up before moving over to her.
"Hey, honey. How are you feeling?" She slowly sat up, the tenderness on the back of her head bothering her.
"Okay, I guess. What happened?" Things were fuzzy except her short conversation with Jacob. She wanted to finish talking with him.
"You fell into the pool and hit your head on the steps. You had a pretty nasty gash on the back of your head, you lost a lot of blood, and you had a severe concussion." Bella nodded with a sigh. "If it wasn't for that boyfriend of yours, you might not be alive right now. He thought really quick to get you here to the hospital and started CPR as soon as he got you out of the pool." Bella recalled what Jacob had said to her.
I love you. She knew he probably thought it was a show when she said she loved him, too, but it wasn't and she was glad he thought so. She wasn't sure if he was ready to accept her love for him, but he accept his love for her which was a step in the right direction.
He had been telling her that she was changing him, but she hadn't really seen it until that happened.
"Where is Jake?" Charlie smirked.
"He had to get to work. You've been out for a few days. He said he would get a hold of you when he could." She wished this would be sooner rather than later. She wanted to have this talk with him, but she would have to wait for it.